Aventuras de Whitman

This last week was really hard. We were kinda holding it together. The setbacks would hit, we’d feel disappointed, sad or frustrated…but then we’d find some perspective, some new strategy to get us through. But then last weekend happened. I’ve tried to write about it a couple times this week, but my mind has been in a whirl of thoughts and I haven’t been able to settle it enough to put it into words. So, here’s what’s been happening.

I think you already know that that the beaches are closed, the restaurants are closed (only a couple are doing takeout), the streets are deserted, they are not selling alcohol here, the boys are out of school, our condo is super small and it is HOT here. Think 95 degrees and the humidity is rising. The pool had technically closed, but we had worked out an arrangement with other residents to take turns in the pool. So, we were still getting in every afternoon and it was a life saver. Boys could be active while staying cool. We’d play different games throwing the ball around and Matt and boys would play “King of the Ledge” where the boys would work together to try to pull/wrestle/drag Matt off a ledge in the pool. Plus, I was swimming life-affirming laps everyday. Things were tough, but our afternoons in the pool were really helping to provide a break in the day and get everyone outside despite the heat.

As, you know from my last post, we knew we had to get through this week and maybe next. We had sort of steeled ourselves for what lay ahead. We knew the boys would not have school, but we had a rough plan to get through it. So, we focused our minds on the target that lay ahead. Two weeks. We just had to get through two weeks. Then at least some things would start to return to normal. And surely by the end of the month everything would be back to normal.

You can probably sense the fall that is about to happen.

So, last Saturday we were in the pool and the guard came and told us that somebody in one of the other units called the office and complained about us being in the pool and that we needed to get out.

Then, on Sunday the Director of the boy’s school e-mailed everyone to say that they would not be returning to the school building after the break and that they would continue online school for the rest of the month of April. I e-mailed her back (in desperation) to find out if she had any idea if they would return to the building at the beginning of May. She informed me that the Ministry of Education had just closed public schools for the rest of this year, that because they are private they don’t have to follow that, but they do need to follow the Ministry of Health which has restricted any gatherings.

This really hit me hard. The boys may not go back to the actual school building here. Ever. They may have online school for the rest of the school year. We may have come to Costa Rica for five months, only to spend three of the five months doing online school in a tiny condo. Oh God. This is not what we came here for. I had been coping because I had thought that we just needed to get through this weird period in the middle of our trip, that things would be back to normal, that we would get the things back that we had grown to love and appreciate…that we would get to watch the sunset with a cocktail in hand, that we would play in the waves, that we would meet up for cocktails with our new friends, that we would continue to build those relationships, that we would spend afternoons in the pool, that we would get back into the golf cart and drive the boys to school, that we would eat at our favorite restaurants, that we would continue to travel and explore Costa Rica. For the first time, I let the big fear in…or perhaps more accurately I couldn’t keep the big fear out any longer. Maybe this is it? Maybe things will not go back to the way they were…for the rest of this entire experience. This tiny little world we are trapped in may not change for TWO MORE MONTHS…until it’s time to go home. The disappointment. The frustration. The anger. When I think of how hard we worked to make this happen, when I think of all the hopes we had for what this experience would bring us and then this happens. I feel so angry, so frustrated, so…devastated.

For the first time, I started thinking about coming home. I just don’t know if I can do “this” until June. But, I also realize that coming ‘home’ does not necessarily solve things. We still don’t have a home to come home to, we still don’t have health care in the States and there are still massive restrictions at home. But, somehow it still holds an allure. At least it would be different, at least we could do something about THIS, at least we could exert some kind of control over our situation, at least we could get the boys out during the day because the temperatures would be more comfortable. I started thinking that maybe we just get through April, then if things aren’t better, maybe we do go home in May? Boys can just as easily do online school from there as they can from here. So that’s where my thinking has been. Get through April, and if things don’t really get better, then maybe…

Then, as I was typing this, I thought I would check the Alaska Airlines website to check on availability of flights at the beginning of May. They had suspended all flights until May 4th. When I got on, I couldn’t find any flights going to Portland the 5th of the May, the 12th of May, the 19th of May…the 26th of May. Then, I checked their travel restriction page and saw that they had just extended their travel restrictions to/from Costa Rica…through May 31st.

Today is the last day of THREE WEEKS of online school…at least for now. As I type that, I sorta can’t believe we just made it through three weeks of Skype and WhatsApp calls and tracking homework…three weeks of the boys home EVERY DAY…ALL DAY. (And they have been on my laptop most of the time that I want to be on my laptop, so no blogging for me.)

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Time has both expanded and collapsed…at times seeming to drag, but then at other times suddenly flying by. Somehow we just made it through what at the beginning seemed daunting. As I reflect back, I think the rough schedule we established helped to put structure to the days. Mornings were generally filled with teacher calls and home work. Afternoons were spent at the pool, reading, playing poker or doing homework. And, every day the boys had to move their bodies. Sam has favored doing workouts with Matt. See Matt’s Instagram. Gus has preferred to go on short runs by himself in the evenings, once it is a tad cooler. Several evenings, we watched movies as a family…which is one of my favorite things to do. I reviewed multiple “must watch” movie lists on the internet digging deep for new movie ideas. It’s hard to find something that Matt and the boys will both see…and that is age-appropriate for both boys. The most successful viewings thus far have been Pitch Perfect and Moneyball.

Overall, the online school thing went pretty well, but it took a fair amount of involvement from us. If we both were working right now, it would have been much harder and would not have turned out as well. So, I guess I am grateful for that, but I can so easily empathize with other parents who are struggling trying to do both. It’s super hard y’all to be productive while making sure your children are too. We are also fortunate that our boys are older. If, for example, we had gone through this with a 4 and 7 year old, I might have lost my mind. Sam was generally on task and followed the schedule. Gus was not a fan of the schedule and lobbied hard this last week “to run his own show.” After some deliberation and a whole lot of reluctance, we decided to let Gus give it a go. We had tried this sort of “hands off” approach to Gus’s school work last fall, in the hopes he would start taking more initiative. Let’s just say that the outcome was not great, thus our recent reluctance. But, we told ourselves, he’s got to get the self-management thing eventually so we gave it another try. I am thrilled to say that Gus did it! He got everything done by the deadline we set and all his teachers confirmed that everything was completed. It was a little rough at times, especially when he seemed to forget about whole classes and could not remember a couple teacher’s names. But in the end, he pulled it off and exhibited real pride in his success…and, I am sure, in proving us wrong.

Now we are looking at two more weeks of having the boys at home, but there will be no school. Their Semana Santa/Spring Break starts tomorrow, so that’s gonna be different. I scheduled private Spanish lessons for one hour each day during the week for the boys in an attempt to give a tiny amount of structure to the days and I think they each have one project to do. We will rely on the successes from the last three weeks, but bottom line, there is going to be A TON OF TIME to fill and not a lot of options to fill it with. It would be easier in some ways if we were at home in Portland. We have lots of games and puzzles there and I can certainly think of some home projects that I would love to do. But, alas, we have none of that here. They of course would be happy to fill all the time with screens. While I am accepting that there will be more screens, I WILL go crazy if that’s all they do. <sigh>

I feel a bit nervous. I hope we can get through it without totally driving each other crazy. Like everyone, we have never done something like this before, but here we go!

Sam and I often play this little game that will sound very familiar to you. It started out awhile ago with something like this:

Me: Sam, I love you SO MUCH!

Sam: I love you MORE.

Me: Not possible. I love you more than this WHOLE WORLD.

Sam: I love you more than this whole GALAXY.

Etc. Etc. You get the drift.

Well, lately Sam has really turned up the volume on his responses. He has been sending me a new text every day or so. Read below. I think you will agree that he is the winner.

Dear Mom,

I love you and I always have. There are no amount of words in this English language to express how much I love you. You have always been kind and generous to me and I love you for it. I know that Gus and I can be expensive but you still give us a lot of things, including your love, comforting and many other gestures that tell me how much you care for me you will always be my mother and the sun of my universe. I always revolve around you and someday I want to be the loving kind generous parent that you are now. You are my creator of life and I could be so many places worse than this so I know that you are the best mom in the world.

Sincerely, Sam️

️️Dear Mom,

This text topic is food. You have always fed me at every meal and that is one of the many factors that make you the best mom in the world. Even when I say “no one has fed me” that is just a joke and I will stop doing it if it offends you ily. (later he made sure to to tell me that “ily” means I love you.)

Sincerely, Sam️

Dear Mom,

This text is about how much you help around the house. No matter what the chore is you do it. And that is AWESOME. And whenever I have these weird cleaning streaks (or whatever else you want to call them) They are part just my inner perfectionist come out but also a part is that I want you to have some downtime once in a while. You do soooooo much to help out the house the residents of our house and you just make everything happen. You organize school, sports, hangouts with friends and all this amazing experience in Costa Rica. You overall just make everything happen like if you wanna do something you will do it and that is soooo amazing of you that you can make anything happen. The people like you are the people that change the world and in so many ways you have and in so many ways you will! Mom I am so overly grateful of you for doing everything for me and preparing me for the adult world. Teachers may teach me math, physics, literature, Spanish and whatnot but you have taught me the ways of life and that defines me as a person. I know that when I try something or fail something or win something I know that you will always be in the bleachers rooting for me and swinging a sign above your head that says “GO SAM!” No matter what I’m doing. You are the best person in the world to me and I love you so much that no matter the distance from us you will always be right by my side.

I love you.

Sincerely, Sam

He’s 11 years old. He blows me away. I hope he retains his ability to communicate his feelings as he grows up. As we all know, there are many adults who have difficulty using words in this way. I find that whenever I am feeling low, I will reread one of his texts and instantly feel better. What a blessing.

I know that life in other places is far worse than here. I know that some people have been essentially locked in their homes for many weeks, that they are losing their minds with cabin fever. I know that people are suffering, dying even. Knowing these things does help to temper my feelings, but I have been struggling the last few days to keep some perspective and to keep from feeling low.

As I wrote my last post, I thought for sure we had hit the limits of restrictions and impacts to our life here. I was wrong. I am humbled by my ignorance.

