Me at the waterfall

Our gardner, José, led us there, and also brought along his wife and son (very sweet family). You have to kind of walk through a neighbor’s property to get to the falls, but they don’t mind (just watch out for cow pies). I asked José how he found out about this hidden gem, and he said he’s known about it his whole life. Yet, since the only way to get to it is through private property, it always completely deserted.

The trails to get there are a lot of fun. There are all sorts of winding paths you can take to explore the jungle, full of interesting plants and wildlife. One day, I even spotted a blue-crowned motmot! Unfortunately, I was only carrying my iPhone with me at the time, so couldn’t get a very good photo, but it was neat to see. The iridescent blue on his head was spectacular!

The waterfall is pretty tame this time of year, because it’s the dry season. There’s hardly even a river beneath, and you can walk all over where water usually sits during the rainy season. Emily and I had fun walking under the waterfall and getting a little wet. In the rainy season, we hear it’s a completely different scene, with the water coming down with such force it would push you right under the water. There will probably be a pool big enough to swim in, although the water might be a little cool.

It’s fun to have nature so close to home, so we’re planning on taking more frequent walks on the trails, exploring and soaking in all the surrounding beauties. Check out some more photos and a video below.

Related posts:

1. Exploring around Salt Creek
2. Our New Home in Costa Rica
3. Los Chorros Waterfall and Breakdancing

A Time for Work

But I’ve had my share of stressful work-days as well, mostly due to self-imposed deadlines to try and get the design finished and launched before an upcoming music teachers conference. I’ve spent quite a bit of time lately pouring over the site, and continue to find more little things I’d like to tweak and improve, or small bugs that should be fixed. Then there’s all the copywriting to do.

Yes, I outsource most of my work, and could probably outsource more of it. I tried my hand at programming again this morning, and actually got quite frustrated with it. Maybe I’m just out of practice, but it sure wasn’t enjoyable like it used to be. I’m really glad to have two wonderful programmers helping me out there. I still enjoy writing, though, and no one knows my business as well as I do (yet), so I’m handling the copywriting for now.

So, what happened to the Brandon that only works 5 hours a week? Well, that’s still usually the case. But last week I worked almost 18 hours, and will probably be close to that this week as well. Work is always more enjoyable when you’re excited about what you’re doing, and can envision great results. And then I tend to do more of it…

However, I consider my greatest work the time I spend with my kids, much of it in “play”.

A Time For Play… and Learning

Play is most enjoyable for me when I just let it happen. We’ve had a lot of fun with our kids recently. We put together a foam Valentine’s house sent to us by Grandma Alli. Jen and the girls made caterpillars out of egg carton shells, and dolls & fairies out of cereal boxes and paper, which they seem to enjoy even more than store-bought toys. We’ve taken walks, ridden the bus to town, played computer games together, and even spotted some poisonous cane toads in our backyard!

One night during dinner, we were talking about how the house we’re living in would make a nice restaurant. The girls took the idea further and were getting excited about running their own restaurant. So after dinner, we decided to start one!

Playing Restaurant

We wrote up a menu and the girls decorated it. They got to choose all the dishes, which Emily insisted we write in both English and Spanish. The girls setup tables and chairs with table cloths and centerpieces. They brought out their stuffed animals to be the customers. And Emily and Marie each took turns being a customer as well as a waitress. Jen was the chef. And I was the manager (and a customer once). We had a great time, and I think the kids learned a lot as well. We all helped clean up when we “closed”.

One of these days, maybe we’ll make a nicer menu on the computer, add some prices, and help them learn to count the money. Play makes learning so much fun, especially when it’s driven by the kids. (Much better than memorizing facts you don’t care about for a test you’re being forced to take.)

Our Kids Are Bloggers

Emily and Marie each also have their own blog now. Emily is 6 years old and is typing all of the posts herself. She uses the built-in spell checker in Firefox and also asks us for help when needed. Marie’s blog just launched, so she doesn’t have any posts yet, but will have one soon. She’s 4 years old and will be dictating her posts to us until she wants to type them. Their blog addresses are:

www.emilyinthejungle.com – Emily

www.ridingabutterfly.com – Marie

If you feel so inclined, go ahead and leave them a comment. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.

Related posts:

1. How the kids entertain themselves, and more drawings
2. First Week of Home School
3. Making friends in Volcan

Now that we’re “living” here, more than “vacationing”, we’re finding ourselves settling into many of the habits we had before we left (ie. excessive computer use, homeschool, etc.), but life is anything but mundane. Being surrounded by a new language, new people, and nature in perfect weather provides a contrast that keeps life very exciting.

