We had planned on waking up early to go into town with Amy, but it did not work out that way. Our morning was spent at home, recovering from the physical and emotional toil of the previous day. For breakfast, we enjoyed coffee, and a Probar as well as some leftovers that we heated up from last nights dinner. By then, it was late morning and then two of the Finca Leola workers came over and fixed the leaky faucet. After the workers left we rested, as Joe wasn't feeling well. It was agreed that we needed to take it easy for the day and not go into town. Unfortunately, we had no phone, so we couldn't call Amy to let her know.
As the day worn on, we got out of the house and tried to walk to Pejibaye to find another market. Being midday, it wasn't a very good time to be walking about and we had to turn bank before we got there, because we forgot to put on sunscreen. Still, it was nice to get out and explore, even though we burned our skin. On the way back, we made a stop at the Cabanga market for some ice cream to cool us down. We also used this stop to get some bread and eggs which I prepared for Joe when we got home.
We spent some time playing our instruments and then we decided to tackle the task of burning our garbage. Fred came over during this, bringing me a coconut gift. He invited us to go on a short bike ride of Cabanga where we visited one of his workers, Eduardo, who lived by the soccer field just down the road from us. He turned out to be a very nice, former school teacher being able to speak a little English. Fred suggested that we help each other out, him teaching us Spanish and us teaching him English.
After our brief visit, we all rode our bikes a little more around Cabanga and stopped at the market where Fred bought us another ice cream. It was really good talking to him as we got out some of our anxieties about living here and he reassured us that we could make a decent living by internet marketing. This helped out a lot, and we also came to the conclusion that it was smarter to buy an ATV first for transportation, and worry about a car later, when it becomes more necessary. An ATV is really all we need right now, and its so much cheeper. But this time, the sun was going down and it was time to say goodbye to fred. We were very happy that he came over to talk to us. It was just what we needed to calm our nerves of living here.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Costa Rica Journal - Wednesday, 4-15-09
Over last night's dinner, we arranged to go to the Morgan's for some internet time and a trip into town with Amy. That was the plan, however we woke up rather groggy from our poor sleep on the leaky mattress. There was also the problem that we did not have any coffee or breakfast, nor anything to cook with. So from waking up, it was straight onto the bikes and down the road. Luckily, they only live 5 minutes away.
Only Joe was able to connect to the internet and Amy couldn't go into town with us, because her car was being repaired. She immediately showed us some garage sale type household items and we picked out $20 worth of things to take home with us. Then she wrote us up letters of recommendation so we could open a bank account. By this point, we were feeling overwhelmed, tired and undernourished, so we shared a Probar before heading into town.
It was a rather easy ride into Guatuso, but it was starting to get very warm. Our first stop was to the Pali grocery store where we bought apples & orange juice and a few necessities like toothpaste and scrub pads. Then it was time to tackle getting a bank account. The letters Amy wrote for us stated exactly what we were there for, and although we had a hard time communicating, we got out within an hour, goal accomplished. Next, we headed over to Gallo Mas Gallo to buy a fridge and something to cook on. We picked out a coffee maker, an electric skillet, 2 pillows, a mattress and our refrigerator, the last two would be delivered on Saturday.
There was a bit of a problem when it came time to make our payment, as our card did not work. We soon figured out that we had to break up our purchases, as the amount was too large for everything, so we decided to wait on the mattress. At this point we were feeling very grateful for the English speaking employee! After making our purchases, we hired a cargo taxi for a bout $12 and put our bikes and merchandise in the truck bed and headed home, stopping by at the Finca Leola office to pick up our kitchen supplies.
When we arrived and home, the number one priority was to take a shower. I relished washing my hair with proper cleaning agents shaving was divine. It seemed like it had been forever since we had these simple sanitation tools. After we were properly cleaned, we went for a walk and made the pleasant discovery of a small market, where we bought groceries to make dinner. It was a busy day for us and we retired early and slept well on the makeshift king, coming to the conclusion that it was better then the leaky air mattress.
Only Joe was able to connect to the internet and Amy couldn't go into town with us, because her car was being repaired. She immediately showed us some garage sale type household items and we picked out $20 worth of things to take home with us. Then she wrote us up letters of recommendation so we could open a bank account. By this point, we were feeling overwhelmed, tired and undernourished, so we shared a Probar before heading into town.
It was a rather easy ride into Guatuso, but it was starting to get very warm. Our first stop was to the Pali grocery store where we bought apples & orange juice and a few necessities like toothpaste and scrub pads. Then it was time to tackle getting a bank account. The letters Amy wrote for us stated exactly what we were there for, and although we had a hard time communicating, we got out within an hour, goal accomplished. Next, we headed over to Gallo Mas Gallo to buy a fridge and something to cook on. We picked out a coffee maker, an electric skillet, 2 pillows, a mattress and our refrigerator, the last two would be delivered on Saturday.
