Costa Rica 6, Twenty-Fourth Day In Monteverde

I woke up early, around 3:45, but I already had six and a half hours sleep and I felt rested, so I got up and got started, spending a lot of time on drawing and colouring and also spent some time reading CBC online, only just enough to keep me informed but not enough to get me angry or worried. Shortly after I was up, a beautiful jewel scarab came flying into my room through the open door. These are a local beetle that is a gorgeous metallic gold colour. They look like elegant cufflinks. Somehow, this visitor seemed to feel like a blessing, so I did a little search online and here's what I found: "In general, when you encounter jewel beetle symbolism, it is a reminder that life is unexpected moments of joy and beauty, in the smallest of packages. Thus this insect teaches us to find beauty in everything. When we focus on this aspect of our lives, we will come home to the joy we were meant to live. Alternatively, like the iridescent hummingbird, jewel beetle meaning is a reminder that all of your dreams are possible and that you can manifest them now." I went to mass after breakfast with Rafael and Luz-Mery, Esteban's parents. It was quite enjoyable and the little church was packed, I think, with almost three hundred worshipers. A little kid in front of me was twisting and twitching and squirming like a restless squirrel and ended up almost kicking me as he stuck his leg behind him and I had to stop his leg with my hand, saying "Cuidado" or careful. His mom turned around to apologize and he looked at me and I gave him a big smile to assure him it was no big deal (actually, I thought it was funny and the little boy respnded with a big beautiful smile, and suddenly we were friends. Luz-Mery was sitting next to me and she was just cracking up with laughter. Afterward there was a food event just outside and the street was also closed to vehicle traffic for a car-free day or also known as Monteverde Sin Humo, or Monteverde without smoke. A couple of guys visiting from Quebec asked if any of us speak English, and I replied that I do sometimes, which is very true, and they wanted to know some things about the food event, so I asked Luz-Mery, then translated for them. When I asked them how they liked Costa Rica so far, they replied that it's full of tourists, and they didn't seem too pleased when I replied that, well, we're tourists too, aren't we? Maybe I should learn when to keep my mouth shut. Or maybe not. I think they needed to hear that. There was also a machine spewing out tons of iridescent bubbles. Can you imagine how a cat would go absolutely nuts looking at that? After we returned from church I went for a walk and sat for a while in the Cafe Monteverde and enjoyed chatting wth one of the staff there. He plays violin cello and is already performing publicly with an orchestra. I think he's just in his early twenties. Then I walked back to Santa Elena, the street party was still in full swing and there were ladies folk dancing in beautiful swirling and billowing taffeta gowns in brilliant solid colours: bright yellow, sapphire blue, orange, magenta, scarlet and crimson and purple. i stopped for a bite to eat in a pizza and burger joint nearby. I asked the waiter how his brother is, who lives in Chilliwack, just near Vancouver. He replied that they're both going through a difficult time because their father just died last week. I offered my condolences, and it's also a good reminder that we never know what other people in our contact might be going through in the moment. The four mile walk back was fairly uneventful, outside of two, likely American. young people, a man and a woman, jogging on the high narrow trail above the road, which is dangerous, because it is so narrow that people can't even pass each other and a lot of people, including children, walk on it. So I gave them both royal shit for their ignorant behaviour, they tried to ignore me and I called them pendejos (look it up) For local people, I will cut tons of slack, but when Gringos start throwing their weight round, best that you don't let me anywhere near them, because my inner dad is going to be on the loose..

Costa Rica 6, Twenty-Third Day In Monteverde

Hoy, estoy reventando la bolsa, which is Spanish for I'm breaking the piggy bank. I've been very good with my expenses so I treated myself to a lovely Italian dinner in the chi-chi Italian restaurant, Tremonte's. Actually, the food and setting are elegant, but the staff and owners are super down-to-earth and friendly, and they treat me like a friend. They even give me the Tico discount, which means that I pay the considerably lower price set for the locals. I was seated on the balcony in the back with a sumptuous view of the forest and the visually intoxicating glitter of the afternoon sun on the leaves, as the trees are very close. You could even say that the restaurant is almost set right in the forest. I also had one of the most unusual tiramisus for dessert. It was served to me chilled in a sealed jam jar! On top of a piece of wood! It was delicious, not too sweet and just pleasantly boozy. Even if I tend to be a teetotaller, I do like liquor in some desserts, cakes and chocolates and suchlike. And I had a nice chat with a German couple who came a bit later. Also enjoyed some pleasant conversations with the two servers and one of the managers whom I think is also one of the cooks. Before that I was in San Luis buying my bus ticket to Alajuela Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning I fly back to Canada. I stopped in a cafe in Santa Elena where I enjoyed a strawberry smoothie, or batido de fresa, and chatted a bit with one of the staff and a regular customer who both seemed to like my art. Before that I was enjoying a hot chocolate in the Cafe Monteverde near the Mariposa, and chatted with staff there about how expensive things have become in Vancouver. That all started when they were charging me four bucks something for the hot chocolate and I mentioned that that is what I would pay for it in Canada, and on we went. (the hot chocolate was delicious, by the way, almost as good as the way I make it at home) Most of the conversations are in Spanish, though with the German couple it was English. I was also just chatting in English with a coupple of women visiting from Houston, Texas. The internet has been down most of the day, and we were just talking about how dependent we've all become on it. It seems that my generation is scolding the Millenials in much the same way as our parents used to scold us about how spoilt we are, and it just seems that with all the advances and innovations in technology that each succeeding generation becomes weaker and less self-reliant than the one that preceded it. Sad, this. The Spánish language generally flows very smoothly these days, though there are moments when my tongue fails me, but I'm also sometimes stumbling in English, so the outcome of being fluently bilingual sometimes means that I end up speaking two languages badly. People are generally friendly here and I did mention the other day that I wonder how well I'm going to cope being back in unfriendly and socially dyslexic Vancouver, but I have a plan. I am simply going to carry on with people at home the way I communicate with the locals here, and if I have to take a little time to help some of my fellow Vancouverites extract their boneheads from out of their tight little hienies, then so much the better. Every time I go away like this for a month in Latin America (lately here in Monteverde) it is with the objective of putting my life so far under review and thinking up strategies for constructive change in the way that I do things at home in Vancouver, and of how this is going to reflect on my daily life, my relationships, my work, my routines, the way I eat, everything. Usually not a lot changes, just maybe a little, but it's worth it. Of course, I've been walking everywhere, as usual. It is excellent exercise, especially on the steep hills here. Tomorrow morning I'm going to mass with Esteban's parents, to the same church that I visited with Esteban last week. It's a nice way of hanging out, as well as appreciating more the culture and the spirit of the Ticos here in Monteverde.

Costa Rica 6, Twenty-Second Day In Monteverde

It's really starting to feel like it's time to begin wrapping up. I return to Vancouver next Thursday, in less than a week. After I did my laundry today, I packed all the clothes I will not be needing for the rest of my stay here. Sleep has been a bit sketchy the last three nights or so, but still better than when I'm at home, so I am getting the rest that I've been needing. Nothing terribly unusual to report today. I stopped in the Cafe Monteverde and enjoyed chatting with some of the staff. We were comparing currencies and we have agreed that Costa Rican and Canadian bills are equally pretty. When they saw the Queen on a twenty they thought it strange that Elizabeth would be the queen of Canada, a fully independent country, as well as the queen of England. I could only agree, but since that is not the focus of this blogpost, perhaps I will leave it for you, Gentle Reader, to give youselves a headache over this little matter, should you so choose. Then I was joined by a couple of ladies of a certain age from California. They are part of a hand-drumming circle and they have been here in Monteverde for the past five days. One of them was also very apologetic about President Dump and the way he is impacting our dear little Canada. I told her Prime Minister Trudeau's (the elder Trudeau, I mean, against whom his dear little son is but a feather weight, and a bit of a feather brain) description of Canada being like a mouse in bed with an elephant (the elephant being the USA) so that everything that happens in the US is going to also strongly impact the True North Strong and Free. We also agreed that California, along with Oregon and Washington State, seem to have more in common with BC than with the rest of the US, and I am not taking that idea any further, at least for today. I did mention to her, in passing, that Monteverde is not about the Quakers, it is about the Ticos. The reason I said this is that the Quakers who first came here get a lot of the credit for the part they played in helping create the community here, and they do deserve some praise, and their influence has been positive, or at the very least, benign. That said, they are still foreigners, and even if they are benevolent Americans, they are still Americans, and even if unconsciously and with the best of intentions, they still carry perhaps unconsciously something of American Expansionism and I can't help but suspect that, even unwittingly, they have brought with them here a kind of, shall we say, innocent cultural imperialism. But when I first visited here in 1994, with practically no Spanish, I was at first seeing Monteverde through the lens of the American Quakers, and that's when I knew that I would have to learn Spanish, to speak it properly and fluently, so that I could return here one day and learn some of the stories of the actual Ticos, the Costa Ricans who have lived in this place for generations. I have not been at all disappointed and getting to know some of the local people here has really broadened and enriched for me my perception of this wonderful place. My awareness of Monteverde has also been somewhat demystified and disenchanted, but I think in a good way, because for me Monteverde, San Luis and Santa Elena have really been humanized, now that I have a little more awareness of the complex family and kinship networks that make up this fascinating community. And the American Quakers have truly added something, especially those who have intermarried with the local people, not to mention their many other economic and cultural contributions, with the cheese factory and the Quaker school, for example. It's been an unusually hot day today, but walking has still been enjoyable. I think I am becoming so spoiled by all the cool and interesting local people and visitors I have been meeting and talking to here, and it might be a bit of an adjustment returning to Vancouver and having to acustom myself again to being ignored by everybody.

