Oops, Where Did Last Week Go?

Our days are numbered and time is slipping by really fast now , where did Monday go last week when I was suppose to do a new post to the Blog........the weather was warm here at the farm and I still had the back half of the house to pressure wash ,  I am not going to head to another country and leave our house with green mildew growing........there is my OCD up front and center again .  Also ,  friends from California came in on Wednesday for a couple of days so the Blog got pushed to the back burner once again and   I am sure by now you are getting tired of reading about our overflowing luggage , rain , mosquitos , lack of furnishing and the fuzzy creatures living around our jungle home .  Hey , we haven't gotten any comments on us needing PROZAC yet though !

So , we are looking at our last 38 days here and I will tell you the overflowing luggage has become a very big deal .  We are going to have to do with out some things at first so we have decided that we will buy some of the tools that I had planned on taking such as the circular saw , jig saw , sanders and of course my favorite hammer .  However ,  I guarantee the staple gun along with a case of staples will be going with us .  I got new screen to put up or Sherry will be offering up my body and blood as a sacrifice to the mosquitos but as I have said before they don't like me to much .  One bite and they usually fly away in circles and die from head on collisions with palm trees , apparently my blood is to rich for their taste and that certainly does not hurt my feelings .

We have had several offers from our friends to come down and help get our house ready to move into and that is really cool as we are looking so forward to sharing our home and Playa Zancudo with all of our friends .  The house is a diamond in the rough and all that is needed is 6 months of hard work ( sweat equity ) and the property will be awesome !

Our Bedroom previously occupied by Bats and Trash

Open Living area looking back to the Kitchen  with Bedrooms to each side

Cleaned Up and Ready for Screening

We have so many plans for our property once we get the house secure from the pests ( mosquitos , scropions , spiders , and monkeys with a lizard or two ) remember I quoted a 20 year resident of Playa Zancudo in a previous blog who said , " If it ain't hot and there aren't bugs , you are not in paradise ."

Pura Vida

Sol (Sun) for the Soul

So..........I left Sherry home with her 6 pack of space bags and headed to the Florida Keys with my brother to visit our madre ( mother ) and padre (father ) .  The weather was awesome giving way to kayaking , biking , and swimming........Thanks to some great friends for the use of their kayak and as far as the biking.......I got my southern region toughened up for our only transportation for now in Zancudo.......BIKES  .

Got my internal solar batteries recharged.......love the heat and humidity , unfortunately they are Sherrys' least favorite........the preverbial saying , opposites attract stands so true for us , but to appease mi esposa ( my wife ) I promise she will have air conditioning in our bedroom........I don't care if I have to teach 2 monkeys to wave palm fronds over a cooler of ice.......Anyone know the learning curve on primates ?  There might be a possiblility of some long one nighters for me with palm fronds in my hand over that cooler of ice........Life will be good !

Getting very excited and anxious to get to Zancudo as it is cooling off rather quickly here on the Delmarva peninsula , I am not saying it is freezing yet........I only need thermal socks , thermal long sleeve shirt and flannel sleep pants to make it through the night........you ask why don't we turn up the heat.........ask mi esposa ( my wife )  sleeping away in a short sleeved nighty sans any covers.......just don't get it , but together our life has always been a wonderful adventure and I know this journey we are about to embark on will be no different minus a few.....one or two.....maybe three or four comforts of  home.....well let's look at it this way......we have 2 pieces furniture under a holey roof

Cabinet with sink

Sideboard for cookware, dishes & flatware

Both pieces are made from Costa Rican hardwood........just wish someone had left a bed .  I don't think there would be any room in the sideboard for the 3 Chip-n-dip sets we had before the yard sale !

So we are now down to 7 weeks or 49 days or 1176 hours before we look back over our shoulders and say good-bye to a life we had become so accustomed to and quite frankly taken for granted with excesses many people in the world will never have .  I will tell you the #1  thing I will not miss is TELEVISION .  Enough or I will erupt like Volcan Arenal and it is time to bring the blog to an end this week since I have some yard work to do , mi esposa  ( my wife ) thought I would need something to do .   Funny thing is that 6 pack of space bags that should have already been filled with her clothes and shrink are still laying on the 2 bins of clothing........hum , what was she doing for the 7 days I was gone..........getting her TELEVISION fix and the fact is she cannot figure out how to get that many clothes in her 6 pack of space bags .   Pura Vida

Note:  Next week will be the continuing saga of  " Can I Exchange These Space Bags For The Extra Large Space Bags "

Dias de los Muertes

Dia de los Muertes ( All Souls Day ) on November 2 is observed across Costa Rica with Catholic masses and pilgrimages to graveyards , unlike the somewhat party atmosphere of Mexico's , Day of the Dead celebration . Still the celebration is interesting...........celebrating ones life !

On our travels throughout Costa Rica I was always amazed at their Cemeteries since most all graves are above ground and very colorful. The picture below is of a cemetery just east of Zancudo and just before Esperanza

Enough of the DEAD let's focus on the living..........all along their were several people we needed to see before we headed south and that was to make the rounds to all the Doctors and the Dentist...........I am glad we met our insurance deductable.........as we have been scanned , poked , scrapped , and prodded in places we forgot we had . The one thing I was most scared about was the Dermatologist being at one time blond with blue eyes and fair skinned heading to 8 degrees latitude............Burning Rays of Death........their we go with the dead thing again........so I certainly was relieved that I only have a few skin barnacles and minor sun damage........just going to take a case of sunscreen SPF5000 . On the other hand , me esposa ( my wife ) who is dark haired and olive skinned will look like a native Costa Rican within a week after we arrive..........can you say TICA ( native Costa Rican female ) .

My doctor was somewhat amazed at my weight loss since my last visit........50 pounds , Thank You World Gym . Feeling fit and ready to start the renovations to Casa Sencillo Paraiso with the first priority of screening to keep out the mosquitos or in Spanish........the Zancudos . For the month we were there this year I never got bit and Sherry........well that ' s another story.........she donated half her blood supply to the mosquito population . I have a theory on why they bite her but I will not share as I do want to be alive to live the simple life in Playa Zancudo.   Pura Vida 

2 By 2 and 6 Days Late

You know creating the titles for our blog has been alot of fun..........but this week since I am " 6 Days Late " I have to give credit for the  " 2 By 2 " to our friend Denise who moved to Zancudo the second week of October .  As you have read we are always interested in the  " Wet Season " because I am sure if Jack Nicholason went crazy in " The Shining " from solitude and snow ,  I will definitely go crazy with the rain in Costa Rica..........So , in a response to an email my wife sent Denise inquiring about the weather Denise replied ,  " it is time to gather the animals 2 By 2 " .  Kind of like what might need to happen in the photo

Photo Wet Season 2011

I just hope someone found high ground to start building the " ARK ".  Of course we always need to confirm the weather conditions with our friend Sue who lives across the road ( dirt ) from our new home and the response was not encouraging.............  " Can't make it to town road is to bad "

Zancudo Road heading into town from in front of our Casa

We have driven on the road in the picture above after a double high tide having to navigate around the very edge of mudholes in the road that resembled small lakes .  It is not that we are afraid it is just the thought of being holed up in our home with a tin roof and the constant ping , ping , ping , and more pings for several days ( 14 days so far this year )............Sherry better hide the machete .  And , you have to wonder where do all of those snakes , iquanas , scorpions , tarantulas , crocodiles and all the other warm and fuzzy critters go ?  Still , with rain comes greenery and beautiful flowers and it is truely hard to believe how much more beautiful it   could be .                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

It is hard to believe that we can now count the weeks left before we get to our Zancudo home in single  digits ,  9 weeks or 61 days left where has the time gone.............Oh please....... you have read my rants on time moving so slowly , so you know we are really ready to GO and the weather is turning cold and I am a big wussey when it comes to cold weather !      Pura Vida

Grits - n - Gravy

Oh.......can't forget the " Sweet Tea " and you ask what's this got to do with a blog about our life in Zancudo Costa Rica ?

Just finished up our farewell tour of South Central Virginia ,  a place we called home for 10 years back in the 90s.......and to this day we still have strong ties to our old neighbors and friends there.   So for all of you who have never experienced life in the genteel south you have missed out on southern hospitality , manners ,  politeness and the endless refills of  " Sweet Tea ".  

Funny thing..........that same feeling of southern hospitality resonates throughout the small Costa Rican beach community of Zancudo which we will  soon call home .  Many of our friends will admit , of all the people they have known we are that one couple who would pack up and move on.........we have only done it about 18 times but never outside of the US border.........There always has to be a first time .  

So.......we are staring down 68 days filled with 2 of the most home spun Norman Rockwell inspired Hallmark filled holidays.......Thanksgiving and Christmas...........Don't want to burst anyones bubble but my 2 least favorite of all the holidays.........eat , eat , eat , drink , drink , drink , and spend , spend , spend  and for me drink again just to block out the memory ..........I am not  Scrooge ,  I just do not understand why we celebrate these 2 holidays with such excess.........and to tell you the truth , I don't understand how Christmas decorations are already up in the stores and we haven't even put the Nina , Pinta , and the Santa Maria back in drydock from Columbus Day.   Do you know Christopher Columbus discovered Costa Rica  ( Rich Coast )...........enough or I am going to

Volcan Arenal erupted at 2 a.m. on our first there

No I am not going to erupt but I will tell you it was really cool seeing Arenal erupt and the funny thing is that it really looked like several red fuzzy dust balls being blown out the top with bright red syrup dripping down the side but the noise was amazing .

Need to get back to packing my wife's space bag or bags or 6 pack of bags ,  what ever it takes .  So let's end todays blog with something quite spectacular ! 

Lake Arenal with Volcan Arenal in all of its glory !

Pura Vida

67 verses 85.......What ?

I got some explaining to do on the title of this weeks blog........right ?

