Machetes, oh my

The top photos is one of my favorite things about Costa Rican hardware stores. You can buy machetes of all sizes. Very useful here, where electricity is costly, and importing tools from the U.S. can mean paying a lot extra in taxes.



The next photo is at the same hardware store. I found it very amusing that you could buy spurs there. Right next to them were bits for reins. Lots of horses and cattle here. I´ll miss it all when I go.



And finally, there is a picture of the bar in the restaurant. We just finished sanding and sealing the flat part of the bar. It was a long week, but I am so proud of Alex and Tonio for their hard work. This will be an inforgettable couple of months for them.



OK, time to catch the bus back to La Legua. Hasta luego.

Work day at the ranch

Antonio and Alex are using electric sanders. I promise you that we prefer these to hand sanding! Glad that the Week of Sanding is ovah.

There are volunteer ambulances here, hence the Red Cross sign.

Fires to burn brush or household garbage are common. This fire was on our road, unattended. This is also common. I saw a fire in a public park and young kids went up to examine it, no adults around. Very interesting, and not likely something you´d see in the States!

And finally, a random picture (aren´t they all?) of mi arbol favorito, my favorite tree. Speaking Spanish almost all day makes me want to teach Spanish when I have enough time back home. Such a great thing it is to be able to talk freely with people here!

The restaurant

The top three photos were taken in Rancho Montezumo´s restaurant/bar, and the bottom one was taken in Puriscal. The flower is a hibiscus, and they are everywhere right now. You can also see lots of bougainvillea. So pretty.

Jose and Leticia work seven days a week, and almost never take a vacation. I admire their dedication.

We tried some homamade wine today, which they call chicha (the same as in Peru). It was sweet and strong, and tasted a little like corn. It wasn´t bad for moonshine! They can´t sell it in the bar at Montezumo, but they can use it as a mixer for other drinks, like whiskey. Jose told me he would teach me how to make it. Too funny.

We eat our meals in the restaurant on the weekends since that is where Leticia and Jose spend all their time. One of their patrons surprised me by taking a close look at my blonde hair and being openly flirtacious with the American volunteers. Not my scene, though I was amused that he thought it was perfectly fine to think of my hair as a kind of science experiment.

Alex and Tiago are below, fishing for tilapia in the pond on the property.

Part of a mural, above, at the University for Peace in El Rodeo, near Ciudad Colon.

Stripping bark

The top photos show Antonio and Alex stripping bark by hammering the logs. We also used a machete, which was great for the drier logs.

The middle picture shows Antonio spreading out the raw coffee beans to dry in the sun: The views of the surrounding mountains are gorgeous!

The bottom phot shows us in the kitchen, just before lunch. Leticia cooks three meals a day, with rice and beans (Gallo Pinto) present at every meal. Leticia uses produce from her garden, and the food is delicious. She makes her own cheese from the milk the cows here on the farm yield. Antonio and I have both milked the cows, which is fun and not too hard to do!

First days at Rancho Montezumo

We had a wonderful welcome by a half dozen or so interns who came to Rancho Montezumo from Rancho Mastatal, where we originally were headed. They told us about the projects there and invited us to come visit. We may do that, though it is a bit expensive since we´ll have to pay to stay overnight (due to the bus schedule). We´ll keep it in mind.

We work from 6 am until noon Monday through Friday, and the work varies from somewhat physical to very laid-back and easy. The family who lives there is very interested in learning English, so I will take time to teach them. One of the other volunteers at Montezumo, Emilia, has loaned me books so that will help a lot. There is another volunteer, also American, who is so cool (they both are amazing) and who told me a little bit about growing up as a Mennonite missionary in Cote dIvoire, western Africa. She has had an interesting life! It seems like every traveller I´ve met here has an incredible story to tell.

The kids and I start the day at the cow barn, where the two milk cows are milked. Today I got my chance, and although I did it slowly I thought it all came out fine. The trick is to move fast if the animal starts to make a mess. It´s an interesting balance! We had cheese this morning made from their milk, and it tasted like mozzarella. The food is plentiful, fresh, and delicious, all made by Leticia with some help from Emilia and Maria Laura.

The views knock your socks off. We saw the beautiful Costa Rican foothills as we took the bus to Puriscal, and it´s amazing to see how the mountain drops off, just at the edge of the road. Driving here is not for the faint of heart.

Antonio is very happy now that he was loaned an English book, one from the Twilight series. We should have brought more books with us! Alex was just befriended by a drunk kid who asked him for money.

