Friends old and new

January 14; 88 degrees

This morning, nothing sounded better than fried plantains for breakfast!  Our window was open and a nice breeze coming through.  The door next to the stove just made me feel closed in.  I open it while cooking.  Within a couple of minutes, I am frightened by the shadow of something walking through the door.  A little black and white cat walked in and made himself at home on our floor.  He is a friendly little thing and he warmly welcomes our scratches to his head.  I also notice just how trim this little guy is.  I mention to Mandy that we sure don't see any 20lb cats here like at home.  As we continue to talk about this, I feel a nip to my ankle.  Apparently our new roommate didn't appreciate us spending so much time together and not with him.  I take my plate to go sit on the balcony and I am accompanied quickly by Mr. Gato.  He sits on the table beside me and we enjoy a few moments of peace.  This reminds me of Malcolm and I on the back deck on any Sunday warm enough to sit outside.  Mr. Gato brought a piece of home to me.

Samara is in the middle of our path down the Pacific coast, and we made a decision to spend some time here meeting up with friends.  We had become friends with Sara, the owner of a B&B that we stayed at a couple of years ago, and we heard that a colleague and friend of Mandy's would be in a neighboring town during the same time.  What luck!

We meet Aggie in Samara today for lunch and a bucket of beer on the beach. What easily would have been a conversation about work if we were back in the States, instead was a pleasant conversation about life, people and enjoying the moment.  What still sticks in my head is Aggie thanking me for doing this with Mandy and saying "Mandy needs this." The truth is that we both needed and wanted this.  We had forgotten how to relax and enjoy the art of doing nothing.  After this wonderful lunch, Mandy and I hit the water.

Following an afternoon of surfing, swimming and boogie boarding, everyone staying at the same B&B decide to have a BBQ together after sunset.  We gather contributions from all and have a spread of grilled sausage, vegetables, fresh guacamole and some strawberry bread from a local bakery.  This was the beginning of us making new friends.  Josephine and Alex are a young couple who came to Costa Rica for love.  One is from San Francisco and the other from Montreal.  Sounds so romantic and watching them really is too. Mandy and I squeeze each other's hands and exchange a wink when we listen to their story.  We both know how lucky we are to still feel this way after 13 years together.

Of course a beach BBQ is not complete without a couple of cervezas. As each of us tip back a couple, the personal stories were shared more freely.  The one that sticks in my mind the most was the one about performing a Brazilian wax to oneself in front of a mirror.  The details of this story are comical all by themselves, but it was the delivery of the story that left everyone in the audience in pain from laughter.  I don't think I have had a belly laugh like that in quite some time!

Somewhere along the night, someone delivered a hermit crab to the table.  Where did this come from and how did it just become the center of attention?  All the sudden everyone was looking for a new home for this crab.  The shell he was occupying was clearly too small.  Finally,  we place him in a bowl with a couple of "double-wide" options and wait for him to move.  We wait and wait.  Suddenly, Josephine begins to sing songs from the "Little Mermaid" movie.  Holy shit!  It is actually working!  The crab is responding and starting to come out of his shell.  We try music from a cell phone.  We try singing other songs.  We giggle in amazement that this crab is responding only to Josephine's voice. This is crazy.  "Do it again!".  Again, the crab comes out of its shell.  Crazy.

Unfortunately, the picky crab wasn't into the options we gave him as new shells. We set the crab free and had a great night with new friends.

Josephine singing to our hermit crab friend

Kasia and Josephine doing food prep

Our feast.   

Awesome to see Aggie for lunch and a beer on the beach! 

what a great day overall!