Top 10 Things I Love about Costa Rica
1. Open windows bringing fresh air into the house day & night
2. Three huge pineapples for $2
3. A bus that stops in front of our house & is always on time
4. Laundry dried on the line
5. Fresh eggs from my neighbor
6. My cats are very happy
7. Lime trees full of delicious fruit in our yard
8. Weekly farmer's market with bargain prices
9. Neighbors are necessary
10. I'm realize that I'm braver than I thought I was
Top 10 Things I Miss About the US
1. Stacks of free books from the library
2. Organic food
3. Walking safely across the street in a crosswalk
4. Being able to walk Apollo down the street without hoards of loose dogs barking in a frenzy
5. Having a car to go exploring in
6. Two day delivery from Amazon
7. Recycling centers
8. Yoga classes
9. Netflix Instant Queue
10. The feeling that I know what the hell I'm doing
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Day to Day Life
One of the biggest adjustments to living in Costa Rica is the food. I underestimated how limited the grocery store selections would be and how unfamiliar I would find so many items. In my US life, I had evolved into a super picky consumer. We were eating a diet around 80% organic, gluten-free and almost no canned, boxed or processed food. I am not used to using any kind of regular soaps, detergents, shampoos or lotions as well. I was purchasing many items from food co-ops, online sources and specialty markets. So I wasn't just strolling down the aisles of regular US grocery stores. It was a shock to realize just how limited my selection of everything. Even though there are several different chains of grocery stores, they isn't much variety in what they carry. I will need to cook more traditional Costa Rican recipes just because that's all the ingredients I can get my hands on. I had to buy some laundry detergent with fragrance, which I haven't used for over 10 years. My precious supply of Dr. Bronner's, which I can use for almost everything, only lasted about a week. I would have brought a suitcase full of it if I had realized that I couldn't buy it, or any other kind of clean soap, here. So my delimited, hyphenated lifestyle will pretty much have to go out the window.
So far we have been starting our day with fruit, which one of the best things about Costa Rica for sure. Eggs are also plentiful and obviously familiar. My landlady has her own chickens in her yard and will bring me fresh eggs whenever I need them (by the kilo, not the dozen, brought loose in a tied up plastic bag and never refrigerated). Black beans and rice, called Gallo Pinto, is the staple, along with Arroz con Pollo, which is basically a refried rice with chicken. Strangely, I have not been able to find pinto beans or red lentils here, which are the favorites in the family. There is no brown rice to be found either. So far I have been able to make chili con carne and soup in the crockpot, which is my best friend in the world. Last week we went to the big farmer's market in Grecia, called the Feria, and it was pretty amazing and a bit overwhelming. My plan to is to try and get most everything I need for the week there: fruit and vegetables but also beans, dairy and some prepared foods like bakery items, tortillas, tacos and ceviche. I like to have a few things in the freezer as back up meal insurance! It is also common for vendors to come door to door selling various items. I have been able to purchase fruits and vegetables this way, which saves me lugging groceries home.
In traditional Tico homes, there is no hot water heater. So dishes are washed by hand in tepid water. For some reason, I was in the habit of more or less washing dishes with hot water and soap and then putting them in the dishwasher. I guess I just really like really clean dishes. I try to rinse everything right after I use it to minimize the scrubbing but I do have the feeling that things just aren't as clean as I'd like them. Same deal with the laundry. I did get a new automatic washing machine, which I am grateful for, but with the cold water, things don't seem to get a whole lot cleaner. So far I can tell if my clothing has been washed because it's horribly wrinkly from drying on the clothes line. I have the vague impression that everything is slowly getting more grimy and frumpy with every washing. ha ha. Also, there is a certain learning curve to drying laundry on the line. I have gone out to check it and decided to leave it out a little bit longer to finish drying completely, only to find that the humidity had risen and the clothes had started absorbing moisture from the air and were getting wetter again.
If you've read anything about Costa Rica, you may be familiar with the infamous "suicide showers". It's some kind of set-up where electrical wirea heat the water as it comes through the shower. The trick is to adjust the water flow to a level that will allow you to actually get hot water. If you turn the flow of water up too quickly, it turns ice cold. So have to choose: strong water pressure or heat. You can not have both! In our shower, the floor is only marginally sloped towards the drain, which is just an unfinished hole cut into the tile. I don't mind the water pooling up a bit since my feet are always really dirty from running around barefoot all day. Since there are no bathtubs in Tico homes, this is as close as I'm gong to get. After I'm done with my shower, I use a squeegee to try and get all the water down the drain.
So far we have been starting our day with fruit, which one of the best things about Costa Rica for sure. Eggs are also plentiful and obviously familiar. My landlady has her own chickens in her yard and will bring me fresh eggs whenever I need them (by the kilo, not the dozen, brought loose in a tied up plastic bag and never refrigerated). Black beans and rice, called Gallo Pinto, is the staple, along with Arroz con Pollo, which is basically a refried rice with chicken. Strangely, I have not been able to find pinto beans or red lentils here, which are the favorites in the family. There is no brown rice to be found either. So far I have been able to make chili con carne and soup in the crockpot, which is my best friend in the world. Last week we went to the big farmer's market in Grecia, called the Feria, and it was pretty amazing and a bit overwhelming. My plan to is to try and get most everything I need for the week there: fruit and vegetables but also beans, dairy and some prepared foods like bakery items, tortillas, tacos and ceviche. I like to have a few things in the freezer as back up meal insurance! It is also common for vendors to come door to door selling various items. I have been able to purchase fruits and vegetables this way, which saves me lugging groceries home.
In traditional Tico homes, there is no hot water heater. So dishes are washed by hand in tepid water. For some reason, I was in the habit of more or less washing dishes with hot water and soap and then putting them in the dishwasher. I guess I just really like really clean dishes. I try to rinse everything right after I use it to minimize the scrubbing but I do have the feeling that things just aren't as clean as I'd like them. Same deal with the laundry. I did get a new automatic washing machine, which I am grateful for, but with the cold water, things don't seem to get a whole lot cleaner. So far I can tell if my clothing has been washed because it's horribly wrinkly from drying on the clothes line. I have the vague impression that everything is slowly getting more grimy and frumpy with every washing. ha ha. Also, there is a certain learning curve to drying laundry on the line. I have gone out to check it and decided to leave it out a little bit longer to finish drying completely, only to find that the humidity had risen and the clothes had started absorbing moisture from the air and were getting wetter again.
If you've read anything about Costa Rica, you may be familiar with the infamous "suicide showers". It's some kind of set-up where electrical wirea heat the water as it comes through the shower. The trick is to adjust the water flow to a level that will allow you to actually get hot water. If you turn the flow of water up too quickly, it turns ice cold. So have to choose: strong water pressure or heat. You can not have both! In our shower, the floor is only marginally sloped towards the drain, which is just an unfinished hole cut into the tile. I don't mind the water pooling up a bit since my feet are always really dirty from running around barefoot all day. Since there are no bathtubs in Tico homes, this is as close as I'm gong to get. After I'm done with my shower, I use a squeegee to try and get all the water down the drain.
Being Uncomfortable
I have been thinking a lot lately about people's reactions to things I share. I guess since I have been doing a lot of weird things lately, this has been sticking out to me. I notice that people's responses generally go one of two directions. If I am describing a difficult emotion or situation, either they will immediately offer solutions, trying to fix things, or they will somehow deny it or want to ignore it. "Everything is going to be fine." might be a typical response. I am hypothesizing that when I share something that is bringing up discomfort in me, it is triggering discomfort in others and setting off a protective reaction. I am moving toward a place where I understand that the areas that I am uncomfortable with are where I need to inquire into. This may be by asking questions to discover what is hidden there or it may be to just sit in presence to what is coming up. I find myself torn between not wanting to reveal the fullness of what is going on with me to others, because I feel frustrated at the common responses, and also wanting to be more truthful and transparent with others, to be a more honest version of myself. I am just now, at 50, really starting to understand myself. I think I have always had trouble finding the perfect place for myself because I am a curiously mix of needs. I do need a lot of time to myself but I also get very restless and wonky if I don't get out and explore. I can certainly understand those who think I am a pain in the ass, as I am a great burden to myself!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
The Flying
We left the motel on time and headed to the airport to complete what was the most time sensitive part of our journey. We pulled up to the United curb and I had a bad feeling that something was not quite right. I jumped out of the car to run in and alert someone that we had many bags to check in. Well guess what - the airport was totally deserted. I had not anticipated that no one would be there at night. I walked until I found a TSA guard and asked her when the United people would arrive. She said around 3:30 or 4:00 am. Holy cow not good. I walked back out and broke the news to Dale. I felt remiss that I had not double checked what time the check in counters would be open. I had just assumed that someone would be there 24 hours. Of course we could have used the extra sleep as well. Dale suggested that we find a Denny's to hang out in and the GPS obliged me so we were able to sit and have something to eat while we waited it out. By this point, I was starting to break down into tears periodically. I had cried when we left Sedona but now I was just feeling the pressure and the stress of everything.
So enough it was time to leave for the airport yet again. This time when we got there, there were travelers already in line but still no agents. I got in line and left Dale outside with the U-haul and the rental car. Finally around 4:15 am they started to show up and open the check in kiosks. About the same time, Dale managed to tip/bribe some Skycaps to start unloading our bags onto carts to bring in. About the same time as all that, the security guard came in and started yelling about someone with a red Toyota left parked out front, which of course was me. She also noticed the U-haul truck parked at the curb, which was a huge red flag. There was literally no way we could get everything done that we needed to without parking at the curb. Well I just started to cry because I had no idea what to do. We were under a huge time pressure and if she had the rental car towed I didn't know what would happen. Anyway, once again when it seems like we were on the brink of disaster, things turned around. Dale told her what the situation was and she ended up saying she would let the parking pass and even gave us an escort part way to the U-haul drop off place. Well, first I should tell you that we ended up with 28 bags to check. We were truly a sight to behold and one I don't think the people at United will forget for some time. Dale's weighing was perfect and there wasn't a single bag over-weight. So after checking everything in and getting our boarding passes, we tore out of there to return both the U-haul and the rental car. We were in such a frazzle by the time we got to the rental car drop, I turned in the rental car key with my personal keys still on it. Dale didn't turn his key in at all and it came with us to Costa Rica. Sheesh.
By now we were at a dead run to try and make the plane. We each had the maximum carry-ons of course but we also had a bag of stuff that we had forgotten to put into storage. Our bags were already huge and over-stuffed and a good amount of it was our electronics, as Dale felt it was safer to carry them on with us. Well, of course security wanted all electronics to be removed and placed in a separate bin. We ended up using about 8 bins but of course you knew we were going to get pulled aside for a physical inspection. Dale had everything packed just right so it was very difficult to re-pack and get the bags closed after TSA had rummaged through them. But there was no time for a bathroom break or to get water. We had to run to the gate and were the very last people on the plane. They said "Oh are you the Athy's?" as we approached. I guess we were getting somewhat famous by now. I had to give the agent the bag of our things meant for storage because there was no way to fit in anything more onto our carry-ons and we didn't want to check such a small amount of things for $150.
Once on the plane to Houston, we were once again plagued by the terrible thirst. I was able to beg some water from one of the attendants for Jack straight away and when they did the beverage service, we were able get a bottle of water for all of us to share. It was weird but it was like all of three of us had never been so thirsty. At our stop in Houston, I ran to Starbucks to get drinks, snacks and bottles of water to try and tide us over. I thought I was pretty fast but as I was coming back Dale ran up frantically saying we needed to board the plane right now. Yup - we were the very last people to get on the place again. At least I had some provisions for us as we were all beginning to feel the strain of no sleep, near misses and all the frantic rushing. We all wanted to nap desperately but these seats seemed even smaller than the last and there was no possible way to get in a comfortable position. I was do fried to read, knit or even watch the TV. By this time, I was just checking off all the hurdles that we had gone through and hoping that we would be successful in the final challenges of our journey. I was feeling like Job, forced to do a Sysphusian task and then sent on the Odyssey. How's that for an epic adventure?
So enough it was time to leave for the airport yet again. This time when we got there, there were travelers already in line but still no agents. I got in line and left Dale outside with the U-haul and the rental car. Finally around 4:15 am they started to show up and open the check in kiosks. About the same time, Dale managed to tip/bribe some Skycaps to start unloading our bags onto carts to bring in. About the same time as all that, the security guard came in and started yelling about someone with a red Toyota left parked out front, which of course was me. She also noticed the U-haul truck parked at the curb, which was a huge red flag. There was literally no way we could get everything done that we needed to without parking at the curb. Well I just started to cry because I had no idea what to do. We were under a huge time pressure and if she had the rental car towed I didn't know what would happen. Anyway, once again when it seems like we were on the brink of disaster, things turned around. Dale told her what the situation was and she ended up saying she would let the parking pass and even gave us an escort part way to the U-haul drop off place. Well, first I should tell you that we ended up with 28 bags to check. We were truly a sight to behold and one I don't think the people at United will forget for some time. Dale's weighing was perfect and there wasn't a single bag over-weight. So after checking everything in and getting our boarding passes, we tore out of there to return both the U-haul and the rental car. We were in such a frazzle by the time we got to the rental car drop, I turned in the rental car key with my personal keys still on it. Dale didn't turn his key in at all and it came with us to Costa Rica. Sheesh.
By now we were at a dead run to try and make the plane. We each had the maximum carry-ons of course but we also had a bag of stuff that we had forgotten to put into storage. Our bags were already huge and over-stuffed and a good amount of it was our electronics, as Dale felt it was safer to carry them on with us. Well, of course security wanted all electronics to be removed and placed in a separate bin. We ended up using about 8 bins but of course you knew we were going to get pulled aside for a physical inspection. Dale had everything packed just right so it was very difficult to re-pack and get the bags closed after TSA had rummaged through them. But there was no time for a bathroom break or to get water. We had to run to the gate and were the very last people on the plane. They said "Oh are you the Athy's?" as we approached. I guess we were getting somewhat famous by now. I had to give the agent the bag of our things meant for storage because there was no way to fit in anything more onto our carry-ons and we didn't want to check such a small amount of things for $150.
Once on the plane to Houston, we were once again plagued by the terrible thirst. I was able to beg some water from one of the attendants for Jack straight away and when they did the beverage service, we were able get a bottle of water for all of us to share. It was weird but it was like all of three of us had never been so thirsty. At our stop in Houston, I ran to Starbucks to get drinks, snacks and bottles of water to try and tide us over. I thought I was pretty fast but as I was coming back Dale ran up frantically saying we needed to board the plane right now. Yup - we were the very last people to get on the place again. At least I had some provisions for us as we were all beginning to feel the strain of no sleep, near misses and all the frantic rushing. We all wanted to nap desperately but these seats seemed even smaller than the last and there was no possible way to get in a comfortable position. I was do fried to read, knit or even watch the TV. By this time, I was just checking off all the hurdles that we had gone through and hoping that we would be successful in the final challenges of our journey. I was feeling like Job, forced to do a Sysphusian task and then sent on the Odyssey. How's that for an epic adventure?
Friday, February 1, 2013
The Packing
Our plan was to pack all our belongings into suitcases and take them on the plane to Costa Rica with us. Dale has compared the cost of shipping by container with the extra baggage charges the airline would charge and figured that it was cheaper and easier to fly our stuff with us. Unfortunately, we grossly underestimated how much space our things would take up and how long it would take to pack them. Each bag had to weigh as close as possible to 50 lbs. without going over, which would cost an extra $100. Dale had to meticulously arrange items in a suitcase and repeatedly lift it on the scale to check the weight. Sometimes he would need to add more items and sometimes he would have to remove some. It was extremely time consuming and hard on his back. Even after being at it for days, there was still a lot to do to finish up the night before we were to leave. I had to make an emergency run to Wal-mart around 11 pm to buy two more suitcases, as it looked like we would run out. I went to bed when I returned home, hoping Dale would be along soon. Well, I woke up at 3:30 am and went out into the living room to find him looking totally exhausted and huge piles of things still unpacked. It was kind of like a scene out of "The Shining". I knew we were in deep trouble at that point. I stayed up for a couple of hours trying to help him. We both laid down to sleep a couple hours before we needed to get up to let in a friend, Jay, who was coming around 9 am to take the rest of the items that we weren't taking with us. There was a good hour of loading to be done with him plus the moving truck to be picked up, since all our bags couldn't fit in a regular vehicle, as well as a couple last minute errands, house cleaning and checking out with the new owner's real estate agent. We were also out of suitcase yet again. I told Dale that we had better just throw everything left into boxes and we could finish packing it all when we got to Phoenix. We were overbooked in the extreme! Thanks to Jay's generous help, we managed to leave Sedona at Noon, which was the latest we needed to be on the road to get the pets checked in for their flight.
