Jungle Trails & Badminton in the Mango Grove

Layne and I are about to head out the door for a hike around the neighborhood and soon I'll be packing for still another trip to the U.S. My mom in Texas has had a few non-serious health issues of late and I leave tomorrow to spend a few weeks with her to help get things back in order around her house; Layne will join me there in mid-September. Meanwhile I owe my readers an update on our busy lives here in beautiful Costa Rica.

Back on August 15th, it was Dia de Las Madres or Mother's Day here and it was our good fortune to be invited to our neighbor Rosa's family celebration. Over a delicious lunch of pollo (chicken), steamed vegetables, rice and the delicious chicken soup pictured here, we practiced our Spanish and learned more about the big family on whose large traditional family estate we reside. Rosa and her sister Suzie live together in a comfortable home on the main road above us. In fact, it is Rosa's house that we give as a landmark to taxi drivers when heading home, there being no house numbers or indeed road signs in Costa Rica. "A la casa de Rosa Mora," we say, and they all know the place. The two sisters are siblings of Isaac Mora, our landlord who lives next door to us; Rosa's house is next to Isaac's, just up the hill. Across the road is Juan, a brother, and next door to Rosa's place is still another sister who lives with her son. A fourth sibling, Angelica, lives in Heredia and arrived later with her lovely daughter Maria. Maria spoke some English as she works at the airport as an industrial engineer so she was able to translate a bit for everyone. The fiesta was so entertaining that I neglected to take any more pictures once the food was on the table!

It is the rainy season here and as in all tropical countries, sometimes it really pours. During a deluge, the noise on our metal roof can be deafening. But most Ticos prefer this wetter time of year because everything is so green, the flowers bloom gloriously and the heavy rains clear the streets and gutters of trash and debris. Because of this, Costa Ricans tend to throw plastic bags and other litter on the ground, confident that when the rains come, it will all disappear. It does, of course, but they don't seem to realize that most of that garbage will end up in rivers, streams and eventually the ocean, contributing to a global problem. Fortunately, recycling of paper and plastic and other materials is beginning to catch on with a service that collects recyclables now coming regularly to Atenas and other communities.

 

The rains also wash away a lot of dirt from the steep hillsides here. On a recent walk, we passed a gentleman shoveling dirt from the concrete gutter where it had collected after a big downpour. Further along we crossed the usually small creek, now running fast and deep, a muddy brown from the runoff.

Seidy, Layne, Bonnie, Chris, Sue & Marcial
(Photo by Stephen Kopel)

Yesterday was overcast with a light sprinkle now and then but it didn't stop us from joining a group of good friends at Marcial and Seidy's house for a Tico feast and some badminton. The group, led by Marcial, had earlier in the day taken a long hike down by the river, down treacherous muddy slopes and up steep hillsides. Layne said it was a challenging walk but invigorating. I had to miss the outing in order to call my mom and let her know I was coming for a visit this week. It had been a worrisome couple of weeks for me, as we didn't know what was causing her to feel so bad. But after a trip to the doctor, she had learned it was not serious so my trip should be fun, not troubling.

By stretching elastic cord over the ground for borders and setting up a net, Marcial and his sons Felipe and Daniel had constructed a makeshift badminton court in the midst of the mango grove. Soon everyone got in on the game, with Seidy making some great shots and Layne giving it his all. New friends Chris and Sue got into the game, with Chris' height giving him a strong advantage. Meanwhile, the "fans in the bleacher seats" nibbled on local peanuts in the shell, chips and guacamole and sipped on beer or Seidy's delicious refresca drink, made from star fruit. 

Daniel and Stephen vs Layne and Seidy

Chris celebrates a shot

Seidy in action!

Eventually, a duel between "the old guys" of Marcial and Stephen and "the young bloods" of Felipe and Daniel got started with Layne on the sideline keeping score and correcting the teams on the rules of the game. It was fast and furious for a while, with the winning team uncertain. At one point, Marc's dog Bean decided to take a nap in the middle of the court and when Stephen gently touched her on the rump with his racket to encourage her to move away, she curled up in terror of punishment. With some gentle coaxing from Marcial, she was finally persuaded to lie down out of bounds and the game proceeded. With a final score of 15-13, the seniors beat out the kids and gloated appropriately.

Bean just wants in the game...

But she is banished to the sidelines

Stephen and Marcial vs Felipe and Daniel

The "peanut" gallery

Feisty little Bean (l), Yours Truly and Referee Layne
(Photo by Stephen Kopel)

Relaxing after the game
(Photo by Stephen Kopel)

Leftovers from the feast

Then it was back to the house for a yummy chicken and garbanzo soup, avocado salad, traditional Tico cabbage and tomato salad and Marcial's great Italian sausage and peppers dish, flavored with fresh basil and tarragon, served over rice. What a feast!

