Hi Folks This is just a quick line or two to let you know that we arrived in Herredia on Wednesday, 19 March at about 9PM safe and sound with El Enano in tow. Haven´t been able to post anything until now because the entire country seems to shut down during Easter Week. Everything that is except for the grocery stores. It was really strange walking around the streets of Herredia on Thursday morning with no traffic, no pedestrians, every store shuttered and closed. So today was the first day of class at IPED. It was great to see Zeita, David, Maritza and the other faculty at the school. Everyone commented about how much my Spanish has improved since October. I kept telling everyone I had not practiced all that much with Kathi, but I think ... read more

I'm still fumbling with stuff today...rushing around getting things ready. We've finally decided to name the gnome Enano. Gnome in Spanish is 'gnomo' and I didn't think that was distinct enough. Cats are funny critters; both of our felines sense that there is something happening. The big one wouldn't leave me alone last night; constantly pestering me to hold him. Not to worry though, we have a really good pet sitter to come by and check on their food and water while we're gone. Kathi showed me the satellite phone last night. It looks just like an ordinary cell phone. Here I was expecting some bulky thing with a dish antenna, and its just a bit smaller than the size of a cigarette pack. Expensive to use, but necessary, as we found out on our last ... read more

Now all the packing has begun in earnest. We have the passports. We have the satellite phone. We've got the gnome. We've bought the Colones, and all that other stuff. Now its just waiting until the big day. Right now, plans are for us to have a departure from San Francisco on the morning of the 19th, arriving in San Jose, CR sometime in the late afternoon. Stay tuned... read more