How Do I Feel About Bugs?

Recently Jeff and I learned that when someone asks, “How do you feel about bugs?” – to get really CLEAR on why they're asking a question like that.

It hops, it flies, it tickles.

I answered by explaining that I'm not too concerned about bugs but that Jeff is getting a bit more concerned lately. I thought that was sufficient – though later I realized that I hadn't understood the question.

Call it a June bug or scarab beetle. It's real buggy.

And so blithely starry-eyed, we moved into the “Owl House” at Saramandaia, a 36 acre verdant, jungly hillside in Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica, preparing for a lovely one week long retreat in the wilds of Costa Rica.

Granted, the home is “rustic” with functional yet unsophisticated furniture, appliances and cookware. But rustic is fine. It works. What we were excited about was the setting: in a tantalizing, non-muggy jungle on a hillside complete with a fantastic view into the canopy. Colorful butterflies flitting about, hummingbirds buzzing around all day long, green and red parrots charging by in flocks overhead, multitudes of types of birds we've never before seen – most of which move too quickly to get pictures of.

And this doesn't even include the troop of white-faced capuchin monkeys that cruise by the house several times a day, often gifting us with close-up glances of what it means to be truly wild and free. What a marvel to gaze directly into the bright eyes of such an intelligent, though non-human, being.

Hi 

But during our first full evening in the home, my mind kept returning to our host's initial question: How do you feel about bugs?

You see, sometime around 7 pm every evening this pleasant research station converts into a war zone of buzzing, whizzing, flying, running, bombing BUGS. It's like a witching hour. The flying beetles find their way in and circle the room. June bugs bumble about. Certainly the most voluminous population is the moths – of all sizes, followed closely by all manner of miscellaneous tiny flying thingies. Then unexpectedly from no where, an inch long flying cockroach launches into the room or darts out from under the cushion I'm sitting on – and runs across the wall. Get anywhere close to it (to smash it!) and it suddenly flies off again, and again, and again.

The infamous flying cockroach.

Everybody's texting these days.

And every so often one of the half dozen 3-4 inch-long geckos that are also cruising the walls during these eventful evening hours, nabs a cockroach. It's amazing to see it happen. The gecko dashes across the wall 3-4 feet in a flash, grabs the cockroach while running, and finds an opportune spot on the wall to somehow swallow that huge cockroach whole.

We OFTEN wished there were more geckos – more to eat up all the ants, moths, gnats, beetles, cockroaches, and other busy buzzy biting creatures that found their way into this most interesting abode. Who needs TV in a place like this?!

The problem is the roof: an intact clay tile roof – with no ceiling, no protective barrier between those artistic-looking clay tiles and . . . us, with just enough room in the joint between each of the tiles for harboring and breeding tons of insects. They live there all day long, until the evening witching hour when the indoor lights get turned on. Then they fly out, run out and simply drop out from every disgusting crevice to join in one helluva party.

Really a beautiful roof in very good condition.
It does not leak in a downpour, but bugs can get in.

The next time someone asks you: How do you feel about bugs? Please, ask why they want to know. Exactly why. We certainly will.

But other than the bugs in the “Owl House”, we really liked Ciudad Colon and would gladly return there for a very long time, given the right opportunity.

Stained glass window repairs are falling behind. Those darn earthquakes!

This beautiful relic is fenced off and falling apart. 

Ciudad Colon: 45 minutes west of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose, is a homey and friendly town with it's own fun, attractive Saturday farmer's market. 

With a great community atmosphere, in the evenings the town park converts into a maze of soccer and basketball games, families picnicking, teenagers hanging out, exercisers walking, and skateboarders zipping about.

Nice place. Worthy of our consideration.

Now to check out San Isidro del General in the southern part of the country.

Monkeys

We share our jungle forest hillside with a band of white faced Capuchin monkeys.

Or rather they share it with us.

They fly through the trees every morning, feeding on the bananas and other natural fruits that they find.

Completely competent and comfortable in their natural environment. A little curious about us. Always on the move.

They run (RUN!) off the end of a branch 50 feet in the air, with arms raised in glory above their heads, flying down to "catch" a lower branch.

Using their tail to steady themselves, they always turn to check whether we saw their latest stunt.

After all these years thinking of "forest animals", I find that I cannot think of these little men-in-the-woods as animals.

They are more than that, and my heart goes out to them.

Have a look at our little YouTube monkey video by clicking here:

YouTube Monkey Video

Our screened porch looks out on a mesmerizing jungle hillside.

This jungle used to be a tree-less over-grazed pasture.
The Wallaces fenced their 36 acres and left it alone for 40 years. This is the result.

Our comfortable screened porch at "Owl House".

Monkey spotting can be difficult in the jungle.

There's one!

The leaf cutter ants on the march.

