Life in Puerto Viejo

Oh My God... He's Gotta a Gun!

You know me being one those "commie Canucks" (that is how I have heard many US ex-pats refer to us Canadians down here), We just don't have a lot of experience with guns and people using them or carrying them.

Well after almost 3 years, I have had more exposure to guns than I have had in my whole lifetime.  Other than the time 2 weeks after I arrived here, where a drug dealer shot another one in the leg on the street of Puerto Viejo at 4:00 in the afternoon, most of my experiences with locals with guns have been thankfully non-eventful.

In fact, I am amazed at myself at how calm I have become in confronting people here with a gun.  My neighbour, Neil was out lying on the beach in the hammock with his dog in front of our hotel.   While lying there a older local African Caribbean guy rode by on his bicycle, my neighbours dog (thanks to our dogs prompting) chased after him and bit him in the leg.

Rightfully so, he was very angry.  He was screaming at Neil for about 5 minutes and then rode off.  Neil told Amare and I that he was coming back with his machete and was going to kill the dog not really believing he would.

Knowing how dramatic locals can be and how things easily escalate, I suggested to Amare (Neils wife) that we go on the scooter and find him and calm him down.  I figured me knowing him and her being a women, we could reason with him.

So, off we go only to find him walking back to where the dog bit him with a shotgun.  All I could think was "Holy Shit" He has a gun!  I told Amare to get off the scooter and I would go talk to him.  I knew the guy and felt even though he was mad, I didn't believe he would shoot me.

It took about 5 minutes of talking while legitimizing his anger, to get him to agree this was not a good idea.  During this time, I could also realize that he had been drinking.  I just wanted to get him and the gun the hell out of there.

So I got him to climb on the scooter and I would drive him home.  While on the scooter Amare noticed that the shot gun was pointed at my foot.  She warned him not to carry it that way.  He laughed and said it was not loaded and cocked the gun to prove it.  "Ooops" he laughed, it was loaded.  He removed the shell and I drove him home.

Cross Border Shopping Just Ain't The Same

You know, despite all the nature, beaches, local cultures and my half-hearted attempt to live my life more spriritually centered, I have to confess, I really do miss shopping sometimes. 

I think it must be in our gay genes.  When I walk into nice stores (especially the kitchen appliance section), I feel my heart to start racing, palms sweat and Roberto says a glazed look goes over my eyes.

Well shopping around here... I experienced none of the above.  Roberto blew out a tire coming back from San Jose.  Of course there is no place around that sells tires, so I was going to have to head off to Limon.

My contractor says, oh no, just go to Chase, Panama.  Chase, Panama is this little, and I mean little place across the river on the Bri Bri indigenous reservation that solely exists for locals to buy certain items and avoid paying the huge import taxes that Costa Rica levy's on imported goods.

Great, sounds like I will save money and go for a day trip.

We show up at the river crossing, expecting some sort of water taxi, only to find basically a old wood  canoe with a tiny motor on the back.  We even had to walk in the water to help push the boat away from shore.

So, we arrive on the other side of the Sixola river (Panama) to find 4 stores that all had junky stuff with dust all over it and being flogged by chain-smoking Middle Eastern Arabs. 

We tell that we need tires as we don't see any on display.  One the native slaves that they have working for them motions us to go to this warehouse and upon entering the place was full to the ceiling of tires.  Our sales person guided through paths of tires on dirt floors with only a flashlight to find the size of tires we were looking for.   All I could think of is that how I longed for places like Macey's. Hell, I would even stoop to WalMart rather than this.

Then after we paid them for the tires, I thought it would include transport back to river to our little canoe driver who referred to me as the Fat Gringo... but oh no.  We had to roll them to the river, load them into the boat, take them back to the other side, then carry them up to river banks and load them into our car.

Then after all that, we have to hope while driving them back home that we do not get pulled over by the police with undeclared goods in our car.

