Our first Christmas in Costa Rica

This Christmas was probably the quietest one we have had since before the boys joined our lives. After speaking with family by phone and having our own ‘tree’, we went to Chris & Louise Roe’s house. We had great fun with the Chinese Christmas present swap they had.

We brought a photo (in a frame) of Dave Brink getting his ears flushed by Pam and came away with a great little vase from Nicaragua. I think Dave did a great job swapping!!! After the swap some 30 Gringos had a scrumptious sit down pot luck meal. Read more Entry>>

Live performance of Handel’s Messiah

It seems odd not seeing snow on the ground and not having the temperature outside near or below freezing.
Maneuvering by car or by foot in the snow and ice to do regular errands and/or Christmas shopping has been challenging at best this year in Maine. By reports, nearly 4 feet sits on the ground there! What a challenge it would have been to do what we did last year with all the white stuff continuing to fall every few days! Quite the contrast here, near the equator!!!
All the trees in the central park across from the big church here in San Ramon are decorated with lights. Local businesses each adopted and outfitted a tree to decorate and make a beautiful nighttime glow in the center of San Ramon.

Our tico friend, Andres, a friend of his and his grandmother, joined us last week, to hear and see a FREE live performance of Handel’s Messiah performed by the Costa Rican National Symphony and the National Chorus. This was one of the seven performances held around the country that started in the beginning of December. It was held, appropriately, at the same big church across from the park called Parroquia de San Ramón de Alajuela. Although this isn’t my kind of music, I understand that this is an annual cultural festivity. The acoustics were awesome in that church and it proved to be a special way to bring in the holiday spirit.

Like many cultural events here, it was open and free to all, and paid for by the Ministry of Culture. When a country doesn’t support an Army and war… education, health care, music, art and theater can be funded and given to the people! Read more Entry>>

A Tico Christmas

We are sending this to you in hopes that you would enjoy reading about how Christmas is celebrated in this other part of the world.
No one would ever think there are only 10 days before Christmas as everything seems so laid back and joyful. On second thought, maybe they are waiting for snow! (hope not - we didn't leave a forwarding address for THAT)
Enjoy reading this and have a blessed holiday!!!
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A Tico Christmas

by Michael L. Smith

As in other parts of the world, Christmas in Costa Rica is a time for celebration and parties, sharing and reflecting. The month of December is electric with thoughts of the season, and busy with preparations for festivities, family get togethers and vacations. In late November decorations begin to appear in downtown shops, and by the second week of December everybody has lights strung, cypress wreaths hung and Christmas trees decorated. And you can be sure that here, too, stockings are carefully in place awaiting the arrival of the Baby Jesus. The traditional Christmas tree in Costa Rica is a big evergreen branch, a small cypress tree, or dried coffee branches. The "tree" is decorated with white paint and brightly colored strips of paper. Lights and small colored balls, a variety of small figures and lace are also used to adorn the greenery. A gold star is placed on top as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem. Christmas was first celebrated in Costa Rica in 1601 when then-Governor Don Gonzalo Vásquez de Coronado organized nationwide festivities.

A very popular Latin American tradition--the portal--is a nativity scene constructed of mosses and grass, colored sawdust, cypress twigs, black paper, silver glitter and figurines representing the birth of Jesus in the manger. Along with the traditional figures of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, shepherds, the three wise men and the ox and mule, Costa Ricans commonly add extra embellishments like dolls, little farm animals, tiny toys, fruits and berries, and lights. While Costa Rican families spend a great deal of time arranging their portales just right, tradition says that families who don't own a home must use a portal that has been received as a gift--then the holy family will help them get a house of their own. The portal is often placed under the tree (along with the presents) but may sit on a table, platform or on the floor in a corner of the living room. Wherever it is, it occupies a position of honor and is a point of pride in the home. The people put a lot of effort into making each year's portal better than the last and the displays frequently outgrow the space under the tree or on the table and begin to monopolize a large part of the living room.

The figure of Baby Jesus is placed in the portal at midnight on December twenty-fourth. That's also when the adults open their gifts. The children are told that the Baby Jesus brings their gifts while they are sleeping. Nowadays, Saint Nicholas has also become an important part of the custom and his rotund presence is everywhere.
Posadas take place during the nine days before Christmas. Originating in Spain and Mexico, the posada consists of a group of neighbors getting together at a different neighbor's house each day to act out the pilgrimage of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. This is accompanied by singing and praying, snacks of the season, and lots of tamales. The Misa de Gallo, Christmas Mass, takes place at midnight on December twenty-fifth. That is the night that many families enjoy their traditional Christmas dinner. The origin of the portal is attributed to Saint Francis de Assisi. It is said that in the thirteenth century, St. Francis started making belenes-- representations of the birth of Christ-- with figures of humans and animals.

