howdy

We're back in the Lone Star State, about to set sail on a 7 day cruise through the Caribbean with the Drennans. Some might say it's a tough life we live...having to leave Montezuma, Costa Rica to go on a Caribbean cruise.

bus tickets

We're packing up our cabina now. Our bus out of here leaves at 2:30 this afternoon. It's sad to pack up a place that you love so much and even though you're hopeful to return, you know there's a chance you'll never be back.I love this place. This morning, Mitch and I picked a grapefruit from the tree right next to our house and sat on our porch which overlooks the ocean to eat it. Off the top of my head I can think of lots of fruits and vegetables that grow pretty much right outside our door: lemons, grapefruits, mangoes, bananas, plantains, avocados, and papaya. Other than that, there are toucans, parrots, and parakeets that fly over us all day, iguanas that live on our roof, and monkeys that watch us from the trees above. The natural beauty here is unbelievable.

Also we've met some really great people. We met Jeff the first day we got here and immediately hit it off with him because he had just returned home from Korea as well. And Amanda came about a month ago as a new teacher at my school. We live next to each other, and she has been such a great neighbor and friend. The four of us often just sit on the porch in the hammocks and talk about how much we love Costa Rica. I'm sad to leave both of those people, but as I said earlier, I'm hopeful to return to see them again.

I guess this is just part of traveling: leaving behind wonderful places and people. It is better than never having experienced the places and met the people, though. :)

changes

Since the rainy season has begun, everything is beautiful around here (as I have probably stressed in previous posts). I love riding the 4 wheeler through the country to work every morning and looking at the amazing surroundings. It's unbelievably pretty. What I haven't realized is how much the scenery has changed since we arrived to Montezuma at the end of the dry season. It was pretty dusty, dry, and dead.


Now this place is abosolutely magical, and sometimes we just park the 4 wheeler on the side of the road to take in this place we're currently calling home. :)

a monkey video

We lived under the monkeys for 2 months. It was pretty much our evening entertainment to sit in our hammocks and watch them pass over our cabina. These are the Howler Monkeys. There are also lots of Capuchin Monkeys around here that we see regularly. In the video, you can also hear parrots in the background.

a view

The rainy season is here, and with that come a few facts that we just have to face. The first is that we often do not have electricity, which sets us free from the internet but also causes us to sleep in sweat because our fans don't work. The second is that the dirt roads here have gone from malo to terrible. These two things along with the excitement that Mom and Lindsey just spent a week here with us (more to come on that later :) ) are the reasons I haven't told you about our new cabina!


There's not much to tell about the actual cabina. It's simple and perfect. It's the location that is amazing. We sit up on a hill that overlooks the ocean. All throughout the day, we listen to the waves break over the beach. Also, the people who take care of the property are super nice. They are patient with our bad but improving Spanish, and they have an awesome dog that we've named Husk. They are always bringing us fresh fruits from the property...avocados, lemons, mangoes, and pipas (coconuts with milk still in them). Actually, the lemon tree grows right outside our back door, and Lindsey and I made freshly squeezed lemonade the other day with them. We love it here.


Only 2 more weeks before our time is up here. We have a few things that we're thinking about in order to be able to stay here for a while longer, but nothing is set in stone yet. Since being here, we have seen that good things are happening, but it's up to us to follow our intuition and benefit from those good things. Whatever needs to happen will happen. I think we neeeeed to stay here. :)