It's been a while since we traveled around Costa Rica but I would finally like to post some pictures from our trip to Poas Volcano. We went in January with my Mom and brother. Although we didn't see any wildlife other than some squirrels and a few birds, I really loved it and will definitely take more visitors there to view the active volcano.
Last week Wednesday Azure's entire school performed what they called Wearable Arts Program. Patrick and I asked Azure to keep the details a secret so we would be surprised during the performance.
No, I don’t mean naked squirrels at Mardi gras. Everybody knows that squirrels never wear clothes- duh! I’m talking about the squirrels in our yard going crazy. Figure this one out.
Last week Patrick told me he heard a noise at our front door so he went to check and said he saw the squirrel in between the gate and the wooden door. We tried to figure out what he would be doing there. Chewing? Tunneling? Trying to pick the lock? What could he be doing?
A few days later, I’m in the shower and Patrick peeks his head in the door to grab some mouthwash. Then I hear a shriek. Well, it sounded like MMMPHH! I holler out to ask him if he’s okay and he yells back telling me the squirrel was sitting in our bedroom window just staring inside. Is he a voyeur or what? How did he get in the window and why? Then we realized he was really just sitting on the patio chair sitting outside the window. Still, what in the world is this crazy squirrel up to now?
Today, we’re sitting on the couch and I heard another funny sound from the front door. I slowly unlock the door (we always use the side door) and yank it open. There was the squirrel again -sitting right on the middle bar of the gate door. I expected him to be there somewhere yet I think he scared me as much as I had scared him (if at all). He jumped down and dashed to the nearest tree and up into the canopy of our “jungle” while I slammed the door shut and jumped around. Like I said, I really did expect to see him but then again my adrenaline level skyrocketed since he was at eye level and he could easily have jumped at my face instead of the ground! I always have that darn Christmas Vacation movie in my head when I think about the squirrel.
So, what’s next with this silly thing? And how do I know it’s only one squirrel gone crazy and not the lot of them?
Most of you know about the power problems is Costa Rica. The country relies on a hydro-electric power source which is great but the problem occurs during the dry season when a lot of the rivers just trickle. We tried to prepare ourselves by buying a crank system radio and stocking up on flashlights and candles. The radio turned out to be worthless and we’ve only used the flashlights a couple times now.
I can’t speak for everyone in Costa Rica but let me tell you about our experiences with the power issues here. First off, mostly they are brownouts not blackouts. We generally only lose power for 5-10 minutes. This occurred more when we first moved here. Then we received a newsletter from the water and electric company stating that they were working on a new substation to relieve the outages in San Rafael and it would be completed by January.
Well, I didn’t believe the news but sure enough sometime around January we stopped experiencing so many brownouts. BUT we were warned by some people that during the dry season the water would be turned off for many hours during the days to help conserve. Then I read in the Tico Times that the government was trying to prepare for the water/electric problems during the dry season by purchasing more generators.
So, now it’s April and the dry season should be ending soon. The last two Sundays our power has been out from 2-3 hours. I kind of liked the quiet but this past Sunday when the power wasn’t on by 5pm and the sun was setting, Patrick started to worry a bit. The power did come back on by 5:30 so all was well.
Now I would suppose these were planned outages but since we don’t read the local newspaper in Spanish and the Tico Times doesn’t carry this kind of news, I can only guess. The outages don’t bother me as long as they are during the day. The thing that did concern me happened Wednesday when the power kept turning off and on again for several minutes. That can not be good for the appliances! As a matter of fact, I’m sure this is why our computer died last fall.
I hope the country can figure out a good solution to this power problem.
Does this mean caution fat kids running?
No wonder the kids are fat if the park is locked all the time!
We noticed something different last week at an ordinary 4 way intersection. Normally we have the right of way turning left because the other direction has stop signs. At least that was the case.
So starting last week, people were blowing through the intersection (not always uncommon) but it was happening all the time now and right in front of us. Twice we were almost hit by cars turning in front of us and missing by what seemed like inches. A few days later when we took a closer look, we realized that the intersection only has one stop sign left and that one is barely hanging on by one screw.
We wondered what happened to the other sign and in fact, the whole post is gone too! Maybe someone scrapped it for the 28 cents that they could get from the metal buyers? Maybe the city took it to make sure people were paying attention? Or they had a different intersection that it was needed at more?
That started me thinking, who makes the street signs here? No one is put in prison long enough to make a sign. Maybe that’s why there are so few signs around?
I love hummingbirds and Costa Rica is a great place to see many varieties. I knew we would have hummingbirds in our yard before moving here. Sure enough, Patrick and I spotted them moving from flower to flower quite often but they were always so quick that it didn’t quite satisfy my desire to see them more often.
Recently the large hummingbird would allow another bird to drink from the feeder while he (or she) watched and I only believe this happened because the other bird was either its mate or an offspring.
