Fellas, it just don't git any better than this

Side-note: Today is the official mid-point for my trip. I’m in Costa Rica for 32 days, and today is the 16th day. Cristina and the children have been here for 26 days.

Most people reading this blog are native English speakers. You probably don’t think of yourselves as great experts of the English language. But when you read some things that have been translated into English here, you realize how good your English really is. For example, I was reading the back of the cereal box this morning. The cereal is called Vitalisimo. It’s made by a German company for distribution in Central America. The write-up on the back says:

“Crispy almonds combined with baked cereals give as a result a wonderfully crunchy multicereal with a particularly exquisite taste.” (give as a result?)

“Enriched with 8 vitamins + iron, Vitalisimo gives the body vitality since breakfast.” (umm, okay. I get it, but it’s a little awkward, don’t you think?)

“Vitamins and minerals are important helpers to many parts of the body and they can only fulfill their function in the body and its metabolism taken in the right quantities.” (Not bad, but not good either)

Anyway...on with the day!

I didn’t sleep well. I was hoping a good night’s sleep would get me back to normal. While I seemed to be past “Montezuma’s revenge,” which thankfully had been an isolated event, I felt like I ran a fever all night and my head still hurt in the morning. And (full disclosure) at the risk of sounding like an over-cautious parent, I must admit that I haven’t slept well here because there’s no guard-rail on the bunk bed, and I’m constantly worried that Alex is going to roll out of bed and go crashing to the tile floor. So every time I heard him roll over, I was aware of it. Not exactly a deep sleep. One time his pillow fell off his bed, and I sat bolt-upright with the sound.

See?  No guard rails.

Cristina also was not feeling well. She woke up with a sore throat and a headache. So perhaps it is some kind of bug we’ve caught.

I considered not going to the beach and just staying in and napping, but the kids were so excited to get going, I thought I’d tough it out. I made a point to hydrate better this time. I think I drank 4 glasses of water before we left the hotel.

We drove to a different beach today, Marino Ballena National Park. It’s a popular place for whale-spotting, and part of the beach is shaped like a whale, with a little two-pronged jutty of rocks shaped like a whale’s tail (see photo).

When we parked the car, Alex spotted an iguana in the tree near our car. That was a nice start.

It was a short walk to the beach. The nice thing about a beach at a National Park is that it’s easier to get to and even has “tourist police” that patrol. Too bad we hadn’t had more protection the day before; Wito’s backpack was stolen from his car while we were at Playa Ventana. And it had his GPS in it. Major bummer.

I continued to drink water and my headache was even starting to fade. We brought a basket full of snacks today, and the entrance to the park had a few little restaurants nearby, so we could do food when needed.

The kids played in the water with Cristina. I hung out in the shade with Wito and Maritza. 

Despite her expression, she's having a great time

After a while, Wito wanted to walk down to the whale’s tail and explore the rocks. So I went with him, as did Alex and Sofia. The rocks were interesting, but my flip-flops were not up to the task. A couple of times my foot slipped through my flip-flop and felt the sharp rocks. The kids were better equipped with their Keens. Regardless, we slowly explored the rocks. We saw a guy catch a squid.

We walked back and saw a couple of horses (with riders) on the beach. A guy gives horseback rides on the beach for 2000 colones for 30 minutes. Now that's a bargain. So a little while later, Sofia, Alex, and Bella were saddled up and heading off for a ride. While they were gone, Wito and I walked to a little soda and got some rice and beans for the kids. On the way back, the kids passed me on their horses. Bella, sitting in front of Sofia, had the sweetest look. When she saw me, she started to smile real big, but she restrained it. She tried to keep a serious look on her face. This horse riding stuff was obviously serious business.

After reapplying sunscreen, the kids played more in the water with Cristina. I stretched out on a beach blanket in the shade. I was planning on getting in the water, but when I’m done swimming in the ocean I want to go home and shower. I don’t care for hanging around all sticky and sandy. So I was waiting until the right time.

At 3 pm, I joined the others in the water. We played in the waves for a couple of hours. I buried Bella in the sand. And then we packed up and went back to the hotel.

After showers, I made spaghetti (again) for dinner. Cristina wanted to take the kids to the beach near the hotel (the same one she’d taken Bella) for another sunset. They wanted me to go, but I was beached out for the day. Plus, I wanted to catch up on my journals. They got some great shots, though it got too dark a little too soon.

As I was putting Bella and Alex to bed, Alex complained about going up the ladder to his bed. I told him I’d be just fine with putting his mattress on the floor. He was fine with that idea, so tonight he’s sleeping on the floor next to the bunk bed, and I’m sleeping with comfortable peace of mind.