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.

Swimming in the Ocean (or, more like jumping in the ocean) by Maeve

I like being at this house because every evening when Daddy is done work we drink a smoothie and then go to the beach for a few hours before dinner. There are REALLY big waves.

There are 3 beaches near our house. One is a surfing beach. It's called Playa Guionnes and it's the closest to us. We went to watch the surfers a bit before we went to dinner on our first night here. The surfers are really fun to watch especially when they get up on the boards and start to surf on the wall of the HUMONGO waves and then fall into the wave when they don't see another wave coming on top. I think I might try to surf and it looks really fun except I won't want to go out as far as the surfers. I think it looks pretty hard and you will have to concentrate a lot and be very strong and not worry about drinking some of the ocean. But I'll try.

My favourite beach so far is Playa (that means beach in Spanish) Pelada. It also has Super Big Waves and is supposed to be the swimming beach because it doesn't have strong rip tides. Daddy, Sam, and I went out deep and pretty far (but just up to my waist) and I couldn't get over the waves by myself at first and I had to hold Daddy's hand and he would pull me up and I would jump over the same time and I would lift over the wave. It was really fun and really salty. Also, at a different part of the same beach there is a rocky cove where there are huge crabs as big as my face. There are tide pools with fish and crabs and amazing shells. Also, when we were swimming, not a jellyfish in sight! You do have to be really careful about sharp rocks in some areas but some parts are smooth sand. Tomorrow morning, we're going to spend hours there, exploring all of it. I'm really excited.

The other main beach in the area is Ostional. That is a protected beach because that's where the Olive Ridley Sea turtles nest and lay their eggs. We are go this afternoon to investigate and see about volunteering with the scientists and park rangers there. Awesome!

First Impressions of our House by Sam

This is my favourite photo I've taken so far! A white-throated magpie jay staring at me.

At our new home, there are awesome and strange features, amazing creatures (like hermit crabs the size of a baseball), and crashing waves to be heard all the time. In the next few paragraphs, I will tell you all about these.

There are lots of amazing features at our new home, including a tower with awesome views of the ocean and sunset, the green hills and the jungle all around us. There are huge sliding doors and windows, to provide views of the animals and ocean, and breezes can blow in to keep everything cool.  The house is pretty open concept, with a big open area with a sliding panel instead of a front door.  There's also a small pool, in which you can relax and splash around (actually it's more like a giant bathtub outside, just regular water.) 

Whip scorpion on a mattress in our tool shed.

At our new home, I noticed a few features that need to be fixed.  One of them is the hole of terror. When you are going up the stairs, if you slip and fall, you will plummet into the hole, at which point you will have a collision with the staircase below.  Second, some of the tower's windows are at floor level and are hinged at the top, opening outward. This may not sound nearly as scary, but if you trip and fall, you go flying out the window and onto the garage roof.  Last, the windows in my room need to stay closed, because they are really big and there is nothing to prevent you from falling out! Some of the drawers and doors don't close properly. In case you are starting to be very worried, don't! We have made a list and Dad is very good at making things fixed and safe.

I haven't got a great shot yet, but this is a howler. They sound like monsters!!

There are lots of amazing animals around the house, but some of the most awesome are:

• A troop of howler monkeys swinging in the trees, one carrying a baby on her back
• Geckos on the ceiling and walls
• Gigantic 6 inch red grasshoppers on the windows
• A 9-banded armadillo in the backyard
• A whip scorpion in the shed, which actually looked more like a spider
• A flock of white-throated magpie jays, perched on the deck watching us eat breakfast
• A parakeet nesting in a palm tree and parrots
• A couple of black vultures, circling over the treetops
• Bats darting through the evening air

We need a plant field guide to name all the ones around our house. This one I know is a bird of paradise.

I look forward to exploring the surrounding forest and discovering new trees, plants, and animals.  We plan to cut a path down the hill to the ocean, but I'm a little bit scared of what might be living there! But I'm glad to be in Nosara.

And... we're here!

A giant windfarm on Lake Nicaragua!

I’ll type this now, as we drive south from the Nicaragua/Costa Rica border, knowing that I’ll have shifted gears once we arrive at our Nosara home. This last border crossing was much like the others, very hot (Maeve has become good at moving her nostrils in different directions to ‘blow cool air on myself’) long waits, a lot of paperwork at different offices, fumigation of the car (where they spray the outside and then, with what the kids described as the world’s largest gun, they blow a huge puff of smoke inside the car – I so wish I’d had the camera with me, both to capture what they do and how the kids responded. Hilarious, if toxic.) 

Recognize that flay? Celebrating arrival.

Yesterday, we drove through three countries – El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, all verdant green, dotted with volcanoes, roosters and horses along the road, aggressive but whimsically painted buses roaring. Also along the road are people selling various things – but just one thing each.  There will be a 4 km stretch of people selling pineapples, and then a 2km stretch of lychees, 2km of birdcages, 3km of strawberries, 1km of shrimp, 2km of painted pots, 1km of hammocks. Here, they buy local. I also noticed how many, many fathers or older brothers are walking hand in hand with their kids or younger siblings. I hope this means something good.

