A couple of surprise encounters on my favorite beach in the world have reminded me of the resilience of life on this beautiful planet. It is a wonderful lesson to learn. It is an incredible lesson to relearn every time I walk this beach.

The tide was low. Here in Tamarindo, the difference between high and low tides can be more than two meters, oscillating back and forth nearly twice a day. While I enjoy the waves that usually come around during the rising tide, low tide carries with it a dirty little secret. I almost can’t believe I’m sharing it.

Let’s say, for example, high tide occurs today around 8 p.m. That means around sunset, a few hours earlier, the tide is already pretty high, and rising. That’s the busiest tourist time of the day all along the beach. It’s also the point at which those who have been drinking all day (and I don’t mean just the tourists) begin to lose their compass. Literally.

Loosely guarded wallets and purses can sometimes get stolen. Petty thieves have been known to grab the credit cards and the cash, and throw the rest into the rising tide. Also, people wander out into the surf, perhaps chasing a ball or just enjoying the wonderful waters of this amazing place. It’s getting dark and a they’re a little too loopy. They lose their sunglasses, watches, wallets, phones, and keys in the surf.

They wander back to their rooms, which is probably the point at which most of them realize they have lost something. Even if they’re still at the beach, there’s no way these folks can recover their lost and missing items in the rising waters, surrounded by the pure blackness of nighttime on the beach.

Am 8 pm tide recedes with the rising sun and as much as 200 meters of sand that had been underwater all night is suddenly exposed. Rocks and stone ridges frozen in the shape they had when the volcanic matter that formed this country cooled, jut out from the water, drying in the morning sunshine.

Among those rocks, and the tiny waves around them, can be found a wealth of earthly treasures. In the past few years (I started counting about three years ago), I have found 7 pairs of high-quality sunglasses among the four-dozen or so in total, 4 iPhones, 3 driver’s licenses (Alberta, Colorado, and Georgia), 2 iWatches, cash, and numerous other small items. I return the ones I can track down (amazingly, including the first iWatch). But the bulk of these finds become my possessions. The RayBan glasses you see me wearing in the photo in my jungle tuxedo is a found pair that retails for $195.00. My aviators are found as well. They’re a Brazilian brand that retails for about $150.00

That’s the material benefit of walking low tide in the morning. The true,

beautiful secret is in the natural gifts the ocean presents.

Not long ago, in a tide pool about 20 or so centimeters deep, lying as still as a rock, was a beautiful ray. She had flapped her wings enough to stir up some sand that settled on her back, as if her natural camouflage wasn’t already perfect. Most people walked by her without ever spotting this wonderful creature.

To see a living being that is so foreign in design and environment it needs to live, is an amazing experience. It shows me that if the world floods with the rising seas, life will go on. It will evolve, some will become extinct, and others forms will be born anew.

I chose a larger tidal pool, one with some depth and residual wave action, to sit in the water and enjoy the beautiful day. As I sat down in about half a meter of water, it suddenly turned black around me, sweeping in like a shadow of darkness. It was like that moment in a horror film when the violins go Skreek! Skreek! Skreek!

I moved my foot and the surface of the water began to boil. The dark forms moving just below the surface lept into the air and flashed a brilliant silver with little tinges of red and blue, before splashing back into the water. Millions - billions, probably - of baby red snappers began wiggling all over my skin, leaping into the air for a second, sometimes even landing in my hair. I was laughing and giggling like a child as I was surrounded by this tsunami of life.

A short distance away, dozens of pelicans were scooping up gular pouches of seawater just wriggling with this newborn life. No doubt the bay was also filled with larger fish feasting on the small fry.

Before my eyes I watched the circle of life. With uncountable billions of tiny fish filling the bay, the lives of the seabirds and larger fish were sustained. While it wasn’t much of a life for those that were consumed, its a certain bet that most of those little fish lived through the day and are now reinvigorating underwater life in the warm tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean.

You and I may be but a grain of sand riding on the winds of time, but we are all a part of the continuum of life. Enjoy your ride!