peregriNation: jungle animals

One weekend a friend of mine came to visit from the states. There was no extra space in my tico house for visitors so I took a room at La Mariposa, the butterfly, which is up the mountain from Quepos in Manuel Antonio. Ahhh… air conditioning, hot water, and an amazing view, it was luxurious. My friend was arriving the next day so I had some quiet and calm all to myself for the first time in a month. I went out onto the terrace to enjoy the stunning view of Manuel Antonio National Park and the beach. As the sun was going down I noticed there was another side to my terrace. I walked over to see what the view might be in that direction. There was a large potted plant around the corner, and stretched from there to the wall was one of the most amazing spider webs I had ever seen. I wanted to take down the web and see around the corner, but I just didn’t have the heart. It’s getting late, I thought, and some spider spent a lot of time weaving this web for tonight. I’ll just pass on the view. I snuggled in the bed early excited to know I would not be awakened at the crack of dawn by dogs and roosters, and I quickly fell asleep in the quiet.

I may not be in Quepos, but I’m still in Costa Rica. At the first sign of daylight, I was awakened by a repetitive banging on my roof! Really? What in the world is going on up there, and why is the universe against me getting some shut-eye? I climbed out of bed when I realized it wasn’t going to stop. Was the hotel working on my roof at that this time in the morning? The sun comes up at five and by 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning everyone here is up and going about their day. I would have to call the front desk and ask them to please stop. I squinted against the sun as I moved out on to the terrace and looked up to find a group of White Faced monkey’s jumping up and down on my roof like a trampoline! They were having the time of their lives as they jumped and rolled and played. I suddenly forgot I was grumpy as I watched them from only a few feet away. I was mesmerized. They moved off the roof and down onto my terrace to play with an iguana. He did not seem at all amused by their antics, and fought back, but took a few hits that stunned him. He rallied and took off when they became distracted by the ledge and began playing there. One monkey worked his way around the around the corner where the spider web was located. He stopped in his tracks. The largest spider I’d ever seen was there right in the center of the web. He worked his way closer until his face was one inch from the web. He balanced on the rail as he looked and studied, cocking his head curiously from side to side. Suddenly, CHOMP! He ate my spider right out of the web. I jumped back a foot at the shock of it, and shouted, “Hey, what was that!” I was actually angry at the monkey for a few minutes as I felt the loss of my friend I had protected the night before. Slowly I realized this is the cycle of life, this is the world of survival in nature, and I was merely an observer. So I picked up a stick, took down the web and went around the corner to enjoy the morning from a different point of view.