Routine

This was our first full week away from the B&B, continuing our house and dog sitting in Atenas. We are sort of on vacation, you might say, though we do have responsibilities here to keep Shadow the Wonder Dog safe and healthy, to water the plants on the patio that the rain doesn’t reach, to generally oversee a large garden makeover project, and to keep the indoor plants alive.

If you know me at all, you’ll know the indoor plants wouldn’t stand a chance, if not for Dave. I don’t know what my deal is, but plants in my world totally get forgotten until one day I notice they are brown and crunchy, at which point I douse them with vast amounts of water – as if giving them 6 weeks of water at once will fix it all. Instead, any chance they may have had has effectively been drowned out. Thus, Dave is the plant man.

Distractions

While on vacation, your routine suffers, does it not? In my case, I have totally failed at keeping my daily journal and as I sit down to write this post, I am at a loss to figure out what happened which day. Or if I’m being totally honest, what happened at all on some days. Or if I’m being really, really honest, I’d admit to you that a proper TV, Netflix (and a good internet connection), rain every afternoon, and a couch is what happened, for the most part, every day this week.

That would make for a very short blog post. In fact, it’s done!

Staying Busy

OK, to be fair, we did stuff. We went to yoga a few times, we walked to town every day for coffee, groceries, or just to people watch. We popped in to Kay’s Gringo Postres after the new owner (not Kay) stopped us on the street and said we better come in one day and visit. During our visit we learned she and her hubby moved here from Texas a few months ago and were trying to get their business off the ground. We had coffee and wished them well.

We were also invited to lunch at the home of some new friends, Mike and Marcella, who we met through yoga class and who happen to live up the hill from where we’re staying. They also happen to be from Texas. The meal was superb! Marcella is of Mexican descent and is also very Texan. So lucky Dave (well, lucky both of us really) we got treated to a terrific Southern Tex-Mex meal of soup, salad, beans, rice, enchiladas, corn bread and chocolate dump cake. Seriously, it was awesome!

When they learned we were planning to walk to the farmer’s market the next day, Marcella and Mike offered to give us a lift. I jumped at the chance. Not so much because I wanted the ride – though that was nice – but I was most excited about going to the market with someone who really spoke Spanish fluently and who knew what some of the mysterious fruits and veggies were. We had a great time and after the market, we stopped at the Coope – the grocery store – for another round of the best coffee in town!

Netflix Binging

See, we did get off the couch. Some. But after three months of life with no TV and no couch, it was really fun to just sit and watch movies, documentaries, TV shows and football! We definitely got our fill! Some highlights, in case you are interested:

• TV Series: Sherlock – which I have no doubt would be even better if I could understand more than 30% of what they say. Even with the deficit, it’s a great show!
• Documentaries: Stories We Tell, Connected, Forks Over Knives
• My Favorite: Craft In America – which is a PBS series from 2009, I believe. Each episode features various craftspeople and artists as they describe their life, their work and their craft. It’s excellent!

This is not an exhaustive list, but it is the list of things I’d recommend you check out – assuming you are in possession of a TV and a couch. And if you are, two words: lucky duck!

Since the weekly update is rather brief, I thought I’d answer a couple of questions I’ve gotten since I wrote the first FAQ about our wacky adventure.

Costa Rica Adventure FAQ 2.0

What is your beauty routine (do you fix your hair and do your make-up every day?)

This is a great question. Though I’ve never considered myself “high-maintenance” before landing here in CR, I definitely had a routine of hair and make-up and pretty much went nowhere without addressing one or both. In fact, I considered it a pretty huge deal to stop wearing make-up to the gym a couple of years ago. I never put on a full face of it, but maybe a little concealer or powder and perhaps a swipe of the mascara wand. Vain – maybe. Probably more like self-conscious.

In Costa Rica – specifically the little area we live, which is by the beach and is hot and humid all the time – my beauty routine is drastically different. Here it is: Shower at night (to cool off before bed). Wake, brush teeth, comb hair into a ponytail and if I remember, put on a little mascara and lip balm (in case we get customers, I’ve got to look nice…HA!) That’s it.

On one hand, it is super freeing. I get ready so fast, it’s crazy! And no one cares or treats me differently, of course. I’d even venture to say that this experience has made me more comfortable in my own skin – since it’s rarely anything but. Overall, it’s been very good for me.

On the flip side, when we got here, to Atenas, after our 7 hour bus journey that began at 2:30AM, we visited with Karen and Steve for a while, got the tour of the property and the explanation of duties while we we’d be here, and then I excused myself to go take a shower and get ready to go to town. I didn’t get crazy or anything, but with the lower humidity and cooler temps, I decided to put a little make-up on and even curled my hair a little – mainly to make sure I still remembered how. Again, nothing at all over-the-top, but certainly more effort than most days.

I walked out of the bathroom and Dave’s jaw dropped and he was full of compliments (which he’s always good at giving, even on no make-up days). Then when we saw Karen and Steve, Karen was visibly surprised and remarked – “Wow, you two clean-up well!” Later that evening she made another comment over dinner about hardly recognizing us after we showered. Dave told me I looked like a movie star while we ate lunch. Wow!

