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!)

Rough Road to a New Year's Bash

Dennis & Gerardo

We’ve had a great start to the New Year, beginning with a festive New Year’s Eve party at the home of our friends, Dennis & Gerardo of Pure Life Development real estate. In the two years we’ve been here, they have been our go-to guys in finding great places to live in Atenas. They are building an “eco-development” up the mountain from our first apartment in Alto del Monte in an mountaintop area called Estanquillos and they are now living in one of the first homes they’ve built there, a magnificent hilltop villa with an indoor pool, out-of-this-world furnishings and fantastic panoramic views of the Central Valley and the surrounding mountains.

When Gerardo invited us to bring in the New Year with them, we were delighted. We so enjoy their sense of humor, zest for life and big smiles that we knew we’d have a great time. And indeed we did, AFTER we managed to get there!

In English, the directions to their house sounded easy enough: “Take the road to Estanquillos. Go up till you come to a pulperia on the left.  At the next curve, turn right and go down the hill...Cross the bridge and then up the hill.  Our entryway is on the left hand side (bright Orange)!”  But the Spanish directions for the taxi driver were something else again: “200 metros norte del recibador de cafe, Calle Iris....Entrada naranja....” Unfortunately, they didn’t mean much to our cab driver, who was unfamiliar with Estanquillos. So after some hits and misses, we found the  bridge and started uphill as instructed, only to encounter a road that embodied every dire description of Costa Rican streets you ever read. Rocks, dirt, gullies, washouts, big humps. And remember, it was after dark. Oh, and of course, there were no streetlights.

As we slowly eased up the steep slope, our taxi high-centered with a wham. “Oh no, señor!” I said to our driver. “Este es no correcto!” This can’t be right! He understood and began slowly backing down the rough roadway. I had already tried Dennis’ cell phone but there was no signal this far out. In desperation, we returned to the pulperia, a small grocery, to ask for directions.

Dennis & his mom, left; new friends Peggy & Rick, right

With the driver and Layne waiting in the car, I tried calling on the store’s landline but Dennis’ cell phone still didn’t respond. Then I described Dennis and Gerardo to the proprietor. Yes, she told me, pointing up the mountain to a lighted house at the top. That’s where those two gentlemen live and yes, that’s the right road. Unsure that I understood correctly, I sent our taxi driver in to discuss the situation with the grocers. Layne and I watched anxiously from the car as the animated conversation carried on. Finally, our driver returned and despite our protests that it would wreck his car, in true Tico style he headed back up the road, determined to transport his passengers to their destination.

Which he did, bless his heart, gunning his engine and banging his oil pan in order to make it up and over the rough spots. He totally earned the big tip I gave him. Finally, we arrived and hiked up the last steep slope of driveway to a festive atmosphere of music, laughter, salsa dancing, great food and new friends to boot. At midnight, we opened champagne then watched firework displays all across the nighttime vista. Thanks, Dennis and Gerardo, but maybe we’ll wait until that road is paved before we come for another visit!

Sadie and Marcial

Still, it was satisfying that my Spanish is improving enough to converse as I managed to do that night. But Layne and I have begun a new system for learning Spanish --  “language dinners” with our Tico friends Marcial and Sadie. Sadie wants to learn English so it seems a good fit for us to get together and speak our different languages over a good meal. Layne and I hosted our first evening “class” last Thursday and it was a grand success. Marcial served as our “teacher” due to his fluency in English gained from teaching physical education at an English-language school for some eight years. Over guacamole and big bowls of chili, we alternated English and Spanish, with Marcial correcting us and offering grammar rules here and there. Sadie made homemade tortillas in a matter of minutes that were so much better than the packaged kind. And Marcial, who plans to compete in the big Chili Cookoff next month, was impressed with my chili recipe, which I had adapted to incorporate his wonderful Italian Sausage as the meat. We plan to repeat these dinners every two weeks or so and “poco a poco,” little by little, I know our Spanish will improve even as we have a lot of fun learning it. 

Happy Holiday Party Time!

Happy Holidays to all my loyal readers! I hope your holidays are blessed with joy, good friends and beloved family and that the New Year brings you prosperity, peace and good health.

Flowers on our fence

We are in full-blown Christmas party mode here, imagining that the sunny skies and warm temperatures actually harbor snowflakes and icicles. If you delight in fall colors, winter snows and spring blossoms, Costa Rica may not be the place for you. Well, the spring flowers certainly burst forth, but oddly that happens here during what is North America’s winter season. Since the end of the rainy season a few weeks ago, colorful blooms have sprouted everywhere and the trees are neon green with new leaves and flowers, promising abundant fruit just weeks from now. So it’s Christmas in Springtime here in Costa Rica.

A beautiful couple, Sadie & Marcial

Daniel, Sadie, Marcial and David, neighbor dog Bean

This week has been party central for us. Thursday night we enjoyed grilled sausages at Marcial and Sadie’s home a few blocks from us, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. We sat around a small campfire they have in their yard and listened to their son Daniel play his guitar. It was a really fun evening and made Layne and I nostalgic for all the cozy wood fires we used to enjoy in California winters. On Friday afternoon there was a community party honoring senior citizens of Santa Eulalia and our neighbor had invited us. With a clown to entertain and some tasty pork stew for sustenance, the elderly crowd seemed to enjoy themselves. Layne and I were tested on our ability to follow instructions in Spanish as we got picked along with several other couples for one of the playful exercises on stage. We held hands, then let go, hugged then released, touched cheek-to-cheek then backed off and finally we danced. Everyone was gifted with a small picture frame and lotion for the women and socks for the men.

Daniel serenades us

Today it’s a pool party at our Japanese friend Hisano Bell’s bed and breakfast down the hill in barrio Rio Grande. I’ve made a big pot of Italian Sausage Spaghetti Sauce with Marcial’s great sausage (do you see a pattern in our food these days?) for the potluck and look forward to some relaxing at poolside. Then tomorrow we’re off to our friends Glynn and Darlene’s place in Turrucares with local pals Sally and Leonard, Neil and Jackie and our sidekick Marc. New Year’s Eve will find us partying with our favorite realtors, Dennis and Gerardo of Pure Life Development, an event we’re looking forward to enthusiastically. These two guys, along with their office helper Nelson, are some of the nicest people we know here and they have been so helpful to us in our long house-hunt before finally settling here in Santa Eulalia. We know they will host a kick-ass party!

So we hope your holidays are as full of fun as ours are and that 2012 brings Pura Vida to your doorstep!