Costa Rica 6, Twenty-First Day in Monteverde

Following a nap that lasted more than an hour after breafast, I wandered up to the cloud forest reserve. I did stop to visit the hummingbirds at the feeders in the Hummingbird Gallery, and to carefully conceal my snickers at all the tourists photographing them, then chatted briefly with one of the managers of the reserve, who wrote a special note approving my free entry, so that I will have something to show the guy at the ticket booth, which streamlines things somewhat, he doesn't have to phone anyone to confirm my identity, and I still feel like a bit of a cheapskate tourist, but this too will pass. The entrance to the trail was clogged by two large school groups. The first was around thirty teenage kids in school uniforms and I just looked at them, smiled and said in Spanish "¡Vaya, que manada¡", or look at that herd! They didn't seem too amused, but then the second group, which was bigger, was blocking the entire trail and I had to ask them in Spanish, "¿Me dan paso, por favor?" or, could you let me through please? They did let me through, but they weren't at all gracious about it, especially their teacher who seemed particularly offended that I should ask him and his darlings to move out of the way, even if I did ask them politely and in good Spanish. But that could be exactly what he found offensive. People! or on the other hand, he might have also been annoyed at his dumb students, so maybe I could give him the benefit of the doubt. I spent about three hours in the forest, a lot of that time sitting on benches, beholding and absorbing the glorious tangle that is the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Again I heard quetzals, but they are staying well-hidden today, and other birds. The light is especially dazzling on the leaves and the shadow effects are dramatic. At times it seems that the entire cloud forest is made out of light. But everything is so dense and growing together, one plant or vine or epiphyte or fern or orchid on top of another and it all seems to flourish together in one glorious and interdependent celebration of life and diversity. I climbed up to the Ventana, or mirador, for a view of the mountains and the continental divide between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Costa Rica. It is spellbinding looking upon all those hundreds of square miles of cloud forest and mountains, completely inaccessible to humans, which works fine for me, given how toxic our species is to the natural harmony of the planet. But it seems that most of us are still in denial about one very inescapable fact, which is that we are also part of nature. It wasn't too crowded today, and there weren't any more big groups, mostly pairs and small groups of friends or families. To two young women taking a selfie on the trail (they looked like they'd rather be at the mall) I couldn't resist saying, "There must be beter things to photograph here." I had a meal of vegetarian casado at the restaurant at the entrance to the cloud forest. This is a traditional Costa Rican meal that consists of beans, rice, salad, cooked vegetables (roasted peppers, eggplant snf zucchini in this case), cheese and sliced fried plantains. It can also include any kind of meat, chicken or fish. I also had with the waiter a good-natured argument in Spanish about adding more vegetarian dishes to the menu. I did see in the rorest today one first-time bird sighting of a hooded or cowled jay. They are very elegant, a bit bigger than a robin, and indigo blue plumage with light blue feathers on the head. I'm going to draw one tomorrow, methinks. All for now, Gentle Reader!

Costa Rica 6, Twentieth Day In Monteverde

Today, I am trying something a little different. I am writing this blog from my room, instead of the reception area, for a couple of reasons. My nerves are tired today, and the owners' granddaughter has been playing quite noisily and wildly with two of her playmates. I'm not a kid-hater, by the way, but the noise that they make does get on my nerves and so, since I cannnot reasonably expect their granddaughter not to play, I still have to take measures to take care of myself. The only thing is, when I did get to my room, the three little girls went running and screaming and laughing right past my room and the other rooms as well. I am wearing eqrplugs right now, and have closed the windows qnd the door. I am sure they are not supposed to be playing around the guest rooms, since this can be disturbing to guests and our rest needs, but I am sure that the owners will take care of everything. I hope they do, anyway. Not a lot of other news, outside of the usual. I had an interesting chat with Nery,the lady who helped found the Casem Cooperative where I often stop for a bite to eat in the late afternoon. They have a little soda or local restaurant tucked in the back, which unfortunately isn't mentioned in the website. Anyway, here is some more information about the place pulled from Uncle Google: " CASEM, the Cooperativa de Artesanas de Santa Elena y Monteverde, is a non-profit artisan cooperative dedicated to enhancing the economic and social well-being of local women artists. The CASEM store and workshop, situated within the heart of Monteverde, is a showcase for unique, locally produced handicrafts. These handicrafts include decorative wall hangings, ceramics, clothes, bags, jewelry, toys and wood carvings. The CASEM Co-op – which was originally a part of the Cooperativa Santa Elena, but is now fully independent – was established in 1982 by a group of eight women artists, with the goal of using their creative skills to improve the lives of their families. Initially working out of the kitchen of one of their founding members, the women have now turned the organization into a flourishing community enterprise. CASEM has nearly 100 current members. CASEM’s objectives are to offer employment opportunities to local women and to provide training in production and diversification of arts and crafts techniques. They also work to promote the understanding of business operations in order to help generate extra family income and, more importantly, build self-esteem and encourage community participation. To this end, proceeds from sales have been used to finance artistic and business management training, as well as workshops in confidence building, problem solving and conflict resolution. Members receive 65% of the sale price of all products while the remaining 35% is invested into the cooperative’s facilities and educational programs. In 1987, as part of a joint community effort, the current CASEM building was erected on land that was donated by the Cooperativa Santa Elena. The building houses a store, gallery and workshop space for members. Every year, volunteer groups (hosted by Global Volunteers) from Europe and the United States come to work with CASEM. Their improvements include murals, mosaics, gardens and gallery fittings. CASEM is open Mon-Sat from 8 AM to 5 PM, and on Sundays from 10 AM to 4 PM. Visitors may see local artists at work in the workshop, and can be confident that any purchases made are going to support an essential community enterprise." and here's a bit more about the history of Monteverde: "Indigenous artifacts found throughout Monteverde suggest that native tribes once lived throughout the region from 3000 BC to 500 AD.These tribal societies were eventually replaced by various chiefdoms that farmed and deforested large portions of the land. Populations declined in the fourteenth century, possibly due to a volcanic eruption, and again fell during the sixteenth century following the arrival of the Spanish. In 1949, four pacifist Quakers from Alabama were jailed for refusing to fight in the Korean War. Once released, they sought a country where they could embrace their peaceful beliefs and continue to cultivate their dairy farms. Costa Rica had abolished its army the year before and had underdeveloped mountainsides that were perfect for their trade. This being the case, several Quaker families packed up their belongings and moved to Monteverde in 1950 and began to farm and live in peace. These families – along with some of the area’s native Costa Ricans – would go along to establish the community of Monteverde and some of its famed cloud forest reserves." All for now, Gentle Reader.

Costa Rica 6, Nineteenth Day In Monteverde

This morning, I was greeted by a local green parrot squawking its head off from a tree near my room. Then I went down for a two hour nap after breakfast. I needed it today, following a not very full night's sleep, thanks to rather a difficult dream that I am still processing. I won't go into detail, but it's about realizing that I do have a place to live and that I have to claim this at times. This is mostly metaphorical, by the way, but these quiet days and nights in Monteverde are faciliating in me a lot of thought, introspection, prayer and insight. Which is the idea for being here. Right now the sun is getting ready to set and the light transfigures the green foliage into something fiery green and magical, especially as the trees seem to be dancing in the wind. Different folk, especially those working in some of the cafes, now recognize me and are always friendly. There are also a number of people visiting longterm for work or study. And of course, the dumb tourists. I seem to be neither fish nor fowl, being here for a month, being a frequent flier and having friends here. I also tend to behave rather differently from other visitors. Especially given that I don't drive a car, and live on a low income, and yes, I am keeping a tight, but not quite onerous budget. I'm not the only person who walks, and I do see a lot of other folks, locals and visitors, on foot as well. But my guess is that a lot of them also have vehicles or motorbikes, and they do drive at least some of the time. The visitor arriving by bus and going everywhere on foot is a bit unusual. And here in Costa Rica, there does appear to be quite a strong car culture. This seems more like a necessary evil, unlike in cities like Vancouver, where we suffer from a lot of unnecessary gridlock, and just because people are too lazy, arrogant and spoilt to want to give up their precious automobiles. Here it's different. Outside of San Jose, the capital, public transit is a bit sketchy, and there isn't that much of an infrastructure. Here in Monteverde, which is very remote, a car is often a necessity. There is a local public bus, but it runs only five times a day, or so. And I can't imagine that they'll ever put in a skytrain or light rail, or a monorail here, to discourage car use and vehicle emissions. Methinks that most visitors and locals would still opt to drive instead. I don't get the idea that there are a lot of electric cars here. I have just read an article about the Costa Rican president, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, who wants to get Costa Rica off fossil fuels completely by 2050. He is also encouraging electric cars, so maybe there is still time. I have also just heard from Esteban that the president is passing laws to ensure that electic cars are affordable to Costa Ricans. We have less than twelve years to significantly lower our carbon emissions, and after that, it's schnitzel for you, Tootsie! In the meantime, people are going to go with whatever is cheap and convenient and if that means burning more fossil fuels, then more fossil fuels are going to get burned. Unless electric cars turn out to be cheaper. And if more people begin to csre more for the welfare and future outcome of the planet than their own bottom line. If worse does come to worse with disastrous climate change, then I can hardly visualize the future outcome for places like Monteverde, or some of the ecological treasures in my own province of BC. I'm not a Pollyanna, but I still refuse to cave in to despair.

Costa Rica 6, Eighteenth Day In Monteverde

Not a lot happened today, Gentle Reader, but as some of you know, I am a writer, and have just published on Amazon Kindle a collection of some of my short stories, titled "La Tigresa Negra (The Black Tigress) and other stories. I will send the story separate from the blog, because it is impossible to format text on this blog. I did strike up an acquaintance with one of the local hummingbirds here. It is called a coppery headed emerald. They are tiny, not much bigger than a bumblebee, and highly iridescent. I have a drawing of one in my sketchbook that I will show you when I'm back in Vancouver. He's getting quite used to me standing just a couple of feet from him while feeding from a butterfly busy. Check Google for images.