Throughout the month of December there are parades, carnivals, parties, and religious processions in all corners of the country. The tope has been celebrated in Costa Rica since colonial times. Originally the activity when bulls were cut out of the herd to be used in the bull fights, for the past forty years it has been a formal parade of horses down the main streets of San José. Riders from across the country come to the city to show off their best mounts and formal duds. Today's tope includes much more than stately horses and their proud riders. Other folkloric elements have been introduced such as horse-drawn carriages and the famous hand-painted oxcarts. The tope is complemented with a grand parade complete with floats, marching bands, dancing girls and clowns. This also runs down the main streets of San José, turning the city into a sea of partying humans. For many Costa Ricans this parade is the party event of the year. Bullfights are synonymous with the season's festivities in Costa Rica. Popular since the colonization, they take place in the Zapote Arena every night during the festive season. The bulls are never harmed in the Tico version of the bullfights. The most popular phase of the Tico bullfight is the run when dozens of young men race into the ring en masse with the intention of frightening the bull and provoking it to attack. Although the bull is never harmed; occasionally one of the men is gored. The whole thing is a performance designed to release adrenaline, relieving the frustrations of the past year. Thanks to the Costa Rican government every worker in the country has extra money in December to spend on gifts. The Aguinaldo is a government declared Christmas bonus, given to every employee in the country by his or her employer. It is equivalent to a full month's pay. Costa Rica was a Latin American pioneer in the establishment of this mandatory bonus. There is also a special drawing worth several million colones held during December by the National Lottery Commission. As Christmas Day approaches, much of the electricity in the air can be attributed to this Lotería Navideña. On New Year's Day all Tica housewives prepare for the coming year by sweeping out the house, from one end to the other, removing the past year's bad luck and beginning anew.

Traditional seasonal foods include the tamale (corn flour dough stuffed with potatoes, vegetables and pork or chicken, then boiled in plantain leaves) - (here is a recipe for Costa Rican tamales) ttp://www.cocori.com/library/crinfo/tamal.htm ; puposa (tortilla with with cheese, corn and whatever); vigoron (cabbage, tomato, yucca and fried pork rind, served on a plantain leaf); and grilled pork, chicken and sausage. Many Costa Ricans have adopted the foreign custom of eating turkey and ham, as long as they are accompanied by the traditional Costa Rican tamale. Rompope is also in great supply. Known by North Americans as eggnog, it is generously fortified with dark rum or brandy. The closing ceremony to the Christmas season isn't until January sixth (traditionally the date the three wise men arrived to worship Jesus) when neighbors get together for a special prayer for the Baby Jesus. Family and friends pray the rosary and sing Christmas carols. Then food is offered and the portal disassembled and put away until next year.

Feliz Navidad, Próspero Año Nuevo, and may the Baby Jesus leave a gift for you under the Christmas tree Read more Entry>>

Family arrives!!!

Both David’s mother, Lois and our youngest son, Matthew arrived today on separate flights. Matt is only going to be here a week so we have to move fast to show him this beautiful country!
The first full day we took it easy on them by taking them to a class at UCR, lunch at Aroma’s, a trip to the feria and a ride around San Ramon.
For 2 nights we stayed at the Hotel Arenal Paraiso in a cabin facing Arenal volcano in hopes that they would not only see the volcano in the day but watch it erupt at night.
Because it was so overcast and rainy, they finally got to see Arenal when we drove up to the Arenal Observatory Lodge. Visability is possible at the lodge because it is on the other side of Arenal and higher in elevation.Dave drove me, Mom and Matt to the Basilica in Cartago one day. The next day he drove us to see the topiaries in Zacero and to shop in Sarchi.
On November 25th, we took Mom and Matt to the Brinks to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving sit down meal prepared and presented lovingly by Arden and Dave for 34 Gringos!
The day after that wonderful first Thanksgiving feast celebrated here in Costa Rica, we had to kiss Matt goodbye as he had to go back to Texas.
Before Dave’s Mom left to go back to Florida, we took her to meet other friends, shopping, to the Zoo Ave zoo and to Poas volcano.
WHEW! They both probably needed a vacation from the vacation! Read more Entry>>

Introducing the new addition!

