ESCUELA CHIMIROL GRADUATION

As a follow up to the graduation ceremony at the Canaan High School, Carlo and I attended the graduation ceremony at the Chimirol Grade School on Saturday, December 18th. Asdrubel, our animal wrangler, invited us because his son, Anthony, was graduating.

In Costa Rica, students attend grade school, escuela, through 6^th grade. Since there is no middle school in Costa Rica, the next step is high school, colegio. To commemorate this big step, there is a graduation ceremony. It is just as well attended as that for high school. Although unlike the high school event, this one started on time.

The event was very festive with music, songs, dancing and lots of applause and even more photos being taken. In addition to graduating from 6^th grade, you also graduate from kindergarten. These little kids are so cute in their uniforms and sashes – see photo.

It was great to see everyone and to see the neighbor’s kids graduating. In addition to Anthony, there was Leandro our hotel manager’s nephew. Leandro has helped me with my Spanish and I have helped him with his English. There was also Jimmy and Helen, our 2^nd cook Gilberto’s kids that graduated. In total, there were 17 graduates from Escuela Chimirol for 2010.

Good luck to all of them in high school in February 2011.

GRADUATION IN CANAAN

Friday night was the Canaan High School’s graduation ceremony. Carlos and I attended because Daniela Martinez Chavez was a member of the graduating class. Daniela is the oldest daughter for Cecilia and Cristobal, our housekeeping manager and landscaping/maintenance manger. The ceremony took place in the community center in Canaan. And like most Costa Rican events, it started late. The event was scheduled to start at 5 PM. Carlos and I arrived at 5:20 PM knowing that is would not start on time. At 5:45 PM the person with the audio equipment arrived and the event began a bit after 6 PM.

The ceremony was a bit different than that in the USA. The cap and gown formality was non-existent. Instead, it was a much more relaxed and spirited event. Students, teachers and parents were cheering for everyone. Perhaps this is possible because of the small numbers. There were only 36 graduates: 24 girls and 12 boys. The girls far outnumber the boys because this area remains a rural community and many boys still leave school to work on the family farm raising coffee or cattle.

In my opinion, the academic program in Costa Rica is much more demanding than in the USA. American students would probably have a very hard time. High school begins at 7^th grade and lasts for 5 years. The students go to class 5 days per week from 7 AM to 4:30 PM. They take 9 to 11 classes per term. Classes are very small and individual attention is highly prized. Perhaps this is the reason that a small country like Costa Rica has a higher literacy rate than the USA.

There is also much less competition. Everyone will succeed. The awards were not so much for highest grade point average or athlete of the year but “friendliest, most responsible, highest integrity, most creative, and fewest absences” were a few of the awards presented.

We are very happy for Daniela and her Class of 2010. Daniela is planning on attending University in 2011 to study pharmacology. Good luck to Daniela and her classmates. Here are a few photos of the event. In the photo of Daniela and her friends, she is 2^nd from the left.

THE MONKEYS ARE AT IT AGAIN

In recent days our family of white face capuchin monkeys has been quite rowdy. Monkeys are usually quite vocal but lately there is something in the air that is making them more vocal than usual. Is it the full moon, the coming of summer, or maybe mating season? We are not quite sure but something is making them more active than usual.

They are also appearing in new locations on the property. Over the years they have developed a routine that seemed to be a very large loop. They would start out in the early morning at the studio and then work their way down the hill side to Café Blue and continue around the hill and up to the top of the hill near Casa Palo Alto to return to the studio around lunch time. They would make another loop and be at the studio late afternoon and then disappear to settle down for the night.

Lately, they are everywhere. They are behind the studio, crossing the road near the Café Blue parking lot, behind the restaurant, near the casitas, etc. It is a lot more interesting. I can be walking the path down to the Lecheria and suddenly hear the calls of monkeys overhead. It is usually a warning for the others that an intruder is approaching. And believe me when I say they think of humans as intruders. The family of monkeys definitely thinks that this is their land and we are invading their territory.

We have always been very careful to keep our distance. As cute and funny as they are, they are still wild animals. We make sure that our hotel guests do not feed them. We are having a hard enough time keeping them away from our food as it is. We used to store all our fruits and vegetables on a shelf just outside the Café Blue kitchen door. We have now had to move all the food inside because the monkeys were stealing it,. Last week when I came out the door, a monkey had an entire pineapple in his hand eating it right in front of me. His reaction when he saw me was to take one more bite and then drop it to the ground.

The cas fruit tree at Adrian’s house across the street is currently fruiting. I love cas. It makes a great fruit drink. The challenge has been to get the fruit before the monkeys do. In one afternoon, all the fruit was gone, or more accurately, partially eaten and on the graound. Monkeys are not frugal eaters. Instead of eating an entire fruit and then taking another until they are full, a monkey will take one bite of every fruit and throw the rest on the ground.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love the monkeys. I love seeing them every day and watching their “antics”. No matter how stressful or tiring a day I am having seeing the monkeys always makes me stop and smile. They always seem to be having such a good time, even when fighting over something. And there always seems to be some sort of squabble over something.

