“Would you mind if we eat together? Because that’s what we do,” said the Judge to the teacher’s husband. “And would you mind if I ask the Frenchman also?”
Twenty minutes later we all sat down at a shared dining table for eight next to the kitchen – a couple from Germany, a French couple who live in Florida, our good friends who are also from Florida, and Mark and I. We then dug into some amazing Peruvian-style ceviche hand-crafted by our host Carlos in the cloud forest region of Costa Rica called Monteverde.
Carlos and his wife Paula are the owners of Casa Batsú, a bed and breakfast located just outside of Santa Elena in Monteverde. We decided to book his place based primarily on reviews and their good cancellation policy, but ended up with so much more than that. Each morning Carlos is in the kitchen early to prepare breakfast for the guests, and coffee is available starting at 6 am, which is good if you are arriving from the East Coast and waking up early each day. His brother Alejandro was also often there helping out and keeping the drinks flowing. The main building is open air and as you stroll through the small coffee shop area and arrive in the kitchen, you find Carlos cutting and plating fruit in preparation for breakfast. Coffee is served by his helper, Anita, who makes her way around sweeping and making sure the guests are served. Don’t want regular coffee, and prefer a Cappuccino instead? No problem, they’ll make it for you.
The vibe has a “whatever you need to be comfortable” feel, which for me definitely brings a flavor of home. I love a place where the people take the time to see you as a person first and not just a guest paying money. Breakfast runs from 6:30 – 9:00 am and once you find a seat and have eaten your fruit, it is likely that you will again see Carlos table side for some morning conversation and an introduction to the planned breakfast for the day. Don’t want the planned breakfast? No problem, he’ll modify it to suit your tastes. As long as he has the ingredients on hand, he seemed likely to make changes.
Dinner is optional and an extra cost, but if you are willing and able to spend a little on a five course meal with wine, I highly recommend it. Our newly formed group took over what some might call a chef’s table inside next to the open kitchen. The long wooden table perfectly fit our group and soon became our shared dining table. Wine filled our cups and plentiful conversation ensued. Some of our fondest travel memories come from shared meals with strangers in other countries. Meeting fellow travelers from faraway locations that have chosen the same destination as you never fails to surprise and provide intriguing conversation. Once on a trip to Guana Island, we found ourselves at the table with a former Foreign Secretary in the UK, his wife and her lifelong best friend. That is a story for another article, but be certain that it was both enlightening and extremely interesting…
Back in Monteverde, we sat with the Judge, the Nurse, the Teacher and their husbands, sipping wine and sharing stories about work and home. The Nurse was formerly a chemical engineer but changed her profession when she moved to the United States. Her children popped in and out of dinner as we ate, one of them a girl in the 7th grade, which happens to be the same grade taught by our teacher friend. Same state, same grade, meeting for dinner at a BnB in Costa Rica. Connections were made and the conversation and drinks lasted well past dessert. It seemed that no one wanted to leave the table. We shared pandemic stories and family stories and learned to toast in different languages. Our shared dinner table became a sobremesa experience.
These personal connections while traveling are what stays with me when I return home. Even when they are truly foreign. While in Costa Rica we also visited La Fortuna and stayed at Arenal Observatory Lodge and Trails, which was billed as the only hotel located within the Arenal Volcano National Park. A much bigger lodge than our bed and breakfast with Carlos in Monteverde, this hotel was full of cameras equipped with long range lenses and plenty of people to use them. We quickly learned that Arenal Observatory Lodge and Trails was a birders paradise and people had flocked there to take advantage of the opportunity to see many unique birds. There were even people who brought monoculars and bird books to breakfast to watch birds while they sipped their coffee and tea. which I can understand given the amazing views through the windows and decks of the hotel restaurant which sat, quite literally among the trees of the rain forest, Lake Arenal to the west, and Arenal Volcano towering above directly to the north.
In truth, the wildlife, and the birds in particular, was truly so abundant that I started bringing my own camera to breakfast as well. Every breakfast brought opportunities for photographs. I may have even left Costa Rica as a “twitcher”, which I’ve come to understand is an amateur birder. Or it may be a birder who travels far and wide to seek out rare birds. That I am not, but I really did start start to find the birds interesting. In every location we visited, we saw new animals and I was able to capture photographs that I will treasure for a lifetime.
Our final destination for our Costa Rican adventure was Manuel Antonio National Park area, where we stayed on the coast and enjoyed beautiful views and a lot of Capuchin monkeys. We booked a mangrove kayak trip using Viator which turned out to be full of wildlife. Our guide told us to all pull up to the side of the river and proceeded to yell out with a booming voice “Tome, tome”, along with some other noises which I assume were monkey noises. The branches on the trees started moving and coming alive with all kinds of activity. We very quickly found out that the monkeys were indeed coming to take some of whatever our guide was offering. The first one jumped from a branch right on top of our friends head which was were our guide had strategically placed his hand holding a piece of banana. These monkeys were well-conditioned, but still wild. They didn’t always come when he called, but they did often enough to be reliable. It all felt a little strange, but it was also fun and our guide seemed to have a somewhat intimate relationship with these monkeys. And he knew which one was the dominant male. He did not feel like a stranger taking advantage of the monkeys, so I’ve decided to settle on the situation being symbiotic with a little lean towards the humans. At any rate, it was entertaining and fun, and I got some great photos. Capuchin monkeys have as many expressions it seems as humans. They were very comfortable with us, but still ran off when either distracted by something in the forest or startled by us. We also saw Jesus Christ lizards, so-called because they can walk on water, and a small python curled up in an overhead tree branch. I was happy to pass by that guy. And we were introduced to the Crab-eating Raccoon, which showed up on the banks of the river and hunts during the day rather than at night.
Our last day in Costa Rica was spent in Manuel Antonio National Park where we saw gorgeous coastline and forest hikes, and a few too many fellow tourists (so many that you have to purchase your tickets ahead of time online). The scenery is amazing. After the park and lunch came what might be the highlight of the trip. On our way up the coast as we headed back to San Jose, we decided to pull off on the side of the road at a stunning coastal overlook. Picture a coastline where sand meets jagged rock and the waves crash in and you’re standing above it all. As we exited the car, four wild Macaws flew overhead. One flew straight at our friend as he started walking up the hill to the best lookout point. These brightly colored magnificent birds proceeded to put on a show for us, flying in pairs all around the tops of the trees in front of us. Seeing these multi-colored, brilliant birds flying around against the backdrop of the green leaves of the trees and the white caps of the ocean was an incredible finale to our trip.
The one thing you never forget from a trip is the feeling you had in those moments that spoke the most to you, whether that was a shared dinner table with old and new friends or captivating birds putting on a show you’ve never seen before. It’s one soul connecting with another.
