Rhythm of Life

Sol........Mas Sol......... Mucho Mas Sol .  Since our arrival on December 28 the sun ( sol ) has shone everyday and I am enjoying the sol but I do wish it would rain just enough to help the plants since we are truly in a very DRY season .  Mi esposa is muy contento though.........with the dry weather there are very few mosquitos so no bites .  I do believe we have the mosquitos under control for this month .

We took a trip on Monday to Rio Claro and as always a trip from Zancudo means one of two things.........a boat ride or a very long bus ride just to get the first leg of your journey under way.  So , we opted for the boat ride to Golfito and then a taxi ride to Rio Claro to " The Paradise Tropical Garden " , and a tour by Robert Beatham who has lived here since 1964 , he was originally from Maine .

Robert Beatham and the giant Fan Palm

An amazing 28 hectares of property he has worked and groomed into a beautiful garden that provides us inspiration for our property on a much smaller scale .

Cj and Sherry at Paradise Tropical Garden, Rio Claro

Mi esposa has always said I have a Grande Cabeza ( Big Head ) but I disagree and I have the proof

Small Head Big Frond

Enough......as I want to share some other pictures of the gardens

Shampoo Ginger

The ginger in the photo above can be used to wash your hands or hair  by simply cutting off the blossom and turning it upside down the liquid just pours out.........quite amazing and so beautiful .

Upright Heleconia

And I could go on an attach the 50 other pictures we took of the numerous varities of heleconia , gingers , torch gingers , and palms of all varieties .  The most amazing part of our trip to visit Robert was his knowledge of the plants he grows and how many of these plants are used as medical remedies to fight and control hypertension , diabetes , cancer and skin conditions .  Please take some time and check out this website I have attached .  I look forward to spending time volunteering at " The Paradise Tropical Garden " to learn more about the native Costa Rican Tropical plants from Robert Beatham .
http://paradise-garden.tripod.com/
                                                         

As the weeks have passed here at our Casa here on Playa Zancudo..........we are at WAR.......Si........WAR with the monos .

1 of the 30 Caupuchin monkeys raiding our bird feeder

Oh yes.........if you think squirrels are good at eating up everything you try to feed your birds......then let me introduce you to the.............Bottomles Pit of the Thieving Banana Muncher........aka , the cute little white faced CAPUCHIN.........just don't stand under the tree looking up because those little *#$@#* will piss on you.......Oh YES they will .  A possible solution to our war.........Give them the Casa and a large supply of  bananas and we go off and live in the jungle .  I must admit they are quite cute and very entertaining to watch but when it comes to getting a banana or 20 bananas they can be aggressive .  We stopped feeding them at the back of our yard at the jungles edge and forgot that we have numerous fruit trees on our property so they are just enjoying the buffet of gauvas , cacao , carambola, water apples and some type of long dark pods ( name unknown ) with a licorce tasting seed in them .  But if they even think once about eating our gwanabana ( we have 6 on the tree now ) which can cost $10 to $20 dollars for each piece of fruit.......we are having monkey stew every noches Martes  ( Tuesday night ) .

It seems our social calender stays somewhat full here on Playa Zancudo .  This past Friday we had great guests for diner and wonderful conversation and laughter especially when the large frog leaped from above onto our guest and onto the side of the sofa without histeria .  The frog was cute with big brown eyes........hey we are living outside inside , it is the jungle .  Our guests / friends have done an awesome job getting the library up and running here in Zancudo for the children and adults so if you have time please take a minute and check out all they have accomplished with Biblioteca de Zancudo , Thank you Susan and George . 
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0466-4bc6-8a65?ln

Life here is wonderful , the food , the people , the beauty of the jungle and playa and most of all the simplicity..............just like our big fish hanging on our porch

My Rooster Fish from a Palm Frond

 

Fresh Heleconia and Ginger from the jungle in our Bamboo Vase

Any least not forget mi esposas wildlife photo of the week

 Sherry named  her discovery " SPOT "

Life continues here in paradise.........no regrets and a lifetime to enjoy our tropical Casa.........Pura Vida

Chanel No. 5 ......... Que

What................you think my queso ( cheese ) has slipped off my pozuelo (cracker ) .

Seriously , I have been wanting to write a blog about the smell of our property because it smells like Chanel No. 5...........really I am not kidding .  In the evening our house and property has an amazing smell due to not 1 no not 2 but 3 Y - Lang Y - Lang trees which are used to make Chanel No. 5 .

