When we first began teaching our children at home, I was very nervous. I was afraid of forgetting something important, of missing important material, of my kids being behind. The choices for books, DVD's, toys, workbooks, games were just too overwhelming, and I really felt like I didn't know what I was doing.
So, I took what I figured was the "easy route" and selected a complete curriculum package for each of the school-aged children. I decided upon Oak Meadow, because the Waldorf-style curriculum fit with our family's values. I thought that the weekly lesson plans would help add structure to our weeks, and would lessen the workload for me because I wouldn't be constantly having to come up with unit themes or teaching ideas. Theoretically I could just follow along in the Syllabus.
After a couple of months, I started realizing that the Oak Meadow
We have just returned from our trip back to the Frozen North, and I have mixed feelings about it. I really enjoyed our time back in Canada. The kids made snowmen and went tobogganing. I enjoyed bundling up and sipping hot chocolate.
I haven't actually felt COLD in a long time, and I have to admit that it was kind of nice! When it's cold out, you can always put on a sweater or drink some hot coffee. But when it's sweltering outside, you can only take off so many layers.
The ease of driving was a culture shock after being in Costa Rica for some time. The streets had road names, houses had numbers, addresses made sense. The drivers generally obeyed the rules of the road.
I think the biggest difference I noticed was the culture. When we decided to leave North America and set off for a simpler life, we were disenfranchised by the culture. It was (and still is!) consumerist, cold, and greedy. We didn't buy into the culture, and felt like outsiders. We don't enjoy watching most of the mainstream television shows, we don't listen to "popular" music, and we disdain Facebook. A person can only live so long around people with whom you have nothing in common. And although I'm sure there are plenty of people in
This is current information, as of January 2013. Here's what WE do for our Visa runs to Panama.
There are many options for staying legally in Costa Rica. For the first little while, most people just
go across the border to Panama or Nicaragua every 90 days for a passport-stamp
vacation. There are many “perpetual
tourists” who have been doing this for years – even decades – with no
problems.
There is much talk out there
about whether you need to stay out of the country for three days or just three
hours. I will tell you that the first
time we went to Panama, we stayed for three days. Every time since then, we've simply gone across
and spent three hours in the Albrook Mall.
Here's what we got at the San Isidro del General farmer's market on Friday morning.
The selection is better on Thursdays, but the deals come on Friday because nobody wants to haul all their produce back home.
Three big bags of oranges – not pretty, but awesome for juicing for 500 colones each = $3
Popcorn, 1 kilo, 750 Colones
5 Cucumbers, 250 Colones each
5 Heads of lettuce, five for 1000 Colones
New potatoes, 2 kilos = $4
4 heads of Cabbage, 300 Colones each
12 Pineapples, two for 500 Colones
6 bell peppers, 200 Colones each
1 bunch red globe grapes = $2.50
8 heads of broccoli, two for 500 Colones
2 kilos green beans = $1.50
1 kilo tomatoes = $1
1 braid of onions = $1
4 avocados, 200 Colones each
1 small apple - a vendor gave us a half dozen for free! = $0
8 bunches of bananas, 250 Colones each
Grand Total: $40.40!
Here’s my pizza recipe using ingredients that are easy to find, even in
rural Costa Rica! I'd recommend learning this recipe before you go. It's basically impossible to find a pizza in CR that doesn't taste like rice and beans for some reason. Gross.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons of oil (olive oil if you can find
it, but I've used sunflower and canola too)
3/4 cup very warm water (almost hot, but cool
enough that you can still stick your finger in it)
2 cups white wheat flour (bread flour if you can
find it, but that’s rare in my area of Costa Rica)
2 teaspoons of instant yeast (this is quite
common – ask for levadura)
All our kids agree on one thing - Lego is the best toy in the world. Boys and girls alike, around the age of 3 our kids all get the Lego bug.
We couldn't possibly bring all their Lego, but we tried to pack in as much as we possibly could. First I tried just dumping pieces into big Hefty bags, but those bags filled up fast! It filled an entire 32" suitcase with 5 bags full of Lego, but the suitcase only weighed in at 30 pounds - most of that weight was probably the suitcase itself!
