Island Princess May 8, 2014 Costa Rica

Arrived in Puntrarenas, Costa Rica 7 a.m. We had decided to find ourselves a private tour service once we got off the ship. The advantage of this is that it is decidedly cheaper than reserving through the cruise line, you are with a smaller group or even all by yourselves, and usually the tour guide will give you great information but not necessarily the endless chatter you get from a bus tour guide. Paz, por favor…

We did okay, found ourselves a guide and joined up with three other people. It’s a crap shoot and we are still learning. It would have been better to grab three other people FIRST, but what ended up happening was we chose a guide FIRST and then had to grab three other people. We ended up with Ralph, Alice and Trixie from Ohio. (names changed, etc…) Nice enough folks but…

Ralph had to sit in the front because he gets car sick. No problem, we don’t care. We got in the middle seat of the van. Alice and Trixie took the back. We were about three miles down the road – a nice new paved road – and Trixie says “I’m starting to feel sick.”   We offered her the middle seat but no, she’ll be fine. Which she was, but we had to hear that it was her hernia and the bumps made the lining of her stomach move which comes on suddenly and made her feel sick.

We were on our way to the rainforest skybridges followed by a short river cruise, about twenty minutes down the road. Trixie started talking and everything she said was hilarious – to her. She kept referring to Costa Rica as an island, even when corrected by Ana, our lovely tour guide. Ana had lived in California for about 15 years before returning to Costa Rica, so she spoke pretty good English and clearly had a sense of worldliness and education about her.

We got to the rainforest and paid our fee for entrance to the sky bridges hike. Hot and muggy was the order of the day and pretty much has been. Al and I kept trying to get ahead of them enough where we couldn’t hear Trixie flapping her jaws and making inane comments. Most of the time we were successful due to Bob’s need to use a cane and Trixie and Alice’s obesity and I even was able to get some “movies” that I took only for the bird songs that were all around us. Then we’d hear them bringing up the rear. Fortunately it was usually about that time that another swinging bridge presented itself and Al and I were able to hop across it and put some distance between us again.

The rainy season has just begun so it was not as lush as when Mom and I were there in December at the end of the rainy season, but it was fine and we were able to see plenty of little vines and ferns and what have you bursting out of the comparatively less than lush forest. Little and big lizards of every stripe (literally) presented themselves along the way and when we were by ourselves we walked quietly and could sneak up on them so we got some nice face time.

We arrived back at the villa where we started and then off to our crocodile river cruise, which was fun. When Mom and I went down a Costa Rican river it was a different experience and I had expected that, but it was a different river and we did get closer to crocs due to the fact that the guides bring fresh eel along and feed some of them. I thought this would bother me but this company was the first and only locally owned boat and the driver was a young Costa Rican man, Oskar – no more than 25 – who got out off the boat and got himself RIGHT NEXT TO THE CROCODILE with the eel. In his bare feet. In the mud. The croc we got up close and personal with is estimated to be 80 years old. Big fella.   Big mouth. Big teeth. All I could see from the eyes of a mother of sons was that this young Costa Rican man had been screwin’ around with crocodiles since he was little, and indeed he had. He had no fear. I couldn’t help but see him as a ten year old, doing what he shouldn’t have been doing, what his mother warned him not to do, getting just a little closer, just a liiiittttle closer…until he was qualified to take gringos out on the river and scare the shit out of them feeding eel to a croc just inches from those massive jaws and teeth.

I even started to like Trixie a bit more as she was clearly delighted with the experience and even took up the challenge by the other guides, Eduardo, to hold the croc’s tail. Lest you wonder, the croc was really long – like 18 ft – and was much more interested in perhaps getting to nosh on Oscar’s fingers than whether someone was holding his tail. Science fact: Crocs have brains 2 cm in diameter and their tails are so heavy because that’s where they store extra bulk for times of scarce food. This is not a problem for Osama (yes, the croc was named that because he grew to be so old as he was difficult to catch…).   The part of the river we were in was close to where the ocean meets the river so it has a tidal influence and brings lots of fish in from the sea. Osama and his buddies do not go hungry even without Oskar and his eel.

Oskar also knew where to find newly hatched baby crocs which were a bit difficult to see until you saw them, about 8-10 inches long and piled on top of each other on a branch just above the waterline. We had been warned not to point at things with our arms out over the water. There are estimated to be around 1500 crocs in that river and it’s not a zoo. Some of them just hang under the surface, and in this case we were reminded that mama croc was definitely somewhere near by and probably wouldn’t like an arm reaching out so close to her babes.

Our river ride ended with all digits intact. On our way back to the ship we stopped for lunch – the chicken and black beans and rice were just as delicious as I had remembered. I really need to find a Costa Rican cookbook and start making that at home. The sauce is so delicious and nothing like I’ve ever tasted elsewhere. Had a lovely lunch chatting with Ana while the others went off to the souvenir shop. With her standing there next to us in the food line we felt we had to have a bit of cow tongue. We asked for a small one but there really is no such thing as a small cow tongue and they were just all piled there in a lovely sauce like we were at Panda Express or something.

It wasn’t too bad. At least it didn’t taste bad, but the texture was really weird, spongy. Not on my repeat list. Ana said “My husband (an American) can’t get past the tongue thing, but I find them quite tasty.” I suppose it’s an acquired taste.

Ended in Puntarenas, which is a small fishing town. The flea market was on the beach, which is a black/brown sand due to volcanoes. We had been told to search for a local artist who makes collages out of natural materials – beans, sand, feathers, etc. It took us awhile to settle on what we wanted – each was unique and quite impressive. Each was like a mini Rose Parade entry, minute details all with natural materials. Picked up a favorite Costa Rican item for the girls down the street – little wooden puzzle boxes – and a beach dress for Chris, their mom, and then back to the ship.

The whole day was great but I was a little melancholy. It was about twenty years ago that Mom and I had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica. I know I am not alone when I say it was a trip of a lifetime for us, such a great mother/daughter experience in a beautiful, friendly, ecologically conscious, peaceful country. I missed her and wished we could go back in time and do it all again. I will take this opportunity to thank her again for taking me along, as I know she reads this blog religiously. Thanks, Mom, I will carry those memories with me for a lifetime. I am not sure, but I think Mother’s Day is rolling around her while we’re gone. So, yeah – Mom, you’re the best. (Love, Mary)