Saturday

Without visits from our neighbors, we might get pretty lonely around here. But every day someone or another pays us a visit. Today it was Wendy first, and then Patty. Wendy stopped in to use our internet and to get a latte. Patty came by just to visit. Pop-in visits – something I wouldn’t have dreamed of back home, and if I’m being honest, wouldn’t have dreamed of welcoming either. But here, its commonplace and totally welcome. In fact, I’ve said it before, but like both of my grandmothers, I keep homemade goodies in the freezer specifically for these visits. And recently, I added my own goody – kettle corn.

Yes, it’s true. I have made a bit of a name for myself around here. It turns out I can make a pretty mean stove-top kettle corn. {My parents will be so proud!} It does take a bit of skill, but mostly patience and strong wrists. Want to know my secret technique? OK – here it is.

Put some oil in the bottom of a pan and add three kernels of corn. Once one pops, pour enough corn to just cover the bottom of the pan and then cover that thing up. Give it a shake. Grab 1/8 – 1/4 cup of sugar and get ready. Shake the pot every 30 seconds or so until the corn gets to popping (it takes a l o n g time!). Once popping, uncover the pot and quickly sprinkle the sugar over the kernels. A few pieces are likely to escape – if you have a dog or a small child, no worries – they will find the renegade popcorn. Now the pot-shaking becomes even more important. Shake every 15 seconds or so to avoid the sugar burning. Don’t just move it around a little – you’ve got to give it a really good shake. Up, down and all around! Eventually, most of the corn will have popped and that’s when you pop the lid and sprinkle the salt on. Mix it up a little (careful though – it’s HOT!) and add more salt. Ta-da! Sweet and salty popcorn, guaranteed* to make you famous amongst your neighbors! *Assuming you live somewhere where with no grocery store, movie theater or restaurants nearby.

Lest you think all I make around here is popcorn, you might be interested to know that today I also baked up a batch of plantain cornbread muffins that were pretty epic! Most everything I bake here is based on something going bad – or is about to. In this case, I wanted to make a dish with green plantains – but they ripened too quickly which led to some internet consulting. Not a ton of things to do with a ripe plantain, but the muffins were a hit, so I’ll be making those again next time I have mushy plantains on hand.

Sunday

Supermoon! The rain that started yesterday has carried on – in fits and starts. But it has not stopped me from getting some planting done. Did you know that a full moon is the best time to take a cutting from a plant and to plant a cutting? At first, it sounded a little woo-woo. But then I got a quasi-scientific explanation and it made sense. It has something to do with the gravitational pull of the moon and drawing up the energy of the plant out of the roots and into the tops of the plant. Then when you put it back into the ground, over the next few days, the energy goes back down into the roots and it has a better chance of survival.

Another tidbit I’ve learned is that aloe is super good for you. For a whole host of reasons and ailments. If you have pretty much anything going on, either slap some aloe on it, or drink some up, and you’ll be good to go. Neighbor Wendy has more aloe than any human could possibly need, so she hooked me up! I got those little guys tucked safely into the ground, gave them a drink of rain water, and crossed my fingers they’d like their new home.

Wendy’s friend Tim stopped by after a trip to San Jose, where he picked us up some laundry detergent. Score! You can’t get Tide, All, Gain, Era, etc around here. And the detergent you can get is not so good. I have adapted to most everything else here that the locals buy, but for me, detergent is a sticking point. I insist on 3 things. 1) it works, 2) it doesn’t destroy our clothes and 3) it doesn’t leave our clothes smelling like a bottle of Avon perfume that’s been aging since 1987. With the local brands, you can pick #1 OR #2, and #3 you can forget about!

Monday

Laundry detergent arrived just in time! This morning as I was getting dressed, I noticed some white stuff on a dress in my closet. Hmm, that’s odd! Tossed it into the laundry and grabbed another dress. White stuff! Upon closer inspection, I found it on most of my clothes. MOLD! My freakin’ clothes are molding! UGH!

After my initial disgust and annoyance, I washed everything up and consulted my neighbors to see about a solution. The short of it is – deal with it. This is CR – land of heat, humidity and now, daily rains. The best you can hope for is to minimize it. I am told aiming a fan at your open closet will help, so I’m going to give that a whirl and see what happens. I’ve adapted to the routine of plucking gecko eggs out from under the mattress and checking towels and shoes for spiders and scorpions, now we’ll just add a mold check to the list of new routines.

We are still trying to find the dogs a new home, and this morning we got a scare about Ladybug. We learned she was sick and needed a vet visit. Getting notes like this via text or Facebook, while I obviously appreciate knowing what’s going on, are SOOO stressful. I think I worry more about the dogs now than I ever have. I am trying to relax and let it go, but it seems like each time I chill out about them, a new note pops up and I’m back to stress overload. It’s hard to explain, but anything that’s difficult back home, is 100x more challenging when you are trying to deal with it from a foreign country.  We remain hopefully optimistic that the right people will come along who are eager to have little Ladybug and Leo in their lives! (UPDATE – Ladybug is fine!!! Her allergies flare up when her grooming is overdue and she just needed to be groomed and now she’s all better! Hooray!)

