It seems like only yesterday we brought home our beautiful baby boy from the hospital. Now, 22 years later, it feels as if time has flown by. Indeed, it has...how is it we look at our futures and think we have so much time until we grow old enough to look back, and realize how quickly it was spent..."We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."-Thorton Wilder. Time spent is time spent; we can't slow it down-we can store treasures in each moment. When we make a life practise to truly live each moment, joyful or challenging, our treasures increase.
Took the bus into Puerto Viejo this morning and made a day of it. Got tired of standing to wait for the bus 15 minutes after it was supposed to arrive,so started walking. Off and on rain this morning-off and on raincoats too! It is hot even though it's raining. 
The local market "value village" was our next stop. Found some books we'd like to read and a phonics program about the rainforest for Gabriel. Good thing, he's almost done the one we brought-way ahead of schedule...
We went into Salsa Brava store-the local (high end) boarding shop.They've got nice, nice stuff. We were so pleasantly surprised and excited to see our lovely friend Genovie working there!!! She was our waitress at the all inclusive we stayed at last year-just down the road from where we're now living. When we got back, she was one of the first people we went looking for. Unfortunately, our host and owner of the hotel has had some health issues and placed it under new administration. Laura, the new administrator, didn't know the previous staff. We were disappointed not to know where some of the people we looked forward to seeing again were not around...In asking around, we discovered Genovie and her boyfriend, Nico, have their own hostel near Punta Uva. Were planning to find it, but didn't have to, cause there she was!!!
On that note: we are sorely missing a friend who touched our hearts very deeply the last time we were here. She was the first person we went to see, the day after we settled in. She has moved back to the States. We had so looked forward to reconnecting but those kinds of bonds are treasures nothing can take away from.
Stopped in at the Sonrise Hostel for lunch.We really like it here. Inexpensive food, traditional and western, and a nice atmosphere. The restaurant is on the second floor and overlooks the action on the street below. There's always movement in Puerto Viejo-it is an ecclectic mix of local and tourist, music, bicycles, vehicles, animals, surfers and business people, and smells of food cooking.
While finishing our lunch, there was a huge explosion on the street below. Shook the building. Sounded like a bomb. We were a kind of apprehensive until a fellow patron told us the Costa Ricans set of firecrackers in the Christmas and New Year season. Turns out this fellow, Allan, was a fellow Canadian from Edmonton. He has been courageously travelling by vehicle, on his own, all over Costa Rica. You meet such special people when travelling-maybe because they have the same sense of adventure and wanting to experience. Allan had so many experiences and photos (great ones of crocodiles up close) to share...wished we could have spent more time getting to know him. Allan, if you're reading this blog, we'd love to hear more about your adventures...
Of course, you don't take a trip into town without stocking up on groceries. We have a very small fridge compared to what we are used to (everybody does, really) and small baskets on our bikes to take them home in, so we consolidate our trips with groceries.
We went to the DeeLite ice cream shop before catching the bus home. Wow! This is homemade daily Italian ice cream. Gabriel raced out with the camera to take a photo of the horses wandering down the street. Ahhhhhh....great end to a great day! Thinking about Patrick on his birthday-think he'd like it here...Waiting for the bus we "get to talking" to travellers from all over the world. Today we met a family from France who have been here many times before and are to be our neighbours down the road...What a really nice way to live!
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