It was clear that I needed to try a new tactic.
First we weeded out those impossibly big pieces - the giant boat bottom, the great big airplane wing. Those pieces aren't really conducive to creative play anyway.
Then we started building giant cubes of solid Lego pieces, measuring about 8"x8"x6" It was a bit tedious, but we all had fun sitting around the table adding layers to the cubes. We had good conversations, and it was nice to take a break from thinking about packing, uprooting, etc.
We decided to limit our Lego to 20 pounds. When we started approaching our weight limit, we quit making cubes and started digging through the pile for all the Lego people. We filled a large Hefty bag with people, sets of wheels, and useful pieces like windshields.
I don't think we quite kept under our 20 pound limit, but we were close. The kids are so happy we found a way to bring their Lego, and haven't even noticed that their Lego collection is a lot smaller than it used to be. We left a couple rubbermaid bins full of the extra Lego at friends' houses, and we hope they get as much enjoyment out of it as we did!
Here's a quick list of the first-aid items I've brought with us for our Fantastic Family Adventure.
I'd love to hear what's in your first aid kit, and please let me know about items I should add!
Our first aid kit fills an entire 32" suitcase.
For most people, this would be serious overkill. If you're going on a ten day all-inclusive vacation to a resort in Puerto Vallarta, please don't bring an entire suitcase full of first aid supplies!
But, if you're going on an extended trip, through interesting and somewhat "non-touristy" countries, you might want to stock up before you go. Every once in a while we run into a really fantastic pharmacy - some countries we've been to allow pharmacists to prescribe most medications, so you can just go in with your list and get everything you need! (This is where the Nurse's Drug Guide comes in really handy.)
Here's what we have in my first aid kit today:
Purse First-Aid Kit:
Band-aids
Infant's Tylenol
Neosporin
Afterbite Kids
Eucalyptus Oil
Crazy Glue
Hydrocortizone Cream
Scissors
Safety Pins
Butterfly Bandages
Instant Cold Pack
3M Steristrip Sutures -- these are worth their weight in gold! Please note: you do need to cover them with a bandage -- they are only for holding the wound together; not covering it and keeping it clean.
Suitcase:
Vitamins (At least one extra bottle of everything you tend to use -- we use Vitamin B Complex, Fish Oil, and the occasional Valerian to help with sleep during jetlag)
Alcohol
Clear Calamine Lotion
Hydrogen Peroxide
Quick Clot (I should have bought more of this, as I'm down to our last pack and haven't found it anywhere we've visited so far.)
Bandaids of all different sizes and shapes
Iodine -- I get the clear stuff because it doesn't stain the way that real Iodine does
Cinnamon Oil
Tea tree Oil
3M Steristrip sutures
Moleskin
Scissors
Tweezers
One sterilized suture with pre-threaded needle -- I just used mine on Sunday! Yikes! Should have ordered two.
Scalpels (buy the 10-pack so you aren't tempted to re-use them)
Suture removal kit (scissors and tweezers, sterilized in a package)
Syringe for irrigation
Saline infant nose spray
Kanka liquid
Simalisin eye drops
Dentek or Dentemp
Oil of Cloves
Oragel
Dental wax
Organic green tea bags (for dental ache, abscess, etc)
A couple different sizes of liquid measuring cups or spoons
Stethoscope
sphygmomanometer
Ear thermometer
Forehead thermometer
Old-school bulb thermometer
Solarcaine spray
Burn Jel
Bactine
Children's Pepto
Usual medications
Tylenol -- infant, children, and adult
Other pain relievers you tend to take, like Ibuprofin
Benadryl -- children and adult
Inhalers if you use them, or if your children get croup every once in a while
Emergency Obstetrical Kit
Sunscreens and Bug Sprays
(This is also where we pack all our extra toiletries -- you'd be surprised how expensive it is to purchase toothpaste, floss or feminine care products in some places!)