Don't expect many posts from me, dear readers, while I'm in Texas. But I'll resume my reports after Layne and I return on September 30th. Meanwhile, Pura Vida!

Perils in Costa Rican Paradise

Most of the time Layne and I are singing the praises of Costa Rica but today I am compelled to point out a couple of negatives, since I was almost knocked down by one of them on our walk this morning and the other issue may be causing me a health problem.

Not much of a shoulder

Getting back into our routine of taking leisurely walks in our Santa Eulalia neighborhood, today we headed down the main road on the route we sometimes take toward the next town up the mountain from us. We laughingly say, as we head out, "let's go to Palmares," knowing that in fact the pueblo is some ten miles away, far too distant for a hike. The first part of our walk of necessity is along the main road to Grecia, a reasonably busy asphalt thoroughfare that runs through Santa Eulalia. The street is wide enough for two cars or trucks but with little leeway beyond that. Some parts of the roadway have sidewalk but most of the way we must stay to the edge of the road, often just a sloping concrete gutter, and watch out for traffic.

Now let's talk traffic. In Costa Rica, pedestrians do NOT have the right of way; cars do. And Ticos in general are horrendous drivers, weaving through traffic, passing on blind curves and speeding as a way of life. Reckless is the only way to describe most drivers here, sad to say. So it definitely pays to keep your eyes open when strolling along a roadway. Layne and I wisely walk facing the traffic so that some crazy driver does not overtake us from behind.

Today as we took a breather under the shade of a tree just off the road in a driveway, we looked back to see a truck and with two cars behind heading our way but on the other side of the road, of course, so no problem, right? Just as they were almost alongside us, I chose that moment to step out from the driveway and start walking again, not realizing that one of the cars had chosen that same moment to pass the truck. Suddenly I was aware of a white metal monster only a foot or two away from me, whizzing by at probably fifty miles an hour as he sped around the truck. Holy Moly! To say I was shocked is an understatement. It all happened too quickly for me to be scared but we certainly considered it still another cautionary note in staying safe on the streets of Costa Rica.

The other issue we are dealing with is pesticide use here in this beautiful country that prides itself on being "green." Last summer after living about a year in Costa Rica, I developed a very persistent case of eczema. The itchy red rash covers most of my arms and is in patches on my hands, legs and shoulders. I've seen dermatologists here and in the U.S., had a biopsy and numerous other tests done including allergy blood work, used different creams and have taken several rounds of steroids, which do cure the symptoms but not the disease. Plus, steroids have some very negative side effects with long-term use.

Giving up on Western medicine's reliance on pills, I began to do my own research and learned that, although no one knows what triggers it, eczema is the body's way of ridding itself of contaminants that are too much for the normal mode of dispersing toxins, namely, the liver, kidneys and other parts of the digestive system. When those organs become overloaded, excess pollutants will exit the body through the skin.

Toxins, eh? Well, with further research we have learned that unfortunately Costa Rica has the highest use of pesticides per hectare IN THE WORLD. That's a lot of pesticides. Take a look at the graph below (sorry it's so small) and you can see that Costa Rica stands head and shoulders above everyone else -- not a place you really want to be in this case! Not only that, but Costa Rica uses pesticides that have been banned in many other countries.

For instance, when we first encountered leafcutter ants, we were advised to buy Mirex insecticide to deal with them. After making the purchase but before opening the package, we decided to research the product and found that it had been banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency way back in 1976. Without delay we returned the package to the store and just left the leafcutters to do their thing.

Our concerns are not just for our own health but also for that of farm workers here, who typically use no protective gear when spraying. 

According to one report, Costa Rican pesticide use has led to the poisoning of some 400,000 people, or about 2% of the population. Effects can include sterility, hormone dependency and liver and skin cancers. Costa Rican crops using the most dangerous chemicals are pineapple, bananas and coffee, most of which are grown on large plantations. Some people assert that smaller farms, which sell their wares at the local ferias, do not use chemical pesticides and indeed we have one vendor at the Atenas feria that claims to grow his crops organically.

We don't really know, of course, whether my eczema is related to exposure to these poisons but it is cause for concern. Our solution is buy almost exclusively organic fruits and vegetables and I've given up alcohol, coffee, dairy (other than goat's milk) and most meat in an effort to reduce the toxins I'm taking into my system.

