Autopista del Sol

The excitement has been mounting since we arrived in July. We knew that it was coming. We watched its construction, eager to try it, yearning to enjoy it. Alas, the moment came this past weekend.

I have never been excited for the opening of a new highway before. However, all last week, Mélanie and I couldn’t wait to drive on the new autopista that officially opened on January 27, 2009.

The entrance to the highway is close to the center of town, east of the church.

The one to two lane highway pales in comparison to some of the monstrous four to six lanes that they have in some areas of North America, but for this country and the rural area in which we live, our newborn autopista is pure pleasure. Anybody who has visited us can attest to the fact that the regular Costa Rican roads with insane vertical drops, and crazy twists and turns, really test the stomach and the nerves.

We can now reach “the big city” (i.e. the outskirts of San José, the capital) in less than 20 minutes. We timed our return at a mere 14 minutes; it used to take us around an hour.

To try out the new highway this past Saturday, we drove to Santa Ana to enjoy the international cuisine that Western Canadians love… Asian! :)

Prince and Princess Party

To celebrate the last day of their “summer vacation” (still feels weird to refer to it like that considering the time of year), the kids attended a “Prince and Princess Party”.

(In the picture, notice that Naimah is holding a microphone because in Disney’s world, all princesses sing, right?)

It was a great way to end the long school break; a new school year starts this week. The kids have been out of school since the end of November. For all of the readers who are parents of school aged children, imagine 11 weeks of kids being out of school in an area without the concept of Day Camps. Yes, you get the picture.

On the subject of going back to school, last week Naimah was so in the mood to be back in school that she insisted on wearing her uniform for a good part of the day.

Famille Godin

Mélanie’s sister Martine (with fiancé Steeve and baby Noah) just left to head back to Québec yesterday after spending a great 2+ weeks with us. They enjoyed the difference in climate (it’s a big swing between minus 30 Celcius and plus 30 Celcius).

The kids already miss their little “adopted” brother

Quality sister-time

Banana harvest in our backyard

Lots of cuddles

Tribal bug

We find these creatures in and around our house and can’t even identify them. I have asked 3 locals if they can tell me the name of this huge insect with tribal tattoos; 2 shrugged their shoulders and one thought that it might be a large “chincha”.

Nomads

At the end of November 2009, we packed up our stuff, moved out of the house that we were in before, put our stuff in storage, and until mid-January 2010, we were wandering nomads without a home. Homeless in Costa Rica and the kids being out of school until February (it is summer break in Costa Rica now), we made our way up to Montréal for 5 weeks and had a detour in Arizona on the way back down to visit my parents.

For the last year, we feel that our life has revolved around packing, unpacking, packing, unpacking…

In seemingly constant moving mode, the kids have found a way to entertain themselves with the boxes that are ubiquitous in their lives.

Transforming (pun intended) a box into an Optimus Prime CostumeDecorating the boxes

Muy Calor

It has been very hot this last week in Atenas and it is our understanding that it will only get hotter from now until March.

(For our readers in the United States, that’s 102 degrees Fahrenheit outside the car and almost 106 degrees Fahrenheit inside the car.)

To cool off, the kids washed the car (soaking each other in the process, of course).

The nights are very warm as well (the low for the days is around 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)) so dinner is best served outside.

Focus on the journey, not the destination

We finally made it to Costa Rica. Here is a summary of our journey.

From	To	Distance (km)	Flight Time (hours)
Montreal, Quebec	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	2,230	3.25
Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Atlanta, Georgia	939	1.5
Atlanta, Georgia	Phoenix, Arizona	2,550	3.75
Phoenix, Arizona	Houston, Texas	1,630	2.5
Houston, Texas	San José, Costa Rica	2,490	3.5
	Total	9,839	14.5

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

Greg Anderson (American best-selling author and founder of the American Wellness Project)

(However, not much joy in going through airport security so many times.)

When we got here, some old friends were waiting in the house for us.

Phoenix Zoo

Phoenix, Arizona has an amazing zoo and it is often rated one of the top zoos in North America. We spent a wonderful day there yesterday.

The largest non-profit zoo in the United States, the Phoenix Zoo is a must for family vacations in Phoenix or pretty much anyone who likes to enjoy a laidback afternoon. This massive 125-acre complex differs from most modern zoos in how it structures its 1,200+ animals into four long trails covering the native wildlife of Arizona, Africa, and others. There’s also a large “touch” tank called Stingray Bay.

The Phoenix Zoo garnered worldwide attention for one of its animals, an Asian Elephant named Ruby. Ruby came to the zoo in 1973, just months after being born in Thailand. After noticing Ruby doodling in the sand with sticks, her keeper decided to give her a brush and paint. Ruby quickly became famous for her paintings, whose sales raised over US $200,000 for the zoo. Art collectors all over the world joined 18-month waiting lists and paid hundreds of dollars for original prints.