Costa Rica 6, Seventeenth Day In Monteverde

I will begin, Gentle Reader, with a list of the various items I have brought with me in my baggage this time, and some of my reasons why: 1. ten pairs each of socks and underwear (I am housebroken, you know), 1 extra pair of jeans, two extra shirts (I'm not going to be on any catwalks this year), 3. 4 disposable razors (one usually lasts me three weeks, but you never know), 4., toothbrush, toothpaste, deoderant, nail clippers and sunscreen (if you need to know why, then you're not old enough to be reading this blog!), 5. bandaids, pain killers, antibacterial ointment (ditto), 6. hair scissors (I like to cut my own hair), 7. peroxide, for my toothbrush and as an antiseptic, 8. meds for my thyroid qnd pituatary condition, 9. clock radio, 10. sketchbook and pencil crayons and coloured pens, 11. notebook, 12. Bible and two devotional books, 13. novel in Spanish, 14. food for my flight, 15. trail mix and chocolate chips, for nutritional supplement and snacks and comfort, 16. extra belt, because I have bad luck with belts, 17. laptop and headphones, 18. bristol board, scissors and glue, for affixing finished drawings for my hosts in Costa Rica, 19. 3 bandanas to protect my head from the tropic sun, 20. duct tape, 21. passport, 22. needle and thread, 23. travel docs, 24. Costa Rican and US currency, 25. random plastic bags for laundry, etc, 26. earplugs (because I hate noise, and walls can be very thin), 27. prayer cards with the names of various people I pray for regularly, including you, Gentle Reader. I also brought one hundred extra pencil crayons and two packs of ten coloured pens each, knowing my capacity for self-sabotage. Today, I almost needed them. When I went to the cloud forest reserve today, I stopped at the Cafe Colibrí near the entrance, to have a peak at the hummingbirds at the many feeders there. I was seated at a well-hidden bench on the side near a hummingbird feeder and ended up chatting with a nice Scottish couple who are here for the first time. I showed them one of my hummingbird drawings, but had to take a couple of items out of my knapsack in order to fit my sketchbook back in. I was so distracted by our conversation that I left my bag of pencils and pens on the bench, and didn't clue in about the loss until a couple of hours later in my room, so I walked mostly uphill the three kilometres back to the reserve. Fortunately, some kind soul turned them into the cafe, and there my pencils and pens were, waiting for me. On my way to retrieve them, it was consoling thinking that just in case I would never see them again, that I had that emergency reserve of materials, including two new pencil sharpeners in my room to use if I needed them. I know from long experience that being on vacation can be very much the equivalent of undergoing two frontal lobotomies! The reserve was lovely again, of course, and not at all crowded, and best of all, NO GROUPS! Can it get any sweeter, GR? I wasn't in there long, and just took the gentle route, since I didn't feel like wearing myself out today. Last night, I went with Esteban to the Saturday mass at the catholic church in Santa Elena where he attends regularly. There was quite a croud packed into the small church, close to two hundred, many young people and a lot of families. It was interesting hearing the noise from the bars outside as a kind of existential contrast. I won't go into detail about my experience there, though it was very positive, but I will say one thing. If you are visiting a Latin American country, and you want to really begin to understand the culture, attend mass there, in Spanish, at least once. It doesn't matter what you believe in, and when you go, you will thank me afterward for this advice.

Costa Rica 6, Sixteenth Day In Monteverde

I have been talking to Canadians today. Two women from Toronto this morning at breakfast and this afternoon a father-son act from Ontario and Nova Scotia. All nice people, and nice to have some English practice. We also couldn't resist sharing a joke or three about some of the Americans we encounter here. We really are different from our American neighbours, despite superficial similarities. I think it's because Canadians don't tend to see things as black and white, and we have a very strong sense and appreciation of irony and complexity. We also know how to laugh at ourselves. And I have noticed that Ticos are a lot like Canadians, except generally more relaxed and happier. I think Canadian winters can make some of us pretty miserable. Of course, these are generalizations. And I'm not here to write about Canada, but Costa Rica, except, nothing has happened today, really. The trees are still all growing in the same places, the wind is still blowing and making the boughs move and sway while rustling the leaves with their peculiar music. The cows are still grazing in the pastures, and randomly shitting all over the road when they are being moved from field to field. The morpho butterflies still delight the eye with their pure cyan blue wings, and the birds call from the trees where they remain hidden. I don't really see a lot of birds here, though I hear them everywhere. A lot of visitors hire guides to help them locate the birds, and they also often carry fancy eqqauipment with them. I don't, partly because I'm a low-income traveller, so I have to watch my expenditures. I also think there is something tacky and crass about dragging birdwatching machinery around. I find it graceless and inelegant, and, really, I still get to see a lot of cool-looking birds, like the emerald toucanet that flew across the road today. Here's a link if you want to see one for yourselves. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBD_esCR793CR793&q=emerald+toucanet+images&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFjeWTtZnhAhXSslkKHcukABsQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1242&bih=603#imgrc=8nXDzWw2kzDPvM: You might have to copy and past it on the bar at the top of your page. I really am not here specifically to birdwatch, and even though I draw and paint them I am not a barmy birder. If a bird wants you to see it, then it will allow itself to be seen, and so the sighting should be accepted as a gift, and not an entitlement. It's about respect. The light here is especially wonderful. When I was sitting on the balcony of the Italian restaurant, the trees I was looking at all glittered like sequins, only with a beauty and intensity almost painful to the eye.

Costa Rica 6, Fifteenth Day In Monteverde

Hi Gentle Reader. This is the Dumb Tourist Edition. If you are American, please do not read this post, or if you do, and I know who you are, consider yourself exempt from this sweeping generalization that I am about to make, since I also am aware that you and a lot of other Americans are actually pretty well-informed about things, even if they happen to be in my own dear Canada. So, to get ready for this post, please start by playing this little clip from YouTube, or Rick Mercer Talking to Americans. It is a little bit dated, but still hilarious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZREHsC6eNM Now, on with the show! I got a few things done this morning, changing bedsheets and towels and doing my laundry. I have already mentioned that I am doing almost everything here, short of meals, that I do for myself at home. As well as aleviating the work burden for my hosts and their staff, it helps me feel more at home here, given that I am here for a month. Then, I did a walk to the Cafe Monteverde, where I was joined by a mother-daughter act from Rochester, New York. Very nice, well-educated people, and like many Americans, shockingly (or maybe not so shockingly) ignorant about us, their loyal neighbours to the north. We got into quite an interesting conversation about a lot of different stuff, and for me it was nice having some time to practice my English a bit, since the daughter doesn't speak a lot of Spanish and her mother doesn't speak any. We somehow got talking about Venezuela and the difficult situation there. The daughter (I think she'd be getting on for forty) appears to have swallowed the Koolaid about the problems in Venezuela being all Anerica's fault. I did caution her that, while my own values are very much on the left, that I also see the situation there as being very complex and it is easy for an administration as irresponsible as that of Victor Maduro to play the blame America card, which is only too convenient given how much they stick their nose everywhere it doesn't belong. I didn't bother going further into it because, quite honestly, Gentle Reader, I am here in Monteverde to give my brain a rest from all that. I did not mention to them my friend who is from Venezuela and had returned to Vancouver, this time as a refugee, thirty pounds lighter, and that was weight she did not need to lose, so please let's not blame America for everything, even if they do often deserve it. They do, of course, have some culpability, but the Maduro administration is not exactly innocent, either. We got talking about our own dear prime minister. They didn't even know that he is Pierre's son, nor that his dad was prime minister for most of fourteen years spanning from the late sixties to almost the mid-eighties. Sheesh! I was a complete gentleman about it, and gracious, and took great care not to roll my eyes, not even once, nor to affect any sarcasm or irony in my tone of voice. It wasn't easy, and I think I deserve an Oscar or at least a Palm d'Or for my performance. Then there was that other, presumably American, tourist just outside, seated on a near lifesize statue of a horse, and wearing a Santa Claus hat, surrounded by four or five of his buddies, all of a certain age, which is to say, not much younger than me. I said to them first in Spanish "¡Valgame Dios! ¿Están emborrachados?" or, Oh my God, are you guys drunk? They insisted, laughing, that they were not, but I don't really believe them. Later on while seated on a bench at the lookout point, a young Latino couple joined me and we had a nice little chat in Spanish. I could tell by their accent that they are not from here, and it turns out they're from Mexico and El Salvador, and they think their accents are better than the Costa Rican, though I don't think so. We did agree that the Cubans are scarecely understandable, and that a lot of Spanish people should be ashamed of their horrible Spanish, given that they claim to be God's appointed custodians of the Spanish language. So, it's been kind of a fun day, not without irony, and, really, I ought to cut slack for other tourists, given that I as once an inexperienced traveller myself, and boy, was I ever dumb. I'm sure that none of you are surprised to hear this, duckies.

Costa Rica 6, Fourteenth Day In Monteverde

Another meh day, so I will think twice before sending this post, just because I don't want to bore everybody. It seems that the theme of this trip is rest, and whether I want it or not, I'm getting it, and I'm getting it in spades. I have also been sleeping unusually well on this trip, but my sleep seems to have been gradually improving over the past six months or so. So, I've had two naps today. This morning before breakfast, and this morning after breakfast. Then I catch myself feeling guilty for doing nothing, but really, what do I need to be doing on this trip? So, I'm cutting myself slack. I go out and walk, spend time in a cafe with my sketchbook, then go for another walk, and grab something to eat somewhere else, then walk back here, write something on my blog, share it with Esteban if he feels like it, chat with him and his parents in Spanish, work maybe on some other writing and research projects, go to my room, work on some art, watch a couple of a Youtube videos, read a novel in Spanish, and it's usually lights out at ten. Last night I was asleep before nine because I was feeling really wiped fron caffeine withdrawal. I'm much better today, and tomorrow I will probably enjoy a cup or three. So, I got up at four thirty this morning and was down for a nap within a couple of hours. Following nap number two, I left the bed and breakfast at noon, went for a walk, didn't see any morphos today, but that's okay, since I have so far been enjoying daily sightings of those magnificent butterflies (the big bright blue ones, should you want reminding), then I walked down to the elegant and super overpriced Cafe Caburé for a cup of decaf and a brownie with chocolate sauce, mora sauce (a local wild loganberry, much like our blackberries), and vanilla ice cream. The price? 6380 colones, or fourteen bucks Canadian. Back home in Vancouver, in the super elegant Gallery Cafe, for a similar or even better treat, I would be paying almost half that price. Go figure! So, I don't go to Cafe Caburé very often, especially since Susana, the owner, raised their prices this year, but I still go there maybe once a week, max. Still, she is a nice person, from Argentina. The name of the cafe, Caburé, comes from the name of a tiny owl in Argentina, and legend has it that a magic love potion can be made from one of its feathers. I find it curious that the place would have an Argentinian-themed name. It would be rather like a Canadian opening a burger joint here in Monteverde and naming it the Magic Loon, or the Happy Beaver, or whatever, or something like that. But here I digress. If it's hard enough for me, a low-income Canadian visitor to afford a place like Caburé, think how difficult it is for the average Tico, given that, according to Esteban, the minimum wage here is around two bucks an hour, US, or in Canadian funds, at around two sixty-five Canadian, which was the minimum wage in my province around forty-two years ago. Still, Caburé is a lovely place, I enjoy chatting with Susana and some of her staff, and the other customers, being well- off, are also going to be more aloof and are going to leave me alone, and right now, I am sort of peopled-out, so I am enjoying this lack of attention right now. And I spent a good two hours plus there today working on my art and enjoying the view and the tranquility. I went for another walk, then had something to eat at the soda in Casem, the local cooperative. Not only is the food decently cheap, it is abundant, delicious, nutritioous and the ladies who work there are really nice, very regular Costa Rican women, friendly and unpretentious. It feels very homey there. Well, that wraps up another thrilling day in Monteverde, best explored on foot. Since I don't drive, that is my way of getting around. Good exercise, I can take my time, and really see and absorb my surroundings. Also I am not contributing to global warming and climate change. Okay, I will stop now. You are most welcome, Gentle Reader!

