It’s not all surfing

When they think of Costa Rica, many people think of surfing. Naturally. With miles of coastline along the Pacific and Caribbean oceans, Costa Rica offers great opportunities to “hang ten.” But there are also miles and miles of pristine tropical beaches, rivers and creeks for non-surfers to enjoy. That would be me and Gordie. 

This year we brought a two-person inflatable kayak to Costa Rica with us and have begun to explore the various rivers and beaches in our area with it. Our most recent adventure brought us a short distance south of Puerto Viejo to the small village of Manzanillo. This is the end of the road in Costa Rica, literally. Our kayaking destination was Simeon Creek which separates Manzanillo from a five-kilometer coastal trail that leads to Punta Mona and the heart of the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge. After that, Panama.



We drove to the end of the beach, parked the car and checked out the creek. Inflating the kayak took less than 10 minutes, added a few more minutes to enjoy a hot “paty,” or meat pie, we purchased from a lady on the beach, and off we went. It was everything you would expect a jungle river to be. Very dark, very quiet, tangles of low hanging vines and trees.  Just like a movie, but real. Luckily no crocodiles or snakes, that we could see at least. When we tired of the jungle we turned the kayak around and went out to try our hand at ocean kayaking.  A little later, kayak deflated, we made our way across Simeon Creek by foot and walked until we found a private, palm-lined beach for snorkeling. Enjoyed an adult beverage under the palms and began our trek back to civilization. Another day in paradise.

The World of House and Pet Sitting

House sitting near Cocles Beach, Puerto Viejo

Could have been fate, or karma, or just plan luck, but somehow we have ended up “sitting” since the first of the year. The first four months of 2012 found us in Arizona sitting for 2 dogs and 2 cats. Then came May and Costa Rica, where we spent 6 weeks house and pet sitting. This time it was in a beautiful home a block from Cocles Beach, a popular surfing spot just outside of Puerto Viejo. The 2 dogs and 2 cats were very well behaved and we shared many laughs watching the 3 little kittens discover their world. It’s June now. 

Artist's hideaway 

We’re still in Costa Rica but now we’re sitting at an artistically bedecked tropical home at the opposite end of Cocles Beach. Only one cat here.

Yes, it’s beginning to feel like we are on a permanent vacation. Each place we sit at offers us new neighborhoods to explore, people to meet and new home design ideas. We’ve decided that it’s a lifestyle well suited to us. We’ve already learned to travel light and be open to “whatever.” At this point we are seriously considering registering with some international house sitting services and see what comes of “it.” Perhaps fate, karma and luck have some fun adventures in store for us. Belize, Costa Rica (of course), Columbia, Nicaraqua, Panama, any Caribbean islands, Connecticut and Florida are all high on our list, but, we’re open to anywhere new and exciting.

Aspiring Beachcomber.

Be honest, who hasn’t aspired to be a beachcomber at some point in their lives. I could credit growing up on Long Island Sound or possibly my fascination with old Gidget movies. Whatever the source, it is an aspiration that has stuck with me. Perhaps because the requirements are simple. Location. Check. I am living on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica with access to miles and miles of tropical beaches. Free time. Check. Retired. No schedule to keep, except perhaps “Taco Tuesday” at Tasty Waves Beach Cantina.  Coconuts. Check. Coconut water, milk, meat. Coconut crusted everything. Coconut oil. Coconut carvings. And lastly, Sea shells to collect. Well, believe it or not, there are not many shells on the beaches. Miles of smooth black, white and golden yellow sand beaches, but not many rocks or shells. Great for swimming, not so great for collecting. Each morning I’d go out and walk along the beach to see what I could discover. My favorite finds have been sea urchin shells. Usually 3 or 4 a day is all I would come across. You can imagine my surprise yesterday morning when I came upon hundreds of sea urchin shells that had washed ashore. I have cleaned them all and already begun to string some to hang on the porch. Something every good beachcomber would do. I think I will be successful in my new endeavor.

