Catroach

Mystery met a monster cockroach. In Bill’s own words, "That’s the biggest cockroach I’ve ever seen!" This roach was about four inches long and 1.5 inches wide. You’d think the cat would have a little fun with it. He sure likes hunting and playing with birdies in the states. I guess he didn’t quite know what to make of this creature.

The cat traveled extremely well with hardly a howl out of him in the airport, the plane, the taxi and the extremely curvy and bumpy car ride to the property. There was even the stop over at my aunt’s house with three yippy miniature poodles and three other cats. Surprisingly, Mystery came out of his carrier and immediately started eating.

Mystery also proved to be our good luck charm as we breezed through immigration and customs faster than we ever have before. Of course, credit has to be given to the airport staff for improving their processing operations immensely.

For anyone thinking of bringing his or her cat into Costa Rica, I have to say it was fairly easy to do.

You have to make sure you have the cat’s shots are up to date and a USDA accredited veterinarian examines the cat within ten days of the trip. The shots have to be within a year, but not less than thirty days prior to entry into the country. As of our on Nov. 2, 2008, the customs official was looking for either the Official Small Animal Health Certificate (International) or a U.S. Interstate and International certificate of Health Examination. The latter needed to be signed by my vet and send to the state capital to be approved by the state’s USDA vet within ten days of the trip. (Keep in mind, regulations change all the time in Costa Rica. Find out the current regulations right before you leave.)

We can’t say that the cat really likes it here yet. He spends most of his time hiding behind a mirror or in a bucket under the bathroom sink. You might say he’s a bucket case. He hasn’t shown much interest in leaving the cabin, which is good because I have mixed feelings about him leaving the safety of the cabin. After all, it’s a jungle out there.

Our Front Jungle (Yard)

We're Back

I better get back in blogging practice again because we are headed back to Pura Vida, the pure life, or so they call it in Costa Rica. I'm looking forward to sunshine, tropical fruits and fresh vegetables.

This time we're headed down to a neighborhood of friends with a new addition to the family - our cat. That in itself should be a frolicking good adventure. We all know how well cats adjust to new things. Mystery, or Misterio in Spanish, has already taken to excessive grooming and me to excessive worrying. Bill is certainly not helping the situation as he has nicknamed the cat "Boa Snack." It's all too probable for comfort. Maybe Karma will save the cat because we saved the dog last trip.

Here is the dog update: Squirt is now happily living on the property with our caretaker. The dog is being taken care of by the caretaker's 12 year old son who renamed her Copita, or little cup. We are looking forward to seeing them all.

Welcome to our waterfalls and jungle trails!

The last post had Bill supervising a crew to build trails down to Solrisa’s waterfalls. The exciting news is that the crew cleared the path and cut earth stairs to the pools, making the way much easier. Consequently, Bill, Squirt and I took a hike.

The waterfalls are not very far away, only about a 20-minute hike, but it’s a steep trail. It’s well worth the effort the effort though. We have an upper and lower set of falls. The upper fall quickly slides down rocks into three refreshing pools. We are thinking of calling the upper fall Tres Charcas or Three Pools. The lower fall is much taller and wider, with one big pool and gigantic tree below it. Sorry, no pictures of the lower fall, but believe me, it's spectacular. It's a toss up for me whether I like the fall or the tree better. Together, they are a personal natural wonder.

The trails reveal the true beauty of a secondary low land jungle that is trying to rejuvenate itself from partial clearing which took place years before we owned the property.

Our plan for Solrisa, is to have rustic nature trails weaving in and out of the jungle so people can experience the sights, sounds and ocean views of this park-like jungle property.

The first fall

The deep, crystal clear second pool with the third pool in the background

A jungle path

Surrounded by Green