My Day Today
I kept thinking, “This is the experience of a lifetime.”
Ahead of me on a path cleared by a machete were the (husband/wife) owners of 200 of the most beautiful acres on the planet and a good friend and newest member of our sales team for the Osa Mountain Properties, Mo Mora. Our job for the morning was to walk as much of the property as we could and to take as many pictures as possible.
Neither of our goals was hard to attain. No hike I have ever experienced had kept my feet moving forward with as great or greater anticipation. Every vista and every twist in the trail attacked my visual and auditory senses with vigor and with a keen desire to both pause to take pictures, and, to keep moving.
Costa Rica is unusual on just about every level. It is in Central America sandwiched between Nicaragua and Panama. There is no excuse for this beautiful country to be anything but a sweltering, seething mix of high temperatures and high humidity. Well, to be honest, there are plenty of both to go round. On the other hand the cool breezes off the Pacific and the high elevations just minutes away from the coast have a tremendous and positive impact on weather conditions.
Our morning hike took the four of us through a jungle of kaleidoscopic plants and animals this guy from Iowa had only previously impersonally seen on National Geographic. One College buddy of mine, Boyd Matson, is a key player at National Geographic and I am head over heels immersed in what has been his life for decades. Amazing! The colors of the jungle are on one hand, quite what one would expect. On the other, they simply jump out and evoke responses like, “You’ve got to be kidding!”
Mario and Betty led us on trails with which they have become familiar over the past fifty years, and their description is much like a person in North America would give directions to the house of a friend. Neither of them speaks English and I am at the stage of picking up on bits and pieces of Spanish. Not to worry. Mo speaks both and was there to interpret their memories and narratives.
While our main reason for exploring the property this morning was to help Mario and Betty develop a plan to transfer (sell) the property to a person or people who would love it as much as they have, the experience was clearly multi-dimensional.
My personal history is thoroughly drenched with love for nature. Some people look at the forest (jungle) and see a bunch of trees. Not me. I’m looking for subtle movements and color patterns that suggest a life form that is different from its setting. Years of hunting squirrels and rabbits in Iowa have evolved away from the kill and directly to the thrill of seeing in real life that which I have only read or seen pictures or videos of in my past.
At one point today my attention was drawn to movement in the trees ahead of us. It could have been a bird. It could have been a falling branch. It could have been a squirrel. My intuition insisted that I keep my attention in that direction. Sure enough, within a minute, we found ourselves surrounded with a troop of, Mo said, “100 squirrel monkeys!” Talk about exciting. I am standing there with a pathetic Nikon 5100. I say that with deep respect. I love my camera, but I am on a real estate tour. For such a purpose I have a wide angle lense and that is all. The squirrel monkeys are little and perhaps 40 feet away at the closest.
There were mommies with babies riding on their backs. There were juveniles that stopped in perfect profile to stare at us. There were mature adults that kept the troop moving. I’m telling you, I was gripped with the thought that I was in the zoo, not at the zoo. I was on National Geographic, not watching it!
Before I wrap this up, I must say something about “seeing forever.” This is my feeble attempt at describing the views in the mountains on the Pacific side of southern Costa Rica. There we were, deep in the Costa Rican jungle. On one side are the cutest monkeys in the world. On the other is the most stunning view of miles of virgin jungle and beyond that the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean. To the south is the Osa Peninsula, one of the most diverse and protected areas on planet earth. Over to the west, out there in the Pacific is Cano Island. The entire island is a National Park. To the east is a most magnificent valley with thousands of acres of oil palms and pineapples and rice and all the other fruit and vegetable crops it takes to make Costa Rica, Costa Rica.
At times I just have to pinch myself. Do I really feel this good? Am I really surrounded with such amazing nature? Do I really get to participate in events and opportunities that are so reflective of God’s glorious creation activity? I know I’m only 11 months into this phase of life, but I’ve just got to say, “What a life!” And, “Thank you, God!”
Friend,
Wes
PS. Keep an eye on our web site (www.osamountainproperties.com). We already have several properties listed. Several more are on their way. Mario and Betty’s property will be there soon…up close and personal! By the way, we would love to have you as a neighbor or a visitor down here. Believe me; it is possible for many, many people to join me in the…Costa Rica Experience!
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