Life in the Jungle

Been getting great responses to our blog .  But we rarely get any questions about daily life in the jungle , which I can truthfully say is very different from our life at the farm .

So , this weeks blog is all about jungle living , the good , the bad and the uncomfortable .

Starting with the things that create  the uncomfortable such as ANTS and yes I have mentioned them in a couple of blogs...........they truly are EVERYWHERE .  On more than one occasion either mi esposa or yo has made the mad dash for the waterhose after stepping onto a colony of fire ants........these are very little ants that pack one mean ass bite that burns intensely for about 20 minutes followed by itching .  What have we learned..........watch where we are stepping .  Oh.....by the way they climb trees so you have to watch where you grab hold of branches and then there are the.......

WASPS..............of varying sizes .  I personally know how bad the small wasps sting from construction on the house when I was hit 5 times by the attack possee while removing a rotten fascia board and sadly after killing off what we thought was the entire colony 3 escapees hit me from the backside .    So , when we see the really big WASPS.......does a 2 passenger Cessna bring to mind the size...........we get out of  their way .  Got hit last year after purchasing the property by 1 black wasp on the backside of my hand through a LEATHER glove , the result...........one very large cartoon hand with the swelling lasting for several days . 

And then there is................Polvo ( dust ) since we are experiencing a very dry season and remember there are only 2 seasons Wet and Dry........it has been really DRY and we have no glass in our windows to keep out the dust . I believe we have had 3 rain showers within the last 3 weeks and that is all the rain we have seen since Enero (January)   ............but soon the rains will come and it will rain , Rain , RAin RAIn and RAIN .  We will definitely be blogging about the rain .

For me those are the only discomforts of life here in the Jungle..........BUT WAIT......mi esposa has something to say...........HEAT and MOSQUITOS .   Yes it has been HOT , temperatures into the mid 90's during the day cooling off very comfortably at night . With the ceiling fan I am fine but  mi esposa will turn on the wind tunnel fan at the foot of the bed........believe me they could use this fan as an engine on a 747............At least we have electricity... most of the time to power her wind tunnel .   And now  mi esposas # 1 cause of discomfort........MOSQUITOS , funny thing with it being so dry we have had very few mosquitos and I don ' t recall 1 complaint this week from her about the mosquitos............that is because the no sees came to town for a couple of early evening biting sessions on her .  Nothing likes me so I never get bit .  Oh well , life here in the jungle . 

Still nothing seems to be that bad here..........I certainly have had to learn PATIENCE.....well sort of .   It is frustrating to wait.........we instant gratification , give it to me now , service in 30 seconds or less Americans.............we wait for nothing .  You will wait  HERE especially in this very remote wild west forgotten corner of Costa Rica .  But that is what brought us here.........remote quiet jungle life .  Forget it.........quiet certainly is  not the operative word to discribe the jungle.........for at least 3 to 4 times a week the howler monkeys usually start their morning ritual of seeing who can howl the loudest at about 4:30 a.m. followed by every damn bird in the jungle that does not sing in the night time choir ring in for their morning singing session at 5:33 a.m........no not 5:30 or 5:45 it has to be 5:33 but that is okay since the 5:45 bus is heading south out of town sounding as a bus should sound on a bumpy dirt road gearing up and down with windows rattling just lightly enough to hear .  And then just maybe we can doze off for a few more winks when to the palm tree tops land 3 african parrots with more mouth than a bus load of 60 year old women heading to a Billy Ray Cyrus concert . 

Then a long walk on the beach with the sun rising above the jungle and all is just a faded memory as the Osa Penisula sparkles across the aqua waters of the Golfo Dulce and looking north to the mouth of the Rio Coto and the sunlight glimmering on jungle covered mountains above Golfito..........this is home .   Just as the tide so goes the Ebb and Flow of life here in our jungle home .

So......I don't really know what to list as the BAD part of life here........except for not being able to see our children and grandson , our family and friends........that is hard but soon we will all be together again here in our home in the jungle or back in the states .  Our first 3 months here has passed very quickly and we have about 1 year left before we head back to the US for our first visit .  We are here for a year.......working on our casa making it a home and enjoying a different life without an easy button .

Always remember Zancudo is the last frontier in Costa Rica and we are remote.......we have heard this more then one time........... more like a thousand times since we arrived  from people who happen upon this sleepy little beach village .  For us life is simply beautiful with an occasional frustration that soon ebb with the tide  then one more amazing sunset and the sounds of the night jungle.........Oh , did I forget to tell you about the sounds in the jungle at night............That will have to be another blog so on with the pictures because I know you are tired of my ramblings. 

First Banana

Why does the caption say first Banana when in previous blogs we have talked about our 20 plus banana trees.......well technically we have Cuadrados ( a 4 sided starchy member of the banana family ) and yes they are great to eat.....green in stews or just boiled with Salsa Luzano or sliced when ripe and fried in butter with miel ( honey ) and canela ( cinnamon ) for breakfast or dessert .  We do have a recipe for Cuadrados Lasagne using the sliced green boiled cuadrados as the lasagne noodle but we are just waiting to pick up mozzarella at the border on our next trip .

