The South comes to Costa Rica

The past two weeks have been rather exciting (aka super busy) but wonderful. First we had 180 people from Georgia come to Costa Rica for this Leadership Georgia conference. They were staying at the nearby resort listening to speakers ranging from alumni of the program to the President of Costa Rica. They also wanted to volunteer in nearby schools and see how our Habitat projects were coming along. While they were here, Jane and Daniel were also coming to visit, but their original flight got canceled and the trip was pushed back a day. Unfortunately that means their flight arrived at the same time that we were supposed to be taking the Leadership Georgia people around to our worksite and the other Habitat neighborhood.As usual, it all worked out in the end though, the Leadership Georgia people were two hours late arriving for the tour so we had plenty of time to pick up our visitors and drag them around on our tour to the Habitat houses as well. They also got a taste of our weekly English class to the first graders in 27 de Abril. The cutest students ever, but with little understanding of order in a classroom which is typical for many students here. A few games of duck, duck goose managed to get some of their energy out though and at the same time, drain all of ours.

Jane and Daniel got the full Costa Rican experience, from monsoons to sunburns, but it was a great trip. We started with a Sabenero show, which is the typical dancing and horseback riding of the Guanacaste region. Afterward there was dinner and drinks on the beach, where we began a proper celebration. Over the weeekend we went hiking at a nearby volcano (Blair, does Rincon de laVieja ring a bell?), whose crater is no longer active, but there are tons of bubbling mud pits, hot water pools, fumaroles, and waterfalls around the mountain. It was a beautiful hike through an amazing forest with the largest leaf-cutter ant mounds that we've ever seen. Those ants were always focused on their task and left people alone, but as we found out the hard way some others do not. We were swimming (well the boys were swimming, and the girls were wading) in this crystal clear, freezing-cold river when we noticed a black army swarming all over our stuff on the rocks. We quickly hopped out to grab our stuff and move it away, but the ants just kept coming and coming and apparently could follow our scent wherever we took our stuff. Yikes! For the more relaxing vacation type of things, we also went sailing/snorkeling, ziplining through the jungle, golfing, laying on the beach, etc. Even better we ate tons of good food, probably topped by our homemade sushi that was swimming just hours before we ate it.

During all the fun we were also trying to get the construction crews everything they needed to start building. As always there are last minute fees and complications trying to hinder progress, but we managed to overcome all of them (that we know of). The foundations have been dug and you can see the outline of each room of the house. The construction crew is amazing - after 30 minutes of being on the worksite we're tired and drenched in sweat, and they are out there 10 hours a day in the ridiculous heat, digging the foundations, mixing concrete, etc. We can't describe how fantastic it is to finally be building though. Even better, the crew is also working to clear the second lot so we can begin the permit process on that land and hopefully build there as soon as this neighborhood is done.

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend. Huge hugs to all you dads out there.

Love,
Team Wander

Éxito!

A foreigner who has been working in Costa Rica for many years gave us some advice this week. In order to get anything done here, it requires ¨slight but constant pressure.¨ We think that is the best description we’ve heard yet. We’re walking this tightrope between trying to accomplish things in a reasonable amount of time and not bugging people to the point they won’t help us again. We’re slowly learning how to keep this delicate balance and it is paying off....we’re picking up our construction permits TOMORROW!!!! Yes, six months later, we have success. Tomorrow the construction crew will be out there cleaning the lots, marking the houses, and building a shed for the materials. Next week, we’ll have our materials and they can start building.

This morning we had to tie up the last loose ends and the process was comical to say the least. We went to the main offices in Santa Cruz because they were missing one piece of paper to approve the permits. A quick description, this building is divided into little windows, almost like bank tellers, where you can apply for all types of permits, pay taxes, declare land, etc. The final papers we needed for the permits were all in this one building, mere feet from each other. Apparently, plastic dividers are enough to cease all (work-related) conversations between these offices so we had to run between each one to obtain the last requirement. The person at the permit window told us to go to the next window to get a stamp on another piece of paper so she could give us what we needed. Well, the lady at the second window asked us to go to a third window for yet another sheet of paper. The third lady needed us to go upstairs to pick up another piece of paper so she could give us the other paper to take to the second window to get another paper to take to the first window and so on. Absolutely ridiculous. It’s no wonder people get so confused here, keeping up with so many pieces of paper for the same thing. While waiting at each window, we amused ourselves by people watching. A personal favorite, the man who walked in carrying a pigeon on a leash and each time he needed to talk to someone he would step on the leash and the bird would try to pull free. Pigeons? As pets? In government buildings? Like we said, extremely amusing.

