Saturday

Perhaps one of the best surprises about life in Costa Rica is how rich our social life is.  The other day I counted, and our neighbor/friend count was already over 20. It’s remarkable! And tonight, we, and a dozen or so other friends are invited to a party hosted by pals Hank and Marie. We’re all bringing a dish and because I’ve been eager to make lemon bars, I offered to bring dessert. Not sure that was the best idea, but I don’t have a “go-to dish” that I like to bring, so dessert seemed safe. I have always envied those people who make some delicious recipe and they never have to think about what to bring. They just know – I better bring that (chocolate cake, bean dip, coleslaw, whatever) or people will be disappointed. Are you one of those people? If so, please share your recipe! 🙂

When I said I’d bring dessert, Marie mentioned a chocolate cake recipe made with garbanzo beans another friend, Marilyn makes. I asked her to give me the recipe and said I’d take a stab at it – for those crazy people who aren’t as mad about lemon desserts as I am.

If you are wondering, as I was, why a cake would have beans in it, you’ll be interested to know the beans take the place of flour.  The lemon was definitely my favorite, but the chocolate cake turned out great and I made a little chocolate-peanut butter frosting that added a nice touch.

The party was a blast. We ate, we drank, we talked and laughed.  In English, Spanish and French. The food was wonderful – but like any great dinner party, the conversation, sharing and connection were the stars of the evening.  Reflecting afterward, I was struck by something sad. I thought about how often I wanted to get people together, but didn’t because…my house was a mess, I didn’t know what to cook, I was tired, or a multitude of other lame excuses. I traded in an evening surrounded by my friends with conversation flowing for the worry that it wouldn’t be good enough. Silly! I won’t make that choice again.

Sunday

We headed to the beach today for a walk and for some shopping for craft supplies at Playa Mart – where you’ll find low, low prices, everyday! Free, really. OK, the truth is, Playa Mart is the name some friends have given the beach where you can find terrific shells, interesting driftwood, all sorts of seeds which can be turned into cool crafts. A quick consult with Pinterest will show you tons of great ideas for turning driftwood into art. But if you know me, and my history with Pinterest, you will know most of my projects either never get made, or don’t exactly turn out as intended.  It doesn’t stop me from trying!

When we returned home, we had a visit from Nelson, the man who helped Edmund build this place. He was here to help Dave figure out what is wrong with the septic system up at the cabins. (I know, not exactly the most glamorous part of running a B&B). Which is precisely why I stayed out of their way. Only the glamorous stuff for me, please!

Monday

Jonathan was here and we started the day with a little planting. He and I planted some beans and squash from seeds a few weeks back and before the little plants had a chance to turn into much of anything at all, the darn chickens helped themselves to all of it. How rude! I swear, the chickens think I plant the vegetables just for them, much like the monkeys think the papaya, mangos and bananas are some sort of all-you-can-eat fruit buffet.

There is no reasoning with the monkeys (trust me, Dave tried), but the chickens now have a fence around their delicious veggie seedlings, so they are totally bummed out. The spinach isn’t looking so hot, but the beans we planted are already getting going.

I decided to take a stab at making coconut oil today. Our neighbor makes it, and I’ve seen a few YouTube videos and determined it was a manageable task. This is where I would share the details of how you too, could make your own coconut oil, but if you’re crazy enough to think it sounds fun, you’ll probably want directions that lead to a successful final product. Check back next week, as I try again! If my life here/this blog were a TV show, my outtake reel is definitely bigger than the usable footage. So it goes.

