I dropped off the face of the earth for a while guys – my apologies to anyone who has emailed me in the past 2 weeks. I will be getting back to everyone little by little.

The Arkansas trip was wonderful. We came back more tan than when we left Costa Rica! We had a blast staying at John Ed’s lake house with Jane, Andy, Ollie, and Emmett. We got to catch up with almost everybody at the fish fry, which was excellent (thanks for the great food everybody, especially dad for the delicious fish). Playing out on the lake in dad and Kay’s party barge was the best. It reminded me of every great summer I had on Lake Hamilton as a kid. We got to see Ollie and Emmett enjoying it, and the greatest part was that I finally got to see dad with them for the first time. Everyone was so nice. I missed Grandma and Grandpa so much – it has been a long time since I’ve seen them. Grandpa even made one of his amazing soups for all of us to enjoy. It was a great visit – I only wish it could have been longer.

We were in Pittsburgh for two days preceding the trip to Arkansas. It was so nice to sleep in our own bed! I really missed all of our friends and the dogs. It is a crazy house with 5 people, 4 dogs, and 2 cats, but they are taking care of everything so well. Luckily, Kristin and I managed to fit in time to walk the dogs out to the pond in Schenley Park so that they could go swimming. It was so great to watch them playing and to know that they are having an amazing summer too.

We lost a few days traveling from San Jose to Samara and recovering from all the travel, but we managed to get out and go off-shore fishing with Bob (Bob’s Fishing) on Tuesday (the 1^st). Wheweee! It was hard work! Jamie and Bob had a blast, though. They caught lots of Pargo (red snapper) and a few Sheep’s head. My proud moment was reeling in 2 Pargo at once from 200 ft deep water. However, it took several days before I could use my arms again. Really.

After that we moved on to planning a cook out in Carillo on the beach for the 4th of July. Craig and I went up to Nicoya the day before for the necessary supplies and groceries. Thanks to his tarp and hammock along with my American flags and beaded USA necklaces we had a great set-up. Add to that our great new friends and Jamie’s amazing outdoor cooking skills on a 17 inch tire rim, and of course a few brews, and we had quite a fiesta! We were just a couple of crazy gringos (and one crazy Brit who threw bags of tea into the ocean). Mucho fiesta!

So that brings us about up to date for now. The days are going by fast, and Jamie is working like crazy. I’ll be in touch again soon! -c4

Yes, we are all heading out tomorrow. Mom and Rob are flying back home to good old NC and Jamie and I leave for San Jose tomorrow.   This visit with Mom and Rob has been amazing.  Mom has really helped open my eyes to all of the cool things here.  I’m growing more and more fond of Samara by the day. It has also been really nice to see just how far our feet can take us since Jamie is gone with Bertha a lot of the time. We have really enjoyed just walking on the beach and people watching, visiting the Dragonfly Gallery for amazing jewelry and art, literally chillin’ out at the internet cafe, and animal watching (mainly the horses and the monkeys).

Jamie and I fly out of Juan Santamaria International Airport on Thursday for a breif stay in Pittsburgh, then on Saturday we are going to Arkansas to visit with all of my family down there.  Luckily, Jane and Andy and the boys are all going too.  We are going to have a blast.  It has been so long since I have seen my Dad and Kay and my grandparents and all of our family there!   It will be great to just chill and relax on Lake Hamilton with all of them.

Well, we are heading out for lunch now.  Thanks for reading!

Hey All,

Its Jamie, sorry it has been a while since the last post(atleast from me) I have been super busy with work.

We are all having a good time and I am learning a lot, my boss is a former P&G executive so I have loads of information I am learning from her past marketing experiences.

I have found a little bar off the main street that lets me use the internet and thier electricity. I just have to buy a couple of cokes and an app. But hey I get hungry and tursty anyhow.

We have only about 7 days left here until our  journey back to the USA on our whirlwind 6 day visit. We are looking forward to comfortable cars, a/c and of course visiting with our friends and family.

Just so that you understand the title of the post, literally a storm is brewing here, we are now having some thunder and lightning. Anyhow, I have to get back to somemore internet research for my job, I will chat more later.

Oh, if anyone in pittsburgh wants to grab me a disposable phone for the week we are back that would be super, I will give you cash upon our arrival. If not no worries. Much love and pura vida

jamie 

Mom and Rob arrived earlier this week and  we are really enjoying having them here.  They had a great time exploring Liberia and staying at the bed and breakfast “La Punto” before they arrived at our house by a combo of taxi and bus.  We are all learning how to live the Pura Vida lifestyle together. I have yet to take Mom to our old house in Matapalo, but Rob got to go with Jamie today and I think he got a bit of a culture shock.  We are currently sleeping there at night and coming back to the condo during the day.  It works for now.  There are unfortunately rules in our condo complex about more than 2 people staying in a one bedroom condo, but I understand.

Mom and I are really enjoying the horses, bulls, monkeys, birds, etc. around the house and she is taking little videos and pictures for the boys (my nephews Ollie and Emmett).  We are also really enjoying the pool.  There is nothing like a dip in the pool when it is 100 degrees outside.

Oh yeah, Mom and Rob got here right after the “hurricane” that swept through Costa Rica, Panama, and rocked Columbia.  We lost all power and water for 24 hours, but besides that we really lucked out.  People were flooded, lost their roofs, trees fell through the middle of houses, cars and the roads.  Not to mention all of the little ponds in the roads and the ever-growing potholes.  It was an insane storm, but we were in a good safe location.  I have some pictures and a video I will post soon.

Thank you for reading.  We love you all!   ~Caroline

Ok, so I am just going to link you into my Picasa web album for right now when it comes to pictures, because it will take me way too long to figure out anything else new while I am sitting here paying for every minute of internet use and in need of a clean restroom – soon! This is my best fix for the moment. Once we have this at home life will be much easier. This internet cafe is nice to have, but I am really uncomfortable here.

FOR PICTURES: http://picasaweb.google.com/c4inpitt/ForSamara2008SummerBlog

So, here is a post that I wrote a few days ago and saved to Word:

For each picture we have taken there a hundred more that I wish I had taken. Photo ops are everywhere constantly, and I am learning to always be ready with the camera. I am also trying to learn how to use the camera! I am really enjoying life here now that we have settled in and it has cooled off. How amazing is it that we can just go down to the beach and wait until we see a boat come in and buy the fish that they just caught for like two dollars? And there are all types of wildlife everywhere you turn. I am getting better and better at spotting monkeys when I hear them. There are horse pastures directly in front of and behind our condo (Hey Kristin – you would love it! hint hint). Currently I can hear all kinds of birds singing, cows mooing, horses naying (isn’t that what they do?), and monkeys howling (actually, grunting is more like it). Oh yeah, and soon the geckos will come out – I love them. I have discovered that most Ticos do not like geckos or crabs, and there seems to be some misinformation about most animals that are common like that being poisonous. Maybe they are, I can’t say that I know for sure, but I have picked them up here (frogs too) and I didn’t have any adverse reactions that I know of.

I was also under the misconception that Costa Rican’s do not like cats and dogs because they are everywhere and most don’t seem to be taken care of too well (not to mention that they carry some bad stuff), but I was wrong. Most of the dogs here have a collar, which means that they have an owner. Most of the cats loosely belong to someone as well and shooing them off can offend their owners. They are all also part of an important process – getting rid of leftovers and all of the other bits of food that accumulate when you cook. You can’t just put food in the trash. It will get maggots and attract all sorts of other undesirable creatures. So you have two options (and usually you have to do a combo of both) – feed your bits of food and leftovers to the dogs, cats, vultures, rabbits, horses, etc. OR keep a compost bucket and dig a hole to put its contents in every day and then cover it up with dirt and let mother nature do the rest. Trash pick-up is something that I used to take for granted, but not anymore. You really are forced to think about where it all goes and how much of it is actually recyclable or reusable in some way. We are learning to be much more minimalist than we were. It is really a lesson we needed. We all have way to much stuff and way too much waste.

One last thing, I can’t go without mentioning Jamie’s recent injury. Of course he has cut up his fingers cooking and scaling fish plenty of times, but now he has broken his second toe! Poor guy! That is one of the many disadvantages of wearing flip flops and having slick wet surfaces everywhere. I didn’t even believe him and I made a few jokes about a toe bouquet when he told me he did it, but as it swelled and turned dark purple and red there was no doubt. We went through the ice routine and we know that there really isn’t much else you can do for it, besides duct taping it to its neighbor toes. Hopefully it heals as fast as most things seem to do here. My poor baby…

I’ll be back in a few – gotta go home for a sec – c4

hey C4,

I wrote this tutorial for my dear poetic Helen. It’s all about inserting photos on wordpress blogs.

Click here for HelpingHelen and get your instructions!

We’ll be there in 4 days. Our suitcases are filled with strange and wonderful items. A metric socket set, ratchets and wrenches (if that’s what they’re called), A Haynes manual for ancient Land Cruisers, SkipBo cards, Yahtzee, 25% Deet spray, sunscreen, unscented laundry detergent…

And bathing suits.

