The Pickle Ladies' House

When our friend recently bought his home in Platanillo he inherited the previous owner's car and FIVE dogs.  So he's now cohabitating with 5 indoor/outdoor dogs: Cleo, Heidi, Grizz, Muffy, and Bambi.

The previous owners were two Canadian women who lived there for years and years, making and selling pickles.  Since pickles aren't part of the Costa Rican diet, they had no competition and became quite well known to local expats as "The Pickle Ladies". While they have now returned to their native homeland, their car and their dogs remain here in Costa Rica. Actually this is a typical arrangement. When expats return to their home country, as they often do, they find it easier just to leave their entire Costa Rican life behind.

Recently, when our friend needed to make a business trip, we promised to dog-sit for a few days. His home is located about halfway down the two-lane, windy highway to the beach, in drop-dead gorgeous, out of the way, hot and humid Plantanillo. The property overlooks the expansive Diamante Valley and Diamante Falls, the highest falls in this country. What a glorious view!

But except for morning and evening feeding time, there was not a whole lot for us to do there. Newsflash: we do not enjoy inactivity, but luckily we had been told of some property for sale nearby in the Valley of the Horses. Ample reason for a hike down the road that meanders through it.

This was the Costa Rica we had fantasized about. Jungle rivers, miniature frogs, coral snakes, jaguars, otters, all manner of birds and bugs.  Toucans chattered to one another in the trees, and flew across the sky like strange airplanes that time had forgotten. This was Paradise. Plain and simple.

Chachalaca flocks, like huge grouse or wild chickens, drifted from tree to tree through the jungle, talking to each other the whole time.  Strange bright colored birds and butterflies flitted in and out of view.  We wandered down past horse pastures, through the jungle to a little watercress-bordered lake surrounded by trees.

A white horse was grazing on the far grassy shore. At that point I wouldn't have been surprised to see one large horn emerging from the head of that horse - for truly this must be a fantasy.

Yet even though the place was fantastic, we aren't tempted to look for our land here. Beauty is always only one part of the equation. Sorta like that old high school flame that you're glad you didn't marry. Lovely to look at but too hot to handle.

In the tropics your elevation defines your climate. At an elevation of only about 600 feet, the Valley of the Horses will have uncomfortably high humidity and temperature year-round. Definitely not for us, but now that we know it's here we'll surely return for visits.

Here begins the road into the Valle de Caballos - Horse Valley.

Starr wanders down Wonderland Lane.

Such a blue! Such a gold!

A striking moth, so easy to hold.

Spiky orange flowers.

Spiky red leaves.

Starr's path heads into some very big trees.

Where pure water flows over primeval rock.

Where this fellow invites with his eyes, not needing to talk.

Down to the lake full of cress, toads, and herons.

The white horse appears and comes right over.

Friends are made with a gift of clover.

Is that a unicorn-bump that I see?

Or a fine hectare of land for one million three?

A few folks have settled, we'd not be the first.

There's a real jungle river, for your real jungle thirst.

With rapids and pools for paddling around.

Gold trees ...

... in the distance, up on the hill.

An industrial-strength bug, black on black.

Orchids in bottles hung on a small orchid rack.

A mid-morning coffee with both pinkies out.

A jungle of plants and an ex-eagle scout.

This orchid fruits a vanilla bean. No bunk!

Notice how papaya fruits from the trunk.

 The goal of this gear is a stovetop well-lit.

An actual book (not a Kindle), best let him sit. 

Golly Jeffer, them's mighty big tree leaves.

Believe it or not, pepincillo treats diabetes.

Dendrocalamus bamboo - as thick as my leg.

While this tiny guy just hatched from an egg.

A walking stick can hide in plain sight.

... and the sound of a river is always just right.

Back home from the 5 dogs in Platanillo so we can rest up for the trip to San Jose.  It's time to move forward on buying an automobile: a 4 x 4 truck so we can more freely run around this wonderland.