Jan 20, 2006 Update

Jan 20, 2006
Hello Everybody

We are very busy and under a fair amount of stress as we are heading toward completing all the construction, opening the pub, my work trip to California, and figuring out how we are paying for everything. It is cheaper here than in the US but prices have risen over the past three years. Despite the expenses, we want to have our mini-resort--pub, pool, and guest houses in our tropical paradise.

The bar is hand crafted from Sarchi and is beautiful--dark guanacaste wood, an English style canopy for over the bar, a large bar top made of one piece of wood and six elegant captains chairs. We have arranged for finish work, signs, lighting, and for an outdoor shade shelter. We also want an outdoor kitchen and a bridge over the pool. John is agreeing to finish the pool, etc. by our opening party. Joe was informed that when you flush the toilet in the pub, it flows down the side of the hill right next to our shade shelter. Although Joe is into water features, this was more than we want. John said that a septic system is not part of our contract but he also said he would take care of it. We will also explore other options—just in case.

The weather continues sunny dry and windy. The winds can be strong—bending trees, blowing around and in some cases destroying our possessions. We are told that every time there is a cold front in the states it is windy here and we hear that these winds go up to 90 mph. The other day on my way home, I saw a large jungle-like cat leap across the road several meters in front of me. I looked it up on my mammal guide and it appears to have been a PUMA-a mountain lion. This was on a semi-main road

We met our new puppy the other night, a Jack-Russell-a small terrier like dog, who is white with black markings. We named her Nina, she was born Jan 5, 2006, the 3rd of 4 puppies and she is tiny. Her mother belongs to Angelina, John’s daughter. We will visit the dog regularly until we get her probably in 4-6 weeks.

Len and Joyce are here visiting from Rhode Island. They rented a quad—a 4 wheel motorcycle vehicle which is perfect for around here. They had a scare on the quad. They were crossing s stream and being very attentive to the terrain and they heard a loud howl 3 feet from them—it was only a little monkey but the howl was like a giant gorilla. They also went horseback riding. Both activities they recommend. We took them up to Eric and Lenore’s to see the sunset and as usual we were mesmerized with the view and had a wonderful visit. We love having guests because we get into the vacation mode and it is a good break for us. We also hear about our neighborhood from the visitor’s viewpoint

Joe will be very busy with the puppy and running the pub. I will be busy working full time in California and reconnecting with several friends I am fortunate to have in the Bay area. Three months will go by fast. Write back when you can. Love Helena and Joe