Annexation Celebration

Nosara is not without memories for me, this is the fourth time that I’ve returned to this village on the Guanacaste Peninsula .The first time we came here for a family Christmas. We rented a house, “Casa Frisbee” from Harbor Reef, a wonderful hotel and property management company and filled it with the four of us, two friends of Josh and Lucy’s, Dan’s sister and her two kids and our good friends Kellie and Trish the Dish. Nosara is a wonderful place for a family holiday or getaway. There is just the right combination of relaxation and adventure for people like us who love the beach, nature and other cultures and don’t mind “roughing it” a little with the absence of cable, sometimes no air conditioning and other perceived necessities. We’ve had two Christmases here, a dear friends 60th birthday and I’ve come one other time with my daughter Lucy to sing and work. Tonight I found myself at the Tropicana Disco Bar, a rustic open air dance hall in the heart of downtown Nosara. Dressed to kill in my new Krel Wear dress, watching dancers move to urban Latin mixes against black lighting and flashing disco lights, I looked around noticing the entire place was decorated with stalks of corn, primitive torch lighting, altars with coconuts and other Costa Rican symbols. We were celebrating Guanacaste Day. Guanacaste Day is a Costa Rican holiday celebrating Costa Rica's annexation of Guanacaste province from Nicaragua in 1824. The celebration of Guanacaste Day and its importance to Costa Rica reflects Costa Rican culture. Costa Ricans value family, education, democracy, peace and machismo. Apparently Costa Rica provided this value base, where Nicaragua could not. Good reasons to celebrate. The last time I was here at the Tropicana was New Years Eve, five months after the disclosure of Dan’s affair. In the midst of all the pain and heartache we put forth our best efforts to come together with family and friends for our Costa Rican holiday. Dan had given me a ring that Christmas, a “promise ring” signifying his intention to work his way back to the center of our relationship-our marriage. It was uncharacteristic at that time for Dan to give me such a sentimental gift- it meant a lot. Sitting here tonight I can see exactly where Dan and I were holding each other on the dance floor minutes before the dawn of the New Year, 2007, the huge net of balloons bulging above our heads, everyone around us dancing and smiling. “Feliz Ano Nuevo!” Happy New Year. Our eyes locked and we had our first kiss of the New Year. It was so intense, passionate and for me, so full of hope. Sitting here all the feelings came rushing back. It will be another year after that New Years Eve before Dan officially “annexes” from his troubles and joins the province of our relationship, our marriage, our home-me. Looking around at everyone celebrating Guanacaste’s permanent union with Costa Rica, I am hoping for a future celebration of my own to mark, or I should say “re-mark” this new permanence.