Here I am, lying off a beach in Costa Rica; scratching - in vain - my stinging calves (where unseen critters lunched while I shuffled the length of the surf), wondering what to make for lunch, while all around me monkeys howl like the grumble of an empty stomach. I register the texture and heat of the non-skid deck ... the baying monkeys ... the granules of sand clinging to my skin ... the sea of microscopic bitey creatures ... Memories seep out of the cracks; I let time, like a heavy millstone, grind away at these thoughts, 'til they are crushed to dust and blow away in the wind.
This is our long-awaited 'cruising day off'. We do absolutely nothing, with the exception of fix a few meals, tidy up the dishes (and even that, Sharon makes the guys wash) and relax.
'Late morning we dinghy to shore and walk from one end to another. The sand looks like uncooked Rice-A-Roni: on close scrutiny we see it's tiny shreds of coral; tawny slivers that snap easily between your fingertips. Along the way a cluster of local youngsters squeal and play with a puffer fish they've captured in a small canal dug through the surf: his face like a Disney cartoon; his spines splayed all catawampus from the children's prodding; his too-small pectoral fins batting frantically against his expanding body. Eventually they tumble him through a muddy chute back to sea, where he swims off half-drunk.
We follow a trail into the jungle: ever-searching for monkeys. I see dark blobs in the crook of a tree and presume them to be wasp or termite nests . until one reaches around and scratches his butt. Small chocolate colored lumps suddenly materialize into monkeys - everywhere; their leathery faces watching us with interest. A baby, smaller than my fist, hugs his momma's back. Another dangles upside down by only his tail. Now we see them all over, although they are mute; resting in the rising heat. A koatamundi ambles silently below us. The only noises are from shy birds hidden in the canopy: but judging by the calls there are plenty.
Wes and I swim back to the boat. The water is refreshing and later in the day I try to snorkel around FRC, but the water is thick and green with miniscule forms of life (that only afterwards leave you feeling zapped with bites and stings). 'Best to see nothing anyway, as fish boils regularly gurgle up in the bay: what could be so big and fearsome beneath the surface, to make sea creatures shoot straight up out of the vital water - as if they want to become birds and fly away?
Today will bring more of the same, until just before dusk when we pull up anchor and head to Bahia Herradura (Jaco) - more from there. All are well, brown like coconuts, well-rested&fed ;-)
LOVE and MISS YOU! Have fun at the party tonight (and be careful driving) and send everyone my love and HoHoHo! XOXO Mom / Betsy
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