Costa Rica Dog Lover

Yesterday was one that we will remember for some time.  It started out early with us hearing an animal crying.  We couldn’t tell exactly what it was so Tom went out to the road to see if he could see anything.  He did.  A tiny, tiny puppy that had been left in a ditch.  The vet told us that people in Costa Rica do not neuter their dogs so there are many unwanted litters and often, when they can’t find people to take the puppies, they drop them off in the road to die.  At any rate, this little doll has now joined our little family.  Wiley and Kaya are not too sure about it but today Kaya started playing with her so I am thinking it will all work out fine.  We have not named her yet but I think we have it nailed down to three to pick from – Skylar, Sophie, or Flora.  I’m sure we will decide today. 

Later in the morning, Sarah, Rene, Tom and I went to the beach (with the puppy) so that Sarah and I could snorkel and Rene and Tom could drink beer.  (Actually they shared the beer with us.)  The ocean was almost perfect for snorkeling and we saw beautiful fish and coral.  I took a cameral with an underwater housing but we the battery wasn’t fully charged so I got no pictures.  Next time I will be prepared!!

We stopped off at the vet’s to let her take a look at the puppy and she gave it medication for worms, took a look at a bad cut she has on her leg, and then gave her medication for fleas, ticks, and parasites.  The puppy has mange as well so we are putting medicine on the balding spots.  The vet would not take any payment for her services, only for the medication.  I sometimes don’t know how she survives because she donates so much of her time.  We will take the puppy back on Tuesday to begin a series of vaccinations.

Last night we went to Sarah and Rene’s (they are back housesitting for our neighbors) and had a marvelous dinner.  Around 8:00, we noticed a car had come to the gate.  Since very few cars come down our road we were curious so Tom and Rene went to check.  Turned out a young woman named Kate was in a taxi that had been driving her around for an hour and a half trying to find the motel she had booked.  We invited her in to see if she could find the directions in her email and she did – 200 meters north of the bank and then 50 meters west.  The driver could not find it and there was no phone number to call.  She was quite upset and so we sent the taxi away and then called and got her a room for the night at another hotel where we knew she would be safe.  Tom and Rene took her to town and, needless to say, she was immensely relieved.

So – quite the eventful day.  Today we are relaxing and will go to a friend’s house later to get some cuttings from her flower garden so that we can transplant them to the back.  Once that is done, I am hanging out, reading, and napping.  My typical day in Puerto Viejo

More pictures……………

  Just found

Kaya isn’t too sure about this

Helping water the garden

Running after Tom

Chomping on a BIG leaf

Before we moved to Puerto Viejo, we asked the people we bought our house from to recommend a carpenter as we needed to have a number of minor projects done before we moved in.  They recommended a young man who was originally from Nicaragua named Marvin and we have had him make us a variety of cabinets, shelves, and furniture.  A few days ago we asked him to make us a cabinet for the bathroom and when he left he offered to help me with my Spanish if I could reciprocate and help him with his English.  He has come over twice and is helping me immensely (although I am not yet helping him very much). 

Two nights ago, after we were done, he and Tom got talking and he told us a bit about his background.  He is thirty one years old and was raised by his grandparents (who he calls mom and dad) after his parents just walked away and left their five children.  He is the oldest of his siblings and has helped his grandparents support all of them his entire life.  When he was twenty he almost sliced off his entire hand while working and his grandfather sold two of his farm trucks to come up with the $16,000 needed for the operation.  His hand was saved and he was able to continue in his profession as a carpenter.  He is married and has two children who go to school here in Puerto Viejo where they are learning English – hence his desire to learn the language himself – so he can help them with their homework.  A few years ago he and his siblings built his grandparents a nice new house in Nicaragua by hand from the ground up.  He also sends them $100 each month and paid to put his sister through college – she is now an accountant.  All of his siblings now live here in Puerto Viejo although they do go back to Nicaragua to see their grandparents often. 

Marvin is an extraordinarily hardworking young man who is both a perfectionist and extremely conscientious.  At times I feel bad that he is taking time to help me when he works so hard and has a family.  But he made a commitment and is sticking to it. 

