Total change of venue!

Life has moved on a lot since the last post - it's been a while but sooooo busy and exciting.  Best news is we're EMPLOYED!!

 

We were both offered TEFL work in San Jose but very part-time with a lot of travelling (fairly usual for this type of work).  However, at the same time I was offered work at a language school in Panama City so we decided to risk it and move to Panama - via a 15 hour coach trip! 

Amongst the attractions of Panama was that Panama City has the fastest growing economy in Latin America (with interesting work opportunities), it is a country of amazing contrasts - more of this in future blogs, and it is so much cheaper!  It's a move we're really happy we made, even though Costa Rica is very beautiful with incredible, accessible wildlife, and kind, friendly people.

I worked at the language school for 2 weeks - part-time work with adults and better pay than we could have expected in Costa Rica.  In the meantime Dave looked for work.  After a week he was offered a full-time role teaching science in one of the best private schools in Panama City - with good salary and housing allowance.  The requirements were that he was a native english speaker with a degree in the area to be taught.  At his interview Dave mentioned me, as a result of which I was interviewed and I am now employed to teach English!  This is very exciting (although scary) and we started today - with pupils starting next week.  Apart from this being a new career start for us (at an age when we could have expected to be forced into premature retirement) this means we should be able to live very comfortably here, and even save some money!  On top of this the school is being very supportive and allowing me some extra days on a normal teaching holiday to go back and see family in the UK, including my daughter's kitten that I've only met on Skype so far - v excited!!

Although we'll be living in a crazy, hectic city we have the benefit of incredible Caribean costal villages just a 2 hour drive away, in a land that could be centuries apart from the city.  Lots more about this in future blogs -  prepare to be amazed!

 

Before leaving Costa Rica we spent ten days travelling around to different areas and saw an amazing amount of wild life including this brightly coloured chap - a banana viper - venemous but beautiful!  He was just minding his own business in a tree where we were walking - a good reminder of why you need to look where you're putting your hands when walking in the jungle!

3 more types of monkeys spotted!  Capuchin, Spider and Squirel.  The Capuchins were so sweet and not worried about people at all (although this can be a big problem if they get too close and become a pest).  As a result we were able to get some great photos, although the Squirrel monkeys were just too fast to photograph! 

We did have an interesting experience whilst Dave was taking pictures - three capuchins crossed in the trees above us, two being a mother and baby, all of a sudden the third monkey climbed quickly down a tree really close to us, broke off a branch and threw it at Dave!  I think he was trying to tell us something!

  This Capuchin family were wonderful to watch and this Spider monkey had a striking resemblence to some people we know!

 

 

Typical - you wait months for a crocodile then they all come along at once!

 

 

Our friends Jon and Nicola were over from the UK for 2 weeks and bought us luck with the crocodile hunting.  We went along to the creek Dave and I had visited several times before and there in the water were 3!  This was literally 50 yards from where we'd seen small children swimming a few weeks before.

 

 

It's interesting that the health and safety in Costa Rica means a 'do not feed the crocodiles' sign whereas I'm sure in the UK there'd be fences and you simply wouldn't be allowed anywhere near.  As it was we stop on a small bridge whilst a local woman fed them the remains  her picnic!  This isn't encouraged as it's really not in the crocodiles' interest for them to become too 'tame' around humans.  Wild animals like this can start to cause a nuisance, and have a greater risk of harming if they don't remain wary of people (I remember the signs in Yosemite 'A fed bear is a dead bear') an animal like this attacking someone will certainly be shot.

 

 

Later we spent a few days on the Osa peninsular, a most amazing place, difficult to get to - involving a 1.5 hour boat journey, but so worth it.  Miles of truly wild beach and a nature reserve of both primary and secondary jungle.  Amongst other animals (more of in a future blog), we came across crocodiles sunning themselves on the opposite bank of an estuary and also swimming in the sea!  Makes you think a bit about where you're best off going in for a dip!

