Entrepreneurial thieves will cut the wire at the box, then tie it to their cars, and pull the wire out. Sweet. I told the contractor that I don’t believe that the wire should have been installed without first making the meter box secure enough to at least make it difficult for thieves to steal the wire. One way to secure it is to enclose it completely in cement. That’s what I’m having done now. Jairo said that another way was to put curves in the buried wire (which is in a plastic tube) which makes it impossible to pull out.

These are some of the things I have to take care of. Also, an alarm system that is hard-wired is going to be installed today. Marcos, the alarm guy, is pretty punctual for Costa Rica. A definite asset. His number in San Ramon is 8871-9249. When all this is done, I will put some appliances and furniture in the house (next trip). Now, I only have a small bed, some chairs and a hammock. But my cement kitchen counter is now my desk. I did rig up a closet to hang my clothes up so no insects or worse will make them their home. Good news - I haven't seen a scorpion in two weeks. I keep my floors very clean. I also do yoga on them. I need to buy a mat.

Just Another Sunset  (no lens filters - cheap camera)

I realized that one of the reasons I like this place is that hanging out here is like flying at 2,400 ft. The land drops off to the ocean, so it’s like flying through a pass. And I can often see several cloud types and layers; and two or three of them are below me. Yesterday, the sun set with at least four layers of clouds at different altitudes. One mid-layer cloud formation was not wide, and, for a while, was glowing red-orange as if it were radioactive.

I don't go use the computer every day, but I often do. And I usually check the news and email in the afternoon. I download news stories (mainly business), then read them later while I’m in my hammock, or in the morning at my kitchen counter. Just hanging out here, doing nothing, is amazing. I lay in the hammock and stare out at the green hills, mountains and ocean, and watch the birds or clouds and wonder what is so important back in the U.S.  I always try to get back from errands in San Ramon by 4:30 in the afternoon. And I'm always asleep before 9 pm. Not very exciting. But peaceful.

11-18 Yesterday, I paid my property taxes for all four lots. It was quick and easy. It took me about 20 minutes, and was a pleasant experience. Maybe I was lucky. Taxes for all four of my lots was a total of about $100. I don’t think they have in their records that my house is complete yet, so I just paid for the lots. Doing stuff like that is an excellent opportunity to practice Spanish. I actually have some time this trip to study my past tense. (And many of the office workers are nice looking Ticas.) And although Jairo is speaking a lot more English these days, he usually makes me speak Spanish.

Are you coming down the 11th? You really can't imagine how great this place is during the sunsets and early evenings. I know you think it's great, but it's even better. It’s definitely better than I imagined, and I spent almost half a year working on this house. It’s different when you get to stay the whole day and don’t have to rush back to town before dark.

                         Omar is fixing my sod

Paul S. told me that Rancho Lobo started with just a few houses also, and at one time they were wondering if it was ever going to take off. He thinks this place will do the same. (Of course, now we have to factor in the recession.) Supposedly, another person is having a house designed by Nelson for the lot just below Gary's. Gary is really changing that spec house of Jose's at the entrance to Butterfly. He's making a ton of improvements to it. We should all be grateful.

11-18  I really like it at my house. I appreciate everything I did. I made it very organic and natural, so I have a good feeling when I'm in or around it. There's nothing pretentious. And the simple terracotta-tile floors feel good to walk on and do yoga on. Very earthy. Speaking of earthy,  I noticed that the tiles are the same color as the dirt slopes on the side of the house. There's no sheet rock or plastic or anything fake in the house. (Glass windows, though.) It's morning right now, and I've got the radio on, which is broadcasting a little news in English. Omar is putting the sod back on the front slope. Omar and Roger are the new “guards” now. They’re not really guards. They are also working on Vince’s house. But they’ll do in a pinch. The one time I spotted the headlights of a car driving over to Ann’s house at night, I went to investigate and found Omar and Roger already out with their flashlights. Omar asked me if I had a gun. I told him he wasn’t getting paid enough to shoot anyone or to get shot. We’ll just hang out and wait for the car to drive back. The car stopped and told us he was lost. It was a taxi. Hmmmm. I took down his license number and walked around the car, looking into the back. I didn’t see anything.

P.S. Poles and wires were just installed on the pista from San Ramon to Esparza. When I asked what they were, the workers told me it was for cable and internet.

Hey, What's Don Ho doing here?  (It's really Giovanni, the backhoe operator)

11-19  Trish, what's up? Gary, the ex-cop, is rescuing the house that Jose built on the corner. Gary spent the night in Jose's office shack the other day, and Butterfly Dances had it's first neighborly evening. Gary and I sat out on my front yard, eating watermelon and drinking Guaro and club soda into the wee hours of the night (about 8:00 pm). It was a typical, warm, beautiful and peaceful night at Butterfly Dances.

My window bars were almost all installed, but then I had Gerardo remove them and change them a little. There's more to bars than you think when you're trying to take advantage of the views. Once again, I'm the first here to do something at Butterfly, so I have to learn on my own. You won’t get any advice from the craftsmen. Whatever you ask for, they’ll do. I enclosed a pic of one of the windows before they took it down to change. It looks good, but there was just a bit too many horizontals. When they change them, all the horizontals will line up in the middle on the front of the house. The bars themselves won’t be as aesthetic, but the view from inside won't be as blocked.

I had the horizontals taken out (to the dismay of Gerardo)

11-20 Winds were 50 mph two days ago, and are now still gusting over 40. Gary’s roof blew off his house. (see windstorm video) The rafters lifted from the walls. They weren't attached to the top of the wall. What the .…? That was the house that Victor built - who was fired. I think I told you about the rafter bottom ends that were elevated and nailed to two short two by fours. Muy Loco, and I had told Victor I thought so. But I certainly never suspected that the rafters weren't attached to the top of the walls. Gary just closed on the house last week. It wasn't completely finished. He was pretty upset yesterday about the whole situation. (Wouldn't you be?) Jairo and I tried to cheer him up. And Jose is out of country, so Gary doesn’t know if Jose will compensate him or not. We all think that he will. But Gary had wanted to move in to the house very soon. That's not going to happen, now. As a matter of fact, he originally wanted a finished house. Ann lost her composition shingles. The wind continued for a second night last night. Ann lost some more shingles, and I haven't seen what Gary's house looks like this morning, as I’m writing this in the morning from my kitchen.

Thankfully, my house had no problems. The failure of the other roofs was due to deficient construction techniques. Oh yeah, Jose’s little office trailer lost half of its roof, but you know trailers. I've heard that, although this is the windy season, winds this strong haven’t occurred in eight years.

 Click on the next 4 Windstorm pics to enlarge

Gary's House - Post Windstorm	Gary's Interior Post Windstorm
Ann lost some shingles	Jose's trailer lost some roofing

Winds still howling

It certainly isn't boring around here. My house and small lot are great. (Did I already mention that?) Whoever designed it and saw to its details did an unreal job. Oh yeah, that was me. (And thanks to Jairo.) Oh, the electricity went from flickering to off just now because the winds are still howling. There's a venturi pass in the mountains right where Gary's house is. The wind speed increases there. A lot!

The professional alarm system is installed. It cost me 435 dollars for 4 inside motion sensors. I use the other system that I brought down as a kind of doorbell. I aim it at my driveway outside. But there's false alarms with all outside sensors. It also alerts me to bovine presence.

11-21 Regarding the bars, I had to forego the horizontals for the view. If I said that to someone at, say, Rancho Lobo, they would think I'm nitpicking. But this whole house is designed for the views. And the sunsets here are like the sunsets over the mountains at Taos, New Mexico. I just saw the best sunset I’ve ever seen. And they last so long, they have a life of their own. I filmed this one I but haven't looked at it yet. (see link) And only I am enjoying it from the Butterfly location. I am the man. Oh, I still have no electricity because of winds. But the water pressure is good, so far. Now, it’s evening and I’ve got candles lit around the front rooms of the house. One of the candles is on top of my tall closet wall that the Tico carpenters thought should have gone all the way to the ceiling. Who’s laughing now? Well, nobody really.

                Lighting during the occasional blackout

It's night, and the lights of Puntarenas are down and to my right. Country house lights are spread out in front of me. Ann’s view will be spectacular in a different way. She'll have no houses ever in front of her and she’ll be able to see way up the Nicoyan gulf. She’ll be master of the valley. But Kurt's house will have a similar unobstructed view. His house is situated just below and in front of Ann. He's got an awesome jungle adjacent his house. (And I use 'awesome' in the real sense.) When I'm checking out his construction, I expect to see Tarzan swinging down to his house. But really, I think everyone here will have a great view, and probably think they're view is the best.

The wind is howling outside for the third day. I can hear a little clanging in the direction of Gary's house where some loose sheets of tin are swinging in the wind and hitting other pieces of tin. There was some racket on the side of my roof the last two nights because the side flashing wasn't pressed tight to the wood. I got up there today and put some screws in it. Now, the noise is just from the wind. It seems the wind is a little lighter right now, but I thought the same thing last night. Even during normal nights, the wind picks up in the early morning hours when the land is coldest. You'd know that if you were a local like me.

