Gacik's blog
I made a guess some years ago that turned out to be true - the Dominical Costa Rica area was bound for big changes.
I was swimming in a pool at the base of a waterfall talking with a gentleman that I met there about his plans to develop the area. I wasn't sure what my personal feelings were about the plans I heard about that day, but I recognized that changes were in the wind.
I had built a number of successful websites at that point for some of the area merchants: Hacienda Baru a shining example of eco-tourism and reforestation featuring rain forest zip line tours, among other jungle related activities. Also, Green Iguana Surf Camp which went on to become the most successful surf related business in Dominical for years. Green Iguana enjoyed being not only top dog on the surf camp scene but the only surf camp on the scene for years. It has been joined by numerous other surf camps and learn-to-surf efforts over the recent years.
I just stumbled on an article over at CNN's Money section that says that Costa Rica is the place to go right now. The dollar goes a long way. Check it out. Its hard to say what the effect is going to be on Costa Rica, but the global economic conditions might actually stimulate things around here a little bit. I'm not making any projections. In fact, I'd like to defer to the response that I see the TV commentator using quite a lot: "we'll see". The dollar is currently worth about 560 colones here. The expats in the country are feeling some relief from this exchange rate.
I found a recent article in the Costa Rican national newspaper that discussed the current state of the “Bumpy Road” north of Dominical. It was so detailed and specific with date projections that I thought it might be a benefit to readers of my blog to translate and paraphrase it here. My analysis should be unique enough that I haven’t asked permission from La Nacion, but the attribution is inherent in the above disclosure. Their website is www.nacion.com. (Click here for the smaller English version.)
The article was dated Wednesday October 19, 2008: “The minister of Public Works and Transportation, Karla Gonzales, declared before neighbors of Quepos ‘In October of 2009, the Southern Coastal Highway (la Costanera Sur) will be ready’”
It was interesting to find this article when I did because I was sitting in my favorite Sushi restaurant in San José, when I found the article. I had to come up the coast since the Pan American route had been experiencing periodic shut downs due to landslides. I don’t like driving up the coast primarily due to the 25 mile stretch between Dominical and Quepos. It is hard on the car and my temperament.
Pretty catchy title, right?. We all know that it doesn’t snow in Costa Rica. But remember that movie about the Jamaican bobsled team? This is exactly the same kind of thing, well in a remote sort of way it's almost the same thing.
I am sitting in my house in San Isidro. I came up here on Tuesday, it is presently Friday. I had intended to go back home to the coast on Wednesday. I have been unable to return home. The reason? Well, now therein lies the crux of this article. The impediments to me getting back home have been every bit as diverse and non-negotiable as though I were snowed in, just like the good ole days, back in my pre-Costa Rican life in Colorado.
My trip to San Isidro was motivated by my need to get my car’s technical revision (Riteve) made current, as well as some documents that I needed to sign at the lawyers for a new corporation for my Internet company. No problem. I figured I’d take care of those items and then get out to my house, which is just on the Dominical side of San Isidro. There is a screaming broadband Internet connection there that isn’t satellite based, so it seems to work all the time, well… almost.
Uvita Costa Rica, where my office is located, is exploding. In the last year we have seen changes in this little coastal town that now has a smooth, pot hole-less highway running through it. Huge changes - nay, massive… what would the word be – revolutionary? One year ago we had no banks in Uvita: we now have two with a third on the way. One year ago we had two small neighborhood groceries; we now have three major ones, fluorescent lights, grocery carts and all. I went to a PDGD (pretty darn good dentist) here in Uvita the other day. I guess I should say PPDGD since she is pretty to boot. I needed a front tooth fixed cosmetically and she did a PDGJ. I used to think that I would have to travel to San Jose for such service, and in fact I/we have made numerous trips to San Jose when my kids had braces.
There is a golf course going in down the way, there are new hotels, cabinas, restaurants, tour companies, storage facilities, car washes and businesses of all types going in all around. In real estate companies we’ve got six in Uvita that I can think of off hand.
2/21/07
As I fly out of the San Jose airport, headed for the States again for another visit to Mom, I find myself in those rare and exciting moments sitting in my row on my flight as the passengers are getting on board. Its a full flight, or nearly so, and I'm sitting in a row, window seat, with no one sitting next to me. I've got the whole row to myself! People are still loading, and so I'm just not sure if maybe, just maybe, I am going to get the whole row to myself. But then... they come along and there goes that.
