Seeing Stars ***

Age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Every day I am reminded I am not in the bloom of my youth anymore.  Physical strength isn't what it was.  Right hip is going to need replacement down the line.  A few wrinkles sneaking in. Worst of all, the saggy skin that cannot be tightened up, sans plastic surgery.

But wonder of wonders, I see stars.  I see them like I have never seen them before.  Literally and figuratively.  The magical serendipity continues in my life as I was just last night looking up at the sky full of starts and was awed at how much brighter and clearer they are here.  Is it because they are closer since we are closer to the equator?  Is it because the air is cleaner in this tropical jungle?  Are my eyes, along with my heart and soul, seeing things clearer than ever before?  I don't know the reason, I only know the stars were amazing to behold last night.

So today, with my aging body staring me in the face, I see the figurative stars clearer than ever before too.  I still don't see them all, no matter how much I search though.  I just know I am getting to know myself better and better.  There is something to be said for being alone in life. That is to say, without a better (or worse) half.  It has been many years since I have been in this space and at the time I was a teenage girl.  A totally different mind set and focus than finding myself alone in these, ummm, let's call them "mature years".  :)   Maybe a little scary having some real time to sit and introspect but all in all, a good thing.  The challenge for me is to use what I am discovering for a better future for myself and all those I encounter and connect with in this life.  I am very excited for my future.  I mean, some people live to in their 100's and it is true that you are as old as you feel.  I feel very young here.  I am very free.

Don't look to me for the answers in your own life though.  Everyone has to find their own stars. So don't be afraid of the darkness, it only helps your stars shine brighter!!!

Moving on to what is going on here in beautiful Costa Rica. :) 

It is the dry season now.  Temps consistently in the mid 90's.  Low humidity though.  All the luscious green is starting to dry up.  No worries though, it will come back around in May when the rains start back up.  The dry season is also called the "high season."  Not sure why except that everything goes up in price because of a lot of tourists in the country.  So it is "high prices" and "high tourism".  That is not all bad because especially here in this little coastal village, most of the money is made on tourism.  And the full sunny days are great because no worries of when you should go to the beach.  You can go anytime.  No worries about torrential downpours.

However, high also means "high dust".  The roads here in Nosara are not paved.  They are gravel with a lot of dirt under the gravel.  So as the traffic going down the road increases, so does the dust level.  We drive down the road on our moto with rags over our mouths to help from breathing in the dust.  We had to move our clothesline where we dry our clothes because it was too close to the road, even with a green bushes barrier.  Then moving our clothesline meant we had to treat the tree bases that we hung our lines from with insecticide because ants were getting all over our cloths.

The way that some areas here deal with the road dust is to pour molasses on the roads.  Yep, that's right, no tarred roads for us.  We just sweeten the area.  :)   It is because molasses is much cheaper and easier to get.  Remember, this country grows sugar cane.  And yes, if it does rain, the molasses all dissolves.  However, on the Pacific side here, it is very unusual for it to rain anytime from December to March.

I came up with an amazing chocolate sauce for our dessert business.  It will go on many things but for starters, plantain fried in organic coconut oil.  We found out about Frankie, who lives just down the road.  He grows and makes his own organic cocoa and coconut products.  Their flavor is amazing and the freshness cannot be beat.

For the time being we have decided not to have people come to the house.  We are going to make the desserts to go and take them down to the local beaches around sunset.  Each night around a hundred or so tourists gather at the beach to watch the sunset.  We think at least some of them might enjoy a fresh, locally made dessert.  So we will take a cooler with desserts to go down and try to sell them.  First try is New Years Eve, when I figure quite a few people will be at the beach to watch the sunset on the past year.  

A medium sized cooler at the super is $90.00 but fate stepped in, once again.  I had called a woman about possibly buying a bike they had for sale.  We decided not to buy the bike but they also mentioned they are moving back to the U.S. at the end of January and had other things for sale.  I called her and asked her if she happened to have a medium sized cooler with a handle. She said yes and that she would sell it to us for $20.00.  Wooo hooo!  

I am excited to finally get even a first step going on our new little venture to thrive and survive in this foreign land.!

A Nosara Christmas

Emptiness is a symptom that you are not living creatively. You either have not goal that is important enough to you, or you are not using your talents and efforts in a striving toward an important goal.

— Maxwell Maltz

I am back in Costa Rica, yet again.  I hope very much to stick it out this time.  We have plans and a purpose this time so I think I will be here awhile.

When I walked in the door on December 18, I saw a beautiful Christmas tree the boys had made of driftwood and it was covered in lights.  I also brought lights from the US to put up around our courtyard so your little place looks very festive.

We had the rental car for a few days so we went to Liberia looking for things.  Founds a few kitchen items we needed, some acrylic paint and a few other things including a little Elf on a Shelf.  We had fun over the last week or so posing Elfie for his Costa Rica Christmas pictures.  Here he is macking on a French chick who was here for a yoga retreat.   

 Jacob has been working on his masks and there was a little art show in Guiones.  I finally talked him into us going and setting up a little table.  He sold one of his masks.  Everyone LOVED his work.  He is so talented.  Remember, all of these are made with recycled materials.  The main material is recycled egg cartons, but he also has collected shoes at the mouth of the river (Boca Nosara) and used bits of pieces of shoes, hats, anything he finds at the boca. 

Here is the mask that he sold.








A couple night before Christmas, we decided to make some ornaments for the Christmas tree.  Here are a couple I made from shells. added a little glitter too.  We had a lot of fun coming up with our creative fun ornaments just using what we had available to us.

