2/18/6

Yesterday, I paid my phone and electricity bills. I mention this only because I find the payment system very different here. The bill doesn’t come in the mail. You need to know when it is due, and where to go to pay it. A little store in Judas takes the money for the electrical bill, and another store takes the money for the phone. It is paid between the seventeenth and twenty-first of the month. I still don’t know how or when to pay my property tax. Marvin says he will ask his lawyer. After paying the bills we headed to Sardinal to find the horses. They are on a nice little farm run by a man, the naturalist who takes people horse back riding, his wife, who serves meals in a small informal restaurant, and her sister who gives Spanish lessons. The driveway is lined with Mango trees, and the property has many beautiful trees and flowers. Jim is returning Monday to go riding.

We left there and went to the parrot sanctuary. It is down a long gravel road on the other side of the highway, near a pueblo called Palmare. Every time I go down one of these side roads I am surprised at the number of communities and houses that are off the main road. We found the sanctuary, but almost didn’t go in, as it didn’t look like much, and they wanted ten dollars each for entry fee. We paid and took the small tour. It was beautiful. The knowledgeable guides spoke Spanish only, but were patient enough to speak slowly and find the words I know. There were many huge parrots of different colors and types. Jim was in his glory, and we were all amazed at the beauty of these large birds. Some in cages with babies, and others flying around free. We were able to let one sit on our arms, Jim figured it weighed 8-10 lbs. They also had a couple of deer in a pen, two monkeys from Panama, and two monkeys from Brazil in another pen, and many native monkeys hanging around in the trees. A lovely stream ran through the property, and there were some beautiful flowers there, although most of the plants are trees or shrubs that bear fruit for the birds and monkeys to eat. I took my dog with us on this trip because it wasn’t very far. He is very mellow, and I had him on a leash, but when one of their pair of fancy chickens came up to him rather suddenly, he scooped it up in his mouth before I could pull him back. Linda grabbed the chicken quickly and no harm was done, but then the rooster came at my dog to punish him for grabbing his wife. The guide promptly snatched the rooster and sent him off the other way, and everyone had a big laugh over it. It was an excellent day and we were home by three o’clock, including lunch at the restaurant. Then it was off to the beach for a swim and another beautiful sunset.