May Changes

Afternoon of Heavy Rain

Now that the rainy season has started; which brings afternoon rains, we have stood amazed at the deluge of water a few hours of rain can bring down a mountain. We have never lived on a mountain before so this is all new to us.

The easiest way out of Serenity is crossing what has been a little river. But the deluge has seriously washed away the land bridge (tubes underneath to drain water) we normally drive over. Two afternoons of rain last week brought so much water down of what was a quiet stream, that the strong current washed away the road bed and left us with a difficult drive over it. And forget about driving over the stream during the deluge, the current is strong enough to wash a car down the river or at least cause serious damage. There is another way out going further up the mountain in Serenity and across the mountain top by the Community Center. But that road is VERY steep and washed out. It is supposed to be worked on this week to improve the drive up. Hopefully we won't have any emergencies and need to leave Serenity when it is raining hard because neither way out is safe right now in a heavy rain. We obviously need a bridge but not sure when that will happen. But no doubt, we need a new bridge before August when even heavier rains will come for 3 to 4 months.

 Before Picture--We can easily walk across the bridge, unto the rock and climb down to a little pool of water below the falls for swimming.

After Picture--This is what happens to the river after a few hours of hard rain.

  Look for the little bridge in lower left corner!  No swimming today!

This is the "lazy" stream crossing after a hard rain.

  You can't really get the feel for the torrent of water it has produced by looking at the picture. 
We couldn't drive across until the next morning.

House Update

The stairways are constructed in our new house so I got to go upstairs for the first time this past weekend. It is going to be a great area for guests. It is exciting to think about many of our family and friends visiting Costa Rica and us. Don’t make plans to come until after the holidays though unless you really like rain. The rainiest months are September, October and November. That leaves December as a month of transition into the dry season but really...do you want to travel at a time of heavy holiday traffic and high air-fares? Best to wait for January through April. I am liking this May weather also, it is cooler but you do have rainy afternoons.

 That whole upstairs area is for guests!  I had told John for me to be able to move to Costa Rica,

 I had to have a guest area.

All the "green" should be plastered or this week. The house will be stucco. 

Mangoes, Mangoes Everywhere!

This is the high season for mangoes in southern Costa Rica. They grow up and down our mountain road, really an exciting sight to see. The market has them pretty cheap too. I didn't know there are different types of mangoes. The smaller mangoes are the sweetest and less fibrous. What to do with all these mangoes...? Fruit smoothies, tomato salsa (a chopped mango adds a nice dimension), mango salsa for fish (delicious!), jam, salads and more. Never has my kitchen been so filled with tropical fruit. I also chopped and freeze all types of fruit for frozen fruit smoothies, makes it very much like sherbet.

Diane with a new friend, Jaden, one of our builder's daughters.

Water Apples

We have water apples galore on our property. There are so many falling to the ground that it smells like vinegar standing on the veranda! Water apples are very popular here, I will have to ask what they do with them. We really aren't fond of them eating them like an apple as they are soft in texture. They would be good in smoothies and would like to try making water apple preserves.

We had a green banana ceviche at a party. It was amazing. I really need to get the recipe for that! It reminded me of potato salad! I put Aldemar on the hunt for the recipe.

Relearning Nature

Trees down here behave very oddly to someone that hails from Michigan. The fruit trees often have 2 or more crops and some trees, like the mandarin lemons, bear year round. Leaves on some trees fall off only to be replaced the next week! We have seen orange trees with new blossoms that are also producing fruit of all stages, some of the fruit near maturity. There is so much to learn about nature in Costa Rica. Since we love nature, it is exciting for us to discover new things about it.

Rainy Season Approaching

The rainy season has started slowly and will build so that by September, October and November we will experience lots of rain. Right now the vegetation, rivers and ground are being replenished from hardly any rain for the past four months. Some Costa Ricans, (mostly just those who have been to the States) sometimes call the rainy season “winter” but that just seems odd to me. Days that still reach into the 70s to 80s can't be “winter”. I'll stick with “rainy season”. Currently we have mixed cloudy/sunny days with periods of rain but haven't had a full day of rain yet. The further you get away from the mountain the more likely to have sun. Sometimes we can we look out into the valley from our new house and see sunshine way out there in the valley and other mountains.

