And Speaking of Nuts . . .

We get trees, including nuts. And Costa Rica, whether dry forest or rain forest, has no shortage of trees . . . not to mention the most beautiful tropical plants anywhere, such as this bee hive ginger. It's just there . . . growing wild.Walk down the road or into a field with your little spade and dig-up a specimen. With my PCV background as an agriculture volunteer, and with my obsession over orchids, this country is right up my alley. But back to the nuts . . . the trees, not us buyers. We get eight (8) specialty trees. What?! Like every plant in Costa Rica isn't special?

Our builder is providing us with trees. Let's see if I can name them without referring to the list: Mango, Lime, Mandarin Lime (think lime with an orange-tinted inside-pulp and even a hint of orange flavor . . . whoa, just imagine the margaritas), Orange, Avocado, Soursop (I'll leave it to you to Google that), Carambola (ah, reminiscent of our time in St. Croix), and Cashew. We get a cashew nut tree! I haven't seen cashews growing naturally since Burkina Faso. I won't bore you with the details of how to get a single cashew from its tree and fruit . . . suffice to say, it's so labor intensive that there's a reason cashews are so expensive. And we'll have our very own tree!

And coffee. See those little beans? We can grow coffee . . . and Rusty can't wait. "It's never been tried this high . . . "  My continual Out of Africa reference. But little Lot 6 is certainly high . . . up a mountain; so if we can find a partially shaded area, we can grow coffee. I'll leave the roasting process to Rusty.

So this tree-count doesn't include the papaya trees that are already on the property, and the endangered Chiclet tree.  We're not allowed to cut it, though who would want to? We have an endangered-species/protected tree! Why is this so exciting to me? Who can say?

Now a bit more about the yet-to-be-named Lot 6. It's not really that little. We're purchasing 1.65 acres in Montana Samara, Nicoya Peninsula, Guanacaste, Costa Rica (I get my mail!). That said, my guess is that at least one full acre of this 1.65 acre lot is almost a vertical drop to the river. Yes! We get a river. Our property line ends at the bank of a river. I can open my kitchen window and hear the rushing river . . . rushing, I say . . . at least during rainy season.

But I have plans for this vertical 1-acre drop. I'm going to have little 12x12-inch concrete pavers poured and I'll lay them down the mountain-side to take the baby Jill to the river. I'm guessing about 200 little pavers will do it . . . that and about a year of work with a machete, spade, and my Banana Republic rubber riding boots (snakes, don't ya know).  Yo, Becky! And you thought the walk to Madera Beach was a trek!

More about the home . . . little Lot 6. Yes, that's the Pacific Ocean on the horizon. The view is better outdoors, and we'll get to that.

The home is a mere 1,400 square feet . . . this after living in over 2,000 square feet for decades (except for my hut in Burkina Faso). Did I mention the sale of all worldly goods just to fit into the home . . . except for those copper pots and 1000 TC linens. Two bedrooms (plenty of room for you to visit), two baths (showers only, no bathtub! Ahhhhhh!), a laundry room with what Rusty calls the dog-washing station (being a southern gal, I've never had a laundry room with a deep, large sink . . . that's a Yankee thing, right Kyle?), and the oh-so-popular open-concept living area. I don't do open-concept. Give me walls. I want a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. But lo que hay. I'll make do. The home is already 98% completed. Our builder is adding a pool, fencing, a garage, and an rancho . . . known to you as a thatch-covered palapa. A place where Rusty can putter . . . far from me and Jill. I said for better or for worse . . . not "for lunch."

So the price for this 1.65 acre paradise with 1,400 square feet of indoor living area and a great terrace overlooking what Rusty calls my Medicine Man view, the roar of the rushing river, the monkeys, and the ocean view. A whopping $135,000 USD. Now, are you asking yourself why you're living in the U.S. and not house-hunting in Costa Rica? You should be. No, that dining table is not staying. Period. And is that the most horrible light fixture you've ever seen? Nod, here, to HGTV for lighting ideas . . . notwithstanding my prior post about House Hunters International. I've got two (2) of these sala light fixtures to deal with. Lo que hay! That's what Pinterest is for.