For three days and nights I started then stopped writing, blocked by some unseen force that crippled my brain and prevented the words from flowing into my fingers and onto the computer keyboard.
The rain just kept coming, often with such force that it caused vehicles to pull off the pothole-laden streets.
Normally I love the rain. But on [...]
Archive for September, 2008
The Little Prince
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, critters, travel, tagged Costa Rica, frog, prince, rain, rich, santo domingo, symbolism, writing on September 25, 2008 | 7 Comments »
Going to pot-hole
Posted in Costa Rica, housing, travel, tagged jimmy buffet, potholes on September 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Life at Casa Roach has been unusually quiet, leaving me feeling uninspired and too lazy to craft something witty and insightful. I think Tico time is taking hold.
So, here a few fun photos from the weekend, which was spent helping Carlos, aka Dirty Harry, and his amigos fill in potholes on our residential street. It can take months, if [...]
Truth is stranger than fiction
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, housing, travel, tagged .357-Magnum, carlos, Costa Rica, James Frey, Million Little Pieces, Muchacho on September 18, 2008 | 3 Comments »
The pistol-packing Dirty Harry next door almost made someone’s day on the weekend.
Yup. Another shooting on the doorstep.
Carlos told me the news when I bumped into him at the pharmacy, where I was picking up medication for my sick daughter.
His rundown was brief: Bad guys tried to rob him at the store next door. They [...]
Dinner with George
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, tagged Costa Rica, george, Jorge, san rafael, santo domingo on September 17, 2008 | 2 Comments »
After a weekend at the beach, coming home to an iron gate, a barred front door and four locks felt like returning to prison from a three day pass.
The brief taste of freedom left me longing for a life at the beach and the search began almost immediately for an ocean-side home somewhere, anywhere, in [...]
Back to the basics
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, tagged Cahuita, Calgary, central valley, Costa Rica, Heredia, palm roof, paradise, Pura Vida, santo domingo on September 15, 2008 | 5 Comments »
What a difference a few days and change of scenery can make.
We’ve discovered paradise.
It comes in the form of a tiny A-framed cabin, with gleaming dark wood floors and thatched palm roof, situated in the midst of a colourful forest with the lulling sound of the Caribbean Sea crashing against the sand. Monkeys swing through the trees overhead and [...]
Bullets fly in early morning arrest
Posted in Costa Rica, tagged California, Costa Rica, crime, Dirty Harry, guards, gunfight, Internet cafe, police, santo domingo on September 11, 2008 | 4 Comments »
There was a shootout just steps from our front door this morning.
Forget fears about being robbed by the maid, it appears there are far more serious crime worries here in Costa Rica — or at least in our small town of Santo Domingo.
I learned of the incident hours after it happened, having slept right through [...]
Inviting trouble
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, housing, tagged Canadian, Costa Rica, crime, expat, gringos, maid, paranoia, scam, sinister, tica on September 9, 2008 | 3 Comments »
I just hired a maid. I didn’t mean to. Wasn’t looking for one. But apparently, I’ve now got one, twice a week for two hours each day for a total of $10 per week.
I just hope I haven’t opened the door to another scam or something more sinister.
The transaction began in the morning, as a [...]
The roach horrors
Posted in Costa Rica, Self discovery, critters, tagged cockroaches, Costa Rica, devils, fumigators, roachCable Tica on September 5, 2008 | 1 Comment »
We came to Costa Rica for adventure.
Between a rental ripoff, cockroaches and ongoing Internet outages in the month and week we’ve been here it has proven more of a misadventure. This is the real Costa Rica, not the swanky five-star resorts, spotless beaches and crystal blue swimming pools that gloss the pages of travel brochures.
After [...]
