Un Cocodrillo en Playa Negra

We left home around 7pm Friday,got into the airport in Aluajela before noon Sat. Rolfe had business in San Jose, so he picked us up and drove us the four hours to Puerto Viejo. We went for our first swim at Playa Negra yesterday morning. After about ten minutes in the water a Tica woman called to us from the beach, "'Scoose me but there eese a crocodile in the next pool. She pointed beyond the wrecked barge landmark on the east end of the beach. We got out and walked to the other side of the wreck, anxious to check it out. I really didn't believe her. I thought, here's a Tico family from San Jose here for the weekend, and they saw a log or some exposed reef between waves. Her husband met us. He showed me the photo he had taken, I made out a black object on his camera screen. It could have been anything. I asked how big it was he pointed a length between us, "Tres metros?" I asked. He nodded. We looked for a few minutes and seeing nothing, went back to our swimming spot and back in the water. After another five minutes another woman called to us,"There is a crocodile over there." I decided to become a believer. I walked with the woman to the other side of the wreck again. On a the way I found out she was from Turkey and owned the Mango Bar which is just east of the beach. We kept talking after reaching the other side of the wreck.She suddenly stopped and pointed, "There!" I looked and less than fifty meters out was a huge crocodile cruising along the surface before disappearing below again. He was at least 3 meters! His head alone looked to be at least 18inches. I said, "My god, he's a beautiful animal!"

We decided to ride our bikes along the beach a few K east to Playa Cocles for our afternoon swim. We went looking for the croc this morning, but did not see him. Shar wants to check again this afternoon and see if she can get a photo.

Barbecue Pig

Friday we went out for the great pizza a couple Italian guys make here. One of them told us they were barbecuing a small pig the following day. Shar decided to have barbecued pig Saturday night with pizza blanco, while I had eggplant pizza. Today we saw another place barbecuing a pig on our way to swim at Playa Cocles. So Shar went back in the afternoon to photograph the finished product & a short movie before they finished it.


Also yesterday we went out to swim in town in the afternoon. We saw the same guy selling sea turtle eggs on the beach. He stopped at the Police Station before hitting the beach. The two policemen sitting out front each bought a bag.

"Everybody Eating Turtles"

We took the 7:15 a.m. bus down to Manzanillo yesterday. We sat down at the place in the photo where the two of us had gallo pinto, huevos fritos, jamon y cafe (black beans & rice, fried eggs, ham & coffee) for 3400 colones (about $6.60). We walked into the Gandoca Reserve to our favorite little cove & sat until it started to sprinkle lightlly. We caught the 12:45 p.m. bus back to P.V. Later we took a swim off the point in PV. There was a guy on the beach selling huevos tortuga (turtle eggs) 5 for 2000 colones (less than 4 bucks) out of a cooler. Late in the afternoon I went to Lenny's to play music on his porch. He told me, "Now it turtle season, everybody eating turtle." I told him about the guy with the eggs on the beach. I asked if catching turtles was legal. He said, "No mon, dey catch you, you go to jail mon!" He said it was the same for selling eggs. (The guy selling turtle eggs on the beach was about 100 ft. from the police station.) He said turtle meat was very good, "It make you strong! You eat it an' you jus' feel de' power come on you! You never eat turtle?" I told him no. He said, "It de' best thing to eat. Dis' marning dey' bring in two turtles." He pointed to the place next to his neighbor's, about 25 ft. from where we sat. "Dey kill de turtles right dare."

I spoke with Rolfe today about the turtle season. He scoffed, "They don't put people in jail for killing people here--I doubt if anyone goes to jail for killing turtles!"

2 pics

Shar shot this Green Poison Arrow Frog, Dendrobates auratus, the other morning. Rolf says a pair of them have taken up residence in the bromeliads at the base of the coconut palm standing a few feet from the base of the stairway to our room & balcony.



We took two Toyota pickups to Manzanillo with Rolf & Juana's & Juana's sister's families. After a couple of sunset Imperials on the beach, we went into Maxi's for an outstanding dinner of whole snapper & grilled veggies.