Serving in the Church

We’ve also been called to responsibilities in our church here, which gives us additional opportunities to meet people and to serve. I’ve been called as the 1st Counselor in the Branch Presidency here in Grecia (assisting the Branch President with administration tasks), and Jennifer is the 1st Counselor in the Primary presidency (working with the children).

We’ve been spending a lot of time with the Branch President’s family the past while, President Bustillos, and have enjoyed every minute of it. He is very patient with my Spanish and teaches me so much! For example, on Saturday we went to the San José Temple, ate brunch, then went to a district conference. With all of that, and probably 3 hours in the car with him, I spoke and heard Spanish all day long, and feel like I’m learning more quickly because of his help. He’s also quite funny and likes to joke around.

President Bustillos and his wife, Margarita, have two daughters, and although they’re slightly older than our girls, they love playing together. On Saturday, they played while we were at the Temple. Then they played at our house that afternoon, during which time Marie slipped and fell into the duck pond! Fortunately, she had put her swimming suit on a few minutes earlier to show them. She was a little shocked when she found herself in the water, and was a little grossed out by it, but she was able to laugh it off once she got out.

Transportation

Being without a car at this house has proven to be a little bit of an inconvenience, but not overwhelmingly so. The bus runs once every hour or two, and takes between 30-60 minutes to get to town, depending on the route that hour. It’s really sufficient most of the time, but we have had some occasions we wanted to get somewhere but were limited by the bus schedule. The bus fare is only about 60 cents per person each way. It’s also only a 5-minute walk to the bus stop, but it’s down a steep hill, which isn’t a problem unless we’re trying to carry groceries or other loads back home (or the girls are tired). We have taken the taxi back home a few times, after grocery shopping with almost more than we could carry. However, it costs about $10 each way to take a taxi home, so that adds up quickly if you do it often.

We are considering renting, or perhaps even buying a car, depending on what options present themselves. We’d like the freedom to explore a little more than we can on the bus and by foot. I don’t think we’ll rent from a company, though, because the price of $500-1000/month is a bit steep. It would probably be better to buy a beat-up car for $2500 or so instead (however, even used cars cost twice as much here as they do in the states). Or our landlord has a 2001 Ford Ranger (pickup truck) he’s willing to rent to us for 3 months, for about $330/month. The cab space would be a little small for all of us, but it might do if we can’t find anything else – at least for 3 months. We’ll see what happens.

Still Loving the House

I am still frequently in awe of the views from our house. I usually wake up as the sun is rising (around 6am), and take a few minutes to enjoy the view of the sunrise over the valley before doing anything else. Check out some amazing pictures of the sunrise below (and in the video).

We also love the birds that come around the property. Hummingbirds frequent the feeder we have hanging up, and we’ve seen birds of various bright colors, from red to green to yellow. They come in all sizes, too, from hummingbirds and sparrows to large hawks. We love listening to the birds sing their songs in the morning. And at night, we hear a lot of other interesting noises. We really have no idea what some of these animals are. Maybe you can name the animal that makes the sound in the video (the part where it’s black and showing some city lights). We’re thinking it’s some kind of frog, but I’d really like to know what it is.

We take frequent walks in the garden to enjoy the flowers and feed the ducks. The girls especially like feeding ducks. They’ll even eat right out of the girls’ hands! I think the ducks make good pets because they can feed themselves if you forget, you don’t have to clean up after them, they’re relatively quiet, and they never come in the house.

My Wife is a Great Cook

Jen has made some wonderful food this week, including scones three times. Once she even filled them with apples and cheese. (Check our her recipe here!) They tasted like delicious donuts! Irma, our maid, has also taught Jen how to make some traditional Costa Rican dishes, like casados (rice and beans with meat and salad and fried egg), and empanadas, which we’ve enjoyed as well.

It’s been really nice having Irma’s help with the cleaning, too. She cleaned the basement this week and it smells so much better now! We can finally stand to go down there, and would no longer be embarrassed to have guests stay there.

We’re loving it here and are so glad we made this move. Even though we’re doing many of the same things that we did in Utah, it feels different. We’re learning more because our surroundings and our experiences are different. We’re meeting new and interesting people, and and seeing life from different perspectives. I’m so glad we’re here.

Related posts:

1. More House Hunting
2. Our New Home in Costa Rica
3. A Little Update

Horseback Riding

Girls on horses

The girls love horses and have wanted to go horseback riding for a long time. So we took them on a horseback riding tour through the forest/jungle. Since Jen and I have both never ridden a horse by ourselves before, this was the first time for all of us.

The girls each got to ride their own horse, and they did great! We didn’t go much faster than a slow trot, but it was a lot of fun. The guide led us on a one hour ride up to a natural pond/swimming pool, where we cooled off from the hot sun. We then rode the hour back, slightly faster than the ride up. The horses were anxious to get back to the barn.

