August 8, 2008

 

More adventures of Happy plus Dewey and Cindy’s visit

 

Dear Dad,

 

A lot has happened since my last letter to you.

 

David and I left San Jose early and headed for Punta Coral with a stop at the new Casa Calypso to see the construction sight.  We were traveling with Dewey and Cindy, both of whom were looking forward to a long weekend of rest and relaxation.  It has been over a year since their last visit to Costa Rica.

Before stopping at the new house, we stopped at the Hotel Porto Bello that is near where the old Casa Calypso once stood to look at a ramp and dock.  Since the estuary is filling in, we need to make the ramp about 10 feet longer to assure we have water at the lowest and highest tides.

While David talked to the man selling the ramp and dock, Dewey and Cindy walked two doors down to see the empty lot where once stood the first Casa Calypso.

When they returned, they- like us – were amazed at the small size of the lot that when it was filled with the house, pool, fish pond, rancho, public bathrooms and gardens looked so much bigger. All gone and now and nothing but a memory.

Actually, David and I don’t mind looking at an empty lot.  Yes, the memories flood back like watching myself in a movie, but the man we sold the house to let it deteriorate so badly that every time we went into town we had to watch the slow death of a house we spent so many years in and made so many memories.

It had been sold again and the new owner wants to put in a Marina.  This is a joke because one of the many reasons we sold the old Casa Calypso is because there was not enough water to bring the boats up to the dock for loading and unloading passengers for the tour.  We had to rent space on a dock just to board the passengers at a dollar each and this is too expensive.

He thinks or was told that the government is going to dredge the estuary and he will have deep water so he can build a Marina.  I think it is a dream because we heard the same thing for years.

Another change is then road into town used to be a block away, but the amount of traffic has increased so much that the quiet road in front of where Casa Calypso once stood, is now a one way road into town. Where the neighborhood children used to ride bikes and play is now a busy road.

Both Dewey and Cindy had been to the old house years earlier and remembered how it looked and were a little sad to see that the empty lot has erased a moment in history and all that is left are only fond memories; but wait, there are new memories to make with the new Casa Calypso and this we will do. J

As soon as David returned we were once again on our way into town.   David and I were anxious to show off the new house and get some feedback on our construction and remodeling ideas.

David stopped in front of the metal door that leads into the parking area waiting for a worker to open the door and let him drive in. What we saw was a busy crowd of workers.  Some of them were mixing cement and others were placing tile.  At this stage it looks like slow motion to David and me since we have been driving up and down the mountains traveling to and from San Jose; but the construction workers have been working diligently at the New Casa Calypso and David and I could see a lot of progress.  We were at the house the Sunday before, only 4 days earlier, and although it looked like there is a lot to be completed, everything looks great.

I had Carmen, the substitute cook and woman who fills in for days off in the kitchen, clean the floors and bathroom so that the new Casa Calypso would look good and impress Dewey and Cindy.  It would be the first time both had seen it.

In spite of the mud, cement dust and piles of sand and gravel, and bits and pieces of stuff all over the place, Dewey and Cindy liked what they both saw.  J  After a look around and a short meeting with the construction boss, we walked to the waiting Amapola -the Captain’s launch - at our new dock and headed for Punta Coral.

 

The weather was perfect.  We could see the sky darkening and crossed the Gulf of Nicoya in front of a storm.  Dewey and Cindy had never seen the new boat either and were very impressed that now David and I travel back and forth in our ¨water-limo¨ as we now call our transportation to and from Punta Coral.

The ride across the Gulf of Nicoya is always beautiful.  The islands surrounding the water are green and thick with trees and the last of the Amapola or Flor de Mayo (flower of May) flowers

The air was thick because of the moisture leaving the ground and lifting up to the clouds. It was going to rain later and we wanted to get to Punta Coral before it started.

 After a cold beer and making up the beds, we all watched in fascination as the air got thinner and lighter and soon afterwards the rain began to fall.

