Green Parrots and Monkey Pee

 With the turkey in the oven, the broccoli ready to steam and the hors d’oveures all prepped except for deviling the eggs (which I can’t do early or Layne will eat them!), I’ll take a moment to bring you readers up to date on our latest adventures. Our friend Marcy from California left on Saturday happily sporting her new set of teeth, so the last few days have been filled with writing my column for TheCostaRicaNews.com and preparing for Thanksgiving. The guest list has ranged from a high of perhaps eleven people to the expected seven or so today. Our good friends Patricia and Kevin (featured in my last post’s Halloween report) were planning to join us but, sadly, their beautiful big (and I mean big!) dog Splash is gravely ill. In fact, they may face what Layne and I had to do two years ago with our sweet Emily and have to put him down here during the holidays, making a sad anniversary for the future. Our thoughts are with them today and with Splash.

Last week we enjoyed more festive times with Patricia and Kevin as we took Marcy along on another one of our group gatherings at Playa Doña Ana, the picturesque private beach we like near Puntareñas. Earlier than usual, the capuchin monkeys showed up almost as soon as we arrived, gamboling through the trees and cautiously snatching a piece of banana from our hands before scrambling back up the branches. Marcy was thrilled since seeing monkeys was on the “bucket list” for her Costa Rica trip. As we sat at one of the covered picnic tables, chatting and munching on our snacks, the monkeys boldly climbed on the top of the roof, looking around corners at us with their intense and nearly-human black eyes. Suddenly, a splatter of liquid fell on the table next to me. We looked up to see one of the monkeys recovering from taking a pee right on the concrete table! Layne’s sunglasses took the brunt of it, with my camera barely missing a baptism. All we could do was laugh. Pura Vida indeed!

Life in our new house is comfortable, with plenty of space for the entertaining we so enjoy. We had two dinner parties the first weekend and assorted other drop-bys since then as friends and neighbors are anxious to see our new place. The bus service into Atenas is great with frequent runs throughout the day that take about fifteen minutes; with our cedula and being “seniors,” we get to ride at no charge. By timing our shopping thoughtfully, we can ride into town, shop for an hour or so, then catch the next bus back up the hill to Santa Eulalia. Excellente!

The bird wildlife around here is phenomenal, with dozens of varieties flitting through the skies and singing their melodious songs. But the stars of the show are the gorgeous emerald green parrots that soar through the air in huge flocks of twenty or thirty, screeching loudly in a chorus as they move from feasting in the cornfield below us to perching high in nearby trees. I love them and delight in watching them jet across the backyard, their exuberance a feast for the eyes and a shock to the ears. In jest, Layne says, “Where’s my shotgun?!” He claims their loud cries are too much for him, disturbing his muy tranquilo world. My response: Get over it, buddy. They were here first!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope your life is filled with blessings. Mine certainly is. Pura Vida!

New Digs in the Land of Pura Vida

Out for our first walk

We moved into our new place early last week and almost immediately had to vacate the premises so the new maid could do her work. (It’s awkward to hang around while someone is cleaning your house, you know? But her weekly services are included in the rent, so I’m not complaining!) The next day we had company over for dinner. Our friends Jackie and Neil just moved in down the road from us so we all enjoyed guacamole and hamburgers as we shared our adventures in moving. The day after that, we took the bus into San Jose to pick up our friend Marcy, here for dental work with my own dental implant hero, Dr. Alberto Meza. That weekend we had dinner guests both Saturday and Sunday evenings, meaning lots of work for the cook and dishwasher. That would be me and Layne, in that order. On Monday Layne escorted Marcy back to San Jose for more time with Dr. Meza and I began preparations (translation: liquid diet) for a routine colonoscopy while I worked on my column for The Costa Rica News, deadlined the day after that fun procedure. That would be today. Whew! Busy is a four-letter word.

So now the column is turned in and Marcy is still in the city so I’ll try to entertain you readers with our latest escapades. While we were packing to move, the annual Halloween party at Kay’s Gringo Postre rolled around and we simply had to go, albeit without much in the way of costumes. Layne did manage to stick a “Press” card in his hat, sling his fancy camera over his shoulders and tie a sign around his neck saying: “The Gringo Gazette -- Yesterday’s News Tomorrow!” I put my hair up in a sparkly butterfly clip, donned a short kimono-style jacket and called myself Madame Butterfly. Pretty lame but the best I could do in the midst of a move.

PSYCHO!!

It was a festive gathering with lots of great costumes. It’s amazing what people here can come up with. Some folks, like our friend Nancy, are so into Halloween that they brought costumes from the U.S. when they moved here. Nancy had a terrific Dorothy from the “Wizard of Oz” outfit on -- pigtailed wig, checkered pinafore, carrying her small fluffy dog, dubbed Toto for the evening. She even had the perfect sequined red pumps to click her heels together and complete the picture. But the big winners of the costume contest were Patricia and Kevin, dressed up in elaborate “Psycho” garb, complete with a PVC pipe and tinsel “shower” atop Patricia’s head, “blood” dripping down her shoulders. Kevin topped off the scene dressed as the psychotic Anthony Perkins in dowdy dress and gray wig, totting a big gory knife. It was hilarious! 

The move to the new house went smoothly enough, although we were shocked to need three pickup truck taxi trips to carry things up to Santa Eulalia. Shocked because, after all, we moved to Costa Rica less than two years ago in a couple of big suitcases. Where has all this “stuff” come from? Fortunately, our new place has an abundance of storage space, including a secure and dry concrete basement under the rancho so everything is now in its proper place and we still have a few empty drawers. It seems that, just like in our old apartment, we have gotten lucky here with some great landlords in Isaac and Sonia. They have been very solicitous in asking us if everything is to our satisfaction, adding a fire extinguisher, a bell on our gate to announce guests and trying to get the phone jack in our bedroom to work. Yesterday Sonia even brought over some delicious corn pancakes topped with natilla (sour cream) when we returned from the hospital. Their little dog Chispa (Spark), a sweet Miniature Pinscher, comes for a visit now and then, giving us the pleasures of a dog to pet without the responsibility. All in all, we’re very happy here so far.

Horses in the 'Hood

Flowering Sugarcane

Shade-grown Costa Rican Coffee

We are enjoying the beautiful country roads we have for our morning walks. Spotted with patches of sugarcane, peanuts, corn and coffee between charming Tico houses, the area is an agricultural cornucopia. Little did I know that sugarcane sprouts a huge feathery flower on top when ripening. 

Se Vende = For Sale

If you’re interested in living next door to a peanut patch, then this lot for sale on one of the side roads might be just the one for you. 

All the neighbors have been friendly, as are most Ticos, and we look forward to practicing our Spanish along the way. Already we’ve met and chatted with several Ticos as we were waiting at the bus stop for our “shuttle” into town. The bus drivers know us now so we no longer have to show our cedula (residency card) to ride for free. It seems to be a serious case of Pura Vida in Santa Eulalia de Atenas!