I set my alarm for 5:30 A.M. but am awake much earlier in anticipation of a morning out on the river. The rain has diminished, but the morning is gray and heavy with mist. I sit alone on the deck beside the river and drink three cups of strong coffee. Tabra has decided not to go out on the river and when Isabelle, the naturalist guide appears, I tell her the change of plans. I am prepared to offer more for a solo trip, but she cheerfully accepts the change of plans and the small motor boat arrives precisely at 6:00 A.M. The price for this three hour guided naturalist tour is just $20.00 plus the $10.00 ticket into Tortuguero national park. Isabel is Canadian, a licensed naturalist who has lived in Costa Rica since she was two years old. Our pilot is a local young man who owns his own boat. I imagine that he has taken thousands of tourists on this early morning expedition, and he steers the boat confidently. We cruise past floating hyacinth islands where shorebirds are foraging for their morning meal. Isabel's trained eyes spot numerous birds that I might have missed and I am enthusiastic, but what I really hope to see are the bulbous gold and black eyes of caiman's protruding from the water's surface. We turn into a narrower tributary of the river and the rorshock reflections of the trees, mirrored in the back water are magical. The tangle of jungle, growing skyward from either side of the river bank almost touches overhead, creating an arch way. Our captain switches from outboard motor to a battery motor and we glide slowly and quietly through this reverent jungle cathedral. Our pilot maneuvers the boat close to shore and steadies it between gnarled roots and twisted vines. He points to the trunk of a tree just above us. At first I see only gray mottled bark and brilliant green leaves, but the leaves morph into a elegant basilisk lizard. This male basilisk hangs vertically and motionless on the side of the tree. He is a jungle jewel, a brilliant emerald color with a crested head and a ribbed sail fanning out and up along his back. I struggle to take his photo in the dim light, but he is proud and patient and poses for a minute before tiring of the intruder and disappearing, a green flash swallowed by the jungle debris.
Mangrove roots dip like straws into the rivers edge and camouflaged within is a female caiman's. I would not have seen this prehistoric reptile, but Isabel spots the bulbous watchful eyes, armored back and tail just breaking the waters surface. She is just 4 feet long, almost invisible in the reflective water. Nearby, her juvenile caiman's doze on the muddy bank, protected by twisted mangrove roots.
At 9:00 A.M. we return to Casa Marbella and breakfast is still being served; fresh fruit and homemade pancakes. I give Isabelle, my guide, the choice of any of my rain forest charms and she picks the Tree Frog. She suggests that I sell my work to the gift shop across the street but unfortunately the owner is not in the shop on Sundays. Isabel promises to take her my card. A few other guests gather around to see the handful of charms that I have spread out on the table. One woman buys the Monkey Charm and Isabelle asks me to hold the Rhinoceros Beetle Charm and the Jaguar Charm for her until tomorrow. A dream of mine is to complete my line of Rain forest Charms and to travel the world, selling to eco-tourists. So often in these remote places, there is little of quality to buy and I hope to fill this void. I am thrilled to have such a response in this out of the way inn with only a handful of guests. It rains much of the morning and I spend time writing this blog. At noon we walk a short distance to The Buddha Cafe, an open air restaurant in a garden setting, overlooking the river. We splurge on the river shrimp and nearly an hour passes before two plates of fat red shrimp are set before us. I wouldn't be surprised if they sent someone off to catch the shrimp as soon as we ordered. A beautiful and mindful salad of paper thin cucumber, hearts of palm and tomato tide us over while we wait for the feast.
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