November 5, 2008

 

A new US President, a new floor at Punta Coral

 

Dear Dad,

 

Along with the rest of the world, David and I watched with interest the counting of the ballots and the final word that Obama is the new president elect of the United States.

The American Dream has become a reality and the fact that he was virtually an unknown a few months ago, now has become a household word around the world.

The voter turnout numbers were amazing to see, almost 90%.  The immense crowds waiting and watching for the results is proof that everyone wants and needs change.

The United States of America, the greatest nation in the free world is a country to be admired.  Together the citizens have the power to make the changes happen.

 

Tomorrow David and I are taking a short vacation to Miami.  Since Cindy was turned back at the airport because she didn’t have a Yellow Fever vaccine (she was returning from Brazil) and she didn’t get to celebrate our friend’s 60th birthday at the Spa, so we are going to her house for a party. 

David and I also want a break because we are starting the busy season and won’t have a chance to leave Costa Rica if we don’t go now.  We are also celebrating our anniversary, which we celebrate every Nov. 2, the day we met.  We never celebrate our wedding anniversary, because we both feel that the day we met is when we started our lives together and have been together ever since………….38 years!!!

I also want to do a little shopping for Christmas.   David wants to buy new golf shoes and eat Stone Crabs.  It plans on being a fun long weekend. We will return on Monday

 

Halloween was great fun.  Most of the office cams in costumes and we had a contest with a prize of $100 for the best costume and pizza with Caesar Salad and a Chilean Torte for dessert.  Everyone had fun.

 

Saturday David and I went to Punt Coral.  This weekend it was just us.  We stopped at a house in Esparza and knocked at the door of a house that has the double coral colored Hibiscus or Amapola flowers that are so beautiful we want to plant lots of them at Punta Coral.

No-one answered the door, so David took out my Swiss Army knife and carefully cut off a few branches.  No-one here seems to mind and since it isn’t against the law here we don’t feel guilty. Really, if you have a fruit tree in your yard and it is full of fruit, a passerby can pick all he wants if he doesn’t go into the yard.  Sometimes people are so bold, they even go into the yard to get the fruit they want.

It was just a short 30 minute ride from Esparza to Casa Calypso.  After parking the car both of us went to see the progress on the latest jobs and say hello to the kitchen help and the new cat ¨Ocho¨ ( named for the number 8 he has tattooed I his ear).  The cat has moved in and now is a permanent resident loved and teased by the crew and lovingly fed by the cooks.

We brought with us some ¨tejas¨ or metal roofing and some plywood that needed transportation to Punta Coral.  Little Mario took the early ferry in from Paquera and was waiting for us.  He arrived earlier to get the boat ready and while we inspected the various projects, Mario loaded all the stuff into David’s launch and soon we were on our way.

The weather was coolish and the sky cloudy, but the water was calm and we sped across the Gulf of Nicoya to our private paradise.  Both David and I wanted to see the finished floor in our bedroom in the Casona or big house.

I got out of the panga/dingy and walked to the house and went immediately upstairs.  Wow!!!  What a floor.  Now that it is all varnished it looks so beautiful.  We had an old

plywood floor that I kept hidden with rugs made from rice husks and now that the old plywood is gone I will not cover up the floor.  It looks so great that I decided to keep an old trunk downstairs too so as not to cover up too much floor. Now our room looks magazine perfect.

After all our stuff was put away we walked to the little house and saw that the work on the armoire was done.  The carpenter had taken out most of the drawers leaving only two on the bottom and the rest open to hang up clothes.  It was even varnished too.

Another surprise job completed was a new back step.  Where there used to be only a partial tile now is a whole tile making leaving and entering the house through the back door much easier now that there is room to place the whole foot.  It has been a half step for so long that it takes a little getting used to.

Sunday the gardener arrived from San Jose and worked on the compost project.  He got the chipper shredder going and showed the workers how to operate the machine and also how to layer the vegetable cuttings and leaves and grass so we can make mulch for the gardens.

 David set up the croquet game and we played using two balls each.  David won.  I don’t want to write about it. David and I played more croquet and he won again.  I am getting better but I think since he plays golf he has more practice.  It is the only reason he could have beat me. Really, it is a lot of fun and we are both competitive, but if he continues telling me what I am doing wrong he will be sorry.

David and I also watched a newly launched boat pass by on her way to Cedros Island.  It was their first tour and all the travel agencies were invited for the special event. 

Besides being not very attractive (close to very ugly) it is slow. Their salesman had been telling all the agencies that their boat is twice as fast as the Manta Raya, burns less fuel and has better service. 

At one point during the day, the new boat was 1 ½ miles in front of Manta Raya and in only 15 minutes, our captain expertly glided the beautiful catamaran past the slow boat and left her in his wake.

We heard later, since my friend has a travel agency and sent a spy for me to get all the details of the tour, that the trip as a disaster.  I won’t go into details but it looks like their new business is off to a really bad start.

Monday I prepared a nice lunch for the workers and David and me.  We had fresh fish with fresh tarragon and vegetables and salad with ceviche as the first course.  I don’t cook as often as I used to so it was a treat for everyone.  The lunch was delicious.

All too soon we herd the radio and the Captain calling to let us know he was o his way to pick us up.  WHAT!!!!  For the last two days Manta Raya passed Punta Coral at 4:30pm and now she was early.

We told the Captain to slow the big cat down a little and David and I rushed to get ready.

Since the rains are ending and summer will be here before long. I decided to take all the mattress covers, pillow covers and bed spreads with us to wash and get ready for guests.

I will be getting too busy to do it later.

The ride back to port on board Manta Raya was wonderful.  I just love watching the crew all dressed in sparkling white uniforms. Since I wrote them a letter insisting that the crew wears a clean uniform every day, they look perfect.

Manta Raya looks as good today as she did on her maiden voyage almost 15 years ago.

She too sparkles with her newly painted decks and hulls and is ready for the season.  There was no vibration either and that is good news.  Keeping everything in perfect running condition takes a lot of coordination and our captain is doing an excellent job.

The sunset was beautiful and we watched it as Manta Raya brought us home to Casa Calypso. 

I brought a new palm for the garden and as soon as I placed it where I want it to be planted and pet Ocho, David and I climbed into his car and headed for San Jose.

We returned in time to buy flowers before they closed and stopped for a frozen yogurt before heading home.

I stayed up until midnight washing clothes and now have packed most of them and sent them back to Punta Coral.

Work is still being done on the street that takes us up the hill towards our house.  It is a mess and has been for a few months.  The last few days David has had to maneuver around some big holes and piles of gravel and huge rocks.  The entrance to our house was almost completely blocked; but David managed to get around it with the guidance of one of the street workers.

I went to the salon today for a manicure and pedicure and shampoo to get ready for our mini vacation tomorrow.  We are leaving now to do early check in so we don’t have to be at the air port tomorrow too early.  All I have to do is pack a few clothes later tonight and get a good nights rest then we are off to Miami for good food, good company and a little shopping. J.

 

I love and miss you.

 

Besitos,  Cecs