My Apartment

I’m staying at a ground level apartment owned by Maria Fernandez and her husband Wolfgang. I’ve noticed in Latin countries, if you have Maria as a name, you normally need to pair it with a second one. It’s a cute, immaculate, and small space- around 400 square feet with a small galley kitchen and living room combo, a back bedroom, and bathroom.

You enter through the patio, ten by 5, with a wooden table a couple of plastic chairs, and a hammock. Took a nap there this afternoon. The only way to take a nap.

Once inside, the kitchen is to the left. Small, apartment fridge, a counter and sink, and a hot plate. There is storage below this with curtains blocking the view of the Spartan dishes, silverware, pots, and pans. A bar doubles as counter space and is the only table to eat at inside. There’s some wicker furniture, a couch and chair, that don’t look too comfortable. There’s even a tv. I have wireless internet which I am not sure is a good thing. I am trying to limit my use.

The bedroom is basic. A queen size bed, low to the ground, a small closet with some shelves. The woodwork in the place is the best part, organic with whole logs acting as support beams and shelves that are curved and natural- no measured cuts of wood here. The curtain rods are sticks worn or sanded smooth and bleached.

The bathroom shower is tiled with a stepped wall separating it from the rest of the room. The hot water heater looks like a Mr. Coffee pot on top of the showerhead and an electric switch above the toilet. Needless to say, cool showers for the next three weeks. (the weather is in the eighties so this won’t be a problem).

It’s comfortable and quiet. The biggest noise makers are the howler monkeys in the trees. They compost here- all organic scraps get tossed over the wall into the bush. There are some banana trees on property. They are green. Maybe they are plantains. I’ll have to ask. There are a lot of creepy crawlers, the most interesting was in my bathroom sink this morning- a scorpion the size of a dime. Time to shake out the shoes before I put them on.

There is another apartment next door, and I can hear the young girl singing songs in English. I see her and her mother walking past but I haven’t had the chance to speak to them. Maria Fernandez and Wolfgang live above. The only pain is the security. I have to carry three keys, one for the gate on the driveway, one for the security screen door, and another for the door itself. It’s quite a process coming and going, especially at night because there is little light. I need to carry a flashlight.