Continuous Improvement

It's been 4 months since I have updated this blog. We were back in the States - 7 of them to be exact - to attend weddings, visit family, and plant a pumpkin patch.

Costa Rica is as green as I remember. The 5 banana plants that went in the yard before we left are already approaching 12 feet high. Three of the papaya trees I planted are each about 3 feet high. A fourth papaya is growing in the planter in front of the house - it already has the beginnings of 4 papayas fruits on it - and I don't even remember planting that one!

Our new "project" on this trip has been a kitchen update and remodel. And, of course, if you remodel one room it ends up affecting several others as well. So, the living room is now larger thanks to repositioning of the entertainment center/bookcase, which opened up the wall between the living room and kitchen. The kitchen has a new, sleeker sink and new shelves. Plus the refrigerator and stovetop cabinet have been repositioned. We're not quite done - still need to tile the work counter, finish the tile behind the sink and replace the old storage shelves with the larger ones we varnished today. It's so open and roomy - I love it! One of the photos shows the "old" version with concrete sink. The other photo shows an in-progress shot of the "new" kitchen. I hope you can tell the difference.

In Search of Leatherback Turtles

Leatherback turtles, the world’s largest turtle species, spend their lives traveling the tropical and subtropical seas of the world. But, amazingly, when they are ready to lay their eggs, they return to the very same beach where they were born. Lucky for us, from February to July, hundreds of these Leatherbacks return to the warm beaches of Gandoca, Costa Rica, to build their nests. The Gandoca Refuge is at the southernmost tip of Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, about 15 miles as the crow flies from our home. By road it’s more like 50 miles accessible by the highway through Hone Creek to Panama or alternatively by unpaved roads parallel to the beach then over the mountain meeting up with the highway near the Panamanian border.

There are several tour companies in Puerto Viejo that offer all-inclusive trips there but, since we now have a car, we decided to take the drive ourselves. We easily found the small sign on the highway indicating the turn off. Another mile or so down the rural road we came across the free-standing ATM and a fork in the road with a turtle picture and arrow pointing to the left. A few more miles through Del Monte banana plantations, over one small sketchy bridge, and past several monkey trees and we were now in the very, very small community of Gandoca. We continued straight through town to a pristine palm studded beach. At the beach is a prominent sign informing visitors that no one is allowed on the beach between 5 PM and 5 AM during nesting season without a guide. The beaches are patrolled by community volunteers This is one of the many ways that the community protects and preserves the nesting turtles.

We soon found a hostel right next to the beach, procured a guide for the evening and had a bite to eat at a small “soda” - snack bar - in the town. At 8 PM we met our guide on the beach by the “turtle egg nursery” - at this particular turtle nesting area, the locals and volunteers place a plastic bag under the turtle as she lays her eggs. They then bring the eggs to the designated nursery area where they are re-buried in the sand and continually watched until they hatch. We waited for the turtles to come. We waited until midnight but no leatherbacks showed up. Early the next morning we took a stroll along the beach and we able to identify 3 different sets of “turtle tracks.” I guess they came very, very late. Although we were a little disappointed at not being able to see the nesting turtles we had a great trip. We will try again!!!

Celebrating Costa Rica-style

Family is very important to Costa Ricans and the whole family loves to get together to celebrate birthdays, holidays and special occasions. Over Easter weekend we were invited to a neighbor's wedding at a small neighborhood church. The invitations were handmade and delivered in person. The church was decorated by the couple's families with balloons, streamers, local flowers and palm fronds. Reception food was homemade and the 3-tiered cake was made by another neighbor. Although we didn't understand most of what was said, the music was great, and everyone was very welcoming and friendly. We were pleased to be part of this very special day.

On Easter Sunday we attended a special concert at the Catholic Church in Puerto Viejo. The 35-person choir came from throughout the Caribbean coast, from Limon to Puerto Viejo. They were unbelivable good! The Banda National de Limon accompanied the choir to standing ovations. Our town is very small so it was quite a thrill to be entertained by such professional musicians.

Bromeliads. They’re everywhere.

