ROOSTERS AND FERRETERIAS AND MORNING-oh my

I am not, willingly, a morning person and retirement has allowed me to sink gracefully into my own circadian clock, which indicates that early morning is about 9:30am and should be followed by an hour of lazy abed time with newspaper or book, a cup of excellent coffee and a lovely pastry brought to me by a maid.  However, as I live on 'the sociable security', I have no maid and my coffee and day old pastry is prepared my non other than myself.

My hostess, Bev, IS a morning person.  She says all Costa Ricans are morning people..
early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and tedious, in my opinion.
But as the sun sets at 5:30 and rises 12 hours later, deviating by maybe 15 minutes during the year (being on the equator does that to the sun), there are no leisurely long winter nights in which to bundle up in my quilts and snooze.

My first morning her, after a 13 hour red eye flight and the day spent looking over the lovely town of Grecia, I in fact WAS ready for an early bedtime.  Early to me was about 11:30.  Bev however hits the sack at 7PM and wakes at 5:30am and apparently my settling in kept her awake that night.  She encouraged me to try and go to bed much earlier so I can get up much earlier....we'll see it that happens, and I will try to be more quiet in the evenings.  Since there is no TV here, I brought a raft of movies to watch and theres always the computer, even though the connection is iffy.

Next Day:  Got up around 7, after the chickens which woke me up before the sun came up, as I had to get the bus to San Jose for my first dentist appointment.  Bev waved me off and the stupid dog kept me company on the entire walk to the bus stop-which is not-contrary to Bev's understanding-at the end of her driveway but several miles down the hill at the corner grocery store.  I spend the whole day in San Jose, had an amazing experience trying to get home and collapsed into bed, wishing I had some form of strong drink to stop the shaking.

Next Day:  What the heck?  It's dark out and there are dogs barking and chickens making peck peck pock sounds and roosters crowing and what sounds like an 18wheeler idling outside the front door.  Oh it is an 18 wheeler, come to drop off the coffee picking stuff for the upcoming picking season.  Don't these people ever sleep?  Don't these animals ever sleep?  No wonder Bev goes to bed at 7PM!

I drug myself out of bed, took a cold shower (had forgotten to turn on the water heater) and grumbled into a cup of excellent coffee while watching the fog lift on the opposite hillside.  Bev was already working in her garden, her packed bags were at the door and she reminded me she had to be at the airport at 11AM for her flight to the US.  After dropping Bev at the airport, I went back to Grecia, had a very nice lunch and spent the day looking around at stores.  I need/want some new shoes and checked all the zapaterías, and found a lovely pair of pumps in size nueve.  However I am size diez and no matter how hard I try, I have not lost a shoe size on my trip to Central America.  Juan Carlos promises to try and find me the correct side if I will return in a few days.  I will.

I also had to see what a ferreteria is.  I have a business of ferrets at home and am fascinated by the mental image of a ferreteria...a cafeteria for ferrets?  A business run by ferrets?  No it's a hardware store, the likes of which I have never seen before.  Run more like an auto part store, you don't browse down aisles like I do at my local ACE Hardware, picking up a length of sump pump hose, a couple of hose clamps, a roll of duct tape and one of black vinyl tape, a bag of tie wraps and a couple of wire connections.  Here you have to ask for what you need at the counter and they bring it to you.  You better know exactly what you need-no idle wandering here.

I needed a 30 foot cable for my computer-Bev does not have wi-fi nor does she want it even though I offered to install a wi-fi airport for her (and my) use.  Her existing cable doesn't reach my bedroom and if I sit at the kitchen table I keep her awake.  Besides I'm the lay in bed and play on the computer kind of person.  Thus the need for a longer cable.  Pronounced "Cab-la" I was directed to a computer store several blocks over-where I asked for a 30 meter cab-la instead of 30 feet.  So now I can take the computer onto the back porch also.

About 4PM it started to rain so I gathered up my purchases, having hit the grocery store as well as the mercado and wound my way up the ridge for my first night alone in Costa Rica.  No phone.  No radio.  No TV.  Thank the goddess of the inter-tubes for computers..my lifeline.