One of the greatest things about being where we are (besides the stunning scenery, deliciously fresh produce and friendly neighbours) is that regardless of our same surroundings, no two days are alike. Walks on the beach can vary based on the tides and the time of day. The day after my last post, I made the trek to the Whales Tail. It’s about a 6km round trip providing phenomenal views of both the ocean and coastline. It was also scorching hot which is why my initial ambitious run turned into a more therapeutic walk! Clinton and I have since walked to the Whales tail two other times and would like to make it a regular part of the routine.
The beach has also become the kids new playground. We climb trees, we dig giant holes in our never-ending sandbox, we build tee-pees and tree houses out of branches and sticks, we re-purpose hollow coconuts & other plastic containers. Who needs toys when nature provides plenty of tangible items for exploring and creating?! We bought the kids a boogie board last week so they are having a blast coasting along the waves. Taio will be a little surfer dude in no time. He is fearless in the water, diving through the big waves and swimming around. The locals look on in sheer shock and horror. Clinton always stays within arms reach but we still have to constantly reinforce safety. Xavier and I on the other hand prefer the shallower waters!
Despite living in a rural area without a car, we are discovering all the incredible things to see and do in our neighbourhood. Last week we visited the hotel down the road to utilize their pool. Just to change it up from our daily swim in the ocean! We purchased some drinks in exchange for usage of the pool. A fair deal in my opinion. The kids had so much fun swimming, splashing and playing. They have asked to go almost every day again. So we’ll likely make it a regular weekly excursion to the hotel four doors down!
Last Saturday morning we took a taxi into town to check out the weekly farmers market. It is a bit lackluster and mostly consisted of gringos selling their overpriced products. Last time we went to the market I had purchased bug bite balm which worked incredibly well. We have since used it all in the two months we’ve been here so I was hoping to find some more. But alas the woman who sold us the original product was not there. I guess I will have to come up with my own concoction.
In honor my parents and to Taio’s delight, we did indulge in some Gringo’s Hot & Fresh donuts. They were delicious; but they sure made us feel terrible. With all our clean eating, our bodies are not accustomed to the junk food! In fact, Xavier had 3 bites and was over it. Taio on the other hand….well the pictures tell a perfect story!
Sunday was a very exciting morning. Something we had been looking forward to all week. Turns out there is a family singing circle held at the local yoga studio. By studio I mean a bamboo platform, thatched roof and no walls in the middle of a field. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun singing English songs, learning Spanish ones, dancing and playing some instruments. There was a family from Australia another from England and one from Europe. Quite the eclectic mix of kids and adults and a truly hippie experience!
The boys are thriving in this environment. They are happy and healthy, sleeping fairly well although they are up at the crack of dawn every day. Taio is routinely awake at 4:45am along with the birds, monkey and roosters who make sleeping next to impossible. The sun comes up shortly after 5am and our day begins. I really need to make a concerted effort to get to bed earlier and get a solid night’s rest.
They are learning how to amuse themselves indoors and outside, playing with whatever they can find. Taio creates elaborate tales and adventures for him and Xavier. It is so wonderful to see them interact in this way. I have been attempting to implement for arts & crafts into our daily routine to facilitate creative play and learning. The trouble is, with only a supermarket in town, supplies are limited. I’ve had to get creative myself and many thanks to Pinterest for providing additional ideas. I picked up some food coloring, popsicle sticks, paint brushes, paper and a few other supplies. We made homemade paint from condensed milk and food coloring; playdough out of cornstarch and hair conditioner. We build structures out of popsicle sticks and plastic cups. The kids are uber fascinated with money and coins these days so they each have a pouch of change which lends itself to an educational opportunity for counting and numbers. An organic homeschooling experience in action.
For my pleasure and self care, I invested in a bicycle last week. I bought it from my neighbour, Sugar, who builds and repairs bikes for a “living”. Sugar lives in a shack down the road and I’m pretty sure he built his house himself. I tried to capture the essence of his place in this photo. Despite his simple living, Sugar has probably the nicest lawn in all of Costa Rica. Anyway, Sugar had a bike out on his lawn last week and in my basic Spanish I managed to organize its purchase. He put a sweet basket on the front which is very convenient for bringing groceries home. It also adds efficiency in time and effort on the 2km journey into town. I’ve taken my white lightning for some strolls along the path the follows the beach. The trails are more suited for a mountain bike but I make it work!
So that pretty much sums up our days. Lineth is still coming Monday to Fridays from about 8am-2pm. In the mornings, she plays with the kids while Clinton and I work on our respective businesses. I am feeling very inspired these days and making good progress. By 11am I am ready to play with the kids and Lineth begins her cooking of rice and beans and gets to cleaning. I am amazed by how little direction she needs. She finds projects to work on. For instance, yesterday she cleaned all the ceilings in the house with a towel wrapped around a broom. I wouldn’t have thought to do that myself but after she completed it I realized how dirty the ceilings actually were. The dirt road outside our house brings in a lot of dust and dirt so it is helpful having a Tica around who knows how to take care of such things. Our comprehension of Spanish is improving as well. The kids are picking up new words every day and I am becoming more adept at conversing. Clinton and I joked the first week that Lineth could be saying to us “I’m just going to put a little shit into your rice and beans” and we were like “Si, si!” But in 3 short weeks, our Spanish has improved and we are understanding more which is encouraging and fun!
Well that’s all for now. I will take pictures of our singing circle this weekend so you can get an idea of both location and people involved. For now, here are some new photos: Click here to see photos