Giant century plants, spike-leafed agaves, aloe veras and more. Without a doubt, these terrestrial Bromeliads help create a dramatic backdrop in the Arizona desert.

You’ll also find more than 2,000 different species of Bromeliads in Costa Rica. Some are terrestrial such as the pineapple, but, the majority are epiphytes, or air plants. These grow hard, wiry roots to attach themselves to trees and rocks giving the appearance of a parasite. They’re not. They find, and store, their own food and water. The water is stored at the base of their rosette leaves making a great home for tiny poison dart frogs and other insects.

Plant leaves might be yellow, green, red, striped, spotted and variegated in any number of different patterns. The flowers are brilliantly colored and exotic. We became aware of the enormous variety of Bromeliads that grow in our region when we visited a local beach resort, Banana Azul (see photo). Their elaborately landscaped gardens on Playa Negra in Puerto Viejo feature all types of Bromeliads. This was the inspiration we needed to begin our own collection. With the help of some “volunteer” plants that began to grow at the bottom of a tree in our yard, and the addition of another “store-bought” one, we are off to a good start. If all goes well I will add many more photos in the future. Of Bromeliads and poison dart frogs…I hope.

What's in a name?

For several years I had a job that required me to "man the registration desk" as attendees arrived for technical conferences. We would ask for the attendee's "Last Name," and then their "First Name." Sounds simple, right? Depending upon their native country our straight-forward request were sometimes met with a quizzical look or a name that didn't appear on our list. We soon figured out that there's a lot more to a "First Name" and "Last Name."

Traditionally, in the US, a woman marries a man and takes his last name. She may use her maiden name as a middle name or hyphenate it with her husband's, but his name is the "Last Name." They have children and the children take on the same last name as the father. Now everyone in the family has the same last name.

Well, in Costa Rica, a person's "full name" will consist of their unique "First Name," followed by their FATHER's "family name," and then the MOTHER's "family name." Take, for example, Maria Prince Calvo. Prince reflects her father's family name and Calvo reflects her mother's. She now marries John Gonzales Bustamonte. There is no change to her name. Along comes a child. They call her "Mary." Her full name is now Mary Gonzales (father's family name) Prince (mother's family name). In common usage you might also see "Mary" signing her name as Mary Gonzales S. without writing out the third name. It's different than "our way," but seems to add a bit more family history to a person's name.

What’s larger than a football, softer than a pillow, and edible?

Give up? It’s the strange looking Guanábana or soursop fruit. Since it thrives in areas of high humidity and warm temperatures, it grows well - and wild - in our Caribbean area.

I first noticed this unusual looking fruit in a Tica neighbor’s tree and asked her what it was and what it tasted like. She explained that the ones we were looking at were not yet large enough to eat. A couple of days later her husband showed up at our door with a ripe, football-sized fruit, along with instructions on how to turn it into a tasty drink, or make “helado,” a frozen ice cream-like treat that is eaten out of a plastic baggy.

I decided to make some of each. So, with knife, plastic bags and blender on hand, I was ready to start.

Step one. Cut the massive fruit in half. The spikes on the exterior were deceiving - they‘re soft.

Step two. Squeeze out the juice and the edible white pulp while making sure to discard the indigestible black seeds. The fruit is extremely juicy - there was juice and pulp everywhere including all over me.

Step three. Into the blender with some milk and sugar (I used a little sweetened condensed milk in place of sugar). No real measurements, just enough till it tasted good.

Since my instructions were verbal and in Spanish, of course, I may have inadvertently taken liberties with the recipe. But, in the end, the Guanábana drink and frozen treats were refreshing and creamy with a sweet and slightly sour taste. I guess it is best described as “unique.”

Guanábana is high in carbohydrates (particularly fructose) with significant amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2. Many herbal medicine practitioners believe the fruit has strong anti-cancer properties and the fruit, seeds and leaves are commonly used among indigenous peoples where the plant is grown.

One Guanábana a year is probably good enough for us.

