Fun With Our Family

Our daughter Andrea, her husband Tony and their friend Shefali, came to visit a few weeks ago.  It was so much fun to have them all here, loved having them.  Here are just a few pictures of the experiences they had visiting fantastic Costa Rica! Oh I hated to see them leave!

 

Fabulous Manuel Antonio National Park

 

 The water is always so warm.

Nothing like what North Americans expect from oceans and lakes. 

 

 Local swimming hole and river; only one mile from our village.  Bottom is all rock so no muck!

 

Andrea on Tarzan Swing

 

Andrea on Zip Line

 

 

Shefali on Zip Line

 

Another local sight, check out that boulder wedged in at the top!

 

 

 

Andrea and Tony had a request of a Tico Style dinner with some of our local Tico friends.  So Cecelia, Lorena (and Aldemar pitched in) were happy to cater a wonderful meal and bring some family along.  I think we had around 20 people, great Latin music and fantastic food!! 

 Our day at Playa (Beach) Ventanas (means windows)

This cave at the beach is about 300 feet long.  Best to go at low tide. 

 

Playa Ventanas with Andrea, Tony, Shefali and John climbing the rocks along the  coast.

 

Costa Rica is indeed Vacation Land!  So much to see and do.   Each day was easy to fill up with activities and sights.  We also made sure they got to experience our fabulous San Isidro Farmers Market.  Andrea said it was a bit overwhelming; we have heard this comment before, it really is HUGE!

Other days we went to another waterfall swimming hole, experienced terrific mountain driving with great views of miles and miles of Costa Rica scenery, hikes into the jungles (on paths of course), river walks and watching Costa Rican wildlife.  Just the drive to the Southern Zone takes you through miles and miles of plantations of palms for palm oil, beautiful mountains, along the Pacific Ocean, through authentic working Tico towns and little beach towns to shop for souvenirs.  Next time Andrea said she would like to relax more on our veranda!!

Endless Summer

We are into our second year living in beautiful Costa Rica. Now that we are settled into our home it is time to start exploring around us; we do live in Vacation Land after all. So it is easy to take off for a few days and enjoy the beauty around us.

We went to Panama a few weeks ago and stayed at a lovely B&B on the Costa Rica side of the border. What a great place! Beautiful grounds, great cabanas, nice people and a gorgeous outside restaurant. Highly recommend www.cascatadelbosco.com for anyone in the area of San Vito or going to Rio Sereno border.

Cascata Del Bosco Hotel & Restaurant

This is our cabana, with an amazing stand of huge bamboo next to it. 

 

 

Inside our cabana.  Beautiful views & lots of windows!

 

Look closely, that is John standing inside the bamboo.  The day we arrived was windy and the bamboo "sang" while dancing and creaking back and forth. 

Next trip out was to the Osa Peninsula. What a place! If this peninsula were in the US, it would be swarming with million dollar estates, but here it is mostly wild beauty. The views and beaches are terrific. We had a special opportunity to go with a Tico friend, Edison, and his family. Edison grew up on the Osa Peninsula so he enjoyed showing us around and taking us to two great beaches. Edison and sons even caught a barracuda while fishing from shore. Edison said not to worry that we were swimming in the same waters, just a little guy. Our Tica friends made fish soup with it, delicious!

 

Beautiful Osa Peninsula-Just one of the beaches we were privileged to visit.

 

 

Edison, John and Family Horse

 

Such a lovely family to share their family cabina with us.  Although our Spanish is a work in progress, with Edison around communications went well, plus Jackie & Mikey knew some

 English.  Plus smiles, hugs, hand gestures and pointing will get you far!

 

 Grass Huts along a beach shoreline.  Doesn't it look like a movie set?

Local Animals

Armadillo in our yard.  I think he is cute!

 

Iguana in the road.  He was enjoying the warmth of the pavement so much

 that even a Tico with a stick couldn't move him. 

2015, One Year Anniversary in Beautiful Costa Rica

We have now been in Costa Rica a full year. It went fast with so many new experiences, new friends, two homes (one a rental plus our new home in the mountains), new foods, new ways to live, learning a new language, and much more.

When we first came to Serenity Gardens we were the only residents along with Aldemar. Soon Steve came along, then Shannon. So for awhile it was us and 3 guys along with the workers. Soon afterwards Diane Gill showed up so then we had 2 women here along with a bunch of guys. Many new houses were built in SGEV during 2014. Now we have several more families living in Serenity with others soon to come. What an interesting year and adventure in our village.