Costa Rica 6, Thirteenth Day In Monteverde

Lucky Thirteen! It's been quite an uneventful day, so far. I was up at 5:30, finished a drawing, then started a new one, went up for breakfast at around 8:30, met a family from Austen, Texas, originally from India, a couple with their two teenage and tween sons. All quite enthusiastic birders. They seem quite interested in my art. Very nice people. I then went down for a nap of just more than an hour. I am doing this every day now, giving priority to rest. After breakfast I usually linger for another hour or two with my sketchbook, then I return to my room for a bit of a lie down. I am, after all, on vacation. I was greeted by another blue morpho butterfly as I was out walking, then I did a visit at a cafe nearby, but I'm off caffeine today, having had it three days in a row, so today I'm abstaining, with mild withdrawal symptoms, but I really don't feel like getting hooked again, much as I enjoy it. So, instead I had a batido con mora en leche, or a blackberry smoothie made with milk. The moras are rather like blackberries, but they're more a species of tropical loganberry that grow wild in the mountains of Mexico, Central and South America. They are quite lovely, and I always enjoy having batidos de mora or mora jam when I am visiting in Latin America. Folks are leaving me alone today, which works for me since I am a bit peopled out right now. And given how intensely social my work is, it makes getting away alone all the more needful. No, I am not an introvert. I am not an extrovert either. Rather a useless binary, I think, and a lot of people try to use being an introvert, or being an extrovert, as lame excuses for their behaviour. I do enjoy hanging out and chatting with Esteban and his parents, and the communication is one hundred percent in Spanish. I only have trouble with the language, it seems, while doing cash transactions in the store, as people often mumble, or don't clearly enunciate when they want my money, so I often have to ask them to repeat. Otherwise, no problem at all with the language. I did hear a lot of English today in the coffeeshop as an American girl college student really tried to dominate the atmosphere. Quite typical of a lot of the young privileged white folk I see around here, and they're all deplorable. I walked as far as the mall today to replenish my dwindling chocolate supply. It isn't cheap in Monteverde. Then I walked as far as the collective where I enjoyed a very cheap, tasty, substantial and very nutritious Costa Rican meal: beans and rice with cheese, salad, mixed cooked veetables of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and peppers, and some generous strips of plaintain banana. Now I am back at the bed and breakfast, and ready to call it a day. My body is still stiff and sore from yesterday's hike.

Costa Rica 6, Twelfth Day In Monteverde

It's been a not a heck of a lot kind of day today. I was up at the crack of dawn, 4:30, or so, got a lot of work done on a drawing while drinking the local coffee, went up for breakfast, chatted a bit with a French-speaking visitor from Switzerland, did some more artwork, then went down for a nap, after which I walked up to the cloud forest reserve. I get in free now, since I paid the first time, and today basically wore myself out on the steep trails. The steps just keep going up and up and never seem to end, though at times I pause to rest and look out on the trees, and the many vines, ferns and leaves in one of the most incredible profusions of biodiversity that one will ever set their eyes upon. Often there is cloud and mist rolling in, which waters the forest. Quite a few people today, but mostly in pairs, or groups of six or less, so still fairly manageable. Just a couple of minor complaints today. As I was entering the cloud forest reserve there were a bunch of idiots, tourists, standing around smoking. Something I particularly don't want to smell in a place like this. Then, on my way out, in the same place, a fat old idiot smoking a cigar. You can dress them up but you can't take them out. There were still enough quiet stretches in between to really enjoy the glorious tangle of life that is the Monteverde Cloud Forest. And, as a bonus, unlike in the forests in my own Vancouver, there aren't any joggers or cyclists around to ruin it for those of us who want to quietly contemplate the biodiversity, enjoy nature, and just have a quiet, pleasant and chill time without a bunch of manic fitness morons and other narcissistic ablists to ruin it for us. Of course you do have to pay admission, and it is a bit pricy, but it's well worth it, and when you consider that in a country of four and a half million that Costa Rica isn't going to have much of a tax base, it is totally understandable. I heard a lot of birds, but didn't really see any. They are very good at staying hidden. And they do watch us at least as much as we watch them. And with wary eyes. The trails are a bit muddy today from the rain we had over the weekend, but it wasn't too soggy. I feel almost disappointed that I haven't had any really interesting encounters today, but maybe it's good to be having a bit of a rest, as all these ongoing visits with strangers, enjoyable as they might be, can also get exhausting and a bit overwhelming. After around two hours of climbing and hiking, my shirt was fairly soaked with persperation, so I sat on a bench on a particularly quiet stretch of trail where I could rest and dry out a bit. It was nice while it lasted. Soon, I was surrounded by a herd of thirty or more English-speaking consumer-tourists of a certain age, with their local guide who was giving a talk on the local ecosystem. It was rather interesting, but I soon began to feel cramped, and was only too glad to get away from them. I think that one thing that has particularly sensitized me to the local people in places that I visit has been my own experiences of coping with oblivious tourists on my own doorstep There are several hotels in my area of downtown, so I am often tripping over tourists at home in Vancouver. From time to time, I have even had to remind some of them, um, excuse me, but, people live here, you know. So, I really try to show the kind of awareness and courtesy to my hosts abroad, that often don't get displayed by visitors in my own backyard. I did try to stop briefly at the restaurant at the reserve for a cold drink, but the balcony was being dominated by a table of some very noisy American girls. I went inside, but there was a strong smell of charred flesh (I'm vegetarian), and the waiter was taking a long time, so I got up and left. This just in, as I've been typing this blogpost I saw in the window a toucan perching nearby. I went out for a better look and he flew into a tree nearby, where he was joined by three others. Esteban and I had a good view of then. They're quite big, the size of one of our crows, but with a huge beak and lots of colour. Look up keel-billed toucan on Google, and you'll see for yourselves. You would know them as the Fruit Loops bird, with the huge colourful beak. And they croak like frogs. Also just saw a smaller, green toucanet, and some hummingbirds, so really,I get better birdwatching here at the bed and breakfast than in the reserve!

Costa Rica 6, Eleventh Day In Monteverde

This morning an American family from Tallahassee, Florida came in late for breakfast. I would have thought they were Canadians, they were so polite and quiet. And they didn't sound like they were from the South. Perhaps they moved there from elsewhere in the US. So much for stereotypes. They didn't seem like Republicans, but who only knows, and it seems that everyone from the US (Dump supporters, anyway) is leaving their Make American Great Again T-shirts and baseball caps at home where they belong. And by the same token, I am not even mentioning the T word while I am here, neither am I going to judge anyone for having voted for him. I just think that human beings are more nuanced than their voting preferences, or I'd like to believe this, anyway, This is likely the reason why I almost never participate in social or political activism anymore. I just got really burnt-out coping with the black and white thinking of the radical left, every bit as black and white as the far right, just different arrangements. Though my political and social values, for the most part, are more aligned with the so-called left, I really think that people are a lot more complex and nuanced, and sometimes are much nicer, than their political values would imply. I did another walk on the side road where the morphos are, and again I was not disappointed. One brilliant blue giant butterfly to greet me on the way down and another to say goodbye on my way up. Then, by the road, I saw an armadillo. He at first tried to get away from me, but when I spoke to him gently, he stopped for a bit, and seemed pretty chill around me, standing just three feet away. I stopped in a coffee shop and had a nice chat in Spabish and English with the two staff there. One of them wants to go to Vancouver. I warned her, as I warn everyone here that if they do go, to make sure they bring lots of money with them. It is kind of pathetic that this is the first thing that comes out of my mouth whenever I want to talk about my fair city. I walked as far as the mall on the edge of Santa Elena, then halfway or further back on the way to Mariposa I stopped in Tramanti, the fancy Italian restaurant, where on the patio in the back I got into a lengthy conversation with 1. An American family (younger grandparents with their fourteen and eleven or twelve year old grandsons visiting from Des Moines, Idaho, 2. the waitress, who remembered me from the cloud forest reserve last year, 3. her boss, and 4. one of the waiters. The waitress wanted me to show her boss my sketchbook, and they both appeared really interested in my art, as did the American family. So, I was talking a lot of Spanish and a lot of English, and eventually I did get around to eating. I have never felt so welcome in a different community, and this all seems to correspond with that mystical experience I had the Sunday before when I was looking at the mountains and they seemed to be drawing close to me in order to welcome me here. I am sure now that God is opening a door for me here in Monteverde. It is still opening, and it will likely take a while before I can understand what I am doing here, but in the meantime, I am enjoying the journey.

