At this point we are really settled in. I know because the weeks are starting to fly by and every time I look at what day it is, it is the weekend again. I have been surfing at an awesome break called Playa Boca Barrnaca which is one of the longest left hand breaks in the world. I swear it looks like a movie, just perfectly shaped waves breaking consistently in the exact same spot and then pushing into the bay, and any good surfer can easily get a two plus minute ride. I am not a good surfer yet but I am planning to explore more breaks, such as Jaco, Hermosa, Dominical, and eventually Samara, and Pevones and eventually I am sure will be pretty comfortable. For now I am really focused on building my endurance for paddling and just consistently paddling into waves, but the whole standing up and carving thing is still a few more times away.
We have made some pretty cool friends around the area where we live, one couple just had a baby girl two nights ago, so it has been pretty exciting. The other benefit to knowing Carlos is that almost everyone that lives in the small town we are in is related to him in some way and his aunt owns the best and cheapest Soda (a little typical CR restaurant) we have been to yet. We are also getting closer with another couple, Leeland and Faviana, who are recently married. Leeland is from Vermont and he went surfing with me this week. We plan on exploring more breaks together. His wife is a Tica so his Spanish is really good, and she is in charge of organizing one of the local all organic markets in Heredia, so their interests and simple lifestyle are right up our alley. It has been amazing to have my family here, for the transition has been as close to flawless as we could have imagined.
We are starting to feel pretty official, we are now the proud owners of our own corporation, which allows us to have a cell phone, own property, and own a car all under the corporation's name, without having to gain citizenship. It sounds funny but this is the safest and most official way for us to possess anything here, it also will allow us to sell the car more easily whenever that time may come. Yep, we bought a car, a 98' Toyota Rav 4. I'm sure this created a few laughs when you just read this, I am a pretty good size guy to be in this little car but it really makes the most sense. Gas prices are about $5.50 a gallon once you convert it from liters and colones (the local currency) and the Rav 4 has only a 2000 c.c. engine, and offers us everything a Pathfinder or 4-Runner could have, specifically 5 comfortable seats and four wheel drive, not to mention how easy it will be to recover all our money because Toyota s are definitely the most respected car here. With all this said we did pay 4.8 million for the car, yeah that's right million, I'm not sure but I think that was the gringo price. Just kidding this is an incredible deal and I think the Tico salesmen were actually a little pissed at how hard I negotiated it, but I got what we wanted and made them throw in a set of racks for the surf board.
Today I may hike Irazu volcano, which is not very far from where we live, but tomorrow is what I am really excited for. My cousin is taking me on a 150 km dirt bike ride, which we are going to ride all the way to the Nicaraguan border and back! I'm renting a bike and can't wait for the mud and the whole experience. I have been helping Dana get her classroom ready this week, and all the other teachers are very complimentary on how the whole thing has come together. We organized a ton, and decorated the whole thing without buying or using any new materials. The school is absolutely incredible, they are very focused on recycling anything possible, use almost no plastic, and have fresh, all organic, mostly vegetarian lunches everyday. She starts on Monday, and has 19 students as of now, but is assured she will have the full classroom of a whopping 20 with a full time aid.
I start language school on Monday and have been looking into volunteer opportunities ranging from CR's version of habitat for humanity to a three week stint on an island in the middle of the Pacific that hosts its own ecosystem. It is Isle do Cocos which sits halfway between the Osa peninsula and the Galapagos Islands, and only hosts about five hundred visitors a year! The entire island is a nature preserve, so I would be volunteering in the park, getting a free ride out there on a supply ship and staying for three weeks. It would give me/maybe us the opportunity to swim with schools of hammerhead sharks, and live amongst one of the most uniquely bio-diverse ecosystems in the world! As for now we are just finishing up Dana's classroom and enjoying everything that comes our way. We miss Tahoe a little bit, but really we are embracing the life experiences that we are currently gaining. Can't wait for everything and anything, and we hope everyone is doing well. Remind people to read the blog and maybe we will see some of you soon to share part of the adventure! Pura Vida!!!!!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
We're here!!!
Well, we are finally here! It has been a crazy few weeks trying to get everything lined up to be comfortable leaving. We spent weeks organizing and packing, then repacking. With all of the stress of getting ready to leave for a year plus, we noticed Ember was not being her regular happy go lucky self. After a few days of her being in a weird mood (depressed, not eating-her most favorite thing to do, and not drinking water) we took her to the vet just one week before we were leaving. They told us she was having kidney failure and we needed to rush her to the Emergency Vet in Reno for more tests and to stay over night. We were an absolute wreck! All of our plans of taking her seemed to be shattering just as we were most excited. To make a very long, and expensive, story short, she has been diagnosed with Addison's Disease which was triggered by the all of the stress of us packing :( Addison's Disease is basically where she cannot produce the hormone to control a variety of things like stress, blood pressure, etc. SO, once a month we will need to give her a shot of the hormone so the poor girl can regulate herself. Thank God the disease is treatable and it turned out NOT to be kidney failure.
