Fifth time In Costa Rica, 29

That dopey little Kentucky warbler was again trying to get into the breakfast room. So we had a little chat about it. I says to the bird, ¨hey, what´s up?¨ and the Kentucky warbler replies, ¨That´s one right purty courtin´parlour ya got in there, an´I thought I´d come in an´ take a li´l look-see.¨ Or something like that. I already mentioned his corn pone southern accent. He seems to be losing interest, anyway, or maybe his head is starting to hurt in all the right places from constantly banging it against the glass. But yes, he does remind me of quite a few people I have known, including at times, yours truly, Gentle Reader!. I only wish, sometimes, that I could read the minds of birds, and I´m really sure that there is a lot more going on than we give them credit for. I had a nice little chat with a couple of New Yorkers here, this morning. One of them said that Canada must be quite a peaceful place. I replied that it´s really because we complain all the time like spoiled rich kids, but it seems to work well as a way of venting and preventing bigger problems from happening, if you know what I mean. I´m all packed now and ready to leave first thing in the morning. I´m having breakfast at 5:30 then my cab arrives at 6, and I take the 6:30 bus to Alajuela. Then, first thing Thursday morning, I´ll be flying home. It is bittersweet, both coming home and leaving this wonderful place. The family here at the Mariposa have given me a lovely going away gift: four huge 2 kilo bags of the local coffee, or should I say, a year´s supply, for me anyway. When I asked for a bag of coffee in exchange for a drawing, I was kind of half-joking, and imagined that I would come away with a one kilogram bag. They also gave me a lovely mug and a local tote bag. I had a final visit to the cloud forest reserve today where I spent around three hours, then had a bite to eat at the restaurant there. While I was sitting on a bench in the forest I got into an enjoyable chat in Spanish with one of the workers there, whom it turns out has seen me all over the place here, between Monteverde and Santa Elena. When I asked him if he has any travel plans he replied that why would he want to go anywhere else when Costa Rica already has everything. Funny, I´ve heard very similar words, but in English (not in French, because I don´t speak the language of Napoleon) in Canada. So, why travel, then, if you already have everything in your own country? Well, that might be a good place to start. I think it´s more the act of venturing out into the unknown that carries the greatest benefit to travel. Especially if you are ready to go it alone, and to actually spend more than a couple of days in another country. I didn´t even know I was Canadian until I began to visit other places. I also understand that this kind of travel isn´t going to work for everyone. Some people don´t do that well on their own. Language barriers can also be a problem, unless you are going to be there long enough to begin learning the local language. But solo travel is going to give you the greatest benefit, because you are more vulnerable, which makes you more open, more flexible and more receptive. And this is the real benefit to travel, unless all you are expecting from a trip is to see buildings or wildlife, eat like a pig, and spend your nights getting stupidly drunk. I get the most annoyed at large tour groups. On one of the trails in the reserve today I came across around twenty or so Germans of a certain age. When I came to the tenth person, or so, I asked him politely, ¨are there any more?¨ and being German, of course he would not respond, nor see the humour in the situation. Now if they were Canadians, at least a few of them would be laughing. I know I´m going to miss this place when I´m home, and I do want to keep returning as much as possible. But sometimes the best thing about travel is coming home again. Following each trip, I try to see if there is anything that I´ve gained or learned while abroad that I could adapt and integrate into my daily life in Vancouver. Last year it seemed to be a call for increasing my fitness, diet and exercise, and conversely I am now around twenty or twenty-five pounds lighter. I think the theme that I am carrying back this year involves the ideas of receptivity and interdependence. Seeing the way all the plant and tree life grows in this part of the world in such a complete and complex web of mutual dependence and harmony has provided me with one intense and incredibly rich metaphor about how we need to see ourselves as a community of humans, both locally and globally. And the receptivity is an ongoing theme here. I could write more, Gentle Reader, and tomorrow I might, as I am able, but if you don´t hear from me till Friday, everything´s alright, since, being in transit these next couple of days, it might not be easy to sit in front of a computer. A hug.