On Christmas eve we played Cards Against Humanity:  A card game for horrible people.  We didn't know how horrible we actually were until we started playing that game. It is similar to Apple to Oranges but very rude, sex ridden and downright mean at times.  However, we found it hilarious and I cannot wait to play it with some people that I know.  :)

 

A couple days before Christmas, we obviously had some kind of illusion that we were still in the US and decided to go to Super Nosara in search of a turkey for Christmas dinner..  Do you have any turkey?  Gobble, gobble  No, no turkey. Awww, darn it.  Ok, we will have chicken or something.  So Jacob and I are doing some more shopping and the woman who owns the super, came and found us and motioned us to come back to the meat area.  There was a woman from the US there.  She is married to the guy who runs a local surf shop.  They have lived here for several years, her kids were born here and she speaks really good Spanish.  The owners of the super bring out a huge frozen turkey.  The woman, Sarah, said she had a really small oven which wouldn't fit that big ole turkey and did we want to get half the turkey.  We said YES!!  We were soooo excited.  And even more so when I found out that half the turkey (approximately 12-14 pounds) was going to cost $40.00 US dollars.  Wow!  Pretty expensive turkey but it is Christmas, so yes, we want it.  Then the crazy tico owners asked us which way we wanted it cut in half.  All we US folks started laughing.  Well of course we wanted it cut the long way so we each got half a breast, a wing and a leg.   They take it into the back and wham, cut that big old frozen turkey in half with their meat cutter.  The universe, serendipity, whatever you want to call it, helped us out again. Then we find out the woman is in charge of the activity program for the children's Christmas break.  She had heard about Jacob and his art work and had wanted to talk to him about volunteering to teach some art in the program,  Jacob had already heard about them wanting him to teach but just had not connected with her yet.  So he and Sarah got to meet and talk about it. The craziness and magic of this place just does not stop happening. 

 

Finding everything for a traditional US Christmas dinner here was somewhat of a challenge but we managed to do it but I had to make my own corn syrup.  Then no pie pan so took the handle off of a fry pan and mad a pie in that.  The challenges never end here but it is also fun having your creativity and resourcefulness put to the test.  We had a woman, Maria, that is living here with her teenage daughter and no other family or close friends around.  She is from England but has Italian parents.  We had a good time hearing some about her life.  She was very talkative and interesting.  Her daughter however, did not seem real happy to be dragged out.  LOL  Maria is vegetarian.  Her daughter was VERY excited about the turkey and definitely enjoyed that.  I don't think she gets meat at home even though it is obvious, she likes it. 

 

All in all, it was a very fun Christmas here in Costa Rica this year.  Feliz Navidad.

 

 

 

 

 

Roots or Wings

Don't look at or listen to others as to how you should live your life.  Choose what brings you your happiness.  If you want roots, stay planted to grow and thrive.  If you want to fly, use your wings and give yourself to the wind to grow and thrive.  Each person must choose for themselves.

                                                      -Laurel Sanders-

 

Yes, my very own quote this time.  I just bought my ticket to Costa Rica, again!!.   I have tried and tried to live the life that so many think I should lead.  It is just not for me.

 

Am I jealous of their close knit families, of spending a lot of time with their kids and grandkids, watching grandkids play in football games and babysitting little ones?  Absolutely!!  So many times I wish I was content to stay put in one place.  To be happy where I am, both in a physical and mental sense. 

 

Alas, I am not made that way.  I swear I have gypsy blood running through my veins. I am constantly pushing and striving.  While I may be happy where I am for a time being, I am constantly pushing myself intellectually, emotionally and experience wise. I also get restless in one place for too long.  This frustrates me a lot actually but it is how I am.   

 

Please let me be clear though.  That does not mean I am unhappy.  I am not!  At each phase of my life, at each new experience, at each new place I live or visit, I find great joy.  I do however go through growing and adjustment pains.  That makes the coming through that much sweeter though.  It brings to mind another quote I read somewhere.  Sorry I don't remember the author, maybe one of you knows.  "You are either green and growing on the vine or you are ripe, red and dying."

Do not misinterpret what I am saying here.  You can absolutely stay in one place, grow and thrive.  Many people want and need those kind of roots.  I just don't.  They feel like weights to me.  Pulling me down.

My main point here is to yea, go ahead and look at others and be happy for them when they find what makes them happy.  However, do not think that you have to be the way they are to be happy.  And don't listen to others as to how you should live your life.  I did for way too long.  I was unhappy way too long.  You really need to do what brings you inner happiness because if you are not happy inside, you cannot help anyone else be happy either.  And do not let fear control your life!    Keep watching because I plan to write a large, large blog on the issue of fear.

So yes, grow where you are planted!  But if that is not for you, pull up those roots and turn them into wings and fly!

(oh and I really don't care for Tom Cruise but I love this picture, ha ha)

 

Coming Back

Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work.

— William Arthur Ward

As pretty much all of you know, I am back in Colorado now.  Not living an exciting life anymore but most of you indicated that you still wanted to hear from me so I will continue, albeit, more sporadically. 

I am trying to live by the quote posted above.  Trying to participate more, help more, practice my belief more, I have always been kind.  Hmmm, forget?  I am working on that one.  That one will take me quite awhile.  But yes, I am definitely doing the last one.  I am doing more than dreaming, I am working, in many ways.

One thing that I have been asked  repeatedly is why I left Costa Rica and came back to Colorado.  There are many answers to that question.  Despite this being a fairly public forum, there are some things I will not open up about on here.  One of them are my deeply personal issues.  I will give small glimpses perhaps but I find it impossible to lay my heart out there for everyone to see.  I think it is enough that you all know of the wounds my heart and soul have taken this past year.  Some in the US, some in Costa Rica.  I continue to work at healing and growing stronger.  So let's take this quote I am trying to live, one point at a time.

Do more than belong: participate.   I have absolutely been working on that strongly.  Since coming back to Colorado, I have been sailing 3 times and taking dancing lessons, bachata and salsa.  I am participating like I haven't been able to for many years.  It feels good and it feels sad.  It feels good in that I am finally being able to do things in my life that I enjoy.  It is sad that I don't have anyone special to do them with.  Although, if I am honest when I look back on my married life, I didn't have anyone special to do these things with then either.  So I just did not do them. Now, I am not waiting around for him to find time to spend with me.  And the guys I have done these things with, enjoy being with me and have fun.  They don't bitch and complain.    So overall, when I look realistically at my past life and my present life, I am free and happy. The key is to keep looking forward.

