Birthday!

Today was muy feliz as birthdays go!  We had a day full of fun and so much variety it made me think of Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, only the 40-something Costa Rica edition.  I think the photos included in this blog post will attest.  There has been a lot of rain lately, but today was perfect, sunny and warm.  We started off with breakfast at Cafe y Macademia, a cute little restaurant we have driven by many times between Nuevo Arenal and Tilaran.  Its view of Lake Arenal is stunning, and the food was a great match.  We shared three of the generous brunch plates, full of fruit, gallo pinto, eggs, bread, cheese and cake, oh my!  We ended with candied macadamia nuts, completely unnecessary, but we were celebrating!

Our first stop for the day

Hungry?

Hard to beat the view

We drove on to Tilaran to pick up Henry’s new glasses.  They look great, and he can enjoy a crisp clear view, much better for spotting toucans in the trees, not to mention the board at school.  

Our little man, looking muy guapo!

I was thinking that going windsurfing would be a fitting thing to do on my 44th birthday, something I have never done, out of my comfort zone, adventurous but not too crazy.  Lake Arenal is billed as a world-class windsurfing spot, thanks to the very consistent winds.  We stopped at the first “learn to windsurf” place, but it was deserted today.  We enjoyed the view from lake level however.  We went on to the Tico Winds windsurf place that was really hopping and enjoyed watching the mostly experienced windsurfers and kite boarders.  The winds and whitecaps were a bit intimidating however, and the 3-hour beginner course seemed too long for today.  So stay tuned!  Madeleine and I will go another day, and Henry and Nik will take their turn too.  I think I need to work on my upper body strength first.

A cove in Lake Arenal.  The windmills above attest to the consistent wind.

Panoramawow!

At Tico Winds, a bit intimidating for a beginner.  Kite boarders are in background.

We decided that a refreshing family swim was in order, so we headed back toward Nuevo Arenal.  Madeleine’s friend had shown us a hotel near town with a pool that lets you swim for a small fee.  We detoured first to Villa Decary, a B&B near Arenal, that I had heard offers yoga classes in a treetop yoga space.  Our plan for a quick stop to inquire about the schedule turned into an hour and a half of conversation and a jungle hike.  Ready for a coincidence story?  Nik had met the owners of Villa Decary in October at the airport in San Jose when he was waiting for his flight back to Portland, and he had told them of our plans to move to Costa Rica.  Just yesterday, the owners had heard from their guests (who I met at the pizza place last night) that they had met a family living in Arenal (us).  The Villa Decary owners, Susie and Dan (who must be blessed with excellent memories), had wondered if we were the family of the guy they had met at the airport (Nik).  Then the very next day (today) we show up at their hotel.  If you actually followed all of that, you might agree that it is strangely cool, no?  We chatted for a while about gringo emergency care and other topics while Henry spotted toucans in the trees, thanks to his new glasses.  Susie and Dan set us up with hiking sticks and bug spray and sent us along their jungle trail, the scenic route to the yoga space up the hill.  Their dog, Olivia, is usually the volunteer tour guide, but she seemed to think it was too hot to join us, or maybe she figured we could find the way just fine on our own, which we did.  The yoga space is lovely, and we will probably go back this next week to try one of the classes, which are offered Monday and Friday mornings.  After more chatting and bird watching, including marveling over the oropendola nests, we headed off for our swim at Hotel Lago Arenal.

Praying mantis at Villa Decary

Oropendola nest on display.  This was one of last year's models.
The many nests in use now were hanging high in a nearby palm tree. 

Henry displays yet more nests.  Pretty amazing construction.

Once at Hotel Lago Arenal, we had the pool and adjacent game room to ourselves and spent most of the time in the “hot” tub that was actually a perfect tepid temp.  As I made the effort to do several times today, I mentally stopped to savor the moment.  We were all laughing together, our kids were asking Nik to tell story after story of the wicked things he used to do when he was a kid.  We were in an outdoor swimming pool in the middle of March!  It’s a good feeling when there is nowhere else you’d rather be.

Henry shows the only way to enter the main pool that was a bit chilly.

The tepid hot tub with swim up bar (a Flintstone-esque cave)

Lovely M, refreshed.

Around 5, we packed up and moved on toward town and the gymnasium.  Some of Madeleine’s classmates were going to be performing in an international dance performance that we did not want to miss.  Wow.  Her classmates, led by her 6th grade teacher who apparently doubles as a dance teacher, were great.  There were also dance groups from Peru, Ecuador and Mexico.  At first we thought they were all Costa Ricans, doing traditional dances from these other countries, but no.  These were dance groups visiting from their home countries.  So much talent and energy!  The Peruvians were my favorite, with their splendid costumes and amazing energy.  We saw lots of familiar faces from school, including many of Madeleine’s classmates looking gorgeous in their traditional dance costumes and makeup.  For dinner, we enjoyed the food being sold by the sixth grade moms as a fundraiser: arroz con pollo, arroz con leche, tacos (more like little empanadas) and fried pork, rather like pork rinds but tastier and served with cabbage, salsa and yucca.  Since our oven was still not working and baking a birthday cake was out of the question, we instead bought 5 pieces of queque chocolate (cake!).

Pre-performance parade of nations

Madeleine with her good friend Kelly, pre-performance

Kelly in action.  Lovely.

The 6th grade crew

Group from Peru

Group from Ecuador.  The guys especially could really dance!

Peruvians, after costume change.  This was my favorite.

Group from Mexico included awesomely talented kids and these women who demonstrated
the many uses of scarves through this dance/ fashion show.

Whew, it was a busy day, but not in an exhausting way.  Rather in a tranquil, pura vida kind of way.  I feel very lucky to be in such a friendly, beautiful place, in the company of my sweet family.  Life is good.  Thanks to my friends and family who sent along birthday wishes.  Each little message and phone call was a gift for me.  And the electricity in our house has been fixed; we owe Ed, our property manager a nice bottle of pinot noir.

- Erica