A little diversion

Since I frequently mention our daily walk I thought I'd post some photos of what we see. A little diversion while we continue to get well. 

This was taken about half-way down the hill from our door, looking toward the curve of the U, which turns left into never-ending shade. The road here is always wet and muddy and the only house seldom sees sunlight. A boy about 12 usually lounges on the balcony so we stop and visit. He speaks good English and says his favorite subject is math. A few days ago we asked what he was doing with his vacation (school is now out until March) and he shrugged. So I said, "Swim?" Yes. "Surf?" Yes. "Football?" Yes. Always with a big smile. After that we could only agree that if he likes those things he lives in a good place.

Every Tico family seems to have at least one dog; most have two or three. They're usually mutts about knee high, short-haired and friendly. We seldom see cats, but this kitten caught Ray's eye.

Ray climbed up a fence to capture this photo of a house behind high walls. This is on the downhill leg of the U.

Here's a typical Costa Rican dog, looking a little lonesome.

This is coming up the hill toward the highway. The dense green behind me is the shady curve of the U.

Cafe Milagros isn't on our walk, but it's one of our favorite MA places and it's where we hung out during the rain, mentioned in an earlier post. Good fruit smoothies!

Sancho's is another favorite eatery, known for its fish tacos—the best yet.

Marshall, the owner, is an American expat.

Susan and Khang are recent additions who moved from Tampa to open a Vietnamese restaurant. They arrived in December and are already doing a good business. Their take-out restaurant is between the two ends of the U along the highway so we see them often. And when we're too lazy to cook we let them do it.

Back at home, and I can't resist including recent views from our window. Unfortunately, I can't say what kind of bird this is because the paperback guide to Costa Rican birds was $70 which, like many prices here, seemed excessive.

This little guy looks very comfy in the center of the banana tree.

We're always trying to get photos of the monkeys in action. So far this is the closest we've come.

Here's mom and baby trying for some food. 

The last time the monkeys visited, someone at our neighbor's house was feeding them bananas—a big no no of course—and it made them braver than usual. This little guy is right next to our window.

Okay, time for a nap.