Do more than care: help.  Doing that too.  I have signed up to help on Legal Nights and submitted my resume for a volunteer TEFL program here in Denver.  Legal Nights is where lawyers and paralegals volunteer their time interviewing immigrants about their problems, whether they be legal or otherwise, and help direct them to services and people who can help them.  They have interpreters on hand also to help with communication.  Will be a great way to help out and practice my Spanish a bit too.  I had to miss the last one because I had to pay my little old (really old, 1998) car off. 
As far as the volunteer TEFL teaching, I have not heard back yet.  Hopefully soon.

Do more than believe: practice. I really believe in my future vision for living in Costa Rica permanently.  I have plans that I have been putting into motion while back here in the US that should help me achieve that dream.  I cannot actively practice on the actual plan at this time but I think by setting things in motion, my beliefs will materialize.  I am so excited for this aspect of my future.

Do more than be fair: be kind.  While I continue to do this pretty much constantly, I have fallen a few times.  I have lost control of my anger a couple times and did things that were not so kind.  I have only deliberately tried to hurt someone one time and that is because he was being dishonest with his company.  I rationalized that what I did was the right thing to do, which is probably was, but that is not the reason I did it.  I did it to try to hurt him.  Other than that though, I truly am a kind person and even when people strike out at me, rarely strike back.  I will keep working on this one though anyway.  :)

Do more than forgive: forget.  Ok, this one is a tough one for me.  I can't say that I have even totally forgiven, let alone get to the forget part.  And is forgetting good?  Maybe in some instances.  It eases the pain when I push the memories away.  I would love to forget most of the time.  What I am remembering though is the good times.  For some reason I tend to romanticize the marriage and ONLY remember the good times.  That is just crazy because there were plenty of bad times.  I need to work on forgiving myself too for letting him down, or not knowing how to make him happy or whatever else I screwed up.  That is probably the hardest of all to do.  So once again, should I work on forgetting?  I think the healthiest way to deal with it right now for me is to forget it all, good and bad.

Do more than dream: work.  This one kind of goes back to do more than believe: practice.  So, finally I get to the point!  The main reason I came back to Colorado was to work.  I cannot legally "work" in Costa Rica, the pay is low, I don't speak much Spanish.  All of these countered the idea of making any real money for my future plans  so I came back to Colorado to work as a paralegal for an undetermined time.  I needed money to pay off legal bills, to buy a car in Costa Rica, to pay to ship my stuff to Costa Rica, to save to invest in a business in Costa Rica.  So even though I don't hate being back here, I don't love it either.  I would much rather be in CR (and no for my Washington state and Colorado friends, does not stand for Castle Rock).

God has been wonderful to me though and placed me in an awesome law firm.  The focus on employment law and helping workers who have been discriminated against in their employment.  A little bit of criminal defense too.  It feels great to be on the little guys side for a change and feeling like the work I do makes a difference in a person's life, not just that I am protecting the big company and helping them keep their bottom line in tact.  I am the office manager/paralegal here and it is great.  I couldn't have asked for a better firm to work for and nicer lawyers.  Yes, there really are nice and caring lawyers in the world.  :) 

I am here in Colorado for now, working again as a paralegal.  And that is ok.  Some dreams happen fast and easy and some you have to work for to earn.  So I am working for my dream.  But I do have a dream!  And I will make it come true!

So that's all for me right now.  Should probably catch you up on my dating life in the next blog.  :)

4th of July in CR- What 4th of July means to me.

WARNING:  Includes political comment that may not be suited for some adults.  Most definitely suited for the young as they are still teachable.

It's the 4th of July.  All of the US is celebrating.  Here in Costa Rica, not so much.  :)  I have seen posts on the expat sites though that in large expat areas they are having celebrations.  My first thought was, "Why are people who have voluntarily left the US, due to not being real happy living there, celebrating its independence?" 

I thought about it more and did some self analysis, (as usual).  I guess I can't speak for others but as for me, it is still a good thing to celebrate  Although some people say, "we are celebrating our freedom", I don't think that is what the holiday is about.  It is about the US taking a stand.  For the US to declare independence from England is a proud, strong moment it its history. We should celebrate this courageous act and replicate it as much as possible to win our country back from governmental tyranny. So even as expats, it is good to celebrate this history and try to keep that spirit alive.
Someone posted a comment about how America (I don't usually use this word anymore to indicate the US as I am in Central America, where they don't like we US folks saying we are American.  They are too.) is not free.  I totally agree.  So what we should be celebrating is that strength of spirit that our forefathers had to fight off England's governmental tyranny and declare their independence.  We should strive to get the power back to the people.

One of the solutions I often promote is to totally get rid of Congress or at least demote their responsibilities to committees that analyze proposals and give recommendations to the people.  We don't need them anymore!  When the government was first organized, people needed respresentatives.  They did not have access to current news, events and issues.  They did not have a way to vote quickly and effectively.  With television and the internet, people have access to all of this now.  We do not need legislators to tell us what is best for us.  We can decide on our own.  We do not need legislators to vote on any issues.  We can do this on our own now. 
Lets get rid of Congress, or cut back their power and responsibilities drastically!  We don't need to pay their overinflated salaries.  We don't need their bought and paid for votes and opinions!
We need to truly give the power back to the people!  Get rid of these special interest bloodsuckers!

 Ok, enough political rant.  On to what we did for the 4th.
Nosara has quite a few expats but there were no picnics or anything like that.  Maybe next year we can organize something like that.  With not much going on, we decided to have our own little celebration.  Jacob made a wonderful mixer from mango juice and fresh pineapple to go with our Captain Morgan's rum.  We had a couple drinks at home then Jarred ran us down to Olga's bar on the scooter.  It can only handle two people at the most but Olga's is just down a dirt road so he took me down there and then came back and got Jacob.

Jarred and I were hungry so we had dinner, delicious as usual.  Had a native Pittsburgher come up and talk to us.  Although this one was not one whose hometown would be necessarily proud to claim.  Nice enough guy but by many indications, a long time tweeker.  I had kidded Jacob that the men here for me are either younger than me and fat or quite abit older and skinny and which one should I choose?  Last night after this guy talked to us he said I should go for the younger and fat ones.  LOL

VIEW FROM OLGA'S

Olga's was pretty dead last night so although we had planned on partying, we did not stay long.  However, I never get tired of the free spirit ambiance there and the ocean breezes and view.