It was fun to ride a live animal with a mind of its own. They knew where to turn, and were good at following directions. They also got hungry and wanted to eat the plants and drink from the stream, which was fun to watch. It was a pretty bumpy ride, though, and it gave us a lot of appreciation for modern forms of transportation. Jen was probably the most sore our of all of us, after the ride.

The tour company also fed us breakfast and lunch. Both meals were typical costa rican “casados” and were good.

We played at the beach a little bit that afternoon, but being high tide, it wasn’t quite as fun as the last time. Also, while standing in the waves, Emily lost her shoe in the ocean! We looked for a while, but couldn’t find it. We had just bought her two new pair of shoes three weeks earlier. And the other pair is already falling apart. So we will be buying her more shortly. I’ve never seen her go through shoes so quickly!

Manuel Antonio National Park

Monkey!

Our last full day on our trip, we went to Manuel Antonio National Park. We were staying at Hotel Manuel Antonio, which is right next to the park entrance. Before we entered, some monkeys had made their way to the trees near the hotel, and we enjoyed watching them jump around and try to pick up coconuts. We also saw an iguana, which Marie chased around for a minute. You can see this on the video below. A very good start to the day.

The park costs $10/person for non-residents (which is us, since we’re on tourist visas), but the kids were free. They had tour guides that you can hire to go with you to show you the wildlife and teach you about what you’re seeing. But at $25/person, we thought we’d rather explore it on our own, and at our own pace.

Manuel Antonio

After a lovely nature walk through the park, we came to a pristine beach. We swam in the water, saw some beautiful blue spotted fish, heard howler monkeys in the trees, built a sand castle, and pretended to be sharks chasing the girls. Then they became the sharks and chased us!

After swimming for a while, we took another nature walk through the jungle and saw more monkeys and iguanas, as well as beautiful trees and ocean views. We finally came to another beach and played there as well. But it was getting to be high tide and we were hungry, so we didn’t play long. We exited the park, and found a nice pizza restaurant for dinner.

Back to Grecia

Crocodiles at Tarcoles

The next day, we headed back to Grecia. We got a late start, but drove fast and made it from Manuel Antonio to the car rental place in Alajuela in 2.5 hours. This included a brief stop at the Tarcoles Bridge to see the crocodiles at the bottom. There were dozens of large crocs underneath the bridge just waiting for some food. We heard about some crocodile tours where they take you out in a boat, feed the crocodiles right in front of you, and even bring a cayman into the boat for you touch! We didn’t do that yet, but maybe another day. Maybe.

After Sunrise

Rolan came and took us to our new house up in the hills of Grecia. He let us stop in town first to pick up a few groceries and supplies, which was nice. We got to the house just before the sunset, and the views were so beautiful! The night views of the city are great as well. We are going to love living here!

The next morning, I was awakened at about 5:30am to the sound of happy bird songs. I got up to watch the sunrise over the valley, smell the flowers in the air, and see the birds in flight. What a breathtaking sight! I was so overcome, I had tears streaming down my face for several minutes. What a beautiful and magical world we live in! I’m so glad I get to be closer to nature here, and I can’t believe I get to stay in this house for a whole year, and see this sight every day! I feel so blessed.

A Few Problems

There are a few problems with the house, however, which I kind of expected, being in Costa Rica, where everything happens “mañana”. But compared to my ideal, here is my nit-picky list of things that aren’t quite right for a fully furnished rental:

• No Internet until just a few minutes ago (about 5 days without it). (SO glad to have it now, though!)
• The master bathroom shower doesn’t work – no water.
• Second shower doesn’t have a door or curtain.
• Master bathroom toilet continues making noise after you flush it, until you open the lid and fiddle with it.
• Water pressure issues throughout the house (some too strong, some too weak)
• Dirty. The house wasn’t cleaned, at least not well. Lots of cobwebs, dust, and stains.
• Basement isn’t very usable. No water in bathroom. No lights in entry room, and two other quite empty rooms.
• Bedding is minimal – one sheet, which is usually enough, but I have been cold a couple nights. A comforter on the master bed would be nice. Also, the bed is very stiff. I may be looking for a mattress topper of some sort.
• No artwork on the walls, so it looks looks a bit bare, although I’m told there will be some in a couple weeks, when the owners come for a visit.
• TV is not yet working.

These are the main issues we’ve had so far, and all of them will hopefully be resolved soon. Fortunately, none are a huge deal (except the Internet and shower), and the shower should be taken care of this week. We’ve been taking the cleaning into our own hands, and spent the first few days doing a lot of it. We’ve also hired a maid to come on weekday mornings and help out, since there will continue to be a lot to clean.