Over the years we have seen our family of monkeys grow from 6 members to 14. If it is mating season which is causing the recent bout of unusual activity, maybe the family will soon be larger. I will keep you posted.

LECHERIA: THE SAGA CONTINUES

When Carlos and I bought Monte Azul 5 years ago, the property was a used from grazing a small herd of dairy cows. Past and old metal gate at the end of a short very rough and rocky road stood 1 building: La Lecheria. Lecheria translates to dairy. Telling anyone that we bought a dairy would not conjure up the impression of what really existed on the property. The Lecheria was simply a roof with makeshift walls where the cows were milked by hand. It had a toilet, 1 exposed light bulb, a feeding trough and a small locking storage area.

Over the last 5 years the Lecheria has been transformed into many things for many uses. First came the storage shed/shelter. I moved to the farm alone in July of 2006 to begin construction. To guard all of the construction materials and equipment, the Lecheria became a storage building. Since there were no other structures on the property, it also became my home. I set up a tent at one end of the storage room. It had a TV, mini frig , toaster oven and outdoor shower. It was rustic yet comfortable.

Camping has never been very appealing to me and camping for months needed to end. So, part of the Lecheria was converted to new living quarters for me and Carlos when he arrived on the weekends. The result was a fantastic little house with the luxuries of an indoor sink, toilet and gas stove. It was a major step up in the world.

A few months later, Carlos and I moved into the studio. The Lecheria became another storage room for a short period before being converted into the Café Blue kitchen and dining room. Where cows used to eat and be milked, hotel guests were now being served 4 course dinners.

When the new Café Blue opened in early 2009, the Lecheria was converted into a paint studio for Alvaro Gomez. Since Alvaro was not a Monte Azul constantly, the space also doubled as a “catchall” storage space. It was interesting to see some of the things that shared the space with him while painting: mattresses, tile saws, extra furniture, horse saddles, etc.

We have recently moved Alvaro to a larger space which left the Lecheria vacant once again. But like a Phoenix, the Lecheria continues to rise from the ashes with new life. Currently, it is undergoing a remodel that will transform it into an office for Carlos. When it is completed, I will post a photo of the new space.

It is amazing how versatile and useful the Lecheria has been over the years. However, we often joke that the amount of money that we have spent upgrading, transforming and remodeling this space, we could have built several new structures. The Lecheria is probably the most expensive part of the Monte Azul project yet is still an amalgam of parts and pieces held together with glue, tape and a lot of hope. Maybe one of these days we will tear it to the ground and start over. Or, we will simply continue to transform it into another use. Long Live the Lecheria!

RAIN, RAIN, RAIn

What would a rainforest be without rain? I am not sure what the answer to this question is but it is not something that I have to worry about any time soon. It has been quite a rainy year in Costa Rica. To date we have had 225 inches of rain or more than 18 feet. Compare this to the 18 inches per year that I was used to in California.

I love the rain. It is what keeps everything fresh, green and alive. Here in Costa Rica the rain usually comes in big bursts. The mornings are usually bright sunny blue skies and as the day passes the clouds build up and let loose with a torrent in the afternoon. It might rain for an hour and stop. It is not like California rain where it is a light mist or sprinkle for days on end.

The rainy season in Costa Rica starts around mid April and gradually builds to its culmination in October. The month of October is known for being the rainiest month of the year and as a result corresponds to the lowest point for the tourist season. In fact, many hotels and tourist operations close for the month of October. By mid November the rains have tapered off and it might only rain once or twice a week through April. This is the high tourist season.

In July 2009 we installed a rain gauge at Café Blue to monitor the rain fall. October of this shows 28 inches of rain which was a bit more than the 22 inches in October 2009. We thought that the rains would begin to taper off but have been hit with a major storm this week. In the first 6 days of November we have had 18 inches of rain. There is a major storm system in the Caribbean that is affecting our weather.

Luckily the rain is a part of life in Costa Rica and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You just have to always remember to take an umbrella with you everywhere you go.

HALLOWEEN = BIG GOAT DAY

Yesterday was Halloween. This holiday doesn't mean much in Costa Rica but for Monte Azul it was a big day for baby goats. We had a total of 4 babies born. It started with a call from Asdrubel, our goat herder. He called to say that Betty had just had a baby boy. I quickly went up to the goat pen and discovered that Betty had just had another kid. This time it was a girl. We watched her clean the babies off and then moved them to a clean dry enclosure. While we were marveling at the new arrives and how cute they were, Asdrubel’s wife yelled that Maria had just started giving birth.

