Christmas greetings from Costa Rica

Our sincerest greetings for a Christmas filled with joy, friendship and love go out to all of our friends and neighbors back in Arizona and elsewhere. We miss everyone and wish you all the best. Christmas traditions here are much like those in the States. You see many homes with decorated Christmas trees on their front porches (houses are much smaller here but almost everyone has a front porch). Their are also lights decorating many of the homes -- not quite as elaborate as some of the displays "back home" but festive nonetheless. Familes and friends get together to share food and libations. We went to a "pot luck" party last weekend and some tico neighbors invited us to their home for a delicious traditional lunch a couple of days ago. They also invited us to their parents house on Christmas eve where we had some delicious home-cooked tamales. Here they are wrapped and steamed in banana leaves instead of corn husks. Yum. Although the language difference still makes it difficult to communicate as well as we would like, we are still able to socialize. Thank God. Today we are going to an expat friend's home for a Christmas meal -- and more libations. She spent most of the day yesterday cooking so I guarantee we will be well fed this holiday season. Merry Christmas, keep in touch and make it a New Year's resolution to visit us down here!!!

A very unexpected visitor

It was a quiet, peaceful morning. The sun was shining. The dogs were quiet. There was no TV blaring unpleasant news. All was well with the universe. Gordie was relaxing in the living room playing a video game from the comfort of his favorite armchair. Patches, the cat, was on the front porch frolicking with a bug. A Norman Rockwell moment, indeed. When suddenly, without warning, something fell from a rafter onto Gordie’s back. He turned around to look and saw that it was a snake. Yes, another of those 135 species of snakes that live with us in Costa Rica. Gordie jumped up. Quickly brought Patches in to take care of the situation. The cat was intrigued and initially played with the snake but lost interest when it slithered behind a bureau in the bedroom. Thinking all was safe it then slithered out and into a plaid bag that was on the floor. Our advantage. The bag made a convenient carrying case as we brought our visitor down to a neighbor’s to see if it was poisonous. Neighbor #1 thought it might be but decided to check with neighbors #2 and 3 who confidently declared the snake to be harmless. We let it free and now our unexpected visitor is slithering its way through the jungle -- never to return – we hope.

New addition to the family…

Right before we left for our 6 weeks in AZ, one of the dogs brought a tiny, baby kitten home in its mouth. The poor little thing appeared to be not more than a couple of days old and our attempts to feed it drops of warm milk failed. Luckily our new neighbor, Alfonso, heard the kitten’s cry and came by to tell us (in Spanish of course) that he had the mother. He told us we could keep the kitten when we got back so we gave him some money to feed the mom and babies while we were gone. When we returned to Costa Rica the house next door was empty and Alfonso was gone but there was a cat hanging out at our house…our new cat, Patches. Patches was anxious to impress us during her first few weeks…she would hunt down anything that moved and even caught a bat mid-air as it flew through the house. Patches hangs out with the dogs and has now become a full-fledged member of our menagerie.

What are the odds?

Today I read that there are 135 different species of snakes in Costa Rica but that the likelihood of a face-to-face encounter with one of them is rather small. Well, statistics aside, yesterday I came face-to-face with boa number 2. This one was compliments of a young neighbor who brought it by the house for us to see (the arm in the photo is hers – not mine). So, although I have been told that the boa is not dangerous to humans, odds are I will do a lot more reading about this animal before my next encounter.

What’s a visit to Costa Rica without monkeys?

Early each morning before 5 and each afternoon about 4, we can hear the unique roar of howler monkeys who live in the jungle canopy near our home. Although we have become accustomed to their daily chatter, hearing these characters for the first time is a memorable experience for visitors. And, naturally, they want to see the monkeys in person. We have found two places nearby that are almost guaranteed “monkey sighting” spots. One is at Cahuita National Park, and the second is on a side road near Punta Vargas (halfway between Cahuita and Puerto Viejo). Since the National Park was closed because of the heavy rains and flooding when the family was here, we took them to the spot by Punta Vargas. High in the trees on one side of the road were white-faced capuchins (the organ grinder type) and on the other side were howler monkeys. One of the capuchin monkeys looked as if he were posing – complete with a banana in hand. Better than a zoo any day.

