Storage Locker - Part I

Last month, we made the decision to clear out the storage locker we had in Delta, British Columbia. Before moving to Costa Rica in 2011, we disposed of most of our belongings but kept some things in storage just in case we decided to return to Canada. Six years later, we decided we had no plans to return and it was time to empty the locker. 

Our locker was with U-Pak Mobile Storage located in Delta, B.C. They drop off a container at your house, you fill it up and then they come to your house to pick up the filled container and take it to their storage facility. When you want access to your locker, they will remove it from their storage area and deposit it under a large covered area on their premises. They then return the locker to the enclosed storage area at the end of the day.

Logistics: we decided to allow five days for emptying the locker, two days to get to Vancouver, two days to return to Costa Rica, and one day for shopping in the Vancouver area (hopefully). The reason we chose two days for travel each way is that there are no direct flights to Vancouver. We could have done it in one day but that would have involved changing planes once or twice, possibly hours of sitting around in airports waiting for connecting flights, not counting the flight times, and arriving late at night or even the next day. We would rather be sleeping in a nice hotel room. So our outgoing flight route was SJO to Houston, Texas, and overnighting there. The next day Houston to Dallas to Vancouver.

Cat and house sitting: we chose Vicki Skinner at Loving Your Pet House Sitting. Vicki quickly made friends with Cat. It's nice to go away and not have to worry about house and pets. We highly recommend Vicki.

Car rental: Budget at Vancouver International Airport.

For our first night away, we stayed near Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in Alajuela at the Hotel Brillo Sol, as we had an early flight the next day. This is a great place to stay and so close to the airport. Very reasonable price (they prefer cash). Restaurant and bar - we had a chicken lasagne that was excellent. The property is behind a tall gate and you would not know this lovely property was there unless someone told you about it. 

Our room was to the left of the bench.

Colourful walkway.

Pheasants.

Lounge area.

Wishing well.

Please Stand By

I am currently in Canada where the high temperature was 37C today, which is far hotter then we have encountered in Costa Rica in the last six years.

Normal programming to resume presently.

Snakes, Poisonous Caterpillars and a Refrigerator

Last week, just outside our front gate, we saw a dead terciopelo or fer-de-lance. I guess it was run over by a car. This venomous pit viper is considered the most dangerous snake in Costa Rica. This is a good reminder that jungle wildlife is not so far away from us and we should not become complacent.

In the poisonous insect world, we were invaded by saddleback caterpillars. Here they are chowing down on palm leaves:

Don’t touch!!! Those spikes are urticating hair which can cause some painful skin irritations like burns. They are the caterpillars of a dark brown/beige/black kind of boring looking moth. They're called Saddleback caterpillars for obvious reasons (quote from Claudia).

Acharia stimulae

Limadodidae

Lepidoptera 

Thank you, Claudia Leon (my protozoologist friend) and my husband Lance for identifying these creatures for me. One thing we have learned by living in the tropics is ..... don't touch anything! There is even a tree that is dangerous - the machineel tree. When we visited Isla Tortuga, our guide pointed out a machineel tree and told us to stay far away from it.

Now onto inanimate objects that are not poisonous but could be harmful - in this case a refrigerator. A couple of years ago our neighbours Rose Mary and Tony gave us a refrigerator they no longer used. Our refrigerator is quite small so it was nice to have a full size one, at least for a while. It eventually broke down, wasn't worth repairing and I started using it as a pantry. Our kitchen is small so it was nice to have extra storage space.

This week, the bottom door fell off and then the top. Fortunately, neither of us nor our cat were nearby because those doors are heavy. I couldn't stop laughing, it was really funny. We were going to get rid of it but then I decided to keep it, minus the doors, paint it a dark red and it will be an unusual, quirky pantry. I've removed the ice cube maker and have started sanding the sides.

Here's the refrigerator with the fallen doors, Lance holding the freezer door:

Spring Cleaning Addendum

In my Spring Cleaning post, I forgot to mention that Orlando is bilingual. He is available to help with translation issues. He will accompany you to appointments that you know will be in Spanish and he can interpret for you.

His phone number is 8590-5819.

We had a bit of fun when he was at our house cleaning. It's mango season and this is the big tree on our property. It's loaded but most of the mangoes are very high up. He didn't mind climbing up the ladder and whacking down mangoes with a stick.

Spring Cleaning

We don't really experience "spring" the way people in the northern climes do. Nevertheless, our house needed a thorough cleaning so we'll call it a late spring cleaning.

We hired Orlando, who lives in the Atenas area. He used to work for our neighbors before they moved away and he helped out at our first art show (Atenas Painters Association) so we knew him.

We told Orlando the work we wanted done, negotiated a price (not an hourly rate) and he started two days later. He showed up when he said he would, and provided everything he needed (scaffold, ladder, cleaning supplies, brushes, mops, etc.). The only extras we purchased were lightbulbs and window screening (about $20 USD). 

