Word spread through social media of Justin Trudeau’s departure on his Costa Rican Christmas vacation back on December 20th, 2019. Despite the Canadian Prime Minister’s propensity for selfies, the past two weeks has be akin to radio silence when it comes to Canadian media coverage of the Prime Minister.
Unlike the opposition leader, Andrew Scheer, the media did not seem to feel any urge to hound him at an airport, nor stalk his every move as they had in the past to Conservative Manitoba Premiere, Pallister, who owns a vacation home in Costa Rica. That media didn’t feel any need to give Rob Ford any privacy when a woman video taped him while laughing at him and essentially fat shaming him when she witnessed him getting KFC takeout.
Many Canadians felt the Prime Minister and his family were just as deserving of privacy during their family vacation as anyone else should be. But some Canadians find that hard to swallow considering how often Justin seems to need vacations. And jet-setting off to Costa Rica with a taxpayer funded entourage in tow, as cash strapped Canadians were about to ring in the new year with high costs of living and devastating job losses, was just a bit more than some could tolerate.
And there’s that whole “Climate Emergency” thing too.
Speculation was rampant and, with Canadian media not seeming to want to touch the story at all, those suspicious that this was not merely a family vacation resorted to searching for clues on their own. It was a common belief that Trudeau’s vacation was a Liberal party mandated effort to keep him out of the limelight, a theory that has been ongoing since his disappearance for 10 days right after the October election.
Of course, all the usual pure speculation was rampant on social media, with the Twitterverse buzzing with talk of Costa Rica’s famous rehab facilities and questions about their extradition laws .
Turns out he’s been in Santa Teresa… and it wasn’t a secret
There is plenty of evidence to show that Trudeau actually has been spending the last two weeks in the Costa Rican town of Santa Teresa, surfing his heart out. Whether or not his family has accompanied him on part or all of that vacation is still up in the air.
But on Tuesday December 31st, the silence was broken when several pictures were posted on Facebook of Justin Trudeau posing for pictures with renowned local Chef Randy Siles Leandro who’s translated comment read; “A great honor to cook for Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Farm to Table Hacienda Okhra Project Pura Vida !!!”
Farm to Table is a dining experience offer by Hacienda Okhra, which, according to their website is located in the hills of Las Delicias, just above the town of Mal Pais on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.
Several photos from a Farm to Table dinner attended by Justin where posted, including ones with Chef Leandro, the resort owner, Georges Lefebvre and Lefebvres’ son.
A comment on one of the posts from a Canadian ex-pat indicating she wished she’d known about Justin being there got a response from the page as just “Was a secret,,,sorry“. That they were to keep it a secret, but seemed to get the go ahead to announce Justin’s presence a day later, could be a sign that Justin & his family, if they are there with him, are preparing for their return to Canada. The ex-pat also queried how many body guards Trudeau had, but, as can be expected, the person responding for the Hacienda Okhra’s Facebook page appropriately did not offer a reply. Of all the secrets they would be expected to keep, security details would definitely be on the top of the list.
While that was the most prominent reveal of the Prime Minister’s location in Costa Rica, it was not the only one brought to light. One person reported seeing Justin surfing on a beach in Santa Teresa, another commented they were aware of the Trudeau’s staying at a local private Bed and Breakfast and mentioned seeing low flying airplanes and helicopters, which they attributed to Trudeau. Neither provided any pictures.
Canadian actress and international model, Theresa Longo, tweeted “They stayed in a private air B and B. People don’t really care here (enough to take a photo) we saw his low flying planes and helicopters over the holidays“. When asked who “they” was, replied “Prime Minister and his crew.”
That wasn’t the first time Longo had tweeted about Trudeau. In a couple of tweets on December 20th she had revealed where he was staying; “Right now #JustinTrudeau is in the town of Santa Teresa Costa Rica. If I see him in the water, I’ll spray him with my cutback.” Surprisingly enough, she included the hashtags #surfing #CdnPoli #TrudeauMustGo , yet none of the media uncovered that tidbit of information. She added in the conversation that “We already spotted a “government” looking prop plane low flying along the coast and a private helicopter“
A candid photo of what appears to be Justin Trudeau shopping at a local store was taken and, though it has been making the rounds on Twitter, it’s source is unknown, the earliest evidence of the photo was from a Twitter user who posted it as a screenshot with the text; “Cuando te topas al presi de Canada dando una vuelta en Santa Tere” which translated reads; “When you bump into the pressure(sic) of Canada walking around in Santa Tere“. The word “presi de Canada” were likely referring to him as President of Canada.
Even in the staged photos at the Farm to Table event, Trudeau is unshaven with a graying growth of beard hair, confirming what we all knew, that he battles the signs of aging like the rest of us, by dying his hair.
As the final picture surfaced on January 1st, it drew mixed reactions. The usually polished and not a hair out of place Trudeau was looking pretty rough. That in itself is fuel for a new round of speculation, but as a man who has to put on a show and keep up his image practically 24/7, I’d wager he’s just enjoying his vacation and there’s really no story or scandal to be had surrounding his time in Costa Rica.
The scandals are back here, at home, in Canada.
One other thing… Justin did have some company
Costa Rican media mentioned “Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, came to surf in Costa Rica in the company of the elected president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle“. Given Lacalle Pou’s love of surfing likely exceeds even Justin’s, and the similarities they share, from being the son of a former president or prime minister to both of their reputations of having been rebellious teens, this reporting lends itself to the simple explanation that there was nothing nefarious going on. Of course, they could be surf buddies and still sit back and talk politics, such as Lacalle’s upcoming announcement that Uruguay was about to Decree a State of National Emergency for Gender-based Violence. Trudeau is, after all, quite versed on gender based topics.