 

Steve, Di Gill and little Lily along with a fish

Dry Season Has Returned

The dry season has returned along with tourist high season. We wake up to 60s at 6am, soon the temps are in the 70s. Mid day might get into low 80s here on our mountain home. The lower lying towns can get high 80s with the coastal towns and beaches into the 90s. We might get an occasional rain but it is pretty much dry.

We are looking forward to 2015 and new adventures. Our residency will be official soon and we can pick up our cedulas. That will be a great feeling as there are pluses to have your cedula. We won't have to make border runs, we will receive health care benefits, it is easier to carry than our passports and proves to any officials we are more than tourists.

Playa Ventanas—The Beach with the Caves (or in Spanish Ventanas means Windows)

Playa Ventanas is an unusual beach with a large beautiful cove for swimming but its claim to fame are its caves. It is best to check out the tidal charts on-line so you can walk inside the caves. We got up at 5am on a Sunday morning & gathered all that were going, to get to the beach during low tide.  It was pretty impressive. There were two caves we could walk in & a third we could see down the coast

 

a bit but by that time the tide had started to rise and getting to it was not practical. The caves we walked in were around 300 feet long, pretty long caves for a beach.

Our day at Playa Ventanas was special because we got to go with several Tico families from our mountain along with the Gills. Breakfast & lunch were packed up and cars filled so we could spend the day together. Our group of friends picnicked under the coconut palms; nice shade and gentle breezes with the beach just beyond the palms.

Next to us at the beach was a group of young people who have come to Costa Rica to enjoy life in the tropics, free to come and go at they please. We enjoyed talking to them and hearing about their travels. One of the guys climbed up the coconut palm to harvest his food and drink. I offered some of our food to him but he would only take some pineapple, seemed pretty happy that there were plenty of coconuts and coconut water.

 

 

 

Rascals! Car Eaters!

We were visiting a farm and these horses were very interested in our car. The horse on the right, tried to eat our car and took paint right off the hood! Rascal!

Horses in Costa Rica, especially to mountain Ticos, are more than a hobby.

 Their horses are transportation and help with work. 

 

We appreciative how much of life here in the Southern Zone Mountains is similar to our childhoods in the 60s.  We think it is pretty neat.  But everywhere you look you see Ticos with their smart phones and satellite TV at their houses so there is modern technology thrown in. 

 

 

 

Costa Rica--Nature at Its Finest

Costa Rica has one of the most diverse populations of birds and wildlife in the world. This is one of the reasons Costa Rica rates so high in tourism and is its number one industry. That and its miles and miles of beautiful beaches; which by the way are hardly ever packed, maybe because there are literally miles and miles of them.

John and I have always enjoyed nature, that is one reason we chose the southern zone on a mountain. City life is not for us, rural living fits us best.

The following pictures are not taken from stock photos.  These White-headed Capuchin Monkeys live on a nearby mountain; if they live here I haven't seen them yet.  On our mountain we have Howler monkeys, often right in our yard. The males make the strangest sound, hence their name. We have pictures in past blogs of the Howlers.

Toucans call out with a loud unusual call, signaling to us to search for them. They are a very large bird with an equally hefty bill. There are two types, the one pictured is common to this area, the Chestnut-mandibled. One recent day Aldemar spotted the other type, Keel-billed, that is not common here. It is a little smaller with a multi-colored bill. One of my birding buddies was extremely excited to hear a “visiting” Keel-billed toucan was spotted here in Serenity. As birds migrate “birders” often spot unusual types flying through. I am not yet well versed enough on Costa Rican birds to know a resident bird from a visiting one but I am learning.

Cusingas (called Aracai in English) are the small relative to the Toucan. We have a water apple tree next to the house which has brought Cusingas visiting morning and afternoons along with many other types of birds and squirrels.  It is common to have 6 Cusingas at a time in the tree, just outside our windows!   

The Bobo (called Motmot in English) is a fairly large gorgeous bird.  We have one that lives in our yard and the jungle tree line. It was very exciting to discover it the first time just sitting on a branch seemingly posing for us.