Costa Rica 6, Tenth Day In Monteverde

This morniing at breakfast, when another guest noticed me cleaning up after myself, I mentioned that if it looks like I almost live here, it's because I'm here for a month, so I do almost live here. It is also my fourth time staying in the Mariposa, and my third time in a row, so I have arranged with my friends here that I will take care of most of my own cleaning and maintenance (completely my own idea), which means that I have now in my bathroom a toilet brush, a couple of cleaning rags and some spray cleaner, so I go over my room and bathroom every day, just like I do at home. I also change my sheets, make up my bed and change my towels every week. And I clear my breakfast table and, if no one's around, or they´re busy, I even wash my own dishes. This Friday, I will be starting to do my own laundry. This is win-win, I think. It's high season here, so this way I can reduce their work load. And it helps me feel useful and independent, which means I can still get lots of rest while keeping up my basic lifeskills. The only thing I can't do here is cook, which I do miss, though it is kind of nice to be eating in restaurants, though I have to admit that, once I'm back in Vancouver, I probably won't even want to see another restaurant for a long tine, which is also just as well, given that I can't really afford to eat out when I'm home. This place is so beautiful, and Monteverde must surely be one of the most wonderful and beautiful places on earth. While I was walking home, there was once again a perpetual rainbow that seemed to be leading me home. There has been constant drizzle again today, and my shirt is rather wet from being out in it, but the sun has also been shining constantly, so, constant rainbows. Lots of spontaneous chats with friendly strangers today: a young French couple from Marseilles, an older Scottish couple from Edinburgh, a tattoo artist from Mexico and his German girlfriend, both artists, other random strangers who seem to like my artwork, then I bumped into a waiter from the oldest Italian restaurant here who remembered me from last ylear and we stopped to chat and I got to pet his dog, and following a walk into Santa Elena, a pleasant chat with two of the staff in the cafe where I just ate a veggie burger. One of them has a brother who lives in Chilliwack, just forty miles or so outside of Vancouver, who is a teacher there. He sends his brother glowing reports about Canada and Canadians, so you might say I have quite an act to live up to while I'm here in Costa Rica. And always good and interesting conversations with my friend, Esteban, who with his parents helps operate the Mariposa where I am staying. Cripes, l'm getting so much Spanish that I sometimes don't even notice what language I'm speaking. I also chatted in the cafe with a nice older couple visiting from Ohio, who also seemed to like my art, then with a young boyfriend and girlfriend act in the cafe, and they looked so nice together, I had to tell them that. Fortunately they cheerfully accepted the compliment. They really seem to love each other, and not just in the romantic sense. They look good together. Feel free to read my blogpost from yesterday, but be warned, it's mostly about a partiularly vivid dream I had that night. If you do read it, and have any insight to offer about the content of the dream, then please let me know. As some of you are aware, I am already a vivid dreamer, and here in Monteverde, it's like going from one reality into another, then back again. All for now folks.

Costa Rica 6, Ninth Day In Monteverde

I was looking for a Chinese restaurant and entertainment place called Red Ginger, because there were some cheap movies being shown there. While I was trying to find the place I went into a clinic, I think from curiosity. I was barefoot, for some reason, and I felt something kick me from behind, just above my left heel. I turned around and there were a couple of young interning doctors, both men in their thirties. The tall one said that he was the one who kicked me and I had might as well get over it and not expect any kind of apology from him because he was pulled out of bed early to cover this on-call shift that he started at around 7:30 in the morning, so he had a right to be grumpy. I replied that that still didn't give him the right to take out his bad mood on me, and I added that I work with mentally ill and homeless people, and that in all my career, I have never once allowed my bad moods or lack of sleep to affect the quality of service and care I was delivering, and he really should be ashamed of himself. I walked out of the clinic, satisfied that I had got through to him, and continued my search for the Red Ginger. I couldn't quite seem to find it, and went further north on the street where I found larger, more spacious and widely spaced houses. I thought of taking a bus back to my apartment, and seemed to be on Robson Street just at Richards, outside of Cafe Sil Vous Plait, which used to be my hangout during the nineties. There was an old style trolley bus, from the model built in 1949, that used to be common in my city. It was double parked with two contemporary buses by the sidewalk. It seemed to be out of service, and I thought I should be taking one of the contemporary buses, since they were running. But I went on walking, anyway. I got into a different neighbourhood, and soon was no longer in Vancouver. I don't know where I was. There was a mentally ill old woman walking down the street shouting in a booming voice, "Get outta my way all you fatsos, get out of my way, fatsos!" I felt quite threatened, tried to dodge her, saying, You get out of my way, and stay right away from me, or something like that. Then a middle aged woman approached me and said that I should have compassion for that woman for all the pain and trouble she is suffering, then I found that the mentally ill woman had turned into a smallish dog and I was carrying her over a pedestrian bridge. I had to go back over it, once, and found a part where there was a large gap that I had to carefully step over if I didn't want to fall through it. I just barely made it. Then, I was carrying the other woman who was showering me with kisses, which I found rather embarrassing, so I put her down and let her go on her way. Then I had a skateboard that I was riding, usually sitting down, and a large shaggy golden retriever dog named Theodore, or Theo. The dog was very friendly and affectionate and was bounding around with me as I rode on the skateboard. I noticed that I was still barefoot and my feet were starting to get dirty. Then, a young street punk who was also my roommate with whom I was also doing some kind of late night work in a clinic, silently gestured that he needed the skateboard. Since it was his anyway, I let him have it and continued walking with Theo. But Theo didn't have a leash, and I was concerned about this, because it was the responsible thing to do, but Theo belonged to my roommate, so I didn't really have any jurisdiction over him. Theo kept running farther and farther away, and soon did not answer and I eventually lost him. That was when I was entering a new district still under construction. It was huge, and I'd been there before in a previous dream. It was all Baroque and Neo-Classical style buildings that appeared to have been lifted from a German or other European city. And there were broad grassy boulevards and huge parks. There were also areas of bare land that had yet to be built on. The neighbourhood appeared to be still under construction, but it promised to be an incredibly beautiful and elegant place. There were other people visiting and walking through it, and I thought to make this place a regular shortcut from now on. I overheard that the builders were from India, as well as from Germany, and there were a couple of Indian themed buildings with beautiful domes. I was still barefoot, and I was walking through an area of black sand, that was being used to help settle the ground for more building. I noticed that the sand was cleaning the dirt off my feet, and soon, slippers had formed on my feet. I mentioned to one older woman, who looked a bit like a younger Margaret Atwood, that this place is going to be extaordinary when it's finished. She agreed. Then I saw Theo running towards me, and we continued walking home together. I think the new neighbourhood was scheduled to be finished in the spring. You have already guessed, I'm sure, that this is a dream you have been reading about. It is quite typical of the many vivid and intense dreams I have been having since coming here to Monteverde. In other news, I had a two hour nap afer breakfast, walked around, saw a couple of blue morpho butterflies, then walked to Santa Elena where I enjoyed a mango smoothie in a cafe while working on a drawing. One of the staff and two French couples seemed interested in my art, so we chatted for quite a while, then I had supper at a local restaurant and walked home with another rainbow. Stormy weather today with lots of wind and drizzle, but also sun and very refreshing to walk in. Not worried about needing a lot of rest because that is what I am here for. All for now.

Costa Rica 6, Eighth Day In Monteverde

I didn't do a lot today, but I'm not here to do a lot, so, after breakfast and an hour and a half or so working on a drawing, I went down for a forty minute nap and didn't leave the compound until noon, which is okay. I'm not hear to empty my bucket list. Heck, I don't even have a bucket list! During breakfast, I met a nice Scottish couple from Edinburgh and we had a pleasant chat. Then with a Canadian couple from Huntsville, Ontario. They were married in Costa Rica years ago, and the husband was first here in Monteverde in 1995, one year after my visit, so we were able to commisserate about how much has changed here. They were trying to identify a huge species of moth that they couldn't get any search results for, much as I haven't been able to find out the identity of a very unusual looking wasp that I saw only one time in the Cloud Forest nine years ago. It could even be, as I mentioned to them, that we actually saw new and unidentified species. Who only knows? I walked about a kilometre or so down a side road, which is very pastoral with cows and pastures and trees. I am also most likely to see a morpho butterfly there (the giant blue ones), and today I was not disappointed. Then I continued along to another coffeeshop. The manager or owner started talking to me in English, so I asked him in Spanish, ¿Porque piensas que hable Ingles?, or What makes you think that I speak English? He got it right away, and then we had a laugh about it, I told him that English is my mother tongue but they would have to guess what country I'm from. we all had fun with it, then after, one of his staff sat and visited with me for a bit and told me about his involvement in a symphony orchestra and that he pays viola-cello. We had a very interesting chat about classical music. He and his coworker indicated that they would like to practice English with me, so I said okay, but the price is going to be a few sentences in Spanish. I had a lovely cup of coffee, even more expensive that what we usually pay for it in Vancouver. When he heard me complain good-naturedly, he charged me the local price instead, which is around a buck less, and yes, ducks, there is in Monteverde a price for the locals and another, and higher price for the tourists. For me, this is a bit ironic, given that I certainly no longer feel like a tourist but I have come to view tourists here as the other, which is kind of dumb, given that I am also an outsider here, but I don't really feel like an outsider. But I don't exactly feel like a local, which I certainly am not. It's kind of an in-between place, or should I say, it's neither nor. But this has been my experience almost everywhere, ever since I was a teenager, kind of a sense of belonging and not belonging, of being everywhere and nowhere and somehow none of this is experienced as a contradiction, nor even a paradox, but as a perfectly natural and rational state of being. It might be easier to try to explain the Holy Trinity. No wonder I drove my psychiatrist nuts. So after a lovely cup of coffee, a lovely slab of chocolate cake (and it was lovely), and a lovely chat with the lovely staff, I resumed my lovely walk where I stopped for a lovely rest on the lovely bench at the new lovely lookout point. Isn't it all lovely? Okay, as soon as you've stopped screaming and calmed down a bit, ducks, I will resume writing, and I promise to stop using the word lovely for a while. Suddenly, a young woman sat down right net to me. it felt a bit odd, but I don't think she was trying to pick me up, she just wanted to chat with someone. So we had a chat in Spanish. Turns out she's from Santiago de Chile. Really nice lady. I resumed walking and stopped in that place ib the mall for a bite to eat. The server seeed to be in a bd mood, and I am trying to not take it personally, since one never knows with people, but I had a good cheap meal, then walked back. I also befriended a couple of animals on the way. One is a beautiful calico cat with a short tail who loves to be petted. Then, on the way bck, there was a smallish hound dog walking just ahead of me. He looked like he might be part beagle. Since I have often been attacked or threatened by aggressive dogs, I am generally cautious about befriending a strange dog, so I just kept walking and let him be. Then, as I passed the estate with the three vicious guard dogs, they started barking and threatening both me and the small dog. He came over to me, and I sensed he was looking for consolation, so we made friends and he followed me to the bed and breakfast, really a very sweet doggy, but I think he´s found his way home. One other insight, Gentle Reader, that I wanted to share with you from yesterday, but since the post was already so long that I didn't want to bore you further: When I was in the cloud forest yesterday, I found myself thinking about how all this glorious tangled diversity of glorious and complex life, of which we are members, all comes from the dirt. We are all expressions of dirt. This is such a humbling concept. It reminds me of the creation story from Genesis, where it says that God made us from the dust of the earth, then breathed life into us.