All that matters now though is that we’ve made it through our first set of permits and learned a lot in navigating the Costa Rican legal system. Hopefully the subsequent permits will be quicker and easier now that we know where to get each of the requirements (and the five requirements needed for each of those). Two more visitors were supposed to fly in today, but their flight was cancelled, so well have more fun stories to tell next week of our adventures with them.

Huge hugs,
Team Wander

El Hermano y la Llanta

The first day of Eric and Trevor´s visit to Costa Rica, started out innocently enough. A day at the beach, cooking a great dinner, etc. Then, rumor spread of a Bingo night at a nearby bar that was a fundraiser for the beach clean-up crew. Always willing to do our part to help, we quickly rushed over to Bingo night and threw our money down for a lucky card. There were 9 prizes to be won that night, and somehow our group managed to win five of them. It was absolutely ridiculous and more than one of the more experienced Bingo players was ready to take us out at the knees. We ended the night with two sailing trips, dinner for two, a month membership at the tennis club, a 30 minute massage, and two whole pies from Nogui´s. Needless to say, we had our work cut out for us to add all this fun into an already fun-packed week, but we somehow managed.


The rest of the week included golfing, a trip to a nearby village that specializes in traditional pottery making, lots of game playing, and of course great food. Our boat trip was rained out the first day, but we came back the following day to perfect blue skies and more coconut daiquiris than anyone should ever drink. While snorkeling we once again found a blowfish (this time an extremely spiky one that we couldn´t hold on to), starfish, eels, and lots of fish. The sunset was beautiful and after dinner, we stayed on the beach for hours.

For the weekend, we decided to head to Tenorio Volcano National Park. We had heard great things about Rio Celeste, a river in the park that is a spectacular blue color due to the volcanic minerals. The only problem is no one could tell us how to get there besides look for the dirt road near Bijagua. The drive started out easy enough, but soon the car started shaking violently. We made it to the next gas station only to find 3 large holes in our tire where you could see the metal weave of the tire breaking. They didn´t have any tires that were the right size so they sent us to the next tire place down the road. We stopped at three or four more places who all said they didn´t have any tires to fit, but by this time we were being told that if we kept driving on the tire we were going to die. Problem was, our spare tire also had a few holes (in true Costa Rica style, it was patched again and again without ever being replaced) and was almost entirely deflated. At the sixth stop, we refused to go any farther and said they had to help us figure out something. He blew up the spare tire as much as he could and said we could make it about 5 miles and hope for the best at the next shop. Thankfully, we were lucky at the next stop and he had a new tire to sell us, although the spare is still deflated in the back.

We made it to the tiny town of Bijagua and drove around forever looking for a place to stay. Unfortunately, our little low-riding Hyundai hatchback was no match for the dirt roads full of potholes and boulders. When we finally found a place to stay, they informed us that there was no way our car could make it the 11km to the National Park entrance. As always, he knew a guy who knew a guy who could give us a ride the next day. The trip out there was exciting to say the least, and our driver stopped along the way for us to try water apples. They are a bell-shaped fruit that have the texture of a pear, but taste like a flower (have you ever tried that fruit, Jessica?). We were greeted at the park office by an entire wall of jars full of the dangerous species of snakes, lizards, scorpions, and bugs that you might encounter in the park. We signed in and began our hike into a Jurassic Park like jungle, surrounded only by the sounds of the bugs, and a heavy mist that had settled in the trees. The first view of the river was at a spectacular waterfall ending in a bright turquoise pool, unlike anything we had seen before. There were no people anywhere and we felt as if we had discovered our own private paradise. We continued our hike, finding the point where the two rivers meet and the water turns blue, and ending up at a set of hot springs. Careful placement of rocks had made a perfect pool that allowed enough cold river water in to mix with the hot springs to make a great place to sit. We stayed there for awhile and had a picnic lunch before hiking back.