I didn't sleep well last night though so I was tired.  I had Jarred bring me back early.  Tomorrow will be a busy day too.  I did miss seeing fireworks though.  I love fireworks!


P.S.  Jacob just told me he and Jarred heard fireworks at Guiones beach last night.  Missed it, damn!!

                                                                                                      

Becomming

 

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

— Goethe

The past week has been peaceful and restorative again.  I have went down to the ocean several times and laid out by the pool a few times too. 

 

OUR PIECES OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the amazing things here are the multitude of opportunities that come your way, whether you choose to take them or not.  We have gotten to know our property manager, Bhajan, better.  Due to this connection, Jacob has obtained a job.  Bhajan had started a property management company here in CR.  A friend of hers, who is also a property manager, has too many properties to handle and is referring a bunch of them to Bhajan.  Now Bhajan already has several irons in the fire.  She is a photographer, marketing person, yoga instructor, works part time teaching yoga and working at the restaurant at Blue Spirit, a yoga retreat center.  We found out she also makes chocolates which she sells to a few stores down here.  Being a property manager is not what Bhajan wants to spend all her time doing.  So she is hiring Jacob to talk to clients and renters, show properties, manage cleaning and maintanence crews and stuff like that.  Jacob is very excited about this opportunity as it will give him a good income for Costa Rica living and he loves the idea of working in the area of property.  He and I still haven’t given up on our dream of flipping properties.  We are starting to think that maybe here in CR we will have a chance to do that.  We are hoping this opportunity will grow to include Jacob’s partner Brock and Jarred.  Jarred loves working with plants and such.  With his artistic capabilities, he would be a good landscape architect and landscaper.  Brock has a lot of construction background and would be great for upgrades and maintenance in the property business.  So who knows.

JARRED'S SHELL MUSHROOMS 

As for me!  Well, the only nitch I have found for myself here is writing and self reflection, which while nice, has not paid any bills yet.  LOL.  Ok, that isn’t entirely true.  I still want to teach English classes and while this area is poor, I think that even if I take trades for lessons (yes, chickens, fish and produce) it would be a good thing to do.  Also, my years of midwifery experience can also turn into something down here I think.  However, we really need transportation other than just the scooter and cars are very expensive down here.  A cheap one is $5,000.  That would be one that is about 15 years old.  I also want to ship the rest of my stuff down here so I can make jewelry.   

So tomorrow I am flying back to Denver to find a paralegal job for a few months to a year.  I can make quite abit of money faster in the US so I will make that sacrifice for now. However, yesterday on the beach I was second guessing myself again and asking "Now tell me why again I am leaving this and going back to Colorado?"  :)

 

Which brings me to the quote of the day.  I have achieved several goals I have set for myself during my lifetime.  Some have brought personal growth but a lot of them were career, money earning oriented.  Recently the goals I achieved were finishing my TEFL training and moving to Costa Rica.  Neither of these were based on financial potential.  Rather they were specifically for personal growth.  I have achieved these goals and even though I have not taught English, YET, and I have not found my path here in Costa Rica, YET, I am so happy with what I have become.  I have become more comfortable and happy with myself.  I have learned to live with more gratitude, more forgiveness and less judgment.  I am waaay less consumer oriented and happier to live more simply.  Things are sooooo unimportant, especially the want to have the newest, shiniest toy.  Slowing down and being in the moment is also something I have learned but continue to work on.  I have continued to become closer to God.  I am happy with what I have become and continue to become.  We never stop “becoming”, we continue to grow as long as we are alive.  It is just a matter of becoming in a positive way or a negative way.   

Regarding my spiritual growth, I am still not a church goer and don’t know if I ever will be.  Still don’t believe in the Bible as “the word of God” although I do believe the authors were divinely inspired so in a way it is the word of God.  I do not believe in the literal sense of the Bible though.  Miracles though, yes, I do believe in miracles.  I see them every day when I look at this beautiful world and the people that God has put in my life.  I am so grateful from the gifts you have brought and what I have learned from all of you.  Connecting with others on a spiritual level is one of the miracles God gives us. 

Ok, enough philosophical ramblings.  You aren’t reading this for that reason. You want to know what the heck it is like for an expat to live in Costa Rica.  So back to the car thing.  Costa Rica is a small country.  They don’t make cars here.  They are all imported.  The import tax on cars is at least one half of their value.  That with shipping costs push a car to at cost at least twice its value of what it would be in the US.  There are brand new cars here but they are few and far between and very expensive.  I had one friend tell me he priced a new truck in the US.  It was $45,000.  When he tried to buy if from a dealer here, with shipping, taxes and licensing it was just over $100,000.   

So what they usually do here is import older cars.  They cost less and therefore cost less in import taxes.  Then they fix them up very nice.  The used cars here generally look much better than the used cars in the US.  I don’t know how much work they do on them mechanically but body wise, they usually look very nice.  I haven’t seen many Subarus down here.  They have a lot of Toyota’s.  I mean A LOT!  Gas is expensive here.  At this time a little over $6.00 a gallon.  So if possible, you want a vehicle that is very fuel efficient.  They do have inspections and licensing on cars but I haven’t gone through this process so I am not sure what it entails. 

Talking of cars brings to mind the roads.  We have been very excited because they have been fixing the gravel roads here in Nosara.  When we first came they were very bad.  Huge potholes, very rough, muddy.  It was also much wetter here then.  Torrential rains everyday.  After we got back from Ciudad Quesada, we noted that they had graded the main road.  It was much smoother and you could travel faster.  There is a rumor that they are going to pave it.  However, this same rumor has been circulating the area for at least the past three years.  The past two days they worked on the little side road to Playa Pelada, which we live on.  We heard an affluent family from San Jose bought Pancho’s down this road.  Pancho’s is a hotel, restaurant and super (supermarket, although not very super actually).  We all think they might be doing our road as a requirement of that family purchasing Pancho’s.   We don’t really care why it is happening, it is just nice that it is being fixed.  It is much easier on our little scooter.  Especially when two of us pile on it.  I don’t think the suspension of little Abejorro was meant to handle the weight of two of us AND the rough road.

