Costa Rica - God Bless the Sun

I Agree with the Incas
When I opened my eyes at 5:45am, it was already light out.  The sun was pouring in and the curtains were dancing in the breeze.  The birdsong was deafening.  I'd awoken from a bad dream.  I popped out the bedroom door and got my first look at paradise.

Every view rhymed with this one.  A color wheel of greens and blues as far as the eye could see.

I headed out of the maze and into the open.

It wasn't a maze after all - it was two houses joined by a long wooden porch.  One building was shaped like an L and the other like an O.  Last night we'd entered through the top of the L, turning the corner into the O, circling counterclockwise to my room.  

The grounds were immaculate.  Palm trees, roses, fruit trees, flowers.  Whereas the house was frozen in time, the surroundings were fresh and alive - lovingly clipped and tended. 

Massive brown insects buzzed me, swooping down playfully, loud as helicopters.  They looked like cigars with narrow wings.  The birds were to be heard but not seen, a raucous out of tune symphony.  One sounded like it was doing scales on a kazoo - strangest bird noise I've ever heard.  It only did so when I turned my back - when I whirled around to locate it, another made the same noise from behind me.

Others hid in the palm trees and flapped their wings, stirring up the leaves.

I took a walk around the houses to understand their architecture.  The two were ingeniously joined by a long wooden porch, clad shoulder to foot in glass panes. No doubt a defensive position against the rainy season.

The land was gently tilted for the most part but behind the garage the mountains and rain forest began to rise dramatically.

There was a pool at the end of a long footpath which looked sadly underused, an echo of grander times.

I spotted a small cabin and thought of Rodrigo.  Is this where he'd disappeared to last night?

When I returned there was a silver-haired "abuela" in the kitchen, humming, stirring pots.  She smiled and welcomed me and I introduced myself.  Sofia was the cook, she was whipping me up a typical Costa Rican breakfast. Coffee, hand made lemonade, fruit, rice and beans, scrambled eggs and small tortillas.  She sat and chatted with me as I ate.  It was like chatting with your grandma, I really enjoyed it. I took this exact photo to send to the Dodo so she would become jealous.  When I explained it to Sofia, she laughed so loudly - she really got a kick out of that.  All of this, a whole weekend of it for just 90 bucks!