Four days ago, they stopped selling alcohol. I don’t drink much…most days of the week, not at all. So, I’m not directly affected by this. I can live without alcohol. No biggie. I’m not sure if Matt can, though. He loves his late afternoon beer or cocktail and then the ones that follow. I definitely notice that it is part of his enjoyment of this place. He seems to be trying on a philosophical face, but I do wonder what it’s going to be like if he has to go without for days or possibly weeks.

They closed the beaches in Tamarindo. “How is that possible?” you might say. Well, they actually tape off all of the entry points and parking lots, then the police drive up and down the beach telling people to get lost, the beach is closed.

We live in Playa Langosta, which is a small quiet neighborhood just to the south of Tamarindo. The very south end of Playa Langosta was closed at the same time as Tamarindo, but the path we take to watch the sunset was still open…until two days ago. Then, the yellow tape showed up there too. We peered down the path and saw that people were still at the beach. I felt uneasy, but we ducked under and walked down to see how many people were there to watch the sunset. I had been counting the last few nights and noted that the numbers were about the same. Clearly, people were disregarding the yellow tape at this part of the beach. Perhaps because it is not as wide open as the beach in town and the police can’t really see onto the beach from the road? Perhaps because there are a lot of oceanfront homes which have direct access? Perhaps because there are not many people on the beach and there is plenty of room to spread out? I don’t know and I don’t know how long they are going to get away with it. Last night, we did not go, so I am not sure if people are still going or if one more thing that we love about this place is not available to us.

Over the last few days, more restaurants have closed by choice or perhaps simply due to the decrease in demand. Have I mentioned that almost all of the tourists are gone? I think I have.

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Two nights ago, we walked a couple blocks to get takeout pizza, but it was closed. Last night, we had a rental car, so we drove into town and discovered only three restaurants were open and only one of those was one we wanted to eat at. There are a couple doing takeout, but it’s almost nothing at this point.

So this means that we will be doing a whole lot of cooking. At times, I get inspired and decide to make something and enjoy the work that goes into it. The lasagna I made the other night was decent, even though most of the ingredients were a bit different from what we would find at home. Plus, we got three meals out of it, which was a bonus. Other times, I can’t believe that it is already time to make yet another meal and I feel weary and bored of the prep, cook, clean up cycle. But, whether I like it or not, there just aren’t many other options, so cook we must. We rented a car yesterday so we could drive to the neighboring town and load up on groceries and hit up the vegetable and fruit market. We are pretty well stocked for food, but now we’ll have to prep and cook it all. <sigh>

Two days ago, I was swimming laps in the pool. You’ll recall from earlier posts that swimming in our pool is one of my very favorite things. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, it feeds my soul. It’s become something I look forward to almost everyday. It’s meditative and a great way to get exercise while staying cool. I’m getting stronger. I’m swimming longer than I was when we arrived. It feels great. So, back to my story. About a third of the way through my laps, I noticed there was a guy taping something to the wall. My mind immediately went to the worst case scenario. Oh, God. They are closing the pool. I kept swimming and tried to talk myself down. “Don’t freak out. You don’t know anything yet. Just keep swimming.” Maybe it’s a notice about something else. Maybe they are going to start resurfacing part of the pool deck. I tried to remember when Colleen said that was going to happen. A few laps later, I noticed the yellow tape. Oh God. No. A few more laps and I was done with my workout. I pulled my cap and goggles off and looked around. There was yellow tape blocking off all entry points to the pool. I walked over to the shallow end and asked another resident sitting at one of the tables if this is what I thought it was. “They closed the pool,” he said.

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I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but I am trying to own my truth. I was devastated. There were tears. I don’t think all the tears were from the pool closing. I think some were from the experience of watching the world situation getting worse by the day, from our situation getting worse by the day, from trying to understand how the world could have changed so much and so fast, from the constant effort of trying to readjust my perspective, convince myself how fortunate we still are and to find the positive in the crazy. I hit what I hope was bottom.

The last two days, I have been clawing my way back to what I hope is a more balanced perspective. In talking with the few people who are still staying in our condo building, it seems that we can meet the intent of the restriction and simply split up our time at the pool, so nobody is in it at the same time. Carmen wants 9am to do water aerobics. Kareem wants evenings, after 5:30pm, to swim laps. Mathias doesn’t want pool time. So, maybe it’ll be okay? I swam today. It was delicious.

Matt and I have heard rumors that one of the restaurants we frequent may do backdoor liquor sales, so maybe it’ll be okay for Matt too?

I’m trying to revisit my goals I set early in this trip. De-stress. Figure out how to be happier. Learn Spanish. Move my body everyday. Swim. Do Yoga. Spend time with my family. Re-connect with my husband. Ponder next steps for my career. This list feels bigger than it did a couple months ago, like more to take on in this new world we are living in. But, I’m still want try to get as much as I can out of this time we have.

Number two on the list above, how to be happier, may sound vague and bizarrely generic. But, it is fundamentally one of the key reasons we are living in Costa Rica for five months. We were not very happy with life and, at least for me personally, I wanted the time to figure out what I needed to be happier. There is actually a lot of research and science behind ‘happiness.’ I have read a couple books by Helen Russell and listened to a podcast called “The Happiness Lab,” which is led by a Professor from Yale who teaches a course on the science behind happiness. There are many lessons to be learned from these, which is probably another post, but one of the big ones is the importance of feeling connected to other people. I know without a doubt that I need personal connection to be happy, so I have reached out to folks. And, wonderfully, some have reached out to me. Thank you to all who have been able to talk, to connect…especially over the last week. I am comforted by your voices and your words. I appreciate knowing and understanding what your world is like right now. And that, even though I am in another country, I can share this experience with you. Whatever the future brings, what ever surprises, whatever challenges…I am hoping that we can get through them together.

