Crazy Times in Costa Rica!

My amazing new orchid!

Boy, have I been crazy busy since we returned to Costa Rica one short month ago! When we arrived back from a two-month visit to the States, there were the inevitable reunions with friends like Marcial and Seidy, who brought me a gorgeous orchid as a welcoming gift when we resumed our regular Friday night dinners. Then there were health issues with our dog Winston -- non-contagious mange, which required weekly shots and time-consuming baths as well as daily cream applications, plus conjunctivitis in one eye, which meant applying drops 2 to 3 times a day. Fortunately, he is recovering nicely and requires less medical care now.

Lighted Bomberos' (firefighters) trucks in the parade

Within a week of our return, we found ourselves hosting Thanksgiving dinner for ten people, which was a wonderful celebration but a lot of work for Yours Truly. Almost as soon as the plates were cleared from that party, we were preparing for the visit of a very dear friend, Philisse, who had planned her trip to coincide with Layne's big 75th birthday week. To introduce her to a taste of our lives here, we took her into town the very first night for the Atenas Festival of Lights, where she enjoyed the parade and the colorful array of Ticos, children and vendors in the park.

That Sunday afternoon brought together some two dozen friends to celebrate Layne's birthday, a festive pool party at Bonnie & Stephen's place, complete with a yummy carrot cake baked by Jan & Tom of Buen Pan and lots of delicious food from everyone. Toward the end of the day, Layne offered up hilarious (if slightly inebriated) entertainment by singing a rollicking version of "Pecos Bill" to Daniel's guitar accompaniment. Philisse enjoyed meeting our friends and began to understand why we love our life here so much.

The gang at the pool

Philisse and Layne are all smiles!

Even Nelson, our taxista, and his family were there

Layne blows out his one big candle as Tom looks on

But the busy times were really just beginning. The very next day Layne, Philisse and I - plus Winston! - were off to Esterillos Oeste for a two-night stay at Rancho Coral, that cozy, pet-friendly beachfront hotel run by our friends Wilburth and Eva. There things slowed down just a bit as we laid out in beach chairs just yards from the surf, took strolls along the sand and watched Winston play with the other dogs. 

Winston, Layne and Philisse enjoy the beach

Winston, the Wonder Dog, enjoys dinner with friends

We even found a pet-friendly restaurant, Los Almendros, where we enjoyed some excellent Caribbean and Thai-style seafood while Winnie snoozed quietly beneath our table. The proprietress has promised to send me her recipe for Fish Cakes with Red Pepper Sauce. It was outstanding!

Layne and Philisse at Casa Inspiración

But with the dawning of the third day, we were heading back to Atenas just long enough to unpack, re-pack, drop Winston off with our long-suffering dog-sitter friends Chris and Sue and leave the next day for the cloud forests of Monteverde. There we stayed at our friends Veronica and Alex's charming vacation rental, Casa Inspiración, a rustic cabin perched on the side of the mountain with views across to the Gulf of Nicoya. Quite a stunning setting with quiet, peaceful gardens and a friendly dog Schnookie to keep us company.

Sunset at Casa Inspiración

Alex and his surprisingly mature young son Stuart greeted us with delicious bocas prepared by a Tica neighbor Gisell and her lovely daughter.

The next day Philisse and I were off to Sky Adventures for a bird's-eye view of the cloud forest on the Sky Tram. With blue skies as a backdrop and a strong wind whipping our hair, we savored the slow ride up to the top of Costa Rica's Continental Divide, to about 5800' elevation. Our guide Daniel said the winds were probably around 80 kph, or some 50 mph, and it felt like it! But the tram was stable and secure and we soon hopped out onto the observation platform to take a leisurely look at the dramatic scenery, including a glimpse of Arenal Volcano and distant Lake Arenal. After our return to the lower level, Daniel invited us to take a walk through their Hummingbird Trail, where many exotic species of the little aviators abound along with a number of stunning trees, plants and flowers, including some tiny orchid species that would have gone unnoticed but for Daniel's commentary.

Amazing views from the Sky Tram

Philisse on the observation platform

Such beautiful flowers!

Such vivid colors!

Philisse shoots a "Hot Lips" flower

Daniel poses with "Elephant Ears"

Philisse goes for just one more photo!

And yet again, it was soon time to leave Monteverde and return to Atenas for Philisse's final few days with us. We had such a great time showing off our beloved Costa Rica to our old friend. We can only hope that she had as good a time as we did, and that now she understands what we mean when we say: Pura Vida!

Check out Layne's novel "Moral Turpitude," Kindle edition now available for only $4.99 at Amazon.com. Five star reviews! High adventure with corporate intrigue, danger and romance; from the exotic jungles of Borneo and Costa Rica to the erotic jungles of San Francisco. A great read! Pick up your copy here -http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HI25M1K/

Going to the Dogs!