The Guaco (called Laughing Falcon in English) also signals to us by its call. It gets it name of Laughing Falcon, and in Spanish Guaco, because of its strange call. One day I spotted one from the veranda on a nearby branch with a coral snake in its strong beak. It had already swallowed the head and was sucking the remainder up like a string of spaghetti. It sucked down that whole snake and sat on the branch for the longest time because it was so full.

 

This snake came up on our porch railing during a hard rain. It sat there all day long, preferring our railing to the soggy rain soaked ground. It was a harmless type and since it didn't bother us, we didn't bother it; other than John repeatedly taking its picture while I am in the house looking on the internet to check if it was poisonous.  I am calling out to John, “please stay away from it until I can find out more about it, please stop getting so close!”, as he gets closer and closer to it. Men!  It turned out to be a harmless snake but still...

 

 

 

 

No need to write me and explain these aren't wildlife!  But I just had to show you what we find as entertainment on this mountain.  We all came out to see the oxen till a new garden for neighbors, Mike and Di Gill.  This is what you get when you want a garden tilled instead of a machine.  The farmers who brought them up our mountain walked them for miles to get here, the men and oxen worked and then walked back home.  All for $15.00!

 

 

Come to visit Costa Rica!!  The mountain views, beaches, waterfalls, rivers and wildlife are amazing!!

  The Ticos are pretty great too!

December in Costa Rica

Sunshine Returns

It is been interesting to go through the rainy season, which some Ticos call “winter”.

Everyday we get a little more sunshine with less rain with each passing day. No more days of 10 inches of downpour with the following day bringing 8 inches! We do appreciate how those hard rains replenish the rivers and water tables though. And here in the Southern Zone, it always stays green. Now that we are coming near the end of our first year here, we know more what to expect of our new home of Costa Rica.

 

Jungle Waterfall and Swimming Pool

That really is us, not just a advertisement.

It truly is an adventure many days, sometimes just little things like a new critter comes across our path, swimming in a jungle river or unusual migrating birds showing up for the first time in our yard. Or we go to town and discover they are having a celebration and parade for events we are clueless about. Ticos love their parades! We are finding and using more unusual produce at the market and learning more Spanish. We hired a local young lady, a Tica, to teach us Spanish. She is happy to have the job and we are thrilled to have her help.  It has been frustrating to learn new Spanish words that aren't used here, so we are turning to a local expert!! 

We have a Tico friend that likes to take us to out of the way restaurants, always introducing us to new places worth going back to. These are places we would never find on our own because they are either very remote or hidden. Gratefully we have a Garmin in which we can save new locations so we can easily go back to gems.

Mini Vacation From Our Mountain Retreat

We were able to spend an impromptu weekend get-away at a gorgeous home about an hour away. This house is on the market for 1.4 million, way beyond our lifestyle. What a treat that was, we made new friends, the owner played his accordion after an amazing dinner on their incredible huge octagon veranda and the next morning we had a lovely breakfast in the jungle overlooking the Pacific with Norm, Gina and Victor.

Just one view of Victor's lovely home, Pacific in background

(hard to tell where ocean is and horizon starts)

 

"We Will Be Right There!"
The following week we got another call from Norm and Gina, saying to meet them at another special location and stay for the night in luxury accommodations. During those two days we discovered 2 great Pacific beaches, 3 excellent restaurants, 1 beautiful waterfall with a large pool for swimming below and swam in the warm water of the resort pool. Thank you to our friends to inviting us. It was an amazing time, great place to stay and incredible discoveries. We are just getting to know Norm and Gina, they were Rocky Gardens' farm members and when we announced to our farm members we were moving to Costa Rica, they started keeping track of our adventure. They too are preparing to move down here when retirement comes.

Jungle Retreat, Villas Alturas

 New discovery, a beach that is fantastic and close by

 Being from the Great Lakes area, it is amazing to us how warm the Pacific is.

  Truly incredible!  Next time we are taking boogie boards!

 

 

The end of a beautiful day at the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica!

Community Center

The Community Center is beginning to take shape nicely. We now can see where the kitchen, bathrooms, office/classrooms and large community area will be. It is huge!! We have new neighbors along with visitors renting in Serenity that have brought smiles, laughter and good party celebrations. Life is indeed Pura Vida. Oh yes, we are happy with our move to Costa Rica!

