The Beach Party Trail (Part One)

By BobbyRica | April 18, 2011

beach party

Costa Rica during Lenten Season is beach season. It is a time when the city is deserted and most people are going out of town. The resort hotels are booked solid for a week and the only available accommodations you can ever go to are the nearby residents who sublet their guest rooms.

Everyone rushes to the beach to either get a tan or just enjoy the water. I, for one, get the opportunity to beach hop from Jaco down south to Dominical. I call this the beach party trail. I have my posse with me in tow as we make our way to the party spots in the Pacific side of Costa Rica. With three trucks carrying booze , tents, iceboxes (filled with fresh seafood and steaks on ice), and barbecue grills, we bring the party wherever we go! It was a tradition that we try to follow as best we can.

Now we had been planning for another Party Trail this year. The gang has already committed to spend the whole Lent with me. But every time we start this thing, there’s always the proverbial monkey wrench that threatens to spoil the week! Last year was a total disaster. The memory is fresh from my mind because what happened last year was just too surreal. And funny. Let’s not forget funny.

I remembered that we all synchronized our watches leaving our own respective houses; all arrived on our meeting place on time; and started a convoy without a hitch. We were heading out of San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica and my city of residence) and started the two and a half hour trip to Jaco. But Eben, our barbecue guy, suddenly needed to drain the lizard. He motioned us to stop at the side of the road, surrounded by jungle. He got out of the truck, ran to the nearest tree, and relieved himself.

playa_coco_small_with_people_on_beack

Now, Eben is this tall hulking guy who works as a bouncer in one of the top clubs in San Jose. He has no qualms beating someone up with proper provocation. We think he even has issues with aggression. We knew Eben was impervious! He was the guy we can turn to when we needed him to defend us!

Anyway, this big guy turned his back on us and began to pee. As we waited impatiently for Eben to finish his business, we suddenly heard our friend screaming. It wasn’t just any scream. It was a scream that a grown man couldn’t possibly create, because it was so high pitched. It sounded like a little girl’s.

Akasha was quick to respond and ran towards our friend. What could a guy like Eben make him scream like that? I saw Akasha approach Eben as the big guy swiveled his upper body to meet with Akasha.

“What the heck happened to you?” I called out.

Akasha had gone pale. “Bobby…guys, you have to see this…”

Everyone got out from their trucks and walked towards Eben and Akasha. Both of whom suddenly became quiet. Akasha was beet red and had a peculiar expression on his face.

When I was within arm’s length, I pulled Eben towards me and to my horror, I saw a snake had latched itself onto Little Eben.

(TO BE CONTINUED)