Sunday was a beach day here on the  Delmarva shore and what a beautiful day it was...........as always when we are on the beach we get in the water.............now the 67 stands for DEGREES of the Atlantic ocean and technically it was 66.9  but  I really don't think a . 1 degree makes the water any warmer .  It took a few minutes and it did not feel that bad however I wasn't going to float around in it to long.

Now the 85 stands for DEGREES of the Golfo Dulce and technically I can't think of a thing to say but....it sure feels good during our morning swim and again during our late afternoon swim.  The water temperature range for the Golfo Dulce is 80 to  85 degrees and can can dip down to  80 in October........so I checked the water temperature online this morning for Playa Zancudo and it was 85 .  No " bathin " up in the Golfo !

We are heading out again this week on another leg of our  "Good - Bye To Friends " tour , just wish we had one of those cool tour buses like the country music stars have.........No not really because if people saw us getting off the bus they might think Willie Nelson had put on few to many pounds and Dolly Parton had let her hair go gray..........Isn't life wonderful when you throw in  a little imagination ?

As I had feared time is slipping past very quickly now.........our days are truly numbered .  We just have several small projects like burning the limbs and branchs we picked up out of our yard from hurricane Irene , thinning back some of the fall preannuals and figuring out how to get all of Sherrys' clothes in her suitcase........Can you say Space Bags ?

The picture above was taken on Playa Zancudo on one of our morning walks and  reflects how tattered and frayed we are feeling as we try to tie up all of the loose ends of life here in America .  It is going to take more than a couple of Pilsens ( cerveza / beer ) to smooth out our edges when we get to our new home on the playa.  Pura Vida

Butterflies & Good-Byes

Oh Please..........don't think the title is going to reflect a mushy , tear jerking , sentimentally filled blog since we are now staring down just 86 days .  I am NOT , repeat NOT going to say, "Where have the days gone ?"
So let's start with the first word in the title , Butterflies or in Espanol " Mariposas " .  The pictures below are some we have taken and as always we have a favorite ,  the Blue Morpho which we have seen in our Zancudo yard .

Blue Morpho "Good Luck Butterfly"

Zebra Longwing

 This one to the left we spotted on the Osa Penisula  and was quite amazed by the size and colors .

Did not catch their name , but we see alot of them

and now the second word in our title , Good-Byes or in Espanol " Adios ".  We have started getting together with our friends  not so much as an " Adios " but as reassurance that we are not........NUTS or One Bubble Off Center........however many of our friends apparently have always thought all along that we were several bubbles off center.........Hey , everyone has a friend or two maybe three like that......Right .  Apparently we did not know that we were " Those Friends " .  But all is good and we love all of our  " Crazy " friends , and cannot wait to share our Playa Zancudo home with them all . 

This past weekend was really great as we got to have lunch with our Zancudo friends , Carol and Paul in Annapolis, Maryland and talk about life in Zancudo .   We were very fortunate to pull off a two for one that day.........we got to have dinner in Annapolis with our friends Van and Lynn and catch up on their travels and they shared with us their experiences of living out of the country .   We have many more lunches and dinners planned with our friends and family , along with extra time at the gym.........we have no budget for purchasing larger clothes before we leave and to tell the truth........I bought smaller clothing from the end of summer sales......so if I can't squeeze into them........it will be a very large banana leaf for me !

Even though the waiting has been the very hardest part...........now looking back on those 327 days that have passed from when we made our decision to start a new journey and live a simplier life in a place we call paradise seems to have made the transition so much easier .  Almost all of the loose ends of our life here at the farm have been tied up and we are ready  to sit down to a plate of patacones and a cerveza in Costa Rica just like in the picture below.

Except Pilsen is our Costa Rican Cerveza of choice !

Just so you know.......YES , I did miss last weeks blog .  It was started and still sits in my draft documents .  Why you ask ?  I needed to make a correction on a statistic I stated in the Tuesday , September 20 , 2011 blog  titled " 99 Days and X Marks the Spot ".  The title of the unpublished blog for last week was , "I Stand Corrected"  and here is the excerpt :

In last weeks blog I made a mistake as my wife has so graciously pointed out..........Rainfall totals for September and October average 4 feet not 9 feet . Average annual rainfall for the Southwestern coast of Costa Rica is about 9 feet more or less.    Hey, so I was off by 5 feet , still 4 feet of rain is ALOT of rain in 2 months .    Going to be shopping for some rain gear .  (and back to this weeks blog )

So , on Tuesday of last week I spoke with our friend Sue in Zancudo about the phone line for our house and in general conversation I ask how the " Wet " season is going.  Remember Zancudo has 2 seasons  and the other season is " Dry ".   To our surprise the weather has been amazing with very little rainfall , beautiful days with spectacular sunsets .  The 14 day forecast however for Zancudo showed rain , Rain , RAin , RAIn and more RAIN . Well.......it all comes down to this....... Don't believe any weather forecast and I should know better because they can't even get the weather right half the time here in the US .   I am deleting my draft blog named " I Stand Corrected " since it pertained mainly to how we would survive days and days of pounding rain on a tin roof..........surely that would make you.........NUTS .

Time for a Pilsen ,  Pura Vida .