Global retreats and journeys that
enrich the mind, heal the body, and inspire the spirit.
Costa Rica Journey Notes (2005)
Fifteen of us went adventuring on Costa Rica's Caribbean
coast in early April. We stayed a week in the hills
near Puerto Viejo, which bills itself "A sunny place
for shady people." Here the Rasta-man lifestyle rules,
with Ganja (marijuana) readily available. We trekked
jungle trails, and zip-lined through the rainforest
canopy. We visited the Bri Bri reservation and learned
about the healing local botanicals. Some of us went
on to Tortuguero, a famous turtle breeding ground
and wildlife reserve. Both areas you can easily spot
the tourists in their quick-dry khaki garb, which
contrasts with the local wardrobe of tank top, rubber
boots and machete. Rubber boots for slogging through
muddy rivers and streams, and machete for keeping
the rain fed jungle at bay. And it does rain, but
no problem. It's a warm rain that sets frogs, toads,
keel billed and chestnut billed toucans, house geckos
and monkeys to singing a sublime song that I wanted
to bring home. A CD of natural jungle sounds just
doesn't measure up to the rainforest's twenty-four
hour wildlife broadcast. It starts with the wake-up
bark of howler monkeys and caw of toucans, then plays
on into the night as toads trumpet mating calls--all
underscored by a soothing patter of rain.
On
this, my second Costa Rica trip, I met my goal and
saw plenty of wildlife. First day on retreat a white
faced capuchin monkey scolded us for invading his/her
territory as we wended our way under his/her
trees to our Swiss Family Robinson style bungalows.
A saucer sized electric-blue morpho butterfly breezed
by, and half-inch long bullet ants with nasty looking
pinchers hungrily followed our tracks. Neon orange
and red poison-dart frogs were everywhere. Wing, our
guide said "Touch them, then touch your lip and you
die. No joke." He was dead serious, and thus the frog's
name. When natives hunted, they'd touch their arrow
point to one of these gem-like specimens, aim, fire
- and their target keeled over dead. The frogs sure
are beautiful, as are the snakes, which are plentiful,
but shy away from well traveled trails. Our last day,
we finally saw a venomous juvenile safely sleeping,
ready a close-ups. Of course there are risks when
nature's teeming all around you, and dangerous encounters
with snakes, spiders, scorpions do happen. And then
there are the assault fish. The what??! The assault
fish...
So,
I'm swimming at Punta Uva beach; listed in Outside
magazine as one of the 7 best swimming beaches in
the world. I stood up and THWACK!#*!, 6 inches of
flying fish slapped me in the face. A bit dazed, with
my nose bleeding profusely, I headed to the local
clinic. I can now vouch for the efficiency of Costa
Rica's medical system. Thirty bucks got me a Doctor's
visit and enough free antibiotics to stave off infection.
The next day I had an impressive shiner. I've searched
field guides to no avail--my assailant remains in
the UFO category. I came home with no scars and an
after the fact funny travel tale. The next up close
and personal critter encounter was with the most adorable
and cuddly "Buttercup" - a tame, three-fingered sloth,
who lives at Aviaros del Caribe on the Estrella River
Delta. Remember R2D2's tall Wookie friend in Star
Wars? Well, shrink him down to 20 lbs, plaster a perpetual
smile on his face and you'll have yourself a sloth.
There are two types of sloth: the diurnal leaf eating
variety like Buttercup, and the two fingered nocturnal
omnivores. Both of these gentle creatures are related
to aardvarks and ant eaters, not monkeys as you'd
suspect. They spend most of their time high in the
rainforest canopy. With roads and telephone wires
encroaching on their habitat they have unfortunate
accidents. The lucky ones, like Buttercup, are rescued
and taken to facilities such as Aviaros del Caribe,
where tender care allows rehabilitation, and whenever
possible, release back into the wild. For more on
Aviaros del Caribe visit www.moon.com/planner/costa_rica
and click on "must sees."