Within a few minutes, Maria had given birth to a baby girl. Over the 2+ years that we have had goats I had seen the babies minutes after being born but had never witnessed the actual event. This changed yesterday. I actually saw the baby come out. It was quite a sight. About 10 minutes after Maria’s first kid was born, came the 2^nd one. This one is also a girl.

Because the babies were born on Halloween, we thought names of witches would be appropriate. But, the names had to be of fun, happy witches. So their names are Endora (Betty’s kid) , Samantha and Serena (Maria’s twin kids). You may know these names from the popular TV show Bewitched.

I have attached a few photos. The first being of Betty’s 2 kids, Endora and Boy #7. They are about 1 hour old. The second photo is of Maria’s first kid, Samantha. The final photo is of Maria’s 2^nd kid, Serena. She is only seconds old. If anyone would like to see the photo of Samantha ½ inside and ½ outside of Maria during the actual birth, let me know.

All 4 newborns are doing really well today along with the other kid born on Friday, the 29^th. Our score card now reads GIRLS 3, BOYS 2. I will keep you posted of their progress and what happens with Debbie’s pregnancy.

BABY GOAT SEASON ARRIVES

I am very happy to announce that we had our first baby goat of the season today. Heidi gave birth to a baby boy around 5:30 AM. He is doing very well and being taken care of by his mother as you can see in the attached photo. He is only 3 hours old in this photo. This is Heidi’s second birth. She had a male kid in March 2010 but he only survived 1 day. This kid looks much healthier.

Waiting in the wings of the maternity ward are Betty, Maria and Debbie. Betty is due any day now with the others to follow in intervals. We have learned a lot over the last 2 ½ years of raising goats. We are attempting to space the births out this season so that the milk production will last through the tourist season. Last season, the milk production began in March just about the time that “high tourist season” was ending. Not very smart of us. I am gearing up for making goat cheese, yogurt and soap.

I have also included a photo of Shakira who was born in February 2010. She is looking over the fence and trying to see what is going on with the new baby. Shakira is too young to have babies. She will have to wait until next year.

I will keep you posted on the upcoming births as they happen. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for female babies.

WATER + ELECTRICITY: YIKES!

As Americans, we take hot water for granted. Hot water is heated in a hidden location and comes out of every faucet in the house. No one gives a second thought about a hot shower in the US. In Costa Rica can be a very different story. Hot water is a luxury, especially out in the country. It is not installed in most homes more than a few years old and if there is hot water, it is only in the shower. Who needs hot water in the kitchen or bathroom sinks? Hotel ads will list hot water as a major selling point.

The source of hot water is also very different. The use of a huge hot water tank where water is constantly heated and sits in a tank is almost non-existent in homes here. If there is a tank it is very small. Instead the water is heated at the point of use, sort of like the Insta-hot faucets in the US, and I use the phrase “sort of” loosely. A common source of hot water for showers comes from water heaters that are built directly into the shower head. These can be purchased at every hardware store. The frightening part is that these shower head heaters

are electrically wired there as well. This wiring is usually visible.

For those of us that have always been warned of the dangers of mixing electricity and water, this can be quite intimidating. Stepping into a shower with exposed wires overhead that are connected to the shower head takes a great deal of courage the first time.

To make matters worse, once you turn the water on and discover that the water isn’t getting hot, you notice the sliding switch on the showerhead. There are just symbols that are not apparent which direction is for “ON” or “HOT”. If you are really brave, you will attempt to slide this switch. Don’t do it! I think this is just a dirty trick to see if you are dumb enough to touch it. I have been shocked more than once. So you suffer through it and take a cold shower.

I cannot tell you how many times that I have taken this cold shower thinking that these showerhead water heaters are just useless pieces of "$#(%&". Then a contractor friend of mine told me the secret. The secret is that you just barely turn the water on. Like most Americans, I assumed that the farther you turned the water knob, the hotter it would get. This is the standard for American homes and hotels. Not so for these instant heater showerheads. The lower the water is turned on, the hotter the water will get. Makes no sense to me but now that I know the secret, these showerheads do work quite well.

I do still have some reservations about all the wires overhead but have learned to deal with it. However, every once it a while I still see a set up that frightens me, like the shower that was in Carlos’ grandmothers house. Not only are the shower head wires exposed, but to get the heating unit to work, you have to turn on the “circuit breaker”. This device is not in another part of the house in a nice little metal box but on the wall right there in the shower! And, its wires are exposed as well. You can even see the metal connections. It looks like one of those switches that they used in the movie Frankenstein. You know, the one with the big lever you have to flip 180 degrees - the one that brought life to the monster. It is one of those things you just have to see to believe. So, I have attached a photo of this contraption. So don’t be afraid to step into this web of wires and take a nice hot shower after all, what is the worst that can happen?