Jack, Apollo and the cats rode with me in the rental car, while Dale followed in the U-haul. I had programmed all our stops into the GPS because I knew we would be tight on time and could not afford a single navigational error. I was a bit worried about driving on so little sleep but it turned out that I was pretty high on adrenaline so ti wasn't a problem. Jack was in charge of telling me jokes to make sure I didn't get sleepy and lose focus.
We arrived at the United Cargo facility a bit late but still within my time parameters. Right away there were problems as the clerk said that they crates needed to have soft bedding in them and the food and water cups attached. Well, I would have loved to have those things but we had been specifically told my United that the crates were not allowed to have anything in them, including bedding and cups, due to post-9/11 regulations. I felt just sick because we had throw away the cups that had come with the crates because I thought we could not use them. Fortunately, they had extra cups that attached onto the metal door that they could give us and we had some towels that we hadn't had time to pack in the trunk of the car that we used for their bedding. They even had frozen water to put in the water cups so that was comforting. It was a near disaster that turned out alright, a pattern that would be repeated many times over the next 24 hours!
Next stop was to find the Secretary of State office at the Capitol to have them review our paperwork that would need to become residents if we decided to go that route. It would be difficult to take care of all the paperwork requirements once in Costa Rica so we wanted to get as many documents apostilled as possible and see if any would need to be reordered. We were all feeling a bit frazzled at that point, having eating almost nothing all day. Our small convoy navigated through downtown Phoenix and managed to find a great restaurant where we could recharge with some Pad Thai. Dale and I analyzed the best way to approach what needed to happen next and came up with our plan of attack.
Now it was time to find our motel, which was blissfully close to the restaurant. Upon check in, the manager frowned at our U-haul and said that he was totally booked and we could not take up two parking spaces. This news resulted in a short stare down session, as I mentally calculated the chances of us finding another motel at this late hour (next to none). I kind of threw up my and said "Well what do you suggest?" I mean it's not like I could make our U-haul disappear! I was so hoping for a shower before our flight, the one I had been hoping to take before we left Sedona. Now I had visions of us sleeping in the rental car at the airport. I guess he took pity on us or didn't want me to post a bad review on Yelp or something but he went outside and figured out how we could park the rental car in the loading zone next to the U-haul. We brought some things into our room, then all piled in the U-haul to make a stop and our storage facility to drop off a few more things that we had decided to store. After unloading things there, we needed to find a Wal-mart for the purchase of a couple more suitcases because, yet again!, we were running short. We also needed to buy some water because we were all developing this horrible thirst that could not be sated. I don't know if it was just the stress or what but we were all just nearly crazed for water.
So back to the motel with U-haul and time to finish the packing that hadn't gotten completed at the house. It was still just a crazy mess of boxes filled with all kinds of stuff. We were all showing signs of extreme fatigue be now. Dale's back was about ready to give out and Jack was staggering in the manner of a zombie. It was about 9 pm when we got to the motel and I had calculated that we should get to the airport right at 2 am because our flight was at 6 am and four hours was the earliest that you could check baggage in. I wanted to allow the maximum time to check in our many bags, complete our flight check in (there was extra paperwork that had to be verified before we could get our boarding passes) AND we had to return the U-haul and the rental car and get through security. That meant that we should get up around 1:30 am to leave the motel . Jack laid down to try and rest while Dale and pretty much just threw things into the suitcases and weighed them, without much regard for orderliness. Finally about 11 pm we both laid down but in the process woke Jack up which meant that now he couldn't get back to sleep. So for the next two hours, we were all taking turns getting up and down, drinking water and tossing and turning. I think we all finally fell asleep about 1 am, just in time for the alarm to go off at 1:30. Off to the airport we went, groggy as can be!
:
Jack, Apollo and the cats rode with me in the rental car, while Dale followed in the U-haul. I had programmed all our stops into the GPS because I knew we would be tight on time and could not afford a single navigational error. I was a bit worried about driving on so little sleep but it turned out that I was pretty high on adrenaline so ti wasn't a problem. Jack was in charge of telling me jokes to make sure I didn't get sleepy and lose focus.
We arrived at the United Cargo facility a bit late but still within my time parameters. Right away there were problems as the clerk said that they crates needed to have soft bedding in them and the food and water cups attached. Well, I would have loved to have those things but we had been specifically told my United that the crates were not allowed to have anything in them, including bedding and cups, due to post-9/11 regulations. I felt just sick because we had throw away the cups that had come with the crates because I thought we could not use them. Fortunately, they had extra cups that attached onto the metal door that they could give us and we had some towels that we hadn't had time to pack in the trunk of the car that we used for their bedding. They even had frozen water to put in the water cups so that was comforting. It was a near disaster that turned out alright, a pattern that would be repeated many times over the next 24 hours!
Next stop was to find the Secretary of State office at the Capitol to have them review our paperwork that would need to become residents if we decided to go that route. It would be difficult to take care of all the paperwork requirements once in Costa Rica so we wanted to get as many documents apostilled as possible and see if any would need to be reordered. We were all feeling a bit frazzled at that point, having eating almost nothing all day. Our small convoy navigated through downtown Phoenix and managed to find a great restaurant where we could recharge with some Pad Thai. Dale and I analyzed the best way to approach what needed to happen next and came up with our plan of attack.
Now it was time to find our motel, which was blissfully close to the restaurant. Upon check in, the manager frowned at our U-haul and said that he was totally booked and we could not take up two parking spaces. This news resulted in a short stare down session, as I mentally calculated the chances of us finding another motel at this late hour (next to none). I kind of threw up my and said "Well what do you suggest?" I mean it's not like I could make our U-haul disappear! I was so hoping for a shower before our flight, the one I had been hoping to take before we left Sedona. Now I had visions of us sleeping in the rental car at the airport. I guess he took pity on us or didn't want me to post a bad review on Yelp or something but he went outside and figured out how we could park the rental car in the loading zone next to the U-haul. We brought some things into our room, then all piled in the U-haul to make a stop and our storage facility to drop off a few more things that we had decided to store. After unloading things there, we needed to find a Wal-mart for the purchase of a couple more suitcases because, yet again!, we were running short. We also needed to buy some water because we were all developing this horrible thirst that could not be sated. I don't know if it was just the stress or what but we were all just nearly crazed for water.
So back to the motel with U-haul and time to finish the packing that hadn't gotten completed at the house. It was still just a crazy mess of boxes filled with all kinds of stuff. We were all showing signs of extreme fatigue be now. Dale's back was about ready to give out and Jack was staggering in the manner of a zombie. It was about 9 pm when we got to the motel and I had calculated that we should get to the airport right at 2 am because our flight was at 6 am and four hours was the earliest that you could check baggage in. I wanted to allow the maximum time to check in our many bags, complete our flight check in (there was extra paperwork that had to be verified before we could get our boarding passes) AND we had to return the U-haul and the rental car and get through security. That meant that we should get up around 1:30 am to leave the motel . Jack laid down to try and rest while Dale and pretty much just threw things into the suitcases and weighed them, without much regard for orderliness. Finally about 11 pm we both laid down but in the process woke Jack up which meant that now he couldn't get back to sleep. So for the next two hours, we were all taking turns getting up and down, drinking water and tossing and turning. I think we all finally fell asleep about 1 am, just in time for the alarm to go off at 1:30. Off to the airport we went, groggy as can be!
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