Today marks the eighth month that we have been living here in Puerto Viejo.  It is still so hard to believe sometimes that we are here and that everything is going so well.  The days seem to fly and there just don’t seem to be enough hours to do everything I want to do – watch and study birds, study and learn Spanish, work on the garden and the new yard, nap, take walks and read.  Every day brings something new.  It is a good life.

It has been a bit rainy the last few days but the rain seems to have given us some new birds to watch in the yard and allowed Tom to finally get a great picture of a Blue Morph Butterfly!!!!  We have been trying to photograph this butterfly for eight months now but they move too fast and all we can get is a blue blur.  Today, one was drying off it’s wings right outside our window after a particularly long rain.  So Tom grabbed the camera and got the shot!  Now we will start working on getting a movie of one flying around  

We also have seen a few new birds since the rain began.  One of them, the scarlet tanager, only migrates once a year in the spring.  The others are around most of the year but this is the first we have seen of them.

This week we also went to the botanical garden to look at some plants for the new back yard and ended up getting a few that should be pretty neat.  One, a pepper plant, is one that I have wanted for a long time.  There is just nothing like this fresh pepper right off the vine and now we will have some.  We also got a plant that has edible leaves for salad and they are delicious.  We will be picking up a couple of other things to plan in the next couple of months to go along with the oranges, avocados, limes, mangos, cas and papaya trees that we already have growing.  So we will soon begin eating right out of our own yard.

This has been such a great week.  We have had “up close and personal” encounters with critters in nature and have experience just wonderful weather and terrific times with friends.  The most amazing thing that happened was that we watched a momma sloth and her baby cross an electrical wire to get to a tree just across the road from our house.  Tom was taking pictures of the crossing and, when we brought them into the house to upload and look at them, we noticed that the mom had something that looked like blood on her face and a tooth that was sticking out at a really wrong angle.  I called friend Sarah who works at the animal rescue to get her advice and she agreed with me that it would be best to call the owners of the Jaguar Rescue Center to see what they thought.  After I talked to Encar, one of the owners, and she said that since they were heading into town they would stop by and see if they thought there was a problem.  By the time they got here, I had lost sight of the sloths so we showed them the photographs.  Encar said it looked like the mom had eaten some red fruit or leaves and felt that both she and the baby were okay.   However, it was not a wasted trip as she did ask if she could use Tom’s photos on the Jaguar Rescue website so Tom sent her several to pick from

On Thursday we had another Bocas, Beer, and Blues night with our neighbors Don and Ron and their guests Julie and Lisa, and Rene and Sarah (and a giant toad whose name I don’t know).  Tom, Rene, and Sarah all played the guitar while the rest of us passed around the tambourine.  We all sang the songs that we knew and made up words to those that we did not know.  I recorded a couple of Rene’s songs for posterity on my you tube account.  Rene and Sarah will be leaving in about six weeks to go back to England and then on to Italy and we will really miss them. 

Our day started out today with a very loud crashing noise in the vacant lot next to us.  When I went to investigate, I found the female iguana that has been living in a tree in the property on the ground foraging for food.  She was right next to our fence and when I got next to her she became completely still.  She kept looking at me but wouldn’t move.  Tom got the camera and took pictures and then we came inside so that she could move off and not be bothered.

We then decided to go to Punta Uva so that I could do some snorkeling.  Tom still can’t get in the ocean because his hands haven’t healed but he hung out and relaxed.  I could not believe the incredible fish I saw on the reefs today!!!  Very near the shore there were six to ten inch fish that were absolutely stunning!  I am so sad that my underwater camera died – we are going to have to figure out how to get something else. 

We are now home watching the semi-finals for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament that is being broadcast live over the internet.  All I can say is – GO BUTLER!!