Flowers on our Y-Lang Y-Lang tree

We can find our house blindfolded but I will tell you don't keep it on very long  as our property is starting to blossom.............

Hibiscus at the jungles edge behind our house

Along with the addition of some awesome varigated Rambos..........

At the entrance to our driveway

And then there is my wifes favorite palm........which we have not yet identified.......HELP

Palm and birds of paradise

Let's not forget a regalo ( gift ) from our amigo Roy who worked so hard helping make this our Casa

Bromalade with yellow blossom 6 feet long

Okay.........enough about our yard that one day will be a wonderful landscaped garden if my machete weilding arm can hang on long enough .  On Sunday spent the morning cutting out 8 trees from the back of the house clearing way for new palms and citrus trees with my machete in hand.........yes there are times I wish I had my chain saw but I have to admit I am getting pretty good at using the machete..........no missing limbs or fingers .   I certainly would rather spend my time working here on the property then having to go to the frontera ( border ) to shop .  On Thursday of last week mi esposa

Mi esposa waiting for the 6 am bus to Paso Canoas

and I headed to Pasa Canoas to shop via the bus with 1 small backpack and 2 large cloth shopping bags and a plan to buy another backpack to use for travel and shopping.............as usual it is about 2 hours on the bus to Laurel......stop at the bank for our monthly allowance for life here and then a quick taxi ride 8 kilometers at 1 mil per person......$2 and a great breakfast at our fravorite Soda y Taqueria.......gallo pinto mexicano en huevos frito.......muy bien .  We started our shopping at around 9 am with the purchase of 1 big ass backpack which seemed like the perfect solution for carrying everything we needed...........by the time we left at 2:30 to catch the taxi back to Laurel for the bus to Zancudo...........we really needed 2 pack mules and at least 1 sherpa.........why you ask well there was a new toaster since mi esposa cooked literally cooked my other toaster in the oven..........another story......a small sink for the second bathroom along with faucet , candles ( 4 pounds worth easy ) baking pans , pull chains for fans , pencils , tupperware or we should call it fupperware no where close to the seal tight lids on tupperware , and now the groceries that included azucar , arroz , canned tomates , well let 's just say $150 worth of groceries..........big backpack my ass.......we needed a truck and we still had to pick up produce to haul back to Zancudo since we missed our Thursday fruit and vegetable man Emilo..........lesson learned don't leave Zancudo on Thursdays or Sundays or you miss Emilo.   Muy importante.........cerveza and vodka.......had to let the beer go Vodka weighs less and takes up less room for this trip..........will tell you......when we got to Laurel and had a 90 minute wait.....what cerveza we did not purchase I drank waiting for the bus........and when the bus stopped in Conte 10 kilometers from Zancudo.........I picked up another couple cervezas just to stop the pain of hauling all those supplies..........lesson learned .  Alas it is just a memory unlike today with a beautiful susrise and clouds reflecting back on to the beach

Sunrise looking out toward the Osa Peninsula

 and for me a walk about in the jungle behind our casa with mi amigo Jose machetes in hand boots on our feet...........snakes and another wonderful jungle adventure .  The answer is yes.......we did see a very large black and yellow snake , an abandoned crocodile nest , several monos as if I need to see anymore of those since our casa is now a hang out for them along with some amazing foilage .  So on my next walk about in the jungle I am going to take the camera............Pura Vida
  

Living On Jungle Time

It is 2:30 in the afternoon , where did this day GO ?  Sherry and I started our Sunday as usual , a cup of cafe con leche , get the Escalade and T - Bird unlocked from the Palm Tree..........haven't gotten the bamboo garage up yet for our bicycletas ( Ooops......Escalade and T - Bird ) and off to the north point we headed for our morning ride .  Made a stop at the mercardo ( market ) on the way back through town for heuvos and tortillas for desayunos ( breakfast ) and a quick visit with Elena at Oceano just to see if she had any cinamon rolls........better yet she had pumpkin bread made with whole wheat.......awesome .  So....we get through desayunos and I sit down to start the Blog at 9 am.........and what shows up

2 kilos of fresh OH YES fresh lobster.....cost 10 mil

10 mil = $20.00 US for 4.4 pounds of fresh lobster..........1 hour later and this is what we got

Dinner

and this brings me to............What can we get here in the jungle on the shores of the Golfo Dulce on any given day right here at our doorstep...............on Thursdays and Sundays Emilo comes with all the tropical fruits ( mangos , papaya , pina , manzanas , naranjos , bananas , sandia , and this week sapote my favorite tastes like pumpkin pie ) and then the vegetables.......you name it we can get it .  Then on Saturdays an older couple stops out front and beeps their horn with a trunk full of mandarinas , limons , bananas , tomate , pimentos and OH YES........String Beans...........too  awesome .  Also on Saturday the poultry moto ( motorcycle with a cooler strapped on the back ) comes through with fresh slaughtered old hens.........then along comes the egg man also on a moto with fresh brown eggs .  Now let us not forget the milk man on horseback and he will let you have the butter fat skimmed from the fresh milk . 

We are not done yet.......at least once or twice a week we get fresh tamale bread and / or coconut candy made over an open fire ( you can taste the smokey goodness ) with several other trucks with sandia ( watermelon ) , cantaloupe and often assorted fresh beans .  Now the one person we most anticapated finally showed up last week..........the RUG MAN ,  hand woven rugs that are awesome just wish we had more colones for a few extra rugs..........you would know why if you have tried to shop for rugs here or in Panama.......not what we are used to . Thank you Rug Man......hope to see you again real soon .  Oh....I don't want to forget the artifact man with so called ancient artifacts from indigenous indians ( made in China.....no not really.....just someones backyard probably )

So we sit and wait to see what will show up at our front door..........Oh please the Eskimo Pie Man  , just once .

Our Casa came without closets and we have been living out of our suitcases for the past 2 months......until a neighbor stopped by and wanted to know if I had any use for a couple sets of wooden shutters.......wood being hard to come by on a daily basis......I took a look and thought I could make them into wardrobes.........take a look

From shutters to a wardrobe and we got 2

 as always you really do need to be thinking a little differently when trying to solve a problem like a new handle for the toilet.........

Atleast the handle won't rust

Need to close......still have some watering to do as we are getting really dry .  As I have written in earlier blogs we only have 2 seasons.......Wet and Dry......we are Dry that is for sure but even in the driest times this jungle home provides some amazingly beautiful flowers

Heleconia and Ginger

We have celebrated 2 months here in Zancudo Costa Rica and seems as though we have lived here a life time and that can only mean one thing........we are muy contento.......Pura Vida

Moved In and Out Of Colones

That's right..........we have moved in and we are out of COLONES , ( $$$$$ ) as we over spent our renovation budget..........but life is AWESOME........" Living Outside - Inside "  and it seems especially true when the bats fly in and out of our living room at sunset . 

Yesterday was the last day of wages for our Amigos Roy and Victor who have been so amazing with their skills helping Sherry and I transform this Casa into our home.........even though we did go over budget and still have mucho trabajo ( much work ) ahead of us .  So in just 45 days we are in and this is our home

Casa Sencillo Paraiso February 18, 2012

Front porch has been squared off and a 3 block high wall has been added to each side of the main opening in addition to adding our pavers and rock garden to the front yard.......this was our vision.....take a look in the A - Frame to the hand made railing from mangele with traditional Costa Rican X s in each section.

L - shaped sofa to the right side and dining table to the left side

Lounge area center of our home

The picture above is the main lounge area of our Casa , with bi - fold gates to each side , the 2nd L - shaped sofa to the left behind our really comfortable Costa Rican Leather and Wood Rocking chairs.........me esposa has yet to get the RECLINER .  Our kitchen is straight back from the  lounge area with our bedroom and bano to the right and the guest bedroom and bano to the left .

Lounge area with hand made ladder to loft over the Cucina

The answer is NO.........Are there SCREENS ?  Both bedrooms and bathrooms are fully screened and we do have a ceiling in the kitchen along with screens on the 2 windows . 

The answer is YES.........Are there mosquitos , no sees , frogs , lizards / geckos , bats , and the 1 zillion ants..........I usually just leave a small piece of fruit in the frying pan about an hour before we start cooking just to attract several thousand ants in the pan just to add protein to our meal.........as I said before in an earlier blog.........you can try to kill them or just eat them.......taste really great in rice dishes with soy.

Lounge area with L - shaped sofa

Just so you know........we do sit here in the evenings with no problem with insects listening to 98.1 from Seacrets in Ocean City..........Thanks to great internet.

Looking up to the front rail from the lounge

You can not imagine how beautiful the room is at sunset filling the center of our Casa with amazing light .  At times it seemed as though we were not going to get through the renovations especially on the days when we had 3 yard workers speaking only Spanish , Roy and Victor speaking Spanish that Sherry and I understood half the time , an electrician or 2 who only spoke Italian, along with 2 men working on the gates system 1 of which we still don't know how to pronounce his name so you know I was drawing alot of pictures and doing some wild gesturing just to get the point across..........now you know why on so many of the shopping trips it was important to stock up on Vodka and Cerveza.......just for days like that .  But now we are settling into our daily routine and it looks as though frog extraction in the mornings has to be added to the list...........these are those 2 pound frogs not the cute little colorful ones that me esposa likes........I promise a picture in a future Blog .  How wonderful life is here.........so I will close with a picture of our neighborhood friends who live just beyond the jungles edge and on occasions the Palm trees in our front yard.......just don't look up with your mouth open......

Just 2 of the approximately 30 + that visit our yard

I should have paid more attention to the signs at the Zoo especially the one the said , " Don't Feed The Monkeys "    Pura Vida

30 Days and Counting To Move In Day

I am starting the Blog with a photo from the past .............

Just A Dream

 and here we are 1 year later and only 30 days into the renovations of Casa Sencillo Paraiso

So...........No trabajo hoy.........No work today , as it is our first day to reflect on how far we have come and to really rest our mucho mucho cansado ( very very tired ) BODIES .   This past week we have put the rafters in the kitchen which now gives us a second floor loft space looking out the back of the property into the jungle.........amazing views and the perfect spot to lounge and watch the monkeys and birds..........Oh , on Friday we had a tamandua ( lesser anteater ) cross the back of the property and as usual no camera............also Luis came with the doors made for the 2 bedrooms and an awesome vertically split door ( 2 doors ) for the cucina ( kitchen ).........so beautiful that we have decided to use conch shells as the door knobs with only a simple hook and eye to latch the doors closed..........You are probably thinking we need a lock for those bedroom doors and to secure the kitchen.........Not to  worry.............tomorrow Alex is installing a gate system across the dining which consists of 2 stationary panels mounted at each side of the opening to the dining room and attached to each panel are 2 bi-fold panels...........we hope this works .

We went to the Deposito on Tuesday in Golfito via Memo ( Amigo with a truck )  to purchase our refrigerator , pots and pans , kitchen utensils along with knives ( haven't started eating with our fingers and toes YET ) , sheets , along with 2 fans and no trip is complete without a stop to the liquor dispensory and when you can get duty free prices you better go for it .  So............

Me a Refrigerator and a Cerveza

What an adventure and a wonderful ride home from Golfito with beer in hand Sherry and Memo with room up front .  The blanco foam I am lounging on........well it will soon be our cushions for our L-shaped sofas . 

Attaching few more photos of the progress we have made to the house.....

Our bedroom with the decorative security BARS and the wooden shutters

Looking out our front bedroom window

The renovations to our Casa are amazing and to be truthful.......MUCHO TRABAJO and MOY TRABAJO.......MUCH WORK and MORE WORK then we had planned........still our life here is muy contento..........it feels as though the beat of our hearts are in rhythm with our life...........Tranquillo  here on Playa Zancudo .

We have just about 2 weeks of MONEY left for wages before we say adios to our amigos Roy and Victor who have been so awesome with their skills of construction.......Costa Rican style........there are so many stories of how this Casa has come together and we cannot wait to share them with you , but ......... I need to close as tomorrow will bring MUCHO TRABAJO and a few Cervezas to kill the aching body.............YES it is worth it .

 
Pura Vida .

Furniture , Internet and 1/2 A ROOF

I have been having a hard time taking time to sit down and write the Blog........and I do miss writing it .  The reason isn ' t that I have been strolling the beach for shells and driftwood or lounging the days away in a hammock under the Palms with one two three or four frio crevezas ( cold beers ).........Oh NO.........it has been work and I mean flat out work until Mucho Mucho Cansado..........Very Very Tired .  I have closed my eyes to sleep as early as 6 pm..........why ,  because every thing you do here you do with your own muscles........no wagons , no tractors , just basic tools along with arms hands , legs and feet .  Am I complaning.........No , just stating a fact and the benefit has been the weight is coming off and I am feeling so much stronger .  Strong enough now that every time I go to town 1  1/2 miles I  peddle my Black Escalade ( bicycle ) and I don't even break a sweat and I have become quite good at hauling multiple items . 

