Boas and Pumas and Spiders....Oh my! 2-08-2008

As I promised you.....however long it has taken....here is the story about the critters on our farm in Penas Blanca. Know that I haven't seen any at this point and I'm told they don't want to see me anymore than I want to see them. I'm not totally convinced about that. We were staying at the Orosi Lodge in the small town of Orosi.....cute place with the best cappucino ever. Ray and I would spend a hour or so each evening in the coffee shop. Me writing and Ray reading. Well, we got into a conversation with Andy the proprietor......he and his wife have been living in Costa Rica for the past 15 years. Andy has 3 rottweilers and I mentioned that we would be bringing our dog when we move there. I said that a guy that we met in Westfalia said that we shouldn't bring a dog from the states because they didn't have the instinct to stay away from the snakes....."do you think that is true" I said. Yes he said but I'd be more concerned about the big cats! What big cats I asked? Pumas! Your property is next to the rain forest.....there are cats.....they hunt at night and they eat small animals. There is a farmer up there and they eat his chickens. I told him that we were training Wallace and that we would not be letting him out at night. I'd be worried about the Boas too he said. You have more Boas on that side of Orosi Valley than we do here. And Coral snakes too! But you don't have to worry to much about them....their mouths are small and they can't open them very wide.....so they would just naw on you. Okay....now my heart is beating like crazy and my eyes are getting wider and wider. Oh and spiders!.....he says. This is where I stop him and say that I'm not afraid of spiders. At this he holds up his hand and says "they are as big as my fist".

That night sleep didn't come easily. I woke with a start at one point convinced that a python had spit on me from the dark some where. I have a very vivid imagination. Thank God the next morning when the sun was out and I could check the room for intruders....Ray and I had a good laugh.

I couldn't wait to talk to our real estate friend about Andy's comments the next day. He said he needed to talk to Andy about scaring his clients! Yes, but is it true? Well.......did you hear something jumping on the roof every night while you were staying in our guest house? Yes....! That is the puma that lives in the stand of bamboo behind the guest house. He hunts the night hawks. He's a beautiful animal about 40 or 50 pounds. And he has never bothered Lola May (Steve's rottweiler). What about the Boas? Yes.....but they don't want to see you any more than you want to see them. Why do people keep saying that........do they know how much I don't want to see one?

Does this information cause me to change my mind about moving to Costa Rica.........not on your life (or mine). The whole incident in Heredia with the banditos really changed my perspective about a lot of things. When it's my time........it's my time and I won't be able to change that. For now I choose to live my life with passion and I am grateful for every experience. Thank you, God......for all that I am, all that I have and all that I experience. Thank you, God for the critters too!

Bandito's in Heredia 1-05-2008

We made it to Heredia a day earlier than scheduled…..we'd had enough rain and thought we would spend our last three days in Costa Rica doing a little sight seeing near San Jose. We were so pleased when we found our Bed & Breakfast, it was just as I had pictured it and we were welcomed with open arms and warm hearts. Our room was in the front part of the house and had a private entrance out to the roof/deck. It is here that we were enjoying our first evening. We had been talking with other guests and when they left for their dinner reservations Ray and I had the deck all to ourselves. I was working on my latest blog titled "Boas, Pumas and Spiders…OH MY!" and Ray was reading quietly. I'll get back to finishing that blog sometime in the future. The peaceful quiet of the evening was shattered when a man's voice commanded that we "shut up and do as you are told". My first thought was that Manual (the owner's assistant) was playing a joke on us. When we turned to face the sound we quickly realized that it wasn't a joke. We faced a man dressed all in black, black gloves and a black ski mask…..only his eyes were showing……his eyes and a very shiny gun pointing directly at us. His right arm outstretched, balanced by his left hand. He voiced his command once again and Ray said we weren't going anywhere. Twice Ray said "no we won't go"……..that is when I took Ray's arm and said "yes we will go, please let's do as he says". I led the way into the house and started down the staircase to the main floor. Stairs are difficult for me and I wasn't moving fast enough for our "bandito" who jabbed Ray in the back with his gun…."faster, faster"…..I picked up my step not feeling the pain in my knees. We entered the parlor only to find the others on the floor. There were six of us. Laurie the owner, Manual, Frank a friend of theirs and Martha…Franks sister from Nicaragua. Frank lives in San Jose and Martha had been visiting….she had just come over to say good bye as she was headed home the next morning. I only give these details because they, just as Ray and I, were not really scheduled to be there that night. But then again my belief system tells me that we were ALL supposed to be there. The guests that had gone to dinner had just checked in that afternoon…..a family from CT….a couple and their two daughters.

