The Gallant Family in Costa Rica

Gallant Casa

2010-02-24T17:52:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I think we're never finished constructing however here are a couple of shots that our relative, Jules Gervais, took while visiting us in December 2009 and our nephew, Jason Gallant took at Christmas. Most of these shots are taken from the back of the house (from the pool) looking up and one down to the sun terrace and the pool.

I took some pictures from the air while I was flying in a gyro copter at Christmas time. The boys and John are on the rancho roof - can you see them?

When our wall and gates are installed I'll post a picture from the front which changes it all again.

Quepos Vacation

2010-02-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

May 10th we motored south to Quepos, about 4 hours, to the timeshare resort that I traded into. We stayed at the Pueblo Real which was in the heart of a palm oil plantation. It was just outside the town of Quepos, near Manuel Antonio park. We attended the orientation meeting and decided that I would try zip lining with the kids. Although the climb to the zip line was fine - we saw a tree dart along the way and the first zip was o.k. I was absolutely petrified for the rest of the zips! It brought new meaning to the phrase "tree hugger." Never again.... The boys loved it and were even turning upside down as they zipped.

We visited Manuel Antonio park the next day which was really interesting and we saw some white faced monkeys. We drove down the coast past Dominical and turned around at Uvita to head back. It's very beautiful and so unpopulated. We spent a day in the pool at the resort and then visited the marina in Quepos then next day. We understand that it is being built to accommodate those huge mega yachts and will have upscale shopping so we'll see how that progresses. Sunday, we drove home so the kids could finish their last couple of weeks of school before heading out for our next week long vacation up north in early June.

Dad and Grandma Gallant come for a visit

2009-04-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

On a last minute charter deal, my dad and his sister, Marie came for a quick week long visit. This was my dad's first time here and Grandma Gallant's second. With most of our construction projects finished we could all take time to enjoy their visit. They joined us for our Cafe con Leche coffee group and we joined some friends for a pizza night. We took them down to meet friends at Samara beach where we learned how to play Mexican train dominoes. John took my Dad for a quad ride.

We went cashew picking and then learned how to process the cashews. Once you see those pictures you'll understand why they're so expensive! We picked the fruit at Josue's house where we met his father, Victor, wife Cecilia and little boy George. Josue climbed the tree to pick us some Zapote fruit as well. We picked a couple of mangos but the mango crop has not been good this year due to the high winds we experienced in early March. There goes my mango margaritas!

With the cashews, here's how the process goes: The fruit is squeezed for the juice and then the squished fruit can be stewed with brown sugar and brandy for a lovely dessert (especially over ice cream). The cashew nut needs to be roasted over a fire allowing the toxic resin inside to sizzle and steam away until the entire nut is charred. Then quickly douse the flames to stop the roasting process. Next use a hammer to hit the end of the nut to crack it and then pry out your nut. Viola, you have cashews. See our little pile' emphasis on little. It took quite awhile to get a dessert bowl full but they were delicious and we had quite the time learning how to roast them. Our friend Gretchen and her son, Nahim, showed us. See my dad cracking the cashews.

We also went up to our condo lot for a look around and Dad and the boys rode in the back which Dad thought was terrific as he could see everything better. Pretty good for 79 years old I think. The boys had a ball with him. We had the neighbours over for a cocktail party to meet both of them and we went to the Shepherd's for a visit one day too. Before we knew it the week was over and back to the airport we went. Short but definitely very sweet.

Wallace and Laurie visit from Drumheller

2009-04-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

March saw our friends from Drumheller visit. They stayed for a few days before taking a tour in southern Costa Rica. Wallace helped us make a corral for all the puppies as they were starting to escape from the bathroom shower. We went to Barragones beach one day and spent a day in our pool. Unfortunately, both guests were sunburned; Laurie the worst. We also took them on a quad tour which was great fun.

Debbie and Randy visit from Canada

2009-04-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

John's sister Debbie and her husband Randy came for a visit in January. They stayed a week in Samara and a week with us at the house. We took them on a quad trip to San Miguel including riding on two beaches and crossing two rivers. We went to Barragones beach and we hosted a party for them which also happened to be a friend's birthday.

Rescuing the Tourists

2009-04-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

January 6th saw us rescuing a pair of tourists who had driven their small rental car down a side road that was too steep for them to get back up. They hiked about 3 km. back up before they came to our house for help. This is how we met Dan and Flora. We were able to get them out the next day and in turn Dan helped us with the wiring for our security system and our rancho. Here's a few pictures of us as we hike through the mango orchard with them.

Puppies

2009-04-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

In January, a stray dog was laying on our pool deck near death. Austin and Andrew gave her some water and something to eat but she just didn't have the strength anymore. In the morning we gave her a bit more and then Austin and I proceeded to clean her up. The poor thing was so malnourished that we could see every bone. She was covered in ticks, fleas and lice. After picking everything off and spraying her down we showered her and let her rest. Within about 3 days she was much improved and I named her Diamond. After all, a dog is a man's best friend and diamonds are a girls best friend; so it made sense to me!

As her health and weight improved I suppose it was no surprise that we found she was pregnant and so 3 weeks later she delivered 8 puppies. She delivered the night of Frida, February 13th and luckily she chose our pool shower which was just the right size for her and easy to clean. Surprisingly, they were healthy and didn't look at all malnourished and Diamond was holding her own. With such a large litter to feed, we lost the runt a week later but all 7 others are alive and well. Diamond did develop eclampsia and I had to race to Nicoya to get her some calcium which helped her completely. She is now gaining weight and weaning her puppies as they are 7 weeks old now. Two of them will be delivered to their new homes tomorrow and we are keeping one; Austin named her Lucy. She's the black one in the pictures. The others will be off to their new homes soon we hope! We've really gone to the dogs - who would have guessed that we'd have 9 dogs and a cat????

December tales

2008-12-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

December has been a really busy month so far and we still have Christmas and the New Year to go.

After the Papagayo winds finished, John and Josue were able to fix the roof tiles that had leaked during the rainy season and get the yard tidied up from all the leaves, branches, etc. We had a small tremor one night and that "shook loose" a huge spider (see picture). Apparently earthquake tremors bring out spiders - who knew??

Josue and John took the boys on a fantastic hike through the mango orchard and up to the top of a huge hill where they took some great view shots.

I was fortunate enough to meet an artist, from the U.S., who is in Samara for a year's sabbatical, whom I hired to paint a jungle mural on the cone of our rancho. It turned out just fantastic and we even had him add our cat, Shadow, to the mix.

Meanwhile, John hired two welders to complete the railings and so other than electric, we are finished that project. This was very timely as we were preparing for our annual Christmas party and we certainly needed a railing before inviting a horde of people.

Austin helped me with our usual round of baking as we make at least 10 different cookies, squares and tarts for the festive season.

Our friends, Fred and Mary kicked off the Christmas season with a wonderful party on the 13th which saw us staying out until midnight. We could hardly believe it ourselves! We hosted a huge Christmas party with our next door neighours on December 20th with over 50 guests in attendance. When you're all ex-pats it just seems natural for all of us to get together, hence the large numbers for a party. Everyone brings something special so we had a wonderful assortment of dishes and desserts.

Meanwhile, school has been hectic, plus the shopping and we've acquired a dog. First the dog story and then a shopping tale.

