CRTV

19 November, Sunday

CRTV – Costa Rica TV—that’s what we’ve come to call the almost nightly lightshow s the sun sets over the Gulf of Nicoya. We have a remarkable view from our house here, and lately the sunsets have been absolutely breathtaking. They are different every night, and range from the fairly typical, with lots or oranges and reds with an orderly progression as the sun fades on the horizon, to dramatic pinks and lavenders other shades of pastels as the last rays of the day backlight the layers of clouds at different elevations and across the 50 miles or more distance we can see out to the west. With no TV, and not much else to do in the evenings, it’s not surprising how we’ve begun to plan the end of the day around making sure we get back home in time to where we have a good view of the sunset! All four of the pics shown are from our 'sunset' room upstairs, and taken in the past week or so...

Arrival back in Monteverde from the beach is always exceptionally nice for one reason if no other: the cool nights are ideal for sleeping. Not that it is ridiculously hot at the beach or anything, but it tends to be just warm and humid enough to be slightly uncomfortable. It’s fine for a few days, but eventually you begin to get just sticky and sandy enough that sleeping is the first thing that gets uncomfortable. The climate here in Monteverde, being at 5000’ elevation, is substantially cooler. Most nights it is in the low to mid- 60F’s, maybe as cool as the high 50’s and sleeping is heavenly. So we are glad to be back up here, if for no reason other than that!

The down side to returning is the occasional nasty surprise. This time for us, it was returning home to find our new dog (who had been being watched by our neighbors), had had a run-in with some very nasty practical jokers. Someone had apparently tied something onto her tail with an elastic cord the day after we left, and while she quickly chewed off whatever was attached to the cord, she couldn’t get the elastic off. It was then several days before our neighbors realized that there was something very wrong with her tail, and by then it was too late. The better part of 2/3’s of her tail had been cut off from blood flow and was effectively dead. Fortunately, she did not suffer from a serious infection or gangrene, but our first chore on Monday morning after getting home Sunday night was a trip to the local veterinarian.

The vet’s office: here’s an interesting study in cultural differences. In the US, going to the veterinarian is not quite as expensive as going to the doctor, but it isn’t far behind. Here, as most animals are commodities on the farm, or pets that are far more utilitarian than they are members of the family. Consequently, vets are important, but they are much more utilitarian in their services. Our quickly moved from reception area to makeshift operating theater (a large, well lit room in the basement with a stainless steel table in the center). 15 minutes after arriving, Chispita was under general anesthesia, and the vet was busily amputating the remainder of her tail. After 40 minutes, we were sent on our way with our still unconscious dog in a cardboard box and a prescription for antibiotics. And the total cost: US $26. …and that included removal of two dew claws, approximately 10 stitches to close the incisions, a rabies booster, and a new collar. The collar was the most expensive line-item! Pretty amazing. And the best part, is while Chispita was pretty down for a few days, she is now almost back to normal. Our fits dog with a tail, is now like all our others, with a little docked stub, pretty much like a Jack Russell Terrier. Alls well that ends well, so to speak ;-)

Since our return to Monteverde, we’ve mostly been busy with Spanish and design work. I just finished a reworking of the Monteverde Institute’s website (www.mvinstitute.org) and I’ve been working on a couple of different site designs, one for a public park, and the other for a yoga center. Norma and I have also been determined to take daily walks in the morning while the weather is good. Most days we start out right after Niall goes to school (about 8:00am), and we get in a good 8 or 10 kilometers mostly walking up and down the local dirt roads. We’re both in about the best shape we’ve been in for at least 15 to 20 years at this point, as a typical walk goes up and down at between 500’nd 1000’ in elevation. So far our longest walk has been almost 15 kilometers, which takes about 3 hours.

That’s about all for now from Monteverde. Tomorrow I’m off for a day trip into San Jose, so perhaps there’ll be some interesting news to report from that in a couple of days…