Family time. . .

The art department's brother and cousin made the journey down here to the jungle and it's been a hoot and a holler thus far.

Abraham and Areclla have probably seen more of Costa Rica than we have at this point, as everyone wants to show them the highlights.

It's always nice to have friends and family down here. . . Yep, that's a not-so-subtle dig at the other two faithful readers who have not made it down this way yet.

Going green. . .

We also get some great pictures sent to us, though most are posted on Facebook and TripAdvisor. This elusive critter is what's seen most on the covers or glossy spreads of the guidebooks.

It was residing just 20 feet from our front door on the banana plants one evening.

Poetry for the masses. . .

Or at least the three of you. . . We receive thank-you notes and e-mails regularly from folks that have stayed here, though this is a first: some lines of prose.

A is for Arenal Volcano where we had a long trek
B is for Blue Morpho painted in shimmering flecks

C is for Casado- a rice, bean and plantain dish to share
D is for Downpour- don our ponchos (or not, if we dare)

E is for Emerald Green Basilisk racing off after a rest
F is for Fiery-billed Aracari cautiously guarding its nest

G is for Glass Frog which is almost see-through
H is for Howler Monkeys a supremely noisy crew

I is for Iguana with sideways glances he spies
J is for Jaguar fortunately unseen by our eyes

K is for Kingfisher at catching fish he's a pro
L is for Leaf cutter ants off to work they go

M is for Mimosa a sensitive plant low on the ground
N is for Nights in the rainforest effervescent with sound

O is for Oriole Snake up high where we hope it will stay
P is for Poison Dart Frog forever jumping away

Q is for Quetzal, sacred bird of the Mayans of yore
R is for Red-Eyed Tree Frogs- Rishi wants to see more!

S is for Squirrel Monkeys who claim our breakfast as theirs
T is for Three-Toed Sloth baby hanging out with no cares

U is for Unau, two-toed sloth, we never did see
V is for Vultures hovering over the trees

W is for White-necked Jacobin, a hummingbird
X is for Xenops chosen as the starts-with-X-word

Y is for Yiguirro for whom our tree house was named
Z is for 'Zip-lining is fun!' we hear Surya exclaim!

Needed: Pillows

With six houses, and at three beds in all of them, we have a fair amount of pillows around here. However, recently we had a family of eight that took up two tree houses. Beds for everyone, two pillows on the double beds and one on each of the single beds.

However, everyone wanted at least two pillows or more. Long, rambling story short, if the folks had decided they wanted more pillows, the art and editorial department would have been sleeping sans said pillows.

Luckily, we have more blankets (they also wanted more of those, though they kept their air conditioning on all night--kind of a counter-productive measure?) than pillows.

Kaboom and boom (and shake, rattle and roll). . .

Thunderstorms seem to be back with a vengeance this year. The previous wet season was tame for us down here, though it doesn't seem to be repeating itself this year.

We have had a couple of thunder and lightning storms that have rocked the grounds of late. In the past couple of days, there has been thunder down here that has actually shaken the house, and knocked some stuff off of the walls.

Nothing terribly damaged, but it does drive poor Bejuca and Mini-B just nuts.

Vroom, Vroom. . .

For the three of you loyal followers, you know about the 1977 Land Cruiser that we bought a few months back. It's a sweet machine and we have enjoyed tooling around the area in it.

We recently were put onto a great mechanic in the area, Carlos, and he came out and gave it the once-over. He pronounced it safe, sound and ready to roll (with a bit of envy). After further discussion, we did replace the front brakes with disc brakes (they were drum brakes before) and while the author know little to nothing about internal combustion or anything else about an engine, Carlos was nice enough to explain the steps he was taking en route.

Mechanics in Costa Rica are viewed as the ultimate bad guys, as they know more than the average joe, and will charge according to the (lack of) knowledge of their clientele. Carlos can very highly recommended from some folks that we know, and we were not disappointed.

The brakes are just fine, the steering has been adjusted and the Land Cruiser is ready to roll on the open road.

NEEDED: More bad Spanish words. . .

