Four of us native New Yorkers & our Philly bred sister for life peeked cautiously into a meager passage at the crack of dawn. As city girls, We were afraid but we made our way through the tiny unforgiving jungle path other adventurers hundreds of years prior had carved out. Overgrown with bulbous tree roots, giant ants working tirelessly biting at new blood, low hanging bramble grabbed at my locs. Only the familiar roaring sound of crashing waves called out to comfort us in the blue morning light amongst the unknown. We used our combined SPanglish to seek out a local beach path in attempts to catch the fleeting sunrise in Limon.
Four months after the casual mention of Costa Rica in our group text & my day one crew was properly assembled. A vigilant mother of 4 who was silently alert to every unexpected element, a tenacious nurse instinctively prepared for the worst, the quick-witted life of the party always offering a comedic perspective, a lovable personal chef naturally leading us towards our endless food & libation desires and me, the lowkey MacGyver ready to tackle any and every obstacle on our collective journey of self-discovery.
That morning we managed to reach the shore safely. Taking in the early morning seaspray was extremely fulfilling & I later realized that we were completely engulfed in fog or maybe low hanging clouds or even steam in hindsight. on That volcanic black sandy beach, despite the rain forest wet season climate, we all experienced a speechless moment of clarity. The serenity we felt was worth all 7 hours of the endless drive from Alajuela to Limon where we were mysteriously reminded of home.
Each of us effortlessly went into our own personal headspaces and engaged in combinations of yoga, meditation, reflection, getting washed and thrown by the violent ocean and writing in our journals. Those people who you can comfortable silence with are few & far in between. We all knew that and occasionally shared uninterrupted knowing smiles until our appetites begged for reprise.
On the walk back up the now well lit path, we came across the cutest little perezoso hanging on a powerline near some palm trees. Who knew sloths were actually cuddly looking, I mean other than the whole wet fur look that may or may not have had a smell. It was As if it's presence showed me which resources to use as I was forced to make a replacement shoe for my friend, but that's another story for another day. Note: sea grape tree leaves tied together with palms are stronger than we thought, no replacement for leather though lol.
