Cahuita: May 1-3

[The battery of my camera is gone and a new one can't be found in SJ, so you are at the mercy of my descriptive powers on this journey, but there are all kinds of great pictures on the internet.]

This weekend I set off on a solo journey to the small town of Cahuita in the province of Limon on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Although I had been to Tortuguero (also on the Caribbean) earlier, I wanted to see the Cahuita national park and see the black sand beaches (Playa Negro).

I left San Jose on Friday morning from the Caribe station. May 1 is Costa Rica's Labor Day, so I had gotten my ticket the day before--which was lucky since there were no free seats on the bus. The ride down was interesting. Three American boys from Wisconsin spent at least 2 hours talking about the best recipes for marijuana brownies, how much liquor they had brought, and how many girls they could meet. We slowly made our way to Limon, where the mood on the bus changed noticeably because we could see the beach nearly all the way to Cahuita.

I got off the bus, expecting to find a taxi, since everywhere else I've been--large and small--the taxis have been nearly predatory. I hiked a couple of blocks into town and saw no taxis. Finally I found one and arrived at my hotel (about a mile down the road)in the afternoon. The Suizo Loco Lodge is beautiful, but it is not (as advertised) three minutes from the beach (more like 15--and not a very good beach at that). Because I was so far from town (a 40 minute walk by the beach road) and there seemed to be no taxis, I agreed to have dinner at the hotel (thank goodness they had a restaurant). One thing I forgot to mention--there's no English at this hotel. If you speak French, German, or Spanish, you are in luck. So I had to listen hard and practice my Spanish. I walked to the beach and nearly into town just to see what was in the neighborhood and enjoyed the grounds, pool, and a little birdwatching before dinner, which was excellent. Not much to do here, so I turned in early.

The next morning (gray and overcast but not raining) I was collected by the tour company to take me to the national park. I was supposed to have an English-speaking guide, but did not and ended up being the only person on the tour. My guide, Alfredo, spoke bits and pieces of English and was limping and barefoot. Not really good omens for a walk through a jungle known for its vipers and spiders. He told me that he had damaged his knee while surfing, practicing for a big surf tournament to be held in Puerto Viejo the next weekend. The paths were sand, and 50 meters into the park, he stopped, paused, and pointed to a small bush not more than 4 feet from us. Curled up on the stem in S-fashion was the most beautiful bright yellow eyelash viper! Very poisonous, but not aggressive. He told me that during holidays people often party and drink too much on the beach 10 feet to our left and stumble into to the woods (for bathroom breaks), accidentally brush against the brush and get bitten.

We also saw many crabs, spiders, lizards, monkeys, and a really pretty non-venomous vine snake that blends in perfectly with the trees and vines it climbs on, walked through a mangrove swamp on recycled plastic bridges, and fended off swarms of mosquitoes. Once we got to Punta Cahuita we met many other tourists and snorkelers, and many were looking up into a tree close to the water: another eyelash viper--a little bigger than the first--and obviously enjoying a lunch of bird. The beach contained many pieces of exotic coral (illegal to take off the beach)because in 1997, the reef was damaged by an earthquake and is still rebuilding, but the broken pieces still wash up on the shore. I was impressed that this park a) did not charge an entrance fee (but gladly accepts donations), b)was very clean, and 3)seemed well-cared for and protected. Even though I had doubts about Alfredo, he turned out to be a very good guide. I learned a lot about biology and wildlife and got to practice my Spanish!

I opted not to be taken back to the hotel and instead headed to the bus stop to take a local bus to a place I had found on the internet just the day before: Los Aviarios--a sloth rescue sanctuary. I got there too late in the afternoon to take advantage of the full tour, but I did get to walk around the grounds, and a retired, transplanted psychologist from America, Clare, introduced me to Buttercup (a 17 year old female who has her own wicker hanging chair, hangs from it, and extends her arm to people passing by--too cute) and rescued sloths from all over Costa Rica and at all stages of life. The plight of the sloth is pretty dismal in areas of Costa Rica where deforestation and development are taking their toll on them and their habitats. I was told that sloths raised in captivity cannot be returned to the wild and do not mate in captivity, so this place is important in many ways, but it would, of course, be better for them to be able to stay in their natural habitats. Contrary to popular belief, these are very intelligent animals; they just move slowly. For more information just google Aviarios to see pictures of their work, the animals, and the center. This was the most interesting thing I have done in my nearly 4 months there, so if you go to CR, plan a visit to Cahuita and Aviarios. Clare was kind enough to give me a ride back to the hotel when she got off work, and I enjoyed another delicious dinner and relaxing night.

On Sunday morning, wakened early by the family of howler monkeys that live near the hotel, I enjoyed a last gourmet meal and took a taxi to the bus station. We rode back to San Jose on a very old bus with very hard seats, not meant for long hauls. At one point I thought we were all going to have to get out and push. Nearly a non-English weekend, and I think I did better than I thought.