Todd took us to the SF airport and saw us off. We had Ember with us and I was very impressed with how she handled the airport, only barking at a few sketchy people when they walked by. We had her out of the crate for as long as possible and then finally had to say goodbye. It was a red-eye flight, which was actually really nice, since we could sleep on the plane. Had a layover in Houston for a few hours, where they had Ember out for the whole time and walked and fed her, or so they say. We finally got to the San Jose airport and couldn't wait to check on Ember. We were a little worried about customs and claiming we were just traveling for a few months and six huge duffel bags and a dog, but they didn't think twice about it. We had a driver waiting for us as we walked out and he took us to the Cargo terminal to get Em. Dogs are seen a little differently here, so the idea of taking her out of the crate was insane for the driver. As soon as she saw us, she just stared and eventually went into a whining and barking fit. I can only imagine how bad she had to pee, having not gotten out since Houston.
We got to the house and the five-six dogs that live on the property greeted us. We are staying in a 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment on Jacob's aunt and uncles beautiful property in San Rafael de Heredia, in the mountains. Our porch looks out onto the family's garden with the city in the distance. We had tea and visited with the family for a while, then went out for beer and some food with Jacob's cousins, Philipe, Toupi and his wife Liza. We went to a sweet place just up the road that looks over the whole city. Jacob ended up leaving his wallet at the bar, and luckily the knew his cousins and they called his to come get it. Next time we probably won't be so lucky... The next morning, we all went to watch some of the World Cup and ate the typical Costa Rican breakfast of Gallo Pinto (deliscious mix of rice and black beans), fried cheese, plantains and fresh OJ. Jacob's family has been amazing to us, welcoming us in every way.
Today we slept in a bit, which we needed, has some breakfast, and went to the local farmers market. It was fantastic! The food was incredibly fresh and inexpensive. After getting all of the produce we needed, we walked back up the hill to the house. This was the first time we really noticed the humidity. It isn't bad at all just hanging out, but exercising in it is a different story. So far, no problem with bugs here, they say it's really only bad at the beach, so that is GREAT news for me, since bugs can't seem to get enough of me. Looking forward to tonight, where the whole family is getting together to make pizzas in the brick pizza oven.
Todd took us to the SF airport and saw us off. We had Ember with us and I was very impressed with how she handled the airport, only barking at a few sketchy people when they walked by. We had her out of the crate for as long as possible and then finally had to say goodbye. It was a red-eye flight, which was actually really nice, since we could sleep on the plane. Had a layover in Houston for a few hours, where they had Ember out for the whole time and walked and fed her, or so they say. We finally got to the San Jose airport and couldn't wait to check on Ember. We were a little worried about customs and claiming we were just traveling for a few months and six huge duffel bags and a dog, but they didn't think twice about it. We had a driver waiting for us as we walked out and he took us to the Cargo terminal to get Em. Dogs are seen a little differently here, so the idea of taking her out of the crate was insane for the driver. As soon as she saw us, she just stared and eventually went into a whining and barking fit. I can only imagine how bad she had to pee, having not gotten out since Houston.
Today we slept in a bit, which we needed, has some breakfast, and went to the local farmers market. It was fantastic! The food was incredibly fresh and inexpensive. After getting all of the produce we needed, we walked back up the hill to the house. This was the first time we really noticed the humidity. It isn't bad at all just hanging out, but exercising in it is a different story. So far, no problem with bugs here, they say it's really only bad at the beach, so that is GREAT news for me, since bugs can't seem to get enough of me. Looking forward to tonight, where the whole family is getting together to make pizzas in the brick pizza oven.
Road trip to Mal Pais and Santa Teresa
The night before we left, Ember got jumped by 4-5 dogs on out property. She had/has a few puncture wounds, but we are doing our best to keep them clean and avoiding going to the vet if possible. We woke up early to leave on our trip and to avoid as much traffic as possible. Driving is pretty crazy down here; not many rules, everyone going fast and looking out only for themselves. We headed strait to the ferry in Puntarenas and got in the long line to load onto the boat. By 9am we were hot and sweaty and looked forward to the boat's breeze. As the line began to move, we crossed our fingers that we would make it and not have to wait until the next one, two hours later. They decided the ferry was full AT us... After getting pretty disappointed, about 15 minutes later they told us that our small clown car would fit!!! We were the last one let onto the ferry! Since we had Ember, we had to sit in a special pet area.
We were psyched to finally get off the boat and closer to the beach. We arrived at the Mal Pais Surf Camp about an hour and a half later. The place was awesome! Right across from the beach, pool, nice rooms, pool tables, ping pong, full kitchen for us to use, restaurant and bar, cute little Cabinas for $25/night, and the #1 perk was that they let us bring Ember, which no others would. Our first night we had the entire resort to ourselves, since it is the rainy season. Over the next couple days more people showed up and had a blast with them surfing, going out to eat, hanging by the pool, and playing the now infamous game of Pass the Pigs every night. 
We planned on possibly going a few different places, but we fell in love with Santa Teresa and the surf camp. We did a day trip to Montezuma and tried to hike up to the waterfalls, but with all of the rain, the trail was nonexistent. We went as far as we could, grabbing onto vines and trying to plant our feet in the mud. We didn't stay long, as Mal Pais and Santa Teresa are more our style. My friend Tara and I took a yoga class up on the hill that overlooked the entire ocean. At the end of the class, I realized I had a huge smile on my face while I listened to the waves crash on the beach. It was AMAZING! I will post some pics of it when I get them.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Quite a learning experience!
Dana and I have been looking around for a car to buy before we head out to the beach for a week plus to stay at a surf and yoga camp. Fortunately I convinced the owner of the lodge that Ember is really well behaved and they are letting us bring her, based more than anything on the fact that she is a Lab.
So, cars in Costa Rica are super expensive, because everything is imported, so for example something like a 95' Toyota 4-Runner is at least $8500. Kind of crazy, but most cars have diesel engines and last a lot longer, for they aren't driven as hard as in the States. Well here I am looking for great deals and I came across a long term rental agency that would let us rent a car for a week with the option to buy at the end taking the rental price out of the purchase price. Sweet, test drive this thing for a week and make a decision to buy based on that. It was definitely too good to be true. We arrived only to find the 99' Pathfinder we wanted was being worked on, so we had some lunch and watched the soccer match only to find the mechanic still working on the car that they are about to not only rent to us but also are hoping that we will buy. At this point the mechanic then informed us that the gauges on the dashboard didn't work, but we should test drive it anyway. So not more than a 1/4 mile out of the lot the damn thing ran out of gas, and the salesmen and I had to push it back to the lot while Dana steered. Kind of discouraging, but who the hell was I kidding, buy a used rental car, this was just the reality check I needed. To top it all off when I asked the guy for a ride back to the bus station he took us in a different car the agency owned, and when Dana tried to roll down the window she got nothing but the roll down handle in her hand. The guy said to not worry about it because they had already sold this car! Well needless to say, lesson learned and we are now taking assistance from my family's friend who will hopefully help us find something reliable and in our price range.
It felt good to be able to laugh about the whole experience, definitely felt like I learned something more than feeling like we wasted a day. Really settling in, have a great little house on my family's farm, where the chickens are running freely and Ember has 12 fenced in acres and five other dogs on the property to befriend. Super excited to surf, relax, and most of all see Ember get tossed in the waves. I hope that all our friends that say they are coming to visit, do intend on following through, because this place is absolutely amazing, from the smiles on everyone's faces, to the lush beauty the rainy season creates, I hope you all come and share the experiences, Pura Vida!
So, cars in Costa Rica are super expensive, because everything is imported, so for example something like a 95' Toyota 4-Runner is at least $8500. Kind of crazy, but most cars have diesel engines and last a lot longer, for they aren't driven as hard as in the States. Well here I am looking for great deals and I came across a long term rental agency that would let us rent a car for a week with the option to buy at the end taking the rental price out of the purchase price. Sweet, test drive this thing for a week and make a decision to buy based on that. It was definitely too good to be true. We arrived only to find the 99' Pathfinder we wanted was being worked on, so we had some lunch and watched the soccer match only to find the mechanic still working on the car that they are about to not only rent to us but also are hoping that we will buy. At this point the mechanic then informed us that the gauges on the dashboard didn't work, but we should test drive it anyway. So not more than a 1/4 mile out of the lot the damn thing ran out of gas, and the salesmen and I had to push it back to the lot while Dana steered. Kind of discouraging, but who the hell was I kidding, buy a used rental car, this was just the reality check I needed. To top it all off when I asked the guy for a ride back to the bus station he took us in a different car the agency owned, and when Dana tried to roll down the window she got nothing but the roll down handle in her hand. The guy said to not worry about it because they had already sold this car! Well needless to say, lesson learned and we are now taking assistance from my family's friend who will hopefully help us find something reliable and in our price range.
It felt good to be able to laugh about the whole experience, definitely felt like I learned something more than feeling like we wasted a day. Really settling in, have a great little house on my family's farm, where the chickens are running freely and Ember has 12 fenced in acres and five other dogs on the property to befriend. Super excited to surf, relax, and most of all see Ember get tossed in the waves. I hope that all our friends that say they are coming to visit, do intend on following through, because this place is absolutely amazing, from the smiles on everyone's faces, to the lush beauty the rainy season creates, I hope you all come and share the experiences, Pura Vida!
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