Near the beginning of this month, a small stray dog started coming under our front gate to play with Raffy while we were asleep.
She was seen in the house twice by David and he watched her as she ran back under the fence and down the street. We decided after her third visit that she likes Raffy and has no fear of him - so we adopted her!
She is white with a big black ‘spot’ around her right eye. Because ‘spot’ in Spanish is ‘pinta’, that is what her name became!
Pinta is about 1/4 the size of Raffy and she is fearless! Knowing that she is a stray, we have been able to identify that there was at least a Dalmation and Terrier somewhere in her bloodline. She has black ‘spots’ on her pink skin under her white hair along with the Terrier traits of barking at everything and anything. I have never seen a dog SO small growl and snarl like cujo when playing with a big dog like Raffy. She considers him to be the 'boss' and lets him move her around by the neck with his mouth!!!
Like the song "Ebony and Ivory" they are not only black and white but they "live together in perfect harmony". Read more Entry>>

To Nicaragua we go again!

Where did the last three months go???
Once again we went with the Brinks to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. We asked Andres to stay at our house while we were gone. Not only did he look after the house but he took very good care of Raffy while he healed
This time we went in the Brinks van because it needed its’ paperwork updated. We shared a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite with them at the Park Ave Villas. The suite had a full kitchen, dining room, living room and a courtyard pool right outside our door. It was a nice accomodations even though Dave Brink didn’t get a chance to enjoy it. He was ill the whole time we were gone.
After returning from the three day trip, we decided that in the long run we are better off applying and paying for residency than leaving the country every 3 months. We started the process in August with Javier at Residency in Costa Rica. Read more Entry>>

Our car got 'nationalized'

We waited as long as possible hoping we would not have to pay to get the car nationalized. When we decided to ship the Subaru, we were under the impression that we would not have to pay the tariff on the car because of a law passed in 2007 that gave handicapped people a waiver. Unfortunate for us, the government had difficulty defining who is eligible under that law. By taking the car out of the country in April, it gave us a final 90 days before they either gave us the waiver or we had to get the car ‘nationalized’. As it happened, we ended up paying $5000 for the taxes, RTV, plates, inscription, registration and insurance on our 97’ Subaru Outback. Seems strange to see Costa Rican plates on our car with the “Sugarloaf” and “Brunswick Lacrosse” stickers on the back window! Read more Entry>>

Our first house guests

We had our first houseguests arrive today. We met Gail K. from California and Vicki B. from Texas on George Lundquist’s tour of CR in 2006.
Among other places, we took them to our friends high end gift shop the Iguana Tranquila and Poas volcano.We really enjoyed our short visit with them before they left to go on George’s South Central Tour. Read more Entry>>

Our neighbor knows what we have

Roxanne, our neighbor, stopped by late this afternoon. She stood outside the metal fence with her tea towel slung over one shoulder motioning to Dave (who was in the kitchen) to come out. She wanted him to cut and give her some fresh oregano off our plant in the front yard for her ‘carne y frijoles’ (beef and beans) she was making for supper. She is either very observant when walking by or was friendly with our landlady because we know she hasn’t been inside our gated yard before! Read more Entry>>

Dave gets his drivers license in Costa Rica

Dave along with the Brinks got their Costa Rican drivers licenses today. Speaking little Spanish and not knowing the procedure, they asked Ray Forte from Ship Costa Rica to go with them.
First stop was to park the Subaru in a “free” parking lot. The parking lot is connected somehow to the Doctor that does the “physical” required to get the license. A parking lot attendant led the whole crew down the street to the Doctor’s “office”.
The Doctor’s “office” opened to the sidewalk and was about 12 feet by 6 feet small. The “office” shared a wall with a small Soda (a Tico eatery) next door. The small office was basically one room with a wall that extended half way across. On one side of the wall was an eye chart on the wall and 2 or 3 chairs to sit on. On the other side of the wall was a surface for the Doctor to work from and 2 chairs.
Most of the physical done was done visually as Dave had nothing done, Dave Brink had his blood pressure taken and Arden had her far vision checked. Everyone was charged 10,000 colones ($20.00) and it all took minutes to complete.
Across the street was the MOPT (the Costa Rican DOT). At the top of the flight of stairs (probably 20) Ray went into an office to get everyone’s paperwork stamped (copies of their passports, copies of their valid driver’s licenses, and copies of their entrance stamps). After a woman checked all the stamped paperwork, they were given the paperwork back to be taken to the Banco National branch in the building. After making the $20 or $30 payment at the bank and having a photo taken they all walked out of there with their new Costa Rican driver’s licenses.
FUNNY STORY: Dave was told by a Tica in line that it was his turn. He asked her how she knew that he was a gringo and she stated quite simply “Because of your shirt” (it was a Hawaiian print one!) Read more Entry>>

