Fifth Time In Costa Rica, 10

It`s hard to believe I`ve been here ten days already. I return to Vancouver in three weeks, April 5, for those of you who are wondering. I`ve turned into a bit of an art machine and have just completed drawing number five since arriving. Well, there`s lots of time to do art, and really, given that I spend eleven months of the year looking after other people`s mental health, it`s only fitting that I take this one month of the year to look after my own. I had a difficult night. There was a huge windstorm and it knocked the power out briefly so when I woke up my clock radio wasn´t right and I thought it was a couple of hours later than it really was. I got up at around two-twenty, believing that it was four am (I got to sleep at around quarter to nine last night, so it didn`t seem that early.) I got up, showered, cleaned my place (I have a special arrangement with management, so I do a lot of my own cleaning. It helps me feel more at home here and it also takes a bit of a burden off their staff as this is peak season in Monteverde.) I stepped outside to look at the stars. This place is in the semi-wilderness and there is almost no light pollution and you can see stars, oh, you can see stars! That is one knock out punch of a night sky here in Monteverde where, when it isn`t cloudy, you can see stars, and more stars, and more stars and they go on forever! Not feeling properly rested I went back to sleep for a couple of hours, then woke up to the smell of cigarette smoke coming through my window. I stepped outside and nearby at the picnic table the British guy in the next room (Jean Paul and Simone have left) was sucking on a smoke and I told him firmly but politely that smoking is prohibited here. He was very good about it, fortunately. At breakfast I chatted for a while with an elderly couple from New York. Unfortunately we couldn`t avoid talking about President Dump, the Great Deplorable in the Oval Office. They still haven`t gotten over the horror. I did mention to them that since arriving here in Costa Rica, I haven`t bothered to look at any news sources, not online, not anywhere, and I don`t miss it. Please, Gentle Reader, don`t tell me anything that I`m missing unless the Big One has finally hit Vancouver, then, any of you who have survived have my permission to tell me all about it, if you are able to get online anywhere. I went for a not very long hike in the cloud forest reserve, following a two hour nap after breakfast. The place has lost none of it`s magic or splendour, and you can tell by the look of awe on some of the visitors` faces that we all share in common, as human beings, this insatiable hunger for beauty. This could be why they all look kind of incomplete to me. It´s as though they are missing beauty of soul or something similar and so we all seem to have this need to absorb and drink it in and satisfy that craving and maybe nourish our souls a little. It`s one of those facets of our human nature that I don`t think can be easily or scientifically explained away, this incurable craving for beauty, this raging need to be overcome by the sublime. They`ve put in quite a few benches since I visited this forest last year and I did rest on quite a few of them. I am in no hurry, and I want to spend more of my time here like this: being still, and listening and watching and absorbing the marvellous glory and beauty that is surrounding me in this magical place. I could do without some of the muddy trails, but that is a small price to pay. It is not hard to imagine what Central America must have looked like when it was all covered with dense tropical forest. Those days will always be gone, I`m afraid. But I am confident for our future, even if some of you might think I`m being daft. While I was walking in the cloud forest today, I couldn`t help wondering what more could be done to make this place more accessible to persons with disabilities. There is no wheelchair access anywhere, and the trails themselves would have to be fully and properly paved and I can`t see this happening any time soon. So, it looks like, by default anyway, ableism is going to win this one in Monteverde, which is a shame, because it is sad that people in wheelchairs may never have the opportunity to see this incredible forest live. At least there are no bikes on the trails. Nothing against cyclists, but they do tend to move rather fast, and if you want to go slow and absorb your environment then they can be an irritating and painful distraction. I know this because sometimes cyclists in my own dear Vancouver have a tendency of taking over some of the trails in Stanley Park and Pacific Spirit Park, two places where I enjoy long, contemplative solitary hikes, and they can really wreck the ambience at times. On the other hand, I have to pay nearly thirty bucks canadian for the privilege of seeing this cloud forest. In Vancouver, I can walk in the forest for free! A big hug to all of you