A beautiful tiger stripped dog (part pointer) showed up one day and just stayed. We weren't sure what to do with him but he is really well trained and has such a gentle disposition. He must have been someone's dog but he didn't leave so we bought some dog food and a dish and he seems very happy to be here. Even I like the dog and that's saying quite a bit for those who know me. We've named him Buddy but I think he's been called Tigre (tiger in Spanish) as he seems to perk up when we call that name. Anyway, he only barks when vehicles go by or people on foot so he's a terrific watch dog and everyone in the neighbourhood thinks he's top notch. Anyway, I wonder if he "just shows up" then perhaps one day "he'll just disappear" but of course we hope not as we want to keep him. He seems well cared for and doesn't have ticks and fleas, etc. John has talked to the vet about him so he'll be looked at to prevent future troubles as a tropical climate can be hard on dogs. We think he's our Christmas present.

Now the shopping adventure. We were in the very newest store in Nicoya, shopping for a turkey (always a challenge here in the tropics) and the store clerk who was helping me gave a startled cry and I jerked back my shopping cart only to find that I had run over a snake! Now that move didn't make it very happy. I've gotten a lot better about not fearing "things" and so I only gave a small shriek while calling Andrew and John. Andrew came over and because he's always fully clothed in jeans and socks and runners he started playing with the snake and it was all twined around his foot. Meanwhile all the ticos were gathering in the store looking at the snake but making no moves to remove it from the store. It was only a small "garter" type snake but in the end, John had to grab it behind the head and take it out of the store. The security guards with all their uniforms and guns were no help at all. Anyway, I'll never say I've seen it all as we never know what we're going to run in to; literally apparently!

We're off to Nicoya again because we've been invited to a tica wedding on the 27th and I must find a wedding gift. I think this is quite an honor and I'll post some pictures and write about a Costa Rican wedding in my next post. The fellow who was lead construction foreman of our rancho project and his wife have just had a baby so we need a baby gift and our weekly worker has invited us to their place next Sunday.

John and I are hosting Christmas dinner for 14; neighbours and friends who all help out with the dinner so that's the next big event on the calendar and I'm glad to report that we did get a turkey despite the snake incident!

Our next exciting news is that John's sister Debbie and husband Randy are coming for a visit on the 10th of January and I'm hopeful that my sister, Polly, can get a flight for January as well.

So, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all from the Gallant's.

Preparation for the Winds of Change

2008-11-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

In Costa Rica, we experience the Papagayo winds each November which mark the change from the wet season to the dry season. It is a unique experience for prairie folk such as ourselves as suddenly the gale force winds begin and last anywhere from 3 to 10 days. Unfortunately for us we got the 10 day version this year beginning the night of November 17 and ending on the 27th. I would argue that we still had moderate winds today and we don't know how tonight will go but I can say with assurance that we've had enough already!

The picture of Josue trimming back our palm tree is in preparation for those winds. By making the tree much narrower it survives the onslaught much better. You can see the boys carrying up the fronds to the street level for burning. They're great helpers but they sure weren't keen on all the leaf clean up after the winds. These winds dry the leaves right off many of the trees so they can enter their dormant state; some of which will flower later in the dry season.

There's a picture of Andrew holding one of the flower pods that come off the palm tree that has dried and he has burned our names into using a magnifying glass and the rays of the sun. Ingenious, isn't he?? He made a "ship" for us and each of our neighbours. He's holding the S.S. Gallant and the S.S. Orofino. Austin is peaking out from behind.

My bougainvilleas are starting to bloom again and some other periennial type plants have died off as the season changes. We no longer have to run our dehumidifiers and there are considerably less "biting" bugs although other types seem to take their place but are mostly annoying not itchy!

We still have very cloudy weather but no more rain and we're hoping that the sun will join us full time soon. To all our American friends - Happy Thanksgiving and we'll be thinking of you as we join our American friends for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow evening.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

Well you can't have Halloween without at least a couple of decorations and a cake and some cookies to mark the celebration. Technically Costa Rica does not celebrate Halloween but rather All Saints Day on November 1st. The Spanish name for Halloween is "la vispera de todos los santos " which literally translates to the day before all saints day.

Austin had seen a picture of a giant pumpkin shaped cake in a magazine and we attempted to make it. Well, it didn't quite turn out the same but not a bad effect for a first try. We got the color pretty good though. The top layer was orange chocolate swirl and the bottom cake was rum pound cake. We didn't hear any complaints at the cookie/cake party we hosted Halloween afternoon so it was a success in the end.

Along with my three garden decorations you can't leave out our Halloween cat, Shadow, so her picture graces our site as well in honor of her holiday. She seems rather unaffected by it all...

Summer/Fall in Canada 2008

2008-10-26T10:01:00.001-07:00

Summer in Canada was action packed with the roving Gallant's traversing the province north and south. John and I attended Big Valley Jamboree and from there we stopped in Sylvan Lake to visit the Jackson's. The pictures of us around a campfire are from our visit to Sylvan Lake. The boys along with their son, Joel, went to the waterslides one day as we were having a heat wave!

From there we went onto Drumheller to visit the Holmen's and then onto Pincher Creek where the boys went to summer camp. We saw Deb and Randy (John's sister and husband) and some of their family and even took Grandma Gallant down for a visit to view their spectacular new home. On one of our many trips to Pincher Creek we stopped in Airdrie to visit my second cousin Anne Marie Wood who is 91 and charming as ever.

While the boys were at camp, John and I zipped to Kelowna to visit Brian and Sharon and my friend Deanna. The wineries were terrific as usual and our stay was great fun and wonderful weather.

When in Camrose we stayed with Grandma G. and when in St. Albert we stay with our friend's the Henderson's. See Andrew playing Rockband with their son Glen and a picture of Polly and I. The boys enjoyed Rockband so much we bought them one for Christmas and it made it home safe and sound!

In late August, I spent a week with my sister Polly which allowed me time to have coffee with my previous boss, lunch with the ladies I used to work with and dinner with some HIM colleagues plus some shopping of course. At the end of this week, Polly and I joined my long time friends and colleagues for a summer BBQ at my friend Chris Houston's house.

We visited my Dad and Pat in Bawlf along with my niece Amanda and newphew Brian and his wife Amanda (see picture of Dad, niece Amanda and Brian's wife Amanda). See the picture of their little boys sitting outside at Dad's - very difficult for them to sit still but they tried. After all, they said they were shooting coyotes - lucky break for all of us that they were on the case! Pictured left to right is Marcus, Xander and Josh. Josh and Marcus are Brian and Amanda's two boys and Xander is niece Amanda's little boy.

September saw less traveling around the province but tons of activities. Early in September I got the bug to call my high school classmates and see if we could get together later that month. It all came together and 16 out of 30 met at the ageless Chateau Alice in Camrose for a fun night of tales, drinks and laughs. (Group photo shows the ageless class of '77)

Meanwhile they boys worked for a bit with their uncle Bill on the family farm and John helped with harvest. See the picture of nephew Curtis testing the grain for dryness and a picture of John, the boys, Curtis and sister Debbie out by the barn.

I attended my annual Nait class dinner at the Creperie in Edmonton and although we have tried various other restaurants over the years, we love the Creperie the best.

My sister, Polly, hosted a ladies lunch and graciously invited me as a guest which was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and just in time to be picked up for our evening's festivities at Darren and Shantel's house. Angela was there too which was wonderful as I worked in the past with both Shantel and Angela.

Mid September, John and I attended Rhonda's surprise birthday party on the train to Stettler which was something on my "do do" list. It was a murder mystery, dinner at the hall in Big Valley and train ride to Big Valley and back to Stettler. It was terrific and I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't done it before. We had the most spectacular day - 25 degrees C and such gorgeous fall colors. We couldn't have picked a better day.

One of the Sunday's we attended Body World's at the Science center in Edmonton which was absolutely fascinating but understandably not everyone's cup of tea. It was certainly a unique way to have an anatomy lesson though.

