Cheers and thanks to Texans, Wyoming Mamas, and all who extended invites to stop by while “on the road.”
But I now confess that “road” was a slight misnomer.
I am in furrin parts. The only “road” portions of the trip were the three-hour drive to the airport in the dark in a storm (have I mentioned before that I hate to travel?) and the hair-raising drive from the airport to a B&B with a driver to whom my language was as furrin as his was to me. (“Donde you?” “Vengo Washington state, USA.” “Ah, Barack Obama, El Presidente!” “No, el otro Washington.”)
I had the opportunity to come here for next to nothing, checking out another potential “offshoring” destination. So here I am.
That’s the view from my room at a B&B.
Of course, there’s a resident dog.
Actually there are two resident dogs, but the second is hiding — horrified by the hyperactive toddler* belonging to the other guests (a very nice family determined that all their children will travel to Latin America and start learning Spanish before they’re two).
This is my room, where I’m also hiding momentarily from the toddler (and from more socialization than my hermitty heart is ready to handle, despite everybody being very interesting).
That first photo, with the fountain, mosaic, and miniature pool, is actually the middle of the house. Outdoors, but still basically the living room. The guest bedrooms border it, and we guests have actual walls, though not actual glass windows. The family that lives here comes up short in the wall department. Their bathroom and al fresco kitchen is at one end of the courtyard, and there’s a shady sitting room with a hammock at the other, both wide open to the atrium.
I’d find it rather weird to have strangers swimming between my TV room and my kitchen, but everybody here seems to consider it quite the usual thing.
I haven’t been out of this deliciously cozy courtyard home since arriving yesterday so sleep-deprived and travel weary that I could scarcely remember my name.
I intend to remedy that situation shortly. And will keep on reporting as long as the slightly iffy wifi holds up.
As I did last time, I’ll reveal the Secret Location after I return to “Barack Obamaland” next week. Meantime, you’re welcome to guess and I’ll probably drop some pretty obvious clues without even realizing I’m doing it.
*Is there such a thing as a non-hyperactive toddler?
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Thanks also to the near neighbor in these furrin parts who offered to meet up, hang out, and tour around with me. I didn’t mean to snub you, as I hope you understand. You’ve been more than helpful. But I’m mainly here to rest. It’s been nearly a year since my life has felt like my own & I just needed a time without commitments.
Oh. And being warm. In March. You know, that’s a glorious thing.
looks wonderful! Hope you have a peaceful vacation. I promise not to bother you again. How long is the toddler staying?
Boy, that was quick, furrydoc! The toddler is staying … exactly as long as I’m staying (wouldn’t you know it?). However, the family plans an overnight to the beach sometime during their stay here, so I’ll get a break. They really are a nice family — bright and adventurous. But traveling with a two-year-old — OMG!
On the off chance you didn’t already know, the best dictionary for this hemisphere is Webster’s New World Dictionary http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_18/192-8948939-2209041?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=websters%20new%20world%20dictionary&sprefix=websters+new+world%2Caps%2C297
And very useful information regarding safety can be found at http://m3report.wordpress.com/ There is an option to subscribe to their “M3 Report” on that page.
Shel — For getting along here I’m using a website called HowDoYouSay.net (http://www.howdoyousay.net/) plus a phrasebook I’m carrying around. I was using and enjoying the language-learning site duolingo a few weeks back, but (as the young couple and I were just comparing notes this morning), it’s hard to learn a language until you’re thrown into someplace where everybody is speaking it.
My best source for safety here turns out to be my hosts. I was contemplating a two-mile round-trip walk to a local attraction and they warned me not to do it because a) opportunistic teenagers/no policing and b) “Walking that far in this climate is a death march!” (Seriously, my host said “death march.)
It looks and sounds great ― all the more so as I am very tired of winter!
Off-hand, with nothing spectacular to go on yet, I’m guessing Mexico (but possibly Costa Rica). But I don’t know what those long green things are that the woman is handling in the picture.
