saltwatersteve.com/travel

Went to breakfast then down to the shop to rent a longboard. Then we surfed for a couple hours in heinous waves. Came back to the place and took a nap then made the journey to Ostional at about 4 (so we could catch the sunset there).  As we were scoping the river crossing we spotted a mono congo (howler monkey) up on the phone line. We didn’t find anywhere open for grub so we had some tico versions of cheetos and fritos w/ barbeque flavor and a couple sodas. Then we walked on the beach until dark (6), went to the guide hut and they said to be back at 8. We tried our luck with the hilltop restaurant again and although the cook hadn’t shown up, our buddy Jose said he would cook up some grub so we ordered some cold drinks while he cooked. Good stuff, beef cooked with some Lizano salsa and other spices, served with salty salad greens. I had a beer also, and a few minutes later Jose came out and poured everyone (us and one other table) a shot of Sambuca. While he poured, I inquired about Guaro, the tico tequila, sort of. I took my shot of Sambuca then a few minutes later he brought some Guaro with a salty lime. By this point, Jose and his buddy were sitting at our table, and we were all trying to talk to each other about everyting. At one point I got up to pee and encountered what I thought was a huge spider, but actually is a bug they call pico caballo (very poisonous, apparently). One more beer and I was ready for the tortugas!

The official turtle guides have red lights so the baby turtles (and there were lots) don’t get confused about their direction (the white moonlight is supposed to guide them to sea). Lucky for us, not only were babies hatching, but there were pregnant mom turtles laying eggs also!  We found a large female doing just that, and the guide dug out behind very gently so we could see. Once they start laying eggs, they don’t stop - so we didn’t interrupt her, even by shining a white light right on her butt. What an experience. Got lots of pics and movies, some turned out. Back at the river crossing, some Danes with another Margita had just been towed across by the farmer and they looked on with great astonishment when I did it with no tractor pull.  Soy un gringo loco.