Here is what we had done:

• Gutters cleaned (especially important here because we do not want standing water where the dengue carrying mosquitoes can breed).
• Entire outside of house washed, including all the wood on the underside of the overhanging roof.
• Outside perimeter tiled areas and patio area scrubbed and cleaned.
• Five inside fabric Roman blinds - they were removed and taken to Orlando's home where his wife cleaned them. Believe me, that must have been hard work because they were stained with mold and water marks and she returned them sparkling white.
• All inside floors scrubbed and cleaned.
• All inside walls washed and cleaned.
• Wood ceilings washed and cleaned. Our ceilings are very high and this is where the scaffold came in. All the wood was cleaned and polished by hand.
• Leaking faucet in shower repaired.
• Water in toilet was constantly running and he fixed it.
• Orange tree pruned and all the suffocating vines on the tree canopy removed. Now the tree is open and receives sun and moisture. Orlando is returning in a month to remove any vines that have started to regrow.
• All basura (garden trash) removed. This included piles of palm leaves at the back of the property and up a hill. The best way to reach them was to machete a path through the bougainvillea from the road. For this job, Orlando brought in a fellow with a big truck and it took two loads.
• Replace three window screens.
• Replace lightbulbs - a lot of the lighting is very high up and neither of us want to climb up a ladder. I went to the hardware store for the bulbs and screening with everything written out in Spanish for me by Orlando.
• All windows cleaned inside and out.
• Four ceiling fans cleaned.

Orlando had a helper for four of the six days of work, in addition to his wife and the guy with the truck. Total man hours came out to around sixty. They worked hard and were always cheerful. Orlando had a work schedule in mind and always told us what he would be doing the next day so we could keep out of their way. We cannot believe the difference this work has made to the house. All the wood ceilings are gleaming. Orlando said the wood is expensive tropical hardwood and deserves to be looked after. To replace any of it would cost a good deal of money. The floors have never been cleaner or shinier. We have hired a housekeeper to come in every two weeks and I am really looking forward to this.

An interesting cultural tidbit: it was me they came to when they had questions, not Lance. So I heard a lot of  "Diana, Diana, Diana". We figure this is because women are seen to be in charge of the household, not the men. Lance was the money man but I ruled the roost. I didn't mind - I'm so indispensible!

We highly recommend Orlando - he can do anything and, as he says, if he can't do it he knows someone who can. His attitude is so positive and he works nonstop. Orlando's phone number is 8590-5819.

Here's Orlando and me - in the background is Orlando's helper and the fellow with the garden waste removal truck.

 

Orlando and his helper cleaning the ceilings:

 

Pruning the orange tree: 

The vines that were strangling the orange tree: 

 

The beautiful wood ceilings after being cleaned:

 

Outdoor ceilings after cleaning:

  

Everything was cleaned, even the small louvered windows:

 

Drying the floors:

 

Motmot Survival

For the last six days we have been having our house professionally cleaned, inside and out. But that will be another blog post.

However, the windows are now so clean that a blue crowned motmot (pájaro bobo here in Costa Rica) flew into one and seriously stunned himself. Our Cat was instantly interested and Lance was quick to shut him inside the house. I picked the bird up from the ground and put him on our hedge to, hopefully, recover. It took about 20 minutes before he seemed more alert. But our Cat was still interested in what was going on outside.

We decided to move the bird to a less periouslous perch so I moved him across the street to a neighbor's hedge, where he promptly flew away. Hurrah! I've never held a motmot in my hands before.

Here's the motmot on the ground shortly after hitting the window. You can see his gorgeous colours. What is missing is the rest of his lovely tail, which looks like a metronome.

 

Here he is recovering on our hedge:

 

Here is a link to more information about this lovely bird.

Haircut, Glasses and Pizza

In the last two weeks, I have had an eye examination by an opthalmologist at Optica Centro Visual, ordered new glasses and picked them up, had my hair cut by Ingrid at Ingrid's Hair Design, and we have eaten pizza twice at the same restaurant with two different sets of good friends.

Optica Centro Visual - we have always purchased contact lenses and eyeglasses from Rigo and Rosa here in Atenas. An eye examination by an opthalmologist can be arranged at their store, which is what I did. Rigo and Rosa helped me select frames and I chose progressive lenses which are also transitional. This means I can see far, middle and close distance just by moving my head up and down, and transitional means they turn into sunglasses when appropriate. This is important for anyone living in the tropics. They are pricy but well worth it and I imagine less expensive then in Canada or the USA.

Ingrid's Hair Design - I have been going to Ingrid for quite a while now. I showed her a picture of what I wanted but, after a consultation with some other ladies in the salon, they all agreed that what I wanted done was not possible with my hair. Ingrid went on line and found the perfect cut for my wavy hair and she was right. Ingrid has scissor skills! One thing I really enjoy at Ingrid's salon is the cold water they use to wash hair ... it is so refreshing.

Photo is me with new glasses and new haircut.

 

Pizza: Last week, we had pizza twice at Pizzeria La Finca in Atenas. First with our friends from France - Claudia and Barry:

 

And, secondly, with our neighbour Sharon and her friends and ours from Washington State ... Linda and Clifford.

 

Both times,  Lance and myself ordered a grande sized pizza ... half with anchovies and half without. I love anchovies but Lance does not.