House Construction

Our house is about 2 months from completion. We have picked out most of the lighting, tiles and fixtures. Still working on kitchen appliances. This is the third house John and I have built together and we both find it intriguing; it is an exciting process. I like the designing part and John is into the construction so we fit well together building a new building because it exercises our creative sides.

The upstairs level is for guests.  Bedroom, full bath and loft area. 

As I have mentioned before, many Costa Rican guys that work outside often bring their dogs to work with them. Pictured here is tired little Oszo. His owner, Victor, was walking back and forth taking gravel down the hill to a building site. Pictured with Victor is Odilio. Oszo the dog, finally got tired and needed a ride. Oszo follows Victor everywhere but has little legs. One Sunday, when Victor took his family to the ocean, Oszo got anxious for Victors return. So Oszo trotted up to our building site (Victor sometimes works for our builder) looking for Victor. After about 2 hours I said to John, “Lets go up to the house to see if Oszo is still up there because I haven't seen him back down.” Sure enough, Oszo was in our house waiting Victor. Awhhh!

Victor, Oszo and Odilio

Pacific Ocean Picnic

While driving home from San Jose a couple weeks ago, we had food in the car along with a blanket. We stopped at a popular roadside cliff overlooking the ocean for a picnic. The waves were very large that day, the picture doesn't really show how big they were. And we saw 4 Scarlet Macaws while there. It made for an lovely picnic.

Surfs Up!

Scarlet Macaws

Semana Santa-Holy Week in Costa Rica

Easter in Costa Rica

In many Spanish speaking countries Holy Week is also called Semana Santa.  Holy Week in Costa Rica is very special and an important time for families to spend time together. Most workers get off from Thursday through Sunday. Good Friday is celebrated with family and a meal. Some new Costa Rican friends (Christian and Charlotte) invited us to their family dinner for Good Friday.

Our new friends in Costa Rica at their family Good Friday dinner. 

 Christian's father built this house and all the beautiful furniture and wood work. 

We had noticed during a trip to San Isidro this week 'logs' being sold along the road and the farmer's market. These 'logs' were about 3 feet long and approximately 8 inches in diameter. Since we hadn't seen 'logs' being sold before we realized it had something to do with Semana Santa.

Turned out the logs are from palm trees. They are cut lengthwise and the heart of palm taken out to make a special dish for the family dinner. Christian’s mother made a traditional Good Friday meal with one of the dishes being made from heart of palm. The meal was very tasty. We really enjoyed the meal and time with their extended family.

We came home in the dark, driving through the mountains from San Isidro to Serenity. The amount of people walking home from family dinners was as heavy as the car traffic. John had to be extra cautious on the dark winding roads because around the bend might be a family on the side of the pavement.  They don't walk on the shoulder but on the pavement because there likely is no shoulder. We came across a family walking home with their two goats. Then as we drove through Pejibaye there was a procession with Biblical characters; Jesus, Disciples, Mary, Roman soldiers, friends and enemies of Jesus, etc. It was a very interesting day and evening.

During an outing one day, we kept seeing booths along a mountain road with wooden trays and bowls. I thought one of these wooden bowls would be perfect for fruit and veggies so we stopped at one. The produce in the wooden bowl ((I am sure they have a special name but I don’t know it) shows some of the lovely produce from our weekly trip to the farmer's market.

This little fellow wanted to come up on our front porch. He was about 1.5 feet away and almost made it up but became camera shy and took off.  He was about 15 to 18 inches long from nose to tail.   The more common Costa Rican Iguana has a heavier body; this guy was skinny and had a flap on his head that looked like a leaf.

Missing Michigan

Now that the weather in Michigan is turning warmer, I find that I have times when I long for Davisburg, my old house and all the loved ones we left behind.  It was really hard to miss Michigan when Northern America was consistently in single digits or below 0 degrees and getting tons of snow.  It was a good time to skip out on winter, what a brutal one it was!!

 

But once another beautiful day is underway, I have had my coffee, been able to sit and watch 6 different types of hummingbirds come to my feeder, I am cheerfully excited about our adventure here in Costa Rica.  There are certainly people I miss and can say, "Michigan, I do miss you."  (In the better weather.)