 

JARRED AND ME ON ABEJORRO

 

Now to explain Supers, since I brought it up.  Supers as they are called, are anything from a small place that sells snacks and drinks to a good sized supermarket, with fresh produce and meats.  I guess in Costa Rica “super” would be the same as when we say “store” in the US.  However, no matter what the size, supers do not have near the same selection as even a small store in the US.  A decent sized super will have a choice or two for every basic thing you need, plus a few fun, interesting things.  However, they do not have, let’s say, 80 kinds of cereal under 10 different brands.  Maybe they will have two brands but only two kinds of cereal under each of those brands.  It can be challenging finding stuff you like to eat.  Especially here in Nosara where supers are very small. 
The biggest one here is Super Nosara.  Downstairs is food and such.  Upstairs is household goods, brooms, coolers, chairs, plastic containers, etc.  It is where we usually shop. 

So, oh yea, another moment of becoming, I am no longer a picky eater!  LOL

 

Whew!

I don’t know how to even start with what happened the last couple weeks.  Most of it is pretty personal so I won’t be sharing.  Sorry.  Ciudad Quesada is a very nice town though, I will tell you that.  It is up in the mountains a little ways, about 45 minutes to an hour to San Ramon, about an hour and a half or so to San Jose.  E opened his taqueria and by all accounts it is going pretty well for him.  For reasons I will not explain, we decided not to go into the business with him and also, not to stay in Ciudad Quesada.  Suffice it to say, we learned a lot, grew some more, through some good and bad experiences and are once again, richer in our lives from the experience. 

We returned to Nosara day two days ago.  A 7 hour bus ride.  We did have a layover in that time.  Don’t trust the bus schedule thing online for Costa Rica.  The times are pretty accurate but if you plot out the connections it does not tell the whole story.  Once again we were dragging two big suitcases, one carryon, a couple backpacks and Annie in her carrier. We started in San Carlos at 5:15 am.  They put Annie under the bus with the luggage which I argued about but the driver insisted it was against policy to have her in her crate in the bus.  First time I ran into this, so poor Annie had to ride down there in the dark for an hour or so.  

The online bus schedule thing showed only one bus change.  We ended up with 3.  We first took a bus from San Carlos to near Sarichi.  Bus change.  Ok, this was not an ordinary bus change and just to warn you if you ever come here, you don’t always get off one but and then right on to another.  A lot of times the other bus you have to catch is blocks away.  This was the case for us in Sarichi.  Luckily, I have ridden them enough to know that when they drop you off on some street, you better find out where you catch the next bus.  So I asked a guy that was standing there, “San Ramon Autobus aqui?  No, he points to a church and tells us it is on the other side of the church is where we catch it.  Oh, great.  We schlep all of our luggage a couple blocks.  Get all kinds of looks from the ticos.  A strange group of crazy gringos, hauling luggage and a meowing cat along the streets and getting on a very local bus.  About half an hour this trip.  These local buses are converted school buses so they are not comfortable.   

We get to San Ramon and we stop at the area where San picked me up when I came into town.  Jacob said, “Should we get off here.”  I said no, I think there is an actual bus terminal here.  But we can’t figure out where we get off at.  Finally everyone gets off so we do too.  On some street.  We ask a few people where the bus to Nicoya is (we have to go to Nicoya to get to Nosara).  We get questioning looks.  I decide when all else fails, get a taxi.  So we flag down a taxi and ask him to take us where we catch the bus for Nicoya.  Pay another $2.00 to find out it is where Jacob suggested we get off in the first place. 

A few buses come and go.  They have signs of the names of where they are going but we don’t entirely trust the signs.  So we ask the first couple “Nicoya?”  No.  A guy sees us ask a couple times and tell us the Nicoya bus comes at ocho y media.  8:30.  Ok, it is 7:30.  Ah hour to wait.  So we don’t really trust that people are telling us the truth and we keep asking each bus.  Finally about three people were telling us ocho y media.  I’m sure they were thinking “these dumb gringos just don’t get it”  LOL.  Sure enough, the Nicoya bus pulls up at 8:30 on the dot.  A few hours ride to Nicoya.  Beautiful scenery!  I truly do love this country.  With all its good and bad!  It is amazing! 

We sleep part of the way because this isn’t a local bus and is more comfortable with cushioned seats.  As we get nearer to Nicoya though, it gets hotter and hotter.  The beaches are quite a bit hotter and more humid than the mountain towns.  Although it is refreshing to see the sunshine.  We got very little of it and a lot of rain in San Carlos.  And most of you know I pretty much hate that kind of weather.  To be fair it is the rainy season and everywhere in the country is getting a lot of rain, torrential rains most of the time, even the beach.  The beach usually gets sunshine in the morning though so I can get a dose of sun at least. 

Pull into Nicoya, which actually has a bus terminal.  Donde es autobus de Nosara?  Oh, awesome, it is the bus right next to us. How much is the bus?  2000 colonies each.  $4.00.  Crap, I only have $4.00 total.  I need more money.  However, the bus driver for the Nosara bus is trying energetically to get us on that bus.  It is pulling out in a couple minutes.  I explain in bad, bad Spanish, no money, no colonies, sin dinero!  He finally lets go of our luggage and we walk away.  There has to be an ATM around her somewhere.   It’s a freakin bus station!  Ahhh, but it is a freakiin bus station in Costa Rica.  “Donde is Banco Automatico?”  Blank stares.  I pull out my ATM card.  “Donde?”  Ohhh, in Spanish he motions me down the road.  I am wondering how far when a guy who speaks English says he is looking for an ATM too and the taxi driver told him it was 200 meters straight down the road.  So Jarred and I head out. 

We go way beyond 200 meters, no bank, no ATM.  The taxi driver and the English speaker drive by us and waive.  Thanks a lot!  We follow the taxi as far as we can see it go.  We don’t see where it turns and we are lost, once again.  Hmmm, I decide I am going to ask someone in a store so I go into a woman’s clothing store.  They try to tell me and finally one comes out and says in her own unique Spanglish way, “See the park.  Go past the park. (arms moving indicating past the park).  Then turn right. (arms indicating turning right).  Ohhh, muchas gracias! 

