The clawing on the door of the kitty castle tells me it must be 5am, first light here in Costa Rica. We’re in the marina, so the 4-leggeds are up and begging to be fed, scratched and walked. While Oreo gets released from the confines of her luxurious kitty castle (keeps her from wandering the docks that are frequented by crocodiles), I leash up a very enthusiastic pooch. We jump onto the wobbly floating docks that she’s now grown accustomed to, enroute to a beautiful patch of grass which is never far away down here in rainy latitude 8°. Surprisingly, or not so much for a small coastal fishing village, we are not the only ones up and moving at this early hour. We rile up the neighborhood pooches as we walk by and get warm morning greetings from our temporary neighbors. “¡Buenos Días!”, “¡Pura Vida!”, and “¡Que Lindo!” (how beautiful)….this greeting is clearly for the dog as I’ve barely rolled out of bed and managed to grab a poop bag for our walk. We stroll amongst the greenest green and most brilliant floral array you can imagine. We literally have the ocean to our right and the lush, towering rainforest creeping its way up the hill to our left.
Some mornings we encounter a curious troop of squirrel monkeys who cease their foraging just long enough to gaze upon the large, foreign beast walking across the street….on a leash no less. Silly, spoiled domestic creature! They seem perplexed. The majestic scarlet macaws squawk as they fly overhead (always in pairs) to say good morning. They are always in pairs and make me pause to enjoy their vibrant contrast of colors against the green rainforest backdrop. This is a morning walk in charming Golfito, Costa Rica.
One morning, I heard a recognizable Spanish word being yelled behind me that would very likely wake me from a coma, “PAN”. I turned around to find a bread delivery man on his bike that was loaded down with freshly baked baguettes and pan dulce (sweet rolls). Feeling the need to ensure he had a much easier commute back to the bakery, I hailed him down and with Quincy’s wise counsel, we decided we simply HAD to purchase some fresh baked bread for the sleeping crew back onboard Tulum V. French toast for breakfast it is!
For all the days she’s stuck on the boat, we sincerely relish the time in a marina when we can put away her potty mat and get her out for nice long walks with some semblance of a routine. While her environment is ever changing, some things remain constant. No matter where we are, this big girl always awakens with her hind end wagging and a loud Scooby Doo yowl that says “It’s time for a walk!” I think she will miss her friends and beautiful environment here in Puravidaville, but we always look forward to new territory to explore. Look out Panama, here we come!
Hope you loved this morning walk story about Quincy in the friendly town of Golfito, Costa Rica. Wanna get into the Pura Vida spirit from whatever mysterious place you live around the world? Take a listen to Darin Talbot’s song about Costa Rica…”Puravidaville“.
