think you're in control???

think again.

yesterday am jonny, dany, mefy, eitel and i are sitting at the bus stop at 6.00 waiting to go to the bus terminal to go to playa jaco. eitel flipped over backwards and dany picked him up and was going to call him a clown when we saw that he was having a seizure. foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back in his head, shaking uncontrollably.

we didn't get to jaco. i spent yesterday holding eitel's hand all day in the hospital. although he walked into the hospital he had no recollection whatsoever from sitting at the bus stop to waking up in the hospital.

he is ok now and has gone home in a car with marco, the oldest brother that is a nurse. the ct scan was normal and everything else appeared to be normal. the doctor said some people may have one seizure in their whole life and never another but he has referred him to a specialist.

i had thought i would have gone to the internet yesterday in jaco to wish everyone a merry christmas, like a private more intimate note to friends, i thought today i would have been at the beach with the boys. instead i am here in the internet and they are playing ps2 and getting their hair cut. it's not how i thought i would have been spending christmas.

they want to go to a place that's like playland tonight and i'm coming down with a cold so that's about the last thing i want to do.

for whatever reason eitel had the seizure yesterday at the bus stop it was definitely a God thing. it could have happened in jaco where there is no hospital or in the water and had serious consequences.

we are not in control. we are at God's mercy and i thank Him that He is merciful.

feliz navidad

y prospero año a todos.

merry christmas and happy new year to everyone.

i am in san jose today and going to playa jaco, the beach, very early tomorrow morning with jonny, dany, mefy and eitel for christmas. we will go to another beach, pajaros, just north of puntarenas, to spend 2 days at the house of patricio's father. everyone, all the brothers and sisters and their families will be there. dany and i will come back to san jose 28th and i will leave for canada 29th.

looking forward to seeing everyone.

Dios le bendiga.

God bless you.

needing a ride / room / apartment / basement suite ??

the ride is a definite need from the airport to mission. arriving 10:42 p.m. thursday dec 29.

also if someone has a spare room, basement suite, apartment i can have until i can find something.

does anyone need a housesitter for a week or 2 or month until i can find something?

tourists

the more i meet the more i don't like. most of the ones i have met are european and american. they seem to want to drink and be stupid. they want to go topless or naked on the beaches of costa rica and panama. i find them arrogant.

for as sexual a people as the ticos are they are offended by the nudity on the beaches because they take their children there. the tourists don't care.

i am more at home and comfortable with the locals.

the people in bocas del toro were not at all what i expected. most were very warm and friendly to me. the ones that weren't basically ignored me as they did other tourists and i felt it was because the rudeness of the majority of tourists has turned them off all of them.

on the road again

the time is flying by now and soon i will have to leave. got back last night from a 3 day whirlwind shopping tour to golfito and paso canoas in the south west corner of costa rica at the panamanian border. almost two days on the bus.

went to the south east corner of costa rica and panama for 4 days before that.

tomorrow i am going to tortuguero, the north east corner of costa rica. most of my time is spent on buses but this country is so beautiful i haven't wanted to miss any of it but at least i will see a bit of it.

i saw the northwest corner when i went to nicaragua one time.

it is a paradise for anyone but in particular for a horticulturalist. i have a friend who is one and he would be beside himself looking at the flora here. the plants are so beautiful and the trees are amazing.

when i went to panama last week i was so busy taking pictures i wasn't paying attention. (if you know me you won't be surprised) i ended up crossing the border and had to be called back because i hadn't gone through customs. again!