It’s funny to write about my vacation as it’s happening as opposed to a week from now when everything will be tinged with the rosy glow of nostalgia. And months from now, our photographs will take the place of memories…
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
There are no big hotel chains or resorts in Santa Teresa, just hostels and plenty of beautiful rental apartments and villas. Aside from the fantastic restaurant and yoga facilities, the best part about Nautilus has been the family that owns and operates the property. They have been so helpful in arranging anything we might need–taxis, dinner reservations and day trip adventures to places that aren’t listed in guide books or online.
Today we set off on our ATV towards the mouth of the Negro River, between Manzanillo and Playa Hermosa. There are three points of access to the river off the beach. We were told the first two are great, but the third has Crocodiles…best not get mixed up, I guess.
We hung out here for for a few hours and encountered only group. They asked us a question, no hablamos español, and then we played charades. The older man scissor-snapped his arms, open and shut, asking if there are Crocodiles. We answer no, but turn our arms into wiggly snakes–I spotted a biggish snake with it’s head poking out of the water, making it’s way from one side of the river to the other. The man laughed and wagged his finger, indicating that snakes are a deal-breaker and that he would not be swimming. I’m not into swimming in waters where I can’t see what’s below me, so I wade about the shallow end, keeping my good eye open for anything living. I could hear the Howler Monkeys in the jungle around us, but I still haven’t seen one.
We lounged on our blanket, noticing a vulture in the trees overhead. We haven’t moved for a while, so he’s probably just keeping his good eye open for a languishing prey. Speaking of snacks, that tupperware was finally put to good use!
Note my inventive use of wooden plank for a table, and coconut husks for cutlery holders. I think all those years of watching Survivor are finally paying off.
This is the beach that led us to the river…not too shabby.
After our picnic, we packed up, hopped on our quad and took off in search of waterfalls. The directions we were given were to pass two shitty shacks, an impressive and beautiful gate–under construction, and then go through the wooden gate. Of course we got lost.
There was an old man with golden teeth and a young girl, standing in front of a house. We stopped to play charades again. Alistair asked “cascadas?”, and the little girl pointed back in the direction we had come from–we had gone too far. Then the man said a good many things with hand gestures and sound effects. He was amused and enjoying the whole encounter, I could tell. On our first taxi ride into town, our driver had taught us a couple words of Spanish that now proved most useful. Alistair picked up on the word “vaca” and repeated it. The man nodded sagely as though he had given us the secret password. Vaca…sure enough, we headed back down the road and found the cows and the wooden gate that ultimately led us to the waterfalls.
There were waterfalls as far as the eye could see; one pooled into another, and then another, and so on…
It ocurred to me that if something happened to us, we would never be found again, out in the middle of the jungle. Frolicking in waterfalls…it was all too surreal.
The rapid water movement makes this picture look like a painting with tiny brushstrokes.
We leave bright an early tomorrow morning, heading back to snowy Toronto…
Is This the Way the World Ends? 