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.