Blue our 'gift' kitten

Someone put a blue-eyed cutie under our front gate this morning. Raffy alerted us that someone had left him a new toy!
Dave put him on a towel in a laundry basket and off we all went to class at UCR. He was the topic du jour, especially with his Dr. Seuss looks. Mostly black, he had a very interesting loop of white that went around his tail and down one rear leg. The white stopped short above his foot long enough to change back to all black before it resumed to an all white foot. The whole thing certainly looked like a question mark and hence begged the ‘question’ does the universe have a great sense of humor or what?!
After class we stopped by the vet. He washed and examined it, estimating that this little boy was 4 weeks old. We came home with the recipe and all the tools needed for feeding this infant by hand with a dropper.
As time went on, ‘Blue’ became too big for the laundry hamper and then the bath tub but remained too small to ‘play’ with Raffy. We ended up giving ‘Blue’ (along with his food, toys, litter box and litter) to Andres’s family on June 19th (or more specifically to his grandmother and sister). They called him ’Caruca’.
Oh by the way, little ‘boy’ Blue turned out to be a girl!

Read more Entry>>

Bamboo furniture

We had our furniture delivered today.

It was ordered 6 weeks ago with the referral and interpreting assistance coming from our Tica friend, Patricia. The furniture was ordered directly from the maker who has his workshop (and probably his home) on the auto pista (Trans American Highway) before Palmares headed to San Ramon.
And we got just what we ordered – a loveseat and 2 chairs all with custom made zippered cushions (in the fabric of our choice) and a glass top table for the living room, a dining room table and six chairs (each chair had a custom zippered cushion on it in the material of our choice), and two bed side tables. All this for $900.00 USD!
Grade A workmanship, light color bamboo (as opposed to the burnished look) and matte finish (as opposed to the glossy). Not only are we impressed with the quality of the materials used and how it was put together but we KNOW we couldn’t have even gotten the dining room table for $900 in the states!
The only way we would have known about this place and these artisans was from our friend. So a big thank you goes out to you, Patricia!!! Read more Entry>>

Third broadcast email

Even though winter is not supposed to start here until May, it rained quite consistently around Easter (April 8th). Because of all the rain we didn’t see all of the pageantry here that we thought we would surrounding the holiday. We saw photographs and articles in www.amcostrica.com (the daily free online English newspaper that spotlights news in CR) about the religious processions and elaborate costumes surrounding the re-enactments of Holy Week and the ’stations of the cross’. You can see them too by clicking on these links:
http://www.amcostarica.com/040207.htm (scroll down the page for pictures of Palm Sunday), AND
http://www.amcostarica.com/040307.htm and http://www.amcostarica.com/040907.htm
Easter or Semana Santa is REALLY big here like Christmas in the states without presents!

