Thursday, May 21, 2009

mountain people are wise-BEACH people are happy

Sunday Funday

i’ve always had the mentality “sunday funday”. a day to just let the day be, no work, no checklists just a day to either hit the beach or the garden and to enjoy the day as it unfolds.
our first sunday in costa rica was more than a funday and some may have considered it work. after a week in the hills of montezuma michael and i were determined to get to mal pais and santa teresa about a 30minute drive from our house. we woke early with full intentions of catching the first 6am bus and making a day of it on the beach. as we sipped our second cup of coffee staring at the dirt road above our house with only signs of monkeys and birds we quickly realized others believe in my sunday funday theory and therefore buses were not running.
when life throws you lemons though you make lemonade....the backpack was ready and on my back, michael grabbed his surfboard and we were off...on foot.
we knew the hike to cobano was 7km and when your not use to seeing km you just tend to round down. we both looked at is as a good early hike before enjoying gallo pinto a tipical amazing breakfast here. each turn brought a new conversation and a good amount of laughter as we also realized no cars were passing us on a sunday so our outlook for a ride was looking slim. after studying about 5km an older tico man in a truck was approaching from behind us, michael quickly decided it was better for me to flag down the ride, and he was right. i jumped in the front and michael in the back of the pickup w/ his board. a quick conversation and ride and we were dropped off in cobano at the best local Soda (locally owned little restaurant).

once our bellies were full and another cup of coffee was running through our bodies the hike ahead 12km down the mountain to Mal Pais didn’t seem so bad. off again on foot using our own shock factor of what we were trying to accomplish as our inspiration. as the sun rose more cars hit the street, however cars do 2 people and one 6foot board no good. our hope was a truck or rental car suv. this part of the walk led to thinking of just how silly we were and even crazier that we were enjoying every part of it. wondering where we were on a GPS? who if they were here would be doing this w/ us and feeling the same? have we used up our hitching ride karma? michael realized when we had a rental car for the day we picked up 3 people, and between us we had already received 3 rides. as we kept our spirits up each car that passed the thumb went up and the hopes higher. finally as my dress was drenched and michael’s shirt appeared a different color a tica our age in an older toyota suv stopped. i quickly jumped in the back of the two door car and helped michael wedge his board in between the front two seats and through the back. it was not the quickest of moves and yet our driver just sat content w/ a smile on her face “tranquila”, which means “chill”

trying not to sit back and add my sweat to any part of her car and hold our 6 foot friend in place, i made sure to tell her how grateful we were. she confirmed that sunday is a day of rest and most people stay in the house w/ family, she also confirmed it was a bit crazy to think we could make the hike to mal pais but none the less we were making it!

the sand never felt so good underneath my bare blistered feet. the shade of the palm trees created a great home for the day as we put up our hammock and breathed a sigh of relief that our early morning vision was now a reality.
watching michael paddle out i assume was similar to watching your child when he takes off on a bicycle without training wheels. i’m not sure who enjoys it more but it felt so good. i tried my best to read and relax yet my senses were overwhelmed with new sights, sounds and a thousand thoughts. i knew that montezuma was where we started but that this is where we needed to be. the mountains have a wonderful serene feel and yet the beach brings the powerful more invigorating feel for us.

once read a bumper sticker that has stuck w/ me for years-----
MOUNTAIN PEOPLE ARE WISE. BEACH PEOPLE ARE HAPPY.

so well put, and a compliment either way. i figure wisdom will come w/ time, for now i’m into being happy.

as our bellies began to tell us what time it was, we packed up our little spot and hit the dirt roads for some comida. went to our buddies spot for a GOOD meal and realized quickly that w/out words we knew this would be our new home.

asking around and thinking of the spots we had seen se aquila for rent we thought it best to regroup w/ a beach breeze. conversation led to a walk and the next thing you know we were knocking on the neighbors door of a house that we already knew was our home.

david an older man from isreal answered the door. i began to speak in spanish just as i do in english -fast and w/ excitement. “English is better for me” he quickly interrupted. once he saw the passion in our eyes and amazingly enough was impressed w/ my spanish he handed me the phone calling the local guy Don Dago whom owned the house.

a hour after meeting Don Dago and his family, negotiating the lease in spanish and making sure michael was on the same page in english, we had ourselves a new home!
to seal the deal David our neighbor owns the best sushi restaurant in town and offered me work to make the move seem less stressful. had it not been for our two dogs back in montezuma i think we’d have never left the house.

went into the restaurant, met the crew, and was put on the schedule. realizing all buses that might have run have now passed we once again began the hike back home. overwhelmed w. excitement i felt we had just drank 3 double shot expressos...halfway up our third hill michael quickly grounded me. the sun would be down in less than 20 minutes and we were looking at a good 3 hour hike home. regroup. we headed back down to mal pais and knew that a good day should end w/ a solid ride home. standing there at the base of the mountain still having our hopes up for a free ride- we realized all that we accomplished in one day. no money could pay for that so we didn’t need to overanalyze what a taxi would cost to get home. on the ride back a surf board between us and the night sky i just wanted to stick my head out the window like a happy dog heading the beach and howl!!!!!!!!!!! tomorrow we’d be happy beach people!!!

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