While Native Moments is a work of fiction, the locations are not. 

This is the bottom waterfall. My six year old daughter was with us and the trail that leads to the top two waterfalls was too risky to bring her along. In Native Moments, Sanch and Jake follow a couple they recently met, Todd and Lacy, further along the trail until they reach the top two waterfalls 

When they reached the top of the first one, they crept to the edge and looked down at the swimmers. There was a smaller swimming pool that they would jump into that poured over the side next to them. 

“How do you get there?” Jake asked pointing to the waterfall they were going to jump from. 

“The rocks,” Todd said. 

[after they climb to the top waterfall]

Todd pulled a joint that he had tucked behind his ear. “Should we have a safety meeting before jumping?” He lit it up and passed it around. The four of them say on the rocks with their feet dangling over the edge, the thunder of the waterfall next to them and singing sounds of the tropical birds (262-263).

The next two pictures are from Montezuma Beach. 

After a long motorcycle ride, Sanch and Jake take two girls, Andrea and Mary, to see the Montezuma Falls after having been introduced to it by Todd and Lacy. 

They walked into the soft sand and settled down at a used fire pit. Sanch and Jake scouted for firewood while the girls gathered palm leaves for bedding. Sanch and Jake found a big enough log that would burn through the night, each grabbing one end and carried it to the fire pit (293). 

“Where’s the girls?” Jake asked. 

Sanch slowly opened his eyes, looking around. “Is that them out there?” He pointed to two girls in the water. 

The sun had just broken the horizon and the thirty or so people that had slept on the beach started to wake. 

“Look how many people slept on the beach. How can you ever want to leave this place?” Jake said. 

“Want to join the girls?”

The girls’ clothes were piled just before the water, underwear including (295). 

I’ll post more in the coming days. 

Thanks for reading and if you are in Tamarindo, Costa Rica on 01/28/17 stop by Jaime Peligro’s bookstore. I’ll be signing books from 2-4. 

Nic Schuck is the author of Native Moments. Paperback, Ebook and audio are available on Amazon.