We had a wonderful dinner at my friend's Donna and Robert Sired's house along with their two daughters Jennifer and Taylor and surprise guest Wayne.

September also saw the start of school for the boys and we were pleased to learn that Robin Moffatt would be our liason teacher this year so smiles all around the Gallant household.

Before we knew it, it was time to pack those 8 suitcases all right on the 50 pound mark and head on out. The check in personnel were most impressed with my "dead on" suitcase weights. Me too!

We thank everyone who hosted us, fed us sumptuous dinners and general hospitality as we had a myriad of wonderful dinners and visits with friends and family throughout our 10 week stay.

Birthday Bash at Carillo Beach

2008-10-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

On July 19, we celebrated Andrew and Austin's 15 and 13th birthdays respectively on Carillo beach. Austin shares his day with Captain Rob so there were dual parties making for a large party. The boys enjoyed their day; playing badminton, boce ball (see the boys with Larry G and George S) and visiting. Everybody brought something to eat and drink and of course we had cake; lots of cake! Captain Rob's cake was especially festive displaying his sport fishing occupation. John, Majic and Mark enjoy the festivities too.

Our friends, Majic, Anna and Daniella, from San Jose joined us for the weekend and gave the boys new shirts. The boys display their new shirts in one of the photos.

Canada Day at Carrillo Beach

2008-07-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here we are with friends, both Canadian and American, celebrating Canada Day. It was a terrific afternoon with no rain until it got dark, which was perfect timing. Everyone brought a nibbly and drinks plus Larry G. brought his boce ball set and large Canadian flag.

John, dressed in Canadian red and white is with our American neighbour, George Stone and next to George is Bill, from Calgary. Joe, wearing the Canadian umbrella hat and his wife Betsy (Canadian kerchief around her neck) are standing with our latest Canadian additions to the community; Colin and Kathy from BC.

Austin is playing boce ball with the guys (Larry G, Shannon and James) on the beach and both boys are posing with Joe and Betsy and Carol (another Canadian).

Most of us Canadians are in the picture with the flag for a group shot.

Happy Canada Day to all!

Boys Go Deep Sea Fishing with Jack

2008-07-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

When our friend Jack Lischka, from Alberta, visited us in June, the boys and John went fishing for a day. Here they are on the open seas in all their fishing splendor (and their catches too)!

Lisbon

2008-06-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

We spent the last two days in Lisbon but stayed in a hotel just outside in a small suburb called Loures. The hotel property was filled with citrus trees and we ate our fill of oranges and greatly admired the lemons. We dined in a Chinese restaurant both nights before our departure which was a pleasant change.

On Thursday, we drove into Lisbon and I conducted a walking tour of the Monastery of Jeronimos and the Ajuda Palace. In the Monastery are the graves of Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry, the Navigator. The palace was once the royal palace and now houses the Ajuda library. We didn't know how far the palace was but the hike kept us warm and it was down hill all the way back so much easier going.

We had a picnic lunch in the park where we met a Canadian soldier who was backpacking through Europe. Right across was the River Tejo and the Monument to the Discoveries which was designed to commemorate the Age of Discoveries; the central figure is Prince Henry the Navigator, who founded the Sagres School and was the pioneer of the great discoveries made by Portugal.

Although it was a nice day, 20 degrees Celsius with sun, cloud and rain, we just never warmed up and were first in line the next morning to drop off our rental car and get on that plane home.

Antonio Pinto's house

2008-06-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of John's friend, Antonio Pinto's, house where we stayed. Adelie and Chico hosted a BBQ for us and a bunch of their friends. In one of the pictures, you'll see the local padre has stopped in to say hello to us. Another photo shows the wine vines strung up over the driveway. Unfortunately they are looking poorly due to all the rain. They make their own red and white wine and last years wine was just fine so we're in good shape for tasting.

A picture of the beautiful creek shows the rushing water that is just below their house.

North to Amarante

2008-06-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

We spent 3 days in Amarante visiting friends and touring the city. The weather here was quite miserable; cold and raining however the city was lit up beautifully at night and our walks through town kept us from freezing. Look at our large group that walked through town one evening to see the lights. Adeli, Chico and their daughter Bia have a large number of friends and on most evenings, after their dinner, walk together for a couple of hours or so. Ambitious bunch.

Hanging out at the Club

2008-06-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots of the boys with their friends; us visiting Brian and Sharon, Fred and Mary at their apartment; a view of the large pool from their balcony; and Andrew with staff member, Bruno. It actually looks sunny in a few of these pictures. This will be a fond memory as we move to the cooler north.

Brazilian Night

2008-06-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

We all had a fun evening watching the Brazilian dancers and because our table of 8 was right next to them, many of us were seconded to dance as well. Look at that hair fly!

Hiking the cliffs to old town Albufeira

2008-06-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of us hiking the hills to Albufeira from our club. It's always fun to climb and the boys remembered this from years past.

One of the pictures is a look back towards our club. The cactus and other lovely flowers are in bloom along the way.

Boys in the Pool , Gardens and sea at CPO

2008-06-24T09:22:00.001-07:00

From the lobby in the club you can view folks in the swimming pool; well, mainly their legs. However, I asked the boys to swim down so I could recreate a few of the pictures we did 4 years ago. They also posed for me with their friends and the children's statue.

Portugal in May

2008-06-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the Gallant family vacationed in Portugal for the month of May. We spent three weeks at our timeshare in Albufeira at Clube Praira da Oura in the Algarve. The last picture is a view from our apartment out to the sea.

The word Algarve is derived from the Arabic Al-Gharb, meaning West. This is Portugal's southern most province. For a period of two weeks we were joined by our friends Brian and Sharon, from Kelowna, and Fred and Mary, from Calgary/Costa Rica. Although the weather did not cooperate - one of the worst springs on record - we did manage to have a good time.

Here are a few pictures of us touring out to the west coast to see the furthest tip Cape de San Vicente and then some pictures of our tour east to Faro where we visited one of the old cathedrals (where the storks nest) and the surrounding old palace full of orange trees. Look at the one shrine done in skeletons. There is also a chapel of bones (Carmo Church) which we did not visit. The purple flowering trees were really spectacular which the pictures don't really do justice to.

We visited Silves which is a very old town formerly the capital of the Algarve. Here there is a wonderful old cathedral (Se) and Moorish Castle with a huge cistern. Much of it is being reconstructed (interior) so basically you just walk on the inner ramparts and take in the surrounding views. Eventually they will have reconstructed some of the inner spaces and of course a "coffee" house for tourists to dispose of a few more euros!

For our last week, we ventured to northern Portugal, to a town called Amarante where we visited some friends. There was no heat in the house here and it was a mere 9 degrees celsius when we arrived. Considering we have little to no warm clothing I, particularly, was a frozen popsicle! The incessant rain has ruined their cherry crops and the wine vines don't look too healthy either! This is more serious in my opinion. As always we consoled ourselves with the national green wine (vinho verde), port wine, pate and delicious varieties of cheese. You can never go wrong here.

I made the boys go in the pool at the club because four years ago when we were there we lost our camera on the way home and have no pictures; therefore I made them recreate many of the scenarios from before. I just love the one of them holding hands with the children statue. They were most cooperative for their mother!

Our routing took us on a night flight from San Jose to Madrid with a small layover and then a short flight of one hour to Lisbon. Here we rented a car and drove down to the Algarve. The highways are a dream especially coming straight from Costa Rica however they are toll highways and we spent half the amount on tolls as gas.

