Tile one day, kinkajoo the next

Last week I traveled with a group from Holy Comforter, Charlotte, across the mountain to the village of Germania. We spent three days laying ceramic tile on the new parish hall and sacristy floors. We began our trip on Sunday by celebrating the patronal fiesta of San Lucas with the local congregation. Our tiling and grouting skills greatly improved during the week, and by the time we were done, we knew what we were doing. Mercifully, we had a couple of ace tilers guiding us.

The San Lucas folks threw a banquet for us on Wednesday night after work, serving a great variety of local dishes. All feasted away and had a grand time.  The lights went out just as the meal began, and I can assure you that it is pitch black in the jungle at night! Our hosts began singing hymns and clapping in the dark until candles were found and we continued our dining. Many friendships were formed that evening. One of the young girls proudly shared pictures of the six-foot-long poisonous serpent her daddy had killed in their yard. I made a mental note to stay out of the bushes and their yard.

We returned to San Jose on Thursday, then spent Friday visiting a local volcano and a waterfall park. Although the volcano’s crater was shrouded in clouds, we could hear the water boiling in the lake at its bottom. The waterfall area teems with hummingbirds, butterflies, monkeys, frogs, birds, and large, carnivorous cats. I was introduced to an interesting mammal called a kinkajoo, with large, very expressive eyes. It seemed to be intrigued by me (I’ve always been very intriguing), and rubbed its head like a cat on the cage next to me. Then it peed on my shoes. I made a mental note to be less intriguing in future.

This week I’m working on grant applications and trip planning. Will try to have a more exciting time, but without the snakes, cats, and kinkajoos.