I have texted with Deb about the coati I saw two days ago. She tells me that entire white-nosed coatimundi families have been seen here in her upper and lower yards almost any time of day, but they’re most active from sunup to sundown. She says her security cameras often catch them in the lower orchard where her pineapples and other fruit trees and bushes are growing. So, I’m going to start watching for them to see if I can get some images of them. They aren’t dangerous as long as they aren’t cornered and become defensive, so I will be sure to give them plenty of space and breathing room.
I’m thrilled that there are entire families of them. (Legal) hunting isn’t allowed here in Costa Rica, although poaching is always a possibility, so a lot of the wildlife here isn’t terribly wary of human beings. I hope this is the case with these coatis (aka pizotes here in Costa Rica and in Mexico). Deb says they aren’t terribly people-shy.
In Other News…
My INR level has jumped up to 3.9. I assume that’s because I was on amoxicillin recently for the dog bite, but I am holding a dose today and Wed and will lower the doses to 2.5 throughout this week and next and then get it checked again in about three weeks. 3.9 isn’t dangerously high but I want to bring it down to between 2.0 and 3.0 again within a few weeks. I know of no other reason why it should have gone up.
Bused to Grecia This Morning
…at 7:20 to get the INR checked and to get colones so I can pay Lydia for this past weekend’s San Jose trip to the NO KINGS RALLY when I see her tomorrow at the Bloom’s gathering in El Cajon near my old stomping grounds.
I also got more cat food pouches, brown bread, and some fruit drinks to take to the gathering tomorrow, since I don’t cook or bake and it’s a potluck. Kathy Neckar is going to pick me up at my gate in her car and drive me there and back. Sweet gal. I will help with gas. The ride keeps me from having to leave super early to catch two different buses before the gathering gets underway at 9:30.
The Bus Schedule Will Change TH and FRI for Semana Santa
I’m not planning any more trips to Grecia during this Holy Week but, in case I need to, I took a picture of the bus schedule so I will know when to catch it. It’s only going to run five times on Thursday and Friday, which is less than half as many times as it usually does every day. (The bus routinely runs nearly every hour on the hour from 5:00 a.m to 10:00 P.M.)
This morning I was walking down the street on my way to the San Isidro bus stop when the bus driver spotted me and honked his horn to let me know he was coming up behind me, so I stopped and raised my hand. He pulled over and picked me up at the bus barn across the street from Dale and his wife. What a sweet guy! He also let me off right at my gate, now that he knows where I live, instead of driving about 100 feet beyond the gate to let me off. I know he won’t always do that because an elderly lady (older than I am!) lives about 150 feet farther up, and when she’s on the bus, he stops at her casa so she doesn’t have to walk far to get home.
The bus drivers here are compassionate and thoughtful. Helpful, too, when someone has lots of packages!
Saw What May Have Been The Biting Dog Again Today
On my way down the street toward the three corners bus stop, I encountered what I believe may have been the black and white dog that bit me three weeks ago.
It came up behind me as I approached the same area where we may have encountered each other before. I heard it growl but it didn’t have any trash to defend so it didn’t approach me. Still, just to be safe, I took out my cane and dragged the cart behind me, tapping the cane on the roadway as I went. It followed me for a little way as I did that, but not in a hostile manner, until it decided to check out another dog that was behind a fence in the same general area.
It looked bigger than I remember it being, so it might not even have been the same dog. Because it didn’t come after me, I didn’t take its picture. I wanted to keep walking so it didn’t feel I was hanging around its territory… But if I see it again, I will take its picture and keep it handy in case I can get someone else to corroborate that it’s the same dog that nipped or bit them. If it is, I will call it in.
During the Bus Ride
…I sat next to a Tica and let her know I’m learning Spanish but am not good at it yet. She told me she is learning English, but that she doesn’t know it well either, so we mostly conversed in Spanish.
She told me she’s a teacher and that her best friend teaches yoga. I introduced myself as Kris and told her I’m a pensionado candidate. I couldn’t make out her name when she told me what it was. I asked her to repeat it, but the bus was too noisy — people were talking all around us — so I just nodded as if I had heard it.
As she disembarked next to a schoolyard, I took her hand and said, “Con mucho gusto!” and she patted my hand, smiled, and went on her way.
CHARLES SCHWAB HAS MY DOCS NOW
…so I anticipate that I’ll be getting my RMD on April 15th as requested, since they say processing takes between two days and two weeks. Hurray!
I Haven’t Been Walking as Much the Past Five Days
…so my weight is creeping up again. I’ve been eating more bread than usual recently. Gonna stop that and go back to rice and beans.
I didn’t walk much at the rally, or today, or yesterday, and the day before I put in fewer than 6K steps. But it won’t take long to walk off the few pounds I gained as soon as I get back to my daily walking routine, which will be tomorrow morning. I’ve taken 5861 steps so far today, most of them in Grecia, so I should be able to get the additonal 2K steps in by the end of the day. It’s just past noon right now.
Maybe I’ll go out on a coati-seeking quest now that I’ve researched them some more and discovered that they hang out in — and retreat to — trees when they feel they should. I know exactly which trees they should be in around here! This info gives me hope.
And the breeding season is between Jan and March, so in 75 days or less (their gestation period), maybe I’ll see some families out and about.
Oh … the babies won’t be ambulatory that soon, but by mid-April to early June, I may be able to see some. Looking forward to it! WOO HOO!
I wonder what other wild ones have been spotted in this yard. I will do some research to find out. I’ll also ask Deb. The naturalist in me is intrigued!
UPDATE: OMG! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!
Click on the following link!
WHAT WILD MAMMALS LIVE IN SAN ISIDRO DE GRECIA COSTA RICA?