June 11, 2008

Employee blues

Dear Dad,

I was so happy when we returned from our long vacation to find that everything ran smoothly and there were no really big problems. Well, it is a different story this last week.

I wrote about Delfina cutting a tendon and has been out on medical leave for the last 3 weeks.  One of the other cooks cut herself too; but after I told her, ¨ If I owned a taxi and the driver kept getting into accidents I would get another driver¨  I am not sure how badly she cut herself; but after a trip to the emergency she is back at work.

One of the young crew members, Mauricio, was trying to clean some rust spots out of the toilet onboard Manta Raya and put some sort of acid in the bowl that reacted with the water that caused toxic fumes and of course he inhaled them.  He burnt his lungs and I had to send a boat to pick him up on high seas and take him to Puntarenas for medical attention.  Luckily, and I mean luckily, the damage to his lungs was minor. Of course he had to wait hours before the hospital gave him a spray to ease the burn.  

We are working now on a way to get better medical attention to our employees.  The mandatory plan we use now is worthless and medical attention lacking because without proper forms filled – even in an emergency – the patient may have to wait for medical attention or the employer will have to pay the expense if a form is not presented..

Then there is Erick, the engineer on board Manta Raya.  I should say ex-engineer as he has been fired for not appearing at work – even after he called and told the captain there was a family emergency but he was late but on his way, he never showed.  The Captain had to look for another crew member at the last minute and this delayed the tour because they had to go and get fuel. 

We understand an emergency can occur, but everyone has a cell phone, (except maybe you), and there is not ever a reason for not communicating.

Misael is no longer employed either.  He has been working at Punta Coral for the last 6 years, ever since Mario died, but his attitude is so sour that we suggested he leave.(the same reason we retired him after 27 years as captain of Yacht Calypso).  Earlier that day, he had a fit on the dock, yelling at crew members because he couldn’t start the Amapola and did this in front of the passengers who looked on in disbelief.

The workers at Punta Coral are happy that he is gone.  One of them, Juan Jose told us he will gladly move out there.  Little Mario and Juan Jose plan on painting the workers’ apartment and putting things in order so we will be all happy with the results when we return in two weeks.

Our alternate captain, who left us with no notice and went to work for our competition, had problems and almost sunk their boat when we were hit with tropical storm Alma a few weeks ago.  We didn’t go out and Manta Raya is a lot more sea worthy than their boat. Apparently he has been fired and came to San Jose looking to get his job with us back. 

We also had a meeting with Tony, our lawyer for years, and both agreed that it was time to go our separate ways.  He has been telling us for months that he doesn’t want to be a lawyer anymore but wants to keep three clients (one would be us) at a monthly retainer – plus expenses and he is asking for too much money. Why would we use a lawyer who doesn’t want to be a lawyer and pay a big monthly retainer?

The roof in the San Jose office leaks and needs to be replaced.  We had a meeting with the landlady and she doesn’t want to pay because she charges us little rent.  We are working on sharing the expense.

What next?

 

Since we planned on going to Puntarenas on Friday; it was decided to celebrate my birthday a day earlier with David, Celiece and Marlon and Bryan.  We went to a Mexican restaurant and had a great time.

Friday morning we left early and headed to Puntarenas. Ana and Bill went too, and gave me a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses with orange tips.   The traffic was awful, lots of trucks and lots of men working to clean up the mud slides that Tropical Storm Alma caused.  Since we are still having a lot of rain, the clean up is not as fast as we would like it to be.  Road work on the highways is a year round job and detours and delays are common.

There is hope now that the new highway that cuts through a valley that promises to make the ride to Puntarenas from San Jose in only 45 minutes has been re-started again.  We have been waiting 30 years for the road to be completed.  Will it really be finished this time?  The bridges that were constructed in the beginning are now obsolete because they are too narrow and have deteriorated plus they only have two lanes.  All of them have to be rebuilt and widened to four lanes.

It is an expensive job.  A Spanish company is building the road.  They are going to make back their investment by charging a $27.00 toll and hopefully will not allow big semi trucks on the road.. Since it will make the now 3 ½ hour ride to Puntarenas only 45 minutes we will gladly pay the toll.  It will probably take a few more years, but it looks promising-.  We will have to wait to see.

 

We stopped at the new Casa Calypso before taking the ferry.  The former owner was there and he gave us a lot of information about the new Calypso house.

This is what he told us about the house.

The house was constructed in 1915 buy a man who owned a lumber mill in Puntarenas.  He sold it to a French man who dismantled the house and built the cement part that leads to the dock.  The French man was careful to take apart the old wood and stack it neatly.  He went broke and sold the house to the man we are buying it from. 

The house was reconstructed with the old wood, leaving out the part that used to sit where the cement area is now.  He bought it three years ago and now sold it to us.  The house has new windows and new wiring and technically is only three years old but since the wood is 93 years old it is an old house.

Interestingly enough, the same owner who built the house, is also the one who milled the wood and built the old Casa Calypso.  Small world.

Now we are busy looking for the architect and construction crew who will make the changes we need before we can move.  We need to move at the end of July.  Will we make it?   I have no doubt that we will get everything done that we need to do in order to make the move.  Time is ticking away.