Today I am starting to pack for a huge family adventure. Once upon a time, going on a big tropical vacation would have meant throwing a few things into my backpack and hitting the road. No checked baggage. No itemized to-do list full of "confirm automatic bill payments" and "call the landscaper". No panic attacks. Just me and my trusty backpack. Some flipflops, a few hundred bucks in traveller's cheques, and a one-way ticket to somewhere exciting.
Fifteen years later, with four children and a husband, packing for any trip longer than a week is no small task.
I now need to figure out how to fit the entire lives of 6 people into 10 suitcases and 5 carry-ons. I am meticulously weighing each suitcase on the bathroom scale trying to get them all up to 48 pounds. In the back of my mind, I keep thinking that our scale is of questionable accuracy. I know this must be true, since the less I eat and the more I exercise the higher my weight has been climbing these past few months. Or it might be all the wine. Yeah, it's probably the wine.
I've been having a recurring nightmare about reaching the airport and having our luggage overweight. My heart always breaks for the couple with their suitcases open, kneeling on the cold tiled airport floor, hurriedly throwing t-shirts and books and souvenirs into trash cans. I don't want to be that family.
I can't reach the airport and face throwing out my blendtec or my kids' homeschooling books.
You would think that in 10 suitcases, there would be lots of "extra" stuff. Disposable items. Things that we are bringing "just in case". You'd be mistaken. We're down to the bare minimum, and I'm leaving a lot behind that I'll likely regret in a few months.
I've got an entire suitcase devoted to first aid. We are going to be hitting a lot of remote places, many of which will be very far from medical care. Also, I have the most adventurous (Read: accident-prone) children and husband on the planet. I should rent them out to families looking to childproof their homes.
My kids will find the single shard of glass on miles and miles of pristine beach.
They can sniff out an errant God-Knows-What pill under a hotel room bed (this has actually happened to us TWICE - both at very nice hotels!).
My husband is basically one large scar in the shape of a human. (The sutures are mostly for him.) It's a good year in our household if I only need to perform the Heimlich maneuver once, and call poison control twice.
Let's just say that I'm hoping that bringing my entire home first aid kit, (plus a few extra items), will be like carrying an umbrella. May the skies never rain first aid nightmares on this adventure.
This year we have 3 in homeschool, and even after getting rid of a LOT of books and resources that they could do without, we have 1.5 suitcases devoted to homeschooling. I realize that these suitcases could be replaced with one laptop and online courses, but I'm just not ready for my kids to start spending their days on the computer. I can't do it. Plus I'm unsure that we will have consistent access to internet.
I'd love to hear from people who are online schooling younger children, and hear about your experiences! Please let me know if it's working for you, what the program is you're using, how many hours per day they are spending online, etc.
Update: it took me a FULL WEEK to finish packing! Here's my packing list.
I find it easier to keep my Mommy Bag's contents consistent, whether we're going to the Post Office, the playground, or Puerto Rico. I simply add a few extra items for our flight, and we're on our way!
Mommy stuff:
Kindle
Cell Phone
Flip or camera
Notebook & Pen
Small wallet (Only carry the cards you regularly use - keep the rest in a separate wallet at home)
Sunglasses in case
Floss
Hair elastic
Small brush
my small stainless water bottle (which was M.I.A. at the time of this photo)
Lip Balm (I like Treat Coconut Cream - it smells amazing, and because of it's gigantic size, I can use it on knees and elbows, dry spots on baby scalps, and like wax to tame frizzy hair)
Kid Stuff:
Travel-sized wipe container
2 diapers
spray suncreen (I love Neutrogena's Wet Skin Kids SPF70) but I couldn't find it for the photo, so here's some Banana Boat which doesn't work as well on wet skin.