Fresh eggs and Fresh milk

Yes that is mi esposa with her 2 liters of fresh cows milk still warm straight from the teet at 1500 colones and 1 dozen fresh eggs also 1500 colones .  Note:  In order to get the eggs we have to produce the carton.........Egg mans rule .

Just a friend who leaped from a palm tree I was planting

 You know there always has to be something you look forward to anywhere you live........for us it happens every other Sabado noche ( Saturday night ) at Olas Bravas with our friend Ellie and her awesome pizza..............

Ellie , Sherry and our PIZZA

We have eaten many pizzas in our day and I will tell you I would put Ellie ' s pizza up against any and hands down she will take the prize for........Best Damn Pizza .  The cool thing about going to Ellies is we bring our own beer just like the good old days at Nicola's back in the 70's .

Today we end with a quote by Neale Donald Walsch , " Life Begins At The End Of Your Comfort Zone " .

Pura Vida

90 Days In 3 Days Out

Where did those 90 days go ?  Wednesday of last week mi esposa and yo headed to Panama as our tourist visa was about to expire........our 90 days in Costa Rica was just about up so we headed to David , Panama hitching a ride with friends who were doing a one day shopping trip to David...........Cheap Prices Bubba .  David  is about 3 hours from Zancudo and that also depends on how fast we stamp out at the Costa Rican Imigration Office and how fast we stamp in at the Panamanian Immigration Office .  As always the prime factor is.............how many people are in line waiting to either stamp out or stamp in .  We stamped out of Costa Rica in 15 minutes but it took over an hour to stamp into Panama.........Oh Yes.......one big ass tourist bus and 2 very slow Panamanian Immigration Officers on duty .   However I am not complaining because this is all just one big learning curve and it is awesome just to stand back and check out the people .
Traveling on the roads in Panama is very much like traveling on the roads in the US.........it almost makes one cry thinking about our return to the roads of Costa Rica or should I say the lack of paved roads especially the 25 kilometer stretch from Naranjo to Zancudo..........bump.....bump.....bigger bump and the POLVO  ( DUST ) along with the fact we will be riding the chicken bus on our journey back home.........enough....... on with our 3 days in David .

First stop was to the DO - IT Center ( mini Lowes )  and for all the preaching on changing our consumer attitudes.........well let's just say........ ANXIETY ATTACK.............and.........DO YOU TAKE VISA .  To many things very low prices and what did we buy............I am ashamed to list the items but half the blame goes to mi esposa.......SHERRY who just kept saying , "And This Is All I Need " ....so we bought  4 flower pots , gardening tools , 2 sets of bathroom rugs , 1 wind tunnel fan , 1 toaster oven ( OMG melted cheese toast when we get back to Zancudo ) and 2 blue storage tubs which cost about $34 dollars in Costa Rica and only cost $12 at the DO - IT Center , 1 toilet seat for $7 and in Costa Rica it is $22 and finally another set of bowls for the kitchen .  Still there was so much  more we wanted like a weedeater $79 and I will tell you they are $200 plus in Costa Rica........no need to dwell Costa Rica is far more beautiful than Panama at least in mi ojos ( my eyes ) .

So we loaded up our friends car.......hugs and kisses and off we headed in a $2 Panamanain taxi to Parque Cervantes in the center of David and a room for 2 nights ( air condition , TV at $38 / night ) .  The real killer was we stepped into the bar next to the Hotel Iris throw back 3 beers and 3 vodkas along with an appetizer for less than 10 bucks........really.......beer is 75 cents and a mixed drink is  $1.25 and the appetizer was $2.50 .  Panama is by far really inexpensive .

Second day did some window shopping just so we would know what was available in David .  Breakfast was awesome coming in under $5 for 2 people.......have I said how cheap it was in Panama.........enough.......so what is there to do for 2 adventurous people exploring Panama .  Head to the Panama Agriculture Fair  .  Got to the Fairgrounds at 11:30 AM cost $1.50 per person and what a great time we had .  As we always did at the Delaware State Fair it was off to the livestock barns to see

Awesome but TOUGH on a plate

Turchicken ?

And what a treat to have a Zoological park

Seen their cousins in the Rio behind our Casa

Need my blanket back you Acoutamondes

The vegetable gardens were unbelievable , just never think that here in Central America they grow delicious potatoes , carrots , sweet onions , zuchinni , and beautiful cabbage

All that slaw

Parmesan soon

Simply Beautiful

Just wish we could have brought back some of these

Need Herbs at our Casa

and a little more color would not hurt

As always at any agricultural fair even in Panama , locals have to show off their sewing and growing skills

Do you have these in larger sizes

I would like a pound of all of those

As you see we had a really good time at the fair and if someone had ever told me that one day I would be walking around an agricultural fair in Panama I would think their queso ( cheese ) had slipped off their pozuelo ( cracker ) .   The fair food was great , alot of hot dogs on sticks and everything imaginable grilled and always cheap even the 75 cent Panamanian beer , bottle in hand strolling the fair grounds .  Sadly the day came to an end and me esposa and yo headed our separate ways , her with

One RED HOT Latin Pepper

and me

With one Long Lean Zanhoria

Yes , we did make it back and as the old proverbial saying goes , " There Is No Place Like Home " even if that casa sets in a jungle on the southern part of one really beautiful Central American country. 

Pura Vida

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 .