A great week overall and now back to the office to finish the quest for our construction permits. Looks like we can have them by the end of the week and if the construction crew is ready, begin the houses next week! Very exciting news for us. We hope all is well in the US and we miss you all!

Hugs,
Team Wander

Las mamás (don't forget the accent)

We finally had our first visitors in Costa Rica. Both our moms and Hank came the last week of April and were able to stay in this beautiful house on the beach in the nearby resort. Even better, the house had a chef that we are now teaching English to, so we got to eat lots of great food while they were here. They were fantastic and each brought down an extra suitcase of stuff we had forgotten in the US or couldn't find here so now we're set here.

The first few days we just showed them around our life here in Costa Rica, our job, our old house/town, our friends, etc. We gave them a true Tico experience by taking them to the festival in 27 de Abril with bullriding, greasy food, and plenty of crazy drunks to top things off. Needless to say, they were happy we had moved to a new town.

We all took a horseback tour through Hacienda Pinilla – through the fields, up a mountain to have a great view of the ocean, through the mangroves, and finally emerging on the beach. The next day we split up, Miah and his mom taking a canopy tour through the jungle and the others going on a snorkeling/sailing trip. The canopy tour was quite a new adventure for mama wander, and though she didn't go racing through the trees hanging upside down from the cable (like Miah did), she seemed to have a fantastic time.

The sailing trip was a blast. It was a huge boat that our friend is the captain of and it's all you can eat/drink. It can hold about 75 people, but there were only nine of us that day so we had the boat practically to ourselves. Halfway through the tour we all went snorkeling and the guide was able to catch a blowfish. We got to hold it as well, which felt like a giant soft water balloon. We finished the trip at sunset at a new beach to the north and were shuttled back to Tamarindo to end the evening.

We also took everyone to our favorite restaurant here, a little thatched-roof fishing shack called Pedro's. They go fishing everyday and serve whatever they catch. The restaurant doesn't even bother serving drinks – you have to walk to the bar next door to order what you need. It is the best fish and shrimp you can find in Tamarindo eat though.

For all of you adventurous chefs out there.....

....an amazing new dessert that you should try to make. We have been performing "scientific experiments¨ here to find the best Tres Leches in Guanacaste and here it is. If you are brave enough to try to make it, let us know how it turns out.

Tres Leches (Three Milks)

Ingredients:
6 Separated Eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour

1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 oz. of whipping cream
1tsp. vanilla
2 capfulls of guaro (or white rum will work fine)

1/2 cup sugar
scant 1/4 cup water
3 egg whites

Using a mixer, beat the 6 egg whites until they form medium peaks. Slowly add the yolks while continuing to beat. Slowly add 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla (still beating). Once everything is thoroughly mixed, fold in 1 cup flour a bit at a time. Pour in a greased 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350degrees for about 20 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean. When the cake is finished, poke about 100 holes in the top of it to allow the milk mixture to penetrate. Also separate the edge of the cake from the dish.

In a blender, combine the three milks, vanilla, and liquor. Slowly pour mixture over the entire cake, allowing it to soak through to the bottom. Place in the fridge until cool.

In a small saucepan, combine water and 1/2 cup sugar and heat until mixture becomes thick. Beat the 3 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly pour the sugar mixture into the whites while mixing then spread over the top of the cake.

Enjoy!! Stays well in the fridge (although the icing begins to deflate).
In the name of science,
Team Wander

A New Hobby

We had a nice, relaxing Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in Costa Rica. We did have to suffer through that terrible NCAA Tournament National Championship Game, but otherwise we had a few days to spend time with friends and get hooked on a new hobby....golf. Yes, you may laugh (we are hilarious to watch at this point), but it is a blast.

