Funny how plans change......we are now a family of FIVE!
No we didn't adopt Carla but we did welcome into our family Luis, who is the son of Carlos from El Salvador. After spending 4 days together in their lovely home in Salcoatitan the kids became close friends and begged us parents for Luis to join us in Costa Rica. So his ticket was booked and the very next day we were all flying together to CR!! We warmly refer to him as "nanny mcphee" but I have a feeling he will be more than a nanny for us. Having our very own interpreter is going to be awesome!! He is 22 years old and on holidays from his 3rd year of university, studying to become an electrical engineer and a professional nanny:-)
After spending one night in Jaco (way too busy for us) we took a boat ride to Montezuna and then a taxi to Playa Santa Teresa. It is a little quieter than Jaco but still not what I had in mind. It is definitely a resort town with lot's of tourists, mostly surfers and everything is so expensive. Actually we are finding CR way more expensive than anticipated. Bottle's of water were $4 each and finding affordable accommodation is a challenge. The place we are currently staying in is $60/night, 2 bedroom with a small kitchenette but after tomorrow it is booked so we have to move on. JC found a house, in the mountains for half the cost so we may move there or travel further up the coast to Tamarindo. It's another beach town but from what we've heard not as expensive as here. From what I understand CR used to be a nice, inexpensive place to travel but not anymore, it's been mega developed to the point where I think it has lost its charm. Still dirt roads though, which the dust makes me sneeze all the time, my own family as given up on the bless you's but not Luis he says 'bless you' each and every time even when he's in another room or a ways away from me, it's so cute. Although, the beaches are AMAZING and the waves are big and fun to body surf or duck dive which Tianna has mastered! We definitely enjoyed El Salvador more and wish we would have stayed there longer......oh well live and learn! Having Luis along has been a blessing especially as our translator. He was giving Tianna spanish lessons this morning while swinging in the hammock. The kids began their school work last night and if all goes well I told Landon he could rent a quad after he does 5 days of school work. Bribery is a wonderful thing :-)
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| Spanish lessons with Luis! |
I will try to describe, the best I can, where we are staying in Costa Rica. How we discovered this piece of paradise is explained under God moments!
Santa Teresa is a busy little surf town but not exactly a place where we can just “chill-ax” and get the kids on schedule with their online school work which is what our plan was for CR. High up a very steep dirt road (you need a 4X4) we’ve rented a 2 bedroom house (Gumbo Limbo Ocean View Villa). Not an ordinary house though, this one comes with a pool of our own, except when the owners invite guests. It is situated on a large piece of property so is very secluded which is kinda a good thing since the shower is outside as is the sink and toilet!!
In front, is the pool with an amazing view of the ocean and it’s cool that we can still hear the waves but not all the vehicles and busyness of the town below.
Our back yard where the shower is, overlooks the Costa Rican jungle. So far we’ve seen many geckos, a few iguana’s and the most excitement we had was watching a family of 7 monkeys in the trees surrounding our house.
We watched for nearly 45 min. while they made their way through the trees beginning right in front of us and ending when they disappeared into the jungle behind us. It was a spectacular site witnessing at such a close proximity! At first we only saw 5 so we quickly named each of them after ourselves, the baby monkey(Tianna) was soooooo cute and spent most of the time hitching a ride on her mother's back. We noticed how they would use their tail to anchor themselves just before making a big leap to the next tree, I guess just in case they missed they had the security of being attached to the tree they were leaping from!
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| This is 'Louis' Landon's pet gecko |
Also on the property is an Italian Restaurant (Gumbo Limbo) owned by an italian Michele! His partners Nacho & Juanjose are from Argentina. They make all their own fresh pasta. JC has had one lesson already and we treated ourselves the first night here to a gourmet feast of their pasta, yummy! It’s a little over our budget so we will likely not make a habit of eating at the restaurant but it’s nice to know we can! A couple of the guys that work here also play in a band and have drums that Landon is dying to play. I’m sure a couple jam sessions are in the near future. Our house has no cooking facilities however we are welcome to use the restaurant to cook our food whenever we like, as long as we’re not in the way when they are cooking for guests.
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| Owner Michele, Luis, Landon, Tea, JC |
The fifth member of our family Luis has been such a blessing. The kids absolutely adore him and it’s weird but it feels like he’s been part of our family forever not less than 2 weeks! So far our days have been spent swimming in the pool, laying in the hammock, reading and swimming some more since it’s so hot here, even in the morning.
