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