Semana Santa

Not only is the mean bus driver mean, but his bus is falling apart. On the plus side, he is fast - I got to work in under 1/2 an hour today...but somehow I don't think we should be palming turns, stopping short, and ignoring the control points where we're supposed to wait for 2 minutes (why are there two of them within 1/2 km? Makes no sense!)

Anyway, I somehow timed my bus stop arrival perfectly and hopped on without waiting, sweating, in line by the cemetary. Mean driver smiled as I handed him my fare, 95 colones, in 5 and 10 colones coins. 'Yes,' his smile seemed to say, 'Here's that silly gringa paying me in small and annoying coins.'

I was bummed because my favorite seat in the back was taken...lots of people on the bus this morning, so I ended up sitting 5 or 6 rows back on the left...30 seconds later I discovered that I had sat in that seat before and it was actually coming un-bolted from the floor. I decided that I didn't want to bump un-gracefully up and down the whole rest of the ride, so I switched to a seat further up front - also slightly unstable, but at least not pulling off the floor at every turn and stop. As I moved, mean driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror with a bit of a smirk that seemed to say, 'That's what you get for paying your fare in small and annoying coins!'

Of course, the seat trauma was all very helpful because it turns out that the buzzers (timbre would be the technical Spanish term) on the bus weren't working. So, if I had sat in my usual seat in the back or even the bumping up and down seat, I would have hit the buzzer realized it wasn't working and had to haul arse up the aisle to the front of the bus, yelling parada!! and hoping the mean driver would brake before we got to my stop. As it was, I just sauntered up to the front, waited for him to see me in his mirror, smiled as he braked, and said gracias as I nimbly and gracefully hopped down (a big accomplishment because he always stops short, making it nearly impossible to keep your balance and your footing). I am a bus-riding goddess sometimes. I mean, really, the morning bus ride could only have been better had I been on the 'squirrel of my soul' bus.

Well, this afternoon begins that most wonderful of holiday weeks, Semana Santa. One would think that Holy Week activities would include mournful processions, lots of dark churches, and fasting...and in some places around here they do. But mostly, people head out to the beach.

Two years ago this week, I was in Cahuita with Becca, enjoying the Caribbean food, culture, music and busy snorkeling, horseback riding, and sipping pink drinks at Ricky's and Coco's. To celebrate this two year anniversary of my favorite week in Costa Rica, I'm headed back to Cahuita for a few days, starting Monday. Phase two of the party begins Thursday, when Mom comes to visit!!

Unfortunately, I am feeling very un-bloggy today, so any other deep insights and Costa Rican adventures will have to wait until after Semana Santa...