Settling In

I wrote the following earlier this afternoon and had waited until tonight to post, hoping to attach photos. Sam had also taken pictures of the house that he wanted to share. However, the internet is incredibly slow today and we're having trouble uploading things. So, hopefully a more colourful post tomorrow.

Oh, and we did end up having pineapple and ice cream for dinner, but I added a black bean salad in too for good measure.

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The kids, already ho-hum about the coatis playing in the yard, are splashing in our over-sized outdoor tub. Dan, already ho-hum about the dodgy internet connection (okay, so maybe frustrated is more the word) is trying to get work done. I am sitting on the deck, trying to decide if it would be okay to just have pineapple and ice cream for dinner. 

We’ve only been here for three days, but already we are feeling quite at home, I think. I’m less skittish about the various creatures of various sizes scuttling and flying by, we’re completely unpacked, we’ve explored a lot of the town and beaches, and we know the location of the market, grocery store, and soccer field. Next week, the four of us are doing an Intensive Spanish course (with a teacher who is a grandmother that misses her grandkids and so is really lovely with the kids), so hopefully we’ll be able to move beyond the basic greetings with our neighbours. And, tomorrow morning, bright and early, we begin volunteering with the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, patrolling the beach to keep the dogs and vultures away from the nesting sea turtles.

There have been and will be a few challenges. We need to figure out the internet situation as the speed was drastically down today, from when we first arrived and Dan needs it for work. The kids were very disappointed to learn that children are no longer allowed to volunteer at the local monkey sanctuary (the howlers scratch and bite and poo and pee on volunteers – it’s not that safe for either the kid or the monkey.) The house needs a few adjustments (as Sam mentioned, we need to just make sure we don’t fall out of it) and we could use a cozy reading chair or two (or hammock!) The roads are in terrible condition and confusing and I’m so far not confident enough to drive a standard on them (the kids – and Dan! – are being brave as Dan coaches me.) Flour and chocolate chips are expensive and I can’t find oats, so we need to come up with a delicious Costa Rican alternative to cookies. It might be pineapple. 

But, oh, there is much to revel in here. It is gloriously warm and quiet. The mornings begin very early (at just after 5 when the howlers wake up and the sun rises) and will even more so, beginning tomorrow with the turtle patrols. Coffee is most delicious here and we have breakfast together on the deck in what feels like our very own nature preserve. The kids have set out on their own each morning on an expedition, running back to tell us what creatures or people they met. After a bit of ‘school-y’ stuff, we have quiet siestas before heading to one of the beaches! Every one we’ve visited has been exceptionally beautiful and clean and serene and fun. The sunsets here rival those of Intervale and after dinner, there are games to be played (including spot which animal is drawn into the house tonight.) Though it hasn’t yet rained much during the day, each night there has been a spectacular thunderstorm. We have a whole room, in a tower, in which to make music while looking at the sea. A little bit of beauty, indeed.