Some Sunsets!

We're remembering the gigantic mystical sunsets that were a treasured part of our day when we lived in Volcan Panama.

Their visual impact emptied us of words and delivered us into communion with the limitless sky above.

Fully present in those moments, we felt free of the past, and ready to create our future.

View our Volcan Sunset Video.  (best viewed with speakers on ;-)

I can't think of a more gentle and creative way to spend the last moments of daylight.

Getting Real . . . (Estate)

It's starting to get real.

We've come a long way to find our home, and we believe we're getting close. But that awesome place won't just come knocking at our door. We have to go out and find it!

Every micro climate in Central America can be found within 30 miles of our little artistic cabina:  from cold alpine ridges at 11,000 feet, down to the hot, humid Pacific beaches.

The Valle del General and many side valleys fan out in all directions. Whatever you want can be found here. Everything except for urban sophistication.

Now is the time for heightened awareness of long term needs and preferences.  We've been warned by so many expats who bought without enough insight.  Whether it was a property, house, or a business, they eventually regretted their choice, and now find it extremely difficult to sell.

Here are some photos from a couple places we've looked at.

Bob & LouAnne's Place:

. . . is a steeply sloped and partially wooded 6 acres. He was planning to grow Jatropha trees and make bio-diesel from the nuts - for fun. Maybe a demo site for others to learn from.  (C'mon, he's an engineer.)

The property borders the Panamerican Highway, and drops about 300 feet of elevation to the stream bed and waterfall at the lower end.  There is an interior road and a marginally livable little Tico house with an awesome view. There are several sites to build additional homes or guest cabins, but they would be a challenge to develop due to the steep roads and lack of flat land.

Our decision?
Too much work!

The gate at the road makes a statement.

We hike down, down, down to the lower end of the property.

The waterfall is a good place to cool off.

Jeff hears about the key features.

A remarkably exotic looking flowering whatchacallit.

Damn I look good.

Oil from the Jatropha nut can be used to make biodiesel.
So can used frying oil from McDonalds.

The driveway is rather steep.

Jim's Place: 

. . . is directly on the other side of the Quebradas valley at about the same elevation. The gravel road going to the acreage is in good condition, and there are few neighbors. The 12 acres are gently sloped and topped with a livable, older Tico home that Jim's been renovating. The property hosts numerous mature fruit trees, as well as banana trees and about 7 acres of coffee bushes. Jim gifted us a section of a huge 20 lb. guanabana fruit he had just harvested. YUMMERS.

The property is bordered on two sides by streams that flow out of the nature preserve. There's actually a usable swimming pool and tilapia tank. The water source is a pristine spring inside the nature preserve.  If one were so inclined, there are sites where guest cabins could be built, and the land only drops about 150 feet in elevation along its 1200 foot length.  That means there's a gentle slope with great view of the surrounding hillsides and valley.

Our decision? No decision.  Still thinking!
This one has a lot of what we want.

Jim put in new windows on the view side of the house.

Starr walks down the garden path.

The orange tree has fruit most of the year.

There are rounded boiulders like this one all over the region.
Nobody has been able to explain why some of them are perfect spheres.

The kitchen is due for a remodel.

Yep, that's a washer at the end of the hall.

Jeff hears about the key features.

Picture a Tico work crew being served spaghetti with home made marinara sauce,
garlic bread, and a green salad with pear-infused balsamic vinegar.
It happened right here, rubber boots and all.
All the glass panels slide completely open, yielding an open air setting.

Possibilities.  Yes this place does have some possibilities.  However some big issues remain outstanding.  In spite of the numerous fruit trees and the 7 acres of coffee, none of it is commercially productive.  What to do, what to do?!

Up And Over

Ever since arriving here in Quebradas I have had my eyes on the mountain ridges to the east.

Today I  finally did some exploring up there. Starr and our friend Julianne walked with me to the Nature Reserve gate and left me there.  I took off to explore the jungle trail system by myself.

The top of the ridge is at an elevation of about 5000 feet.  I committed to reaching the top on a steep muddy trail through the tangled jungle, crossing down the other side, and returning around the mountain on dirt roads.

As I began my walk, the sky was cloudy and the air was heavy with tropical humidity.  I began to sweat profusely as I swatted at mosquitoes and lurched up the slippery mud and rock trail. 

I heard parrots and monkeys in the jungle canopy but didn't see a single one.  An hour later, leaning on my bamboo walking pole, I reached the overlook at the top.

Charming miniature towns and buildings lay fanned out below me in the Valle del General. The massive cloud-topped Talamanca mountain range spread to the north.

The mid-day sun came out.  Meanwhile the clouds that would become today's tropical rainstorm began to flow over the coast range in my direction.

A large blue and white fork-tailed bird glided along the ridge next to me. What is it? Beautiful it is.

I found the steep slippery trail heading down the other side and began descending through coffee and banana plantations.

When I reached the Miravalles road, I stopped into a small store to get something to drink. 

"What do you have for 370 colones?" I asked. The clerk grinned and handed me a small bottle of orange juice. I gave him all the cash I had.

I started home on the road that contoured around the mountain back to Quebradas. I was hot and tired but felt gratified inside. 

It's a good thing to have an adventure like this. My ties to Costa Rica became a little stronger today.

Come along with me?

Starr and Julianne and the road up the hill.

Costa Rican horses are trained to march in a high-stepping choppy gait. I'll learn the name someday.
A "Tope" is a parade event where a couple thousand of these horses parade all over town.

Meeting Jesus who works at the reserve, and fixes the road.

Me.

Looking up towards the Nature Reserve.

I like a lot of things. Bougainvillea is one of them.

Cows make contour ruts in the pasture.

Follow this stream and you will arrive at the center of the jungle.

Cars and people wade the stream.

Turns out Jesus has a small farm he wants to sell. Imagine that.
(It seems as though all of Costa Rica is for sale - at a price.)

Uhh... I'll get back to you. I forgot the name. It's a red flower.

This is the right way.

The "Queen of the Night" has hallucinogenic properties.

A nice photo.

Julianne loves nature. A lot.

Starr felt kind of funny when she woke up.

That there's some jungle.

There are two seasons; rainy and dry.
Something is always dying and something else is always flowering.

Black and white jungle shot.
The texture of the canopy is palpable.

San Isidro to the south around the ridge.

Quebradas valley.

How you know when you're at the top.

North to the Talamanca Range. I love that word.

Coffee berries.

Costa Rica's Big Three. Coffee, bananas, and tourism.

Shade grown coffee using banana inter-planting.

I've never seen a roof like that.

I shared my downward path with this school boy.

A flawed green block wall.

School boys in Miravalles. I told them I like their town. They smiled.