BoomerGirl Diary

People often inquire what my house is like here in Costa Rica and how it compares to others in this country as well as in the States. I tell them that Costa Rica is like any country around the world. Here, as everywhere, there are varying degrees of style and wealth displayed in one's home and surroundings. Ken and I live very modestly.

There are expats here who have beautiful and grand homes. Their furnishings and decor seem to be duplicated from a style magazine, with the latest in all appliances, fixtures, furniture, and more. Other expats came here with little to no money and stay in homes of others (for free) in exchange for "watching" the property when the owner is away. Still others live in a back room, or in a small cabina on the property of a business where they have found part-time work. Similarly, among the locals there are great differences in their dwellings and properties; from literal tin shacks to mansions.

On my first visit to this country I was taken aback how homes in cities are built practically touching each other. Every building has some type of bars on their windows and doors to protect against thievery. The further from the cities that you get, the more distance you see between homes as well as decreased iron work on entryways. I've seen, and have been in, huge homes valued at several hundred thousand dollars, simple huts on stilts, and everything in-between. Most homes throughout Costa Rica are built from concrete. Termites and the climate have proven to quickly destroy a house of wood unless it is specially treated.

The property where we live once belonged to a retired couple from Florida. They spent the dry seasons in Costa Rica; November through April. They would return to their home in the United States the other half of the year; Costa Rica's rainy season. Their dwelling was a very simple Costa Rican built home. Concrete walls, screened windows, and a tin roof. They, like many people, had their share of bats and termites who had taken up residence with them. Their house, now an empty shell and slowly being consumed by the termites, is still standing between a mangrove forest and the river. A nasty place in the wet season due to the dampness (hence mosquitos) but a beautiful location for them for over thirty dry seasons.

Shortly before Ken's return visit to Costa Rica after our first vacation here, the husband of this couple had passed away. The widow was wanting to sell the property and return to the states. Only a very small portion of the 10-acre property, just where their house sat, had been cleared of brush. Though the rest was overgrown and difficult to see its true size, Ken saw great potential and made an offer on sight. She accepted it.

On a return visit to Costa Rica, after acquiring the property, we made our way up the highest portion of the property to seek out an ocean view. From there we realized we had a wonderful location for a home. It overlooked the river and ocean as well as put some distance between us and the dampness of the lower ground. It was decided we'd build on that hill that we now call "Rocky Top".

This rise in the land use to be the lower part of a small mountain that was dynamited many years ago when a major road was constructed. We love our easy access to a wonderful paved highway, but we really dislike the loud trucks that travel it carrying their wares. However, Rocky Top has a picturesque view of the Pacific to our west and an enchanting view of the mountain with it's occasional waterfalls to our east; on the other side of the highway.

Our two-level house was quickly constructed in just over two weeks while Ken was here for a Kansas winter get away. The bottom level sits on a concrete slab and has concrete walls that do not connect with the upper floor. To give the house an "open feeling" we used two and a half feet long pieces of bamboo to cover steel rods that we cemented into the top row of concrete blocks. Doing so "completed" our lower level walls. The steel under the bamboo qualified as the necessary "security measures" to be able to get home owner's insurance. We have a constant flow of air through the bamboo rods as well as a constant invasion of whatever can fly in or crawl up walls (a multitude of bugs, mice, possums, frogs, snakes, crabs, etc.).

The concrete floor of our lower level is painted a brick red color everywhere except for the kitchen and bathroom, which are tiled. Our home is rectangular shaped and downstairs, one third of it is the kitchen. The middle section is our bathroom, laundry area, and dining area. The other third is pretty much where various items are stored and/or a bed can be set up for a guest. Between the kitchen space and the dining area we have a tiled bar dividing the two. It is at this bar that I sit on a stool to check my emails and create my blogs. Above this bar we installed a rustic pole. Visitors of ours have left behind trinkets that are hanging from it. Dangling on it, from black fishing line, are business cards, driver's licenses, various key chains and little toys. I too have used this pole to display some items of my mother's to have a daily reminder of her.

Above the "trinkets" hangs another fishing line that I have attached about forty various coasters from eateries back home. The coasters over my head sway and flutter in the breezes that go through the house. Like wind chimes only not so loud. My mom collects these for me when she dines at different restaurants in Kansas, then turns them over to me when I visit.

The dangling coasters and trinkets, our year round Christmas lights strung about, "signature wall" (explained below) and beer bottle caps hammered into the side of our stairway (spelling out the word BEER) gives our little house the feel of a fun neighborhood "bar". Well it does to me.

On the outside wall of the "storage area" is what is called a connected bodega. It is basically known here as a tool shed. It runs the width of our house and is accessed from outdoors. The wall separating these two areas also has just 3/4 walls like the rest of this level. What this means, is that from my kitchen and dining areas I can view through the bamboo rods our weed-eaters, rakes, and other tools hanging up. Occasionally one can get a whiff of gasoline, varnish, and various weed killing formulas that are stored there as well. The possum invasions we have had in our "house" started out there in the bodega where we have found several nests built. I wish the tool shed wasn't connected to our home.