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| Colvin Cafe serves Luis snacks! |
Yesterday afternoon Luis and the kids walked to a skateboard park where Landon got to show off his moves for Luis. Imagine that...a skateboard park in the middle of the jungle....only in Costa Rica.
Today, the kids captured a gecko as a pet and emptied our container of rice to use as his home!! They've made a movie with the gecko as the star but hopefully they will set him free shortly and not get a partner for him like they're talking about doing?!?!
The sunsets are incredible and our view is perfect to witness the display of brilliant colors each and every night the sun goes down. All in all we are very happy to be spending the month here. Of course it all can’t be perfect…….the hike up and down is a killer so we likely won’t venture off the property too often and the internet is off & on and we do have to walk down the many steps to the restaurant where the signal is better...but good in a way to get some exercise. Luckily JC was able to borrow a quad to bring up groceries our first day here.
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| just chillin in Costa Rica!!! |
The kids and Luis have gone to the beach today and I’m sure will all jump into the pool the moment they return after hiking back up cardiac hill!!
We did some research on the internet since the ocean in Costa Rica is affected by Red Tide, some days we don't see it at all while other days it is quite obvious:
The ocean is filled with unsolved mysteries and has continued to stump scientists with new discoveries everyday. One of the most puzzling issues is the phenomenon known as ‘Red Tide’. With records dating back to the mid 1800’s, Red Tide has continued to frustrate researchers with the cause of this unusual event. Although Red Tide has occurred all over the world: Maine, Norway, Africa, Japan, Oregon and Costa Rica. With further research and education, someday we may be able to prevent some of the devastation caused by the Red Tide.
Red Tide is caused by a rapid population growth of microscopic plankton. These microscopic plankton release toxins that have severe affects on marine life and humans. The toxins are ‘environmental chemicals’ that can interfere with metabolism, nerve conduction, and the central nervous system. The blooms mainly take place in coastal, warm waters. Factors that promote red tide occurrences are 1. Warm temperatures 2. High nutrient content 3. Low salinity 4. Calm seas and 5. Rain followed by sunny weather. As the plankton multiply and grow, they cause a discoloration in the water near the shoreline. Often it turns a reddish-brown color, hence the name red tide. There have been occurrences where the water has turned a yellow, brown, or even a purple shade. Scientist has summarized the development of Red Tide into four stages. The first stage is where the plankton is introduced into the area. Next is the growth stage where the population begins to multiply rapidly over a few weeks time span. As they reach the peak of growth they enter into stage three, maintenance. Here is where the bloom can either continue to live offshore or can be moved inshore by tides or strong winds. If the bloom moves closer to shore, nutrients are in greater abundance, which can cause the bloom to grow even larger. Finally, the bloom will eventually dissipate, ending the cycle.
Organisms involved in Red Tide are not always harmful to the marine life, but unfortunately there is a great number that are. These harmful algal blooms (HABs) have caused death among fish, birds, manatees, and several other vertebrate species. Eating the toxic plankton, eating other organisms already infected with the toxins, or simply by exposure through the water can contaminate organisms. The toxins do not affect filter-feeding shellfish even though the toxins are concentrated in their organs. Other fish, however, are not so lucky and end up being victims to the powerful red tide.
The death rate of fish during Red Tides has reached extreme numbers. Estimates are that over 100 tons of fish can be killed during a Red Tide in a single day. Once the fish is infected, they begin to twist and swim in a corkscrew fashion. They begin to defecate and regurgitate as well as experience convulsions. Their body slowly begins to paralyze and prior to death they begin to experience respiratory failure. This process unfortunately can take from a couple of days to a full week before the organism eventually dies.
Red Tide has affected humans as well. The impact is both medical and economical. The diagnosis of Red Tides physical affects has been narrowed down into five different types of poisoning. 1. Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). You can get this type of poisoning from eating a contaminated clam or mussel 2. Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP). 3. Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP). Scallops, mussels and short-necked clams cause DSP. 4. Neurotoxin Shellfish Poisoning (NSP). Clams, scallops, mussels, and oysters are all associated with NSP. 5. Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP). The earliest record of PSP was in the year of 1793 when a man died and four others were left ill.
From 1978 to 1987, half of the reported seafood poisonings were the result of Red Tide toxins. Red Tide has created a large impact on our oceans and our lives. It’s increasingly affecting our marine life and our own health and economic prosperity. Programs have been established to try and reduce the harmful effects of the Red Tide and keep people educated about this phenomenon. The next step in coming closer to solving the mystery is more research. Whatever is causing red tide, and the answer behind stopping it is out there. We just have to keep diving deeper for the truth.
