We didn't do all that much today. It was perfect, in that way. We woke when our bodies said it was time, sleeping off the wear and tear of the past few months. We lingered over breakfast - bananas and pancakes with a hint of cinnamon - reading and looking out over the water long after we'd finished. I don't spend nearly enough time finding beautiful spots just to sit, think, journal, and read. It's rejuvenating to have nothing else in life matter except beauty and the book in my hand or thoughts in my head. When we get back, I'd like to make time for more of this -- and find a spot that inspires me to do nothing at all.
After breakfast we inquired with our b&b about hiking to the top of Tortuguero Hill (Cerro Tortuguero). Our hotel said we could hire a guide and told us he comes into town around 1:30pm, and we could talk to him then. We checked in at the Guide Association (a small, simple building by the main dock in town) and asked the same question about hiking Tortuguero Hill. An English-speaking guide explained that the Hill is closed due to erosion from overuse.
I was disappointed - I'd wanted to see the canals from above, but we decided to talk to the guide at the hotel that afternoon and spend our morning exploring the only part of the national park accessible by foot.
We donned (free) rubber boots at the hotel - a requirement to hike in Tortuguero National Park. The entrance is at the end of the main street in town, which is nice - it's impossible to get lost, even for me. We paid $10 each for a day park pass and set off on the 5km roundtrip trail.
I started the hike ramped up about potentially seeing monkeys, sloths, and even a pit viper (ah!). Zan broke out his air guitar and sang "Welcome to the Jungle," while standing in 3 inch deep mud. As much as it pained me (seriously - he's the best when he's being silly), I shhh'd him. This was a serious rainforest wildlife spotting trek! We schlepped through mud (fun) and then through forests (also pretty fun).
My excitement waned after 30 minutes. We saw grass cutter ants (really cool the first 3 times) so much that we began to step out of their way. Ants run the jungle. We also saw lizards... a lot of lizards. And a squirrel! And, that was it.
I was lost in my own thoughts about the book I was reading - A House in the Sky - Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout's story of being held captive for ransom for 460 days in Somalia. I couldn't stop thinking about it - how would she escape? Where are her captors now? Did they get away with it? I started speed-hiking, thinking if I got far enough ahead of Zan, I might be able grab the book from my bag and read a few pages before he caught up.
I don't remember the last time I was so engrossed in a book. It's partially the book (incredible) and partly having time to think of nothing else. Except for the leaf cutter ants, of course.
After a sub-par lunch at Fresh Foods (not so fresh?), we strolled back to our hotel, laughing and casually chatting, not a single care in the world (how incredible and rare a feeling is that?). And then everything came crashing down.
The woman who runs the hotel came running out to meet us, saying the guide for Tortuguero Hill was waiting and we should hurry. Stressed and confused, we followed her to the dock, where an Australian expat with long hairy pulled into a ponytail, dressed in ratty clothes, was impatiently waiting on a small water taxi, the boat captain sitting at the helm. Before we had a chance to speak, he hopped off the boat and was standing a foot in front of us.
"Those are nowhere near good enough," he angrily croaked, pointing at my sandals.
We quickly realized he believed the tour was scheduled. We explained that we'd been told we would have a chance to talk to a guide and get details on what we could and could not do at the Hill. He flippantly - and still angrily - went on to say that miscommunications happen, but in the same breath he criticized us for being "late and unprepared." He decided for us that we weren't going (we hadn't made a decision because he wasn't rational enough to discuss the hike with us) and demanded 2,000 colones (about $4) to pay the boat captain for the unnecessary trip. I explained we wouldn't be paying as we hadn't scheduled anything or hired anyone.
By the time he stalked off (with no payment), we were unnerved and even felt unsafe. The hotel woman shrugged it off, back at the front desk, saying, "Who knows what got into him."
Still, when we rounded the corner to our room and saw him sitting on the deck smoking, we took the back way around the hotel to avoid any further contact. We ended up seeing him later that night, drunk and stumbling about town. So there's that.
We shook the whole negative interaction off and took the hotel's canoe out on the river. The peacefulness and calm of the water and surroundings quickly worked the tension out of us. I was actually really nervous because the waters have so many crocodile and caimans, isn't that ridiculous? It was pretty comical, for Zan, at least.
Eventually, I calmed down - trusting Zan and his Boy Scout canoeing badge to guide us to safety (and to do the rowing, let's be honest here). It was beautiful and an afternoon well spent. We didn't get to see the canals from above, but being there on the water? Well, that was just as nice.
Zan bought a bottle of wine ($12) and a few beers ($2 each) from a supermarket, and we spent our second and final night in Tortuguero sipping drinks on the deck, swatting mosquitos, and watching the sun fade beneath the jungle.
I finished A House in the Sky there on the dock, tears freely rolling down my cheeks.
