Ein wunderbarer Irrtum, eine merkwürdige Reise nach Panama und ein Prost auf Kreuzlingen

Yesterday didn't go any further. I made a mistake and booked 4 nights instead of 3. That's what happens when you have no idea what date and day of the week it is. Well, if that's not a success for me, just wonderful. The day was wonderfully relaxed again. I got dinner paid for because I helped a very nice couple from Manhattan/New York change a tire. Alan had forgotten to pull the handbrake and the jack fell over when he had just taken off the tire. I saw that the car was rolling again and first had the handbrake pulled. Danger averted, that's worth an invitation, as it happened in front of the restaurant El Barco. Alan and Patricia are the first Democrats I've been able to talk to here. Very sympathetic political views. He made money with industrial radio modems, she works for Reuters. They have now bought land in Costa Rica. Buying land is the big boom here. In between, I received news of the war. Going down. Shit. First, I asked Jogi about Anna's family. You can only hope....

Today we went to Tamarindo after breakfast. 4 to 5 hours drive on dirt roads and potholes. So drive slowly and carefully. The bridges over the dried-up rivers are single-lane. One side always has the right of way. People greet each other with hand signals or honking. You refuel with service. Then, a woman with a small child waves to me from the side of the road. I stop and ask if she needs help. 'A ride', she says, so I give her a ride. OK. The story she then tells me with a few English words and my mini Spanish is first intense. She is on her way from Nicaragua to Panama and ran out of money for the bus. She asks for food for herself and the little one, who is 4 years old. I offer 2 bananas and water. They accept that, but it keeps coming back to money for the bus. She is crying. It doesn't all fit together because I'm driving in the opposite direction. After about 10 minutes of driving together, she wants to get off. The bus stop (Parada) has been reached. From here, she can go to Panama. But there is nothing here. Then it becomes clear to me: she is now going back in the opposite direction with the next tourist, hoping the story will work. Stories like this are apparently common, hitchhiking included. Everyone is just trying to get a piece of the pie. I didn't give her any money.

In Tamarindo, I went out after dinner. Let's see where I can have a drink. I'm also still looking for the right ATM (BAC with 0 EUR fees), find it, turn around again. One of the 'recruiters' for a restaurant notices. What am I looking for? We start talking. Glenn is Costa Rican, speaks 5 languages, including Kreuzlingen Schwyz German. He lived and worked there for 4 years. He made and sold jewelry. I invited him for a glass of wine and he invited me for a game of pool billiards. It was a fun conversation. Those were the past 2 days.

What am I grateful for today? For the mistake that gave me another day in paradise and showed me that I have arrived in my time-out.

Tomorrow I want to organize a sailing trip with 2 stops for snorkeling. They offer it here.