October in Costa Rica

What Time of the Year Is It?
I had the oddest thing happen the other day. I am in a grocery store and see Christmas Trees and decorations. I think, “what are those things doing out, it is summer?” Then it dawns on me that it really is October, it's me that is confused as to the time of the year. For 10 months, every day is another summer day to us, so we get confused as to what time of the year it really is. Glad the rest of the world is keeping track because we have lost track of time around here. We keep track of the days of the week by “Milk Pick-up Days” and “Thursday Farmer's Market Day”. If not for those three days to keep us on track, I have a feeling we would be totally confused!

For those who think “But I like the changing seasons, maybe I wouldn't like a perpetual summer.” Let me offer an observation: we both enjoy nature and take time to observe trees, plants, animals, rivers, mountains and more. It has been very interesting how each month has subtle changes. It might be leaves falling off certain trees only to grow back new leaves right away. Or different birds and insects have arrived. Having had an organic vegetable farm ourselves, it is interesting what the farmers are planting or tasks they are performing on their land and what produce we find in the market. Obviously there is a difference between the rainy (some Ticos call it winter) and dry (summer) seasons but although it seems like summer to us all the time, we can pick out changes from month to month and find it extremely interesting.

 Cattle Drive--Some cattle came across the river last week and needed to be escorted back to the farm. Local Ticos used motorcylces in front of our house to direct them back home.

While having breakfast this little hummingbird hit our window and was a bit dazed for awhile.

  We set it upright and after posing for pics, flew off. 

Would We Do It Again?

This was a question many family and friends asked on recent our trip back to Michigan. The short answer is YES! We are so enjoying our new lives in Costa Rica. Life here is full of beauty, new experiences, adventures and new things to learn. Our days can be laid back quiet days or hectic. Some days bring surprises and we don't get done what we thought we were going to tackle. But what is nice, if you don't get it done today, there is always tomorrow. John doesn't have an employer and we don't have the farm to run so what does it matter if it gets done today or not? Simply put, life is very enjoyable and we can relax for a change here in Costa Rica.

We are getting settled in our lovely home and each day a little more gets done; things like towel bars, hooks for hanging things, unpacking, computer and phones set up, etc. Living here is truly wonderful, we are so blessed. Still don't have a TV set up and really don't miss it much as we are so busy with other things.

Breakfast on the Veranda, our favorite place to have breakfast. 

Newer Improved Internet

The new internet in Serenity is now up and running and we are so grateful to have better internet. We can also use Magic Jack. Finally we have a house phone! We have a Michigan phone number so for any of you who live in the 248 area code, calling me won't even cost you anything!! 248-747-4941.

We are 2 hours behind Michigan until the time change, then only one hour behind.

A Sloth in the Road!!

John is finally off the hook, we came across another sloth crossing the road and we got pictures!! (If you don't know about “we are in too much of a hurry and can't stop for pictures of a sloth in the road” story, then go back to January 2014 blog.)

We now know how to help a sloth safely cross a road. You offer the sloth a sturdy stick which he will readily grab unto. They really don't walk on the ground very well so an offered stick is a welcome sight to a sloth. Once he is holding on take the “sloth on a stick” to the side of the road in the direction he was going. Hold the sloth near a tree or branch and it will quickly transfer to the tree. Pronto! He is across the road in record speed!

Heirlooms!! Really!

I finally found some tasty tomatoes! When I saw these tomatoes in a little store in San Isidro, I was excited. All we have been able to find for 10 months of living in Costa Rica are the typical round basic red tomatoes, as shown in forefront of picture. Compare them to the oddly lobed tomatoes in the background, which are heirlooms. Heirlooms taste so much better than typical hybrid red tomatoes. Although the typical store tomato doesn't have the superior taste of an heirloom, they handle and ship well. So many growers don't want to bother with heirlooms, which I admit are harder to grow, harvest and handle. But, OH! the flavor is sooooo worth it!! We have favorite stores and markets, now I have my favorite “tomato” store, right next to the bread and meat stores in a little strip of stores.

Ticos and Ticas

Someone asked me if it was, “OK to call Costa Ricans Ticos?” (Ticos are men, Ticas are women and a mixed group is Ticos.) Costa Ricans are very proud of their country and heritage, which they should be, they have a beautiful country and they are truly wonderful people. Costa Ricans themselves use the names Tico and Tica, I am not sure but think they named themselves those names from what I understand. So yes, it is just fine to use those names.