Dave and I along with the Brinks co-founded a volunteer organization called VTE (Volunteers Teaching English). Initially we started working with UCR (University of Costa Rica in San Ramon) with their program that was teaching English to the Policia de Transito (the equivalent of the State Police). They needed us to work with the classes so the policemen could hear and converse with native English speakers so they will feel comfortable conversing with tourists. UCR will have a graduation ceremony for the first class of policemen just before we leave for Nicaragua which we will all attend. UCR is planning to teach English to other service groups like ambulance drivers, doctors, nurses and firemen which we will also be involved in. Needless to say, we have been really, really busy with the organization of this group. More updates and information to come!
Every morning (at sunrise around 5 AM) we are awakened by the sounds of birds, not just a few – lots of different calls or ‘songs’. Most of them we couldn’t identify so Dave set a slice of a large tree trunk onto 3 metal poles in our front yard so we could attract and feed the birds. They got bananas, watermelon and papaya. The first couple of days we had no interest but after that they started to grace us with their presence daily. Dave even took a picture of a really pretty blue bird! (blue gray tananger)
It will be a glorious day when we are able to take a focused picture of the exotic parrots and toucans as opposed to seeing them far away! We had one of Costa Rica's national birds, the 'turdus grayi', a clay colored robin or gray thrush build her nest over one of our lamp posts on the front terrazzo. Within 3 weeks of when she started sitting on the nest, she had 3 babies born. She certainly liked this ‘B & B’; Dave took pictures of her eating some of the fruit(she favored the papaya). At the same time, we had another nest on the cinder block wall out back. I don’t know what kind of birds nest it was but the gardener cut around it instead of disturbing it! After the mom from the front terrazzo and her hatchlings left, we had another prospective mom take up residence by building and sitting on a nest over one of the downspouts at the rear of the house. I have no idea what materialized from either of the later 2 nests. I’d say that we have provided quite the nesting location, huh?
Behind the cinder block wall that is behind our casa there is quite a large sugar cane field. When we first saw it last year we were wondering what would happen when it was harvested. Well we know now! It took less than a week from start to finish. Even though I couldn’t see it, Dave described the numerous workers as machete wielding (machetes are VERY popular here - I’ve even seen women carry and use them!) dressed in long pants, long sleeve shirts, tall rubber boots (I imagine due to snakes), hats with cloth hanging down around the back of their necks (for sun protection) and face masks. VERY hot, hard work! These men worked from dawn to dusk cutting the cane at ground level, stripping all the leaves off and then piling the stocks onto long ‘u’ shaped wooden trailers. These trailers were hauled to San Ramon by numerous tractors. They only burned (something) once causing us to close up the house as the wind was carrying large hunks of ash in the back and front of the house (much to our housekeepers dismay - she ran around yelling "prohibido, prohibido"). Now that it is harvested all the slash has been left on the ground and the ‘new’ crop is coming up on its own!
We really enjoy watching the men’s soccer games in the field across the street every Sunday. We know the Gringo that bought the brightly colored uniforms for the team here in San Rafael. All of the uniforms proudly sport his name on the front - Jimmy.
In mid April there was an all day tournament across the street that brought out parents with all age groups of boys from near and far. Not only were there a lot of cars parked around the field but buses from other towns that dropped off kids to play. I really wanted to watch the games but it became evident by mid day that asking each and every car that parked in front of our house to move was laborious! It was the one and only time in this country that I got flipped the bird – from a soccer mom of all things and in full view from her kids in the back seat! I imagine she was angry at me for making her family late (as if they weren’t already). It was a full day of competitions complete with tipico food, drink and cerveza (beer) being sold from the community building next door. The young ones (we even saw a girl!) played in the field divided in half (four teams at a time) and the older boys played on the whole field.
Because all non-residents have to leave Costa Rica every 90 days, we went to Nicaragua on April 27th for our requisite 72 hours sabbatical to get the exit/re-entry stamps on our passports. We still have the one way tickets to Boston that would have served the same purpose but we had our car that also needed to have its’ paperwork ‘updated’ because it, too had been here 90 days! When we decided to ship the Subaru, we were under the impression that we would not have to pay the tariff on the car because of a law passed last year that gave handicapped people a waiver. Unfortunate for us, the government is having difficulty defining who is eligible under that law. By taking the car out of the country, it gave us 90 more days before they either give us the waiver or we end up paying the tariff (5K). Needless to say we prefer not to pay - we'll have to wait-and-see.

We took our friends Dave and Arden Brink in the Subaru with us as they also were forced into exodus. Dave and Arden came from Bowdoinham, Maine but they live here now north-west of San Ramon in San Pedro. It took us 8 hours to go 200 miles ONE WAY (the roads here are up and down esses!) We drove to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua on the Pacific coast and we stayed at a B & B called Hotel Villa Isabella. The temperature was very hot there compared to San Rafael. We all spent our days in the air conditioned room together watching movies and reading. I felt like a bat - the only time I went out of the hotel was at night to eat! One night we went to a VERY posh hotel called "Pelican Eyes' built on a hill. The dining room had a very high ceiling made of palm branches/leaves and looked very Polynesian - you would have sworn that you were in Hawaii! We all had the best steak we have had since being in the states!
Of what I saw of Nicaragua, I would say that it is a very poor country. I saw a guy guiding a cart pulled by 2 oxen complete with yolk and another guy riding on a cart being pulled by a horse, not many cars! Compared to Costa Rica, it was a very flat country. It was nice to see the ocean again and like the Caribbean islands, the buildings were painted in bright colors
The border crossing between countries was a dry, dusty mess and a dinero grab (a lot of bribing going on!).There were only 2 lanes of road going between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Those 2 lanes had WAY MORE tractor trailers (semis) than cars. At times those semis would go one way on both sides of the road! Needless to say, when that happened there was a lot of backing up and getting out of the way! We hired ‘facilitators’ to help us get out of Costa Rica and into Nicaragua on the trip up and the reverse on the way back. Their role was to be ‘interpreters’ and help us through the maze. It must be quite the ‘cottage industry’ as we had a lot of men and boys clamoring over our car to get our attention along with seeing numerous very small casas nearby. The whole trip was most interesting!!! One of life’s experiences that you need to be there to understand!

A few weeks before we left, we started feeding and giving water to a very skinny stray dog. He just 'showed up', hanging out mostly with the kids that are out and about daily. We affectionately referred to him as “Flaco”, the Spanish word for skinny.
The Saturday before we left for Nicaragua, the Fuerza Publica (public police) came to get him. They wrapped about 6 feet of yellow “Caution” tape around his neck and opened the trunk to their “cruiser” before Dave furiously consulted the Spanish dictionario and grunted out enough Spanish to have them turn “Flaco” over to us. I guess that equated to a Costa Rican “adoption”!
Dave took him to the vet that morning (vets here are open 7 days a week) and the vet confirmed our suspicion that he was malnourished and dehydrated along with being full of worms and covered in fleas/ticks. The vet thinks that he is about 2 years old because of his teeth, and we all agree that he is most likely a purebred Doberman. Because he had an infection (I think probably heart worms) he was kept long enough to have an IV of antibiotics and the needed agua (water). (Quite interestingly, Dave noted that ALL of the veterinary test kits were manufactured by IDEXX Laboratories in Westbrook, Maine – small world!) Even though he got a Frontline application that day to kill the fleas and ticks, he was too weak and sick according to the vet to have a bath for 2 more days. He was VERY dirty so every time we touched him, we had to wash our hands. Because he had to continue taking the antibiotics twice a day for 10 days and got tired with very little use of energy, he slept a lot for about a week and continued to heal. I know there was a grateful puppy in there as he woke me out of a sound sleep one morning by licking my nose and forehead - it was ICKY but cute at the same time!!! He now protects me by sleeping on the floor next to me.
We ditched the name ‘flaco and started calling him "Rafael" or "Raffy" for short. San Rafael (the town that we live in) is where we found each other, Rafael is the patron Saint of healing (appropriate for both of us!) and I (along with the kids in the neighborhood) like to call him by his shorter nickname!!!
Adres, a young bilingual Tico man that lives in Palmares, came and stayed at our house while we were gone to Nicaragua. He is the nephew of our landlady and very familiar with our house. He enjoys dogs and was great with Raffy, making sure he didn’t feel abandoned and gave him his much needed medicine!
Raffy certainly is not what we envisioned we would get for a dog, but he chose us and needs us!!! We have been truly blessed by having him in our lives.

Hope I didn’t bore you to tears with my long diatribe. If you want to be taken off the distribution list, please let me know as there will be no hard feelings!
Look for May’s issue to come out soon!
Our love to you all,
Dabid and Reiling (phonic spellings of what we’re called) Read more Entry>>

Inkjet delivery

Dave went into San Ramon and ordered an ink jet cartridge yesterday. Less than 24 hours later, it was unexpectedly delivered to our front gate by a young man. Dave paid $12.00 for it upon delivery.
Now THAT kind of service wouldn’t happen in the states! Read more Entry>>

Death & Dying customs in CR

Our next door neighbor, Maria, had her father living with her and her family while he was dying of cancer. The following is a combination of our observations and what we have been told.
- Shortly after he died, the ‘mortician’ arrived in a late model Volvo station wagon to deliver the coffin. We understand that not only did they deliver the coffin but they lifted the already clean body (done respectfully by close family or friends) into it and placed it (the coffin) in a place of the home suitable for viewing by family and friends.
- The next afternoon, the ‘mortician’ returned and took the closed casket to the church.
- After the funeral at the church, family and friends WALK behind the vehicle carrying the casket to the cemetery to be buried. All this occurs within 24 hours of death AND without having the body embalmed.
- In keeping with tradition, each day for the 9 days after the funeral, the family welcomes family and friends to come into their home for prayers. On the 9th day the family provides a meal to all in attendance.
- Prayers for the deceased are done in the home by family and friends every month on the same date as the death through to the one year anniversary of the death. Read more Entry>>

Second broadcast email

Here we are again with our news from our side of this beautiful country we call 'home'.

A lot has happened since we wrote a month ago. We have stayed very busy doing God knows what each day, but each day is full!

We did get the house phone line as promised but less than 10 days later we lost it for 4 days! Even though we got dial-up for the internet we couldn't use it while the phone was down and we found we were unable to make SKYPE calls even when the phone was working! No doubt about it - we were spoiled by having cable in Maine and we are thankful that we have friends with wireless!!!
After exhausting ALL possibilities, we found out that neither DSL or cable is possible here for internet. As a result, we are the proud owners of a new 2.4 meter diamter satellite dish which was installed last Wednesday the 14th. We have been told that DSL and/or cable will be available here SOMETIME in the future, when that happens we have faith that there will be a market for the dish. Needless to say, we moved fast to have the office up and running so we could start trading again!!! We have been 'down' for a long time - it will feel good to work and have a regular schedule again!
We have had mail challenges since coming to Costa Rica. The USPS decided to abbreviate our forwarding address in their computer so we didn't get ANY mail in February! With Pam's assistance and her knowledge of who to call at the post office in Portland, we are now able to get mail, as SLOWWWWWWWWWWWW as it is!!! Of course February's mail is still AWOL complete with debit cards, bills and bank statements!

Our dear friend, travel and house mate Pam, left to go home to Maine on Tuesday February 13th.
We did some traveling/exploring with her before she left. We all enjoyed the time off and to act like tourists!!!
We spent 2 full days at Volcano Arenal, an active volcano about 2 ½ hours away. We had perfect weather. We actually got a chance to see the lava flows at night and hear the eruptions throughout the day. An absolutely incredible experience. Dave and I took a wonderful tram ride above, through and under the primary and secondary rain forest and had some time at the top just to experience the volcano itself, see Lake Arenal and see the top of the 4,000+ feet of zip lines. Pam went off by herself on an all day tour to experience the hanging bridges, waterfalls, lava fields and hot springs. Together, we saw Coutimundis, Howler monkeys and multiple species of birds we had never seen before like the Montezuma Oropendola.

We spent a full afternoon at the Basilica in Cartago called "Our Lady of the Angels". It is an absolutely beautiful church both inside and out, built in 1912. According to history, in 1635 a small black statue of a mother and child was found on this site in Cartago. Although removed numerous times, the statue kept showing up back on the same rock in the forest. It was understood that the Holy Virgin wanted to stay there, so they built a church at that location.

We drove to Sarchi. It is known for woodworking, furniture making and colorfully painted oxcarts! The wooden oxcarts originally were adorned with geometric patterns reminiscent of Pennsylvania Dutch painting but now they are also being decorated with jungle scenes, wild animals, flowers, and all things Costa Rica!!! While in Sarchi, Dave got himself a sling leather wooden rocking chair!
We also drove to Zacero, a well known town for the topiaries that have been formed in the park in front of the church. The same man has been sculpting them for over 40 years!!! Because of its altitude and the German heritage, this town has a Bavarian feel with both the cooler temperature and the architecture (very strange to see some A-frames again and chimneys jutting out of some roofs). See and hear the NPR story about Zacero online here. Link

The ferria or farmer’s market is HUGE and is held every Friday and Saturday year round! Dave and I go every week to get our fresh fruits, vegetables and CHEAP tropical flowers!!! (Heliconia, ginger, birds of paradise, antheriums, etc.)

We routinely yell “hola” or “buenos dias” to neighbors as they pass by our ‘casa’. They are VERY quick to speak and wave back. I am sure that the gringo and gringa are the talk of the town (as we are most likely the ONLY gringos in this town). Some of our immediate neighbors have introduced themselves and speak quite good English. Some of the other adults want to learn English and come by for their interactions via ‘dictionarios’. We even have one guy that always yells “goodbye” with a big smile on his face and waves every time he passes the house! (I imagine that is the only English he knows, but is very proud that he can communicate). There is a LOT of children around. We see and hear them daily from early morning to dusk playing futball (soccer) across the street. They are very interested in us (especially the one that shares names with David) and have posed on the fence in front of our casa for a mass picture!!! I don’t know how many posed, but I counted 14 on the street that day!

One day, Pam saw a large iguana eating orange flowers off the vine on the fence. He/she was gracious enough to let us take a picture or two before he/she scurried off!

I have rambled on long enough! It was great sharing what we have been doing. We miss YOU but not the cold and dampness!!!
Dave and Raylene Read more Entry>>

the FIRST broadcast email

We’re hoping this finds you all well and staying warm (yes, we heard about the cold and snow in Maine and to be VERY honest – we’re glad we are not there!) We wanted to touch base and let you know what we’ve been doing for the last 2 weeks!