Yesterday was the end of Azure's third quarter of school. Today we met with her teacher for a conference. Unlike the States, teacher conferences are mandatory at the end of each quarter. I like this method. We always have things to discuss with Azure's teachers!
For those interested, most of Azure's grades have gone up. Most importantly, she has been doing better in Spanish. Her teachers say she understands enough but needs to put her knowledge to use because she just doesn't want to speak Spanish (I wonder where she gets that from?) LOL!
Alll in all, things are good!
Azure has a field trip today. Both 6th grade classes will be going to Los Chorros de Tacares. I can’t say I know anything about this location. I checked my Lonely Planet guide and there isn’t any information inside.
I do know they are going hiking then a picnic lunch and swimming in a river. Other than the two teachers, I’m not even sure if there will be other chaperones. But I trust that the kids will have fun! I like that the European School allows for frequent interesting and educational field trips. I think this will be her 6th field trip this school year including the Israel Museum and a working farm.
There is no way the public school system in Big Lake would permit so many field trips let alone a potentially unsafe one such as an unsupervised swim in a river!
The Big Lake Schools took the kids to the MN Zoo every spring as a special treat! Poor kids were divided into small groups of four per adult. The kids were told they needed to stay with the adult for the duration of the time at the zoo which amounted to less than 2 hours including lunch! They could have left earlier in the morning and spent more time at the zoo but decided against it for one reason or another –it probably cut into the total of the amount of time spent in class so they would be shy the allotted time they needed to get their federal funding or some nonsense (maybe they shouldn’t have had so many days off during the school year for supposed teacher workshops!). Anyway, Azure missed most of the animals at the zoo including the dolphin show because the mother she was assigned decided she would rather shop and eat ice cream in the food court! I don’t know why they didn’t give the kids some more freedom? They could have had an adult stationed at each area of the zoo and allow the kids to wander a bit more. But I guess I am too trusting…
All I have to say is that I am glad we left Minnesota!
and
Thank you European School for giving the students more responsibility!
For those of you thinking of moving to Costa Rica, be advised that financially it is getting harder to live here. First, the US dollar is falling as a currency across most other currencies including the Costa Rican Colon. Since the Costa Rican’s tie their money to the US dollar in hopes of keeping the Colon stable, they are buying the excess US dollars in circulation causing inflation here. The government is reporting about 11-12% annual inflation but on some items it is closer to 20%. Last but not least, if your invested money is in the US, which should offer more stability, you have seen a fall in your portfolio value or you are locked in at 2.5%. So there are three things working against you on your potential move: the falling US dollar, inflation in Costa Rica, and a lower return on your investment. All of these might affect your standard of living in Costa Rica. These things may eventually change, but in the short term it could be a big concern.
Something I find funny here in Costa Rica is when you’re grocery shopping and women stand in the aisles and try to sell you certain products. Patrick used to always be convinced they were there as a form of theft prevention.
One day in December while in the Escazu Hipermas, I wanted to try some different coffee and two women were in the aisle pushing different brands. I had one brand in my hand but it seemed more expensive than other brands even though it was on sale. The woman trying to sell it only spoke Spanish and I didn’t care enough to try to translate so I politely ignored her. Another woman pushing a different brand spoke some English. She was more aggressive and eventually convinced me to buy the brand she was selling. I put back the original bag of the sale brand I had in my hand and grabbed two of the other brand.
When we left the coffee aisle, Patrick said the woman that couldn’t speak English was so upset I didn’t buy her brand of coffee that she was nearly in tears. I thought he was kidding but when we got home that afternoon he was snickering as he put the coffee away. I asked him what was so funny and he said he didn’t know why I didn’t just get that more expensive coffee so the woman wouldn’t be so upset. I was furious and feeling horrible because I really thought he was joking while we were at the store. If I knew I had made that woman cry, I would have at least bought one of each coffee.
I guess they must work on commission? Did I mention they sometimes give samples of alcohol in the middle of the weekday?
As a side note, after Patrick read this post he pointed out that he still thinks the women are there to prevent theft.
Patrick and I always try to coax Azure outside to play. She usually complains that it’s too hot (at 95 degrees this week I hardly blame her). But some days we are lucky enough to find something outside to interest her. Yesterday happened to be one of those happy days.
I noticed two walking sticks on the side of the guest house and knew immediately that Azure would love them. As soon as she arrived home, she rushed to grab them. I made her pose for a few photos and then she let them crawl all over her. I took a few more shots but they were quick devils! 
I hope the pictures give you an idea how large these things are here. I have seen walking sticks before but the one we found yesterday was gigantic. Plus, I’ve never seen a green one before. Azure said the green one was cooler because it felt squishy like a baggie full of Jell-O.
