A Tale of Two Sandals

I can't resist posting this. Seems like I've been up forever, but it's only been since 4:30 tico time.  Now since the time switch in the US Costa Rica is only one hour behind ET.  CR doesn't switch time, folks here have more sense.


I realized this morning that I gathered quite a bit of mud while going down a trail toward a small waterfall yesterday afternoon.  Above is a before and after shot of shoe scrubbing before breakfast.  I came down and asked Rosa the waitress if it was possible for me to clean my shoes. She got an apprehensive look on her face, thinking I wanted HER to clean the shoes.  I reiterated in my basic Spanish that I wanted to scrub them.  She got me a brush and took me into the nether regions of the kitchen and laundry room of the hotel.  I cleaned them up in 10 or 15 minutes--doggone waffle-stomping tread was full up with muddy souvenirs of my aborted hike.


The trail was wet, muddy and slippery.  I discovered on my last visit that when you visit a waterfall you have to go down a steep path with many steps of stairs.  Then what goes down must come up after you see the falls. It's a real test if you don't work out regularly on a stairmaster.  I'll be back here this coming weekend and if the path is drier I'll give it another go.


Breakfast was great--scrambled eggs, beans and rice, fresh fruit (yum!), toast, cafe con leche.  I was really hungry since I normally eat breakfast considerably earlier than 9 AM, the time according to my stomach when the restaurant opened for breakfast.


The restaurant has great decor and is open to the views of the valley on two sides.  I took many pictures--too many to post here.  I'll just post this one and then get about my business--am going to try for a tour of a small coffee farm near here.  Since it's a Sunday that might not fly.


Here it is... the incredible banana-powered telephone!