In Costa Rica the catamaran, Calypso, took us on a 90-minute ride across the Gulf of Nicoya to Punta Coral. It was a beautiful day. We roamed the whole boat. Every few minutes a steward came by with fresh pineapple, papaya, or watermelon.
Because the tide was low, the cat
could not make it to the pier so we were ferried ashore in the panga. Once
ashore, our guide briefed us about the facility saying, “Punta Coral is set in a
pristine Tropical Dry Forest and has a quiet beach on one side and a valley
filled with flowering plants, interesting rock formations and numerous caves on
the other. Troops of Howler Monkeys, Yellow Naped Amazon Parrots, a variety of
hummingbirds and butterflies call this special place home. This delicate
eco-system is a small part of the last 2% of Tropical Dry Forest remaining in
the world today.”
We could go swimming in the crescent shaped sandy
beach, snorkeling, or kayaking. After putting on life jackets my son gave me
kayak lessons and we kayaked around the shore for awhile.
After we put the kayak up we went swimming. The water
was very warm. It turned out that the owner was also in the water and she was
telling us how it came about that she and her husband had bought and developed
the island.
“We’re from San Francisco and were in Costa Rica in
1973. We fell in love with it, and kept figuring a way we could stay here. We
tried several things, and finally my husband realized there was no boat
available to take people to these little islands. So he built one. The old
fellow who owned this property didn’t want to sell, but eventually after a few
years he did let us buy it.”
She went on to explain how a local person took care of
the place, had made all the walls with wire filled stone, and did all the
gardening plus keeping all the tropical plants in trim and blooming. He was a
real find, from the mountains and had only finished the third grade.
I asked, “ Did you speak Spanish when you arrived?”
“No, nada, not a single word.” The whole family is fluent
now.
She described how this caretaker had just built her a
mud oven. She had made pizza in it the evening before for someone who was
visiting.
What a delightful story. I talked to her about
writing. She had a wonderful sense of humor and if she can convey that in a
book, she’ll have a best seller. She is beginning to record some things,
although she said she had not kept a journal.
The wife was a chef in a Greek restaurant, and does
the cooking at Punta Coral that was written in Gourmet Magazine in the mid 90s.
As you would suspect we had a great lunch. The mushroom covered fish was excellent.
The salad made with vine ripened produce had a delicate dressing. I can’t
remember the whole menu, but I do remember the double chocolate brownie with
real whipped cream for dessert. Each plate was decorated with a lovely flower.
After lunch I walked the hiking paths to the far side of
the island for a view of the ocean. It was up hill going, but all down on the
return. It was a delightful day, and all too soon Calypso came back to take us back to the mainland.
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