Papa Grande posts again

Before arriving here I had very few concerns. I was most fearful of week 3. You know when the reality sets in that this is not a vacation this is a “lifestyle”. Well today is Monday day 21. After getting the kids off to school and doing the dishes it dawned on me. I have no other responsibilities until 3:00…………..

High tide was early this morning so surfing was out. I haven’t had any luck fishing so that didn’t sound fun.

Don’t get me wrong I have zero complaints. It’s just that I am not one to just sit around.

How will I ever survive this paradise ? It’s a burden I have no choice but to bare.

(I did go for a swim. Then Amy and I ran into a friend who was going to hire a taxi to move some rocks and pick up some cement so I helped them with our car.)

Saturday we went for a drive to check out some beaches south of us. As we were driving down the 2 lane washboard gravel road we kept seeing signs for iced coffee and smoothies. When we saw the place we turned off for a cool drink. The couple (Edmund and Gwen) was from the US and very friendly. Edmund was way into horseback riding. He told us that later they were having some horse races on the beach close by and we were welcome to come watch. We decided to come back and go to the “rodeo”. We turned down the little one lane jungle road as instructed and about 1 km later hit the beach. We showed up about 20 minutes late (Tico time) and hardly anyone was there. We took a spot next to Gwen and were introduced to some other friends of theirs. People kept showing up and eventually there were about 20 guys on horses and a bunch of families. Apparently nobody could ride on an empty stomach because a fire was made and pork was grilled. Tacos and soda was offered  to everyone that was there and Amy had to beg them to accept a few dollars.

Finally the show began. They started out barrel racing and moved on to some other events. Every skill level was represented. From the young kid who was probably 10 years old to some real cowboys. Everyone was there simply to have a fun time with friends on a Saturday.

This is one of those things you would never find on a website or in a travel book. We were just at the right place at the right time and we had a lot of fun.