A container filled with dried fruit and Cheerios
Unisex t-shirt. socks, underpants and shorts in a size 4T (Choose a size that will fit any of your kids in a pinch)
Store the spare outfit in a zip top bag (comes in handy for stinky diapers, wet clothes, leftover snacks)
Sippy cups or stainless water bottles (I clip these to the outside of my bag on a binder ring)
First-Aid:
Bandages of varying sizes (just a few of each size)
Triple Antibiotic Ointment
Eucalyptus Oil
Cotton swabs (half a dozen)
Hand sanitizer
Burn gel
Alcohol swabs
Moleskin (for blisters)
2 or 3 butterfly bandages
2 safety pins
Epi Pen if your family needs one
You may want to add child and adult formulations of medications your family uses such as Tylenol, Gravol, or Benadryl. Be careful to keep them in child-proof containers!
pack your first-aid kit into another zip top bag
UPDATE: I've started putting a few 3M Steristrips in my purse first aid kit, and I'm completely in love with them.
Add for flights:
Passports
Printed itinerary
CCTACO Electronic Translator (if needed)
micro USB charger (for phone and Kindle)
1 pack of smarties or gum (for kids on takeoff and landing)
1 diaper per baby for every 2 hours of flight time (believe me - you do not want to run out of diapers before you get to your checked luggage!)
A few tiny toys per child - stickers, crayons, plasticiine, Math wrap-ups, a puzzle, Littlest Pet Shop animals, Matchbox cars, etc.
Any medication you or your children need (in original container, with prescription intact)
Put your suncreen in your checked baggage, and empty your water bottles and sippy cups until you're through security.
I'd love to hear what's in your Mommy Bag! Please comment below and let me know what I'm missing!
The Mommy Bag is a necessity of anyone with children, even after they're out of diapers. We all need to have certain items on hand for our children (and ourselves) like snacks, sunscreen, hats, sippy cups, bandages... The list goes on. (Once you've found your perfect Mommy Bag, please check out my blog entry "Packing the Mommy Bag".)
I have spent far more time than is advisable in my quest for the perfect Mommy bag. Every few months, I am tempted to try out a new bag. Here's what I look for in a Mommy Bag:
Zipper and seam durability
Either washable or leather
Lots of pockets, inside and out. (Some with zipper, some open.)
Weight when empty
Comfort when carrying (try it out while holding a toddler if you have one!)
Scale in proportion to your body size
Can you carry it close to your body to discourage pickpockets?
Now empty all the tissue paper out of it, and try to fit your wallet, cell phone, and your other usual purse items inside. (You might get strange looks, but it's worth it!)
After years of searching, and a closet full of rejected purses, here is my ULTIMATE MOMMY BAG:
The Ameribag XL holds everything a mommy needs, whether I'm running over town with the stroller, or getting on the plane with little ones. I've had my Ameribag for over a year now, and it still looks as great as the day I bought it! (If you don't have little ones, you might not realize what an amazing feat this is. Just imagine rolling your body through an obstacle course coated in honey, Cheerios and ketchup. That's what I look like at the end of each day.)
Ameribags in the XL size can be purchased online between $80 and $100. It has a handy outside pocket, and a ring for your keys. I recommend the patterned versions for two reasons:
It hides the inevitable kid stains.
I have a habit of hanging my purse on the back of a chair while dining, and then promptly leaving the restaurant without it. I think it has something to do with having my hands full with the little ones. Something more eyecatching is less likely to blend into the decor of a restaurant or airport terminal.
The leather Ameribag XL is beautiful, and still a bargain $180 - $240. Consider your stature when ordering an Ameribag, as the leather Ameribags are a few inches longer. They may feel a bit cumbersome for someone under 5'3", but would be a great option for someone going on a long flight, or with many little ones.
Now have a peek at my "Packing the Mommy Bag" article for what to keep in that beautiful bag!
Update: The outer zipper on my Ameribag has given out, but I have to admit that it was entirely my fault. This was the pocked where I was constantly shoving my huge wallet, and I definitely strained the zipper. I still love my Ameribag, and have just stopped using that one outside pocket for anything valuable. I've switched my wallet to the little velcro pocket on the other side, and hope to get a few more years out of my Ameribag.
I'm getting used to sharing my home with lizards, huge spiders, and an impressive variety of insects. But, every once in a while, something will really catch me off guard.