We had various adventures this month including an incident with the Manager of the Club; the Portugal police and our sons in regards to a wrongful accusation of theft from the video arcade. The boys were out of their minds with worry that day considering it was the only day we left them by themselves and we were not around for all this excitement. John had offered, or I seconded him - can't remember which, to drive the ladies around to shop for pottery. Needless to say when we arrived home and the boys were full of tales about theft and the police; we were invited to visit the manager. What fun! Anyway, it was all a big mistake and along with their apologies we and our entire group were invited to a lovely theme evening - Brasilian night. Wait till you see those pictures!

The next excitement was that I lost my watch - not serious but annoying and last but not least we discovered my VISA number had been compromised. Keep in mind, I still had the card but the happy thief was busy charging up delights such as i pod tunes, development software, yahoo voice and of course, an escort service. Charming! Luckily, John's number was not compromised and they were able to reinstate his number so it was easier to finish the trip without a lot of hassle going to banks, etc. So, these adventures along with my chattering teeth ensured I was the first one to the boarding gate to go home.

When we landed in San Jose, the sun was shining and of course we were so warm and then our friends told us how we had just missed 8 days of solid rain and the worst tropical storm (Alma) in 120 years. Real sorry we missed that! We got in on the clean up at home so didn't get out of it entirely.

Anyway, we are back home catching up on "stuff" and will be back to Canada July 27th.

Austin Pepper Seed Strikes Again

2008-04-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Austin is starting a whole new crop of peppers in preparation for the rainy reason. If a seed doesn't grow, he takes it out and puts it in water so it will sprout first. He never gives up! He has his Auntie Cynthia shopping for more varieties. He also insists that I use them in all my cooking! Anyway, he quite enjoys his gardening; me - I'll stick to roses!

Here are a couple of shots of his new crop. We use the washed out milk containers for his nursery which works very well.

Visit to Tamarindo Beach

2008-04-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Pat, was visiting Costa Rica and one of her stops was Tamarindo beach which is about 2 hours north from us. We went to her hotel for the day to visit and collect our "Canada package" of goodies. One of the items were jeans for John which to all concerned was a quite a relief as he was resembled either a vagabond or a rock star, depending on how you viewed his jeans (or what was left of them!)

Here are some photos of Austin doing his back flip into the pool and Pat and her friends. I think you can see Andrew in the pool in the background in one of the shots.

Sun patio is complete

2008-03-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

We finally received our wrought iron table for the sun patio and it was definitely worth the wait.

The chairs were stock but we had to design the table to match the space. The company in San Jose did a fabulous job and we just love entertaining on that level.

John set up our huge umbrella which can swing directly over the table for shade but it wasn't set up when I took this picture. My bougainvilleas are still in bloom although not as full as they were in December. They just took your breath away then but they still add some color at the end of the dry season.

Rancho Construction

2008-02-20T09:24:00.000-08:00

This is what we've been waiting for! The Rancho; our covered patio that we can enjoy the view to the sea during the rainy season. The rancho will connect our coffee patio to our garage. In the first picture you can see our little patio and the space over to the garage that will be filled in.

Ourarchitect, Celso, designed the rancho and obtained some of the permits in the fall. John obtained the remainder of the permits in our municipal town of Hojancha and ground was broken on January 21st. The artchitect was on hand for consultation and our lead guy, Randall provided the materials list.

The crew technically started on the 23rd I think, but John had already started digging out the wall and area for the columns. This is the fastest crew around and on day 20 we are already at the roof stage. Amazing for here; simply amazing!

You can see from my look standing on the roof that I'm nervous but the view was fabulous!

Well, a bit more progress has occurred. I'm updating this on March 24 and you can see that we've been working on the bottom level; digging out the earth and finishing the columns. The cone roof is now finished and the new front entrance has started. We can already cross over to the garage from the house and it's just so convenient. The fun for me will be picking out the new furniture -speaking of which I will post a picture of our new table on the sun patio. It's beautiful if I do say so myself!

Here is a picture of the broken tile floor being laid out. We will have a large star in the center of the columns and a smaller one behind it near the front entrance. A small alf sun is planned for the back door entrance. The view from below is quite spectacular and should blend quite seamlessly once the painting is complete. The photo of Josue shows the last of the old tile floor being removed from the old coffee patio.

The tile floor is now complete and the new front entrance as well.

Polly and Donna's Escape from the Frozen North

2008-02-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

What a great surprise! In late January, my sister, Polly and one of my best friends, Donna hopped on a cheap charter and came for a week long visit to CR.

Our itinerary was very full and the week just flew by. They arrived on a Monday night to Liberia airport which is about an hour and a half from our house.

Here's a couple of pictures from Tuesday evening when we had sunset celebrations at our Samara lot. We then went onto a lovely dinner at our friends, the Shepherd's who live very close to our Samara lot.

On Wednesday we had girls day at Barragones beach. No sighting of Mel; it was an extremely quiet, private day on the beach.

Donna and I went shopping on the Thursday to Nicoya while Auntie Polly was the substitute gym teacher for the boys that day. This evening we joined our friends Mary and Fred and a host of other folks for a cocktail party at Las Palmeras. By now, the girls' heads are spinning from all the people they have met and their names!

On Friday, both Donna and Polly took the Wingnuts Canopy tour - see them getting ready to be harnessed up with their cute tour guide John. That evening we had friends over for cocktails and then had dinner at Shake Joe's on the beach; compliments of Donna.

John took Donna on the Saturday to Isla de Pajaros in Palo Verde National Park where she saw many species of birds. As they are migratory in nature, many of them will be gone by March so it was a great opportunity to see them. Our family went in December so here are a couple of pictures from that tour. Polly and I had ladies lunch with Sherry on Saturday and that evening we all went to Rancharlo's for dinner and to hear our friend, Franz play his saxophone.

Sunday, Donna and I went down to Carrillo beach for the morning and that evening we all went to our neighbours for the Superbowl party.

Monday morning was pack up time (you should have seen all of Donna's shopping - she's a real asset to our economy here!) and then off to the airport.

The week went by too fast but it was so terrific to see both of them even for a short while.

Visit to Barragones Beach

2008-02-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

We all decide to venture to Barragones Beach where Mel Gibson has property. Lucky for Jim and Yvette, they got to see Mel as he came down to the beach on his quad to check on the set up for his evening beach party. I'm not sure what happened to our invitations but we didn't get them!

The picture of Bryce and Tina is right next to where they were setting up for the beach party. The boys enjoyed the surf and built a "crab emporium".

We were also lucky enough to see the Howler monkeys as they passed over us in the tree tops.

Wildeboer - Jackson visit to CR

2008-01-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

Jim and Yvette Wildeboer and their son, Tyson ventured to Costa Rica for 3 weeks over the Christmas season. Yvette's sister, Tina, husband Bryce and children Melissa and Joel joined them along with Bryce's parents, Irene and Jim Jackson.

We visited Camaronal beach where the boys enjoyed the surf. This is the black beach that we see from our house. We even watched over a hatch ling turtle as it made its way to the sea.

Further on, we tried to have lunch at the Monkey Bar atop Punta Islita but alas it was closed, therefore, we drove on to San Miguel and had lunch at the Blue Pelican.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

This year we finished up the renovations by December 15th and we got busy decorating our house for Christmas. We had a joint Christmas party with Sherry and Larry for all our friends and neighbours on the 22nd. Our friends, Majic and Anna and daughter Daniella stayed with us for Christmas which was great. Along with the Wildeboers, Jacksons and our neighbours, Larry & Sherry, George and Elaine, we were a grand total of 20 for Christmas dinner. We even had turkey - 2 of them to be exact. It really felt like Christmas this year and everyone had a fabulous time. Some of us took the boys to the beach on Christmas night for a beach bonfire which was fun although the Canadian boys (our visitors) were a bit nervous of the crabs as they were all heading out to sea and the beach was just crawling with them!

