Fifth Time In Costa Rica, 20

Last night I had a confrontation with the alleged owner of the Hotel Villa Verde. At quarter to eight, just as I was struggling to keep my eyes open, the music got cranked up. Even after the volume was lowered a bit, the earplugs were still no match for the din. So, I went over there. I asked the man at the front desk if this was the Villa Verde. He said it was. I asked him about lowering the noise, please. He said it´s still early. I tactfully explained that some people in the area like to retire early, and could he please consider this. He tried to argue that it was his right to run his business, and then I asked him if maybe out of good manners and consideration for others he might want to compromise. I also said that he might try to have some compassion for those who don´t want to listen to loud club music out in the wilderness. That´s when he got a bit ugly, telling me that I´m on his property etcetera, and he´d do whatever he wanted. I told him that if it happens again, I would return. He asked if I was making a threat, and I replied that, no, it´s a promise. Then, as I was leaving he tried to follow me close behind. Twice in Spanish, I told him not to follow me. Then, I left. This guy is an American, by the way, for all you cultural relativism cops who are just champing at the bit to lecture me for not being culturally tolerant. The local Ticos, I have found, unlike certain foreign investors in this country, are quiet and considerate of others. The good news is that he did turn the music down. I have no plans of returning by the way, simply because I´m getting really sick of this. I also reckon that the one face to face encounter will be enough to help resolve things. It isn´t that I´m backing down from a fight, as there are no punches involved here. I stayed polite, if assertive, all the way through, and violence has never been my thing, anyway. Not that I´m a coward, no more or no less than anyone else, but I just find that kind of exchange to be an incredible waste of energy, as well as being super destructive. So, I always avoid this kind of interaction, though I have also found that when done right, face to face communication can and often does work wonders. Anyway, we´ll see how things go over my last ten days here. I did sleep okay, by the way, and today did another walk in the reserve. It feels kind of like a guilty pleasure, since after paying just once, they´re letting me in now for free whenever I want. It wasn´t too crowded, being Sunday, and it is often interesting observing other people while in the forest, something I probably wouldn´t be able to do so well if I wasn´t there alone. Some look genuinely enthralled with the place. Others get super-distracted with their companions or kids and just seem to want to get through the ordeal without paying much attention to their surroundings. Then there are the barmy birders with their cameras and telescopes, so focussed on getting enough images of that special bird to put on their Facebook account that they don´t seem to be terribly aware of the overwhelming beauty and majesty of this forest. But I think most visitors really do appreciate and enjoy it, and it can be so overwhelming that I don´t think that anyone should be blamed for wanting to block some of it out. I really think that we are rather fragile to be able to accommodate too much beauty, much as we hunger for it. I have also noted that never, so far, have I seen anyone in the forest looking at their phone or iPod. And no joggers. While sitting on a bench and admiring a particularly impressive strangler fig (please ask Uncle Google. They are fascinating trees), I ended up chatting with a couple from Argentina about this tree. Since they didn´t speak English, I told them in Spanish about how this tree actually grows around a host tree for support and eventually chokes it to death, hence its name, and becomes, itself, the tree. They are huge, by the way, and towering. Later, while seated on an other bench, I noticed stuff falling from a nearby tree, then looked more carefully and saw a capuchin monkey eating a piece of fruit. He seemed quite content to sit up there while I tried to engage him in Spanish. Then two fellows, Mexicans, I think, came by to have a look and the monkey got a bit nervous and climbed to a further tree. Then a group of a half dozen or so young people decided to get their piece of the action and the monkey, understandably, retreated even further. I was also feeling uncomfortable with this mob of strangers surrounding me and standinr real close to the bench (I don´t like nature when there are too many humans included), so I got up, said, ´´I don´t want to make the monkey neurotic¨, and left. I think they actually got it. Then I noticed a couple of young woman focussing with their cameras on a bird in the bushes. They told me about it, and I paused briefly for a look, then backed away, mentioning that I like to give the birds their space. On the whole, this has been an enjoyable day, plus, it was a gentler than usual hike in the woods, so I could appreciate more the beauty around me without my limbs and joints complaining about the way I´m punishing them. A big hug from Monteverde. Handshake and fistbump, too.