And then the biggest preoccupation was the rooster.  Could one have egg laying hens without a rooster that sings before dawn?  That was the big question we have been investigating – attempting to limit the 4 am sounds of a happy rooster – or worse – 1 am, 2 am, 3 am 4 am and 5 am – an unsynchronized rooster!

Don’t laugh – as the dysfunctional rooster is a fairly common issue around these parts!  So we put out a reward to any locals who would be able to help us find a rooster that does his thing with all the hens – but would be able to refrain from singing while we were still sleeping.  Our research has concluded that there are no mute roosters – at least not that anyone knows of.  So we’ve taken the plunge – and acquired a bunch of young and medium sized hens with one happy rooster.

They are still too young to sing or lay – but for now the chicken experience has proven to be a blessing for the kids – Sara in particular.  She is fascinated and thrilled at spending as much time as possible chasing them, picking them up and feeding them.

Here is one for you

Chicken care is fairly easy – we think so far. Just feed them feed concentrate (available at the pet store), corn, leftovers or just about anything, change the water, let then run out in the day time, keep the shack clean – and collect the eggs of course! Eventually within a few weeks, the goal is to have lots of fresh eggs everyday.  There is a world of a difference between a fresh egg – and the ones we buy in the store…all the difference in the world.  And that is why we now have chickens!!

And that was it the whole day!  Sara was cool and we wentout to dinner at La Peco nera.

We hope that by adopting this new format, we will be encouraged to write more often and include entries from Emmanuelle and Maya – who has recently discovered the world of the Internet.

This past year has been characterized as a redefining year for all of us.  Sara’s challenging few weeks after her birth and her Muscular Dystrophy diagnosis have imposed the greatest physical, mental, psychological and spiritual challenges to our lives – yet a bit more than a year later, we each find ourselves, happier, stronger, healthier and certainly more positive on life than ever before.  Life has a way to teach us lessons and guide us – if we are willing to open up – in the hardest ways sometimes – but that may be what it takes.

After Sara’s birth – and having been informed of her condition and most doctors telling us there was little hope for life after a few weeks or months at the most – we were forced to look outside the modern medical world for hope and perhaps answers.  What we (believe) have learned / discovered is that most if not all ailments that we come upon in life (genetics included) are caused over time (and sometimes generations) by unnatural products that we put into our bodies and surround ourselves with on a daily basis. These include ANY processed foods or drinks, all household chemicals and of course polluted environments.  Any foods treated with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or additives are in fact bad for us and introduce “poisons” to our bodies.  A common question I have always asked is “If we supposedly have the world’s most advanced medicine – then why do we have more sick people then ever?  Why is cancer on the rise?  Why is obesity on the rise? Hypertension?  Alzheimer’s?  Why are we having to take more and more pills?”  Sure we are living longer – but perhaps artificially? As a generation – we are not getting healthier – we are in fact getting less and less healthy- but the little pills help HIDE our effects better and better without ever curing us – and in time – making us sicker and weaker to combat the next “disease” that comes along our path.

Whether we like it or not, our bodies are constantly bombarded by bacteria and viruses and much more.  They are not the problem. It is not the virus that gets us sick – but rather our body’s weakened immune system – that is less able to naturally fight off the “intruders”.  If we were to think and practice “preventive” medicine as a healthcare concept – instead of combative (treating the symptoms) – then there would be less need for the healthcare industry as we know it.  Politicians today are scratching their heads on how to present a solution to our future’s healthcare problems.  The answer is oh so simple:  emphasize on KEEPING people HEALTHY – instead of trying to treat symptoms and beating diseases.  The problem with this approach – as unbelievably simple as it may seem – as that the healthcare INDUSTRY  would loose most of their profits.  It is not about our health – but rather that of the corporations which the healthcare industry is truly concerned about!!!!

So with that basic understanding, we have embarked on a journey of “natural life” for ourselves and most importantly for Sara.  Sara eats only natural and organic foods – NEVER packaged.  Forget the Gerber food.  Forget any powdered products.  She is not given any medications (unless absolutely essential – which in some cases – they are).   She is viewed by us in the most positive and normal way.  The results so far may speak for themselves.  The doctors simply call her “The Miracle of Punta Uva”.  This is a life long journey and personal “experiment” in which we can’t loose.  The text books tell us that there is NO CURE for Muscular Dystrophy.  We believe this to be untrue.  The human body is not meant to be sick.  The human body is able to combat and heal all disease – IF we allow it to do so – by providing it the most basic and natural environment it was meant to flourish in!  While there is no magic pill or treatment to HIDE the effects of MD, there may be a cure in the most simplistic way:  nature – balance and positive healthy living.

For Sara – and ourselves – we are constantly looking into other “alternative” medicine avenues and each time pleasantly surprised to learn of the power and benefits each offers.  Today, we actively practice natural health, nutrition, daily massage, reflexology and nothing but POSITIVE BELIEF and love.  For anyone who did not know her condition – Sara Star is a perfectly healthy and happy child!