The four of us spent a quiet evening talking and watching the weather clear and even a few stars came out to blink at us from above.  Dewey and Cindy brought us a star gazer that after pointing to any star there is written information on a lit screen with the name and what constellation it is in.  We had fun even though there were only a few visible stars to look at.

We sat on the beach under the stars and used the new toy to point at the few stars we could see and took turns reading the information on the amazing machine. The world certainly has changed since computers have been invented.

¨

Sunday, after three days missing, I found the kitten Happy locked up inside a neighbor´s house.  It was pouring rain and I walked all around to the different houses calling his name and knocking on doors.  No-one not one person answered the door.  I was really upset because I could not find Happy.

When I walked past the house in front of us I decided to knock on the door once more.  No-one was home.  I called ¨Happy¨ really loud because it was pouring rain but as I was walking away I heard the cry of a cat and went back and peeked inside the window. I couldn’t believe it, it was Happy and he was so glad to see me. Poor little kitty was crying frantically and ran to a window to get out, but the window was closed and locked.

I went to the landlady and told her of my dilemma and to see if she knew where the tenants had gone.  ¨They will return in a few hours¨, she reassured me.

I went to get David and give him the great news.  Then I wrote a note and went back to the house and posted it on the front door, went home and waited. 

The family finally returned home and I ran down the hill as soon as I saw them drive into the driveway.  They found Happy on Friday, he went missing on Thursday night when he was frightened by Marlon and Celiece when they pulled into our driveway.

Since we left early Friday morning and Happy was still missing the two little boys who found him took him home.  Needless to say, Happy and I had a great reunion.

 

The following day, Bryan and I were on our way home driving in a big rain storm.  Bryan was driving and we had made a detour earlier to avoid a big puddle because my car is too low.  Taking another route, we came to another big puddle and Bryan tried to rush through only to get stuck in the middle.  Cars behind us and cars coming at us in the other direction.  What to do?  The weather was so bad and we had seen lots of stranded vehicles on the way home.  Then to our surprise, a small red truck stopped in front of us and the driver got out and asked if we needed help.  He told us he had just helped another car.  An angel.  Unfortunately, while talking to him with the window down, a car going in the other direction sped through the water causing a big wave to wash over the top of the car and water also poured through the open window in the driver’s side. 

The nice man gave us a tow home.  We were only a short distance away, but it was all up hill.

The following day, Bryan tried to start the car but it wouldn’t start.  He called his mechanic friend and they both tried again and then took it to change the oil.  After three attempts and also changing the spark plugs – nothing.

I won’t bore you with more details, but finally we called the mechanic who always works on the car and had it towed to his shop.  There is sits.  This is the last straw and I am going to get a new car.  I like the Passat, but have had it towed too often and I am done.

I am thinking about a Nissan Alta. 

 

The same night that the car was stuck, we got home and Happy ran to the front door drenched not only with water; but he fell into a vat of car grease; no not the black stuff , but the thick green stuff that is like Vaseline but worse. Bryan was very quick to capture Happy at the front entrance to the house before he had a chance to jump or sit on anything and get the grease all over everything.

It took three baths to wash him and we still didn’t get out all the grease.  I was thinking we might have to shave Happy.  It was stormy and cold and I dried him as best at I could and then we used the hairdryer; but the poor car was shivering so bad that after I took out the clothes from the dryer, it was still hot and I put Happy inside.  Of course I left the door to the dryer open. Happy smiled (can a cat really smile? It sure looked like a smile when he stopped shivering)

After researching on the computer the best way to get rid of the grease, I decided to wipe Happy with vegetable oil and figured the molecules in the oil would adhere to the other grease and then with some Dawn dishwashing soap wash Happy one more time.  It worked.

As you have read, we have had a very busy week.  Hope you are doing well.

I love and miss you.

 

Besitos,  Cecs