Marianela and I had a blast, an absolute blast on the way to, from, and inside Cafe Delicias.

 

She dropped me at the bank and then went to Max X Menos to shop for her groceries. Just about the time she finished doing that, I finished store-hopping…

 

I stopped first at a new store that had men’s long-sleeved shirts (ESTRELLAS) and bought two of them one in beige and one in a slight mustard color.  Now when things get nippy up here in El Cajon, I can put one of those on.

 

From there I went to the mall (MERCADO MUNICIPAL???  Is that the name?  I try to remember each time and keep forgetting!) where I bought some groceries — mixed nuts, cauliflower, mamon/rambutan, bananas, papas (potatoes) and hongos (mushrooms).

 

Then I hopped across the street and bought a medium size crock pot for about $37 USD and a very lame small fan that I will probably return next week for a better/stronger one. But it might work where I have it…

 

After I bought those I walked to Cafe Delicias and texted Marianela saying I was “listo” (ready) whenever she was to get together for lunch. She texted back that she had just finished shopping and would buy a tank of gas, park nearby and then join me at the restaurant shortly.

 

About twenty minutes later, she came in. I said howdy (in Spanish) and asked her to choose any items on the menu for lunch (almuerzo) and dessert (postre).

 

I ordered both meals in Spanish (and got a thumbs up from her plus complete understanding from the server — yay!)

 

While we were waiting for the food to be prepared, we started chatting in Spanglish — half Spanish, half English — which was a hoot.

 

She told me that every day of the week between 7am and 9am Cafe Delicias fills with norteamericanos — US and Canadian immigrants. They get together to commune and chew the fat.  That’s too early for me, and again, my goal is to commune more with Ticos, so I won’t be going down there then except maybe at Thanksgiving or Christmastime (La Navidad) to share some holiday cheer. (But no guarantees. I’m not much of a groupie. Never have been, That’s waaaaaaayyyyy outside my comfort zone!)

 

I showed her my still-significant bruise from last week’s blood draw in the crook of my left arm and she asked her translation device to respond, “You had a bad blood puller!” I laughed and said, “Next time, I’ll ask for a bandage/tourniquet and not just accept a thumb- sized bandaid, for sure!” Hematomas are ghastly looking.

 

On the way to Grecia, I asked her if she knows a local haircutter who cuts women’s hair short, like a man’s, and she said she has an amiga she could ask, as she gets her hair cut that way.  (I asked Melaney and Laurie this, too, and they say theirs lives just across the street, but I don’t know if that’s across the street from Villas Escondidas or across the street in downtown Grecia  — which is a lot closer — so I need to find out. I love how their hair is cut.)  (But if their haircutter is across the street from them, I will be there often enough, I presume, to get it done while I’m there rather than making a special trip. DUH!)

 

Dale, Clarkie, Melaney, Laurie

 

On the way in, I explained Jon’s and Francisco’s relationship, esposo y esposo. She tried to correct my Spanish to “esposo y esposa” but I assured her I was saying it right.  (She met Jon at the feria two weeks ago but not Francisco.) I also explained that Jon is a retired nurse and that Francisco is a certified end of life palliative care specialist and that both men are wonderful, with enormous hearts.  She looked super glad and (I think) appreciated hearing that.

 

Dale, Clarkie, Francisco, John

So, while we waited a while longer for the food to be prepared and delivered, Marianela called her amiga to find out where the haircutting place is. She asked if I wanted to go today, and I said no, I want to color my hair again before I get it cut.  She asked, “What color?” I said, “Red, like this, or as close as I can get to my original hair color.” (No easy task here in Costa Rica!)

 

We discussed MediSmart a little (the medical and drug discount plan down here) after she asked what my bloodwork costs here ($32/month, not counting the $20/month MediSmart fee that covers both Charli and me!).  Then I explained the health care/insurance/big pharma/middleman insanity in the U.S. to her and said that my deductible alone each year is $300 plus $235/month for Medicare coverage.  She was absolutely floored, as are the residents of all of the other developed and developing nations that provide universal health care to their  taxpaying citizens.

 

We each ordered a different postre (dessert) and took turns tasting each other’s.  We had fun doing that because I asked her which of the two she liked best.  When she said she liked hers best,  I said I liked mine best. So we playfully “argued” about that for a time in Spanish.

 

Mine (a very small, very tasty Dutch cake) was less than half the size of hers (a Chilean cake) so she insisted that I help finish hers.  I truly liked mine more than I liked hers, but I did take a few more bites before  putting down my spoon and saying, “Nada mas!  Nada mas!”

 

AND OF COURSE — OF COURSE!!!!! —  I forgot to take a selfie with her to illustrate this post with. I will ask her permission to do that next time we travel together. It’s high time you got a look at her — my newest Tico amiga!