Day 10 - Bread, Ray Bans and Sunset

Day 10
2-12-14

I woke to the smell of bread at 5:00 a.m. The gentleman that we get our bread from lives about two blocks away, but the aroma wafted all the way to our house and in our bedroom window. What a way to wake up!

Instead of running I took the bike out for a ride and of course Elly came too. It was an easy ride on the dirt road, but we came back on the beach - much harder. It was definitely a good workout pedaling on the sand! Came home and went for a swim with Ryan. It was nice to have time with just her. She is homesick for her friends, so trying to help her keep a positive attitude. She has a babysitting job Friday night - she will watch two kids at our house.

I found a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses alongside the road when I was running one day. I gave them to Ryan and today she painted them with acrylics - so now they are Ryan's. She also started a water color painting, so these are good signs :-)

The kids did lots of school work and I spent time wrapping up some more loose ends from the states. Went into Tamarindo to pick up a few things and saw a big lizard on the way.

The breadman came and delivered a warm baguette and two warm apple strudles - OMG. The strudle was gone in 10 minutes and the baguette was gone by lunch time. We ordered two loaves of whole grain bread for Friday delivery. For Saturday, 4 pretzels. Mouth is watering.

Our family time at the beach tonight was very special!

Tristan rode the bike...

Elly fetched a stick...

Kyle caught a little fish...

Ryan modeled her newly painted Ray-Bans...

And yet another georgeous sunset!

I smiled non-stop just watching the people I love.

Days 8 & 9 - Casa Charly and Tuna

Days 8 and 9
2-10-14  and 2-11-14

Yesterday was the first day Kyle and I did not write. He was gone by 5:00 on a fishing trip and I was so excited to settle into our new home that I didn't make time to write. So a little catching up to do!

We were up early as usually on Monday, cleaning our old place and taking the last of our things to the new. Our week in the little cabina was perfect, but all of us were beyond excited to move. Ryan quickly organized all of her art supplies and started making plans for her first piece of art work. Tristan didn't care much about organizing his stuff - he was just glad it was out of the suitcase. Both kids were in the pool as soon as I gave the ok.

Ryan and Tristan getting in the pool

Brotherly - Sisterly Love!

It felt really good to fully unpack. I just have one unpacked suitcase of slacks, jackets and long sleeve shirts, but I suppose we will need those things one day. Of all of the things I brought -  here are the things we haven't needed much or at all:

Blow dryer and make up -  Ryan and I haven't touched either one. My hair is going to be curly here no matter what, so I decided to just let it go and I'm getting used to it. Make up doesn't make sense when you are sweaty and in and out of the pool and ocean.  I'm sure we will have a special occassion one day though!

Sunscreen isn't the sort of thing you really use much either - believe it or not. If you follow the locals way of doing things, you do not go outside in the middle of the day. You get up early and spend the mornings outdoors - from 6:00 until 9:00 or 10:00 and then you come inside or go into the shade until about 3:00 and then spend your evenings outdoors. Aside from our day on the catamaran we  haven't used much sunscreen. BUT - if you are a tourist, spending midday hours outdoors - you definitely need suncreen and a hat.

Sunglasses - strange I know, but they are more trouble than they are worth. Again, catamaran day, or driving in the car, is the only time we have needed.

Inhalers, Allergy Meds, Eczema Cream, Exedrine Migraine - Kyle hasn't needed his inhaler since we arrived - no asthma. Not one of us has needed the allergy medicine that we usually take at home for hayfever and sinus issues. I haven't had a heachache yet! Tristan's eczema was gone by day 3. I'm guessing it is the salt water that cleared it up.

Bug Spray - There really aren't that many bugs. A few misquitos at night and a bee or something here and there, or ants, but really not that many bugs that are bothersome. Ryan is still sensitive to bug bites, like she has always been, so we do have special cream for her, but bug bites have been few.

So here is an introduction to tour our new digs...

Path betwee house and pool.

Patio

Kitchen

Main Entrance

Bathroom

Okay - that was a good intro. I will include more photos of the living space next time.

One of our ways to trim our budget is to have just one phone activated. So far we have spent a total of $5 on phone usage. We put a $5 sim card in Kyle's phone and it came with minutes, we aren't sure how many, and use it for local calls only. We have found some great ways to communicate with friends and family from home for free. Skype and Facebook are obviously free and easy. Tristan also found Magic Jack, which is an ap that allows us to call U.S. or Canada for free from an iphone or ipad, with web access. We don't actually get a phone number - so people can't call us - but I used it yesterday to talk to Highmark in the states for an hour and a half at no cost. We also called grammy and my mom at no cost. Ryan figured out a way to get a free text messaging ap on her iphone - it gives her a US phone number for texting only, as long as she has internet access.

Ryan "doing school work"

We are starting to settle in I guess, because we don't have as many exciting stories to tell. Mornings still tend to be our best times. Yesterday we were all on the patio, just as the sun was coming up, and a bat nearly hit me in the head. I screamed and jumped and ran inside. Of course, Kyle and Tristan proceeded to explain how bat radar works and that I have nothing to be afraid of. I didn't care about the science of it, quite honestly, a bat near my head wasn't welcome. So from inside I watched bats fly under the patio roof and over the heads of my family while they laughed. The were big bats!

Yesterday Kyle and a neighbor went fishing and caught 5 tuna! They split up the steaks and we had some for dinner last night - seared and served with wasabi and soy - yummy! The rest are in the freezer. He is already out fishing this morning for tonight's dinner :-)

I made Ryan ride her bike with me yesterday while I ran. She was mad at me for making her do it, so she didn't talk much, until we saw a snake! It was dead, thankfully. Not sure what kind, but it was small and brownish - nothing exotic, but still a snake. yuk

Kyle saw a monkey drinking from our swimming pool this morning but the rest of us missed it. No photo. Bummer. But I do have photos of a frog on the window screen and a crab that was in Ryan's pocket. She had been filling her pockets with shells to make jewelry and soon discovered that something in her pocket was moving!

Pura Vida!

Day 7 - Boat, Surfboard, Groceries

Day 7
2-9-14

One week in Costa Rica.

Yesterday was our busiest day yet. We bought a boat, just like a zodiac, but a different brand. The man who sold it to us was from Portland, OR, Kyle's home town. We then went to Playa Langosta and bought a surfboard from a gentlemen who is an expat from Canada. He and his wife were so friendly and allowed us to leave our car at their house while we explored Playa Langosta. We had a late lunch in Tamarindo at a local "Soda" operated by a Tico family. The food was excellent and a little less expensive that our other dining experiences. 

We stopped for groceries (using the grocery list I made, written completely in Spanish!) and picked up another week's worth of food ... $150. Not cheap for sure. We have been trying to find a cooler - just a small one to take to the beach - but they are so expensive. $40 for a cooler you could get for $15 at Wal-mart at home.

Finally, we headed back to Playa Grande and started moving into Casa Charly. The rest of our day was spent making this little house our home. The kids swam in the pool at our new place and then we took our evening trip to the beach to watch the sunset.

No photos today - but will have some tomorrow of our new place.

Day 6 - Running, Catamaran, Playa Flamingo

Day 6
2-8-14

Yesterday I learned that running at 8:00 a.m. is much different than running at 6:00 or 6:30 a.m. It was much hotter and much sweatier! I will stick to early morning runs for sure.

We decided to do something touristy today and booked a catamaran trip out of Playa Flamingo -  whale watching, snorkeling, kayaking and fishing. To catch the ride to Flamingo we had to take the water taxi over to Tamarindo. The water taxi leaves from the estuary - where there are lots of crocodiles. The kids and I were really nervous walking the path to the water taxi. As we approached the water we saw a small crocodile on the sand a good distance away. As we climbed into the taxi there was a large crocodile right beside us! It followed along side our little boat the whole way across! The kids and I quickly left the beach but of course Kyle stuck around to talk to the boat taxi driver and take some video. People swim across from Tamarindo to Playa Grande and we actually saw a person in the estuary waters while we were there. Crazy!!

We took the taxi (van) from Tamarindo to Playa Flamingo and got to experience the crazy tico driving first hand. We held on tight and got to our destination safely. Our Catamaran left Playa Flamingo about 2:00 p.m. It was so nice to sail and look at our surroundings. We were in awe. It was perfect! There were only two couples besides our family on the boat - so just eight guests, the captain and a mate. It was so intimate and we especially enjoyed getting to know a retired couple from England.
After anchoring Kyle and Ryan went snorkeling and Tristan and I went kayaking. We kayaked into a beach and swam and played and talked. It was wonderful.

They served us a nice lunch and we had soda, rum punch, wine, beer...all you can drink. Then we sailed around looking for whales and watching flying fish and rays jumping and lots of frigate birds.

Crossman Family

On the way back, just as the sun was setting, the mate yelled "fish on" and guess who was there to reel the fish in...yep, Kyle. He was in heaven.

Kyle's Catches a Jack    Photo by Ryan

We really like Playa Flamingo - touristy, but seemed in a more upscale way than Tamarindo, which is a surfer beach. There is no surf in Flamingo, it is really a fishing, boating town. It was the first place we visited outside of our little rural Playa Grande spot, that we really thought we wanted to go back to again.

Playa Flamingo Sunset    Photo by Ryan

Planning for the Adventure - Part 1

This is a little outside the "diary" so I am making a separate post for the benefit of others who might be considering the expat life here.

Planning -

Where to go call home -  We knew we wanted to be walking distance to the beach, so our next decision was whether we wanted to be on the Carribean or Pacific coast. We decided we would prefer the climate on the Pacific side. Pretty easy part of the plannig process.

School - After choosing which coast, the next big concern was school for the kids. I researched lots of options and finally decided it would be one of two different school. So our decision about where to live on the Pacific coast was based on what communities were in close proximity to those two schools.

School part 2 - We ultimately decided to enroll our kids in an online school called the Keystone School. We decided that would give us flexibility as we choose where to live and time for the kids and us to do some exploring and to visit schools and make an informed decision. So far online school is great - our kids are self-motivated and doing well.

Health Care - Last year, as a self-employed family of four, we spent $27,000 on health care. That includes $12,000 on health insurance that had a $5K per person deductible. Tristan's braces, Ryan's orthotics and the $5K deductible for Ryan's eye surgery are included - but the rest is just basic everyday go to the dr or dentist stuff.  For this adventure, we opted to purchase major medical coverage through Cigna - it is insurance designed for expats. It will cost us $200 per month and it will cover anything that requires hospitalization and it also covers cancer and psychiatric care (hey, you never know, we might all go crazy here!). It is a million dollars coverage per person per year. Otherwise, we will be paying for our care as we need it. What we understand is that an average dr visit costs $40. I can't imagine, that in this scenario, we are going to spend anywhere close to what we spent in the U.S.

What to Pack - We planned to rent a fully furnished house, complete with kitchen utensils and linens, because shipping furnishings is an outrageous expense. So we brought 2 pieces of luggage each, for a total 8 pieces of luggage. Each of us had a suitcase or trunk for whatever they wanted to bring that was not clothing. Ryan brought a suitcase filled with art supplies and Tristan brought one filled with legos and magic cards. Kyle brought a trunk filled with fishing supplies. I brought.....drum roll please.......miscelleneous items. You know fun stuff like bug repellent, chewable advil for my daughter that can't swallow a pill, my favorite body lotion that has sunscreen in it, benedryl, a dog brush, bowl and leash. Boring. That was my bag. Our other bags were summer clothes, swim wear, sandals, shoes and then we each have a pair of jeans or two and a fleece and/or sweat shirt, raincoat. I think we packed well. Locals tell us there are times, in the evenings, when a jacket is needed.

I will continue this post later. In the meantime, if anyone reading this blog has questions, feel free to ask!

THE DOG: I will do separate post on planning to bring a dog - a big dog - with you to Costa Rica. That was by far the most challenging part of planning the trip.

Day 5 - Local Food, Playa del Coco and Playa Ocotal, People at Sunset

Day 5
2-7-14

We are counting the days until we can move out of our tiny space and into Casa Charly. I'm looking forward to making the place a home for us - hammocks on the patio and plants in pots - getting excited. 

I was happy to learn that not only will I be able to get fresh veggies from the truck weekly - but I can also take part in an organic farm share program! These people also have goats and sell wonderful cheeses. I learned how to order fresh fish and where to meet the man who will deliver it. I got the email address for the local gentleman that makes fresh breads. Getting the food thing figured out is a big part of helping me feel like I can settle in here.

Yesterday we went exploring. We went to Playa del Coco and Playa Ocotal first. Playa del Coco was a touristy fishing town. The beach was small and full of people. It had a strip of tourist traps and but all of the little back streets were tico houses with chickens etc. Up on the hill there were quite a few big, nice houses, but they didn't seem to fit the surroundings - so not very attractive really. Playa Ocotal seemed to be a divers spot - small and off the beaten path, but again - not very attractive. We were all glad to see some new and different beaches, but were glad that we didn't land at either one when we arrived. Otherwise we might not be feeling so good about this adventure.

Side streets in Playa del Coco     Photo by Ryan

Driving is a bit crazy here. Locals pass you anywhere - the lines on the road do not mean anything. It can be on a curve or in a very narrow area - doesn't matter. That made me feel a bit crazy, especially because sometimes there is only a cliff to your side so you can't really move out of the way!

I decided I deserved a treat today, so wanted to soda. We stopped at a little market and Kyle handed me some coins. I'm still learning the currency (there are so many zeros!) so i wasn't sure if I had the right amount. When I handed it to the cashier she just smiled and shook her head no. So I went back to the car for more money. Afterwards we did lessons on colones - the kids figured out very quickly.

Our next stop was La Bahia de Pirates (The Bay of Pirates - or Pirate's Bay). It is a great spot because it isn't likely many tourists would find it without reading about it in a book or being told about it by a local. Saw lots of 4-wheelers but it looked like a tourist trip - and didn't seem like something we would want to do because it was so dusty.

We planned to picnic there, but found we had left our packed lunch behind. So we had our second meal at a restaurant - again about $60 for the four of us. Kyle and I had red snapper that was just caught minutes before we ate it - it was divine! After lunch I enjoyed time walking and talking with Tristan, while Kyle threw a few casts and Ryan napped under a pilapa.

By the time we got home it was nearly sunset, so we raced out to our beach. We all repeated that we are so happy we are in this location. You can walk out into the water for a long ways - maybe 50-75 yards, with water just up to your knees. I'm comfortable to wade and jump waves and swim because I know I can stand up anytime. Elly doesn't like me to go under the water - she bites my behind every time!

Elly on beach at sunset.     Photo by Ryan

I never grow tired of the sunset. It looks different every night and always reminds of God's awesomeness. I feel so grateful for this time.


By Kyle
The only two rules that I have set for the family is morning time is 5:30 am and everyone must get up and start there day with some sort of exercise. The other rule is that everyone in the family must be on the beach at night time for the sunset. Night times at the beach is the one time that you will see everyone there. There are many groups of people that you will:
1. surfers
2. waders 
3. sitters - the ones with a glass of wine just enjoying the moment
4. players - kids playing and running around or a game of soccer 
5. walkers - people walking with their feet getting wet once and while 
6. exercisers - they will be doing yoga or running 
7. meditators
This is happening all the while the very large sun is setting into the ocean and the sky is doing its thing with a water color of design. People are all happy at that moment and when you walk home in the dark they are still talking about what a beautiful sight it was and could life get any better.

Day 4 - Pineapple Thieves, Blue Jays, Bicycles, Geckos

Day 4
2-6-14

Kyle woke to find that the pineapple I purchased from the vegetable truck was devoured by a local critter while we slept. We had used it as our center piece at dinner and forgot to bring it in. We were left with a juicy, sticky mess on the patio! It is common here for the dining table to be outside and not inside. We love it.

Again we started the day with Kyle and I having coffee on the patio, listening to the jungle. Howler monkeys were really loud and close this morning. It is wonderful, but also a little scary when they are so close - especially when it is still a little dark and you can't see them, but hear their growl. A beautiful blue bird was hanging out around the patio all morning. I learned it is the Costa Rica Blue Jay.

After coffee, Kyle and kids off to the beach and Elly and I off on a run. Today Ryan waded into the ocean up to her knees! Her first day getting wet :-)

Kyle and Tristan went on a sim card mission today. We have been without phones since we arrived and it has been fine. The kids have skyped with friends every night and I have skped with my mom and my sister. Skyle is free and so is Facebook, so we haven't had much of a need for a phone. We will need to communicate by phone locally though, so we decided for now we will just have one phone and see how it goes and what it costs. The sim card was about $5 US dollars. We will update later on the actually cost of usage.

Kyle also surprised Ryan with a new bike. She hasn't been excited about the idea of surfing, so he wanted her to have something she could do in terms of exercise. She was quite happy!

Forgot to mention that we picked up some locals who were hitch hiking yesterday, a mom and her son who had been selling their handmade goods at the beach - colorful wooden bracelets and birds. The kids and Elly scooted over and they climbed in - all smiles. Kyle spoke with them easily in Spanish and the kids and I listened, doing our best to understand what they talked about. They were so grateful for the ride. Kyle and I commented that they never asked us to buy what they were selling, they were just appreciative. The boy and Kyle talked fishing - that made Kyle's day.

by Kyle

Let's talk about the gecko. This is one reptile you want in your house and as close to where you sleep as possible. Ok Deana, Angie, Bobbie and others - this might freak you out. But when Kim woke me in the middle of the night to tell me there is something in our kitchen, I listened to hear the sound she was talking about only to here the call of a gecko. I told her it was only a gecko go back to sleep. But in my mind I was imaging the old Godzilla movie and your gecko fighting a giant spider that has somehow got into your room  See that's what geckos do they eat all the bugs they can. Believe me they can eat! I watched one eating one night and as far as I could see he never got full. He would just grab a large bug half his size and pull his neck in and out and the bug would be bent in half and half way eaten. So when your living in the jungle these little guys keep you from waking up in the morning with a red bump with a little blood coming out of it, and you asking what bit me last night?

Yesterday was a hot one and Tristan and I went on a little shopping adventure. Here things like that are not as easy as they might sound. I was looking to get my phone to be able to work here in costa rica. We made stop after stop looking for a chip to put in my phone. We call it a sim card, here it's called a chip. Well if you dont have a good grasp on Spanish try listening to instructions.... @$@%*. I would stumble on words to describe what I am looking for and they would come back with fast directions for how to get to a place that sells a chip. By the way, we are talking km and meters mixed in with hard to understand directions. The good thing is, after they would speak I would give eye contact and smile and that's the international sign for I have no idea what you just said! They then would smile or a little laugh and we would start again. Great people here, always willing to help and have a lot of patience. Well after a couple of tries Tristan and I found a computer store and a sweet girl that only spoke Spanish. Now pause for a minute and ask yourself when you took a language class in school did you learn words like, signal, data, sim card, talk time, pin number ....... ? Once again, I had a mind challenging adventure. After installing the card it was not working so I thought that it was my phone and Verizon did something that would have to make me return to them and beg them to turn a switch back the way they found it. (You know, all powerful). Turns out it takes time. She told me they are backed up on activating the card and 20 minutes later it was working. 

Next stop getting Ryan a bike. Last year we went to the beach with our friend's the Atwill's and there were cruiser bikes at the beach house that she loved, so that is what I was after. Found a bike shop and you guessed it they didn't speak English so my tongue was up for another conversation in Spanish. A few more words not learned in school: chain, sprocket, handle bars and bike rack. But after 45 minutes we walked out with a new shinny bike for Ryan. 

Bobbie and Tim you will laugh about this one. Kim and I are sitting outside having coffee together as the sun comes up writing about our adventures from yesterday and I feel something big on my back. So I jumped up and tried to shake it off and it would not come off. I said to Kim, is there something on my back?, as I turned so she could see. Yes, she said. Well.... are you going to smack it off? No, she said, its really big. Great, I said as I quickly tried to remove my shirt without it stinging me or trying to jump on my skin. After I pulled the large bug off me I said to Kim you better hope this doesn't happen to you because your on your own. (she laughed but I could see in her face that it just might and you know who will be laughing... Me, Tim and Bobbie )

Ok there's more to write about but I am out of time this morning -  surf is calling me.