Why
we no longer like him so much
Yes, sloths ARE neat animals. And in our last writing, we proudly
displayed our resident sloth hanging on a branch just outside
our bedroom window. However, we have since learned that they are
the carriers of a particular skin parasite. The parasite, leishmaniasis,
is a microscopic protozoa that 'lives' in the nose of the sloth!
A tiny 'sand-fly' has to enter the sloth's nose, and parasite
is then transmitted to the insect, which then, might come across
an unfortunate human and infect the new host. Skipping all the
details, we've become familiar with this phenomenon and are presently
successfully being treated. The good news is that once you get
it, odds are high that you become immune for life.
Another
international visit
Well, yes, odds are high that most visits that we get here in
Costa Rica are indeed international, but this special visit was
from our good friends all the way from Chamonix, France - Manuel
and Emmanuelle's birthtown.
Laure and Jean-Noel stayed with us for about a week and we then
took the car and drove up to the Arenal Volcano and then Monteverde.
We then turned around and came back home and Laure and Jean-Noel
continued for a few more days on their own to discover the country.
While here, most of the our time was occupied by the endless hikes
in search for beautiful beaches and pure tranquility. Other times
were spent by hours of intense backgammon tournaments - and just
so that I do not upset anyone, I won't disclose the winner! (ha
ha)
The weather and the ocean were particularly nice during their
stay, so we took advantage by doing quite a bit of snorkeling
in Punta Uva, Cahuita and Manzanillo. While at Manzanillo, we
were supposed to go all the
way to Monkey Point, but half way up the hike, Jean-Noel and Manuel
decided to try to catch a few lobsters - having seen some in the
coral reefs. The problem is we had no experience and did not have
any 'tools' to catch the lobsters - so we attemped to cut a few
branches, pulled out the Swiss Army knife and carved out 2 spears.
The intention was good, but the results: dismal. We tried...but
came home empty ended - without lobsters. We did catch some coconuts
however!
The trip up to Arenal / Monteverde was like a vacation
within a vacation for us. I know - by looking at all of our pics
it appears that we live in an eternal vacation - and perhaps we
do...but the truth is that we do work! And so,
getting out of town and to a different part of the country was
refreshing. We arrived at Arenal under an overcast sky. It was
a full moon night - with a total lunar eclipse scheduled- and
our mission was to observe the volcano erupt at night. The sky
was very overcast, the volcano might as well not have been there
and the moon...the same. So we went out for dinner and came back
to our bed & breakfast - situated just UNDER the volcano.
After a few hours of watching the clouds obscure any activity
that might have been happening on the volcano, it finally happened!
The sky opened up, the lunar eclipse was happening on one side
of the sky - and the volcano - ERUPTED! Massive boulders of red
hot rock and lava burst out of the perfect cone-like volcano -
it was just amazing...so much better than we had hoped for!
Arenal is known for it's eruptions. Typically it can erupt several
times a day. But the best time to see it is at night, as you can
see the glowing lava running down the side, but it is often overcast
there. I had been twice before, but each time disappointed by
the weather.
Next day...on to Monteverde....with a stop by a river not far
from the volcano where the water is heated by hot springs. So
we took advantage of that!
Monteverde is perhaps the #1 tourist attraction in Costa Rica.
It is a true cloud forest high in the mountains- where it is almost
always misty, but amazing views of the Pacific coast can be enjoyed
when clear. The vegetation at Monteverde is truly epithetic...it
is a paradise of bromeliads and ferns and mosses, and dense rainforest.
Surf's
Up - and I'm going in!
Puerto Viejo is a surf town...and so I've decided to learn to
surf - and not the Internet. In December through March, the surf
is up, and so the plan is to learn to surf. I have a date with
the waves...and perhaps a new chapter in my life...we'll let you
know!
Maya and Sleepovers
Maya's new best friends are Lily and Laurel - twins from the states
- about a year older. They have been spending lots of time together
these past few weeks. When the ocean is calm, they spend their
days in the water - with goggles - going under water and checking
out the fish. At other times, they ride their bikes and Maya has
graduated from training wheels to the real thing. If it's raining
- it's BARBIE time!
Maya is now 4 1/2 years old, and she has discovered the joy and
fun of sleepovers. Several times she has spent the night away
with her friends, or sometimes, they'll come to the house and
stay.
Hot
sauce and sweet jams
We are excited about our growing inventory
of fresh produce. This month, we've had a good crop of Panamanian
peppers, and passion fruit. Christian has made an amazing hot
sauce using these peppers to accompany soups or other dishes.
Manuel puts it on almost everything. On the sweet side, we planted
a passion fruit vine a few months ago, and it has been giving
us lots of fruit! So Christian made an amazing jam using the passion
fruit, pineapples and lemon zest. It is a unique but logical and
quite tasty combination. You'll have to come on over to taste
these.
A lot of friends ask what plants we've planted on the property.
The answer is that it is a long list of common and exotic fruits.
We will try to make a list of everything next time!
NEWSFLASH: Storm hits the PURA VIDA family
During
this writing, Manuel is/was in Miami on a work trip. On Nov 28th
in the middle of the night, a wind / rain storm passed through
Punta Uva. There are no reports of widespread damage. However,
Emmanuelle was able to make a cell phone call to the States to
inform me that a massive tree has fallen across our road, taking
down with it the power and telephone lines. She is stranded on
the property, and cannot drive the car or motorcycle since the
road is blocked. They have a chainsaw, but the tree is about 6-8
feet wide and cannot be cut with a regular chainsaw. They are
without power and without telephone. We are told that the power
company will try to fix the lines and have power back up today.
Ever wonder why they call it Pura Vida?
That's it for now, as we head into the holiday season, we'll try
to put up another page for the holidays. In the meantime, we wish
you
PURA
VIDA
)
