July 23, 2007

Dear Dad,

I am writing this week’s letter sitting under the thatched roof of the giant rancho at Punta Coral.  There is a refreshing gentle breeze blowing from the west keeping me cool and the bugs away.

On Friday, David and I stopped to pick up the new trampoline or nets for the bow of Manta Raya.  It took about 6 weeks to make them and the two of us could hardly wait to see them installed on the giant catamaran.

We are looking for a new place for our commercial kitchen and stopped to look at two places before we left for Punta Coral. I have wanted to move the kitchen for a while; but we have not found anything close to the dock and/or big enough.  We need space for the carpentry shop too.

Waiting for us at our dock was little Mario and David’s launch – Amapola.  Mario came across the Gulf earlier so that his new foot stool could be installed. Little Mario is just that, little, and he is the new Captain of the Amapola but could not see over the consul to drive. 

Manta Raya was already gone by the time we got to Puntarenas but we took the nets with us and when we passed the Manta Raya in the afternoon just before we arrived at Punta Coral, David gave them to the crew.

As soon as we docked at Punta Coral, while I waited for the guys to bring up the bags and baggage to the casona/big house, I took a walk to go and hug my tree. Bringing up the bags and baggage from the dock is easier since David had built a stainless steel cart with wheels to carry everything.  I walked to the back of the bodega and kept on the path until I got to my tree.  I gave my tree a big hug and decided to continue on the path and everything was so beautiful. I was looking for animals and all of a sudden I heard a loud noise in the trees near the compost pile.  I saw in the distance a flock of Chacalacas .  They were very loud probably sounding the alarm as I got closer. . I kept walking until I found myself on the other side of Punta Coral.  There were no bugs, and a slight breeze kept me cool.

I got to the other side and sat for a while just enjoying ¨being¨.  Then I headed back to the front of the property and turned left and took the Valle Indian trail hoping to get a closer look at the birds I saw before.  Instead I ran into three big spider webs that were strung across the path.  I also saw the owners of the big webs and as fast as I could, untangled my hair and upper body of the sticky web, being careful not to do too much damage to the complicated webs and piss off the scary looking spiders.

After I returned to the front of the property, glistening with a nice sweat, I took a shower and fixed lunch for me and David.  All we had to eat was an ice cream cone at noon before we got on board the Amapola for the 20 minute ride across the gulf.  We were hungry and knowing we would be tired and hungry when we arrived at PC, I had ordered some wonderful ceviche from the calypso kitchen to be sent out for dinner.  I had packed a couple of perfect avocados and cut them into pieces and mixed it into the already delicious ceviche making it even better.

As soon as it was dark, we went to bed.  Sleeping out here is wonderful.  The sounds of the jungle soothing until the rain started and the frogs began to sing to each other.

   David and I were kept awake with the loud croaks from giant toads that sounded like a flock of geese.  We also heard the slightly lower croaks from the tree frogs.  This is all a good sign the jungle is coming back to life and healthy since we have stopped using deadly toxic chemicals to fumigate or fertilize the plants.  It has been over twenty years since we stopped using the powerful and deadly DDT that is now outlawed.  It takes time to make the workers understand that the harmful poisons are bad for Punta Coral even when they see good results from the use. 

Saturday I relaxed and read my first Harry Potter book.  I am surprised at how good it was to read since it was written for young children.  I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

I made a nice late lunch with some fresh Robolo the kitchen sent out and once again we went to bed early, soothed to sleep with another big rain shower, and thankfully no frogs.

Sunday I got ready to go on our tour.  Misael gave me a ride in his panga/dingy to Manta Raya as she glided between the tiny islands in front and I climbed onboard to join the big group already on board..

We were told earlier that morning that someone left a can of dark blue paint on the bridge and it was knocked over, opened up and spilled paint all over the teak steps leading to one of the bathrooms and also covered the floor and walls with paint. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. No-one will admit to taking the paint on board instead of leaving it in the bodega or storage shed. The sub-captain told us that it was on board because the shed was locked.  The paint should have been taken to the kitchen or if not, taken below decks and stored.  We cannot figure out why it was taken to the bridge and left in the open.

