Niko giving Anderson a ride to the beach – no helmut

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Yep that is a baby scorpion

Mirror sunset

Speedy Beanzies

Sunset

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Sunshiny breakfast times

The big Italian lunch

Sunset view from the pool

My favourite colour time pre sunset

Private eating area poolside

More views around the pool

Pool times

Spider boy

Leaf bug

Stick bug

The view from the little cabana poolside

We are one week into our Costa Rica adventure and things are good. The place we lucked into – Ca Di Roc – is run by an Italian couple, Niko and Lory, who are absolute gems. They host a Sunday lunch for neighbours, friends and guests around the pool. It’s a pot luck and dish after dish was placed out on a long curved wooden bar where people sat on bar stools filling their plates with leg of lamb roasted with pineapple, plantain, onions and peppers and a giant snapper pulled from the water that morning barbecued simply with onions, salt and pepper. There were bowls of pasta and a steaming pot of red thai coconut curried vegetables with rice noodles, chicken and potatoes, plates of sliced watermelon and papaya sprinkled with chilies and salt. Italian, Spanish and English floated through the air and kids screamed (yep my kids) and jumped in the pool (there were lots of kids not just ours!). It was really relaxed and fun. We met Marie-Claude and Eric, ex military expats from Canada, who live in an eco housing development just down the road – they had their house built from steel because it flexes during earthquakes and its very easy to add onto and expand.  Interestingly their architect was from Edmonton. Alejandro, the healer, who directed us to our Casa on the first day and his wife – whose name is actually Veroniece not Melelena (WHAT KIND OF SCRAMBLE WAS THAT?) and their children were there. Alejandro had returned from doing a cacao ceremony and they spoke of how ayahuasca was taking hold here in Costa Rica but being over used. There was a mother and daughter and grandchildren who live in the next town over – Marbella. The daughter Bettina was pregnant so we had the usual pregnancy chats while her mother pulled a boiled chicken – oily and bright yellow from a pot and proceeded to rip it apart and place it with potatoes, also pulled from the pot, on plates for the grandchildren. Watching her I realized that she and I were probably the same age and Bettina was probably in her early twenties. The other guests staying at Ca Di Roc along with us included, Robin, from Edmonton and also ex military, here solo and  – sorry momma – she now has your number and might call you to invite you to her fitness club to play pickle ball because she lives very close to you. She is also trying to sell us on the idea of moving back to Edmonton. Then there was the beautiful surfer couple – Randy from here,  and his stunning Dutch girlfriend Julia (maybe I should start wearing the Brazilian up the bum style of bikini? Hahahahahahaha) They are super nice and predictably chill as surfers are wont to be. Randy ended up taking Anderson out for a surf the next day and he turned out to be a very good teacher. So all and all we are loving our little spot – we get up with the sun and sit on the balcony in the swing couch listening to the howling monkeys – who do give a real Walking Dead vibe to the morning. We have seen lots of wildlife in the form of a giant black beetle by the pool house, an emerald green beetle on the bar and a giant spider in our bathroom – okay it wasn’t really giant but it was bigger than any spider you want in your bathroom – if you were to want a spider in your bathroom. There are geckos all over, stick bugs and leaf bugs and iguana and a dead snake – big big dead snake on the road. We try to hit the beach in the morning and then come up to the house for lunch and pool time in the afternoons. It’s pretty sleepy – so perfect for me – sketching and writing by the pool and Sabine plays with her toys happily in the shade of the pool hut. But the itch is starting and we are going to need a little adventure so we are thinking of a sideline trip of some sort. At least that is what we have been talking about but it’s just so easy here and the tropical heat makes us lazy.