A “break” in the fun

With less than 3 weeks of fun to go before returning to Arizona, Gordie got a tough “break.” Technically, more like a tough fracture. Don’t expect a story about crashing while surfing Salsa Brava, or slamming knee-first into a tree on the canopy tour. No, as is often the case, most accidents happen at home. After 8 days in the Limon hospital and a couple of side trips to the hospital in San Jose, Gordie is now back home with 2 pins in his knee and crutches by his side getting ready to fly back to Arizona for Halloween. We’ll have to think of an appropriate costume. Hmmm.

Who says you can’t afford a vacation

I once saw Rocking J’s referred to as “the one and only pimp hammock hotel in Costa Rica.” Appropriate description, I think, for a very unique place. Hard to believe this internationally popular hostel just outside of downtown Puerto Viejo was swampland back in 2000 when Arizonan, John Korchmaros Placencia Dias, better known as J, first fell in love with it. Today, after years of hard work, the hammocks have been joined by tent camping, cabinas, and a great restaurant (@tE’s run by brother, Eric). On any given day you’ll find backpackers here from all corners of the globe as well as locals, like us, who come to enjoy the internet, food and drink. No visit to Puerto Viejo is complete without a stop at Rocking J’s, whether you’re looking for an affordable place to stay for the night -- $4 for camping or $5 for hammocks -- or just want to see the artwork and mosaics that have been created by previous guests.

Behind closed doors.

What can be worse after a relaxing dinner at home than a sink full of dirty dishes! No doubt this was the sentiment that led to the invention of the dishwasher, which has since become a commonplace appliance in American homes. Here, no. I have yet to see a dishwasher; not in a home, a business or even in a store that sells furniture and appliances. Instead I have discovered a more unique solution to the “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” problem of dirty dishes. A sink closed off from the kitchen. It’s very common in our area to see Tico-style homes with their sinks mounted behind shutters outside of the kitchen window. Although I don’t know the origin of this custom, several very practical reasons come to mind. Homes are typically much smaller here than in the US, so, mounting the sink outside gives you more floor space in the kitchen. Since the kitchen, and indeed the entire house, often utilizes an “outdoor living” concept – in other words, no glass or screening on the windows – having the sink outside the window lets you pitch your food scraps directly to the neighbor’s free-ranging chickens or the compost pile. And then, of course, if you have a sink full of dirty dishes and company is coming, you can close your shutters and they will never know what is hiding behind the closed doors.

The original “drip coffee maker”

For many of us, there is one man we can count on to keep us company each and every morning. “Mr. Coffee.” He’s loyal, reliable and requires very little attention. We feed him a paper filter and some ground coffee, plug him into the electric outlet and wait for him to deliver a fresh carafe of drip coffee. What would we ever do without him? Well, here in Costa Rica there is an alternative to the electric drip coffee maker. You might say it’s one of the original drip coffee makers and is still widely used. It consists of a simple stand with a round hole at the top into which you slip the cotton “sock.” You put some coffee grounds into the sock and pour in hot water. Fresh, hot coffee immediately starts seeping out the bottom into your cup. Want another cup? Add a little more coffee and a little more water. No electricity. No problem. Heat your water on a propane stove or over the open fire. Fast, easy and energy efficient. Move over “Mr. Coffee” there’s a new man in town.

Noni, no me

Anyone with an interest in pursuing a pharmaceutical-free lifestyle or just exploring the world of natural “wonder foods” has probably heard of Noni. Noni is most commonly available in the USA as a juice, and its proponents claim, among other things, that it provides a tremendous boost to the immune system. In Costa Rica the “Morinda Citrifolica” or Noni tree grows wild. It is a member of the coffee family and is easily recognized by its odd looking (and foul-smelling) fruit. The fruit goes from green to an almost translucent white when ripe. It is neither firm nor soft to the touch. For some reason it reminds me of a sea cucumber although I can’t ever remember actually touching one of those. Commercially available juice had additional ingredients added to the noni to mask the odor and improve the taste. But here, where it grows wild, you will find that people just drop the whole fruit into a blender and hold their nose or put the fruits in a glass jar to naturally ferment (see photo of fruits during the fermenting process). So far neither method looks appetizing to me. I have drawn the line. No noni, not for me.