Our bandito told us to get on the floor with the others. I don't exactly know when I finally realized that there were three banditos all dressed alike and all carrying a gun. They carried walkie talkies/phones and it was very apparent that one or possibly two more were outside of the house one giving commands. The sound of the crackling static of the phones is a sound that will most likely always send shivers up the back of my head. Only one appeared to speak some English…..he threw a roll of duct tape at Manual and told him to bind our ankles and wrists together. Manual, his hands trembling, did as he was told…..all the while repeating "please don't talk….I'm sorry…I'm sorry". He was so frightened and they seemed to pick on him…..kicking him several times in the head after they had tied him too. I repeated the prayer for protection, I prayed that no one would be hurt and prayed that the family wouldn't return back before it was all over.  I looked into Ray's eyes and told him that I loved him. Frank and Martha never spoke a word….they laid on the floor with there heads down. We all laid on the floor…..all except Ray. He sat straight up and watched two of them come in and out of the room with all our belongings. They were searching every room in the house for anything they could sell on the street and any money. They were becoming more and more agitated as time went on because they apparently were not finding enough of what they wanted. Ray finally dropped on his side. I asked him later…..much later why he did and he said that he decided that sitting there looking defiant was probably not the thing to do. He also said that the longer he saw the gun pointing at him the bigger it got. Good decision! At one point one of the men took Ray's hand and held a 10 inch chef's knife to his fingers (years of food business) and threatened to cut off his fingers if we didn't come up with more money. They picked Laurie up off the floor and took her up the stairs…looking for a safe. She told them she didn't have a safe and that they had all the money there was. We found out later that the safe was actually in our room. I feared for Laurie's life as she argued with them.

Eventually they gave up but not before they stole all passports, all identification, money, credit cards, laptops, cell phones, video cameras, digital cameras, purses, backpacks, money belt and other items that only meant something to the individual they took them from. Last October I had a pipe and carrying bag made for me by the artist Jim Hawk in Sedona, AZ……it is sacred and very special to me. I had carried it to Costa Rica for our land blessing…..loosing this beautiful instrument broke my heart. They told us "no police, no police" and left. How long they were there….I can't guess….it seemed like hours, but  I'm sure was more like 15 to 20 minutes.

The rest of the night was filled with phone calls…..cancelling credit cards, debit cards, and calling our loved ones. Three different police departments were involved: the Belen Police who are the local police….The Crime Investigation Department and the Policia Turistica. The latter was the most helpful to Ray and I. They followed Manual, Ray and I to the Crime division the next day and spoke in our behalf….getting the process started. Monday we spent three hours at the American Embassy applying for our temporary passports. The process with the police and the Embassy was painless….not at all like some of the stories you hear about people getting stuck in foreign countries. The temporary passports did cost $200 however and that was painful! The family that was out to dinner during the robbery……they had a family meeting and voted to loan us $200 to help us get out of the country! These kind people had lost a lot of their belongings and money as well and still wanted to help us out. Our daughter wired money too and it ended up taking every bit of it to get us home. If you visit Costa Rica remember to put aside $26 each to pay your exit tax.

On Sunday afternoon (the day after the incident) the six of us shared lunch together. Manual threw sausage, chicken and steaks on the grill along with fresh eggplant and carrots. Laurie made pasta with fresh tomatoes and oregano from her garden…..all the food was delicious. Laurie said the blessing and at the end asked that beautiful Costa Rica not be hurt by this experience, that we bless the country and her people. I believe that our souls will be forever connected.

Many thoughts and feelings have embraced me over the days following the incident and what I have discovered is that my faith was tested…..or perhaps a better way to phrase it is "my faith was validated"! I am very comfortable in the knowing that no matter what happens……all is well. I am a spiritual being living a human experience and it's one hell of a ride. It is a wonderful world!