 

Tall House!

Our roofs are on and we are getting pretty excited. We never realized the house was going to be sooooo tall. At least there will be no one in back of us complaining we are blocking their view of the valley. We have the house situated far enough over near the tree line so no one will be building directly in back of us.  The two levels of roof are to allow warm air to rise and escape out the windows between the two roofs.  

 

Our builder, Christian Arce, did an amazing job on the basement. We are shocked he is going to all the trouble to put such a nice plaster and paint finish on the block basement walls. The basement arches were another big surprise how nice they turned out. On the weekends, when the guys go home, we can sit up on our veranda and enjoy our “home”. Tonight we saw three young toucans while sitting up there.

We are in the “hunting stage” for house fixtures and tile. Fortunately we think we have located enough choices that we don't have to drive to San Jose in the north part of Costa Rica. We thought we were taking a trip there this week but this Saturday found enough choices to satisfy our needs and canceled our trip to the north. We will drive down the other side of the mountain early tomorrow morning to look at a hardware (ferreteria) store down along the coast to make sure we are satisfied with our choices.

 

 

Enjoying the Sights

This past Saturday we were walking through a coffee farm inter-planted with banana trees. The bananas give the coffee plants shade. Thought you might like to see coffee and bananas growing on a lovely little farm in the mountains.

 Unripe Coffee Beans

 

John and I continue to pick mandarin lemons and make a lemon/orange juice drink. We often have visitors stopping here while touring Serenity for our “lemonade” refreshment. The lemons grow wild and we get oranges from Aldemar's brother down the road. Yum! No coke please!

 

Almost Three Months

We are almost going on three months of living in Costa Rica and life here is very good. This is the dry season and every day is like summer reaching around 85 in the sun for a few hours. In the shade it is cooler; very lovely usually with a nice breeze. We wonder what we will feel about the rainy season. I have talked to many Norte Americanos and Costa Ricans who say their favorite time of the year is the rainy season. I will have to see for myself, can't imagine saying that.

We went back to Aldemar's boyhood swimming hole this week. It is a lovely place in the river with a waterfall, rock ledges and cool flowing water. Both John and I find we like it better than going to the ocean where it is hot, sandy and the waves turn the water murky. I know we aren't in the majority and “paradise” to many is sandy beaches and blue ocean waters but we like the cooler mountains; it is plenty warm enough here for us plus the water is clean. We can also swim in a smaller pool under the falls in the river right next to our rental house if we don't want to drive a mile to the larger swimming spot.

 

Swimming Hole. Bottom is all rock so it is very nice for walking.

 

Off to Panama!

We had to travel to Panama this week to renew our passports. Every 90 days visitors have to leave the country. Although we have applied for residency and been accepted by immigration we don't yet have our official cedulas. We expect to get our cedulas in the fall, takes about a year after acceptance. A cedula is Costa Rica's official certificate that you are now a resident, (not a citizen), but accepted as a resident. But immigration and motor vehicle departments don't operate by the same guidelines. So to keep our drivers licenses and auto insurance current we have to go out of the country and have our passports stamped. Even banks won't wait on you if your passport is overdue the 90 days. Once we have our cedulas we don't have to leave every 90 days.

Crossing the border to Panama was very laborious. It took about 3.5 hours to finally get over the boarder and on our way to the city of David. That was 3.5 hours at the boarder, on top of 2+ hours driving down there.  Our builder, Christian, came with us so we had an experienced Costa Rican help us. There were so many windows, applications and fees to pay. Get this stamped, pay an exit fee, fill out this form, go to this window, buy this stamp, talk to this person, get your picture taken, get your car fumigated, etc.! It is really crazy!

 

For those going to Panama, there is a new exit tax, $7.00.  They only had one person collecting for everyone wanting to cross, even babies.  Took 1.5 hours to get through that line. You can pay this tax ahead of time at Bancredito.  Not sure where you will find one but that would save you a long line if you can find one before you get to the boarder.  Maybe one in a city near you.  We will look beforehand next time for that bank. 

