Putting your best foot forward... Flip Flops or Tevas.

It's one of those questions
I ask myself each morning.
In the Caribbean region of
Costa Rica, especially in
beach towns like Puerto Viejo
and Cahuita, everyone -
no exaggeratiopn - everyne,
wears flip flops. Walking, riding bicycles, driving motorcycles or scooters. In dresses and bathing
suits. Doesn't seem to matter. Everyone wears flip flops. Well, I do a lot of walking and it's not all
beach walking. We live in the mountains a few miles from the beaches so I often walk down the
dirt road to take a bus. Sorry, but I haven't seemed to master the fine art of "hiking" in flip flops
on mountain roads and have selected Tevas as my shoe of choice. The sole is much sturdier
and the straps guarantee that the sandal is still on my foot when I've made it to the bus stop. 
I was convinced that Tevas were the way to go. Until today. Today the sole came off of my
second pair of Tevas in two weeks! The only explanation I can think of is that it is too drastic
for shoe glue to go from the 0% humidty of Arizona to the 80% humidity here. I 've now glued
them back on using Costa Rican approved and produced glue. I'm trying to adjust to flip flops
while they dry but my feet aren't cooperating. Apparently there are special toe muscles that help
you keep them on your feet while you walk. Another set of muscles I am lacking I guess!

Revisiting Cahuita or A Day at the Beach

This story is more about the pictures than the words, so let me begin. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning. Laundry was done. Banana tree chopped down. Nothing left to do but head for the beach. Since we also had a hankering for Chinese food (yes, Chinese), our decision was easy. We headed for Cahuita National Park. A gorgeous yellow sand beach with changing rooms, shower facilities and conveniently located next to a Chinese food restaurant. The water was perfect - green, clear and warm. The food was great, portions large accompanied by cold beer. After lunch we took a short stroll around a few side streets we had never explored - the flower was on one of these. What could be better than this? Well, to our amazement and delight, the howler and capuchin monkeys were out playing in full force just inside the park. This is very unusual, particularly for the shy howler monkeys, who are more often heard than seen - especially this close up. Whole families. Wow.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Manual Antonio National Park

September 7, 2007. Manual Antonio National Park is one of the most visited locations in Costa Rica. We spent time in the area last year, shopping, dining and playing on the beach by the entrance to the park but never went inside. This year I wanted to find out what the park offered that wasn’t in the surrounding area, so we waded across the shallow water to the entrance, shelled out the $7 entry fee and went inside. Within a few minutes of starting down the well-shaded jungle path we spotted our first wild animal – something from the rat family. Next we spotted an adorable family of baby raccoons followed by a coatimundi and a sloth in a tree. The iguanas were plentiful as well and did not seem to have any fear of humans as they made themselves at home on people’s beach towels. We spent a leisurely afternoon on the tropical Manual Antonio beach watching the capuchin monkeys and playing in the surf. Occasionally a killer wave would crash into shore – the result – a broken rib for Gordie and some very wet, sand-covered towels.

The magical topiaries of Zarcero

August 31. We have looked at several promising properties in the San Ramon area and now it is time to take a leisurely drive to the Lake Arenal area by way of Zarcero. It's an easy drive that takes you through lush green forests, cloud forest and rolling pastures. As you drive toward the Church in the center of town you may mistakenly think you are in Disneyland. Then entire square in front of the Church is filled with whimsical topiaries. Each corner you turn reveals more and more of these magical plants.

Searching for a retirement home - San Ramon

August 30, 2007. Our second trip to Costa Rica to find the "perfect retirement home." We started in San Ramon which is just outside of San Jose in the Central Valley. We had scheduled an appointment to meet with realtors from http://www.american-european.net/. Through them we met and stayed with Stephanie and Wilbur of West Osaka Island Properties (http://www.american-european.net/ site #1740). What a fantastic introduction to this part of Costa Rica. We had a private 3-bedroom guest house with it's own jungle barbeque "rancho." The house had all the modern conveniences and is set on the banks of the Rio Barranca. In addition to an un-matched natural setting complete with waterfalls, the property includes a large tilapia pond for fresh fish frys, horses, swimming pool and more. Believe it or not, Stephanie only charges $400 per week for up to 4 people! Her email is curvette1@aol.com. I highly recommend a visit.