This is part of 8 posts where I will, with minor edits and omissions, put my journal from days in Costa Rica online. There is no real grammar structure, but hopefully it makes sense...
10/27/2009 Tuesday
Today was my earliest morning yet, but there were no problems. I got up in time to shower and get packed for a hike with Santiago. We left town promptly at 8:00. It was a completely different experience than yesterday's hike. Instead of hiking down the beach, we went into the jungle just past the Dolphin House. Santiago told me about his life, his bamboo fall/accident which gave him his limp, the history of Manzanillo, the struggle with the government and the current status of the national park/wildlife refuge, etc. In addition to all that, we saw howler monkeys, poison arrow frogs, millipedes, 2 toed sloth, tons of birds, ants, wild cacao, toucans, and scores of plans. I learned which plants he used to help his hip, which were poisonous, which you could boil to make tea and feel better, etc. Clearly Santiago's "Tylenol" came from his hometown and not a white plastic bottle. We mainly spoke English, which was fine for me. I learned which trees were too tough / hard to use for building homes (i.e. Almond) and which monkeys liked to spend the day in (i.e. Balsa), etc. We walked along private property (marked off by a vine which grows in a straight line) and I found myself hoping the people that owned it could keep it but still call it a national park... maybe a working NP of some kind. It's a tough sociological situation. Either way, it's a beautiful area so I hope it gets some kind of elevated and permanent protected status. That place has quite a story for a town that has only had electricity for 20 years. Seriously, they used candles for lights after dark, had no fans, TVs, no fridges, etc until I was in 2nd grade. Insane. A beautiful place. After the tour I checked out of Maxi's and caught the 12:45 bus after a bit of shopping.
Cahuita is not for everyone. You can get large quantities of several drugs here without really searching. Regardless of whether you like the town, you will love the national park on the edge of town. (Actually, the town used to be in the NP at Punta Cahuita, but the government pushed the town north, away from the wildlife. The houses are still there, but full of snakes instead of people now.) I checked into Cabinas Atlantic Surf and immediately my pulse slowed. Even more so than Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo, this town makes it impossible to worry or hurry. I made my way to the ATM and then the N.P. 500m from the park entrance along the beach I saw 8 White-headed Capuchin monkeys at once. They were mad at the dogs below them; breaking off branches and throwing them down with strong force. One of them hurled a huge branch, maybe 20 lbs... surprising for a small monkey weighing less. A park ranger ran to the rescue and used the same branch to chase away the dogs. I swam in the turbulent ocean after watching the monkeys a while. These waters were tough! Waves came in pairs, except when they synched up and made one big wave. I could let a big wave carry me all the way to shore. At the same time, the currents of that wave swept me out after it broke. My first real experience with riptides. I was never really worried, but definitely aware of my distance from shore. The waves were so big I could not jump and keep my head above them.... they would whitecap and break further out and be tall/strong when they reached me. A lot of fun. After swimming, they monkeys seemed calm without dogs below them. They were literally on the beach... if they fell at high tide they would get wet. Obviously a narrow stretch of sand. They were very picturesque. Quite a day for wildlife!
After drying off I had dinner with Brian, a fellow Cabinas Atlantic Surfer from Seattle. I had a pineapple smoothie drink with dinner; marlin, rice and beans, crispy plantains and salad. The marlin came in a Caribbean curry. Brilliant! I've eaten a lot of good food in my life, and this was near the top of the list. Caribbean cooking is part of the draw of this coast. Afterwards I drank and talked U.S. politics with Wyoming, Brian and Graven (a Cahuita native). I wish I had a few more days to see Cahuita NP, surf Playa Negra, etc. but the Pacific and San Jose calls me. Tomorrow will be very different than the past several days.
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