Monday, August 27, 2007

The $4 battery fix, beach and beer day!

Monday August 27, 2007

I sit here on Tuesday actually writing the update for Monday as we were so busy yesterday…….we were relaxing. I know, a novel concept but a much needed one. Monday was filled with fun activities for the kids. Storm, Xander and Bob drove into San Isidro for restaurant supplies and to get Storm’s ATV (a common mode of transportation here) worked on. While in town, Xander tasted his first real empanadas and was in absolute heaven. I only hope that the one’s we have back home will delight him as much as these did. At the Maxi Bodega (the local Wal-Mart, seriously, complete with the Equate products) was where they went to pick up 60 kilos of chicken wings. Upon leaving, it seemed that Storm’s car was dead, completely dead. Not a tool in sight to work on the car, they befriended a local tico who determined that the battery terminals were bad. Now this is where I find it interesting….instead of replacing the battery, they tico cut off the terminals, yes, cut them off and created entirely new ones for it, soldered them on and like magic, the battery started right up! Can you guess how much this cost? A whopping, hold on to your wallets folks, $4. Yup, that’s right, FOUR dollars or 2,000 colones. In the states, someone would have convinced you on why you need to replace the entire battery for a cost of $50-$100, not here, they repaired the problem and charged you a minimal amount. We have learned that the tico’s are so friendly and willing to assist you if needed in any way. The highlight of Xander’s day was purchasing his very own Costa Rican machete. He feels just like a local now!

While the boys were on their adventure, Amy, the kids and I went to Dominical and had a fruit smoothie at Tortilla Flats then headed to a local vendor to pick up tiki masks and other gifts for the kids then we headed over to Playa Hermosa for a morning at the beach. We arrived at almost high tide so we didn’t stay more than an hour because with each wave, our belongings would rush out into the ocean, regardless of how high a ground we thought we were moving everything to. The kids had a blast. Hannah boogie boarded and I went out with Xavier and we body surfed the waves. Right there at the beach was a river run-off from the mountains with crisp, cool water rushing out into the ocean, this is where Christian and Aidan stayed most of the time playing. It was really a lot of fun.

Home to lunch, naps and another relaxing afternoon. Storm headed up Bar Jolly Roger to open up and get ready for the evening crowd. Amy, the kids and I headed over for dinner while Bob stayed home for a much needed “liquid break” and some P & Q! We went there for dinner since Storm had restocked the wings supply and Xander was jonesing for “Leo Wings” and so was I to tell the truth! Storm makes these delicious wings that I hope to be able to duplicate at home when we return. I am telling you, I am just going to pack Storm up in my suitcase and bring him home with me, he is one fantastic cook. It makes me think I need to get my kids (and my hubby) in the kitchen a LOT more often! After cervezas and wings, we were home for the night to the sounds of rain and lots of it! We got some true Costa Rican showers all through the night, it was wonderful!

K&B

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