Settling in

Folks,

Well, I'm nearly 2 weeks in the casita now, and I love it more as time goes on. I have absolutely no regrets about deciding to stay. I will always remember my time living here on the coast.

The pic of the week shows the view from the porch. This is fairly much the same view as you get from the windows of the casita too. The ocean looks closer and bigger in real life than it does in the photos. We often have lightning at night, and it's amazing to see the whole ocean lit up. To the left you can see the top of the house with the red roof (very Jack Black).

Day one
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On the first day, I couldn't believe that having been totally stranded at 5pm on a Sunday on the coast of Costa Rica, where I knew no-one, with all my stuff in a car and no place to stay, that by 6pm I could be sorted out with a beautiful place to live for three months. It's funny how things have a way of working out.

I took the first day fairly easily, because I was wrecked. I unpacked some essentials in the morning. In the afternoon I took a nap in the hammock. There is a bush in front of it with flowers, and it was visited all afternoon by hummingbirds. I woke to hear sound of heavily rustling leaves and breaking branches. I know that sound now, and it means monkeys. And sure enough there was a family of howler monkeys in the trees just beside me. I didn't even take a picture, because I expected if it happened day one, it was likely to be a regular occurrence. However, I haven't seen them again. I hear them alright. Anyone who has been here will be very familiar with the very distinctive howl of the howlers.

The casita
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I have unpacked now and made the casita into a home. As I described before, it's a large hexagonal room. I have a couch, a king size double bed and a kitchen area. I've taken the table and chairs outside, and I use the table as my desk. I also eat outside. The bathroom is off the main room, and has a sink, shelves, storage cabinets and a large walk-in shower. Which in this temperature I'm using at least twice a day.

The windows are quite complex. They have wooden frames. There are wooden slats, which you close at night almost like venetian blinds. You can open the area with the slats, and let more light in with just the glass. Or you can open the larger frame, when you open the glass part and the slats part together, and you just have the mosquito screen and can let air in. The only problem is that when you open them all the frames are hinged into the house. You have to clear everything from the counter and sink to make room. And they swing about in the breeze. So I usually just open one over the couch for airing the room during the day.

I'm outside almost all the time anyway on the porch. Except later at night when the amount of insects is incredible, and they're clattering into you a lot. I have air conditioning inside, which I also use only at night. There is no TV, which I don't miss. And no internet, for which I'm still suffering withdrawal symptoms.

Outside the porch follows the hexagonal shape. There is plenty of room. There are two wooden armchairs, where I relax with a beer in the evening. I have moved the kitchen table and chairs out. They comprise my office. I have an electricity extension lead, so I have the laptop out here and speakers for my music.

Then there is the hammock, which I love. The only problem is that the hummingbird bush partly obscures the ocean view. But as a place to go to read my book, and also sometimes with the laptop to write, it's wonderful.

Behind the hammock is a large wooden storage box for my surfboards. Charlie is very anxious for me to try surfing. But after a disastrous attempt one time in Mayo I know I'll never be a surfer dude. Man.

The location
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I'm halfway up a hill overlooking the sea. Charlie's house is further up. Half way between me and the road, and before the real climb, is Charlie's Mexican restaurant, Rancho Sancho, which is my postal address. It's a lovely Mexican restaurant. I've eaten in it twice. However, typically for Costa Rica, there are never any customers.

Further down from the Rancho you come to the main road. It's unpaved. When we've had a few dry days (like now) it's baked so hard that it could almost be very uneven concrete. But when it rains it's like a mudbath. I frequently have mud all up the back of my legs. Walking sometimes is like being on a bike without mudguards.

Walking south you come to the main part of Santa Teresa town, passing two supermarkets, in about 15 minutes. To the right there is my nearest supermarket, Super Costa. Near that there is a really lovely Thai restaurant. Thai is my favourite food, so I'm delighted with it. I had a delicious red curry there last Saturday, and the bill including beer and dessert was around €10. I'm going back there tonight.

About 10 minutes walk north is the place I'm using now for internet. I connect my laptop and download emails and Google Reader so I can catch up on most things. However, the connection is really slow and I can't really download podcasts and even uploading my photos is very slow, so I'm going to check out some other places.

Just down from the Thai restaurant is the beach. It's really beautiful, and it's huge. It's a series of beaches really. Stretching for miles. Some are rocky, and some sandy. It's a big place for surfers. I can often see them from the porch, and when I walked up the beach the other day there are loads.

The sun sets to the north of my view. But I'm hoping this will change over the three months. In Ireland, I always thought that the sun set in one place, but in Costa Rica there is a huge variation between the summer and winder solstices. I remember in Manuel Antonio at Christmas setting myself up to watch the sun set behind the mountain where it had in April, only to watch it set behind an island in a completely different place. As it's July, the sun is heading south, so I'm hopeful I'll get the full sunset before I leave at the end of September. Right now though, I often go down to the beach in the evening to watch it set just on 6pm.
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Well, that's it for this week. I'm sitting on the porch (my office!) as I write. It's just after midday, and it's 31 degrees. And there's this comical huge insect flying around. He's like a big yellow and black beetle. He lifts his shell up, wings come out, and he flies with a noise like he's got a motor. Then he crash lands. Gets up. And tries the whole thing over.

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

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