Happy Hump Day, y’all …
The journey moves forward as I have been fortunate enough to make it to Costa Rica, and am on my second leg of the “road” here. I first arrived in San Jose at the airport which is actually in Alajuela … not San Jose, per se. I was drilled over and over again about how the airport is not actually in San Jose to explain why the taxi ride from there to “San Jose” is anywhere between $30 – 50 USD … and you can NOT take a bus with your luggage! There are no trains …
I woke up this morning at 4am to the sounds of the waves which are at least two blocks away from here … just below a slight cliff-like structure obviously caused by nature’s erosion … In the background, I could also hear two roosters … perhaps three dogs barking back and forth … and then silence again. The waves continued to roll in and out of the natural bay just down the road from my “cabin”. I can tell you that I have not experienced anything comparable to this!
The dogs continued doing their “call and answer” barks until some of the sounds of the birds … some sounds that I have never heard before … unique chirps, even, added to the natural cacaphony! It was still relatively dark out and I am enjoying waking up with no sounds of cars, trucks or buses … just nature. I am feeling this! I am in a “cement cabin” with a queen sized bed, a clean well structured bathroom with a shower and toilet, mirror and a sink. There is a window with two modern wooden fixtures which open inwards and are covered with a dark blue cloth as the window is screened in. Right outside my window is a hammock hanging … just for me. Each room, all of which are NOT single like mine, has a hammock directly in front of the room’s window. Ahhh … nature at it’s finest and simplest level! I am loving it.
As some of you may remember, the motto to my little entity called Educational Excellence is “know thyself”. Now here’s the catch, so I am learning. We will not be young and agile forever … in this state of energy which as the human experience continues causes the vehicle … the vessel … our bodies to age. While I absolutely enjoyed Barcelona and the Plaza Catulunya, it is not a place that I think would suit me well for a retirement apartment. I would probably be out in the street each night trying to “be young again”!! This morning, I feel good … adjusting to the changes that my body is going through as I attempt to find a place to live until I expire, perhaps. I mean, it is the reality of this journey – it will come to an end in this form. Don’t get me wrong now ’cause I can still jump on a bus, like I did yesterday, to a more scenic yet “laid back” coastal town of Costa Rica called Puerto Viejo. Can you say, “Oh my God!” … or OMG will suffice in this case?!? It is scrumptious with nature, rolling waves, dark sand beaches, trees including palm tress dotting it, thusly the name of the beach is “Playa Negra”. It’s very clean; there is a hand painted sign, “No bota basura en la playa!”. Now while it is relatively clean, with just a few plastic bottles and papers visible here and there, the ambiance is way outside of the “box” of a typical tourist destination. The people here are of all colors and nationalities – I met a young lady yesterday from Poland on the bus from Cahuita where my cabin is on the way to Puerto Viejo. She said that she was staying there for a few days. After we chatted a bit and I spoke with her about my blog, business and e-mail family, she gave me her card … I didn’t ask. She wanted to be included in the e-mail family because she is also a writer of spiritual sorts. Her name is “Alicja”, pronounced like we pronounce “Alicia”. She is included in this edition, I hope you like it, “Alicja” and thank you!
The bus ride was scenic, to say the least. Much like the bus ride from San Jose to Cahuita, except the road was even narrower and more dirt. There are these bridges which can only handle one car width at a time amidst the two way traffic. The day before yesterday, there was one accident because it was drizzling, or “spitting” as the British say, and the driver apparently lost control and the car slid across the road onto the “soft shoulder” of the oncoming traffic! We got held up for a few minutes … er uh … maybe a half hour!!
Once in Puerto Viejo yesterday, I just sat down on the side of the beach on a “Tom Sawyer” styled hand made wooden bench pushed up against a tree, since it’s legs were not working so well … Ahhh, the peace … the serenity of the waves as they lapped up on the dark sand beach! Some folks were in the water snorkeling, no cost! Others were working on the bottoms of their small powered boats, cleaning the rust and decay from them, while others put another coat of paint on theirs. There are no McDonald’s nor Pizza Huts in Puerto Viejo and there is one disco/bar that I saw called “Johnnie’s” sitting right on the beach itself. It was closed while I was there but I may try to get there Friday evening … it depends on how I feel! Nothing to prove to anyone, no one to ask or consult. Things I do now actually depend entirely on how I feel! My wooden windows are open now and the sounds and sights of nature are just outside. No tall buildings, no noisy traffic, no whistles blowing … just the sounds of nature. I think I am going to hang around here for Christmas, perhaps, as I have a made a few contacts and will visit an apartment or two today, maybe a cabin, that may be for rent there.
I will answer the call of my destiny as soon as possible. For I believe that tranquility beckons me! Get over the hump!
Peace,
John I. Cook, Director
Educational Excellence 