Leaving the seaport city of Limon on the train, we were headed to the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. In 1823 after a civil war San Jose became the capital city . The city grew rapidly due to the coffee trade. San Jose was the center for arts being the home to The Jade Museum, The Gold Museum and the Natural Museum. Arriving in San Jose we were to be guests at a birthday party hosted by our new friends Gloria and Mario. Their eighteen year old daughter and I shared the same birthday, March 18.

Whether they were patrons or board members of The Gold Museum was not clear, however they had a clear strong mission -the return of Costa Rica’s pre-Columbian gold artifacts from US museums to its rightful home. They were just looking for some more fresh voices to give a shout out to Washington DC. to take action on a mission that was already in progress. Late in 1990 The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was passed. This more than likely influenced the international efforts to recover pre-Columbian artifacts. Returning to the states, we would do our part by reaching out to our state representative. But right now, we were celebrating my 40th birthday. By the end of the party, my gift from them was a one week stay at their Manuel Antonio condo . Manuel Antonio National Park was located in Costa Rica’s central Pacific Coast. Manuel Antonio was the country’s smallest national park. It was famous for pristine white sand beaches, lush rain forests, hundreds of birds and sightings of monkeys, sloths and iguanas. Once again we were on the train on our way to the next adventure.

We arrived 2 1/2 hours later in the port city Puntarenas on Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nicoya. The city was deeply intertwined with the development of the country’s historic railroad systems and the founded “Chinese colony”. Making it a city to experience an incredible fusion of traditional Cantonese style food with fresh, local seafood and Costa Rican (tico) ingredients. Puntarenas has a deep rooted history going back to 1855. In 1855 it was the primary entry port for the Chinese migrants. The original group of 77 came from Guangzhou to work on the Panama Railway and many more immigrants would soon arrive to work on the railroad .Originally it was built to transport coffee from the highland valleys to the Pacific Coast for export. Before the railroad, beans were transported by ox cart down the mountain. Most labor contracts lasted for 8 years. Once completion, the immigrants settled in and around Puntarenas and other port cities. Manuel Antonio was still 3 hours away. A bus would get us there but now it was lunch time and we had quite a few choices of Chinese. It was the best Chinese I had ever had.WE became so taken with the incredible fusion that we foolishly drank our bottled water poured into ice filled glasses. Up until now we had been so vigilant not to “drink the water.”Unfortunately, lunch would come with some lasting side effects. It instantly became part of my lasting mythology-Montezuma’s revenge. By the time we arrived in Manuel Antonio, we would succumb to Montezuma’s revenge. We would spend most of the week striving to recover.

Legend says killed by the Spanish conquistador, Hernando Cortez, that Montezuma II put a curse on the outsiders. It’s a mythical “punishment” inflicted on modern travelers for the Spanish conquest of the Aztec civilization. We were succumbing to the punishment. I had already lost a dress size so this just added to my concerns. Looking to find some relief from the “revenge ” I was leisurely basking in the sun on the pristine white sand beach just steps from our new friends condo when I had my first encounter with an black iguana. It was my “Oh My” moment. With my first glance I saw a prehistoric, dinosaur-like appearance reptile making it look fiercely aggressive. Unless they feel cornered they are not and are vegetarian. Iguanas are notorious beach lovers, basking in the sun . They embody the essence of relaxation and they can quickly retreat and blend into the jungle vegetation. But for right now, it seemed to be approaching me. Instinctively, I remained still and then just as quickly as it had appeared next to my beach towel, it disappeared into the jungle vegetation.

By the end of the week, I was still deciding if I was well enough to travel back to San Jose. I was talking with Susie, the neighbor who was acting as the property manager of the condo. As we were discussing when I would be well to return again to San Jose, Susie seemed to lunge at me . Within mere seconds, the room and my whole world shook. At first I thought I was having a vertigo attack. Susie exclaimed “EARTHQUAKE”,as she grabbed my arm to move me outside, the front lawn appeared to roll like a wave. Sitting down on the ground we road out the next few quakes. I remember sitting there wishing to be rescued by a helicopter. Days later, I arrived back in San Jose to read the newspaper headlines -6.8 earthquake at the entrance of Nicoya Gulf. I realized I had been rescued but by divine intervention. If I had been on the bus back to Puntaraneous as originally planned, I would have become trapped by a rock slide. Montezuma’s revenge was not a curse for me. It was a delay that had given me divine protection.