June 30

Things are dire here today. Bella is pretty sick. I am not feeling great either. I planned to eat our weird fruit and our avocado today, but instead we ate nothing and drank coffee and stared at each other. Then we weakly boarded the bus. On board we saw Arenal Lake and headed up a series of switchbacks to Monteverde and St. Helene.

As we climbed on the bus and the reality set in for 'The Family' that Bella and I were also sick, Candace immediately announced that she had not been sick. She had had food poisoning. She is not sure what Jenny, John, and Patrick had, but she was not sick. It was food poisoning.

Bella almost puked on her. I took a picture of our bus from the inside because I do not believe for one second that Bella and I ate something strange or drank the water. I am from Arizona. I know about drinking water in Mexico. I know the rules about water. I FOLLOW them. Bella has mostly drank tequila and wins, so we are safe with her for sure. I am just waiting for the next victim of the flu to fall. I am so happy the bald man was sitting in front of us because all I can hope is that he got sick today. We do not know his name - still. We looked at it on paper, but he is from Israel, and his wife is from Thailand. We have no idea how to say them. I do not like him because he is an ass. It has nothing to do with his ethnicity or religion or heritage. It is because he is an ass, for the record.

                                            

I feel really good about my chances for getting him sick. I hope his wife does not get sick. However despite all of the evidence indicating otherwise, our family has insisted that we ate something weird and we will feel great very soon. Also, no one else will get sick because they are not eating the same things - EXCEPT THEY ARE! 

We stopped at this little coffee shop where I got a smoothie. This felt great on my tummy. Bella ordered soup and stared at it. I tried to look at some flowers and tried not to punch Candace.

Except that I like Candace a little more when she is not complaining. She is growing on me a little bit. She is from Haiti and she sometimes says interesting and funny things. I can't like Candace right now because i am busy blaming her for getting me sick and impacting my vacation.

I am trying to capture the vibes of the little towns we pass through.

As we journeyed up the road Juan Carlos talked about the religions of Costa Rica. He said the people of Costa Rica think of God as the mountain, and religions as the trails up the mountain. There are many paths to God, we must all find our own way to the top. Our paths may not be the same, but they end in the same place.

It was a surprisingly simple idea that really resonated with me. I keep coming back to his words and mulling them over. 

I am really, really into the flowers here. You may have noticed this theme.

Sharika found another dog. He was extra cute.

The bus ride wound up the mountain toward Monteverde on a dirt road. The road gets washed out regularly due to heavy rains. The government struggles to keep the road in good condition. Bella passed out with her head rolling around on her shoulders. She was burning up with a fever and very, very miserable.

We arrived at Monteverde in the early afternoon where Bella went straight to bed. I found some Pepto and some Ibuprofen, tucked her into bed and took my sad tummy into town. Bella did cry and tell me she wanted to go home. I gave her hug.

I have waited 24 years to come here, a stomach bug is not about to stop me. 

Ron and I went to the Orchid Garden where there are over 1,000 species of orchids. I have to say that it was pretty spectacular. I took a wild amount of pictures. Please feel free to scroll through them and take a gander. If flowers are not your thing, sorry.

This is our tour guide. I forgot his name.

Some orchids are very tiny.

Sometimes orchids grow in shoes.

This one might be my favorite.

Not an orchid/

Sooo many orchids. It was a very special experience for me. I have always liked orchids. Now I love them. Orchids are also the flower of Costa Rica!

Ron and I popped about the town and checked out all of the things. It was great.

One thing I have noticed about Costa Rica are the churches. Being from the Southwest, the Mission churches are a big part of the Catholic experience. The churches here are not at all in the style. I know that the Spanish were here colonizing. I wonder why there are not mission churches here? Or if I have just not seen them? Even in San Jose the cathedral is not in the Mission style. 

I always love to go the grocery stores when I travel. I think I learn more about the people in grocery stores than anywhere else.

I came back to the hotel to rest while the Family went on a night hike. While here, we found bed bugs. Let me just say that this has not helped Bella's mood. It also began to pour rain. It is the rainy season here and we have been so lucky not to have much rain at all. However, the heavens opened upon us in a torrent as we pulled back the sheets to find bed bugs. Bella lost it. She announced that she is done here and needs to go home. I did some Google research and put our belongings in the shower. We slept on the top of the bed with a comforter from another bed on top of us. A strange grasshopper only landed on my face once in the night. Bella would like to sleep in the van tonight. She has begged me to let her ask. I will not let her. I did tell the front desk and they did change our sheets. Front desk woman told me these bugs in the bed that look exactly like bed bugs were in fact bugs that come out in the rain. I think she is full of shit. I only told Ron. I can only imagine what Candace would do if she found out about bed bugs. Can you??? It would be over for Juan Carlos. I am actively hoping the bald man has bed bugs and takes them home.

As we were dealing with the bed bug crisis, I broke out in a terrible rash all over my body. I look like I have the mumps. Juan Carlos thinks I should go see the doctor. Jenny had some Benadryl. Jenny is the Mom in this family. She also gave us Pepto Bismol. The Jennys of the world are my heroes. I wish I were a Jenny - I am not. I am the neurotic knitter. That is my role. I cannot be counted on for much more. Sorry.

Today has been a day of bad news. We learned that Juan Carlos is leaving us in two days. We will get a new guide. I am not sure what to do. This news was as well received by me as the bed bug shit in my bed after two pretty shitty days. Literally.