Howler Monkeys and Surfing Dogs

Simply put, days like today are the whole reason I came to Costa Rica. After shaking off the big city yesterday and immersing myself in more of the "real" life of the country, I decided that today was beach day.

I got up relatively early (okay, early for me), packed up my stuff and had a liesurely breakfast at the hotel in their open-aired restaurant that overlooks the ocean. Starting my day off with that view alone could almost have made the day a complete success. I could have gone home happy right then and there. But I perservered. Perhaps I shouldn't have. Let's just suffice it to say there was me, my car, a huge downhill slant, an oddly tall concret curb and a loud slamming noise.

But I perservered again. I drove the approximately 8 kilometers to the park which, taking into account the insanely winding mountain roads (I'm sensing a theme here), took about a half an hour. The views from the top of the mountain looking out over the rainforest and the ocean were breathtaking. Literally. Based on the recommendation of an ESL student of mine who has been in Costa Rica, I coughed up the dough (12,500 colones, or roughly $25USD) for the guided tour of the forest. I usually avoid at all costs the idea of "playing tourist" but this time it was SO worth it. I would never have spotted any of the things he was able to show us and teach us about: 3-toed sloths, howler monkeys, Jesus Christ lizards (I'm not making the name up; it comes from their ability to walk on water), bats, 7-colored grasshoppers, huge lizards, 2-toed sloths, white faced monkeys, a variety of birds and all sorts of other exotic creatures. The tour lasted over 2 hours and wound through the forest and onto several magnificent beaches that were hidden away deep in the reserve. A. Ma. Zing.

One of the nice things about traveling alone is that you're very rarely alone. There were four other people on my tour, all Americans. By the time it was over, it was like we were long lost bosom buddies. And then, after the tour I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at one of the magnificent beaches and met two other ladies who kindly agreed to watch my bag while I went for a swim. Which, I might add, was divine. The water was clear and oh-so-warm and every time a big wave crashed over me I felt actual surges of pure joy at simply being right there, at that moment, in that magnificent place.

Random side note: in comparing notes with both groups of others who had also driven down from San Jose, all I had to do was mention "the bridge" and I was met with shrieks of horror, people doing the sign of the cross and terms like "Bridge of Death". Yeah, I'm really looking forward to going back over it tomorrow...

And then I saw it. I didn't believe it at first, but it was undeniable. I saw a dog... surfing! I actually watched as the guy and his dog ran along the beach, the surfboard under the guy's arm and the dog running alongside and barking eagerly. The guy set the board down and, I kid you not, the dog jumped right on and off they went out into the ocean. I watched them for about a half hour, along with most of the rest of the beach. I couldn't believe some of the waves the dog made it over. On the ones that knocked him off, the guy just picked him out of the water and put him back on the board and they waited for the next one. And, yes, I have video to prove it.

At some point I had to come back to claim the suitcase the hotel was kindly holding for me; I was thinking that Niki's flight comes in at 7 am tomorrow so I was planning to make the drive back to San Jose tonight and find a hotel there. I had a gut feeling that it wasn't my most brilliant idea of all time to make the treacherous drive back through the mountains in the dark, but I wasn't about to leave the beach early. But then I checked her flight info. one more time and realized she doesn't actully get here til 10 am... so I decided to stay here another night and head up early in the morning instead. It's great as now I can avoid the city altogether and just head straight to the airport. Woo-hoo! This also gave me time to have one last great dinner at the open-air restaurant here and to go for a swim in the pool. Would it have been easier if I had just checked her flight information earlier so I wouldn't have bothered packing up this morning and checking out and having to recheck in and unpack again? Yes, it would have. But that would have been FAR too easy.