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My body arrived back from Costa Rica Monday night, midnight.

The rest of me is just starting to accept being home. I love deeply, get hurt deeply, according to the findings of a "fruity" personality test. (A pineapple fire-monkey. . . now that is a Costa Rica combination!) So, as I fell in love with Paris, I have left part of my heart in Centroamerica. I understand Lofty Perch's yearnings to return.

We stayed in a 7000 square foot, six bedroom/six bath villa in Manuelo Antonio which is in the rainforest mountains right on the Pacific Ocean. Two beautiful worlds collided into one utopia. Our host and hostess are clients of mine, friends of ours and generous beyond words. Their place is staffed with the most fabby chef, Roger, and three of the dearest girls who kept the house spotless and our laundry fresh.

There were a total of eight guests, TT and I, Dot and Boyfriend and two other couples. We gathered around the huge almond wood table three times a day to be nourished by Roger's culinary creativity and joyful conversations.

We all went on a Butterfly tour in a two level, tent shaped screened area, filled with rainforest plants, flowers, a stream, park benches and hundreds of butterflies. If you were wearing a blue shirt, all the blue butterflies would take turns landing on you. It was delightfully magical. Had I been five years old, I know I would have been sure I was a fairy princess! We actually got to see butterflies hatched out of the cocoons.

Dot, Boyfriend and another guest went on the Canopy Tour, flying through the forest on high wires. I was glad I did not know until they were safe at home that they only had one wire. What good is a safety line if everything is attached to one wire?!

Those three also took the coveted Rain Forest Horseback Tour. My heart longed to go. I love horses. I love how they smell, how the straw and hay smells, even how their pooey smells (they only eat grain!!). I anguished and debated. As the tour guide bounced up the mountain road to collect his customers, I sadly waved good-bye and blew Dot a kiss. Good-bye to my dream. Ah, I have a high-heels heart, but an Earth Shoes back. And I have a horseriders heart, but a motor scooter back. I could not risk my future by foolishly ignoring my feeble disc.

So, TT and I and another couple, J and M, went on the Mangrove Tour. It was a boat ride into the canals in the Mangroves. We were visited by monkeys. One even preened into the mirror of my Arbonne tres chic compact (ah, it pays to be vain and carry cosmetics into the wild!) They would jump onto the roof of our boat and play peeky-booh with us! We all laughed like children.

Another phenomenon was the "Jesus Christ" Lizard. Not his technical name of course, but nicknamed because he can walk (really run) on water. TT said, "This has been quite a trip. We have had five encounters with Jesus Christ!" (He did not mean that with disrespect.)

TT was quite the hit. Overcoming his fear of flying has been a wonderful accomplishment. On the last leg of our journey, from San Jose airport to Manuelo Antonio we had to squeeze into this tiny Cessna Caravan with a ten inch aisle. How TT ever made it, or any of the other men, I don't know. The pilot looked back on his can of sardines and said, "We have very bad weather ahead of us, so we are going to TRY to make it through, but we may have to turn around." GREAT!

Back to TT. He is not the type to try to be center stage. But his humor does that for him. One conversation over lunch was about how our host had built a huge facility for battered women. He also taught them Bible studies and helped established job placement help and such.

TT turned to me and said, "Sounds like a Betty Crocker bake off."

"Whaaaaaat?!!!", I hissed in exasperation, as I was actually listening to our host.

"You know, all those battered women!" TT grins.

While we were on the Mangrove Tour, we were going down one canal where the trees sit on root systems that extend out above the water by ten feet. They kind of look like monsters. The monkeys run up and down the exposed roots with amazing speed.

Our new friend J, sitting behind TT in the boat, tapped TT's shoulder.

"Hey, TT, I wonder just where we are?"

"Looks to me like we are in a Root Canal!"

I suppose we all stopped laughing when we were on our way back from the tour and had to cross the "Oh My God" bridge. It is named that because that is what everyone says when they see it and have to cross it. You cannot even imagine how shakey, how many holes. . . and as our guide was quick to point out, it is very high over deep water and very hungry crocodiles! Thankfully, we made it.

A bunch of us went to a Salsa Club one night. TT was sweet to allow me to dance with many Costa Ricans. They all shook his hand, "Gracias Senor." And TT and I danced and Dot and Boyfriend danced with us. It was so much fun!

My eyes miss the lush forest, the brilliant joyful flowers, the dreamy Pacific. My taste buds miss the fresh caught fish, the red beans and rice for breakfast, salads and fruits. (Though, not entirely true as TT has been upping the ante on his cooking and has determined to become a Roger in the kitchen! He has been doing a great job!) My ears miss the sounds of the forest, the birds, the geccos, the rain dancing on the giant forest leaves and splattering into the pool. My body misses the restfulness of a laid back culture, savoring the simple, making the most of each moment. My heart misses daily meals with my whole family and new, but dear friends.

So, I am going to go have a bite of pineapple, and as TT said, sit on our front porch and cry!