In about an hour, Lesley is driving me to the Airporter, where I’ll catch a plane to Houston, then Costa Rica, where my friend Chil&oactue;n will join me and we’ll spend a few days in San Jose, then catch a $99 plane ride out to the southern Pacific coast. I’ve got surfing, swimming, hiking, shooting pix, exploring the tropical world on my agenda. As well as exploring with Chilón; we’ve been on many avventuras together in Baja: remote ranchos, small-town festivals, cave paintings, y mucho mas.
18 years ago I went the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.. I went from Puerto Viejo south to Manzanillo. From there a friend and I took a 2-day walk through the jungle and along the beach when possible, into Gandoca, a small town in Panama. I remember two things:
1. When we got to the town, it was a dirt road, and the dirt was brick red. It was raining softly. I looked down the road and thought, what if I just kept on going? See where it leads?
2. But I didn’t, and we went into the open air bar and sat there drinking beers. A big guy walked in, carrying a machete. No shirt, kind of sweaty, he’d been working.
“Come éstas?, he said.
“Bien, y tu?
“Tranquilo’
How great, when you ask a guy how he is and he says, “I’m tranquil.” It’s relaxed and friendly.
I actually love posting these blogs — it took a few years, but now it’s part of my fabric. I like telling people about what I find, because goldarnnit, I run across so much interesting stuff. Check here in about a week or so for La Costa Rica Avventura de Chilón y Lloyd…
Hey – stumbled on your blog because of your involvement with John Muir Publications. Really like your views. Keep it up.