Almost 3 months

Gosh, where does the time go? Seems like we just arrived. Well this Central American country insists that you leave every 90 days, until you have established residency. We will be working on that but probably not for another year or until you know who starts receiving his Social Security. Laura is one step ahead of me, but we need to show a combined income and we are not wanting to ship our retirement down here just yet. So that means we leave the country every 90 days. This is a little sticky at times, only becasuse Gringos think it means 3 months. The costa Rican government , on the other hand looks for the ones waiting for the 91, or 92nd day. Those are the ones that do not get to come back. Not wanting to be one of those, we are leaving. Remember, I had to go back to the states to purchase a new computer.... Why do I want to relive this one, anyway, I am good and do not have to leave, but Laura on the other hand, not wanting to be an illegal, needs to take a trip. Now living here has it's ups and downs as you are figuring out. A forced mini vacation seems to be a plus, but like any vacation, you need to spend what you may not have or want to spend.. We have several options. 1. a 15 hour bus trip with the chickens and goats etc. to Nicaraga, once there No one knows where you should stay or what you might want to do for three days, (72 hours) to be exact. Option 2, is a long and muddy drive to Panama, same situation. Or... fly to an all inclusive resort owned by the Columbians, (probably the same ones that stole my computer) off the coast of Nicaraga. San Andres Island. Sounds like earthquake city to me.... Gosh, If Laura has to go, I guess I will accompany her. So we are off on the 22nd for three days in the Caribian.

Once we get back we will spend 2 nights in San Jose. On the second night my brother and sister-in-law will arrive. It will then be off to Arenal volcano, Can't wait to add pic's to the blog. You will all have to be patient for those. Anyway 2 nights at the volcano, one day at the hot springs and a leasurly jaunt back to Jaco. should be exciting and enjoyable.

Up until last week, I have dreaded driving to San Jose. It is the worst city to drive in than any I have ever been in before. No rules of the road don't make it any easier, or more enjoyable, not to mention very few if any street names and absolutely no addresses. try locating a place of importance, 154 meters south of Mcdonalds next to Bank O'National Calle Yesenta... ok ahhh, how do we get there? directions... they have a don't ask, don't tell policy here, I am sure.

So, last. week I met a guy from Ca;ifornia, no less who had a GPS in his car with , you guessed it, a Costa Rica map. Wow! There is a Costa Road God afterall! Easy to install, all you need is a GPS, not just any GPS, It has to be a Garmin, ok, no problem Have one sent from Best Buy... no way, We don't ship outside of the U.S. (besides you guys do'nt have street addresses) (ooops I forgot) ok, no problem, Brother Steve is on his way down. Have it sent so he can bring it. Long story short, We are awaiting it's arrival in British Columbia at my sisters house, so he can bring it down. I am so excited to be able to drive in and around San Jose. I will keep you posted on this one.

It is time to give you all of the details of the Mystery Fruit. I notice in my sister Liynda's latest blog she is offering a free trip anywhere if they can identify the Mystery fruit. How original, I still love her though. See if you can get it. I already put in my guess. Here then is one of the winning descriptions of the Costa Rican Mystery fruit.



Maranon is an unusual fruit. Its seed, the cashew nut, grows on top of it in a thick, rubbery shell. Don't try to bite open the shell; it's very bitter.
Cashews must be roasted before they can be eaten; they are poisonous when raw. The ripe fruit can be eaten or made into a refresco (shakes)
or fermented into wine. It is extremely juicy!

The true fruit of this evergreen tree is the cashew nut resembling a miniature boxing-glove; consisting of a double shell containing a caustic
phenolic resin in honeycomb-like cells, enclosing the edible kidney-shaped kernel. An interesting feature of the cashew is that the nut develops
first and when it is full-grown but not yet ripe, its peduncle or, more technically, receptacle, fills out, becomes plump, fleshy, 2 to 4 1/2 in
(5-11.25 cm) in length, with waxy, yellow, red, or red-and-yellow skin and spongy, fibrous, very juicy, astringent, yellow pulp. Thus is formed the
conspicuous, so-called cashew apple, better known in Central America as "jocote de marañón"

The production and processing of cashew nuts is complex and difficult because of the great handicap of the toxic shell oil. Therefore, Latin
Americans and West Indians over the years have been most enthusiastic about the succulent cashew apple and have generally thrown the nut
way or processed it crudely on a limited scale, except in Brazil, where there is a highly developed cashew nut processing industry. Of course,
the tree was native to Brazil, so they have had more time. Now it can be found in most tropical climates where it has been casually planted.

Fresh apples are highly perishable. Processed, the fruit is often dried and candied while the juice may be bottled or fermented into wine. It
also makes delicious jellies and chutney. It is notably high in ascorbic acid and tannin,. Failure to remove the tannin from the juice may account
for the nutritional deficiency in heavy imbibers of cashew apple wine in Mozambique, for tannin prevents the body's full assimilation of protein.
The tree bark and leaves of the cashew tree are used for medical purposes (antidirraheal) while extracts are used in body care products.


This was just one of three correct guesses. The Cat will have to draw a name out of the hat to determine the winner. Great Job to all three of the correct winners. Although the tree puts out the cashew nut, it is more common down here for the flower, which is actually the fruit. It makes a very good addition to your diet and does a good job on your digestive system. I mix it with fresh orange juice, (Jeugo Naranga) and sucar, mmmm. straight jusce makes great ice cubes for iced tea.

It is Mango season here, It's mango season all year here. We took a drive up into the hills the other day to pick mangos, since I got tired of paying for them in the market. They really taste much better when you go pick them from the trees. We have about 7 kinds. These are Honey Mangos, Very fiberous, sweet and really full of vitamens. Eat them skin and all, sort of like eating a plum witha really thick skin.

Take a look at this bird. he really is magnificant. He posed for us and as we tried to get closer and closer, he said that's enough and took off. He is a turkey vulture and at a distance looks a lot like a turkey.

We found a little waterfall not far from our Casa. It is located up a small valley and if you want to see it, you pay the young girl one dollar to park your car. She runs off with your money and you are free to roam.

I have always thought of writing a book, but somehow, I think this is more fun. Trying to put all all of those words down on paper just seems like a, well time consuming. so I think I will just continue writing small chapter for the blog. It is a heck of a lot more fun. Until next time....

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