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Luna Llena

Tonight is supposed to be the Full Moon. You wouldn’t know it here. We have had rain since about 4pm, when we got home from our latest waterfall excursion. We revisited, at Sarah’s request the Dominicalito waterfall we had already been to twice before. She loves swimming across the calm pool to the rocks by the cascade. Samuel has been developing his swimming stamina there too.


We’ve actually had great weather the last few days, with clear blue mornings and hazy afternoons. Today was the first substantial rain we’ve had since mid-week. It generally rains awhile in the late afternoon and then subsides towards 11pm, but tonight looks like it is settling in for a while.



One of the hippie hostels near here was planning a full moon party that we originally had on our calendar, but it will probably be rained out. Also, Samuel rarely makes it past about 7pm, and often falls asleep during his dinner.

He is 100% go all day, starting around 6am when he gets me up. He is in the water most of the day, either at the beach, a waterfall, or our pool. He has developed much more of a personality this summer, and is quite the daredevil when it comes to swimming, jumping, and playing in the water. He makes friends a lot faster now too. Today at church there was a little girl we hadn’t met before who was part of his Sunday School class. When I went out to pick up the kids after church he was having an in depth conversation with her through the mesh of the soccer field. He would have never done that as little as 6 months ago. He makes big strides in maturity all the time now.



Today we went to church for our last time here. We leave next Saturday morning for a few days near a live volcano in the center of the country. So it was another slightly sad morning, saying goodbye to folks we have gotten to know a little bit. Amy exchanged contact information with the pastor’s wife. They do a lot of outreach with disadvantaged and orphaned children around here, and are great people. We’ve arranged to donate a lot of clothes we will not have room for in our luggage to them. I bought a guitar from a vendor in San Jose that I have been using to keep my skills up. I arranged for pastor Payton to put it to use when I leave. It’s not a great guitar, but it’s useable, and Payton said they would find a Costa Rican who would like to learn but can’t afford an instrument, and eventually include him or her in the music ministry of the church.



We had a funny coincidence happen today. We said our goodbyes at church, and headed off looking for a place to eat lunch. We tried two restaurants in Uvita we hadn’t been to yet, but neither was open at noon on Sunday. So we headed south on the main highway and stopped at a little soda. Who did we find already there, but the pastor, his wife and some of the other folks from church! We assured them we had not followed them, but were just looking for an open restaurant to eat at. We got to know them a little better while we all ate.



It turns out Pastor Payton and his wife Julie used to live in Greenville SC, and have taken many youth groups to the YMCA Camp that has Pretty Place on its grounds (That’s where Amy and I got married, for those of you who didn’t make the ceremony.) Small world…



After our second set of goodbyes, we drove north under threatening skies and spent some time swimming at the waterfall. Some other people swimming there told us that some local boys had just left, and that they had climbed out on a tree limb over the pool and dived into it. It’s about a 100 foot drop. Chicos locos!!



We heard thunder and packed it in. When we got home, Samuel swam in the pool (of course) for an hour before dinner. Sarah has really taken to the Costa Rican "salsa" and wants us to find some back inSavannah.

We did some chores and rested up for our excursions this week. Tomorrow we hike to another waterfall, partway up a mountain. Tuesday we take our marine tour of the bay, with times to snorkel around the little islands, swim in the deep clear water, and see the shoreline from the water. The trip includes admission to all 3 national Park beaches, and information from our experienced guides on wildlife and ecosystems. We hope to see some whales and dolphins en route. Watch for future posts!



Tonight just before sundown I shot these pics of the mist and fog on the bay and the mountain. It’s not nearly as captivating as seeing it live, but it gives you an idea of the unspoiled beauty and serenity here.

Adios!