January 2011

Best New Year’s party yet. We knew everybody or we did by the end of the evening. About 300 people. Having a young punky rock n roll band from San Jose gave a great energy to the place. Drums, bass, and guitar…that was enough. They were practiced musicians and their name was Zopolit which means “Roadkill”. They were all 19 years old. Panchos did the food—Steve brought up a pizza oven and this was the best food ever for our venue--really good pizza. Preparations were nerve-wracking--We had several new staff, a new source of beer, and a new process for getting our liquor and Joe remodeled the pub. The preparations were well worth the results. Now we prepare for the fifth anniversary of the Black Sheep on Feb 5th. “Celebrating five years of Pub-luv” is our slogan for the party copied from two British girls who loved the pub on NY eve.

Have been going to the Costa Rica Yoga Spa two-three times/week. I do Breathwork sessions for them and I take classes. I like the reciprocity. They have excellent teachers and I learn new things. Thai massage. Acro yoga. I do private breathwork sessions at my house.

We have internet here now. I can get it on my phone and I can hook up my phone to my computer so it works as a modem. It changes being here. The convenience is wonderful and there is a trade-off with nature being more in the background. I am glad I was here for so many years without the internet. Makes me think of the original expats in Nosara who only had electricity four hours per day on a generator.

Our finca community in the wilderness is growing. Tim and Wella moved in. They are a couple from CA whose son is an Olympic swimmer. They have been using my pool while theirs is being built. They have a lot of questions about how to get things done. We answer their questions and tell them to gather information from others also since what works for us may not work for them…Even something as simple as deciding to get a vacuum cleaner—do you need one? Would something else work better? Where to get one? It can be overwhelming to make all these little decisions and there are different rules for getting things done. We have seven families on the hill so far and 1-2 more houses under construction. We are a unique group. What we have in common is John and Hotel Playa Nosara. We all came here through the hotel, met John, and here we are in Paradise.

The dry winds are here…so far they are light breezes. Sunny and warm every day. No offers on the house. Soon, we hope. www.nosaraparadise.blogspot.com Send us a buyer and you get a finders fee. And thanks to Costa Rica’s Craft Brewery, the Black Sheep Pub is reborn as an ale house. We have two ales on tap. The Brewer is from Dogfish Ale. Joe is in heaven. And an ale house makes for a convivial atmosphere with a lot of conversation.

More later. Love Joe and Helena