17 November 2023 Santa Elena, Monteverde

In search of a torch

A Zen monk asked Master Yunmen,
“What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?”
Yunmen answered, “An appropriate response.”
The Blue Cliff Record, Case 14

The Spanish word ‘divertido’ can mean ‘fun’ or ‘diversion’ which is what I am doing by taking this trip. Replacing one set of circumstances with another. In this case, replacing the unpleasant with the pleasant. Of course, all things are transient, temporary and impermanent, so this adventure will eventually (in a few weeks) come to an end. I will return to Nalagiri House, or what is left of it, under different circumstances, different ‘causes and conditions’. I really don’t know, and it is impossible to predict, what the future may bring but hopefully I can meet it with an appropriate response.
VJC

I am not in a rush to do anything or go anywhere today. I enjoyed my breakfast of fried eggs with toast, and some coffee.

There is a barber shop by the entrance to Eddy’s B&B which has always been full when I’ve passed it. So I took the opportunity to have an excellent haircut which cost $4,500. It was nearly on a par with the haircut, and wonderful experience of having my ears waxed ears, I had in Kars, Turkey earlier this year.

The weather is awful. But that is just a point of view. Santa Elena – Monteverde – is dominated by rainforest… so it rains a lot and sometimes very heavily.

I am booked to go on a night time walk in the forest. I hope that the rain stops.

Sunset is just after 5 pm and it is very dark by 6:45 pm as I wait by the barber shop to be picked up for the Forest Walk. It is still raining but just drizzling at present. The mini-bus arrives with just 2 young men on board, who I later find out are brothers from Germany. We then picked up a young couple from Canada. There are three tours every evening but that’s it for our tour, just five people.

At the Kinkajou Night Tour office, I paid US$28 for the two hour tour. But before we could start, I had to sign a waiver that I wouldn’t take legal action against the company if I was bitten by snakes, stung by scorpions, tripped in the dark, broke bones and suffered death for any reason.

We were each given small torches and off we set with our guide. It did start to rain quite heavily but under the cover of the forest, not a lot was getting to the ground. The tour was great fun, an interesting diversion despite the weather. Not that I got to see too much during the tour, it is of course potluck which gritters you might spot. I did see a couple of tarantulas, an opossum, various birds trying to sleep in the trees, some different spiderwebs, caterpillars and bees. I enjoyed the walk, and I enjoyed the experience.

Good night.

Budget costs: