Summer of 2011 and East Trip

I’m not sure where the summer of 2011 has gone, but snap your fingers and here it’s already the first week of August.  I don’t know if the time is going faster cause I’m getting older, or I’m getting older cause the time is going so darn fast.

Our busy summer has been spent visiting with family and friends.  We’ve had BBQ’s, get togethers, poker tourney’s and lots of cards nights with Ken and Rosie.  Rosie loves to cook; Ken, Mike and I love to eat whatever it is that she comes up with; and the 4 of us love to play pepper.  It’s a win win situation for all of us.

We’ve also had lots of campfires at our place, but oddly, we’ve only burnt one load of wood so far.  The summer has been so busy, that we decided that it was time for a good old fashioned camping vacation.

So this past Wednesday, after loading up our new escape, we left Strathroy shortly before noon and headed East.  We had pretty heavy rain through Toronto and it wasn’t until around Kingston that it finally eased up.  We spent a night just West of the Quebec boarder.  Within no time at all, we had our camp set up. 

Mike and I haven’t been on a camping trip since the summer of 2004 and it felt pretty good to be spending a night in a tent. 

Thursday we continued along and found our selves in old Quebec City.  There was some kind of festival going on and there were 10’s of 1000’s of people roaming the streets. 

We ended up driving around as much as we could, as there was also a fair amount of construction going on.  After spending a good couple of hours driving around, it was time to head on.  We drove for a few hours more and found a campground for the night. 

The next night we spent in New Brunswick; and arrived in Nova Scotia around noon on Saturday.  Roughly 1900 kilometers from leaving London.  And only 3 ½ tanks of gas. 

The weather has been wonderful so far.  Mid 20’s and today is the first day of rain since leaving on Wednesday. 

We are currently camped beside the Bay of Funday in a place called Parkers Cove.  And we are heading counter clockwise around the province of Nova Scotia; along the coast as much as possible. 

This is my first time here; and Mike hasn’t been here in 40ish years.  It’s absolutely beautiful.  Lush green rolling hills.  Well maintained houses on beautiful lots.  And hardly a piece of garbage anywhere.  Most of yesterday and today were spent driving through the country side and we passed one farmers field after another.  And going through one little quaint village/town after the next.  What a great way to spend the day while driving through a beautiful province. 

We also stopped in at Anne Murray’s center in her hometown of Springhill, NS.  I’ve been a big fan of hers since I was a young girl; and it was pretty neat to walk around, see her history and hear some songs. 

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Settled In; New Wheels and A Golden Anniversary

The time has just flown by since we’ve been home.  Busy cleaning, unpacking, opening up the rig; and lots of shopping.  Throw in a few visits with family and friends; and just like that, 2 weeks have gone by.

To some, we live in a trailer; but to us, our rig is “home sweet home” and boy does it ever feel good to back amongst our “stuff”.  You don’t realize how comfy you got it; until you leave for 6 months and then come back to it all.

We had a few decisions to make this past winter; and one of the big ones is that we’ve decided to park our RV wheels… at least for a bit.  We’re not giving it up totally… but for now we’re going to call Trout Haven in Strathroy home; and we’ll head to a tropical destination for the winter months.

Our truck needed a lot of work and money to be brought up to snuff; and we felt with it being a 2002, it just didn’t seem worth it.  Also with the price of gas rising on a daily basis (it seems), the cost of pulling our rig will only sky rocket.

We’re pretty content with where we’ve been and what we’ve seen over the past 4 ½ years.  We’ve been from PEI to Key West and from Vancouver Island to just North San Diego; and lots of points in between. 

We always said that once Molly was gone, that we would be able to travel in a different way.  Her last gift to us was the freedom to travel; and although we still really miss her; we're filled with great memories of her.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Costa Rica this past winter; but the beauty of our lives is that we’re not committed to going back.  We’ll spend some time looking at maps over the summer and figure where we want to go. 

As a result of this big decision, we traded in our truck for a brand spanking new 2011 Ford Escape.  We absolutely love it!  One of the things that I’m going to look forward to the most is no more outrageous mechanic bills.  Other than an oil change every 5000 km’s or so, there won’t be much for us to do.  Going to love that!  It was a little bittersweet trading the truck in; as it had a big role in pulling us around the continent. 

And 50 years ago on May 27, 1961, my parents Jack and Joyce got married.  Congratulations to my parents on this milestone.  My brother, sister, grandkids, Mike and I, took them out for dinner a few weekends ago.  And this weekend their celebrating in Toronto.

Not many people celebrate 50 years of marriage; in fact my Dad is the first in his family; and my Mom is second only to her older brother.  I’m sure that it wasn’t always easy; but they persevered.  And in a world where divorce happens more and more all the time; I’m proud of my parents for sticking it through the rough patches.

Have a great time in Toronto Mom and Dad… we love you and look forward to celebrating many more years together.

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The Rest of our Costa Rica Trip

We thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our stay at Arenal Lodge.  Unfortunately the rainy season had begun; and for most of Sunday and until we left on Monday afternoon, it was rainy and very foggy. 

The best view of the volcano turned out to be on Saturday afternoon; and even then we didn’t get to see all of it.  The volcano has been quiet for the past 8 months now; and we didn’t even get to feel a tremor.

The lodge itself though was beautiful; and despite the rain, we walked around the grounds Sunday afternoon.  We spent a few minutes in the butterfly garden.  Only 6 blue morphous butterflies, but apparently there weren’t any last month.

We then went on a mile hike through a rain forest, right on the lodges’ property.  It was a little hard on my foot, as we spent most of the hike climbing and the descending stairs.  It was a beautiful hike though; and we got to see lots of beautiful foliage.

Monday afternoon we were picked up at 2:30 and off to San Jose we went.  It was about to be a 3 ½ hour roller coaster ride.  The driver wasn’t near as crazy as the two previous ones, but I was still holding onto my seat in front of me a few times.

It poured rain for most of the way, and the further up the mountain we climbed, the foggier it got.  You could see very little and I was relieved when we got into San Jose, where there was no fog or rain.

We had dinner, collected our deposit money, well some of it, and headed off to bed.  We were out the door and headed to the airport by 5:00 a.m.  We passed through customs without any problems and started the long journey home.