Like everyone in the world, we have been watching the evolution of the Coronavirus pandemic over the last couple of weeks. Our emotions and thinking have evolved over time. At first, we focused on the facts and were determined not to react with emotion and fear. We looked at the stats and wondered why people were freaking out and buying all the toilet paper. It’s impact was far less than the annual flu or a number of other things that kill people every year. We shrugged. We even scoffed a little.

Then things started to change. Concerts were cancelled, events with 250+ people in attendance were prohibited and the numbers of cases and deaths in Italy started to climb exponentially. A couple private schools just outside Tamarindo closed for a week, but people laughed it off as if it was a typical overreaction of those schools. We followed the news and tried make sense of it all. We saw the hype and the misinformation, but tried to stay rooted in logic. We googled “Costa Rica Coronavirus” and were relieved to find that there we no cases anywhere in Central America. We felt protected. This may be a problem, but it was affecting other places. And, surely it would be over by June when we plan to return.

But, each day brought something new and surprising. The first case was diagnosed in Costa Rica, numbers started to climb in the States, most countries in Europe were now severely affected. Events with 100 or more were now prohibited. School districts were closing for extended Spring Breaks. TIDE Academy, the boy’s school in Tamarindo, announced that is was going to start two weeks of online school. Prevention is good, we told ourselves. We continued to try to be measured in our thinking and reactions.

Then things started to get a little crazy. Our good friends who have been in Africa on a Fulbright Fellowship since August were told they should leave (three months before they had planned). For a brief couple of days, they were thinking maybe they would spend the next couple months with us in Costa Rica. That would have been amazing fun, but a couple days later the Costa Rican government said that no more foreigners would be allowed to enter the country after March 18th. So, that plan was off. Panama closed it’s country to tourists, thereby canceling our April trip to Bocas del Toro and our plans to renew our tourist visa. Still, we told ourselves that the numbers were low here and known cases were focused in the middle of the country.

And then things got crazier. Back in the Oregon, restaurants, bars and businesses started to close or limit service by choice or governmental decree. Allowed gatherings were reduced to 10 people. School closures were extended until April 28th. Restaurants in Costa Rica were told to operate at half capacity and keep all tables 6 feet apart. Cases in Costa Rica started to jump. In one week, they went from 23 to 50.

When we were at Rio Celeste this past weekend, I started to talk to the boys about the importance of washing hands WITH SOAP, using paper towels to open bathroom doors and generally trying not to touch door knobs. They claimed that they always wash with soap (liars). Sam said he would not touch door knobs and Gus scoffed at the suggestion and irritatingly started to argue with my facts. Amid our amazing weekend (see post below), the thought crossed my mind a couple times that coming to a touristy location for the weekend may not have been the best idea given people land in San Jose and then head to the mountains to visit Arenal, Monteverde and Rio Celeste. But, we were already there and were generally keeping our distance from others.

We were thrilled our friends from Oregon made it in before the ban and were able to visit us in Tamarindo. This meant so much, especially since Matt’s family was no longer coming and future visits by others was starting to seem unlikely. Seeing faces from home is the very best tonic and we were ecstatic they were here. They had flown into San Jose a couple days prior and came to visit us after a brief stop in Arenal. They wore masks and used hand sanitizer on their flight, so they had been cautious. I put out a bottle of Purell on our bar and instructed the boys to apply it a couple times a day. Their first day here, Gus came down with a low fever for about 24 hours, so we made him stay in the condo until he had been fine for a day. I noticed I had a light scratch in my throat and my nose felt a little stuffy. I never would think twice about these minor illnesses, but suddenly I was on alert. And, in retrospect, we were probably not as cautious as we should have been. We hugged hello and goodbye and Sam slept with his best buddy and was generally glued to his side for their entire visit. Fingers crossed.

Since their visit and increased focus on social distancing, we have basically been “sheltering in place.” We talked to the boys about the importance of keeping others safe and keeping our distance. I can see the worry on Sam’s face, while Gus continues to claim that he is invincible. Herd immunity means nothing to him, he has the self obsession typical of adolescence. Luckily, we call the shots and have decided that, at least for a time, we are not seeing friends here, so no play dates and no gatherings with other families from TIDE. We naturally keep our distance from others at the pool, so it feels like we are mostly being good citizens. For Matt and the boys, I think they thought “sheltering in place” meant video games all the time.

But, I made a plea for balance. We have to get outside, move our bodies, and try to continue to enjoy this place. Thankfully, Matt is on board and we are working toward a loose schedule. Boys did their first week of online schooling, which seemed to go pretty well. Not surprisingly, Sam is way ahead on his work and Gus is arguing that he has lots of time still to get it done (not sure we are going to survive the teenage years, sigh).

