Dog Bite

The same day as our fire Geoff, Adele and Ceci were out swimming in the ocean.  Ceci ran up onto the beach to say hello to a dog she had interacted with before.  He apparently wasn't in the mood because he gave her face a little "back-off" bite.  Luckily he wasn't ferocious, but one tooth did puncture all the way through.  Because it was on her face we were a little concerned about scarring.  We called our ER doctor friend who was thankfully available and he calmed us with what he would do.  We took her to a doctor here (Ceci has a way of familiarizing us with foreign medical systems) where he washed it out really well.  We learned that dog bites aren't stitched up because an infection can get trapped inside.  Thankfully it is healing well, and yesterday when we went out she was just as eager as ever to pet the next dog...

A close-up to show our doctor friend

Cleaned up

And would you like to see a "public" doctor's office?  It was a $40 visit.

One hallway to a bathroom

One very small waiting room

And one small examination room with one (awesome) doctor...that's it

Ceci's self-photo with bloodshot ocean eyes, way-to-sunburned skin under eyes, and grim face to add to a sore and swollen cheek and tooth wound.

House on Fire (yes, ours!)

This morning I was flipping pancakes when Geoff said, "Our gardener just took off running (toward the back of the house)."  Geoff went to look where he was going when he started yelling to us (in Spanish).  We thought someone had just stolen something (which is quite common around here) and Geoff was fumbling with the keys trying to open our back glass doors.  Then we realized he was yelling that there was a fire upstairs (which is a separate apartment that we do not use but is part of the house rental).  He and Geoff ran upstairs with the keys to unlock the door in hopes of putting the fire out.  Geoff couldn't open the door because of the pressure - he kicked it open and black smoke billowed out. 

The gardener next door saw the smoke and ran over.  He quickly put some hoses together and ran up the spiral staircase (no fire extinguisher).  The neighbor gardener crawled in on his hands and knees, with the hose, and put the fire out over the next several minutes.

Meanwhile the girls were standing out on the beach watching the flame crack the windows, and yelling for Geoff and me to grab their favorite things.  Geoff and I were grabbing our electronics, passports, and other valuables (thankfully we don't have many), and we moved our rental car and opened the front gate for the firemen who had been called.  It was a flurry of activity!

After the neighbor gardener put the fire out he opened the windows to let the smoke out.  The fire was started by the TV upstairs, which is now a heap of ashes and melted plastic.  The whole interior of the upstairs is black and destroyed by the smoke.

 

 

What is left of the TV

The closest fire station is an hour away!  By the time they got here we were finishing our breakfast and moving on with our day. 

We were completely not affected, other than 10 minutes of grabbing things in case the fire spread.  Our space has no smell of smoke.  All of us and our things are safe.  Our calming time here goes on.

We pray every day for our protection.  When we arrived Geoff was going to put all of our luggage up there but had an impression not to.  He then felt he should pray for the house, which he did, asking for the walls, roof and windows to be protected.  About then we talked, in passing, about where we would meet if the house caught on fire.  Geoff has wanted to use the space as an office but for one reason or another hasn't.  Last night the girls and Geoff were going to sleep upstairs but Geoff had a very small impression not to.  These were subtle impressions. 

It could have happened at night with great devastation.  It could have been when no one was here (like yesterday) and the entire house would have gone down.  It could have been when Geoff and I were at yoga and the girls were in the house by themselves not understanding the Spanish being yelled, or who to call.

It was a good practice run for emergencies.  Geoff's sister Emily and and her husband Mike have a list on the back of their laundry room door that says what to grab if you have 5 minutes, what to grab if you have 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.  This would have been helpful in this situation.  Also a good discussion for Tennie about what to do in an emergency when she is babysitting.

Thank you for your concern.  We are all well.  Adele, Ceci and Geoff are lathering up to go jump in the ocean.  Tennie is doing her yoga therapy.  

