Our final update from our whirlwind 8 day trip led us down to our river on our farm in Biolley. It was rushing along just as we found it during the rainy season but not quite as high and fierce. Still, the “Rio Platanillal” had a good swift current rushing by.
Our favorite fall on the finca (farm) from “del Rio Platanillal”
It doesn’t appear in this photo that the water is wild here but it is. Especially in the middle of the rainy season. The hole below the main one (hole 2 below the big hole, barely noticeable in photo below) is much calmer right now because the rainy season is just starting up again. This main hole in the photo below ( hole 1) is approximately 40 feet wide! Swimming hole 2 is not accessible yet. As we mentioned in the last entry, the “fer de lance” (“tercio pelo” in Spanish) serpent is around the river . It’s a deadly bite if you do not have enough anti serum. We are going to clear direct paths to the river and keep as much sunlight as possible on the paths so that the snakes don’t come around as often. I believe that if the path is well travelled, the snakes will stay away.
The rules and responsibilities will always be to have enough anti serum just in case, and that anyone who ventures to the river does not go alone. My husband Bruce and I made lots of noise and walked on logs and rocks rather than over them so that the snakes could tell when we were coming. We only saw one snake hole and we are not sure if it was a snake hole really. Ricardo our worker and farm manager tells us they are around, so we will always take caution. When we first trounced around on the property in our last two previous visits, we had no idea there were fer de lances around and we just walked along merrily through the jungle to the river.
Swimming holes 1 in the foreground and 2 in the background
Domingo the former owner at that time, while showing us the property, walked around with us down to the river and even went under the brush!!!! He was clearing some of the thicket under this massive amount of brush and trees but didn’t mention the snakes. Ricardo our farm manager, laughed when he heard that. He deduced that Domingo wanted to sell his property! We don’t regret it however not for one bit! We thank Domingo for selling it to us! Besides, no one in Biolley (our pueblo) has heard of anyone getting bit by the fer de lance. There are coral snakes too, but the cowboys around here are pretty fast with a machete and can kill them quickly. A neighbor farmer friend did just that one day on his property and brought the dead coral snake on his machete to show us.
The Scientist “Outstanding in his field.”
My husband is a “daytime” astronomer. He studies the sun….. of course there’s more to it than that, but he is ready to go part time very soon and for the other part time job, he’ll become a farmer with his green farmer girl Jubie! There is one thing I must tell you about my wonderful husband…… ask Dr. Science he knows everything! Of course he is not one to ever let on to that! After all, no one knows everything! Except for your green girl Jubie! Now there’s a different story! You have know idea of how all knowing she is! Dr. Science however, is as humble as can be and just loves his new green surroundings.
I love my hubby and am eternally grateful for all the joy and happiness he brings me. He is truly the kindest person I have ever met! We are both working hard to finally settle down in Biolley on our farm. Of course we have to deal with our concrete jungle in the states for now, until the day will finally arrive to settle in on greener pastures.
Lucky! The green jungle dog!!!! He eats bananas and LOVES them!
Lucky (Pronounced “looky” by his master) is Rigo’s dog. Rigo is our other full time worker. Lucky escorted and showed us around the finca when we first arrived. Lucky spent time with me, showed me around the coffee and then spent time with Dr. Science in the far below fields. (photo below)
Lucky and Dr. Science way down there! The place is just too big for my britches!
You can see in the above photo that the land divides in the middle down on the field, that is one of our natural springs . We have another one on the other side of the property. That’s good for us to have two significant springs. We will build wells for an alternative water source and we are thinking of making part of this field area in the photo above, our fruit orchard.
Back at the duplex. Dr. Science is waiting for the electricity guy to come!
We can’t honestly go on painting a pretty green picture without telling you about some of the set backs! When we first arrived to the duplex the electricity lines were in but the electricity had not been turned on yet… we spent the first 6 days in the dark at night. But we had candles and it was very romantic! We loved it! Of course it was nice when we had electricity too. Funny how you take those things for granted.
We also had to deal with re-digging the front of the duplex for better drainage. We found a guy who is going to make a grate for us to go in front and to the sides of duplex at a down hill slope. Canals will be under the grate to carry the water away. It rains incredibly hard in Biolley! Probably some of the hardest and most rainfall around the country. Still, it is amazing how many of the days in the rainy season are days when the rains don’t come in until about 12PM or 1PM. There is still quite a bit of sun to work with here for future solar power projects such as for drying our coffee beans.
We found out right away that we had to do something quick about the drainage system. The day we arrived, the water had entered one side of the duplex and was flooding all the rooms! The other side did not get too much water inside and we immediately dug a temporary trench to hold back any rain from flooding the place in the meantime.
A real dark sky with heavy, heavy clouds full of moisture just waiting to dump!
The photo above gives you an idea of how dense the clouds get over the Talamanca mountain range. Speaking of water, we had to deal with cold water for our showers until we could get the shower fixture fixed. But that was okay. The “cold” water was not so cold. It was bearable actually! I can’t believe I’m saying that! Everyone that knows me knows I am a constant sniveler about the cold! I was meant to live in the south and in the southern zone of Costa Rica. Actually, we have spring like weather pretty much all year round on the finca.
The nights were cool and pleasant for sleeping this time around, with a gentle breeze each evening. I think on a few occasions at night I got a little chilly but all we had to do was close the window slats and we were fine. I do know that during the “winter months” in July, August, September and October you can experience some chilliness but if you put on pants and a sweater you are fine again. Usually, that would be in the later afternoon and evening. The mornings and mid or early afternoon are warm enough to wear shorts and tee-shirts.