Over the last few days, we have watched people staying in our condo building pack up and leave. Others are cutting their stays short and are leaving a few days early. Two groups arrived about three days ago, right before the ban. But, they will likely be gone in a week or so. We have been into town most days this week and the continued departure of tourists is more apparent with each visit. Tamarindo is clearly in virus preparation mode. Restaurants are limiting table usage. Matt saw people handing out virus prevention fliers on the beach. A new sign went up outside the super market.

Frankly, Tamarindo is growing far too quiet for my comfort level and I am trying to imagine what is going to be like in a couple weeks when the last waves of tourists leave. It’s honestly getting pretty eerie here. As I have mentioned in other posts, I really need social interaction and am worried about getting lonely.

We continue to watch the news and continue to be surprised by something we learn everyday. Yesterday, the US State Department suggested that US citizens should return to the US while commercial flights are available, unless they are prepared to stay ‘indefinitely.’ Yikes. While, I don’t want to come home now. I do want to come home in June as planned. Today, Panama closed its airports for people coming in and going out for 30 days. We have started to talk about if there is a scenario that would make us want to come home early. But, of course, it’s complicated. We feel like it is SAFER here. There aren’t many people around, and there are about to be less. There is automatic social distancing at the beach or at the pool. We have health care coverage here through our travel insurance and health care back at home will not start until June 1. We had planned on a five month adventure and still really want that full experience. We aren’t ready to come home. (I should clarify that Matt and I do not want to come home. The boys would love to, as missing friends is very hard for them.) Plus, we do not have a home to come back to. Our house in Portland is rented through May and maybe through June. It seems likely that things will be on lock down here for at least most of the next month and June is still two and half months away. We hope that things will be much improved by then and we will be able to return as planned, but the uncertainty is unnerving.

In the meantime, we are trying to get what we can of this time together. We are getting out, hanging out at the pool, swimming, watching sunsets and walking into town. This weekend, we are going to work on our Spanish and play What Animal am I? in Spanish. There are plans to surf and play poker. We are doing our best to enjoy this beautiful place, amid all the chaos.

The Tenorio Volcano National Park is only about two and a half hours from Tamarindo. For the first two hours of the drive, the view out the car window looks the same…dry and hot. About 20 minutes after you turn off Hwy 1 (Costa Rica’s main north/south transportation route), the surroundings change drastically and within minutes you are in a different world. After climbing a mere few hundred feet, the grass and vegetation goes deep green and dense. It felt like Kauai on steroids or Oregon in the late Spring, if we had palm trees.

As we continued to climb, I noticed water pooled up in places. It must have rained here! It’s a bit strange, but for us Oregonians, rain has taken on a novel, almost mythical fascination after two months in the dry heat of Tamarindo. There were even some clouds in the sky. Amazing. Luckily, the paved road took us all the way to our hotel this time (unlike last month’s crazy ascent to Monteverde). We turned into its driveway and immediately noticed the spectacularly lush landscape. This was obviously a laboriously created and maintained environment, but it was gorgeous. The main lobby and restaurant was all open air. The rooms were located in separate bungalows scattered among the landscape, so everywhere you went on the property you walked down beautiful stone paths with vibrant tropical plants and flowers flanking both sides.

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A short time after our arrival, I started to notice they had baskets at all the bungalow doors and at the restaurant entry points full of umbrellas, the conclusion being that it rains enough that you will need an umbrella to get from point A to B. Could it possibly rain that much here or are tourists just wimps? Being from Oregon, I thought they might be wimps. I was wrong. Over the course of our three night stay, it rained! It rained a couple times throughout each day, usually in an intense monsoon like cloudburst that lasted for 10-15 minutes. But that was nothing compared to the rain at night. Each night I woke up to the sound of what could have easily been gravel shot at our roof through a cannon. It was SO LOUD. I put my pillow on my head, which is usually enough to drown out Matt’s snores, but apparently not enough to block the sounds of the rain.

On our first morning, the boys delighted in the hotel’s breakfast buffet before we headed to Tenorio Park for a hike to the Rio Celeste waterfall and the confluence of two rivers where a chemical reaction between the two turns the water a vibrant milky turquoise. Science-y explanation from Amusing Planet at link to the left or at the bottom of this post.***

The 3.7 mile hike had great things to see along the way, a family of coatis on the trail (see Instagram for the video), the waterfall which we climbed 270 steps down to (then back up!), a beautiful wide aqua pool, a place where the sulfuric gases from the volcano bubble up in the river giving it a jacuzzi like vibe and finally the confluence of the two rivers where the beautiful color originates.

After hiking all morning, we delighted in lounging by the pool, ordering drinks at the swim-up bar and hopping in and out of the hot tubs to stay warm enough to be in swimsuits outside.

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On our second day, we managed to get lost on our way to go tubing down the Rio Celeste River, but thanks to being able to turn on our cell phone and pay $10 for data for a day, we found the meeting point…we NEVER would have found it otherwise. We arrived 15 minutes late, but Pura Vida! These two really charming Ticos helped us get down the river, pulling us off of rocks, spinning us and pushing us into place so we could catch the right line down the rapids. They invited us to stop and swim for a while in a deep swimming hole (12-15 feet, they said). It was a blast and everyone left the river with big smiles.

