Last sunday I travelled to Uvita to begin a 6+ week stay at Cascada Verde Eco Lodge. I had been looking forward to visiting this place since I read about it back in March. Unfortunately on the bus ride to Uvita I had my duffle bag stolen. My duffle contained my laptop, passport, credit cards, camera, and some cash. I broke a couple of standard bus travel rules that I had learned and adhered to on previous bus trips and paid for it dearly. This event along with 5 hours of bus riding and a 3 hour layover in Quepos made for one of the longest travel days of my life. Finally at about 9 pm arrived in Uvita. The bus let me off in the town center if you want to call it that. The town consists of a supermarket, bank, visitors office, and a few other small businesses. I now had a 1.8 km. uphill walk on a dirt/gravel road in a dark place I'd never been before. Fortunately there were 3 signs that were posted along the road that guided me to Cascada Verde. When I arrived I was met by some of the people staying at CV, Neela, Monica, Denny, and Houston. I told them about the events of my day and they couldn't have reacted with more kindness and compassion. They fed me and gave me a room to stay in with no payment required. My room was a simple, open-air loft space made of wood and bamboo. It included a comfortable bed with netting along with a chair and wood shelves. The open air feel in the heart of the jungle with sounds made by toads, monkeys, and various insects was simply amazing. Here's a look at building structure and surrounding vegetation.
Over the course of 4 nights and 3 days at Cascada Verde I got to hike barefoot up a river & help clean out the tanks for CV's water source, see a howler monkey swing from the treetops while practicing yoga, help plant new trees, taste several fruits I'd never seen or heard of before, hike down to and swim in the ocean, and participate in "Toss Your Salad Tuesday". Toss Your Salad Tuesday is not a contest to see who can drink the most Imperials, it is a night of great food and camaraderie including delicious salads made from various freshly picked greens from the garden.
More important than the beautiful jungle environment, open air sleeping, and amazing freshly picked foods I had a chance to get to know several people during my short stay. I got to plant trees with Evelina, hike the river barefoot with Houston, prepare dinner with Monica, hike to the beach and ocean with Denny, and carry on many interesting conversations with Neela who was particularly empathetic with my situation.
I had a great time at Cascada Verde but the stinger came with the realization that I would need to return to the U.S. to best handle business/work related issues stemming from the theft of my belongings. After getting a temporary passport at the U.S. Embassy in San Jose I flew to New York and am now visiting my brother and his family in Shelton, CT. I'll spend the holiday season with family but my long-term travel plans at this point are up in the air. Many options are up for consideration including a return to Costa Rica. I did receive some inspiring advice from my good friend Chris Gauer who said, "You must shed this minor disaster and use it as a springboard to begin the second half of your trip stronger."
