Observation #1:
Chicago is getting a blast of record breaking cold air tonight with temperatures forecasted to dip into the 20’s. Temperatures here in Monteverde have remained close to 20˚ since July. 20˚ Celsius, that is. Attached to this blog is a map of current humidity levels in Central America. Note that Costa Rica is at 100% humidity, but still quite comfortable here. It just means that getting a campfire started and keeping it hot enough to roast marshmallows is a huge ordeal and that laundry hangs for three days before it is finally not too wet to wear.
We were walking down the dirt road to a friend’s house when we heard either a “Hello” or an “Hola.” It sounded like an older person, maybe it was Martha, we were near her house. We heard it again, where is that person, who is greeting us? It is often difficult to see into yards because of the dense vegetation everywhere. I responded back with a “Hello” but it took a moment for the person to call back. This time I could not make it out. Was that a “Hello” “Hola” or someone in trouble? The boys could not locate anyone either. Sally chimed in, “I think it’s a bird, a parrot, come on, lets keep moving.” A parrot? Possible? Now I was really intrigued and the boys were ever so confused, they did not know how to respond. Michael was speechless, which is rare these days. Well, we did keep moving, but fortunately on the way back, we once again encountered that scratchy “Hola.” There she was, a beautiful large green parrot sitting on the telephone line. Sure enough, “Hola” she bellowed. If you could see the boys faces! “The bird talked!!!” She did not speak again, but we will surely return for more small talk.
Observation #3:
Instead of howler monkeys waking us in the morning, they are foraging elsewhere, it is the regular drop of a guyaba fruit onto our roof. The racquetball size fruits are ripening and several times a day one hits right above the bedroom with a ‘bonk’ and then reminding me of my bowling years, rumbles down our slanted roof and crashes into the gutter. The boys, accustomed to the noise, yell, “Strike!” with each crash.
Observation #4:
The colony of ants that visit our front porch each evening looking for treats the children left behind had a special treat tonight when they marched into our dining room. Dinner was a little messy and our brown six legged friends found plenty of chip crumbs on the floor. During storytime, Michael was especially excited to spy one little fella carrying a chip chunk up the side of a chair. Watching the ant summit the wooden peak, Michael gleefully exclaimed, “I’m on top of the world!” I thought, ‘why sweep when the ants could have the place cleaned by morning?’ I don’t mind the ants, but organic goodies left on the floor, counter or sink invite other critters ever so common in warm locals. So I swept, cleaned the dishes and wiped the counters.
Observation #5:
Getting the dinner ready tonight, I noticed that the flame level under the rice cooker appeared rather low. Unsuccessful at raising the flame, I thought, Uh oh, were running out of gas. Fortunately, the lame flame lasted a few minutes, just enough to boil the water and thanks to the speedy pressure cooker, we enjoyed plates of tuna con soggy rice. Now the task is to find someone who can haul the empty propane tank for a refill. The tank stands about 5ft tall and will probably weigh over 200 lbs when full. Until then, our internal fires will be fueled with cold cereal, sandwiches, and any larva that make it through the strainer.
Signed M.
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