TGIF

Well it is Friday - Lisle forgot it was fish day, so no fresh stuff from the fish guy - oh well there's always next week!

Up at 6:30, just after the rain ended - still lots of mist in the mountains - no howlers this morning, but lots of bird chatter.

This morning we planned to meet our new neighbour.  Jeannine dropped by for coffee, tea and fresh banana almond muffins (thank you Lisle - I just don't say that enough!!).  Jeannine and her husband Jean Marc are building the house just up the road.  They have been here with their 2 teen girls learning to live in rural Costa Rica.  The girls go to the public high school in Uvita - the bus picks them up at 5:40 am.  House should be done by Christmas although some are saying March - - they are renting a place a little further up the road.  A really nice way to start the day, learning about her adventures and life - a new relationship!  Next time it will need to be over wine!

Lisle has finished repainting and remounting all the exterior light fixtures.  They were black, but almost white with the sun and salt - look like brand new!

After lunch, Lisle needed to go to town - supplies - a new pool thermometer.  WOW - the rear tire looks really low - it was before and he filled it the other day - - made it to the gas station and then into Uvita to Bridgestone - the guy found the nail in 30 seconds - no problema!  The bill C2,500 - roughly $5.00!  We'll see how it stands up.

Swim in the pool with the new thermometer - cerveza!  Sunset - - dinner - - House of Cards (season 2 is even more manipulative!!)

Rain, Sun, Fiesta

Not only did it rain all day Friday, but Saturday was even worse - sitting in a cloud for much of the day with barely a glimpse of the distant mountains or ocean.

But the sky cleared in the night - how do I know that?  Well I was outside scooping the frog fiesta from the pool.   What is it with these guys?  The second it is dark - croak - - croak croak - - - croak croak croak - - they don't actually sound like that but I am not sure how to type  ggrrruuupp.   1 nearby.  1 a little further away.  Another.  I sit and listen.  I say to Lisle - they are in the pool - What? - the frogs, they are in the pool - How do you know? - - I know, come with me . . . . Pool light on - patio light on - there they are - 4 little frog fellows frolicking - - skimmer rides for them all into the jungle - - an hour later - croak!  Sunday night - all over again - - let's see if we can train the little guys!

Sunday was beautiful btw.  Sunny - not too humid - - spent an hour lounging in the pool - - such is life!  And a sunset to boot!

View from the End of the Patio

Neat what the iPhone can do!!

See!

Like I said - rainy days provide beautiful sunsets - - this one from the pool patio at El Castillo!

Another overcast day - can't really see the ocean - but no rain yet!

What a Spectacular Day

The sun is bright and hot (34C by the outdoor thermometer).  While there are some clouds over the mountain top, they are mostly bright, and the rest of the sky is blue streaked with white wisps.  The ocean is glistening in the sunlight and is still.  There is a breeze from the ocean that cools the intensity of the sun.  I have retreated from the patio sofa as the late afternoon sun has reached it and both the heat and the brightness make a continuation of my reading impossible.  A complete change from the mist, clouds and torrential rains for the past 3 days - a day that - except for the mountain clouds - is more like February than August.  The only such day since our arrival 5 weeks ago.

We are dog-sitting for David and Helene, and Deezle has found a cool, shady, breezy place on the patio tiles to sleep.

 This morning we visited our friend Judy.  She has lived here almost 12 years, having bought property across the valley with her partner (now back in the states due to illness).  She has a wonderful if modest house (much more like a Tico home than ours) on 6 acres of hillside with a stunning view of the ocean and the entire village of Ojochal.  She knows how to live with the locals and get things done - a treat to visit with.  We sipped ice tea and gossiped.

Great view of our house from her front patio!

Reading the new J.K. Rowling's mystery - interesting

An hour in the pool chatting as the sun loses its intensity readying to set.

A cocktail listening to the howlers in the distance

Sunset!!

 

Dinner of chicken breast and potatoes with a good glass of wine.

TV, wine, the sound of the frogs and crickets

A great day.

Seriously!!!

There are those days when you just wonder about the world around you - maybe it really is the end of days!

Yesterday about 2:00 Lisle turned on the TV - he wanted to look at the inventory of stuff on the media player - nothing happened - - "Dan, how do you turn this on!!"  Apparently you don't - what was working just fine less than 24 hours earlier now doesn't turn on - not manually, not with the remote - the little red light just sits there saying "I have power and you can't use me".  So, James has scanned and emailed the purchase receipt from Toronto and Sheila is following up on warranty.

