Costa Rica - Day 3

Sorry for the delay - I'm sure many of you couldn't stand the suspense :) Now without further ado:

Day 3

They started maintenance on the guest house today (the workers looked eager for us to leave so that they could tear things apart). This picture of the shrubbery trimming is telling - the top 2/3 that they are cutting off is a year's worth of growth (probably with some trimming along the way). They will use a lot of the cuttings (with leaves cut off) for stakes and fencing - if they stick them in the ground, they will grow, as we noticed several stakes growing as we were looking at properties!

Oh and today is the day we had to pick which lot(s) we were going to purchase. After talking with Patrick (one of Ventana del Pacifico's on-site employees - he is originally from Canada and lives in his custom house in the development), we learned that our "package" provides us with a price freeze of lot types and standard lot/house combinations until June 2010.

Knowing that the price freeze applied to the land as well, we saw no advantage to purchasing more than one lot now, therefore...

we bought lot #37 in NWA-D (after a brief husband-wife pow-wow)

As you might remember, this is the larger lot (0.56 acres) that backs up to a river/creek (and the protected land 150 feet on either side of it). We liked the "in the jungle" feel. Apparently that is similar to the type of lot Patrick has - he made a comment about the lots being priced at a premium for ocean views, but his thought that people who buy in Costa Rica (as apposed to Hawaii or Mexico or other coastal areas) like the rain forest - that is the distinguishing factor.

Patrick also gave us feedback on the things that would be important if we are planning to rent it (which we are, but hopefully not for too long :) ). At the top of the list was a pool - which Rebecca would certainly like - people like to be able to jump in a private pool to cool off after they have been galavanting about Costa Rica.

Apparently pools also don't add significant cost to the property management - the gardner does most of the maintenance, and a pool company comes out once a month to check the chemical balance, etc.

He also mentioned that the highest demand was for 2 BR rentals, less for 3 BR and very low above that (as couples most often vacation as two couples, rarely more).

After we committed to purchase the lot (and put 20% down - less a $500 credit), Patrick took us to the hotel we were staying at for the next couple of days - Cristal Ballena (http://www.cristal-ballena.com/). All of the main rooms and the pool had great ocean views - it really was beautiful!

We just relaxed the rest of the day - hung out by the pool for most of the morning, had a couple of nutrition bars for lunch since we had such a large breakfast at the guest house, then napped a bit in the afternoon.

We had a wonderful dinner at the hotel restaurant - we each got appetizers (not typical) in order to try as much as possible. I tried ceviche - it was delicious! (Rebecca even tried it and liked it.)

We learned an important lesson when we made coffee to have with dessert in our room - don't drink Costa Rican coffee shortly before bed! I don't know if it was the brand (Don Ramon) or what, but we tossed and turned in bed for hours - this NEVER happens to me.

Tomorrow we have our meeting with the designer to start the house design process. This should be interesting...

Costa Rica - Day 2

It rained overnight last night, and it was pretty much cloudy all day, but the rain held off to give us a good day for looking at lots.

We got a hearty, home-cooked breakfast at the guest house - beans and rice (typical tico breakfast fare), eggs scrambled with other delicious things, toast, and fresh fruit (pineapple, banana, and papaya).

We spent the morning looking at lots in the Chantalis development in 3 different areas:

1. Estates - generally more ocean views and more expensive. You can build house up to 3 stories tall here.
2. 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.
3. 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...):

1. 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).
2. 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!

Costa Rica - Day 1

This was what we woke up to our first full day in Costa Rica - for being the middle of the rainy season, it sure was a beautiful day!

It apparently gets light around 5 am, and it gets bright so quickly that it really is tough to sleep much past 5:30 or 6 am unless you have done a good job of sealing the light out of the room!

After eating breakfast and checking out of the hotel, we had to catch a flight on the local airline from San Jose to Palmar Sur (near the property we were going to visit in southern Costa Rica).

We were told to be at the SANSA offices by 9:00 am for a 9:30 am flight, which seemed a little tight, so we got there by 8:45 am. Turns out that 9:00 am is fine because it only takes about 2 minutes to get your boarding pass and two minutes to go through "security" when your flight is called. Oh - and the flight often doesn't leave until 10:00 or later.

