livin off the grid

As our time in Matapalo draws to a close, I’ve been thinking about what my last post should be.  I’ve enjoyed sharing some of our experiences and at times it’s been therapeutic for me.  When we initially arrived here, I remember being somewhat in awe and culturally shocked about daily life here.  I wanted to write about it but never got the chance, so here is my last glimpse to reflect on living life “off the grid”.

There are no electricity lines here.  That means that the numerous sloths, monkeys, macaws, squirrels, and ga-zillons of other wildlife species get to keep their homes, and co-exist with ours.  Toads stroll through the house in the evening. Tink frogs make a sound at night that makes me think of a flag hitting a flag post in the Kansas wind (it sounds like, “tink!”)  It is peaceful living so close to nature.  Sounds of the ocean a few hundred yards away rock us to sleep at night.  Howler monkeys can be heard early in the morning~ they sound like some mythological sea creature.  Hummingbirds inside the house are a common sight~ it’s easy for them to make a wrong turn on the way to the hibiscus right outside.  And big old blue morpho butterflies.  They wisp through the air in the sunshine like fairies.  Before this excursion, I’d spent a number of hours staring at a blue morpho framed in a box in my room… a birthday present from a friend long ago.  The wildlife is certainly abundant and beautiful.  

 

Our power comes from solar panels and a back-up generator, which runs on gas, for the rainy season.  What comes from solar power is limited and somewhat minimal considering widespread traditional standards.  I really love the challenge of seeing how much I can conserve.  There is enough to charge our laptops in the daytime.  Something that always cracks me up is when the fans are on during the hot afternoon and the sun comes out, the fans start spinning faster.  We have a few l.e.d. lights in our house, but they’re not much for ambiance, so we use a little light and a lot of candles.  It gets dark here at 5 pm and is pitch dark at 6 pm year-round.  One of my students was shocked when I told her that in Kansas it gets dark at 9 in the summer.  The natural rhythm of getting up with the sun and going to bed fairly shortly after it sets has been something new to us.  It is refreshing and reconnecting.  I would recommend it to anyone.

Our drinking water is collected through a rustic system from the rain.  We left our precious kangen ionizer behind due to the above electricity “shortage”.  But rainwater has been not bad.  The rest of the water is contained in a big water tower thing behind our house.  Water becomes an issue in the dry season.  Different people have different solutions… some have their water delivered from town (not sure of the logistics of this whole scenario since we are here during the rainy season).  

 There are many chickens that live here.  They supply fresh eggs daily and eat the fire ants and other random jungle pests (think scorpions).  Hard little workers, they forage for food all over the property all day.  I saw one chicken lay an egg in the “man shed” (a garage area with tools & stuff) up on a shelf next to some wires. 

Something that I definitely had to get used to was the outdoor garden shower.  It’s enclosed, but it spoke to a bigger theme in my life.  I have a hard time opening up to people/situations I don’t know very well.  The lifestyle here is open.  There are walls on that shower…its no big deal that it’s outside… don’t need to be all prude about it.  (BTW, I got dumped in 8^th grade for being a “prude”… truth was I just wasn’t that into the dude and didn’t want to kiss him).  

 Oh and the laundry.  Truly amazed me when I first got here.  There is a whole laundry room system.  Various friends warned me about the fact that clothes have a tendency not to dry here in the rainy season.  I immediately took pictures of the laundry situation.  First of all, the machine is totally different (and in Spanish so totally not user-friendly for me).  There is basically a wash-basin and then a separate spin-cycle mechanism.  Really gotta get that extra water out.  Then everything is hung up to dry (due to the low-electricity~ no dryer).  Then in a day or two… or three… everything is dry enough to fold up and put away.  

 Another thing I just thought of~ everyone drives “quads” around here.  Quads are those little 4x4 motorcycle-with-4-wheels things.  They use less gasoline and can handle the crazy roads.  When I say road, envision a mountain hiking trail you would take on a family vacation while you’re all riding horses.  Cars don’t last very long with the road conditions here.  I should probably mention that there is only one gas station in the entirety of the Osa Peninsula… the Bomba in Puerto Jimenez.  People store gas in large containers on their property. 

And speaking of gas… propane is used for everything.  The refrigerator, stove/oven, and hot water heater all run on propane.  That funny canister that used to sit next to my dad’s grill and in cages at the gas station has taken on a whole new meaning.  It means civilization in the simple form of hot showers.  It is sold in town by a company called Tropigas.  For the most part, it’s delivered out here.  Of course all deliveries have an extra fee. 