I tried hard to get the boys to stop and see sloths on our way back to the hotel, but the pool area was calling them and I could not lure them out of their barn sour state. After another afternoon of lounging (geez…this group likes to lounge poolside!), Matt and I coerced the boys to do the hotel’s free night walk right on their property. Matt got some great photos of all the frogs and critters we saw…check out his Instagram. It was a cool experience, but I will admit the rain forest at night with all it’s spiders and such was a tad creepy.

On our last morning, after breakfast, I was thrilled to see that the coati we had seen on our first day had returned to snack on the fruit left out by the hotel. He stopped eating to take note of my approach, but didn’t seem too concerned by my presence.

We were a bit sad to leave, but deeply satisfied with the amazing experience had by all. We made a pretty quick exit after breakfast in order to get back to Tamarindo, buy a bunch of groceries and get ready for our second group of visitors. We were all abuzz with excitement to see the Pyle family. Their son, Wyatt, is one of Sam’s best buddies and he is over the moon excited to see him. Seeing faces from home feeds our souls and keeps us going…thank you Pyles!

***Science-y Explanation of Rio Celeste’s Color

Río Celeste is fed by two rivers — Sour Creek and Good View River. The Good View River carries significant quantities of a type of whitish mineral known as aluminosilicate, that is composed of aluminum, silicon and oxygen. This is the mineral that is responsible for reflecting the blue color in sunlight. But if the mineral is also contained in the Good View River, why doesn’t it appear blue like Río Celeste? The answer lies in the size of the particles.

Researchers found that Good View River particles have a size of 184 nanometers, while in the Río Celeste the particles are much larger at 566 nm.

“This increase in size is what causes the scattering of sunlight, such that it occurs principally in the blue region of the visible spectrum. So that’s why we have that spectacular light blue color of the Rio Celeste” said Dr. Max Chavarría Vargas, lead investigator.

But why are the aluminosilicate particles in Río Celeste bigger than those in Good View River, when the particles itself came from the Good View River? It so happens that Sour Creek, the second river to join Good View River, is highly acidity due to volcanic activity (which is why it’s called Sour Creek). When these two streams mix to form Río Celeste, the drop in pH causes the aluminosilicate particles to aggregate and enlarge producing Mie scattering which gives the river a strong turquoise color.

“It’s one of those quirks of nature where one of the rivers provides mineral material with one size and the other river provides the acidic environment so that those particles grow,” said Dr. Max Chavarría Vargas.

And, also more heat…I keep hearing. <sigh>

Tomorrow, we get our first visitors! We are either spending part of the day or just having breakfast with our friends Mitch and Curt tomorrow. I think they are driving through on their way to an exercise-themed vacation (yes, I guess that is a thing) south of here somewhere. I’m not exactly sure, but we’ll get more details tomorrow. We are super excited to see familiar faces and reminders of home. The plan is to have breakfast at Breaking Bread, my fave, then who knows what. I just can’t wait.

Next week, we are going to the Rio Celeste area to hike the waterfall and go tubing. Then, when we get back, Sam’s best friend Wyatt and his family are going to stay in our condo building for three days. It will be great to see them and I am super excited for Sam to get to see his buddy and show him our little world here in Tamarindo.

At the end of the month, Mimi, Josiah, Staci and my darling nieces Sloan and Selma are coming. They rented a great place only a block away. We love walking by their place and pointing out where they will be. We are enjoying thinking of fun things to do with them, places where we will eat and are excited that there is a bar that makes great Pisco Sours located between us. They are wavering due to the Coronavirus scare, but I deeply hope they will still come. There is no Coronavirus anywhere in Central America, so really it’s safer here. Everyone should come!

In April, during the boy’s two week long Spring Break, we are going to Bocas del Toro, Panama…a place I have been cyber stalking for years. We are going to take a few days to drive back across Costa Rica from the Caribbean side. Then, at the end of May, our friends Christine, Deek and Carver are coming for a week. We are going to spend half the time here in Tamarindo and half near the Arenal Volcano for some white water rafting and soaking in the hot springs. That is going to be a blast.

I told Matt and the boys that time is going to start going by fast. We will be BUSY…at least compared to the languid pace our lives have assumed. We are really ridiculously excited to some familiar faces, to feel some connections to home. So, if anyone out there is thinking about coming…please do. I promise we will greet you with excitement and enthusiasm!

We live in a 25-unit condo building with a shared pool, lounge and BBQ area. There seem to be only a few units with long term owners, some must be uninhabited and a few are vacation rentals, which means that various groups cycle through the pool area for differing lengths of time. Some come for only a week, others come for longer stays of 2 to 4 weeks.

One couple, Colleen and Doug, are retired and from Canada. They have owned a unit in the building for seven years, but are in the process of selling. They are lovely to chat with and have been the source of very helpful information when we have questions like, “How does recycling work here?” or “Is it really going to get hotter?” or “Where do you go for….?” Whenever we are stumped about something, we quickly conclude that we could just ask Colleen and Doug. They know everything.

Despite a couple of exceptions, like the nice family with a little boy and baby from Portland, Maine and the family that is here now with two teenage girls from Minnesota, the people that cycle through the vacation rentals are almost entirely Canadian retirees. We have talked about ice fishing, ice hockey, lake houses and the snow storm that forced Toronto to a halt last week. Thankfully, they are almost always grandparents, so seem to be pretty tolerant of how loud Matt and the boys can be when they play “King of the Ledge,” which is basically a pool wrestling game with a whole lot of yelling.

