Friday, March 18, 2005

For those of you who missed my email, I will share Shaun's email that I recieved yesterday. Here it is:
Hey,

Well as far as sending regular emails goes, I suck. I have been down
here for close to 10 weeks now and not one group email. So here goes the
info on the last couple of weeks of my trip......

At the begining of this month I jumped ship from my Dad's boat and
decided to spend some time with my friends Kim and Morgan, and travel
around a bit. We rented a small house just outside of Jaco and bought
some moutain bikes to get back and forth to town when we need to go.
Our friend Ben, from the Yukon, came down and visited us for 2 weeks and
just left yesterday.

While he was down here we actually rented a SUV and went on a road trip
around Costa Rica for seven days. We headed out to a small town called
Montezuma where we spent our first night. We went out to the bar there
and saw Joakim Phoenix (the bad guy from gladiator) and some dude from
CSI Miami. The next morning we went to a huge set of waterfalls, that
you could jump off of. One was 10 feet high, one was 30 feet high, and
the unjumpable one was 65 feet high. That afternoon we headed out to the
surf town of Mal Pias, where we got some surf lessons and ended up
partying with the surf instructor and his girlfriend who are from
Calgary.

The next day the surf was crappy so we decided to head off to the arenal
volcano. The trip was 172km and it took us over 7 hours to get there,
and that included getting a speeding ticket for doing 109 in a 60 zone;
luckly the cops down here are corrupt and we just paid him 40 bucks and
we were on our way. We got to Arenal aound 6pm and found a spot to
stay; it was pourning and we were worried that we would not be able to
see the volcano the next day.

However, the next morning it was clear as day and we pretty much just
hung out at the observatory and did some of the hikes around the base
of the volcano. The next morning we headed off to a town called
Montreverde to go on a canpoy tour. This is where you are hooked up to a
cable and you coast over the top of the jungle to the next platform;
this was a blast, the longest line was 750 meters and you were over 200
meters off the jungle floor. On a sad note, three days before we
arrived in Montreverde, a group of Nicaraguans attemped to rob a bank
and Nine people died, and 11 were wounded, and the memorial service was
beginning just as we were buying our tickets for the tour. There were
still bullet holes all over the bank and the surrounding buildings.

After the canopy tour, we drove back to our house in Jaco where we spent
the night. The next morning we headed down to Manual Antonio where we
spent two days on the beach and tourning around their national park,
which was full of monkeys and sloths.

We arrived back at our house Sunday night and dropped our rental vehical
off Monday morning, and since then we have just been laying on the beach
and relaxing.

On another note I have decided to change my ticket leaving Costa Rica
and I will now be comming back to Edmonon on the 23rd instead of the
30th. While the sun is great I still want to be able to enjoy the last
of the winter back in Edmonton. Since I have tried surfing I have
realized how much I need to go on a snowboard trip.

Well I gotta get back into the sun and the water!!!!

Now, as for me, I spent an hour in the dentist's chair this afternoon (my Friday off - not good timing). Had a message when I got home that the recliner I am having made is now in town and will be delivered tomorrow morning - I hope my soccer game is late so I can sip my coffee in my new chair as I watch it. Gas prices are rising. Cost is now 99.9 cents a litre which reminds me I just had my furnace oil tank filled - can't wait to see that bill. I do have some news but cannot tell you for a bit yet. I have a few more things to check out before I make a final decision. But when I do, I'll let you know.
That's it for now. Be good so the Easter Bunny will visit you - oh no, that's Santa you have to be good for, so you can have all the fun you want and the bunny will still come.

March came in like a lamb - now it is COLD. Got up to a whopping -7 Celcius today. Looks beautiful and sunny and you go outside and freeze. Wouldn't be bad with no wind, but... Here is a view of the Alaska Highway on my way home today. This is one reason I live here. 

Received a call from SR today. He is still in Costa Rica - with his friends now. They rented a car and drove around for a week. They took a Canopy Tour - I didn't know what that was either. Apparently you sit in a small seat and tour the rainforest from 5-600 feet above the ground. Here is a link if you want to find out more:

http://www.monteverdeinfo.com/canopy/tour.htm

They once again visited a volcano, which was bubbling. They also went into Santa Elena Monteverde three days after the bank robbery - the story below - thank heavens they were 3 days AFTER this horrible news story. He said the bank was all shot up by bullets and nearby stores had the glass shot out. You can read the whole story at www.ticotimes.net:

"Monteverde Massacre
Stuns Nation Failed Bank Robbery In Mountain
Community Leaves 9 Dead, 17 Injured

By Robert Goodier and Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff

SANTA ELENA, Monteverde – This usually peaceful, tourist-filled town turned into the site of one of the most tragic hostage situations in the country's recent history this week, as nine people were killed and 17 injured during a failed bank robbery.

The bloody standoff at Banco Nacional began Tuesday afternoon and ended 28 hours later when the last assailant, Erly Hurtado, a Nicaraguan in his mid-20s, surrendered to police.

Among the killed are Mario López, a Red Cross worker who was in the bank as a client, and officer Oscar Quesada, 44, who worked for the police special intervention unit.

Five other bank employees and clients were killed, as well as two of the assailants.

