#2619 travel Tuesday: Costa Rica micro-memory (2/30)

When Lizzie and I were in Costa Rica, there were at least a dozen little things that were fun and memorable that we couldn’t take a photo of but didn’t want to forget. We’d often say to each other, “I’m taking a picture in my mind,” and that evolved into what I called micro-memories. I noted these wee moments in the Notes app on my phone. We’d read through them on occasion and added to the list as things came up. I think it will be fun to share some throughout the month and hopefully expand on what made the “thing” something I want to remember.

The very first micro-memory that I wrote was on our first full day in-country. It reads: 

Howler monkey call when we first started exploring grounds at Kioro - Lizzie’s expression was priceless.

We had just check in at the Arenal Kioto Hotel. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we decided to walk through the property to get familiar with our surroundings. Almost immediately, we heard a howler monkey call. Have you ever heard a howler monkey? The noise is kind of like a cross between a large dog’s bark and a monster’s growl. Fun fact: the howler monkey call is second loudest animal sound in Central America. (The blue whale is the loudest). Here is a YouTube video so you can hear for yourself.

Imagine yourself walking out into a beautiful, lush, tropical garden. There are blooming flowers everywhere, scenting the air with sweetness. Plants that only grow in pots in our houses are growing wild all around. Tall trees sway in the warm breeze. You hear that barking/growling sound. You can’t see the animal that is making the noise, but from the sound you’d think it was a big, ferocious monster, wouldn’t you?

Lizzie stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the sound. She looked over at me, her eyes wide, and asked, “What the fuck is that?” I have heard howler monkeys before, in Belize, so I knew what it was. 

Because Lizzie and I are fans of bringing things full circle, it’s not surprising that on our last day in Costa Rica, we heard a howler monkey call. We were in Guanacaste at the Westin, hanging out in the pool for a little while before we had to get on a plane. The monkey howl was nearby and loud. There was a man and two women sitting by the pool that morning. The man immediately got up and started walking toward the sound. Lizzie and I were in the pool, and we quickly got out to follow the sound, also. Remarkably, the monkey was in a tree right by our building and we could easily see it. Neither of us had our phone/camera (because we had been in the pool), so we had to take a picture in our mind of the wild creature we had heard throughout Costa Rica. 

The last micro-memory I wrote was this:

Lizzie’s face whenever we heard a howler monkey.

We heard a howler monkey close to the pool area this morning and actually saw it in the tree near our building!

It was kinda like the howler monkeys were greeting us at Arenal and bidding us farewell at Guanacaste. At least that’s how I like to think of it.

`