Like this little guy, who just fell right off the ceiling and onto my lap! He ran across my keyboard, and is now on the wall directly to the right of my shoulder, watching me work.
As Amy Smith (author of "All Roads Lead to Austen: A Year-long Journey with Jane") wrote, "There was an upside to living in a house with almost no windows: free pets."
The owner of our rental house is coming back soon. That means finding a longer-term rental - perhaps with screens and hot water? Yes, apparently I am a spoiled-rotten needy bitch. I really can't get used to cold showers.
We were told that the house had solar hot water. It didn't ever occur to me that it would have zero hot water. Upon arrival this expectation was downgraded to, "You would at least get warm water during the afternoon." I have yet to witness any water temperature above North Atlantic frigid. I would sell my body in exchange for a tepid shower. (On a related note, have you read "The Flinch" by Julien Smith?)
Lesson of the Day: If you're renting a house in Costa Rica, check to see if hot water actually comes out of the tap!
Also, it's surprisingly difficult to get clean dishes and laundry without warm water. I have to boil a kettle on Cryptonomicon after each meal to wash dishes (check back soon for a full article devoted to my new friend and nemesis, Cryptonomicon - our scary-ass stove). As for the laundry, I'm still glad we brought our Eco Nuts, but with cloth diapers I really wish I either had warm water or a dryer. Either one would be awesome, both would be absolute luxury.
So, between the insect bites, lack of hot water, and extreme heat... it's time to look for a new place if we're going to be staying in Costa Rica for a while.
I'd really like to stay within 10 or 15 minutes of the beach, so we're going to have to just put up with the heat. Higher elevations are way cooler, but I'm an ocean addict. What we need is either AC or a pool.
Just for a point of reference, we're at 1800 feet elevation, and it's hot for us wussy Canadians from the frozen North. I'm talking dripping sweat while you sit in the shade kind of hot.
I went on Craigslist this morning and found the perfect place for $500 per month, utilities included, with a pool! Yippee!
We move out in 3 weeks, so that's only 21 more freezing cold showers. I just hope nobody comes down with Dengue Fever or something between now and then!
The home we're currently renting is an open house - that means no doors, no windows, no screens. It's basically a really nice covered deck.
I was totally convinced that living in an open house is the best option. This was coming from a YouTube vlogger whose advice I really valued (see the video here). If you've done any internet research about travelling or moving to Costa Rica, you are likely familiar with his inspirational and amazing channel.
We've been living in an open house for a month, very close to the location where Ka Sundance was living in Costa Rica and enjoying his open house.
I can't take it anymore!
Honestly I don't know how I will get through another three weeks living in this open house. The bugs aren't completely oppressive, but they do swarm every time we are preparing food or sitting down to eat. Mealtimes have become stressful, and we are all covered head-to-toe with mysterious nasty bug bites.
As a farm girl from the prairies, I should clarify that we have not experienced the swarms of big mosquitoes like we were used to in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. There are some mosquitoes, but I might see two or three per day - not two or three hundred! Could you imagine just opening all your windows on a hot prairie evening, popping all the screens out, and turning all the lights on? It would be madness!
However, there are still a lot of bugs munching on us every night. Tiny red ants march their paths straight through the house, up walls, over countertops. I clean them away, scrub and spray, but the next day they're back following the exact same path. The biting midges (noseeums) and aphids fly right through one of our mosquito nets. (On one of the kids' beds we have a much better net, which working really well and is easier to set up. This is the net that we would recommend purchasing if you can - niceEshop(TM) magic mosquito net 100 * 190CM random color
)
Termite poop collects in piles in predictable locations throughout the house. I'm constantly cleaning bird poop from tables and counters. Every few days we find a nest of freshly hatched something-or-others, either under a sun hat, behind a book, inside a cupboard, or under the edge of a coffee table.
About once a week I groggily walk through a huge yellow spider web - the giant banana spiders firmly believe that the perfect home is right across a doorway or over 8" above the kitchen table. I love spiders and I know that they are performing a valuable service, but it's quite surprising to find one in my hair at 5:30 am while I'm starting the coffee. (On the positive side, after dancing around trying to get a spider as big as my hand untangled from my bedhead, coffee is unnecessary!)
