Even sleeping in an air conditioned, bug-free, softer bed didn’t keep me from getting only six hours of sleep. My internal clock has determined that’s sufficient rest for the day, which I guess makes sense when your days aren’t filled with much more than sightseeing (for now…soon they will be filled with exercise again when we give up our rental car). We filled up on a traditional Costa Rican breakfast, (pardon my pride but I'd like to announce that it was all ordered without a word of English) and hit the road.
On the drive home, we realized our initial five hour ride was way longer than it needed to be. Getting lost and distracted by views combined with extreme caution extended the ride a few extra hours. I’m not particularly sure eating a huge helping of gallo pinto y huevos and driving faster made for a good combination. Think hopping on the Thunderbolt for three hours after filling up your tummy. Fortunately there weren’t any drops like the antique rollercoaster, but I think the abuse was pretty similar – kneecaps banging against each other, torso twisting opposite your legs, head bobbing around. Both make you check your neck after you unbuckle your seatbelt to see if you got whiplash. Fortunately, we didn't. But we did get an ab workout.
This time it took only three hours to get back to familiarity and we made a pit stop in Dominical to find this non-existent magical SIM card we’ve heard about that will reduce Verizon’s outrageous $2.29 per minute to a mere $0.11! That’s when we met Saul and Wendy.
Saul, a Toronto native, and his Tico wife Wendy, are young real estate agents that also help find rentals. They were recommended to us by an individual Mike emailed when looking for a new home. As we drove through Dominical looking for the cell company, I happened to notice their office. We stopped in, gave them a brief background of who we are, why we’re here, and what we want and immediately they began bouncing ideas off each other until they agreed on three. Within seven minutes, we were looking at what could be our next house.
Wendy brought us to the first home which looked relatively new and completely awesome. So awesome that as she pulled up the driveway, I saw it in front of me but kept waiting for her to point to some shack behind it. (I’ve learned something this past week…set the bar low so I don’t get disappointed.) The second house was rented from a foreigner’s lower level and since he would be a sort of housemate upstairs, I didn’t like it and barely gave it a glance. The third option was a small cabin along the river with a private yard, cozy atmosphere and a few pieces of real furniture.
We want what’s behind door number one – real bad. Not only was it the nicest house we saw, it was also closest to downtown Dominical. (We were thinking of getting a place right in the heart of it all until Wendy told us that during the rainy season it floods in those houses and then there’s “diarrhea everywhere.” Translation: there’s a sewage issue.) As long as its available (which they weren’t sure of), it’ll be ours. We just have to wait and see. So please, I beg of you, please keep your fingers crossed!!!
Before we left I asked her if she’s heard of this mythical SIM card. Not only did she know about it, she knew where to get it. She has officially become my favorite Tico and I’m thinking we may become friends if we move here. We parted ways and headed to the SIM card place and within another seven minutes, I walked out with 10,000 colones worth of time to be able to talk to my family and friends. The only problem…my cell battery died from our extended stay in Pavones so the card couldn’t be activated but I was assured it would work when I charged it. But who would've guessed...it's doesn't. Guess tomorrow’s mission is already planned. Success is in baby steps here. Seems like lately we’ve just been crawling around but every now and then we get a step in.
Not much else to report other than it’s been really rainy from Tropical Storm Matthew’s presence in Central America and it’s expected to be like that until Sunday. Oh the dreaded Sunday…when we return our car and live like locals again. And in case you’re keeping a creature tally: crab #3 (maybe 4) was relocated to the beach today, cucaracha # who knows? 8 maybe? found belly up, and termite infestation #2 poisoned (“just a few” Mike said…and there’s a pile of about 30 in our garbage). Only 22 more days…
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