A picnic

We were invited by Laura, our Airbnb host, to go on a picnic with her along with her son Christopher and Olla, our neighbors. We left about 9:00 and headed to her cousin's house, about 20 minutes away.

When we arrived we were greeted by Asdrúbal, her cousin. He is 80 and for the last 22 years has lived in the house he grew up in. He had worked in San Jose during his career, during which he spent 22 years as a taxi driver.

First we got a tour of the grounds, which were absolutely beautiful and covered with all types of vegetation and included a pond as well as a pool. Later he explained that if you got drunk, he threw you in the pool. We also saw the rental unit (outside only) that he built on the property from a container unit. It looked like a nice tiny house.

Our hike was to a nearby reserve that was gated, but it was easy to get around the gate. Access was limited because the spring and river there supplied water to a number of nearby villages. Asdrúbal pointed out his water pipe, originally installed by his father. There used to be a small canal/channel that ran to his property and powered a (sugar cane?) mill before there was electric. At the picnic area we made use of the swings and Christopher and Jeff climbed a tree.

Asdrúbal brought his shoulder strap cooler with a 6 pack of beer and we learned his cooler was named Ophelia, after a clingy ex-girlfriend who was always on his shoulder. Asdrúbal spoke a little English and Christopher served the role of translator (both directions) as needed.

After returning to the house, Laura prepared some sausages, grilled pork with veggies and some warm tortillas to go along with other snacks. In addition to beer, Jeff and Asdrúbal were sipping on whiskey while others enjoyed some coconut liqueur. We finished up our picnic with coffee and dessert. Somewhere during this time, Asdrúbal and Laura danced a bit. By the sound of it, her still dances regularly. The husband of a granddaughter also stopped in and visited for a while.

Asdrúbal was a great host and truly seemed to enjoy our being there. He took two phone calls while we were there (one was for a party taking place there tomorrow, the other to a friend or family in the US). On both calls he said he was having a "united nations" meeting with both the USA and Ukraine (Olla) represented.

We got back home around 4:00. It was a great day with some fantastic people.もっと詳しく