February 11, 2007
Section K, Nosara, Guanacaste.
This is Gramma Kelly; Momma Sarah and Poppa Erik are busy changing diapers, cooing at the baby, and generally finding a new love in their lives. So, I’ll jot a note for them.
The baby IS beautiful. This week she learned to smile at will and spent five minutes turning her head and proffering her good cheer on her adoring fans – us! She is quickly and cleverly learning that a smile attacks three people and a wail only one – mom. Little K follows people, especially their eyes, and she turns her head and purses her lips in attention and communication.
Sarah dresses her in a new cute outfit for each diaper change (usually because the baby needs it), so every time we see the baby she is ever cuter. Erik is a proud poppa, pitching in to help with baby chores, often being the calming force. Even Andrew enjoys holding the baby and dancing her across a table top.
Life, otherwise goes on, smoothly. A young Costa Rican woman comes several mornings a week to cook, wash, clean. Her husband is a fisherman and yesterday dropped by a kilo of mahi mahi that he had just cut off of his catch of the day. Bob prepared dinner – mmmmmm; nothing better. During the day, Jessenia made arroz con leche (rich rice pudding) and sopa de pollo, or chicken soup. Sarah had purchased two chickens in Nicoya and asked Jessie to use only one for the soup. And use she did. When I scooped out the first dipper for lunch, a three-toed foot came with it! Rather than grimace, I spooned the craggy talon into a bowl, covered it with vegetables, and served the dish to Bob. Jessenia was eating with us, but she hadn’t sat down when Bob pulled his spoon through the soup. He grimaced, too, , and after finding a napkin, we dropped the foot into the trash before we offended the cook. The soup was delicious. Later, Erik returned from the office and dove into the soup pot. Yep. The second set of toes!
We have done some local sight-seeing. We went to Nosara to shop, this time at a vegetable stand, a space 5 feet wide by 8 feet deep crammed floor to ceiling with exotic items. While we were shopping, a horseman stopped to talk to some locals who were excited to see the foal that was following the horse. Next we went to buy a gallon of gas. A stocky kid with curly, dusty hair, came out to the car. We asked for a gallon; he went over to the above ground tank, maybe 500 gallons-worth, filled a gallon jug, and poured a gallon through a spout into the gas tank!
We also drove by the local airport. The runway is enclosed with a mesh fence. The story is that the runway was the only paved road in Nosara for a long time. The locals used it as a major highway, including the movement of cattle. The fence solved the problem for a while, but not for long. The city finally hired a security guard (of sorts) who rides his bicycle after offenders. The first terminal was the guard’s respite from the hot sun. The airport is still small, but it’s enough to accommodate the three flights a day from San Jose.
For three days, the five of us vacationed at Arenal Volcano, an amazing look at an active volcano. Tuesday, the clouds covered the entire mountain. We made plans for Wednesday to visit a waterfall, walking the precarious path down the side of a mountain. Fabulous inside, micro view of the rain forest. In the afternoon, Erik and Sarah stayed by the pool and napped. Bob and I enjoyed a hanging bridge path through the top of the rain forest, an aerial, macro view – totally different. Palm fronds five feet across and twenty feet long. One hanging bridge spanned two mountain tops offering a view of the valley between and the volcano in the distance. Breathtaking. That afternoon, the clouds shrouding the volcano cleared and we spent the rest of the day and evening watching smoke plume up from two peaks and boulders shoot out of the caldera and bounce down the mountain.
When darkness came, fully one third of the mountain was often covered in a glowing, red patina that faded in and out of view.
Finally, today, Saturday, Erik and I went to Miss Sky – a treetop adventure. We rode in the back of an old Toyota pick up truck over an insane back road to the top of a mountain where we hitched our carabineer to a cable that ultimately took us 6000 meters and eleven switches down the mountain. An incredible journey! For one of the switchbacks Erik and I went tandem: very fast and very fun. After our skyline traverse of mountaintops, we still had to travel down the killer mountain road. Happy to report we made it to the end of the journey and in time for our last dinner at La Dolce Vitae with Kemper wearing a dress that Amy (her aunt) had worn twenty-four years before. A sweet end to a wonderful week.
Thanks for indulging another episode from an outsider. This is Gramma Kelly, over and out.
Your moment of zen for the day...