Fresh beginnings.

I am a breakfast person. And there is nothing I love more for breakfast than fresh fruit. So I try to take advantage of the fresh, organic fruit selections available at our weekly farmers’ market, and am always ready to try something new. Shown in the photo are a few staples like pineapple and mango along with some “new” items we wanted to try. On the blue plate is chocolate bread. Homemade bread with ribbons of organic dark chocolate. This is now a standard for our Saturday morning breakfasts! The prickly fruit in the back is a durian. I have read that this is an immensely popular fruit in many Asian countries. But, the kindest thing I can say about the durian I tried is that once you smell it you will never forgot the aroma. To open it I had to roll it on the ground under my foot until it cracked enough to break open. Judging from the reactions of our breakfast guests the durian must be an acquired taste. We threw it across the street into the jungle to keep the smell away…and the dogs did not run after it. The dark colored fruit at the front of the photo is a sapodilla. I was told that the sapodilla tasted a bit like our melons. I have since read the taste described as a mix of brown sugar and root beer. It was definitely unique. I could probably acquire a taste for this one. The bark of the sapodilla tree contains a rubbery substance called “chicle” which used to be a primary ingredient in chewing gum. Perhaps chewing the bark would be more satisfying to me.

Life at the beach

Timing and coincidence has brought us to the beach for 2 months. We’re watching the house (and puppy) of a good friend of ours who lives one block from Cocles beach in Puerto Viejo. Instead of waking to the sounds of howler monkeys we hear the waves from the nearby beach. We’re also an easy walk to any number of restaurants, bars, and shops. We’ve been taking full advantage of the calm Caribbean waters that occur each September and October in this area and have been able to snorkel several times each week. We still make the trip back to the jungle a couple of times a week to visit but for the rest of this trip in Costa Rica it looks like we will be “beach bums.”

Friendly freaks…of nature

There seems to be an endless supply of strange creatures in Costa Rica. At least strange by Arizona standards. Within a few days of each other, these two moths visited our house (shown in photos). It’s a pretty easy assumption that their appearance helps them to hide from predators. And the toad, well, he apparently has taken a liking to dog food – much to the dog’s surprise.

The one that got away

Jaimie and Martha, our next door Tico neighbors, stopped by one afternoon to see if we wanted to go searching for camarrones (shrimp) with them in the river behind our houses. Within minutes we had changed into swim suits and were enjoying the cool waters of Rio Carbon. Jaimie brought a home-made spear and directed us to look along the tree trunks and under debris along the river’s edge. He successfully showed us how you can stick your hand into a hallowed tree trunk and pull out a shrimp. Gordie and Martha then discovered what they thought was another shrimp in another hallowed trunk. Gordie stuck his hand in and was almost immediately pinched. Determined, he stuck his hand back in and began the battle to remove this shrimp from its hiding place. We didn’t appreciate the viciousness of the struggle until he pulled out the animal’s claw which was at least 10 inches long (see photo). He tried again and pulled another claw. Somehow the creature retreated into the recesses of the tree trunk and never made it to the dinner table, but the claws were delicious.

Learning the language(s)

It’s no secret that I have been trying to learn Spanish. I find reading to be the easiest and I can struggle through writing (with the help of a dictionary). It’s conversation that I find most difficult. So, I was thrilled to happen upon 7 young students in the park in Zarcero who greeted me in English. Seizing the opportunity, I responded in Spanish. We continued this way for awhile. They were studying English in school and I explained that I was studying Spanish. It was great fun and I think I will begin to search out other Spanish speakers who are trying to learn English. It seems to put us all on the same playing field.

Topiaries of Zarcero

We were having a few problems with the rental car but didn’t want to waste time waiting to have the car fixed so we made arrangements to meet the mechanic in a town named Zarcero. Zarcero, less than an hour northeast of San Ramon, is a typical Costa Rican small town. The center of town features a beautiful park which sits in front of a large Catholic church. Here you will find some of the most whimsical topiaries imaginable. We spent about an hour wandering through the many topiaries while the mechanic fixed on our tie rod ends, right on the side of the road. Time well spent.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

At the crack of dawn we were up and heading from San Ramon to the airport San Jose to drop friends, Bill and DorisAnn, off for their flight back to Arizona. I always build in a little “just in case time” into the schedule to allow for any surprises we might encounter. In the past we have come upon bridges being welded together while we waited, protesters blocking main roads, random police inspections and cattle crossing the road. This day it was simply a flat tire that slowed us down. After a quick change on the side of the highway we made it to the airport and bid adieu to our visitors. We returned to San Ramon to relax. That evening we were back at the airport picking up two more guests, Robin and Melissa who were arriving for a 9 day stay.

