Saturday

Up early and filled with anticipation today as I prepared to pick up my main squeeze, my partner-in-crime and the man who would half my daily workload. Super exciting!

I made a coffee for the road and filled up a jar of my second favorite drink – half coconut water/half water – and set off with my treasured hand-drawn map of the route to Liberia. I knew I just had to make it to Carmona, and the rest would be fairly smooth sailing. I know it’s the other gender who is most famed for their reluctance toward asking for directions, but with the advent of smart phones and Google Maps, I realized it had been quite a while since I’d been lost. I was a bit nervous about going the wrong direction so it would have been wise for me to jot down a few key Spanish phrases to make the quest to Carmona easier. But no, I didn’t do that. Instead, every time I passed a person, I slowed my car, waved enthusiastically and hollered out the window – Carmona aqui? (while pointing ahead).  Not at all a proper question – and not actually a sentence that made any real sense, but no one even looked at me like I was crazy. They just smiled and encouragingly acknowledged that yes, I was headed the right way. Most of them carried on with a long string of details that no doubt were fantastically helpful and would have surely eliminated any need to continue making a fool of myself, if only I had any idea what they were saying. I just nodded my head, and repeated more times than necessary – Si, si! Muchas gracias!

This interaction happened eight times, in total and each time I was met with a smile (and probably a chuckle after I drove off) but I was grateful to know I was moving the right direction, and my neighbors seemed happy to help me along the way.

Everyone was right – from Carmona it was a straight shot to Liberia. Two hours – but a straight shot. And after an hour of barely breaking 25 miles an hour due to steep climbs and rugged terrain, it was wonderful to get into 4th gear and feel the wind in my hair.

The airport was a madhouse. Five flights had all landed within an hour of each other and there were people everywhere! I had to stand outside with all the people selling tours and rental cars and for a solid hour I heard, “Avis! Avis! Avis rental cars!” Over. And over. So seeing Dave’s face was an incredible breath of fresh air and I could at long last leave the Avis Parakeet behind.

Two weeks apart. That’s as longest we’ve been apart in the 14 years we’ve been together. We were together again and it was a wonderful thing! We celebrated by grabbing lunch at a German restaurant, of course, and then headed home.

Dave was as shocked about the last hour of our drive home as I had been when Edmund was in the driver seat and I was the passenger. It’s a bit unfathomable. Have you driven the Road To Hana in Hawaii? If so, imagine it unpaved, full of loose gravel, ruts and potholes. The roads barely earn the name. Trails, maybe. You can’t do it unless you have 4-wheel drive. Really, not advisable. And if you plan on making the trip often, you might want to say goodbye to your suspension and shocks. It’s truly a wild ride and a bit hard to imagine anyone lives at the end of it.

Almost home, we drove through Pueblo Nuevo and as we passed Los Corrales (the closest watering hole) we saw cars I recognized and realized the Costa Rica versus Netherlands World Cup game was still on. We stopped, and Dave had a warm welcome from nearly every neighbor I had met the week before. It was wonderful! Until the overtime shoot-out, when Costa Rica was out of the World Cup. Then it was sad. Seriously, there were tears. I realized that this game meant so much to the people, and their sadness was touching. Raw emotion. Men, crying and hugging. It was a really tender moment and I was moved by the open display of emotion. We’ve definitely got something to learn from people who love so fully.

We set out for the last 2 miles of the trip, and Dave was finally home. We toured the entire property and I got supper going, like a good wife (LOL) and after dinner we called it a night. It was barely 8:00 pm. But when the sun goes down at 6:30 pm, 8:00 suddenly feels rather late.

Sunday

Dave needed rest, so I snuck downstairs at 5:30am to get the coffee machine heating up. I was sitting in my chair, reading, when suddenly the metal roof over the large patio I was sitting on began to shake and make a ton of noise. I realized the earth, too, was shaking and I leapt to my feet, ran out from under the roof and hollered for Dave. He hollered back – “I’m up. I think that was an earthquake.” He was right. Welcome to Costa Rica Dave!

A morning walk seemed like a nice, calming way to spend the morning. There were a few things I saved up for Dave’s arrival and the area hikes were one of them. I wanted us to be able to explore some things together. Off we went. Not 5 minutes into the hike, we were reminded that Costa Rica is not Disneyland. The place is beautiful, but there are dangers to be aware of and to respect.

10 feet ahead, I noticed a red snake in the road. Crap! The deadly Coral Snake! We froze. And observed. The flies swarming should have been our first indication that the snake was no longer a viable threat – but we stayed frozen for a few more moments, just to be sure. We crept forward, ready to dash back if need be. “Hmm, that thing doesn’t appear to have a head”, I observed. Dave agreed and we got close enough to snap a pic and then took a wide detour around it – just in case. Zombie Coral Snakes…could be a real thing, and I didn’t want to test it.

