Paul and Marg's Adventures

We went to the market in Quepos and then on to the National Park in Manuel Antonio today. There was lots of wildlife and we swam on some remote beaches. We ended with a drink at the “Airplane Bar” (El Avion) overlooking the ocean…..a goood day!

We had a good day showing Melissa and Brian around Jaco. We went up a mountain to overlook the city and then went to Hermosa  to watch the surfers and the sunset.

Today we took a drive through the mountains on our way to pick up Melissa and Brian at the airport in San Jose. These are just some of the pictures from that 4 hours in the mountains.

Happy Birthday Lil

Did a little wandering and shopping in David before catching the bus to the border and then driving back home. Took a little side trip to San Isidro – on a beautiful road which winds through the mountains.

We hired a car for the morning to drive us around the area and show us some sights. Later he drove us back to David where we spend the night before returning to the border.

David is a city of about 120K but not all that interesting so we decided to take the bus up to (you can’t take a rental car across the border) Boquete for one day – an area known for its coffee, tourism, indigenous peoples and temperate climate.

Costa Rica has a 90 day visa so for people who want to stay longer you have to go out of the country for 72 hours and then re-enter. We were only staying 21 days over but the problem was our driver’s license was invalid so we did our “visa run” to Panama’s Pacific coast. The first city in is David then we went up into the mountains to Boquete which is known for its culture and it also has a large retirement community because of its warm days and cool nights.

Today we have been here for 3 months and to celebrate we went for a drive up to Orotina near San Jose. We always take the scenic route when we can and stopped by the Crocodile and Bird Tours place, some remote beaches, and on the way back, we climbed a 1200 foot 1.5KM mountain to a 5 star resort for a drink and a sunset…..cool place, very scary road. One and half lanes with unguarded edges that drop off hundreds of feet on both sides in some places…..but the view was worth it.

Did some shopping and Jaco and then took some pictures at Playa Hermosa (Beach) on the way home….

Happy Birthday Paul – this is a big one (60)

We have been excited about presenting a digest version of our seminar  “The Pleasure Principle” on giftedness, and “Living an Authentic Life” on finding purpose, for a group of about 30 young people here in Esterillos Oeste. Dennis and Kyle Leon and the surfers of Pura Vida Church were our host. Both Marg and I were very impressed with the respectful, interested, intelligent and  mature participants. Dennis and Kyle are doing a terrific job helping these young people grow and become leaders in their country.

El Vago Restaurant and Pizza (Steve and Margoth) who also hosted our film festival very generously provided pizza for everyone…..they have been amazingly kind and generous….A BIG THANKS to you both! Other individuals from the community contributed funds to provide rice and chicken, cookies, watermelon and soda (these kids can eat) to help make this an amazing day.

Marg and I hope this is the start of a great friendship!

A couple of years ago I was looking at Costa Rica on Google Earth and noticed this interesting looking bay and town called Golfito. I Googled it and found that it was one of those off the tourist trek cruisers (sailors) destinations with a promised of a bit of sub-culture.

We decided to indulge our curiosity and see more of the country by driving down to the border (Panama) on the Pan-American Hiway (not what you might be imagining) and also see Golfito. The trip was awesome (especially Uvita), the border was a bust, but Golfito proved to be what I thought it would be – interesting (it’s not only what you see, its also who you meet.)

Our car rental (for 1 month) started today so we drove down to Quepos and Manuel Antonio which are ocean side tourists towns about 40 minutes from here. It was a nice day but probably the worst light for taking pictures since we arrived. I took a few but it was a struggle.

Happy Birthday JT…..

from Mom and Paul!!!!!

A few photos from today…..

Happy FIRST Anniversary Tye and Maria

Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy

Feliz cumpleanos Brenda!!!

Eleanor is away right now and her dog Buddy is terrified of thunder. Last night it was a bit noisy and Buddy came down to our house and hid in our shower. In the morning we went for a walk through the farm at the end of our road…..always amazing stuff to see.

Today we made the trip into San Jose and took the scenic route on the way home from dropping Eleanor at the airport. We also stopped to see the crocs as well.

More pictures from the Parrita Fair….Bull Riding Cowboys!

Cody and Matt decided to go to Parrita to the “Fair” and asked us to join them. We got there fairly early in the day while people were enjoying the music and the rides. The highlight was the bull riding competition – first time for me. I enjoyed taking pictures….hope you enjoy looking at them.

Earlier this week I woke up to the sound of something moving around outside our house. When I looked out the window I saw our friend Karen’s horse standing in our front yard.  Apparently they don’t bother tying them up. The horse was here earlier in the week and came back to look around. She walked right up to the house and then looked all around eventually meeting up down the street with another horse she was out-and-about with. I didn’t get a picture since it was 2:30 am.