Fishin’ for our dinner

I have been fishing numerous times in my life. I have caught branches, boots and a whole cadre of miscellaneous items, but never fish. So here I was at Stephanie’s place in San Ramon. We decided it would be fun to catch our dinner from the tilapia pond. Now, you may look at my photo and wonder how I can possibly call “that” a fish. For the record, I actually caught 3 of them – all similarly sized but all fish, nonetheless. Lucky for us some of the others had more luck catching “fry-sized” fish. What fun!

Stephanie’s place in San Ramon – a Slice of Paradise

Bill and DorisAnn’s vacation was almost over. They had already spent time at the beach at both the Caribbean (Atlantic) and Pacific oceans. We decided they should spend the last day and night in the Central Valley area. This is Costa Rica’s primary agricultural area and where most of the coffee comes from. The climate here is milder and less humid than by the oceans. We chose San Ramon for several reasons. It’s less than an hour to the airport. There is a McDonald’s, Papa John’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken at the mall. There is a mall. And most importantly, this is where Stephanie’s vacation rental is. Stephanie D. Feeney Arias (stefanie@tucanrealty.com) lives on 5 acres on the Rio Barranca just minutes from downtown San Ramon. The property is meticulously landscaped. Flowers abound. From the backdoor of the 3-bedroom guest house you cross over a small water feature to the stand-alone “rancho” overlooking the river (think “gazebo”). A well-maintained pathway leads from here to waterfalls on the property. There is also a tilapia pond, swimming pool, and larger rancho with a bar that’s perfect for parties and larger gatherings. But that’s not what makes this place so special. What makes it special is Stephanie. There are little touches throughout. Flower arrangements inside and out. Fresh fruit brought to your door. Coffee in the kitchen. Movie rentals. To put it in the words of our guests, “I could just stay here for the whole vacation.”

The stars of Manual Antonio National Park: Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys

Manual Antonio is Costa Rica’s most visited National Park, as well as one of its smallest, covering only 1,680 acres. Yes, the beaches are drop-dead gorgeous. Yes, the ocean views are breathtaking. But there are many other parts of Costa Rica that could compete with these features. What makes Manual Antonio National Park so exciting is the wildlife. Specifically, the monkeys. Almost guaranteed sightings! I lead friends, Bill and DorisAnn, across the expansive beach and through a small stream to the Park entrance. At least it WAS the Park entrance the last time I was here. The ranger directed me to the new main entrance along an unmarked road behind the main street – already complete with souvenir shops. I left my friends and wandered off to the new location to buy tickets. I returned, tickets in hand, and we entered the Park through the “Exit.” Taking this alternative way through the jungle allowed us to avoid all the crowds. We lost track of Bill a short way down the path – lack of communications I guess – so DorisAnn and I continued along. First we spotted a group of small, endangered squirrel monkeys. We then took a side path that indicated it was heading toward “Cathedral Point.” The path was steep, dark and deserted. Suddenly we heard a “crash,” saw a large palm frond fall to the ground, and heard a great commotion. Much to our surprise there were white-faced capuchin monkeys frolicking all around us. Dozens of monkeys delightfully chattering as they playfully chased each other from branch to branch, heading down the hill toward the beach. We followed suit and went to the most popular beach in the park, Manual Antonio beach. Sure enough, the capuchin moneys were entertaining the crowds by the beach. A swim in the ocean and many monkey photos later, it was time to leave. Since we had come in through the Exit, we were now leaving through the Entrance. Turns out it is all uphill – pretty steep hill at that. I guess they knew what they were doing when they made this the Entrance. Oh, and yes, we found Bill again. At the hotel.