Our initial conversations with new arrivals now follow a familiar pattern. We discover they are from Ottawa…or Manitoba…or Toronto…or Ontario. I watch as their eyebrows raise when we tell them we are living here for five months and that the boys are going to school for a semester. They always ask why and we reply with some variation of our mid-life crisis explanation. Most say how great it is that we are doing this with our children now, that they wished they had done something like this. Others want to know how we’ve managed it. Yes, I really quit my job. They are all surprised. It’s an interesting feeling to be the source of such amazement.

Often after the first conversation or two, one of the couples will ask me if we have eaten at this restaurant or that. I tell them what’s good that I know about and warn them off of a couple of others. I always tell them to eat breakfast at Breaking Bread, my favorite breakfast spot in town. One couple that arrived about week ago has been more inquisitive than others and always catch me with a question or two when we see them at the pool. It feels good to be helpful, since so many like Colleen and Doug helped us. Yesterday, I was in the deep end of the pool pretty far away from where two retired Canadian couples were sitting and chatting. Their voices carried more across the water than I think they realized. I almost burst out laughing when I heard one woman reply to the other, “Oh, you should ask Trina. She knows everything.”

So, after only two months in Costa Rica, I know now everything. Good to know.

The bad part of going to the Monteverde Cloud Forest during the dry season, is that the clouds it is famous for are almost nonexistent…the good part is the views from Costa Rica’s highest mountains are spectacular. Looking southwest, we could regularly see the Gulf of Nicoya and beyond to the peninsula. Research and conversations with some locals confirms that it is more typically encased in clouds, with no visibility and frequent rain. But, not during our trip. I felt a little disappointed that we missed the climate it is famous for, but still the views were amazing.

To need pants, socks, shoes and a sweatshirt was intoxicating…a feeling distant yet familiar. The air was cool and easier to breathe deep into your lungs, a welcome respite from the oppressive heat of midday Tamarindo. None of the hotels in Monteverde have A/C, which was hard to comprehend when I was planning the trip. How could we not need A/C to sleep at place only a little more than three hours away? But, all the reviews I read confirmed it. At the second place we stayed, I actually added a fleece blanket to my side of the bed and burrowed deep into the covers to get warm. It made us all think about home, and miss it a little. Gus, in particular, remarked frequently about how much he was enjoying the cool air and wearing a sweatshirt. “Mom, if we could just move our school in Tamarindo here, I would love Costa Rica. I could stay here forever…it would be perfect.”

The elevation gain that provided these views and cooler air was hard earned. The faster route that Google suggested was the harder route by far, with several unpaved sections that were deeply rutted and potholed and far too narrow for another car to pass coming the opposite way. The climb felt almost vertical at times, with a sharp drop off on one side of the car or the other. Occasionally, my peripheral vision would hint at the incredible heights we were attaining, but I could not stop to look out the window to take it in…a bit due to fear, some due to the stomach bug I caught the day before, but mostly due to the focus safety required. When we neared Santa Elena, the main town in Monteverde, the color started coming back into my grip on the steering wheel, my breathing started to regulate and the pains in my stomach calmed. We had made it.

Simply put, the town was special. It had a quaint walkable “el centro,” populated by fleece and puffy coat adorned tourists, and had a series of charming restaurants and enough coffee shops to make any Portlander proud. Those of us schooled in urban planning especially dig this sorta vibrant, densely built core. The larger town was built in and around the trees and natural grades, spread across a series of very small hills and valleys rendering crazy vertical slopes to some of the main routes through town. These sorts of roads are not even close to meeting the slope and width requirements of American road construction standards. If they did, all the charm would certainly be lost.

Shortly after our arrival at our first hotel, we rushed off to make our scheduled Chocolate, Sugarcane, Coffee tour. I was a little unsure about booking this as it seemed it could be one of the those canned experiences. But, Gus and I love all three products and Sam and Matt love two of the three (albeit a different two), plus the reviews said it was great and I tend to trust reviews. So, I booked it and am so glad I did. The tour guide was amusing, educational and covered all three products and the process to make them in under two hours…including samples. Yum.

Check my Instagram @gusamom for a couple videos.

My new personal goal of pushing past my comfort level was seriously tested on the hanging bridge tour we took on day two. We crossed five hanging bridges, located at tree canopy level to ensure the best views. The longest bridge was over 700 feet and the highest was about 200 feet above the ground. For someone afraid of heights, like me, this was terrifying. I never stopped to enjoy the views or enjoyed the swaying (yes, swaying!) of the bridges the way others did. Instead, I white knuckled it across as fast as I could, ahead of our group, heart racing and full of panic, but I am proud to say I did it. I am told the view from the middle of the bridge was in fact amazing. I wouldn’t know, you’ll have to ask the boys. This pic of a bridge before the crossing might give you a hint at the terror that awaits.

The next day we took a tour at the Curi Cancha Reserva. We were met at the trail head by a Coati, who apparently was drawn to the smell of Gus’s Sun Chips. This is what a Coati looks like, but this pic was from Matt’s siting at one at our hotels.