So we walked down there and found an ATM.  While walking back I decide I need a smaller bill for the bus than the 20 mils it gave me (which is roughly $40.00) so we get a couple pieces of pizza.  We get back to the terminal and sit and wait for the next bus to Nosara.  

I really want to shop at the local food market that is by the bus station but the boys are whining about how we have too much too carry as it is.  Nevertheless, I bought some homemade tortillas and talked Jacob into going and buying some strawberries.  3 containers for $2.00.  I haven’t seen strawberries being sold in Nosara and the strawberries here are delicious.  They remind me of when I was growing up and had to pick berries in the summer to make money.  Well, I didn’t have to but my best friend Debbie Adams talked me into it. (Thanks Deb)  But the strawberries back then were mostly small.   It took forever to pick a flat full, not to mention we ate almost as many as we picked.  However, those small little strawberries had so much more flavor than the big, juicly, perfectly red ones we buy at the stores today.  The strawberries in Costa Rica are like those strawberries of my childhood.  Scrawny and a little blotchy, no perfect color but soooo good!  So much flavor.  And I won’t even torment you with how good the pineapples are here.  Ok, I will.  They are grown locally so they are allowed to ripen on the plant, not picked really green.  So they develop the most amazing flavor.  Even better than the pineapples I had in Hawaii in my opinion, however I don’t know why they would be better here. 

Anyway, we get on the next bus to Nosara, about an hour wait total.  I sat next to this fun girl from Arkansas.  She came to Costa Ricaa year or so ago to be certified to teach yoga (there are two yoga instructor training facilities here, both world renowned.)  She then moved to Playa Grande where she lives with her tico boyfriend.  She is coming to Nosara to help out on another yoga training.  She is now training teachers.  She is also a physical therapist so we discuss my recent hip replacement.  The hour and a half goes pretty quickly and soon we are being dropped off at Five Points.  We have to walk down the road about ¼ mile, dragging suitcases along the gravel, dirt and sometimes muddy road.  Somehow I don’t think the rolling suitcase wheels were meant for this kind of terrain but luckily, they hold up one more time!  Once again we are back at our house.  J

CIUDAD QUESADA

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  HOW LONG WILL YOU KEEP WAITING? DON'T SIT BACK AND WAIT FOR LIFE TO HAPPEN TO YOU.  HAVE A PLAN AND TAKE THE NEEDED STEPS TO CREATE WHAT YOU WANT." -  Steve Maraboli


Many of you have contacted me concerned with my well being since I haven’t been posting blogs lately.  I appreciate your concern and I want to let you know I am doing fine.  I apologize for the delay and any worry I caused you.  Life here, at least for me, either goes at the pace of a sea turtle crawling across the beach or the speed of a bat diving for insects in the night sky.  However, fast or slow, the adventure continues.

A little over a week ago E came to Nosara and stayed with us a few days.  He wanted to try harpooning some fish but the reefs here at Playa Pelada are too far out and too deep.  The water was also too turbulent and there was little visibility.  So like usual, Jacob, Jarred and I played in the waves.  The warm water, wave action, and exercise of swimming and jumping in the water is helping strengthen my hip immensely.  I still lack some strength but it is almost back to normal.  I have no pain in it.  I am so happy to have the ability to stretch my legs out in ways that I haven’t been able too for several years.  I am so grateful to the surgery techniques of today that helped me so much.

The next day we headed to Garza, to We found a little Italian pizzeria across the street from Playa Garza.  Uri, the young Italian who owns and runs the place had mischievious eyes with long, dark lashes.  He and his US girlfriend run it together.  His pizza wasn’t too good but we enjoyed talking with him.  I am constantly impressed by the people who come to live in Costa Rica and the adventure in their spirits.  Few US citizens I have met are willing to throw themselves into a life of this challenge and uncertainty.  Most likely because we have all become too comfortable with our lifestyles of excess and ease.  I can’t say I blame anyone for choosing that comfort.  I often find myself wishing I was still living it.  But once again, if having my whole world turned upside down taught me anything, it is that certainty is just an illusion.  We all grasp at it tightly as a security blanket against this cold world.  Most know how easily it is stripped away.  On the other side though, is truly living.  I have learned so much about myself, am growing so much.  I am having experiences that I could never have even imagined.  It is more than worth the trade off!

URI

 

After a couple days, Jacob and I headed back to Ciudad Quesada (San Carlos) with E to ch

check out that area and meet his family and some of his friends.  First we went to his Mom’s house to meet her but she was at work.  She is an accountant.  She lives near the city.  We met his youngest brother and his nephew.  E has 6 brothers and one sister.

 

We then headed out to meet his sister.  She and her husband have a house in the country by a creek.  E likes to walk along the river there and fish.  It is up in the mountains a ways and it is very beautiful there.  I felt so a home there, partly because of his family’s warmth and hospitality.  Those of you who know me from childhood will recognize the kind of weird, but awesome, familiarity of these pictures.  It looks just like the creek and swimming hole on the Little Washougal River where I grew up.  And just like Washougal all those years ago, the area around here is rural and agricultural, dotted with dairy cows and farms growing produce.  Sitting at his sister’s house with the warm breeze blowing through the house and listening to cicadas and frogs and watching butterfly was wonderful.

E called Angie, his good friend for many years.  He took us up a little farther in the mountains where she and her family have a small dairy farm.  They currently have 20 milk cows.  We came to their place just as they were finishing up the milking so we headed up the mountain a little further and E showed us more of the beautiful country side.  When we got back to Angie’s to watch her make cheese, which is one of the reasons E brought us there.  She makes it totally by hand.  They make it after the morning milking and the afternoon milking.   She gave us some without salt, that’s how E likes it.  I didn’t like that too much myself.  Then she salted some and gave it to me.  I liked it that way.  It is like mozzarella.  They sell it at markets in the area where others also sell their produce.  I am anxious to go to one of these markets.  Jacob and I liked Angie right away.  E said she was good people and she absolutely was. 

 

CHEESE!