Arturo is the man that has picked us up from town 3 times, now.  He met us when we got off the airplane.  He is a true delight.  Arturo is always a joy to see and Amara loves him.  He calls her “chiquita”.  Patrick gets to put his Spanish to use on the 45-minute, 12-mile ride home.  We love Arturo, but use his services sparingly, as they cost $45 for that one-way ride.  We usually ride the collectivo into town, get some homemade ice cream, head to the grocery store, and call Arturo to take us home.  We’d take the collectivo back to Matapalo, but then we’d have to lug our boxes of groceries for 2 more miles… Most of the time we try to figure out who is coming out here and ask them either for a ride or to pick up groceries for us.

I think that’s basically all I have to say about day-to-day life here.  I’m really glad to share and record what it’s like while I’m here.  I’m sure the moment I get on the plane home, small memories will begin to fade away.  I’ll get distracted and when people ask me “how was Costa Rica?”, I’ll just say “beautiful”, or “good”.  But it has been so much more than that.  It’s been a true adventure. 

{high tide and low tide}

every year, patrick and i create seven goals for ourselves.  patrick coined his 'seven chakra super success system' while we were in hawaii, the first spring equinox we spent together.  we make one goal for each chakra.  on every list of my goals is "i am practicing yoga every week".  doesn't seem that hard, huh?  a small, but easily attainable goal for myself.  i suppose when you throw a baby, husband, house, job, and school into the mix that goal seems a little more cloudy.  

patrick and i needed some space from our daily/weekly/monthly/yearly/life grind.  that's how we have found ourselves here in matapalo.  we've found simplicity in our daily rhythm.  we've given up some of the ease of the US but also a lot of the frustration.  for me, one major definition of our time here is: i've been going to yoga every sunday morning.  a small goal that i've finally attained through pura vida.   

i feel like i have gained some valuable perspective here that i'll take with me forever.  i have lots of new ideas and am ready to get to my projects at home too.

*****

last weekend we went out to lunch (yes!) at lapa rios with our new friends (yes!! we finally found friends!), ticon and devon and their 1+ yr old daughter, ariel.  i had a hamburger.  can't say that it compared to burgers in the midwest, but it was the best in the osa and exactly what i needed.  after that we went on a beautiful hike to this waterfall and further up the creek to a little cave.  amara did some swimming with baby ariel and had a great time.

  

on sunday we drove out to carate.  it is a beautiful, rainforest rural place at the end of the road.  there is an epic expanse of beach.  we went out for the festival de tortugas (sea turtles).  all the eggs were in the nursery, so we didn't get to see any, but it was a super fun and beautiful trip.  the girls played in a creek under the warm sun and the boys went swimming in the ocean.

 

here are some pics from our new favorite beach spots.  this one is backwash beach... where all the ladies go to surf (but not me... no surfing yet).

and pan dulce beach...

patrick and ticon waiting for some waves

 "good job daddy!"... said amara

making a birthday cake

...and a "baby dinosaur"

 amara and i made apple cinnamon "pupcakes" to celebrate the autumn equinox

a poison dart frog that visited us in the middle of the night...
(9:00 pm is the middle of the night here)

 and here is a shot from the costa rican independence day parade in puerto jimenez.  this was the most impressive 'float'

~with love from the osa~

we've officially been here for over 21 days.  they say (on deepak chopra's 21 day meditation challenge) that it takes 21 day to fully change habits and adjust to a new lifestyle.  those 21 days have been a roller coaster, but i'm not feeling nauseous yet... i'm still hanging on.

