It is 4 pm. The sun is finally not melting the roads and the temperature has finally gone down to an agreeable and “fresh” 30 degrees. So, it is rush hour in monkey highway. Our house seems to be located in what looks like a wildlife corridor. While in our previous house we had had … More It’s rush hour in the monkey highway!
Last night we experienced our first serious tremor.
I say serious because we had felt slight tremors before. Both in Alajuela and in Guanacaste. They usually came at night and they felt as if someone had forgotten a mobile in vibration mode on the bed. Like a subtle, almost unnoticeable move. But strong enough that we would wake up. … More Our first tremor
We have now arrived to what will be our home for the next four months. The trip was “almost” uneventful. Almost. Let me explain. We left the central pacific with blue sky and full sun. It was even too hot. But as we were approaching the Osa Peninsula, it suddenly got dark. Let me repeat. … More Welcome to the jungle!
Costa Rica is home to a large number of accredited wildlife rescue centers The other day, on our way back from the Rio Celeste and the Volcan Tenorio National Park, we visited Las Pumas wildlife rescue center. This is the second wildlife rescue center that we have visited since we arrived in Costa Rica in January. … More The bitter-sweet feeling of visiting wildlife rescue centers
As mentioned in the post on home-made Tico food, one of the downsides of strictly following the Tico recipes is that the traditional recipes have an enormous amount of fat in the form of sugar, butter, cheese or milk. Of course, cooking at home has the advantage that one can (1) substitute the original ingredients … More The quest for low-fat, unsweetened food at the supermarket
Home-made Tico food One of the first things that Frank and I decided when arriving in Costa Rica was that we would try to cook using local ingredients only, preferably fresh fruits and veggies bought on the farmers’ market once a week. We also wanted to experiment with preparing local recipes. We had had some … More Learning how to cook Tico style… Or sort of.
Oops! Have we been here already for a month?
After 10 hectic days in Alajuela and more than two weeks doing nada on the beach, I finally have the need to start doing something. I am basically getting anxious because I see the days passing by without accomplishing anything, apart from resting and blogging. I realize that part of the problem is that I am so used to do something and moreover to have to do something that the mere fact of having days without plans is scary. This is a bad sign.
… More Why ‘doing nothing’ feels so alien. A reflection on the first 30 days of the sabbatical.
Earlier, we settled for an understanding of ‘doing nothing’ of not having to do anything that is somehow externally forced upon us. Now that I am writing this, I finally realize that we ended up in the ironic and frustrating situation where ‘doing nothing’ is actually forced upon us. … More When ‘doing nothing’ is frustrating
La semana pasada, cuando íbamos de camino al veterinario con Matilda, al lado de la carretera pasamos un cartel pintado a mano anunciando la venta -a bombo y platillo- de “Mamones transgénicos”. Jesús pensé, esbozando una sonrisa, a saber qué serán mamones transgénicos en Costa Rica…. al tiempo que intentaba explicarle a Frank entre risas … More Mamones transgénicos y maridos de alquiler
A friend recently asked us how did we find the organizations in which we will be volunteering in Costa Rica, which triggered us to write this blog. Here are some of the strategies that we tried and how they worked for us. … More How to find volunteering opportunities in nature conservation
THE FLIP FLOP LIFE 