Our first real outing

Isabella’s fever broke in the middle of the night, and by the grace of God, Sofia and Alex let us sleep late! When we finally got up around 9, I cooked an egg breakfast for everyone. Even Bella ate an egg, so it seemed that she was feeling better.

Our plan for the afternoon was to take a bus to a big park, called La Sabana, where there is a playground and lake. By the time we were showered and ready to go (I prefer to take my showers in the morning) it was time for Bella’s nap. Since she had been sick the night before, we decided it would not be wise to skip her nap, so I took the two older kids. We caught the bus to the park, about a 10-minute ride. We accidentally got off the bus about a block too soon, but the walk was nice. The park was beautiful and huge, a massive green space in the middle of the city, San Jose. Mounted police patrol the park, but unfortunately we didn’t see any. We did see some droppings. Horse that is, not police!

We’ve only lived in Arizona for 2 years, but already I have gotten accustomed to the lack of humidity. Ever since we’ve been here, I’ve thought it was uncomfortably humid. I feel sticky. It gives me a headache. Funny, I never really noticed it when we lived in Florida. How the body adapts!

After walking around the park and enjoying the lake and surrounding artwork, we crossed a busy street (and train track) to eat lunch. We picked a restaurant called Jicaro del Campo. The kids weren’t very hungry, so I ordered one casado (simple plate of rice, beans, platanos, and the meat/fish/poultry of your choice) and a kid’s arroz con pollo (rice with chicken). Sofia and Alex each got a refresco de Mora (a 100% natural fruit drink made with blackberries) and I got Coke in a glass bottle (my favorite here). The food was tasty, and a marimba player added some nice atmosphere. As nice as the restaurant was, the service reminded me that we were in Costa Rica. It took the same amount of time for our check to come as it did for us to eat our meal. Ah well. Not like we had somewhere to be.

We caught the bus home. Uneventful except for the drunk guy sitting behind me that kept speaking to me in Spanish. He actually had a can of beer open right there on the bus. At home, I made tuna melts for dinner. I used a yummy cheese called palmito cheese (despite the name, it has nothing to do with palm trees). While the kids showered, we got a late visit from Ricardo and his family. Ricardo and his wife Carolina have three children age 6, 4, and 18 months. The kids all played for about an hour while I made a couple more tuna melts. Later on, Ricardo turned on the TV and it was only then that I realized Ramon and Maritza have cable. Not only do they have about a hundred channels, but many of them are in English. We watched the last few minutes of the Miami-Detroit playoff game, albeit with Spanish-speaking announcers (the Heat won, sending them to the finals against either Phoenix or Dallas).

After Ricardo’s family left, we got the kids in bed. Since Bella was starting to run a fever again, we decided to turn in early. We even splurged and turned on the TV in our bedroom. While Cristina nursed Bella, she watched HGTV and the “Cosmo” channel, which was showing some chick-flick. I sat in bed with my laptop and updated my journal until about midnight, then we turned in.

To see more photos from this day, click here.