While Buttercup is a must see, the highlight of the
adventure was a midnight rendezvous with a female
leatherback turtle. Our first night in Tortuguero,
a guide took us walking on the dark, nearly deserted
beach. We'd been forewarned that although April was
high season for leatherback nesting, chances of seeing
this take place were slim. Unlike the green turtles
that arrive en mass on these beaches June through
October, the larger leatherbacks (large as in 500
to 1,500 pounds) are solitary animals. Only a few
per night come ashore to lay eggs along a 22 mile
stretch. After an hour's hike we stopped to rest,
and huddled round our soft spoken guide. He explained
that leatherback females sexually mature at around
30. They instinctually return to the beach where they
hatched to lay their 100 -120 eggs. They return every
5 years to the same beach 7 times in their life and
repeat the tiring and painful nesting process. Research
indicates that leatherbacks can live to 120 years.
A necessary ripe old age, because of the 700 odd eggs
they lay in a lifetime, they'll be lucky if 20 of
the offspring survive. Predators consume the eggs,
the hatchings, and young turtles. Until recently turtles
were hunted as food and for their shells. Turtle soup
and tortoise shell ornaments are still sold, but fortunately
live turtles have become a profitable tourist attraction.
Because of sanctuaries like Tortuguero these amazing
creatures, which have walked the planet since prehistoric
times, may not become extinct. We were ready to call
it a night when our guide spotted her. All I saw was
a large, rock like shape, lumbering out of the tide.
The guide directed an infra-red beam at her, and we
were all instantly awestruck and reverent. She was
coming right at us, as if we didn't exist. We'd been
coached that if we came upon a turtle we'd watch in
darkness. I'd picked this particular week for the
trip because the moon was dark. That's when turtles
are more apt to venture onto the shore. Over the next
half hour the guide shot his infra-red beam on the
mamma turtle for only a few fleeting seconds. He explained
that while laying her eggs she was in a hormone induced
trance--oblivious to us--intent only on digging deep
enough to safely bury her load of gelatinous, ping-pong
ball sized eggs. The guide deduced this was probably
her first time nesting because she was relatively
small, and lacked the strength to get far enough away
from the encroaching tide to dig a safe nest. She
was on auto-pilot, digging, digging, deeper and deeper,
tossing sand at us, and then she settled into place,
letting out universal mother child-birthing moans,
as the eggs dropped. She didn't feel the waves washing
over them, contaminating them. There was no way to
save them. The guide consoled us reminding us that
she was young, and would nest several more times in
her life. This was all part of the natural order,
and we could not interfere. Once she was done he motioned
us to leave, warning that when she came out of her
stupor and realized we were there, she'd panic. We
walked away from what felt like a surreal encounter,
all of us knowing that this was probably a once in
lifetime event that we'd never forget. To learn more
about the turtles of Tortuguero visit www.cccturtle.org,
and consider their "adopt a turtle" program. What
a wonderful gift to give to a loved one--and to send
as a 2005 holiday gift to all those on your list who
"have everything."
And there are other "musts" to include when you visit
Costa Rica's Caribbean coast: Venture into the jungle
with a guide and trek to a waterfall. Talk about a
natural way to drive out the demons and lift your
spirits! Then, all of Tortuguero National Park is
a dreamtime experience for wildlife lovers. You arrive
by speed boat, and are transported by boats for the
duration of your stay. You glide along canals through
the jungle. Boat pilots help you spot caiman, river
otters and American crocodiles. The variety of birds
you see is astonishing. Egrets and herons maneuver
through the marshes. Aritanga's pose with wings spread
to dry in the afternoon sun. Flocks of toucans and
parrots fly over the wide canals. Families of spider
monkeys cavort in the overhead canopy, and howler
monkeys bellow from their treetop posts. Sloths hug
the highest branches and Iguanas stroll on the docks.
It's incredibly rewarding to see these animals in
their natural habitat--and immensely healing for the
soul to be in a vast protected, wild area on our planet.
And oh yes, we also tried our hand at wildlife drawing
with some impressive results, and practiced Pilates
and yoga to stave off post trek aches and pains, but
then by now most of you know those daily movement
sessions are part and parcel of every Health Habitravels
journey--from 3 day weekends to two week journeys
to the far reaches of the planet.
It has been over a quarter of a century since Costa
Rica decided to protect their natural habitats and
establish a system of national parks and sanctuaries.
This has proven to be a boon for their economy, with
eco-tourism being one of their four top industries.
Other Central American countries are following Costa
Rica's lead--which opens up the possibility of amazing
adventures in nations like Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala.
Places I'll explore in the not too distant future--as
well as the next stop in Costa Rica, the Pacific coast.
Hope you'll be able to come along on one of these
Health Habitravels healing expeditions--Blessings
to all
