Checkout wasn’t until noon from Banana Beach, but Miguel wanted to move on asap. I must admit that it was a very noisy, dusty and crowded location.

As we drove to our next beach destination, Avallanas (aka, Vagina Beach as previously stated in my last entry) I tried to capture the Brama cattle strewn all over the countryside but Mickey was driving like a bat out of hell and I didn’t want to request that he stop. He was on a mission! I really love how the cows find the one shady tree in the middle of the field and are always there when the sun is the highest, noon. This part of Costa Rica was very brown and the cattle had to search all day for patches of green to eat.

We were highly rewarded with a fabulous Casado before lunch. A huge open kitchen with a cafeteria style service. You just pointed to what you wanted, and they heaped a generous portion on your plate. Casado is the perfect way to start your day especially if you do not know when your next meal will come. It keeps you going. This Soda also came with its own local stray dog. It dog looked like a German Shepherd/ Malnois mix and was very gentle. It was also very skinny so when it sat down beside me to beg for food, Mickey and I shared a lot of our chicharonnes. Then it laid down at my feet and allowed me to give it some cuddles. I swear I could have taken home at least three stray dogs by now. My sister Lana, the perpetual dog rescuer would love this place, but I think she would go home with at least a dozen dogs. Not all are strays though. If they have a collar then they belong to someone, but dogs roam free of leash or chain, and I have only encountered one so far that wanted nothing to do with human beings and was aggressive with other dogs. Just one.

Off we went again to a secluded cabin 5 minutes from the beach at Las Avellanas Villas. I was super, duper pleased with this one and I could tell Mickey was too. It really looked like something out of a travel magazine but had a very homey feel to it too. At every place we have stayed we would quickly dump the luggage and go out exploring. But this one, this one begged us to stay a while, kick up your feet, lay in its hammock, cook something yourself, hug a cement pillar in the shower. It was gorgeous, relaxing, and secluded. There were only about 4 other cabins on the property, so we had plenty of quiet. The only flaw with this one was that there was only one bed. Mickey said he would sleep on the couch. I felt bad and was determined to convince him to sleep in the bed. I mean, it’s a huge bed, a King size I think.

Mickey asked me, “You wanna do something?”, to which I replied, “I just wanna hang out here and relax and write and maybe nap or maybe swing in the hammock till the sun goes down. How about you” He said he wanted the same and for the first time all day he smiled and his shoulders relaxed. We did, however, need supplies and there was a tiny pulperias (convenience store) Frutas y Verduras store (fresh fruit and veggies) store only a 4 minute walk away. We still had some of Flori’s homemade Empanadas de civerre (sweet empanadas). We loaded up on:

• Bizchochos – a bag of super dry and crunchy corn cookie but bagel-shaped

• Chiralitos – a bag of something that looks like hickory sticks and of course made of corn

• Queso Crema – cream cheese

• Patecito – liver pate in a convenient tube dispenser

• Imperial Light Beer in giant bottles

• And of course Agua !

• Giant fruit – mango, oranges and bananas

We hauled it all back to our paradise cabin to spend the night doing absolutely nothings since we arrived in Costa Rica. We lounged on the patio taking turns swinging in the hammock. Of course, Mickey had a great time laughing at me trying to get in and out of the hammock before teaching me his technique. It was so quiet and peaceful until…the howler monkeys started growling. I was thrilled but Mickey didn’t even bat an eye. It is sometimes embarrassing how excited I get over things that Mickey almost doesn’t notice! I swung upside down in the hammock hoping to catch sight of a howler in the canopy but at the very least, capture the sound on video. I did but it was a little more faintly than I hoped for. Still, the howler was present for the rest of the night. We could even hear them inside the cabin where we retired after sunset when the bugs started to be too much. This was also the first night we did not run to the beach for sunset. Mickey was laughing at his phone as he watched reels from Insta and Twitter and I happily wrote about our adventures. The WIFI connections in all the places we have stayed so far is excellent by the way.

Here is a plug for a local Avallanas photographer named Isabel Amador. Her photos are up all over the cabin. Not sure if she is in all of them but her work is very interesting. They are beach photos but the top half of the photo is somehow distorted. You can find her website at https://www.isabelamador.com/ , however the photos from the cabin are not featured there. She’s talented for sure and I was tempted to buy a photo from the cabin. I am not regretting that I didn’t.

Mickey had fallen asleep on the couch as I pecked away at the keyboard on my iPad. I decided to put my jammies on. In the bedroom I rolled down the blankets and discovered that the King bed was actually two beds side by side. I was thrilled that Mickey would not have to sleep on the couch. When he woke from his nap on the couch we quickly separated the beds. I saw the relief in Mickey’s face because that couch was not “good night’s sleep friendly”.

Back home, I was always perplexed about why Mickey took three showers a day. I no longer need to wonder. When it is as hot as it is in Costa Rica, all day, every day and most of the night, you need to rinse off all that sweat, sand, dust, you just need it, especially in the dry season, Now showered and refreshed, the howlers and cicadas singing us to sleep, we quickly dozed off for the night, to dream of the beaches we would dance on tomorrow. What a fantastic day today was.

Pura Vida