 

 

It was a real privilege to spend time watching these creatures and their behaviour.  This chap was apparently cooling down by opening his mouth and allowing the skin of his lower jaw to stretch, thereby exposing a greater area of skin to the air.  The American crocodile is less aggressive than those found in other parts of the world and they only usually attack if you stray onto their territory or are seen as a threat, it's very unlikely that they would attack a person purely for food.  In fact it was intriging to see fish swimming past a crocodile's nose and coming to no harm - although I think the fish were simply lucky and that the croc had already had lunch!

Now you know you're not in Doncaster!

 

Possibly one of the strangest New Years yet!

 

The rodeo came to Samara for about 4 days.  The wooden ring and stand was gradually constructed with fun fair rides and dance floor for 'non-bull' entertainment.  Rodeos appear to be a major tradition here for the New Year, and into January, and is even covered nightly on television. To be honest I approached this experience with mixed emotions and am still uneasy about the use of an animal for fun in this way. However, this tradition is part of normal life here and I wanted to see what was involved.

 

 

Unlike Spanish bullfighting the bull isn't killed (even if it kills a person), and can build up a reputation over years. I ended up thinking of it more as 'bull worrying' than fighting, especially with some bulls who looked particularly uninterested in all the young men trying to persude it to run after them and would occassionally break into a run more as if it was trying to 'join in the fun' than chase anyone.

 

 

The tradition has evolved from the cowboy/ranching work that is still a huge part of the culture in this part of Costa Rica and the expertise of the cowboys was something to see.  The horses were beautiful, well trained and totally controlled, whilst the cowboys could tear around the ring and lasso the bulls with incredible skill and accuracy - also avoiding all the young men in the ring. 

 



 

Each bull came into the ring with someone trying to ride it - a real bucking bronco. Obviously all the riders fell at some point and the crowd cheered louder the longer they managed to say on. The bull is then encouraged to chase the people who choose to go into the ring (this is a really macho event), and this is obviously not without danger (although self inflicted). Luckily we saw no nasty accidents, although one bloke did get his leg trampled on when trying to escape under the barrier, but he was bandaged and back in the ring later.

 



The only other casualty we saw was one of the riders who was unconcious when he fell off the bull.  He was quickly carried by 6 men and pushed through a square hole in the wall of the ring (a bit like a kitchen dumb waiter) where he was treated by an on site medical team.  I was horrified but the show wasn't stopped and he later appeared and walked across the ring (to much applause) although with his ribs bandaged up!

 

All this and a chap coming round to sell kebabs in any quiet moment in the proceedings!

The Pacific coast and close encounters (now will you shake out your trousers)!

A wonderful trip on the Pacific coast gave great opportunities for birdspotting and we enjoyed an amazing breakfast watching toucans, humming birds and scarlet macaws (although the macaws were in a nearby tree not on the bird table)!

So far we've had many close encounters with wild life - most brilliant but some not so good!  Such as the time I put on the trousers I'd worn last when walking in a very wet jungle only to find a black scorpion 1.5inches long, on the bottom of my trouser leg!  Dave didn't know what was happenning as I screamed whilst rapidly taking off my trousers - I was so frightened it would sting me!  Once he realised what was going on he threw the trousers outside and rushed, not to comfort me but to get his camera!  Unfortunately the scorpion had taken the opportunity to rush for freedom so the photo opportunity was missed!

Other local residents have not been so shy, including this beautiful frog who stayed around whilst we enjoyed a long evening glass of wine, and my favourite - a sweet geko who wasn't at all worried about either us or the camera and decided to make himself at home on Dave's glass. 

 

The Caribean Coast - no pirates to be seen!



We drove across to the Caribean coast, an adventure in itself as there's only one road and you can't help but get stuck behind loads of enourmous American trucks and wagons struggling up the hill for miles.  You know you're nearly at the coast when you reach Liverpool!