How much did we save?  Maybe if we are lucky, $50.  I won't be back.

The Carnival Continues...

I was just reading a post on an expat board about foreigners expressing frustrations with hiring local workers.  It is somewhat comforting to hear that I am not the only one who has these frustrations.

I have only been here for going on 3 years, but it's constantly being hammered into my head that almost of the people that we hire, need constant direction as to what to do and in many cases "how to do it". 

My automatic reaction is too be frustrated.  But when I sit and think about it, "Why would they know what to do"?  Most live in run-down houses beyond repair, so yours look like a castle and needs nothing.

It is my hope to hire local people as I want to contribute to the community and try and help give people skills.  But now, I can see why many foreigners who operate businesses down here just give up and hire anyone that might have skills and self-direction, even if it means hiring illegal workers. 

I have these visions of doing apprenticeships for locals and cross-training of workers.  I can not lie.  I sometimes feel like I am just "flogging a dead horse".

I now appreciate how much we just take for granted.  We live in a service culture.  We sleep in hotels and eat in restaurants.  Many of us have worked in these enviroments.  We know how to serve people.  Many locals don't and have never stayed in a hotel.  This never dawned on me.  I just thought everyone knew that when people finished eating, you clear the plates.

The other thing that I find so amazing, is that we have been putting a "cattle call" out for hiring.  So many people have no clue how to apply for a job. And we are not being so stupid to ask for things like resumes.  But when people show up in an interview and are expressing they are not sure how they can get to work (let alone the interview) without you picking them up, no, I am not going to even entertain hiring them. 

Smoking for some seems perfectly acceptable as well in an interview.

Then about 40% of the people that we offered jobs to, just never showed up for their first day.  Some came a day later with an excuse (valid?  I am not sure.  I did not want to know).

Phoning and saying you are not coming in or are going to be late (yes these ones have a phone) is a new concept for most.  Having your mother phone, seems to be common as well.  In fact, she has has been known shown up on many interviews with the perpspective employee.

Oh well, no one said it was going to be easy.  The one who continues to get the real education is me.

Puerto Viejo... See The Video.

Now, that I have been down here for a few years, I don't see the area the way visitors do, so I don't feel I can give people a real feel for it.

I have been helping my friend Doug and we have been making this great portal site for Puerto Viejo.  in doing that we have created this great page that gives photo tours, videos, and blog entries from people who visit the place.

So, if you are bored at the office and want to see some fun videos and pics.  Check out my friend's page.

The Home of The Least Wanted or The Most Wanted

This slogan is what many of dubbed Puerto Viejo as I have pointed out on an earlier post.  Just so you know this place lives up to it's reputation, recently we had a large group of kids from a Waldorf School staying at our hotel.  It was a school project and one of the projects they did was paint signs to put on the beach encouraging people not to litter and to recycle.  This excersise was combined with a local beach clean up.

There is this hotel down the street from us that has some real weird energy and some very different ideas on how to deal with people then we do.  Just to give you an idea, the manager came running out to the beach and screamed at the kids as they were trying to put a sign in front of his hotel.  It even brought the poor girl to tears that had to take her sign out.

Now, I think he forgets that the beach and 50 meters from high tide is public space and you can have no control over it.  He also does not seem very concerrned that people who organize the group are part of a decent sized tour group of Costa Rica and bring down many groups while this hotel is obviously really hurting for business.

That hotel in particular also seems 'to think it is their right to plaster the public roadside coming in to Puerto Viejo with very tacky unmaintained signs promoting their hotel.

Now, I could not for the life of figure out why this guy could just not ignore what was happening and if he did not like the little sign out front, why he could just not wait till they were gone and take it out.  But, oh no... He was obsessed that there was no way this group of 15 year old kids were going get away with this.

So, I just shake my head.  I was warned when i moved here that this place was not a "hub of wellness" and these end-of-the-road places attract a pretty strange bunch.