Esterillos and the West coast

Beachside carts selling coconuts and sodas on sandy shore.

January 17, 2007 Esterillos Costa Rica Meet Jorge. He’s a good-looking Tico surfer dude. He and his knockout girlfriend, Gianina, manage La Felicidad, a seven-room hotel in Esterillos Centro. It’s a community of perhaps 20 houses located on absolutely undeveloped Pacific Ocean beachfront. Son Rowan and nephew Finn McCool are renting a three-bedroom house just…

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Floods

People traveling by boat on a calm river surrounded by greenery.

Another Costa Rican Adventure? We took off 7:30 AM Monday. It was a beautiful sunny day in San Roque de Barva, where we live. Our plan was to spend the week in Panama, in a group of islands off the Caribbean coast known as Bocas del Toro. We had heard about this site from several…

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Earthquakes

Severe earthquake damage cracks and warps a road, stranding vehicles.

Costa Rica Earthquake Don’t know if it’s made the news up there, but we’ve experienced several earthquakes yesterday and today. The biggest today hit 6.2 on the Richter. The epicenter was only 42 kms away, near a semi-active volcano — Poas. I was driving at the time. It’s a weird feeling when the road begins…

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Tortuguero

Workers in blue and yellow uniforms processing bananas on a conveyor belt.

March 17, 2008 Tortuguero Meet Nacho. His real name is Ignazio, but everybody calls him Nacho. He was our guide last year to Tortuguero. Nacho is a tall, slim, handsome thirty-year-old with an open, welcoming personality. He loves to talk and teach, and he has a lot of interesting information to share. He introduced us…

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Diary of a Lockdown

A rusty padlock against a blue background.

Diary of a Lockdown Monday, March 16: Here in Pézenas, southern France, first day of government-dictated self isolation.  Everyone is supposed to stay home.  Only five reasons one is allowed to be out and about: When outside your home you must carry an “Attestation”.  This paper has on it your name and address, today’s date,…

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Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Família basilica with its intricate spires under a blue sky.

Travels With Anzie – Sagrada  Familia  March 2020 I first discovered Antoni Gaudi in 1994 during a business trip to Barcelona.  My hosts showed me a few of his architectural wonders.  I became immediately enthralled with the organic features:  a dragon back for a roof line, balconies shaped like turtles, mosaic lizards instead of gargoyles,…

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Barcelona

Gothic-style cathedral with ornate spires and blue stained glass windows.

Travels With Anzie – Barcelona February 23, 2020 Barcelona – city of color, sound, smiling faces, history, Gaudi, crazy foods and drinks, demonstrations and plenty of fun times. It took us two days to get here; the last part was the toughest: driving through downtown Barcelona following directions from a GPS female who kept directing…

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Morocco

The ornate Bab Bou Jeloud gate in Fez, Morocco, illuminated at dusk.

November, 2005 We bid a tearful goodbye to Senegal, a life we had come to know and love, and jumped into the very “other” world of Morocco. By “other” I mean the people, their customs, their way of dress, way of life, cuisine, topography – all so deliciously different from our normal experience. We landed…

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Douala and the Beach Resort at Kribi

Four people sitting together outdoors, smiling and enjoying a sunny day.

November, 2012 After two full weeks of working, training embassy staff, we were looking forward to a week of R&R. Little did we realize that our week would be filled with knowledge gathering about the good, the bad and the ugly parts of living in Cameroon combined with a plentiful dollop of serendipity. We departed…

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Anne’s Training at the US Embassy in Yaoundé

Two people exchanging documents at a formal event.

November, 2012 Cameroon Due to a somewhat amazing piece of luck, alignment of the stars or whatever, we have landed in Cameroon. A few months ago Anzie broadcasted our newly revised website – 167water.com – to friends and family around the world. One of the many persons who responded was our friend and my former…

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