So, we did get a snorkeling trip. The amount of arranging was pretty amazing. Snorkeling is not as common as zip-lining over the jungle, or touring volcanoes, or watching birds. All of these activities have small industries set up to get you out to the area, and guide you. But snorkeling is not common. So we had to figure out how to get to the coast, find a tour guide and get everything arranged.
We hired a taxi for the day. Our new friend Jason, drove us out to Quepos, (pronounced kay-poh), a little town on the Pacific coast. The drive was beautiful and nearly all of it was on new highways, so it went smoothly. The trees went from deciduous to palm trees, mixed with a few cactus as we came down off the plateau and into the coastline. The air went from pleasant, almost cool to tropical and humid.
We started at 5:00 am. Of course, this was the first night that neighbors in the hotel stayed up and were loud. Deb got very little sleep, and part of her problem, she admitted later, was worrying that I would get eaten by sharks. So she was not refreshed and energized at 5:00 am.
We stopped at a bridge, and walked out to peer into the river. The water is very dark because of the rains that wash sediment down from the hills. In the murky water, some logs made riffles in the stream. Of course, they weren't logs. This bridge is famous for its crocodiles. According to Jason, a local man is known as the crocodile man. He comes out and feeds the crocodiles. Looking down from the bridge, you realize the size of these animals, and the danger from one of them. Half a dozen animals waiting with their noses pointed into the current scares any reasonable person.
I believe I heard them whispering that they were only logs, silky smooth logs and absolutely not crocodiles. They would be a good place for swimmers to rest if someone fell off of the bridge. In their little dinosaur brains, they know that high places over a stream always have careless animals falling into the water. They only have to wait.
We had breakfast in a little open air restaurant. The food is in a case where it is kept hot or cold as it needs. I had scrambled eggs and "pinto gallo". Pinto gallo is the closest thing to a national food that Costa Rica has. Basically black beans and rice, flavored with a local sauce that is kind of like Worcestershire sauce, you eat it with every meal. Coffee is good and available nearly everywhere. But, I have new white teeth and I cannot drink coffee until Sunday. I was not cranky about that. I drank my coke through a straw.
By 8:00 am, we were at the office of Iguana tours. They were very obliging to us, and I got changed into my suit. We were out to the launch area, and on the Pacific Ocean. The bay is a mass of volcanic rocks, and getting into the water involved a lot of maneuvering over and around rough rocks. I finally got down to the water line, put on my swim fins, and eased into the water.
I am happier about this than I should be. I drank way too much salt water, getting used to the snorkel, got salt water in my eyes which really stings. I basically swam around the launch site, dived down to see some small fish the size of blue gills, hiding in between large rocks. I got pushed around by some small waves. I did not see any sharks, barracuda, sting rays, orca, jelly fish, killer snails or any other dangerous sea creatures. It was cool.
Then our guide, David, took Deb out in a two place kayak and showed her around the bay. Deb heard about the kayak, and was not going to get into one. She pictured an Eskimo kayak, with a closed top. She did not like being closed into a boat that she couldn't bail out of if it got into trouble. This was really a float with a groove on top and a couple of back rests on it. Once she saw that it was unsinkable, and easy to get out of it in an emergency, she jumped right in. David had her paddling in front, as he guided her around. Both of us spent time canoeing on the BWCA, so paddling was no big deal. The only change is that the paddles go in on one side and then another.
I got a chance to try it, and it was fun. We dawdled around some rocks, watching little crabs skitter around like cockroaches.
And then we went back to meet our taxi. Jason drove us through a winding road to the town of Marco Antonio. As part of the package, we had paid for a meal on the beach which I thought they meant a picnic. But we got a lot more than a picnic.We sat down in a nice restaurant to a big lunch. They served us a platters of delicious food, fresh seafood that was too much to eat. We were seated in an open terrace, under a root. A lot of people wandered by, being seen. According to Jason, on Easter weekend, the traffic here was completely grid locked. This was one of the nicest locations, near to San Jose. Apparently, this area is the marlin capital of Central America. You could see that a lot of money was in the area. We finished our meal and got ready to go.
One last task, on my punch list, was buying a beach towel. We were done with the beach, but I wanted to get one of those gaudy tourist towels, and I had noticed an open air market in Quepos. We went back, and found it. Jason waited in the taxi, keeping the air conditioning running while Deb and I looked at the stuff.
Deb found the required towels, and then she found this pipe. The pipe is basically bamboo covered in sculpted polymer clay. It has an iguana on the stem, with its legs wrapped around it. The bowel of the pipe has a whimsical face with a cap that opens up for your smoking material. We got it, but I have no idea of what she sees in it. Whatever she sees, we now have a pipe.
The trip home was uneventful. We climbed back up to the plateau, through sheets of rain and back to the Alta, with our packages of tourist towels and our pipe.
And then we napped like a couple of babies.
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