The other day, when the editorial department was out for a 6-mile run, we were heading back to the hotel.

As the sidewalks are no longer (replaced by slanted drainage ditches) we came upon an elderly fellow strolling up to the main road for a morning smoke.

At the same time, there was a small pooch that was crossing the road (the right rear leg tucked up underneath it) and the runner and the smoker both stopped as the dog crossed the road.

That was when things went askew. The runner nodded to the man (which was ignored) and the pooch came across the road. The smoker stopped, pivoted, and tried to kick the pooch. Never having seen the old fart before, the runner stopped (and was gassed--out of shape, not ready for a longer run) and let the bugger have it, though sadly in English--which was undoubtedly lost on the geezer; the words, probably not the inference.

When the runner got back to the hotel and was talking with other folks, it turns out the wanna-be kicker is a sour, old man, that lives off of the main road.

He also happens to be a black-belt in karate.

Long story short, the runner will probably get his tuckus knocked around the next time he passes through that neighborhod.

Toot, toot (again). . .

Well, it seems that we have earned another award at the hotel from TripAdvisor.com. We have been fortunate enough in the past few years to pick up the customer service awards, as voted upon by the Web site's clientele.

This latest one, though, seems to hold more weight, as we were rewarded for being in the top 10 percent (world-wide) for positive reviews.

We have no idea of when these things will happen, and they do seem to drop into our lap, but it's a great testament to the people that work here that make the hotel a great place to stay.

So, begging forgiveness of our three readers who know the place, we're tooting our own horn, once again.

You were warned. . .

That there are never enough cute baby sloth pictures out there.

Besides, the art department's cache is getting low, so we're milking it for all that we can.

We still haven't seen the little critter since we put it back up in the trees, so it is living happily back in the jungle somewhere.

Baseball!

Baseball is not popular in Costa Rica. It is very much so in Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south.

One theory for it skipping over Costa Rica is that the U.S. military has never had a presence in Costa Rica, thus no soldiers playing baseball.

However, on Sunday mornings/afternoons at the stand where we buy the fruit for breakfast, there is a baseball game every week. It is Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica, who gather and take over a soccer field for the great past time.

It's got a short porch for every corner (jungle around all sides) and there are no defined base paths (or bases) let alone a mound, but they have a great time playing out there, and there are usually 30 to 40 folks hanging out and watching.

Nice to see some prime real estate put to good use.

Breakfast buffet. . .

That's not what we have here at the hotel, the breakfasts are prepared fresh and hot every morning for each guest. The breakfasts change daily and there are always seconds to go around.

Recently, we had two lifelong friends from Germany, Martina and Margret, come and stay with us for a week. Both very fit, very active and they really loved the breakfasts here. They asked for the recipes and had seconds (and thirds) nearly every day.

These were some of our favorite guests: nice, eager to see and explore the grounds (they went out with Rolando several times) and always quick with a story or a joke.

Interesting observation. . .

From the vet at the wildlife rescue center: In the past few years, he's noticed more wild critters being abandoned by their mothers earlier than in the decades past that he has been practicing.

He said this is especially true for the squirrel monkeys and the two-toed sloths (the one here was a three-toed critter, but he said even then, that's not all that unusual).

No ready answer for the phenomenon, but he is a curious sort and has mentioned doing a study or three about everything. Would be interesting to find out what's what with the critters.

You just can't have enough pictures. . .

Of a baby sloth. I'm sure it's a golden rule somewhere and we adhere to it. The opportunities come around rarely to interact with one, so we make the most when it does.

This little bugger required no rescue from the center. The vet pronounced it healthy and was a bit mystified as to why the mother had abandoned it at about the age of 2 to 3 months.

As a rule, we don't pick up the sloths or other critters except when they're injured, or too young, like this one. The vet said we were right to call him, but it will be fine. Sure enough, once we put it into a tree again, it shot up high and the next morning and early afternoon we saw it, chewing happily up in the branches. After that, it disappeared into the jungle and hopefully we'll see it again (though we won't recognize it) as a bigger sloth.

FYI: This is a three-toed sloth. You can tell by the silver/gray coloring. You can also see the claws better in this picture.