Our guide, Alejandro, was amazing at finding birds in the trees we never would have seen. The big score was seeing the famous Quetzal, but we also saw seven species of dragonflies and a couple other colorful birds that I can’t remember the names of…see Matt’s post.

We learned about the difference between vines and roots and how ficus (in the fig family) vines will grow up a tree, take over, kill it leaving a hollow core where the tree once was.

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On our last morning we squeezed in a quick hike in the Aguti Reserva next to our hotel, but only the boys saw an actual Aguti, and then another short hike down to a waterfall where the boys took forever to get the nerve to submerge themselves into the ice cold pool below it. Videos on Insta.

We made the smart call to go the longer route home down the only totally paved road. We were all amazed at how quickly we lost elevation and the air outside the car warmed. It was a long afternoon of driving, the miles ticking by as we passed roadside “sodas”. As we pulled into Tamarindo, I noted the familiar sounds and smells, and was pleased to feel like we were ‘home’.

The last week feels like a turning point.

A couple weeks ago I was feeling a little lonely and life was a bit on the empty side. Reading, audio books and podcasts everyday for hours starts to get a bit boring after awhile. I think I hit a bottom of sorts…nothing major, just a low point. Some chats with folks from home helped and I started to focus on scheduling things that would ‘fill me up,’ as they say.

So, Matt and I started semi-private Spanish classes at the Wayra Institute down the road. They focus on home stays and intensive classes (half or full day learning Spanish for a week). That felt a bit much for us, so we are taking 2 hour classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Our teacher, Sylvia, is really good…so patient, so positive. She has a bunch of cards with conversation starters on them. What is your favorite book? What is your favorite movie? Should students be required to wear uniforms? Should cars be limited to one per family? Then we discuss, using whatever Spanish we have and she helps fill in the gaps. Occasionally, a student from another class is brought in by their teacher and they have to ask us a question, which we answer as best we can. A ten-year old boy from England came in and asked us to name the fan and spell it. He was so shy (and adorable)…it felt good to urge him on. Then, we had to do the same, but I didn’t know the questions I was writing were for strangers, so it was a little weird when I asked them if they would call me later. We laughed about it and they said they would. Overall, it’s a pretty convivial atmosphere and I’m digging it.

My Spanish is slowly improving. The shower in our bathroom started leaking last week and it took a total of FOUR days for it to get fixed. Have I mentioned that things move slowly down here? I think I have. Also, the quality of the work would never pass at home, but Pura Vida y’all. The guys who fixed it did not speak English, so I had to use my Spanish. It was rough at times, but we got through it. It was painful being forced to stick to the condo while we waited, but at least I got a little education out of it.

I finally got a pedicure (and a massage) the other day and only spoke Spanish with the woman who took amazing care of me. We talked about her family, who she lived with and where she lived. I tipped her well and left feeling a tad more confident about just throwing the words out. I’ve got a long ways to go, but at least I feel like I am moving up the learning curve.

Last Thursday, we went to TIDE Academy’s “Meet and Greet.” There were probably ten families that showed at Volcano Brewing up on the hill behind the night market. We worked our way chatting through about five of them. You could tell that everyone was “on” and excited to meet other people. It was lovely to be greeted by such bright, open faces. We talked about where we were from, our children and we all laughed at how much we were sweating. A few phone numbers were exchanged before the boys finally convinced us to go back home. We left in a glow, so excited to meet new people.

The next day, I was reflecting on how much I enjoyed it and how good it was for me. I started wishing the Moms could get together for a breakfast or the like, then thought “Duh, I can actually make that happen.” So, last Monday, I dropped boys off a little early and hung out for awhile. I connected with a couple Moms, suggested breakfast Thursday, then collected a few more phone numbers with help from others and started a “Whats App” group called TIDE Moms. It felt so good to hang out with other Moms and get to know them better. We made plans for a bunch of TIDE families to go to dinner at the Surf Club next Wednesday. And, our “Whats App” group continues to grow.

Sunday night, we did our first “tour” with a tour operator. I’m so glad we did because I never would have found our way in the dark in a rental car down the maze of dirt roads they took us to get to a couple hidden beaches. We successfully saw green turtles hatching and a gigantic Leatherback digging a spot to lay her eggs. I had seen baby turtles run to the ocean before…it’s pretty cool how they clumsily flop towards the ocean. We wished them well and hoped they would beat the odds. Seeing the Leatherback was especially amazing. She was probably 5 feet long and three feet wide…by far the biggest turtle I have seen in the wild. She kept digging and rejecting different spots to lay her eggs. Despite the measures the tour guides were taking to make sure people were not disturbing her, I couldn’t help but think she was not happy with our presence. As we hiked out, I hoped she would be more comfortable and successfully lay her eggs in peace. Check my Instagram @gusamom for the video.

It’s feeling like we have a little structure to our lives now, with taking boys to and from school, Spanish classes, some kind of daily exercise and, of course, constant grocery shopping. Meeting new people has really helped and it feels good to have a couple things on our social calendar. And, we’ve got a trip next week to the cloud forest to look forward to. All in all, it’s starting to feel like we are approaching a good balance.