Costa Rica 6, Seventh Day In Costa Rica

I went to the cloud forest reserve, and that's all I did today, outside of eating breakfast and dinner (I usually miss lunch on these trips, since I usually don't get very hungry, plus, I can save money), and I listened to Mendehlsonn´s Scottish Symphony on Youtube, while working on a drawing of a hummingbird. The allergy attacks last night and this morning really sapped my energy, so I tried to go at a slow and measured pace today. I spent almost three hours in the cloud forest, where I took some of the gentler trails and made sure I had lots of time to sit on various benches and stare out into the forest. I met a couple of young Austrian guys in the forest and we chatted for a while. one of them is doing his pHD on renewable technologies for water purification. I also had a nice visit with an older American couple from Montana. They recognized me from Orchids Cafe yesterday where they were admiring a drawing I was working on. They were watching birds and we both seem to share concern that the large groups of birdwatchers are traumatizing the quetzals as they gather around, twenty or thirty at a time with their fancy bird watching equipment. They are timid and delicate birds, and this kind of attention can't in the long run be good for them. It is very difficult to have a conversation about this with anyone who lives here, as the quetzals are such a cash grab and these forest reserves are not cheap to enter, so no one wants to compromise their cash cow (or, bird!) This is also troubling because the quetzal is a threatened species. Here´s a bit of information I pulled off the internet: "According to the IUCN Red List (BirdLife International 2009), the conservation status of the Resplendent Quetzal is assessed as Near Threatened. Its CITES status is Appendix I. It is believed to be undergoing a "moderately rapid population decline" due to deforestation. BirdLife International calls for more monitoring to better establish the population estimate and trends. Additionally, suggested conservation actions include monitoring habitat loss and degradation, as well as protecting habitat corridors and the high and low elevation forests it inhabits. According to the Partners in Flight conservation vulnerability assessment (Berlanga et al. 2010), the Resplendent Quetzal is one of the 148 species of landbirds of highest tri-national concern for conservation in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Collar (2001) suggests that the Resplendent Quetzal may be the most threatened trogonid of modern day. Berlanga et al. (2010) describe the primary threats to the Resplendent Quetzal as habitat conversion for agriculture and livestock production, logging of mature forest, and climate change. According to BirdLife International (2009), some direct persecution probably still occurs, particularly in southern Mexico, but it is likely reduced. Stotz et al. (1996) describe its sensitivity to human disturbance as medium.' Traditionally, the Resplendent Quetzal's plumes were highly treasured by pre-Columbian populations in Mesoamerica. The long green uppertail coverts of the male quetzal covered the heads of high priests and royalty-the only people who could possess and wear them (Johnsgard 2000). However, it is believed that birds were trapped and released to harvest feathers and then allow them to regrow them (Skutch 1944). Others believe that a great deal of harvest occurred to procure the necessary feathers (Collar 2001). In contrast, Europeans collected quetzals in great numbers to sell their skins to museums and collectors. Skutch (1944) described the magnitude of quetzal trade that "reached such proportions that the Quetzals might well have been exterminated had not so many of them dwelt in wild mountainous regions which even today are most difficult of access and scarcely explored." Resplendent Quetzals also were captured for the caged bird trade but did not do well in captivity (Collar 2001). Wetmore (1968) noted that in the 1960s a great deal of hunting for quetzals still occurred, for their feathers as well as their meat. Additionally they were taken for zoos and private aviaries (Collar 2001)." Of course, seeing one of these magnificent birds is on a lot of birders bucket lists. I was privileged to see two, a male and female, last year in the reserve. Today I heard them calling in the forest. They have a gentle kew-kew-kew kind of call. Even if I don't live to see another one, I am reassured that they are still alive and well, even if I don't live to see another one. Other species have not been faring quite so well, such as the golden toad, which died out during the late eighties. It was here in Monteverde that it was first announced that climate change is having an indelible effect on species decline and extinction. It has also been rather charming seeing first time visitors here today get all gooey and gobsmacked about the beatuiful hummingbirds, too, such as the ones at the cafe near the entrance. I must be a bit jaded, since I have seen so many, but they are lovely. And even if I find all the camera equipment a bit, shall we say, crass, well, one could consider that a hundred years ago everyone would have been killing the poor birds so they could take them home as trophies. We really have come a long way, even if it might help for these enthusiastic barmy birders to curb their joy just a little bit so they can give the poor birds a little breathing space. As much as I love birds, I do not pursue them, believing that when a bird is willing and ready to be seen, then it will let itself be seen. And it helps to remember that the birds are also watching us.

Costa Rica 6, Sixth Day In Monteverde

Today I walked to Santa Elena in order to meet with that local arts and crafts dealer. I think I'm going to turn her down. I was offering my art at $100 uS a pop, she would get fify percent. She only was willing to sell them for fifty, which to me is an insult to the quality of the art, the amount of time I put into eh drawing (oops, I meant to type a drawing, not eh drawing. Could this be a peculiarly Canadian Freudian slip?), and especially insulting to those who have already bought drawings from me, as they paid full price. I know, I know, this is Latin Amertica, but seriously, a lot of the prices here are very close to Canadian norms, and tourist shops such as hers cater to a clientele that is usually considerably better heeled than me, so the deal is off. However, Esteban has accepted two of my drawings for decorating a couple of rooms, in exchange for a few free nights, so that can't be all bad, eh? (there I go again! eh?) And right now, I really prefer to deal with friends and people I know fairly well, otherwise, I think I'll be keeping the art in my own country. Keep it in the family. This is also probably why I have never done particuarly well at marketing my art. There are too many compromises to my integrity that I have to bear, and after a while it becomes intolerable for me, so, maybe better wait till I'm dead, and if there is a market for my paintings before my corpse has a chance to get cold, then so much the better. In my will I have already stipulated that all proceeds from my art sales, posthumous that is, are going into low cost housing for the poor and marginalized. If I get famous, that is, and really, who only knows? I seem to be feeling generally better today, apart from allegy attacks, and the hike uphill felt less onerous, or maybe I'm getting used to it. Esteban has confirmed with me that the pay for one visit, get free access for the rest of the month at the Monteverde Cloud Forest is on again for me, only the manager should be there when I arrive, so I will ask Esteban, or whoever, to phone in advance before I go. otherwise, it's been a very relaxing kind of day. I spent the better part of three hours in a cafe in Santa Elena on a porch table where I had a bite to eat. I'm trying different restaurants this year, since, the last couple of times, I usually stuck to just two or three places. i'm enjoying the variety, and since vegetarian options can be hard to come by, it makes the search all the more important. The weather today is fabulous. It is like a sunny June day in Vancouver, temperatures in the low twenties, gentle breezes and beautiful sunshine. The views of the Gulf of Nicoya on the Pacific side are breathtaking. When I returned to the bed and breakfast this afternoon I saw a couple of local parrots flying from tree to tree, so beautifully and brilliantly green. Right now the sun is getting ready to set, and through the windows I can see the abundant foliage of the many trees and bushes becoming almost alive with a luminous fire green. All for now.

Costa Rica 6, Fifth Day In Monteverde

Nothing noteworthy today. I am still waiting for word about whether they will give me the same deal as last year for the cloud forest reserve, where I would have to pay only once, then all the other visits are free. Till then, I'm not going, since it does cost around twenty-seven dollars Canadian to get in, and my budget is pretty limited. likewise for restaurants. I eat mostly at cheap places, from time to time dining in a nice establishment as a treat. Everyone here, or almost everyone, seems to want your money. Monteverde has turned into one huge cash grab since becoming world-famous. This has been, of course, inevitable. Costa Rica is not a rich country, and the tourist industry seems to have turned otherwise lovely people into bottom-feeding hucksters. I am glad to say that some Ticos, for example, my hosts here at Mariposa, are above this. Likewise a lot of the people I encounter on the road or elsewhere. But there are still a lot of sharks in this pond, unfortunately, and it really seems to be the inevitable fruit of global capitalism. All money, zero ethics. And a lot of this, naturally, comes from foreign interests. An estate just down the hill has added three very aggressive guard dogs that come rushing and barking and growling at anyone who happens to walk by. This never used to happen here. On my first trip here in 94, the dogs were all friendly! But I think the beauty of Monteverde, similar to Vancouver, has also attracted a lot of wealthy, and ethically challenged, parties, who keep trying to buy everything up, transforming this place into one big money laundromat. I really hope it doesn't get worse, in either place. I spent the morniing in the bed and breakfast where, after breakfast, I finshed a new drawing,, then walked from here to Santa Elena and back again, stopping first for a cold drink in a cafe where I finished the drawing, then later in a new resturant for a late lunch or early dinner. It wasn't much and today I have spent maybe around ten bucks, and if I get hungry later, there is lots of trail mix and chocolate in my room. They are gradually putting in more sidewalks on the main road here. It is a very slow process and, I imagine, the government is very seletive with its generosity for such projects. The only thing that really kills me are the long hikes up very steep hills to get to where I want to go. I think that most of us hate walking uphill or up stairs, even though it's supposed to be good for us. Even if I'm doing very little on this trip, I from time to time just remind myself that that is exactly what I am here for, very little, and I will happily let the consumer tourists bust their backsides rushing around like idiots to see and do everything, while I simply continue to relax at a healthy pace.