Volcan Irazu 12-27-2007

December 27^th and the sun is shinning! The sky is a beautiful blue, a light breeze is blowing and es buena vida. After enjoying a cup (or two) of excellent Costa Rica café, corn flakes and banano we decided to venture off to Finca Christina (a local organic coffee farm) and Volcan Irazu. Finca Christina is a short drive north of Cartago on the way to Turrialba. Turning off of the main road headed to the farm we probably hadn't traveled more than 5 km before rounding a curve only to encounter a mud hole the size of Rhode Island…….we quickly decided to back out and not take a chance of reliving our Christmas Eve adventure on our farm. The drive to Volcan Irazu is really breath taking. We took time to stop and enjoy the view whenever the road permitted. With our binoculars we were able to find our mountain in the distance. Pretty cool! We offered to photo a couple of handsome young men with the valley in the distance….they were taking photos of themselves……holding the camera at arm's length clicking the picture. They reciprocated and we got to talking. They were photographers from Miami and gave us several pointers on using our camera. And of course for the rest of the day we were taking photo's of ourselves. They made the comment to us as we were all getting in our cars that people thought they were gay, but in fact were brothers……I just said "not that there is anything wrong with that", we all smiled and drove on up the mountain. Strange!

The farms are magnificent in this area. They were picking onions this particular day but we saw; cabbage, pole beans, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelon, corn and squash. There are fern farms as well. The ferns are grown for and exported to Germany. There are huge areas covered under a black mesh housing thousands and thousands of ferns. The people in these little barrios are happy and very friendly. The village of Pacayas in particular impressed us…..it appeared very prosperous and lively. We stopped at a restaurant to relax and enjoy the view and when were leaving the older gentleman that had been waiting on us said "thank you for visiting our country, you are always welcome, God Bless you and please come to visit us again"! This was the first English he had spoken and he labored to speak in perfect grammar. I guess I'm soft………I found it very touching and sweet.

Volcan Irazu is 11,400 feet altitude. As you make the climb the green of the farming country slowing gives way to less dense forest and eventually to a lunar like terrain. The last time the volcano was active was in the early sixty's…..it began the week President Kennedy was here visiting Cartago……ash and cinder was raining all over the city. Although the farmers fear another eruption someday they are grateful for the fertile soil. The lake in the principle crater is 1,000 feet deep and a color green that you won't find in the large box of Crayola Crayons. God really out did himself……..another great day in paradise!

Hyper Mas....here we come! 12-28-2007

As we expected when we arrived back at our  villa in Orosi valley, our temporary hosts had not even noticed we were missing in action the night before. They thought we just wanted to be aloneJ We were alone alright! I say temporary hosts because they are friends of the owners, Steve and Nancy Riley. Rick and Allison are house sitting and caring for Lola May, their Rottweiler while the Riley's are in the states for the holidays. They are a really nice couple from Nasaro Beach in Guanacaste (originally from Austin, Texas). This is their dry season and very hot. So dry that they don't see any rain from December to May!  Boy, oh boy are they seeing the rain now. We spent the evening in our villa, speaking of our adventure thus far, and enjoyed a bottle of wine. There is a fabulous "hot tub" on the patio which is surrounded by candles….very romantic.  I put "hot tub" in quotes because it is a tub with jets that you fill with hot water when you want to use it. You can finish two glasses of wine while you wait for it to fill, but it is worth the wait. It is very private and secluded, nestled in the botanical gardens that Steve and Nancy have created. The villa is incredible with tile everywhere and the best king size bed in Costa Rica. These are Steve's words, but I can attest to this….I will explain this another time. Wednesday, December 26^th we got up early and enjoyed sitting on the patio drinking our coffee and watching the rain. Yes……watching the rain……again and still more rain. Later in the day we headed off to Steve's office and Yami let us use the internet connection to call the kids and George at the office. Skype is so totally cool. We can call home, Skype to Skype for nothing and Ray got camera's for Tracy and George so we can see each other as we talk. Todd already had a camera and just had to download Skype on his computer. We really enjoyed connecting to the folks we care about. I feel so much better when I can see Tracy and she me. My intentions for updating all our friends on myspace.com everyday has posed a few opportunities, but I will do my best.