 

Panama Border Crossing

Not to worry my loved ones, but I got to feel my first earthquake while at the border. John and Christian didn't feel it because they were standing in another area. I was sitting on a very large heavy cement bench and was wondering why it was moving. I heard some people in CR felt the tremors also. To put your mind at ease, where we are living is not earthquake prone, hurricane prone or any volcanoes.

Once away from the border of Costa Rica & Panama, Panama was lovely; shopping was nice and we had lunch at TGIF. Yep! The franchise restaurant. Christian said they really don't care for many of Panama's independent eateries so we went safe.  Didn't care for the border, it seemed really dirty, noisy and too many trucks. 

Update on the House

Christian says he hopes to have our house done in 3 months from this point. It is exciting to anticipate moving in. We are getting to the point where a lot of decisions will have to be made. Won't have any trouble finding tile, (tile is a big thing in the tropics) but light fixtures aren't meeting my approval so far. Got to keep looking...

Christian's brothers are cabinet makers so will work with me on the look I want. Going for a more modern look this time. Our roof is more complete than this picture shows but this is what I have on my computer right now from a few days ago.

 

 

March 2014 updates

On Saturday March 15, 2014 Serenity Gardens Eco Village had their first community party. Serenity currently only has 6 residents but as a “Thank You” to Serenity's crew who make this a beautiful place we invited the workers and their families for an afternoon barbecue. We had around 50 people, good food and lots of smiles. Even with a language barrier we all had a wonderful time.

Serenity Gardens' first community party.  Look carefully in the background, many heads back there!

Of course the weather was good, it is the dry season after all!

Man! Can those guys cook chicken!!! They built a wood fire, put a very large kettle over the fire, added oil to the pot and when good and hot in went the chicken and spices. Wow! Us Norte Americanos were shocked! Now that is chicken!

Our Tico Chicken Cooks, they will be invited back!

Aldemar, Juan and Steve built a walkway across some rocks to easily get to the falls. There is a nice swimming hole at the bottom of the falls. I must admit it is a bit chilly. We like the hot springs more! I heard there are some hot springs somewhere around the southern zone but haven't been there yet. Northern CR has many hot springs, but then they also have many volcanoes!

 These falls are right next to our rental house.  Walkway built this week to make access easier.

Diane standing in the river, yes really in the river...

getting ready to dive!

Aldemar and his crew spent the week beautifying things around here in honor of our guests. They polished up the river trail to the jungle gazebo, adding gravel to the walking trail.

Our house is coming along. Basement is almost finished except for the sand plaster inside and stucco on the outside. First floor concrete is poured and steel beaming has started to be erected. I was shocked when I saw how tall the architect made the walls and ceilings; seems too tall to me but then warm air rises...

Our builders, some of them live nearby and are excited to have work.  Others come from San Isidro and live on site Monday thru Friday.  No cement trucks here, all cement mixed on site. 

 Back breaking work!

View of basement and new steel going up on top of first floor.

Update since I wrote about the party:

We have been getting return visits and receiving food gifts from the Ticos that attended the party. This is really neat! We have gotten plantain, a pineapple, lunch from Aldemar's mom, and a dessert when we stopped by to thank a family for the pineapple. Now that was interesting! We don't speak much Spanish and they don't speak English at all. Here we are sitting at their table trying to converse with the little Spanish we know. I loved it! I had wanted an adventure and we are getting it.

 

Aldemar has really added color and fullness to our lives by introducing us to many of his family. With family up and down this mountain road, we have been meeting so many of our neighbors through Aldemar. I don't think I have ever met such a happy family. They are always smiling! His mom and dad always talk away in Spanish when we pick up our milk twice a week; doesn't matter to them that we are often totally confused, smiling but shrugging our shoulders. They are just happy to see us and want to tell us stuff. And to be honest, we are happy to see them too!

Last night we were invited to a birthday party at one of Aldemar's brother's house. So interesting! We had a most delicious fish dinner, a special toast to the two who had birthdays with an unusual drink (can't even begin to remember what we were told it is called) and chocolate birthday cake. The cake was similar to what we would have in the US but the rest of the food and drink was typical Tico style.

We are enjoying being included in Tico events and making new friends.  Aldemar told us that for years this area has been depressed without jobs and now that Serenity is getting built "they are excited and happy that the Americans and Canadians are coming."  And once the village is built there will still be jobs with all the residents here wanting all types of work to be done.  I have been asked numerous times if I need a housekeeper.  Maybe when I am in my "grande" house.

