Driftwood: Part III

Nick awoke the following morning with lightness in his heart.  He still missed Gwen and he was starting to miss his kids.  Nonetheless, he felt he could see light at the end of a long tunnel.  For the first time in a long time, maybe Spring has finally arrived to thaw the cold deadness in his life.  Since he was going on the tour that day, he set the alarm for 5 o’clock.  Unfortunately, the restaurant would not open prior to the tour bus leaving.  He wanted to give his appreciation to Luz for her card.  He hoped he would see her before his vacation ended.

Nick made a cup of coffee with the coffee maker in his room.  When he brought it to his lips for a taste, he was pleasantly surprised.  Normally, individual coffee things are bland.  This coffee had good aroma and flavor.  “These Costa Ricans know how to make coffee.” He thought.  He finished the cup, brushed his teeth and dressed.  The bus was to pick him up at 5:30 so he headed to the front desk at 5:20.  It was 5:40 before the bus arrived.  Nick could feel Mr. Grumpy welling up in the pit of his gut as he counted the minutes past 5:30.  He had heard people in Central America didn’t really follow a timetable.  Now he chaffed at having to wait when he could have slept a few more minutes.  

A man stepped from the bus, it was really just an oversized van, and introduced himself.  “Good morning.  My name is Josué Jiménez and I will be your guide today.”  Josué gestured to the driver and said, “And this is Alex, our driver.  We are happy for you to travel with us today.  I hope you have a good time exploring and learning about my beautiful country.  What is your name?”  Josué extended his hand.

Shaking his hand Nick replied, “I am Nick Sherman.  You say your name is Josué?  You aren’t saying Jose, right?”

“No, my name is Josué.  Jose is Spanish for Joseph or Joe.  Josué is Spanish for Joshua.  I am told you are the only person traveling with us from this hotel.  We have two more stops before we go on our trip.  Would you please find a seat on the bus?”

Josué made a sweeping motion with his left arm toward the van and Nick climbed aboard.  Josué followed right behind and spoke to Alex in Spanish.  The two conversed briefly as Josué closed the side door.  Alex started the engine and they drove off to the next hotel where they picked up a small family.  When Nick saw two young adults and two small children, he hoped the kids were not the type that would cry, scream, or whine the whole trip.  

Josué got off the bus and gave the same introduction to the family that he gave to Nick.  The family quickly boarded and the children eyed Nick as they moved to the row behind him.  Nick judged the girl to be 4 years old and the boy to be 6 or 7.  He was a young man that seemed to genuinely care for his little sister and she relished being the baby.  The little girl sat with her mother behind Nick and the father and son sat across the aisle.  The girl kept peeking around the aisle seat to look at Nick.  At first, he ignored her since he didn’t want to encourage her to bother him for the whole trip.  

Finally, she broke through his wall when she looked at him for a few moments when her mother was distracted.  Nick stole a glance at her and she smiled sweetly at him and said, “Hi, grandpa.”  Something about her little, “Hi grandpa.” melted his heart.  He asked her, “What’s your name?”  

“Emily Fisher.”

“How old are you Emily Fisher?

“I’m 4 and a half years old.”

About this time, her mother noticed the child speaking to Nick and gently but firmly pulled her back into her seat and told her not to bother the man.  Nick said between the seats, “She’s fine.  No problem.”

At the third stop, they picked up three people who spoke only Spanish.  They sat in the last row of the bus.  Josué spoke briefly with the people in Spanish and then spoke in English.
  

“Now that we have everyone, let me say on behalf of Alex, our driver, hello and welcome to our tour.  I am going to say things in English and then Spanish or the other way around so everyone here will know what is happening.  We are happy you are with us.  We are going to have fun today, so Pura vida!  Whenever I say pura vida, I would like for you to say it back to me, ok?”  Then he said the same in Spanish to the Hispanic passengers.  “Ok lets try it, PURA VIDA!”

“Pura vida!”

The children said it the loudest.  Josué continued, “Pura vida is a saying in my country and it means pure life.  We believe in pure life and living life to the fullest.  We are going to have fun and we will learn a few things today.”  Translation in Spanish.  Nick was amazed at how quickly he switched from English to Spanish and back again.  

Josué went on to briefly describe what they would do.  They would eat breakfast about an hour into the trip.  They would drive through Sarchi, which is known for ox carts and furniture, they would eat lunch, and then to the volcano where they could enjoy the thermal waters at the Tabacon resort.  Thermal waters sounded relaxing to Nick.  The more he saw the joy in Josué’s face the more he anticipated the trip.