The Water-taxi that turned Death into Zen.  I love all means of transport, it sounded like a brilliant idea at the time; avoid a 4 hour shuttle bus to Jaco by taking a 1 hour water-taxi from Montezuma.  Walking to the beach, I was filled with anticipation and excitement.  The first thing our captain said was “it’s going to be a rough ride, any rougher and I wouldn’t dare even try; prepare to get a little wet.”  No problem, I thought to myself as they began to hand out heavy duty garbage bags to wrap up our bags.   

Standing on the warm sandy beach, the sun warmed my early morning spirit; the Ocean seemed to be inviting us with open arms.  The initial ride out was pleasant, I was enjoying every moment on the sea and under the sun.  We crossed a threshold, the cross wind immediately picked up, the beach was almost out of sight, and the realization we were on the open sea soon came spraying over the side of the boat.  Little by little the waves grew in size; my imagination was wandering in some distant dream until it was sucked back into the now by a huge crash as the Skipper cut the engine.  I looked to my side and saw nothing but the deep blue Ocean.  My pulse quickened as the engine began to roar into gear once more.  The immense waves completely engulfed our little vessel, so big the horizon line was disappearing with each rise up and down, the Ocean slapping us in the face with salt water, as our little boat was tossed left and right.  Nobody was enjoying the ride any longer, a quick scan revealed not a life-jacket in sight; the Captain never taking his eyes off the Ocean in front of him.  Pleasure soon turned to fear as it often does, gripping the rail at my side with tight white knuckles; I took a recount of my life thus far and couldn’t remember the last time I felt the fear of death. 

Death drops the grains of sand in the hourglass ever so slowly.  Finally, after almost 2 hours of deep blue, we passed through the eye of the beast and motored into calm water.  Relieved, I sat back a felt a heightened sense of being and wonder in my soul; it was a triumphant feeling.  I could see the land again, it was a beautiful sight, but the taxi made a sharp left turn and seemed to be heading towards the open sea once more.  The words “what the fuck” passed through my mind.  The captain pointed out and uttered his first word since the beach “Dolfino”. 

It was our reward for bravery in the face of death: a huge swarm of dolphins racing along, jumping high in the sky with magnificent twirls, seeking only the pleasurable.  Together with the dolphins at our side, we enjoyed a true Zen filled moment of wonder; we loved their beautiful presence, and they seemed to love ours.  Although that will probably be my last water-taxi ride; when Death turns to Zen, it can only be described as: SPECTACULAR.