Sun Aug 13

Today was a rest day with nothing on the schedule. We even slept in (to about 7:30). Originally, we had intended to bike to Playa Negra for a beach day and go for lunch in Los Pargos but around 10am began a torrential downpour. It was a fantastic storm with heavy rain, booming thunder and lightning streaking through the dark clouds. So we relaxed, worked, read and enjoyed our forced downtime.

We enjoyed our daily fruit (papaya today!) while we watched the storm pass by from our covered patio. Around 1pm the power went out. A few times we’ve had the power flicker but this time it was out for good. Our Airbnb host, Edwin, was around doing some renovations on another unit nearby and told us that somewhere near Santa Cruz a branch or tree fell on a power line. 

Ah well, pura vida, life goes on! Finally around 4pm the storm began to clear. The sky lightened and turned different shades of orange/pink , a beautiful contrast against the dark blue clouds that were still all around. When the rain stopped we did some HIIT outside, taking care to avoid the many centipedes that were crawling around, forced out of their waterlogged homes. And soon afterwards, the power came back! Air conditioning, lights, WiFi, a working fridge! So we did an ab workout inside. Feeling good about our chill but not lazy day, we walked to our local beach to watch the sunset.

Feeling a little restless and cooped up, we decided to go out for dinner. First pick was Rinconcito Caribeño on Calle de Perro Loco in Paraiso, about a 10 minute bike ride or 30 minute walk. There was a number listed on Google Maps so we called to make sure they were open. And alas they were not. Only for to-go orders, but no eat-ins. So we decided to go for the third time to our favorite, La Ventana del Surfista. It’s only a 15 minute walk, and even quicker on bikes.

I unlocked my bike fine, like normal. But James’ key broke while trying to turn his lock. The tip just snapped clean off. Shocked and confused, we decided to go have dinner and deal with this bike ordeal later. By now it was past sunset, so we used our phones to light our way in the dark. The restaurant was just at the end of our street so we felt pretty comfortable with this walk. When we got there, they were clearly closed. Lights off and gate shut. So we decided to walk 5 minutes down the road to Lochito’s which , surprise surprise, was also closed. I guess when it storms, places don’t open for the evening. I suppose it makes sense. Roads are harder to navigate, the power went out so and maybe wasn’t back in some places, and probably the locals opt to stay home and cook in. Hungry and disappointed, we walked back home. 

Once we got back, James messaged Javier, our bike guy, about the lock and I made dinner. I used the leftover beef stir-fry and brown rice from the other day and refashioned it into a fried rice, adding a bit more chili. I also made a small omelette with leftover broccoli and mushrooms. It was delicious! I’m glad we stayed home and ate up our leftovers. Tomorrow morning Javier will look for and let us know if he has an extra key for the bike lock.