Author: edebock

Driving in Costa Rica

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After reading our guidebook and talking with others who’d travelled to Costa Rica, we were a little nervous about picking up our cute little Hyundai Accent and setting off on our own.

“Renting a car in Costa Rica is no idle proposition. The roads are riddled with potholes, most rural intersections are unmarked, and for some reason, sitting behind the wheel of a car seems to turn peaceful Ticos into homicidal maniacs.” and “The awful road conditions throughout Costa Rica are legendary and deservedly so.” left us wondering what we might be up against but we decided to take our chances.

As it turns out, we had nothing to worry about. Granted, we chose well travelled routes. There are probably back roads that would have swallowed up our little sedan but all of the pavement that we travelled was in excellent condition and for the most part, well marked. It’s not quite like driving at home though. The roads are very narrow and lack the shoulders that we’re used to here in Alberta. For example, this is a typical section of the Interamerican or Pan-American highway that runs the entire length of Central America from Mexico to Panama.

Travel was slow compared to what we’re accustomed to with the maximum speed limit in Costa Rica being 80 km/hour. Whenever we reached a populated area which happened quite frequently, we had to slow to 60 or even 40 km/hour. Though the locals seemed to ignore these limits, we’d been warned that fines are steep and since tourists and rental cars are easy to spot, Richard was cautious and stayed within the legal limits.

Travel was even slower as we skirted the northern shore of Lake Arenal on our way to the volcano. Here the narrow road dipped and wound though the rainforest. Every once in awhile we came upon a little one lane bridge. Fortunately, right of way was always very clearly indicated and drivers were good about waiting their turn. It was on this highway that we saw what the guidebook meant when it talked about the Ticos’ homicidal tendencies. They seemed to think nothing of pulling out to pass on a blind curve! David, our guide on the La Fortuna waterfall hike, explained that until recently very few Costa Ricans owned a vehicle. There are lots of new, young drivers on the roads and in David’s words, many of them think that they’re Superman! Education is the key, he told us. In his opinion, present driver education is extremely lacking.

Coming from Alberta where highway signs clearly identify every little town, we found it odd to drive through many little communities that had no signs telling us where we were. Finding our way wasn’t particularly difficult, though. The kinds of places that we were looking for were fairly well marked and we only missed a turn and had to backtrack a couple of times.

Driving was definitely a good way to see the countryside and having the car made it easy to leave our hotels in search of interesting things to see and places to eat. We certainly wouldn’t hesitate to rent a car if we were to visit again nor would we, like the guidebook, discourage anyone else from doing so.

  

Rainforest!

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We explored the Costa Rican rainforest from every angle! The views from the back balcony of our little cabin were spectacular.

  

By far the most fun, however, was flying through the treetops on our zip-line canopy tour! I can now say with absolute certainty that I have overcome my fear of heights! It was an absolute blast and there wasn’t a moment of fear!  Securely fastened into our harnesses and attached to the cable by pulley, we wore thickly padded leather gloves on one hand to use as a brake as we approached each platform. Eleven cables ranging in length from 50 to 500 metres in length took us from platform to platform high in the treetops. Totally exhilarating! The only negative thing I can say is that it was over way too soon! If you haven’t tried zip-lining, I definitely suggest adding it to your bucket list! I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

We did our zip-lining at Hotel Los Lagos which was just down the road from where we were staying. Though the views from the cable were spectacular there really wasn’t time to pick out any wildlife hiding in the canopy. After the tour, however, we had full use of the Los Lagos grounds for the rest of the afternoon. That included soaking in their many hillside hotspring pools and exploring their gardens complete with a few rainforest animals. I wouldn’t have minded meeting this one in the wild

but I’m glad we didn’t come across this one on our next adventure!

The hike to La Fortuna waterfall was an easy one, one that we could have done on our own with no difficulty but a guided hike was part of our package. It was supposed to be a group hike but as it turned out, Richard and I were the group! No one else had signed up for that particular excursion so we had David all to ourselves and what a delight that was! Not only was he a very pleasant hiking companion but he was incredibly knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the rainforest as well as his country in general. With the aid of his sharp eye and ear, we saw all sorts of things that we might have walked right past without noticing… howler monkeys resting on a branch high above us, a mother sloth with her baby moving ever so slowly through the canopy, and a wide variety of birds including a brightly coloured toucan. All of these were too far away for me to capture them with my point and shoot camera but we enjoyed close-up views through David’s binoculars and though they’re not be recorded on film they’re definitely etched in memory.

  

   

The waterfall itself is a 70 metre ribbon of water plunging into an emerald pool below. We expected the water to be icy cold and while it was a bit chilly getting in, it really wasn’t unpleasant at all. Many swimmers have lost their lives by venturing too close to the cascading water and being pulled under by its force. I can certainly see why. Once we were in the water, the sheer magnitude and power of the falling water seemed to beckon us to draw closer but we wisely chose not to! Instead, after a short swim below the falls, we moved downstream to a quieter pool for a more leisurely swim.

Volcano!

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When we left the gorgeous beach of Playa Flamingo, our destination was Montana de Fuego resort at the foot of Costa Rica’s most active volcano. After laying dormant for hundreds of years, Mount Arenal suddenly erupted in July of 1968 wiping out the nearby village of Tabacon and killing nearly all of it’s 80 inhabitants. Since that time, frequent powerful explosions have continued to send cascades of red-hot lava down the volcano’s steep slopes.

Our guidebook warned us that Arenal borders a region of cloud forests and rainforests and that the volcano’s cone is often socked in by clouds and fog. We were prepared for the fact that we, like many visitors, might not actually get to see it. Imagine our delight when we spotted it from afar long before we actually reached our destination!

We continued to enjoy amazing views of the mountain as we rounded Lake Arenal, Costa Rica’s largest lake and the second largest in Central America. Though it may not be clear in the photo, from this viewpoint we could actually see smoke rising from the lava flows.

  

When we reached our destination, we settled into our cute little cabin where we enjoyed views of the volcano from our glass enclosed front porch. Every morning when we got up, it was shrouded in cloud but as the morning wore on, the mist rose and left most of the cone exposed. Unfortunately, cloud settled over it again each evening so we didn’t see it at night when it would have been most spectacular. Apparently on a clear night, the sky over Arenal turns red as glowing lava spews from the crater and red-hot rocks tumble down it’s flanks.

Arenal stands like a sentry over the small town of La Fortuna. Once only a tiny farming community, it has become a magnet for volcano watchers, adventure tourists and travellers from around the world. We enjoyed trying out a few of the town’s many restaurants and relaxing in it’s central plaza, a wonderful spot for people watching as well as volcano viewing!

  

 

 

It would take more than a broken toe to stop me!

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Our time by the ocean was over way too soon! I took the second photo just before my final plunge into the surf. Unfortunately, my left foot hasn’t looked the same since. Instead, it’s been an ever-changing kaleidoscope of black, blue and purple!

The tide was out further than it had been during our previous swims and unbeknownst to us, there were rocky outcroppings lurking beneath the water’s surface. While battling the waves on my way into the water, I jammed the toes of my left foot on one of them injuring again the same toe that I’d broken many years earlier. Thankfully, I’d packed some extra strength Ibuprofen gel caps in case I ended up with a migraine while we were away. I took one of those, prayed over my foot and determined that it wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying the more strenuous activities of hiking and zip lining that we had planned for the next few days. After all, I’d hiked to Delicate Arch in Utah’s Arches National Park on the same toe the last time I’d broken it!

Sometimes God must look down on my foolishness and decide to bless me anyway! In spite of the nasty colours that my foot was turning, I did indeed have three active days with nothing more than minor discomfort and I accomplished all that we had planned. It wasn’t until the trip home that the foot started to swell and became much more painful. I’m sure that the many hours we spent standing in line ups at airports and sitting on airplanes didn’t help. As I’ve mentioned before, the trip home was a long and grueling one including a 24 hour delay at Houston. By the time we returned to the enormous airport the second day, I’d had all the walking I could handle. We borrowed a wheelchair and Richard wheeled me around. When it was time to board the plane, an agent wheeled me down the ramp and we were the first onboard!

