Touch My Monkey*

Date of events depicted: 12 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 6 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

White-faced monkeys surround the boat. Clearly curious, they leap from branch to branch, screeching excitedly. One scampers noisily across the roof, stopping to peer over the edge. Another clambers onto the side, reaches for Eden’s extended hand, and attempts to pry open her clenched fingers.

Eden is thrilled. "I've hugged a shark, kissed a giraffe - and let me tell you, that's a lot of tongue for a first date - and now I've touched a monkey!"

Wordlessly, Yumiko hands her a disinfectant wipe.

Our intrepid heroines are deep in the mangrove-lined estuaries of Damas Island. Black iguanas and crocodiles bask in the sun, bare-throated tiger-herons hunt in the shallows, and green kingfishers plunge headfirst into the water in search of prey while a silky anteater (the world’s smallest species of anteater) sleeps curled up high in a tree.

Yumiko and Eden are still marveling over the wonders of that distinctive ecosystem as they take a sunset stroll along Manuel Antonio’s crowded main beach. They revel in the cool ocean breeze and the tangy smell of salt in the air.

“Excusez-nous. Did you ever find your monkey?”

It is the young French couple Eden encountered in Tortuguero.

“Yes. And today I touched one. Now I am as happy as a little girl.”

© Eden Feuer

*For those readers who are not familiar with Saturday Night Live 1989-1993, the title of this episode is a reference to the Mike Myers sketch Sprockets. A clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc7lPwfQAKk

Blazing Saddles

Date of events depicted: 10 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 5 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica...

"On a scale of one to ten, Miko, ten being metaphysically on the verge of death, you are currently at a...?"

Yumiko considers the question for a long moment. "Seven and a half."

"Only seven and a half?" Eden asks, eyeing her critically. Yumiko is sweating profusely - they both are in the scorching midday heat - and panting, but her face is not that delightful shade Eden has dubbed I'm-about-to-pass-out red.

Our intrepid heroines are hiking in Rincón de la Vieja National Park. The trail climbs and drops through dry forest, moist forest, and transitional savannah.

They stop in the welcome shade of a strangler fig to drink some water. Though Eden is acutely aware that they are running out of time, she doesn't want to push Yumiko to the point of collapse.

She wishes that they didn't have to hurry, that they could have spent another fifteen minutes with the curious white-faced monkeys they encountered earlier, that they could have taken a refreshing swim in Blue Lake with its scenic waterfall, that now they could go slow enough to look for birds and study the flowers and let Yumiko catch her breath. But our dynamic duo worries that Freddie, their driver, is already preparing a search party.

Yumiko is at a nine and a half by the time she and Eden reach the trailhead, where Freddie greets them enthusiastically and ushers them into the waiting van for the bumpy ride back to the lodge.

While Yumiko is recovering in the back seat, Eden discovers that Freddie is an avid fan of 80s American pop music. He hands her his phone, which doubles as an MP3 player, and soon they are singing along to Starship's "We Built This City" and Samantha Fox's enduring classic "Touch Me."

"Phew! With the way we stink, nobody's gonna wanna touch us," Eden remarks once she and Yumiko return to their room. "But since we already reek, how 'bout we go horseback riding?"

Their guide is a wiry, deeply-tanned, non-English- speaking caballero named Jimmy. He points out the volcano in the distance as he leads them along dusty cattle paths to the Río Colorado. They dismount to soak their sore feet and skip stones in the cool water before beginning the return trip.

"¿Galope?" Jimmy asks.

"Lucky we have a good chiropractor," Eden calls out to Yumiko.

And they ride off into the sunset.

© Eden Feuer

Related links: Q Chiropractic 

The Heat of the Moment

Date of events depicted: 7 February – 9 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 4 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

“Time for another ‘Costa Rican massage,’” Yumiko comments as she and Eden climb into the Interbus van and brace for a bone-jarring, teeth-rattling ride on one of the country’s infamous back roads.

“Lucky we have a good chiropractor back at home.”

Our intrepid heroines are sorry to be leaving the lush, cool mountain community of Monteverde. There they spent an afternoon strolling the hanging bridges, taking in the cloud forest from canopy level and spotting a male resplendent quetzal and a purple-throated mountain- gem. An entire morning was devoted to birding with an expert guide and Eden got fabulous shots of emerald toucanet. A night hike yielded sightings of orange- kneed tarantula, agouti, raccoon, coati, possum, and olingo.

“It’s hot,” Yumiko observes hours later upon arrival in Curubandé.

“‘Hot’ is an understatement,” Eden mutters testily. “It’s freakin’ sweltering.”

Laden with their luggage, Yumiko and Eden trudge to their room, conveniently located halfway across the lodge’s sprawling property.

Eden drops the backpacks and inspects their quarters. “Oh, goody, visitors of the six-legged variety. No walking around our ‘charmingly rustic’ accommodations in bare feet, okay?”

Though heat, humidity, and fatigue – the result of too many mornings waking well before dawn – aren’t doing much for Yumiko’s disposition either, she says, “At least there’s air conditioning.”