speaking of nauseous, i REALLY wanted to blog about our trip to town a couple weekends ago.  (our internet has been down for a week or so).  it was truly amazing in so many ways.  the ride out here is super rough and really bumpy.  we caught the collectivo- which we mistakenly called called the "bus".  we waited for about 30 minutes, watching monkeys swinging up in the trees, when the "bus" showed up... it looked straight out of a mexican border-crossing movie drama.  big truck, two benches on either side, covered top...no frills.  i thought a lot about my mother and grandmother on that ride and how much they would've absolutely hated it.  i'm smiling now even as i write this.  so for the first half hour of the ride i was in good spirits~Amara was on my lap and thought all the crazy, flying-above-our-seat bumps were super fun.  but soon enough my motion-sensitive stomach began to settle in.  i was convinced that i was more than happy to get off and walk the 10 km to town, but patrick's better judgement (at the time i was definitely feeling worse judgement) encouraged me to stay on the ride.  so we did.  i really wanted to take a picture of the collectivo to post, but felt it was slightly inappropriate and didn't want to be an american jerk.
...we spent the afternoon wandering around pto. jimenez... i have to say that the highlight was a chocolate espresso frappachino i got at a sweet little coffee shop that i'd scoped out an hour after we arrived in town in early august.  patrick later told me he was surprised i'd ordered that and said, "i've always thought of you as more of a caffeine fiend than a sweet-coffee person", to which i replied, "what is it about chocolate ice cream and espresso that doesn't scream me??" patrick doesn't drink coffee, so we don't spend much time at the coffee shop at home together... i guess my mama's magic mochas are a little under the radar. 
here are amara and i on our way to the collectivo...

 we went on an epic hike last sunday.  it was the moment that i could breathe out.  i love going hiking on the ku nature trails at home, and really needed to connect with the forest.  don't get me wrong, the beach is absolutely phenomenally beautiful, but i'm a forest girl.  along the way, we hiked up a waterfall...

... up to another waterfall...

... and to the tree-climbing tree!  here's patrick swinging down.  i have yet to attempt it.  this is the rainforest tour that andy, the dad of the family we're living with, takes people on.  this is what he does for a living... best. job. ever. 

the one thing life here is short on is girlfriends.  not that i would EVER want any others than my girls at home, but there are a lot of dudes and not so many ladies (relatively speaking, of course~there aren't many people here).  i did get the opportunity to go to lapa rios for a delicious ginger-tini with terry (mama i'm working for/living with) and some other women who've been here for the month of august.  it was be-au-ti-ful.  i want to take patrick up there to get some video shots for his music... and get another ginger-tini:)

it's been kind of a challenge not having the internet for the past week, but in a way it has been really good for me to unplug and let go of kansas.

wishing you love and light as the leaves start to fall from the trees...

((hibiscus wool dye))

Gathering plant material for dyeing: Blossoms should be in full bloom, berries ripe and nuts mature. Remember, never gather more than 2/3 of a stand of anything in the wild when gathering plant stuff for dying.

To make the dye solution: Chop plant material into small pieces and place in a pot. Double the amount of water to plant material. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour. Strain. Now you can add your fabric to be dyed. For a stronger shade, allow material to soak in the dye overnight.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour.

Strain.

Now you can add your fabric to be dyed (in our case, wool). For a stronger shade, allow material to soak in the dye overnight.

Voila!

((from: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/crafts/crafts-basics/naturaldyes.html))

This was a super fun project that Talon loved.  We talked about sheep shearing and watched a video on youtube.  He had all kinds of questions... I assured him that the sheep remained alive and well after a seasonal shearing.  Then we walked around Sueno Verde and gathered hibiscus flowers from the numerous beautiful plants.  Check out the website above to see what's in your yard and kitchen that you can make a natural dye from!

{prairie girl in the tropics}

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we started school on monday and so far it's going well.  I'm still trying to find the right rhythm but am confident that i will.  all the kids i'm teaching are super sweet and live a simple and beautiful lifestyle here in matapalo.  one of the little girls' mamas did a foreign exchange program in high school and studied in... kansas.  at olathe east.  very close to where patrick and i grew up.  small world!

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i'm definitely missing home a little bit.  i miss my own community and have a new found appreciation for the 'independence' of lawrence.  granted, with that independence definitely comes more struggle and responsibility.  life here is much more interdependent and simple.  everyone in the community helps each other out.  we haven't been out of sueno verde much at all so we're planning a trip to town this weekend to get a little cultural exposure... and some random life supplies:)
i'm finding myself pining over seasonal changes and the festivities, traditions, and foods that accompany them.  one goal i had for this fall was to learn how to can veggies from our garden... but that'll have to wait until next year.  fall is my favorite season and i always find the change from summer to be such a relief. 

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here are some pictures from the last few days...

 delicious tamales hand made by a local family~such a treat!

 howler monkeys!

 p&a off to pan dulce~the swimming beach

 we said goodbye to our new friends, Jake and Akua, yesterday.  they are from the east coast.  we shared some stories, laughs, and beers with them...

Talon and Cayenne

 

{{some projects the kids have been working on}}

 

making butterflies out of seashells~activity for the letter 'b'

 

leaf prints

 

making candles from crayons