Paradise

we got up early
no we didn't
we got up late
we cleaned up
we ate breakfast
we climbed into the car
we drove to quepos
we parked
we shopped for a hat
we shopped for a shirt
we shopped for some flip flops
we bought lunch
casaderos for 1800
fried fish
rice
beans
pasta salad
an egg
pina batido
papaya batido
papaya-pina batido
oh, and chicken
made an ice cream promise
drove to alejandro national park
guides tried to get us to pay $120 for a short tour
we declined
parked
and paid $25
and walked
through the ocean
up to my knees (I carried rebecca)
to the back entrance
along the beach
it was high tide
the waves were crashing in
I asked others: how's the swimming
rough they replied
to cathedral point
we didn't see monkeys
we saw hermit crabs
we saw butterflies
we saw lizards
we saw a few ants with leaves
not a true mound of leafcutter ants
that cut the leaves off of entire trees
but just a few ants with leaves
and one "leaf-cutter" hermit crab in a green shell
and katherine found a snail
she had to find 3 for an ice cream
she found 5 different things
and we saw some little tailless rodent that moved fast
and on the way back
a sloth in the trees
is the water there potable?
we drove back
and stopped at a
drugeria?
que?
farmacia?
ah, si, a la izquierda, a la vuelta.
and there was a karate school
ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai
along the sidewalk

the traffic drives alternatingly
fast and slow
we were usually slow
well, not always
it's hard to tell if the speed limit is 20 or 40 or 60 or 80
usually it's one of those
so if you may be near a school, and there are kids, drive slow
if you're in town drive slow
if you're in a long straight stretch, drive fast

we drove back towards home and stopped at
restaurante la 45
the menu looked cheaper than last nights
loralee likes seafood
she got the paella
I just got fish
poached in banana leaf
with citrus reduction
the kids got the house plate
rice
beans
salad
pasta
vegetables
fish
lemon
avacado
to share
they also shared my meal
poached fish
vegetables
potatos with mayonnaise
it was quite good
and loralees meal
paella
with squid and very small octopus
clams
mussels
shrimp
(I won)
(but loralee's mussels were the kids' favorite)
but mostly
everyone enjoyed the juice
guayabana
white, sweet, milky
blended with ice
loralee bought 2
and she never buys drinks

then home
swimming from 7.30 til 8
with dad
underwater
loralee talked to the people poolside
she practiced spanish
and learned how to say "wet"
after asking me about it all day
they didn't want to come out at 8
or 8.10
then becca tipped over
wearing her life vest
and another floatation
device
and at 8.35 that was the end of that
pajamas
to bed
slowly
like pulling teeth
finally
katherine and becca should be sharing a bed
I was snuggling with alex upstairs
and becca fell out of bed
landed on her mouth
it bled
and she cried
and so we are in bed early
nope
later, really