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!

 



A marine maternity ward

 

An interesting minibus trip, including fording a river in the dark, took us to the beach of Ostional where thousands of Oliver Ridley turtles are currently making their presence felt.  These are the smallest of the marine turtles and Ostional beach is the second most important nesting beach in the world for them, the first being in South Africa.  Over a few nights they come up onto the beach to lay eggs - an incredible and exhausting process (for both turtle and observer) as you watch them slowly crawl up the beach, dig a deep hole (which may fall in on itself, in which case they have to start again), and then lay over 100 eggs.

 



As dusk drew on more and more turtles slowly and silently emerged from the sea, in the end I was worried I was going to tread on one as it got darker and darker.  Neither the darkness nor our presence put these amazing creatures off at all.  It really was quite surreal.

We were also privileged to see the release of a baby turtle - part of a conservation project to ensure that as many turtles as possible actually make that first, dangerous, journey as successfully as possible.  You must play Dave's video below, it's soooo cute!

Interestingly the local village play a really important role in the preservation of these turtles.  As the turtles come ashore volunteers from the village arrive at the beach to keep watch on them as they dig holes, lay eggs and then make their way back to sea (a period of several hours).  These volunteers will sit, with torches, and keep a general eye on things - helping out if necessary.  Also, the village benefits from being able to sell a certain amount of turtle eggs.  This may appear strange but in fact the turtles lay far too many eggs on the one stretch of beach which means that a certain % of them will never get through to maturity and need to be cleared off in order to enable better survival of the rest.  The money obtained from the sale of the eggs - several thousand dollars - is then distributed amongst the community.  As a result it's a real 'win win' with the turtles being helped and looked after at the same time as this rather remote coastal village.

 

 

 I'll never forget this incredible experience, the first glimpse of one of these creatures literally brought tears to my eyes.  I've see it on TV but this was something else!

 

The evening was made more exciting by the fact that our guide thought he'd lost a member of his party on the pitch black beach - never mind, he turned up in the end!

 

Will get blogging more regularly soon - have started our course and it's totally manic.  We've been getting home, making something to eat out of what's in the fridge ( a bit like one of those TV programmes where you have 10 mins to make a meal out of half a tomato, 2 bananas, a tin of sardines and some grated cheese (no don't send recipes), doing homework and collapsing into bed!



Not all's rosy in the tropical garden



After a night in a very basic house with a non working fridge, no hot water and 8 beds we moved into our 2 bedroom, ground floor, apartment.  It's really sweet, and I now realise as large as (or larger than) many Costarian village houses, which is a real eyeopener.  However, it was filthy when we took it over - which I think is far more to do with the young landlord and previous western student tenants than Costarican living standards - I'm continually amazed to see beautifully dressed children emerge for school from small wooden houses with tin roofs.

After a day's deep cleaning the apartment is so much nicer - and I'm possibly the only woman down this dirt track with a nice new pair of marigolds!  We spent time in the local supermarket trying to understand the different types of cleaning products which then needed decanting from the plastic bags they're sold in to one of the many empty plastic bottles we've been saving - as we have no sellotape we've tied labels round the bags to remind us of what is what.

The fridge in this apartment is really good however we still have no hot water. This isn't anything to do with an interuption in service but is a permenant situation.  I have to say my initial reation was that I was not sure how long I could manage with cold showers, but it's amazing how you get used to it, particularly in a climate where it never gets cold - there are only 2 seasons, wet and dry but both hot.  Having to heat water on the stove for washing clothes and dishes is a pain though, and suddenly these practical necessities take up so much more time than they used to.  Once we start our TEFL course we're going to have to be really organised and get all this done after/before college which is apparently 10am to 7.30!

Apart from being cold the shower is also nothing but a pipe coming out of the wall.  This works though, and interestingly is exactly the same arrangement as many locals so isn't simply down to having a rubbish landlord.

We don't have an oven at all, just a couple of (rather effective) gas rings.  However, this does limit the cooking possibilities (any suggestions for good meals on the top of the stove would be gratefully recieved)!  This and the fact that the typical, and cheapest, local mainstays are beans and rice have led Dave to complain that we're now living on 'student food' - he's been spoilt by living in France for too long.  France is a country with a different cheese for every day of the year whilst here the cheese is almost entirely tasteless and appears to come in two varieties - white or yellow!

The fruit is wonderful though (and good value). You can't beat being brought fresh papaya whilst lying in a hammock, particularlly if accompanied by a glass of cold white.  Unfortunately the high cost of wine is something else we're having to get used to - although we've just had some great local advice pointing us to good quality wine boxes at 2,400 colon /approx £3/3.8 euros/4.8 dollars a litre, these obviously need to be investigated.

Biting things are also an everyday problem to be dealt with, within an hour at a beach bar something had decided to treat my leg as lunch.  To be honest I appear to react particularly impressivly to bites, Dave is also bitten and itchy but his bites just don't look as good.  The ones shown here are far better than they were initially and are getting lots better already - however, am now covering myself with insect repellent when we go out in the evening.  I may look ok but I smell rubbish!

Woken by Howler Monkeys!

 

We're both jet-lagged to the eyeballs and struggling to get a good night's sleep which is not helped by what sounds like dogs howling outside our house at about 4.30am.  This turns out to be a troop of Howler monkeys who've decided the trees by our door would make a good place for breakfast. 

 

 

 

These brilliant animals are amongst the largest monkeys in the New World and have prehensile tails, making them fasinating to watch as they use these to help get around the trees, or to hang down whilst enjoying a snack!

 

As we'd got up so early we decided to go down to the beach for a walk and a swim.  What an amazing way to start the day - breakfast, a walk on the almost deserted beach, a swim, a walk back by the jungle and still only 9am!  This is a great time for a swim as Samara is known for it's surfing but at this time of day the surf's not 'up' - to use a technical term - and the sea is just perfect.  Average water temperature 28 degrees and beautiful soft sand.

 

 

In the early evening we took another walk and came across 11 monkeys in one tree.  Stood and watched tham for ages, including the cutest baby monkey ever.

 

 



We have to make the most of this time as we start our TEFL course on Nov 19th and everyone's said that it's really intensive, with no time to do anything else, even keep up with your favourite soap - so I'll just have to make do with a catch up of The Archers Omnibus on i-player!

 

By the way all the photos (and video) from San Jose onwards are Dave's - no need to search Google for images any more!

 

 



We get to Samara - home for 2 months.

Took Interbus shuttle from San Jose to Samara - 5 hours in a really well driven minibus with a loo stop just over half way.  This stop was our first encounter with Costarian wild life as a loud noise alerted us to something in the trees - at least 6 Scarlet Macaws.  These birds are considered to be an endangered species and are the largest parrot in the world (they can grow 33 inches from beak to tail).  Amazingly they can live from 50 to 80 years!  They were incredible to watch (and hear) but I did think that whilst it's mean't to be good luck to be pooped on by a bird you really wouldn't want to get caught under one of these!

Arrived at Samara, an amazing costal village with an authentic Costarican feel and obvious American and European attractions in the form of fantastic surfing and a couple of language schools.  My immediate reaction was that there was a large percentage of young, fit and beautiful people.  This has two effects:

1.  The village is less impacted on by older, middle class customers  - more by young back packers on a budget -  and has a laid back, simple, slow atmosphere.
2. It makes you feel your age!!

We arrived at our accomodation only to find that the owner wasn't expecting us and that the flat we'd booked was still occupied!  However, he put us into the house next door so we had somewhere to stay, although not really cleaned and very basic.  Having said that the position was incredible - down a dirt road on the edge of both the village and the jungle - with chickens for neighbours and something strange (although I'm sure harmless) living in the roof - we think it might be an Iguana, a bit like the 2.5 foot one below that we saw on a short walk to the beach!

San Jose

 

Statue of John Lennon in San Jose with the inscription 'Imagine all the people living life in peace' - very appropriate for a country with no standing army (and none sitting down either).  Having said that I don't think 'peace' is a word easily associated with San Jose - the constant traffic noise makes sure of that.  It's worth a visit if you're passing through, although Dave reckons it's a bit like Sunderland only warmer!

 

However, I'm pleased to say that my Costa Rican research on the perils of San Jose probably led to me being over concerned. 

1. Warning that 'street crime is very real' - I'm sure there is petty crime and some violence but you only need to take the sort of precuations you would in any capital city - watch where you put your money and avoid obviously dodgy areas at night.  We had little or no hassle and the people were so kind and helpful. 
2. You need to 'take particular care negotiating the city's very wide roadside storm drains' - Yes there are large deep gutters at the side of the roads but there are also places where the gap is altered for pedestrians, and anyway they're not as big as all that.  We've seen larger gutters in both France and Spain.
3. Prostitution is legal but you can easily find out the areas to avoid (or not) and simply do this.  Google or a guide book will tell you.
4. The traffic is chaotic and I personally wouldn't drive there, however I'm not known as someone who particularly enjoys driving in the first place - I'd leave it to Dave who would be very happy with the challenge.