Emmanuelle recovered very well from the C-Section and is now back to her usual form!

During these difficult 5 weeks, Sara experienced a list of medical challenges – but at every turn, we were nothing but extremely impressed by the medical world in Costa Rica. We feel Sara received excellent care by the nurses, doctors and facilities – MUCH better than one can expect in most US facilities today! Maya was able to visit and meet her sister only 3 weeks after her birth. This was a very special and emotional experience for all of us – Maya in particular.

Life in San Jose Anyone that has visited San Jose knows that it is not the world’s most desirable city. However, when given the opportunity to scratch the surface, there does exist a better city! We were fortunate to have several close friends in San Jose helps us tremendously as well as Emmanuelle’s mother, Josiane, who stayed with us the entire time. Maya missed school but spent many afternoons in the Sabana park riding her bicycle, horses and ponies, playing with her girlfriend Charlotte and going to amusement parks. We also took a few half day excursions to some of the local tropical gardens and volcanoes. I never thought this was possible, but we now know how to drive and get around in most of San Jose – where the streets have no name!

Return to Life in Punta Uva Five weeks after Sara’s birth, she was discharged from the hospital and we wasted no time in returning to our little paradise. Manuel’s mother, Regine, also came in for a few days to celebrate and spend time with the rest of the family. Once Sara got out of the hospital and returned to the jungle, she completely improved and turned around. Today, she is progressing very well and showing improvements on a daily basis. Her parents are not getting much sleep at all and feeling like zombies – but that is normal – for a few months!

The Big Sister For the past few years, Maya Soleil has been begging her parents for a little sister. Now that she is here, we have a very happy and proud big sister! Maya loves her little sister and takes excellent care of her. She helps us bathe her and now changes Sara’s diapers and feeds her all by herself.

…and The White Spot??? We are sure that there are a few of you just asking yourself one big important question since you’ve opened this page: ‘What is that white spot on Sara’s head?’ Answer: It is a piece of ordinary white paper, chewed on and compressed as a tiny ball and simply put on her forehead. The purpose is to stop the hiccups that babies so often have. How does it work? We have no clue – but it is an old Costa Rican grandmother’s cure – and it seems to work sometimes!

During out absence, Life in Punta Uva was active. Apparently there was a 6.3 earthquake in northern Panama, which was strongly felt in Punta Uva. We are only a few miles from the Panamanian border!! The good news is that since we do not have any major infrastructure or skyscrapers, there was no significant damage anywhere!! Apparently, earthquakes ARE common here. In 1991, there was a 7+ earthquake in Limon that lifted the coral reef 5 feet above the water. To this day, when in Limon, one can see a fully exposed coral reef – now dead.

Many people have been concerned for us about the risk of hurricanes. I know is hard to believe, but in Costa Rica, there are NO hurricanes! We are just below the hurricane belt and therefore NEVER see them. However, it is possible to get side effects from hurricanes, as the bands of rain can travel all the way down here. Wind-wise – we are fine!

The lack of hurricanes in a tropical world does not exempt us from a random powerful thunderstorms. While we were away, there was a powerful thunderstorm with leading winds almost as strong as a hurricane. The winds lasted about 15 minutes. The locals recall it being a quiet mid afternoon when all the sudden the wind picked up. Suddenly, all over town, the sound of trees cracking was heard all over. Some massive trees several hundred years old fell. Power and telephone lines mostly destroyed as well as the poles. Several houses smashed by fallen trees. The town was isolated for several days due the number of trees blocking road access. When we arrived back to Punta Uva, we could still see the efforts of people trying to get back to life. New poles had been put in place and most of the trees were being cut and removed. No one was severely injured as a result of the storm. Our rental house had some minor damage, but was overall OK.

Our property, however, was a victim of these rare, strong winds. We lost one of our three big trees on the building plateau as well as a number of other smaller trees. The good news is that this tree was the closest to where we plan to build the house, thus we are now safer for the future should another storm come. Had we had our house already built, it very well may have been smashed by the fallen tree!!!!! The more important news is that Big Tree itself – was spared.

Otherwise, the road and the bridge are moving along. Hopefully, if the weather cooperates, we expect to be finished with the carving of the road within the next few days. Next step will be to bring over 100 MAC trucks of riverbed road and gravel to surface it…another massive job that we look forward to!!

We’ve had brainstorming sessions with Nicolas, our architect / developer. He’s a French guy who built a wonderful jungle lodge here some 10 years ago. We expect to have house plans drawn up within the next 2 weeks as well. Construction will begin as soon as the road is complete. We will, of course, update everyone with LOTS of pictures and updates.

