CR Update July 11, 2006

CR Update July 11, 2006

Hi everybody. We now have our Cedulas—proof that our residency was approved—a 6 hour wait at Immigration in San Jose but now we do not have to leave the country every 3 months and we are able to travel by air within the country at half-price. Ty continues to work on the bridge which crosses our lap pool. He is finishing our shade shelter so we are almost ready to show outdoor movies and he is improving our outdoor kitchen. We are also talking with him about another shelter on our terrace over the guest rooms.

I am on the schedule with the Nosara Yoga Institute to teach one Breathwork class per week. This gives me a regular venue for my breathwork and it is a good opportunity to meet some of the new-age people in the area. I am also working on a continuing education article for contact hours—an opportunity I found on the internet. So I will have some money coming in but nothing close to the money flow in the states.

The pub continues to grow—slow at times and then spikes of activity. We had over 25 people this past Sunday—4-5 groups from 4pm to midnight- I was the bartender and made some tips. We are attracting great people and our membership list is expanding. Our hypothesis seems to be correct—that expatriates and their friends want a nice comfortable place to meet and have draft beer and good spirits. This week new beer is ready so we are back in business. We have Armarillo, a light wheat beer, Lauter, a filtered Pilsner, and Chivo—the strongest beer made in Costa Rica- 8.0 abv.

We had another misadventure with the car. We gave our primary helper specific instructions to drive us to the San Jose pick-up spot and then immediately take our car back to our house where Ty was waiting to give him a ride home. Eight hours and 200 km. later (I keep track of mileage because our gas gauge does not work) he returned the car with stories that did not make sense. After some angry words about trust, betrayal, stealing, and subsequent apologies, we hope we are back on track. He does not seem to see our point of view at all –he seems offended that we were upset; however, he is a good worker and we need him.

Bria and Talia and Jenna, our college age friends left to see other parts of Costa Rica. They were able to get back and forth to the beach independently by walking across the river which is now knee-high and then hitching a ride. We also learned from them about a good backpacker hostel in the projects. Many of the young people hitch—Joe is still talking about the 4 British girls the pool guys brought to our house on their way to Ostional. It was surreal to have all these British accents in our English pub. If we ever get to Ostional where they were volunteering, we may be able to hire another bartender—they were interested and we need someone for Sundays.

The weather is great as usual- 90 degrees, showers usually at night and many shades of green foliage. This is our Indian summer which is like a mini high season. I swim every day—doing laps in my private pool. It is great to have all this time and to be in a place of such natural beauty. Write back when you can. Love Helena and Joe