It's so worth it though as once you get to the Caribean you realise that you've arrived in a very different world.  Here life is far more influenced by the West Indies with a large proportion of the inhabitants of the costal towns speaking Creole - some of the original inhabitants came with pirates in the 17th century whilst a large proportion are decended from people shipped over from Jamaca and Barbados to help build the railways and work on banana plantations.

We managed to buy coconut oil straight from the plantation - something we've be searching for since we got to Costa Rica, we just can't find it on the Pacific coast. Dave has promised some delicious coconut rice and that's now possible!

Also, the weather is different.  It's still hot but a great deal wetter, which means facinating wild life, lush rain forest and almost continually wet feet!  Infact the first purchase I was compelled to make in a tiny 'end of the road' village was a pair of wellies!  I then had to go back the following day, after several disasters with waterproofs, to buy the only rainproof coat I could find - and am now the proud owner of a bright yellow children's plastic coat, with a picture of a lion on it.  Very flattering, although in the tropical rain there I really didn't care!!

The architecture is very Caribean, like this Methodist church in Manzanillo (the majority of the people here are protestant rather than Catholic) - also note the puddles, this photo was taken between rain storms!

The jungle (rain forest) here is amazing and we had a brilliant 3 hour walk cut short only by a huge rain storm and poncho problems.  We'll come back at some point and do more of this as it was facinating.  Apart from the usual suspects (noisy Howler monkeys and beautiful butterflies) we came across two types of Toucan and beautiful tiny red poison dart frogs that came out with the rain.

 

I was a little less impressed though when I almost walked into this chap and his large web, whilst happily walking through the bush - that'll teach me to think I'm getting used to jungle!

A beautiful place for a Christmas stay

We made the most of of time in Samara before the New Year rush when thousands of people, both American and Tico (Costarican), come to spend the New Year - this time of year is actually classed as the Summer holiday. Amongst other things we saw the start of preprations for the Rodeo - the chance for people to ride and tease bulls, which is seen as a highlight of the year here but which I have really mixed emotions about. Interestingly, unlike in Spain where the bull always dies, here the bulls aren't killed even if they badly injure, or kill, a person (which is not unknown)! In fact there's a bull that will be coming to the rodeo who has so far killed three people and is seen as rather a legend. Happily even David appears to feel that his bull running days are behind him! Anyway, more of this in a later blog.

We are so lucky to have been able to spend time enjoying the beaches and tranquility here before everyone started to arrive for the holiday season.  Amazing sunsets and almost deserted beaches that we have been privileged to experience and enjoy along with the locals (vultures in this case).

 

Amongst regular vistors to our house are the local chickens and these friendly horses who just roam around the area going wherever they want and eating whatever they want, Christmas and New Year make no difference to them.

 

Still no luck on the crocodile front, although I know Dave has plans to sort that out - so watch this space!

 

Back to the blogging - fully certified!

After four weeks of intensive, and challenging, work we've passed and are now fully qualified TEFL teachers!  It's been a really great experience, although long hours and hard work.  But it was all worth it and we now have a qualification recognised across the world and for which there appear to quite a few job opportunities - which is great to see in the current climate!

 

It's amazing to think how much we've learn't and although we've got a long way to go we both feel ready, and keen, to get into a class of our own and really start teaching!

 

So the hard work starts NOW as we apply for jobs and see what happens.  We'll carry on doing this over the next few weeks alhough everything is starting to close down for Christmas, so we'll be forced into some general relaxation time being tourists, which will be fun.

 

In the meantime we've still been having some impressive local visitors including this little chap who obviously lives somewhere near our house.  I won't be tempted to try and lift him up though as armadilo can apparently carry leprosy!  It's probably pretty rare but I don't think I'll risk it!

Anyway, have to stop for the moment as we're off to hunt for crocodiles again - so far no joy at all.  The place we went to yesterday (where crocs have been spotted very recently) had none, even though small children were happily swimming - this live bait made not a bit of difference!