San Ramon, Alajuela — January 10, 2025

A simple stone or concrete bench sits on a grassy lawn at the edge of a hillside overlooking a green valley.

I came up to San Ramon for the day and ended up mostly standing still. A concrete bench had been set at the lip of a hillside, framed by tall grasses and a low wire fence, with a palm tree leaning into the valley beyond. I sat there a while, watching the forested ridges roll out under a sky that could not decide on weather. Around the terrace, magenta ti plants and a spiky yucca pressed up against the dark mesh fence, a small wooden pergola off to one side. Fanny with a garden hose, the water beading down through the fronds provided the waterfall. Nearby, a staghorn fern hung from a metal hook, its antlered shape splayed wide against the green shade net. Inside, on a white plastered mantel, two twine-wrapped candles stood beside a small Baby Groot planter holding a single sprout. That was the part that stayed with me. A whole valley outside, and the thing I kept looking at was a sprout the size of my thumb.

A view from a terrace or garden looking out over rolling, densely forested green hills under a cloudy sky.