Interdependence

Last week in meeting for worship, a few speakers shared the importance of certain people in their lives. As I hang up my laundry inside my cabina and listen to the rain on the roof, I am contemplating my relationships with kith and kin. Sometimes an insignificant kind gesture can grow in importance and may impact other events in my life. Encouraging words buoy me over rough seas. A simple greeting or smile from a stranger acknowledges our human connection. A friend expressing faith in my abilities calms my rising self-doubt. So many people give me so much. I am especially appreciative of the people who love me and inspire me to make wise choices and who comfort me when I make foolish ones.

It was past eleven this morning when I counted my colones and picked up my back-pack and umbrella to go for groceries. I turned on the oven before I left and put in small well-scrubbed potatoes. I used shush-kabob skewers so that the potatoes wouldn’t fall through the oven rack. When I returned, my simple lunch was ready. Potatoes have been a staple for thousands of years. People living in the high elevations of the Andes could not grow rice or corn. They farmed potatoes. For dessert, I added bananas and apples to this morning’s pancake batter and made a fruit pancake with melted chocolate on top. Then I thought about all the many people who contributed their labor for the food I consumed.

Earlier this morning I called my siblings because Independence Day seems like a family holiday. Dad began the day hanging the flag from the front porch. He ended the day supervising kids running with sparklers and gooey marshmallows from the grill. Mom organized the swimming and feasting. Watermelon and corn-on-the-cob remained standards in my adult years. I walked with my three sons and our dog to a hill overlooking the field of Santa Fe High School. There we heard the band as the sky darkened and enjoyed the fireworks display. Oooooh. (kaboom) Aaaaah. (crackle crackle pop pop)

On Monday the three of us bounced & lumbered down the mountain by dawn’s early light, in the bus to the InterAmericana Highway. There we caught a northbound bus. Liam and I said goodbye to Silas at the Liberia airport. Then we took a public bus to San Jose. We checked into our room at Casa Ridgway and explored the neighborhood. Our three-thirty meal was lupper or sunch. We chose books from the library of the Friends Peace Center and returned to our room. I was asleep by 6:40 PM. The desk clerk secured Liam’s cello before we departed for the Caribbean coast, Tuesday morning. The first bus took us to Siquirres. The next bus ride ended in Cano Blanco. The water taxi delivered us to the village of Parismina, where school children and elders patrol the beach for poachers and care for turtle eggs. (We didn’t witness baby turtles hatching during our short stay.) We enjoyed some time walking on the beach before and after supper. Beginning at 6 AM, pink spoonbills, howler monkeys, caimans, herons, lizards, plovers, a kingfisher, and other creatures witnessed our northward paddling in Canales de Tortugue, a chain of meandering lagoons. By the time we reached Isla Quatro Esquinas and a sign telling us to reduce our speed because of the manatees, we were getting fairly warm. After returning the kayaks to Parismina, we enjoyed a quick dip in the ocean. “Swimming is not recommended due to strong undertows and large sharks.” We retraced our travel route (water taxi, bus, bus, & taxi) to our room at Casa Ridgway. After a quick trot in the rain to the nearest restaurant, we were in our beds with interesting books.

Yesterday Liam flew back to Germany from San Jose and I returned to Monteverde. As the towels and sheets slowly dry overhead, I am reminiscing about the vacation that I shared with Silas and Liam. Also, I am planning my final weeks in Monteverde. I am scheduling some Spanish classes before and after the week that Lisa will be visiting me. We will have time to enjoy the Pacific beach (sun, surf, snorkeling) before traveling up to Monteverde. Here on the mountain, the rainy season is in full swing. I expect that we will be drenched as I share my favorite hikes.