TICO TALES
An Unexpected Gift
When a Tico smiles at you, the sun comes out
Today was the day to run a few errands in town, pay my facturas (utility bills), hit the ATM, and grab a few groceries. It’s always a fun adventure, no matter what, and I always look forward to whatever surprises may befall me.
I was not disappointed this day.
Because it was Friday and close to the first of the month, there wasn’t a parking space to be had at any bank. The elderly parqueo attendant waved me away, with a huge smile (Is he flirting with me? I wondered), and it felt like he was inviting me to “come back later.” I giggled to myself.
So the next surprise was having to negotiate jam-packed one-way streets for about 30 minutes until I could worm my way two blocks over to the CoopeAgri for a kilo of Epsom salts for the garden (known in Costa Rica as sal inglaterra, or English salt. I have no idea why it’s called that). Again, no parking available.
By now I should know better than to come to town on a Friday morning. After circling a few more times, I gave up and decided to park behind the Aeropost/DHL office, where the friendly attendant sports a yoga-ball stomach and struggles to lift the gate to let me in. “Buen día, señora!” he smiled, grinning and staring a hole in my brain while…