Hey Claire, I’m glad you chose the southern climes as opposed to up here in the Great White North. We still have around a yard of snow in the yard and today it will be a balmy 34 deg F.
About the toddler… One of the first rules of any travel, bring earplugs. :^)
Active toddler (non-crying version) = happy noise. It’s a matter of attitude.
There are many worse alternatives, for instance the bitchy this-isn’t-the-way-we-do-it-at-home “grownup.”
Best to listen, my Mom once hiked in heat of over 100F and burnt out. She can no longer tolerate high summer heat anymore.
Pat — The painting is an impression (by my host) of Diego Rivera’s “Flower Seller.” Those are calla lilies she’s got gathered in her arms. There are other giant paintings around the house based on works by everybody from Picasso to Monet, with an emphasis on artists of Hispanic background.
LarryA — You’re right about the noise of toddlers. He’s not a bad little kid, and his infant sister is as smiley and calm as a tiny Buddha. But I guess you takes yer chances when you’re looking for a peaceful getaway spot.
Claire, thanks for the info. I didn’t recognize the calla lilies as such, though I see them now in the painting. Can or would you show us other paintings your host has in his house?
Enjoy your trip, toddler and all.
The painting of the flower seller makes me think of Bolivia or Peru. Don’t know just why since I’ve never been to either place. Enjoy! It looks lovely and restful and reinvigorating.
Marvelous! I had pictured you tied up hand and foot with some sort of business deal, and am very glad to learn it is mostly a vacation.
Looks so nice, clean and neat. But I can imagine it would be difficult to be exposed to so many other people, let alone a toddler and a baby!! I’m glad they are not screaming… and must agree that they would be much preferable to “Ugly Americans” griping about everything all day long.
So… Peru or Chile? 🙂
It’s been foggy here all day, so unusual for Wyoming. The snow is almost all gone, just a patch here and there in north facing, sheltered places. I’m ready for spring too. The garden calls…
I’m not as envious as I am of a trip to the Pacific coast, but I’m still a little green. Enjoy your time in Glocca Paracuador!
Wow…only a year since your life was your own, and warm in March? You must be working on your fiction. Sorry, it sounds too far-fetched to me. Happy travels, Claire.
Having tried to learn a language both by first taking it in school and another simply by starting to talk to the people, I’ve come to the following conclusion. It is best to first take structured instruction that teaches (1) correct pronunciation, (2) proper grammar, and (3) a fairly basic vocabulary.
For (1), it’s important to have a way to correct yourself when you don’t say something correctly and not to develop bad habits. On very rare occasions I’ll give myself credit. It this case it’s because I wanted to get rid of my accent. I decided the best way to do it was to imagine what someone who spoke the foreign language sounded like when they tried to speak English and had a very pronounced accent. I did my best to mock that accent when I tried to speak their language. 90% of my accent disappeared immediately. Pat on the back to self. I didn’t have the inflection quite right, because people would ask me if I were Italian, but they didn’t ask me if I was an American.
For (2), if you rely on information given to you by others, you can get wrong answers and will have no way of knowing if your grammar is wrong. Again, habits are so very important. The only way to be sure you are getting correct and complete information is through a structured program.
For (3), one doesn’t need to know a lot of words to start talking. I learned it’s quite an art to be able to express oneself with a limited vocabulary. If a person has a reasonable command of (1) and (2), then it’s simple enough to use the dictionary you keep with you always to look up the next new word.
Interestingly, I found reading Mad Magazine to be very helpful, for virtually every sentence is a punch line and I didn’t have to slog through a lot of verbiage to get the point.
I can’t resist trying to guess, too. Right now I’m thinking the hat on the silhouette by the pool is Central American Indian, but I’m not sure. An outdoor pool does fit that location, but it could also fit others. Danger does sound more like Mexico than anything else, although some other places are dicey as well.
Costa Rica?
Sounds a lot like the place I stayed at in Guatemala ages and ages ago.