Here's a few shots from Christmas and the kids with their loot.

Also, one picture of Shadow leaping inside the Christmas tree the day I put it up. Luckily, she didn't bother with it again and so I was able to decorate it without incident. She likes to sleep under the tree on the tree skirt just like Maggie did last year.

One picture of the Gallant family as we don't take those too often and one picture of our new wrought iron chairs on our sun patio. George lent us a picnic table for Christmas day and about 8 folks ate their dinner out there. Our table is on order and hopefully will arrive this spring sometime. In the foreground you can see my bougainvilleas blooming; they were just beautiful for their first year.

Back Home

2007-11-26T14:45:00.001-08:00

The weary travellers make it back to San Jose. We stayed the night and caught the bus home on Monday.

A couple of shots of the new landscaping in the front of the house.

Visiting Friends and Relatives

2007-11-26T14:29:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture of my nephew Brian and his boy Marcus and his niece. One of my Dad and Patsy; Austin with Glen Henderson; one of me and the boys with my friend Blythe and her daughter Megan and one of the boys with my Uncle Bernard Rostaing. This was the last visiting we did before heading home on August 11.

Fall 2007 Happenings

2007-11-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

The time has just zipped by since our return mid August. The boys started school early because we want them to finish by the end of April; in time for our trip to Portugal in May.

John is continuing with the house projects and I'm the paint consultant. So far, our painter, who works for us three days a week has completed our bottom level and all of our main bedrooms. We are now working in the main living area and it's quite a disaster zone. Anway, progress is being made. Our window bars are made but require painting before installation so that remains on the "to do list". Our new wrought iron chairs have arrived for the sun patio but we need to order the table in San Jose. We'll probably make a trip in December for that.

Andrew wants to take guitar lessons so we'll buy him a guitar when we go to San Jose as well. On the weather front we've had an excessively wet rainy season. We had 16 days straight of rain, fog and cloud but then it ended and returned to a more normal pattern of sun in the day and a bit of rain at night. We were starting to feel like ducks! Next up for excitement were the five earthquake tremors on November 5th. We prairie people were ready to run for the street. John moved our cars out of the garage up onto the street after the 3rd shock. The first four were about 15-20 minutes apart with a loud sonic type boom preceeding them. We thought they were over and then the last one hit an hour later and it seemed to be the severest to me but that is my opinion. The only thing that moved was the pile of DVD's sitting on our coffee table but still what an experience. We are no match for Mother Nature and she certainly can let you know. Apparently these tremors are quite common here but they were new to us and I was scared!

The next night, the winds of change started up with a venegeance and these usually blow for about three days which they did, dying down on the 9th of November. This marks the change of seasons and we are now in the dry season with the sun shining every day and the odd shower.

Next on the calendar was my birthday weekend which was nice and sunny and our friends from San Jose visited. We went to the beach twice and in our pool, had a BBQ and ate cake of course. We had some more high winds the night of the 15th and all day the 16th but since then it has been quite calm. Gives us a chance to pick up all the leaves that are whipped off the trees, dry as dust, when the wind blows.

This weekend, we've been bothered with a pasote (unsure of the spelling) but an animal that is brown in color, has a racoon ringed tail and a long snout. When I was floating in the pool Saturday and Austin was in his room on the computer, he ate our bananas. When I came up I saw the remains and knew it wasn't our kitty. I had been suspicious of something eating our neighbours cat food but couldn't catch it. But I saw it again on our sun patio last evening and in fact while I was typing this message he poked his nose in our back door again! I shooed him away, brave soul that I am.

John and Andrew went on an all day quad trip all the way down the coast to Mal Pais and back yesterday. They were dusty and dirty but two happy campers. Austin and I held down the fort and baked brownies.

Will try and post pictures when I have a chance.

Visiting Friends

2007-10-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

Throughout the rest of August we visited friends and former business associates. Here's a picture of the S & D building that was recently constructed along with John's former assistant Linda and her husband Larry.

Austin is pictured with our former nanny, Meriam and her daughter Rochelle.

While in Camrose, my friend Margo, her son, Grayson and mom, Alice visited us at Grandma Gallant's.

Big Valley Jamboree

2007-09-24T13:18:00.001-07:00

Big Valley Jamboree is a premier country music festival held every August long weekend in Camrose, Alberta.

Two of our ex-neighbours from St. Albert, joined us for the festival this year. Claire is in the picture next to John and our friend Cora is sitting with her friend Tyna on the right and Claire's friend Shirley on her left.

Each morning we would take a little road trip before we gathered for the festival at lunch time. This year we stopped at my cousin, Marilyn Nordin's. In the garden photo, are my cousin Marilyn and her family plus my sister Polly and her friend Terry. Thanks to the Nordin's for a wonderful morning!

Visit to Pincher Creek and the boys go to Camp

2007-09-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

From Drumheller, we made our way to Pincher Creek where John's sister, Debbie and husband Randy Boldt live. Their youngest son, Jonathon, was home for the summer from University and he's in the picture next to Andrew where we are celebrating their birthdays.

Debbie and Randy have just completed building a lovely new home in Pincher Creek and we sure enjoyed seeing it and staying with them. The boys celebrated their 12th and 14th birthdays just before they headed off to camp. They had a wonderful time.

We didn't want to leave but time was running out and we needed to get back to the Camrose area for Big Valley Jamboree. This was our last major event before we flew home in August.

Visit to Drumheller

2007-09-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

After the family wedding in Forestburg we stopped in Drumheller to see our friends, the Holmen's. They farm just outside of Drumheller very near Wayne, AB. The views from their properties are absolutely beautiful.

We had a lovely lunch with Myrtle Holmen (mother to Lanny and Wallace) before we left for Pincher Creek. From left to right in the photos are: Myrtle Holmen, Laurie (girlfriend of Wallace), Wallace, the Gallant's and Lanny on the end. In the second picture, Lanny's wife Beverley is behind Andrew and Austin. Austin is giving Wallace's dog, Raven, a belly rub.

Shadow joins our family

2007-09-21T13:09:00.001-07:00

After the death of our cat, Maggie we were very anxious to find another kitty to love. Our neighbour, Sherry, found us this cute little bundle of fur in the town of Samara.

Andrew named her Shadow and she is a barrel of fun. She races around when she first wakes up and has a big sleep in the afternoon. The boys made her a jungle gym (upper floor where she pulls and tugs on her string and the bottom floor where she sleeps. Isn't she the cutest???

Austin Pepper Seed

2007-09-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Austin, aka Austin Pepper Seed, is here showing off his latest crop of peppers. We have scrunchy peppers (some are hot and some are mild - we don't know the real name of them), bell peppers, jalapeño peppers and small, multi-colored peppers (not sure of their name either but Austin calls them pepper bombs). He's very proud of his peppers and we're very proud of him that he's taken such an interest in growing them. He starts many of them from seeds and currently he is trying to grow:
- cerrano chile
- banana peppers
- habanero
- poblano
- gypsy
- normal chile (like the slogan from the restaurant Chile's)
and one more muy picante chile that we don't know the name of.

One thing we know for sure is that we don't ever have to buy any peppers at the grocery store!!!

