Sunday, May 22, 2005
beachfunhappytimes
Hey All
When I wait too long to write a blog, I think I forget a lot of things that happen. So I will start now and track back. Paul just left after coming to visit me for a week, and it went by so fast, and now I am sad and depressed. I miss him so much. He is my best friend and really cute, so it doesn’t get much better than that. Oh yeah, and smart, but I will stop there before this turns into a Paul Bourdeau fanblog a la Nick Leachy or Justin Timberlake. Anyhoos, I got sick and almost lost my voice, so I sounded like a cross between an Austrian choirboy turning 13 and Carol Channing. Kind of funny. Paul and I spent a day with Dona Corina up in the cloud forest, which was lovely, and stayed in a cabin, and it was chill, and didn’t rain too bad, which is good, because Paul brought the winter rains so it rained ½ the time he was here, but hey, that’s the tropics. I told him there should be a local festival for him, so he will come and bring the rains every year. We stayed for a day or so with my family and Paul got to see some of where I work and some pretty cool birds, including some euphonias and aracaris. Paul needs to learn Spanish so he and my family can all get to know each other better. I stressed and freaked about work, but then got over it (but ask Paul, because I probably was obsessive and didn’t register my own insanity).
We left Esteli in a rented car and I drove (scary thought) all the way to San Juan del Sur, near the Costa Rican border, about 3 ½ hour drive. On the way there we got T-boned by a cow with big horns. Paul says I ran into it, but it ran into ME. We also had to wait while police directed traffic (poorly) around a giant boulder in the road. When signs here say “ Cuidado Derrumbe” like “Watch out for Falling Rocks” they really mean it. But that’s pointless anyway, because you can watch out for the rocks, but since there is nowhere to go, they will still land on your car and crush you, only instead of being oblivious to your impending doom, you are an active participant in your own death. But enough sardonic talk of mortality…
We made it alive to SJ and I had been sick this whole time so we passed out. The book (Moon Guide) described all these lovely beaches nearby, and mentioned you needed 4 wheel drive for some of them, so we assumed this meant that for the others you did not. Well. You did…finally we made it to Bahia Majagual, our own little gingrolandia slice of paradise, where they make a mean pina colada and have a penchant for playing Paul Simon and Beyonce in the Rancho (bar/restaurant). We both got burned at the beach, the standard slightly sofy and jiggly white and pink tourists in stark contrast to lean and brown Nicas. We played in the waves, it was lovely and fun, and I haven’t played in waves in ages. We ate the best watermelon ever and when it was too hot, retreated to the Rancho with its ocean view, and I read my book as Paul stared at the ocean. Someone who lets you read your book when they don’t have one is pretty rad. We drank fresh pineapple juice and ate fresh fish for dinner. In the morning we had killer pancakes and fruit salad. After campesino food, the food on this trip was a high point for me
We rented a cabin, and Paul jumped like a little girl trying to open the lock because giant cicadas were landing on him. Finally I opened it, but I was very proud of Paul for ignoring all the things flying and crawling around the rooms and we had forgotten to bring mosquito nets. No mosquitoes though. On the wall there was a smashed and dried tableau of a big scorpion dragging away the corpse of a gecko it had presumably killed. Pretty scary and I’m pretty sure it resulted from a former tenant of the cabin being so mortified at the scene and evidence of a scorpion that big in close quarters that they smashed both scorpion and gecko with a shoe. There were howler monkeys all around our cabin, and howler monkey poop as well, and Paul was stoked because he had not ever seen monkeys up close before.
Although the road should have been impassible on the return, due mainly to the low clearance of the car and one particularly steep and slippery hill, Paul managed to navigate that hill not once, but twice and the second time in the pouring rain with mud everywhere. We spent the days worrying about what to do if it rained, because we were convinced if it rained we wouldn’t be able to leave. SO we left when it was dry, went to another beach where the hotel didn’t exist anymore and was not nearly as good as Majagual. So we decided to test fate and return, and that night it rained throughout the night. Ah, we fell victim to hubris. Yet Paul, with his excessive confidence disregard for negative consequences, which is often interpreted as charm, made it up the hill in one go, as I laughed hysterically at his good luck.( I do not have good luck. In fact, my bad luck tempers his natural good luck)
Back in San Juan del Sur, we had the best lobster ever for lunch, and watch as a boat moored to close to the crashing surf (it was still rainy and kind of stormy), tipped and sank. Eleven men ran into the water after it and dragged it to shore. Pretty impressive, and further evidence of Nica strength and cooperation. I don’t even think half of them knew whose boat it was, the response was so immediate. We then headed off to Granada, which is a beautiful old colonial town. We stayed in a 100 year old house that is now a Posada run by a German man, Don Alfredo, and his much younger Nica wife and their two small sons. We lounged in hammocks, and ate dinner at a cool Spanish tapas restaurant owned by a French couple and dined and talked for 4 hours. I miss that. The long dinners and even longer conversations we can have. I was craving some classy cosmopolitan atmosphere, and El Tercer Ojo and Granada certainly have that. Funny to think we have been dating for almost four years and have not run out of things to stay to each other. We closed the place down, and then talked more in the patio of the Posada.
Grudgingly I took him back to the airport and missed the lechera this morning, and so will stay until Monday to try and get some things done during business hours.
I took a week off of work, so I will be working non stop for awhile, so you may not hear from me soon…..I love you all and miss you. Write me comments or emails of letters because sometimes, despite my cool collected and confident self, I get homesick.