“We were waiting in line to do a transaction and I looked at the door. A guy was saying ‘alarma, alarma,' and the door guard looked scared. There was lots and lots and lots of gunfire,” said Dorothy, a U.S. citizen who was in the bank during the failed robbery attempt and told the The Tico Times she preferred not to use her last name.

“Immediately when we saw the guns we dove on the floor and didn't look around,” she continued. “We heard gunshots, a lot of gunshots. Workers and clients were killed.”
While the hostages inside the bank lived the nightmare, Costa Ricans around the country clung to live TV news coverage to watch the drama unfold in this rural community, renowned for its conservation efforts and cloud forest. Despite its characteristic peacefulness, this was the third attempt to rob the town's only bank in the past 10 years – the others were June 14, 1995, and Jan. 20, 1998 – and the second time people carrying out the assault were killed, according to Roberto Méndez, director of security for Banco Nacional.

Méndez said he believes the bank in Monteverde is more prone to robberies because it is in a mountainous region, presumably making escape easier."

He is planning to fly back to Canada in a week or two (to go snowboarding in the Mountains).

Soccer News: (Of course, this will stop once SR is back home, unless I know of others who want to be up-dated). FA Cup this weekend. ManU and Arsenal both made it to the semi finals; ManU winning over Southampton 4-0 and Arsenal winning over Bolton Wanderers 1-0.

Wednesday March 9, 2005

Just a short note. Shaun, I received your Grant McEwan T2202. Now the only thing I need are receipts for your furniture storage and any hook-up fees you paid (phone, electricity).

Soccer News: UEFA Champions League. Round 16 - Knock out round. Knocked out are MANCHESTER UNITED, Barcelona, Bremen, REAL MADRID, Leverkusen, Arsenal, Monaco. Advancing are Juventus, Bayern, Liverpool, PSV, Lyon, Milan & Chelsea. Still to play Internazionale v Porto.
FA action this weekend.

Ravens on the lamppost. They are known to sit on the light sensors in cold weather to turn the light on for warmth. 

Saturday, March 5, 2005

Another warm day! The temperature rises to about 7 in the sun and now we can feel the sun's warmth. Everything is melting and our vehicles look like mud balls. Was going to get mine washed today but the line ups were too long so I just wiped off my headlights and squirted my windshield. Good enough for now. Sun rise is now 7:45 AM and sun set is 6:40 PM.

Have been busy working on income tax. Shaun, if you are reading this, you will get a healthy amount back (but remember the money you owe me, so don't get too excited).And I still need your T-2202 from Grant McEwan. Income tax always takes a bit longer up here as Revenue Canada audits us on a regular basis, so I always put together a package that I can just slip in the mail when I receive their letter.

Saw Cousin Frank at Canadian Tire this afternoon. He is looking good despite the fact he just finished running the Quest. He asked me if I have seen the newspapers lately (the answer was no). So I bought one on the way home. The headline on the first page reads "From mushing to politics, Yukon Quest ironman Frank Turner is retiring from the race to explore a political career". Yes, he may just be our newest politician. If you want to learn more, here is a link to the story:
http://www.whitehorsestar.com/auth.php?r=37110

Message to Cousin Joe: He never received your email so email him again. You must say "give this to Frank" on your email as many people go through the mail and he doesn't see very many of them. He'll look forward to receiving a message from you.

News from Shaun: Received a phone call from him at work last week. He is doing well. Tara has now returned to Canada, but he said they had a good time touring Panama City and staying on a few islands around Panama. They toured and wined and dined and shopped and swam - everything that makes for a good holiday. He is now back in Costa Rica and will be renting an apartment with his friends for a month. He said his back was sore again after kayaking though. He was meeting Ben at the airport the next day. They plan to do some hiking and he plans to learn a bit of Spanish. Good for him.

Soccer News: Got up to watch Manchester United (the 2nd place team) play Crystal Palace (the 17th place team) and they tied 0-0. Chelsea won their game today, so as it stands, Man U has 63 points, Chesea has 71 points. Hmmm.

FA Cup: Sixth Round Proper Saturday 12 March 2005
Semi Finals Saturday 16 April 2005*
Final Saturday 21 May 2005 – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

UEFA Champions League: Round 16 - Second Leg - starts Tuesday March 8, with Chelsea v Barcelon, ManU v Milan, Lyon v Bremen. Then March 9 is Juventus v Real Madrid, Leverkusen v Liverpool, Monaco v PSV, Arsenal v Bayern and March 15 Internazionale v
Porto.

By the way, I just read an autobiography on Richard Branson. Unfortunately, he reminds me of someone I know although family is very important to him. And am now reading David Beckham's autobiography. So if you ever want to borrow a book, let me know.

And that about winds it up for this week. Ciao.

Here is theatre #2, the Qwanlin Twin Cinemas. This is where I'm off to tonight to see Be Cool with John Travolta. It is the best of the four I have to choose from - but I usually like John Travolta anyway. 

For those of you who have NOT been to visit me - you know who you are!! - I thought I would show you our theatres. The Yukon Theatre is one of two. It now has 2 shows inside. Cute isn't it. This was the original theatre when we only had one.