The 3rd of July, 2015
After quite some years of absence, I am back in beautiful Costa Rica. This time arriving in Liberia, Guanacaste. I will be going to the tiny village called Sabalito. There I will meet Johanna, the proud owner of a Retreat Center called “The Living Forest” at Lake Arenal. It is arranged that I will be collected from the airport and I am grateful that Jorge is waiting patiently, as I have a one and half hour delay. After a quick lunch, we head out on the dusty road with endless construction, towards Canas. It is hot and very windy and Mother Nature didn’t put her attention on this part of Costa Rica; just a flat and dry piece of country, although I heard that the coast must be amazing beautiful. After Canas, the curvy road gets into the lower mountains and the scenery changes. Too bad there is a windmill park on top of the mountain………
Jorge takes a short-cut and suddenly Lake Arenal is in front of us, with the lower mountains wrapped around it. Just before Sabalito, he drives into the long and very steep driveway, to the entrance of the “Living Forest”.
Indeed, you see the jungle right in front of you and the main building and the cabana’s are tucked away in a very sheltered area. A tiny river, complete with small waterfalls, is lingering through the back garden. What a special place this is! The sound of the water is soothing and the monkeys are there to welcome me. I am exhausted, but after a glass of wine, some food and nice chatting with Johanna, I feel revived.
The next day, Johanna tells me all about the daily schedule, the care of the two sweet dogs, Nela and Blue and what to do if guests are coming. She drives me around in the area, shows me some small stores in the neighbourhood, the “soda” places (small cafe’s) and where to walk the dogs.
We have lunch in a very nice out and indoor restaurant, called Macadamia, with a beautiful view over the lake and great local food. It brings back memories of the 80th’s, when I was backpacking through Costa Rica and Nicaragua……….
Later, Johanna lets me drive the steep driveway up and down and driving myself is less frightening than sitting beside the driver!
On Sunday morning, we do our Yoga exercises on the huge “dance floor”, with soft music in the background and the view of the jungle and river in front of us; how beautiful and relaxing……
I go to the local Farmers market on my own, while Johanna is packing for her trip. A small market, close to Tilaran, where Ticos as well as foreigners, are offering their produce. I buy some yoghurt in a plastic bag, some goat cheese and pork meat, papaya (my favorite), bread and some other things. It is not cheap and I am spoiled with Portugal, where the prices are way lower!
On Monday I bring Johanna to the station in Tilaran, where she will catch the bus to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. I will do the same, when I am leaving on the 23rd. It is a 4 hour drive, but with a stop of 20 minutes halfway.
On Monday a 5 green Parrots are spending the whole morning around the property. Their colour is blending in with the green of the leaves, but thanks to my new 50X zoom camera, I can take a reasonable picture of them. I haven’t seen the howler monkeys anymore after Saturday, but I can hear their sound everyday! Today, I see the Morpho, the blue butterfly. I was so lucky to see it in Panama also, but they are hard to catch on the camera, as they fly very quick and go up and down. They are always in the vicinity of water, so I do hope to see them again during my stay. Their colour blue is glittering in the sunlight and I always have to think about the movie “The Blue Butterfly,” with William Hurt. A beautiful movie…….
It rains so much in the night and for most of the day also at the moment and you wonder when it will ever stop. The river is running faster and faster and today it is even wild! I haven’t gone for a swim yet, but I will with Nela, the dog.
Yesterday evening, I was listening to the sound of a bird and I walked slowly with my camera to the cabanas, to get a better view. I even went through my knees, to catch a glimpse of what was in the tree. The dogs are always following me, wherever I go and I saw that Blue was watching something with his eyes wide open and very alert. He stood totally still and I turned my head to see what his eye caught. On half a meter from me, this enormous snake just found its way down to the garden. I was in shock, but still alert enough to grab the camera, which was hanging around my neck. Just this morning, I saw that somebody from Costa Rica put a picture on Facebook, of a similar snake. Not yellow and black, but white and black. It took me some hours to recover from the shock, but according to Johanna, this isn’t a dangerous one. She saw it last week at the same spot. From now on, I will be more alert to what’s going on, on the ground and not only watch the trees!
Today, Wednesday, the howler monkeys paid me a visit again. Gosh, they make so much noise! It is like the heavy barking of a big dog, who has a cold. The parrots also were there again; they are here nearly every day now!
Although my days are starting very early (at 5.00 or 5.30), my bedtime is very early too (9.00 p.m.). I feel every day more revived and all the small pains and aches are starting to disappear……….