Costa Rica 6, Fourth Day In Monteverde

It's been raining off and on all day. This is not a bad thing, and for a couple of reasons. First of all, Monteverde has been having an exceptionally dry year, so the moisture is much needed and appreciated. Secondly, it hasn't been raining hard, just a light drizzle. Thirdly, the sun has been shining almost constantly. Fourthly, with the wind, it has been very refreshing to walk, and the drizzle is so light that an umbrella is not needed. And fifthly, there was one constant rainbow that I was walking towards for over an hour while on my way back to the bed and breakfast from Santa Elena. There is a friend of the family here who has a craft store and art gallery in Santa Elena and she is interested in showing some of my art. I will try to meet with her this week. This whole day has been rather pleasant. I had a nice visit during breakfast with a couple from New Jersey. The husband is from France, and he is the one I heard speaking Spanish in a French accent the other day. Very nice people. They have a landscaping company and they seem to be totally stoked about the the birds and the natural beauty and diversity here in Costa Rica. People are for the most part nice and friendly here. The only unfriendly people I have encountered, so far, all seem to be American students. At a couple of different cafes servers have been particularly interested in talking to me about my art, since they see me working on something when I'm there. It's also just nice that people want to reach out and chat like that. And the Spanish practice is a bonus. The sunsets here are particularly glorious. I only wish you could see them, and I don't have a camera or phone, you know why, so please let's not start on this again. I have never seen a rainbow last so long as the one that was there for more than an hour during my walk back, this afternoon. The only sad thing is that no one else seemed to even notice it, which is kind of too bad. I guess people have their priorities. I for one have never been able to not notice something so beautiful as a rainbow, and this must make me a bit odd. Well, I could do worse, I suppose. I also got to meet and pet a friendly cat on my walk, and I saw another morpho butterfly today. Lots of tourists here, of course. I chatted a bit with a table of friendy Germans of a certain age. They all seemed to have a nice sense of humour. Yes, I did say they were German! I am every bit as surprised as you, Gentle Reader, but, hey, half my DNA is German, and I turned out okay. Well, sort of. Right now I am seated in the reception area of the Mariposa with the laptop that Esteban has been so kind to lend to me while I'm here. I also am allowed to keep it in my room, but when I get back in the late afternoons and early evenings after dinner, I like to work on it here in the reception area, since the human contact is rather nice, something that one appreciates while travelling alone. All for now, folks.

Costa Rica 6, Third Day In Monteverde

I exhausted myself today. There is a huge hill that goes down to San Luis, a small farming community nearby. I'm not sure of the distance, but it is very steep and it is even a bit of a challenge walking downhill. I went anyway. San Luis is like something out of a surrealist landscape, or a novel written in magic realism. There are green pastures with cows and trees whose branches are covered with moss and bromeliads, and forest areas as well. One can walk an entire road without encountering a human soul, which really intensifies the magic realism. There is also a forest trail that I explored a bit of last year, but didn't go very far, since I was alone, in an isolated area, and who knows what could happen. Snake bite, sprained ankle, falling down a ravine, they are all possibilities and they do happen to dumb, reckless solo travellers, like me, who don't even know the area, nor have shown the courtesy of at least first informing their hospitality providers about their mad adventure. Guilty as charged. I happened to be on the grounds of a small university campus, the University of Georgia (don't ask, long story), and came out on the Casa de Profesores, or the professors' house. It appeared to be unoccupied, so I sat in the shade of the porch and rested for a while. I didn't finish the trail because it got very steep going down a ravine and I didn't want to have to make the huge climb back up, nor did I want to put myself at any further unnecessary risk. I did come out on another network of trails to the botanical garden. It turned out that my presence was unauthorized, but that didn't seem to matter, since I was the only one present. On my way back up the hill I encountered Esteban and his Mom, Luz-Mery, who are members of the family who are my hosts here and we chatted a bit. I assured them I'd be okay, then they drove on to visit some relatives. It was very steep climbing going back up the hill and I tried to do it in segments, stopping to rest on a rock or a shelf of dry turf on the way. Almost everyone driving by would smile and wave, something that never happens in Canada, and it is nice that people here are so welcoming. When I arrived at the lookout, I sat for around a half hour on one of the two benches, just resting and taking in the view. The mountains on the right are dry and parched looking, the ones on the left are all lush and green from the clouds blowing in from the ocean, so this gives an idea of the various micro-climates here. On the way down I had also stopped at this lookout where I chatted for a while with a young local couple who were on their way to the weekly soccer match down in San Luis. Even if the climb was hard, it is a cool day, sometimes with clouds blowing in carrying enough cool drizzle to refresh, but not to make everything too wet, and the wind has been cool and comforting. I saw another blue morpho butterfly today, and this one flew back towards me, as though to say hi again. Look them up on Google. They are positively enchanting. I am back now in the bed and breakfast, typing this post in the reception area, and I'm also sticking around just in case Esteban's dad, Rafael, who just speaks Spanish, might need someone to translate for him should any non-Spanish-speaking guests need anything. So far, so good, and one of the couple who did come in does speak Spanish, with rather a thick French accent (please don't ask, I couldn't begin to describe it). All for now.

Costa Rica 6, Second Day In Monteverde

It's been rather an actively inactive day. I tried to explore a road above the bed and breakfast, but it doesn't seem to go anywhere, so I did some roadside walks, stopped to look at a herd of cattle, saw a morpho butterfly, then a blue crowned motmot, a beautiful and common bird in these parts. As I do not have a camera or a cell phone (because I do not make a living wage), and something happened to this page a couple of years ago so that I cannot add images to my blogposts, I am afraid that you are going to have to look for the images. A bit of a loss, I fear. But enough minor complaints. Even though I have to accept certain trade-offs and sacrifices in order to make these trips, they're still more than worth it. I know, some of you think I deprive myself, I am sure, but since when did having a smart phone become a necessity? Those things are luxuries and I don't care if some of you are addicted to your little tech toys, because in the long run, you could easily live without them. It's all about priorities, I suppose. But some of you, like me, will remember a time when all we had was rotary phones and TV and we still did okay. Yes, dear, we also had toilet paper in those days! And the wheel had already been invented and fire had already been discovered. So, this is what travel without a phone is like. It can be a bit inconvenient, since there are no convenient apps at my fingertips. On the other hand, I think this lack also leaves me more open to my surroundings, and more inclined to engage with those around me. And on this trip, it seems to be happening in spades. I really can't understand travel without engaging with the people who live there. I know, a lot of people do this, and I have ranted on ad nauseum about it, and I am ranting some more. Yes, it is great and lovely to be able to get on a plane and fly halfway across the world and arrive at your destination the same day you left your own country. And it is also wonderful seeing places, sights and things that even a couple of generations ago would have been beyond the reach of some people. And, yes, I know that some people prefer to travel just to see things and not necessarily to engage with people. By the same token, I also trust that you are aware that there is a certain rule of etiquette regarding how we treat our hosts, and when you are visiting a foreign country, this makes you a guest in someone else's home, and, like it or not, every single person who lives in that country, even the poorest and most wretched, is also your host. This runs completely against the grain of consumer tourism, and I really wish that more people would travel with the idea that they are guests in someone else's home, and with a desire to learn, engage and contribute. Of course this is going to be easier if you already speak the language, but for heaven's sake, Gentle Reader, at least give it a try. Okay, you can stop yawning now. So, what else did I do today? I sat on the long balcony of Cafe Caburé, where I sat with a coffee and a brownie and salsa de mora, which is a sauce made fron a local wild blackberry. The view from this balcony is stupendous, lots of trees and lovely birds. Tourists come here a lot. I had some really enjoyable conversations in Spanish with the server, who is a young woman living in the area, and also with the owner, who is Argentinian, and also likes to do some language exchange with me. After another long walk, I returned for an early dinner, and had to bring back to the bed and breakfast half of my pizza, which will serve me for dinner tomorrow.

Costa Rica 6: First Day In Monteverde

This is my sixth time here, and it rather feels like coming home now. Of course, I don't live here, and probably never will, which also makes Monteverde such a lovely place to visit. I suppose this wouldn't be much different from Vancouver, a beautiful place to visit, or, so I am told, but really when you live in one of the most coveted cities in the world, it is easy to get jaded after a while. It is rather like being married to an extremely beautiful person, and living with them, you alone are going to come to know their every flaw, until they cease to appear beautiful, and you find yourself bitterly complaining about that dumb blond you are shackled to, whether that dumb blond should happen to be your partner or Vancouver. Everyone else simply is not going to get it should they hear you complain about your beloved's many flaws and imperfections, and simply their eyes are just going to glaze over. I do have to admit that the bloom has for some time now been off the rose for me as far as Monteverde is concerned, but where else am I going to see toucans, quetzals, motmots, and other wonderful birds in their wild state? Well, those birds also live in other places, but I am kind of lazy and I often like to stick with what I already know, besides which, I have friends here now and I really enjoy seeing them. The trip over here yesterday was fairly uneventful, except that I nearly missed my bus, and that woud have been a disaster, given that I would have to wait again till the next day, and there was no assurance that there would be a vacancy for me at the bed and breakfast I had just left. I had the same cab driver as last year, and it was nice that we remembered each other. He is a very friendly, warm Christian man with two kids, 11 months and 8 years old. Last year, when Juan Carlos drove me to the airport eleven months ago, he mentioned that his wife was just about to go into labour. I really savour these wonderful human connections. The bus ride was smooth and uneventful, but for eighteen kilometres uphill of a rocky and unpaved dirt road near the end of the journey. This place is very isolated. Even in Costa Rica, in some ways it's like being in a different country. The pace of life is much calmer and people appear less driven. It is also quite expensive to live here, I am told, so a lot of Ticos never make it here, not even to visit, the prices being so high by Tico standards. But there are also a lot of people of average or modest means who have lived in the area for generations and they are not about to let foreign investment or creeping gentrification or globalization drive them off their land. The people here are very deeply and viscerally connected to this place. I'm so far staying well within budget, without depriving myself too much, though in a couple of days, to reward myself for being good, I will likely eat in a nicer place. People are generally friendly and kind here, and there is an abundance of tourists and very pale looking students from various northern points, whom all seem almost universally unfriendly. A lot of the tourists are okay, though, and generally have better manners than some of the life forms that I am told inhabit all-inclusive resorts. Last night I visited with the family who own the bed and breakfast, sitting around their kitchen table with them for a snack and a chat. This is very much a privilege, and I am not going to take them for granted. This morning, following breakfast, I was working on a drawing and had a nice chat with their seven year old daughter, the kid I have been trading art with on each recent visit. I was showing her a bit of my process for doing art. She seemed very open to my ideas and was absorbing well. She seems like quite a bright kid. I also told her mom that I am open to helping her or anyone she knows with English, for the price of some Spanish conversation as well. Great deal, eh? And since I will be helping them with good Canadian English, their first assignment will be on how to master the word, "Eh?" Today I went for a long walk into the town, Santa Elena, and beyond, then tried a road previously unknown to me. There was a hand-painted sign on the roadside with the words "No es que su carga se hace caer sino su manera de llevarla" or it isn't so much the burden that makes you fall, but your way of carrying it. As I believe that I was purposely led to take that road, I am going to receive those words as wise counsel for me during my stay here. I saw some lovely and interesting birds, chiefly a lot of very hungry hummingbirds clustering around the flowering vine outside the window during breakfast, and later in the trees a troupial. You will have to look it up on Google if you want to see what they look like. The wind is very powerful and strong, and rather cool and it roars like thunder in the trees. This place has a wild and savage beauty, and I am confident that Monteverde will successfully resist and overcome all the human depredations that threaten this magical place. Of course, here they are also seeing climate change. It has been much dryer than usual, and with a lot more wind than usual for this time of year especially.