Because of the rain we decided not to get to far from the villa today so we decided to explore Hiper Mas (sounds like Heepay Mas) which is owned by Walmart. We wanted to check out prices on different products like small appliances, televisions, electronics as well as groceries. The first three products mentioned are very expensive but groceries seemed to be very similar to the USA. They have lot's of local cheeses and wonderful local, organic produce to choose from. I saw a bumper sticker that said "Costa Rica all Natural"! So…….true! We also found a wine from Chile that comes in a carton for $4 a liter. It's called Clos……and it's really close to wineJ My new choice for Cabernet as other imported wines are very expensive. The customer service in Hiper Mas is amazing, in fact, we have found most Tico's to be very accommodating. They seem to receive much joy from giving. While traveling around in the mountain farming communities if you stop they want to fill you up with whatever they have to share. What a beautiful concept…..to give is to receive. Thank you, God!

Costa Rica....Caribbean 12-28-2007

By Friday, December 27th, we had decided we would visit the Caribbean Coast…..rain or no rain. Thursday night I listened to rain pound the roof of our villa and I silently worried about the trip over the mountains to Puerto Limon. The roads in CR are extremely narrow and winding…..I'm not sure which is more dangerous the roads with their pot holes the size of Texas or the Tico drivers. The bus drivers are like Madd Maxx, they ride your rear end and pass on the curves. They pass 3,4 and 5 cars at a time…on a curve. Think about it…..Tico's have been driving less than 10 years in this part of the country. There are three times more cars now than there were then and the roads have not changed in those 10 years. My neck and shoulder muscles are in a constant spasm from gripping the "Oh Shit" handle above the door. At 5 am I got up and put the coffee on and wondered how I would break to Ray that I thought perhaps we should rethink our journey to Limon. As you might think……at 7 am we were on our way out of Orosi Valley. Every excursion brings new and amazing flora and fauna in this country. Although it rained every kilometer of the way it was totally worth the drive. Around every curve is another expanse of vibrant greens……there are far more shades of green than Crayola knows about. The terrain changed from farm land, to forest, to raging rivers, to the plains with fields of bananas and sugar cane.

The Caribbean is like another country……the people are Afro/Caribbean and make up about 2 % of the Costa Rican population. Once we reached Limon the rain began to lighten. We headed south out of Limon following the ocean toward  Caquita National Park, the first beach area on the map. We lived in St. Thomas, USVI in the early '70's and Caquita (sounds like Caweeta) reminded us of a typical Caribbean community. December and January is high season in Costa Rica and it is summer for this country with the children on their yearly break. The atmosphere was mostly young back packers and adventurers, very relaxed and colorful. The roads were filled with Costa Rican families…..some in vehicles and some just walking down the middle of the road.

After a short walk on the beach and an Imperial Beer we headed back towards Limon. We had noticed what looked like a new hotel, beach bar and restaurant in the small community of Westfalia just south of Limon and decide to take a look see. We were greeted with a beautiful smile as we entered into the gates and told to make ourselves at home. The beach here is a wood lovers paradise…….in fact the whole country is loaded with different hardwoods. The ocean itself was very angry, rough and churning. They told us that normally the ocean is the beautiful tidy bowl blue that we imagined it would be but that a storm at sea was causing all the rough waters. The ocean is always magnificent to me, I have respect for her enormous power and rejoice in her healing energy.

Back at the beach bar we meant the new owners of Hotel Westfalia. The 7 rooms were just opened this past September and the restaurant and beach bar had just opened in the past week. Michael and Marilyn are from St. Petersburg, Florida and bought the property three years ago. They own a hotel in St. Pete and are in the antique show business. They are the folks that book the shows all over the country. Michael's parents were in the business and he's been working the shows since he was nine years old. Very interesting people. They introduced us to Marty and his two boys from California, who now live in Turrialba. Turrialba is a mountain community between the Caribbean and Orosi Valley. It is known for its cheese, organic coffee and white water rafting. Marty is a retired Lawyer turned river rafter. After spending a couple of hours in the sun with these folks we made plans to return for New Years Eve and bring in the New Year with our new friends.

We did return to celebrate the New Year and had a grand time. The staff at the hotel is like family and very accommodating. We are especially fond of Bryan. He's the eighteen year old bartender who works very studiously at his English. Every drink appeared to get 4 or 5 limes, plastic mermaids that hung from the side of the glass and towers of pineapple, cherries and umbrellas. He worked meticulously at the garnish and presentation before he ever started on the drink. He was so proud of himself…..I took a picture of him holding up his creation and everyone applauded. Michael didn't have a room for us so we spent the night in their soon to be home on the property. It is only partially finished and was pretty sparse but wonderful all the same. We were right on the beach! New Year's Day the sun made its appearance in all his glory as if to say "It's a new day and a New Year". We spent the morning on the veranda. I working on my blogs and Ray reading his book……Retiring in Costa Rica. The time was very relaxing and comfortable…….giving us a taste of times to come. At noon the wind kicked up….the clouds rolled in and the rain came down. We packed up and said our goodbyes "hasta luego" and promised our return to Westfalia and the Caribbean.