The middle section of our lower level has no wall on the west side. It is open to the outdoors except for at night or when the house is vacant. Instead of a wall with a door, like a normal house, we have two six-foot wide metal doors that we roll down when needed for security. Each morning we roll up these doors much like they do at stores in a mall. These doors remain open all day making sweeping the concrete a simple task every morning. Well, most mornings. Some days I just think, why bother? It's only going to get dirty again. But when I DO sweep, everything gets swept right outdoors and onto our concrete patio. From there it is a quick sweep to send the dirt, dead bugs, bird feathers, and gecko poop onto our rock yard.

One of my favorite features of our home is my "signature wall". It is a partial wall between our bathroom and dining room. When painting our lower level I purposefully taped off a large section in the center of this concrete block wall to be used for folks to "sign". Whenever anyone has visited our home they are given a selection of permanent markers to draw whatever strikes their fancy. At first it was a wall where people signed their name, where they were from, and the date. At some point it turned to a more free-for-all wall with all kinds of drawings and clever quotes. I long ago lost track of the number of signatures as well the number of countries and U.S. States that were represented. Lots!!

Wooden stairs, placed indoors between the storage and dining areas, lead to our upper level . This area is made of treated wood and has two small pre-fab, fully enclosed, cabins. These two "rooms" are set on the far sides of our upstairs with a large wooden deck connecting them. One is our bedroom. It has screened windows, a small bathroom (toilet and sink), and ample storage for personal items. It sets on the south end. The other cabin, on the north side, has a small window air conditioning unit, and is completely sealed in and insulated. In this room we keep everything that the humidity would destroy. Our books, computers, musical instruments, microscopes, cameras, binoculars and my Halloween wigs. The roof of our home is made of red colored tin that has the look of clay tiles.

In the area connecting our two cabinas we have a few chairs and hanging hammocks, as well as our television, and a nice ceiling fan in the rafters above. Along one side of our open-aired "living room" we have huge bamboo blinds that we roll down when it's raining hard and blowing in. We also will drop them down to reduce the glare on our television or for some privacy.

We recently expanded the opposite side of our deck to extend out over our patio below. Under the deck makes for a nice place to park our motorcycle and four-wheeler out of the rain and/or sun, depending on what time of year it is. The new deck above also has a tin roof and a partial bar on one end where we like to sit to eat lunch and watch the sunsets over the Pacific. Above the deck's railings we have nylon string tied between support beams. This string acts as my laundry line when the sun is out but also holds large tarps that we pull shut and secure when rains threaten to blow in.

All the plumbing and electrical work is exposed throughout the house for a couple of possible reasons. My theory is that the house was pretty much just thrown together without worrying about "the details", knowing Ken is not a "detail" guy. Ken however maintains he COULD have seen that the wires and plumbing were "hidden" but that with them exposed, he can more quickly locate a problem if he needed to. The reality is somewhere in between the two possible explanations as well as it was just simply cheaper, and faster, to do it the way it was done.

I don't really care for the numerous electrical wires, bolts and pipes that are visible all over the house. It's not pleasing for me that our upstairs toilet is plumbed to flush right over my head as I stand at my kitchen sink. Our home is very rustic. So for the former "city girl" in me, who has a neat-home obsession, it's been challenging to adapt to this type of living. I try to keep our home as clean and tidy as I can but there are times when certain difficulties frustrate me.

Downstairs, where it's all concrete and cement, it's like trying to keep an unfinished basement clean. There have been a few times I've literally removed everything from the house, drug in a garden hose, and just sprayed it all down. It works, but it's not fun. I think it is a once a year thing, like "Spring Cleaning". I more often move the furniture aside then sweep it the best I can. Then I take a bucket of water and disinfectant and pour it on the floor. Then I take a big broom and just sweep the dirty water outside and let the floor air dry.

Upstairs I often feel like I'm trying to clean a barn with all the rough wood surfaces that are impossible to "dust." I have to resort to taking a large broom and "sweep" the walls and ceiling. There are times when my frustrations get the better of me and I dream of a more aesthetic home. It helps to then tell myself how our home at Rocky Top would be the envy of many big city dwellers on a vacation to the wilderness to "rough it". A little role playing in that sense and I can handle my situation a little better. The frustrations pass. Eventually.

The real beauty of Rocky Top, besides the magnificent view, is the plant life. Numerous trees, bushes, flowers, and ground cover that Ken and I have planted around our home are breathtaking. The birds and reptiles that visit their blooms each day are a constant source of joy for us both as are their beauty and fragrances.

So now you have an idea of what our Costa Rican home is like. While Ken and I spend our days at Rocky Top in our little house of concrete and wood, as rustic as it seems at times, we can't think of a more perfect place to be. So, if you happen to venture this way, come check it out for yourself, but be prepared to sign your name on my wall. IF you can find some room.