Gabriel and I rode our bikes into Puerto Viejo early this morning. He likes to buy Internet time at the Jungle Internet while I{m working. This morning he asked in Spanish to buy and hour of time...impressive.
Michael and Allie rode in and joined us in the afternoon. They were waiting for a call from a fellow who is taking care of our plumbing issues. Last week, I was taking a shower-they call them "suicide showers" or "widow makers" here, and with good reason. The water comes through and element wired right in the shower head to heat it. Hot water on demand, in its most basic form...You do not want to adjust the shower head while in the shower-you'll get a jolt! After washing my hair I turned the water off...but it kept going a bit. Not thinking much of it, I stepped out and wrapped in a towel. Steam began to come down from the shower head. I called Michael in that tone that says "help!" and he raced in as the entire unit glowed bright orange, steam bursting from all directions, and finally just blew!Could've...would've...didn't... "Thanks God", as our Spanish friends say.
Our pump has been running every 15-20 minutes as well; there is a small leak in a pipe and the drain from the kitchen sink is not going down well, so we have got grey-water smell. Acreage living has taught us to take these kinds of challenges in stride and Michael could probably fix it himself relatively quickly, except it is not our house, so we nee to "put up" with the slowness of the system here. A fellow was here 3 weeks ago to look at the pump; he hasn't been back....Laura, our landlady, is in Spain-we can imagine her frustration in arranging the repairs.
Boy, it would be nice to take a hot shower again! A little more cautiously now...
We went to a little place called "Jammin (Juice and Jerk Joint)" we had heard was owned by a Canadian and was really good. It didn't disappoint! Allie had a tuna melt panini, Michael and I, vegetarian and cheese paninis, and Gabriel, Johnny Cakes (coconut pancakes) with cheese, strawberry jam, and a beautiful array of fruits. To drink: orange and blackberry smoothies. All served on long narrow tables with little stools to sit on, sharing the space with other patrons-kind of like a lunch counter only you sit on both sides. "Jammin" to the rhythms of reggae and calypso turned down just enough you can have a conversation. Introduced ourselves to the owner who is from Victoria but raised her kids here for the most part-in San Jose and here in the Caribbean. Her son became a dive instructor so they opened a dive shop in Puerto Viejo. When he went to Canada for post secondary, she sold it and started the restaurant.
While there, we saw a poster for Alice's Restaurante which is just down the road from our house. they were serving Sangria (fruit and wine punch), snacks, cookies, and had activities for the kids.
Everything was underway at Alice's when we rode past, so we unloaded our bikes and walked over. Met many neighbours and Gabriel befriended Jackson, who is the son of the owners. Joanne, another Canadian whom we met at the bus stop our first week here, invited us to their home. Wow!! An indescribably wonderful house! Artistic in its " presence"! I intend to go back and visit Joanne, who is a really lovely and talented woman. I will bring my camera! Inspiring! Her husband, Ed, offered to sell it to us for $300,000.00 right now. He wants to downsize. Unfortunately, so do we, but we do still have two children at home so the one bedroom and one incredible guest suite just wouldn't work. Of course, there is also the matter of $300.000.00 we seem to be missing from our petty cash...
Our pump has been running every 15-20 minutes as well; there is a small leak in a pipe and the drain from the kitchen sink is not going down well, so we have got grey-water smell. Acreage living has taught us to take these kinds of challenges in stride and Michael could probably fix it himself relatively quickly, except it is not our house, so we nee to "put up" with the slowness of the system here. A fellow was here 3 weeks ago to look at the pump; he hasn't been back....Laura, our landlady, is in Spain-we can imagine her frustration in arranging the repairs.
Boy, it would be nice to take a hot shower again! A little more cautiously now...
While there, we saw a poster for Alice's Restaurante which is just down the road from our house. they were serving Sangria (fruit and wine punch), snacks, cookies, and had activities for the kids.
Everything was underway at Alice's when we rode past, so we unloaded our bikes and walked over. Met many neighbours and Gabriel befriended Jackson, who is the son of the owners. Joanne, another Canadian whom we met at the bus stop our first week here, invited us to their home. Wow!! An indescribably wonderful house! Artistic in its " presence"! I intend to go back and visit Joanne, who is a really lovely and talented woman. I will bring my camera! Inspiring! Her husband, Ed, offered to sell it to us for $300,000.00 right now. He wants to downsize. Unfortunately, so do we, but we do still have two children at home so the one bedroom and one incredible guest suite just wouldn't work. Of course, there is also the matter of $300.000.00 we seem to be missing from our petty cash...
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