Last week, I was sitting in an internet cafe writing my blog post. We were without internet for 11 days. On Monday, I went back to the ICE office in San Marcos to "whine" again. The same man attended to me and he was trying to convince me that the problem was due to new cables being installed to replace the old ones. I, in turn, explained that although I understood that there's a project underway to upgrade the cables, it made no sense that our neighbours all have phone and internet service and we do not. I could see the light go on and he finally understood the situation. Within two hours, the technicians were at our place repairing the problem. And bingo! We are now sitting in the comfort of our living room with a clear phone line and stable internet. We expect that at some point in the near future we may be without service again when they do replace the cables, but we can live with that when it happens. We've had a busy week with trout fishing, which is always good. And, one Great Blue Heron has taken the place of the Osprey in our tall spindly tree above the big pond. Last night, as the sun was going down, I was able to capture his silhouette against the dim grey sky. We look forward to seeing our guests from Oregon again... they're becoming "regulars". It's so lovely to have repeat business from people that we now call friends. We've also heard from another set of guests that we hosted twice. This French couple have since bought a property and built a house in Samara, on the Nicoya peninsula. I met up with them last year while they were pondering the purchase. They've been sharing their journey with us and keeping us posted on the progress. Hopefully, we'll be able to go visit them sometime soon. It appears we have gained friends from all over the world, which is really fun.
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Remember when we first moved to Costa Rica and we didn't have any internet connection for the first month, and how we went to San Marcos at an internet cafe and then we used a data card, sitting in our car in Copey? Oh, how we take things for granted, eh? We've been without phone and internet connection since Thursday, January 5th. I've been calling ICE (pronounced "ee-say") every day and I went in person to the office in San Marcos three times (I'll be going again tomorrow). This is so unusual. Normally, if we have any issues, I go down to the office and within a few hours (24 at most) someone is resolving the problem. It's always been quick.
A few days ago, we were told that the municipality is replacing all the cables in our area because they've all been patched up once too many times. We're delighted to hear that they are upgrading the cables for better service. Nothing wrong with that. We just didn't think it would take this long. The strange thing though is that our neighbours have phone and internet service (same company). If they're working on the cables, wouldn't it affect everyone in our area? Seems like a reasonable question, but not everything in Costa Rica is that simple. I've been going into Santa Maria to get online once a day. Then, I was talking to our friends and neighbour, Cindy and Alvarito, and they said I can hop on their wifi anytime I like. So, here I am, sitting in our Toyota next to their property....typing away. Unfortunately, my new computer won't log onto their wifi. Very odd. I have to use my old computer, which is incredibly slow and won't stay charged very long when unplugged. As I was writing this post, it died. Yup, it did. I had to drive back home, and get the adapter and charger and coming back to start all over again. No, it didn't save what I had already written... that would just be too easy! Other than our phone and internet ordeal (which is not that big of a deal, just a nuisance really), we had lovely guests from England stay with us for a few days. They left this morning to continue on their 5-week trek. They did write a nice note in our guestbook, but I failed to bring to book with me, so I'll have to write it next time. The road from La Trinidad (highway town, which turns off onto the dirt road that leads to our place) was closed for several weeks for road repair. The road is getting smoother and easier to drive down now. And now they are working on the portion between our place and Copey. It's a bit of a mess at the moment, but it will be great once it's done in a few weeks' time. One of my good friends from high school, Jane, might be coming for a visit next month, so that's pretty exciting! I haven't seen her in at least 15 years, so we'll have lots to catch up on, I'm sure. It's always so lovely to find old friends again. That's it for now... sun is going down and it's time to do my chores before dinner. Hopefully, I'll have some positive news about our internet next week. I sure hope I'm writing my blog from the comfort of my chair in our living room. Stay tuned... Well, we've said goodbye to 2016... it's been a tough year for many people we know. We hope 2017 brings more peace, more kindness, and more tolerance across the globe.
Kevin and I ushered in the New Year no differently than we do any other day. We didn't make it to midnight... we were tucked in bed by 10 pm as usual. Completely sober to boot! Not much else to report this week. We visited our good friends, Rafa and Minor, on Thursday an they prepared a delicious lunch for us. We went to see their new Japanese pergola, which is stunning... and perched up on the hilltop, the views are simply exquisite. I brought my camera, but forgot to take pictures. I was too busy chatting! Next time we go, I'll make sure to take some and share. That's it for now, wishing you all that is good for 2017. Stay safe, healthy and happy. |
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