So a quick synopsis of where we are with the house ;  Roof off down to  the rafters ,  all rotten wood removed and replaced , all wooden shutters taken off and have been refinished by Luis ( one of many Luises ) ,  kitchen furniture refinished by same Luis , electric is on , water is on , phone and internet is hooked up , rancho has been rebuilt with zinc ( tin ) on except for the cap , rafters over our bedroom , bath and 2/3 of the porch have been sanded and tinted , electrical wiring to the lights , switches and outlets are inplace but not hooked to the new panel box , furniture has been made and delivered by another Luis . Sherry and I have painted 40 sheets of fibrolit ( cement board for ceiling ) .  Materials ( steel & rebar ) have been purchased and delivered to Douglas in La Virgen for manufacturing of our decorative SECURITY grates for our windows since we have no glass........got to keep the monkeys out or keep us in .  As of today we have a ROOF over our bathroom and bedroom that consists of fibrolit , estereofon ( sterofoam ) and zinc ( tin ) .  A little photo gallery for viewing



Rancho rebuilt



Rojo Zinc going on to cover Rancho



Rojo Zinc covering Bedroom and Bath Fibrolit covering porch

Underside of Porch Tinted Rafters and Supports and White Fibrolit

When we are not working we are shopping for supplies and materials for the house or groceries........and believe me shopping is an ALL DAY adventure .

We have been to Paso Canoas , Panama twice with our friend Sue to shop for groceries , dishes , glasses , flatware BEER and Vodka the first week we got here , so much cheaper to shop there .

The following week we took the taxi ( 4 door truck ) with friends back to Paso Canoas for electrical supplies for the house , groceries and fresh fruits and vegetables and 5 cases of BEER and Vodka , should have gotten 10 cases of BEER .

Several days later we took the water taxi to Golfito to get our Tarjeta ( ticket ) for the purchase of Duty Free items at the Deposito , shop for groceries and go to the pharmacist.......Elvis to see about prescriptions .

Sherry headed back to Paso Canoas with a friend for some girl time shopping and it gave her  a chance to shop without me......... I always need several cervezas after shopping just to calm the nerves .

Next thing you know we are off to Golfito on some friends boat as we need 3 gallons ofTinta (Tint ) for the rafters and supports along with getting screws and MAJOR Insecticide.........kills everything insight and as always buy what you think you may need because you never know when you will shop again.

Taffy Rynert Elena Sherry and I heading to Golfito Shopping

Well a week past and sure enough on Monday of this week we got the courage to hop on the Bus from Zancudo to Laurel for shopping in Paso Canoas with a connecting bus .  The bus leaves Zancudo every morning at around 5:45 am and costs about $1.80 per person to Laurel and I should clarify the bus is a school bus that seats about 45 children.......but here in this southwestern corner of Costa Rica we can cram 85 people along with.......OH Yeah , 1 box of baby chicks , several 50 pound bags of wild rice and a surfboard or 2 for the surfers leaving Pavones heading to other surf distinations further north .  The bus takes about 2 hours as it seems to stop every 15 feet to pick up what ever........and still it was a beautiful morning riding the bus .  So , we shopped and yes for the ride back on the bus we had a bathroom sink , faucets for the bathroom and kitchen sinks , telephone , sheets , small trash can to sit beside the toilet for the used toilet paper........Oh yes we don't flush our used toilet paper as the septic systems cannot handle it.........But we can .  Sherry needed a dish strainer along with several knives and then as always groceries and BEER 2 cases and Vodka 1 bottle and the taxi was loaded for the ride to Laurel to catch the bus .  Time for a beer or 3 as we had about 2 hours before the bus left Laurel at 4 for the return trip to Zancudo .  As we sat pondering the logistics of HOW THE HELL are we going to get this on the bus our Amigo Memo pulls up to the Bank across the street from the bar and now we have 1 less bathroom sink and 2 cases of beer to contend with.........A friend is never to far here in Costa Rica .  Boarded the bus at 4 pm and really not that crowded and as Sherry and I discussed our adventure I looked to the front of the bus and there stood  a Tico with a name on his shirt that just made us laugh...........take a look

DELAWARE

Every day we live an adverture here living a very simple existence , working hard to make a simple home in the jungle on Playa Zancudo and if me esposa were here.............however she is off to Golfito on the water taxi for 2 gallons of Penta ( insectide you mix with diesel to treat wood pre construction for termitos ) along with 100 screws , 10 hinges , the bank  to trade out dollars for small colones , grocery shopping and the butcher with 1 very importanta stop.........Chicken Bros........cause we having fried chicken for dinner tonight , she would tell you the adventures never stops . We are actually taking part in our own lives now without outside distractions .