Thursday afternoon before construction was scheduled to begin, Patrick and I haphazardly found our way to the correct “hardware store” to purchase the supplies for our new wall and gate. After we paid for everything, we needed to explain that we wanted everything delivered. We drew a map to our home and gave the cashier our contractor’s phone number. As we departed, the owner of the establishment approached us for more details about the delivery. After much discussion, I think I made it clear to him that he should call our contractor, Enrique, whom he assured us he knew. I guess everything worked out ok because Friday afternoon the hardware store dumped a load of rocks –one pile of small rocks and one pile of crushed rocks- in front of our driveway (as seen in photo). We heard the next load of supplies would be delivered Monday morning.
I’m interrupting my story about our new wall and gate (which I know must be killing my Mom since she’s dying to see photos – sorry Mom!) to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
As many of you know, we have dozens of banana trees in our yard. We continue to cut bunches down but mostly the bunches of bananas on our trees tend to be too heavy for the trees and eventually the entire bunch falls or the tree tumbles (we’re talking at least 50 bananas per bunch). This tends to happen before the bananas are ripe so we have taken to leaving the unripe bananas under our car port to ripen. We hose down the bunch to ensure there are no spiders then cut the large bunch into smaller bunches of 5 or 6 bananas.
Several times we have been overwhelmed with too many ripe bananas at once so I would leave some out for the birds to enjoy. Eventually, the squirrels noticed all the bananas sitting around under the car port ready for the taking. We would wake in the morning to find an entire bunch of five or six bananas missing! At first we found this hilarious but as our banana supply would dwindle we decided we should hang some from the car port to keep the squirrels out. Besides, it’s not like we’re starving the squirrels since I watch them eat green bananas right from the tree all day long. They don’t really need to take our ripe bananas too!
Of course, being squirrels, they can’t be satisfied until they eat everything. In other words, the squirrels have figured out how to get into the hanging bags of bananas under the car port. Patrick and I have observed all their acrobatics from hanging upside down and grabbing from the top of the bag to jumping from a cross beam onto the bag in order to rip it and enjoy the entire bag’s contents!
Even though the squirrels can very entertaining - one day they even employed a diversion tactic! I watched one squirrel jump around from branch to branch while another swooped in from the other direction to jump at the bag of bananas! – I find I must often scare them to discourage them from eating my “special hoard”.
Darn squirrels! They have even started to fight back! One day they dropped an orange on Patrick’s head when he walked under a tree. Saturday they pelted the roof of the carport with pits from some unknown fruit. Patrick said next they’ll learn to use tools and then we’re really in trouble!
If you recall from the last post, an unknown man sauntered up our driveway and scared the bejeebers out of me. He seemed friendly enough with a huge smile on his face but I still didn’t appreciate the fact that he didn’t wait by the “gate” for us to walk down and meet him. So, who would do such a thing? The guy our friend, Rafael, sent by in early December to build our gate. It was now the beginning of February and he thought he would stop by with some other ideas for our wall and gate. How nice of him to think of us finally! Patrick told him we still weren’t interested in an electric gate and to please get us an estimate of costs.
By Friday of that week, Enrique (the contractor referred to us by our contact at Azure’s school, Bob) had gotten us an estimate which seemed reasonable. He said work could begin the following Monday and the work would take one week. We agreed to the terms and requested that we pay for the materials with our credit card and the balance in cash.
On Tuesday we realized the work on the gate would begin the following week because our contractor, Enrique, needed to file paperwork with the city of San Rafael to get a permit. Originally Enrique asked Patrick to fill out the paperwork and file everything himself. After discussing this with Bob, he agreed Enrique should file the paperwork since he understood the requirements more than us. Especially since we can’t read Spanish easily. Although, we were expected to come up with several official government papers we supposedly received after purchasing the house. It took us a while to sort everything out and we still aren’t positive we gave Enrique the correct papers since everyone we spoke to had a difference of opinion on what was mandatory, but we made several copies and handed them over. We did go to the local municipal building to try to get some of the official documents we needed but they handed us another pile of forms to fill out. Plus, on top of everything else, we needed a signature from an engineer. I thought that meant Enrique our contractor but Bob just laughed at the mention of that and said “engineers in this country don’t work. It is very hard to find an engineer.” Bob made some calls and informed us that his engineer would sign the paperwork for us and that Enrique would handle that for us also. Of course the engineer never had to see the project.
WHEW! What a hassle! After more conversations with Bob, he admitted that Enrique probably wouldn’t even submit the paperwork to get the permit. Bob told us that here in Costa Rica they don’t worry so much about permits. He said the municipality would probably never even notice and if they did all they could do was warn us the permit needed to be posted. He said that if that happens we should just say that the paperwork is already filed and everything was “in process”. If it came down to a fine, it would be no higher than 1% of the cost of getting the permit (in other words 50 cents!). Okay we can handle that so what’s the point of getting the permit?
Well, our gate is done and we still have no idea if Enrique ever did get the permit. BUT we did have an inspector stop by during the project and give us a five day notice. Again, Bob and Enrique told us not to worry because once work is completed here in Costa Rica the municipality can’t fine you for never filing for a permit. How ridiculous! No wonder this country has no money!