I spent our first morning home at the hospital waiting to see my doctor and having x-rays taken. He’s pretty sure that there’s a hairline crack in one of the tiny bones but we’re waiting for the radiologist’s report to confirm that. In any case, there’s not a lot to be done except to wait for healing to take place. In the meantime, I’m supposed to wear hard soled shoes all the time (I hate wearing shoes in the house!) and I’ll have to adapt my exercise program to accommodate. I guess there won’t be any long walks or time spent on the treadmill for awhile!

Sun, sea, surf and sand

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After a very long day of waiting in airports and sitting on planes followed by an hour’s drive through the dark Costa Rican countryside, we checked into beautiful Flamingo Beach Resort at exactly midnight. As we drifted off to sleep in our giant king size bed, we could hear the pounding of the surf. It brought back memories of my childhood on the BC coast. Imagine my delight when morning came and I discovered that these were the views from our balcony!

To a girl from the Alberta prairie, there’s something very decadent about spending most of a January day in a swimsuit! Our mornings began with coffee on the balcony followed by a leisurely buffet breakfast and then it was time to soak up some sun on the beach or laze around the pool reading and relaxing.

  

The surf was heavy the first morning and we survived being pummelled by some pretty big breakers. They rolled us around and we came up spluttering a few times but it was great fun! Later, we learned a few salsa dance steps by the pool.

The next day after I took part in an aquasize class in the pool, we ventured a little further afield to Playa Conchal to try a little snorkelling. To see a lot of fish, we would have had to hire a boat to take us out to the coral some distance offshore but we managed to spot a few colourful ones amongst the rocks close to the beach.

Sunsets over the ocean were spectacular. The first evening, we sat on the beach and watched the sun sink below the horizon but the next day, I decided to recreate another childhood memory… swimming in the gold, the band of light reflecting on the water as the sun kisses the horizon and then slips away. All around us, the water looked like molten silver but we stayed in the gold until the sun was fully down and it began to fade.

Random stuff about me

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When I packed for Costa Rica, one of the things that went into our suitcase was a very special leather bound journal; a retirement gift from the students of Lougheed School. It’s travelled to many interesting places over the past four and a half years but it still had enough pages left to record the highlights of this trip. I planned to refer to it when we got home and I resumed blogging but unfortunately, though we got home in the wee hours of this morning, the suitcase containing the journal did not! In fact, I watched from my window seat as the baggage handlers at the Houston airport failed to put it onto the plane yesterday afternoon and was powerless to do anything about it! I have no idea why they wouldn’t load it but the return trip was a comedy of errors from beginning to end and included an unscheduled overnight stay in Houston. That’s a story for another day, however. In the meantime, suffice it to say that we had an absolutely awesome time which, try as they might, Continental Airlines was not able to spoil!

For today, however, my brain is too tired to handle anything beyond following the example of my blogging buddy, Donloree, and answering some random questions about myself. Perhaps some of you who have only met me through the blogosphere will learn a little more about me today…

  • What’s the most interesting or moving book you’ve ever read?
In my opinion, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn should be required reading for every citizen of the developed world. Kristof and WuDunn are upfront and clear; their aim is to recruit their readers to get involved in helping provide the economic resources that will transform the lives of women in many parts of the world who face unspeakable violence, exploitation and oppression. This book had a tremendous impact on me and prompted me to become a lender through the Kiva organization.
  • Which do you prefer: the book or the movie?
Always, the book!
  • If you could move to anywhere tomorrow, where would it be?
I honestly have no idea! There is so much world out there; so many places I’d like to see and experience. Somewhere warm where I could hear the sound of the surf as I drifted off to sleep every night would definitely work well for me though!
  • What’s the one thing in life that you can’t leave the house without?

My glasses. I’ve been wearing them since I was two and I’m pretty useless without them.

  • What’s the furthest place you’ve flown to?
The tiny tropical island of Saipan.
  • If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be?
Wow! That’s a tough one. It would be wonderful to be able to see the world through someone else’s eyes for a day but in reality, I just want to be the best ME that I can be.
  • What is one word that best describes you?  (only one)
Adventurous.
  • What’s been your greatest accomplishment to date?
Raising fantastic children! I am so proud of each one of them.
  • What’s your favourite type of food?
At the moment, I’m missing Costa Rican food. Who would have thought I could love rice and beans three meals a day? Of course, there were many other flavourful dishes to go with them. In reality, however, I’d have to say chocolate. After all, it is an essential food group, isn’t it?
  • What’s one nickname you have?
My daughter has called me Marmee ever since she played the role of Beth in Little Women in high school drama.
  • What’s the best thing you did in 2011?

Spent the summer working as a short term missionary alongside my husband providing summer ministry coverage for Living Hope Church of the Nazarene on Saipan.

So, now that you know a little more about me, what about you?

It’s your turn!

And yes, I’ll be back very soon to share more about our Costa Rican adventure. Hopefully, the suitcase will find it’s way home and I’ll have the journal to help me out!

Packing again!

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On what is perhaps the coldest day of winter so far I’m taking out my summer clothes! Why, you ask? Because I’m packing again!

Back in October, when Richard and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary, we decided to celebrate by taking a mid winter vacation to someplace warm. I searched the internet for possibilities. I considered a cruise. In fact, I almost booked a seven day western Caribbean excursion but it just didn’t feel right. I thought about an all-inclusive resort vacation and considered all sorts of sunny destinations. That didn’t feel right either. I thought about renting a condo on a beach somewhere. That was appealing but then along came just the right thing… a Costa Rican adventure!

I was looking for something that wouldn’t take as much planning on my part as some of our Asian adventures required and something where we’d feel a little more pampered. On the other hand, we simply couldn’t see ourselves sitting in a luxury resort sipping cool drinks by the pool for an entire week. Not that that doesn’t have appeal but we can do that when we’re too old for more adventurous pursuits.

So what will we be doing? We’ll fly out on Thursday morning and begin with three days at a beach resort on the Pacific coast. Then we’ll move inland to Arenal Volcano National Park where we’re looking forward to doing some hiking and get this… the lady who has worked hard at overcoming her fear of heights is going to experience the rain forest from above on a zip line canopy tour! They may have to push me off the first platform but I can hardly wait!

Our package includes almost everything including a rental car to get from place to place. All we’ll be responsible for is finding lunch and supper each day which means we’ll be free to sample a variety of eating places and local cuisines.

In addition to commemorating our 35 years together, this vacation is also going to be a much needed digital detox for both us. As much as I love the internet, it’s easy to let it to consume more of our time than it ought to so the laptop is staying home this time and we won’t be searching out internet cafes. I’ll definitely be blogging about our adventures but not until we get home. We’ll only be gone for a week though so stay tuned!

It’s Awesomeday today!

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Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child must work for a living,
But the child that’s born on the Sabbath day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.

Ever wondered why Wednesday’s child has it so rough compared to everyone else? Wednesday, or hump day as it’s often called, is that day in the middle of the week when we’re farther from a weekend than on any other day, the day when we finally make it to the top of the proverbial hill and begin to descend toward the end of the work week. It’s no longer boring old woeful Wednesday though. Now it’s Awesomeday!

Awesomeday, is a movement that I predict will sweep across the pages of Facebook. It was born last spring when Sarah Engledow Brown’s friend, Kimberly, made a statement that caught Sarah’s fancy. “Today is such a good day, I want to call it Awesomeday!”

I’m sure Kimberly had no idea what a far reaching effect that simple statement would have. “I decided to make all of my Facebook posts that day things that are awesome” says Sarah, a mom, music librarian and fitness coach who lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In fact, the two friends decided to do that every Wednesday. Sarah soon created an Awesomeday Facebook page and the concept has been growing ever since.

Awesomeday first came to my attention when my former student, fellow thespian and friend, Natalee, began posting “Things that are awesome” updates on her Facebook page every Wednesday. One of the most creative people I know, Natalee is a busy young mother and a talented photographer who has been working very hard to establish her professional business. I know how hectic her life can be and how easy it would be for her to become negative when frustration builds so her positive, sunny updates throughout the day every Wednesday were a delight to me. Soon I saw others joining her and so today, I too, joined the Awesomeday movement! What amazed me most has been how great I’ve felt as I’ve gone through my pretty average day looking for things that are awesome. Truly, we are surrounded by awesomeness all the time but too often we fail to take note of it or to share it and brighten someone else’s day.