Rolan was able to get me a cell phone line for my iPhone on Saturday, including Internet (3G), which is great to have! We also have a landline phone at our house for local calls. He should be getting a remote control installed for the gate this week as well, and eventually a doorbell with a video camera so we know who and when someone is visiting us without them calling us on their cell phone.

All in all, we are loving living here. The weather is just perfect! We don’t have a heater or air conditioner because there is no need for one. It’s nice and cool in the mornings and evenings (maybe 60-70), and it probably gets up to around 70-80 in the daytime. Today is a little cloudy so I don’t think it got much above 70. It feels wonderful! Anyway, enjoy the video and pictures below.

Related posts:

1. Zip-line, Beach, and Monkeys
2. Dolphins and Starfish
3. We're in Volcán!

Zip-Line Canopy Tour

Family Pre-Zipline

We ended our time in Dominical with a Canopy Tour (zip-line) at Hacienda Barú. They had 15 stations and we got to zip 8 times! It’s one of the more tame canopy tours, which was good for the girls, who were both brave enough to try it on their own (Marie went with Mom & Dad the first few times before she worked up the courage).

It was a blast! There’s nothing like soaring 150 feet above the rainforest floor. It’s beautiful and exhilarating! Our guide also spotted a large sloth in the trees, as well as demonstrated how soldier ants can work as temporary stitches for wounds. Interesting!

After that, we had lunch and then explored a little butterfly farm they had at Hacienda Barú. They even had our favorite – the blue morpho!

On to Manuel Antonio

Then we drove from Dominical to Manuel Antonio, about a 45-minute drive, through lovely groves of trees and what we think were pineapple farms. We drove all the way to Manuel Antonio Hotel, recommended to us by Denny. Unfortunately, they were all booked (it’s the weekend), but the receptionist found us a room at another nearby hotel, Verde Mar. They had one room available with a queen bed, and they brought in a roller bed for us. It was very tight quarters, but worked.

Our biggest complaint was that it was so hot! If only we had known there was an air conditioning unit in the bathroom, we would have had it on the whole time! Unfortunately, we didn’t discover that fact until the next morning after our showers and about an hour before we checked out. Oh well…

Into the Water

Manuel Antonio beach

After melting in our hotel after a long drive, the girls finally convinced us to go swimming. Once we got in the pool, we cooled right off and had a great time! Before too long, we decided to go explore the beach as well, which was right behind the hotel. Once we got in the water, we didn’t want to leave! The ocean water was so nice and warm, and the sand was so clean and nice – and just sand – no garbage, rocks, or even fish – all the way out into the waves! I maybe felt a twig or two the whole time we were there – oh and a nice leather hat someone must have just lost… I sent it back to shore. Hopefully the owner will find it.

We had fun for hours swimming in the ocean and riding the waves (as much as you can without a board). The sunset on the water was beautiful. You could see the colors reflecting on the surface and casting light onto the trees on the shore. Quite a sight! It was enhanced even more for me by the beauty of my wife standing in the middle of it.

I had our camera out for part of the time, but got tired of holding it and didn’t want to leave it on the shore, so I ran it back to our hotel so I could swim better. It’s supposed to be waterproof, but I thought it was best not to expose it to the elements unnecessarily. And I had a lot more fun once I put it away. But that also means you don’t get any sunset pictures. Sorry.

Monkeys!

After it started getting dark we headed back for dinner. But first, we had another quick dip in the pool. And while we were swimming, we heard some very loud noises. It sounded like a big guy with a loudspeaker was saying “WHOOOOO!” repeatedly.

In a few moments, we spotted some howler monkeys up in the trees! There were probably about a dozen of them, including some babies, and we got to watch them walk and jump from one tree to another. It was quite a treat! I went to grab my camera and caught a glimpse of the last one on video. I read that Howler monkeys are the loudest animal in the world, and I believe it after hearing them. For their small size, they can really bellow.

Dining on the Coast

Girls in Manuel Antonio Hotel

While swimming we also made some friends: Janet and her son Scott. We went to dinner with them that night and had a nice time.

The food here is very pricey though, no matter which restaurant you go to. Dominical and Manuel Antonio are very touristy towns – very fun, but hard to imagine living there. And everything seems at least twice as expensive as it is in Grecia. Cost is relative, though, so I’ll spell it out -  meals seems to start around USD $8-10 along the coast. (Of course, $30+/plate options exist.) Back in Grecia you can get a decent meal for $2-3/plate, and it’s hard to find anything over $12/plate. There are a couple very nice restaurants around that range, though.

Church in Quepos

Sunday we checked out of Verde Mar and went to church. We were given some very wrong directions by a hotel clerk, and ended up 20 minutes from where we needed to be. We drove back to the town and I stopped a man who looked like he might be going to church. He happened to be the Branch President, and he led us right there! It turns out we had just passed it without noticing – it was on quite a run-down little street.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in our hotel (Manuel Antonio Hotel), catching up on e-mail and blogs, and then had another expensive dinner that night (since that seems to be all there is). Tomorrow, we’re going horseback riding! Enjoy the video and pictures below.