In Our New Home, Yea!

Sorry I left you all hanging about our move into the new house. I was reminded today by a reader of my blog (thank you Catherine for the heads up advice, so nice to meet you today also) that many of you are wanting to know our housing status. We are IN!!  But we have been swamped, I explain below.

 

Knock, knock...Who's There?

 

Christian's father wanted something special for our front door so he added a little door. 

Love it!  I was so excited when I saw it!

It was pretty hectic those last days getting ready for the move to our new home. The morning after we got to sleep in our new house, I called a friend in Michigan to tell her we got in only to be reminded that she would be seeing us “next week”. “What!! Are you kidding me?!!? Next Week?” In the hustle and bustle of moving I lost track of the date and was shocked we had to leave for Michigan one week after we moved in. Rats!! I really did want to see family and friends in Michigan but not in one week! I just got into my new house! But we had a daughter's wedding to attend so we left our new home, all the unpacked boxes and Serenity on a beautiful day and headed back to Michigan.

Our Trip to Michigan

We had a wonderful 3 week vacation from our perpetual Costa Rica vacation. We loved seeing family and friends, I always wondered what it was like for people who take their vacations to go back “home” and visit. Now I know, it is great!

A BIG Thank-you!!

Thank you to our two host couples who invited us stay in their homes. Kay & Tony and Kim & Carl, you made our Michigan visit even better than hanging out in a hotel room in-between visits with family and friends. We got to spend extra time with our host friends; after-all visiting was what we went to Michigan for; it was not for sightseeing.

We had great visits with loved ones we miss; dinner, brunch and lunch invites and just stopping by to see people.

We also got to go “up north” for 4 days to Carl & Kim's lodge and had a great time. If you have never been up north in Michigan, or other northern states, it is a real treat. Peaceful and beautiful like Costa Rica, but obviously different vegetation. During our whole visit we had weather very similar to Costa Rica's mountain areas (beautiful!) but the day after we left a storm came through and has been chilly since. Whew! Left just in time! I hear many are already heating their homes!!

Our New House

It is very nice to be in our house. The house is fantastic (thank you Christian Arce and his crew-you guys did a great job) and the views are constantly amazing. We get to unpack things we haven't seen for 9 or 10 months. Now the million dollar question is, “If we have done without this for so long, do we really need it?” Both John and I sold and gave away soooooo much stuff that we really did feel we had downsized a whole lot. I mean A WHOLE LOT!! Now we have to ask if we downsized enough. ??? I don't know. I DO know that I don't really like packing and unpacking to move. And poor John REALLY hates being without proper tools to get jobs done. I understand somewhat because it has been nice to have my kitchen tools back; working in the kitchen is easier and more productive. I am sure John's tools are even more important to him than mine are to me though.

For those making the move to Costa Rica, here is a tip. You don't need as many clothes as you probably have. We really brought too many clothes. I will have to ask around to see where I can give some away. It is not that we go naked up here on the mountain but warm weather requires much less. Plus since we are on a perpetual vacation, clothes are more a necessity, not a fashion statement as it is very casual here. There are nights, (even some mid-days if a storm comes through) where I do have to take off my sundress and put on pants and a shirt. Some mornings we even are chilly and need a lightweight jacket, sweatshirt or sweater. But soon that extra layer is coming off as the sun warms things.

There is the “ahhh, my stuff” feeling as you unpack things you shipped. There is something to be said for moving to a new country and having familiar things around you. But I do know we are determined not to accumulate all we had before. So if you are coming to Costa Rica, start giving away and selling your stuff. Selling will help finance your moving expenses. It was great to give special things away to family and friends. It was nice to see who wanted what, much better than waiting until we are dead. And I just loved going to people's houses this trip and seeing “me” at their houses! That was great! I didn't miss my stuff when I saw it, just thought it very nice to see someone I love have a part of me in their home.

Looking forward to hosting family and friends in our new home. Can hardly wait!

Café Anyone?  Can you picture having breakfast with us on the veranda?

 

John squeezing lemons and oranges for our fresh fruit juice.  I add mango and pineapple, Yum!

 

 

 

John playing with Halisku, who has adopted us.  He is a beautiful dog and he missed

us greatly while we were gone but kind neighbors fed him.

  Costa Rican dogs are very gentle and sweet and abundant!