July 16 – We are stuck! After carving out the road we can no longer continue. There is a large amount of dirt remaining that is to be used for the bridge…but we don’t have the tubes. We ordered them 10 days ago from San Jose and they should have arrived 8 days ago. Today’s excuse: countrywide highway strikes. The highway transportation system is gridlocked. Drivers have blocked all highways in protest of the goverment’s attempt to impose safety checks on all cars!!! The tubes will be 1.5 meters in diameter and 8 meters long. They are used for the water to flow through. We will place them in the creek and then add about another 3-4 meters of dirt on top. So the bridge will eventually be approximately 5 meters (15 feet) above the creek.

The morning of July 9th – Tuesday, we got a call from our shipping broker that the container had passed customs (taxes ended up being less than we thought!), and that it was going to be loaded onto a truck to be brought down here. The truck was scheduled to arrived in Puerto Viejo around 2 pm. The ride from Limon to PV is only 45min to 1 hour. Well by 2 PM the truck was not around. As it turns out, customs was unable to repack our container (it was VERY full!!) and had to leave the kayaks and bicycles on the outside. Apparently, the truck finally left customs around 5:30pm and was set to arrive at 6:30 PM So we waited on the side of the road, and waited and waited. No truck! Now it was getting dark and began to rain, so we began to drive up north towards Limon to see if perhaps it ran into problems while in the road. We did finally meet the truck – 20 minutes north, who was driving somewhat slowly – I guess that’s good – BUT found a driver who had made a not so quick stop to have a few drinks along the way (hence the delay!). The truck ended up being this HUGE 18 wheeler flat bed and I began worrying about how he was going to bring the container down from the truck to the ground. He told me that a crane was on its way down to take care of that!!!

So now we escort the truck into Puerto Viejo, where by now it is pouring, and decide to drop Emmanuelle and Maya off at home because it was REALLY pouring. From Puerto Viejo, we drive down another 8 kilometers down a dirt road to the site where we were going to drop off the container. Four hundred meters from the site, the truck stopped, turned off the engines and his lights. He got out of the truck and comes over to me. He tells me that he wants to turn around and go back home. The dirt road and the rain were not in his contract and that we should begin ‘negotiating’ to resolve our differences. The rain was – I am serious – perhaps the strongest, accompanied by one of the most intense thunderstorms that I -as a resident of Florida for 20+ years – have EVER seen! We were 8 inches away from each other and could barely hear each other scream at each other!! We finally agreed on a new price and he decided to sleep out the storm in his truck cabin. I headed back home. It was now 10:30 PM

On the way home, I ran into Nacho, our neighbor and good friend who has been beyond nice to us. He was having a glass of wine at a local restaurant and invited me in. So I joined him and told him of my little adventures chasing and negotiating to get our container back. Thirty minutes later, after half a bottle of wine, the crane drives by!! We quickly paid the tab and jumped on his quad motorcycle to chase down the crane. It had rained so hard that some of the streets became rapids and it was dangerous to drive through them – fearing to be washed away with the water. To make another long story short, we found the crane, had to feed both drivers, had to get something to drink for the first one, and decided once again that we could not lower the container in this weather…so decided to wait until daybreak at 6 am to do the task!!

July 10 – Barely slept all night – awaiting the 6am wakeup (we have no clocks or alarms – they are in the container). The events of the next 5 hours cannot properly be described as they happened. I simply wish that I had had a video camera to place on a tree and had left it to record for 5 hours. I swear I could sell it and make a good comedy movie out of it!

The crane intended to lift the container off the tracker trailer was nothing more than a truck crane to retrieve broken down trucks and buses. It was NOT designed to lift heavy containers off trucks. Nonetheless, our intelligent and hungover truck drivers tried. The container did not budge, a few chains broke and I almost got killed as a piece of metal barely missed my head as it snapped off a chain. Two hours had passed by and we decided that the only way to lower the container was to empty it!!! I went into town and rounded up half a dozen workers to help us unload. Fortunately, a neighbor allowed us to use his large wrap around porch to place the items as we unloaded them. We were hugely embarrassed towards the local Ticos who themselves live with a bare minimum of items. They all had their jaws open in disbelief how anyone could possibly need so much stuff to live! An hour later, we completely emptied the container and tried once again to lower it off the truck.

So the driver moves his truck to get the container placed better relative to the crane and in the process forgot to tie down the container. So as a result, the container FELL OFF THE TRUCK – by itself – and rolled into a neighbor’s fence and trees and smashed everything. GREAT!!!!! Another hour went by until the crane was able to pull the container upright and drag it out of the neighbor’s yard. We ended up having to reload many items back into the container until we could hire another truck to bring our stuff to our house.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. We loaded what was necessary for now into a ‘regular’ truck and trucked it down to our house. The ‘move’ was not completed until 10 PM that night. Needless to say, we were beat, but happy to have our belongings.

For those who are curious as to the condition of our items – there’s a little bit of good news and bad news.
Good news: nothing broke
Bad news: LOTS of mold!!!