We stopped to sleep in the Sandanista stronghold of Esteli, arriving in the dark as the whole town was without power. Our hotelier provided us with a candle and we st out to find dinner. It being Sunday, the cathedral was still holding service. When we peeked in, you could see giant clouds of smoke rising behind the men in white robes at the front. It was beautiful somehow. So too was the sky, lit up with lightning. We found a simple meal of beans, rice, and potato cake at the local grocery market (powered by their generator.) The lights came back on, breaking the spell, just in time for bed.

And before laundry or dinner, we went immediately to our beach...

Dan just remarked that it’s much greener today than it was when he visited Costa Rica in April. It’s not raining at the moment though we can see it in the distance. It is a damp 34 degrees. The kids are in the backseat, heads together, looking through their passports, reminiscing about various parts of our trip, already as if it were years ago. So sweet (and must say I prefer this to their activity of 20 minutes ago, throwing balled up socks at one another, laughing riotously and then arguing ridiculously.) We’re here!

... to watch the sunset surfers!

PS... Now, we're really here - in Nosara! So far it is exactly like living in a jungle. The kids asked me please not to post about all the wildlife they've seen in our yard as they'd like to do so tomorrow, so I'll only mention the smallest (well, except the ants.) We had a hard time getting the kids to bed because of a grasshopper that is bigger (and thicker) than Dan's hand. At first they were thrilled, looking at its autumnal colours from behind the window. Then, they were completely freaked as it joined them in their room (okay, so maybe it was a little bit because I screamed I was so startled!) Ah, I guess we'll have to close a window or two.

Much more soon.

Sometimes You Just To Have To Wait

Early morning view of the volcano from our hotel's rooftop

Well, not every day was going to be a storybook one, was it? Today began beautifully (a very early morning walk to see Antigua and find a bakery) and ended beautifully (I'm writing this on a hammock, next to the room where the kids are grinning, sprawled-out-asleep, with an enormous beer in my hand, and Dan seated next to me, plotting tomorrow.) In between, was a little... tiresome.

See? Exceedingly charming. In Antigua, this morning.

We were led to believe (through our own research) that the border crossing between Guatemala and El Salvador would be easy-peasy; it was not. My plan is to get the kids to write you their perspectives tomorrow (and hopefully Dan will too.) For now, I just want to say that there is no one I would rather have crossed that border with. It took nearly four hours; we had run out of good snacks; it was very hot (so hot that the cards had stuck together meaning we couldn't play crib - but could still play uno); the surroundings were hard - dogs and people rummaging through garbage piles or just standing, waiting around (for what?); we knew we wouldn't make it to our intended destination. But, throughout, everyone was calm, even good natured. We all read or played games, Maeve sketched awhile, we made a few Costa Rica plans, we played too many rounds of 20 questions, and finished all the peanut butter. No one complained (well, except me, who, being all for workers' rights, was still annoyed that one of the offices was closed for a two-hour lunch.)

Our car may not be perfect, but at least we're not driving this???!!!

It was very late afternoon by the time we officially entered El Salvador, so we made the solid decision to stay not far down the road, in Santa Ana, rather than risk driving at night. The town is refreshingly not exceedingly charming (more garbage and gentle leering, less cobblestone and quaint crafts.) We're staying in a place I'd recommend to everyone - Casa Verde, run by a sweet couple, and boasting a small pool, rooftop garden, aforementioned hammock, and board games! The kids were thrilled to arrive and jump straight into the pool. We then joined throngs of Salvadorians at a terrific restaurant on the main square and have enough leftovers for breakfast. Phew, as we'll be leaving even earlier tomorrow, hoping for smoother border crossings (into Honduras and hopefully also Nicaragua) and to make up some distance.

Almost there! In two or three days we'll be in our home-for-awhile, Nosara, Costa Rica. Unless, that was the clutch burning we smelled as we pulled into this hotel... I'm sure it wasn't :)

Curva Peligrosa

We are in Guatemala!! I think I had a vague idea that it would be full of green mountains and vibrant, embroidered cloth. I was right, but, oh it's so much more mountainous, so much more vibrant! The Curva Peligrosa refers to the signs posted along the road we took through the mountains today - Dangerous Curve. I think it would make a good book title.

Backing up a bit, we decided to linger for a whole extra night and day in San Cristobal de las Casas, the "cultural capital" of Chiapas. The trip there from Mexico City had been uneventful, largely, but long and tiring. Dan was able to do a bit of work in the morning while the kids and I roamed the narrow, cobblestone streets. The city is set in a valley and the streets are lined with colourful buildings with red tiled roofs and wrought iron window boxes full of incredible flowers. You can smell roasting coffee everywhere, the pastries are exquisite, traditional crafts tumble out from shop doors and the huge city market. The city is bookended by two churches atop high hills that you need to climb in order to attend (or, just to see the view.) The kids did this with Dan during the afternoon while I popped into a couple museums and then wandered slowly through the market, practicing all the restraint I had not to purchase embroidered blankets, clothing and bags and Zapatista memorabilia and pots.

