When we first pulled up to our place, I could see Casa Bambu, but in front of me was a green house...and I thought...that doesn’t look like the pictures—but, come to find out, that was William’s house!  We walked under a hibiscus arch and there it was...Casa Linda. 

The house was like a rectangle with a big front porch and a hammock.  That was the ‘living room’ and turned into a real night hot spot for us, because we spent many nights sitting and watching the various bugs that would gather around our light.  It was also the only place with a ceiling fan, which proved to be very comfortable when laying in the hammock.  Some nights we would read, talk, play with the DS’s, and always review our day.  By the time we got there, it was dark, not late, usually not past 7pm.  We also found ourselves in bed many nights by nine (and struggling to make it until then!).  Such is the way in the jungle.

When you first enter the bamboo house the high ceilings really make it feel spacious.  The outer walls were huge windows on a pulley system.  You pull the ropes and they hook in holding the windows open, it was quite ingenious really.  When I walked in, despite the high ceilings it was really dark, and hot.  I could not believe that by simply opening the windows and doors how the temperature dropped in the house and the light that came pouring in. 

You enter the house into the dining room where there is a big table that seats eight.  To the right is a kitchen.  All the cupboards are open, and there is an island in the middle with all the pots and pans beneath.  The refrigerator looks like a chest freezer, but it is a fridge.  There is no freezer.  We had the chance to get a huge block of ice in town, but didn’t.  We didn’t really need it, although I did actually miss ice in drinks about day four...I soon got over it.  The stove was gas, and there is an oven, but we never really tried to work it.  My favorite part of the kitchen?  You throw all your biodegradable waste out the window.  Seriously.  Fruit peels, seeds, cores, and even a chicken carcass went right out the window.  The mangrove black hawk was our friend who visited every day around lunch.  I was told by Andy he eats the ‘Halloween crabs’ but, turns out he also liked Jimmy Dean sausage!  I do love the fact that we are looking down and seeing 100’s of hermit crabs composting our trash!  Not to mention the other creatures, like opossums, bats and coati that visit in the night!

Off of the kitchen is the first bedroom.  It has its own bathroom, and turns out to be the best flushing toilet in the house.  The size of the bedroom is adequate, with a comfy bed and netted so when we slept with the windows open, the sounds of the night came in (ocean waves, and various twitters from bats (who occasionally entered the house!), howlers and other creatures of the night) but you weren’t dodging cicada’s all night.  Inside the bed is a small fan that did a good job of keeping the temperature comfortable too.  A light rounded out the bed...which worked for scared little boys, as well as reading lights for the girls. 

Each room has a closet.  This room also had a safe in the closet that was big enough to hold passports and money, but things like cameras and laptops were just locked in the closet.  When we went to the beach, or away from the house we had to lock everything up.  That meant all the windows were closed, the computer locked up, and the doors locked.  That was kind of bothersome, considering we were just about 60 yards away, but when there isn’t a clear line of sight, it would be easy for someone to just walk in.  So, we did it every time we left. 

The hallway off the dining room led to three more bedrooms.  The first two were much like the other, bed and closet but no bathroom.  The middle room had windows only on one side since it was sandwiched between the kitchen and the back corner bedroom.  That was the boys room, and it suited them just fine.  It was quieter in the mornings, and darker—so they didn’t rise at 530 am like we did in the front room...which was worth rising for when you saw the sunrise over the gulf.  The back bedroom was the girls room, and Audrey liked to imagine the coati was just outside her window.  They had two walls of windows because they were on a corner.  Next to that on the other corner was a small bedroom.  It only had a twin sized bed.  But, it didn’t have opening windows.  Just two holes cut into the corners with wire to keep the critters out. 

The hall bath was great for the kids with a double sink basin and a huge shower.  I could not ever regulate the hot water so I found myself bathing by the hose outside most days.  It was easier to rinse out my hair—although I can now say I completely understand dreadlocks and feel quite certain that if I lived here full time I would be sporting them myself!  The kids did take showers, and Matt did his usual routine, sometimes twice a day—it was just me who preferred the outdoor shower.

The house is raise up, and underneath is an outdoor shower and a short hose hook up.  We used that a lot especially coming back from the beach in the afternoon.  The floors were all a beautiful hardwood that was easily swept out, and the girls came to change the sheets and make the beds every three days.  Once they left everything was shined up beautifully and sand free.  That was nice to come home to. 

We also had the ladies cook for us.  That was well worth the money.  It was 5$ a person, and we had to buy the food.  They originally said kids were free...but we paid for all of us.  The food was awesome!  They made arroz con pollo for us, and there was enough leftovers for lunch the next day and breakfast today (and still a little more for Audrey to have a lunch!).  That was money well spent. 

Money not well spent was the local ‘restaurant’.  Well, the food was good, and the scenery was beautiful, but...it was 12$ a person, and for 60$ we got spaghetti and meat sauce.  It was good, but it was not local by any sense of the word.  The funny part was we met a family who came all the way from Puerto Jimenez to eat there.  They talked of fruity drinks...but we were only served Lipton instant iced tea, and no offer was made of anything else.  So, that is the only thing I would not recommend here.  Much better to pay the girls to come and cook for you. 

We would also recommend the walk with William.  We went to the waterfall, and it was beautiful.  It was an especially lovely way to start our rainforest adventure.  It gave us a lot of insight into the surrounding paths, animals and plant life.  That walk gave us the nerve to walk into streams and to other waterfalls and trails around Matapalo. 

We also would recommend the wildlife sanctuary tour.  Educational, and very kid friendly, our tour guide on the boat, Josh, was very enthusiastic and energetic about all the things we saw.  He was great with the kids too.  The wildlife sanctuary itself was super, we had Earl as our guide, and he provide a great education into the local wildlife, as well as the exotic pet trade and their conservation efforts. 

The other great thing we did here was Everyday Adventures tree climb.  We had a great educational hike with Andy, a biologist, who was great with kids.  We then climbed a huge 400 year old strangler fig and was descended at break neck speed on a rope.  That was also well worth the money.  And, it was Audrey’s favorite thing we did here.

Clearly we have not had internet here, we did have the option for a local cell phone...the guy actually met us when we got off the plane...but it was nice to be ‘unplugged’—of course, out of all of us, I have been the least ‘unplugged’ but that is because I really felt like if I didn’t write everyday what we did I would forget things.  So, I write.

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