Trip to Forestburg for a family wedding

2007-09-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Mid July saw us travelling to Bashaw (wedding ceremony) and Forestburg (wedding reception) to attend my cousin Dale's daughter's wedding. Here are pictures of my Uncle Marcel and Aunt Anna Blouin. My cousin Dale and his wife Lorraine Blouin and the bride and groom - Dale and Lorraine's daughter Pam and her new husband Shane Fuller. We had attended the Blouin family reunion on the July long weekend but this was great to see a few of the relatives again.

Visit to High Prairie

2007-09-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Jack Lischka, from High Prairie visited us twice last winter in Costa Rica. On his first trip in December, he brought his two friends, Pat and Amber and on his second trip in March he brought his friend Ernie. So, this summer, we visited Jack at his home in High Prairie and while we were there, Pat came from Grande Prairie to see us and Ernie - well he lives next door - very handy. Ernie is in the picture with Jack and John. Jack's neighbour visited us one day and he is in the other picture with Jack at the kitchen table.

Jack has a lot of wildlife on his farm and one morning we saw two young foxes crossing his yard but I wasn't quick enough to grab a picture. Austin really enjoyed feeding the squirrels as you can see. Both Jack and Ernie make their own wine which we enjoyed on a daily basis while visiting. We hope Jack and his gang will come south again to visit this winter. Thanks for a great visit and hospitality Jack; we really enjoyed it.

2007-08-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Edmonton on June 8/07 for our summer visit. Although a nice day the rest of the week was very cold and rainy; quite a shock for us southerners. I picked up our "Canada" coats from Camrose first thing!

We were invited to Pat and Jan Wren's for a BBQ on our first weekend back so here's a picture of Polly and I plus one of (left to right) Sandy, Polly, John, Terry and our hostess Jan Wren. Pat was away on business so he missed out.

I met my NAIT ladies for an evening at the Creperie which is something we have been doing fairly regularly for many years.

Our family attended the Blouin Family reunion on the July long weekend but alas no pictures from that event. Next up was my get together with my work group friends. We spent the night at the Country Creek Inn at Pigeon Lake where half of us went to the spa and half golfed. We stayed in for drinks, snacks and dinner and then had a scrumptious breakfast buffet at the Black Bull golf resort the next morning. My apologies to Susan as I didn't have a picture that would be suitable for posting but then I didn't have one of me either.

Florida vacation

2007-08-19T13:11:00.001-07:00

This year we spent two weeks in Orlando, Florida prior to returning to Canada for a two month visit. Week one we stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club at SeaWorld which was really great. John had injured his leg at the end of April so he wasn't able to join the kids and I on all our tours. Therefore, I also didn't bring the camera to any of the parks as I wanted to ride the rides too! So, we have very few pictures of our Florida vacation but here's what we have:
- tour of The Holy Land theme park where the boys went rock climbing in between plays
- a trip to the Titanic Museum
- a trip to Ripley's and
- a trip to southern Florida to visit my friend Nora Kean and her little boy Pierce. Her husband, Alan, was away working.

We also went to SeaWorld this week. Week two we moved to River Island at Orange Lake where we had a fabulous two bedroom condo. We went to the Disney parks one day and to the water parks for a couple of days plus I did get some shopping in.

Landscape Progress

2007-08-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

In late April, early May we completed Phase 1 of our landscape project. John finished all the rock walls and we put in the plants. The rainy season starts in early May so the timing was great as we didn't have to manually water. We left for our vacation on May 24th knowing that everything would grow in our absence. "After" pictures will be posted eventually. We were very impressed by the growth of our plants. In fact, I had planted a weed on purpose (milk star) as I really like the flower; however our gardener pulled it out in our absence! I was shading it initially (see front of house picture with the white bag shade structure). Anyway, weeds aren't ever hard to come by so I put in another when I returned!

In the back we planted bougainvillea along the top planter and wow did they ever catch nicely; wait till you see the August pictures. We also put in our sod which is like a golf grass so it doesn't need mowing - wonderful!

Fond Farewell

2007-05-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

Friday became another day to relax and enjoy the Gallant/Gerlach homes. Lunch and relaxing by the pool were the activities of the day and then we dined by candlelight - yes by candlelight as the power went out yet again here on the Central American frontier. Luckily, the lasagna was already cooked and Polly and I whipped up the caesar dressing by hand.

Saturday we all dined together at Samareno (wonderful steaks) and then had a drink at Shake Joe's for the final farewell. The trip was over - short but sweet!

Lunch at Shake Joe's

2007-05-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday, we had lunch at Shake Joe's on the beach in Samara. Here's the gang hanging out on the big comfy couches.

Sunset Celebrations in Samara

2007-05-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, I took the ladies to Nicoya for shopping and we lunched at El Presidente (Chinese). Upon our return, we had time for a dip in the pool at Kalimbas and then we had sunset celebrations at the Gallant/Gerlach Samara residence lots. Here's the gang, including Patricia Crawshaw, who stopped by to say hello to Polly. The Howler monkeys made an appearance behind us but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures.

Also, two more shots of the night before (bonfire at condo site).

Tour Day - Camaronal, Punta Islita and San Miguel

2007-04-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was tour day. We set out for Punta Islita and points unknown as it turned out. We first had to cross the river (Terry thought she was on Discovery channel) with our first stop as Camaronal. Here the beach is black and the cactus are huge. Terry was hit by a rogue wave which made her shorts look very suspect!

Next stop was the the town of Punta Islita (church) and then up to the top of the hill to the Monkey Bar which was closed! So, we carried onto San Miguel where we had lunch and discovered the refreshing drink of gin and Squirt! Who knew? After lunch we drove at least a 100 metres to the Blue Pelican where we spent the afternoon as we were so parched from the long drive there. As you can see, Jan and Terry enjoyed the swing.

Well, it was time to hit the trail, so on the way home we stopped at Restaurant Cambute for a small pick-me-up refreshment - such a long and weary trail....

Upon reaching the Gallant casa we were informed by Senor Gallant that we needed to proceed to the condo site for sunset celebrations - well, how much can one do in one day.... Ever the troopers, here we are at the sunset celebration, enjoying the setting sun, roasting marshmellows and winding down.

Sightseeing - Crocodiles and Carrillo Beach

2007-04-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

We didn't have any chicken to feed the crocs with but they obliged us anyway with a show of themselves.

Here's a picture of the gang under a palm tree at Carrillo Beach. Later on in the week when we were back at the beach a huge palm frond narrowly missed Jan when it fell off the tree. We had purposefully stayed away from palm trees with coconuts but we hadn't counted on loose fronds! Oh, the adventures!

Supplies arrive from Canada

2007-04-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

We asked my sister to bring us several bottles of Crown Royal (John's favourite or one of his favourites) and so, ever diligent, she had encased them in bubble wrap, packing tape and then sealed in a ziploc! Tough to break into but we managed! All six bottles arrived safely but only three remained behind - what happened to the other three? So many mysteries. . . .

Polly and Company Arrive from the Cold North

2007-04-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

April 14/07 my sister Paulette a.k.a. Polly, arrives for a one week visit. With her, are her friends, Terry, Donna, and Pat and Jan Wren. They are staying at the Villas Kalimbas in downtown Samara for one week, departing on April 21. Here's a picture of the night they arrived.

The fun begins Saturday night when we arrange to meet them at Kalimbas upon their arrival. Much to our dismay, Roberto, owner of Kalimbas, calls us to say that the cab driver has reported that they were not on the plane??? Now what? Not knowing if they had missed their connection or perhaps a storm delayed the flight; we decided to go home and wait. We just arrive home and the phone rings. Polly says, " where are you guys? We're here and the party has started." We get back in the car and drive back to Samara. When we arrive, Roberto tells me that my sister must be a very important guest because he sent two taxis to the airport to greet them! No wonder the cab driver couldn't find them, they were already gone with the first guy. And so it goes as this sets the tone for the rest of the week.