Frog heaven

Think “Costa Rica” and “Rainforest.” What image comes to your mind? If you are like most people you are probably picturing one of those crazy-looking green frogs with red eyes. Suitably called the Red-eyed Tree Frog, this brightly colored amphibian is one of more than 100 types of frogs in Costa Rica. They have three eyelids, sticky feet and spend most of their lives in trees. They tend to stay camouflaged during the day by shutting their eyes and tucking in their brightly colored appendages. And, in my personal experience, they are hard to photograph (see photo). This one was at a friend’s house, at night, on a “former tree” (that currently serves as a support column).

Another easily identifiable amphibian is the Poison Dart Frog. In a previous post I wrote about the tiny Red Poison Dart Frogs often found in bromeliads. There are also an abundance of Green and Black Poison Dart Frogs (see photo of one we found under a tree in our yard). Adorable to humans they can be deadly to their predators by secreting toxins from their skin.

I am still not sure what kind of frog is in the last photo but I can testify that he was a good jumper. I was sitting quietly on the couch one evening when there was a sudden “thud” next to me. There I was face-to-face with this guy! For me, being so up close and personal with nature is a major attraction to living here.

Buying what you need…exactly

Grocery shopping in the USA.
Check the fridge. See what staples you are out of. Add items to your list.
Plan what meals you want for the week. Add items to list.
Check laundry and bathroom supplies. Add items to list.
Take list. Lots of money or debit card. And, off you go to the store.

So far, grocery shopping in Costa Rica is the same. The difference comes when you get to the store.

Say you want celery. In the US you are going to buy an entire bunch, or at the very least. A cellophane bag of celery hearts. Here, if you need 1 stalk of celery for a recipe, you buy one stalk. If you have a headache and need to buy aspirin, you buy the number of aspirin you need. That’s right, instead of buying a bottle of 100 or more, you can buy one. I know this from experience. The first time I went into a pharmacy and asked for aspirin, the clerk asked how many. Of course I thought she meant how many bottles, so, I said “one.” And, she gave me one pre-packed aspirin (orange square next to bottled aspirin in photo).

Most food items are the same. For example, the standard spaghetti sauce comes in a 4-ounce package. There are several brands available including familiar names like “Roma,” but they are all 4-ounces. There are 2.5 servings per package - Costa Rican servings of 2 tablespoons each. Now, how does this compare to an American serving. Well, one day we happened to find a “normal” size can of Del Monte spaghetti sauce. That would be 26.5 ounces, of course. According to Del Monte, an American serving was ½ cup of sauce - about twice that of the Costa Rican serving (but what a difference those additional 2 ounces make on your plate).

There are other differences as well. You find very little in the way of frozen meals, and those that you do find tend to be quite expensive. But you do find rows and rows of different flavors of mayonnaise. Produce sections are comparatively small in our area, and believe it or not, we have a hard time finding bananas.

I think that the differences between stores in the 2 countries may have more to do with lifestyles than it has to do with eating habits. Since a great number of people here walk, take a bus, bike or taxi to the store, lighter bags are an advantage. Plus, a 30 minute trip with frozen food could be disastrous. Produce trucks routinely bring their fresh products to rural neighborhoods and many people grow their own fruits and vegetables. So, it makes sense here to buy only what you need, when you need it.

Green-on-Green

We were driving up our road yesterday when a Emerald Basilisk lizard ran across in front of us - on two feet, of course. The species of lizard uses “bipedal locomotion,” keeping its arms at its sides, while it to runs up to 4.8 feet/second for a distance of up to 66 feet. You will also hear them referred to as “Jesus Christ lizards,“ because they can across the water’s surface.

They are a vibrant green color and quite “prehistoric” looking with they distinctive shaped heads. By the time I got my cell phone turned onto “camera” mode the little guy had made it across to the grassy side of the road. My “green-on-green” photo did not show much so I have taken the liberty of including a copyright-free image of the Emerald Basilisk lizard, although nothing beats seeing the “live” version.

Why try Cas? Because.

Because it grows on a tree in our yard. And it grows in our neighbor’s yard. And it grows on trees along our road. And it has a distinctive aroma that‘s hard to miss. And it is very, very popular in Costa Rica. So, of course, we’re going to try it.