When we got home, neighbor Bill came over for a visit and to introduce himself to Dave. He stayed for a bit and Dave and I enjoyed his stories and his four dogs. We told him about the snake and admitted we weren’t sure if it was a Coral or a False Coral. Bill shared a lovely rhyme for us to keep it straight. Yellow on black, friend of Jack. Black on yellow, kill a fellow. That one definitely has a place in the Mother Goose Survival Rhymes collection.

Next visit came from Jonathan, the gardener. He came by to tell us that his brother was very, very sick and he needed to take his mother to San Jose to see him. He wanted to see if he could work Wednesday and Thursday instead of Monday and Thursday. The hardest part of not being able to communicate fluently is times like this. I wanted to assure him that it was absolutely fine. The plants and grass would still be here when he could get back and we understood. More importantly, I wanted to tell him I was so sorry to hear about his brother, tell him we hoped he’d be well again soon and ask if there was anything we could do to help. But since the bulk of my communication centered around gardening tasks, ordering food and beer and inquiring about the location of the bathroom, I found myself at an unfamiliar place – a loss for words.

I offered an apology, a hug and the customary kiss on the cheek. It felt inadequate, but it was all I had.

The afternoon brought a call from neighbor Marie telling us about a fiesta in Bejuco at 3pm. A quick review of our social calendar revealed we had nothing booked for the day. (Much the same as every other day on the calendar.) The fiesta was fantastic. People came from communities all around to hear a band with roots in the area, that had gone on to become nationally known. They were playing as a fundraiser because a 30 year old member of the band had died in his sleep, leaving behind a wife and kids. The community came together to offer their support and donations. Again I was moved by the love and generosity of the people here.

Monday

Dave went through pool school today and I officially have my very own pool boy! He’s pretty adorable with his skimmer net and chlorine tablets.

Another big deal today was the banana harvest. Jonathan and I pulled down the large bunch of bananas the week before and he wrapped them in a bag and hung them in the garage where they were to stay for a week. What do you do with nearly 100 bananas? You peel and freeze them to use at a later time.

After a grueling morning of pool cleaning and banana peeling, Dave went to the pool for a nap. Luckily, I was in the kitchen because a car pulled in and we had customers! A lovely couple from Slovakia was driving through, and decided to stop for coffee. Lucky me! They were so interesting!  She worked in accounting and he was a business consultant – which he laughed about. It seems that no matter where you are from, the business consultant title warrants a chuckle – usually by those  in the profession.

Like most European vacationers who I’d encountered, the pair was in CR for two weeks, and they were having a blast. They’d gotten a bit too much sun the day before and were headed north to Samara. Dave was up and joined the conversation and they had questions about the area for him. He had to tell them that they’d actually been in the country longer than he had, and everyone had a good laugh. They seemed just as curious about our story as we were about theirs. Such a fun distraction! Before they left they said the had four friends who were a day behind them and that they’d tell them to stop for a coffee on the way.

Tuesday

Guess who showed up today for coffee? You guessed it, four more Slovakians! Do you wish I’d call these people by their names? I know, I do too! If only I a) understood them and b) remembered them. I am getting a guest book set up PRONTO!

Jonathan came to work and informed us that his brother is doing much better. Hooray!

The other big event of the day was the four oxen that escaped into our yard and ate up an entire row of newly planted hibiscus before they were corralled back into their own yard. Those guys look big and they have big horns. But when you decide to walk up to them to discuss the fact that you are not, in fact, running an all-you-can-eat hibiscus buffet, you realize just HOW big they are. And guess what? Don’t worry about the hibiscus guys, we’ll plant more.

With nearly 100 bananas in the freezer I decided to see what creative ideas the internet might provide and discovered three fantastic recipes. Two of which I made immediately.

First is 3 large ripe bananas, mushed and mixed with 2 cups oatmeal. Form into balls and bake at 325 for 12 minutes. Yum! And two ingredients – could it get any easier? Yes, is the answer to that question.

Banana “Ice Cream”. Two frozen, large, ripe bananas tossed into a super powerful blender (I used a Vitamix). You may need to add some milk if it’s too thick and not blending well. What you are left with is the creamiest, smoothest, ice cream-like, banana deliciousness! You’re welcome!

Wednesday

Jonathan arrived at 6am and got right to work. Dave and I had big plans for the day. Emily, my thirty-something friend who is married to a Tico (the locals’ nickname for themselves) and has two young, adorable girls, called last night to invite us for a hike to the waterfall on their property. A honeymooning couple staying at our friend Zene’s place was coming for the hike and Emily thought we might enjoy it as well. She was right. Two hours of a pretty strenuous hike was just what we needed. We sweated like crazy, but it felt good. The conversation was interesting and the views were spectacular. The honeymooners were a couple from Toronto and they were so excited about everything! They were eager to capture every moment of it in a video or picture. After the hike we told them to stop in for some coffee while they were here and they agreed they would.