 

Angie speaks pretty good English too.  Of course E speaks the best English because he spend many years in the US.  I am always surprised at how they keep saying they don’t speak it very well.  Well, ok, they don’t speak it as well as we native speakers of English but they are superstars speaking it compared to how well I speak Spanish.  I would love to fool myself that someday I could speak Spanish as well as they speak English but I know that will never happen.  But, I am learning a little, slowly and little by little.  And I love to hear them all speak, either Spanish or English.   

We stayed at E’s sister’s house that night.  The next day was his sister’s birthday. I was so happy because Jacob had grabbed some of the jewelry I made and brought it.  I picked out a beautiful cabochon that Ed Scott’s dad had made that I had wire wrapped in copper.  I was so happy to give her something I had made.  I know Ed will be happy to hear that a cabochon that his dad had gathered, cut and polished, was now being worn by a lovely woman in Costa Rica.

So we headed back to E’s moms house in San Carlos.  Jacob and E had some running around to do.  I went with his mom to her office and really enjoyed getting to know her better.  All families have their problems, hurt, anger, resentments but even though families let us down many times, they are still family.  Family is and always will be very important to me.  His mom invited me to a dance some of the family was going to.  I was very flattered to be included and welcomed to go, so of course I said we would probably go.  I talked to Jacob and if you know he and I, you know we were excited to go dancing. 

The dance was the next night though so tonight, E took us to a bar in town to drink and sing karaoke.  Ok, once again, those of you who know me understand that I don’t think I could ever drink enough to sing karaoke at a bar.  LOL  We walked into the bar and a soccer game was on the tvs so no karaoke yet.   But not just any soccer game!  Costa Rica v. Honduras a big, big rivalry.  A few minutes after we entered, Costa Rica scored a goal and won the game so the bar went wild for a bit.   Then karaoke started.  I don’t know if this is how they do it at every bar here or even the US, as I have to admit, I have only been to a karaoke place a couple times in my life, but here you don’t have to stand up on a stage in front of everyone.  They give you the microphone at your table and you sit there and sing.  So, hmmmmm, maybe, just maybe, I can drink enough one of these days to sing.  J   E likes to sing so he sang a few, some in Spanish and some in English.  He kept telling us the people would love it if we would sing in English. We were also joking about how funny it would be if Jacob tried to sing in Spanish.  Jacob is absolutely just learning the language and doesn’t know how to pronounce hardly anything.  I’m sure the crowd would have got a good chuckle about it but he wasn’t drunk enough for that either.

Next day we went back out to E’s sister’s house for awhile.  One of E’s brother was there too.  On our way back in to town E said there was a bar he wanted to take us to that was on the way.  It was a really great place!  Remember most of these places are open air.  Ciudad Quesada is much cooler than down at the beach where we have been staying but anywhere in Costa Rica is still quite warm for us.  The evenings are still warm but .just cool enough.  They are magical.  We had a few beers and E and I danced.  I am behind the others on drinking.  E’s brother commented to Jacob, “Slow drinker, smart woman.”  J     And oh yea, E is an awesome dancer.  And YES, I will always remember that night and that bar.

Then we went all the way into town and met up with the family and friends that were going to the dance.  We took a taxi there as taxi’s in the city are very inexpensive.  They had a live, band that played traditional music.  It was in a an area like a Grange dance would be held.  Many different ages of people were there, Many different latin dances were danced but my favorite is Bachata.  I fell in love with this romantic, sexy dance.  I soooo want to learn it better, though the basic step is easy to pick up.  Jacob wasn’t feeling real good so we went outside to get some air.  I forgot to mention that Jacob and I were the only gringos there, in the whole place.  I have more appreciation for those who are the token blacks, latins, whatever.  Of course we were quite a curiosity for the locals.  This is a fairly good sized city by Costa Rican standards but it is not a tourist city so not near the gringos around as tourist areas.  Another comparison to Washougal.  Like being the only black kid at the high school when I was there.  Some people talk to you, most are shy and intimidated and do not how they should/could relate to you, some probably resentful that we were there.  One pretty brave short, older guy came up and wanted to trade his hat for Jacob’s.  He was trying and trying to get this across although we pretty much got the gist of it right away.  Then he shook our hands and walked away so we thought that was that.  Nope, soon he had dragged a young man over to us and indicated to that guy that he should talk to us.  I asked the young man if he spoke English and he said a little.  The little short guy said something to the young man and the kid shook his head and started to walk away but the other guy grabbed his arm and made him talk to us.  So yes, the short older guy wanted to trade hats.  We FINALLY got him to take no for an answer.  It was fun though that someone had the nerve to come and talk to us.  Jacob and I were pretty worn out though so we decided to go home a little earlier than everyone else. 

 

JACOB and FANNY DANCING

Next day E’s mom is getting food and the house ready for a birthday party for E’s sister and aunt.  I went with her to the supermarket to get supplies.  I was trying to find ingredients for one of my favorite salads.  Greens, walnuts, apples, feta, cranberries.  Could not find feta or cranberries so I settled for mozzarella cheese and no cranberries.  I had no idea if E’s family would like this or not but they seemed to like it.  It was gone at the end of the night at least.  His mom made this kind of potato salad dish that they call Russian Salad.  It had beets in it.  Now I don’t normally like beets but this was delicious!!  I’m going to try to get the recipe from her.  We had also picked up two huge birthday cakes.  E brought some of the pig he had butchered the day before and made his kick ass tacos!!  A lot of other good food there too.  We got to meet some more members of the family and Angie and her partner came.  E and I danced and danced.  It was soooooo much fun!  I haven’t danced that much for years and years.  After everyone left the party, E and I stayed up and sang some karaoke.  And no, I didn’t even drink that night.  I was ok singing since it wasn’t in public. 

 

E was up and going the next day.  I have no idea how he keeps going and going. Jacob and I just hung out at his mom’s that day.  No one was there as they were all out working. I still don’t understand how people can say ticos are lazy.  Every single one that I have associated with work long and hard.  I guess the difference is that they do kind of keep their own hours.  And Mario at the school, who is tico, said they aren’t really lazy, just more laid back, don’t push themselves at the job as much as we North Americans do.  At any rate, I have seen only hard workers so far.

