Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: Roll of Paper Towels — .93 cents

I love the rainy season: everything is green. Shades of Kelly and mint paint the mountaintops, making the hills look like one big vegetable garden.

There has been a drought in Costa Rica, so rain is as valuable as gold right now. On most afternoons you can all but guarantee a shower or two, and along with the rain comes deafening thunder. A sound so powerful, it rattles my windows and at times can feel like an earthquake.

There are many things I love about the rain, but a tree falling onto my utility lines is not one of them. There is nothing that one can do but call the appropriate authorities, and hope they come quickly. However, I got to hand it to the Coopeguanacaste Electrical Company: they were out in front of my house within an hour.

A couple of workers showed up and the younger of the two gentlemen used an extended chainsaw to cut away branches and free the lines… in the rain… while standing on top of their truck. The older man (and apparently wiser) was on the ground calling out instructions. I stayed inside, which I tend to do when large objects and high-power lines are crashing to the ground.

In the end, the trees didn’t actually break the lines, just bent my utility pole to about a thirty-degree angle. I sort of like it this way. Now when I go out for a walk, I quicken my pace underneath it to maximize cardiovascular benefits.

Later that afternoon I saw an anteater in a tree outside my window. I ran to get the camera, but he was gone by the time I returned. It’s the perfect example of a typical day in Costa Rica: dealing with the stress of maintaining your utilities in the jungle to ultimately end with an anteater outside your window.

Pretty cool, rainy day.