Thursday, January 31
Today we again awoke to the din of the howler monkeys in the distance in concert with a whole symphony of bird songs. Another clear, blue-sky day, sunny, dry, and hot.
After a quick breakfast, we took a walk around the Las Palmas complex, ending up at a new coffee place called Cafe Java. We ordered two coffees, which should have cost us 3000 colones ($6), but the Spanish-speaking girl taking the order insisted that we owed $12. Bob tried to talk with her in Spanish to ask why we were charged so much, but to no avail. A few minutes later, she brought us two croissants, which we had not ordered. I remembered that another couple had come into the cafe just after we did and had placed an order in Spanish. It must have been those customers who ordered the croissants, but the counter girl confused their order with ours. This was the first time that neither English nor our Spanish worked for us, but the mystery was solved and we chalked it up to experience. Sad to say, we did not like the croissants. They were doughy and hard - nothing like the flaky French pastry we know and love.
The remainder of the morning and early afternoon was spent at our condo. A maintenance man came and fixed the A/C. I swam in the pool and then blogged. We had a light lunch and Bob took a siesta. What a relaxing day!
In the late afternoon, we freshened up, walked to the beach, and headed for the village. Our goal was to watch the sunset, and what a treat we had! We stopped at a little outdoor restaurant right on the beach called Claudio & Gloria's around five o'clock and ordered two ice-cold Imperials.
After about half an hour, as the sun was beginning to drop behind the hills at the southwest end of the beach, we ordered dinner - Paella con Pollo - and lingered through the sunset until dark. Between the restaurant and the ocean, there is a wide walkway where we watched people pass by, young boys skateboarding and doing tricks on bicycles, a group arriving from an afternoon boat trip, and more. Bob especially loves sitting in outdoor cafes watching the bustle of people go by. I especially love the being by the ocean, taking in the natural beauty. We were both happy campers.
After dinner, we walked back to Las Palmas on the beach. It was dark and I was nervous. At one point, in an especially dark place, I heard a rustle which startled me, and I cried out. But it was only the wind. I was glad to get back into the development where we stopped by the little French bistro called the Creperie and split a piece of Danielle 's homemade lemon tart. Delicious - just hit the spot.
Back at the condo, we spent a few minutes soaking our tired feet in the spa pool and doing some star-gazing. The stars look especially bright here. The sky is cloudless and there is relatively little light coming from the ground. One more treat to enjoy.
I have come to understand that it is these simple moments of pleasure - watching a sunrise or sunset, listening to bird songs, star-gazing, enjoying the taste of good food, soaking weary feet in cool water - that are the treasures of life. This must be what the Costa Ricans mean by La Pura Vida.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment