Day 11 - Rainy Season Sets In!!!

After we all left Hotel Caleja today, Thomas and I ended up going down to the beach. Olivia and Anna decided to head back to the house. It was raining, but nothing that would keep the Schiffers away.

Thomas and I spent about an hour at the beach before heading back to the house. On our way back, I took some pictures of the road. Amazing the amount of water that comes down from the mountain. Since everything is above us, we naturally get all the run off here in Cabuya.

Looks like we are in for a wet season......

Day 11 - Relaxing at Hotel Caleja

Reminds Anna of Number 5 from Short Circuit

Today was to be a day of rest. The kids slept in the longest this morning since coming to Costa Rica. Olivia was the last one to awake. She rose at around 9am this morning. Anna had breakfast ready for everyone. Rosa the housekeeper even had some papas with us after she arrived . Not sure what the day would hold, we didn’t really have a schedule.

This picture is 4'-5' x10'-12'. Pretty big.

We lollygagged around for another hour and then looked to going to Montezuma for the afternoon. We got our things together and headed down to the bus station to catch the bus at 11:15am. Understand that is 11:15am Costa Rican time. At 11:50pm we simply started walking toward Montezuma and found our way to Hotel Caleja. We figured we would sit a spell, have a beer and wait for the bus there. On our way I took a picture of one of the local power meters. I call it a “Costa Rican Circuit Breaker”. Couldn’t resist….Haha!! With all the wet weather it just totally baffled me. None of the electrical wires on poles here are insulated either. No wonder there are so many outages.

Can you tell Mama's happy?

When we arrived at the hotel, Marco, the caretaker greeted us. We proceeded to introduce ourselves and then immediately ordered a cerveza. It was hot, what can I say! We met his wife, Corolla, a couple days prior. The hotel property was beautiful. When you walked into the main area it opened up to a bar/restaurant area facing a pool. The covered area’s ceiling was covered with some local made artwork. Burlap sacks painted with various art covered the entire circumference. My favorite was one of several birds, mainly portraying a toucan.

Caught in mid-air!! 

Cadush, a little Jack-Russell with tons of energy was quick to come out and make himself known once we sat down. Olivia and Thomas immediately became good friends with Cadush. We popped a squat and let the kids play with the dog. We were right by the street, so you could basically hear if a bus “were” to come. “No problem”, I stated to Anna, “If I hear the bus come, I’ll run out and hold it.” Holding a bus out here is quite common and is most likely the cause of some of the delays we have heard about.

After a while we all got a bit hungry and decided to order some lunch. “No problem, if the bus comes we can get the food to go.” I said. We ordered another round of Imperials. The kids decided to cool off in the pool before eating and were having a great time at the newly found splash pad. Still no bus. Not yet. It was now around 1pm. No worries we thought. The next bus scheduled to pass by was to be around 1:15. “Order another round sweety. I’ll keep my eyes out for the bus.”, I told Anna.

The tree has literally 7 separate roots going. The branch spanned around 20'.

Needless to say at around 3:45pm we decided the bus was not ever going to come and we didn’t actually care. “Pura Vida” = Pure Life is the saying down here. It means Enjoy the Day! We definitely enjoyed the day. The kids liked the down time and had a ball swimming at the pool.

Click on the picture and you can really see the thorns.

The two above tree were some that were on the property where we spent the afternoon. If you check out the first tree, you will notice that it is growing horizontally. The second tree is one mean mother. The spikes are hard and cover the entire tree. Don't see to many of these back in the Carolinas.

Day 11 - Coffee with the Misses

Started out the day with a nice 3 mile run out to the nature preserve this morning at 6am. Got back, showered off and hit the pool for a nice cool down. I was in the pool for around 15 minutes when the natives started to arise. Anna came down and sat with me at the pool for a bit with some coffee.

Reflecting back on prior days, we decided to post some additional pictures that we both enjoyed.

Nice nature shot near cemetary island.

Thomas' found this guy and shot the picture. These litte guys blend in so well. The picture doesn't show its true vibrant green. It almost lucks to be a neon green in the sunlight.

We have come to know this as the Costa Rican or Cabuyan Road Kill. Small fiddler crabs come down from the mountains to lay their eggs by the beach. The other day as I was running and I thought it was raining. The drops of water were hitting the leaves and the noise was all around me. Funny thing was, I was not getting wet. The sound was not of rain, but of fiddler crabs running under the fallen dead leaves. As I stopped to finally look, there were hundreds, if not thousands around me.

Here are a couple of pictures of the local flora. I wish everyone could really see for themselves how abundant this country is with the diversity of flora. The country side is blooming all around us and we keep discovering new flowers and blooms.

I really like the above one. You can really appreciate it when you look at it up close. Try expanding the picture.

Inside of a banyan. This is such an amazing tree species. I can only imagine the age of this tree.

Costa Rican "Beware of Dog" Sign. This one is even customized to include the dog's name, "Bravo".

Day 10 – Christine’s Place for some Smoothies

Smoothies on the house for everyone!!! Oh, were only ones here…make it four smoothies for just us then. “Smoothies con(with) agua or con leche?”, Christine asked. “Con agua, por favor”, we responded. Christine is of course the phenomenal smoothie maker.  Anna got a Sandia y Fresa (Watermelon & Strawberry) and the rest of us got the usual, Pinas, Naranjo y Limon (Pineapple, Orange & Lemon).

The kids also decided that a piece of chocolate cake would be a nice reward after all the walking. As if the smoothies weren’t enough. A few eyelash bats later and Olivia had me suckered into a piece of cake. Anna and I each had a pita type bread filled with jamon(ham), queso (cheese) and ceballo (onion). Pretty darn tasty if I say so myself. I could have eaten two of them.

Headed back to the house after lunch and played in the pool for about an hour. Thomas got in one of the hammocks and quickly jumped out after he noticed he was nestled up to one of the local residents, a black scorpion. The scorpion was around three inches long. Needless to say, both of kids now are checking the hammocks before hopping in.

We headed to where the fishermen tie up their boats at night, near Cemetary Island. We strolled out amongst the rocks and hunted for shells. We ran into a couple from New York that just arrived last night. Eric and Jenny had the same idea we did, shell hunting. We conversed for some time and then parted ways. They are here for eight days, so I’m sure we will run into them at one of the local sodas .

Found two different types of crabs. One was a blue crab, the other we will have to find out what type it is. Each were fairly good size. I think we may go back in the next couple of days and collect some of the blue crabs for dinner. Since we ran into quite a bit of them, I’m thinking we will have a pretty good amount of crab meat.

We left the beach a little after 6pm and stopped at the bakery on the way home. Picked up a couple pieces of chocolate cake and some other items yet to be tasted.

Day 10 - Playing with Flower the Pizote at Rainsong

Flower the Pizote and Milagro ("Miracle" in Spanish) the Howler Monkey. Anna is talking to the girl volunteers about ant bites. Watch how cute this little Pizote is.

The Schiffers family along with the volunteer cast of Gary, Anna, April and Stephanie.

Day 10 – Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary

The Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary is a non-profit wildlife refuge about 2km from the house. It is run by a lady name Mary and manned by a host of volunteers from around the globe.  As we entered into the front entrance of Rainsong, I called out “Hola” (Hello). I was quickly greeted by Gary, a middle aged man volunteering now for about 8 months. He is over from the UK for his second tour of volunteering here at the sanctuary.

After being greeted by Gary he asked if any of us had on insect repellent. All of us did except for Thomas. Little man must have known something we didn’t know this morning. Since, we had on the repellent we could not touch any of the animals.. Most all of the animals touch and lick just about everything, so through touching our chemicals would make the animals sick.

You would have thought that Thomas won the Lottery! He is doing something that sister can’t do today. “Ohhh.. Yeah!”, he says. First up, we meet Tarzan the capuchin monkey. Feisty little monkey that lost its arm when it was just a juvenile after a dominant male monkey tried to kill it and all the other offspring in the troop. When a new male takes over a pack it kills all the new offsprings and reproduces with all the females. Tarzan was fortunate to get away. And yes…..only Thomas got to “Touch the Monkey”.

Next Thomas got into a cage with a Keel-Billed Toucan, also known as a Rainbow-Billed Toucan. This guy was more colorful than Toucan-Sam! The bill of this bird was like a palette of pastels you would only find at Easter. Simply striking. Thomas proceeded to pet this bird as you would do a cat. It purred and gurgled as he stroked its head.

The “Crème de la Resistance” of the visit was definitely meeting Flower, the Pizote. When Flower was three weeks old she was attacked by a hawk. The claws literally ripped off a lot of its scalp and messed up its ears a bit. It has been at the sanctuary now for about two months and is doing fine. The volunteers did a great job in nursing it back to health. We were fortunate to be able to spend 15 minutes playing with the little girl. Flower took a fondness to Thomas and used him like a jungle gym. We were sad to leave her.

Gary introduced us to a couple more animals before we headed out for lunch. Again!!

Day 9 - Unwelcomed Guests

Just as we were winding down here at around 9pm, a scorpion casually strolled on by in front of us. Would not have been so bad, but we were winding down in the living room. Olivia was not too pleased. I think she now going to be a bit more observant of the floor. The advice here is always check your shoes before putting them on. Not only do the scorpions like that dwelling, but tarantulas do too.

Last night, before jumping in the pool we kept noticing something was moving in the water. It was a small field mouse. It must have fallen in and could not get back out. We managed to do a small rodent rescue operation with the pool net. Beside the mouse, we have had several crabs get in the pool. Apparently someone on the island told the crabs that the Schiffers throw a rockin' pool party.

Day 9 – Heading to the River

After the troops woke up this morning we all readied ourselves for a walk to the river . The closet rio (river) is Rio Lajas and it is located about 1.5 miles from the casa (house). In the rainy season, the locals say the river can rise fast and it would easily take you away. Luckily it has not rained the last two days, so the water level was rather low.

We crossed the river bridge and went along a path leading to the beach.  Figured we would get salty first and then fresh later. Fifty meters down the path and we were on the beach. The view as usual was breathtaking. We were the only ones on the beach and no one was in sight in either direction. A couple of minutes on the beach and we were greeted by two perros (dogs). They would accompany us for several hours. We all looked for shells and rocks as we strolled towards Montezuma. I looked on the ground to the distance and saw something that looked to be a skull. At first I thought I was mistaken, but as I got closer, it truly was a skull. Ended up that it was a skull of a Howler Monkey. We were all amazed and thought it to be a great beach find.

Walked about another kilometer when we ran into a local, Andy, who teaches yoga, does massages, and teaches surfing to the locals. He came over from Mal Pais to do some surfing this morning with two of his buddies. We chatted a bit and off we went again. We explored for about another kilometer before we headed back towards the road. Tide was coming in so it was much easier to walk back to the river via the road.  

Thirty minutes later and we were back at Rio Lajas. Everyone was ready for a swim to knock the sweat off. The floor of the river is nothing more than time worn smooth rock. Throw in some sand here and there along with a few stones and pebbles, you get the idea. The rolling miniature waterfalls on the large rock formations created pools at the river bottom. The water temperature was great. It was a well needed cooling off to the beach walk.

Thomas met a little local guy named Houston, 13, who was there with his family enjoying the day. Olivia, Anna and I lounged in the pools as Thomas played with Houston. We splashed there for at least 1 ½ to 2 hours. It was about 2:00pm and we all decided to head up to the bakery and grab some lunch. Figured it would take us a half hour to walk there. Hoped they would still be serving lunch.

Hot tomales!! They were still open. You got love the sodas here. Always opened and ready to serve. Because this is the off season (rainy season), we typically have the run of the place. Having said that, it does not mean you are getting the fastest service because you are the only one there. Quite to the contrary. We ordered and the husband ended up having to drive to the store to get some provisions to make our meal. Thank goodness the store was only about 300 yards down the road. No doubt this meal would be delicious.

Prior to getting our meal Thomas and Olivia both ordered some fruity drinks. Olivia got a freshly squeezed lemonade. Thomas got an unbelievable Pinas, Naranja Y Limon (Pineapple, Orange and Lemon) Smoothie. Hands down one of the best smoothies I have ever had. You could literally taste the freshness. I think Thomas was hoping this smoothie glass was bottomless. I will definitely have one of these myself tomorrow.

Anna and I both got fish platters. Hers was fried and mine was grilled and then topped with a Salsa. We both shared the dishes that both came with a ensalad (salad) and papas (potatoes). The salsa dish was voted the favorite of the two. Thomas and Olivia each had a soup. Olivia ordered vegetable and Thomas got the pollo (chicken) soup.

One of the neighbors, Tim, came up and introduced himself to us after we finished our dinner. He and his wife, Valerie, just recently purchased a shack 50 meters down the road about 9 months ago. He is a 6^th grade teacher from Santa Barbara and is down for the summer with his wife and two daughters.

I’m sure we will be seeing them quite regularly as this is such small place and the bakery is almost like a meeting hall. Case in point, we saw Corolla, a caretaker at one of the other hotels, as we were leaving. She was getting fresh bread for breakfast for her patrons. 

Day 9 - Just waking up

Earlier this morning I found a good site with an interactive map, description of wildlife and general information on our region. I know some of you have been emailing or commenting as to where exactly we are.

Click on the link:   http://www.nicoyapeninsula.com/general/map.php

Once you click on the link above it will pull up a map. On the southern tip you will see Cabo Blanco. It is the nature reserve. If you look right next to it going northeast, you will see Cabuya.

Click on the link to see a map of Cabuya: http://nicoyapeninsula.com/montezuma/cabuya-montezuma.php

Our house is directly next to #10 El Coyote (Cafe Coyote)

Day 8 - Onto the Bakery

Anna made spaghetti sauce earlier this morning. So all we needed now was the pasta and some bread. Pasta is covered, but we we’re lacking the bread. Luckily, there is a bakery down the road. We meet but also a piece of chocolate cake. For the kids, of course. We decided to eat the cake at the bakery. She seated us at a table in the back of the bakery outside. Quaint spot with about 3 tables. The cake was the BOMB!!! I am not a big chocolate cake fan, but this would definitely convert me.

After demolishing the cake we headed down the road to where the local fishermen sell their catch. There is a small island across the beach that has a cemetery on it. When the tide is low you can venture out and walk over to it. Low tide here is around 5pm. We managed to make it this evening. The walk across to the island was awesome. The kids thought it was pretty awesome as well. Olivia was a little wigged out thinking the tide may come back in before we managed to get back across.

Many of the locals  view the cemetery as a very spiritual place. We tried to treat it with respect as well. If I had to be buried somewhere, this would not be a bad place to reside. It is quiet, serene and peaceful on the island. We will definitely come back at sunrise and enjoy much more time here.

Day 8 – Day of the Lizards

Time to return the car. Today was to be our last day with a vehicle for quite some time. Needed to take one last advantage of that. We determined the best would be to drive back to Cobano (about 30 minute drive) and hit the bank and main grocery store.

Went to Banco Nacional first to exchange some money into the local currency, the colon. 500 colones (sounds like “co-loan-ez”) equals $1. Banco Nacional was like any other bank, with granting one way in and one way out. But, it only let one patron in or out at a time. You had to walk into a small chamber, which the front and back were really thick electronic glass doors. Once inside, it would either grant you access in or open to the outside. This bank is the main bank on the Northern tip where we are staying so it was the focal point of the town. You can bet your bottom dollar all currency moved one way or another through this bank. Because we are in the middle of nowhere, the currency exchange rate is to the advantage to the merchants. All the merchants except American dollars, but the value may be anywhere from 445 – 490 colones to the dollar.

The MegaSuper is the only real supermarket in about a 40km or 1 ½ hour distance to us. Their MegaSuper is like the Piggly without the Wiggly. However, it lets us purchase items like cold whole milk and wine. Not really available out where we are at in Cabuya. We have a very small market without the Mega selection. Super David does carry all the necessities though. We packed the back of the RAV4 with the groceries and headed to Cabuya. I needed to get on my way to return the car.

My navigator and I headed out to Tambor at 12:30pm this afternoon to put the RAV4 back in the stable. Hats off to the Toyota, because it drove like a dream. Took a pounding and will be surprised if it has any shocks left. As we were almost out of Cabuya, we stopped to take a picture of one gigantic tree. Not sure what the name of this tree is, but will definitely do some research. It was absolutely beautiful. Bustling with life all around it, we noticed some bats took refuge in some of its hollows. I took a picture of Thomas standing by it so everyone can see the true size of the base of the tree.

We drove along the coast and stopped once or twice to take some pictures. It was just a perfect day today. The sun was out in full force today and to our knowledge no rain in sight.

Tambor is a small town about an hour from Cabuya (sounds like “Ka-boo-ya”). The Toyota car rental was another 3 to 4 kilometers out of town at an all-inclusive beach resort called Barcelo. We arrived at Barcelo at around 2pm. We dropped off the car and decided to look around. We found out the bus back to Montezuma would not come until 3:30, so we had some time to kill. We walked around Barcelo and viewed the native Garros (Lizards) and Iguanas. Thomas was actually able to get about two feet away from healthy size Garro. The Iguanas here are extremely large. We saw several that with their tails, extended 4 feet.

At around 2:30 we ventured to the front of Barcelo and started to wait for the bus. I know, I know. I said 3:30 the bus would come (theoretically). Everything here is on island time, so we definitely did not want to miss this bus. Thomas got tired of waiting pretty quickly so we decided to start walking back to the main town of Tambor. We figured we would either pick up the bus in town or catch it on the way in while we were walking. After about a mile, a local taxi stopped and I was able to barter a pretty cheap fare. AC kicking, we enjoyed the 45 minute shuttle back home.