There was a bit of a problem when it came time to make our payment, as our card did not work. We soon figured out that we had to break up our purchases, as the amount was too large for everything, so we decided to wait on the mattress. At this point we were feeling very grateful for the English speaking employee! After making our purchases, we hired a cargo taxi for a bout $12 and put our bikes and merchandise in the truck bed and headed home, stopping by at the Finca Leola office to pick up our kitchen supplies.
When we arrived and home, the number one priority was to take a shower. I relished washing my hair with proper cleaning agents shaving was divine. It seemed like it had been forever since we had these simple sanitation tools. After we were properly cleaned, we went for a walk and made the pleasant discovery of a small market, where we bought groceries to make dinner. It was a busy day for us and we retired early and slept well on the makeshift king, coming to the conclusion that it was better then the leaky air mattress.
Costa Rica Journal - Tuesday, 4-14-09
We arrived in the San Jose Airport at 5:30 am. It was possible that I got in maybe an hour worth of sleep on the plane, but my rest wasn't very comforting. Luckily, the airport wasn't busy and customs took hardly any time, even with Shardul. The poor cat started yelling at us the moment he saw us. It looked as if the pills had worn off, and he was not impressed with this traveling business.
Our hired driver was waiting for us outside the airport, so we loaded up the minivan and set off for the 3 hour drive for Cabanga. Joe and I both got a bit more sleep in for that ride, but exhaustion was taking its toll mentally and physically. I could hardly concentrate on much anything Fred and Amy said to us once we got to their office. Amy made us all coffee at their house and that helped a bit. Finally, it was time for us to go to our rental house, only 2 miles away!
It was a bit nicer than I had expected, except we all discovered that there was a water leakage and our half of our front room resembled a small lake. I quickly used a sheet I found in a room plus one of our few towels to soak it all up. Amy and Fred Morgan had a bed set up for us with a makeshift "King" mattress made out of a flimsy 2" twin and similarly sized foam padding.
With all the lack of sleep even this funny bed looked good to us and after taking a very cold shower (there was no hot water), we slept for at least 2-3 hours. When we awoke, we did some unpacking and realized just how little we had. There was no shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, food or any appliances, save the washing machine that we had previously arranged for.
What we did have, was our instruments, so I got out my little backpacker guitar and sat on the front porch and played for a little while. A young tico man sat close by next door at the community building and listened as I sang "Poor Man". I think he was impressed because he pulled out his walkman and starting playing the Titanic theme song as I was putting my guitar away. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if that is exactly complimentary, but I was too tired and shy to talk to him about it.
As the afternoon wore on, we were unpleasantly surprised to see that Shardul had chosen our bed to use as a litterbox. This was the first accident he's ever had and I know its probably because of the stress and confusion of traveling. And he also didn't have a litterbox anywhere in the house and didn't know where else to go. I cleaned up the mess the best I could, but it didn't do much good.
When the Morgans came back over to have dinner with us at Alfonso's, they brought an air mattress that they thought might suit us better, so we changed it out and gave it a try. That night, we regretted making this change. The mattress slowly leaked out all night long and by morning, we were laying in a painful, twisted heap almost right on the boards.
Our hired driver was waiting for us outside the airport, so we loaded up the minivan and set off for the 3 hour drive for Cabanga. Joe and I both got a bit more sleep in for that ride, but exhaustion was taking its toll mentally and physically. I could hardly concentrate on much anything Fred and Amy said to us once we got to their office. Amy made us all coffee at their house and that helped a bit. Finally, it was time for us to go to our rental house, only 2 miles away!
It was a bit nicer than I had expected, except we all discovered that there was a water leakage and our half of our front room resembled a small lake. I quickly used a sheet I found in a room plus one of our few towels to soak it all up. Amy and Fred Morgan had a bed set up for us with a makeshift "King" mattress made out of a flimsy 2" twin and similarly sized foam padding.
With all the lack of sleep even this funny bed looked good to us and after taking a very cold shower (there was no hot water), we slept for at least 2-3 hours. When we awoke, we did some unpacking and realized just how little we had. There was no shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, food or any appliances, save the washing machine that we had previously arranged for.
What we did have, was our instruments, so I got out my little backpacker guitar and sat on the front porch and played for a little while. A young tico man sat close by next door at the community building and listened as I sang "Poor Man". I think he was impressed because he pulled out his walkman and starting playing the Titanic theme song as I was putting my guitar away. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if that is exactly complimentary, but I was too tired and shy to talk to him about it.