THERE’S A NEW BRIDGE IN TOWN

It has been a very rainy year in Costa Rica and sometimes things happen when it rains. In early August there was storm and the “thing” that happened was that the small bridge over the Chucuyo River collapsed. For some reason the river changed course slightly and the footing on the Monte Azul side of the river was washed away. The bridge fell into the river. This was a homemade 1 lane bridge made out of a semi trailer chassis with thin metal panels laid on top. It was never meant to carry heavy or wide vehicles. In fact, I have always admired the sign that someone put up advising drivers to use caution (see photo). The sign says “PUENTE SOLO PARA CARRO PEQUENO” which translates to “bridge only for small car”. The most interesting thing about this sign is that it is nailed to a tree on the far side of the bridge. You cannot see or read this sign until after you have crossed it, hopefully not in a large heavy car or truck.

Luckily, the metal pieces of the bridge did not get washed away but were salvaged from the river using a backhoe and some cable. Normally, one would think that the municipality would be in charge of repairing this bridge. This would eventually happen if you were willing to wait that long. There are 5 houses on the other side with no other outlet for cars. The occupants of these houses had to walk an extra mile using another similar homemade bridge to get to the same place of the fallen bridge.

In early September there was an attempt to build a new bridge using some metal beams from a neighboring community. Unfortunately, these beams were too short. In addition to undermining the old bridge’s footing, the river also decided to take away about 3 meters of shoreline.

Last week the neighbors were at it again. This time it was cutting up scrap pieces of metal and soldering them to the old bridge’s under carriage. This was the chassis of a semi trailer. The crew welded additional 2x4 beams to the ends to make it long enough to span the new distance. Next came the back hoe to drop this structure into place. The most interesting part is the bridge decking. It is simply a local tree that has been cut down and milled into planks that are placed on the metal carriage. These are not nailed, screwed , bolted or fastened to the structure in any way.

The final touch was for safety. A hand rail was placed on each side of the new bridge. This is thick wire cable that has been fastened to trees at both ends. The result: a new foot bridge. No more cars crossing this one. It is only 2.5 feet wide. I have walked this bridge. It is a bit intimidating the first time but definitely an adventure.

I really admire the ingenuity, tenacity and resourcefulness of the people of Costa Rica and especially in the countryside. There is no waiting for the municipality or the government to do something. If you want it done, call the neighbors and it will get done. I love living in a small community in the country.

FLOWERING PLANT UPDATE

A few weeks ago I wrote an entry about a flowering shrub on the farm that no one seems to be able to identify. In this blog entry I wrote that the plant blooms in July and August. Well, this plant proved me wrong. Another plant on the hiking path near the greenhouse has just bloomed and it is now the beginning of October. We had no idea that this plant existed until it bloomed. As I said before, the plant is very nondescript. I have attached a photo of the plant and its flowers. As you can see from the photo, the plant simply blends into the tropical foliage. You only notice it when the spectacular flowers appear.

Who knows how many other plants like this are out there at Monte Azul waiting to bloom. If you have any idea what the name of this plant is, please let me know.

SYMPHONY COMES TO CHIMIROL

September 15th was Independence Day in Costa Rica. As part of the celebration this year, Chimirol had its annual town festival. Most every town in Costa Rica has an annual festival or some sort. In the past, the Chimirol festival was held in February, the middle of summer, so as to minimize the effects of rain. This year was the first time the Chimirol Festival, Civicas Festivas, was held in September.

The festival start on Monday, September 13^th and ran for 7 days with various activities throughout the week including the usual bingo, desfile de faroles (see blog entry from Sept 2009 for more information), dances, karaoke, food, and the community horseback ride.

This year there were 2 very special events. On Monday and Tuesday, the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) from San Jose brought a traveling exhibition to Chimirol. It was very informative and well attended.

On Thursday night the Music School in San Isidro bought their Youth Symphony to Chimirol. The symphony consisted of approximately 40 children ranging in age from 7 to 17 years old. This is the first time a symphony concert has been held in Chimirol. The concert took place in the covered open gymnasium at the grade school. Despite the rain falling, it was standing room only. I think that every one that lives in Chimirol attended.

The first half of the concert was the full symphony playing classical numbers as well as show tunes and movie themes such as the theme from the Godfather. The second half of the concert was a smaller group of older students as a jazz ensemble playing traditional Costa Rica songs, salsa, cumbia and latin jazz selections.

It was a magical night sitting in country side with the rainforest and Rio Chirripo just steps away listening to a symphony concert. Everyone seemed to have a great time and was talking about the the Music School coming back next year.

I have included a few photos of the concert. These photos were taken by Hai Zhang from New York. Hai has returned to Monte Azul this week for the 2^nd part of his Artist in Residence. He is here continuing work on a long-term project with Monte Azul.

CAN YOU IDENTIFY THIS PLANT?

