Worst episode ever.
So far, I have read:
The Kite Runner (heart-wrenching)
Good in Bed (adorable, empowering)
Emotionally Weird (existentially Irish)
The Alchemy of Stone (whimsical and frightening)
A Room With a View (romantic, poetic)
Howard's End (silly)
Wicked (perversely lovable)
The Handmaid's Tale (disturbing, engrossing)
Holes (again, cutest book ever)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter (current, and so far it's mesmerizing [ETA: now somewhat emo and trite])
I'm sure I left a few out, but you get the general picture. It's been so long since I've had time to read this much. I feel spoiled!
We're enjoying a beach paradise called San Juan Del Sur. Our hostel, Esperanza, is the home of a TINY KITTEN. This TINY KITTEN has a favorite bed: Ours. (I'm fervently hoping that bug-watching is not her reason for preferring our bed.) We've really lucked out with our hostel situations. When we get back to San Jose, we'll get to see how the TINY PUPPY is progressing. (Pictures forthcoming.)
Today has been exceptionally relaxing. After logistics, buses, ferries, and long painful backpack-laden walks in the hot sun, we are existing simply in a state of lovely nothingness. We got up around 8. I scrambled up some eggs with garlic, red bell peppers, and an onion for our breakfast. After an hour or two of digestion and a banana, we hit the ocean.
Every entrance into the frigid salty water has been the same for us. We begin enthusiastically. "Yes, let's go swimming! It's been a while!" The waves start to lap over our feet. "Oh God it's even colder than yesterday." We advance a few feet at a time, stopping at intervals so we can shriek and giggle at each other's cringing progress. With eager flailing when a wave hits us where we weren't mentally prepared to be wet yet, we finally make it to a state which could be termed "swimming". (Honestly, we're the only people we ever see actually in the water. Today we watched a couple prepare to swim, walk up to the edge of the ocean, step in a few feet, stand there for a minute discussing something intently, and then get out and walk off, dry from the knees up.) It takes but a few moments to adjust to the water, and then we have a blissful hour of floating and paddling and just watching the clouds amble on by overhead. If we're particularly sunburned, we take this opportunity to peel our disgusting skin off with no one to judge or be grossed out by it. Once in a while, we stick an arm out of the water to remind ourselves of the warm air waiting to caress us dry when we finally emerge. Reaching maximum prunehood, we fight our way back into the hot sun and prickly sand.
Today we went to Gato Negro Cafe, which is both a bookshop and a lovely espresso/sandwich institution. For some reason, despite the fact that we'd just had PB&J, we decided to go for the hummus plate as an accompaniment to our delicious iced espresso drinks. The culinary embodiment of luxury, we were given steaming fresh (!) pita pockets, creamily tangy homemade hummus, crumbled goat cheese, bright green leafy things, olives, and gourmet mochas to help wash it all down. I keep forgetting to take food pictures. I love food pictures. I love making other people hungry when they look at food pictures. It's terrible of me but I can't help it.
They say the nicest part of travelling is coming home. Actually, I've never heard anyone say that, but for me, it's certainly true. I'm ready to settle in and work on Seattle for a long time. (I say that now... but if someone from Pelican called and offered me a job for the summer I'd have a hard time saying no, I think! Pelican doesn't count. Pelican is the other part of my soul.)
Sand in all my pores, hair fading to a weird grayish purple brown, various burns and plenty of bug bites, nine days left, and a good book to finish reading. I can't wait to see Gene and Trisha and all the rest of my lovely friends and my kitties, but for now, I am peace.
The Kite Runner (heart-wrenching)
Good in Bed (adorable, empowering)
Emotionally Weird (existentially Irish)
The Alchemy of Stone (whimsical and frightening)
A Room With a View (romantic, poetic)
Howard's End (silly)
Wicked (perversely lovable)
The Handmaid's Tale (disturbing, engrossing)
Holes (again, cutest book ever)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter (current, and so far it's mesmerizing [ETA: now somewhat emo and trite])
I'm sure I left a few out, but you get the general picture. It's been so long since I've had time to read this much. I feel spoiled!
We're enjoying a beach paradise called San Juan Del Sur. Our hostel, Esperanza, is the home of a TINY KITTEN. This TINY KITTEN has a favorite bed: Ours. (I'm fervently hoping that bug-watching is not her reason for preferring our bed.) We've really lucked out with our hostel situations. When we get back to San Jose, we'll get to see how the TINY PUPPY is progressing. (Pictures forthcoming.)
Today has been exceptionally relaxing. After logistics, buses, ferries, and long painful backpack-laden walks in the hot sun, we are existing simply in a state of lovely nothingness. We got up around 8. I scrambled up some eggs with garlic, red bell peppers, and an onion for our breakfast. After an hour or two of digestion and a banana, we hit the ocean.
Every entrance into the frigid salty water has been the same for us. We begin enthusiastically. "Yes, let's go swimming! It's been a while!" The waves start to lap over our feet. "Oh God it's even colder than yesterday." We advance a few feet at a time, stopping at intervals so we can shriek and giggle at each other's cringing progress. With eager flailing when a wave hits us where we weren't mentally prepared to be wet yet, we finally make it to a state which could be termed "swimming". (Honestly, we're the only people we ever see actually in the water. Today we watched a couple prepare to swim, walk up to the edge of the ocean, step in a few feet, stand there for a minute discussing something intently, and then get out and walk off, dry from the knees up.) It takes but a few moments to adjust to the water, and then we have a blissful hour of floating and paddling and just watching the clouds amble on by overhead. If we're particularly sunburned, we take this opportunity to peel our disgusting skin off with no one to judge or be grossed out by it. Once in a while, we stick an arm out of the water to remind ourselves of the warm air waiting to caress us dry when we finally emerge. Reaching maximum prunehood, we fight our way back into the hot sun and prickly sand.
Today we went to Gato Negro Cafe, which is both a bookshop and a lovely espresso/sandwich institution. For some reason, despite the fact that we'd just had PB&J, we decided to go for the hummus plate as an accompaniment to our delicious iced espresso drinks. The culinary embodiment of luxury, we were given steaming fresh (!) pita pockets, creamily tangy homemade hummus, crumbled goat cheese, bright green leafy things, olives, and gourmet mochas to help wash it all down. I keep forgetting to take food pictures. I love food pictures. I love making other people hungry when they look at food pictures. It's terrible of me but I can't help it.
They say the nicest part of travelling is coming home. Actually, I've never heard anyone say that, but for me, it's certainly true. I'm ready to settle in and work on Seattle for a long time. (I say that now... but if someone from Pelican called and offered me a job for the summer I'd have a hard time saying no, I think! Pelican doesn't count. Pelican is the other part of my soul.)
Sand in all my pores, hair fading to a weird grayish purple brown, various burns and plenty of bug bites, nine days left, and a good book to finish reading. I can't wait to see Gene and Trisha and all the rest of my lovely friends and my kitties, but for now, I am peace.