September 26, 2007

Dear Dad,

I have so much to write about that I don’t know where to start.

When Manta Raya was in dry dock, inspectors from two government agencies and two police men went to Tortuga Island. They presented the other tour boat a letter letting them know that they are in the public zone (50 meters from high tide is public land and the law is for both coasts – called the maritime law) and that the buildings and instillations have to go. WOW.

Because we weren’t there we weren’t officially notified. David and our lawyer/friend Tony went with the lawyer from the other company to the province that is responsible for the area where Tortuga Island is located and had a meeting with employees of the govt that weren’t even born when Calypso took the first tour in 1975.

They explained that the reason that Tortuga Island is pristine is because we are there every day with our camp ground set up and we keep our area and the beach clean of garbage.

Costa Rica has a big problem with garbage. The beaches are full of garbage that floats down the rivers and into the Gulf and the ocean. Herradura Beach is the closest beach to the Marriot Los Sueños. It is a big fancy area with hundreds of expensive condos that cost a million dollars or more. If you stand on a balcony with a view of the Herradura beach you will see tons of garbage.

The locals throw stuff on the ground or the garbage cans are filled to overflowing and the cleanup is enormous and there are not enough people or real interest to clean up the trash. It is the private sector who cleans up areas surrounding their own business.

For example. On Saturday, when we pulled up to the dock at Punta Coral, I noticed plastic garbage on our beaches and asked Misael why he and his crew had not cleaned up the trash. He told me he was out of rice sacks to put it in and I then saw that he was given a bunch of empty sacks.

When we returned in the afternoon, Misael and his crew had filled 15 rice sacks with garbage. What would our area look like if we didn’t pay for the cleanup and transport the sacks of trash back to Puntarenas.

It is the same at Tortuga Island. We pay the island to keep the beach clean and rake our area. We also have one crew member who takes a garden sized trash bag and picks up a bag full or more each day. No other boat operator does this but us

Tortuga Island is pristine because we keep it that way. If the govt were to move us out of the public zone there would be nothing to stop locals from setting up day camps in front of us and every time they do go to the Island, they leave their garbage in the sand.

There are a group of small boats, really just big pangas/dingys who go to the beach every day. They have no license and their people leave paper cups etc everywhere when they leave.

Hopefully, now that the bigger operators, us, have had a meeting, we are hoping that the municipal government will just ¨rent¨ us our space and maybe have better control to the other businesses who are operating with no license or permits.

We have been trying to keep the smaller boats from placing an anchor close to shore and in the way of all the swimmers. Buoys have been placed for their use, but they won’t use them. The swimming area gets a film of gas or oil on the surface because of the bilges on the small boats. We turn off ours far from shore.

We also want one area for pulling up to shore, dropping people off and leaving – exactly what we and the other bigger boat does, but no-one will listen. Now we are in the slowest months of the year, but in high season the island gets a lot of tourists and we have been lucky so far that there have been no accidents.

Punta Coral is the same thing. ¨Take down all the buildings¨ we were told. We have permits on our lease that go back to the former owners but we have to pay someone to make the report and present it.

If it wasn’t for our efforts of beach cleaning and conservation, our precious Punta Coral and our tour to Tortuga Island would be full of garbage like the other public beaches around Costa Rica.. It is just a headache and another expense, plus another battle.

A few weeks ago, we ordered new chairs for all the San Jose staff. I wasn’t here when they ordered them but was here when the new chairs arrived. Each new chair cost $100 and everyone was excited to receive one. They came is a box and the guys in reservations had to put them together. When they were put together, they called me to come and see them. To my disappointment, the boys had picked out burgundy chairs. We have a big office and I have decorated it. We have nothing a burgundy color in the whole building and the chairs looked really out of place. ¨Take them back¨, I ordered to the shocked faces of everyone. ¨How could you choose a color without consulting me first¨¨ I demanded to know. Luckily for all, the new chairs were exchanged for black and everyone is happy, especially me.

My next problem solving was the password for the bank. I forgot it and could not make any payments over the internet. The main bank we use makes me change the password every 90 days. Because Manta Raya was in dry dock and Michael on vacation and I went to Columbia, almost 3 weeks went by and I forgot the password. Should I write it down and hide it? So much responsibility.

Well, the bank sent a messenger with a new password and when I opened the envelope and received the new password, I had to go up on the net and as soon as I used the new password I had to change it to something only I know (I gave it to David once and he put it on his recorder - for anyone to listen to) It didn’t work and I had to do the whole process again. Finally after a week of going back and forth to the bank I have a new password and was able to make all the payments.

I was going to make the password ¨dumb shit¨ because it took me so long; but didn’t

David and I went to Punta Coral this last weekend and it was spectacular. The front lawn or ¨amazing grass¨ we call it, has completely filled in and is as green as an emerald.

The weather was perfect and cool with few bugs. I spent a whole day arranging the area where the plates and glasses and food is kept. It took all day and I threw out a lot of stuff and am so pleased with the results. For the first time, there are no boxes on the floor upstairs or downstairs, everything is in its place and the junk is gone. I send a person to clean once a week, but it seems that they just clean the floors and are not good at organizing. Celiece is so proud of me that I did such a big job and tossed crap. She has cleaned and tossed before, but I am the only person who can decide what goes and what stays.

Today is Thursday. We are very busy. We have a new breakfast stop and changes need to be made.

We also have a new guide and he is in training.

The new maid for the office will start tomorrow, meantime we are a mess here because we have been without anyone to clean and empty trash etc for a week.

Boomer got into a fight and dislocated a hip and has a hole in him from a bite that is really infected and I took him to the vet this morning for x-ray and shots.

Now it is 4:30pm and I have not had lunch and I have to go to another appointment, ok, it is massage day and I am leaving the office now.

I love and miss you. Hope all is well in California. It is raining a lot here and I have to go and drive in a storm to get home. I can do this.

Besitos, Cecs