Our first Christmas in Costa Rica 12-26-2007

December 24th, Christmas Eve we met Jaime 400 meters south of the park to pick up the keys to the Ranchita. It has been raining for the past week and he was concerned about us heading up the mountain on our own and insisted that we follow him. On the way he stopped several times to point out things that we might need to know……like Octavio's casa (he's our gardener) "telefono" he said and then we drove a little further and he pointed out Octavio's daughters casa….."telefono" he said. We finally reached our little farm and released a sigh of relief and pleasure to be there. It's just as beautiful as we remembered. Mama gato has disappeared and left behind two small kittens who are most happy to see us. Jaime set about showing us how to turn on the water and electricity. We started a fire in the outdoor brick oven as it was cold and still very damp from all the rain. He had stacked coffee wood for us which smells wonderful when it burns. There is a large covered patio area off the Ranchita itself….the brick oven on one end and house on the other. The "kitchen" is a sink to one side of the oven with two large blue barrels that collect the rain water. Jaime made sure that I knew to keep a pot of water heating in the oven at all times. The casa is a small two room tico dwelling that you wouldn't really want to spend much time in, but he has bought a set of sheets (one sheet for each bed) and two blankets for us to keep warm. We are getting the picture……he thinks we are going to spend the night here! We wouldn't want to hurt his feelings so we don't say a word except…."muchas gracias" !   He bought us groceries; potatoes, eggs, ham, tamales, tortillas con queso and fruit. And of course organic Costa Rican coffee. There is a small make shift cupboard on wheels that he brings out and puts near the "kitchen" and fire place. I now know this is where it belongs because each time I moved it (It was starting to rain now and the wind was blowing the rain in under the porch covering) he would move it back….rain or no rain. He brought out two saw horses and then with Ray's help brought out a large table top that fits on top of the saw horses. He made coffee for us and kept trying to make us drink Brandy to make us "muy caliente" because it was getting "mucho frio" ! After four hours of making us feel at home he said his goodbye and "hasta luego". We worried about him leaving as his wheels started spinning in the muddy terrain which was getting soggier by the minute. "Ciao……gracias……hasta luego"! Finally……we're alone and we open up a couple of beers (I forgot to mention he had beers in the cooler for us) look out over the mountains and white cliffs in the distance, smile…..hug and wish each other a Merry Christmas. We felt it just couldn't get a better than this. The rain began really picking up….it was four o'clock and it gets dark at 5:30 so we decided we better get off the mountain before nightfall. We put everything away and said our goodbyes to the kittens with promises of returning the next day with food for them. We ran to the car laughing, buckled in and started the trek down the mountain. Ray backed up the car to get a good run at the hill and as he did the ass end of the car started sliding and the more we tried to pull out the more the ass end slid further out and DOWN. He remained really calm….got out of the car to assess the situation……had me get behind the wheel (big mistake)…….we were so into the trees now that you couldn't even get in our out of the car on the drivers side. He was getting soaked and covered in mud. I guess the final straw was when I gave the gas pedal one big push and it kicked up mud so high that it was sliding off his head and face. We decided we would have to spend the night and try again in the morning when the rain stopped and things started to dry out. Darkness had fallen at the Ranchita, it was cold and Ray was muy soaked! We got the fire roaring again, we found an old sweater of Jaime's for Ray and started settling in for a long winter's night. I made potatoes and onions in a cast iron pan in the oven……rico! We had tortilla's too and lots of hot coffee. Ray was finally drying out and took a little Christmas Eve siesta in front of the oven with our two little gatos huddled together on his feet. I named them Feliz and Tigger. It really was a peaceful, loving Christmas Eve!