On Sunday, I pick the gang up and give them an orientation tour of Samara and then we have lunch at Villas Playa Samara. After lunch we visited with Mary Ange and Edward as my sister knows them from a previous visit to Samara. Here are some pics of the gang at Villas and with Mary Ange and Edward.

Next, we travelled up the hill to show them our new home and the home of Sherry and Larry Gerlach. Some friends of ours from San Jose, Magic, his wife Anna and their daughter Danielle were also visiting and contributed to the dinner by cooking some fabulous chicken and beef kabobs. New friends, Sein and wife Jenny, also joined us for dinner.

Some of the gang went swimming and are shown here demonstrating their synchronized swimming skills.

Magic demonstrates his kabob cooking with his "made in 5 minutes" charcoal grill out on our front street!

Day 1 comes to a conclusion with Johnny chauffering the gang back down the hill to Samara.

Feeding the Crocodiles and visiting the Hidden Waterfalls

2007-04-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Fred and Mary, invited more friends, Brian and Sharon, Norm and Alayne and Barb and Robert to visit them in Costa Rica. All of them stayed at the Las Palmeras Villas where Fred and Mary own. On this fine day in March, Mary arranged for all of us to feed the crocodiles and then go for a swim at the hidden waterfalls near Belen. The falls were substantially reduced (down from 3 to 1) as we are well into the dry season. We'll try and get back to them sometime in the wet season and see them in their full glory.

The boys really enjoyed feedng the crocs. When we arrived we just peeked over the bridge and there was already one crocodile waiting. By the time Fred "roped up the raw chicken", there were about 4 more just waiting for their delicious dinner to be served. Andrew took a turn dangling the chicken but was a bit scared when the croc chomped at the chicken and the rope started to tangle around his wrist. Fred saved the day! It's quite an experience to see the crocs stretching out of the water with their mouths wide open and then CHOMP and parts of the chicken snap off! The boys were in their glory!

Everyone had a fun day and we ended with sunset celebrations (that means drinks and dinner) at the Guanamar hotel. Our Las Palmeras crew has now departed for the sunny but cold northern climes of Canada and we sure miss all of them.

New Back Patio

2007-04-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well, as promised, here are some shots of our new back patio. The first one is taken at dusk and the others at various times of the day including one of Andrew hamming it up! He pictures himself like the daVinci code.

As we draw nearer to the rainy season, we will landscape the area around it plus design some wrought iron furniture to grace it.

Never Ending Construction

2007-04-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

And so it continues. . . John a.k.a. Ahab, the Arab and his trusty sidekick, Bernie continue to build rock walls at the Gallant Casa. For fun, they added a face to the end of our front walkway. "She" has a crystal on her forehead that glints in the sun.

Meanwhile, the warranty folks have repaired our garage by removing three troublesome pillars and reinforcing the roof with cross beams. They have also started to complete our bodega (storage room) below the garage.

Next post, stay tuned for the gorgeous and I do mean gorgeous back patio, complements of John and Bernie.

Boyz 'N the Hood quading

2007-04-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

Coinciding with John's birthday, February 24th, Joe organized an overnight quad trip to Mal Pais. I took a few pictures of the neighbourhood boys before they left. One of Larry and Bob, one of John Heppe and one of the birthday boy.

The following week, John took the boys and I in the truck part way back on the same route that the quading trip took. We got as far as Playa Coyote and then came back. A lot of the trees were in bloom (no leaves, just flowers) which is very different than Canada. We took some pictures along the way: crossing the river and the boys hanging out on the swinging bridge; trees in bloom, and one of a new condo being built (in the middle of nowhere it seemed to me).

Sunset Celebrations at our Condo Site

2007-02-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

We took Mom and Bill up to our condo site to show them the property as well as to enjoy the marvelous sunset overlooking Samara beach. John brought Mom and Bill and the lawnchairs up on the quad as the climb is quite steep. Earlier in the day we visited Mary Ange and Edward at the Villas enjoying their company and pool. The Villas are just across the street from our site so we were close by at sunset. We enjoyed watching the sun set and then retreated quickly down the hill before darkness hit.

Tidal Pool Visit

2007-02-22T07:31:00.000-08:00

Near Playa Carrillo we have some tidal pools so one day we poked around the rocks listening to an underground cave fill and empty with water as well as observing the tropical fish. Here are a few pictures of the pools, fish and of course the family.

Lanny and Beverley visit from Drumheller

2007-02-22T07:05:00.000-08:00

Our friends, Lanny and Beverley, from Drumheller, AB, visited us for a few days while Mom and Bill were here. One afternoon we went downtown Samara for souvenir shopping and then enjoyed a rehydration stop.

See Lanny and Bev waiting at the Playa Carrillo air terminal. Very sophisticated! We all agreed that it was the prettiest terminal with the most picturesque waiting facilities. Notice the lack of security. And last but not least, a pic of them getting on the plane to fly back to San Jose. It is a great convenience to have an airstrip just below where we live.

Beach Day at Barragones

2007-02-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

One Sunday we took Bill and Grandma to one of our prettiest, secluded beaches called Barragones. It has lovely white sand and blue green water. We spent the day playing in the waves, exploring the beach and sitting in the shade. Notice the tree behind Mom - it has a green snake like bark.

Uncle Bill's Excellent Quading Adventure

2007-02-21T11:47:00.000-08:00

John's brother Bill visited us January 28 - February 14th and while he was here he went on a quad trip with some of our neighbourhood guys. Here's a few pictures of the guys suiting up before they rode away. Bill said they had a great day; saw lots of sites; crossed some rivers and enjoyed some rehydration stops. Bill is on the left, Larry in the middle with the red bandera and John on the right (neighbour John, not brother John).

Austin, Maggie and the Double Banana

2007-02-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

Austin and his much loved cat, Maggie are having a brief rest on our bed.

Austin holds his mutant double banana which he then promptly ate!

Turtle Day - February 4th

2007-02-21T10:39:00.000-08:00

February 4th was the day of the turtle. Several activities were organized such as an art auction, a presentation on turtles for the children and craft making. We were hoping that we would see the release of the baby turtles but that day wasn't the day they hatched. They said it was too hot for them to hatch. Many folks do assist the turtles when they hatch by waving away predators; mainly birds who swoop down to eat the turtles and or their eggs. Right now there is a stray dog that was left behind by a turtle egg poacher and of course the dog has quite a taste for turtle eggs so he's a danger to them too. Hopefully someone will adopt the dog and remove him from the area.

Anyway, we did attend the art auction and the kids generally hung out. Here are a few pictures of the family, including Grandma Gallant plus our new friends Fred and Mary.

Construction in Bedrock City

2007-02-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

With the Christmas season behind us, the construction phase has begun. Building in Bedrock City is definitely a challenge. John and his Tico crew are very busy building various rock walls and cementing paths around the house. There are a number of projects that will keep him and our workers busy for sometime.
We live on the side of a hill, therefore management of water is a priority.

It is also our plan to extend our pool deck as it currently does not allow for loungers and who wants a pool deck without some loungers?? Also, they'll be working on some larger retaining walls below the house and our lower patio/garden area. And last but hopefully not least we require a rancho (outdoor covered patio) so that we can live outdoors more.

Here are some pics of John and his crew plus some of the workers performing the warranty work on our home.

Will the fun never end? How many projects can there be? Will we ever be finished? These and other questions can and will be answered as we move ever closer to the wet season.