As they say in Costa Rica...Pura Vida (or Life is Good).

Playa Conchal (Shell Beach)

Yesterday we ventured away from our little slice of heaven and found that there are many more slices of heaven not too far away!

We grabbed a quick lunch at Brasilito Beach.

 Central American landscape crew: horses, cows, etc.  Tie them up and keep the grass in the town parks short.

 Playa Conchal was a little tricky to get to.  We passed through a little side road in Brasilito...

Drove down the beach a ways...

...then up a very rough little hill.

 To this...

A beach made up of small, broken shells, and water as clear as the Caribbean.

 A cute little puppy

 The girls put on their goggles and saw hundreds of fish.  Ceci found this sea urchin that she borrowed for the picture then put back.

 We finally went and got some legitimate snorkel gear.

Geoff and the girls saw thousands of fish, including clown fish, puffer fish, a long fish that looked like a sword fish that scared Tennie right out of the water (quite funny to see someone try to scramble out quickly in flippers), sea urchins, snake-like things, etc. Adele exclaimed, "I have a new hobby!", and Ceci asked how old she had to be to scuba dive.  They are hooked.

On a side, strange note...just before we arrived to the beach an American tourist had a heart attack and died.  His body lay on the beach covered by a white sheet for hours while we were swimming around.  Police had a space around it marked off.  Finally a truck came, had the mourning wife (a young woman with two young children) sign some papers, and then loaded the body into a white, plastic bag and put him in the back of the truck!  My heart went out to this family.  It put a somber twist to our day.

Settled In

We're more than halfway through our Costa Rican adventure.  It has taken me about this long to wind down from the crazy month before we left, to adjust to the heat and humidity (I think I have actually adjusted!), to be mostly okay with the nightly ant slaughter, and the crabs and lizards I find in our bathrooms, showers, closets, etc., the mosquitoes that hang around after the rain, and I'm getting in the ocean every day which is kind of a big deal for me as I don't love being in water for some reason.  I feel that my soul has finally joined my body in being here.

This was an injured Cicada rescue.  They run into the windows and conk themselves out.

A guy walks along the beach every day yelling, "Pipa!"  He cuts open the green (peeled) coconut and sticks in a straw for the delicious and refreshing coconut water - all for $2

After a few ride-alongs with Geoff Ceci caught the body boarding bug

A larger lizard in the front yard (above is a "smaller" lizard that lives in the tree behind the house.

We've named him Pete.

A little crab that likes to hang out behind our front door handle

This is the biggest lizard we've seen.  It lives at the same hotel as JoJo the monkey.

Church

Our weekly trip to church is an hour each way through gorgeous, green Costa Rican countryside.  The road is uneven and windy so everyone in the backseat is complaining about being carsick the whole ride, but the horses tied to posts on the side of the road, the people out working in their yards hanging clothes or sweeping, the slow trucks and buses to pass on the narrow two-lane road...all equal a lively and interesting trip.

The chapel is very small and is bursting with people.  It is time for a bigger building!

The chapel with the mango tree to the far left

 Looking in from the front door with an office, bathrooms and three classrooms down the hallway

A view from the back of the main meeting room.  It is L-shaped and can be closed off to make a fourth, large room where the women meet (the men are currently meeting out near the mango tree!)

During the classes everyone (men, women and children - teachers and students alike) will stand up and walk out to the mango tree, throw a rock or fallen mango at other mangoes in the tree until they fall, grab one or six and return to the classroom to eat them.  There are enough mangoes and to spare, but no one seems to flinch when the Primary president walks out in the middle of Primary to load up on mangoes!  Some peel off the skin, others eat skin and all.

Geoff brought five mangoes home to put in our smoothies

Geoff and I gave talks in church today.  I have forgotten a lot of Spanish but was able to squeak out a message, and Geoff who is learning Spanish quickly did an awesome job speaking!  I was so impressed!

I love visiting our church around the world - it is always familiar and familial with its own little cultural flair.

