Advertisement
Hola! The property really feels like it is our's now. Yesterday, Wednesday, was the first time we spent the entire day on the property. We were there from 7a.m. to 5:30p.m. What an exhausting, wonderful, exciting day. Our blood, sweat and tears are now part of the land.
We hired a back hoe and dump truck to deliver 50 loads of rock and dirt to the property to begin leveling the mountain for the house and yard. We knew it would take a few days and many hours to complete the project as things work slowly in Costa Rica.
Once the negotiations we all handled and the men got into their routine we decided it was better to do some work ourselves instead of standing around and waiting for thirty minutes at a time for the truck return. While I had packed food and school stuff expecting to be there for the entire day I had not packed gloves, suncreen, shovels, etc. I did't expect to work! Well, work we did. We moved piles of cana to brace part of a lower elevation so boulders and shifting dirt wouldn't continue on farther down the property. We expect to lose
a certain amount of dirt to erosion but hope to keep as much where we want it as possible. A friend suggested using his workers to stablize the lower level, once I saw the look in Bill's eyes I knew I was in trouble.
The day turned into a wonderful bonding experience for all of us, even the guys working. We got to see brothers helping eachother when each of their machines got stuck. The back hoe got stuck on the property when he came up to push the piles of dirt his brother had dumped. After struggling for 15 minutes to free himself, little bro had to rescue him by pulling him out with the dump truck. Later, the back hoe had to rescue the dump truck who slid sideways on the road up to the property with a full load and got wedged into the side of the mountain. It took an hour and a half to free him. We had had a lite rain in the afternoon making the road slick. That was the end of the first day of work for the guys.
Us, this is where the blood part comes in. As I
Mid day temperature
For our friends in Arizona...wanna come visit and escape the heat? said previously we didn't pack to work. The trucks had compacted the entry way. We had to re-dig holes to put the fence back up before we left for the day. After attempting to use bolders and brut strength to put the fence up we realized the holes had to be dug again for the fence posts. Bill kept staring at the posts as if to will them to stand up. Me...not wanting to stand around got right down to business using rocks and eventually a spoon, yes A SPOON to dig. Finally, I asked Bill who doesn't like to ask for help to go to the finca below and borrow a shovel. Reluctantly, he headed down the hill. Oh yeah, the blood part... the fence we were working with is a barbed wire fence. Every attempt to raise the fence left more puncture wounds on Bill. By the time the day was done he had blood running down both arms, his back and the side of his face. He looked like he'd been in a battle with a lion.
For us the bonding took place when we realized all the blood and sweat of the day was all
Bill mid-day view to gulf
Standing on the property next to ours looking at the gulf of Nicoya in the distance. We'll see this from our 2nd floor. for US. Everything we did was to further our dream. What a thrill! We all worked hard for a common goal. Even Bear did his part. He kept the vultures, falcons and horses off his property. It was a hard exhausting day for him as well. The tears shed were by Bear. You see, he is a very old dog who likes to sleep most of the day. This day he got no rest what so ever. By late afternoon he begged to be let in the Rodeo to take a nap. Protecting the family from all the flying creatures got to be too much.
We now have a 'property bag' packed with hats, sunscreen, gloves, shovels, wire cutters, boots, hammers, etc. Whenever we are headed up we can just grab it and go.
Watching the changes in the weather during the day was absolutely awesome. We had sun, clouds, wind, and a little rain late in the day. The pics give you an idea of the day's weather but there is no way to acurately describe the feelings and veiws we shared on first full day spent on the property. Every drop of blood, every ounce of
Backhoe stuck
After 9 loads we had the backhoe come up to push the piles down the hill. sweat and every tear shed by Bear couldn't keep us from returning the next day.
We did return but the back hoe broke so no work for them Thursday. Such is the way of things in Costa Rica. We worked, with gloves, hats and sunscreen. Thursday it was only the four of us. I think this day was more awesome than Wednesday because we were alone. Visions of what we want to do with areas on the property are starting to form. Driving back down the mountain, exhausted on Thurday afternoon we discussed how lucky we were to be living this life. We are truely living and making our dreams come true.
Pura Vida!!!!!!
Jen, Bill, Callista and Bear
Advertisement
Tot: 0.044s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0219s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Andrew
non-member comment
Terrific!
Hola Bill, Jen and Calle! Sounds like things are coming along! I cannot wait see when they start building your house. Have fun! Andrew http://www.AngelValleyFarmBandB.com