My status updates so far today have read:

Things that are awesome #1: 11 push ups this morning!

Things that are awesome #2: Alberta sunshine pouring in the window even when it’s -15C outside!

Things that are awesome #3: Becoming Facebook friends with the Awesomeday originator!

Things that are awesome #4: A husband who does housework!

I actually thought that the Awesomeday idea had originated with Natalee until I messaged her to ask for permission to blog about it and discovered that she was simply an ambassador for something much bigger, something that I’d like to pass on to you.

So what’s been awesome about your day? Why not join the Awesomeday movement and make thinking positive a part of your Wednesday every week!

What am I doing in the basement?

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According to a recent article in The Globe and Mail, one in eleven people over the age of 65 suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. The likelihood of developing the disease doubles about every five years after age 65 says the Alzheimer’s Association website. After age 85, the risk reaches nearly 50 percent. A family history of Alzheimer’s increases one’s risk of developing the disease even further.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but given the fact that I’ve been watching this disease gradually rob my mother of her memory and her mind, I’ve definitely been giving a lot of thought to what I can do to lead a brain-healthy lifestyle and to reduce my risk of suffering the same fate.

The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain by Barbara Strauch was a reassuring read. Impeccably researched and easy to read, the book explores the latest findings that demonstrate that the middle-aged brain like mine is actually more flexible and more capable than previously thought. Apparently standing in the basement wondering what I came down to get or failing to remember a name that I know I should know are not signs that I’m losing it after all!

Though there isn’t enough scientific evidence to prove that a healthy lifestyle can prevent Alzheimer’s, studies have shown that regular exercise, a healthy diet, managing stress, getting quality sleep, staying socially active and engaging in mentally stimulating activities may help prevent or delay symptoms. So how am I doing? The beginning of a new year seems like a good time for a bit of self examination and perhaps some goal setting.

I’d definitely give myself high marks for exercise and diet. I was working hard at maintaining physical fitness and healthy eating long before I began to think about what effect they might have on my brain. Fortunately what’s good for my heart and the rest of my body is also good for my brain. The Christmas season sabotaged my efforts in both these areas but now that I’m back home and into routine again, I’ll soon be back on track and yes, Santa did come… I met my goal of being able to do ten push ups by Christmas morning! Hopefully I’ll soon be doing even more.

Stress management and quality sleep go hand in hand for me. As long as I’m not feeling anxious about anything, I usually sleep well and when I’m well rested I handle stress better. I assume that that’s probably true for most people. Retirement has, of course, been a wonderful stress reducer! I still have crazy school dreams once in a blue moon but not like I used to. For reasons that neither my doctor nor I have been able to figure out, I’ll lay awake for hours if I eat anything sweet after about 8:30 p.m. so I’ve learned not to do that. I also sleep better in the winter time when we have longer hours of darkness. That’s one definite goal for this year; darker blinds for the bedroom before spring arrives. I plan to buy ones to match the newly painted feature wall.

Being away as much as Richard and I are, staying socially active and connected is something we need to consciously work on when we’re at home. While we wander the world, everyone else’s life goes on and if we want to be included we need to keep our connections strong. For that reason, entertaining more is another one of my goals for the coming year. I see the effects of failing to stay socially active in my mother’s life. After Dad retired, they settled into a high rise apartment in Vancouver where Mom didn’t make the effort to get out and develop new relationships. Once a very social person, she gradually became more and more reclusive. Now that she’s truly housebound, she has no friends to come and visit.

I don’t know how much failing to stay mentally active had to do with Mom’s eventual decline but I’m determined not to let that happen to me. I’m a firm believer in the importance of lifelong learning. I’m an avid reader and also a member of Lumosity, a website that offers of a series of engaging brain games and exercises each designed to improve a particular area of cognition; speed, memory, attention, flexibility or problem solving. In addition to playing individual games, participants can enrol in guided brain fitness courses that are designed to improve each of the five areas. Brain training has become as much a part of my daily life as eating and sleeping. Since Christmas, I’ve also been working on logic puzzles. Thank you to the Santa who put a whole book of them in my stocking!

