The Emperor

Path at Ecotermales
Originally uploaded by rowanf.

The Shadowscape Emperor stands bound by, or arising out of, a tree. His cipurving horns have a pendant ankh and he is crowned by a leaf. He holds a ball with a green dragon within, constrained by his hands. Behind him is a circular carving with many animals. So I see him as order and constraint, but within rather than against nature.

I, like many of my generation, resist authority and find it untrustworthy. One need only look around at politicians and others who claim worldly power to see why this is so.

And yet, the work of a librarian -- to bring order to knowledge, to catalogue and create systems is emperor work. What do I want to organize? Where can I best offer my systemization skills in the world?

This is definitely a card whose energy I am ambiguous about.

First day in Arenal

Mariscos
Originally uploaded by rowanf.

Yesterday after breakfast I asked about hot springs. Hearing about the four choices from the expensive Tabacon and The Springs ($75 entry fee) to Baldi ($45 all day with one meal) or Ecotermales ($34 for 4 hours). I knew it was between the last two. Baldi has 21 pools and is very popular. The desk clerk said Ecotermales is small and quiet (6-7 pools). That sounded great to me, so I booked for the the 10-1 session there. I think I was the only non-Tico there. It was a series of pools and waterfalls set in the jungle with deck chairs for lounging alongside. I alternated between soaking, walking down trails thru the woods and lounging reading a mystery on my iphone. Very decadent.

I got back and uploaded my pictures and decided to check out the chocolateria I had seen from the taxi. Headed there I realizes I had found the "really good" restaurant the desk clerk had tried to send me to the night before. So I decided to have lunch. I keep forgetting that the pace of being served food here is really slow. Or maybe ther are some cultural signals I am missing. But I find the long pauses between courses and the general length of the exercise frustrating. I ordered a Caesar salad because it was the first place I had been that offered a simple salad. But the waiter evidently heard seafood salad as he brought me a giant plate of mariscos. It looked amazing and I was starving by then so I ate it. The seafood I have eaten so far has been amazing. But an hour later my main course still hadn't come. And really I was full from the mariscos. I had a Skype call at 3pm with David, so I flagged down the waiter and asked for my bill and to have it as take-away. I never did make it to the chocolate shop.

After my call, I tried to figure out what to do next. My last night here is Thursday and I don't need to be in Samara until Sunday. But it is Easter weekend. Perhaps not the best time to look for a hotel near the beach. I thought I might go to Nicoya, an inland town, but the hotel situation seems fairly limited. So I decided to rent a car on Friday. I am not looking forward to driving but with no destination it seems most flexible. I may be without wifi for a few days. I ended up walking to each of the local car renters as neither were answering their phones. One had an open sign and a locked door; the other was open. Thus Alamo is renting me a car. I wandered in and out of souvenir shops on my return to the hotel. The painted oz carts of my youth are not a big motif these days, it is all tropical animals and painted masks. A lot of the motifs look generic tropical and some look like rip-offs of Hawaii tourism. I didn't really want to buy anything, but it was depressing.

I ate my now cold but quite tasty crab stuffed snook, skyped with Kurt and Russell and went to bed at a reasonable hour. Which is good as the first deliveries at the super mercado next door are between 4 and 4:30 and that is close enough to morning that it wakes me. So I did my daily reading and played words and gardens until breakfast at 7. I am going to need a siesta, I think.

Rafting on Penas Biancas river

Rafting on Penas Biancas river
Originally uploaded by rowanf.

I really like being right across from the central park in La Fortuna rather than out in some resort... Except at 4am when the first delivery of the day comes to the super mercado next door. I am not genetically disposed to sleep in anyway but 4am is extreme.

Today after breakfast I stopped in to see if the night clerk had succeeded in booking me a raft tour. He had booked me with Canoas Adventure Tours and they would be here in 15 minutes. Eeeeeeeeep! I headed up and changed clothes and was ready to go with sunscreen, cutters and camera in hand. The van then picked up a family of nine German tourists and they drove to a launch site to go rafting on Penas Biancas river. Our guides were fun, Rudy, who was in my raft, went to two years of college to be a tour guide. They study all kinds of things about being a guide, plus English. They told us many facts about the history of the area and about the animals we saw -- emerald basilisk, iguana, howler monkey, crocodile, snakes and a variety of birds. I took lots of fuzzy pictures of lumps in trees or on distant sandbanks. It was fun but very hard on my back. So it felt slightly too long.

I got back, uploaded my pictures and headed off to the chocolateria, only to find they had run out of anything over 70%. So no chocolate for me. I wandered the tourist shops and bought a really good cup of coffee. I had lunch at a place called something like "Real Good Eats" which claimed Texas food. It probably had too much sugar in the sauce but I did enjoy the BBQ brisket with cole slaw and tomato.

Headed back to the hotel to find the Internet down. I read for awhile and then went across the street and had a wonderful Irish coffee and used their free wifi for awhile. Then to dinner and now sitting on the edge of our balcony stealing coffeeshop wifi. But after I post this I am going to sleep. Deliveries come early.