Related posts:

1. Horseback Riding, Crocodiles, and Manuel Antonio
2. From Volcanoes to Beaches
3. Sunday in the Bella Vista Ward

We were thinking of driving all the way from Grecia to Dominical in one day – about a 4-5 hour drive. However, because there are no street signs, we took a few wrong turns and we ended up only making it as far as Cartago before it got dark (about 1.5 hours from Grecia). But that’s okay.

B&B Grecia – Thanks Denny & Rachelle!

Rachelle and the girls

Before I get onto our journey I just want to say how much we enjoyed our time at B&B Grecia. Denny and Rachelle were awesome hosts! Denny was so helpful and informative to get us settled and help us know what to expect living here. And our girls absolutely adored Rachelle. They would talk her ear off as often as they could, showing her their computer games, telling them about their day. And Rachelle was so sweet to them. If anyone is looking for a good place to stay in Grecia, I highly recommend B&B Grecia. Breakfasts were good and it’s in a very convenient location, too.

The day before we left B&B Grecia, I also bought a GPS unit from Denny (Garmin Nuvi 260). It cost more than it would have in the US, but it has been absolutely essential! I can’t imagine getting around these streets without it. It also helped us find our hotels.

A Stop in Escazú

Mickey & Goofy at Escazu Mall

After we picked up our car around noon, we headed for Escazú Multiplaza, which is a giant mall, just like the ones in the U.S. We were searching for a certain type of shoe, called Keens, that are like sturdy, waterproof, close-toed sandals great for hiking, beaches, waterfalls, etc. Unfortunately, none of the stores there had our size. And they were twice as expensive as the store in Grecia. So we’ll go without them for now.

While in the mall, we were stopped by some journalists taking photos of this new rear projection touch-screen display, and they wanted our girls to model for it. Why not? We didn’t get any of the pictures (I forgot to take them myself), but it was a pretty cool technology. We also saw Mickey and Goofy at the mall doing a little magic show.

If I haven’t mentioned it here, everyone seems to adore our little girls. People are often touching their hair, and commenting, “Que linda!” either to our faces or to each other as we walk down the street. We really stand out here – but more so in the smaller towns. And when I hand shop keepers our credit card, which has a photo of our family on it, 90% of the time, they comment that it’s so cute, and excitedly show all the other workers there. I guess they don’t have photo credit cards here.

Escazú really seemed like a nice place. It appeared to be well kept up, very green, and had all the shopping and restaurants you’d expect for a medium-sized city. Everything is a bit more pricey there, though, and the people don’t seem as friendly as Grecia.

Cartago and the Irazú Volcano

From Las Brumas hotel in Cartago

After the GPS led us to a gas station, we continued on our journey through San José onto Cartago. We mainly stayed on the highway (except for another wrong turn – yes, I had a GPS, but sometimes those roads sneak up on you). I wasn’t too impressed with the journey to Cartago, or the city of Cartago itself. It was pretty dirty and very crowded.

We hadn’t planned on staying in Cartago, but it was already 4:30, and since it gets dark here around 6pm, we thought we should find a hotel and have some dinner while we still had daylight. The GPS led us to a couple hotels that looked like real dives in bad parts of town, so we went on the outskirts of the city a little, and found Las Brumas hotel, which had a vacancy with 3 beds, a restaurant, free wifi, and even included breakfast – for about $75/night. It also had nice views of the city.

Irazu Volcano

While staying there, we learned that the Irazú volcano was just 45 minutes away, so decided that we’d check it out in the morning before heading down to Dominical. It was a beautiful drive up to over 11,000 feet, and the volcano was breathtaking as well. We could see all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. You’re supposed to be able to see the Pacific ocean from there as well, but we didn’t go to the highest point (we were already getting lightheaded from the elevation and we were anxious to get to the beach).

We did stop at the Irazú museum, though, and learned about how volcanoes work, and watched a movie about Irazú’s eruption from 1963-1965. They had some fun little physics toys there as well, that the girls enjoyed playing with.

A Gorgeous Drive to Dominical

I love the jungle

After the volcano, we drove about 4 hours all the way to the Dominical, on the Pacific coast. It was a beautiful drive, where we passed giant canyons, misty rainforests, and jungles full of the sounds of birds and insects. We had lunch in a little buffet-type restaurant up in the misty mountains somewhere.

The only other major town we passed on the way to Dominical is San Isidro de General, about 45 minutes from the coast. We didn’t stop there, but it looked like a beautiful town, in a very green valley. We may check it out again some day.

Dominical

Jen spent some time the previous night looking for a couple hotels in Dominical to save us time going from one to the other on our GPS. We went straight to Costa Paraiso and fortunately, they had a vacancy. It’s a beautiful hotel right on the beach, with a lovely little swimming pool, which the girls were very anxious to try out. So, that’s the very first thing we did. :)

After swimming for a while, we took a walk on the beach. The water was SO warm – like a hot tub. And the views of the waves on the rocks, and the trees, with the sounds of the birds – it was just breathtaking. We feel like we’re in paradise! We’ll be staying here a couple nights and then head on to Manuel Antonio. Enjoy the video and pictures below.

Related posts:

1. Zip-line, Beach, and Monkeys
2. We Made it to Costa Rica!
3. A relaxing day

Dining room

After two weeks of visiting dozens of houses all over Grecia, Costa Rica, we finally picked the house we will live in for the next year. Who’d have guessed it would be the first house we looked at!

When we first saw the house, we were impressed by the views and the gardens, but the lack of furniture and decorations made the house seem very bare. It was also pricey for not having a swimming pool, the layout of the house and basement seemed strange, and it didn’t have enough beds to sleep our family, not to mention guests. So we decided to pass on it.

After looking at lots of other options, some more grand, and others much less impressive, we almost decided to go with a smaller and quite a bit cheaper house (actually the second one we looked at) for 3 months – mostly because of the time flexibility, but also because of the price, and it had most of what we need. But I wasn’t overly thrilled with its rustic feel and small living spaces. I had a hard time picturing myself being comfortable there.

After thinking about it, I realized that the first house would actually work well for us with a few modifications. So I e-mailed the landlord with some requests for additional furniture, and a decrease in price. And I got both! It’s still on the high end for around here, $900/month, but we think it will be worth it.

The Details

From the side

The house has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and is off a private lane in San Isidro de Grecia, on Calle Rodrigues. It also sits on over an acre of gardens with over 100 varieties of flowers and plants, and plenty of room for the girls to run around and explore. You can hear birds singing, and spot all kinds of birds as well as other animals such as wild bunnies and squirrels, and it is completely private. There is also a little pond on the property where a family of ducks has chosen to make their home because of the free food.

Our favorite part about the house is the views which can be seen from every window. On a clear day, you can see all the way to San José! I also hear the views at night are breathtaking. The living room and attached dining area are very spacious, and both open onto a large deck, making it all a very comfortable space to enjoy as a family or to entertain guests.

The house also has a large kitchen, which has everything but an oven. But they said they will work on getting one for us. The mixture of tile and wood floors, along with the intricate woodwork on the doors and frames makes the house pleasant and elegant in appearance.

One other big plus to this house is the hiking trails directly off the property, which lead to a waterfall. We haven’t seen it yet, but the pictures look great, and we’re excited to check it out. And while the gardens are already beautiful, we’re told there are even more flowers and it’s even greener in the rainy season. The garden also contains a few fruit trees such as grape fruit, guava, avocado, passion fruit, and banana, which we’ll enjoy.

Almost Ready…

It will take another week or so for Rolan (the landlord) to get everything ready, setup the Internet connection and utilities, and bring in the additional furniture and decorations. So during this time we plan to rent a car and drive down to the southern part of Costa Rica near Manuel Antonio and Dominical, to visit the beach and explore some other parts of Costa Rica that are a little farther away.

We are excited to move into our new home and think that we will be very happy there. To get a better idea of what it’s like, check out the photos and video below.

Also, if you haven’t noticed, at the end of each day, I’ve been posting about the day’s events on Twitter (and Facebook). So if you want to keep more up to date with what we’re doing than these irregular blog posts, be sure to follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/brandags.

Related posts:

1. Week 2 in Grecia, Costa Rica
2. We Made it to Costa Rica!
3. We’re Moving to Costa Rica

The museum is a quick $4 taxi ride from the center of town, and a 30 minute walk back (uphill). Entrance fees are $11 for adults, and $5 for kids over 5.

Venomous Snakes

World of Snakes has snakes from not only Costa Rica, but from all over the world. The most venomous snake is from Africa. If it bit you, you would die within seconds. The most venemous snake in Costa Rica would take about seven hours to kill you if you didn’t get treatment. Fortunately, the hospitals here do have anti-venom shots they can give you if you receive a bite. But it is rare to see poisonous snakes here, as most are shy, as well as nocturnal.

Our guide was helpful and explained a lot about each of the different types of snakes, in English. Some lay eggs and other have the eggs hatch inside. We saw many different colors of snakes, including yellow, pink, green/brown, black, red, and more.

Holding a Rainbow Boa

Girls holding a rainbow boa constrictor

The highlight of the museum for us was definitely when we all got to hold a rainbow boa constrictor! It was fun having it wrap itself around our arms and neck. The girls absolutely loved it, and couldn’t get enough!

It took about an hour and a half to see everything with the guide. We took our time on our way out and really enjoyed watching the toucans, which are so vibrant and beautiful.

On the way back, we stopped at a clothes store and Jen was happy to find more clothes that fit her. So she has now spent all her Christmas money, and is fully outfitted.

In the Evening…

After an hour or two relaxing at the B&B with our computers, we took off for dinner at a local pizza place, which was very good, and similar to the pizza you’d get at home. We had ice cream (again) for dessert – hey, it’s only 70 cents for a cone! And after eating it in the park, we came back home to end our day. (Oh! We had a delicious sandwich for lunch in a bakery this morning as well…)

Anyway, enjoy the pictures and video below. I will post about our new house in a few days once I get the chance to take more pictures of it on Monday.

Related posts:

1. We Made it to Costa Rica!
2. Boquete Wildlife Rescue Center
3. Departure Date is Set

But there is so much else that happened this week, I’m going to leave the house hunting out of this post, and I’ll cover that next time. To learn about this week, read on!

Making Little Friends

Marie, Allison, and Emily

On Tuesday, we had a fun play date with a girl in the ward Emily’s age (6) named Alison (pronounced “Ah-lee-sóhn”). They had a great time playing together in the park.

We talked to her mom about a lot of things. She also took us to a school where we learned about how that process would work if we wanted to enroll the girls in school. She also showed us some land where her family is building a new house. Then we had a batido (fruit shake), met some more of their family, went shopping for kids clothes (but didn’t buy any), and played some more in the park, along with Alison’s cousin. We had a really fun time with them and it was nice that the girls had a chance to play with someone their age.

Do Our Emotions Cause or Prevent Disease?

Me with Jean-Jacques and Serene

Wednesday morning, we met a really neat couple at B&B Grecia, where we’re staying: Jean-Jacques and Cyrinne, from Montreal, Canada. They have been in Costa Rica for several weeks working on a book about the connection between our physical health and our emotions. Jean-Jacques has already written ten books on similar subjects, from preventing and healing cancer and other illnesses, to the dangers and marketing hype of vaccinations. Unfortunately, they are all in French. But he does have a website with a little more information, that is Google-translated into English. He also pointed me to www.learninggnm.com.

For me, this is a fascinating subject. I think we all believe to some degree, that when we are depressed, anxious, or fearful, we are more likely to get sick, and less likely to heal. But his research (and that of other doctors) goes so far as to discover connections between specific types of events we are fearful about, and specific illnesses – even specific emotions/fears that cause disease in specific organs! Very interesting stuff.

Fun with the Mundane

Marie getting her hair done

That afternoon, Jen and the girls got haircuts. We had lunch at a local café, and that evening we got the girls some new shoes, since the shoes they brought with them are falling apart. (We’re walking a lot more than usual, these days).

Thursday, we went to the Grecia library. It’s a very small library, and their children’s section contains maybe 200 books? Judge for yourself by the picture below. Regardless, we had a lot of fun reading to the girls, doing puzzles, and practicing Spanish by playing with sock puppets.

There was a little boy there named Brian, who was all alone (I guess his mom was around somewhere). He really took a liking to Jen, who lovingly read him several stories in Spanish.

My Spanish is improving quite a bit. I can understand a lot of what some people say, and can often get my point across. My vocabulary is still very limited, and I’m horrible at conjugation, but I’m making progress. At least I’m no longer fearful to start up conversations. Just practicing and asking questions has helped a lot.

Jennifer Got a Bite?

Unfortunately, Jennifer hasn’t been feeling very well this week. After dinner one night, she found a lot of red dots in her upper thigh which itched. They were similar to mosquito bites, but different. We think it was probably a wasp of some kind, because she’s had some strange reactions to it, like itching all over (even on her tongue), sore muscles in many places, and a slightly swollen neck. It’s starting to get better, but it’s been a fairly uncomfortable week for her.

We’re really excited about our new house. Stay tuned for more info about it, and pictures in a future post. In the mean time, enjoy this video:

Related posts:

1. Our New Home in Costa Rica
2. We Made it to Costa Rica!
3. We’re Moving to Costa Rica

We’ve seen everything from a luxury estate with an infinity pool, jacuzzi, and million dollar view, to tiny, run-down Tico houses that would be more claustrophobic than comfortable. Yet, we’re still not sure what what we’ll choose, and what would be best for our family.