I have found some excellent Tica cleaners, who come every other day, in an attempt to combat our insect problem. They do a fantastic job, sweeping and scrubbing the entire house from ceilings to floors. Every single surface is scrubbed - they even empty every shelf and cupboard, clean, and then replace everything. It takes two women an entire morning, and costs $10. (We pay them extra!) Within a few hours, the bugs have all returned to stake their rightful claim to our home. And who can blame them - we're in the middle of the jungle for goodness sake!
It's hard to not be able to just sit in the living room and read a book in the evening. We always end up giving up and retreating to the mosquito-netted bed by 8:00 at the latest. (Just so I don't sound like a total baby, I should clarify that by this time of night it's already been fully pitch-black dark outside for over two hours, and we've been shooing away bugs for that length of time.)
We're living at 1800 feet elevation, about 15 minutes from the ocean. Please do let me know if you are having a positive experience in your open house in Costa Rica, and what elevation and area you are at!
I love the whole open house concept... in theory. In practice, I'm tired of all the itching, oozing mystery bug bites!
We started our trip with TEN suitcases and five carry-ons. This might sound crazy - and it probably is crazy - but we're bringing our entire lives with us. If we happen to stumble upon the perfect place for our family to settle down, we'll just set our bags down and stay. Our house is for sale, and for the time being we have rented it out furnished, so anything that we want to bring to our potential new home is in our suitcases.
My Blendtec blender, the Kitchenaid mixer, the homeschool supplies... these are items we use every single day, and I didn't want to live without them for a year or two. Sometimes it causes a few raised eyebrows at customs, but it's worth it.
We used the maximum allowable baggage: 2 suitcases per person weighing a maximum of 50 pounds each, plus one carry-on per person. The baby doesn't have her own seat, so she didn't get any bags. We had to pay $20 extra for each second bag, so in total we paid $100 extra for the privilege of bringing 10 suitcases instead of 5 - well worth it!
It took two full weeks to decide what to take, and shuffle around the contents of the suitcases so that they each rang in around 48 pounds on our bathroom scale. I did not want to risk having to take items out of suitcases and throw them away at the airport if a bag was a pound or two overweight. Also, I wasn't quite convinced that our bathroom scale was terribly accurate, so I kept all the bags on the safe side. (When we checked in at the airport, all the bags did indeed weigh 48 pounds. Turns out our bathroom scale was 100% accurate. I really do weigh that much! Ha ha.)
We completely packed nine of the suitcases, and left the tenth suitcase for our last-minute additions - the final loads of laundry coming out of the dryer, and our everyday toiletries. We also packed basic towels, beach towels, and a few pairs of sheets, and a couple of my sentimental quilts. We are mostly renting houses instead of staying in hotels, and decent linens can be quite costly in Central America. All the linens were packed in Space Bags (Space Bag 14 Bag Space Saver Set
), as well as our clothing and the kids' soft toys. (I ordered two of the multi-packs, and that was the perfect number for us.)
When our luggage contents were finalized, I went through each bag and itemized its contents. This was a good thing too, because it was raining buckets when we landed in San Jose, and we needed our raincoats just to walk to the shuttle bus. I knew that our raincoats were in suitcase #4. Perfect!
Here's the rundown of what we brought:
Suitcase #1:
2 pairs of shoes each (10 pair total - one dressy, one pair of sneakers)
Spare batteries (These must be packed so that the ends can't contact each other - I taped them together and covered the terminal ends with packing tape.)
Miscellaneous 3M hooks, strings, screws (these come in very handy for mosquito nets)
Clothes for kids #1 and #2
My gramma's quilt
A container full of tealights and waterproof matches
Suitcase #3:
Hubby's work electronics - just in case he gets it in his mind to go back to work one day! Ha ha.
Other gramma's quilt (I packed these for sentimental reasons - I just couldn't bear to leave them, but didn't know what else to do with them. But they've actually come in handy!)