Dietary fun. . .

We don't serve any meat with our breakfasts here at the hotel. We get a fair amount of vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free folks, here, so it makes things simpler if there's no meat in the breakfasts.

Every once in a while, we get strict vegans (no animal products at all: no cheese, milk, eggs, certain types of cooking oil, etc.).

We read various other blogs and Web sites for other B&B owners and enjoy the responses some of them give to guests' special dietary requirements (and dream about doing the same, but of course it will never happen).

Vegetarianism is understood down here, but vegan-ism is a whole different matter. Most of the folks down here cannot fathom a diet like that. We have a friend who has lived here for years and speaks fluent Spanish, and when she orders at a restaurant, they still slip in some eggs or meat, as if they can't believe that is what she is really asking for.

Another thing that we cannot bring up to our guests is the advice and wisdom of Jack Scaff, a renowned cardiologist and father of the Honolulu Marathon Clinic (and Honolulu Marathon). He is still waiting for someone who has willingly been on a vegan diet to hit the century mark. According to Scaff, it has never happened. Not to say that vegan-ism is bad, but it shows the extremes of different diets:

You eat BigMacs every day, not that great for you; you eat nothing but fruits and vegetables every day, also not that great for you.

Baby Sloth II

Here are some guests getting a chance to hold the little critter.

You may wonder about the towel. Sloths have incredibly strong grips (they are climbers) and their claws are pointed and can dig in.

Much better with a towel as once the buggers get ahold of you, they do not let go; even the little ones.

Look at those snappers!

Or maybe it was "Look at those choppers!" From the 80s classic movie, 'Jewel of the Nile' with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.

At the local university just up the road from us, they raise crocodiles and caimans for the students. And once a month or so, they feed them. The food comes from local farmers, mainly from still-born cows, etc.

It's a great video, though if you're of the queasy stomach-type, then maybe not the best to watch before breakfast.

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHxSe_Mayj8&feature=youtu.be

Sloth rescue. . .

There always seems to be something new that happens around here at the hotel.

The other day, Lucy was showing some guests up by the front of the property two mother sloths and their babies.

This time, it was just one mom and kid and one lone baby. And it was whining pretty good (a high-pitched shriek) as it was looking for its mother.

Lucy came back up and we called the wildlife rescue center just up the road, but they were tied up with another animal rescue.

We went back up and were finally able to coax the little critter down and into a laundry basket.

Presidential visit. . .

Last week, President Barack Obama came to Costa Rica for a visit (around 24 hours).

What did this mean for us in our daily lives? Nothing, as he flew in and out of San Jose, and there were no motorcades rolling by or choppers flying over us.

In and around the San Jose Airport, however, it was a different matter, as the main airport was closed for 2 hours on either side of Air Force One landing, and then the main highway from the airport to San Jose itself was closed for 24 hours.

Friends of ours, who do transportation to/from the San Jose Airport, were left guessing as to when the roads would be opened or closed. Naturally, the travel plans were not disclosed, so a bunch of the roads were closed.

Government workers and other employees in the area had the day off, as they wouldn't likely be able to get to work, anyway.

All in all, a big deal for Costa Rica.

No one believes it. . .

Until they see it. And we were lucky enough the other day to see it happen.

As breakfast was wrapping up, a guest pointed excitedly and exclaimed, "a sloth!"

Sure enough, a sloth was up in a tree and making its way down to the ground near the rancho.

Sloths come out of the trees to the ground once every seven days to take care of their bathroom business. They do not do that in the trees. (They also come down to the ground to nurse their youngsters as well.)

They can shed up to 25 to 30 percent of their body weight on their weekly trips to the forest floor.

We're going with an artist's rendering as we were too busy watching the critter come down and go back up to actually have the presence of mind to come back to our house and get the camera.

Crossing gastronomical borders. . .

While we serve seven different breakfasts here at the hotel for guests (so they are not eating the same thing every day), we like to mix it up for ourselves when we eat after the guests have left.