Budding Fashion Designers

A few weeks ago Adele told me that when she grows up she would like to live in New York and be a fashion designer.  We plan to buy the American Girl book on finding your own style when we get home, and we talked about the possibility of learning to sew so she could begin creating her designs.

Tennie has been drawing clothing designs for years.  She has a book of body forms filled with her fashion creations.  Being a fashion designer is among the MANY things she would like to do when she grows up...

Then we met Kata.  She began making doll clothes when she was Ceci's age, and began selling her tank tops at Adele's age.  She now owns a small store where they'll make a swimsuit or yoga clothes or you-name-it, that you want, or that Kata creates.  She offered to give the girls a few sewing lessons while we're here.  To say the girls were elated is an understatement.  They've been counting the days.  Today was their first lesson.  They made a skirt - they chose the fabric, cut the design, and sewed the skirts all by themselves (with a little help, of course).

Today in Costa Rica

It has been raining every day, usually at night.  This morning the skies were deeply gray and it was pouring.  We thought we were socked in for the day.

 Tennie and Adele put on rain coats to play in the rain but they were soon thrown aside...

But we were pleasantly surprised when the skies turned blue, the temp was in the mid-80s, and there was very little humidity!  Our most beautiful day yet!  We all hunted for good shells and swam in the calm, low-tide ocean for hours.

We did a surf lesson last week with the girls and Tennie was the only one who really wanted to continue.  She is a natural!  She hops on and rides them in like she's been doing it since birth!  Today was her second lesson.

Tennie and her surf instructor Luis

Geoff's lesson was next.  He's a natural too.

I took this picture yesterday.  I looked out the window and saw Geoff coming in with a board on his head.

This is his dream life come true.

While walking down the beach we usually see something interesting.  Today it was a pet pig - 

so cute, and totally house-trained!

We met a woman named Lorena right when we arrived who does yoga therapy.  She is working with Tennie for an hour every day to stretch her very tight muscles.  Tennie is making great progress with her flexibility...we're still waiting to see if it helps her chronically bad back.  They have a great connection, and Lorena has become a great friend.

Our daily visit to see JoJo

We met a woman at church who is a Spanish teacher at a private international school.  She comes Tuesday-Saturday for one hour to teach the girls - 1/2 hour for Adele and Ceci and a 1/2 hour for Tennie.  I'm not sure how much they'll pick up in only one month but maybe it will be the beginning of a new skill.

Here is Senora Pina (translates to Mrs. Pineapple which the girls love) with the girls

As the sun goes down our faithful security guy shows up to circle the house and keep us safe at night.  We sit down to dinner, play games, read a book Tennie has been working on this year, and hit the sack around 8:00.  It doesn't take long for any of us to fall asleep!

Feeling ALIVE

I read an advertisement for Costa Rica that said, "Costa Rica: No Artificial Ingredients", and it is true.  This place is wholesome.  This is living in and with nature.  All senses are alive.  Living near the ocean with its consistent rhythms and power is rejuvenating.  Living in a place where people (mostly) respect the environment so habitats are undisturbed feels like living truth.  And living with the thunderstorms that pass by nearly every night keeps us humble!


We visit JoJo (turns out the Canadians who told us about JoJo either had an accent or didn't understand his name) every day.  If the girls had it their way we would spend half of the day EVERY DAY watching and playing with him.

He likes to hide under skirts and shirts 

He likes to climb up skirts and shirts

He now recognizes us and runs to us whenever we visit 

And often he'll pounce on you as he goes from one place to another 

Having a monkey next door that these girls can play with is a kid's dream come true.  He really is irresistible.

The sunsets are always glorious.  And an evening swim in the low tide is a perfect ending to perfect days.  The sun sets at 6:00PM and rises at 5:20AM.  We try to go to bed around 7:30-8:00 and wake up around 6:00-6:30.

The girls coming in... 

Feeling ALIVE!