As you guessed, we got here safely and everything has been moving along FAST.We were planning on staying at the Hotel Posada in San Ramon on the 1st but ended up staying at Casa del Sol (our rental home pictured below) and have been here since.

We obtained the items we had put in Dave and Arden’s container on the 5th and had only one day to take care of them. We weren’t expecting our container to arrive until the 22nd but we had them delivered to our door on the 6th. All arrived unscathed – the only casualty found so far is a chipped tea cup – not bad I think!!!

The day after we received our container items, all three of us piled in the rental car to go to San Jose to turn it in and get the Subaru! I thank God that Pam is here to help Dave – she has been such a BIG help! I certainly couldn’t have done all that she has!!!

Last Friday our land lady went to the local government owned monopoly for electricity and telephone (called ICE) to get us a land line. We can’t get a phone line in our name as we are foreigners. Even though it is supposed to take at least 2 weeks our English speaking lawyer called on Monday saying he had pulled some strings and it would be hooked up this week and gave us the number!!!

We have postponed and as of this writing and our current knowledge probably will cancel the satellite dish for internet. We have found out that with a phone line we will most likely be able to get DSL. I don’t know how long we will be without internet service but it will be worth it as it should be faster and MUCHO cheaper!!! In the interim we have to go to the Brinks and mooch off their wireless – tolerable for the short term!
We were having challenges with the propane fired water heater (especially with my hand held shower) so we purchased and had installed an on-demand electric hot water heater. So far it seems more reliable and Dave or Pam don’t have to light the propane heater (a.k.a. “old smokey”) before every shower! When we get the hot water to come into the kitchen sink for washing dishes instead of heating it on the stove, the hot water challenges will be over!!!

I really thrive here – the warmth and flat surfaces make it MUCH easier for me to get around. I don’t have to be challenged with the cold decreasing the blood flow to my muscles and causing stiffness. Besides helping to unpack, cooking most all the meals and washing dishes, Pam has been working on me both energetically and physically along with helping me exercise daily to assist me in reaching my goal of walking. I won’t go into detail about what we have been doing, but everyday I get stronger and closer to realizing my goal!!!

There is so much here in Costa Rica that we want to go see and do – it won’t be long before we will be in a position to start! We want to take Pam to some of the places we went to in November and also hope to go see Arenal – the active volcano – while she is here. We’ll make sure to let you know about how the trip to el volcan goes.

We think we have found a nice Tica (native female) named Anna to start working as a domestic next week. She has an adorable little girl about 2 years old named Diana (pictured below) and a Tico (native male) husband that speaks great English. Anna will be here on Tuesdays and Thursdays to clean, do laundry and possibly cook. She speaks very little English but wants to learn. Who knows how much she and we can teach each other!

The weather here has been WONDERFUL – lows of 60 in the early AM and high of 85 during the day. This is summer or the dry season so we haven’t seen a drop of rain. Condensation forms at night that can be seen in the morning but is gone by 8 AM.
We are doing our best with learning Spanish. David has definitely learned the fastest. Soon, we hope to have a tutor come in for some intensive education.
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Here’s one of our life experiences:
The day after we picked up the Subaru we began to smell gasoline fumes. Dave figured out that the fuel filter had a pin-hole leak and repaired it with Liquid Solder and the old standby, duct tape! After consulting with our Spanglish helper we were told of a “mechanico” that spoke a little English. Dave called, explained the problem, and was told that the mechanic would be at our casa in about a half hour. Sure enough, 30 minutes later Joaquin arrived at the front gate wearing a huge smile and carrying a new fuel filter for the Subie. After about 10 minutes and a brief Spanish lesson, he informed Dave that the charge would be approximately $10 for the filter and $8 for the “house call.” The repair was perfect AND we now have someone that we can trust in an emergency. _________________________

After days of “parrot sightings”, seeing and hearing the loud flock of literally dozens of green parrots flying around in the early morning, we had our first sighting of toucans early this morning. We saw (but didn’t get a photograph) a beautiful pair of them in the trees across the street from the house. An absolutely incredible sight!

All for now – I promise to email again when we get our internet up and running. Maybe we’ll even be able to attach pictures!

Dave & his esposa, Raylene (the Tico’s spell and pronounce it “Reiling”) Read more Entry>>