We are discovering the rhythms that suit us best, trying out different activities at different times of day. Yesterday when we got up Michael went down to check the surf and took the house bicycle to the surf shop next door to get the flat tire fixed. He discovered that they had just put some molasses on the road. Apparently they use a sugar mixture, diluted and spread with water, to keep the dust down. It smells just like molasses! And it wasn't as sticky as you might imagine. I'm not sure how they manage that. After coffee, Michael went to surf and I walked over to where I thought there was supposed to be a farmer's market on Saturday mornings. It wasn't there. I think it's moved and is now on Tuesdays because we saw a flier for a farmer's market when we were at breakfast the other day. We just weren't sure if it replaced the one on Saturdays or was additional. I'll try the other place on Tuesday. The walk was still good, but I was a little warm when I got back to the house, so I went inside to cool down a bit instead of heading straight for the beach. Then I decided to do some computer stuff in the cool of the house. Before we came down here I put Aperture on the laptop so I would have a program to use for dealing with the photos. I got the App version, not the full software version. Yesterday I started playing around with it and importing some photos etc. Of course there is a learning curve, so I went through some trial and error and had to read some tutorials, but I learned some things. Thank goodness the wi-fi is working pretty well here. I've had to restart the router a few times but it always seems to come back. After a while, Michael returned from the beach and we had some lunch.
In the early afternoon we went down to the beach and Michael tried out his trainer kite. He wants to learn kite boarding and the first thing you do is learn how to fly the kite really well. So he got a trainer kite which is much smaller than the ones you would use to kite board, but it's set up the same way and allows you to learn the kite flying techniques. It was low tide so there was plenty of room on the beach. The tides here are about 8 or 9 feet so when it goes out there is a lot of sand and shallow water a ways out. The wind wasn't quite consistent enough for good kite flying, but he gave it a good try for a while. I went for a walk down the beach in the opposite direction from where we'd gone the other day. Low tide is perfect beach walking time. We always see dogs on the beach and around the neighborhood. They look so happy here. They hang out with their dog friends and their human friends and frolic in the surf just like we do. We saw a dog come out of the woods from who knows where and make a bee line for the water. He walked out into it until it was about 6 inches deep and lay down. At low tide the waves were very gentle at that depth and it's flat so he just lay in the water and cooled off. Another time I saw two dogs with smiles on their faces trotting down the road, side by side, looking for all the world like they were best friends on their way to find some special treat or perhaps a drink of water. Most of them look cared for and wear collars or are hanging out with human counterparts. There is a local vet not far away and I've heard that quite a few expats, who come for months at a time, bring their pets along.
We returned to the house for a break and then in late afternoon we went back to the beach for a boarding session. I have not done much boogie boarding so I am a total beginner. Michael took his surf board and I had fins to help me catch the waves. The tide was coming up so they were a little bigger than I might have chosen for my first time, but it was good practice to learn how to duck under a wave and other techniques for avoiding getting tumbled around. After a bit of floundering I caught a couple of waves with Michael's help. It really is good fun when you catch one! I spent some time just catching small ones in the whitewater too. The surf conditions weren't really the best but we had a good time and I came out tired and smiling. We stayed around for sunset as the beach began to fill up and down with people coming out for the evening ritual. We even had a couple of cold beers we had stashed in the bushes when we came down! The sunset was not as spectacular as the night before, but still better than most.
Back at the house I made a simple dinner of chicken and green beans. We kept hearing a crowd cheering at odd intervals so Michael went to see what was going on while I was cooking. It turns out one of the local bars had the NFL playoffs on the tele and there were a lot of people watching. Funny, that is the last thing I had on my mind! After dinner we watched an episode of a tv program I had downloaded to my laptop and went to bed early. Beach life makes you tired in the best ways!
This morning we saw an iguana behind the house. We have also seen hummingbirds, butterflies, and lots of other birds including vultures eating a fish on the beach, frigates, seagulls, pelicans, and many more I can't identify. We've continued to hear the Howler monkeys but haven't been woken by them again. You could call them Growler monkeys because the sound is also like a drawn out growl or roar. Very odd but you get used to it.
We checked the tides and decided to try boogie boarding again in the morning when the tide was lower. This time it was a little easer to get in the right position to catch the waves and they were smaller, so better for me. Not so great for surfing maybe, but nothing to shake a stick at. I had fun and will keep practicing so I can get the hang of it. I think this afternoon we're going to get a second bicycle and do a little exploring on 2 wheels. In the meantime, Michael's gone to try the kite again. Aaaaah, this is the life!
Bye for now,
Sojourner Sarah
Sounds like all the usual fun of CR. Glad you're enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteSo when Mr. Man gets on your nerves you can tell him to go fly a kite ;-)
Are you really there for 2 months?
Have Beau check his email - had a question for ya'll.
Pura Vida!