This photo shows a combination of things… the electricity guy, the dug up drainage system, Lucky cooling off on the freshly dug cool earth and the rain coming in!
A cluttered counter in the kitchen with a green view outside!
With all that hustle bustle going on outside the best thing for us to do was to make lunch! Fresh veggies and fruits from nearby farms was on the menu that day. Ricardo is going to build cabinets for both sides of the duplex. He has quite a bit of experience and is an all around handyman!
Dr. Science wants out! Lunch is finished and the work is done. Let’s go out and explore the place some more!
Down on the field again looking back at our hardwood trees shading the 9 acres of coffee.
We plan to grow more hardwood for our long term investment but have a good start on some good wood above. We have so many wonderful plans for the farm and we are just beginning! We are grateful for what we have and cherish every inch of our beloved finca! Hardwood and fruit trees grow really fast! Many fruit trees grow big and are producing fruit within a matter of 3 years or so. Many hardwood trees take longer, but as long as we keep reforesting and making sure there are plenty of indigenous trees around we will be holding up to our end of the bargain to nature by having at least 25% natural growth and much more as time goes on. Off to the far right in the photo above, is where our house will be.
Your green farmer girl Jubie filming the finca!
Our “pasta” or “grama” (grass) is much greener than the guy across from us. He has too many cows chewing up the place. I want to visit with him the next time we are here. I’ve heard through the grapevine that he would like to sell his seven hectares to us. We most likely won’t buy it but I want to meet up with him anyhow. I also have one more neighbor friend to meet and have heard he is the nicest guy around. That is don Lorenzo and he has a great waterfall just down the river from us! I’ve heard that his is a massive waterfall. We look forward to meeting him and many more people around the area on our next visit. So far everyone we have met has been very kind and polite. We have met many more people on our trip this time around but as usual we had to drop in and leave quickly. I insist that Dr. Science and I take at least 2 weeks (I’ll try to convince him for 3 weeks at a later date or a happy median therein) next time around.
Standing right where the B & B cabins will be.
Those are rubber boots people! And… that is not a mini skirt! It is a skort! Jeez…. the big 50 is just around the corner! No more minis and go-go boots for this green farmer girl! In the photo above, there is quite a bit of “monte” brush just below where I am standing. The trees will be trimmed back down by the river and we will put the goats to work on the brush so that our B & B guests have a wonderful view of the river and the waterfall. The sound of the river is very apparent where I am standing!
Stopped by for a quick chat with the kids at the nearby school. It was great to be in the classroom again!
After exploring the finca some more, we dropped off some school supplies and gave a donation to the school in Biolley. Of course Dr. Science and I will dedicate our energies and support the school as soon as we reside in Biolley. The teacher is very serious and dedicated to the school and to teaching the kids. She puts her all into the place. She receives as much support as possible from all the parents around the area.
Class photo! Dr. Science and Jubie at school with the kids!
This is one classroom. I believe there are two and it appears the kids have different “horarios” schedules. We’ve offered to spend some time with the kids when we reside in Biolley, but we must do this on a volunteer basis after their required normal school hours. The government of Costa Rica mandates that all children go to school and receive their required education set by the government curriculum. So we told the kids we would do some activities after school for conversations in English through theater, gardening and some science experiments. Of course we will invite them to the finca too. We can’t wait to learn from them! I used to teach kids in a different land at a different time in my life. So being back in the classroom was a great feeling!
Making my way around the classroom!
We will of course stop by to visit with the kids upon our return next year in February. Until then, we have left them “acuerdos”, memories from us in the form of school supplies to work with. In this photo above, I am telling the children that each child is special and that the world is full of possibilities with so much to look forward to!
A happy Dr. Science in the light!
Time to settle down for the evening. A happy Dr. Science with electricity this evening! We will furnish our side of the duplex the next time around. We will have a nearby carpenter make most of our furniture for us. We put a new stove in Ricardo’s duplex and he tells us to save our money for other things on the finca and that he has everything else he and his family need. They just didn’t have a stove to cook with.
Morning time! Our air mattress served us well. It’s early morning and time to head out.
We plan to make the next trip one that is a bit more leisurely but will have furniture added to our side of the duplex during our next stay. We will assess Ricardo’s side of the duplex and possibly have some furniture made for him on that side too.
It was time to go back to the central valley and the big city of San Jose, Costa Rica for dentist appointments, meetings and last minute errands before we head back to the states. We’ve sold one property that was on the Puget sound in Washington last spring and are now going to jump in to our house in Boulder, Colorado to remodel it and sell it too. We have to stay in the states for the next year and a half or two years, but we want to sell our house in Colorado as soon as possible to use the profits from the sale to continue to improve our green paradise here in Biolley, Costa Rica.
Goodbye finca Lilo de Biolley! Heading off the farm this is a public access road we built.
We improved the public access road into our finca and brought in the electricity lines.This will increase the value of the property for our neighbors don Roberto to the right and doña Elizabeth to the left, not to mention the significant increase in value for our finca.
Our last encounter and a bid of farewell from a green friend in Biolley!
We came across this iguana on the way out on the main dirt road (off road for 8 miles) to the highway. It was a befitting farewell to our green dream! We will work hard and grow our garden in the US to keep up on our gardening learning curve to learn more about soil, crops and harvests. We will provide you with updates of our US life and gardening as well as finca updates from Ricardo in Biolley. We gave Ricardo an old digital camera we had so that he could send us photos of the finca each month. Ricardo’s sister in law has a computer with internet. The finca photos will motivate us to work hard toward our green living in Costa Rica.
Updates in May coming soon! Until then best wishes and as always……..
Pura Vida!