Destination: Manual Antonio

Manual Antonio National Park is only 80 miles south of San Jose yet it takes several hours to get there. First there are the winding, mountainous roads. Then there are the “required stops” along the way (Tarcoles Bridge and Jaco for example). However long it takes to get there, it is well worth the time. We made it there before sundown and were lucky enough to get the last available room at our favorite hotel, Verde Mar Hotel. The hotel has a large, friendly lobby, swimming pool, wireless internet and reading material. Our room had sleeping for 4, a small kitchenette and bathroom with hot water. But what really makes the Verde Mar our favorite hotel in Manual Antonio is the location. The hotel features a jungle walkway that connects the property to the beach. At the beach there is a restaurant and bar with numerous tables and benches. A short walk down the beach and you are in the middle of town and at the National Park. With the town so close and a kitchen in the room we were able to make light meals and snacks at a fraction of the cost of eating out, allowing us to splurge a bit on locally caught fish at the beach restaurant. (Photo, view of town from the beach)

A brief stop at Playa de Jaco

Playa de Jaco was one of the very first beaches we feel in love with in Costa Rica. It was a funky little surf town with cheap hotels, friendly beach bars like Clarita’s and a magnificent ocean. Today it has evolved into a sophisticated beach destination with numerous high-rise condos and hotels, well-groomed streets and shops the likes of which are reminiscent of Palo Alto or Scottsdale. Personally, I miss the old Jaco. Change is inevitable.

From the Atlantic to the Pacific in a day

We got an early start leaving Puerto Viejo (on the Atlantic side of the country) so we could avoid traffic going through San Jose in the Central Valley. Our destination? The Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica and in particular, Manual Antonio National Park. It’s a pleasant 2 lane mountainous road out of San Jose through towns such as Atenas and Orotino to the Costanera Highway and down to the Central Pacific Coast. Along the highway you’ll approach the Tarcoles River Bridge and probably notice a number of cars pulled over and people standing on the bridge. Here is your chance to see crocodiles as up close and personal as I would ever want to get. Although they look harmless and even lazy, as they lounge along the river’s edge, they can reach 12 to 15 feet. A few hundred yards away you’ll see cows grazing – I have always wondered if they ever encounter each other. We also saw two of the crocs at water’s edge checking out a beautiful water bird. Luckily the bird decided to leave and the crocs slipped back into the muddy river. (Gordie, in photo, is practicing his friendship techniques).

Killing time in the tropics

I can't think of a better place to be to just plain RELAX. Saturday we spent the morning at Cocles beach watching the Puerto Viejo Open Surf Competition. The waves seemed just right. The sun was out and there were some amazing surfers out there. Makes for a good day all the way around. Monday we spent time fishing on the Rio Carbon behind our house. Not much to report in the way of fish but it was a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. Tomorrow we take off for the Pacific Coast to visit Manual Antonio National Park then to San Ramon as a jumping off point for some Central and Northern sights. Our friends leave on Sunday morning and we pick 2 more up that evening. Should be a busy few weeks ahead. Glad we had time to relax.

So what’s a “tontorican”?

Perhaps the time has come to explain a little about the origin of TONTORICANS. We came up with the name to describe ourselves, half-time residents of TONTO Basin, Arizona, and half-time residents of Costa RICA. You probably wouldn’t guess that from reading this blog since I have only focused on life in Costa Rica. So, here is a little about life in Tonto Basin. Tonto Basin, Arizona, is in Gila County about 83 miles or 1-1/2 hours from downtown Scottsdale. Although it is still desert, the temperature remains a little below that of the Valley and drops a great deal more at night. We’re live about 5 miles from Roosevelt Lake, on the east side of Tonto Creek. Because it is located in the Tonto National Forest with close proximity to the lake, Tonto Basin has become a popular destination for outdoor loving people, especially fishermen, hunters and ATV enthusiasts. There seems to be an ever-increasing number of retirees and weekenders settling down here. So how do we spend our time? Well, we like to garden and I had great success growing tomatoes this year, as well as several types of peppers (see photo). Our peach tree was fruitful and made a lot of local birds very happy. I think they are currently finishing off the grapes. The 2 apple trees had a few small fruits on them when we left. Nothing yet on the plum and nectarine – perhaps next year. We play shuffleboard at the Butcher Hook Saloon a few times a week and started playing every once in awhile at Cactus Flats as well. It’s common for friends and neighbors to get together for BBQs (see photo). There are also miles of dirt roads and trails for ATV riding. And of course there is the lake. It’s close enough to the Valley for a day trip and there is a modern motel, the Tonto Basin Inn, if you decide to spend more time here. There is also a grocery store, a hardware, and 2 gas stations. Several bait shops and restaurants. The town is still small enough to be friendly but large enough to accommodate most needs.