Today Aldemar took us to his boyhood swimming spot. Nice waterfalls, rocks, and a huge swimming hole at the bottom of the main falls. Even John went swimming. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to take family and friends there! I will get pictures another time, we didn't take the camera.

Welcome Gina and Norm!!

Some friends we met through our farm came to visit this past week and pick out their own lot in Serenity Gardens. Mostly they stayed at OSA (the sister community) but did spend a night here so we could take them to San Isidro's Farmers Market and show them around. They love Serenity and didn't want to leave. So very excited! Gina and Norm are younger than us so they aren't ready to retire but this gives them a good goal to aim and plan for; they are hoping to build in 3 years. Since they know (much sooner than we did) that moving to Costa Rica is in their future they can plan and wisely move ahead.

Paradise Lost...Briefly

 

Toucans!

The front porch is where we eat all our meals and drink coffee so we get to see wildlife as it goes by. After having monkeys checked off my “must see at Serenity” list, next was toucans. I never knew what to listen for (to signal me they were near) until I got to see one while sitting on the porch. The best I can describe is they sound like a big squeaky rusty hinge or a child's squeaky swing although not irritating, actually a pleasant sound. We have seen them twice now from the porch and both times in pairs, calling to each other. I really like their sound, very tropical and different, it always reminds me of the first time we stayed in OSA. They are huge, colorful and very exciting to see. Check!!

Now Bring On The Sloths!

Paradise Lost

Briefly...

For family and friends left behind in the brutal winter North America has been experiencing, especially all of you in Michigan, (our home state) you might get smug on this one and go “ha-ha!” I understand the human spirit and many of you have endured one of the worst winters on record while I keep posting pictures of our perpetual summer vacation.  So here is your opportunity to be smug.

Two weeks ago I found a tick on my leg. At the time I figured I found it in time, not swollen with my blood or its head not too far into my skin, it was rather easy to remove with a bit of a tug. The area just showed a red spot similar to a mosquito bite and didn't itch or bother me for 2 weeks. But on Wednesday last week I noticed the little red bite was showing signs of infection, angry red swollen and traveling. I also wasn't feeling good and spent most of the day in bed. One eye the previous day started to show signs of a reaction to something, red and swollen. I managed to sit up long enough to research the internet (have minimal service at the rental house now, very minimal) and discovered many of my symptoms on tick bite sites; horrible body aches, fever, swollen red eye, loss of appetite and a very angry looking bite.

By the next morning it became obvious I needed medical help, I had to lay down and couldn't keep my head up. I haven't hurt that much with body aches since my 20s! Aldemar to the rescue, as always! What a blessing he is to have here! He escorted us to town to find a Farmacia to take care of me. We needed him to translate and find the best Farmacia for us. Step back into time, further back than the 60s, and you will get an idea of the place. (I could have gone to the hospital but really hated the idea and was grateful Aldemar said the Farmacia would take care of me.) Lots of wooden display cabinets with glass fronts and a back room examination room. I was seen by Dr. Victor and given a very powerful injection of antibiotic and pills to take home, all for $42.00. By that evening I was sitting up a bit on the couch, took a quick shower, asked for something to eat and slept peacefully that night. The next morning I was pretty good and by afternoon feeling excellent, no signs remaining except the leg wound; which is clearing up. Wow! Amazing care one can get at a Farmacia!

Hey, I know a new Spanish word: garrapata (tick!)

Basement

Our basement is coming along pretty good. Especially when you consider everything is done by hand. No cement trucks here, all mixing of concrete is done on site! They will be mixing and pouring that whole floor by hand and both main floor and top floor get concrete also.

John just called me out to the deck to try out my back machine.  I have compressed discs and keep my back healthy by exercising my lower back and neck.  Years ago he made me a machine based on the one I used in physical therapy to strengthen by muscles to keep the discs separated.  I have been without it since just before we loaded the container, just a little less than 3 months ago.  He finally got it back in operation on the front porch as it took some special engineering to set it up without the support we had in our basement in Davisburg.  Yea, my back is back exercising!