Me, practicing restraint. My new plan is to drive back from Costa Rica with the car empty so we can buy beautiful handcrafted things on the way home.

Sam took most of the photos over the past few days, so most of them involve the stray dogs of Mexico.

See, how delicious does that veggie burger look?

We then met up for dinner at a fabulous veggie restaurant (so many good veggie restaurants in Mexico!) The kids enjoyed San Cristobal's many pedestrian-only streets, the dancers, the strawberry juice, the bunk beds. It was so good to have this completely relaxed day in such a meaningful, beautiful place.

Dan, expressing his frustration over paperwork (or just being goofy.)

This morning, rested and devices loaded with more books, we left right after breakfast to begin the journey to Guatemala. Even though we were very first in line, crossing the border took very close to two hours (both exiting Mexico and then entering Guatemala) - but it went very smoothly. You have to pay to leave the country (which I find hilarious, because you also don't have the option to just stay on and skip the fee!) and one officer was much kinder than the other, but we got our vehicle import payment back, there were no soldiers with lots of guns (becoming so familiar in Mexico) and we got through to the other side.

Immediately, we were surrounded by mountains. Enormous but not intimidating, green, cloud-swathed. The thing about those mountains is that there isn't a gentle road carved through the passes. You have to climb them and then descend them and repeat and repeat. The roads are narrow, incredibly steep and sharply winding. You need to navigate the endless switchbacks with large trucks and buses careening (or painfully crawling) both behind you and coming toward you. The scenery is spectacular - easily the most dramatic we've driven through so far. Also, it's easily the most choke-inducing drive we've had - not because we were scared (Dan was calm, at least inside, throughout) but because of the black smoke rolling from most of the vehicles. It faded the green a little. Every once in awhile, deep in a valley or high on the mountain, a village would appear and it would be bustling with donkeys, small kids, bicycles piled high all sharing the same road. No one gave us a second glance. We gave them many more.

Oh, and the buses!! They are old US school buses that have been imported by Guatemalans and refurbished (and repainted and decorated resplendently) for public transit. Seriously, many of them look like modern folk art on wheels. I'll try to get a better picture of one tomorrow, but this is one headed straight for us on a sharp turn in a small town. They are packed full of people and chickens and packed high with belongings of every kind. We watched one of the fare collectors climb onto the roof, secure something down and climb down over the back of the bus - all while going at top speed. There is a documentary about these buses - and more importantly about the resilience of those driving them (and in them) - La Camioneta.

Maeve demonstrating that she should not be peeing on that side of the road.

Just as the sun was setting and the clouds were engulfing the Volcan Agua (there are three picture-perfect volcanoes surrounding the city!) we entered Antigua. We're staying at a hotel with a beautifully tended rooftop garden, Mayan blankets and good showers (though I'm beginning to wonder how much good the showers are doing, given that we've not done laundry since our first day in San Diego and things are getting a little, um, sticky.) Tonight, we walked through the main plaza and park and along the relaxed, cobblestone streets lined with lanterns and faded pastel buildings, to dinner ( a restaurant/bookstore/bar!) At dusk, at least, it felt pretty enchanting - much like San Cristobal. I think the region warrants a few more days, but... another time as tomorrow, we head to El Salvador. First, we'll take some photos from that roof top garden in the morning.

Some Images from Getting Back to the Cities

A pre-dinner splash in Mazatlan (a seawall promenade runs along the city's stunning coast) where I got in big trouble from the locals for letting them get so close to the enormous waves.

Sam crashing a wedding. Actually, he was immersed in the soccer game being televised across the street and didn't even notice the brilliant wedding party walk by.

Bouncy balls with shiny ribbons attached are hugely popular with the stylin' kids of Guadalajara.

Sam, demonstrating what a good listener he has become, now that he's 10.

Watching the street orchestra warm up.

Breakfast and a too-short visit with Cait and Megh in Mexico City!!

The Cathedral in Zocolo, Mexico City's central square. Construction began in 1573 and took only several hundred years to complete!

One of Rivera's astonishing murals in the National Palace.

Pro Natura, an organization in Cardel doing scientific research on the migration of hawks and dragonflies!

The staff were incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic...

...and apologetic. They were disappointed that a storm had blown through so the numbers were less dramatic than usual. We saw about 100 raptors, mostly Mississippi Kites. Yesterday they had over 18 000 raptors fly overhead! The numbers increase in October and each year there are between 4 and 5 million that migrate through (the surrounding mountains and ocean create a corridor where all the migratory paths converge.)