We enjoyed an interesting morning shopping and browsing in the city centre and market but one thing was a particular shock - IT'S REALLY EXPENSIVE -  although we have been living in a small Spanish village known to family and friends as 'euro land' (as everything seems to cost only a euro), so we might be biased.  It's interesting to realise that a 2nd world/developing country could be more expensive than somewhere in Europe.  We did find a great, cheap, lunch in the market though, where lots of locals were eating.  Classic food of rice, beans, cheese/meat, salad, a soup with lots of coriander, rice pudding and a great fruit drink!  That set us up for the rest of the day.

The weather was warm (mid 20s) with rain in the afternoon, which forced us to spend several hours in a local bar, watching the world go by and trying to combat jet lag, helped by a rather nice (but expensive) red - by the way I have no idea why my mouth is open in this photo!

 

On the shoe front I was really impressed to see a latest range of beautiful pumps, sandles, short boots and high wedge heels, in a wide variety of colours and totally plastic!  Ideal for the fashion concious woman dealing with 8/9 months of rainy season - GENIUS!

 

 

 

 





Here we go!

 

Almost ready to go and am sitting surrounded by boxes, with my bags packed, and experiencing a strange mixture of emotions - a reluctance to leave Spain and friends mixed with expectation and a nervous excitment about what the next few months will hold.  It's so good to be living in an age of Facebook, Skype and mobiles for keeping in contact with family and friends - although we'll have to wait to see how we manage to find our way around the sim cards and dongles available and the 6 hour time difference will be interesting.

 

So we set off for a new adventure - an intensive TEFL course in Costa Rica (Teaching English as a Foriegn Language) with the aim of obtaining a professional qualification which will open up a new world of employment to help us secure future work experience and jobs.  We know we won't earn a fortune doing this but we should be able to earn enough to get by.  It's brilliant to be able to do this in Costa Rica - we'll still be practising our Spanish (which in my case needs the practice) and it's an amazing country to explore and spend time in whilst studying and re-training (enabling us to 'go travelling' at an age when we should probably know better)!  

 

Costa Rica is a developing country where learning English can literally change someone's life prospects.  However, it's also interesting to note that, whilst the Spanish economy is currently rather gloomy, Spain is a country investing in trying to ensure that as many people as possible are able to speak English.  In fact there are quite a lot of TEFL job opportunities here, in Spain, second only to China.  Workwise we'll just have to see what happens, and what we can make happen - which I'm sure is plenty!

 

In the meantime we've checked in online, chosen our seats on the plane and the decision is made - my beautiful shoes are packed and ready to go!!



B Alert!!

 

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/07-04-96/outthere.htm

 

 

Latest concern was sparked by Becki (my daughter) alerting me to the fact that there are killer bees in Costa Rica.  Have googled and discovered a wide range of advice including the fact that (if attacked) hiding in water is not a good idea as the bees wait for you to come up for breath, which I thought was pretty brainy!  Apparently the best action to take is to run as fast and as far as possible covering as much of your head as you can.  200 yards should do it.  To be honest I'll keep running!!

 

If, instead, we find ourselves being chased by a crocodile the best thing to do is to run fast but not in a straight line as they can't change direction very quickly...... sounds like logical and good advice.

 

In the meantime our lovely Spanish neighbours have sorted the leak and we've rented the house out! 

 

 

 

 



Don't Panic!!

6 days to go and the ceiling has decided to leak! 

This is made more worrying as we have a prospective renter coming to view on Friday!  With the best will in the world there's no way she won't spot this - have even considered making it into some type of water feature but think I'm on to a loser.  Have suggested that Dave stands under the leak to stop the sound of splashing, but would have to hope she doesn't notice water running down his face, which is probably unlikely.  I think we'll just have to fess up.  Luckily we have great friends here and the work should be sorted out within the next few weeks - before she'd want to move in, but after we've left!

We've both been really touch by the kindness of friends here in Spain, with people looking after the house whilst we're away and organising meals to send us off.  I'm really going to miss friends both here, in France and the UK - thank goodness for Mobiles, Skype and Facebook!  It's really quite strange to think that not that many years ago worldwide communication was so much more difficult - now it's simply a case of having mobile or internet connection. 

It's also interesting to note that 2nd/3rd world countries have more or less missed out mass landline comminucation and gone straight to mobile.  When we were in Senegal (5 years ago) I remember thinking how much better the mobile connection was than in Cumbria (UK).  Will wait to see how this compares to Costa Rica!