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s Lili…

As long as I can remember I have had a fear of heights. I don’t do roller coasters. Ferris wheels frighten me and I have been known to scream driving up or down steep hills. So, why on earth would I fly over the tops of trees hooked on a cable? Sometimes there’s just no turning back, I guess. After a long hike, all uphill, we arrived at the canopy tour and gazed out at the first cable which I now understand is 935 feet long and 262 feet high. Lucky for me, one of our guides, Pablo, agreed to go with me on the first cable (and several of the longer, scarier ones that followed). Soon we were deep within the jungle and began zipping from platform to platform. The platforms were hand-built around trees hundreds of feet above the jungle floor. What a view! Robin and Danny were “naturals,” zipping over trees and through them. Robin even rode one cable upside down! Me, not so natural…a little, no, make that a lot of practice on “braking” will make my next trip smoother. All in all it was a thrilling adventure that I would highly recommend to anyone in the area.

Lazy afternoon at the Sloth Refuge

Yes, on occasion we can spot a sloth in the trees around our home. And, yes, we have had them in the yard before. However, the family was here as was the rain so a day at the beach was out of the question. We decided instead to hop aboard the local bus and head to Aviarios del Caribe to get an “up close and personal” look at this adorable but often misunderstood animal. Since Aviarios del Caribe is the only sloth refuge and rehabilitation center in the world, and is only 30 minutes away by bus, it sounded like an interesting place to spend the afternoon. Gordie dropped us off at the bus stop where several others were already waiting for the bus. Our intended bus never came. Possibly it was running early and we missed it, possibly the schedule changed due to widespread flooding and washed out bridges. Guess we’ll never know, but luckily a bus did show up an hour later and Steve, Megan, Danny, Robin and I hopped aboard eager to learn everything there was to know about the sloth.

When we arrived at the center we were directed up to the main building where we were informed of the $25 (each) tour fee. I thought I had read that it was free but what can you do -- we had already spent an hour-and-a-half getting there. We paid our fees and boarded a canoe for a lazy trip around the lagoon and along the canals of this 104 acre reserve. We saw several species of birds, some crazy iguanas and lizards, sloths in trees and caimans hiding in the brush. The still waters surrounded by stands of bamboo and covered in jungle vines and foliage made the hour plus ride well worth the admission price. When we returned to the dock we were brought over to a small auditorium where we were shown a movie about sloths. Our guide from this point on was the very knowledgeable grandson of the refuge’s founder.

The majority of the sloths that come here are rehabilitated and returned to the wild as quickly as possible, but due to various injuries and circumstances there are some “long term residents.” We were able to visit with many of these sloths, cage doors open, up-close and personal. It was quite an experience. Our final stop was at the “sloth nursery” where we were able to see several babies that are currently staying at the refuge. The visit was great. The 2-hour return bus trip – well, I hate to change the mood of this happy adventure so I will save that for another story.

What do you call a “baby” crocodile?

Something nice, I hope! Since coming to Costa Rica I had heard stories from friends, neighbors and strangers about caimans, a subfamily of alligators, that inhabit the local rivers around here. I was told that they look like “baby” crocodiles and won’t hurt you. Someone even told me you can pick them up and put them back in the river if you find them in your yard. Not sure I would want to try that trick. Anyway, I finally got to see these little guys in action while on a canoe trip at Aviarios del Caribe, a privately operated wildlife refuge (see related “sloth” story). We were trying to get a closer look at a colorful bird by the river’s edge, and apparently spooked it – just in time. The bird flew off and at the same time a well-disguised caiman snapped its jaw in anticipation of a little afternoon snack. It took us several minutes to spot him in the water – only his eyeballs were showing above water. A little farther downstream we spotted another, slightly larger caiman, this one sunning himself in the reeds.

…10 days and nights of rain…

…was not going to stop us from having a great time when the family visited over the Thanksgiving holidays. By their second night here (6th straight day of rain) we were without electricity, there was no water at the house and the telephone was down. Seemed like a perfect time to head over to the neighboring town of Cahuita – maybe we could even catch the monkeys howling at Cahuita National Park. As we arrived we soon discovered that high tides had caused the beach and bridge accesses to the Park to wash away. Pura Vida as they say here, not to worry, there was electricity AND water in town as well as stores, bars and restaurants. A clean, inexpensive, convenient hotel WITH hot water topped off the night. The next morning we took advantage of a temporary break in the weather for a stroll through town. We spotted a pickup truck near the school that was attracting a lot of attention and decided to see what all the excitement was about. To our surprise, there was a large – a very large – crocodile in the bed of the truck. Apparently, we heard, this critter had come down to the ocean by way of the swollen waters of the Rio Estrella. I guess there really are crocodiles in this part of the country and am very happy we did not run into him while surfing! I think I will limit my swimming to clear waters from now on.