The Birthday and the Bummer

Happy birthday to Danny! He turned 46 today during our last day in La Fortuna. Unfortunately, we also got some sad news for Darcy. She has swimmer’s ear and can’t be underwater for a few days. She told us her right ear was hurting on Thursday morning and so we gave her some ibuprofen before our hike. She was feeling better during the day but it started hurting again that evening at bedtime. We consulted with our pharmacist, Corey, via messenger, about using the antibiotics we brought with us. Morgan also suggested some home-maid eardrops to dry things out for her. (Thanks to you both!) We made a quick run to the store for rubbing alcohol and vinegar. We hoped that would fix her up, but she was awake several times during that night and woke us up at about 5:30 am in a lot of pain. Around 7 am, we ventured into La Fortuna for a visit to the urgent care center that caters to international travelers. When we arrived, the storefront was open but there was no one inside. We waited for a bit and then drove around looking for the other clinic in town. Thankfully this was open, the owners had just gotten back from a run and the doctor was able to see Darcy. He confirmed the infection and wrote us a prescription for a liquid antibiotic. We had to wait till the farmacia opened at 9 am, so we went home. On our return trip to town, we stopped at the bakery around the corner and got three different types of treats. We celebrated with birthday pastries!

It rained off and on during the morning, but a break in the weather around 11 allowed Danny and I to do the 2 mile run to El Salto. It was so steamy! Danny took a celebratory plunge to cool off before we headed back home.

In the afternoon, we brought the girls back to El Salto with us so Darcy could get in the pool. No jumping or swimming for her this time but she did get wet. We then took the 20 min drive to El Chillion to warm up. Even though the weather was threatening when we arrived, we didn’t get rained out and were able to stay for about an hour. Darcy is very sad that she can’t fully swim for the next few days, but she did a great job of keeping her ears dry. We did see some monkeys high up in a tree as we were leaving El Chillion so that cheered her up a bit.

We had our last dinner out in La Fortuna. Zoe added rice with seafood to her list of rice dishes she’s tried and Darcy enjoyed another “dedos de pescado” dinner. How many fingers do fish actually have? We had some ice cream for dessert at home and started packing up for the next leg of our trip tomorrow. Just before we all settled down for the night, a storm started up and the power went off. It might be a stuffy night, as our AC won’t work without any electricity and there are no fans in the house or windows that will open. Thankfully it came back on about 11 pm, but was off and on all night.

Goodbye La Fortuna. We’ll miss your food, your waterfalls and hot springs, your energy and friendly people. We’ll miss the air conditioning! We won’t miss the rooster next door crowing each morning at 5 am. Next stop, Esterillios Este.