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!

Exploring the interior

I've always wanted to visit the indigenous communities in the Talamanca Mountains on Costa Rica's Caribbean side. Saturday, June 12th, afforded us the opportunity to one of them, The community of Bambu, which is sometimes labeled as Bratsi on maps, was holding their first Feria Organica to celebrate the success, personal and financial, of the community's transition to organic farming. We took the 9:30 AM Sixaola bus out of Puerto Viejo with plans to hope on the next bus out of BriBri heading for Bambu. Thirty minutes later we were in BriBri only to find out the next bus for Bambu would not come until noon. Anyone who has ever been to BriBri can tell you there is just not a whole of to do there. But luck was with us and we found a pizza-internet restaurant to hang out in. Restaurant Terrible, yes, that's right. However there is an accent mark in Spanish and the pronunciation is slightly different. Terrible is what the locals call the owner, an expat named Terry. Swapping tales and sampling their pizza, macaroons and brownies made the time fly by. On to Bambu.

Unlike the cushioned buses that come in and out of resort towns like Puerto Viejo, the bus to Bambu was very basic with hard resin seats. The 30 minuten trip was fun as we followed along the riverbank of the Suretka River (we actually thought it was Rio Sixaola at the time) opposite Panama. After passing the very, very small community of Chase (or Shasse) we began an uphill climb, over 3 flowing streams and onto the Bambu Cultural Center. The Center consists of a large traditional thatched-roof structure which housed most of the produce and artesians. There was also a small all-purpose grocery store, a bar-meeting hall, a public restroom and another small thatched roof building which was being used to cook tamales. There were gigantic organic avacados, lots of organic plantains and bananas, organic cocoa made into chocolate milk and all types of delicious homemade foods. We tried quite a few items and came home with some organic chocolate (no sugar). The pork tamale was one of the best I've tasted anywhere. The return bus came by at 3 PM and it was back to civilization for us. Wonderful way to spend a day.

Looking for a house in the jungle?

As many (make that all) of our friends in Arizona know, we decided to sell our "little house in the jungle" and move to the very far end of Costa Rica. We bought a lot in Manzanillo which is literally where the road ends. It's a very small town. Close to the beach but still in the jungle (there were monkeys in the trees over our heads when we looked at the property). It's about the same distance from the "major" resort town of Puerto Viejo as we are now just in the opposite direction. And far fewer buses to get there but we'll deal with that when the time comes. We'll be starting from scratch - assuming all of the paperwork goes through - this is sometimes a challenge down here. I will keep everyone posted - until then we will continue to enjoy our great neighbors, quiet surroundings and continuing adventures here outside of Hone Creek. Wish us luck!!! Oh, we're asking $45,000 for the house, furnished, in case you're looking for a relaxing place to vacation or retire to.

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.

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!

Making bridges

Record rainfall in late November on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, where we live, washed out the bridge into Puerto Viejo. Puerto Viejo, a laid-back beach town, is a source of employment for many and also houses our closest ATM, favorite shops, beaches, bars and restaurants. The bridge connects the town to the outside world. The flood damage was extensive leaving the concrete structure listing at a 30 degree angle. Although crossing in motorized vehicles was impossible, locals positioned a 3-foot wide plank between the broken bridge and the road leading into town to allow pedestrians and bikes access (see photo, the green hose on side of bridge was bringing water into town). Within the week flooding had subsided substantially and construction crews built a temporary crossing along the beach edge so buses and cars could again travel freely to town. By the following week construction crews had installed a new “pre-fab” bridge over the original structure. The rapid response as well as the solution was impressive.

Ironically, during this same time period access to our home in Tonto Basin, Arizona, was also blocked due to flooding. Rains had caused Tonto Creek to raise isolating residents on the east side of the creek (our side). Unfortunately this creek is too wide for a “pre-fab” solution, so I guess our activities – wherever we are -- will continue to be at the whim of the rain gods.

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.