Psidium friedrichsthalium is a sour guava. In Costa Rica, it is known as Cas, and, when mixed with sugar and water, is a popular, refreshing drink. I have read that cream is sometimes added but have not personally seen or tried that version.

When I prepare Cas for drinking, I remove and discard the large seeds and pulp from the middle of the fruit and put the rest of the fruit, including skin, in a blender on “liquefy.” (Note: I received the directions on how to prepare Cas in Spanish from a neighbor so it is anybody’s guess if I am doing it right). I think it tastes a great deal like a grapefruit but with the texture of applesauce. It definitely tastes like it is good for you. I am sure that there are people who eat Cas like a fruit, but to be honest, I have always seen it end up in a drink. I like it and I can particularly recommend mixing Cas with vodka.

Running into the Golden Orb spider

I was happily traipsing through the rainforest in the Gandoca-Manzanillo refuge area the other day when Gordie called out to me: “Watch out for the spider web!” I looked up, and sure enough, I was walking right toward the largest web I had ever seen. It was several feet wide and woven between two trees. Occupying the web were three, colorful spiders - a large female in the center and two slightly smaller males closer to one of the ends. This was my introduction to the Golden Orb Weaver spider, one of the largest spiders in Central America.

The female Golden Orb will build her web between trees in highly-traveled, open areas where flies, bees, moths, butterflies and other insects pass through. When the unaware insect gets caught in the web’s silk-like thread, the female spider will slide over it, bite it and inject it with paralyzing venom. She will then wrap it in her silk thread and move it aside for eating later. The male Golden Orbs, who characteristically sit off to the side of the web like the two we saw, will often steal the paralyzed prey for their own enjoyment.

I have also read that some butterflies contain toxins or other chemicals in their bodies. The Golden Orb will recognize these and free those butterflies from the web.

Lesson to be learned: watch where you are walking.

　

The photos shows the two brightly-colored males that we saw.

Water Apples Everywhere

Apparently the Water Apples (or Manzana de Agua) are in season now on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica where we live. The trees in our neighborhood are upwards of 35 feet high and just loaded with these popular fruits. The deep green leaves and bright red fruit make a striking contrast. I had some difficulty getting information on them (even from my reliable "wiki" source). I did find out there are also called a Mountain Apple or Wax Jambu (and scientifically Syzygium malaccense or Myrtaceae) All I know is they are everywhere - the fruit vendors have bushels full and the ground is covered with them. The taste is similar to an American-style apple but a bit more juicy and not as sweet. I've been chopping them up, adding cinnamon and putting them in oatmeal and have also had them served like a chunky applesauce. I just love being able to find edible fruits in the wilds.

One photo shows the water apples under the tree next door to us and the other gives you an idea of the size and shape.

What does it cost to ship a car to Costa Rica?

In October of 2009, we found a used Geo Tracker for sale in Tonto Basin. We wereleaving in a few days for Costa Rica but knew this was the car we would eventually want down here. So, we bought it anyway and let it sit in the barn in Arizona till we returned.

Finally this Fall I began in ernest to find the best way to get the car to Costa Rica. I contacted 4 different companies who specialize in shipping vehicles worldwide who provided me with a wealth of information. And, a quote, of course. I found out that the safest way to ship your car is in a container. Depending upon your needs you can have a full container or part of one. This also allows you to ship additional items, preferably "used" as the container and its contents will go through customs and be taxed accordingly. This is also the more expensive option. There is also a "ro-ro" option which I think means "ride-on ride-off." Using this method, your car will be driven onto a ship and driven off at the port of entry. This is for the car only - you can not have additional items in you car using this method. If there is anything left in the car there is very little chance it will still be there when you see your car again.

We really had nothing else of value to ship so we opted for the ro-ro method. All of the quotes we received included transportation from Arizona to Florida. They ran ran between $1,000 and $1,200 for that segment. Well, I had never seen East Texas, New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama or the Gulf Coast of Florida and couldn't see why I should pay to have my car see it before me. We chose to drive the car to the port in Tampa, FL ourselves.

