On Iguana Poop, Fishing, Writing & Yoga

Somethings just don't happen in Alexandria, VA. Like 40 pound iguanas scaling to the top of a tree that overhangs one's swimming pool and then dropping their poop into said pool. Just doesn't happen in Virginia. Happens here though. Just did yesterday, in fact.

As mentioned in the last blog, we went deep sea fishing. Set to be a four hour tour with Captain Eduardo, a great local fishing guide who is also the dad of a friend of Riley's, we decided to leave Tae at home. Some of you may recall mine and Baker's first fishing expedition back in September, and will be relieved to know that I found some sea-sickness pills prior to going on expedition two. It made all the difference and, as a result, I cannot regale you with tales of nausea and vomit.

Baker pulled in this nice black-fin tuna, which we tossed back...told that they are not great eating. We also pulled in a dorado (mahi-mahi) and a yellow-fin tuna, which was delicious!

At the turn of January, I (Jerry) participated in a week long writing workshop with California poet, Clive Matson. You can check out some of Clive's wonderful poetry here. There were five other writers in the group working on projects from novels to non-fiction books to poetry. I received some wonderful feedback on my screenplay project (tentatively titled "Keep Leaping") that has set me off on draft four. Also, I began work on a second screenplay and penned a couple poems and a short story. It was a great week!

And, that week also led to Tara's first professional gig as a yoga instructor! The hostess of the workshop was looking for a yoga instructor to teach the visitors to her B&B and Tara has stepped beautifully into that role. Today (Feb 24), she will be teaching her ninth or so yoga class. I have thus far only attended one and plan to go to her class tomorrow. She does a wonderful job. Really awesome, from the first stretches, through Warrior and Pigeon to the final Shivasana, she is a perfect guide on your yogic journey!

We have had visitors! Jeff & Caroline Swiatek were here in early February. Jeff is a good friend of mine from college and, even more so, from Hong Kong...we moved there together 20 (!) years ago. Those of you who know Jeff but have not seen him in a while will be interested to know that he looks like this (at least underwater):

Jeff and Caroline's visit was highlighted with Jeff becoming an all-star surfer and Caroline showering, or nearly so, with a crab.

And, we have just been visited this past week by Tara's grandpa, aunt Dayle, and cousin Kaitlyn; and by our good friend Kate Silbaugh and her 10 year old son, Baker. Pics to follow.

Pura vida, maes. (Mae is the always used word here in Nosara, meaning "dude")

Jerry & Tara

Mucho tiempo, no escribir...

Alas, it has again been a long time since our last blog entry...let us get you up to speed on some of our goings on. The digest version is this:

We celebrated Tae's 4th birthday and attended a beautiful wedding on the beach, then shortly thereafter moved to a new house close to the wedding spot after being driven out of a beautiful-viewed but broken down house by a final straw of an electrocuting dryer, caught yellow-fin tuna and mahi-mahi on a fun fishing trip, had visits by a number of friends and family, (I) attended a writer's workshop to get feedback on draft x + 1 of my screenplay, (Tara) officially became a professional yoga instructor and...oh yeah, we ziplined yet again...

Montessori schools have a very nice birthday celebration that integrates into the ceremony the idea that a year is one earth's journey round the sun. Click here to see Tae walking around the sun while his classmates sing to celebrate his birthday on January 28. And here is a photo of the scene.

We had a great party at the house as well, with ten or so of Tae's friends, swimming in the pool, hot dogs for lunch, the whole nine yards:

While Tae rested from the festivities of 1/28/10, Tara, Baker, Riley and I went deep sea fishing with Capitan Eduardo, off the beach at Garza. The highlight of the trip was when three fish hit within a minute of each other so that Tara was on one line, Baker on another, and Riley and I on a third. In that moment, we pulled in a dorado (mahi-mahi), a yellow fin tuna, and a black fin tuna.

The former Spanish teacher at the kids school, Ms. Milagros was married in a lovely ceremony a few weeks ago on the beach...Here is a photo of the wedding....or not (in our on again, off again internet connection, I just can't upload it!)  Baker and Riley have been taking an after-school cooking class with Milagros in February. Last week, Riley made sushi, which Tae devoured in a single bite!

And then we moved...to make a long story short: relations with the female owner of the house were poor from prior to the lease-signing. We should have gotten out then, but we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the view from the lot. And, the ex-husband and co-owner was a mostly reasonable guy, if not a bit edgy. When each and every conversation with the wife ended in a yelling contest, we decided to deal with only the husband. Then on 1/31, he delivered a beaten up old dryer to the house to replace the existing beaten up old dryer. I touched it and received a shock that made me jump. He, wearing sandals, did not receive the shock and instructed me that the dryer was fine; the real problem was that I did not have rubber soled shoes on. When I pointed out that we had a lot of kids running around the house and perhaps it was best to have a dryer that wouldn't shock them, he ripped into a litany of f-bombs that put Baker and Riley (standing right there) into quite a silence. I responded with a similar speech format, he stormed out saying "leave whenever you want," and Tara was on the phone with a realtor before his car was out of the driveway.

In the end, it is a very happy story because we have traded:

• a wonderful view for a 3 minute walk to the beach
• a 2 bedroom house for a 3 bedroom house
• a freezer that couldn't freeze water if it were in Wasilla, AK for a working freezer
• a dryer that was nominated for use in Texas' death row for one that dries clothes
• landlords who are insane for a nice guy landlord

That's all for now. Time to get kids to school. Will add more details later.

Pura vida!

jerry & tara