New day. New beach.

Thursday promised to be another beautiful beach day so we headed to Puerto Viejo to pick up our visiting friends. They had enjoyed all of the different beaches so far but today I decided we should try a new one. So off we drove to Playa Chiquita, about 3 miles south of downtown Puerto Viejo. We saw blue ocean at the end of an unmarked (as usual) road and headed down. Someone had already constructed a palm covered “shelter” under the trees which made a perfect home base for our lazy afternoon at Playa Chiquita.

Giant headlight bugs.

Okay, that may not sound like a scientific name but it definitely describes this strange looking beetle-type animal. It’s about 3 inches long with a black spot on its head. The spot on the bug’s head lights up to help it navigate through the dark jungle at night. I guess this one just wanted to hang out on our porch until it got dark. I will add more “technical info” on this little fellow as soon as I do some research.

Any day fishing is a good day…

Bill and Gordie decided to give surf casting a try on the beach outside of the Agape hotel. No fish were caught but it appeared they were both enjoying the activity.

A day at the beach…finally

On Saturday the sun finally came out. We took full advantage of it. First thing in the morning we headed for the local farmers’ market so Bill could get an idea of the produce and products available here. We bought a wonderful loaf of home made bread with chunks of organic chocolate. I am already planning a weekly trip to the market just to pick some of this up! I also bought some organic coconut oil since I had just run out. After the market we picked DorisAnn up at the hotel and headed for the beach at Cahuita National Park. As usual, the water temperature was perfect, the beer store close by and not too many waves. They enjoyed this beach so much they have decided to spend a couple of days here after their hotel in Puerto Viejo is up.

Rainy day activities

As luck would have it, it rained 6 out of the first 7 days that our Arizona friends, Bill and DorisAnn (see photo), were in Puerto Viejo. Luckily the bars, restaurants and shops are still open but it definitely cuts down the beach time. We have spent many hours playing Rumikub and have also tried Dominos – a very popular game down here. We also tried to take advantage of every break in the weather and explore the area. They are staying at the Agape hotel which is on a jungle-beach path that connects the main shopping area of Puerto Viejo to the main surfing beach, Cocles. (Photo shows Bill, DorisAnn and Gordie leaving the Agape gate to walk along the path). We took the path to a small beachside restaurant late one afternoon for a delicious meal and “happy hour.” Another afternoon we took to path to Cocles beach. The path was a little muddy causing DorisAnn to slip – no injuries but a great photo which is NOT shown here. For that you will have to ask her personally!

New neighbors

The neighborhood has grown since we were last here. Construction is underway on a gas station on the highway. This will save us from driving 45 minutes to get gas and 45 back as we now have to do. There is also a Palí market on the highway where the old Hone Creek Super market used to be. Palí is a national food store and is 51% owned by Walmart. The locally-owned Hone Creek market has built and opened a new store on the same road a short way down from its original location. There is also a new clothing store next to the market. Any day now I expect to see Hone Creek listed on maps. Not too much has changed along the 2-1/2 mile un-named road we take to get home. The jungle is greener than ever (Gordie has already spent many hours cutting down plants so we could find our burn barrel and front porch). All of the cats have left and most of the bats left once they realized we were back. There are still 3 dogs hanging around, Brownie, Tiger and the mom, Stripe. Sadly, my favorite dog, Spot, passed away a short time before we came back. Life can be difficult for animals in the jungle. We were happy to see we have new next door neighbors – a Tico-family that formally lived 3 houses down. Geese, chickens, puppies and kids are all part of the entourage they brought with them. They will make great neighbors and we are looking forward to the next 3 months down here (even though it has rained since we arrived – another day, another story).

