Last Sunday, while Sally and John weren't feeling well, Michael and I went to the local pulperia (grocer) to purchase some timely necessities: ginger ale, toilet paper and soda crackers. We figured that we would return in fifteen minutes as the store is at the bottom of our road. Unlike previous Sundays, it was closed, possibly due to new store hours or the rainy weather and lack of business. Although most shops follow a general schedule, hours are not posted and this does allow the propietor flexibility depending on the amount of potential business that day.
I just stepped away from the computer for a few minutes to greet Climaco, a farmer who visits us about once a week selling his goods. He walks an hour up the road from San Luis loaded with a wood crate or a backpack over his shoulders. His first visit in September, he asked us for food due to hunger. I gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Since then, he has always had something to sell - tamales cooked by his wife, $1; manderinos, 8 cents; today I purchased ten lemons for about 70 cents. The boys and I will make juice this morning.
So back to last Sunday. In desperate need of those soda crackers and ginger ale, Michael and I started our journey to the next town, Cerro Plano. There is so much to see along the road and it is such a joy to walk with the eyes of a curious 4 year old. He stops to watch the rivulets of rain water curving their way across the dirt road, to touch the sensitive plants and delight in their closing leaves, to watch a quad (ATV) of waving people rumble by, to remind me about a trail we once walked, to contemplate what would happen if he fell down into a steep ravine, to point out a guyaba tree, to ask if I was big and strong enough to climb the tall eucalyptus trees.
While we were looking at a rushing creek under the road a man named Alberto and his lady friend joined us for some observations and conversation. He is a construction worker who is temporarily living in Monteverde while he builds a new hotel here. He inquired about his English skills and I practiced my limited Spanish. A few minutes later, Michael and I stopped to join some others looking at a green non-venomous snake on the road. It must have been run over by a tire and was suffering from a crushing injury a few inches down from the head. Umberto, the husband of Elliot, the boy's teacher arrived and carefully picked it up. We all had a chance to touch it before he tossed it into the grass.
We sat upon a large boulder and waved to a family of four zoom by on their motorcycle. We looked over the valley down toward the Bay of Nicoya, barely able to make out the water through the layers of clouds. We looked at the moss and lichens growing everywhere and stopped to watch the trail of leafcutter ants carry their bits of leaves along the white line on the side of the paved road. We listened to the wind blow through the tall cyprus trees and ran past the row of waving bamboo. Arriving in Cerro Plano, we took a left down a dirt road and followed a sign for a grocery. It was closed, so we continued our quest west passing modest houses, banana trees, people hanging laundry under an overhang, roaming dogs greeting everyone with waves and 'hola, buenas dias.' Michael told everyone about his brother and the diarrhea and our search for ginger ale.
After a few more turns and rocky side roads, we finally arrived at an open store. We knew Lily, the woman at the counter, and a little girl flirted with my little boy. A student from MFS, Chris ran in and greeted us with "Da me cinco Michael!" Michael gave Chris a high five, then celebrated when he found the ginger ale. We picked up our goods, sat outside the store and enjoyed refreshing boxes of pear and mango juice. The two of us headed back home, greeting Karolay near her house, waving to some fellow teachers passing by on the yellow bus and walking with some of the familiar dogs. Michael stayed on his own two feet for the entire two and one half hour expedition. The final stretch up our road required some singing and and walking games to encourage him on. The mist, fresh breeze, greetings, greenery, wet feet - it was well worth the walk. Signed M.
Illness Update! Sally is up on her feet today!!! She improved tremendously yesterday and we tried to give her more R&R.
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