Insulated french press (This one has lasted us seven years! Thermos
)
Homeschool Grades 1 and 2
Suitcase #8:
Mommy and Daddy clothes
Angelcare Monitor
Bottles and Sippy Cups
Binder full of our favorite DVD's (The one we brought from the dollar store is already falling apart, so please let me know if you have a recommendation for a good quality DVD binder!)
Suitcase #9:
First aid kit, packed inside a coleman cooler (Coolers are very expensive to purchase in Central and South America, so we brought the biggest one that would fit in our suitcase.) Our Party Stacker
fit perfectly inside our suitcase.
Big baggie full of spare toiletries - thank goodness for couponing! You wouldn't believe how much a box of Tampax costs in Panama - if you can find it at all!
A few things I added at the last second, like my favorite kitchen utensils
Carry-Ons:
The kids got to put whatever they liked in their carry-ons. They all packed toys, and I know it was tough for them to choose which toys to take and which to give away. The deal was that they could pack as much as would fit, as long as they carried the backpacks themselves.
Our oldest brought his Kindle and Nintendo, but he lost the charger somewhere along the way and we haven't been able to find a replacement yet. The Kindle is a huge godsend for homeschool kids. His is chock full of Geronimo Stilton, Magic Treehouse and Stink books. We do two book reports per month, and never have to worry about lugging books around the world or finding an English bookstore. When the younger kids graduate from first grade they'll get their own Kindles and we'll start passing the books down.
In my husband's carry-on was all our electronics. We only brought our nicest laptop, but I'm already wishing that we had brought two. We also brought our tiny printer
and travel scanner
, our Kindles, a Samsung tablet, and baggies full of cords and chargers.
I'm a bit underwhelmed with the speed and availability of any wifi we've encountered so far. Due to the lack of wireless internet, our tablet has been basically useless since we left Canada.
My carry-on was my old favorite Ameribag XL, packed in the usual way. (read the article)
We've decided that it's time for us to buy a cheap car.
Rental cars in Costa Rica are expensive. So are taxis. We need some wheels.
I always had this crazy dream about moving to the Azores or Hawaii or Brazil and driving around in an old rugged SUV. Something tough, with plenty of character and zero electronics. It just needs to be safe and reliable, and run well. I'm willing to do without the automatic rain-sensing windshield, leather seats, polished straight-grain walnut interior, and touch screen satellite navigation.
On Friday I had quick look on Costa Rica Craigslist, and after twenty minutes I had a shortlist of four promising vehicles within half an hour. My hubby hired the taxi driver for the afternoon yesterday, and they drove around test-driving cars. (The taxi ride for 3 hours cost $50.) Three out of four vehicles were for sale by Americans, so at least there were no translation issues, and hubby decided upon a 1988 Izuzu Trooper for $3000, with a third row and new brakes. We knew it needed new tires, which we are getting tomorrow in San Isidro for $700. The air conditioning could use a recharge, and it needs a good cleaning, but it seems to run great, and it's just had its inspection so we're good 'til next Fall. It's nice to be able to just get out of the house and go to the store whenever I want.
I was worried about all the legal hassles with buying a car in Costa Rica. Every book and forum I visit talks about all the steps and fees for vehicle purchases.
Here's what we had to do:
Go test drive the vehicle, and come to an agreement upon the price. Simple enough - same as back home.
Together with the seller, you walk in to the nearest lawyer's office. Provide passport and driver's license.
Wait half an hour for the lawyer to draw up the papers.
Pay $250.
Drive away in your new car.
That's it! It's basically the exact same process as North America, but instead of having to go through the hassle at the DMV or Registry Office, you get to sit in the comfort of a lawyer's office. The lawyer also checks for any outstanding tickets on the vehicle, and the seller has to pay them off. Easy peasy!
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), as well as our clothing and the kids' soft toys. (I ordered two of the multi-packs, and that was the perfect number for us.)
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, and we have these:
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fit perfectly inside our suitcase.
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, our Kindles, a Samsung tablet, and baggies full of cords and chargers. 