Dear Lisa

Dear Lisa,

How delish. I love your expansive notes, very telling of you. You write just as if you were here, across from me. I'm sitting, now, at a table in the ice cream store up the road from our house. It's an open-concept design, with only the kitchen behind doors. The rest is 1/2 a covered patio with tables, and 1/2 under the branches of a very big tree. There are Magpie Jays (look them up, they are cool) that hang out on the branches just feet above my head, squirking and squibble de dibbelding. I'm in the shade and online, connected to home, in a way, so I'm happy. My breakfast is a peanut butter and banana shake in yogurt. I think you could probably find a picture of it if you were to google Robin's Ice Cream Nosara.

Just a few minutes ago, my enjoyable conversation with the owner, Robin, was interrupted by Don Carlos, who is her friend but also is the fellow who had shown interest in helping me. I think his end of things must've fallen flat when he proposed the idea to his boss, because when he came in he spoke only to Robin, with a quick "ola" to me. These people are very concerned about loosing face. I can only assume our previous plans have fallen thru. I had a few hints that this would happen, and have already turned my sites toward the public school, Santa Marta.

The challenge there is to get up to the school. It's a fair distance up a cruel road. This is a very mountainous area, so traveling anywhere outside the immediate area is difficult to say the least. The woman, Saskia, who's running the summer program for kids has shown interest and asked me to come back next year to build a garden at the public school. This is probably the best find so far, if it's legit.

I am considering renting a golf cart to travel up there. We've rented bikes for a few days here and there, but have scaled back on our original plan, based on the price given us before coming. We budgeted for $40/week, but found that it's $10/day. This is also the case for internet, which we deemed necessary for the full time we're here, so we're trying to find ways to spend less elsewhere.

The golf carts are $60/day plus one has to give up their passport for the duration of the rental time. I'm not comfortable with giving up my identification, having just read about a woman who lost hers right before a trip to Italy in the New Orleans' Katrina Hurricane. I can't imagine trying to work that one out while here. The pace is painfully slow on a good day.

I may give in and take a chance, seeing as how gardening up in the real town of Nosara. Where we are down here, it's called Projecto Americano. Quite touristy. Quaint, and still run by mostly Ticos, but not where the locals reside.

This morning while still at Robin's I spoke with 2 couples, one after the other. One is originally from Banff/Calgary (moved to Colorado, but for the sake of this letter are 'the Canadians') area, and the other from N. California, up in the mountains. Both couples were good to talk with. The Canadians told me of the manager at The Guilded Iguana, a Canuck who shares the same ecological interests. I will go and chat with her today on my way to the bookstore and grocery shopping.

The American couple were interested to hear about the farm/horseback ride to Javier's family's home because their home and garden are built in the permaculture way. I don't know how much I've told you about my interest in permaculture, so I hope you'll bear with me. It's a concept that I had started looking into during the last year of my Community Shared Agriculture, as a way of growing with nature's systems in mind. Permaculture is a man-made system that mimics mother nature very closely, and agrees that we are part of nature, rather than outside of it. It's very complex, and could possibly be a life-study for me, but I will try to give you an example. When planting a tree in the permaculture way, one chooses the site with all of the elements in mind; where will it shade, how much water will reach it's roots, what do I plant under it to best benefit the tree and the underplanting, will the underplantings and it be co-dependent, how will this tree effect subsequent generations? In permaculture, all life is interconnected and we can use this to best situate all that we need to survive, to be sustainable in what we use to live.

OK, that's it for our Permie lesson today, *smiles*. The American couple, it turns out, are a very good source of information. The fellow's web site is a forum for how to grow tropical, and sub tropical plants. Altho I don't want to be heavily engaged in this aspect of the gardens, it's good to know that those who will be can find resources online.

Networking. I asked Erroll just now if he knew what that means. I explained thus: "you know when you've thought 'man! my mother talks to EVERYONE!'?". *NODS*. (man of few words). "That's networking, it's pretty cool how most people I talk to have some connection to what I'm doing".

I feel back on track today. The disconnect I've been feeling both from hitting brick walls each way I've turned of late and from being homesick has lifted somewhat. I think purpose is what a person needs. The kids are finding the midday heat oppressive (of course they miss the morning coolness by getting up at noon). They do their homework as fill-in, then are bored. Surfing is expensive, but they might work something out between them to get that going. Erroll is going to ride with me to the store soon, and we'll stop at the bookstore for some good reads. The path to the store is more forgiving, and quite a treat to travel by bike.

Uncle Bob is well on his way to a good trip. He's found his way to Downtown Nosara twice (despite his bad feet). He's made fast friends with Consuello, the librarian, and has given English lessons and taken Spanish from her. The last time he went up there, he found and bought a bike for a decent price. He'll do whatever fixing he can, and leave behind both it and some tools when he leaves Costa Rica. He also has secured a volunteer job of teaching English at the Library to grade 3s. He's a happy man. Purpose.

Well, my dear, I must be off. Thank you for your letter. Hope to see you on facebook in the evening.

LOVE,

MJ