Despite these problems, we still enjoy our life here in the land of Pura Vida. Our walk this morning reaffirmed one thing about Costa Rica that we love: the friendliness of Ticos. As we hiked by a construction site, the workers called out a loud "Hola!" to us and waved when we turned to respond. And as I snapped a shot of cars going by, the driver of a rather antique tractor stopped and smiled for my camera, happily posing for the picture. Now if the country will just go more organic, Pura Vida will mean "pure life" indeed. 

Don't forget Layne's book "Moral Turpitude" is available for only $2.99 at Smashwords.com. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/159570

          

Back to Pura Vida in Costa Rica

Layne's and my last suitcase is unpacked and (mostly) put away and I finally have some time to update my blog. It sure feels good to be back in beautiful Costa Rica! Our time in the USA was successful in re-financing and fixing up the house and included some fun times with friends and family but overall was pretty stressful. If you saw my blogs from there, you know how much physical labor we faced. Not only the mere unpacking of the barn, moving boxes and furniture, but also the extensive yard work required to get things back in order.

Mexico City airport

Our return trip went smoothly enough but was incredibly lengthy. Aeromexico decided to cancel our original flight connecting from Mexico City to San Jose, Costa Rica. With that itinerary we would have arrived in Costa Rica about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. As it was, we endured a 14-hour layover in Mexico City following our red-eye from San Francisco. Fortunately, we had learned that the Hilton located right inside the airport offered a "day rate" for us weary travelers so we were able to crash on comfortable beds and sleep for much of the day. Still it was 11:30 p.m. that night before we finally landed in San Jose, another hour before we were home and about 2:00 a.m. when we hit the bed, exhausted.

Our wonderful landlords here, Isaac and Sonia, had done some significant improvements, making this home even more comfortable and attractive. 

Shrubs along the walkway to the rancho

New shading for the plants

New guest bed

Happy bamboo orchids

New shrubs along the back walkway, a green shading material over a garden area to protect my orchids and herbs from the sun, a new larger ceiling fan in our bedroom and the smaller one from there installed in my office and finally a grand new queen-sized bed in the guest room. The gardener had been busy pruning and planting and the maid had the whole house spic and span.

Darlene (on sidewalk), Glenn, Marcial, Seidy & Layne

So with Thursday to chill out and begin unpacking, we were ready for the feria on Friday to pick up a few groceries and where we were sure we'd see many of our local friends. We were not disappointed! It was as colorful and festive as we remembered with Jan selling bread in her booth, Gabriel with his organic local coffee, Marcial and Seidy standing by with Italian sausage for their customers and lots of our friends, Tico and Gringo, strolling along the sidewalk. We were royally welcomed by all.

As we later walked around town running errands, we were reminded of one of the reasons we love this place so much: without fail, virtually everyone we met - whether we knew them or not - greeted us with "Buenos dias," direct eye contact and a big smile. What a friendly country.

"Corn as high as an elephant's eye!"

It's the early rainy season here and the plants and flowers love it. They are absolutely springing up by inches each day. In what was a cornfield next to us there is now a thriving sugar cane field, with red beans and corn where the sugar cane was last year, a form of crop rotation we assume. As the old song says, "the corn is as high as an elephant's eye!" Our neighbor Rosa has promised us some fresh red beans when they ripen in just a few days.

On Saturday, however, we had an awkward, if humorous, incident when we went to pick up our organic veggie order. While we were still in the States, I had contacted the organic sellers by email but learned that Melissa, the coordinator who speaks English and several other languages, was in Mexico so I had to communicate with Iris, who speaks no English. My Spanish being what it is, I attempted to send in our order only to find that my instruction for .5 or ½ kilo of carrots and .5 or ½ liter of goat's milk had been interpreted by Iris as 5 kilos of carrots and 5 liters of the milk. That's a lot of carrots! Fortunately, Melissa was back from her trip and very graciously worked things out so that we were not stuck with such huge quantities. As it turns out, we quite like the goat's milk and have almost gone through the two or three liters that we took.

Felipe at work

Bonnie and Layne

With our energy somewhat restored by Monday, we took a walk over to Bonnie and Stephen's, where I had left some of my herbs in Bonnie's care. Sadly, most hadn't survived and I left the one remaining basil with her. Stephen was away in his new position teaching photography at a local school but it was fun to visit with Bonnie while Marcial's son Felipe was painting some trim in their cute Tico cottage. Their big news was that Stephen and Bonnie had just gotten married on Friday after some years of living happily together. But for residency and Social Security reasons, they had decided to tie that knot. Apparently all that was required was for them to sign a book with Marcial and Seidy standing by at witnesses. Muy facil! (Very easy!)

So all is well in the land of Pura Vida and we are so happy to be here. It may be quite awhile before we feel the need to wander again.