There is a plant at the farm that no one seems to know its name or anything else. There are several of them around Café Blue, the Casitas and the front gate. They are nondescript plants that fade into the mix of all the other greenery. They look like large shrubs with thick dark green leaves and woody stems. They are slow growing and the older leaves and woody parts are covered in moss and other plants. The plant never drops it s leaves and the new growth is cleaner and brighter than the older leaves. They tend to grow in the shade of all the plants that surround them. The leaves are about 4 inches long.

When the plant flowers it burst out of the shadows in a profuse and magnificent show of white and lavender blooms. These flowers are big and gorgeous. The center of the flower is 4 white petals, each about 1 inch long. The stamens are very long, about 3-4 inches, and go from white to lavender anthers. The flowers do not smell.

The buds form and begin to bloom around mid July and last through the end of August. The buds do not all bloom at the same time but new buds open as others start to drop their petals and stamens. Another interesting fact is that the plants on the property do not all bloom every year. The plant behind Café Blue bloomed in 2007 and has not bloomed again. The year it bloomed, the plant produced 1 large seed pod that was tear drop shaped. It was about 5 inches long and very hard. After months of watching it, it finally fell from the tree. We opened it up and tried to propagate the seeds but none of the seeds grew.

Last year a plant near the gate bloomed but did not bloom this year. Instead, this year a large plant between Casita Naranja and Casita Celeste bloomed. This is a very interesting plant that we will continue to keep watching and attempting to unlock some of its secrets. It also teaches us that there is a world of plant and animal life in the rain forest that still remains a secret.

If anyone has any guess as to the name of this plant or any other information, we would love to hear your thoughts

UMBRAL EN COLORES

Alvaro Gomez Ulloa is a master printmaker that has become a master painter. He began his career as an artist printmaking on paper and then moved to painting on canvas. He says that his first love is print making and working with paper. His new series of limited edtion screen prints that were inaugurated at the National Gallery in San Jose this August combines his painting technique and his love of printmaking on paper.

The idea began over a year ago when Carlos Rojas suggested that Alvaro start thinking about a way to produce a screen print that represents his style of painting. Carlos had the idea that he could combine the techniques of painting, screen printing and montotyping into a series of works.

The process began with Alvaro painting the flowers in his usual technique onto acetate instead of canvas. The difference being that every color used would be on a different piece of acetate. When these various layers are stacked, the same effect as in his paintings would be generated. When he was done, there was a set of 5 acetates or films.

This is when I took over and developed the screens for screen printing. The first film was black and I printed this on paper in the usual screen printing technique. I then handed the works back over to Alvaro who began the long process of monotyping. Alvaro took each piece and individually made a monotype print over the first black color. This monotprint was in irredescent golds pewters and silvers.

Alvaro then returned the prints to me and I completed the screen printing of the last 4 colors. We produced 3 different color editions: red, blue and ochre. The final editions are:

• Umbral en rojo (Threshold in Red) Edition of 8
• Umbral en azul (Threshold in Blue) Edition of 8
• Umbral en siena (Threshold in Sienna) Edition of 8

Each print is 61 x 44 cm on paper that measures 78 x 59 cm. The price is $575. We are very excited about this new mixed media work that Alvaro has developed. If you are interested in purchasing one of these works, contact Carlos at carlos@monteazulcr.com.

To see other available works from Alvaro Gomez, go to:http://www.monteazulcr.com/en/fineart/representedartists/1/AlvaroGomez

COOKIE SMILING

Cookie has now been a part of Monte Azul for 4 years. Shortly after I moved to the farm full-time, Cookie came into our lives. I had moved to the farm July 1, 2006 with our dogs Tyler and Shadow. Carlos was still living in Cartago and running the gallery space there during the week and coming down to the farm on weekends.

The third week of July Carlos was at the farm and he need to make a few phone calls. At the time there we no phones in the area and cell phones wouldn’t work in the mountains. To make a call you had to go to the public phone at the local pulperia. On one of these trips, we saw this skinny puppy eating from the garbage in front of the pulperia Soda Cindy. She was small and funny looking. Attached is a photo of her first day at Monte Azul.

Carlos realized that a number that he needed to call was not in the car and that we needed to go back to the farm to get it. During this trip, I got a bag of dog food to take to the puppy. When we returned to the pulperia, the sad puppy was still there so I began my attempt to feed her. She wasn’t scared at all. I guess that hunger overrides fear. When Carlos got off the phone he saw me feeding the dog and said ”put her in the car” This was all I need to hear. She was quickly in the car and on the way to her new home.

Cookie has grown up and is a very happy, silly, lovable dog. She is a little bit crazy but is good natured. She loves to go for walks. It was this week that I was walking the dogs up the hill when I decided to try a short cut straight up the hill through the forest instead of the long loop on the road. The heavy rains had created a new creek down the hillside and I wanted to explore it. The 3 dogs were happy to follow. I had my camera with me and got this photo of Cookie. It is now my favorite photo of her. It shows the excitement and joy that she seems to have in everything that she does.