When we got here, we were set on renting a fully furnished house, for 3-6 months, and then decide what we wanted to do at that point. We soon realized that in the smaller towns that we’re looking in, there aren’t a lot of furnished rentals. We’ve seen rent prices ranging from $250/month to $1,500/month, some definitely overpriced, and some that would work well for us. But we just can’t seem to decide.

Why Are We So Picky… sometimes?

Typical Costa Rican Landscape

One of the reasons we love Costa Rica is for the breathtaking beauty of its natural surroundings. And we want to live in a house that accentuates that with a beautiful view, or lovely gardens, etc. We’d also like the house to be big enough for us to live comfortably, and accommodate visiting guests on occasion. We’d like to be close to other children for our kids to play with, and have bus access to the town, so we don’t need a car. And of course we must have high speed Internet. Combined, these seem to be pretty high demands, and more so if you throw in a swimming pool and a playground for the kids.

Unfortunately, we chose to come during the high season (their summer), so many of the really nice places that do have what we want, are already booked until April or May, and are very expensive. And many of the places left require at least a one year commitment. We’d rather not be tied to a place for a year, just in case we end up not liking it – or the barking dog next door. Then again, I’m pretty sure we’re going to like it here in general, and a year would force us to settle in more and possibly make stronger friendships. We’ve thought about getting a vacation rental further away for 2-3 months while we wait for some other options to open up as low season begins. Decisions, decisions…

Furnished or Unfurnished?

Nice house - but unfurnished

We’ve also considered renting an unfurnished house (since they are much more plentiful) and buying furniture for it. But the prospect of hunting down, purchasing, delivering, decorating, maintaining, and eventually selling all that furniture and appliances, really does not appeal to us, and is one of the reasons we got rid of all our stuff in the first place.

And in Costa Rica, “unfurnished” means completely unfurnished. No refrigerator, no stove, no nothing. Since appliances cost almost twice as much here as they do in the states, we’re not looking forward to buying them. We have run across a nice couple who is going back to Canada and selling all of their furniture and more (including a digital piano!). And we could buy it all from them at a bulk discount. But we have to weigh the upfront expense of that, with the hassle of owning it, moving it, maintaining it and selling it, as well as the decreased mobility, which we value. This would only be worth it financially if we’re sure we’re staying at least a year or two, but would have the other drawbacks, regardless.

We Like Grecia, But What Else Is There?

Kids playing games at Grecia park

One other requirement we have is that we want to live within 30 minutes of a ward or branch of our church. There is a branch in Grecia, and in the nearby towns of Naranjo and San Ramón. We’re becoming attached to Grecia, though. The people are so friendly, shop keepers greet and chat with you, the kids are meeting friends, and we love the people in the branch here. That said, I still wonder what it’s like in other areas. We started looking at houses in the nearby town of Atenas, but there is no branch of the church there yet, and we found it would take over 50 minutes by bus to get to Grecia, which is a little far for us.

Part of me just wants to take off exploring the country for a few months, renting for a week here or there wherever we go (like we did in Panama), then choosing a place to settle down for a while. On the other hand, we could probably save money if we find a place to rent at a good deal as a home base (such as Grecia), and then take excursions as we see fit. You can get to the beach in about an hour or so drive from here, for example. I guess going back to our original plan of finding a furnished place for 3-6 months still might be the best way to “try out” this new lifestyle. But they can be difficult to find for a good price.

Besides House Hunting

Gerardo was so nice

We haven’t done much besides house hunting this week. But we have met a some very nice people. Gerardo, the father of our real estate agent took us to the mall (I didn’t know Grecia had a mall!). It’s fairly small, but has some theaters, clothing stores, a musical instrument store, an arcade, and some restaurants, including fast food like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut.

We spent an evening talking to a nice almost-retired man named Mike, who’s staying at a vacation rental we’re considering renting once it becomes available in April. The girls got pretty bored since the adults were just talking. I remember feeling like that as a kid. We also had lunch one day at Ben & Janell’s house, who are the Canadian couple I mentioned above. They’re also members of the branch here. Very nice people. While we were visiting, the girls had fun exploring the sugar cane fields behind the house and watching “Little Mermaid” on their Mac.

Earlier in the week, we also walked around the “old” mall called Fábrica, which is now turning into office space. But they have a gym there, and we saw a Taekwondo class going on. The instructor invited the girls to participate. It was really cute watching them try to punch and block, especially when receiving instructions in Spanish. I took some videos of it you can watch below. They both wanted to take “karate” afterward. It would probably be good for them. (Although I’m a bit partial to soft-styles like Tai Chi now.)

Hopefully we’ll make up our minds soon and figure out where we want to live this week. We’re all getting tired of looking. But we sure love it here – especially the weather and the people! Pura Vida!

Related posts:

1. A Little Update
2. Week 2 in Grecia, Costa Rica
3. We Made it to Costa Rica!