After helping Mariachi feed the iguanas and turtles and fixing up a wall to separate one iguana from some young caimans who’d attacked him during the night, I asked Mariachi what else I could do. He led me to the hammocks, explaining that there would be more work tomorrow, as we’d be rebuilding the fronded roof of the turtle cemetery. I decided to head back to Monterrico to check my email, find a lost towel, and grab a soyburger and banana liquado at Johnny’s.
The bar was quiet; Monterrico is a weekend town, so during the week only a few people remained. One of the four or five customers was watching the horizon. As my food arrived, he let out a Wow! ‘There’s a whale breaching out there!’ He pointed to a spot about halfway between the horizon and the shore, just east of a stationery boat. We all moved to the side of the bar that faced the water and scanned the waves in eager anticipation. Sure enough, a huge whale leapt out of the ocean, getting an incredible amount of air for its size, and crashed back into the water with an immense splash. It was a humpback, and it wasn’t alone, as telltale spouts nearer the horizon gave away his buddies’ positions.
For the next three hours we sat, enthralled by the performance that we felt was put on for those of us who stayed to enjoy the real Monterrico. The spouts and breaches continued across the vista, culminating in a lengthy and intensive display of fluke-smacking that had us all shouting ‘Wow!’ in unison. I ordered another liquado to celebrate our fortunate sighting, and contemplated the amazing sights I had seen in this country, and in such a short time, particularly in and around Monterrico.
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