COSTA RICA – LA FORTUNA, VOLCANO ARENAL: THE BUTTERFLY GARDENS

We are staying in La Fortuna near Volcano Arenal, a mysterious entity shrouded in clouds and overcast skies.  Despite postcards displayed in every La Fortuna store depicting lava spewing like fireworks, after 3 days of the same, obliterating weather obscuring any view of the majestic volcano, my brother is beginning to think the Volcano doesn’t really exist. Generally a chill guy, he can be irritatingly calm in comparison to my spastic tendencies.  His grumblings about the unseen volcano are translated into little, casual jokes that come across like a soft breeze rustling a few leaves – barely noticeable except to the sibling ear tuned in to variations of an enviable “whatever” attitude.  I can imagine wondering the same if I had not already seen Arenal with my own eyes, although my grumblings are comparable to the ones made by the fire goddess herself.

AUSTRALIA - KANGAROOS AND KOALAS

Someone I met in Costa Rica is currently in Australia and has been posting various pictures and hilarious snippets on Facebook bringing back a flood of memories of when I was in Australia.

While I was there, I wanted desperately to see two animals:  A Kangaroo and a Koala.

Just as desperately, I did not want to run into a funnel web spider, or countless other dangerous and creepy creatures, and would tentatively look under my mattresses for fear of being surprised by the funnel web spider while I slept.   

I had gone caving and spelunking in California some time before Australia, and a man named Pete had been on our tour of 3 people total plus a guide.  Being in the caves tromping around in the mud and crawling through tight spaces for 6 hours forged a particular bond between us.  Pete, a Kiwi from New Zealand, shared some of his beer and snacks with us afterwards at a picnic table and told us about his encounter with a funnel web spider while living in Australia.

His story involved running into the spider in his garage.  He used his hand to create intense gestures like shadow puppets in broad daylight, curling the fingers up to show us how the funnel web spider had reared up on its hind legs at him as he stood frozen looking at its fangs. 

Sonoma County Wine Tasting – Pezzi King, Sapphire Hill, and Spoon Bar

I took a brief break from writing about Costa Rica over the last weekend to venture out and indulge in some backyard travel, playing tourist in Healdsburg, the town I grew up in.  Of course when I was growing up in Healdsburg the town was vastly different than it is now. 

The agenda was simple: Healdsburg wine tasting and then to Spoon Bar afterwards for some light fare and cocktails.  I was able to twist my mom’s arm to join me in my wine tasting aventura and splashing through the puddles on a rainy day. 

COSTA RICA - Meatballs, Meatheads, and Pastafarians

 

We are seated at Victoria’s, a restaurant in Manuel Antonio. The owner begins chatting with our large group and doing what I think every restaurant owner should do:  giving us various dishes to try on the house.

There was an excellent savory dish of meatballs, tuna with a reduction sauce that everyone wanted details of, and one of my personal favourites, a thin-crust pizza made with chicken and walnuts. 

My stomach is arguably the way to my heart.  However, be forewarned: my innocent heart murmur means that I have some heart seepage and leakage.  Everything about my life should make perfect sense because of this but it never does.

I am an enigma. The door to the bathroom of Victoria’s is not an enigma.  The ladies room is the 2^nd door on the right. 

IT'S OH SO QUIET.....DONUTS, DENTS & DIMPLES

Yes, I have been oh so quiet for a few days. 

I'm still unpacking (seriously!), working, and trying to catch up on sleep while simultaneously trying to go on some sort of a post Costa Rica diet, which basically just entails NOT ordering ALL of the appetizers on the menu. 

Easier said than done. 

Today somebody kindly brought donuts, and they sat about 4 feet from me.  A partition did nothing to dissuade me from eating more than my fair share along with my impressive array of organic penance snacks from Trader Joe's. In a moment of pure adolescent selfishness, I even told another person who pretended to take the entire box for themselves that I had licked them all.