Cost for driving from Arizona to Florida including gas, food and hotels for 8 nights came to about $800. Plus we had a great road trip.

The shipping agent we selected was Ship Your Car Now and our agent was Rich Lawson(www.shipyourcarnow.com, 1-888-532-8805). The cost to ship the car from Tampa to Limon, Costa Rica, was $875. This did not include the $20 for 2 "safety vests" we were required to buy at the port in order to drive our car down to the dock. They are beautiful and I am sure we will wear them often!

The actual shipping company was Sea Central Shipping (www.seacentral.net, 888-538-3545). We were contacted by them and they recommended a bilingual customs agent in Limon that we could work with.

Our customs agent in Limon was extremely helpful. Fabio Madrigal (8813 85 85 (cell) or office 2758 48 40) took our car through customs, brought the car to the required inspection (Retivie), secured the insurance (Marchamo), provided an attorney for submitting the title and registration into the National Registry and handled all of the paper work for us. Fabio also showed us the web sites where you could check in advance to see what your import duty would be on a car. This is something I had been trying to find out on my own for some time. The site at http://www.hacienda.go.cr/autohacienda/Autovalor.aspx

Import duities for our 1995 Geo Tracker, 2x4 manual transmission, with the inspection, insurance (for the year), legal fees, Fabio fees, etc. came to about $2,060.

Would we ship another car. Absolutely. As you can see from the photo, our little red car loves the beaches already!

Why would you want to ship a car to Costa Rica?

Cost, Condition and Convenience were our major considerations in deciding to
ship our car to Costa Rica.

COST. There are no cars manufactured in Costa Rica, they are all imported and the import tax is fairly heafty. This is also reflected in the cost of used cars. For example, a car like ours, 1995 Geo Tracker, 2x4, used, will cost you in the neighborhood of $5,000 USD locally. It is also expensive to ship a vehicle and you must still pay import duties on it when it gets here. So, depending upon the vehicle, the cost may come out very close.

CONDITION. Cars must undergo a strict inspection each year (Retivie). Because of this (and, of course, the initial investment), Ticos do take very good care of their cars. However, if you are buying a used car you are not always certain of the origin and history of that vehicle. For me, it was very eye-opening to see all the smashed cars at the port in Florida waiting to be shipped overseas. Hmmm.

CONVENIENCE. Depending upon where you live in the country, just getting around to see various cars for sale can be a problem. Most people live in the Central Valley - San Jose area. Most car ads, new or used, seem to also originate from that area. If you live in a rural area, like us, and you don't already have a car, going to see an advertised one could be an all day trip. And, there's the language barrier. Although my Spanish continues to improve, I am far from being comfortable making a major purchase in Spanish.

Tomorrow I will post the details and contact information for our actual shipment. I had difficulty finding some of this information and hope that in posting it here it may help someone else who is interested in shipping their vehicle to Costa Rica.

The photo shows our little red Geo at home in Arizona the day before we left in
January. And yes, that is snow on the mountains in the background.

Back to everyday living

The number of "gringos" seem to be growing in these parts and they are all more than willing to share tips, tricks and "insider information" on the art - and ease - of "everyday living" here.

Thanks to information we have garnered from several friends, we now have a local bank account which allows us to pay our bills online from anywhere there is internet access. And, speaking of the internet, we have discovered, finally, how to use dial-up internet from our home telephone with no additional "service provider." We have also gotten a local post office box to make it easier for family and friends to send us things from the US (hint, hint). We've just gotten connected to the municipal water system (we also did this in Arizona right before we left and the comparison between the cost and the process is VERY interesting). And lastly, we have shipped a car from the US to Costa Rica.

Following are details, links and "how tos" for accomplishing these tasks. We are not quite done with "shipping the car" so that story will come soon - I am hoping later this week!

Water from God vs. water from the Municipality

Since we have lived here our water has come from a spring about 1/4 mile up the mountain across the street from us. A garden hose crosses the creek on the side of our house then connects via pvc pipes. The water is clear, delicious and free. However, various components of this system sometimes fail during heavy rain storms. Leaving us with rain water capture and muddy repair work. This past week we added another water source to our home - municipal water. It took me 2 trips to BriBri (like a "county" seat about 15 minutes by bus) to find out what paperwork I needed to sign up for the water then another full day in Limon (like a "state capital" about a 1-1/2 hours by bus) to get everything signed off, copied and executed.