I have been trying hard to keep the Blog going with problems with power and internet service along with the daily work load of repairing the house as we hope to be in by February 8th .  We have only walked the beach at sunset 5 times since we got here and taken just 2 sunset pictures............we have a  life time once we get in our Casa for many sunset photos to share and some amazing photos of our encounters with the monkeys that visit our Casa..........I am talking about the white faced capuchins or Ti -Tis' not our friends .  But I am going to leave you with a picture of one of my friends I found in our yard

Green Vine Snake and Yes Sherry let me play with it.....Amazingly Beautiful

Pura Vida

Hola , Flip-Flops at the Cabina Door

We are here , FINALLY . 

So , leaving wasn't easy , saying good-bye to our daughter and son .  Could not find my passport at the airport on Wednesday morning at 5 am and just flipped out at the ticket counter throwing envelopes of cash we took for the repairs to our Casa and anything else in my backpack all over the floor........Passport found front pocket of my cargo shorts must have been the excitment of finally leaving to start our life here in Zancudo and just could not remember where I put it.......no cafe needed from the adrenaline rush and of course one very mad wife.

Long trip from the airport with our driver Luis , first stop outside of Alajuela one 6 pack of Pilsens just to easy the pain of getting out of the airport with that much luggage.  The drive south took us 6 hours so we stopped in Rio Claro for dinner and another one or two Pilsens to prep ourselves for the road to Zancudo ...........OMG........how could it be possible for the road to be that bad ?

Took several days to unwhind and headed to the border at Paso Canoas on Friday before New Years.........BAD MISTAKE people everywhere music blaring and every few minutes cherry bombs would exploded along with many many policia but we survived and actually purchased 2 queen size beds and one big ass FAN !

So , what a surprise on New Years.........2000 + Ticos rolled onto our small beach town.......never in our lives did we think that many cars , trucks , livestock trucks , and any other mode of transportation could bring that many people into town .  From 3 am New Years Day until early morning people just kept on coming .  Our curiousity got the best of us and we headed to downtown to check it out.......just so unbeliveable


Downtown Zancudo New Years Day 2012

 On Tuesday we headed back to the border at Paso Canoas in a Taxi to pick up a few things that included our new beer of choice " Old Milwaukee's Best Premium " at $8 a case.......living in paradise does cost money and Pilsens was eating up our budget at  about $2 a can.........life is good .

Wednesday January 4th our construction team.........Roy and Victor along with one gringo started remodeling on Casa Sencillo Paraiso

2 Queen size mattresses , electric , water and NO roof

Made a mad dash into the jungle on Saturday for lumber shopping..........that is a whole other story for later , check out our lumber shopping atire



Roy , Cj and Victor

I still cannot believe it and you want to know why , take a good look as we are in 8 inches of water just on the fringe of the jungle

No Crocs or snakes just a large troop of Ti-Ti's (squirrel monkeys)

Life is so amazing here it feels as though we never left.........Our days are full and many nights we are asleep by 7:30 .  We are working very hard to get into our Casa by January 28th .  We have met with another Luis......they are everywhere here and showed him our designs for our furniture , 2 queen size bed frames , 1 table with 6 chairs , 2 L-shaped sofas (wood) with 1 tall cocktail table and 1 short cocktail table and our wooden 2 pieces of kitchen furniture are at another Luis' being sanded and varnished along with all of our wooden shutters .  The long sunrise and sunset walks will have to wait for now but every morning we are awakened by the Monos Congo ( Howler Monkeys ) with visits every day behind the Casa by the White Faced Capuchins and Ti-Ti's.  We have picked Star fruit from our property  and soon the bananas will be ripe along with the 9 pineapples .  What more would one want but a simple existence in paradise ?

Need to close as tomorrow is another day of work on the Casa ,  mornings filled with wonderful Costa Rican coffee , fresh mangos , papaya , bananas and pineapple and afternoon swims in the Golfo Dulce , please do not wake me from this dream..........

1st Sunset Playa Zancudo , December 29 , 2011

NOTE:  Sherry has lost 2 pints of blood to the mosquitos , me just 1 or 2 bites in 2 weeks........Pura Vida