Last week was the most physically uncomfortable I have been in a very long time—without having had some body part operated on, that is. Suffice it to say that the heat combined with the intense humidity was overwhelming. I can travel from sea level to 9000 feet and not skip a beat. Going from 20 to 90 degrees F and 85% humidity wiped me out.
I made the decision before coming that I would study at the school for 4 hours every morning beginning at 8 am. The first few days I was tired and hot but by Wednesday at noon, I was exhausted. Unbeknownst to me as I was leaving the States, I brought Kevin’s cold with me—you know, just in case I got lonely. By the time I got back to my house Wednesday afternoon I headed straight to bed and slept 14 hours. I woke the next morning feeling better. It was as though I’d slept through the entire summer here and fall had arrived bringing cooler temperatures! Turns out I had had a fever. No wonder it felt so damn hot. As my sister so lovelying quipped, “Oh you must have had like, you know, a jungle fever!”
Getting to school by 8 am meant that I had to get up at 6 in order to shower, dress, sit down with the family for a BIG breakfast, and then walk 15 minutes to the bus station for the 15 minute ride up the hill. I’d then sit for 4 hours with Tyi, eat lunch and take the bus back into town. By then it was far too hot to even walk around the block. Instead, I would sit in front of the fan for much of the remainder of the day studying, writing or reading. At 7 Olga would have dinner—a very BIG dinner—on the table. I had a few nature tours but nothing strenuous.
By week’s end I decided that if I didn’t get moving my legs were going to atrophy and drop off. Forget about fitting into the clothes in my suitcase. So I changed my schedule for this, my last week. Now I get up at 5:30 am, quickly dress and head out to walk for an hour. Turns out there’s a lovely park at the end of town overlooking the ocean with an entire exercise circuit. By 6:30 am I am there with the older Quepos folks working out. They’re counting out their reps correctly in Spanish. I’m counting out mine badly in Spanish. The temperature at that time of the morning is almost reasonable. The humidity isn’t, but it is probably 10 degrees cooler in the mornings. Sometimes there’s even a hint of a cool breeze off the ocean.
Today, Rebecca, Daniel, Robin and I hiked 2.5 miles out to an isolated beach for an afternoon swim. The trail was so steep that we had to use vines to both scramble down to the beach and then back up the cliff. While we were there, a wake (look it up) of at least two dozen black vultures were feeding on some marine carcass at the water’s edge. Hermit crabs were scurrying to and fro all across the sand carrying as protection every type of shell found on the beach. Big shells, little shells, round shells, pointy shells—kinda like they all went car shopping and came home with something different.
Later we found a coconut with a hole at the top. Hermit crabs were packed inside frenetically climbing over and under one another eating the coconut flesh. When they were done, they all came pouring out. It was like all the people in the VW bus that pop out when the door opens. The crabs just kept coming and coming and coming. It was slightly creepy.
And finally this evening when I lay down to rest, I noticed that the swelling in my ankles is finally gone! I no longer look like I have elephantiasis. Thank goodness, as that is not a pretty sight.
