I had a fun day yesterday in Grecia with my Costa Rica hermanos Jon Graham Mitchell and D. Here’s the scoop!

 

D. and I took an Uber to the feria yesterday at 10 a.m., arriving there at about 10:20.  Our driver spoke only Spanish but I was able to converse with him on the way in, and I translated the germane stuff to D.  The driver told me that his wife and kids speak English, but he doesn’t (yet).

 

He asked where I’m from and how long I’ve been in Costa Rica. I responded.

 

When we got to the feria and were let off, we walked in and spotted Jon already there sitting on a bench waiting for us. Usually we are there before him and Francisco, but yesterday Jon beat us there. Francisco is recovering from a virus of some sort, so he didn’t come along, so it was just Jon, D. and me hanging out together yesterday.

 

We got through the feria in record time.

 

I bought three aguacates (avocados), a small steak, some ribs and two heads of iceberg lettuce. Ended up with 2000 colones (about $4) in my wallet, which is enough to get me into town next week to get more colones if I need them before the end of the month.

 

After leaving the feria

 

…Jon drove us to a soda that he really likes called Sabores de Mexico (I think!) in downtown Grecia, where he and I ordered the Casado Mexicana meal.  D. ordered tacos con pollo.

 

Jon’s meal (and mine) came with salads and white rice with yellow something-or-other mixed in. I forgot to take a photo of it; will the next time!  I loved it!

 

For dessert, D got a crepe with ice cream and chocolate sauce on it; Jon and I shared a blueberry-topped cheesecake that was super yummy.

 

We yakked the whole time

 

I asked Jon (among other things) why/how he decided to become a nurse. He smiled and grinned intermittently as he retraced the route verbally with us.  I could tell he really enjoyed his career trajectory, being thrust into highly responsible positions before he even felt ready to take them on, because he scored so high on his tests and practical rounds.

 

That’s usually the way people find out they’re capable of more than they think they’re ready for: by being thrown into the deep end and told to swim!  I could see the delight on his face as he remembered all of it. I’m sure it was more fun in retrospect than it was in reality, because being on the other side of the story makes the anxiety and concern feel kinda fun, it seemed to me!

 

I had heard D’s career story, too. It was similar in many ways, although they had different careers. They were both go-getters and took advantage of every opportunity that came their way. It was inspirational to hear both stories at different times.

 

After we left there

 

…Jon drove us to Mercado Municipal. I asked him to let me off at the curb so I could run in and get the bentonite cat litter, pay for it, and have it carried to the curb in the time it would take him and D. to get around the entire block and into a parking space near the pet store.

 

I walked inside, asked for the big bag of cat litter, paid for it; asked if they had another box of Rivulto (flea-tick ointment) for Charli. They said the Rivulto company went out of business, and they had no alternative, so I will have to find another pet store (alimentos de mascotas) that carries Revolution or some other topical solution.

 

The gentleman who served me carried the 48 pound bag of cat litter across the street to where I had heard a car horn honk and where I thought Jon and Dale were parked waiting for me to emerge from MM.

 

When we got to the other side of the street, there were three white vehicles parked in a row at the curb, but I didn’t see Jon or D, so I almost directed the man back across the street until Jon honked again, laughing at my confusion.  I had seen a flowery-shirted person in the passenger seat, but didn’t recognize them as D., so I had walked right on by the vehicle! (Brain fart! LOL!) The dear man carrying the cat litter was very glad he didnt need to carry the bag back across the street, I’m sure!

 

Then we headed back to San Isidro

 

Talked politics nearly the whole way back, agonizing for our friends who are still living in the U.S. and wondering when and how it will all end for them — and for us and the rest of the world, since the effects of the current situation are negatively impacting us here in Costa Rica, too, with significantly lower currency USD/colones exchange rates, higher gas prices, etc.

 

(If this keeps up, I may have to relocate to Panama, Ecuador, San Salvador, Colombia or another less-expensive South American country.  I don’t anticipate that this will happen, but it could. GRRR!  I love it here in Costa Rica and do not want to be forced out by the country I moved from! That’s  WAAAAAAY TOO MUCH CONTROL over my personal life by a grifter whom I — in part — left the country to escape! It really pisses me off!)

 

Jon drove me to my front door

 

… and carried the cat litter into the bathroom for me before he and D. left. So, they got to see the new fence and the relocated gate, too.

 

I didn’t take any pix.  Sorry!  I always forget unless someone reminds me.

 

Last night

 

…Deb brought me two kinds of homemade salad, one with red lettuce, apples, carrots and a great-tasting sauce; the other a cucumber salad with another great-tasting sauce. I ate some of both before hitting the hay and will finish them off today during the day sometime.

 

My landlady spoils me. I’d be glad to be here even if she didn’t, but it’s lovely to have someone so thoughtful and kind at the helm!  She’s a gem!

 

In Other News:

 

Francisco Sent Me a Book via Jon.

 

It’s a Spanish classic, translated to English.It’s called Cathedral of the Sea, written by Ildefonso Falcones and translated to English by Nick Caistor. It’s a fictionalized history of the Barcelona Spain region in the 14th century.

 

I cracked it open last night

 

 

… read the first chapter and thought, “Oh… my… God!”

 

It opens with two families and their neighbors and friends gathered for a wedding ceremony. But then, abruptly and without warning, the lord of the region arrives with his entourage, rapes the bride in an upstairs loft while the wedding guests below listen in horror, and then forces the husband to rape her, too, so that any offspring that may result cannot be traced to the king, who has bastard children all over the place.

 

So, I was less than inclined to continue reading!

 

But the writing itself was so riveting that I continued for three more chapters.  Now I’m hooked.

 

The result of the wedding’s rape-fest was the husband’s son (a specific birthmark confirmed that the son was his), whom the husband kidnaps (after his wife and their son are abducted by the king) and now, in chapter four or five, they’ve made it to Barcelona (where they’re relatively safe in that throng of tens of thousands of people), the boy is eight years old, and …

 

I don’t know what happens after that, but I will find out, because — as I say — I’m hooked now and realize why this book is a classic.  It mirrors the way serfs were subjugated and treated, so it’s educational (horrifyingly so!) as well as riveting.

 

Of course, I want and expect the man, his wife, and their son to triumph, but I won’t know until I read more.  (His wife still isn’t back with them yet.) Notably, following the wedding day rapes, the wife fell mute and hasn’t spoken still, eight years into the saga, although she continued (until her abduction by the king) to do her duties, without joy, without mirth, without showing any emotion at all, which of course is super upsetting to the husband. Her trauma and torment appear to be eternal, at least up until this point.

 

Yikes!  It’s an edge-of-your-seat saga, and it’s 603 pages long. I’m only on page 79! Have a long way to go, so that’s at least part of what I’ll be doing for the rest of the day!!

 

Oh!  One More Thing!

 

Mauricio (Mao) has asked me to help him again, this time with two of his advanced, third year English students! (He has asked Jon, too, who has happily agreed.)

 

He wants us to allow two students to come interview us in our homes (on video) as part of their curriculum!  How cool is that?

 

He will send me the contact information of the two students that he selects for me and I will reach out to them to schedule a date and time.  I’ll tell you more later and maybe even get a few photos, if the students are amenable to that.

 

So, stay tuned!