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Published: January 7th 2007
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hola from ojochal!
ojochal really is a tropical paradise, but we found out paradise wasn't what we were looking for. so we headed out to the pacific coast into the deepest jungle we could get to without a helicopter. well, that's not exactly true, but we did put our almost-new rental through hell! it held up in
the mountains (i think more than 8000ft) and the hot
jungle mud slides (unpaved roads with dips 3 feet deep
and boulders every few feet) and on the road from
dominical to quepos which was described to us as
"passable." have you been on it? i wouldn't call it a
road so much as a slippery, muddy, path in parts. but we
got through it all just fine and now the white car looks
more like it belongs here (mostly brown).
ojochal was very interesting, and VERY hot and humid. i
had wanted to visit this community and meet some of the
people i had read about, so it was really fun for me.
have you been there? it is a small village with a very
strong french-canadian presence for several decades.
also some americans (like 3 -- one from my hometown
chicago). it is really just one unpaved road with the
superjucaloa (grocery), some small tico homes, and a
world-class french restaurant
cabin fever (no a/c)
in ojochal, we stayed in a spiffy one-room cabin in the jungle right next to a beautiful little stream. across from a cow and bull
pasture and microwave internet cafe run by a family whose
mom has written more than 40 books, some for kids.
our friend's cabin didn't work out because when he said
he had a generator and solar panels, i thought we could
run a refrigerator on that power. nope. just for hot
water occasionally in the shower. no electricity at all.
that was too much for us to handle in a remote area with
the boys. so we stayed at a little b&b run by a delightful dutch couple. they instantly
pulled out a box of fischer price toys used by their
children in holland (now grown with kids of their own)and
the boys were hooked. since then we have even met his
family (dad is 87 yo) who lives in san jose and the
mountains around heredia (opa han, see picture with frank).
travelled through quepos (a beach town near manuel
antonio park) which was quaint and pleasant, had a
delightful lunch there, and visited the farmer's market
before heading on to jaco. we had heard all kinds of bad
things about haco. it was fine, and our hotel (mar de
luz)
monkeying around
our two little monkeys liked to spend most of their time by the pool. the beach proved a little scary for them. was fantastic with 4 swimming pools just outside the
door to our room. the boys loved the pools -- not so
crazy about the rocky beach.
then we decided it was time to end our "vacation" and get
back to the business of setting up a real life. we had
come to appreciate the cooler temperatures of heredia
(frank and the boys really could not live without a/c in
the coastal areas we visited) and decided to return here
to look for a place to live. we have found one house for
rent with a nice yard and view of the mountains which
looks good (lots of space -- 3 bedrooms plus an office --
and has a big jacuzzi bathtub for the boys to splash in)
but is unfurnished. we'll see if they come down on the
rent a bit.
also, the dutch couples' father (opa han) showed us his mountain
home which he had built and is really a jewel. he is
selling it. would be a great place for family
vacations as it has a huge, long breakfast table and
hangout area with fireplace around a sunken living room.
really spectacular windows.
we considered
the best way to travel
on the road from ojochal to quepos, this little guy was making better time than us along the slick, unpaved, mud highway. renting it with the rent going towards a
purchase, but decided we should find a less-pricey more
centrally located place (not in the mountains) to stay in
while we try to make business connections.
the guys are well. no sickness at all since we have been
here. whew! but of course i worry all the time about
them. they do want hugs all the time, which can be
difficult, but is also nice. they are so wonderful -- so
excited to meet people. saying hola and adios all the
time now (and gracias and miscellaneous other phrases).
their english is also really picking up. marcus
regularly says simple sentences (car coming, marcus
chocolate milk --meaning he wants some chocolate milk,
etc.) max is talking all the time, but he is extremely
attached to his binky now, so i always have to ask him to
take it out so i can understand him.
usually what he says is very clear, and he has a much
greater vocabulary than he did a month ago, but he still
does a lot of "made up language" which marcus doesn't do.
"blibby libby shlolollalal" stuff like that. rolling
his tongue, maybe imitating
looking inland
traveling up the south pacific coast towards quepos the spanish r now that i
think of it.
one of our favorite outdoor hangouts in heredia is the
town center -- which has concerts every sunday morning in
a gazabo next to the central fountain. of course the
church is right there, and the band (mostly brass) played
in the mass this sunday, then walked right out and played
in the gazebo for another hour which a procession with
the virgin mary (i think) on a float with tons of flowers
was lead around the square, ensconced in incense from the
priest's swinging incense thing. that was really fun.
there is also an outdoor playground with a great view and
on rainy afternoons (which there still are here), the
local mickey d's is our fave. they have a huge climbing
thing and we can just sit and have coffee or eat dinner
there without having to worry about cleaning up! they
also do something neat -- with the purchase of a meal,
you get a certain amount of internet time, and they have
the terminals right there in the restaurant. haven't
seen that in the states.
at the time this was written, we were doing ok
the sign says it all
yup. our bones were audibly rattling at this point. but anxious to settle into a place for a
bit and missing everyone and everything there terribly. (now we really don't miss anyone.)
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