The rain fell in buckets all through the night…..and the next morning when we woke the covered patio was slick and very wet from the wind whipping the rain in one side and out the other. Ray started a fire for us and I put the coffee on. Merry Christmas, Ray…….Merry Christmas, Mikie! Ray had a plan that as soon as the rain stopped or slowed down he would go out and start to work getting the car out. We didn't really want to spend another night in the Ranchita. I made breakfast while he set about seeing what he could find to help in the rescue effort. He found a tarp to put over him, shovels and scouted out bricks and cinder blocks to put under the car when he jacked it up. By 10 o'clock it was still raining like crazy and he decided he might just as well bite the bullet and get started. I can't really go into detail of all his efforts (being a girl and all) but I saw him slip-sliding and rolling around in the mud doing his level best to put the car in a position to back out of the hole. I kept the fire going and the coffee hot and he would come under the shelter from time to time to get warm. He hauled the bricks which crumbled under the weight of the car and after four hours of effort and getting the car up on one side it only started to slip again. Ray never gives up…….this is what I love about him. But this time he did! He decided to walk down the mountain to get help. He had one last cup of coffee, put the plastic tarp over his head and with my walking stick in hand started down the mountain. I repeated the prayer for protection over and over again……asking and seeing his sure footedness as he descended down through the clouds and rain. My hero!  Over the past 24 hours we had talked about how if something serious had happened to us who would even know to come looking for us……we really need to get an International cell phone! Due to Jaime's foresight Ray knew where to go to find a "telefono"….he went to Octavio's mija first, but no one was home. When he reached Octovio's house everyone was there enjoying Christmas together as a family. Of course they wanted him to come in out of the rain but he said he would stay on the porch….he was one big wet, muddy mess. You know, when we have love in our heart and we truly care about your fellow man……there really are no language barriers. Ray called Manuel….Jaime's friend who spoke English (again Jaime's forethought) to let him know what had happened to us and that we needed help. When Manuel called back he said that Jaime was on his way to help and that he was "very impressed" that he "Ray" had walked down the mountain. While Ray waited for our guardian angel to arrived he was given hot coffee and sugar cookies on the front porch. The grandchildren stood and smiled at Ray….never saying word…..just smiling.

When Jaime arrived an hour later he started barking orders at Octavio, to bring his boots and "vamos". They all piled into Jaime's white charge and headed to the mountain. When they arrived not a word was spoken but they set to work….the fire was stoked, Octavio started chopping more coffee wood, Jaime brought everything back out onto the patio. He set out the plates and put before us fresh roasted pork and tortilla's he had brought from home. He had fruit cake and made us hot chocolate with Brandy…….everything was rico! He brought a warm change of clothes for Ray and insisted that he change and stand in front of the now roaring fire. He and Octavio put on their boots and hats and headed out to assess the situation. Jaime got down on his knees in the mud and checked under the car and the work that Ray had already accomplished. He tied a big strap from the back our bumper to the back of his car. He told Ray to keep his wheel straight and give it the gas when he told him to……..I could tell Ray didn't have a clue what Jaime had said to him even though he was shaking his head "yes". I hollered out to him and asked if he understood what he had said……NO…..I gave him the instructions…….Jaime hollered NOW and they both tromped on the gas. After much mud slinging and nashing of tires we were out. Yeehaw echoed through the valley below as I resounded in pure joy!

Now you'd think we could all hug and go home. No…..more hot water was put on, another pot of coffee made and tamale's for everyone. Oh yes……and more warm, dry clothes. I suppose there are a few friends out there that wonder if maybe these first two days test or question our decision to adopt this beautiful country and its life style. We think the Universe spoke loud and clear the night she opened the earth and sucked us in…..you belong here she said….come, stay the night…..be still and just be.

Depart Atlanta...Best laid plans! 12-18-2007

Who can sleep with the anticipation of our return to Costa Rica? I was wide awake at 3 am and our departure time wasn't until 10 am.Tracy arrived at 6 am to take us to the airport and we sat calmly drinking a cup of coffee…..we departed at 6:30. At 7:10 the cell phone rang, it was Delta (a recording) to let us know that our flight had been delayed until 11:15. Okay, not so bad we can hang out….no problem. We are on the tram on our way to Terminal E and the cell phone rings again….Delta (again a recording) the flight has been delayed yet again until 1:15 pm. Originally we were to arrive Costa Rica at 1 pm. We scheduled to meet Jaime in Paraiso around 3...it is about a 1 ½ hour drive from San Jose to Orosi Valley..... How do we let Jaime know that we won't be meeting him to pick up the keys to the Ranchita? We don't speak Spainish and Jaime speaks no English. Tension now begins to build…just a little. Ray being the friendly person he is immediately starts talking to everyone around us and meets a young woman who lives in CR and is headed home from a 10 day vacation in Miami. She is very fluent in English and says no problem she will call Jaime when we arrive CR and let him know of our delay. What a blessing she was and is. The flight was very pleasant. Ray was in First Class and I was in Business Class, he kept sending drinks back to me and it got more pleasant as time went on. When we arrived in San Jose and Pilar made a call to  Jaime, we suggested we meet him the next day. He was very understanding but still wanted to meet with us….he would wait for us between 6 and 7 pm in Paraiso…..400 meters south of the park near the fire station…right….it was now 4. So we all hugged and said our goodbyes.

