"What size flippers you wear?" and Kenny G.

Hello all!

Kristen and I had a wonderful time at the Caribbean coast this past weekend. But first, we have some businessto clear up.

Item #1: Kudos to the Twins for a good season, and boo to Chicago (and Thome) for ruining the ending. There´s always next year. Unless Jesus comes back, which would be kinda disappointing. Disappointing because the Twins wouldn´t get another shot. And because the world would be ending.

Item #2: Kristen´s crushes have stalled out. Handsome David from the Nav Cafe held back some of his charm when we went there for lunch to celebrate having been dating for one whole year. We ate, talked, and watched Air Force One, which was a nice relaxing movie on their plasma screen TV (right). But David is on yellow alert for now. Computer Speak Video Store Guy hasn´t been seen more than once since my last post, and that one time he came out from behind the desk to shake my hand, and is under suspicion of hoping that Kristen would greet him with the traditional Costa Rican kiss on the cheek. She nervously turned towards a stack of movies and attempted to look very busy rummaging through a stack of DVDs. So that´that.

Item #3: How long can a three-year-old cry for, in consecutive minutes? At least 27 minutes, before Kristen went and consoled her. (Turns out she had only been sent to her room for hitting another three-year-old. Poor thing.)

Item #4: And Herb the Cucharacha (Cockroach).... Well, we had a block of space all set up for Herb when he introduced himself to us, but that space is going to be squeezed tightly closed now, thanks to Kristen. Herb introduced himself to us in the shower of our bathroom, before scurrying back down the shower drain from whence he came. However, last night Kristen entered the bathroom and Herb was stationed at the edge of the door frame, and when Kristen closed the door, Herb left (residue) with haste. So, a hearty farewell to Herb.

And now, Cahuita. A Corona commercial in actuality.

The beach area of Cahuita is powdery white sand, which stretches through a national park around a point and through some forested areas. At the point there is a reef, which Kristen and I snorkeled in for a couple hours early Sunday morning. The reef wasn´t typical deep crystal blue with hundreds of colors clashing and moving around. It was a dimmer brown, without brilliant coral, but the colors of many of the fish we saw were stunning. Bright oranges, sharp blues, flashy silvers, lime greens...something I´ve always wanted to do, and it was awesome! We even saw some volleyball-sized sea urchins - black spiny creatures that move little and sting a lot if touched. The only downside was that the tide was out when we went (early in the morning) which meant that sometimes to avoid touching coral (which is forbidden!!!!!) we had to awkwardly stretch ourselves out on the surface of the water and maneuver sideways or backwards in humanly unnatural manners. But it was worth it.

Now for Kenny G. When Sam and I were younger, Mom and Dad went to Hawaii for a Eisele family (Dad´s family) trip. They went snorkeling. When they were underwater, they couldn´t take any pictures. So when they surfaced and made it back to the Snorkel House, or whatever, they purchased a video of some scuba divers in the middle of an fish-full, coral-full reef, knowing that their Ben and Sam would love to see that video. The sounds of scuba diving, however, are not entertaining at all (blub blub...gasp...blub blub), and so the producers of the video decided to put Kenny G playing sax in the background to all of the fish and coral. I liked that video, and watched it several times. But when I went snorkeling, guess who I had in my head?

Yup. Kenny G. The whole freaking time.

But it was still a really good time. Hence, the "Kenny G" in the title.

That was the highlight. Swimming in bath-warm water was another high point, and pausing swimming to get a close glimpse at a pack of howler monkeys was awesome, too.

(Intermission: How to imitate a howler monkey in three steps:
Step 1: Open mouth and form an "o" with your lips, as if you were going to say "oooooooo".
Step 2: Begin an intake of air, allowing your vocal chords to catch the air and make a choking, painful noise.
Step 3: First, increase airflow (and therefore volume) and slowly open mouth, followed by slowly closing mouth and decreasing airflow (and therefore volume).
Your lips should slowly mouth the word "wow" while you breath in and emit a pained, dying sound.
End Intermission)

Kristen and I ate Caribbean BBQ, had Rice and Beans with coconut milk (which sounds odd, but is, in fact, delicious), and played Cribbage while sitting in the hammock on the deck of our Cabana. It was awesome.

Our host family continues to be awesome. The weather is, apparently, just entering the really rainy month (seriously...holy cow). And the Orphanage is getting better! Today, no one seriously hit anyone else, and they all were making a good effort toward saying "Please" and "Thank You"! Small signs of improvement are cherished.

Hope all is well on the home front. Our thoughts are with you all.
Peace,
ben.

That´s all for now.