Fifth Time In Costa Rica, 15

Another uneventful day, which is exactly what I came here for. Yesterday I busted a couple for letting their second hand cigarette smoke drift into my room. I was polite about it and they were respectful. Young French couple, a bit friendlier than a lot of French visitors here. I don´t know if there´s a specific no smoking rule for the whole establishment, but management is supportive about the way I have been handling things, plus, the smokers and I seem to end up getting on well, I think even better given that we have had a chance to...er...clear the air. And, in case you`re wondering, in Costa Rica they´re pretty strict about smoking, much as they are in Canada, so please, no cultural relativism lectures. I don´t always follow this rule myself, but I do believe that if you´re going to be assertive, it is always better to try to be polite about it. I had a nice breakfast chat with a pleasant couple from Toronto. They were here with their three teenage sons. I have a rule about chatting with other Canadians when travelling. Almost never, ever talk about Canadian politics, even if we`re on the same page about everything. There are things that I simply do not want to have to think about while I´m away from Canada, and Canada, I´m afraid, is just one of those things. They checked out today, and like everyone else who stays here, they were here only one or two nights. Pity, this, because they don´t really get much opportunity to really absorb or appreciate the beauty of this place, but so it is with consumer tourism. I guess I also get a bit nervous with this high turnover of guests, because I never know what to expect next, or what kinds of problems folks might be bringing with them. It also makes it difficult to become better acquainted with guests who seem to like me. On the other hand, I don´t have to cope too long with the prolonged coldness of the ones that don´t seem to like me, or anybody else, for that matter. Earplugs certainly help. The walls are a bit on the thin side and couples aren´t always quiet, if you know what I mean, but fortunately only once so far have I had to cope, very briefly, with honeymooners, but I´m not going into any details as this material may not be appropriate for family viewing. I always bring several pairs of earplugs when I travel. I hate unwanted noise, especially when I want to unwind for the night. I also bring with me a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the earplugs, since I reuse them. The peroxide is also great for oral hygiene, first aid, and keeping my shoes relatively fresh. Don´t leave home without it. I also packed an extra pair of shoes, a cloth reusable bag and a few plastic bags (especially for laundry, as well as shopping needs) I packed a lot of pencil crayons (one pack of one hundred colours, plus the large kit of pencils that I carry with me everywhere and coloured pens (two packages), along with my sketchbook and two pencil sharpeners. Since Monteverde is a bit on the remote side I always try to err on the side of excess with things like that. I also have a few books with me, in both languages, as well as just enough clothing to see me through (besides what I´m already wearing, three shirts, two pairs of pants and nine each of socks and underwear.) Three bandanas, a red one, green, and a light blue one (my fave) to protect my head from the solar wrath. A tube of sunscreen (natch), toothpaste, toothbrush, nail clippers, four razors, deodorant, hair scissors (I trim my hair, or what´s left of it, every day, been doing this for more than thirty years, and it´s saved me a small fortune in barber visits), utility scissors, healing ointment, pain killers and a few band-aids, thread and a couple of needles. Also I packed with me one kilo each of trail mix and chocolate chips, for snacking, since food and meals can be pretty pricey, here, as well as for nutritional concerns (the trail mix anyway.) I am carefully rationing the trail mix and chocolate chips, to ensure that they last me the whole trip. Likewise with money. Besides eighty bucks Canadian for immediate use when I return home, I brought with me around a thousand bucks worth of Colones, the Costa Rican currency, and just over seven hundred US for back up and emergencies. I am spending very very carefully and frugally and I expect that not only will I be taking home all the US funds with me, but that I might also end up changing at the airport a couple of hundred bucks in leftover Colones. There is a plan here: I never know what kind of surprise Canada Revenue will have waiting for me when I get home, neither do I know what my available hours of work are going to look like. So, if any of you have had any questions about how I pack and travel, there goes the mystery. Today there was this guy who drives a truck all over the area that loudly broadcasts announcements of public interest. I used to let myself get really annoyed at this, since it really ruptures the beautiful fiction that many of us have about places like Monteverde. On the other hand, I think it´s good for tourists to be reminded of those salient little details that the travel agencies never tell them: that these beautiful places that we love to visit for a few days are also places where people work, live and have to survive and cope with life. A lot of those places, and Costa Rica is one of them, do not have social welfare programs, which means that one has to be willing to take whatever work is available, no matter how odious, in order to pay the bills. So now, when I hear this guy coming, once I have stopped wincing, I offer up a prayer for him, thanksgiving that he has work, and I also try to remind myself that I know absolutely nothing about the circumstances of his life. Still annoying, but makes it a bit easier to cope with. A big hug to all of you (for those who are squeamish about hugs, a big handshake!)