We learned our neighbor Wendy has Dengue Fever. She travelled to the Caribbean side of CR nearly a week ago and figures that’s where she got the infection. It’s transmitted by mosquitos, and more densely populated areas and those with poor sewer systems are most profoundly impacted.  Dengue is not something to take lightly. It’s rare that it will kill someone, but with the nickname “Break-Bone Disease”, it will make you miserable. High fever, outrageous body aches (making you feel like your bones are breaking), nausea, debilitating headaches and then once the fever breaks, an itchy rash covers your body. It’s the pits! And Wendy lives alone, so Patty, Marie and I agreed to take turns making the trip up the mountain to check on her, bring her smoothies and a wretched smelling and tasting juice made from young leaves of the papaya tree, which locals and naturalists claim shortens the duration of the illness. One whiff of that stuff and I seriously hope it’s doing something good, because it’s nasty!

While I was up the mountain delivering the papaya-potion-laced smoothie, Dave was back home with neighbor Hank trying to repair the septic with Hank’s plumber’s snake. The two of them worked for quite a while, pulling mysterious root matter out of the pipes. Roots aren’t supposed to be in pipes, which probably doesn’t surprise you. But in a country where the fence posts quickly turn into trees, it’s not at all shocking that the roots muscled their way in. The jungle will not be held back! After much work, it was determined that it’s time to bring out the big guns. We’ll have to borrow a professional-grade snake from another neighbor and hope to get a temporary fix so the cabins can be back open for business.

Tuesday

Dave and I started the day with a hike up the mountain to the very top, where there is an abandoned house built by a guy with a huge reputation in the area who is now back in the US, at least temporarily. The house is now owned by the investor whose money was used to build it, and several other projects in the area. The guy is adored by many people, but seems to have as many foes as fans. A love him or leave him kind of guy. I’ve never met the man, but after all the folklore, I hope to someday. Well, maybe. I can tell you this – his property is pretty cool, but his ocean view – spectacular!

On the way home, we stopped in to check in on Wendy who pretty much hasn’t left her bed since Sunday. She is not well. And the papaya remedy is making her gag. {No doubt! I gagged just making it – though I kept this little tidbit to myself. Poor thing!}

The official dish of Costa Rica is Gallo Pinto, and after 5 weeks here, I decided it was high time to take a stab at making it. Essentially just beans and rice – pretty hard to mess up. Cooking dry beans takes time and planning, as does most all cooking here. Dave declared my version of the dish a success. Next time I will get more creative and once I perfect the recipe, I will share it.

Wednesday

More smoothies went up the mountain this morning. The patient is still sick, but perhaps feeling just a tiny bit better.

Back home, I made some ceviche, which we’ll have for dinner since the fish is supposed to sit a minimum of four hours in the lime juice. While we waited, I got busy doing some crafting with my new driftwood. A friend is having a birthday Thursday, and in case you haven’t figured it out, there is no popping out to the store to get a gift.

I found a piece of wood that looked cool, then I found a small driftwood branch and a rock that looked like a bird. Sounds cool so far, right? I affixed the branch to the wood and then placed the bird on the branch. I painted him a bit, in the hopes of making him more birdlike. In all my wisdom, I then decided to write a lovely French quote on the wood, for the French birthday girl. That’s where this craft went off the rails. The paint bled. So I tried again. And again. And again! And then I gave up and decided to paint her a picture with my watercolors I brought along. The first attempt was not cute. But when I decided to paint a whimsical Marion (birthday girl) as a mermaid, the result wasn’t atrocious. I cut the mermaid out, and stuck her onto a flat piece of driftwood, and voila! A gift that, do doubt, will go on to be a family heirloom. {Much like the Christmas ornaments I made from pom-poms and Milk Bone dog biscuits which I sold, door-to-door in our apartment when I was eight. Keepers, for sure!}

Thursday

We hadn’t had guests for a few days, so were a bit surprised to see a car pull in this morning. It was a couple from Switzerland and when we asked where they were headed, we learned they were actually neighbors. We enjoyed chatting with them for over an hour about topics all over the map. They promised to invite us up to their place soon, which we look forward to.