So am I worrying about the possibility of succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease? Not really. When I stand in the basement trying to remember why I’m there, I’ll simply remind myself that that’s normal forgetfulness and that I’m doing everything I can to prevent something much worse.



Alzheimer’s is robbing me of my mother

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I originally started this blog to chronicle our travels when we moved to Japan to teach English for a year. For the past several years, our family has also been on a journey of a very different kind as we’ve watched my mother gradually spiral downward and disappear into the depths of Alzheimer’s disease but I haven’t felt at liberty to blog about it until now. Until recently, my father, who is a very private person and also Mom’s primary caregiver, has been one of my most faithful readers. Out of respect for him, I didn’t share our journey publicly but now that his very old computer has died and he’s discontinued his internet service, I feel free to write about it.

I still remember the summer visit several years ago when I first had an inkling that something was wrong. I mentioned one of Mom’s grandchildren and she had no idea who I was talking about. Her question, “Who’s Jessica?” was for me one of those life changing moments when my entire world seemed to shift on its axis. I lay awake at night wondering what the future would hold and experiencing for the first time a deep sense of anxiety that has become more and more familiar to me.

Over the ensuing years, the mother that I grew up with has disappeared and parent has gradually become child. It has been a fairly slow decline. Many times, Mom would seem to slip very noticeably and then plateau for a time giving us a chance to get used to the changes before more drastic ones surfaced. Unfortunately, Dad seemed to be in denial for the longest time making it impossible for us to discuss the situation with him or to be of much help. It’s only in the last year that Mom’s condition has been clearly identified as Alzheimer’s disease and that we’ve been able to talk about it openly. The situation is made worse by the fact that my sister, my younger brother and I live in Alberta while Mom and Dad are here in Vancouver. Only our older brother, mentally handicapped and himself living in care, and our oldest son Matthew are here at the coast. We really can’t saddle Matthew, in his second year of a law career, renovating a house and parenting two very young children with the responsibility of watching out for his elderly grandparents. He and Robin visit as often as they can and do their best to keep us informed of any changes or problems that they notice.

The blessing in all of this, if there is such a thing, is the fact that Mom’s decline didn’t begin until she was over 80. Dad retired at 59 and they spent the next two decades following their dreams and travelling the world. They visited over 60 countries spending more than a year in Europe and 9 months in Australia. (I come by my gypsy blood honestly!) They took their last big trip 8 years ago when they flew to the Dominican Republic to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary.

For the past few years, it’s been a chore to get Mom to leave their apartment. Now, at 89 years old, she is incontinent, legally blind and confined to a wheelchair. Though these infirmities are fairly recent developments, in Mom’s mind she’s suffered from them for most of her life and she’s constantly coming up with fanciful explanations that are in no way grounded in reality. Last night she told us that people are trying to poison her with peanut butter which has always been a favourite of hers! Sometimes all we can do is laugh. It’s either that or cry. She’s clearly in the sixth of the seven clinical stages of Alzheimer’s and needs constant care and supervision.

After 63 years of marriage, Dad refuses to allow them to be separated and insists on caring for her himself. He’s clearly wearing out and we don’t know how much longer he’ll be able to keep this up but he’s of sound mind and has the right to live life the way he chooses. There are those who suggest that we, as a family, should try to force him to put Mom into care but we are firm believers in the fifth commandment and we know of no other way to honour our parents than to allow them to live out their final years the way they want to while being as supportive as we can given our own circumstances.

This, of course, means more frequent visits. This is our third trip to Vancouver this year and each of my siblings has also been here. When we’re here, we thoroughly clean the apartment, a job that Dad has a hard time keeping up with these days, and try to provide opportunities for him to get out and have a break. This week, he even went on a forest adventure with great grandson, Sam!

Having Matt, Robin, Sam and little Nate here in Vancouver is indeed a blessing at this time in our lives. Visits to Vancouver would be much more difficult if we didn’t have them to stay with some of the time and, of course, grandchildren provide such wonderful stress relief!

Mom with her youngest great grandchild, Nate, in March 2011