October 6, 2013
A Moving Picture Journal Entry 1
(Below is the journal entry included in the video)
Journal Entry from October 6, 2013, the day of my birthday
La Pastura, Costa Rica.
After a difficult week beginning to learn a new language I
decided to get away from the humidity and the heat of the valley by spending
the night in the surrounding mountains. I planned to visit the highest peak and
still active volcano, named after the city that was my temporary place of home
and study, called Volcán Turrialba. I took a bus that ascended the mountain for
one hour, then I got off at a very small farming and grazing town
called La Pastura. This is the starting point for a long climb upward through
open pastures, grazing livestock, and tropical forests, until after five hours
you arrive at the base of an erupting volcano.
I looked forward to everything
about it but ended getting a little caught up by some local farmers while
stuffing down a preparatory meal at the local restaurant and bar. I was at my
table, and they were at the bar, drinking, laughing, and winding down after a
long week of hard work. As best I could with the little Spanish I knew, I asked
where would be a good spot to set up my hammock for the night. They said
anywhere and continued to tell me all about the surrounding area. Once they
mentioned a waterfall nearby I paid my bill and hurried off down the road in
the direction they pointed.
Although I never did find the one they had in mind,
I hitchhiked to a bridge, and skipped on off down the rocky river. The
farther I went the more I forgot about my former residence at home and in Turrialba.
It was the river and not roads that directed my way. It was an alive and sky-reaching
jungle, not inanimate concrete buildings, that blocked my view and memory from the outside world.Eventually I came upon
finding a waterfall of my own where without shame whatsoever I stripped down
naked and bathed all alone. In that moment, I did not want to return to any
form of structure. The remoteness of my location and the presence of solitude
offered a spiritual refuge that comes only in such spontaneous moment as these.
I suspended my hammock between moss covered trees along the narrow, gently
flowing river. I layed down, closed my eyes, and sleep was interrupted only
when I felt rain drops on my face. After realizing how thick the clouds had
become I knew there was no way I could sleep out tonight. I was ill-prepared to
sleep out in the rain- I had no tarp and I even forgot to bring a light. I made
the only decision available and scrambled my way back to the road before dark
and then walk an hour in the rain back to the restaurant where I made company
earlier.
When I returned it was the same guys as before sitting in the same
chairs in front of the same empty glasses and a half dozen more. I wondered
exactly how much they had to drink while I was gone, but they were just as
talkative as before and soon learned of my desperation. They pulled up a chair
next to them and immediately were buying me beer and food and whiskey to warm
my blood. The bar owner said I could sleep on the floor of the bar as a
heavy rained fell against a rickety old rust metal roof. It was everything I
needed, but then the farmer who I had made good acquaintances with
insisted that I sleep in a bed in his house nearby. I turned down the offer
because it was far too generous, but he kept telling me, "No problemo, mi
muy rico. Tu dormes in mi casa," and then he would buy me another beer and
yell "pure vida!"
Once I accepted his generosity the night really got
wild. Karaoke started and I must of sang an entire set of Johnny Cash before
someone else decided to share the occupation. We finally made our way out of
the bar and up the little hill and down the street and into his house. He
showed me the room where I would stay, the one you see in this frame, and told
me his wife would make me breakfast in the morning. I realized the depth of his
generosity when I discovered that it was his daughters room where I slept. He
had spent the night on an old rugged couch so that his daughter could sleep in
his bed with mom so that I could have a bed of my own. It made me cry by the
time I put it all together. The generosity of the farmer and his family will
forever be one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given and it so happens
to occur on the day of my birthday.
In the morning we were all woken up at 5:30
by the rooster, and he quickly said goodbye and headed out to work on a Sunday.
Meanwhile, we all slept in a few more hours and after eating a modest breakfast
I said "muchos gracias" and walked out the door. Just outside there
was a view of the entire valley thousands of feet below and the surrounding
hillsides and grazing farm animals and the smell of fresh crisp mountain air.
It was Sunday, and I spent my birthday hitch-hiking to the top of the volcano.
There I found a stray puppy. He was the cutest little guy and I couldn't help
but imagine he would become a fine travel companion in the months to come. I
had wild thoughts of keeping him until I hitched another ride back down the
mountain.
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