We headed to the car rental agency. Let me just make this short. I don't want to create tension within myself. Because we were 3 hours late……they charged us $1500 instead of the $500 we had agreed to before arriving. This is high season in CR and there were no other rental cars available so we are driving a very expensive "caro"!

It gets dark here around 5:30 so after an hour of frustrating communication at the car rental place darkness was beginning to fall. After 1 ½ hours of trying to get out of San Jose communication between mi esposo and myself was getting just a little edgy. You have to experience 4 turn-abouts on the way out of the city. The first 3 are "in at 12 o'clock and out at 6 o'clock"…simple enough. The 4^th is "in at 12 o'clock and out at 9 o'clock". You'd think that 2 grown adults could agree at where 9 o'clock is. We tried  every exit (we thought) and never could find where we needed to be. Funny thing is that we went this same way in September when we were here and drove it with no problems. But when you are tired, it's dark….nothing looks familiar, communication is non existent……trying to asked for directions was hilarious. Why everyone I asked if they spoke English laughed is beyond me. What the hell is so funny about that? Some would try to give me directions….."derecho, derecho" they would say. A taxi driver that I asked got very upset with me because I didn't understand what he was saying I walked away from him to ask someone else and he followed me….tapped me on the shoulder and once again was flailing his arms about "whew, swish, spiff…circle, circle he said. I said Muchas Gracias and I got the hell of there! After much xx!**! We made our way to Orosi. It was 8:30 pm and of course Jaime was long gone. We found our way….finally….after more wrong turns to the villa were we are staying for this first week. But not before we found the Super Mercado for a 6 pack of beer and a bottle of wine. Tomorrow I'll give you day 2 of our first Christmas in our newly adopted country. We are happy, still in love with ....Costa Rica.... and each other.....

I'm taking bread! 12-20-2007

I’m taking bread!

Who knew using a compass could be so difficult? A compass sounded like a perfect idea. Our property backs up to a rain forest.....so naturally we are looking forward to taking a trek and exploring God's beautiful creation. Ray suggested we buy a compass to ensure we return. I enthusiastically agreed! I went to Walmart to make my purchase and was told by a very nice sales associate that "this is the compass that I use with my cub scout troup and it's very easy to use". Easy for you I said to myself. Later that evening Ray and I couldn't find our way out of the kitchen. I returned the compass the following day.....Ray said get a digital it will be much easier to read. Last night I brought home our new and improved directional tool. "When using the compass for the first time in your auto turn the auto in a tight circle in one direction to calibrate the compass". Have you tried turning your auto into any size circle on the roads in Costa Rica? I can't wait to see Ray turn himself in a tight circle.....seems you have to re-calibrate every time you change "zones". As for me I'm taking 2 loaves of bread into the rain forest. Hope to see you on the other side!

4 more days and counting - Posted 12-19-2007

4 more days and counting  Four days out from our return to paradise.I 'm experiencing a little trepidation....certainly not in anticipation of our return but from an encounter to take place on the 23th of December. Our friends in Orosi (who speak english) are out and about for the holiday and we are meeting the gentleman that we purchaced our farm from. He is bringing us the keys to the gate and the ranchita. We want to spend Christmas day on the mountain....our mountain. Thing is Jaime doesn't speak a word of english and I don't speak a word of spanish. I have his cell number and I am to call when we reach Orosi Valley so he can meet us. Hola is about as far as I can go with this conversation. Hope he knows sign language:-) When I think about it.....he's probably as nervous as I am. Good news is I'm a great hugger and so is he. So we'll just hug and smile...hug and smile...hug and smile.This is the universal language. We are so blessed!