The big news around here today is named Winston, or Winnie for short, and he's a Chocolate Lab mix puppy with amazing golden eyes. I saw him at the feria today, offered for adoption by the Animales Abandonadas, a local foundation that works with private foster homes. They called him Tomi but we decided he needed a more distinguished name. (Plus, Layne happens to be reading a book on Winston Churchill at the moment. Thus, the name.)

Introducing Winston 

Winne's only about three months old and has apparently been on the street for a while as he is pretty thin. But for a little guy who has had such a tough start in life, he's very calm and sweet; he just looks up at you shyly and wags his tail hoping for a kind word or pat on the head. Layne and I are only fostering him for now since we have plans to spend a couple of months in the U.S. later this year but we will give him a loving home and some much-needed nourishment while we find him a permanent home. If you've ever thought about getting a dog and if you know the joys of owning a Lab, which are wonderful loving and loyal dogs, please consider adopting Winnie.

Besides trips to the States, Layne and I also feel we should not adopt a dog permanently right now because we are away from home so much, both on local outings with our Santa Eulalia friends as well as trips around Costa Rica exploring the country in my role as a travel writer. Although a dog could certainly join us for our local hikes, it's not so easy to bring one along on our trips to the beach. Most hotels are not very welcoming of pets.

Rancho Coral gardens

As it happens, however, we were at a pet-friendly hotel only last weekend, charming Rancho Coral in Esterillos Oeste, on an outing with our friends Marcial and Seidy and Chris and Sue. But the two-hour bus trip would not have been so pet-friendly; indeed, getting there would have meant renting a car, another drawback for us in dog-ownership. Once we arrived at the beachfront motel owned by Marcial and Seidy's long-time friends, Wilburth and Eva, it was wall-to-wall dogs -- well, maybe only six or eight -- a few cats and lots of chickens as well. So for pet lovers, Rancho Coral is the place to go for a warm animal welcome.

It's a great place for humans as well, especially humans who love playing in the ocean, surfing the waves or just walking on a long empty beach. Rancho Coral is just a few steps from the high-tide mark, its lush gardens strung with hammocks perfect for lazing away an hour or two meditating on the endless rolling surf. Sue and Layne and I took good advantage of those comfortable swinging sofas to enjoy the balmy weather and light breezes. Unfortunately, Sue warned me a moment too late to avoid flipping over backwards onto the sandy ground as I tried to seat myself in my hammock. Nothing was hurt but my pride.

Marcial, Chris, Sue, Seidy and Layne

Later in the afternoon, at the insistence of our strong-minded exercise coach Marcial, we all took off for a long walk down the beach toward the tide pools formed by ancient lava flow and adorned by a fascinating sculpture of a mermaid perched on a concrete base, known as La Sirena or The Siren. With the tide out, she reigns supreme on her dry pedestal and when the tide comes in, she rises above the waters to serve as a sentinel offshore. Taking a rest, we watched some young men kicking a soccer ball around on the shore as the sun began to set in the western skies.

Heading out for a beach stroll

La Sirena

La Sirena and tide pools at low tide

Seidy, looking like a tropical princess 

That evening, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at the hotel prepared by Tomas, one of the family members who run Rancho Coral. Most of us chose grilled snook, with its firm, white flesh, accompanied by vegetables,

A great fish dinner!

rice and tasty little mussels alongside two excellent sauces, one spicy, the other a Thai peanut flavor. We all raved!

It was a short weekend for most everyone, as they all caught the Sunday afternoon bus back to Atenas. But Layne and I decided to hang out one more night to give me my beach "fix." If the weather weren't quite so hot and humid ocean-side, I'd surely choose to live there!

Check out Layne's book "Moral Turpitude," available for only $2.99 at Smashwords.com. High adventure with corporate intrigue, danger and romance; from the exotic jungles of Borneo and Costa Rica to the erotic jungles of San Francisco. Sample or purchase at --https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/159570 

  

Python Goes One Chicken Too Far

(Correction: I've been informed by a reader that Costa Rica has no "Pythons" so consider all references to Python to be Boa Constrictor.) 

Words are hardly adequate to describe the incredible past week and a half for Layne and me but words being my coinage, I'll have to try and pay the price. As my readers know, the highlight of virtually every week around here is our Sunday hike with "the Santa Eulalia gang" and Sunday the 30th of December was no exception. It started out normally enough: we'd spend a couple of hours traipsing the back trails of our barrio with a loose plan to end up at some restaurant along the way for lunch. As we followed picturesque Calle Vanilla that runs below the ridge behind our house, the adventure began to unfold.

