Back at Tex Mex - Road Reopened Briefly

Yes, here we are back at Tex Mex. Gerry had an appointment early this morning and didn’t want to deal with the long detour out of Rodeo. So yesterday, when the Municipality briefly reopened the road again, we grabbed our chance and packed a bag. We were going to Tex Mex! It was rough getting up the mucky, newly cut road though. Even at low gear, the Jeep lost grip part way up and we started sliding sideways towards the bamboo trees…and the gorge far, far below, before finally gaining grip again and up and around the steep curve. I think the police closed the road again soon afterwards.

But we made it to Tex Mex ! And it was a fun evening! We dined on grilled fish, served along with copious amounts of wine/margaritas and we checked emails and chatted with Abby, who was sitting at the next table.

Early this morning, Gerry left to renew his firearm license way over on the other side of town. In Costa Rica, getting a firearm license requires a sign-off by an approved psychologist, and passing both theoretical and practical tests. This morning, Gerry’s doing both, including firing off rounds with his dutifully licensed firearm before the licensing authorities. Presumably he has to hit the target with reasonable enough frequency to get his renewal. Dr. Bob thinks the hardest part will just be trying to get there. Traffic through Moravia at rush hour!

Our other Jeep is at the body-shop (after the maid crashed it) so I’m waiting for Gerry back here at Tex Mex. As soon as he returns, we will pick up the other car and drive home separately via the Jaris route, if the road is still closed. If it’s open, I hope I don’t crash the green Jeep down into that gorge the same day as picking it up from that brand new paint job!

Work on the road has gone faster than expected. Considering that the University for Peace is temporarily operating out of the Ciudad Colon gym, not to mention the inconvenience to residents, and without even going into the construction problems, the situation couldn’t continue for long! But as realists, we also resigned ourselves into a long, troublesome wait.

However, the Mora Municipality sprang into action just after the road collapsed. They declared an emergency and released funds to a private contractor within 24 hours. Makes you wonder but hey, we were pleased! We were shocked, though not surprised, when the heavy equipment cut down two massive trees – a Ficus and a Guanacaste – in order to cut the alternate route. Now with all the soil moved around, it’s hard to discern the new road from the old. But those trees with their massive root systems have supported the whole embankment for a long time, and the entire hillside will become less stable now that they are cut. I just hope that engineers are on this! We shall see how it looks when we return home today.

Meanwhile, I spent the entire morning at Tex Mex practicing Taiji, just like old times! I haven’t been practicing at all out at Tigre, except for a quick and empty form now and then… I justified not practicing by thinking that climbing all about the forest is a form of practice, just like horseback riding or, doing anything really. But there’s really no substitute for taking time for Practice.

So what keeps us so busy out at El Tigre? What do we do all day? Well…Gerry has been an absolute saint, and has been managing the construction and financial issues – a full time job – while I have more time to attend to other matters, like getting :
…dog prints all over my clean slacks first thing in the morning…
…observing the forest and being a part of it…
…working in the garden – it has been such a wonderful planting season with all the rain…
…walking the dogs on the pasture trail to visit the horses…
…finding that horseflies are biting the horses, so applying the citronella lotion we prepared for them this morning, and observing that the lotion works – that the flies no longer wish to land on the horses.
…and it’s easy to lose sense of time in the forest world.
I go out early in the morning, usually with three dogs in tow. Another time, I shall write about the dogs and the monkeys. After hours lost in the magic of the forest, Gerry will call me if I’m badly late for breakfast and suggest that I ‘get my ass up here’. And up I go and we have breakfast together.

After breakfast, it’s time to get busy…managing a property using solar power on old battery banks…producing enough power to serve household and construction needs … minimizing generator time to conserve diesel…instructing workers on erosion control all over the Finca…improving drainage….planting at areas of high water flow… rearranging plants for a more functional garden…
…accepting that living on a mountain means water flow and erosion control lessons very early on….and doing experiments on reducing water flow…and doing all sorts of botanical experiments along the way as we walk the Finca. What would work better for a horsefly repellant? Shall I try a little Eucalytus with the Citronella? Bad idea! Matchi had an allergic reaction. Revelation - FOOL - Conduct bug repellant experiments on my own skin, not on that of my animals! If my potions are safe and effective on my skin, then they certainly won’t harm my horses! Many, many lessons learned... from making mistakes.

I learned this lesson very early at El Tigre : Mountain living requires coming into balance with gravity. That’s harder to do than it sounds. I try to achieve balance by practicing Taiji - and, when Gerry agrees to dance with me (never often enough) - Ballroom Dancing. But lately, I’ve been able to come into balance by moving around on the mountain. In fact, now that I can achieve balance just by climbing around the forest, that’s all I do!
It’s easy to never leave El Tigre at all…only too easy…

Gerry just phoned : He got 100% on both theoretical and practical tests- such a sharp-shooter! Now all he has to do is get back over here in one piece from Moravia. And then the long drive via Jaris.
Stay tuned on the Road.