We were going to head back to Nosara that evening but E got held up so he didn’t get home till 1:00 am.  So we headed back then.  E drove us out of the city but then he got pretty tired so I took over driving.  As I am driving along, I can’t quite believe I am in Costa Rica, driving a truck in the middle of the night, grooving on some Bee Gees’ tunes.  Who scripted this life?  This is not even remotely the life I thought I would be living even a few months ago.  Don’t get me wrong!  Am I disappointed?  Hell no.  I’m just shocked as hell though.  A little bit proud of myself, very surprised at myself and yep, crazy as it seems, happy.  Very freakin happy!  I have no idea what tomorrow will bring but in this uncertainty I am alive.  Ok, yea, to be honest, sometimes I am also afraid but I just push the fear away because it is not going to help me in any way.  I see nothing now but the future and all the opportunities that lay ahead of me.  Some will work out, some won’t.  But they will all be good.

 BACK TO NOSARA-AGAIN

 About 5 hours later we are back in Nosara.  As we pass Nicoya, the sun is on the rise and dawn is here.  Soon we are looking at jungle foliage again.  It is funny that this already feels kind of like coming home.  We are going to move to Ciudad Quesada because we have a business opportunity, friends there now, things are cheaper and cooler but I will miss our little piece of jungle beach.  I will miss the ocean being so close.  I won’t miss the humidity, the bad roads, the multitude of bugs or the sand.

We have brought Chezko, E’s dog.  He is a big, gorgeous black pit bull.  He has an appetite for cats and some other dogs though so we have to be careful of Annie.  Jarred told us Annie got into a fight with a cat from the hood here.  J  Although she has no signs of injury, apparently Annie got her butt kicked.  She is a little skiddish about going outside now.  I wonder if it is the ass whooping or the monkeys Jarred let her watch, that keeps her inside now.  LOL

Jacob and I go to Super Nosara, one of the bigger local grocery stores to stock back up on supplies.  I spot Captain Morgan!  YES!!  If I can’t have Gosling Black Seal, Captain Morgan is always my second choice.   Head to the beach for awhile.  Chezko is so cute.  He likes the water but is a bit afraid of the incoming waves.  E takes him for a run down the beach and as usual, Jacob, Jarred and I ride and jump the waves in the ocean.

These last few days have kind of merged together.  No, not because of the rum!.  Well, ok, maybe partly because of the rum.  We had dinner. I can’t remember if E, Jacob or I cooked.  One night I definitely cooked dinner and made stir fry with homemade teriyaki sauce.  E Loved it.   One night I started on the rum.  Jarred, Jacob and E started drinking too.  E is drinking vodka.  I think Jarred and Jacob are too.  Drive down to Olga’s.  We all love that place.  Open, right on the beach, big concrete floor.  Jacob keeps saying he wishes he had some roller skates to skate around the bar.  Jarred and E start playing pool with some other guys.  They come over a couple times and say they are cheating the other guys and laugh.  I have no idea what is going on.  I am just enjoying the atmosphere and the music.  After awhile we decided to come back to the apartment and some of us go swimming in the pool.

Next day, which was yesterday.  I can remember that far back.  LOL.  E and I go to Super Nosara and even in this little place I get lost and we don’t find it.  We have to stop at a smaller super.  On the way, E sees mango trees and stops to ask the owner if we can get some out of the trees.  He gets a stick and knocks a bunch down.  I’m standing on the other side of the ditch and I asked him if he wanted me to help him.  He said yes, because there is a big ditch between where he and the mangos are and where the truck and I are at.  He says back up because if I drop one it will go in the ditch.  I told him he should have faith in me and I can catch them so he starts tossing them across and I catch them all except one that he throws badly.  LOL   He doesn’t know yet that I was a catcher in the softball league I was in.  We all relax, eat, swim in the pool.

 

E, Jarred and Jacob are going to head back to Ciudad Quesada but I am staying here in Nosara to take care of the cat and get the rest of the stuff organized and packed.  Hopefully they find a place we can rent back there soon.  I have talked with the property manager here and said they can try to rent this house out.  She agrees that if they rent it before our three months lease is up, we will get a refund for the amount of time they rent it.  I don’t really care about the money.  I am just ready to start our new life now that we have a solid plan.  I am very excited because even though staying in the country was always the plan, I’m not sure I thought it was really going to happen until this last week.  E doesn’t want to leave me here alone though.  We discuss it (hmmmm, more like argue about it)  ha ha.  I understand his point.  He feels responsible for us and especially me being a woman.  He is worried something might happen to me.  He doesn’t know how much of my life I’ve been alone, handling everything except the money making by myself.  The drives across the US and back with no man with me.  All the time living alone without my man.  I never thought at all about it at the time but I shouldn’t have had to do that.  My man SHOULD have been with me!  He should have loved me enough to be there for me.  Wow, have I been stupid.  Never again. 

Anyway, I am very torn.  I want to go back with them now.  I also want/need a little time alone.  I am working out the last little thread of the dying dream and the steel cable of my future.  So I convince him I will be fine for a few days by myself although I know every bit of the man that he is, is saying no. We went to the Guilded Iguana for dinner.   I had some amazing sea bass dish.  After that, we weren’t really ready to call it a night yet so we go to Olga’s again where the drinks are cheaper and we actually feel more comfortable.  We are just drinking and visiting with people.  There are three girls there that are from Wisconsin.  They are back packing through Central America.  They just got to Costa from Panama.  We’re out looking at the stars and a three piece band comes out of Olgas and starts playing La Bamba.  They have a guitar, a xylophone thing that is made of some wood so it sounds Carribean and the other guy has a metal thing that looks like a round cheese grater but I touch it and the bumps are smooth, they do not cut.  E starts dancing with me.  Another magical time and night in Costa Rica.  Pura Vida means so much more than just a good time saying.  I am learning that it means truly living life, every moment, every minute, every second.  It means much more to me than Pure Life. 

To me it means -  Pure=Totally  Vida=Alive.

We may not all be able to live Pura Vida every moment of our life but my wish for all my friends and family is that you are able to live Pura Vida, physically, mentally, and emotionally for at least some of your life.