Day One

Let me just assure you that as much fun as moving normally is, it is even more fun to do when you have to carry (or drag) everything you own. Even more fun when you do it in the rain! Thus begins my Puntarenas adventure... A little known fact about Puntarenas; it is probably the only city in Costa Rica whose main national bus station is eerily taxi-free. Generally I have to weave through over anxious taxi drivers to get out of a bus station, but not here. So I got to drag my 80+lb. suitcase through the rainy streets of Puntarenas, after dark, in the rain. Some guy ran out from a bar and offered to help me. He offered in English, too. (I'm not sure what gave me away.) All ended well. I got a taxi and got "home."

This morning I went for a run. Due to the rains last night, there's a ton of standing water everywhere, including the path I was on between the abandoned airstrip and the main road. These are wonderful conditions to breed Dengue-carrying mosquitos but less fun to run through. As I was calf deep in water, trying to walk on plants and watching a million bugs fly up to bite me, I started to think that this too, may be something that could be used to identify me as a foreigner. My suspicions were confirmed when a tica passed me on her bike and looked at me as if to say, "Que pinche gringa." I responded with something witty like "Sure is wet, ain't it?"

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my family has a very protective dog that nearly wets himself trying to jump over the back fence to, assumably, rip me to pieces. I say "assumably" because I went into the kitchen by myself this morning and the back gate was not locked and "Binky" came tearing out, barking and growling. I had only a broom to defend myself and I held him at bay for about .03 seconds when he broke free and began foroutiously licking my hand. To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that his bark is, in fact, worse than his bite. I then thought of doing laundry as I was curiously in need of a change of clothes.

I spent the rest of the morning, getting settled, doing laundry, etc. I then caught the bus into Puntarenas to run some errands, which brings us up to date in hour 31 of my Peace Corps Service.

Pura Vida