Most of the time, it is, naturally, a Costa Rican-inspired dish, that Patricia, Darling or Seidy concoct. They will even being in some special cheeses or meats (depending on the time of year) for us to have.

Occasionally, we go for something outside the norm for the folks. Recently, Lucy had asked Patricia what she would like for breakfast.

It took a few minutes as Patricia described what Lucy had made a few times before, but not recently, before the picture became clear: Loco Moco.

That is what the folks were craving and that was what was on the menu.

For the two of the three loyal readers that are not familiar with Loco Moco, it is a truly delectable dish of rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg and smothered with brown gravy. The "Eidson" twist, is that is also topped with melted cheese (which I have learned from many others is a heinous crime in the Islands, but very tasty) though that is what we do here.

Ouch III. . .

Just in case you wanted to see it a bit closer, you can check out the coloring as well.

The doctor confirmed that it was broken, asked Lucy if she wanted a pain shot and she said "We'll see."

Snap, crackle and pop (and blinding pain for about a minute) was the result and the toe was set and later taped up.

It will have to be taped for three to four weeks, depending on how it heels and if she stubs it or someone steps on it (please, don't let it be the editorial department by mistake!).

Ouch II. . .

Surprisingly, the art department had enough of a presence of mind to snap some pics of the broken little bugger. (I guess everyone wants to be in pictures!)

It seemed that it was sticking out an an even more severe angle right after it happened; at least that's how I remember it.

Thunder and lightning. . . and wind

It's that time of year again, when we get a storm that blows through for 45 minutes to an hour in the afternoons. It is bring some much-needed rain.

The second one of the year also packed some decent winds. For the three faithful readers that remember, high winds aren't the best thing in the middle of the rain forest.

This time, a tree that was probably 100 feet, at least, came down. It clipped the main electrical lines and the phone line, bringing everything down in one fell swoop.

We saw a bit of it out of the corner of our eyes here at the house and then lights out.

The lines were on the driveway and part of the grounds, but the switch on the outside line turned off automatically, so they weren't live, thankfully.

It took about 4 to 5 hours for the electrical line folks to get the lines strung back up (probably about 150 yards of it) and for power to be restored at the hotel.

The phones? Not so lucky. Have new lines coming in, but have to wait for the phone company to throw a switch at the office, and that can't be done until Monday sometime, so no phones for three or four days.

MTV at the hotel. . .

Not really, but this family did a great job of putting together a music video of their time with us in this area. Great family, great time and we were lucky enough that they shared their video with us.

Below is the link; hopefully the three of you can see it and let us know if you did or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5e9UNQQkno&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1

Ouch. . .

It happened pretty quickly, and it didn't seem like a big deal. No ruckus, no fuss, no crying or cursing.

Lucy headed out of the house to go to the laundry room to check on things, and there was a thud. It was followed by a simple: "I think I broke my toe."

Nice and calm, like she had found a quarter on the sidewalk. No blood-curdling oaths, screams or promises of revenge on the piece of hardwood that had inflicted the pain.

Ha! I thought, an exaggeration, as Lucy stubs one of her toes about twice a month when she's heading to the laundry room and clips one of the rocking chairs.

I got up to investigate and got a look at her little toe.

Ugh.

At the angle it was sticking out, there was something definitely amiss with the littlest piggie on her right foot.

I got her sat down, and then we got her up to a clinic, where they confirmed what was obvious to everyone that saw it: it was broken.

Pooch time II

Bejuca does love to have her belly rubbed. She will flip onto her back and just wait for someone to come and give her a good rub.

Lots of folks do, so she's a happy girl. However, after just a few minutes of rubbing, she has a tendency to let out a monstrous, sloppy sneeze that can soak an unsuspecting dog lover.

You're what??!!??

We get phone calls and folks showing up at our gate almost daily asking about availability. They are usually disappointed and think we're pulling their leg. Some actually get angry, which is puzzling.

With just the six tree houses, we tend to book up pretty quickly. For example, we have two one-night stays available in May; three in June and we are already completely full for July and the first week of August.

The word must have gotten out, as we have quite a few reservations already for January, February, March and even April of 2014.