I've had a lot of fishing trips in my life, because I love to fish. In Alaska, I caught a 46 lb. King Salmon. He was actually 43 pounds when I originally caught him, but he has grown over the years. Hoping to live long enough that he will weigh in at 75 pounds. Takes time! Ha! In Hawaii, thanks to Rick Robinson, I landed a 121 lb. (actual weight) yellow-finned tuna. The day was long and the fight was hard, but I landed him and helped get him into the boat. One glorious Alaska day, I caught a 90 lb. halibut while on a charter fishing trip. Amazing!
Yesterday morning (Wednesday, 16th) I awakened at 4:00 AM knowing that another charter fishing trip was planned for my day. I needed to be at the appointed location at 5:00 AM. Actually, the alarm was set for 4:15 AM, but the old internal "fishing alarm" went off early. Call it pre-fishmatic functionality! This was possibly going to be the trip of a life-time. The dorados are biting off an island, I'd say 10 miles off the coast. Can hardly wait.
Colleen had taken care of the food issues the night before and had it all in the fridge. We also packed an extra pair of clothes, some mosquito/bug repellant and some sun block. The food consisted of two tuna sandwiches (prepared in advance, but the bread and tuna mix were in different containers), two Snickers, and, two bananas. All signals...go!
For some reason the first thing that came to my mind as I awakened was a church song from back in the 60's, "He [Jesus] is my everything. He is my all. He is my everything, both great and small. He gave his life for me, made everything new. He is my everything, now how about you?" Little did I know that my faith would be tested and I would have a close encounter with everything I've said I believed for all these year, since giving my life to Jesus Christ at age eighteen.
We met at the appointed place and the appointed time for the beginning of our adventure. Christian was there. He runs the zip line tour for Osa Mountain Village. Bob was there. Bob is the biker dude and is developing a world class bike course at OMV. Jeff was there. That was my first time to meet Jeff. Not sure that he has a connection with OMV, but he is a bike racer and just won a major bike race here in Costa Rica last week. Mitch and Charlene were there. They own property in OMV, are currently living in a tent on their property, but have plans to construct an upscale "container home" made from two forty foot containers with a covered courtyard in between. Lisa was there, but I don't have much information on her. I know she was with Bob and I know that she serves as a spokesperson for OMV. Two deckhands were on the boat as well as was Jim, who is the President and CEO of OMV.
The first thing you need to know about this trip is that it started very pleasantly. We motored down the Sierpe river. Scores of exotic birds escorted us on both sides of the boat. The sky was dark, but not threatening. I was seeing a major display of nature that few people ever see. Mangrove forests lined the river. The exposed roots are called the "nursery" for a variety of species of fish.
The first deposit of distraction came when a gentle mist began. Off to the west the clouds were dark, but who cares? It's warm and surely a warm drenching would not harm any of us. The way the weather works here in Costa Rica, the clouds would come upon us and then pass over. The mist quickly turned to rain and it was a hard rain. Finally, at the mouth of the river when things began to get a bit rough, Jim spoke up and querried us with "How do you all feel about continuing this trip? We could turn around now and re-schedule for some future date." There were various responses, but it came down to Lisa's response and she was firm in her desire to fish. I could not have agreed more! I came to fish. Bring on the storm!
Crossing over the bar was rough but tolerable. With a few miles to go on the open sea to reach our happy fishing ground, no one yet seemed worried or put off by the obvious discontent and turbulence of the ocean. As we continued our westwardly progression, the winds picked up significantly, even severely, to the point where we were literally lifted off our seats and slammed back down when the boat hit the bottom of the trough. Bob commented on one of the slams that it was a "Chiropractic slam!" I'd had previous experience of being in storms in the Cook Inlet in Alaska. Back then I was young and had serious confidence in the Zodiac boat in which Gene Bryner and I were being tossed about. This time was different. Our boat was fiberglass and not the kind that seemed constructed to take such a beating.
At the end of our trip (yes, we did survive!), the skipper said that we encountered 15 foot waves, very unusual for this area of the ocean at this time of the year. We were surrounded by strikes of lightning and could hear claps of thunder. I'd say that for awhile, we were in the midst of the storm! The rain, hard rain, came sideways and drenched every thread of clothing on the entire boat. The skipper stood at the steering wheel in the middle of the boat and was completely soaked!
Not everyone on the boat shared my faith in Christ. A funny level of humor pervaded the conversation during the entire storm. Profanity was the order of the day, with some exceptions. One of the guys ventured, "What a time for me to have forgotten my [necklace] cross." And at one point Jim did his best to get the skipper to call home base on an emergency phone to, at least, let them know to come and look for us if we did not call back in an hour.
That song just wouldn't leave me, "He is my everything!" I don't want to over-dramatize this, but it ran through my mind several times that I'd not make it home. Perhaps the kiss and "I love you!" I gave Colleen at about 4:30 AM would be my last. Maybe Josh would have to go through the details of searching, identifying and making arrangements for the disposal of my remains, if found. I know that sounds morbid, but it really was that bad. We were all holding onto our seats and the sides of the boat doing our best to not get thrown out.
Just as the storm began to slacken, a cool breeze from the west delivered goosebumps to all of us. I began to shivver and was overcome with nausea. Hanging over the side of the boat I delivered the entire orange I had consumed on the way down the river. I've never been one to get sea sick. What an exception, but I was not the only one!
I couldn't stop shivvering and then I remembered about the rain pauncho stored in my backpack. The seriousness of the situation now turned from the turbulance of the ocean to the trembling in my body and it occurred to me that maybe the pauncho (thin plastic blast "jacket") could be helpful. So, I stood up, removed my shirt, wrung it out, put it back on and pulled the plastic over and around me. Folks it would be hard for me to believe that a thin silly millimeter of plastic could make such a difference. I went from being very cool to being very, very comfortable.
It wasn't that we were out of trouble or that the waters grew calm and we caught our limit. No! The water continued with a nasty churning and made it very difficult for us to have much enjoyment. At about 10:00 AM, we conducted another vote. Believe me, I was enthusiastic in my vote to head for the barn! Actually, the vote was unanimous. I should say that the ocean was far more cooperative on the way home. The skipper revved the big Honda engine and had us on plane most of the way back to the river's mouth.
The trip back up the Sierpe was as entertaining as the trip down! One major "Oooh, Aaah" moment was the sighting of a gigantic crocodile sunning himself on a sandy shore. I did notice there weren't many swimmers in that area!
That's my story.
I rode back to the meeting place with Jim. One thing I said to him was, "Lots of people watch 'Survivor.' I definintely feel like I've been on one of their shows today!" He agreed. Reminded me of an insight I had a year and a half ago when I hiked the Grand Canyon with Dave & Linda McClung, "Lot's of people stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon and say they've been to the Grand Canyon. I now say, 'No way!' You haven't been to the Grand Canyon until you have walked to the bottom (Bright Angel Campground) and climbed back up!" Dave and Linda would probably say, "You haven't been to the Grand Canyon until you've walked from the South Rim to the North Rim...and back!"
Anyway, just saying, adventure is where it's at. But adventure with Jesus in your heart brings lots of love, joy and peace. Peace in the midst of the storm. As we headed back up the river, I honestly thought, "What an amazing parallel to life! People go through perils and storms and trials and testing, but in the end...it's good to go home! My dad is home. My mom is home. Colleen's parents are home. And, it's good to live so that when our summons comes to 'go home' that we do so with this One Who is...our Everything!"
God bless you all!
Much Love,
Wes
PS. No pics this time. Am pretty glad I chose not to take my camera with me. It, no doubt, would have taken a major bath and that would have put an end to picture taking!
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