You never ever never know
My favorite thing about living in Samara, Costa Rica is that I never know what I'm going to see next. Today it was a very small owl. Odd, in the middle of the day. Sitting on a wire along the side of the same road that I travel every time I leave the house. Tomorrow will be the 6 month mark that I've been here! It's the second owl I've ever seen, the other one was a few months ago at night.
This is the land of double takes. You never know where an iguana will appear. I always look up. I've seen an iguana on the very top of a utility pole. I've seen a vulture perched up there on one too. I've seen an iguana clinging to the rod iron work of my bedroom window, I have no idea how or why he got there. He was pretty amazing though, I enjoyed the visit. Only because there was screen on the window! He was a decent size.
Yesterday Ron said he saw a grasshopper that was longer than his cell phone. I can't wait to see one of those. He said it made quite a noise when it flew off, after being squirted with the garden hose. Last night we went out as the sun was setting and there was a group of howler monkeys in the trees at the end of the street. What's it called? A troop of monkeys? A barrel of monkeys. No... Wait a second. A reference website says they are called a troop, barrel, carload, or tribe. I was right? How about that. Is a group of howler monkeys called a hoot? Probably not. But they sure sound strange.
Our beach here is curved like the letter C. It's 3 miles long, and has an island on one end. Walking the beach never gets old. The high tide comes twice a day. That means during low tide it's like walking a new beach that has never been walked on before. Almost everything on that beach is less than a day old. All the old footprints washed away. All the tire tracks, writing in the sand, and holes dug by kids. Every rock and shell is newly washed in.
What will you find today?? The other day we saw the beach had a 3 foot strip scattered with clear little balls. It was half way between the dry sand and the water, on low tide. They were tiny, like the dried bath beads you buy at the store, and then throw them in water and they get bigger. Except they were already full of liquid. My best guess is that they were eggs of some kind. They were so tiny, I held one up to the light and couldn't see anything. They reminded me a bit of small tapioca pudding balls. Ron picked one up, then dropped it from a few inches, and it bounced like a rubber ball. I've never seen them before or since.
On that same walk I saw a little puffer fish washed up on shore. It was the size of my fist, and it had pokey spines all over. Like a test porcupine that didn't get beamed up successfully in a Star Trek transporter.
It's also true that things change when you look at the trees. There is a huge tree across the street that was full of leaves, and now the leaves are gone and there are a lot of pink flowers. And you can see the old fruit that hasn't dropped yet. These fruit are big. They kind of resemble a pea pod, only a long one - like from my finger tip to my elbow. And it had a hard casing. It's like the blade ends of curved swords hanging in the trees, at first glance. They are heavy too, it would take a dog down if you managed to connect. I have a picture somewhere of me holding one. I probably already posted it.
If you love animals, you should come here. If you love sea creatures, you should spend some time here. If you enjoy gardening, it's wonderful here. I just picked 2 dozen fruits from our star fruit tree yesterday. All the local mango trees have ripening fruit on them, they are all loaded. If you are an artist, you would enjoy all of it, from every angle! If you have health issues, come here and eat good local food and watch how fast things can change. In our little village there is less junk food to tempt me. I've lost almost 20 pounds. Plus, I ride my bike all over. What are you waiting for? Start making your travel plans.
This is the land of double takes. You never know where an iguana will appear. I always look up. I've seen an iguana on the very top of a utility pole. I've seen a vulture perched up there on one too. I've seen an iguana clinging to the rod iron work of my bedroom window, I have no idea how or why he got there. He was pretty amazing though, I enjoyed the visit. Only because there was screen on the window! He was a decent size.
Yesterday Ron said he saw a grasshopper that was longer than his cell phone. I can't wait to see one of those. He said it made quite a noise when it flew off, after being squirted with the garden hose. Last night we went out as the sun was setting and there was a group of howler monkeys in the trees at the end of the street. What's it called? A troop of monkeys? A barrel of monkeys. No... Wait a second. A reference website says they are called a troop, barrel, carload, or tribe. I was right? How about that. Is a group of howler monkeys called a hoot? Probably not. But they sure sound strange.
Our beach here is curved like the letter C. It's 3 miles long, and has an island on one end. Walking the beach never gets old. The high tide comes twice a day. That means during low tide it's like walking a new beach that has never been walked on before. Almost everything on that beach is less than a day old. All the old footprints washed away. All the tire tracks, writing in the sand, and holes dug by kids. Every rock and shell is newly washed in.
What will you find today?? The other day we saw the beach had a 3 foot strip scattered with clear little balls. It was half way between the dry sand and the water, on low tide. They were tiny, like the dried bath beads you buy at the store, and then throw them in water and they get bigger. Except they were already full of liquid. My best guess is that they were eggs of some kind. They were so tiny, I held one up to the light and couldn't see anything. They reminded me a bit of small tapioca pudding balls. Ron picked one up, then dropped it from a few inches, and it bounced like a rubber ball. I've never seen them before or since.
On that same walk I saw a little puffer fish washed up on shore. It was the size of my fist, and it had pokey spines all over. Like a test porcupine that didn't get beamed up successfully in a Star Trek transporter.
It's also true that things change when you look at the trees. There is a huge tree across the street that was full of leaves, and now the leaves are gone and there are a lot of pink flowers. And you can see the old fruit that hasn't dropped yet. These fruit are big. They kind of resemble a pea pod, only a long one - like from my finger tip to my elbow. And it had a hard casing. It's like the blade ends of curved swords hanging in the trees, at first glance. They are heavy too, it would take a dog down if you managed to connect. I have a picture somewhere of me holding one. I probably already posted it.
If you love animals, you should come here. If you love sea creatures, you should spend some time here. If you enjoy gardening, it's wonderful here. I just picked 2 dozen fruits from our star fruit tree yesterday. All the local mango trees have ripening fruit on them, they are all loaded. If you are an artist, you would enjoy all of it, from every angle! If you have health issues, come here and eat good local food and watch how fast things can change. In our little village there is less junk food to tempt me. I've lost almost 20 pounds. Plus, I ride my bike all over. What are you waiting for? Start making your travel plans.
six months in heaven, sounds perfect.
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