New Years Eve in Costa Rica

2007-02-19T13:33:00.000-08:00

We spent New Years Eve at the Villa of Mary Ange and Edward. They live at Playa Villas Samara which is right on the beach. The boys had a great time as they swam in the pool, enjoyed cool drinks at the swim up bar and then later watched the bonfires and fireworks right on the beach. As there are no regulations here about that sort of thing, I can honestly say it was the closest any of us have ever been to fireworks!

The party was lovely but for those of us in the tropics; staying up till midnight is quite an accomplishment. We didn't think we would make it and it was hilarious at midnight. We all wished each other Happy New Year, kiss, kiss and then goodnight and goodbye. We all went straight to our cars and home to bed! Some party animals we turned out to be...

Here's a picture of our hosts Mary Ange and Edward; one of me in my new San Jose dress! and some of the guests with John; the boys with their friend Kosta and one of Sherry and Larry.

Happy New Year to everyone - It seems I'm just in time for Chinese New Year so enjoy!

Gallant Coche y Camion

2007-02-19T12:39:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of quick shots of our wheels. John has a Toyota Hilux pick me up truck and Rosie drives the Prado. We also have a quad and one on order so soon the whole family can go quading. Andrew especially likes quading but because he's so lightweight he has already flipped it once; luckily he was not injured. The pick up is getting quite a work out as John hauls load after load of cement bags. Construction is never ending; wait till you see the work that's been going on.

Christmas 2006 and Maggie

2006-12-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

Some time in September, one of our neighbours cats adopted us. Her name is Maggie and one day she just started sitting in the middle of our main floor or on our back terrace. Essentially she just moved in so we agreed to take over feeding and caring for her. Austin and Andrew are in love with her and she is a wonderfully tranquil kitty. She meows only when she needs out and this only happens in the night sometimes if she can't wait until 6:00 a.m. or so when we open all the doors. Andrew has newly christened her Magnolia but Maggie or Mags remain her nicknames. Here is a picture of her under our Christmas tree having a nap (one of her most favourite pastimes!). This week she has moved onto our kingsize bed where she now takes her rests both day and night. She likes John's side of the bed the best.

Christmas in the tropics has been quite different. I managed to do all my usual baking while substituting various ingredients depending on what I could rustle up here or in San Jose. I went on a shopping trip to San Jose mid December and was able to get a can of whole cranberries, some baking chocolate and some sweet yams in a can that can be made into some semblance of a pumpkin pie. I used butter toffee candies for toffee bits when I made the Skor bars and I ground my own almonds. I made my own pastry for the butter tarts and because the brown sugar here is less refined with more molasses in it, the tarts have a distinct flavor but delicious all the same. Anyway, it was quite the adventure and I'm now renowned for my baking delights! Our neighbours threw a Christmas party on the 23rd which was great fun and we invited our new friends and neighbours from the Toronto area for Christmas dinner. They have a son who is a bit younger than our boys but they all get along great together and enjoy each others company. As turkey's here are an import and cost around $80.00 U.S. we opted for two good sized chickens instead. As long as you have the stuffing, (poultry seasoning and sage compliments of our Cdn. friends who brought me some) gravy, etc. it's still a great Christmas dinner. I brought my tree, ornaments, about 10 treasures and our deer family with me from Canada. Having these familiar items made it seem more like home; especially at night when everything is lit up. So, here is a picture of the tree, some of my treasures displayed on top of the cupboards and a few of the house now that we are more set up.

Cheers to all, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you.

Field Trip to Camaronal and Punta Islita

2006-12-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

In early December we travelled with our neighbours, Mark and Julia, to beaches Camaronal & Punta Islita. Camaronal is the beach that we overlook from our house and is the turtle nesting grounds. It is an isolated beach with black sand and large expansive fields leading up to it. Most of this area is protected and therefore will stay quite "wild" looking. The beach is famous also for its surf and there are many who travel here just to surf.

To get there from our house you have to cross a river which is quite wide but manageable with a 4x4 now that we are into the dry season. Here are a couple pictures of Camaronal beach; some driftwood and a huge bunch of cactus. Andrew is now about 5' 4", certainly taller than his mother and Austin is up to my chin.

Punta Islita has a beautiful hotel and golf course and a charming small town square. Here is a picture of the church, waterfall just outside of town and a picture of the bay from high above at the restaurant. We had a wonderful lunch up top and a quick dip in the bay prior to a downfall of rain - where is that dry season they all talk about?

Settling In

2006-12-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of John the fix-it man. Our furniture, which we purchased in San Jose, arrived safely and just a few hours after we did. The power for the stove was not in place so that presented a challenge but other than that it went fairly smoothly. John put in our dryer vent as well as organized conversations with the electrician about the stove. In fact, the temporary fix for the stove is still in place and I'm not sure if it will ever be corrected as it should be.

Meanwhile, my neighbours were kind enough to give me the ant killer potion as my counter tops were running wild with ants as were our floors. We have learned not to kill the "cleaner ants"; only the small ones. In fact, we're most grateful for when the cleaner ants arrive to "clean up" all the other unwanted insects. Speaking of insects, there are many. This is not the place to live if you are frightened by spiders, mud wasps, ants, crickets, grasshoppers, scorpions, etc. etc. etc. Generally, they are more of a nuisance however my leg is just recovering from a series of spider bites that were both painful and itchy. Not knowing what they were, I stopped into the pharmacy and the pharmacist diagnosed them as spider bites and gave me the topical cream which eased them considerably. I now check my bed each night!

On a happier note, we love the howler monkey's and the parakeets although they do make quite a racket! It's quite noisy in the tropics (daytime) but the nighttime is very peaceful and way up here on the ridge it's fantastic as there are no dogs barking or roosters crowing; a blessing indeed.

Arriving in Costa Rica

2006-12-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

Our family arrived in Costa Rica on August 9th, 2006; complete with 17 pieces of luggage. We had arranged to stay at an apartment hotel, named Portofino Condominiums, in Alajuela which is a small town near the airport of San Jose.

We spent two weeks in San Jose shopping for furniture, buying vehicles, seeing our lawyer, banking and getting our drivers licences. We made one trip out to the beach to see our house prior to taking possession towards the end of August. We moved in around August 24th-25th giving us just enough time to arrange for our satellite internet/phone service so the boys could start their homeschooling on Sept. 4th. In actual fact, the homeschool kids didn't start until the 11th but who knew?

In October the heavy rainfall caused one of our major bridges, the link between Playa Carrillo and Playa Samara, to wash out. This presented two options; one to drive through the teak plantation or to drive down the bank and through the river which was the shortest route. Amazingly, the bridge was repaired within two weeks which is quite a feat for here.

November brought us the "winds of change" marking the turn from the wet season to the dry season. These CAT 1 winds were quite an experience for us prairie types. There was no sleep that first night as one of the construction sheds blew apart and a huge sheet of metal went flying by the boys' room. The windows and doors banged and shuttered and by morning the house was full of leaves and dirt. The community lost a lot of trees and branches and of course the power went out. Since we've been here the power has been out at least 4 times with durations up to 10 hours. It reminds us a bit of our childhood in rural Alberta so we do feel like pioneers.

We (the royal "We") have got most of the light fixtures, towel racks, toilet paper holders and some mirrors mounted. John has been a real trooper as all this type of work falls to him. We are still putting up curtain rods and drapes but these things take time. I first had to pick out the materials and then have them sewed (twice) as the first time a few things went wrong.... Anyway, here are a few photos of the move in, including a picture of filling the pool. As it takes approximately 5 minutes for each photo to download I will end this first post and try and get some more onto the site later.