Waves

Resident baby sloth

I have another relatively short post tonight and no pictures, which I realize is disappointing. I need to take my camera more. This morning, Bill and I went snorkeling at Puerto Viejo. The water in Costa Rica is never super clear but it wasn’t bad. I saw some baseball-sized jelly fish – one pink and the other blue. They weren’t big enough to cause any damage but you’d probably feel a mild sting if you ran into one. There were some fish and some sort of sea worm. I think the location we went to yesterday was better, but the water here is kind of dangerous so you really have to be careful. The beach yesterday was super rocky so it was hard to find a way into the water. The reef was close to shore but also rocky, and it was hard to find a way to swim around it without getting smashed into some sharp rocks. The water here is not forgiving. It’s the most dangerous water I’ve been in. The first beach we visited this morning looked pretty calm but there was a sign warning people to watch out for crocodiles so we decided not to swim there. A Costa Rican soccer player jumped into a river a few months ago and got eaten, so they can be dangerous. I’m hoping to get a picture with the sign! We forgot today.

This afternoon, we went to the beach close to our hotel with our body boards. Almost as soon as we got in the water, a woman waved us back in and told us the water was too dangerous to be in above your knees. I think she was right and I’m glad she warned us. The riptides are bad here and the water is powerful. We found a neighboring beech that was safer, but I still got pounded by the waves. They came hard and fast so it was hard to catch them with the board. It’s good exercise though. We may try again in the morning if the tide is out and the water is calmer.

Even with the issues with the water, it’s still awesome to be here. Everything is beautiful, warm and green, there are little lizards everywhere and we have resident sloths and an agouti at the hotel. There is a French bakery across the street and the hotel lets me make all the tea I want. I talked to one of the owners this morning. She’s an interesting person. They are raising their 4 kids here, and she thinks Costa Rica is great for them. They are from California. I met a young Dutch couple who get 2 months of vacation and are here for 7 weeks. The Dutch have a really good life. There is also a Swiss couple here who seem nice.

I’m currently in a rocking chair on the balcony. It’s raining, so it’s very pleasant. The gardens around the hotel are really pretty. There are flowers everywhere with lots of birds and butterflies. I’ll try to take some pictures tomorrow.