I have been on small planes in the states, but this was by far the smallest "passenger plane" I have ever been on. That is Rebecca and me in the picture with the only other person on our flight in the background. (He apparently is a Costa Rican - a "tico" as they proudly call themselves - and he tried to bring his new chainsaw on the plane with him. I was glad that they did not allow him to carry it on (or even check it), and I had more confidence in the air safety of Costa Rica after that.)

It is also significant to note that with a full flight, they may enforce a maximum baggage weight of 26 lb per passenger. We would have been in trouble if that was the case, but fortunately, we were less than 1/2 full. (I think it should really be weight of passenger and bag together, personally.)

We arrived uneventfully in Palmar Sur and was picked up by our guide for the next 2 days - Don. It was about a 25-minute car ride back to where we stayed - mostly on the coastal "highway" (the highest speed limit we saw was 80 km/h or 50 mph - largely because of the pedestrian, bicycle, and other miscellaneous traffic, I suspect). The last 5+ minutes was mostly uphill it seemed on dirt roads that 4-wheel drive was very helpful on - though we saw a lot of people getting around OK in 2-wheel drive cars.

We stayed at the property developer's guest house - next door to their house - about 900 ft above sea level (though it was only about 10 minutes to the beach, even on bad roads). Their older developments were in that general area, while the newer developments where lots are now for sale are about 15 minutes closer to Palmar Sur and where the new international airport will be going in.

We had a wonderful lunch - chefs on staff get produce from the local markets in order to prepare meals for the day - in this case a cheeseburger (ironic, isn't it - but Nate said the fresh one was much better than the one in the restaurant) with fresh vegetables, french fries, etc.

In the afternoon, we went to look at properties in the nearby development with houses in various stages of construction. We got a feel for things we liked (open space, integrated into the environment) and things we didn't (closed buildings that don't take advantage of the beautiful environment).

Besides construction details, we also got a feel for lot sizes and shapes and views. There were some lots that were about 1/8 acre (because they were developed just after 9/11 when people wanted to be close again), and it was amazing what could be done with relatively little land.

Many of the lots were also on hillsides for views, which made it convenient to design with several stories (some lots are limited to 1-story construction on the front side in order to preserve views for others).

It was cloudy much of the afternoon, but the rain held off for our construction tour, which we were very thankful for.

A wonderful dinner (fresh prawns, vegetables, and cooked sweetened pineapple in chocolate ice cream for dessert - as well as something else I can't remember) and talking into the night finished off day 1.

Rebecca and I also spent some time determining which available lots we would be interested in seeing based upon views, price, size, and location relative to others. But like Don said, the 2-dimensional maps almost go out the window when you actually see the properties.

Things We Learned About Costa Rica

We learned that because Costa Rica is close to the equator, you get right around 12 hours of daylight year round. Because there is no "daylight savings time" it gets dark around 6 pm. For most people, by 7 or 8 pm it seems really late and you have to fight the urge to go to bed (if you choose to...).

We also learned that bugs are not much of an issue once you get up in elevation a little bit. I guess mosquitoes and other biting insects become a problem around twilight down at the beach, but we never noticed ANY up in the mountains. We did see a number of bugs (and the geckos were on patrol for food), but they just don't bite so they really aren't a problem.

Overall, a wonderful first full day in Costa Rica. Tomorrow we get to look at available lots and try to pick the one we want to buy! No pressure - we have all of about 4 hours to look at scores of lots and pick the one we want...

Costa Rica - Day 0

Well, we just got back from Costa Rica - what a trip! Instead of trying to sum up everything in one huge post (because there is a lot!), I decided to summarize the trip by days to provide logical divisions and see it unfold from our perspective. (I would have liked to do this every day, but I did not have internet access, and I was not forward-thinking enough to just do it in Word.)

Without further ado...

Day 0

We flew from Kansas City to San Jose, Costa Rica today (September 28, 2007). I travelled with my wife Rebecca and our good friend Nate. Got to watch a couple of movies on the plane, which was a pleasant surprise (Surf's Up and Evan Almighty). By the time we got in - about 9 pm - it was dark, but temperature was still very pleasant (apparently it had been raining in the afternoon).

Rebecca and I had Chipotle (mmm...Chipotle) for lunch and a "dinner" on the plane, so we weren't very hungry, but we shared a delicious ginger/lemon grass flan (more like sweetened butter - quite good but filling) while Nate had a cheeseburger at the hotel restaurant. (I couldn't believe Nate got a cheeseburger at a restaurant in Costa Rica :) )