Last week I took friends to the medical clinic about five kilometers away in Hone Creek.  I have been wanting to go to see what the procedure to follow is if Tom or I happen to get ill or injured so it was happy to be able to tag along.  When we arrived at the building, we stopped at the first glass window and were directed down the hall to another glass window.  At that window we were directed to another glass window – the one designated for emergencies or no appointments.  Once there my friends explained the problem and gave a copy of their passport, phone number, and the place that they are staying.  We them were told to sit down and wait.  I have read that it can take several hours to be seen so I settled in for a long wait.  However, within a few minutes, my friend was called back to have her vital signs taken.  Once that was done, she was back to wait again.  Within about fifteen minutes she was called back to see the doctor.  She said he was very professional and spoke English (BIG bonus!!).  He knew immediately what was wrong and talked to her about what he was going to give her.  She said he was very kind and gave her all the time she needed to ask questions.  Once the visit was over, we waited about half an hour for the prescription to be filled and then off we went. 

Once Tom and I are granted residency we will be joining the CAJA (the national medical plan).  It will cost us about $60 a month for both of us and the medical care system and will not have to pay anything additional.  After our visit, I feel much more comfortable with how that will work.  So – thanks Sarah and Rene for letting me come along!!

While waiting for the medication, we sat outside and were entertained by this absolutely darling little boy who was playing in the kids area.  He had the greatest smile!!!

Recently we cleared the lot right next to us that we purchased when we moved here in August.  It was full of diseased cacao trees so we decided to cut the majority of those down and replant the area with flowers and fruit trees.  Because we are on a fairly limited budget we have been begging cuttings from everyone we know and have been successful in getting a nice start.  Yesterday our gardener, Pedro, came to do his monthly gardening and he noticed that across the road there was a plethora of new plants.  As we got looking we found that some the leftover food that we were throwing out for the animals had here were tomato, papaya, avocado, pepper, mango, and orange plants growing all over the place in our compost pile!!!  So Pedro and Tom dug up many of the plants and moved them to the cleared lot.  It won’t be too long before we don’t have to buy much more fruit at all in the store

Over the last few weeks we have had several guests and now they are all gone.  Jordan, Sonya, Maya, and Drake arrived on March 10th and left on the 17th – a full week of soaking up family time!!  It was so nice to have them spend some time here and see where we live and hang out.  Maya and Drake are now twelve years old –almost teenagers – and the older they get the more fun they are.  We were able to spend some time on the beach and in the ocean, at the Jaguar Rescue, and at a couple of new places for us – the Tree of Life botanical garden and animal rescue outside of Cahuita, and the Volio waterfall just outside of Bri Bri.  I have wanted to go to the waterfall ever since we came here and so Rene and Sarah were gracious enough show us all where it was.  Words and photographs just can’t do it justice. 

We also spent a lot of time in downtown Puerto Viejo shopping and “people watching”.   The night before they left we had a BBB night (Bocas, Beer, and Blues) and Sarah and Rene and Don (our neighbor who is back from Portland for a while)  all came.  It was great fun and Tom is clearly beginning to enjoy playing his new guitar   And Maya picked up one of the guitars and had a quick lesson from Sarah on the basics.  She may just be the next Alanis Morriset or Stevie Nicks!!

One of the things that I did with the kids was go to the farmer’s market last Saturday and buy fruit to try that they had never had.  Drake and Sonya were real troupers and tried every one but Maya, Tom, and Jordan were not as adventurous.  I have to say that I liked the taste of all of them but had to agree with everyone that the texture was sometimes a bit yucky.  I am thinking that juicing is the best way to get the taste but not the texture. 

The weather was absolutely wonderful almost every day – unlike the weather that we had for Lori and Clive’s visit which, except for a couple of days, was rainy and cloudy.

So – now they are back home in Gunnison and Jordan and Sonya are busy back at work getting ready to open up their new Tic Toc restaurant in Gunnison.  It will probably be quite a while before they are able to get away again so I am glad we were able to get this visit in now!!!

Some pictures…………

Last week one of our neighbors, Jeffrey who has lived in Puerto Viejo since he was a child and who owns a restaurant at the end of our road, brought by several fruit trees for us to plant in our newly cleared lot.  He also brought some Cas fruit which is a citrus fruit that tastes somewhat like a cross between an orange and a lemon although even more tart than a lemon.  I read up on how to make a juice drink using Cas (love the internet!) and so made some.  It was wonderful!  Very refreshing and light.  Since some of the trees he gave us were Cas trees, I am looking forward to when I have them to pick fresh right off our own tree

Since I was in the experimentation mood, when I went to the farmers market on Saturday I picked up some passion fruit so that I could try making some juice from it as well.  Passion fruit looks pretty normal from the outside but when you open it up it looks like a glompy, oozy, gray mess.  However, I didn’t let that deter me and I once again looked up passion fruit recipes on the internet and decided to try another fruit drink.  Once again I was delighted with the outcome.  The juice was not nearly as tart as the Cas drink but wasn’t too sweet.  I can’t really compare the taste to anything but it kind of tasted a bit like a cross between a pineapple and a peach.  Pretty yummy!! 