This morning we had another visitor. She came down our sidewalk and along one side of the house to the backyard. She nibbled the grass looked around and decided we weren’t very interesting and climbed the stairs to the carport as if this was really just an everyday event. Costa Rica has its own rules!!!

(got the picture this time)

Happy Birthday Mom!! (would have been your 98th)

I am writing everyday but still taking a few pictures and having fun doing the film festival every Wednesday. Marg is writing music and playing some of her songs with Bri…..other than that we just eat, sleep, go for a walk and swim.

Happy Birthday Auntie Hilda – I miss you!

Interesting thing happened on the way to the pool today. A white nosed Coati appeared through the hedge. We looked at each other in surprise, the Gorobo (Lizzy) darted for her hole, and Coati slipped back through the hedge in a matter of 30 seconds. But it was the highlight of my day. I consider it a “gift” to see an animal that only lives in Central America.  Here is what they look like,,,,they are part of the raccoon family.

White Nosed Coati

Happy Birthday Brenda!!!

A few more pictures I shot over the weekend……

A FEW MORE PICTURES FROM THE PREVIOUS SHOOTINGS.

We have been busy writing and working on other projects and haven’t been touring around and taking pictures. We are planning to rent a car for a few weeks and do some extensive “touristing” soon. There should be some good pictures from that period. In the meantime here are a few of the recent pictures I have taken that I like.

Sometimes I wonder why we are so blessed to have so much fun, meet such cool people, and all of this in an amazing paradise – don’t pinch me!

I have been busy writing and haven’t done a lot of picture taking. We met James on the beach one of the first days we were here. He talked about his life of adventure and all the things that he had done….Marg and I were knocked out by his lifestyle and love for adventure. Even his story of how he came to CR is an amazing intersection of circumstances. After a year here he is now going back to the Colorado. Going to miss this dude…….so we all got together and partied for him (hosted by Tom and Sheila).

P.S. –  we’ve been working on our Spanish but it is not easy…..been feeling kinda left behind until we saw this in the local newspaper Ad for a boat tour – “no high hills allowed”. Sad, but somehow it made me feel better about my Spanish.

We go to Jaco (hoc-ko) about every 10 days to get some food and fish and some things that are not available here in Esterillo Osete. I need a haircut but I thought I would let Bob be my “canary in the mine shaft”. Good thing he wanted it short…I took a pass on the haircut in favour of Margaret taking a run at it…..

Something for you beauty lovers…….be inspired!

On Tuesday afternoon my computer went to heaven. Not sure what caused it but it died a rather sudden death. One minute it was “healthy” and the next minute I came back and it was DOA. I have been trying to write and transfer some of the stuff I had backed up to a small computer we had also brought with us. Will get back to posting some pictures soon for those of you who are enjoying the beauty of Costa Rica while they wait out the winter.

Usually we spend the afternoon in the pool but today we decided to do like the locals and go to the beach. This is their summer vacation, and a busy time at the beach as you will see from the pictures. Later we had a Spanish lesson with our neighbour Tracy (from BC) which was very helpful. Now we just have to learn what she taught us – that is tomorrow’s work.

We got a chance to go to Los Suenos (The Dream) in Herradura. This is one of the most up-scale developments in the country. We got invited because Eleanor and Bob knew we would like the boats. For those who want to dream…. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjols-los-suenos-marriott-ocean-and-golf-resort/

Happy Birthday Brian!!!

I’ve been busy writing and working on other projects the last few days but I did take a few pictures of things that caught my attention.

Been busy working on the writing projects (currently working on The Forerunner Film)  – been making some good headway. Saturday we did shopping, walked on the beach at sunset and spent some time with Cody and Matt at the DVD Centre talking about revising our web site. Sunday we had a slow day – swam in the pool and had Tracey, Eleanor and Bob over for dinner. We are starting to act like we live here. The weather has been about as near perfect as you can get with temperatures around 27 with a light breeze. It has been so nice you just want the day to never end – but they do, usually with a blaze of colour or like tonight with a rainbow.

P.S. Did I mention we are doing a film festival here…..see the poster below.

Chris Allerton, 1947-2011

Today is the celebration of the life of Chris Allerton, a friend, artist, father, husband, and naturalist. Chris was a part of our community and a man whose ideas and perceptions always contributed to the growth and stimulation of those around him. We will miss you greatly. Farewell, good friend.