Ann’s house lost only the shingles and tar paper. I drove over there today. Yesterday, I drove to her house, but I couldn't get out of the car because the wind was so strong.

Ann, I disagree about the weather being sad. I find it very interesting, and I find it to be very Costa Rican. The real goal when building a house here should be to work with nature, whether it's land, weather or whatever. You can't tame it, so you have to get along with it. Isn't nature one of the reasons we want to build houses here? If you don't want to get along with it, then problems will never cease.

Regarding the thefts in Rancho Lobo that everyone is making a bid deal of, it doesn’t affect my life here or my attitude. And it shouldn’t affect the residents at Rancho Lobo, in my opinion. All the Ticos have bars on their windows. When in Rome, dude. They say if you've got bars on your windows, then the thieves will go on to the next house. I'm hoping Gary doesn't put bars on his windows and doors. Just kidding.

I try to be back from errands by late afternoon to have a Gauro and club soda whilst in my hammock, and watch the sun set and the lights of Puntarenas rise. I haven't seen the world change overnight due to the few thefts, and the sunsets are still the best I've ever seen. The sun takes 30 minutes or more to set, then the valley lights twinkle on, then Jupiter illuminates right above right above Venus, then the stars come out. It's like watching a movie.

My electricity was off for two days. I was using candles and flashlights and didn't have hot water for two days. The temperature here allows me to sleep comfortably with just a sheet. Two toucans were next door in my adjacent lot this morning. The wind is still blowing for the 4th night. It calms down during the day. The DJ on the radio keeps saying the wind will stop.

Later   I just got my electricity back. I hope it lasts. I’d like to finish editing a movie of the winds and a sunset, and I need electricity for my computer. And I'd like to take a hot shower. But there's still another beautiful sunset from my hammock. Only solar power needed for that.

11-22 Trish, the X-10 alarm system I brought down is wireless. But there's no battery backup for the siren. That's one reason I had the wired system installed. I have theories about roof tin vacating houses during the high winds. I think the side flashing goes first because of the tiny screws, then  the roof goes.  I went up on my roof, and put in more and bigger screws. The winds were just as strong last night - 4 nights now. It's howling as I write. I heard it will last either two more days, or six. (I know - I need another word to describe the wind.)

I might leave on Wednesday or Thursday to go to California to visit my mother and brother. Why should I be in a hurry to go back to freezing temps in NH? Ain't my thing. Do you know about this place www.cabinasofcostarica.com? Nice, new cabins with internet, TV, laundry, maid, security. They’re half-way between San Ramon and Butterfly. $600 a month for my friends. Just tell them you talked to me, and they’ll give you the $600 rate. The manager’s name is Caesar.

11-23 Here's the alarm website for the inexpensive on you can get in the state. http://www.x10.com.  Remember, my setup didn't have a battery backup for the siren. If you can find that there, you're all set. Also, they're very helpful over the phone. They can help you decide what package would work for you. Big discounts with packages. Paul S. is a big believer in the system. He's been using it for many years.

If anyone needs an estimate for window bars, the telephone number of the bar guys I'm using in San Ramon is 8840-3099. His name is Gerardo. Gerardo and Rodrigo. They work hard, and on Saturdays. Now, I've got the bars installed except the sliders which won't be installed until Tuesday. I go over to their workshop and talk to them while they're working. I find it all very interesting.

Leon, I just realized why all this weather and wind and erosion doesn't bother me like it does some others. When the wind started to vibrate my gable flashing the first night, I discovered very small screws were holding it in place. I replaced them all with bigger screws. It's likely some houses lost roofs when they lost the side flashing because then the wind could get under the sheets of roof tin which could then become wings. And when a little of the dirt fill slipped, I immediately had the workers pack the dirt and plant more sod. During rainstorms, I walk around the house with an umbrella to study the drainage of my house and property. It reminds me of sailing in San Francisco Bay. Some rigging would always break when you'd sail your new used-boat out in the slot of the bay where the winds doubled or more. Then you'd limp back, replace it with better rigging and go again, until your boat was very seaworthy. Here, they're all crying about the wind and their roofs. Just fix it until it's right, man.

When I woke up this morning, my cows, the Three Amigos, were standing in front of my terrazzo, staring at me while I still lay in bed.