 

The Amapola or Captain’s launch would not start. Something wrong with the generator. We had to take the ferry across the gulf.  I smuggled the cat on board .  Mario (remember this is a new Mario and not the one that died) took a kayak to a neighbors and asked if he would pick us up at the ferry dock and transport us to Punta Coral.  He did and we arrived on the property just a few minutes before the rain started to pour.

We had a wonderful time although there were a lot of mosquitoes.  They come with the rain.

I went for a walk on Saturday and was amused watching the Versace crabs that are a beautiful purple and orange color, running sideways and into the piles of dead leaves to get out of my way.

The jungle is green and thick and there are still lots of the plumeria flowers on the trees,

lots of birds singing and at night we heard lots of owls.  I made sure to keep Dexter inside the house as he is so tiny he might have been the perfect lunch menu for a bird of prey.

 

The battery charger at Punta Coral died and wouldn’t charge the batteries on Amapola. The captain bought us a new charger on Saturday and after charging the batteries we were able to take it to Puntarenas on Monday where a mechanic was waiting.  He came from San Jose to look at the engine.  Apparently there are no parts here in Costa Rica for the Yamaha outboards.  Backorders for parts is a drag..

I was so happy to not have to take the ferry back to Puntarenas. We had to ride the ferry on Friday and it was very crowded.  The crew had a TV blasting to cover up the noise of the kids screaming.  The hour ride was awful and something I try and avoid if possible.

 

Dexter, my new orange kitten, was bitten by some insect- probably a scorpion got into his cage, as was limping and not doing anything but resting for two days after we got home. I should have check his cage when we put him inside when it was time to leave Punta Coral especially since one crawled out of a big bed bolster pillow when I took off the sheets to take them home.

David and I noticed Dexter limping only after we got home at the end of the day.  He was quiet, but was eating and drinking and there were no signs of an injury, like swelling or blood so I just kept watching him.

 I was worried and about to take him to the vet today, but last night when I got home from work he was fine.

 

Today is Thursday.  It has been raining all day and it is cold.  I am waiting for the maid to bring hot chocolate to everyone in the office to warm us up a little.

David and I also have a meting with the new lawyer.  She is a woman and speaks English as well as Spanish.  We have been using her for a few necessary legal matters and she is fast and thorough.  She was recommended by our good friend Jetty.

 

Tomorrow David and I are driving to Puntarenas to meet with another architect.  He is recommended by the man we are buying the house from.  We need to start this construction soon.

 

I talked to Linda last night and she gave me the news that you are in the hospital.  You cannot imagine how sad this makes me. 

I wish I was there to see you and bring cheer.  Being in the hospital is not fun and I am sure all you want to do is go home.  I am happy that Linda is there.  She is a very special woman and takes great care of you.

Bryan, Celiece and Marlon had a wonderful time with you even though you only sat in your chair.  We all did enjoy the time together and I am so glad that all of us made the visit as a family.

We are staying home this weekend.  Hopefully a fix-it-man is coming over on Saturday to change a faucet, fix a leak in the toilet and change some screening that was torn when a neighbor cat tried to get into our house to eat cat food.

Last week the owners of the house had two guys replace some ceiling in the media room and guest bedroom.  I no longer have to look at water stains.

Also, I bought a new rug for the living room instead of covering the furniture.  I certainly don’t need to ad a new project to my already very busy schedule.  Besides there is nothing wrong with the furniture except that it has a busy pattern that I didn’t think combined well with the parquet floors.  Now, I have a new rug made from hemp that has an interesting texture and covers part of the floor.  Sounds like a little thing, but it really bothered me and now I am happy.  I got a good price too.

I also found a nice cabinet for my nick- knacks or dust collectors.  I want to put them someplace before the maid or cats break any more of them.  David didn’t like it and we have been on the hunt for something else.  We have been looking and have not found anything yet.    This always happens and I know that next week I will go and buy the one I like.

David did surprise me with a stainless steel small work table with wheels for the kitchen.  I have wanted one because the counter tops in the kitchen are made of four inch square tile and for some things I bake or cook I need a flat surface.  It also has shelves and now I can put the cat food and paper towels on the shelves and free up some counter space. J 

Our kitchen is tiny and really the whole house is tiny.  One of me weekend projects is to go through some stuff and get rid of things I am not using or wearing and put other items away better.  It is amazing how quickly a house can fill up with stuff even when I am careful not to bring anything into the house without taking something out.

David and I are really enjoying the new kitten, Dexter.  He is a lot of fun and we like playing with him.  He wakes up too early in the morning but we don’t care.  Dexter is still trying to make friends with the other two adult cats.  Things are better, but there is still a lot of hissing.  David and I think he will grow up to be the king.  Maybe this is why the other cats don’t like him. He is so cute. He only weighs a few pounds, eats like a horse and everything catches his attention.  I was amazed last night as I watched him watching TV with us.  Yes, he was actually looking at the screen, if only for a few minutes.

 

Time to go to a meeting.  This is all the news for the week.  I love and miss you and hope you are out of the hospital soon.

 

Besitos,  Cecs