So the funny thing is, as much as the compliments are nice, it’s a bit of a bummer that hair and make-up make such a difference. Both in terms of how people see you as well as how you feel – or at least how I feel. Bottom line, I’ve obviously still got some work to do “being comfortable in my own skin”, but I’ve got plenty of make-up free jungle time ahead of me to get there.

I’d be remiss to not also mention Dave’s beauty routine – which hasn’t changed a bit. Men!

What do you do about haircuts?

Funny this got asked the other day, right after I’d given Dave a haircut – a first for both of us! I’d hacked up my brother’s hair a time or two with a pair of scissors, and when I was about four, I’d given our cat Sylvester a haircut, but that’s the full extent of my experience. My training comes entirely from YouTube, so you’ll understand the courage it took for Dave to hand the trimmer and scissors to me.

I was more nervous than he was. It took roughly three times longer than any haircut he’s ever had, but in the end, it looked great – if I do say so myself.

Though he offered, I will not be letting Dave near by locks with a sharp object. Right before I left Austin, I got a really good trim. And since most days every day is a ponytail day, the longer the better, I suppose. When I go home for Christmas, I will get it cut again.

Where do you buy books?

Dave and I are both huge readers. In fact, for most of our marriage, our Sunday routine included a visit to Barnes and Noble for some books and coffee. In Austin, that switched to Book People, and our coffee+books routine now included a scone – because they sell Quacks scones at Book People and the blueberry or current scone from Quacks is my kryptonite. YUM!

Until this point, I have been on the fence about Kindle. For fiction, Kindle is a no-brainer. But if I think I may want to underline, highlight, take notes or reference back to certain pages of a book – I definitely prefer paper. And being among books – in a library, book store, or gazing at my own shelves of them makes my heart sing. So that part of CR is a bummer. I did bring a few books with me, but most of my reading is on Kindle. And there are no Sunday book-browsing dates for the time being. But we’re adjusting.

Dave has always been a device reader – Kindle on his iPad or iPhone. He doesn’t mind and actually prefers it, so the adjustment wasn’t hard for him. He’s always been a fast reader and since he does have more time on his hands now, thankfully we have a library card through the Austin library (don’t tell them we’ve left the country) and we have been “checking out” most of our reading material. Without that, his 4+ book a week habit might force us back into the working world sooner than we’d hoped.

How do you handle living with no air conditioning? 

You know, the truth is, given the right amount of time, you can adjust to anything. It’s true. It may also require the proper attitude, but it’s possible. The first weeks were tough – for both of us. We were always somewhere between damp and drenched – depending on time of day and activity level. And unlike living in Texas, where it is actually hotter and just as humid, there is no respite. At night, we have fans that cool us, so we do get a little break then, but there is no A/C in the house, in the car, in the stores, in the restaurants.  So you adjust.

What we’ve discovered since spending time away from the coast, is that the climate in the mountains of the Central Valley is perfect. 80 or so during the day, 60 or so at night. Breezes are constant and the humidity is much lower. Even if there were AC, I can’t imagine using it. It really is perfect.

The hardest part of the no A/C thing is something I wrote about recently – moldy clothes. That sucks! After it first happened to me, someone suggesting blowing a fan on my open closet during the day. I washed and dried all my clothes, blew the fan on them daily and guess what? Mold! So like the heat and humidity, it’s something you just learn to live with. Unfortunately, I’m not there yet. In fact, a good piece of advice for anyone moving here, or planning a 10+ day visit – leave all leather at home (Dave’s wallet and belts are garbage and we are trying to save a pair of sandals). Also, don’t bring anything you really care about saving – clothing or books. They will mold – no doubt about it!

OK, enough of an update for now. If you have a burning question that I didn’t get to, let me know and I’ll be sure to get you an answer.

It should be said, that even though there are downsides to our big adventure, we have embraced all of it – the good bits and the bummers. And that’s a good life lesson, no matter where you are, how you look without make-up or how moldy your clothes are. Because the fact is, we are lucky and we are blessed and we try to remember that each and every day.

There is an Indian proverb that says, “I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man with no feet.”  To complain about and dwell on the fact that my clothes and books molded would be ignoring the fact that some people have no items to grow mold on. I must try to remember that what matters more than what you have or how you look is who you are. Next time I feel inclined to bemoan the mold, I think I will work on being the best Melissa I can be – make-up free; mold and all.

——-XO

In case you missed Week 1, Week 2, Week 3,  Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7 , Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 or Week 11 of the big Costa Rica Adventure – you might want to go back and get caught up. If you’re curious how this adventure began, check out the FAQ to cover most of your burning questions. If we missed one, leave it in the comments below and I’ll do my best to get you an answer.

Thanks for your support and for reading the blog. We hope you are enjoying the journey as much as we are. Feel free to share with your peeps – we love new readers and new friends!

If you think you might like to buy the Bed and Breakfast we are care taking this year, here is the link with all the info. And then make plans to come see this paradise for yourself!