At the base of the hill is a pleasant stream.
Watch out though, if it rains in the hills 10 miles away there could be a flash flood.

"Explore!" is her other middle name.

Bananas and papayas are so common around here
I almost forget to take pictures. Hummingbirds too.

I've been learning how to take better candid shots.

I will learn the names of every tree. For now I'm just amazed.

Just hanging out.

Just hanging on.

Movin' On Up

The town of Volcan sits at the foot of  Volcan Baru.

We're hitching up the ol' mare, getting ready to mosey on down the road. ETD: Sunday morning 04/28/13.

Some might say we suffer from "the grass is always greener" syndrome - and they might well be right.  How do we know if it's greener or not unless we jump over the fence?  If you were in our shoes, wouldn't you do the same thing?  Wouldn't you poke your nose into a swatload of pastures until one of them elicits that soul-relaxing sigh, Ahhhh!

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Until that happens, and as long as we still have the energy for this, why stop?  Why settle for what IS, rather than what we feel good about?

So what's the conclusion about this place named Volcan?  It is quite alright.  As always, it just depends on what the individual seeks.  The temperatures here are ideal, reaching 71-75 degrees every day we've been here.  Every morning is sunny with lovely sunrises over Volcan Baru at around 7 am.  The nights range around 56-60 degrees.  Very few bugs, flies, mosquitoes, fleas.  Friendly people, both North American and European expats and locals.  People always greet each other in the street.

Passing the time with friends Ken and Anne near their beach home.

At this point we know (and like) our great expat neighbors, the barber, the hair stylist, various taxi drivers, the butcher, the market checkers, a number of produce stand vendors, the fanatic who bakes the French bread, a kid who keeps coming to the house and asking for bananas, and several cell phone & internet service people.

Mana's restaurant was built when Volcan could only be reached on horseback. It hosts a Friday morning expat breakfast and farmer's market.

There are a list of expats living here that we have contact with.  Every Friday a lot of them get together for breakfast and socializing at a local restaurant.  We've visited nearly half a dozen people's homes and farms in the area - in the hills, on the beach, and in town and find them all quite interesting.

It's a worthwhile challenge to build a home and a life on a primitive farm.

Plus, it's not uncommon to find locals that speak some English.  In a pinch, that makes life easier.

And I simply MUST mention the 3 kittens that were born next door and were starving when we got here.  At first I didn't feed them - but I didn't realize that the mother cat took off and the neighbor had no intention of feeding the babies.  I finally caught on and began at least feeding the teeny bony creatures.  We obviously can't take them over the border into Costa Rica, we don't even have a home to take them to.  What a predicament!!

Our threesome of kittens.

When we leave, we'll put out a few days worth of food and run like hell, hoping and praying that the renters arriving on the next day will continue to feed them.  We can't think of anything else to do.  Originally they were feral, but as of today all 3 of them allow me to pet them while they eat.  Now each one is prepared and willing to be somebody's pet cat.

So is Volcan our home?  Well, we have the same reservations about Volcan that we started with.  The wind whipping over the volcano from the Caribbean is more than troublesome, and would limit garden and orchard possibilities.

Volcan Baru may be geologically dormant, but the weather is decidedly active on a daily basis.

But really?  The place is kind of growing on us.  Less windy surrounding areas do have long term possibilities.  A life could be possible here.

The valleys around Volcan Baru supply over 80% of Panama's vegetables.

Though we've got our sights set on our next stop: Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica.  One week, 7 days at Finca Saramandaia in the Owl House.  They've got 36 acres less than a mile out of town and we're interested in seeing what they're up to.

Then off to San Isidro, Costa Rica where we intend to stay for a whole month in a "cabina" on a river.  We can't go there right away because it's now rented to a couple expecting a baby and the baby has not yet shown signs of arriving.  This cabina is their home birth house.  You heard me right. We are awaiting the arrival of a baby.  At least it's not OUR baby!

Just another day in Paradise.

So that's how our plan is shaping up.  We're pretty proud that we actually came up with a game plan spanning over 5 weeks.  It takes some of the mystery out of travel, and adds more possibilities for deeper exploration.

The "Resplendent Quetzal" is a well-named bird.

The Toucan has a remarkable bill.

Volcan Baru's top exploded 300,000 years ago. The last lava flow was around 1550, although there was an earthquake swarm in 2006.

A map of western Panama. The Costa Rican border is on the left.

In our neighborhood there's a house with 9 dogs. Glad they're not next door.

A typical  dirt road in our neighborhood. Cars that exceed 3 MPH do so at their own peril.

Don's pesto-spaghetti is world-class!

Our friends Don & Dalis are crafting an independent life on their farm.

Cacao seeds - one of our favorite treats. (not available at Costco)

This is the optional kitty photo section.