Day Two

Day Two:  A blue morpho butterfly fluttered Across my path this morning---

what more is there to say?

Well, maybe that I saw a brilliant red summer tanager before breakfast, great flocks of parrolets at noon followed by a pair of roseate spoonbills, and just now a long-legged woodstork went gliding past.

Any day is going to be good when you wake up to tropical bird songs outside an open window and get to put on a bikini when you get dressed and then have all of these exotic birds just appear.

I spent much of this first day in the home that I am caring for settling in and rejoicing in my surroundings: I am on the top of a small hill on a peninsula between two spectacular beaches so I hear the waves crashing from both and can see the full stretch of Bejuco Beach to the northwest. Most of the house is open air with the pool, kitchen and living areas covered by a big roof. There is a wing with two bedrooms each with a bathroom and an outdoor shower—this part of the house has walls, windows and doors that can keep the critters out if I close them. I am surrounded by several acres of gardens which drop away from the house and then climb up the mountains behind to wild jungle.

I brought my painting supplies, my camera, a few field guides and not much else. I am here at the house alone, but there are many friends of Hank and Marie’s in the area who I have met and have offered to help with anything I might need.

I also met Mai, who works here on the property and I think will be a constant in my days here. He speaks no English and I speak about toddler-level Spanish, all in the present-tense so our conversations are pretty hilarious so far.

I ended the day discovering where the pelicans roost. I followed an unexpected trail up over the hill from the beach road and came upon a hidden beach bracketed by towering cliffs. As the sun was setting, pelicans soared up and settled into the trees that hung off the tops and sides facing the sea. Wonderful!