September 26 - Papagayo

We slathered on gobs of sunscreen and got a bit to eat before walking down to the black sand beach to catch our ferry over to the hotel’s illustrious white sand beach. As we waited we watched big pelicans flying directly over head and bobbing in the ocean. It was a very sunny 15 minute ride across the gulf to the beach, a stretch of hot white sand broken into two segments by the high tide.

The scenery was just breathtaking – a long cove with a large area shaded by trees and rows of blue chaise lounges set out. We spent a lot of time floating in the sea in order to keep cool and we eventually made our way toward one edge of the beach. We stood among small schools of fish, one variety of which had bright yellow striped with black like a bumblebee. Jesse explored into a group of rocks jutting from the water, but I kept a safe distance. At one point I heard a big splash behind me, then another. I turned to see that two big crabs had leapt out of the water and onto some rocks. I climbed back onto land and sat for a while on a water-weathered log in a quiet spot under spotty shade. I watched several kinds of birds hop around on the branches surrounding me and I saw at least 5 or 6 types of butterflies – including one that had a glimmering panel of aquamarine in each wing, just like a stained glass window!

When we returned to the main beach and Jesse was immediately recruited for a soccer game. I sat in the ocean and watched him score his team’s very first goal. I had noticed a cute little girl and boy in the ocean near me. When the girl got close enough to me, I asked her in Spanish how she was doing. She was shy at first, but in no time she was sitting on my lap in the water, excitedly talking to me and asking me questions. Turns out she was 3 years old, from Costa Rica and her name was Fili (my guess at spelling a name pronounced like “fee-lee”). I understood about 60-65% of her Spanish and it was great practice trying to communicate with her! She asked a lot about my “hija” (daughter) and my father. I used our underwater camera to get a great photo of the two of us.

As difficult as it was to leave the cool refreshment of the water, I needed a beverage. I walked up to the open air eating area, where only two other people were standing around. Right as I arrived, a coati walked out of the forest and started nosing around, looking for something to eat! I didn’t have a camera with me, so I went back town and urged Jesse to check it out and grab a photo. We then had a quick carb-filled lunch and headed back to the water. Jesse decided he wanted to try out snorkeling, so he paddled off while I relaxed. I ended taking an awesome nap on my chair under the trees and woke up close to the time the ferry was supposed to be returning to get us. I realized that Jesse was nowhere to be found.

The last I knew, he had been heading toward the opposite end of the beach where a bigger rocky area sat. I set out down the scalding, endless beach, the 10,000 degree sun beating into my shoulders. I reached the very end and saw a figure floating facedown in the sea, many yards out from shore. “Jesse!” I yelled. “JEEEEEESSSSSSEEEEEE!” The figure ignored me. Jesse was having the time of his life. I didn’t exist to him anymore. There were only sea urchins and puffer fish. I threw down my flip flops and marched into the sea, yelling his name the whole time. After a while, he suddenly popped his head out of the water and stared at me with a confused look on his face. I indicated (in the nicest way, I’m sure) that it was time to return to camp. I turned and marched back out of the water and up the beach. Jesse followed, struggling to pull off his giant flippers and run after me.

Back on the boat, Jesse and 5 or 6 other guys decided to climb over the top railing and jump into the ocean. Twice. Unfortunately, I had used up the last of our disposable camera photos on land and couldn’t document this act of sheer bravery and fun. Someone, somewhere, has a picture of Jesse’s manly moment of glory.

When we made it back to shore, I had to stand on the beach with a man whose pottery we had purchased while Jesse went back to the room to get some cash. The man’s name was Salman and he was from Nicaragua. He ended up telling me his very interesting life story, including the part about how his old girlfriend went to Alaska and disappeared. He is now married to a woman from his church and he wants to come to New York to be a missionary with two of his siblings. He was a very sympathetic, good soul that made a big impression on me.

We finally made it down to the pool to sit on underwater bar stools and order draft Imperials. We did some last minute shopping, grabbed dinner and returned to our room to pack. Booo. Back to the U.S. the next day.