Everything here is just a little bit slower. It is good to come with a lot of patience and expect that things won´t go exactly as you think they will. You can meet some very relaxed and happy people.

Heading to Rancho Montezumo

We're at the University for Peace again, and our friend, Charles, will soon be driving us the hour-long drive over the mountain to Puriscal. He and his wife have been extraordinarily kind to us, hosting us and filling us in on how the country works. They were happy to hear that we are enjoying ourselves and would consider spending more time here in the future. Alex thinks this place is Eden. Antonio would be happy to head home, but he's making the best of limited internet access and not having his laptop. It's very good for him, and I can see positive changes in him. In all of us, really. Our friends' calm demeanor has a good effect on us. they are Quakers, and I learned a little bit about their beliefs when some new Quaker friends came to visit.

While we were doing errands in Escazu, near San Jose, yesterday, my friends' car had some trouble, so we took it to a locksmith. Half of his key got stuck in the ignition, and a locksmith patiently worked on it for more than an hour. He only charged about 5,000 colones (about $10 U.S.) but my friend paid him extra, saying he did excellent work. That's the kind of person he is. I am so grateful that my kids have gotten to know Charles and Chris.

Alex looked at guitars at an obnoxiously overpriced mall in Escazu. He tried a few guitars then decided they just weren't worth it, since the sound quality was bad. We'll look to borrow one once we're in Puriscal, or perhaps we can find a better one at a better price. Not sure how that will turn out.

Once I'm in Puriscal, it will be much harder to update my blog, so entries may be more sporadic. I'm hoping the internet cafe won't be as far away as I've heard, but we shall see. Time to load up the car. Ciao!

Sunset from El Roble

Beautiful sunsets here! Antonio took this picture as we were walking home from the internet cafe at 5:00.

The days are 12 hours long here, and it is comfortable to walk around in shorts. I think this may have to become a yearly trip, ha. If only!

The mountains are stunning in the Central Valley. Everywhere you look there is a gorgeous sight. No wonder so many tourists come, and so many people are moving here.

Tour above Piamonte

This is a Hass avocado, growing on a tree that was only about 2 1/2 feet tall.

Elver is the property manager for Piamonte, where our friends are hosting us. Elver took Carlos and me on a tour of the upper part of the property and showed us a coffee plant, whose red berries are ripe and ready for harvesting and subsequent roasting. The second photo shows the berries inside, which are surounded by a sweet substance that makes harvesting a ticky prospect. I tasted them and they were so sweet!

We also saw grenadinas (third photo from the top) which are like pomegranates, lima beans and tomates en palo, or stick tomatoes, which had a sweet and brilliant explosion of tastes. The fowers are so bright and beautiful, and are blooming in spite of not having had a soaking rain for many weeks.

The mist that occasionally falls is known as pelo de gato, or cat´s hair!

Costa Rican flowers and plants

The top photo shows an orchidand next comes one that my mother would know (I can´t remember the name!).

The sign is at University for Peace, where Kofi Annan planted the flowering bush.

I think the next flower is a hibiscus, and the bottom photo is baby red bananas.

Arco iris! (rainbow!)

The cold front from the United States brought clouds and mist and rainbows everywhere you looked. The winds hit 70 kilometers per hour, or about 50 mph, and it felt like a hurricane at times. Really wild, but the beauty that accompanied it was fabulous.

Jose's chairs

These two beautiful Adirondack chairs sit on my friends' porch. Jose painted traditional designs on them, and they are stunning.

La Trucheria (Trout fishing)

We went trout fishing (or more appropriately, Antonio did), and they fried the fish for us. Antonio didn´t have luck on this particular day, but he caught four trout in 45 minutes the following morning!

Loro (parrot)

This is a parrot on the property where we´re staying for two weeks. He likes to say hola and favorito. And he loves having his neck scratched!

Rancho Montezumo, Puriscal

This is where we´ll be staying while we´re at the ranch. The top photo is one of the spectacular views. It took my breath away to see the ranch.

A hike up a 1000 meter foothill

We hiked for about 45 minutes with some of the grad students at the University for Peace. The view was amazing, and we learned a lot from our guides about poaching deer on the property, which cannot be enforced since the poachers carry automatic weapons.

We didn´t see any snakes, but a friend found a monkey skull!

Palm tree climb

This is Antonio climbing a palm tree at the University for Peace campus. He was pretty psyched that he could do it!