Nueva Arenal

Written Saturday 7/19/08. The morning appointment at the Toyota shop on Thursday ended up taking most of the day. I left the shop around 2:30 and everything checked out great. The horn and air conditioning now work. The muffler has been reattached, again. The steering rods had a little minor replacement and are now all working fine.

I went next door to the Firestone shop to have the leaky tire checked. After talking with the guy he recommended I go to one of the service centers (gas stations) on the main highway that have a tire repair shop attached. The first two service centers had a very long wait. The third welcomed me right in and turned out to have a long wait. He was actually working on three projects all at once when he took my tire project on as well. Eventually he discovered a small piece of metal stuck in the tire, took it out, repaired the tire from the inside and put the wheel back on the car.

I made it to Darrylle’s before nightfall. William went skating and Darrylle and I went to my favorite asian restaurant, Tin Jo, again. I had a great night’s sleep. We got up and William accompanied me to a very new and modern shop that works on Chevrolets. My “check engine” light had been on since just after Lima, but I was certain I new what it was. They scanned the engine with the computer and it was indeed the catylitic converter sending off the sensor. I had already had the catylitic converter removed (in Costa Rica last September) and so he only needed to reset the computer and the light was off. William and I also had the car washed inside and out at a professional “auto lavado”.

We made it out of San Jose around 1:30 and headed north towards Arenal. We stopped at a restaurant near the airport and had a very nice lunch, if not expensive. William had some banking issues that he needed to take care of and wasn’t satisfied with the results over the phone. So we left William in a small town about half way to Arenal and he caught a bus back to San Jose. Darrylle and I pushed on and arrived at the Villa DeCary about 6:30 pm.

The Villa DeCary (www.villadecary.com) is owned by Jeff Crandall and Bill Hemmer who have been together for over 40 years and have lived in Costa Rica for 14. They developed the whole property which had originally been planted with coffee. There is a main four bedroom B&B house, three chalets and their house above it all. The views of Lake Arenal are fantastic. The symphony of noises, bugs, frogs, birds, howler monkeys is unbelievable. Right now there is a torrential downpour with thunder rolling in the background. We are fairly close to the volcano but I’m pretty certain it is just thunder though they have heard the volcano here in the past.

The same unusual sound of clanking hollowed out wood blocks that I heard in Gaupiles and now I remember from a small surfing town in South West Costa Rica last fall is part of the clamor of small wildlife here. Jeff and Bill explained they are frogs.

We had an excellent meal last night at Gingerbread, the next door neighbor. The restaurant is owned by an Isreali and the food is a mix of local, European and Middle Eastern. It is served family style. The portions are so large we only ordered one main course for the four of us.

The temperature is perfect. Sleeping soundly was easy in this humid relaxing air with nature’s musicians serenading the night away.

After breakfast Darrylle and I drove into Nueva Arenal. Lake Arenal is man made and the original town of Arenal is covered by water hence “New” Arenal. Darrylle’s connections run deep, apparently not just here but all over the country, having created friendships with past clients through the years. Darrylle has been in Costa Rica for 14 years. David and Susan Butterfield have been here in Arenal for over 17.

When Darrylle and I dropped by to see David and Susan they had guests visiting from the US. Susan wasn’t there as she is returning this evening from visiting her family in Bend, Oregon. David is obviously a result of the 60’s. Their house is fashioned into an old barn and consists of a very large greatroom (plus some bedrooms which I never saw) with walls of books and the kind of clutter that exists around an active mind.

When Darrylle and I arrived we interruped a minor disaster. The three had been relaxing with a little herb and had lost the method of delivery. There was a little confusion as we all searched for the hand rolled device and were relieved when it was discovered, having inocently fallen into a pocket. More relaxation and great conversation ensued.

A few more friends arrived who actually live right near Jeff and Bill. It is a very small community who all seem to know each other. I listened to the gossip of family fueds, competing fencelines of cannine competition, people’s comings and goings.

Darrylle and I left for lunch and headed into Nueva Arenal proper. We had a great meal at a small cafe in town. Then we drove back to Jeff and Bill’s and walked over to their friend Alan’s. We had seen Alan at dinner last night and he had had breakfast with us here at the B&B. He lives above Jeff and Bill but we had to walk down to the highway, a quarter mile down the road and then up his long windy driveway. His house sits high above the highway with an amazing expansive view of the lake. There are five building sites on the property and just below his house is the house of his brother and sister-in-law. Alan was just completing his house and is recuperating at the house after beating lung cancer this last winter and fall. There is no better place to relax and recup.

Tomorrow Darrylle and I will continue driving north along the lake and then swing over towards the Panamericana. I’ll drop Darrylle off in a small town to catch a bus back to San Jose and then I’ll continue on into Nicaragua and north.

It has been such a joy to get to know Darrylle better. I can’t thank him and William enough. They have been so generous and helpful to me. Darrylle is considering considering meeting me in Mexico in a few weeks and exploring the areas around the center of the country. So hope to see him again in Veracruz soon.