Troubles in Paradise!

Over the course of 9 months in 2017, my partner and I sold all of our possessions, including 2 vehicles, and a house full of stuff. In order to sell the house for its maximum value, we also completed 3 months of renovations that had been lingering for over 3 years. We wrapped up 2 businesses and left a town and tight knit community that we both cherished. We did all of this in order to seek out a life of freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 life, but most importantly, we did it so that we could travel. This is our story…….

As most of my readers by now will know, we are currently stationed on Playa Matapalo, Costa Rica.  We are housesitting here for 2 months, taking care of a wonderful, friendly dog named Omber, and a beautiful house right on the beach.  To say that it is a blissful existence, would be an understatement.

However, even paradise has it’s challenges!

A couple nights ago, after visiting a neighbour who had invited us over for a drink or two, we arrived back in our yard to a sound that much resembled Niagra Falls, spilling out in our “Bodega” (shed.). It was pouring rain when we left, so we aren’t sure if this was happening when we left, as the rain itself can sound like Niagra Falls falling from the heavens.  Tropical rain is no joke!  Even on a good day!

We quickly ran to get the key and opened the door to an absolute flood happening and water spilling out of a 2 inch crack in the pipe.  There was a valve located nearby, so I quickly grabbed it and swung it to the side, thankfully stopping the flow.  The funny thing is, that valve wasn’t supposed to be open in the first place, as it was to feed our 30 gallon back up water system, that would only get put into use if service from the town was not working for some reason.

We emailed the owners of the property, who live in the US, and they confirmed that I should call the plumber to have him come and look at the problem as soon as we could.  However, Cynthia assured me that they have not had to use the back up system in 7 years, putting my mind at ease that this was not an emergency.

I managed to phone Tony the plumber (no habla Englise, does not speak English), and express to him that we had a plumbing problem.  He arrived later in the day, asked a few questions, (one of which I am sure was “Why was that valve turned on?”, of which I clearly stated “no se porque, I don’t know”), said a few things – of which I understood the odd word- and then was on his way.  I got the impression that he didn’t think it was an emergency either…….

The very next day, and quite early in the morning, we realized that our water in the house wasn’t working.  Chris quickly ran over to the neighbours house to see what he thought, as we had considered that maybe the tanks ran dry for the house, because we had turned that valve off.  No, that was not the case, he had no water as well.  He assured us that this happens sometimes, and to not worry, it would come back on eventually.

Pura Vida!

The water came and went that day, sometimes it was on, sometimes it was off, but by 5:00, it was on for the night and all was well.

The next morning, the water was turned off again around 10:00.  We assumed that this day would be like the one before, and the water service would resume at some point in the day.  However at around 3:00, as we started to deplete our drinking water, I became a bit concerned.  At least the closest Pulperia (convenience store) is only a 5 minute walk away, so I knew we could get drinking water there if needed.  The other thing, to top it all off, is that the power was out from about 12-5:00, dark enough for us to have to light some candles by then.  Thankfully, though, that came back around dinner time, which was nice.

At about 7:00pm, Chris set off to the Pulperia to buy some drinking water, getting the very LAST jug of water that they had for sale!  Obviously the locals knew the drill, and had stocked up before us.  Along the way, he noted that the side of the road had been dug up, and there was clearly work being done on the lines.  Not a good sign.

Now, as you can imagine, having water coming into a house provides more then just drinking water. It provides water to wash dishes and to wash ourselves, but MOST importantly, it provides precious water to flush the toilets!  To say that matters were starting to get desperate in that regard, would be an understatement since Chris has also just developed some kind of stomach bug, which has made his time on the toilet, more regular than normal, if you get my drift!

As the situation started to become clear last night, and we realized that we had no back up system, if the water was indeed turned off for a longer period of time, I started to consider soloutions to our predicament.  The toilets clearly needed to be flushed, and at some point we would need to bathe ourselves.  The dishes were piling up on the counter, and having dirty dishes in tropical countries, is an invitation for a whole heard of problems, as bugs and rodents of a bazillion descriptions would likely eventually find them.

As I jumped into my problem solving mode, of which, I have to say, is usually quite good at figuring these things out, I realized that we had a whole ocean of water at our disposal!  Obviously, not the best for drinking, but we could certainly bring up bucket fulls, do the dishes, and dump them down the toilets, forcing them to flush.  And then, there is the bathing in the ocean thing.  Chris didn’t seem to think it was possible, but I assured him it was, as I have spent 4 months kayaking in the Bahamas, and we did indeed bathe in the ocean every day!

As I type this, our water is STILL not working!  But we have made plans to go into Quepos, the nearest town, getting a ride from one of our neighbours, to get Chris some medicine, to at least sort his stomach out.

We are both in good spirits and can’t help but laugh at the situation.  I have to say though, that despite what could very well be an absolute crisis back in Canada, these troubles in Paradise, really aren’t troubles at all!

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Thanks for reading! Please know that above all else, I aim to inspire others to just get out and see the world. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and I can’t even comprehend how much it has shaped me as an individual. If you have ANY questions, or need travel advice of ANY kind, PLEASE don’t hesitate to email me at the address below! I will do my very best to help you in any way I can!

Xoxoxo Happy Travels!

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