So, I became Costa Rica’s lover

By Matthew Kritzer

“I went back into the jungle, only this time for myself; I was on a mission to try to understand and find closure in what had happened to me in the steamy, tangled Vietnamese forest. The close fury of combat during my tour of duty had shocked me to the core, and parts of my mind had gone missing in action.

Now, beginning my sixties, I was entwined in another jungle, alone this time. I felt that being alone would allow me to fill those indefinable, elusive blank spaces in my mode of operation. I knew that the good things in life invariably come on time, though not always on time. To what degree I was there by accident, I couldn’t decide. Still, by the grace of destiny, I was now isolated in a beautiful tropical rainforest on a mountainside overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Osa Canton of southern Costa Rica.

I had initially come to Costa Rica for a three-week getaway vacation. I already had my retirement planned in a manicured Mini-Mac-Mansion between two golf fairways in Florida. I was only seeking a refreshing green prelude to that dull-gray retirement.

Yet, while wandering through this lush countryside, I found myself free-falling in a much different direction than I envisioned.

I hadn’t been looking forward to starting a quest toward wholeness this late, recovering lost moments in time and letting go of others. I couldn’t have remotely imagined building a home and starting a new life in Costa Rica. I couldn’t have dreamed that these splendid jungle-draped mountains even existed, laden with fruit trees and sparkling waterfalls, much less the magnificent ocean views, and yet while I was standing in the midst of it, it had all virtually found me.

Eventually, I became Costa Rica’s lover. Though she has had many others, I believe she loves me more than the rest of her suitors. From my vantage point, 1000 feet above the South Pacific, I can sense her sweet spirit…it reverberates when I look across her sky and water every evening at sunset. I can feel her fresh morning fog skirting past me, hovering, slowly making its way up to the crisp mountain streams before daintily dissipating, unveiling her lush, rainforest valleys below my perch.

Her essence is veiled in mystery yet.

Editor´s note: Matthew is a talented photographer who has lived in Costa Ballena for a few years. See his amazing wildlife photos on Facebook.

Ballena Tales is an essential free digital magazine in Costa Rica, valid for travelers, residents, and investors covering Costa Ballena in the Canton of Osa in the South Pacific of Costa Rica. It is a fully bilingual, bi-monthly, and full-color digital magazine.

The magazine introduces the reader to the life of the local community, with interviews of pioneers, writers, and artists, as well as extensive information on restaurants, hotels, experiences, natural attractions, and wildlife of the South Pacific of Costa Rica.

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