The Briny Sea

3:00 a.m.: Up to go find a blanket.
4:00 a.m.: Still wide awake, listening to strange thumps and creature-sounds.
5:00 a.m. on the nose: Howler monkeys just outside the cabin start roaring at each other.
6:00 a.m.: Give up on sleep once and for all and take a shower.
6:30 a.m.: Capuchin monkeys replace howlers as I sit on the front porch observing. All around is monkey poop. I hope it doesn’t land on my head. It doesn’t.
7:00 a.m.: Molly’s alarm goes off.
7:30 a.m.: Molly up and the day begins

On today’s agenda was a snorkeling trip out in the coral reef off of Cahuita National Park. We boarded a boat captained by a certain Fernando and he took us out about half a mile and plunked us in the water. He offered me a life preserver to float upon and I accepted. Molly, the guide and one other passenger were above such crutches. We saw a sting ray and lots of colorful big and little fish, huge sea urchins and a giant sea cucumber. I spent as much time looking above the water to locate the guide as I did gazing into the depths, anxious that I would accidentally paddle out to sea alone and end up in Panama. After an hour, we climbed back aboard so Fernando could take us to another spot for more exploring, but I, shivering, stayed on the boat as the others discovered teeny jellyfish, lobsters and a lion fish.

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Back on land, it was once again time to forage for food, but the tiny town was packed with revelers celebrating Independence Day: young kids dressed in patriotic colors and banging on drums for two hours, while adult observers enjoyed plenty of hot-weather beer. So we headed out of town on foot to search for something quieter. Molly was the intrepid guide who has gotten us everywhere we’ve needed to go. We finally arrived at a beautiful oceanside restaurant where we splurged on a high-priced menu of fresh sea bass, Caribbean style, with lots of coconut milk.

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Thanks to a stop at the lavanderia with an armful of dirty clothes, I now have clean things to wear, for which all those close to me will be grateful.

Finally, we took a short walk through the lush tropical vegetation that lines the coast in Cahuita National Park, where Molly spotted more monkeys. She also took a picture of me.

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Tomorrow we leave here, a day ahead of schedule, by bus? By taxi? We’ll see.

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