Week 8: Critters & Criminals

Walking through the jungle

This past weekend we took an opportunity to take a bus to a well-known, national park called Manuel Antonio. It's located about 3 1/2 hours from Atenas, nestled in a cove along the Pacific Ocean. After the long bus ride, the five of us (interns) checked into a hostel and promptly began to explore the town. We spent the whole day Saturday walking around through jungle trails, relaxing on the beaches and looking at wild animals.  We did well in spotting wildlife, as we found three species of monkies, iguanas, birds, lizards, giant butterflies, and the elusive two-toed sloth. While frolicking on the beach, we were visited by a couple of renegade raccoons. I trust a raccoon about as much as a trust a squirrel--never. I tried to rough talk the animal back into the brush, but the persistent critter was bent on taking a bag of tasty trailmix. We moved from "rough-talkin" to stick-wielding, which probably horrified a few Europeans standing nearby---who wanted to feed the creatures.  Rather than create a big scene, we moved our bags to a different location and let zie Germans hand feed the rascals. There's nothing worse than a wild animal that loses its fear of man, which is exactly what was happening.
 

Critters



The criminal's handy work

 Our long day at the park was met with an even longer night. Upon returning to our hostel room, we found the lock to our locker busted and valuables stolen out of our packs. Wallets, Ipods, a watch, an electric razor, and passport were some of the things missing. Fortunately for myself, I had my valuables and backpack with me and lost nothing. Because we were in a dormitory-style room, there were two other people staying with us. More than likey, it was the quiet guy from San Jose that was traveling without typical traveler's gear. He waited until we left for the day, and then busted into our locker. It was an incredibly frustrating evening filled with a visit to the police department and two hours of Spanish translating. At the end of the day, though, we were reminded that he had only stolen things--things that could all be replaced. It's also a humble reminder not to place too much value on the material things of this world because they are all things that are passing away---some much quicker than we expect! 

A small cove within the park

When I woke up this morning, I was so glad to be back in Atenas; back in my little bed in my breezy, little room. The weather was much, much warmer in Manuel Antonio, with a humidity level near 100%. Without air conditioning, it's difficult to sleep--and little I did. Thankfully, Atenas has a much milder climate with cooler evenings. It's good to be home.

I'll let the monkies have the last say in this blog post: