News from the Jungle

Lawsuits, neighborhood politics, new friends, a new house, travel ventures, recycling in Los Mogos, bad roads, and a little environmental activism all make up our last year’s adventures.

. . . “but dear remember this is our ‘temporary’ home so don’t obsess over it too much.  It’s fine the way it is!”  In reality we have the nicest  tin shack in all of Costa Rica!

Gary’s carpentry challenges come from many directions, even ‘up’.  On one nice afternoon Gary was working outside of his workshop, under the forest trees.  To some this might be an enviable location.  He was varnishing a wooden desk when he heard commotion above.

Terri & Gary who? Thought we got swallowed up by the jungle? Or maybe met our demise with an unfriendly snake or fallen tree?

Ever since (and probably because of them) my zoo days I have wanted to live in a natural, wild place. This definitely qualifies. One day I am battling a new track of termites that are trying to devour my closet, the next enjoying the call of the cicadas. Nature is closer than I want sometimes.

Ticos in this area live a simple life, only in part because of their income.  They spend a lot of time just living and surviving and making it to tomorrow.  They really don’t think too far ahead and rarely plan out their time because something is bound to happen to change those plans. (Like a tree falling on your house or a bus that breaks down). 

My perception after only a few months is that it’s in their cultural programming, a survival instinct of sorts, or a flexibility gene maybe.  And it is a lot easier to live that way; less frustration, less stress.  These wonderfully patient people don’t like things too complicated and sure don’t understand our obsession with complexities.  It’s not really a part of their make-up to dive into something just for the challenge of it.  They usually just watch us in amazement or may ask a simple question, “Why?”  It’s a hard one to answer sometimes. 

Well friends, Gary and I are realizing this is gonna take awhile. In prime Costa Rican fashion, everything is taking much longer than expected, even though we had pretty low expectations to begin with.

Bushmasters notwithstanding, the animal life that surrounds us is truly remarkable and we are blessed to live where we experience its bounty daily. Monkeys and numerous other mammals make quick, sometimes fleeting appearances, orchids, bushes, and trees put on showy and perfumed-filled blooms, and though we don’t have the distinct seasons of northern climates, things change noticeably.  As noticeable as when the first hummingbirds or vultures appear in the spring in Oregon.  The locals are tuned into these ‘seasons’ and marvel at our excitement of newfound observations. 

Having a hard-working truck is a blessing for us. It is also a blessing for the neighborhood that there's a vehicle within 'asking' distance. I guess we have to consider it our community service opportunity, but the requests can often come at inopportune times.

The suegra/doctura was a small old barefoot woman, dressed in a plain frock that just hung on her small frame. It appeared we had interrupted her in the middle of cooking, but she stopped everything and attend to her new patient. She was a very gentle soul, with the beautifully wrinkled face and eyes of a person who had seen and absorbed much in her life. She looked 100 but I understand she's actually 72 years old. To say she was the local 'witchdoctor' is too trite. Maybe a medicine woman would be more correct. I got the feeling that she possesses the knowledge of 1,000 mothers and the wisdom to apply it.

Tonight I’m sitting in our little tin house (Henry’s house) as we enjoy a nice cooling summer rain shower.  The power has gone out in the neighborhood and we even saw a nearby transformer blow.  Probably a tree fell on a line somewhere on the peninsula and we could be out for a while. 

At the risk of scaring every person who might have ever considered visiting us one day, I cannot in all honesty pretend our part of the world isn’t the home of some of natures’ most well-adapted poisonous/venomous creatures. We have already had our fair share of encounters with things creepy, scaley, venomous and ‘to be avoided’.

It’s a relaxing, quiet Monday afternoon with clouds coming and going.  This keeps the temp down a little and the humidity up. As yet no rain, so the laundry is actually drying.  Yes, I’m getting a good lesson in washing all of our laundry by hand.  Somewhere down on the priority list is a washing machine, but for now by hand is fine. 

Sydney is settling into his new lifestyle.  He’s an anomaly in Costa Rica.  Virtually all dogs are ‘perros bravos’ and are not dogs you want to go up and pet.  Dogs get very little love and attention as their role is as guard dogs or they are street dogs.

Life has been a roller coaster here to say the least. We all made it here safe and sound – Sydney had the worst of it. I was a nervous wreck with him in the baggage section and having to make 2 plane changes during the trip. Does a dog even know or have any concept that they are flying?

. . . We arrived to a tent that looked more like a spider web than a tent and spent the next couple of hours figuring out how to take it apart and then put it back together. Sydney sat on the sidelines with a look of shear disgust!