I am happy that we picked her up that day and hope that she is with us for a very long time.

Alvaro Gomez: El Jardinero

This month at the National Gallery in the Museo de los Ninos, Sala VIII, we are proud to represent Alvaro in his first show at the museum. The show includes a series of magnificent acrylic paintings on canvas as well as wood block monoprints and a new series for monoprint screen prints (more info on this series to come). All of these works were created at Monte Azul in 2010 and represent his passion for color, flowers, water and nature.

The Opening Reception was on August 11, 2010 and was attended by art collectors, magazine and newspaper editors, photographers, artists, friends, and family to name but a few. The event was very successful and enjoyed by everyone. These are a few photos of those in attendance.

Alvaro is part of the Monte Azul family and has been since its inception in Costa Rica. Almost ten years ago when Carlos was running his art gallery in San Francisco, California, he did an internet search for Costa Rican artists. One of the artists that “popped up” was Alvaro Gomez Ulloa. Alvaro is from Cartago, the same city that Carlos’ family originates. Through emails, Carlos got to know more about Alvaro and his work which eventually lead to Carlos selling Alvaro’s work in California. At the time Alvaro was a professor at the University of Costa Rica teaching printmaking. Alvaro was trained in printmaking and is considered a master printmaker.

By the time Carlos and I made our first trip together to Costa Rica in July 2003, Alvaro had begun working with oils and acrylics on canvas. We met Alvaro in his home studio on that trip and immediately fell in love with his paintings. On the spot, we bought 2 prints and one of his first oils on plywood paintings.

Over the years, Alvaro has developed and refined his painting technique, always pushing his limits, ideas and techniques to create remarkable works whether in printmaking or painting. The new series of paintings are in El Jardinero series (The Gardener). Alvaro is truly a gardener (in fact, he actually uses a watering can on the canvas), developing, nurturing and growing his ideas and talents. Alvaro is an integral part of Monte Azul and we are very proud to have Alvaro as part of our family.

We are also looking forward to his next idea.

For more information on Alvaro and his recent series of works, got to:

http://www.monteazulcr.com/en/fineart

http://www.monteazulcr.com/en/fineart/representedartists/1/AlvaroGomez/

LUXEMBOURG YEAH!

July 2010 has been a very interesting month at Monte Azul. We have had our first guests from Luxembourgh. I had heard of Luxembourgh but didn't really know much about it other than it being a small country in central Europe surrounded by Belgium, Germany and France. It was interesting to talk to the couple, Gian Luca and Xenia, and learn about their country. There are only approximately 500,000 citizens in Luxembourgh, far fewer than live in San Francisco, CA (750,000). There are many similarities between our countries: lots of mountains, lots of small country towns, one big city.... The big difference being the weather - tropical climate verses 4 distinct season with snowy winter cold being very dominate. This is great if you like skiing.

For some reason the rarity for me to meet people from such a small country made me realize that this is one of the added benefits of living at Monte Azul and having a boutique hotel. The world comes to my door. I never have to leave home.

It has been joked about a lot that I don't cross the bridge and the Rio Chirripo Pacifico at Monte Azul very often. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons. I have the good fortune to have interesting people from all over the world come visit our hotel. I get to meet these wonderful people and find out about their lives and countries. In return, I get to show them the wonders of the tropical rain forest, my home. I see them have breakfast at Cafe Blue while watching the monkeys, hear about their trips to the thermal baths, the cheese tour, and Cloud Bridge Forest Preserve, see photos of them at our waterfall and all the birds and plants that they took during their daily activities. It also reminds me of how lucky I am to live in such a magical place.

In addition to our guests from Luxembourgh, July included guests from Brazil, Spain, France, Mexico, Panama, Denmark, Switzerland, England, other parts of Costa Rica, Canada, and the USA: San Diego, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Santa Fe, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Miami and Lewiston, Maine. All of these places are also interesting to learn about especially from an insiders perspective.

I am looking forward to seeing who will arrive next and where they will come from. Who knows, I may never have to leave Monte Azul.

For more information on Luxembourgh, go to :

http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/luxmborg.htm

OUR LATEST DOGS

Do you like dogs as much as we do? If so, you will enjoy our latest screen prints that feature our 3 newest pets: GRRR…, ARF and BOW WOW.

15+ years ago Carlos made coasters in a ceramics class that featured these loveable dogs. Over the years they somehow ended up packed in a box and “lost” for a decade or more. After he moved out of his apartment in San Francisco I was organizing his stuff and came across them. If anyone has ever seen how Carlos packs, you will know that everything needed to be repacked. But that is a whole other story.

Anyway, I had the idea to frame these coasters and hang them in our kitchen. Everyone that saw them commented on them and wanted to know if they were for sale or if there were other sets for sale. Unfortunately, these original coasters are not for sale and never will be.

