Costa Rica is identified in the novel through a coastal emergency: an unprecedented Portuguese man-of-war invasion that exposes the human stakes of the spreading marine crisis and the conflict between public safety and official efforts to contain alarm.

Setting and Appearance

Costa Rica enters the narrative in a news report about coastal waters overwhelmed by Portuguese man-of-war, also called bluebottles in the report. The account situates the danger along the coast and presents the invasion not as an isolated wildlife sighting but as a crisis already causing deaths and injuries.

The Invasion Report

The report states that fourteen people have been killed and many others injured, including two British citizens and a German. The number of people missing has not yet been confirmed. The scale and uncertainty of the reported losses make the coast a site where the broader marine emergency is registered through immediate human consequences.

Official Response and Narrative Significance

Costa Rica’s Foreign Office has called an emergency session of Parliament, but the authorities firmly reject the suggestion that beaches should be closed, insisting that swimmers face no real threat. The contrast between the reported fatalities and that reassurance makes Costa Rica’s brief appearance significant: the crisis is not only ecological, but also a contest over how openly its danger is acknowledged and what precautions officials are willing to take.