With the turkey in the oven, the broccoli ready to steam and the hors d’oveures all prepped except for deviling the eggs (which I can’t do early or Layne will eat them!), I’ll take a moment to bring you readers up to date on our latest adventures. Our friend Marcy from California left on Saturday happily sporting her new set of teeth, so the last few days have been filled with writing my column for TheCostaRicaNews.com and preparing for Thanksgiving. The guest list has ranged from a high of perhaps eleven people to the expected seven or so today. Our good friends Patricia and Kevin (featured in my last post’s Halloween report) were planning to join us but, sadly, their beautiful big (and I mean big!) dog Splash is gravely ill. In fact, they may face what Layne and I had to do two years ago with our sweet Emily and have to put him down here during the holidays, making a sad anniversary for the future. Our thoughts are with them today and with Splash.
Last week we enjoyed more festive times with Patricia and Kevin as we took Marcy along on another one of our group gatherings at Playa Doña Ana, the picturesque private beach we like near Puntareñas. Earlier than usual, the capuchin monkeys showed up almost as soon as we arrived, gamboling through the trees and cautiously snatching a piece of banana from our hands before scrambling back up the branches. Marcy was thrilled since seeing monkeys was on the “bucket list” for her Costa Rica trip. As we sat at one of the covered picnic tables, chatting and munching on our snacks, the monkeys boldly climbed on the top of the roof, looking around corners at us with their intense and nearly-human black eyes. Suddenly, a splatter of liquid fell on the table next to me. We looked up to see one of the monkeys recovering from taking a pee right on the concrete table! Layne’s sunglasses took the brunt of it, with my camera barely missing a baptism. All we could do was laugh. Pura Vida indeed!
Life in our new house is comfortable, with plenty of space for the entertaining we so enjoy. We had two dinner parties the first weekend and assorted other drop-bys since then as friends and neighbors are anxious to see our new place. The bus service into Atenas is great with frequent runs throughout the day that take about fifteen minutes; with our cedula and being “seniors,” we get to ride at no charge. By timing our shopping thoughtfully, we can ride into town, shop for an hour or so, then catch the next bus back up the hill to Santa Eulalia. Excellente!
The bird wildlife around here is phenomenal, with dozens of varieties flitting through the skies and singing their melodious songs. But the stars of the show are the gorgeous emerald green parrots that soar through the air in huge flocks of twenty or thirty, screeching loudly in a chorus as they move from feasting in the cornfield below us to perching high in nearby trees. I love them and delight in watching them jet across the backyard, their exuberance a feast for the eyes and a shock to the ears. In jest, Layne says, “Where’s my shotgun?!” He claims their loud cries are too much for him, disturbing his muy tranquilo world. My response: Get over it, buddy. They were here first!
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