Now we are at Monte Azul and the coasters are again hanging in the our kitchen. Guests still ask if they are for sale. Here at Monte Azul, we tell guests that every wall is a gallery wall yet I kept having to tell the hotel guests that they are not for sale. I think that Carlos would sell them but I say no.

So, I think that I have fixed this issue. We have taken Carlos’ images and turned them into limited edition screen prints. Each image is an edition of 20. The printed image size is 4.75 x 5 inches on paper sized 16 x 11.5 inches. Each prints costs $48. If you are interested in adopting any of these prints, just send me an email and we can start the adoption process.

The Story of Upe

This is a story of something that happened to me during one of my early trips to Costa Rica. I think about it every now and then and wanted to share it with everyone. It was November 2004 and Sherry, Rob and I were on one of our property hunting expeditions to Costa Rica. This is long before Carlos and I ever moved to Costa Rica and long before I had any ability to speak or understand Spanish. Carlos, who usually came on these trips and was the designated interpreter, did not come on this trip because it was a busy season at his art gallery in California.

So three non Spanish speaking city dwellers ventured into the southern zone of Costa Rica in search of a property to call Monte Azul. We had met a real estate agent on a previous trip, Mike was his name. I use the term real estate agent loosely. The real estate system in Costa Rica is very different from the USA and this topic could be an entire book by itself.

Anyway, what it came down to was Mike worked for a guy who knew people wanting to sell their property. It was his job to escort interested buyers out to the property and see if there was any interest. Most of these properties were way off the main roads with no phones, no electricity and sometimes rather treacherous roads or other encounters. Making arrangements for an appointment was impossible since most owners did not have landline phones and cell phones didn't work in this part of the country at the time.

It was a bright sunny morning and we met Mike at the local pulperia to go see a large property at the top of a hill, which actually turned out to be a mountain. Mike said that we needed to go early before it rained. The road would be impassible if it started to rain. The property was in Punta Mala approximately 6 kilometers (4 miles) up the hill from the coastal highway. We had looked at other properties on this road but had never gone beyond the 3 kilometer marker. The road started out with a slight grade with good compacted gravel. At about the 4 kilometer mark, it changed completely. It was now nothing but red clay; slick, wet, rutted, squishy red clay that was getting steeper and steeper. Most Americans would not even consider this a road. We were in Mike's car and he was driving never showing any nervousness or fear. There came a point when we just couldn't make it any further and so Mike pulled over and said that we need to walk the rest of the way. It was supposedly just around the corner.

So we all piled out and started to walk up this incline of slick wet, rutted, squishy red clay. Then, we arrived at the gate and breathed a group sigh of relief. We looked around and marveled at the scenery. The views were magnificent. Further up the hill and to the north and south was nothing but primary rain forest. Directly west was an open unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean.

The property was more than 90 hectares (225 acres). A small percent was pasture land and the rest old growth rain forest. It was my job on the trip to write down all the statistics and information about each property along with the positives and negatives and any other pertinent or unique information. It is hard to remember one property from another after seeing a few of them and there is never any "sales sheet" from a realtor. We needed some way to remember and to discuss what we had seen with Carlos later.

So we went through the gate and Mike started calling "Upe!, Upe!, Upe!" so I wrote in my notes, Upe's Farm. From now on this property would be referred to as Upe's Finca. Finca is Spanish for farm. I was being a bit uppity with my Spanish title for the property. Other significant notations were, positives: size, price, views, good building sites, primary rain forest and negatives: bad road, no immediate water source, no electricity, no phones and no means of getting phones or electricity anytime soon. Upe wasn't home so we toured the vicinity around the house. Then it started to rain and Mike said that we had to leave immediately. We hurried down the road to the car and survived the 6 kilometer white-knuckle drive, or should I say slip n slide, down the hill.

When we returned to our base camp, a little motel along the southern coast highway, we were happy to see Carlos' mom, dad and aunt waiting for us. They had most graciously offered to come down to the southern zone and help with our property search and act as translators and maybe even negotiators. They asked us about the properties that we had seen and so I pulled out my notebook and start going over the information that we had gathered during the previous days that we had been in the area on this trip.

I got to the information on Upe's Finca and Carlos' dad, also named Carlos, got this really strange look on his face and and asked what I had said. I told him that I had named it Upe's Finca because that was the name of the owner. I didn't know his last name because Mike hadn't known it and we never met him. I was very proud of myself for remembering his name and made sure that Carlos' dad knew that. The strange look on his face turned to a very large grin and then non-stop, belly wrenching laughter. I had no idea how this could be so funny.

Carlos' mom and aunt, Ana and Laura, were also laughing by now. When they calmed down a bit, Carlos explained to me that upe is not a name but and expression that is used when when approaching someone's house to see if they are home. It is the equivalent to "hello, anybody home?" I quickly realized my error and my pride of remembering the owner's name evaporated.