As the afternoon wore on, we were unpleasantly surprised to see that Shardul had chosen our bed to use as a litterbox. This was the first accident he's ever had and I know its probably because of the stress and confusion of traveling. And he also didn't have a litterbox anywhere in the house and didn't know where else to go. I cleaned up the mess the best I could, but it didn't do much good.
When the Morgans came back over to have dinner with us at Alfonso's, they brought an air mattress that they thought might suit us better, so we changed it out and gave it a try. That night, we regretted making this change. The mattress slowly leaked out all night long and by morning, we were laying in a painful, twisted heap almost right on the boards.
Costa Rica Journal - Monday, 4-13-09
It was a long drive from SLC to Denver. All of our belongings barely fit in the Subaru and we had a difficult time getting Shardul in there. We wanted to have him up by us near the front of the car, but he was stuck in the back, because it was the only place we could squeeze him in. The cries of confusion and protest from his carrier were heartbreaking, but soon his sedation pills kicked in and he fell asleep. It was probably better that he was further away from us, so he couldn't see us. The few times when he awoke, he was very loud. I ended up putting a sweater over his carrier and that seemed to help keep him calmer.
It took a while for us to find the farm where we would be storing the Forester for the next three month, but we finally arrived there around 8pm. After parking the car and locking it up, we loaded our stuff once more into the farm owner's truck and got a ride to the Denver Airport, Shardul crying the whole way, as his pills were starting to wear off.
Checking in didn't take very long, no doubt most of the time was because of Shardul. We gave him two more half pills while waiting for an agent to come to take him, then we accompanied the agent in checking in cage. After that, I reluctantly said goodbye to him, hoping that he would be all right.
By this time, we were still about 4 hours early for our flight, so we decided to jump online and take advantage of the easy internet access available to say goodbye to our family and friends. We had not stopped anywhere to eat recently, and Joe was able to get a sandwich while I watched our belongings. However, when I tried to get some food, it looked like all the shops were closed. I was happy enough to eat a Probar, as the airport options have never excited me much.
At 11:45, it was time to board the plane and we took flight soon after. The seats were very uncomfortable and we didn't get much sleep, even though we were both extremely tired. It was also very cold, and there were no blankets or pillows available. The one nice thing about the ride was watching the sunrise come up over the blanket of billowy clouds that covered the sky.
It took a while for us to find the farm where we would be storing the Forester for the next three month, but we finally arrived there around 8pm. After parking the car and locking it up, we loaded our stuff once more into the farm owner's truck and got a ride to the Denver Airport, Shardul crying the whole way, as his pills were starting to wear off.
Checking in didn't take very long, no doubt most of the time was because of Shardul. We gave him two more half pills while waiting for an agent to come to take him, then we accompanied the agent in checking in cage. After that, I reluctantly said goodbye to him, hoping that he would be all right.
By this time, we were still about 4 hours early for our flight, so we decided to jump online and take advantage of the easy internet access available to say goodbye to our family and friends. We had not stopped anywhere to eat recently, and Joe was able to get a sandwich while I watched our belongings. However, when I tried to get some food, it looked like all the shops were closed. I was happy enough to eat a Probar, as the airport options have never excited me much.
At 11:45, it was time to board the plane and we took flight soon after. The seats were very uncomfortable and we didn't get much sleep, even though we were both extremely tired. It was also very cold, and there were no blankets or pillows available. The one nice thing about the ride was watching the sunrise come up over the blanket of billowy clouds that covered the sky.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Our House - Interior
Here's a few pics of the inside of our place.
Front Room (this is pre-furniture)
Bathroom
Bedroom
Kitchen (Pre-appliances)
Check in soon to see pictures of our place with our new furniture, and be amazed at the dramatic transformation!
Front Room (this is pre-furniture)
Bathroom
Bedroom
Kitchen (Pre-appliances)
Check in soon to see pictures of our place with our new furniture, and be amazed at the dramatic transformation!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Checking in from Costa Rica!
Hola Amigos!
Heather and I made it safe to our new Casa in Cabanga. Here is a quick tour of our place:
Our home:
The town we live in, on the right is the only restaurant in town, it is owned and operated by a guy named Alfonso, he is an amazing chef:
The view from our front door:
You never know what is going to walk down the road:
This guy keeps the bugs in our house to a minimum:
Shardul seems to be enjoying it down here:
Thats it for now!
Heather and I made it safe to our new Casa in Cabanga. Here is a quick tour of our place:
Our home:
The town we live in, on the right is the only restaurant in town, it is owned and operated by a guy named Alfonso, he is an amazing chef:
The view from our front door:
You never know what is going to walk down the road:
This guy keeps the bugs in our house to a minimum:
Shardul seems to be enjoying it down here:
Thats it for now!
Monday, April 13, 2009
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