We interrupt your normally scheduled blog. . .

For a word on television. There are no TVs, phones or anything like that in the three tree houses. We do have, in our house, satellite TV. What do we get? Pretty much the same fare that we got back home. However, on the satellite system down here, the shows are typically on whatever network is the producer of the show. There is no CBS, ABC or NBC. There is a Fox, and we get plenty of Simpsons (three to four episodes nightly, woo-hoo!!). So, "The Mentalist" is on the Warner Channel, as it's produced by Warner Brothers. The same with "Cold Case", while "Law and Order" is on the Universal Channel. It's been a while for the Sony network, as there's not a lot of new stuff on there, it seems.

It can be a challenge to try to find a show. Most of the shows are delayed from when they're shown in the States. We love "The Amazing Race" and it's on the AXN network down here (no idea what that stands for), but was running about six weeks behind the episodes on CBS back home. We just saw the finale yesterday. We do get TNT (only movies, none of the series--those are on other channels); ESPN and ESPN2 (primarily soccer--ugh); CNN International; Fox News (though there are no commercials, just news fillers); the American Network (loads of Dr. Phil, Oprah, Rachael Rae, etc., which Lucy loves); also the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and the Biography Channel.

One bonus: We do get the NFL Network, which will come in very handy when autumn rolls around, if for nothing else than highlights.

Nice perks of the job. . .

We are getting a chance to meet people from all over the world. Most of the guests at the hotel are from the U.S. or Candada (about 80 percent) and the rest are from Europe, for the most part. We have some guests coming from South Africa later on this summer. Not a lot of folks from Asia, thus far. It's a long haul from there to here. Here's a picture of two great Greek gentlemen who stayed with us back in early April, just shortly after we started. It had been their dream to come to Costa Rica, and they were in the country for a few weeks, before making their way to Los Angeles, then onto Tahiti to meet up with their wives. From there, they were going to travel around the islands before taking a cruise back to Europe. They sent us a nice e-mail and some photos of their time here just a few days ago when they got back. Always fun to meet people from different parts of the world and get their take on things.

Holiday haze. . .

Happy Fourth of July! Not being in the States, the holidays that are uniquely American tend to creep up on you, and if you're not careful, pass you by. We were reminded of today's holiday on several fronts: Lucy's mom's birthday is July 4; my parents and I talked about the holiday this morning; and a very nice British family, living in the Netherlands, wished us a Happy Fourth as well.

For Memorial Day, we had to think twice and check out a calendar down here. I imagine it will be the same for Labor Day.

Costa Rica has quite a few holidays as well, and we're reminded of them by the folks who work at the hotel, as they either get the day off or get double-time. Just like we used to count the holidays back home when we were working for our companies, it's the same down here.

No fireworks on tap for today, unless a thunder and lightning storm rolls in, though.

Legal-ese. . .

I got a first-hand glimpse of a small slice of the Costa Rican legal system the other day. . . Nothing that involved handcuffs, pepper spray, accusations or lewd behavior. Rather, one of the ladies who worked here at the hotel decided it was time to move on after a few years here. . . Back in the States, it's not a problem when someone quits: Thanks for the time and the memories and good luck in your next endeavor. . . Here, it's not quite so simple. This involved a visit by the employee to the Ministry of Jobs to fill out paperwork, and then a visit by me (on behalf of the owners) to the hotel's lawyer. . . The whole process took several days and about 90 minutes with the lawyer. . . When all was said and done, the employee received severance (calculated by how long she had worked here--part-time and full-time and how many vacation days were due, as well as the year-end bonus, which was pro-rated) and we all had to sign a document saying that she had resigned on her own and she cannot come back to the hotel for any future claims. . . Pretty binding and a lot of hassle, in my opinion, but nothing out of the ordinary here in Costa Rica. . . The lawyer, a very nice fellow who speaks excellent English (a huge benefit for me), was joking around has he did the hunt-and-peck through 1.5 pages of Spanish legal-ese, that this must be driving me crazy, i.e., the ins and outs of the Costa Rican system. . . I didn't mind it, to be honest. . . Everyone left happy, which was the main thing. . . The lawyer did tell me that to do just about anything in Costa Rica, you need a lawyer--including selling a used car to someone. . . Don't think we're going to have to test that out, but who knows? A good and personable lawyer can be worth plenty here, I'm starting to realize. . .

Aluminum or glass?

Now, if you guessed that this is about beer, then good for you. . . Personally, I've always been a fan of a bottle of beer over a can. . . Can't give you any scientific or emperical reasons why, it just seems to taste better coming from a frosty bottle, with droplets of water streaming down the side. Sure, aluminum is supposed to keep things colder for a longer period of time, but there's just something about a cold bottle of beer in the tropics that rings more true than a can. . . The other day, we were shopping and I was going to pick up a six-pack of Imperial, the most popular beer here in Costa Rica. I noticed that a can was 550 colones (about $1) while a bottle was 435 (I even went to one of the scanners scattered about the store to double-check on the price, and it was 435) . . . Bonus -- cheaper and a bottle! -- I thought. . . I grabbed six bottles and went up to the cashier thinking of happy thoughts of cold beer from a bottle . . . She rang them up, and it came to over 1,000 colones ($2) per bottle. . . Hmmmm, something's amiss, I thought. . . Luckily Lucy was there and asked the cashier what the problem was. . . There's about a 500-plus colone deposit on each bottle. . . A serious metaphorical and reality bites buzz-kill . . . Back went the bottles and out came the cans. . .

Going postal

My folks and other people have asked about sending stuff down here to us in Costa Rica. . . We tell them, don't bother, we're fine. . . In reality, though, we're just not sure that we would get something if it were sent down here. . . Our friends in London, Simon and Erika, sent us a postcard when we first started from merry old England. . . It took six weeks to get here. . . There are no street names or numbers here in Costa Rica, and they are just starting to implement zip codes. . . The mailing address for the hotel is: Costa Rica Tree Houses Hotel, 300 metres Norte de Cemetario el Santa Clara, San Carlos, Alajuela, Costa Rica. . . That basically says (and I'm sure I mangled the Spanish) that the hotel is 300 meters north of the Santa Clara cemetery. . . That's it. It's the same in San Jose and other cities. . . The places of business, or residences, are given in meters from a landmark. . . The landmark can be a cemetery, a church or even a Burger King. . . The mailman comes to the hotel about once a month, and just brings the bank statements and the odd letter or postcard. . . Bottom line, don't count on anything important getting through. . .

The downside of dogs. . .

Since we have lived in Hawaii . . . in a condo. . . 22 stories up. . . with not much in the way of parks or greenery really close by. . . we haven't had many dogs. . . Now here at the hotel, we have two. . .
We love them, they are great companions, and they provide endless entertainment and companionship. . . Bejuca and Mini-b are great, house-broken and very well-behaved. . . The sole complaint that we can muster up is. . . gas. . . Particularly Mini-b, but Bejuca has joined in the parade of noxious fumes as well. . . You will be rubbing a belly and playing with them, or it can be the middle of the night when they are asleep, or they can be looking up at you with big, watery expectant eyes, and -- have mercy -- it will curl the nose hairs worse than any gym locker room that you can imagine. . . We do not feed them a lot from the table (hardly anything as we don't want them to get into the habit of begging) and they have been on the same food for a while, but any suggestions, thoughts, would be much appreciated. . .