- Estates - generally more ocean views and more expensive. You can build house up to 3 stories tall here.
- Rutchailo Verde (aka NWA-A named after the seminar they sold our packages at) - generally flatter, mostly in a valley, and less expensive - more of a neighborhood feel.
- El Chiverre (aka NWA-D) - terrain more similar to the estates, but more mountain views and generally cheaper prices.
It was quite an adventure looking at lots, especially since I am from mainly flat areas of the U.S. In order to get from the road to the place on the lot where the best view is, you usually have to go either up or down. The slope is usually good and the wet foliage on top (anywhere from one to 3 feet tall) adds to the challenge and the adventure.
We were warned ahead of time and had brought long pants and closed-toed shoes and socks. We also borrowed Don's organic bug repellent for our ankles. (I don't know if it was the bug repellent or intermittent rain, but I ended the day with no noticeable bites.)
We had a smaller group than normal (8 vs. 14) since we were the last group of the year before the guest house shut down for 3 weeks during the height of the rainy season. This allowed us to all get into one vehicle instead of the normal two.
I think we were the most serious buyers there (Nate came down to get the same deal we got, but knew he would probably not be buying this trip), and it showed looking at lots. We were the ones saying "can you stop here?" or "we want to look at a couple of lots up here."
We certainly got our exercise for the day by lunchtime. Speaking of lunch - did I ever mention that my life is very food-centric? - I am always looking forward to the next meal. Lunch consisted of a good variety of food - baked pork pieces (I don't remember the name), and various other things I can't remember right now. It was all very good, though.
In the afternoon, Don took us down to the beach (Playa Ventanas) - wow! what a beautiful area. The coconut trees grow up to the beach (as does a nice carpet of grass-like ground cover) and the coconuts they drop start to grow new trees.
As 96% of the coastline in Costa Rica is public access (as are all of the waterways), you can just go down to the beach and grab a coconut tree "seedling" to plant at home.
Which brings me to another very important point - the soil in Costa Rica is so fertile that you can drop just about any seed on the ground and it will grow (the only exception is if the plant needs actual "seasons"). This makes it critical to choose what you want growing and keep other things out. We plan to have various fruit trees on our property - starfruits, mangoes, papaya, banana, coconut, and any others that catch our fancy between now and then.
So the beach was nice - amazing views as well as a couple of caves that actually go all the way through a small jungle peninsula. It was mid-tide when we were there, so you couldn't walk all the way through the caves - OK, maybe you could, but the waves were getting quite turbulent in there, so noone was willing to risk it :)
After being there for a while and having some extra time, Don asked us if we wanted to go see a neat waterfall that is not on the normal "tour". Of course, everyone said yes, and off we went.
Apparently the waterfall is on property that used to belong to the developer. Fortunately for us, waterways have public access, so we ccould still visit it. Because of recent rains, the water was really moving (and cold), so we couldn't go as far into the pool as normal, but we enjoyed the natural beauty and got a nice picture of Rebecca, Nate, and I in the pool.
Afterwards we attempted to ruin our dinner at a local tilapia farm where we went fishing, then ate. OK, "fishing" may be a stretch - they put bait on the end of a line attached to a handle for you and you throw it in to the pool they are growing the tilapia in - needless to say it does not take long to catch one.
The appetizers (bocas) we had were a salad, flattened and fried plantain slices (can't remember the name), and fried fish. The fried fish is slightly different than you would see in the states - they still gut the fish, but then they chop it in cross-sections (instead of fillets) and fry everything but the head. So skin, fins, and tail is still on the fish. Don said we had to try a tail or fin as they were like potato chips - he was surprisingly correct.
Rebecca doesn't eat seafood (at least nothing that tastes fishy, which really leaves only lobster), so I was surprised when she tried the fish. I was even more surprised when she liked it - it did not have a fishy flavor because it was fresh - just a few minutes (or maybe hours) from catch.
Apparently the ceviche available in the roadside stands is very similar - they catch the fish (usually Maui Maui) in the morning, make ceviche in the morning, sell it all day, then use any remainder for bait the next day. (If you don't know, ceviche is another boca consisting of chopped up fish that is "cooked" in lime/lemon juice along with cilantro, onion and perhaps other seasonings. It is not heated but the strong citrus juices sort of pickle it, I guess. Rebecca's brother loves it, but it is hard to find in Kansas City because of the general lack of fresh seafood.)
So we demolished the three appetizers, then headed back to the guest house for dinner (after I took a nice dip in the pool). Again, I don't remember exactly what we had for dinner, but it was good! I do remember the bananas foster for dessert, though, which was great even without ice cream.
Nate, Rebecca, and I played a little bit of pool, we grabbed pictures off of his camera (since we forgot ours in the afternoon), and then Rebecca and I spent time deciding which lot(s) we wanted.
We still didn't have complete understanding of the package we bought for $1500 (we were to get it clarified in the morning), so we came up with two options: 1) if we did not have a price freeze on land until 2010, then we would just get a couple of lots and put off building, or 2) if we did have a price freeze on land, then we would get one lot and start the desin process for our custom house.
Our top two lots were (drumroll please...):
- NWA-D, lot 37 - over 1/2 an acre and backs up to a river area. This provides the "down in the jungle" feel that we want (and it is cheaper since it is not an ocean view).
- NWA-D, lot 7o - this lot was more expensive, but potentially provided mountain views in 2 directions (from the top of a ridge). It also had the slope most of the way down into a valley to get a little of that "in the jungle" feel.
Tune in tomorrow to see what happens!
