Friday March 5, 2010

As interested and excited to see what was outside of my cabina from the morning before, I hoped that after having to deal with their noises all night long the Congos would at least be there for my viewing pleasure again.  I did not waste time looking from side to side. My head went straight up to the canopy of the trees to see if I could see the monkeys in their same spot from yesterday’s morning. Disappointedly I started to twirl in circles and look at every available tree top that was possible. Nothing. Not the flickering of branches or one last howl as daylight visibility was growing with the rising of the sun. I gave up and decided to go join Kevin again for some coffee.

But, for some reason before I decided to walk towards the beach I wanted to tour the rest of the property and see the other cabinas that were tucked further into the jungle than mine. As I was walking towards one of the cabinas, there was a dense canopy and grouping of trees between my cabina and the one that I was approaching. The trail went right through this thick forestation. As I was in the heart of it, there was a split second that things just seemed a little too quite. Then my dream came true. Initially petrifying because it was like being in total silence and then someone turning on the speakers full-blast right in your ear, I had walked into an entire family of Congos that simultaneously started howling at the top of their lungs. In a perfect circle of trees that surrounded me, they were in every limb it seemed. It was one of the most fascinating experiences of my life. Not only was I surrounded by them, but I was really close to them. No more than five to ten meters. With my camera in my hands and the Congos howling and jumping as if they were putting on a show for me, my finger was like a trigger. Picture after picture with the hopes that I would at least get one good one. I was in my own “Monkey World.” I followed them for a half hour and just watched their movements and facial expressions as they stared at me with equal amazement. I had to snap out of it. It was too exciting and too much fun to be a part of a Congo family for at least the start of my morning. It was now time for coffee.

Arriving to the beach to see Kevin already on his second cup of steaming mountain goodness, I was desperate for my first dose of my precious black and bold coffee. Checking our e-mails, facebook and twitter accounts to keep us up to date on the world outside the secluded jungle and beach-front property that we called home for a couple nights, I realized that I had woken up early and had some time to spare before breakfast and my last morning of meetings.

I decided that since I had such a great time the previous night kayaking on the open ocean, why not do it again? So, I did.

Dragging the kayak down to the water, I had the fresh morning rays beat down on me as I was facing do-east. Launching and paddling away into the ocean waters that were like glass I let out a huge sigh of content. Paddling and drifting and paddling and drifting, I was exploring the hidden coves, the open waters and far away shorelines. Having the morning jolt of caffeine and the ability to use it to venture out on to unseen ocean territories it was a nice morning to have before breakfast and meetings, and let’s not forget about the monkeys.

In my last cove that I explored before I decided that it was best to get cleaned up and not be late, I began to paddle into darker waters that were shadowed by the large rock formations that formulated the cove. Putting my paddle down to take pictures of the unique trees that grew out of the rocks and the family of Pelicans that were perched in the tree tops, I noticed that the water had changed color. It went from near black to a light shade of brown with pockadots. I stared intently at the water not knowing what it was, and realized that the brown water was not brown water. I was floating on top of a family of stingrays that were surrounding my kayak. I thought to myself, “Monkeys, Costa Rican Coffee on a jungle beach, morning kayaking on the ocean and a family of graceful stingrays swimming around unbothered by my presence…honestly, can it get any better?”  I leave you with that question…

After getting cleaned up and on my second cup of coffee it was time to sit down with the team and have breakfast. Eating my French toast, fresh fruit and unlimited coffee I was gathering ideas for our meeting that was minutes away. The morning topic of discussion…finance. It was a little exciting for me because finance was my major in college but I could tell that the rest of the team wanted it worked out, comprehensive and finished as soon as possible. I did too, of course, but numbers are fun for me so I did not mind. Plus, it was not just a financial meeting. It was a financial meeting on a Costa Rican beach.

I do not want to bore you with the details of how to properly account for the finances of an organization, but just know that it is an important part of making anything in business flow smoothly.

With the 12:30 p.m. ferry out of Naranjo approaching, it was time for me to say good bye to the rest of the team that was staying for one more night.

A car ride to the ferry, the ferry to another car ride that took me to the Puntarenas bus, the Puntarenas bus that took me to the airport bus stop where I got my transfer for San Juaquin and a last transfer from San Juaquin to my pueblo de Santa Barabara, I was home before I knew it. Only seven hours! When I opened my door to my apartment, I do not think I was home longer than one minute before I collapsed onto my bed and called it a night. This time without the howling from the Congos.

• Part 5