Reminiscent of our first night at Xandari, we were the only guests our first night at La Cusinga as well. This place was magical. Possibly one of my very favorite places ever. And then add to that we had it entirely to ourselves! We were spoiled by Cindy and Rita who brought over to us a bottle of wine after checking in. The Ticos surely like to honor honeymooners or rather Luna de Miel. We have felt well cared.
The only read downfall of La Cusinga is that they did not have mosquito nets. Cindy told us we didn’t need them, but come bedtime, we surely did. I spent the first part of my morning taking inventory of the new stock of bumps that needed tending. BUT the best part: right before dawn on both mornings, there arrived to my ears chaotic discord. I thought I heard Howlers in the Caribe, but Casa Vida had nothing on the La Cusinga Howler Monkeys! Holy crap. I could not believe my ears. I wanted to run outside with my camera, yet I knew it was still too dark. Besides, I didn’t want to scare them away…and I had some apprehension. I lay there in bed feeling awe struck, scared, eager, itchy and confused over that sound. Well, the itchy came from bites. It did not seem real.
When the first glimmers of sunlight came through the window, I was ready. Outside unkempt hair, unbrushed teeth, with my camera and tripod thinking I would be in search of the monkeys. Well, they were ALL AROUND our cabin. Hanging in the trees and eating their breakfast. Amazing! By 6:00 am I already needed to change my camera batteries. Scott and I watched them for more than an hour. The ease with which they swung from one tree to the next. So very cool. I did, in the back of my mind, have one little fear that they would get tired of our watching them and start to throw their poo at us. We learned from Cindy that this is the way they show aggression – poo slinging. Alas, we survived the adventure sans poo.
Cindy is a total sweetie. Rita could be a gourmet chef at the finest San Francisco restaurants. She’s a rotund Tico. A beautiful, fresh face and hair under constant cover. At first we thought her unfriendly. This was not the case. Whether she was quiet or reserved, she warmed up to us. She created the most scrumptious and delectable vegan dishes, again, many of the food grown onsite at the organic garden. We were so enamored with her guacamole that we inquired about purchasing a large container of it. She seemed so pleased with this request that she didn’t even charge us for it.
La Cusinga is simply a heavenly place. The owners are conscious and use water power. There were more recycling bins here than anywhere else. They supported sustainability. The restaurant faces the ocean. It’s open-air, like many places here in CR. Butterflies, hummingbirds, dragonflies abound. I saw another Blue Morpho lazily, evasively floating in and among the lush vegetation. A little gecko came to visit during each meal. He hung out at the table and chilled while we ate. AND I saw my first Coati. Adorable.
Scott and I hit the various trails one leading to the rocks where there was a chance of seeing turtles, and the other to an isolated beach. We were the only people we saw! Our last morning, while eating breakfast, a few whales made an appearance. We ate our fresh fruit, gazing at the sea and the spouting beauties. This was a hard place to leave, yet there were more adventures to be had.
If you’d like to follow all the Costa Rican posts, click click click away and enjoy!
Post #1: The first days of our Costa Rican Honeymoon here
Post #2:: Little Grape Big Grape here
This is Post #3: First Monkey Sighting here
Post #4: Spazztacular Sunset here
Post #5: Looking at Lava with my Lovah here
Post #6: The Sanctuary here
Post #7: More of the Sanctuary here
Post #8: Playa Pan de Azucar here
Post #9: Yes We CAN! here
Post #10: Back at the Sanctuary here
Post #11: Adios Sanctuary! here