The flight was uneventful; we arrived in Atlanta and by the time we went through customs and security… again… we had roughly an hour to grab something to eat, before the next leg.

We arrived in Toronto; cleared customs without any problems and were met by my parents a few minutes later.  It was great to see my folks again, there’s nothing like a hug from family.  We stopped for dinner at Kelsey’s and arrived in London at 10 pm.  Visited with Ken and Rosie for a bit, before hitting the hay.  It was a long day, but we were happy to be back in Canadaland.

It’s wonderful to go away, but there’s nothing better than coming home.  I’ll write a new blog in a day or two with what we’ve been up to since being home.

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We Dined with A Macaw

Our last few days in the condo found us busy packing and cleaning.  It’s hard to believe that 6 months have come and gone already.

Joey picked us up late Friday afternoon, we stopped at the cable place to return the modem, then stopped to say goodbye to our tour friend Herman.  A quick stop at Joey’s to put some of the perishables we gave them away; then off to a beautiful sunset spot we went.

We drove up the highway for a bit, before heading up the mountain.  When we reached the top, we parked and hiked a short distance to a spectacular view of the Pacific, Jaco, Hermossa and surrounding area below.  It was beautiful.  Unfortunately the sunset wasn’t very spectacular; so after a few pictures we headed back to Jaco.

We had dinner at the Taco Bar and then stopped in at Joey and Eida’s to say goodbye.  A very nice couple and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them.  Only wish that we had met them sooner. 

This morning, we headed downtown to catch our bus that would take us to Arenal volcano.  I got to sit in the front passenger seat; and the driver pointed out a pineapple orchard, and a dinosaur (okay, it wasn’t a live dinosaur); unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a shot of either. 

The surroundings were beautiful and we got to see a little more of Costa Rica.  We stopped after a couple of hours; at a restaurant and had a half hour break.  We had a piece of banana bread; and then headed around back to see what was there. 

We were not expecting to see a half dozen or more red macaws.  All hanging around, squawking and posing for the many cameras.  Also a couple of peacocks and some other birds.  It was pretty cool.  We transferred our luggage to a second bus; and off to Arenal we went.

More beautiful country side all around.  Lush green foliage.  I was really glad not to be driving.  The road was filled with lots of twists and turns and more than once I was grabbing the seat in front of me to keep from being tossed out of my seat!  Both of today’s drivers were crazy drivers; but fortunately we arrived safely and there was lots to see along the way.

We even had to stop for 3 wild horses to cross the road.  If it wasn’t for the jeep behind us, that passed us and broke us the little soiree; we would have also watched some “afternoon delight” between 2 of them.

After almost 2 hours of a roller coaster ride, we arrived at the Arenal Lodge.  And boy is it ever nice!  We didn’t have too much of a chance to wander around yet; but what we have seen is pretty nice.

We did find time to relax in the hot tub with Arenal Volcano right there.  How cool is that!  Then late afternoon we headed over to the restaurant.  The black cloud had lifted and more of the volcano was exposed.

As we were ordering dinner a blue and yellow macaw came and landed on the patio.  Sweet!!!  When our smoothies arrived, she landed on the chair right beside me and then on the table.  She was heading for Mike’s smoothie when the waiter scared her off.  Her name is Stephania and she just lost her partner a few months ago; and she’s a regular here.

While we ate, she sat in front of us squawking.  Mike then hand fed her a strawberry and orange.  When the waiter took our plates, she flew away, squawking the whole time.  Like she was upset that the food was gone.  It was the first time that either of us had a macaw join us for dinner; and it was quite an experience.

The last hour mother nature again has entertained us with an amazing lightning show right off our patio.  Plus there is an orchestra of frogs, crickets, etc. all around us.  As I finish writing this blog, the storm has moved on; hopefully we’ll be able to see some lava running down the volcano; or at least feel a decent tremor.

All in all it’s been a pretty amazing day. 

Please click here to look at our pictures.

A Drive Through the Mountains

Early Tuesday morning, Joey and Eida picked us up; and we headed for the mountains.  We’ve been looking at these mountains for the past 5 ½ months, and finally we were going to drive through them and see what was over there.

The day was beautiful, hardly a cloud in the sky; and soon we were driving through the dense, lush foliage of the country side of Costa Rica.  It was beautiful. 

It didn’t matter which direction you looked, there was beauty to be seen.  The road was narrow and gouged with pot holes, but there was very little traffic.

About an hour or so into the drive, we stopped at the top of the mountain, and found a local soda to have breakfast.  A typical Tico breakfast is rice, beans and an egg mixed together. 

The food was good; but the views were breathtaking.  360 degree of beautiful, lush, green mountains.  Nice way to enjoy a meal.

We then continued on and eventually drove right across the ridge.  Jaco was spread out below; and it was a great way to see the town that we’ve been living in.  We could even see our condo; but not our balcony, cause there‘s so much foliage in front of it. 

And it was pretty cool to see the Pacific from this great vantage point.  Along with a lot of the many buildings and businesses that we’ve been too.  All in all it was a great way to spend the morning; and we all enjoyed it.

We then stopped in to stay good bye to our favourite doctor Brenda; we wish we could bring her home with us.  Then we continued downtown, picked up a few more souvenirs stopped in at the pharmacist; but the rest of our pills still weren’t in yet; so we headed home.

We ended up having to go back downtown later that night; and thankfully the pills were in.  We’re both starting to feel better; but it’s important that we get all of our meds in us.  Also turns out that we both picked up a different kind of parasite.  Both amoeba family, but different.  Hopefully by the time we arrive home on Tuesday, we’ll both be rid of it; and feeling 100% again.

Including tonight; it’s 6 sleeps til home and 7 til our own bed.  Looking forward to it. 

Please click here to look at our pictures.

Still Sick

The last blog update had us meeting our friends on the beach for a cookout.  By the time our friends arrived, the winds had picked up and it started to rain.  So much for the cookout on the beach.

It was pretty funny though at one point.  Now bare in mind, the temps were still 25-27 (80-84) and the wind was actually really refreshing.  One of the young girls with our group, stood up, wrapped her arms around herself, and declared that she was freezing!  I thought, sweetheart, you don’t have a clue what freezing is.

I wasn’t feeling the greatest at this point; so we headed home.  I won’t go into details, but by Sunday I was having dry heaves and pretty much felt like crap. 

Mike wasn’t feeling much better and at first we thought it was something that we ate.  A few days later, we thought maybe we had picked up a virus or something.

We stayed pretty close to the condo for the next few days; but finally on the Saturday of the Easter weekend, we headed downtown. 

There were 1000’s of people walking the streets of downtown.  Thought the week of Christmas was busy, but nothing compared to this weekend.  We stopped and said hello to a few of our friends; had a burger at Papas and then headed to the beach.

A few weeks before, you could have counted the people on the beach; a huge contrast to the amount of people out this day.  The tide was also in, which made the beach even smaller.  It seemed like the majority of the people were teenagers to late 20’s. 

People playing games, having cookouts, surfing, playing in the waves.  Every direction you looked, there were people… and lots of them.  I personally prefer it when the beach is almost empty.

Still feeling crummy, we headed off to the clinic this past Tuesday and by Thursday afternoon, it was confirmed that we both picked up a parasite.  Great!  We started the 10 days of medication last night; and with any luck, we’ll start to feel better sooner than later. 

When we got home on Tuesday from the clinic, we had a tucan land on a branch right off the balcony.  It was pretty cool.  And we even got a picture of it.  

As a result of our being sick, we’re going to stay in the condo for an extra 3 nights.  We’ll hopefully still have a chance to go to Arenal Volcano for the weekend, before heading home on Tuesday.


Please click here to look at our pictures.

The Sights and Sounds of Nature

Mike has been having some issues with his hernia; my foot is still sore; and this past week, we’ve both been battling some kind of “stomach flu”.  If we’re not over it later this week; we’ll head to the clinic and see if we’ve picked up a virus, or worse a parasite.

As a result of so much “down” time; we’ve spent a lot of time on our balcony over these past 6 months.  Talking, discussing our future, and enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.

Too many of us don’t ever stop to “smell the roses” and it’s amazing the show that is being put on around you, if you only stop to notice.

Here’s some of the amazing things that we’ve seen and heard off of our balcony.

Before coming to Costa Rica, I’m not sure if I really knew what a macaw was.  Well, after having them fly over us, almost daily, for the past 5 months… I do now! 

They almost always travel in pairs, squawking the whole way; and they have beautiful brilliant colours on their backs and wings.

Almost every morning, we have a squirrel who makes his way from one almond tree to the other; and it’s quite the process watching it eat.

A few weeks ago; a beetle landed on a leaf right in front of the balcony.  I grabbed the binoculars, and quickly discovered that she was in labour.  Watched her for almost 3 hours; and eventually there was a line of tiny white eggs.  She quickly gathered them up; as a group of ants were quickly moving in on her; and away she flew. 

We also had a few leaf cutter ant colonies; and it was quite amazing to watch them devour a huge leaf within a matter of hours; leaving nothing but the stem.

Most days, we have a hummingbird flying around; we’ve had 2 turtle doves land on our railing; and we seem to have a resident motmot that likes to live in the tree in front.  Yesterday, we had a group of 4 tiny brilliant green birds fly past us; we think they were either budgies or parakeets. 

We have also heard the noisiest sicadas… ever!  We thought the sicadas at home were noisy; but they ain’t got nothing on the sicadas that we’ve had here.  From dusk up to an hour; there were half a dozen of them right near our balcony; and talk about loud… Sounded like chain saws choking and sputtering, and then this high pitched screech that went on for a few seconds; before starting all over again.  Glad that they’ve moved on; now we get to listen to the frogs and crickets instead.

We have also been entertained countless times by mother nature’s fireworks.  The manmade fireworks that we enjoyed between Christmas and New Years, were nice, but nothing compared to the lightning shows that we’ve had right in front of us.

For a couple of people who love to watch a lightning show, it’s been a pretty nice place to do it.  We’ve only been chased off the balcony twice due to heavy rain, but most nights we’re able to sit out there without getting wet.

So, even though we’ve both been sick from time to time over this past winter, we picked a heck of a nice place to do it!  And got to see some things that were new to both of us.

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Playing in the Waves... Again

Bright and early on Wednesday morning, Joey and his friend Kevin picked us up and off to Hermosa beach we went for another morning of surfing and playing in the waves.

Along the way, we stopped and picked up another friend, Augie, and then we continued to the beach.

We parked the SUV at a friends place in a beautiful gated community.  Got a little glimpse again at how the very wealthy live.  The houses in this area are all well over a million.  With the Pacific Ocean, right out their back door… nice.

We found a log to sit on; and within a few minutes the guys were off surfing; and I was starting to take pictures.

There were a group of surfers up from us; so there was plenty to watch.  I walked along the beach for a little bit; taking pictures as I went.

Mike got a really bad burn on his back the last time he played in the ocean; so this time he kept a t-shirt on.  He played in the waves and managed to successfully body surf a few waves, before heading back in.

We were back to the condo late morning and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

On Thursday, Mike headed to the grocery store to get a few supplies.  Joey and Eida joined us for dinner.   I made shepherds pie and Eida brought a delicious avacado/pineapple salad. 

After dinner, we got out the cards and played some “high stakes” poker.  Since were weren’t playing for money, we “valued” the chips starting at a $1,000.  Eida had never played poker before… so of course she was the big winner. 

Joey and Eida also brought us a dream catcher wind chime from their store.  He had seen me looking at wind chimes earlier; and brought us one as a gift.  Very nice of them; and it’ll look great hanging from our rig’s awning this summer.  Thanks guys, it was very thoughtful of you.

And tonight, we’re meeting Joey, Eida and their friends for a cook out on the beach.  We’ll head down for the sunset; and then meet up with them.

We are really glad to have met such a nice couple; and look forward to spending some more time with them before we leave.  Which is quickly approaching.  We leave Jaco on May 4th and fly home on May 10th.

On a good note, Mike’s Aunt Marie is now out of the hospital and back at her own home.  Thanks for all the prayers that were being sent her way… it seems to have helped.

Rob is still deep in a coma, and could still use some extra prayers.

Please click here to look at our pictures

Playing in the Waves

The mornings seem to be the nicest and sunniest part of the day.  The humidity hasn’t had a chance to build yet, and the skies are usually clear and sunny. 

When we got up yesterday, the sky was sunny and blue; and it seemed like a perfect day to spend some time at the beach.

We had a bag packed and were out the door shortly after 10.  Because of my foot, we’re now taking a cab both ways. 

The beach is very quiet these days; and there were only a handful of people down near the area where we chose to swim.

Mike headed out first; and within a few minutes lost one of his aqua shoes; found it; and lost it again.  After looking around for sometime, he gave up, body surfed a few waves, and then headed back to shore.

A few minutes later, it was my turn to play in the waves, and that’s when Mike’s shoe showed up!  How lucky to have found it twice.

While Mike watched our stuff, I played in the waves.  The water still felt like bath water; and it was a lot of fun.

A while later, we strolled along the beach; and then back out to the main road.  Stopped in to say hi to Joey and Eida; and after a bit, we headed to the Café Del Mar and all got a cool drink.

By this time, the humidity had really built up; and the skies were once again threatening.  Stopped and picked up a few supplies; and got back to the condo; to be entertained for hours by mother nature. 

We had an amazing lightning show right off our balcony.  No rain, very little wind, just a few rumblings of thunder. 

This morning, Joey picked us up shortly after 9 am to take us to some of his favourite surfing spots.  We went to Herradura first, but the waves weren’t very good, so up the road to the South end of Jaco we went. 

While Joey made his way down the cliff to the surf; I watched a couple of macaws having one heck of a squabble!  They were fighting over one branch; and both successfully pushed each other off.  A few more loud squabbles, and off they flew.

We watched Joey surf for about a half hour or so; before he dropped us at the condo.  The next few days are supposed to produce big waves, and he will give us a call the next time he’s going.

It’s a great way for us to see some new places around here; and get some local stories; plus watch Joey surf.  It’s a win win situation for us.

The thunder and rain that never materialized last night; showed up this afternoon.  And although the rain has stopped for now; the sky is still pretty threatening.

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The rest of Jenn's visit

The rest of Jenn’s visit just flew by.  We spent part of Tuesday in the pool, until the thunder and lightning started.  We made it back to the condo just as the skies opened up; and Jenn got her first tropical storm.  When the rain stopped, we headed up to the road, and continued to watch the lightning for quite some time.

Wednesday, we took a cab downtown; and stopped in to say hi to Joey and Eida and let them know how much we enjoyed the tranopy tour.

We stopped and said hello to our friend German, and he took us to see some iguana's.  Never saw that many iguana's together before.  They were all gathering at the back of the restaurant, getting leftover bits of vegetables etc.  We then continued along, stopping in a variety of stores along the way.  We then headed to Rustico’s for an early dinner; and then off to the beach we went.

Jenn isn’t much of an ocean swimmer; so while we played in the waves, she kept an eye on our stuff.  The water was a lot warmer than either of us thought it would be.  Almost felt like bath water. 

We played in the waves for about a half hour; and after being thrown around, slammed a few times; and tossed into the “washer machine”, a half hour was plenty, and I was happy to be heading back to shore.  I took one pretty hard wave to the side of my face.  I was just getting on my feet from the previous wave, when - bam!  Ouch!!  I had time to plug my nose, and for a minute there, I thought that maybe I had broken it from the force of the water; but thankfully I didn’t.

Thursday was spent hanging at the pool; and early this morning, Joey picked up Jenn and took her back to the airport.  All in all it was a nice visit.

Today marks a special anniversary for Mike.  He retired 5 years ago from Ford!  He doesn’t miss it one iota and hopes he gets as many years of pension as he did work.  Only 26 and a half more years to go.  And also related to this topic, Mike received his first Canada Pension Plan cheque!  Whoo hoo!!  After all those years of contributing to it; the government will now be putting money into his bank account every month. 

A medical update about Mike’s Aunt Marie, she is no longer in critical care; but she is still in the hospital; and could still use some prayers.

And 3 weeks ago tonight; Mike’s younger brother Rob, fell into a diabetic coma.  It’s been a rough time for all of his family; and our hearts go out to his daughter Emalynn and his wife Karen.  Any extra prayers and good energy that can be spared sure would be appreciated.

Please click here to look at our pictures.

Jenn comes for a visit

The past couple of weeks have been pretty quiet… again.  My foot is still giving me a lot of problems, so a lot of our days are just spent lounging at the pool and basking in the sun.

The rainy season is quickly approaching; so we’re trying to soak up as much sun as possible.  The locals that we’ve talked to, are expecting the rains to start any time now; hope that we get a few good thunder/lightning storms while were still here.

Last week our friend Jenn confirmed that she was coming to Costa Rica for a weeks visit.  We started to look for a way to get her from San Jose to Jaco. 

While in a shop looking for souvenirs, we got talking to one of the shop owners.  Joey has lived in Costa Rica for 22 years and is a wealth of information.  He offered to drive us to San Jose to pick up Jenn; and it was the cheapest and most direct offer that we had so far… so we accepted.

We got to the airport with plenty of time; picked up Jenn and started heading back to Jaco.  Along the way, Joey stopped at a bridge that is known for the crocodiles that hang around there.  We stopped and got a few pictures.  We then stopped at a local fishing village and took a look at a fish market. 

When we arrived back in Jaco, we were all pretty hungry, so off to Rustico’s we went.  We then headed over to Joey’s house; and we were all impressed with his little piece of heaven, right downtown Jaco.   While having dinner, we made plans to get together on the beach for a fire.  Joey and his wife Eida gathered a few friends and we had ourselves a nice beach party.

Sunday, was spent at the pool and a trip to the grocery store for supplies.  And yesterday, the 3 of us booked a Tranopy tour through Joey.  He’s just started doing tours again; and it turned out that we were his first tour customers.

Off we went, and the 3 of us, along with our guide Nathan, headed up through the rain forest.  Since we were the last group of the day, we were able to stop our cable car whenever we saw something of interest.  

We saw lots of interesting wildlife; including a kuwati (relative of the racoon); a turkey vulture; a iguana and a tucan.  You could hear the tucan better than you could see it.

Once off the tranopy, we were toured around the grounds and saw lots of beautiful plants and flowers.  Also stopped in to see some snakes.

The whole tour was about 2 hours, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

A few weeks ago, we discovered a new restaurant.  Papas & burgers and their sign said that they had the best burgers in Jaco.  So we gave them a try; and their food was great.  We’ve been back one other time since.  This is where we took Jenn for dinner after the tranopy.

Chris, the owner, was quite happy to see us again so soon; and once again, the food was great.

Not sure what were doing today; as the sky isn’t sure if it wants to rain or not.  

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A quiet couple of weeks and then a scare

It’s been a couple of pretty quiet weeks around here.

Some of you will remember that I hurt my foot a while back on the boat for Mike’s birthday.  Well 3 weeks later, and my foot is finally on the mend.

I somehow pulled a tendon (or something) in my right heel.  It was pretty sore; and I couldn’t put any pressure on my foot.  Walking was a real challenge.  You don’t realize how much you use your feet until one of them gets hurts.

Even going to the pool was a challenge.  We have 3 flights of stairs to go up just to get to the road.  The pool across the street has a steep ramp to go up to get to it; and the other pool is 65 steps down a switchback staircase.

I was able to develop a “walk” that managed to get me around a bit.  Turned my foot to the right; and took a step with the whole foot moving, instead of having to move it up and down.  Seemed to work; but it still made it interesting to get around.

Finally started to feel better and we headed down to the beach last Saturday.  Watched the sunset for a bit and then went for dinner.  Tried a new place this time.  We shared a pizza; and it was just okay.  We then headed to the grocery store and took a cab back.

My foot was a little sore the next day, but much better than I thought it would be.  And now that another week has passed, it’s that much better again.

Yesterday, I had quite the scare.  We decided to move the couch and sweep underneath it; and I must have pulled a muscle.  About an hour later, I was having pretty sharp pains in my chest and was having troubles getting a proper breath. 

I thought I was having a heart attack.  But thankfully I wasn’t.  I didn’t want to alarm Mike, but with each breath becoming harder to get; I knew I had to do something.  After looking on-line for some information about a heart attack, I knew it was time to call for help.  Because my family has a history of heart problems, I didn’t want to mess around.

Mike went up the road and found Michael, who called a cab… which was faster than an ambulance.  He also was able to tell the cab where we needed to go.

We arrived at the walk-in clinic.  I went directly in to the front desk.  There were 3 people behind, and I asked the first person if she spoke English.  A little was her response.  I then told her that I had been having severe chest pains and was having troubles breathing.

Before I knew it, the other 2 people (one the doctor and the other an orderly) from the desk were leading me down a hall.  Helped me onto a bed; and had an EKG hooked up to me before Mike had even finished paying the cab driver.

Thankfully, I wasn’t having a heart attack.  Turns out that I had a muscle spam in my left chest cavity.  Within a few minutes I had 2 shots in my hip, one to relax the muscles and the other to open my air waves.  I began to instantly feel better. 

The doctor kept me hooked up to the EKG for about an hour; and commented that she felt like she was looking at the heart of a 15 year old and that I had 99% oxygen replacement in my lungs.  Boy was that good news!


The doctor, Brenda, that took care of me did an excellent job.  The clinic was small but very clean and well organized.  Turns out that I was the only patient, and she gave me care above and beyond.  Once I was stabilized, she asked me my name and then asked where I was from.  When I responded that I was from Canada, a big smile came upon her face and I quote “I love Canadians, you guys are all so friendly and polite”.  Made me feel good to hear that. 

My blood pressure did drop a bit while there; but an IV solution soon changed it back to normal.  110 over 60.  The total bill was $250 US and after talking to the insurance people last night;  a full refund will be issued upon filling out the forms after we get home.

Needless to say, I was pretty scared and had lots of horrible thoughts going through my head.  But I am thankful that it wasn’t anything serious.

On another note of health, Mike’s aunt Marie is in the hospital right now and could sure use some prayers, good thoughts and good energy to be sent her way. 

And from the time we got home late yesterday afternoon until we went to bed, mother nature entertained us with an amazing lighting show.  We even went up to the road at one point to watch it.

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Sportfishing on the Pacific

Yesterday, we checked another item off of our “bucket list”.  We spent the day sport fishing out on the Pacific Ocean.

On Sunday, we had walked downtown, to see the sunset, have dinner and talk to our tour guide friend Herman.  We told him that Mike’s 60th birthday was coming up this Thursday, and wanted to know what kind of a deal he could give us.

We settled on a full day of fishing for a great price; and bright and early Monday morning, the van came and picked us up.

We were joining a couple of guys from the U.S, Chris from Minneapolis; and Mike from Chicago.  It seems like almost every guy that we’ve met is a Mike.  Makes it easy to remember names.

We arrived at the drop off point and were water taxied out to our boat.  We were heading for the open ocean by 7:30 am.

By 8:30, we were “fishing”.  Well the lines had been baited and put out.  It was probably the easiest fishing trip that I’ve ever been on.  Didn’t have to touch any of the bait, or bait the line; and we didn’t even get to touch a rod. 

We had a really nice day out on the ocean.  Blue skies with just a bit of cloud.  And a really calm sea; which was a real treat.  And a couple of really nice guys to chat with.

The day couldn’t have been any better… except if we had actually caught something!  What a bummer… 8 hours spent trolling out on the sea… and nothing… not even a nibble.  There were roughly 30 boats out; and only 2 of them caught anything.  The day before, a 400 lb marlin had been caught. 

There were lots of fish jumping all around us; but none of them seemed to be hungry.  It was like they were teasing us.  A couple of times, we saw a school of sail fish.  4-6 of them in one spot.  Over we would go; and by the time we made it the area, they were gone.  A few minutes later, you would see them again in a new area, and if you looked real close… you could almost see them laughing at us.

We also had a school of dolphins swimming around us; and at one point, 3 of them swam under the boat at the same time.  It was pretty cool to see.  There were also countless turtles; floating out in the sea; one even had a freeloader… a bird was riding on it’s back.

We arrived back at the shore and were picked up by a van and driven back to Jaco.  The guys were all starving, so we headed to Rustico’s for dinner.  The food once again was great.  One of the workers has gotten to know us; and is always happy to see us; especially cause we keep on bringing new people with us.  Everyone that we’ve brought there so far also loves the food.

All in all it was a great early birthday present for Mike; and even though we were skunked, we still thoroughly enjoyed our day on the Pacific.

We were both thankful for the calm sea; as we were both “swaying” pretty good for most of last night.  Felt like the whole condo was riding the swells.  I also did something to my right heel; and since late yesterday afternoon; I’ve barely been able to walk.  Not sure what I did… but boy oh boy does it ever hurt.  It’s making it difficult to walk right now…cause I can’t put any pressure on the heel or walk on the ball of my foot… cause that makes it pull… what  dilemna.  Hope that this doesn’t last too long.

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Manuel Antonio Park

Mike, the owner of the condo that we’re renting, showed up on Tuesday.  We heard some noises coming from upstairs, and assumed it was him.  We went up sometime after dinner; and introduced ourselves.  Nice guy, and within a few minutes we hit it off.

He told us that some of his relatives were here from San Jose and that they were going to Manuel Antonio park on Friday; and asked if we wanted to come along for the day.

We packed a lunch; and headed out the door late morning; and arrived in Manuel Antonio about an hour later.  Nice drive along the way and Mike was able to give us some history about the area.

Within a few minutes of entering the park, we saw a 3 toed sloth.  He was pretty high up in the tree; and the only picture I got is a bit fuzzy, but it was still cool to see one.

We then continued along until we got to the beach.  We found a place to sit; had some lunch; and just enjoyed the beautiful beach.

After a while, Mike and I took a walk and came across some monkeys and raccoons.  There were half a dozen monkeys and just as many raccoons.  The monkeys were mostly up in the trees; and some had food that had been snatched from people.

We stood and watched their antics for a while; and then continued along our walk.  There were lots of young kids here; turns out that school children are on their summer break.  The weather is a lot nicer at this time of the year then in the summer months; so it makes sense that their school break is now; instead of during the rainy season.

I was surprised to see all the raccoons here.  They were very aggressive; and more than one tried to go after food brought by the people.  A few times, we watched as people tried, unsuccessfully, to shoo the coons away with a stick.  The coons here are also a lot skinnier here than at home. 

We left the park late afternoon; and went in search of a restaurant for dinner.  We finally found one that was right on the beach.  Kind of a strange place.  Figured it was the kind of place that the “Rubbles and Flintstones” would eat at.  The tables and chairs were all stone and very uncomfortable.  Guess its easier to take care of, being right on the beach.

The food was okay, and Mike’s cousin Joseph treated everybody, as well as us.  Very nice of him.  We left there, and headed to restaurant #2... Never before have I left one restaurant and gone directly to another.  Everybody ended up eating again… except for me and Mike. 

While the others were eating, Mike and I looked in some of the shops; and then headed across the street to watch the waves.  There were also a couple of bonfires going; and we stood for a minute to watch the fire.  Way to hot to stand close for too long; but it was nice to watch a fire.  One of the things we miss the most from home is our nightly campfires.

We arrived back in Jaco around 9pm and Mike took the first exit in to town.  Lots of people out and about.  Within a few minutes we started to see motor cycles.  There must have been a couple of hundred of them; some really nice looking. 

It was a little disconcerting to see the colours and names of “The Hells Angels” and “Bandidos”.  I’m sure that the hotels and restaurants downtown are thrilled though; as business would be hopping. 

Yesterday, Mike took us shopping to get a few things that we needed for the condo; we then picked up his 2 older cousins; and headed back downtown for dinner.  The whole main street of Jaco was alive with 1000’s of people.  We ended up finding a quiet little place and all chowed down on pizza.

Over all, it was a nice weekend; it was nice to finally meet Mike the owner; it was also really nice to finally get to Manuel Antonio park. 

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My Birthday in Los Suenos

On a cold winter night (-18c), in Fort William, Ontario, a beautiful baby girl was born on January 22.  And that's when I entered the world.  I weighed in at 8lb 5oz and was 24 inches long.  I was always grateful that I had long legs, never in my life have I had to have a pair of pants shortened.

For those of you who don’t know this, Fort William no longer exists.  It’s kind of cool to say that I was born in a place that is no longer.  On January 1, 1970, Fort William and Port Arthur, along with two townships, Neebing and McIntyre amalgamated and became known as Thunder Bay.

It’s hard to believe that 45 years have gone by.  And this birthday, was definitely the warmest I’ve had yet.  It was very overcast, but still 31 c.  A long way from those freezing cold ones up north.  Much prefer spending a winter birthday in shorts and t-shirts rather than parkas and long johns!

We had heard about this place called Los Suenos; a marina with boats to take out tourists.  We had looked on the map for it; and since it wasn’t listed, thought it was a small fishing village.

I couldn’t have been more wrong!  We called a cab and headed up the highway just a few minutes before we turned off heading towards the ocean.  A few minutes later, we turned into this absolutely beautiful resort.  Called Los Suenos.  And for the next few hours, we got a glimpse of how the wealthy live.

Along the way, there was one beautiful condo after the next; and according to our driver, the really “nice” houses were on a private road.  Apparently Michael Jordan has a place there; and prices were said to be in the millions.

We also passed the Marriot hotel complex, and were told that a night there is $500 plus.  We then drove to the dock; left our cab and started looking around.

There were lots of really really nice boats.  In fact there were 3 of them, that we figure we could afford about a half a tank worth of gas with our yearly income.  Oh to be that rich!

There was a Tiki Hut style restaurant that wasn’t open yet; but we poked our heads in to take a look.  The first entrée listed was filet mignon for $40.50 - Yikes!  Obviously we weren’t going to be eating here.

We headed out to the pier and found some rocks to sit on and just watch the comings of goings of a marina.  We even stopped at a fishing tour company and inquired about some prices.

First price was for a boat, 3 bedrooms and holds 6 people.  Full day $3595.00 - YIKES!!! The cheapest boat available for a half day was $995.  You guessed it… we didn’t go out for a fishing tour!

Around 4:00, the boats started coming in.  They used the dock closest to where we were sitting; as a drop off point.  And not one of the boats had a successful catch.  A couple of them had “bites”.  Seems like a lot of money to spend to have a “bite”.  But to live and play in this area, you have to have a lot of money; and for some of these people, 4 grand is just a drop in the bucket.

We headed over to The Hook Up for dinner.  It had been recommended to us; and turned out to be a good choice.  Most of the people in here seemed to know each other.  Lots of the boat captains; and many of their passengers.  The place was really hopping.  The food was great; and it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to eat there.

All in all it was a great birthday.

There was also a special birthday in our family on Friday.  Mike’s baby brother turned 50!!!  Tomorrow, our niece Stephanie turns 24; and on the 27th  the latest addition to the family turns 1.  We wish all a very happy birthday and hope that everyone enjoys their day.

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A visit to Carara National Park

Yesterday was spent at Carara National Park.  We got up, packed a lunch; and headed out the door shortly after 11 am.

We walked down to the highway; and luckily for us; there was a bus just a few feet up.  There is some road construction going on; and the bus was in a stopped line.  Worked out perfectly.

We spent roughly 20 minutes on the bus; and got to see some new parts of Costa Rica.  We had one quick stop in a small town; and it gave us a chance to see how the locals live.

This is when you realize how good we have it at home.  Even some of the poorest homes in Canada or the States are in better shape than a lot of what we saw.  Will definitely have to go back; get off the bus; and wander for a few hours.

We arrived at Carara National Park just before noon; paid our admission, got our map; and away we went for our first Costa Rican rain forest hike.  We had heard about this place; and the draw of lots of monkeys, plus a roosting site for macaws was definitely the main reason for going.

It was a pretty humid day to begin with; and within minutes of walking on the trail; we were both soaked.  Good thing that I bought a new bandana to help stop the sweat from pouring into my eyes.

The foliage was beautiful; very lush and green.  Reminded me of being in the Avenue of the Giants in California; or of being in Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, BC; and of the Achafalyan Basin in Louisiana. 

The huges trees in this park weren’t giant redwoods or cedars, but cypress trees and cashew trees.  Some of the roots along the trails were really high.  And standing next to some of the trees, you looked and felt pretty small. 

There were also tons of leaf cutter ant colonies.  And watching these critters in action is something else.  Walking along the trail you would see the ants, carrying leaves heading in one direction.  Some of these would be up to 6 inches deep; and the width of the trail.  Some of their nests were right up to the trail; and others were quite a way into the bush.  We must have seen at least a couple of dozen colonies in action; and it was pretty cool to watch.

The reason for heading to the park was of course to see the monkeys and macaws; but the total for monkeys in the park was 0; the total for macaws in the park was 0; the total for macaws outside the park; while waiting for a bus to take us home was 3.

Other than the ants, we also saw a lizard basking in the sun.  We’ve seen more macaws from our balcony than we did there.  But the hike was still nice and we enjoyed it.

Hopefully there’s more wildlife at Manuel Antonio, which were hoping to see by the end of this week.

We were both pretty tuckered out when we got home; and really really sweaty!  So needless to say, after each having a nice long shower; it was a pretty quiet evening.  In fact, I was in bed by 9:30.  Guess the 4 km long hike through a really humid rain forest just knocked it out of me. 

And although it's a day early, Mike and I want to wish my Dad a very happy birthday for tomorrow!  Hope that he has many more; and enjoys his day in Florida - Love you Dad!

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New Years in Jaco

It’s hard to believe that the first week of 2011 is already done.  Where does the time go? 

During the week between Christmas and New Years, there were an awful lot of fireworks being shot off on a nightly basis.  We wondered a few times what New Years was going to be like. 

We ended up seeing one of the best and longest fireworks displays… ever!  Shortly after dark, which was about 6 pm the fireworks started.  We couldn’t see all of them, but you could certainly hear them. 

At 11 pm, we watched the ball being dropped from Times Square.  And about 11:50 we headed upstairs to watch the ever increasing booms in the night sky. 

Didn’t matter which direction you looked; there were fireworks being shot off.  And when midnight struck - holy moly!  Never saw or heard that many being shot off at once.  We had a really nice view of two displays that were going off at the same time; and both were non-stop for a good 45 minutes or more. 

We headed to bed shortly after 1 am and were jostled awake a few times with more going off; and the last time Mike heard one, his watch read 5:15 am.  Guess Tico’s really like their fireworks; and love having a reason to shoot them off.

Years ago, I had an opportunity to watch the Benson and Hedges Symphony of Fire on the Toronto lakefront.  Until this recent display, that was the best fireworks that I had seen; but New Years in Jaco, Costa Rica topped it by a long shot!  It wasn’t a fancy choreographed production; but the length and the amount were amazing.  At least 15 - 20 displays being shot off at the same time; and that was only the ones that we could see.  Both mountains surrounding us; were lit up from the far side.  It was an amazing sight to see.

This past week; has mostly been spent lazing around the pool.  Now that it’s empty again.  Three times during the holidays we headed over, to look down and see 15 or more people.  Much more enjoyable when it’s just us.

On Tuesday, we headed down to the beach; and watched another spectacular sunset.  Strolled along the beach and then to Lemon Zest for some crème boulee; but unfortunately they didn’t have any. 

We then caught a cab; and when stepping up and in, I experienced one of the worst Charlie horses that I’ve ever had!  I had this excruciating pain rip through my right calf; and within seconds, also in my left one!  Ouch!!!  It’s a good thing our cab driver understood enough English; cause it made me yell out in pain; and he might have thought I was crazy or something. 

As a result of this, it’s been a quiet past week.  Other than hanging at the pool and out on our balcony.  You never know what you’re going to see out there.  Along with a slew of beautiful birds, we’ve had a hand glider, a helicopter and recently, a colony of leaf cutter ants.  We been entertained for a few hours, watching these amazing little critters destroy a couple of big leaves in a mere few hours.  I’ve got some pretty good shots of this.

And this morning, I was woken by a torrential downpour.  You couldn’t see the mountains, or hear anything except for the rain.  And just when you think it’s raining harder then you’ve ever heard, it rained even harder.  Lasted for roughly 3 hours; but by the time we got up it was over. 

At this time, we want to wish all of our family and friends a great new year.  Happy New Years one and all!

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Christmas in Costa Rica

Our 15th Christmas together was certainly a great one!  We spent the morning and part of the afternoon talking to many of our family and friends via skype.  What a great way to talk to loved ones; and we were even able to see some of their presents!  Thanks Dave! 