Cameras. Laptop. Birding telescope. Chai tea. Splenda packets.

Meanwhile, while I pack, Rob has to install a new doorknob and lock on the back door. All dogs must be bathed within an inch of their lives (ha), Ruth has to be schooled on coffee pot operation. The major food groups and entertainment necessities for a 91-year-old woman are being purchased. 1. Cookies 2. chicken pot pies (microwavable) 3. Circle-a-Word books 4. cigarettes 5. this month’s Vanity Fair, The Nation, and Smithsonian magazines

and probably a dozen other items.

See you soon C4 and Jamie!

Duda is taking us to the airport, we get to leave our car at the shop and won’t have to pay $$$$$$$ for long-term parking. Thanks be to Duda.

-VMacEwan, the Mom in Mob

We managed to get over to the internet cafe again today – hence the blog post. We unofficially moved in to our new place last night! Yippee! The air conditioning felt so good, but since we are paying the electric bill it will not be on too often. We have the pool and the laundry facilities (yay!) right outside of our front door. It is a small apartment but more than enough for the two of us and even a few guests! It seems to be a quiet community, which is good for the most part, and it is very secure (24/7 guard on duty and only one entrance). We can even park Bertha under a carport inside the gates. Oh yeah, we named our ‘79 Toyota Land Cruiser Bertha (actually Charlotte named it). Bertha has been trouble from the start.

Jamie and Lyner drove the wooden roller coaster of a truck for 7+ hours from Santa Ana to Samara in the rain and mostly in the dark. Did I mention that the headlights stopped working half way through and the windsheild wipers are hilariously slow and ineffective? We love Bertha, though (just in case she is listening). She wouldn’t start the next day and it was downhill after that. Trying to get a mechanic around here is strange. Everyone is a “mechanico” but no one really is. We finally got one to come out to the house a few days later and check it out. He fixed it and Bertha worked for about 2 hours. Then she was dead again. on and on… She left us stranded in lots of different places over the past 11 days. We finally got the mechanic back yesterday and I think he really got it this time. In the meantime Jamie had removed the alternator himself (with a little help from our neighbor – Bob the Builder) and taken a hell of a taxi ride to the nearest town (an hour away) to get it tested and fixed, if need be. It tested fine, though. Then later he had to take another ride to Nicoya to get a voltage regulator. Back and forth, up and down. That is how our trip has been. Basically most of our days have been spent learning the ropes around here and trying to get the truck fixed.

I need to run, but there is so much more to tell. Too many stories, not enough time. No internet at the new place yet, but once we get it posts will be much more frequent.

Love all of you! c4

Caroline here!  I am at the internet cafe and it feels so good! It is about the only air conditioned place around Samara  (besides the bank, but they don’t like it when I stand in there and watch tv for some reason!) I have to pay to sit here in this luxury, but it is worth it!

Things were rough at first, but they are getting better slowly.  I am learning how to live a completely different lifestyle.  Without the bugs and the heat, this place is heaven – really.  However, we are just learning how to deal with the bugs (lots of tricks now up my sleeve, but still none for sand fleas) and the heat gets a bit more bearable each day, a bit.

I have seen more animals in the past week than in my entire life.  I am trying to take pictures of every animal that goes in front of our house to post once we can get our own computers online.  This morning I woke up and there was a crab (a pretty big one) in the kitchen sink – how the f&*% did he get there?  Don’t know, but he was a feisty little sucker!  Our neighbor Mara helped me get him out.  I could have done it myself , but I was waiting for Jamie to get up and see it first.  Mara does our laundry and I hang it inside the house with fans so that no one steals it -well, more in case it rains.  She has also been helping me learn how to clean the Tico way.  I am reminded of Jessica constantly – elbow grease and bleach (I love you Jess!).

Our Spanish is a tiny bit better now, mainly we know how to ask for a jump start on our truck and tell the mechanic to come over.  Jamie called the taxi driver today, too, but unfortunately he was in another town (6 hours away) and couldn’t come get us.  So we walked here along the beach.  It is not far at all, you just sweat like a whore in church, and smell – oh god, don’t get me started on how we smell.  As if Jamie needed any help! (luckily he is sitting here with me and gave approval for that post).  We take like 3 showers a day, but we still smell.

Ok, I should go.  It is raining outside now so we might try to find cover until it passes over.  Can you say “?Cerveza por favor?”  ha ha.  We love everybody and miss you all so so so much!  I will post again as soon as I can.  Ciao!    ~C4 and Jamie

ya’ll can leave comments, I’ll approve them…

-vmacewan