More pictures here.

Where in the World?

We tried to make our way from Montréal to San José on Sunday, January 10, 2010. We took a flight from Montréal to Fort Lauderdale, Florida first thing in the morning (we were at the airport at 4:00am) and then had to deal with the nightmare of the heightened security at the airport. We were already exhausted when we arrived at the American Airlines counter in Fort Lauderdale for baggage drop-off with our boarding passes in hand to continue to San José. Unfortunately, we were denied boarding due to the fact that we did not have an onward ticket to prove that we would be leaving Costa Rica within 90 days (we only had a one-way ticket). After the shock wore off, we quickly organized a one-day rental car and overnight in a cheap hotel, and put our thinking caps on. So what do you do if you are a young family of 5 stuck in Southern Florida? You head to Arizona, of course. ^_^

We are in Scottsdale, Arizona for the week and plan to be back in Costa Rica next week.

An aside

Since July, 2009, I have flown to San José through Toronto, Newark, Fort Lauderdale, and Charlotte, and I have never been asked to show a return ticket before boarding the plane. Plus, they have never asked for an onward ticket when going through customs in Costa Rica. In addition, I could only find one page on any official government site on the Internet that mentions this being a requirement and it is on the site for the Costa Rican Embassy in Washington, DC (being Canadian, this is not a site that I would visit). So, is this a restriction that is applicable to US citizens only? Or, does it apply to everybody who passes through the United States to get to Costa Rica?

Vive le vent

We have been in Québec for most of December and we are only heading back to Costa Rica next week.

We have been busy:

- Building snowmen

 

- Sliding

- Snowshoeing

- Building fires

- And not sure how you would label this sport

Christmas Spirit

Su Espacio, the community center located in Atenas, Costa Rica, was collecting presents for children who might not otherwise receive a present for Christmas. Over 300 angels hung on the Christmas tree in the center; each angel represented one child and the back of the angel described what the child would like for Christmas. Anybody wanting to act as “Santa” for the child can adopt the angel and provide the gift. Our own 3 children were very excited to be able to play Santa and each of them adopted an angel.

It was heartwarming to find out that all of the angels were adopted before the end of November.

 

Isa

It is difficult being far from extended family especially in times of need. When Léah was ill, we couldn’t just call Grandma and Grandpa to come over and take care of the younger ones. In those situations and on a day-to-day basis, we feel extremely fortunate that we have “adopted” an extended family member like Isa.

Isa is originally from Nicaragua and lives just across the street from us. She could not possibly have a bigger heart and would help us out at a moment’s notice. She loves the kids and they love her. Isa doesn’t speak a word of English so it forces me to practice my limited Spanish. She is in her early twenties and like many Nicaraguans, had no choice but to leave her country of birth to find a better life elsewhere.

Some facts about Nicaragua:

• The 1980s were the backdrop to a savage civil war which saw conflict destroy the nation of Nicaragua
• Already the poorest country in the Americas, the situation has only gotten worse with the global recession
• A country of 5.7 million, 48% of the population live on less than $2 a day; 80% of the indigenous people (who make up 5% of the population) live on less than $1 per day
• 27% of all Nicaraguans are suffering from undernourishment; the highest percentage in Central America
• Many Nicaraguans emigrated during the 1990s and the 2000s due to the unemployment and the poverty; the majority of the Nicaraguan Diaspora is in Costa Rica and the United States
• Today, one in six Nicaraguans live in either Costa Rica or the US; it's difficult to estimate the number of Nicaraguans living abroad because many of them are living in host countries illegally

 

Moderate Earthquake

I had my headphones on and I was busy working when it felt like one of the kids was outside my office door jumping up and down. I dismissed the fact that it might be one of the kids when the slight rumble turned into the equivalent of a Mack truck passing by my desk.

We all happened to be home when the earthquake struck. The rest of the family had already run outside in case the 2nd floor (with me inside it) collapsed on top of them. Only Naimah seemed completely unfazed because she was on the trampoline when it happened… how convenient.

SAN JOSE, Nov. 13 -- A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook Costa Rica Friday, without immediate report of victims and material damages.

The Costa Rican Vulcanology and Seismology Observatory (OVISCORI) said the earthquake occurred at 3:20 p.m. local time (2120 GMT) and its epicenter was located 20 km northeast to Parritain Puntarenas province, 70 km southeast to San Jose.

The earthquake had a depth of 19 km and it was produced due to a local geological failure, the OVSICORI said.