Well, well, well... Did I mention it´s hot here? Believe it or not, I never expected it be as hot as it is. The travel guides I have read talk about the variety of climates, which is true, but not how brutal the heat can be on the coast. What was I thinking? We ARE ten degrees away from the equator, and the sun rises and sets very quickly, lingering high in the sky a bit longer. I am actually missing Chicago, which I have been recently told, was 65 Farenheit the other day, and now in the middle of a snow storm.
On a softer note, at Los Almendros I truly experienced the rhythm of the moon, where I´ve had the luxury of spending virtually all my time outside, although at the mercy of the weather, and in close contact with the ocean. I intimately know the tides through the moon´s phases, and how the beach changes as a result. I watched hermit crabs migrate under full-moon light, then the ocean became tranquil and the jungle, normally cacaphanous at night, became mute under the dark and new moon. I watched the insects around us change in similar fashion.
I never expected that I would be almost deliriously tired so much of the time.. the universed took my intention of slowing down a bit to the extreme. My diabetes and my age must be affecting my heat and humidity tolerance. I am looking forward to being in another climate where it feels good to get my heart rate sped up....
It´s amazing to think how bugs used to drive me crazy with fear, paranoia, annoyance-- and how much calmer I am about them now. I have watched Loic catch and release everything from scorpions, a tarantula, to huge cockroaches--even ants, in his refusal to kill anything, with the exception of mosquitoes. There are a huge variety of ants here, and two of the tiniest will bite, too. I am a bit less of a pacifist than he is.
Last night Loic and I were invited home to dinner by Nuria, a Tica who is employed on the property of Los Almendros. If I am to believe what Lonely Planet says, this is considered a great honor. The Ticos are very friendly, but it could take a long while to be invited home, if ever. I feel honored anyway. We ate a fish bought from a local fisherman, baked on hot coals in the ground of her and her boyfriend´s backyard. Her boyfriend, Juan Carlos, is the carpenter responsible for building all the beautiful wood buildings, and the cement and tiled bathhouse and extraneous bathrooms. The fish was served with baked sweet plaintains, stuffed with a typical cheese, a vegetable salad, and the ever-present rice. Costa Rican food is a mixture of Carribean food and the foods of the Spanish Conquistadores. Costa Rican beer was also served.
A family of Mapeches, or Racoons, silently appeared after our dinner, expecting to be fed along with the cats. Nuria has been feeding them, and I wonder if that is why they have left our kitchenhouse alone.
Before we sat down to eat, a young Boa Constrictor crawled under their outdoor washing machine-- my first sighting, but Loic´s third. I spotted my first Basilisk lizard earlier in the afternoon while in the hammock. I walked into the toilet, and another Basilisk was just sitting their about to leave out the window. Only a few feet away from me, we stared at eachother for a few minutes. It felt like encountering an alien.
It´s really exciting to me to spot these creatures that usually prefer to stay hidden. I think a lot of tourists will flock to the national parks or reserves loaded with their binoculars, and still miss most of the wild life--because of a refusal to slow down and be quiet and look carefully and listen. All I´ve had to do is lie in my hammock and the wild life just shows up. I think some people never get to see the Blue Morfo, and yet I´ve seen countless of these huge, ethereal butterflies. Learning to look and see and listen are priceless skills. One reason to cherish my inability to do
much more.
I feel closer than ever to Loic. People told me this would happen, but I doubted that it would, what with the tension that travel can create in couples or even traveling companions. While there are still things to be worked out between us, I feel so joyful and deeply happy to be with him. Just as he kissed me after lunch today, a stunning Blue Morfo glided by us, and I felt that we were being given a blessing from Spirit.
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