Costa Rica No. 6, In Alajuela

I didn't do a lot today. I slept poorly and went back down to sleep between 4 and 8 am, but managed less than 2 hours, so altogether, I had less than six hours, but still not too bad, considering. This often happens, and I'm sleeping on a harder than usual mattress, so my back gets a bit sore. I spent breakfast mostly visiting with the young Nicaraguan (he's 20), who lives and works here. He is also learning to put more cheese in my omelette. He is in Costa Rica for better work opportunities, much as people come to Canada from elsewhere for the same kinds of reasons. Then the new owner of the bed and breakfast came in and we sat and chatted for a while, all in Spanish. He is in his thirties, married with a little boy. I could tell he was from San José, the capital city here. I have spent enough time in this country so that I can now tell the difference. Josefinos, as they like to be called, are pretty slick and smooth and sophisticated, and they are very adept at getting what they want. He is a nice, agreeable sort (the previous owner, whom I saw today in the afternoon, would care to differ, but I'll tell you about that a bit later, Gentle Reader) and we seem to get on well. Following breakfast, I went for a long walk through Alajuela and beyond (I started with some quiet time in the cathedral, which seems to have become my starting point while in Alajuela) and found myself in some rather gritty neighbourhoods. Then this younger, hard-bitten looking guy in a muscle shirt tried to get my attention. I excused myself politely in Spanish, and quickened my pace a little. Then a woman, evidently a sex worker, tried to get my attention (as I suspect the guy, maybe her boyfriend, might also be), and I picked up my pace some more, of course after politely declining. When I don't feel quite safe, I don't tend to hang around. A bit later, I gave some coins to a disabled man seated on the pavement, then a much fitter looking fellow held out his hand in my face and asked me for, or demanded from me, a dollar. I told him he would have to check with the fellow I just gave to, and kept walking. By the way, I don't mind visiting different neighbourhoods, since this helps give me a better idea of how people live here. In a way, it's like adding fibre to my diet. By the same token, I only wish that more people visiting Vacouver would actually visit the Downtown Eastside, which is also known as Canada´s Poorest Postal Code to help round out their perceptions of my fair and dumb-blond city. I really hate the kind of consumer tourism that gets promoted everywhere, especially ads that feature all-inclusives that show actors and models, all of them flawlessly good-looking, or probably flawlessly photoshopped, dressed expensively and impeccably, dining, dancing, swimming, gambling, getting pissed to the gills, and doing all the lame and vapid stuff that all-inclusive resorts are notorious for. I really gag at this kind of advertising, since 1. very few people are that young and good-looking and ostentatiously well-off, 2. they are never anywhere near as happy as their fake smiles and laughter would indicate, 3. they merit compassion rather than envy because they and everyone else are expected to swallow that kind of dangerous and soul-destroying Koolaid. Even if I did look like those people (and to tell the trth, I'm glad that I don't), I still wouldn't want to be there. Give me regular human beings any old day, just the way that God made them. After returning to the bed and breakfast for a short rest I went to the same cafe at the mall as yesterday, for a cold drink on the patio while beginning a new drawing. The previous owner of the bed and breakfast, a Canadian like me, came over to say hi and we ended up chatting for some time. It turns out that according to him he was shafted by the new owners. I am not going to take sides, since I do not know the details. This is one of those nuanced narratives where no one seems to win. Especially given that my Canadian friend is the perceived other in this equation. Probably the truth is somewhere in the middle, and really, since when do all of us conduct ourselves like impeccable little saints in the game of life? Certainly neither Canadians nor Costa Ricans, nor anyone else. For example, today I saw quite a lot of visible homelessness, but until Canada, a first world nation, gets its act together and starts taking better care of our own disadvantaged, we have no right to finger wag. And the beast goes on. Lovely weather today, Gentle Reader. Hot and sunny, but the strong wind all day has cooled things rather nicely. By the way, here's a little metaphor to play with your minds a bit. When you walk through any residential neighbourhood in Costa Rica, or in any other Latin American country, you will notice that a lot of the houses are protected by metal bars in front, so almost everyone seems to live behind bars. I'm not quite sure what to do with this one. Tomorrow, I am on my way to Monteverde, and the place where I'll be staying is not protected by bars. All for now, ducks!

Costa Rica no. 6. Arrival

This is my sixth time here in Costa Rica, my sixth time in Alajuela, and it will be my sixth time in Monteverde. Thrilling. I have visited other spots in this country, but I also feel a strong connection to these two places. I'm also kind of lazy when it comes to travel, and if a new place works for me, I am very likely to keep coming back. I am not a bucket list traveller, and as well as being lazy, I am also prone to forming relationships, lasting friendships if possible, with people who live in these places. This also squares very soundly with some of my core values, which are about valuing persons over experiences. This is not user-friendly, and I am not user-friendly, because I really am opposed to the consumerist mentality that seems to have engulfed nearly everyone who lives on this planet. Way too many pigs at the trough. My one concern about writing a travel journal this time is that I don't think that many of you are going to find it very interesting, Gentle Reader, unless you are each going to be willing to forget about novelties and focus instead on the human lives that surround us wherever we might happen to go. If there is a theme to this trip, then it's probably going to be focussed more on some of my own perceptions and observations. I am also treating this trip, as I tend to do with all of my travels, as a kind of do-it-yourself CBT, or, Cognitive-Behavioural-Therapy. Which is to say, I am taking some of the kinds of situations that usually drive me up the wall at home in Vancouver, and I am going to try to put a different cast on them while I am here in a foreign country. Well, the challenge is on, ever since both my flights yesterday. I am very used to insulating myself from others, which is kind an urban coping strategy that afflicts anyone who lives in close proximity with others, and I happen to live downtown, and I hate being reminded that others are also nearby. Anyone who has flown economy class already knows that most first world of problems, which is being crammed face in ass with complete strangers at 37,000 feet in the air. This, I think, is why a lot of plane passengers won't even talk to the person next to them. But I decided some time ago to not be that way, and for the most part I have been pleasantly surprised. I haven't made any best friends forever this way, and often my neighbouring passengers and I have only exchanged a few friendly words. Sometimes the conversations have lasted nearly the entire flight. It really doesn't matter, because I think the near proximity, especially if people are sleeping next to each other, does something on a deep level that connects us to one another, whether we happen to like it or not. On both my flights to Costa Rica yesterday, I exchanged hardly a word with my seat mates but, especially on the second flight, there was a sense that we liked each other and were quite comfortable close together, a young Australian woman who spent most of the flight sleeping, on my left, and a young Quebecois man on my right who spent a lot of time on his laptop. I am further testing out this theory here on my first day in Costa Rica. But this also means giving others a chance to come around on their own terms and to build on that. For example, the Slovenian family at the breakfast table that spoke entirely their native language. But there was a friendly vibe there, plus, I think that only the wife spoke English. Then there was the young Costa Rican guest seated at my left, too involved with his precious little phone to give me the time of day, or so it seemed. Then I just asked him a couple of leading questions and we had a really interesting conversation for the next thirty minutes or so. Among other things, we talked about Costa Rica's status as one of the few, if not the only, country in the world that doesn't have a military (it was abolished in 1948). I suggested to him that that could be the reason why the people in Costa Rica seem so relaxed and friendly, because they aren't living under the stress of militarization. He agreed with me, then added as a caveat that that could also be the reason why some young Costa Ricans, especially men, tend to be rather lazy and irresponsible, because they lack discipline. Any of you, my Gentle Reader, remember how if any young man seemed like an irresponsible good-for-nothing, then what was needed to cure him was two years in the army? Well, I do sort of agree with that, given that there is nothing like having a sargent on steroids breathing fire down your neck and otherwise busting your ass for you day after day after day. I even wonder if here in Canada, we should institute for young men between ages eighteen and twenty, two years of compulsory community service, but not military. I really fail to see a silver lining in teaching people how to kill, but on the other hand, some asses need to be kicked, and kicked rather hard. Alajuela is a small city, quite laid back, quite gritty, but also full of flowers and fragrance. It gets pretty hot during the day, temperatures often rising above thirty, but it is often breezy which cools things down a bit. I visited the cathedral, where I sat in the middle, between two open doors and enjoyed the cross current of cool air and the sweet fragrance of flowers from the adjoining gardens. Then I explored the market, where I bought new earbuds, since the ones I brought with me broke on the plane. It is your classic indoor Latino market and you can get almost anything there. It looks rather like what the Granville Island Market purports to be, but still isn't, not even after forty years of trying. I took a long walk in the sun on a road leading into a rural area, then on the way back stopped in a patio cafe at a mall for a milkshake and coffee. Later, when I tried to order coffee, I had to try three times, and still didn't get the waiter's attention. Finally, I asked a customer who was evidently a friend of his if she would ask him for me (Spanish fluency really has its rewards here). He was embarrassed and a bit grumpy at first but quickly got over it after I humoured him a bit. Of course, I also could have taken it personally and too seriously, but really, what's the point? After I returned to the bed and breakfast, following an early dinner in a local Mexican restaurant (don't ask), a Canadian visitor from Toronto asked if I could translate for her and the staff, who doesn't speak English, which I did and it worked out well. I have told staff that any time I can help this way, just let me know. Then, my laptop stopped functioning because the battery is suddenly dead and they don't have the right kind of cable here for plugging it in, so it looks like I'm back to relying on the kindness of my hosts for internet access. Fortunately they are very kind here. Really, as i get older, I am really treating these trips abroad, and by extension life itself, as performance art. All for now.