“Thank God. Let’s take advantage of it. Even if we were so inclined, we got here too late to do anything fun anyway.”

Sapped of energy and motivation, our fearless females collapse on the bed and sprawl there listlessly.

A brief nap is all it takes to revive their sense of adventure.

"I'm restless."

"I'm thirsty."

There's one obvious solution to both those problems. And so our intrepid heroines head straight for the bar.

 © Eden Feuer

Related links: Interbus, Q Chiropractic,  Hanging Bridges, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

Getting Into Hot Water

Date of events depicted: 6 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 3 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

“Let’s do this!” Eden says, tightening the chinstrap of her yellow helmet and tugging on a soaked pair of leather gloves.

She and a guide are standing on a platform at the top of a 220-foot waterfall, preparing for the fourth and final rappel of the day.

The guide locks the carabiner and checks the rope, then allows Eden to back off the platform and hang suspended far above the canyon floor. “You want to go fast?”

“Yep."

“Then this time don’t try to control your descent. Enjoy the ride!”

Eden lets go of the rope, spreads her arms wide, and hurtles down the line. The cheers and whooping of her fellow adventurers echo off the rock walls.

For a moment, Eden wishes that Yumiko’s voice were among them. But Yumiko is at the luxurious Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort, enjoying a long-awaited, well-earned, and much-needed “spa day.”

It’s unusual – practically unheard of – for our intrepid heroines to go their separate ways while traveling. But down-climbing, rappelling, hiking, and swimming her way through a narrow river canyon didn’t appeal to Yumiko. And Eden freaked out at the idea of spending hours relaxing and soaking in the hot springs for which the Arenal/La Fortuna area is famous.

Our dynamic duo meets back at the hotel at 3:00 and has just enough time to change and grab their gear before they are picked up for the afternoon’s activity: a sunset hike near Volcán Arenal, Costa Rica’s most active volcano.

They learn about the 1968 eruption that buried the town of Tabacón and add bronze-tailed plumeleteer to their life list, but they return to the mini-bus thwarted in their quest to see lava glowing red in the night.

In an effort to ease the pain of disappointment, the guides pour copious quantities of Liquid Lava, a potent combination of guaro (a locally-produced, clear, 60-proof liquor made of sugar cane) and tropical fruit punch.

Soon almost everyone on the mini-bus is drunk. Really drunk.

Eden and Yumiko are not among the inebriated and they watch their companions’ sloppy antics with amusement until the bus drops them off in front of Tabacón.

Our intrepid heroines make their way to Yumiko’s favorite pool (for, of course, earlier she had checked out the entire property and weighed the merits of each and every one). The rising steam is illuminated by the slim crescent of the waxing moon. The muted roar of the waterfall drowns out any other sounds.

It’s not the kind of hot water in which Eden usually finds herself when she travels – and for that, both she and Yumiko are grateful.

© Eden Feuer

Related links: Desafio Adventure Company, Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort

Monkeying Around

Date of events depicted: 3 February – 4 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 2 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

“Have you seen my monkey?”

The young French couple Eden has accosted looks suitably startled and plenty perplexed.

“This place is a maze. How the heck am I supposed to find that monkey?”

Adjusting her photo backpack, Eden hurries along the path in search of the location where a few minutes prior she had spied a howler monkey snoozing in a tree. The air is steamy following a sudden brief tropical downpour and the sweat is making its way down her face in rivulets.

Miko would be able to find it. Where the heck is she when I need her? She has a sense of direction. I, on the other hand, have trouble finding my way out of a department store.

“Excuse me. Have you seen my monkey?”

So intent is she on finding her monkey that she doesn’t even stop to admire the huge iguana sunning itself or the collared araçaris flying overhead.

Eden halts and surveys the area. “I thought it was right here,” she mutters. She is on the verge of giving up and heading to the room – assuming she can find her way back – when she sees the howler foraging in the foliage.

It is amazing how much wildlife hangs out on the grounds of the lodge, so our intrepid heroines anticipate that they will see even more when they explore the canals of remote Tortuguero National Park by boat.

And so the next morning, Yumiko and Eden stand bleary-eyed on the dock. It is 5:45 – just before sunrise – and as they wait for their guide, they listen to the howling of monkeys, the squawks of parrots, and the song of olive-backed euphonias.

Their guide, Roberto, lives up to his reputation as the best in the area. He navigates the small boat skillfully and patiently through the waterways, pointing out caimans, herons, emerald basilisks, green iguanas, and spider monkeys.

But for our dynamic duo the highlight of the excursion is the unexpected (but much hoped for) sighting of great green macaw. Four of the beautiful endangered birds fly past noisily, leaving Yumiko and Eden agape and somewhat giddy.

Still on a high, they return to the lodge, where they are greeted by the spectacle of howlers mating. 

Yumiko and Eden say nothing. They simply stare.

Finally, Eden clears her throat. “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” she drawls. “That’s something I never reckoned we'd be seeing.”

Yumiko just groans.

© Eden Feuer