Our meeting with Ruth went very well. They are a super family and we had lots of fun.

We had great weather heading back through the mountains and made really good time coming home.

The pacific coast still shows the signs of the flooding. Roads are covered in dirt, occasionally there will be the remnants of trees or rocks on the side that had been washed across the road, rivers and streams are still quite high. Overall though, things are back to normal in the Coco area. Power and cable are back, and the water is running again.

We had a quiet day at home today, mostly because Geoff left right after lunch with the keys to the Condo (again) so we couldn't lock it to go anywhere. I spent most of the day alternating between the pool and the reclining chair beside it. It was too hot to be indoors.

Tonight Eddy, Ruby (Eddie's dog) and Mike came over for a BBQ, and we ate in the Rancho. Geoff makes fantastic burgers, Eddy brought cake and icecream and Mike brought watermelon and sulfite free wine! Yum.

Hasta manana!

Unprepared.

It was still raining when we went to bed last night. Watching the news in San Jose we are starting to get a real idea of what this storm has done. Hanging around off the Central Pacific coast for a couple of days, it has dumped enough rain on us that there have been neighbourhoods flooded out, and many major roads closed.

Rivers are overflowing their banks and rising right up to the bottom of bridges. The road to Atenas from Jaco was closed a couple of hours after we drove on it due to a flash flood that washed a section of it into a river. A chunk of the road to Manuel Antonio from Jaco (a trip we decided not to make because of the rain) was washed into the ocean yesterday, and the town Quepos, built below sea level, was floating in water past knee level. The storm finally made landfall yesterday afternoon, around 45 miles north of Coco, and should now move north and loose impact as it moves across land.

We will be having our meeting with Ruth this morning, as last night's weather was too nasty to go driving around in, and then we are heading back to Coco, where the forecast over the next few days is rain, rain, rain and thunderstorms.

Pura Vida.

Another day in Paradise.

It has been raining steadily now for 24 hours. Our goal of researching Jaco, finding the competition for our little publishing company and getting a feel for the place has been a bit difficult to reach - but we have done a lot under the circumstances.

We met Daphne today - a wonderful person who has lived and worked here for 13 years. It would have been a far more comfortable meeting if I had not literally been dripping wet, after slipping off a curb and landing in an inch and a half of water, but overall it seemed to go well. I am a bit nervous, because first impressions are important, and I think she is one of the company's most reliable and loyal customers - but not much to be done about it now.

We are in the middle of a tropical depression, and a "Yellow Alert" has been issued for flash floods and so on causing dangerous driving conditions. Dangerous here could mean that your car is in danger of being washed off the road into the ocean, as happened to one young family a few days ago. In any case, our research for the day has left us full of anticipation and excitement once again. This looks like a well established and wonderful little business, and we are really looking forward to meeting Ruth and getting down to the final discussions tomorrow.

Aska Banana!

Jaco

Of course, one of the things to consider when travelling to Central America, is that the infrastructure is not always...well, structured.

Our day yesterday began with a big panic job for a client for me, and a morning of golf in the rain for Geoff. We had to meet up with our new friend (and we hope client ) Daphne, so we had a strict timeline, to work, pack and do all the householdy things that need to be done before you leave a place in the tropics for a few days - like take out the garbage, for example.

Half way through the morning, in the haze of my panic, I noticed Gran heading up the stairs with a pop bottle, and a coconut water bottle. Both filled with water. "???" I asked... "There's no water upstairs" says Gran. And I went back to work.

Shower time for me. The water was on and my work was done and all was well with the world. So I hop in, get all lathered up, but Shampoo in my hair, and the water stops. "Um." I said intelligently. It is really amazing how much water a pop bottle holds. I was only somewhat sticky with soap when I got dressed.

The plan included us picking up Geoff at the golf course on the way out of town. This plan was thwarted by our inability to find the keys to the condo, and therefore our inability to lock the door. I went off to get Geoff by myself - therefore delaying us by 40 minutes or more, only to find he didn't have the keys either. Turns out he had left them in the laundry room door.

Our very strict 1:00 leaving time became 2:30 by the time we finally got away, meaning we arrived in Jaco in the dark. And the pouring rain. The approach to Jaco being a two lane road from the mountains to the ocean.

Daphne's daughter met us in town, and led us to Ruth's house (the other complete stranger that is becoming a good friend). We have never met, but she has generously let us have her house for a couple of nights. Unfortunately her house comes with two cats, and Mum and I are now in a hotel.

Jaco

Tamarindo was a lovely drive from Coco, and is a much more developed area with a boardwalk and sidewalks on the streets. It is well known for its good surfing. The internet cafe was very nice - updated computers and little air conditioned rooms for private international phone calls.