Next, a family of four pulled up to the cafe. Fun! They were from Berlin, but currently living in the Netherlands. The Swiss couple chatted them up in German for a bit, but thankfully, everyone also spoke English. The neighbors went on their way, but the family stayed for a few hours and ordered smoothies, coffee and breakfast. The young boys had a chance to help Dave let the chickens out, which they seemed to enjoy and they even took advantage of the swimming pool. We chatted about yoga, travel, running a B&B and perceptions about Americans. I was happy the impressions were generally positive. I find it such a gift to be able to talk with people from all over the world, and on any given day, there’s no way of knowing who will show up.

At noon, I headed out for the ladies’ luncheon, in honor of Marion’s birthday. There were 11 of us total, and we had a great time eating, chatting and dancing! We even had a sing-along. One of the local guys came through and had his guitar so he stopped to play a few songs. When he began playing John Lennon’s Imagine, we all joined in. It’s a moment that gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. We were a mix of women from France, Spain, Costa Rica and the US and spontaneously, we each began to sing along, in our native tongue. It was like living in a freakin’ Coca-Cola commercial! Joking aside, it was a truly beautiful moment.

The birthday celebration carried on into the evening, where husbands/boyfriends and other guests were also invited for dinner and dancing. Another lovely evening with our global circle of friends. The Swiss couple were there and though most everyone surprised us with their incredible dancing abilities, the Swiss pair stole the show. I am secretly hoping we might talk them into giving us some dance lessons. I wonder how many cappuccinos equates to an hour of dance lessons? Come to think of it, the amount of work Dave and I need – there may not be enough coffee in Costa Rica to pay our debt.

Friday

Another walk on the beach (and more shopping at Playa Mart) is how we spent our morning. When we returned, we had a visit from Hans – who is the real estate agent who is working on selling the bed and breakfast here in CR. We had a nice visit and learned a bit about how the real estate business works here. My initial impression that it was rather “wild, wild, West-like” turned out to be an accurate summation. There are no license requirements, no MLS (a system where all properties are listed) and it’s difficult or impossible to get an idea of real value as everything is for sale and everyone think their place is worth, perhaps, more than what it really is. Sometimes, a lot more. Best I can tell, price is determined by the motivation level of the seller. If someone loves their house, they will still tell you it’s for sale – as long as you offer the right price. And unlike Austin, where a home that is on the market for three weeks leaves people wondering what’s wrong with it, here, it’s not unusual for something to sit on the market for years. It’s a whole different game here. But we’re learning, and listening and paying attention.

Hans headed out, and just a few moments later a car pulled up with three young people looking for accommodations. Terrific! Though the cabins are out of commission for now, we do have one room in the main house to rent and after a quick look around, they decided they wanted it. They were a lot of fun to have around. It was a couple, from San Jose and the third guy was from Lebanon. The two guys had met in France while doing a program for school and now the guy from Lebanon was in CR for 6 months working with the organization the CR guy started. Here is the website, if you are interested.

The Costa Rican couple was very informative and we got into some interesting discussions about traffic and smog in San Jose, the best beaches in CR, a difficult, but rewarding hike up the highest mountain. We even tapped into topics like car repair and international entrepreneurship. After the conversation, even Dave was starting to marvel at the powerful connection you can make with a stranger. After spending two years having a weekly conversion with a stranger, it was less of a surprise for me. But in general, I find each and every conversation offers its own surprises, and the openness most people offer is truly remarkable.

The entire week was full of deep connection and celebration – both with total strangers as well as with friends who just a month ago were strangers. Dave and I have embraced this new life of ours, where we keep the coffee maker on and a nice variety of baked goods in the freezer. Because here, at any given moment, friends may arrive – both those you already know as well as those you’re just now meeting. At our house, a stranger is just a friend we haven’t met yet, and here, everyone is welcome!

In case you missed Week 1, Week 2, Week 3  or Week 4 of the big Costa Rica Adventure – you might want to go back and get caught up. If you’re curious how this adventure began, we created a 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 friends!