Love
Melissa
">Link
When I wait too long to write a blog, I think I forget a lot of things that happen. So I will start now and track back. Paul just left after coming to visit me for a week, and it went by so fast, and now I am sad and depressed. I miss him so much. He is my best friend and really cute, so it doesn’t get much better than that. Oh yeah, and smart, but I will stop there before this turns into a Paul Bourdeau fanblog a la Nick Leachy or Justin Timberlake. Anyhoos, I got sick and almost lost my voice, so I sounded like a cross between an Austrian choirboy turning 13 and Carol Channing. Kind of funny. Paul and I spent a day with Dona Corina up in the cloud forest, which was lovely, and stayed in a cabin, and it was chill, and didn’t rain too bad, which is good, because Paul brought the winter rains so it rained ½ the time he was here, but hey, that’s the tropics. I told him there should be a local festival for him, so he will come and bring the rains every year. We stayed for a day or so with my family and Paul got to see some of where I work and some pretty cool birds, including some euphonias and aracaris. Paul needs to learn Spanish so he and my family can all get to know each other better. I stressed and freaked about work, but then got over it (but ask Paul, because I probably was obsessive and didn’t register my own insanity).
We left Esteli in a rented car and I drove (scary thought) all the way to San Juan del Sur, near the Costa Rican border, about 3 ½ hour drive. On the way there we got T-boned by a cow with big horns. Paul says I ran into it, but it ran into ME. We also had to wait while police directed traffic (poorly) around a giant boulder in the road. When signs here say “ Cuidado Derrumbe” like “Watch out for Falling Rocks” they really mean it. But that’s pointless anyway, because you can watch out for the rocks, but since there is nowhere to go, they will still land on your car and crush you, only instead of being oblivious to your impending doom, you are an active participant in your own death. But enough sardonic talk of mortality…
We made it alive to SJ and I had been sick this whole time so we passed out. The book (Moon Guide) described all these lovely beaches nearby, and mentioned you needed 4 wheel drive for some of them, so we assumed this meant that for the others you did not. Well. You did…finally we made it to Bahia Majagual, our own little gingrolandia slice of paradise, where they make a mean pina colada and have a penchant for playing Paul Simon and Beyonce in the Rancho (bar/restaurant). We both got burned at the beach, the standard slightly sofy and jiggly white and pink tourists in stark contrast to lean and brown Nicas. We played in the waves, it was lovely and fun, and I haven’t played in waves in ages. We ate the best watermelon ever and when it was too hot, retreated to the Rancho with its ocean view, and I read my book as Paul stared at the ocean. Someone who lets you read your book when they don’t have one is pretty rad. We drank fresh pineapple juice and ate fresh fish for dinner. In the morning we had killer pancakes and fruit salad. After campesino food, the food on this trip was a high point for me
We rented a cabin, and Paul jumped like a little girl trying to open the lock because giant cicadas were landing on him. Finally I opened it, but I was very proud of Paul for ignoring all the things flying and crawling around the rooms and we had forgotten to bring mosquito nets. No mosquitoes though. On the wall there was a smashed and dried tableau of a big scorpion dragging away the corpse of a gecko it had presumably killed. Pretty scary and I’m pretty sure it resulted from a former tenant of the cabin being so mortified at the scene and evidence of a scorpion that big in close quarters that they smashed both scorpion and gecko with a shoe. There were howler monkeys all around our cabin, and howler monkey poop as well, and Paul was stoked because he had not ever seen monkeys up close before.
Although the road should have been impassible on the return, due mainly to the low clearance of the car and one particularly steep and slippery hill, Paul managed to navigate that hill not once, but twice and the second time in the pouring rain with mud everywhere. We spent the days worrying about what to do if it rained, because we were convinced if it rained we wouldn’t be able to leave. SO we left when it was dry, went to another beach where the hotel didn’t exist anymore and was not nearly as good as Majagual. So we decided to test fate and return, and that night it rained throughout the night. Ah, we fell victim to hubris. Yet Paul, with his excessive confidence disregard for negative consequences, which is often interpreted as charm, made it up the hill in one go, as I laughed hysterically at his good luck.( I do not have good luck. In fact, my bad luck tempers his natural good luck)
Back in San Juan del Sur, we had the best lobster ever for lunch, and watch as a boat moored to close to the crashing surf (it was still rainy and kind of stormy), tipped and sank. Eleven men ran into the water after it and dragged it to shore. Pretty impressive, and further evidence of Nica strength and cooperation. I don’t even think half of them knew whose boat it was, the response was so immediate. We then headed off to Granada, which is a beautiful old colonial town. We stayed in a 100 year old house that is now a Posada run by a German man, Don Alfredo, and his much younger Nica wife and their two small sons. We lounged in hammocks, and ate dinner at a cool Spanish tapas restaurant owned by a French couple and dined and talked for 4 hours. I miss that. The long dinners and even longer conversations we can have. I was craving some classy cosmopolitan atmosphere, and El Tercer Ojo and Granada certainly have that. Funny to think we have been dating for almost four years and have not run out of things to stay to each other. We closed the place down, and then talked more in the patio of the Posada.
Grudgingly I took him back to the airport and missed the lechera this morning, and so will stay until Monday to try and get some things done during business hours.
I took a week off of work, so I will be working non stop for awhile, so you may not hear from me soon…..I love you all and miss you. Write me comments or emails of letters because sometimes, despite my cool collected and confident self, I get homesick.
Love
Melissa
">Link
