Caribbean Paradise

How do I describe my life down here? What words can I use to describe the beauty that surrounds me - the different shades of green, the luminous quality of the Caribbean, the smell of rain in the forest, the feel of the sand under my feet, the taste of coconut rice and beans? I am blessed.

Today I woke up late – around 7am. The birds wake up around 5:30. I allowed myself some sleepy, half-conscious train of thought while still in bed. The forest smelled fresh this morning after a short rain the night before. I decided to take Harley for a walk. Harley is a Brazilian Mastiff with whom I share this property. He is massive. He was excited to get out, but less excited at my interest in identifying every bird I spied on our walk. The diversity of birds that one can see in a tree astounds me. Standing in one location, I saw at least 10 species of birds arrive, socialize, chatter and leave. I tried my best to memorize the details of their coloration, shape and behaviors so that I would later be able to identify them. Due to Harley’s persistence, we continued along the “Mango walk” – named for the impressive mango trees that spill over with mangos when it is the season – up the hill to a clearing with an impressive view of Caribbean coastline. It is an overcast day, there is thunder in the distance, hovering over the ocean, blurring the line where ocean ends and sky begins. We continue along, listening to the birds and looking at the jungle plants that I have yet to become acquainted with. I hear a thump thump of a woodpecker and turn around. At first I see just a hole in a rotting tree trunk and continue on. Thump thump again. I turn around and a little yellow and red head sticks out of the whole, looking a bit guilty. He looks around – up, to the side, down. He has his beak slightly open as if he were panting from all that hard work. I admire the brilliance of the yellow and red on his head. Harley comes up and slobbers on my hand – a signal that we must continue on our way.

Back at the house, I diligently scribble down the Latin names of all the birds I saw on the morning walk and enjoy a bowl of granola, fruit and homemade yogurt as I look out across the ocean. I wonder how the surf is today. Where can I surf? I give Julie a call. Where are you headed? She wants to go to Manzanillo. I tell her I’ll meet her at beach break and we’ll make a plan. Beach break is looking pretty shabby – small and choppy. Julie says, Let’s head to Manzanillo. When its bad every else, Manzanillo is good. So we put the boards on the roof and head off to Manzanillo.

Manzanillo is at the end of the road. Where the road ends, the Gandoca Wildlife Refuge begins. We drive as far as we can, park the car, strip down to bathing suits and barefeet, grab the boards and take off for the 10 minute walk to the surf break, passing through gorgeous jungle forest and spectacular views from rocky outcroppings. The surf break is not a place for beginner’s to paddle out. There is a narrow channel walled by sharp reef on either side. Julie paddles out and I watch for awhile, not sure how confident I am in my ability to navigate this treacherous paddle. There are 4 guys out surfing and they are good. I am intimidated but not willing to completely back down yet. Two guys come into the beach and encourage me to paddle out. One guy shows me exactly where to go and what to do and sends me on my way. I keep looking back for directions and he yells for me to paddle hard. I jump on the board and off I go. I am shaky when I arrive at the break, but elated. I wait patiently for my confidence to build as I become familiar with the wave and how it breaks. I watch closely as others ride it. Once my nerves have settled, I wait for my wave. When it comes, I do what my body knows and paddle hard. I feel the wave behind me and give one last strong paddle – I’m in! I stand up, on the lip of the wave and immediately turn the board to ride along the face, trying to avoid a steep drop. I can’t believe it – what an amazing wave – gorgeous! I pull out just in time, land on the board and off I go, paddling out for the next one. I’m surprised to feel like I know what I am doing. Surfing is like that. One day, you can paddle out and feel like you have no idea what you are doing in the ocean. It washes you around, spits you out, pummels you with its waves. Those days (like the day before) I ask myself – do I really know how to surf? But the next day, you can perform like a champion, surfing as if you had been every day of your life. Your experience in the ocean hasn’t changed but the ocean has, the waves have. In addition, it is a question of self-confidence and faith in your ability to handle a board in the ocean. I guess today was a good day for it.

After a couple of hours in the ocean, 2 really nice waves, 2 short rides that ended less elegantly and a couple of anemone thorns in my big toe, we decided to head back through the jungle to the car, stopping briefly in the freshwater creek to clean the boards off. Back in the house, I made myself a healthy salad with boiled egg and rice and find myself sitting on the deck of the house, staring out at the beautiful expanse of ocean, wondering how I arrived at this point in my life. Trying to trace back the sequence of events that brought me here, to this deck, in the solitude of the jungle, looking out across a great expanse of ocean while the pitter patter of rain and the hum of crickets gently plays background music. Looking forward to what the world will bring next.