As soon as I was on board, I went to see the mess for myself.  I could see some paint stains on the walls and floor on the inside of the hull and a blue hue on the teak steps.

Maybe the passengers had not noticed the mess?

After I took pictures so I could show them to David, because someone has to walk the plank for this mistake, I went to the bridge. I was very excited to see the new trampolines or nets installed and bathing beauties sunning themselves on them.  The custom job is excellent and Manta Raya now looks a lot younger than her 15 years.

The same company who made the nets twice before have done an excellent job.  With the use of a special thread we should get 20 years use out of them.  The webbing is made from the same material that is used to make rubber dingys.  It has been cut into thin strips and glued and then the strips are sewn and then woven together.  Last time the company got the measurements wrong and pieced together some of the thin strips making them weak.  After a few years of constant use, we had a problem with the thread and the seams kept coming apart.  Now with care we should never have to buy nets again. At a cost of $5000.00 each, there better not be a problem. 

 On the tour on Sunday, I was surprised to see friends with their families. One friend has a hotel in the southern part of Costa Rica and we have done a trade. I have not visited that part of Costa Rica yet and I am looking forward to doing so. Steve and his two daughters have never been on the catamaran before and while sipping a Mai Tai, Steve told me how much he liked the cruise.

 Another person on the tour is a woman who used to work for us and has visiting family from Paris. It has been five years since she was on the tour, a year before I went back to work and Odelea could not stop complimenting me on all the new changes and improvements.

 Both friends complimented me on the food and service.  How is it that I have four pages of notes I took of things that need attention and/or changed?

When I returned to Punta Coral later in the afternoon, I told David about the people I saw.  He asked if I had seen Mark Tupper and his group of 30 persons. With 100 people on board I didn’t notice Mark.

While I was on the tour, David worked with the gardener and a plan to make a better compost area and a work schedule for Punta Coral while we are on vacation next week.

We have been blessed with cool weather this weekend and with no one to entertain it has been very relaxing. Tomorrow, Monday will start another busy week.

I went for a swim to cool off and do a little exercise and as I was swimming towards the dock on my second lap; I was stung with Hilo de Oro, (golden thread) or parts of a jelly fish.  It hurts a lot and I lifted my arm out of the water and saw the thin hair like thread that had touched my arm.

I swam to the dock to get out and waited for Misael to put the ladder back so I could pull my self out of the water and put some vinegar on my now hurting arm.  It took a while for Misael to tie the ladder; and after a shower in fresh water he kindly poured vinegar on the sting.  Tiny blisters started to form. The acid vinegar stopped most of the sting.

I got up early this morning, just as the sun was making his appearance and the animals of the Tropical Dry began waking up too.  In the distance I could hear the familiar sounds or howls from a Howler monkey, faint, but strong enough to let me k now they are nearby.

In the bathroom, when I lifted the top of the toilet seat, I saw a tiny grasshopper on the side of the bowl.  I helped him get out and he jumped away. 

To the untrained eye, you might miss all the morning activity or just ignore it.  I look and listen to the sounds and find pleasure when I see the different animals or birds or insects beginning their day as I am beginning mine.

A light tapping noise, sounding as if someone was tapping his fingers on a counter top, alerted my senses and I looked around to see what it was.  Suddenly, a palm sized crab, purple body and orange legs, a Versachi crab I call them named after then designer who would but bright colors on his clothes designs, , crawled under the bathroom door and for a quick second we looked at each other then; up went the tiny claws as if to say ¨don’t shoot¨ and the crab scurried away - walking sideways, keeping one roving eye on me and the other looking in the direction he was traveling and finally hid under the bathroom cabinet.

On the picture frame, I  looked carefully at the paintings of birds for either a Daddy Long Leg spider or a Preying Mantis that sometimes share the bathroom morning with me. Instead I saw two tiny moths with pale gold wings.  They both had fallen into the sink and these too I helped get out of the way before I brushed my teeth.

