Day Seven

8/4/12

Another early morning was required for my mom and me’s wildlife excursion this morning. Our shuttle picked us up and took us to the country’s second smallest national park, Manuel Antonio. It was a spur-of-the-moment trip planned only last night. Apparently, it is the place to go to see stuff. And, boy, did we see stuff. Despite the high heat and extreme humidity, we got to see bats, spiders, bugs, plants, sloths, monkeys, Caymans, iguanas, crabs, birds, lizards, and butterflies. It was worth the trip. Our driver also told us that Costa Rica has the biggest waves in the world at this one spot. It is so rocky and dangerous that not even professional surfers go there. There have only been a couple of people who could only surf one wave. I didn’t understand exactly how a wave could be that big until I gave it a try at our calmer beach, Jaco. After a not-so-modest verbal tutorial to my brother on how to surf, I hit the waves for myself. There were tons of surfers out and the waves looked good from a distance, but once I got out there I began to see the ugly side of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. I got up a couple of times, enough to say I surfed, and rode some smaller waves before I gave up and almost slammed the board down. I was so frustrated from the rough currents because I couldn’t get at far enough for I was battered back to the shore by the high volume crushing waves and undercurrents. I swam for a while and let my anger simmer before I got back out there to surf one last time. I let my persistence get the best of me and got hit by a few too many waves. I perfected the art of standing up just in time to have my head pummeled to the sand by the high tide waves. It was quitting time. We swam, and I ran before we headed for the hip town of Jaco. We walked along the beach only to once again be surprised by a typical Costa Rican rain storm on the way. We ate at a Pizza Hut drenched, and took a cab back. Mother Nature wasn’t really on my side today. Tomorrow, we will have to leave this beautiful place!