First of all, this remote dirt lane is beautiful just on its own, with huge stands of bamboo reaching to the sky and the yellow-flowered vanilla trees for which the road is named offering their own charm. As we meandered up the last unpaved portion into a small village, we noticed a rustic house with a large covered patio nestled deep in the jungle. Seidy liked the look of the place snuggled in the greenery, so we stopped for a closer look. Just inside the front foliage was a group of men standing over a huge  they had just slain, capital punishment for poaching their chickens. The fearsome creature was magnificent, really, with its complex brown, beige and black pattern and enormous as you can see. Amazing!

With Marcial and Seidy's inimitable networking skills, we were all soon chatting in English and Spanish with Don Yeyo, learning that his brother uses the large patio area to make furniture on the weekends, including the wooden rocking chairs that Layne and I covet for our veranda. Good information to have. 

Bonnie and Seidy look on as Don Yeyo chats

Orchids... 

... and more orchids!

More beautiful flowers

Amazing foliage

Seidy admires the garden as Marcial enjoys rice pudding

The lady of the house brought out dishes of a yummy rice pudding and showed us her yard full of orchids and other lovely plants. Ho-hum -- just another day on the trail!

By contrast, our return trip was uneventful, unless you count finding a hidden river. With the help of some bamboo walking sticks machete'd for us by "Costa Rica Dundee" aka Marcial, we strolled down a steep grassy slope along a narrow cow trail, discovered only the day before by Marcial and his son Daniel, to a pretty little babbling stream. 

Seidy, Marcial and Yours Truly relax by the pool

We carefully picked our way across the rocks to take a break by a quiet pool before hiking up the other slope to the road and on to a convenience store for cold water and cold beers. Exercising a little restraint this day, there was no tequila in our plans as we all made our happy way back home.

But the next night was a different matter: New Year's Eve at Stephen and Bonnie's house was a festive affair attended by the whole gang, including our long-absent friends Chris and Sue who had returned that very day from packing and shipping duties back in the States. Their container won't arrive for another month or two but they were ecstatic to be back among their Santa Eulalia friends. We managed to hold off on the champagne until close to midnight when the multitude of large and small fireworks visible across the valley offered the perfect way to bring in the New Year.

With everything closed for the holidays, life slowed to a quieter pace for a day or two but for Layne and me there were more adventures in the offing. My son Damian had written a few weeks earlier asking if I might come to California to assist him following knee surgery he was facing in early January and, of course, I was happy to say Yes. But with the prospect of a month in chilly and damp San Francisco, I was longing for just one more trip to the beach before I departed, a little more sun and surf to hold me until I return in early February.

So with some help from Marcial we made last minute arrangements to bus down to Esterillos Oeste for an overnight stay at his friend Wilberth's beachfront hotel, Rancho Coral. It seems Marcial met Wilberth and his wife Eve Araya some years ago and bonded on many levels, not the least is that the two men share the same last name of Artavia and were born and raised in the north central portion of the country. Although not directly related, they nevertheless call each other primo, or cousin.

Rancho Coral gardens

Rancho Coral is a real find! Comfortable and secluded with only seven apartments, the gardens rampant with greenery and adorned with an abundance of hammocks strung from tree to tree, chickens running free along with a dozen or so friendly dogs rescued by Wilberth and Eve, the place is an absolute delight. The broad beige sandy beach is just steps away from your room and the surf is wonderfully clean and clear and delightfully warm. The breakfast is delicious, the coffee good and strong. One night was not nearly enough. In fact, we plan to return during the low season with the whole Santa Eulalia gang and take over the place. Look out, Wilberth and Eve!

Playa Esterillos Oeste

Enjoying some Aqua Pipa, fresh from the coconut

View from a hammock #1

View from a hammock #2

The real drama was in our bus travels. When we pre-purchased our tickets in San Jose in order to assure ourselves of seats, the cashier said that the bus leaving San Jose at 7:00 a.m. should arrive at the Atenas bus stop on the main road about 7:30 a.m. When we stepped out of our taxi at 7:15, however, we had barely time to catch our breath before our bus arrived. Even then the driver somehow missed our stop and let us off a mile down the road at a deserted parada where Wilberth soon came to pick us up. 

Waiting for Wilberth

Returning on Saturday night, it was just the opposite: along with a half dozen Ticos, we waited almost an hour and a half for the big vehicle to show up. Go figure. Or as we say in Costa Rica, Pura Vida!

(PS - As a holiday gift to my readers, Layne's novel MORAL TURPITUDE is available for FREE through January 31st. (NC-17 but not erotica.) To download it, click HERE to go directly to the book page; then click Add to Cart. You will have to register but it's very simple and you will get no spam. At the Cart page, enter Coupon Code QN77G, then click Update. The price will change to $0.00. Enjoy!)