Then I saw a group of one inch long black ants, they were in a tight group and it looked like a football huddle before a game, and in an instant the ants separated and disappeared under the door.

By this time I was awake and decided to take a nice hot shower.  We have to be careful with the water again because we are only using one holding tank, the smaller one that is dedicated to the house.  The big cement tank that sits up on top of the hill is being repaired.  It no longer holds the water.  It is a good thing that we are in the rainy season and Misael doesn’t have to water the garden.  Edgar has been working on re-facing the sides of the big tank, mixing cement with sand from our sand mine that is collected at low tide from the front of the property.

I left the bathroom and walked toward the kitchen.  On the floor in the tiny hallway, I saw a big female mosquito. I was tempted to squish it with my foot, but I was barefoot and decided to leave her alone.

Now I was ready for coffee.  While I waited for the water to boil I put away the dishes and looked out the kitchen window and saw tiny butterflies fluttering around the Malenchi tree. The tree was covered with early morning risers of all colors and sizes.

Carefully I moved the coffee stand and sock and placed it on the counter top.  Last time I was surprised by a scorpion that had crawled and hidden inside the wet sock and this time I checked carefully to make sure the coffee sock was empty.

I took a steamy mug of hot coffee and walked to the second beach and a lounge chair.  The morning sunlight danced off the ocean water.  I watched as a small boat pulled up an illegal net, illegal because he is fishing too close to shore.

A flock of Yellow Amazon parrots flew overhead, beating their wings fast and squawking loudly until they disappeared over the hill behind the casona or big house.

Missing are the big flocks of pelicans we used to see fishing in front.  I saw one fly by hovering close to the water.  He must be lonely.

The morning light got brighter and brighter.  Fish began jumping close to shore while I watched and waited to see Juan Jose and little Mario, two Punta Coral workers, arrive in kayaks.  Another bird flew bye, it was a Cormorant and he kept going; I imagine looking for a small school of fish for breakfast.

The gentle breeze was blowing enough to move the pipes of the wind chime inside the rancho, the music blending with the sounds of the birds singing and bugs buzzing and crickets and grasshoppers clicking and the howls of the monkeys getting louder as they make their way here to finish off the rest of the mangoes.

I sat sipping my coffee, watching and listening.  A small pod of dolphins swam bye.

This of course made my day and I wanted them to stay. ¨I met part of your family in Hawaii¨, I wanted to shout but didn’t want to break the silence.

Not wanting to miss anything I sat still and kept my eyes busy.  The water lapped gently on the shore while I listened to the sounds of the awakening forest and I watched the Hermit crabs, of all sizes and shapes running in the sand not paying any attention to me and my watchful eyes.

Now, the workers are busy at their different tasks.  Two of them are busy in our little bay picking up plastic garbage, something we do every day here.  It is so sad and the amount of trash that floats into our bay is astounding. We would be buried in the stuff if it wasn’t collected and packed into rice sacks and sent to Puntarenas. Little Mario has already filled two rice sacks of plastic and is not halfway finished cleaning the beach.  Piles of already filled sacks are already stacked along the top of the gavions (the rock filled baskets that make up the sea wall around the property) next to the kayaks.

The gardener is here today finishing pruning the gardens surrounding the house.  He arrived yesterday, coming from San Jose to work here.  Now, Edgar is spraying an organic mixture on the lawn that is suffering from a mold and turning yellow.

We lost a small palm tree in the front yard and are not sure what killed it; its trunk stands now bare of any palm boughs.  We are sad.

It has rained every night since we have been here. The Tropical Dry forest is thick and green.  A true broccoli forest, white fluffy clouds float near the tops of the emerald green islands.  The sounds from wind chime are louder now that a gush of wind passes through and as quickly disappears. It doesn’t get any better than this. I finished the rest of my coffee.

The jungle is awake and so am I.

It is time for me to fix breakfast.  Four daily workers, the gardener and David are all waiting for pancakes, Mexican Huevos Rancheros and beans, fresh pineapple and juice.  I better get busy.

Hope all is well with you.

I love and miss you.

Besitos,  Cecs