Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Monkeys and Dolphins and Earthquakes, OH MY!!!

I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post. We have been slowly adjusting to things since Rob left. We have made more changes to the Cabinas...switched sheets around, updated a room and rented it monthly, tore down the old carport and built a new hangout area, and made crafts/artwork to display in the rooms.
Before

Rebuild

After

Vases I made to put in the rooms

Painting of Birds of Paradise flowers

Last week was really exciting...I went hiking on the trail up the mountain. At the beginning of the trail I thought to myself "It is going to be a good animal day, maybe I will see monkeys." I had already seen a few squirrels, vultures, a blue morpho butterfly and two toucans! I went all the way up, and on the way back down, I heard it. Snap,"whoo-whoo." I looked up and saw the cutest little white face (besides Snickers' of course). It was a whole group of white-faced capuchin monkeys. I got to hang out with them (there were about 10-15 in all) all by myself in the middle of the rainforest for about 30 minutes! They were jumping up and down, looking at me, playing and eating. They were just as interested in me as I was them, and they came pretty close to me too! My only regret is that the camera I take with me on hikes is not that great, so the quality of my pictures was less than I had hoped. It was a surreal experience that left me smiling all the way back down the mountain.

Go to our Facebook page to watch a video: 

When I got back to the cabinas I was so excited to tell Nick the news! As we were standing outside talking, a big wind came up, or so I thought...then I heard screaming from our neighbor and the ground started shaking. It took a few seconds for it to register to me...we were having an earthquake! When I figured it out I ran to Nick in the middle of the yard and wrapped my arms around him. It felt like we were on a boat...the ground was moving underneath us, it was so weird! Once it stopped, I ran in to check on Snickers and Tiger. They seemed fine...but then we started getting worried about a Tsunami. All the power and phone lines were out. Tody was able to get in touch with his sister in San Jose on his cell phone and she said it was a 7.9 earthquake and we were under Tsunami warning. This was pretty scary! Nick and I were proactive though and went inside and packed an emergency bag, just incase. We put our important documents in it, my medicine, our computer, camera, some money and a pet carrier for Tiger and Snickers.
Damage from the earthquake...not near us though

Thankfully, we did not have a Tsunami. The power came back on and I called my mom to let her know we were okay. We also had a voicemail from our friend Trevor, who lives in California and works for NOAA. He was warning us of the Tsunami. Once we received the message though, the warning had expired. It was nice to know we had someone looking out for us. Thanks Trevor! We were lucky to not have any bad damage. A picture fell in one of our monthly's rooms, and our bell (for service) fell and broke....so in all the earthquake cost us $33. 

The day after the earthquake Jennifer and I went hiking up the trail and saw monkeys again! They did not get as close this time, but it was still awesome! Seeing monkeys twice in two days, score! Later that morning, I was laying on the beach and saw dolphins, and a man came up saying he saw a 10 ft. shark. Now, living in Wilmington, NC, this was a very common occurrence...we saw dolphins all the time and swam with sharks when we went diving...However, Nick didn't believe me when I told him because he has never seen dolphins, or a shark here in the 8 or so years he has been coming. Felicia (a monthly) didn't believe me either, but now she has an awesome picture online of her surfing with the dolphins. Later that day we heard from another guy that he saw the shark too. My conclusion...the animals must have been all stirred up from the earthquake! I think they have all gone into hiding now, because it has been pretty quiet animal wise the past few days. 

Business wise it has been pretty slow. We have had a few groups come in and have met some really cool people the past few weeks, but it is not the full house that we had when we first took over. Everyone says that September and October are the slowest months because it is the middle of the rainy season. Rainy season? What rainy season? It has not rained during the day in over a week and hasn't even rained at night the past 2 days! I am not complaining, I don't care for rain...but the people need to come out and play!!! Hopefully this weekend will be busy. It is Costa Rica's Independence Day, and everyone is off of work on Monday. I put an add on Jaco garage sales to encourage people to come stay with us, hopefully it works! 

We still have a lot of plans and ideas for this place. We will continue working to make it look better and run better as we go. Nick and I have decided that I am going to decorate number 5 and 9, and he is going to decorate number 1 and 2...that is a start at least....we have 11 rooms...so slowly, but surely we will have this place in tip top condition:) 

If you haven't, make sure you go to our Facebook page and 'Like' us: http://www.facebook.com/cabinasbrisadelmar

Thanks for reading and I will try to be better about blogging sooner :)

5 comments:

  1. Hey Liz! I'm glad to hear that ya'll are doing well. I would have freaked out with the earthquake...oh my gosh! That sounds sooo scary. I'm glad ya'll are ok and didn't really have any damage. Stay safe and tell Nick hello. :)

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    1. Thanks Stacy! How are the babies? They are getting so big!!! Hope you all are doing well!

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  2. Don't be discouraged about the rentals, it's always slow during these months but the wildlife is INCREDIBLE!! (suit up for the mosquitos though - dengue)

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  3. Glad you guys didn't have a tsunami!
    I am loving all the things you guys are doing to this place. So cute. Love the vases!!!

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