Back at work we met with a new engineer who is now going to be in charge of our first project. He seemed great and is able to get all the approvals we need in the next two weeks. If all goes as planned we may get to begin building in early June. Just in the nick of time too, because the president of Costa Rica will be here in the middle of June to see the progress of the project. We´ve learned a ton over the past few months though, and we should be able to acquire the next set of permits quicker, although we will always have to battle the pura vida mindset.

Over the weekend we went back to try golf some more, but halfway through playing we got a message that we needed to go on a horseback ride with our boss (meetings are a little different around here!). Sounds like a great idea if you´re prepared, unfortunately we were not, and riding in a skirt is not recommended. We were able to get to the top of the mountain just before sunset though and caught a beautiful view before trying to ride back in the dark.

Sorry this post is late being published, but next update we´ll catch you up on our adventures with our first guests here in Costa Rica.

Love to all,
Team Wander

Nicaragua

Home early.... if one thing can chase us out of a country quickly, it´s bad food. Unfortunately Nicaragua could not compare to the cuisine of Costa Rica (or any other country we´ve been to for that matter) and we decided we were just as happy coming back early.

We caught the bus to Managua, Nicaragua on the side of the road in Liberia, Costa Rica. We were told we had about five hours of driving, and an undisclosed amount of time to wait at the border. We were exactly at our 90 day limit here in Costa Rica, but thankfully the border guards did not seem to care at all. It was absolute chaos once we crossed into Nicaragua and had to go through customs. The bus driver took everyone´s passport and so we sat there waiting outside the bus for an hour while he went to get them all stamped. Meanwhile, everyone around us was selling food, hammocks, illegal movies or changing money. Then everyone scrambled to get their bags from under the bus and take them over to another mass of people who supposedly check them and send you back. The entire process was a joke, and seemed to take the maximum amount of time possible. A couple hours later we were back on the road and headed to Managua.

As soon as we arrived, everyone began telling us how dangerous the city was and to be careful. We walked around for awhile and as it got dark figured that we were safest just to watch a movie at the nearby mall. However, the movies now showing in the theater in Nicaragua are the same ones we were watching as Redbox rentals last summer. It was still worth the $3 of entertainment and was the coldest we have been since arriving in Central America. The next morning we decided to head south to Granada, since everything we´ve seen and heard is that it´s a gorgeous city. As the bus pulled into town, it reminded us so much of Peru. The city center is full of old churches and convents and the city is situated on Lake Nicaragua (which is so big it looks more like an ocean and even has sharks).

While walking around the city, we happened to run into another American couple we had met on the bus ride to Nicaragua. We joined them for the rest of the day and cooked a great dinner at their hostel with some of the other guests. This was the best meal we had in Nicaragua. The next day we took a bus to Masaya to see the huge markets there and a nearby volcano. Volcán Masaya was amazing because it is still active and gas was rising from the crater as we looked over the edge. It feels as if you have left Earth and have been dropped on some remote planet. Our plan was to hike back down the mountain and flag down a bus heading to Granada. However, the park officials offered us a ride back to the main road and it was all down hill from there. Another couple also waiting for the bus managed to flag down a truck and we all climbed in the back. About half an hour later, we figured out that they were not headed to Granada at all so we hopped out and waited for another bus to pass. This bus could take us to a town that had a road leading to Granada, so once we got off we tried hitchiking again. It took longer to find a ride this time, but finally another truck full of ladders in the back stopped and the four of us managed to squeeze in around them and finally make it back to Granada. Just in time too, we were able to catch tip-off for the Final Four Games. The outcome of the games was definitely not what we were hoping for, but we were able to drown our sorrows in $1 mojitos and beers.

The next day we were going to head to another nearby volcano to hike, but we were awokened at 5:30 to church bells, drums, gunshots, and a parade going through the streets. Samana Santa (Holy Week) had begun and everyone was up early to begin the celebration. We had been teetering on the edge of coming home and the promise of a week of 5:30 am wake up calls was enough for us to call an end to our time in Nicaraga, and catch an 8am bus back to Costa Rica. Eight hours later we managed to make it back to our apartment, thankful to be back. We will certainly give Nicaragua another chance in three months, but for now it is nice to know that Costa Rica is starting to feel more like home.

Eat lots of Cadburry Cream Eggs for us,
Team Wander