For years, Carlos' dad would see me and ask about my friend Upe and how he was doing. Always with that big grin on his face and reminding me of my lack of skills when it came to the Spanish language. Last week, years after the incident, Carlos can back from a trip from San Jose with a gift. It was the tee shirt that I am wearing in the photo that says UPE!. The small writing says: "interjection used to find out if there is someone at home or in any other private place." I love this tee shirt and the fond memories it brings back of my short time visiting Upe's Finca and the visual I get of the big grin Carlos' dad always got on his face when he talked about my dear friend Upe. I am certain Carlos' dad is up there somewhere laughing at me wearing this tee shirt wishing he had given it to me himself.

Mead Brown - Costa Rica Vacation Rentals

Love nature, food and art? Monte Azul is perfect for you.

This past weekend I re-charged at Monte Azul Boutique Hotel + Center for Art & Design near Chirripo, the tallest mountain in Costa Rica at 12,228 feet (as a frame of reference, Mt. Rainier in Washington state is 14,441 feet). Fishing and swimming in the really cold and beautiful river, hiking and seeing many species of birds, the community dance on Saturday night, amazing meals in the organic Cafe Blue, a really comfortable and thoughtfully designed casita decorated with world-class art, and goat cheese from the resident herd were all highlights. 

I give Monte Azul my absolute highest recommendation.  The 125-acre nature preserve is perfect for those who are delighted by nature (many species of birds are spotted here; monkeys, too!).  The river with huge boulders and difficult to catch fish, lush trees, vines, orchids, bromeliads, the ethereal light, cloud forest, rainforest and all the jungle sounds make this an idyllic place for connecting with nature, resting, reading, thinking and hiking.  

Casita Amarilla was my comfortable home for the weekend

All of the casitas have first-class original art, really comfortable beds and bed linens, a spa-like bath with watery Italian tile and hand-made soap, a kitchenette perfect for brewing a cup of the organic coffee grown on the preserve, plush robes and lots of light.  Each casita is situated for maximum privacy.  I left my windows and doors open for most of my stay for the full effect of being in nature.  No worries about creepy crawlies here!
The staff at Cafe Blue–led by Sherry Lee West–lovingly, artfully and professionally prepared and served some of the best food I’ve had the pleasure of tasting in Costa Rica.  Much of it was grown, raised or made on site.  Randy, the many-talented visionary-host-owner (there are 3) of Monte Azul, made the goat cheese served with fruit and a glass of wine in my casita just after arrival.  Randy also made a pumpkin pie that rivals any made by my grandmothers!  The bar in Cafe Blue is a “must see”; much of it is a beautiful work of art created by Alvaro Gomez.  Cheese-making in the Swiss style with a local family is one of many offered activities.  This is on the list of “to experience” for my next visit! 

The light, trees, orchids and bromeliads all combine for maximum lushness

Carlos Rojas Jara is another of Monte Azul’s visionary owners with many talents.  He’s an artist and host with something interesting to say about many topics.  His Monte Azul creation delights one’s senses of smell, taste and sight.

Cafe Blue at Monte Azul features locally-produced, organic food perfectly prepared and attentively served

The climate at Monte Azul is perfect for me (I’m from the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.); it’s considerably cooler than Jaco, Los Suenos Resort, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, Tamarindo and other popular beaches along the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica.  The topography, scenery, flora and fauna are all quite different, too.  A perfect vacation for someone visiting Costa Rica for a week or more would be to stay at one of the beaches mentioned and then at Monte Azul.  It’s about 2 to 2.5 hours from Manuel Antonio, 1 to 1.5 from Dominical and 3 from San Jose.
Activities in the immediate area of Monte Azul include whitewater rafting, horseback riding, cooking lessons, cheese-making lessons, yoga and massage, hiking, birding, trekking, swimming and fishing in the river (I did both and found the really cold water invigorating; the current is swift and the fish are impossible to catch, but what a way to spend an afternoon!).
For families or small groups, the newly completed Villa Palo Alto is a really special place to spend a week.  The contemporary design fits perfectly into the land; the 1,100 square foot great room opens to a magnificent view of the valley with the rain forests and cloud forests above and beyond.  The home is filled with art from some of the most talented artists active today.  (The owners have art galleries in New York City and San Francisco and Monte Azul has a an artist in residence program.)
I could go on and on.  The bottom line is that Monte Azul provides all the comfort in a stunningly beautiful setting that anyone who loves art, food, nature and life needs to create memorable experiences they’ll remember for a lifetime.  I hope to make this my home away from home, with a retreat to the mountains every couple of months.  It’s that special and that restorative.
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From the Monte Azul Team:  Please be sure to visit  MeadBrown.com.  They have been great friends and wonderful business partners.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 10:07 am and is filed under Costa Rica Travel, Luxury Travel, Luxury Villa Vacation Rentals, Uncategorized, tourism, vacations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.