Paul & Marg

Yesterday (Wednesday, Jan. 5th) we had our first of 8 film nights at El Vago (Beach Bar and Pizza). We showed Shark Water which in part was filmed near here in the Cocos Islands of Costa Rica. We had about 35+ people which was a lot more than what we expected. The discussion after the film was very lively with a lot of very good ideas and thoughts. Next week we will be showing “The Future of Food”.

In the morning we went to see a farm where some local people are developing a sustainable housing community and environmental centre – possibly a home for The Forerunner Project’s ARC Project (Alternative Housing Community). The “Kicker” was the 300-400 year old tree which dominated the landscape in that area.

Our friend Karen Young took this amazing picture of her dog “Gary”…I thought you should see it.

If you know Gary - it's kinda like putting your head in a lion's mouth

January 1st we went to the beach and played in the surf then talked on Skype to some of our friends and family.

On Sunday we went for a drive in the country and had lunch at a river-side cafe. Great food in the middle of nowhere. The Ticas love to camp by the river over the Christmas holiday. On the way home we saw a group of moneys…..still trying for that great shot!

The Sun just went down and I am sitting on the balcony writing this blog entry….the jungle is starting to come ALIVE with sounds of birds and moneys – amazing, extravagant creation.

Monday was a writing day and a good one too…no pictures, just words.

I have been waiting to get some good pictures of the surfers by using my waterproof camera and going out into the waves, which worked well, except when I was done, I put the camera in a velcro pocket only to discover it was gone when I got back to shore. The waves are shockingly big and strong but I still don’t understand how the camera escaped my prison.

Tonight’s New Years Eve costume party at Brigitte and Fred’s  should be “interesting”….the Ming Dynasty costumes Marg and I are wearing will be far enough “out there” to be very “in”……….

The PARTY was lots of fun….lots of dancing to salsa and oldies and the costumes were very cool – beautiful house with an even better view of the ocean and the starlit sky. The fireworks were amazing, too!!

The pictures speak for themselves…..

One of our BEST days here in Costa Rica with a good morning up at Eleanor’s looking out over the ocean. Then we went to Parrita to the thrift store to find costumes for the New Year’s eve party. Marg got us each a Chinese looking outfit she says is from the Ming dynasty  ;).

Then we went out to a beautiful waterfall in the jungle (note the awesome pictures) then home for a snooze and a great dinner at a friend’s restaurant. I think it was the best food both of us have had at a restaurant in 30 years…..OMG it was good!!! Sorry folks, I didn’t take a picture; my camera battery was dead.

Some more pictures from  Christmas.

Today is my 60th birthday. I enjoyed taking some pictures on the beach then later Marg and I celebrated with Eleanor and Bob.

Ahh today is the longest night (Winter Solstice) and from here on in days are getting longer (and nights shorter). In this part of the world, so near the equator, there is almost no change, but at home the change is from about 8.5 hours of daylight to 15.5 hours a day on June 21st.

Today it rained so I shot some pictures from the veranda….

We are starting to settle in and meet people in the expat community. Last night we were invited to a wedding party for some Canadians who are in the process of building a home in Esterillos as their part time residence.  We got a chance to meet some other musicians and will try and get a “jam” going.

Here are some of the pictures I’ve taken in the last few days……I haven’t been doing a very good job of capturing what is going on – sooo much beauty!!

Happy birthday Bruce!

Here are some of the pictures I took as we started to settle in and look around.

We’re pretty excited because we just finalized our trip to Costa Rica from December 9 to April 1. We’ve rented a lovely house built by a Canadian lady who has been living there for almost twenty years. She lives in another home not too far from our property and will be a tremendous asset to us – linguistically and culturally. We have a great “jungle view” in the back by the pool and are only a 5 minute walk down to the ocean. We’re in a community called Esterillos Oeste, about 20 minutes south of Jaco, on the Pacific coast. (pictures are on the way)

We’re both looking forward to working on some writing projects while we “stay put” and soak in the sun (we’re ready for a Vitamin D overload!!). We keep hearing from others about the amazing beauty of Costa Rica – found in the jungle, the beaches, the exotic birds and animals, and the people!! We’ll be celebrating Paul’s 60^th birthday on December 23 – so we’re going to start partying then and just keep on going til New Year’s!! (just kidding) We’re looking forward to meeting many new interesting people – just like we have on all of our other trips!!

Paul will be posting some photographs and journal entries each week on this blog. Hope you can join us here and enjoy the beauty of Costa Rica!

We’d love to hear from you so please keep in touch either through the blog or email (paulattheforerunnerprojectdotcomormargattheforerunnerprojectdotcom) or by skype (paulandmargw).

Wishing each of you a Joyful Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!!!!

Marg and Paul