Whole passion fruit

Passion fruit pulp

Our friends Clive and Lori from Washington D.C. arrived last Friday afternoon and left on Wednesday and three of the days they were here were rainy and cloudy.  We have had gorgeous weather for the last several weeks so I fully anticipated it to be nice during their visit.  That’s what I get for anticipating…………..  However, all was not lost.  We haven’t seen them in several years so we spent most of the time just catching up and relaxing and that was great fun! 

We went to our friends’ house one night and Tom was jammin’ with the best of them   We did go out to lunch and dinner several times and I have to say that the Flip Flop restaurant in Puerto Viejo is my favorite.  The prices are very low and the food is fantastic!!  Lori and I also went to the Jaguar Rescue to see the monkeys, sloths and other assorted animals they have.  It was rainy but Lori did get a chance to hang out with the monkeys for a bit and we did get to see the national icon – a red eyed  tree frog .  We also went to Manzanillo and had lunch at Maxi’s and then walked on the beach and in the ocean for a while.  All in all a very nice day. 

Since they have gone the weather has been nice once again and we have been able to work in the newly cleared lot in back of our house.  Tom has been planting new bushes, trees, and flowers and I have been weeding and chopping in the established yard.  This is work that is never ending – ensuring that we will never be bored!!

Clive, Lori and Kaya

Clive and Lori on his birthday at Loco Natural

Lunch at Banana Azul before they left for the airport

It has been so beautiful here the last week or so.  We have had rain at night on occasion but the days have been sunny and not too hot for the most part.  I went to the Punta Uva beach with Rene and Sarah on Sunday and Sarah and I snorkled which was a blast once again!!  We also watched a pelican who would dive into the sea and catch fish and then fly back up and perch on a tree over the beach just a few steps away from where we were.  The pelicans and other shore birds were all over that day.  There were also lots of people out enjoying the day but not so many not it felt crowded.  Just one more reason it is so nice to be here – there is always room on the beach

On Sunday, our gardener started clearing the lot adjacent to us that we had purchased when we moved down.  It had been full of cacao trees that were diseased and could not produce good fruit so he cut the majority of those down leaving us with some gorgeous trees that we had not really been able to see before.  One of them had a sloth that was just hanging out like it owned the place.  We also found that one of our banana plants has bananas that are almost ready to harvest – probably on Monday. So our guests – Lori and Clive – who are arriving tomorrow will have fresh bananas from our yard to enjoy all week. 

Sarah and six (or seven) baby monkeys!!

Yesterday I went back to the Jaguar Rescue Center to volunteer once again.  We started our day cleaning out the cages that hold the sloths, a hawk, and an iguana and then worked on the grounds raking and cleaning up.  After a couple of hours of that, it was time to babysit the baby sloths who are brought out to show the tours that come through twice a day.  The people on the tours learn all about the lives of all of the animals at the rescue and everyone walks away knowing something they didn’t when they arrived.  I spent a lot of time with Chocolate Chip, a five month old two toed sloth, and DJ, a two toed sloth who is about a year, in the morning and then watched Bella, a three toed, who came in not too long ago with a fungus infection and can’t hang out with the other sloths, in the afternoon.  She climbed around a bush for about two hours and ate a bunch of leaves and had a great time. 

Now I have to get going – my therapeutic masseuse is about to arrive – he comes to my house!!  If you have anything at all wrong with your body that causes pain then come on down to Costa Rica and have a few sessions with him.  He is a miracle worker!!  I have not felt this good in thirty years!!  Of course I’m sure the environment and lack of stress helps too  

  Enjoying the day

Dog on the beach

Rene and Leno the squirrel