At about 6:30 - just dark enough so you can't see anything - CRACK - CRACK - CRASH.  Lisle, who was at the desk, asked if something on the stove boiled over - I said NO - a tree came down outside!  Went to the spare room and got the giant flashlight - the one with the 6" lens that plugs in - it doesn't seem to turn on either!  So out back with the little EverReady light - sure enough, branches on the ground by the pool house but no apparent damage.

Finish dinner, curl up on the couch to watch TV on the laptop - some of us will let nothing get in the way - CRACK - CRACK - CRASH - and the lights go out - everywhere!  Lisle and I look at each other - of course we can see each other because the TV is still playing on the laptop with its battery - ANOTHER TREE?!  The lights come back on and with the little flashlight I venture back to the yard and sure enough more tree debris.  Photos from the morning after - - 

We manage to make it through the night without further drama.

This morning I come down, and go to open the patio door. UMM - frogs aren't supposed to be stuck squeezing between the screen and glass door - especially not 8' off the ground!

Maybe 2013 is going to be a year of absurd things! 

2012

Guess another year is coming to an end.  Sun is shining, Mountains are shrouded in cloud.  Drops in the pool say its actually raining.  Maybe a rainbow to wrap up 2012!

Ojochal is largely unchanged.  The butcher has a new sign - Fabrizio's pizza is busier than ever.  Phase 9 had 1 house completed this year - 2 planned for next year - still only 3 occupied full time.  But the place seems busy - lots of renters and part-timers here for the holidays.  For the first time, you actually see and hear people regularly (good and bad, the seclusion is attractive).

The house is the same - ever welcoming - home as soon as we arrive.  Paint has faded from the sun - a broken wine glass in the cupboard (no glass bits just a fragment missing from the bowl).  Mold on the back stairs and in the window tracks - nothing a little oxyclean didn't fix.

The vegetation is astounding.  The bamboo orchids are full and lush - they make a great screen from the neighbours.  The torch ginger is over 8 ft tall.  The palm trees at the driveway are at least 2 ft taller than in August.  The tropical plants on the back hill in various stages of flower - the new pink one is very pretty.

The pool is spectacular with the new tile - need to tell everyone to do this from the beginning and save the time, trouble, and money fussing with paint.

Christian has been busy refreshing things, and the new paint on the patio walls and shower is wonderful - hopefully this will work and not bubble, peel or come off with the concrete.

No monkeys, but the songbirds create a symphony each morning and the parrots and falcons a cacophony at dusk.  Few frogs at night - just something rustling in the jungle!

And of course there are the bugs.  Always something strange and creepy, and then the giant moths (the size of a bread plate) that sneak in at dusk if you don't close the screen door soon enough.

So life continues - latin jazz on the iPod, a blue sky, Lisle cooking for tonight's party - check the link if you need any confirmation that this is the best place to be - or this one - Toronto winter!

To friends, family, followers and anyone who may stumble across my ramblings - Goodbye to 2012, and a happy and prosperous new year 2013 - I would wish that in Spanish, but I don't know how to type the n with a ~ over it - and absent that i'd be wishing everyone a new anus - not quite the same sentiment!!

Pool Blues

Since the summer we have been working to resolve problems with the pool finish.

It seems that your typical painted pool has very little longevity in the tropics - not sure why that is - we re not the only ones with an issue, pool finishes are a common topic of discussion.  

As we were faced with the need to apply the 3rd new finish in a year, we decided paint was not the way to go.  That leaves tile!  Ok, so lets pick a colour - - well there is blue, blue and blue!  At least that what is readily available - your typical public pool turquoise, or a dark blue.  Not impressed!

So we began the search for other tiles in the colour we wanted that we could afford and that we available in Costa Rica.  With the help of Christian www.horizon-plan.com/tropics.html we found Ezarri tiles www.ezarri.com/home.php.  Of course they are in Spain and ship as needed to Costa Rica - after much back and forth, we determined they had the tile we wanted in the country in sufficient quanity so they didn't need to order it specially.

Once that fell into place, the rest has been amazingly simple - payment, delivery, installation - - Christian and Robert have been fantastic.  While we have yet to see the final product the reviews from the neighbours have been very positive.

Hopefully a permanent solution to this - we'll see when we arrive Dec 23!!

Pics of the tile and the work in progress

Wildlife Alert!!

There are BEARS in the pool!