Tanagers & Bananas

We bought a bunch of 16 lady finger bananas for 400 colones (69 cents) at the local farmer's market last Saturday. They're quite tasty. This pair of palm tanagers obviously agrees. When we got up this morning, they were sharing a banana on the balcony railing. I appreciate that they just concentrated on one banana rather than trying a little bit of each of the remaining bunch like critters usually do.

Heading Back Home

We're winding down our stay here in Puerto Viejo. Yesterday was one of the few sunny days we've had. Today it is raining once again. Last night we went for another melt-your-mouth lomito barbecue at Rolf's place. We were joined by Juana's daughter, Caterin with her baby Angelina, & boyfriend David. They were talking of our return trip. I don't know when we'll be back. I doubt we will come for this long again.

Tomorrow we will sell the bicycles for 30,000 colones each. We paid 65,000 each for them a month ago. Caterin is buying Shar's, & Marie, the hotel maid, is buying the other.

The northern European (German, French etc.) have been replaced by southern European (Spanish, Italian) tourists. Locals tell us the Americans are missing this year. Actually yesterday two twenty-something American women booked the room next to us (it shares our balcony). They're the first Americans we've seen here at the hotel.

We spent a nice time visiting with Ingrid, the Austrian woman we met with her husband bicycling at Punta Uva, over the past week. Her husband is a physician & needed to go back to work, but she stayed on here another week. She left the other morning for Tortuguero before flying home. I hope she had a good trip.

I hope the folks here survive whatever the economy (and perhaps the climate) does.

I've been communicating with Paul & Scott of Supertrees via email over the past week or so. Paul has cooked up a date for us at Wine on the Waterfront on the pier in P.A. They are doing a 40th Anniversary commemoration of Woodstock on Sat. Aug. 15. I was at that event 40 years ago, so I decided not to pass this up. We have not rehearsed any of the hour's worth of songs were gonna' play together starting at about 9:30 p.m. (an entire set of songs performed at the original Woodstock festival), but I feel ready. The event is called WoWstock. It's also a benefit for the Food Bank. Bring a can of food. I was wondering if they were gonna' be pairing brown acid with the Chardonnay. Paul was quite taken aback about my gauche ignorance: "Everyone knows that brown acid goes with zinfandel!"

Our flight is not until 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, but Rolf advised us to take the 7:30 a.m. bus to San Jose. The bus is generally about a 4 hour or so trip, but with the way the weather is now, there may be landslides in the mountains, which could cause some big delays.

Oral Surgery

I just had my first experience as an oral surgeon. Hopefully it will be my last. I stopped by Lenny's this morning. He said, "Can you do someting' for me? I 'ave tooth, it need come out. I get string, you pull it out for me?" I quite didn't know what to say but managed to answer, "I could try…"
"No–you don' try–you pull it out! You strong. You don' wan' do it?"
"Well I've never done it before, but if you really need me to, I could try to pull it out?"
"No mahn you don' try–you pull it OUT!
"Okay–I pull it out, it's just…I've never done this before, but I'll try…I mean–yeah, I'll pull it out!"

I was silently thinking to myself, what in hell are you doing? When I tell this to Shar she's gonna' say, "You did what!?" Lenny went inside his house and got a spool of black string. I said, "Can't you go to Home Creek (where the clinic is) to get the tooth fixed?"
" 'Dem charge. Me 'ave no money."
"What if the string breaks?"
"It strong. It nylon."

Lenny sat before me on his porch making a series of knots & loops in the string saying, "I do this with tooth six times 'fore now." I found a scrap of wood on the ground to tie the string around so it wouldn't slice into my hand. He placed a loop of string around a tooth. I held the other end around the stick. He said "I gwan' to make noise. When I make noise, 'den you pull. You pull very hard! You pull it out! You ready?" I didn't think I'd ever be ready, but nodded yes. He started to make a low growling noise. I lunged with my entire body away from him. The growl increased to a roar. I looked at the end of the string and saw a tooth–roots & all. Lenny was clenching his mouth moaning. He looked up at me and said, "Tank' you mahn, I been in so much pain many months now! Tank' you! That time number seven now." What could I say.