Tuesday

Dave and I spend some time every day learning Spanish. We talk to people in Spanish frequently, I read a book with some Spanish basics, we are both doing Duolingo (an awesome, FREE app that is fantastic and makes learning a language fun) and today, I tried out a class with some neighbors taught by a local woman. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I thought two hours of class might feel like drudgery, but it was terrific! The time flew by and because we weren’t allowed to speak any English, my brain had to work very hard the whole time. Immersion really is the best way to learn. We played a game where you had to write down every Spanish word you knew for five minutes. The winner got a prize and the loser had to dance in front of the class. I was pretty sure I’d be dancing, but really wanted to avoid it – so I put my head down and wrote, wrote, wrote – until the timer buzzed. Not only did I not have to dance, I got the prize! (To be fair, the contest I won was really “who can write the fastest” because I definitely don’t know more than my classmates). But I am learning and getting better every day.

Wednesday

Big rain last night! Pretty much every evening brings a rain shower now. I guess the rainy season has finally arrived. There is a terrible drought in the area – the worst on record, and while it’s been nice to have sunny days, I know the rain is needed. So we welcome it when it comes. My favorite days are those that start with sunshine, cloud up around 3 or 4pm and turn to rain showers by dinner and into the night. The lightning shows are fantastic and there’s nothing more soothing than the sound of rain on a tin roof. I love it! Plus, the temperature drops and some mornings we’ve actually woken up feeling a little cold. OK, maybe not cold. But cool – definitely cool.

Quiet day. Wendy visited and so did Patty. But still no customers yet this week – hope I remember how to make the coffee drinks!

Thursday

It’s neighbor Wendy’s birthday, so she and Tim stopped in for some birthday coffee and internet. When she left, I got busy crafting a gift for her to be ready for the dinner celebration we were headed to in the evening.

When my mom and I chatted the other day, she talked about this craft she wanted to do with driftwood and colored stones. A chakra stick. It sounded really cool and I wondered if I might be able to make a little prototype with some things I had around. Wendy is into yoga and would understand and appreciate the chakra thing, so I decided to give the project a go. When I had trouble finding seven small, smooth rocks stones of similar sizes (that’s a fun tongue twister), I searched for a new solution. I stumbled upon a small seed that seemed suitable…no, superior!, and suddenly, the charka stick took shape. (OK, the alliteration will now cease.)

The birthday dinner celebration was such fun! The Hill People (the name Dave has given those of us who share this mountain) were all there, as well as a few other neighbors. We ate, we drank, and because the owner of the restaurant is part of a band and plays the guitar, we sang!

Friday

Shopping day! Every two weeks, the Hill Ladies head to town to shop. At first I thought I had plenty of supplies, and would skip the trip this time around, but soon realized it wasn’t enough to last two weeks. Plus Jonathan, the gardener, needed more gasoline. So off we went! Try, for a moment, to imagine how different life would be for you if a quick trip to the grocery store meant a one-and-a-half hour drive, up and over two mountains, and then another hour if you wanted to go to the “good” stores and the farmer’s market.

We make a day of it, so it’s fun. But I tell you what – you get really good at making a thorough list and because you inevitably forget something, you quickly learn to make do with what you have. Time to make dinner…you don’t say, “What do we want for dinner?” You say, “Here’s what I have – so here are the options for dinner.” Thoughts like, “Mmm, I want some pizza!” are best avoided! It works – it’s just an adjustment.

Our shopping day is Friday because it’s the day the farmer’s market is open in Nicoya. But as we rounded the corner, the three of us held our breath hoping we’d see people, and evidence that the market was open. Friday was Mother’s Day in CR, and as it should be everywhere, here, Mother’s Day is a national holiday! Many things are closed, but thankfully, not the farmer’s market!

We did our shopping, enjoyed a bebida (fresh fruit drink), filled our pachingas (5 gallon gas cans) with gasolina, and headed home.  Our day began at 5:30am and it was 4 PM when we got home. We may, or may not, have stopped for a cerveza on the way home when we dropped off a pachinga for a friend. What happens on shopping days stays with the shoppers. We totally deserved a treat though!

A whole week without customers. Kind of strange after weeks of at least one customer a day. Changing of the seasons is much more subtle here. There are no significant temperature variances – as it’s pretty much 75-85 degrees all year long. The amount of daily rainfall is a marker, but so are things like the plants that are growing and the trees that are fruiting. The bananas have gone crazy (they LOVE the rainy season) and the pineapples have dried up. Running a tourist-based business, the traffic is also an indicator of the season. And based on the level of baking I’m doing, I think seasons are something you feel inside of you. Even though it’s 85 degrees, I’m in the mood to bake – fall must be coming.

Learn and adjust – that seems to be the key to serenity here. Your clothes mold – you make adjustments. You crave pizza – you learn to stop having that craving. You want to be a better neighbor – you work harder on learning the language (and you perfect your kettle corn).

This adventure has been one of constant stretching and growth. It’s not always easy and whether you want to or not, you learn a vast amount about yourself. I used to think people don’t/can’t really change. But I know better now. I am not the same person I was when I got here. I am much more adaptable that I ever imagined I could be. I enjoy cooking. My previously black thumb is now greening up a bit. And when the rooster crows at 4:45 AM, I’m more ready than I’ve ever been to greet the day and all the adventures it will bring.

———–xo

In case you missed Week 1, Week 2, Week 3,  Week 4, Week 5, Week 6 or Week 7 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 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!