Once home, we showered up and as Dave sat relaxing and reading, he was attacked by a scorpion. OK, that’s a little dramatic, and I should say he’s fine and was not stung. But he said he was sitting in the chair, looked up and saw a scorpion come charging right toward him. As he rocked forward in his chair to get up and get out of the little guy’s way, CRUNCH! Rocker rail versus scorpion: Adiós scorpion.

Thursday

Another big day! Our first Austin guests/friends were on their way to see us and we were super excited! Up early, as always, we spent the morning getting their room ready with clean sheets, towels and fresh flowers.  Then a car pulled in just as we finished up and as I rushed out to greet them, I realized it was not Mike and Lisa. We had guests! A family of five – well, seven actually, if you count the dog and cat – from Israel were passing through and wanted coffees and sodas.

Super interesting people with an incredible story – quite similar to ours. They had been researching where to live for seven years or so and Costa Rica was tops on the list. They decided one day to start the process of selling everything, and like us, it all happened much faster than they ever imagined. Also like us, it felt like it was meant to be, so off they went. They had been in country for a month, traveling from place to place and though they weren’t sure yet where they would settle, they had no plans to leave.  Again, we could totally relate.

But add three kids under five, a dog and a cat – I would have lost my marbles. Actually, I almost did. In the 20 minutes they were here – the kids spilled soda on nearly every surface, the dog puked in the middle of my floor and crapped on a walkway and the woman must have asked 400 questions. When they left it felt like a small bomb had gone off in our place and as much as we enjoyed the chat, we were glad to wave farewell!

Next car that pulled in was Mike and Lisa and it was so fun to see familiar faces hop out of the car. Big hugs, glasses of ice water and a little chat before we unloaded the car and got them settled in. As we walked to the car, I realized the howlers were here. We looked up in the trees above the car, and sure enough – we had company. Probably 30 or so in the troupe total, the howlers had arrived, as if on cue, to greet our guests. We must have stood, taking pictures, oohing and laughing for an hour. The highlight was a momma with a tiny baby clinging to her. The pair was incredible and momma swung from branch to branch and baby hung on tightly and wrapped his little tail around her waist. It was absolutely perfect!

Mike and Lisa went up to the cabin to get settled in and another car pulls up. Its our Toronto friends here for some coffee! And what timing! They had been so eager to see monkeys on our waterfall hike and though we heard them off in the distance, they never got close enough to see. So imagine their delight when they opened their car doors and Dave called out, “Look up! The howlers are here!” Out came the cameras and the monkeys had their second major photo shoot of the day.

Our Toronto guests and our Austin guests hit it off, and the six of us enjoyed  some lively conversation on the patio. It’s so funny how many connection points there are between complete strangers – particularly when you are inquisitive and open and willing to ask and answer questions.

Friday

Fix-it Mike discovered a broken down boogie board in one of the cabins. He found some epoxy and a length of rope in the garage and within an hour we had a fully functioning beach toy and we were off to the surf. It was Dave’s and my first time fully in the water, and we were shocked at the bath water temperature of the ocean. Dreamy! We played around in the surf, each taking turns with the board and doing a little body-surfing as well. The sand was hot, white and felt so great between my toes. It was a beautiful day. We had plans for a spaghetti dinner that evening, but Butterfly Mike (aka my fish hook-up) called to let me know he was just back from the fishing village and had a kilo of fish fillets for me. He and his wife Yearling and their daughter Michelle came by to drop it off, and stayed for a visit. Back in the kitchen, Mike and I decided the pasta could wait and instead Mike cooked up the fresh fish. It was the perfect end to our ocean day.

The next day we had plans to venture south to a couple of beach towns – Santa Teresa and Malpais. A new friend, Tim, lives in the area, so I decided to call him to get the scoop from a local. And thank goodness I did. Tim returned my call as we were sitting at the table finalizing our plans. He said that while he’d love to see us and meet for dinner, he felt obligated to share that he’d been at the clinic with a friend all day and had learned she has Dengue Fever. The doctor told Tim it was rampant in the area and when Tim shared the news, we all unanimously agreed – not at all worth the risk. Time to make new travel plans.

If there is one thing I have learned in my three weeks in Costa Rica it is that those who are adaptable have the best success and the most happiness. I would not have categorized myself as such, but it turns out I am quite adaptable. The idea of surrender used to carry with it a sense of loss or defeat. But now I realize the ability to let go, to surrender and just roll with it is not a move for the meek or the weak. It takes confidence, courage and faith. All of which I can use more of, but for the time being, I seem to be getting by. We’ll see what next week brings, dear friends. Until then, I’ll be rolling on. Gratefully, now with my trusty sidekick!