Heading back to Hone Creek

We landed at the airport in San Jose on Sunday night only an hour or so past our expected arrival. Not bad. In addition to 4 bags of luggage plus carry-ons we brought two friends back. The rental car man was waiting for us and gave us directions on how to get from the airport to Highway 32 which heads out toward Limón and Puerto Viejo – our destination. But, we didn’t like his route and decided to rely on instincts and past experience. On our new route we found a beautiful park, a striking church and a working girls’ neighborhood. But, our best “find” was the taxi driver at a gas station who let us follow him to the highway entrance. Weather was also not on our side. The low, dense clouds through the mountainous Braulio Carrillo National Park kept us at a snail’s pace. When we hit the other side of the mountain it was approaching 11 PM. We decided unanimously to spend the night in the first town we hit, Guápiles, at the Hotel Talamanca Pococí (see photo). The hotel was only $44 for a 2 room suite, which slept 6 and included a delicious “typical” breakfast of juice, eggs, rice and beans, tomato, plantain and of course coffee. Can’t beat that. As a bonus, it is adjacent to Lucky’s Casino where we stopped for a few well-deserved beers and a little extra spending money.

The door-to-door Optometrist…

Our house is on a dirt road about 2-and-a-half miles from the pavement. There are about 50 houses from the beginning of the road to ours. To put this in perspective, there are about 24 houses (12 on each side of the street) on the city block in Scottsdale, Arizona where I also have a house. Since we are in such a rural area, we were very excited to find out that two different vegetable trucks come up the road every week to sell us fresh produce. Then there were the people selling large, very large, heavy-duty aluminum cooking pots. A different day there were people selling very nice twill bedspreads. Oh, I almost forgot the vendor who was selling some type of powdered drink mix – at least that’s what we thought it was. There have been bamboo furniture salesmen and bread sellers. You just never know what someone is selling until you go out to the road and take a look. The other day I heard the traditional call coming from our gate: “Upee!” I walked outside and to my surprise it was a traveling Optometrist. He was very polite, very professional and ready to give us a complete eye exam in the convenience of our home. Now that’s service!!!

I lied….

A few weeks back I wrote a short piece announcing the end of the rain. I lied. It was only sunny for a day or so and then the rains came back. We’re still averaging about an inch a day. Everyone agrees that it is unusual for this time of year but still it rains. I am determined to get a good “beach day” in before we head back to Arizona next week. Maybe tomorrow!

Spending time in Limón

Seems like we have been spending a lot of time in our provincial capital of Limón lately. It’s about an hour-and-a-half by bus at a cost equivalent of about $2.25 USD. We recently made 2 trips to motorcycle parts stores and the 3rd to the Instituto National Seguro (INS) to pay the yearly insurance on the motorcycle. In Costa Rica your vehicle insurance, called the “marchamo,” is issued through the government-run INS – you pay for each vehicle not each driver and it is mandatory and enforced. It expires the last day of December each year for everyone. Again, as far as I can tell, no one sends you a bill, you just know that it is due and payable in December and you go to INS and pay it. Since it was February we were already a little late, adding to my dread of dealing with government officials in broken Spanish. I practiced my few anticipated Spanish statements, questions and answers in advance. Based on “wait” times at other official offices we anticipated spending many hours here. As it turned out there was very little waiting – maybe 5 minutes – and the personnel from the guard at the entrance of the building to the cashier were all very nice, very helpful and somewhat bilingual. Since this went so smoothly we now had time to wander around the “big city” before heading back to our little hamlet in the jungle. The Limón area was sparsely settled before the late 1800s when a railroad was built by foreign coffee and banana interests. With the help of the Costa Rican government they imported a foreign labor force to build the railroad including 400 Chinese, 600 Jamaicans and 500 workers from the Cape Verde Islands. Afro-Caribbeans still represent about half the population today and a strong Chinese influence is also apparent. At first glance Limón seems a little “rough around the edges,” but you can already see many of the historic buildings and neighborhoods undergoing restoration. I have heard people compare the building styles to New Orleans (although I have never been there myself). For example, you can see the filigree railing and trim details in the photo of the 2-story building. There is a variety of exterior paint colors on the buildings giving them a “tropical” air. The town sits right on the ocean with a large indoor/outdoor market covering several city blocks nearby. There are parks and numerous restaurants, bars, and even supermarkets. We have eaten at least 3 different Chinese restaurants and stopped in at a few bars as well (see photo). But Limón was not established for the casual shopper or tourist -- it is very much a “working port.” This is where we would ship a car or container of household goods. Right outside of town there are massive “yards” stacked with shipping containers from around the world as well as trucks waiting to be loaded. Dole and Chiquita have their own shipping yards there. You’ll find all the major transport carriers here including DHL, UPS and more. Limón is also a port for a couple of the cruise ships – although more stop at nearby Moin.. Since this is the provincial capital there is a very large public hospital (also sits right on the ocean) and numerous private physicians and clinics throughout the area. There are stores for new goods and second-hand goods. There is even a 2-story mall with an escalator and a Pizza Hut. This is truly a big city compared to the area where we live and each time we go there we find new and interesting places.

