Archive for May, 2008

Spiders.

Since moving to Costa Rica, we’ve had to deal more heavily with spiders than even our stint in California forced us to. Literally, every single time I go to use my bathtub/shower, I first have to get a cup, catch the rather large 8-legged creature running around the drain, put him outside, and then resume running the water for my bath.

Apparently my bathroom is a spider’s paradise, since I find them lurking about in there every single day. If they aren’t running around in the tub, then they’re scaling the wall above my mirror and sink.

When we first arrived, one was living behind the toilet. Can you imagine? Every time you sit down to take a tinkle, fearing that the hairy miniature monster is going to come crawling up your leg or worse… on your butt! We allowed the guy to reside behind the toilet until the day he got himself in a jam and crawled INSIDE THE ACTUAL TOILET BOWL. It was quite irritating rescuing him from the bowl, without getting him wet, and without getting bitten. He struggled and jumped, but in the end, we captured him and put him outside.

Since that day, we’ve retrieved from our bathroom and released back into the wild, no less than ten spiders… probably more, but who’s counting at this point?

Two nights ago, I walked to my computer, sat down, and started to type. I saw my smallest cat jump up at something on the curtain. When I turned around to look, I saw the biggest spider I’ve ever seen in my life, and it was only two feet away from me. I’m not kidding, it was BIGGER than this:

I woke Sean up and we haphazardly caught it and put it outside. I thought to myself,”Well, ok, at least that is probably the biggest we’ll ever have to deal with.”

So, today, while our housekeeper is over, she brings our attention to a spider that is even BIGGER than the giant we’d come across two nights ago. He’s not inside, though. He’s sitting still on our back porch making his way into our kitchen. She gets the broom and shoos him into the bushes. Then she says,”He’s a baby.”

A BABY?!?

I couldn’t snap a photo, due to my camera battery being over at Stephane’s house. I’ve Google image searched myself to death looking for an adequate example of what he was like. The closest thing I have found is this:

The only difference is he was dark grey, almost black. She then told us that this type of spider has a horrible bite, but not deadly. When he’s full grown, he’ll be covered in grey hair. I asked if it was a tarantula, and she said no.

Maybe it was the same one from two nights previous, and he just grew. So yeah, I’m basically waiting for this type of scenario to occur:

Am I going to have to dress up in something like this, in order to scare them off:

Or maybe that would just encourage them?

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Burger Shit

Our driver today, Guillermo, picked us up promptly at 11am. We took off for the banco, to pick up some Colones, and then headed to our acupuncturist.

The session today was bueno. Dr. Kim placed several strategic needles here and there and a few momentos later, I felt as though he had given me a muscle relaxer. Ahhhhhh…..although, he did comentar about how “stressed out” I still am. Well, I feel 20 times better than last week.

Dr. Kim told us that it took him 2 years to adopt the Costa Rican way of life and it did him a world of good. He calls it the “Country Mañana” which means, the country of tomorrow… where things are generally put off… until mañana (tomorrow). Low stress, no hurry, etc., etc.

After the session, Guillermo was outside waiting and we coaxed him into having lunch with us at an amazing Lebanese restaurant named Lubnan. The link I am providing doesn’t give very much information, other than location.

We had hummus along with tabule and fattoush for appetizers. The main courses consisted of a “special” which had chicken, lamb, and beef kabobs, a raw meat plate, and two shawarma sandwiches. They served the “special” with some type of butter/garlic dipping sauce that is divine! I got a coffee and Guillermo had some type of mixed drink that looked interesting, but I’m unsure of what it was.

We’ll be going back there for sure, and next time I’ll take my camera.

On the ride back home I saw the most amazing piece of graffiti Costa Rica has blessed me with as of yet. In a busy intersection of town, across the street from the Mall San Pedro, sitting on the corner is a Burger King. On the concrete wall in front of this Burger King, right where pedestrians walk past, someone has crudely spray painted “Burger Shit” to act as the side-walk sign for the fast food restaurant.

I will try to take a photo of it in the near futuro.

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Our neighborhood’s newest alarm clock

Cranky pants (me) woke up this morning, bright and early, to the sound of our neighborhood’s newest alarm clock. A really loud dog who was barking nonstop while it’s owners/care-givers talked amongst themselves. I endured around two hours of hearing the canine yelp, and it was as if he were standing right outside my bedroom door. There were few, if any, breaks in his quest to rise the nearby folks. I laid in bed praying for him to go hoarse, be distracted, or simply find a new hobby.

Unable to take it anymore, I opened my window and in a fit of sleepy rage I yelled,”Stop your barking.” To which no response occurred. I waited a few more seconds and followed with,”Shut your dog up!”

For a non-English speaking country I have to admit, my message managed to cross the language barrier. There was not another peep heard from him the rest of the morning.

Even if I hadn’t been sleeping, I can’t see how this situation would not have annoyed anyone in the hearing vicinity.

Dogs are obedient creatures when domesticated. It’s in your best interest to teach them to only bark during:

1. Emergencies

That’s it.

When they bark at:

1. Children playing
2. Cars
3. Bugs
4. Grass
5. Air

DISCIPLINE THEM and teach them barking should be used for emergencies only, such as fires, thieves in the night, children stuck in wells, and the occasional stray cat approaching your flower garden.

Yes, I’m aware that this is easier said than done, but it was your choice to get the damn dog.

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We did it…

We arrived in Costa Rica April 9th. Here is a quick video of summary of what we’ve been up to…

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