Time is coming, I'm going...

"I see my path, but I don't know where it leads.  Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it." Rosalia de Castro, Spanish poet and writer

Golfo Dulce, heading from Golfito to Saladero...beautiful warm water

Three full days left...that's it...three days and four nights of living in Cuervito, this little corner of very southern Costa Rica. It's beginning to sink in...this Paradise, this place I've called home for the past seven months, will soon become part of my yesterdays. It's hitting me softly and then hardly, and then hard. Softly, I think, ah, it's on to my next adventure...no big deal...I'm taking a part of Costa Rica with me. Hardly, I hardly feel that it's happening, that soon I will not wake up to the cacophony of jungle music and the roar and the view of the surf rolling and sweeping and crashing on shore in the distance. And it's hard...hard to believe that I have lived my life so differently than I ever thought I would and could, and hard to fathom that I am giving this up, hard to think about saying goodbye to these people who've welcomed me into their community and lives, and to Michael who was the catalyst for making sure I met my own deadline of leaving another yesterday, that life before this one. It's hard to leave a part of myself behind.  (scroll down for the rest of the story...)

(Disclaimer: I do not understand why the two videos on this post are fuzzy, since they are very clear on my computer.  Any suggestions would be appreciated, or do let me know if they're clear on your computer.)

The view from home--Casa Alta Vista--watch this video clip!

The mangrove forest of Golfo Dulce north of Saladero; we'd kayaked through these channels.  Mystical....

Sunset over the gulf, looking toward Rincon

One of the resident trogans

 

The Ticos call this bird a Cusinga, but it's also known as a fiery-billed aracari

Red-legged honey creeper

It'll be a transition back to the next part of my life...I'll spend a few days in San Jose, the capital, going to doctors and the dentist—yes, they're much less expensive than in the USA and just as qualified in their expertise and medical care. And then....and then...well...then it'll be time to take a taxi to the airport and transition from the 'leaving' mode to the 'going' mode. The anticipation of seeing my kids and grandkids again after so long is building and I'm looking forward to making some memories with them...Summer in Oregon with friends and family—there's no better place to spend a summer than in the Pacific Northwest! Will I wake up each morning and wonder where I am? Will the birds sing as sweetly? Will I miss the monkeys that chatter in the trees surrounding this home and often sleep in the palm tree off the back deck? I know I'll miss Tas, Amado and Ligia's dog, who dared me to fall in love with him and I did, the little mutt that he is, smartest dog I've ever met and with such personality (I, who am so not a 'dog person,' especially a 'little dog' person...I, who have sneakily fed him and given him treats...what happened to me down here?). 

Will I get used to swimming in the cold water pool at the health club and will I be able to even slightly step into the freezing temperature of the Pacific's waters when I drive over the coast range? Will the mountains of the coast range and the winding roads through those mountains remind me of Costa Rica and will I still feel car-sick when traveling those roads? Will sharing a beer with friends at Squirrel's Tavern or going to a movie at The Darkside be just as if I had never left, or will I enjoy those times again but long for the life I will have just left behind, a life of solitude and self-reliance.  (keep scrolling down for the rest of my story....)

A Three-Toed Sloth, who happened to be in the tree just next to the deck where I was hanging laundry, a few feet away from me.  They are very slow-moving, and often are covered with moss--algae--from all the time they spend in the wet trees.  Cute creatures...

Torch Ginger

New friends Elieth and Robin, having fun at Fiesta de la Vaca (Festival of the Cow)

It's a mystery to me. There's plenty to look forward to, and there's a lot to look back on. I have no regrets. Getting ready for living—and writing--my life's next chapter is pretty exciting in a sublime kind of way. Oregon, Colorado, New England, and India (and maybe Suriname or Laos or....)...those are all part of my next six months...or longer! Yet, there's always the strong possibility that I'll end up right back down here in Costa Rica or Panama. After all, if I'm leaving a part of myself behind, I may need to come back and retrieve it for a while, and if I'm taking a part of Costa Rica with me, I surely will have to return it to where I found it.

And my friends, the squirrel monkeys

BONUS!!  For reading the above, you are hereby offered the opportunity to view more photos! __________________________________________________________________________________

Here, below, are photos from a surprise party that my students/neighbors/friends gave me last week to say thank you.  They had prepared a large meal and even had a cake!  Music was playing after dinner, and as happens when Ticos get together--they dance.  Kids dance with each other, kids dance with their parents, parents dance with each other--it's all so fun.  And they are GREAT dancers!  They start learning to dance when they're kids, taught by their parents and then their older siblings as well.  I have enjoyed watching these get-togethers,  as family and friends are so important and dancing is part of family time.  

Beti, Grace and Ligia

Fabian, Jenifer, and Jackelin

Three of these guys are brothers....can you guess which three?  I've been blessed to have been a part of this neighborhood!  

My sweet Yalin and her dad, Freddy, the man who knows where to find the sloths!  

Not only did my student/neighbors/friends surprise me with a fiesta to say thank you, but they had a beautiful cake and presents of chocolate and earrings and a very nice suede purse made in Costa Rica.  But they went over and above....you see, in our class we played a game of True/False, in which we practiced the past tense by telling a story of something we did or that happened to us.  The rest of us had to guess whether it was true or false.  I told the story about receiving a gift of a  huge Hershey's Chocolate Kiss from one of my students when I taught in an elementary school.  I was so excited--everyone knew I love chocolate.  I took a big bite out of it, only to discover that it was the worst chocolate I'd ever tasted, because it was soap!  Most of the class thought it was not a true story, but indeed it was, so when they wrapped the suede purse, they wrapped it in such a way as to resemble a Hershey's Kiss, complete with a large silver ribbon, which I'm wearing on my head in this photo.  I am going to miss these wonderful friends and neighbors so very much!  

I love how my name was spelled on the cake...Jury....

Grace, who makes me laugh and does great pedicures!  

Don Miguel and me...

Grace and Enrique

Cousins dancing

Yeudin is a comedian.  He may be sad that I'm leaving but not THIS sad....

And these are my two class clowns, Yeudin and Warren

"My Kids"  (I didn't influence them to act goofy--they are pretty good at doing this on their own!  I love 'em!!  

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou, may her memory be for a blessing.