How much does it Rain in Costa Rica?

“Back home” in Arizona an inch of rain is guaranteed to be the top news story of the day. So it comes as no surprise that we are often asked by our fellow desert dwellers just how much it really rains in the rainforest of Costa Rica. When we moved here in March of 2008 until we returned to the US in mid-September, almost nightly gentle evening rains were common. Never too much, just enough to cool things off, hold down the dust on dirt roads and keep the jungle a brilliant green. There were some exceptions to this – times when it would rain during the day or even a few heavy showers, but never too much. Some neighbors even expressed concern that it was a dry year and there might be water shortages. And then we returned in November. That month brought almost constant rain – somewhere past the 42-inch mark I believe. I remember a lot of rain in December too, but after November anything was an improvement so we did not even bother to measure. In January we got to 17-inches but stopped counting. Luckily the weather didn’t hamper everyone’s spirit or activities -- the town was filled with surfers from all over the world. There was even a surf school set up on Playa Negra. Then came February -- the first couple of weeks brought us more than 27-inches of rain. A section of road over the creek that runs next to our house was washed away by the force of the water coming from the mountains (see photo). The hose that supplies water to our house runs through this culvert so we were without running water for several days. Fortunately our buckets were always full of clean rain water. We’re in mid-February now. There was a crew of volunteers cleaning up the beach this past weekend. Tourists are appearing out of thin air, smiling, taking photos, happy to be here. The skies are clear and blue, there are a million stars in the night sky, everywhere you look things are growing and the ocean is postcard perfect. Last night you could hear the rain gently falling on our tin roof in the middle of the night. I think that we are again back to “normal.” Life in paradise begins a new year.

Hot Springs Cold River

After a restful night’s sleep we were ready to start exploring the area around Boquete. First stop -- the cafeteria with 25-cent coffee and a scrambled egg breakfast with tortillas, pancakes or 2 large fried breads for $1.25. Next it was off to find the bus to the Caldera Hot Springs. It was parked by the town square with a family of 6 from Denmark inside but no driver – seems it wouldn’t be leaving for another hour or so. We were ready now so our Spanish-speaking friend, Rosalinda, ventured out and found another van driver willing to take us -- along with our new friends from Denmark -- for $20 total. The drive there took about 45 minutes with 15 or so on the highway and the rest on paved and unpaved rural roads. The countryside was dotted with a mix of large, new homes on sizable lots and long-standing picturesque ranches. We passed through the small town of Caldera and made the final turn down a winding dirt road through a construction zone for a new hydroelectric project (very controversial). We knew we would never have found this on our own much less made the hike from the bus stop in the Caldera so we convinced the driver to come back and pick us up in 4 hours. We crossed the bridge that spans the Chiriqui River (see photo) for the final 10 minute hike to the springs. The Hot Springs are on a private farm with a resident caretaker who charges $2 per person to enter. There were 4 different hot springs in all, 3 surrounded by stone walls and the 4th alongside the river – all very private as we were the only ones there for most of our visit. The approximately 112 degrees F temperature in the springs is unbelievably relaxing. Our fellow travelers from Denmark said it is traditional to follow a hot soak with a cold plunge – Gordie followed their advice and took a plunge in the very very chilly Chiriqui River (see photo). I’ve been in Arizona too long and couldn’t make it any deeper than my knees.