             Pisote (stock photo)

Leon and Sara, eat your hearts out. You've only got goats. Check out my Three Amigos. Yesterday morning, my two toucans were in their morning tree in the lot next to my house. They were there this morning, also. Later, I drove down the development to check out something, and a pisote  ran in front of me. It looked like a big black cat, but had a pointed snout. Then, while I drove slow along the busy Rte 1 to San Ramon because of construction, there was a white-faced monkey just sitting in a tree right along the side of the road, not caring at all about the traffic. That was a bit strange- him sitting along the side of the road.

                 Pantera

Ken, the picture of the pisote that you sent me wasn’t really what I saw. The animal I saw was so black that it was shiny like a black cat. It was running away from me so I didn‘t get a good look at its face. Antonio told me he saw a panther a few months ago. He’s working over at Vince’s house. I’ll ask him to describe exactly what a pisote looks like and what exactly a panther looks like.

11-2  4 How's life in the U.S.? What an economic mess. I've been in my house for almost a month now. I wasn't going to stay this long, but it's pretty amazing here with the views and the peace and the birds and animals (and insects). But just when I thought it was safe to go into the kitchen, there in the sink, under the pot that I picked up, was a tarantula. I'm pretty fearless (being a cocky pilot and all) but I almost had a coronary when I picked up a pot, and there it was. I got a pic of it. I don’t know how this massive thing got in my nice, clean house. It might have come in through the plumbing. There’s open grates all around the house connecting the water drainage pipes. I’ll have to do something about that.

Tarantula hiding under a pot in the kitchen sink                                          (They say they make good pets)

11-26 Yesterday, two swallows flew into my house and circled inside in formation until they flew into the glass door (in formation). Then they slid down to the floor, together. They tried to go through the glass once more, sliding down together again. I threw a towel over them and launched them successfully outside. What's the matter with those birds? Have they never seen a glass door in the middle of the jungle before? Remember the tarantula that gave me a coronary when I removed a pot from the sink yesterday morning? Someone asked me if I killed it. I said that it would be like trying to squish a small dog. The best I could have done would be to smash a few legs, and then the rest of him would probably have come at me with a vengeance. But I don’t usually kill the wildlife around here. I launched him outside, too (and down the hill a little). I wonder if he eats small birds.

Just a light breeze now, like old times before the windstorm of '08. I'm in my hammock. There are some isolated areas of smoke or fog hugging low hills, and blowing toward the west. The sun just emerged from below a cloud, and now I'm blinded. Now the sun just faded behind the silhouette of the Nicoyan hills. And birds started to sing loudly and briefly. Note to self - see if that happens every sunset? See, I'm not just lollygagging. I'm doing scientific research.

Jose has agreed to replace Gary’s roof, so Gary is back to being in good spirits. He’s working out a deal with Jairo to replace the roof and finish the house. Gary had initially wanted a turnkey house to buy. Now it will be a few months before he move in. Welcome to Costa Rica. But at least he gets to choose the tile, and paint color and many other things. To me, that's very important. You never can tell what taste your builder has until it's too late. Remember that.

I only planned to come down here for a couple of weeks this trip to straighten things out and pay Jose some money, but now I've been here a month, and I don't particularly want to leave. I'm pretty busy getting things for my house and helping other gringos with their houses. And the Ticos here are so nice that it's pleasant to go shopping, etc. When I go to stores that I've been to, they remember my name, and they have to shake my hand. They do that to everyone. They’re big into hand shaking. Buying supplies and things is a social event. And I try to stop at the panaderia every other trip so I can say hello to Lizbeth.

11/25  So Ken, what is that in the picture you emailed me? A panther? It sure looks like what I saw (from the back). The head in the pic looks small, and that's kind of why I said it was pointed, but I only glimpsed the head as it turned and pranced away. I still need to ask Antonio about it.

11-27   I went over to ask Antonio what the pantera looked like, and he told me its size. It seemed like the pantera was bigger than what I had seen. Then he told me that pisotes are black sometimes, so, at the time, I guessed I had seen a pisote. Then when I got back from town today, they called me over and told me three of them had seen a pantera that afternoon walking down the hill a little beyond where I had my sighting. Antonio displayed it's height with a tape measure, and I’m thinking that maybe I did see the panther. At least we have a panther here at Butterfly. I wish they'd fix Gary's roof soon. I still hear it banging over there. When I bought a machete to cut a path through my adjacent lot, the workers asked me if it was for the panther. I laughed, and said, 'no,' I like panthers. But then I wondered that maybe they knew something I didn't. (Which they always do.)

(I'll be back.)

(In January)