Day 4 (Part II) - Adventure to Isla de Cabuya

I got settled in to my rustic cabina and was talking with Tamara from next door (the owner's 10 year old daughter who spoke some english) when Jeffry, the owner, walked up.  He spoke english very well and we chatted about my trip, where I was going next, etc.  Jeffry had worked as a tour guide in various parts of Costa Rica and was aspiring to start his own company.  He asked me if I wanted to go out to the cemeteria on the island later when the tide was low, and of course I said yes!  (Please spare me the lecture, I know it was NOT a wise decision to walk out to a cemetery on an island at 11 o'clock at night with a "tico" I just met, but you only live once.)

Cabuya Island at high tide.

Let me tell you, when I got back to the cabina (very late) that night, I had to pinch myself because I thought I was dreaming.  It was a full moon that night, so we didn't even need a flashlight.  The island is about a 1 km walk from the beach.  It's amazing that the water recedes so much at low tide, earlier that afternoon when I was out there I would've never guessed you could get to it by foot!  We did not go inside of the cemetery once on the island, because I was too scared.  Instead, we walked the circumference.  Half way around the island Jeffry built a bonfire, climbed up a palm tree and hacked up a couple of coconuts so we could drink the water from them.  Like I said before, pinch me, I'm dreaming! 

Absolutely amazing experience.

I had the best nights sleep that night listening to the sounds of nature.  Bull frogs, birds, and the infamous howler monkeys (they call them jungle monsters) - they make the craziest noise ever, it's hard to describe, but it's almost wolf sounding. 

Cabuya was definitely not a place I thought I would enjoy, but ended up being one of the best parts of my trip.  When else will I ever have the opportunity to sit in front of a bonfire, drinking water straight from a coconut, under a full moon, on a cemetery island???...

Entrance to the cemetery in the backgound.  Cabuya plant in the forefront.  That's what the town is named after.