Cindy and Larry

Today, we received 15 bags of organic fertilizer so that I may start preparing my garden bed. Yay! Then we went to Santa Maria to meet Cindy and Larry. They are friends of the previous owners of our farm and they called last week to say hello and invited us to go down for a visit. Today was the day. We got to Santa Maria a little early so we sat in the SUV and tried to connect to the internet. We did, but for some reason the connection was extremely show even with full signal. And when Kevin tried to call his mum in England on the Magic Jack, it wouldn't connect. I only managed to write a few words on Facebook and upload my blog entries and that's about it. I couldn't download any emails nor send. It was all a bit frustrating. After 20 minutes, we packed it in as it was time to go meet Cindy and Larry near the park as arranged on the phone this morning. We found them and made quick introductions then followed their blue Nissan south all the way to their house — a nice little neighbourhood we'd never seen before, just 5 minutes from the centre of Santa Maria. They invited us in and offered us tea and coffee and serve a delicious cake. We chatted for awhile and shared our stories. They are originally from Phoenix, Arizona, and are well-travelled. They spent two years in Saudi Arabia and then Cairo, Egypt for 6 years while Larry, an architect, managed a business there. Very interesting people. They retired and moved to Costa Rica 5 years ago and love it. Later, Cindy showed us her garden, which are raised beds at waist level. Good idea! She said she had never gardened before arriving to Costa Rica, so it's been trial and error, but over time she's been successful growing different crops. That gives me hope! She cut some fresh herbs for us to take home, which I used in our dinner tonight. So aromatic! I'm now really excited about starting our garden. Cindy also dabbles in stain glass and has some beautiful pieces. Kevin and I are so grateful to meet such friendly people with such a positive attitude. I felt energized after our visit. I hope we become good friends.