I think sometimes about the dread travel experience that is so characterized in movies and how it is when the guy (or gal) that gets assigned the seat next to you turns out to be a horrible bore, or they just want to talk talk the whole way and all you wanted to do was get some uncommitted quiet time on the plane. I think that I have narrowly missed a couple such encounters but was saved by a movie or iPod or some other thing that I could use as a distraction. Sometimes I get to thinking though that maybe I'm one of those people. It can happen on occasion that do I get to talking a bit. I know, for those of you that know me that is hard to believe. But, it's true, it can happen.
She says: "Honey, where should we go this year?"
He says: "Oh, I don't know, the South of France was sure nice last year"
She says: "Yeah, and the year before that the kids got a real kick out of Disney world."
He says: "How ‘bout someplace tropical, maybe Cancun or Rio?"
She says: "Yeah, that sounds good. What was the name of that little place on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica that the Smidgen’s went to last year? They loved it... Dominican... no.. that's that island. Oh, I remember, Dominical. How 'bout there?"
He says: "Huh?"
That Dominical Costa Rica, and its surrounding areas, Uvita, Ojochal etc... would even be mentioned in such a conversation, is an indicator of the change that is going on in the Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica. The word is out: its pretty darn cool here. This is an extraordinary part of the world and tourism is kicking in with a vengeance, but, it isn't "tourism" in the conventional sense of the world.
Dominical features beaches, and perfect tropical weather. The mountains come right down to the ocean from just north of Dominical south to Ojochal. The country itself is so tiny that there are spots in its center where a really good spitter can hit both oceans by simply turning 180 degrees. The narrowness of the country, sandwiched between two ocean results in all kinds of ocean breezy climates.
Its funny how when you live in the country, or jungle as the case may be in Costa Rica, when it comes time for a vacation or a change of scene, one often looks to the city. The thought of going to New York or Chicago sounds wonderful. So here I am in San Jose Costa Rica. What a city!
I drove my client Ruthie to her hotel so that she would be near the airport for her early morning flight. Now, don't go getting any ideas people. I am not normally available for the 4 1/2 hour drive to San Jose to transport real estate clients around. In this case, well... 71 year young Ruthie was a little bit unique (in a very nice way), and the timing worked out, so I went.
I decided this time to go right into the heart of the city and find myself a simple place where I could cruise the city and get to know the place a little bit better. We have always kind of avoided the "centro" of San Jose, and so even after 8 years of living here, I can't say that I know the city very well. I can drive through the thing, which is a major accomplishment in itself. In fact, I think that a person could probably make a business leading people through the city so that they can get from one side to the other.
Had a bit of a shock on my way home from California. I had caught a red-eye from Sacramento California to Houston, where I had a 3 hour lay over, which is fine since the airport there offers some serious people watching and stuff browsing opportunities. I made the best use of my time there and then went to the gate, where they were announcing that "even if you are all checked in, please come to the counter to get your passport approved". I hadn't ever heard this before, so I dutifully went to the counter. They took one look at my passport and said, "you can't travel with this, I'm going to have to pull you from the flight".
Needless to say, I am now miffed. But, I enacted my "Friendly and Patient" policy that I developed during my repeated crossings at the Panama border from Costa Rica. I stood there without saying the things that I wanted to say: "Could I be sure and have your full name please, so that I can file a complaint", and "you know, you could just let me through and I'll get the thing taken care of at the Embassy in San Jose Costa Rica, you are just harassing me" along with other less speak-able diatribes - meanwhile he is calling the baggage place and telling them to pull my luggage.
The holy ground in front of the Tinamastes Church
I have incurred several thousand dollars worth of car repairs over the last year. If one were to link that line with the title of this post, they might get to thinking that these expenses are due to the potholes. Welll... maybe indirectly. Directly, I just paid about $500 to have my ball joints and stuff fixed underneath my Montero. The "indirect" way is the fact that I refuse to buy a new car here, since the place is so #$%$@ hard on cars. Consequently I have older cars ('94 & '95) for getting from my home in San Isidro to my work in Dominical, and out showing properties in the jungle, so the cars are 4 wheel drive. Older cars seem to need constant maintenance, so I may be re-thinking my whole approach to this topic. I have actually been without any car on occasion, despite the fact that I've got this "back-up" arrangement.