Two working days later the crew was in front of our house, a new meter was installed and the water was flowing.
Total cost including installation and deposit (not pipes on our side of the property) - less than $60.00 USD.

We decided to also connect to the water company in Tonto Basin before we left Arizona. It's a private water company but it's the only other option we had to our well which has been less than reliable in the last couple of years. Someone came out within a few days and deemed our property "acceptable" to recieve their water. It then took several weeks for a crew to come out and install a meter and connect to their line. We were then required to install a specific back-flow preventer on our side of the property line and of course install pipes to connect to the house. A few more days and they were back to inspect that everything was kosher. Finally, just a couple of days before we left Arizona, we finally had free-flowing water, dependable water.
Total cost including installation (with backflow preventer) and deposit (not pipes on our side of property line) - about $725.00 USD.

That makes it about $665 less to install water in Costa Rica than in Arizona. A good example of the types of things that cost so much less in here.

Time to get mail

I could count on 1 hand (possibly 1 finger) the amount of mail we have received over the last 3 years in Costa Rica. You see, no one sends you a bill here. You should already KNOW about the time of month/year that your phone bill, electric bill, property tax, car registration and insurance are due. No one sends this information to you, and you don't send them back any money. You go to the bank or other payment station and pay these things when they are due. Simple. Everybody knows. Everybody does it. We have also not encouraged any family or friends to write to us. There are no street addresses. The Spanish word for address is "direction." And it is indeed the directions how to find your house. In our case we are so many meters past a church and we have a green house. We also told the post office whose house this used to be to insure delivery. All that is history now. We just got a post office box (or apartado in Spanish) in town. It required an easy application, copy of our passports and about $16 for the year. Now to insure that we recieve mail we have subscribed to the Tico Times, an weekly English paper. It's been 2 weeks already and neither of the weeklies has shown up yet. Hmmm.

Opening a Costa Rican Bank Account

I had intended to open a local bank account since we came here in 2008 but it always sounded difficult and required - I thought - a considerable sum of money. I had read online that Banco Costa Rica (BCR) requested 2 letters of recommendation from people with accounts there. Since I am not yet a resident, I thought that I would also need to open an account in our corporation name. This would require "original" documents stamped, signed and dated within the last 30 days from our lawyer in San Jose. Lastly I had read, somewhere, that an initial deposit of $200 was required. Well I finally got around to requesting letters from 2 friends, had some extra money put aside for the deposit and had a packet of corporation documents that were a little more than 30 days old but at least worth a try. I was ready. As it turns out, I was able to open the account, in my own name, with a $20 deposit and am now able to pay my Costa Rican bills online from anywhere in the world. Guess the lesson I learned from this is to ask the source and NOT trust everything you read online.

The ever important INTERNET

We live in a rural (jungle) area about 5 miles outside of the coast town of Puerto Viejo (Talamanca). We are the last house on our road to have telephone service. There is no DSL or cable up here. I have a 3G cell phone which can access the internet but I need to walk out into the road, on a clear day, to access it. In Costa Rica, if you have a telephone with access to "900" lines, you have dial-up internet. If you do not have access to "900" lines you can simply ask ICE (the national utility company) to add that feature to your line. The cost for your internet time will show up as a line item charge on your telephone bill and is about a penny a minute.

The actual process is simple. Connect your computer to your telephone(in Costa Rica only), dial 900-365-4632. Put in your username and password - ours is "racsa" for both. Since Racsa is the company that provides internet service in Costa Rica, I am pretty confident that everyone with dial-up has the same username and password. Racsa has several other internet packages available but this one requires no contracts, no extra equipment and makes access available to anyone, rich or poor, who has a telephone. Not bad. If we are going to spend a good deal of time online or need to upload and download large files, we go to town where there are numerous internet business to choose from. For a quick check of messages nothing beats home internet.