Then, late in the afternoon, we walked down to the beach.  It was by far the busiest day on the beach so far.  Lots of families playing, swimming, surfing and just plain old having fun!

We found a nice place to sit and watch the activities going on around us.  Lots of dogs playing in the waves too.  Many of them chasing… coconuts!  That’s right coconuts.  At home, people throw balls or Frisbees, but here, there’s so many coconuts on the beach, that that’s what people throw. 

There were also lots of people surfing; as the waves were plentiful; and I’m sure that one or more of those boards were Christmas presents. 

We sat and watched an incredible sunset; and then strolled up the beach and then along main street.  I was surprised at how many shops were open.  Our friend Herman was out selling tours, and wished us both a Feliz Navidad.

We continued on up main street until we arrived at Lemon Zest.  We met Nellie Lemon, the owner of this restaurant at the bank a few days earlier.  She is from Florida and was able to ask a few questions on our behalf.  She also told us that she and her husband ran this restaurant.  We had seen it advertised; and that’s where we chose to have our Christmas dinner.

And boy, was it ever good!  Mike had a yellow fin tuna steak; and I had filet mignon.  Both accompanied by a fruit smoothie.  And Mike had his all time favorite desert… crème broulee.  Although it wasn’t a traditional turkey feast with all the trimmings; this certainly was a yummy second choice.

A few friends have asked if we miss having a white Christmas.  And the answer to that is an emphatic NO!  I was born and raised in Northern Ontario; and have had my fair share of white Christmases.  In fact, the past 2 have also been white; and I much prefer being in the tropics.  This is in fact our first tropical Christmas (you can’t really count Florida as tropical, can you?)  And it was very different. 

Not many decorations up; and so many of the shops being open; it seemed like just another day.

Mike and I haven’t exchanged presents for a few years now; and enjoy the stress free Christmas that we have carved out for ourselves.  It works well for us; and don’t miss any of the pressures for a perfect Christmas.

Then on boxing day, sitting out on the balcony, I spotted a couple of scarlett macaws flying around in the trees just up the road from us.  Grabbed the camera, and off we went. 

There were two of them in this tree; and we had a pretty good vantage point; as we were above them.  Ended up watching them for about an hour.   The last shot that I took, the macaw moved as I was snapping.  So it’s not the greatest picture.  Just then, my camera lens closed; and the “change batteries” icon was displayed.

And at the exact moment when I was changing the batteries, that’s when the macaws decided to fly off!!!  The timing couldn’t have been any worse!  We had a beautiful vantage point; and they were spread out from tip to tail in absolute beautiful colours!  Hopefully, I get another chance to take a full shot of them.

And mother nature gave us another absolutely beautiful sunset last night.  We made it up to the road just in time to take a few shots of it.

All in all, Christmas in Costa Rica, was just absolutely perfect!  Hope that all of you had just as perfect a day.

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First Pacific Sunset

Not sure what has happened to this past week; but poof, just like that it’s gone.

Last Thursday, or maybe it was Friday; we decided to make an effort to watch our first sunset on the beach.  We headed downtown later in the afternoon; and ended up having dinner at… you guessed it… Rustico’s.  The food is so good there; and after looking at a few menu’s along the way; Rustico’s it was.

We then headed to the beach to watch the sunset.  Lots of people walking along; and some people up from us were having a bonfire on the beach.  There’s lots of burnable wood that’s on the beach; and it’s a good way to clean things up a bit.  The clouds helped add to the colours; and it was a nice way to spend another day in paradise.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty overcast, rainy days.  But on the brighter side of things, we talked to my family via skype on Saturday.  They were all together at my folks to celebrate Christmas.  Then it was another skype call to Mike’s family on Sunday.

We got up in the early hours on Monday to watch the lunar eclipse.  The “best” time to watch according to NBC was about 2:40 est.  We got upstairs to the road at about 2:30 and just the very bottom of the moon was still visible.  Most of the moon was red; and we watched for roughly half an hour; before the neck muscles started to hurt.  Did get to watch the whole thing on the news the next night; and it was pretty neat to see.

We were planning on heading to Manuel Antonio (big National Park) on Tuesday; but we were pretty tired from the night before.  We also needed to pay our rent; and that pretty much took care of Tuesday and Wednesday.  Long story, but we keep on being told that things happen differently in the tropics.  And I’m starting to believe it.  After 4 days of trying; we were successful by Wednesday afternoon. 

We also had 2 walks back and forth to downtown; and it was really hot here on both days.  By the time we got back yesterday; I was pooped and the idea of heading to the park today; was totally out of the question.  We’ll try again next week.

When we arrived home from the sunset on the beach; we had taken a cab; with lots of bags of groceries. Turns out that we had a “freeloader” sitting on the sill of our door.  Mike had put down his bags to unlock the door and reached in to flick on the lights.  I was right behind him; when I heard him say “Oh, wow, look at this”.  My first thought was that we had been robbed.  But nope, it was just a 3 inch scorpion.  Yep, you read that right… he came in with us.  And was heading into the apartment.

We put a pot lid on top of him; and took care of the groceries.  A few minutes later, Mike tried to get him into a plastic container; but no go.  He started to get away; on with the lid again.  Now what?  That’s when I suggested the tongs.  Mike got him in a tight hold; and as I was getting the patio door open; the little bugger got free; and was gone just like that!

Not sure where he went; and needless to say; for the next few days; we walked around inside with our heads down. 

We have seen lots of critters around here.  We have a couple of resident lizards inside our condo.  A couple of tree frogs that like to hang out on our balconies overhang at night.  Lots of birds that fly by; including a couple of macaws.  Almost every night at the same time; you can hear them coming.  They always fly in pairs; and are really noisy as they fly.  A pair of them flew by the other night; fairly close; and then turned and flew past a second time.  Up to this point; we thought that they were only red.  But on the second time by; we saw not only the red; but blue and fuscia yellow and green.  Pretty cool.  Hope to be able to get a shot of them real soon.  Haven’t seen the Tucan’s lately; but with spending the day at Manuel Antonio (real soon); we should be able to get some good pictures.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas.  Feliz Navidad everybody!

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