October 10, 2007

Joe is back in Nosara. We had looked forward to our visit to the States for a long time and it was great to see everyone. I will be in NY another 5 weeks. My sister Mary just visited with her family and over the next month, my friend Anne from CA and my friend Lorae from MA, are coming this way. Time continues to pass quickly and before long I will be home—Joe had Trinka put to sleep but we now have a kitten named Sophie who plays with the dogs when they are not mothering her. Joes’s life in Nosara continues to be challenging. When he returned, the rains were coming down with full force, he had no water for 4 days, we lost another microwave to the electrical fluctuations, and his direct TV was out for several days. But he persevered as usual.

The pub reopened and the first crisis is that we cannot get draft beer for 3 months because the brewery is moving. Then the bridge to Nicoya collapsed and after four weeks a new bridge was obtained from US army surplus. Getting beer was not easy. We have a new bartender, Courtney, who Joe tells me is very good,and for the rainy season, we will only be open on Saturdays and maybe on request. During the high season we are hoping to be open 4 eves.

NY is great---all I could want in a city. I am now sharing an apt with a Turkish woman who has a jewelry store in Greenwich Village—she is terrific—and I am on the first floor—my last place was a four floor walkup which was a bit of a hardship. I am fortunate that I can find these short assignments, make money---and live in an amazing city. It is likely I will be back next summer.

Joe loved NY and by next year, when I expect to return, I will know the good places better. Our favorite place so far is a bar named dba in the east village—over 30 beers on tap, scotch, etc. We also like the Astoria beer hall—the last surviving authentic beer hall in the area—it has inspired us to have a roof built on top of our terrace so we can have a beer garden--this will be finished by the time I come back.

So I look forward to seeing our new beer garden, our new kitten and to seeing Joe. Consider beautiful Nosara in your winter travel plans. We would love to see everybody and the pub is great. Joe gave me new pictures which I posted to http://www.snapfish.com/ email HGreaney@gmail.com and password: trink

Love, Joe and Helena