A lot of competition though, we saw 4 other internet cafes in our walk and drive through town. Once we were back in Coco, we decided to take a walk down to the beach to see the sunset. For about half of the year the sun sets behind the hill. Of course it's rainy season now, so we often don't get to see the sun set at all. The clouds filled in before the sun got close to the horizon. That's it for today, early call tomorrow.

The Weekend

Over the weekend we have been relaxing and enjoying the area, playing Scrabble and watching eighties music videos.

Friday we did very little. I worked all day while my faithful staff lounged in and by the pool. Excitement for the day included buying and cooking fish for dinner. Later on we wandered downtown and took a walk on the beach, ending up at La Vida Loca. The fantastic little restaruant and bar owned by Jimbo. Getting there requires a walk across this excellent little bridge.

Saturday we went into Liberia to check out the market and pick up a few things. We were routed about 20 minutes out of our way by a peaceful protest. Apparently the municipality is laying water lines from the nearby town of Sardinal, and the people who live there are afraid that they will be short on water in order to provide it to the greedy Gringos in Coco. On Thursday their protest had turned a little nasty, and Saturday there was a sizeable police presence.

Today we took a short trip to Playa Hermosa, and Geoff and I went for a swim. Sunday is family day in Costa Rica, so the beach was well attended by entire families, Grandparents to toddlers, all out enjoying the sun. It is currently rainy season, and as is predictable the clouds moved in in the early afternoon. Eddy and Geoff treated us to supper out tonight at the Coco Palms restaurant - a beautiful place with a large pool in the back and bountiful flowers for the hummingbirds. As is typical, the restaurant only has one wall so the breezes can come in from the ocean. I had teryaki chicken - Gran ordered the fish.

Tomorrow we are off to Tamarindo to see a few small businesses, including an internet cafe.

Travel Day

Today our goal was to drive across the country to the North Pacific coast, and we decided to take the opportunity to see parts of the country we hadn't been in before. This was most definately the scenic route, and the slightly less than 200 km trip took us nearly 7 hours.

The sample of road to the left is fairly representative of most of the drive, with deviations being only those of slope, and degree of curve. We had weather ranging from hot and sunny to black clouds and torrential downpours.

I found Volcano Arenal fascinating. It is an active volcano, and if the weather is right you can see the hot lava blowing out of the top. Today the top was in clouds, but the lush green vegetation on one side and black barren surface of the other were enough to make me plan to go back with a camera during dry season. Mum, of course, has seen Mount Etna erupting, so she was not as impressed.


We drove around the lake and then out to the coast. On one side of the mountains we were in a rainstorm, then over the top and into sunlight. In the shot on the left, we are still under the dark clounds, but you can see the light on the valley below.

We are now in Playa del Coco, and will be taking the next few days to map out the itinerary for the rest of the trip.

Missed Opportunity

Welcome to Hotel Michelo. Undoubtedly one of the best kept secrets in the San Jose area. There is no website for you to look at (although we will be discussing that with them soon), but we have attached a couple of pictures for you. It is very small, only 5 rooms, but with a large pool and an entertainment room that can accomodate 45 people for a party or event. Michel has done a fabulous job converting this large house to a B & B, and originally we were looking at it with the goal of buying it, but our new friend Ricardo jumped in a few days ahead of us. Tonight we are enjoying their hospitality.

Sadly Michel is heading back to his native Quebec next week, after completing the sale of the hotel, but we will be meeting up with Ricardo on the way back through.

We have had a couple of panic moments during our travel today. Somehow we managed to leave my purse in the concourse of the Charlotte Airport, and I made a mad dash run off the plane after boarding had been completed. I had visions of our trip ending before it started, as all my money, credit cards and ID (except my passport) were in it. Thank goodness for Good Samaritans, someone had turned it in, totally intact, to the boarding desk. After aging about 10 years and gaining some new grey hairs, we were on our way again.

Aside from a drunk man pouring coke all over my dress and shoe, the rest of the flight went very well. The car rental happened without incident, and we were here at Michelo's by about 4:30. Michel and Ricardo met us at a local Supermercado, and led us back to the hotel. They had offered to come and pick us up at the airport, and would have been pleased to do so had we not been renting a car.

So here we are. Drinking excellent Costa Rican coffee, eating a quickly home cooked meal (marvellous), tasting Michel's unbelievable soup (muy buena)....

...and getting pedicures.

...and they're off....

So, here we go again. Back to Costa Rica.
Full of expectation and excitement. Before we even arrive we have been offered the hospitality of two complete strangers. It feels good to be back, and we haven't even left yet.

So not much tonight, we have an early call and a shuttle to catch. Our plan for the three weeks is simple. We are going to travel the country in our rented Yaris, and look for investment opportunities. Inexpensive investment opportunities.
Aska Banana! (That's Wendy-speak for see you tomorrow.)