House Sitting Tronadora, Costa Rica
July 11-September 17, 2011
After much time spent researching our options for house sitting in Costa Rica, we finalized a house sitting assignment in the small village of Tronadora which is very close to the larger town of Tilaran. Our house sitting assignment is located in the lush hills overlooking a popular tourist destination called Lake Arenal and Arenal Volcano. Its truly spectacular here! So lush and green, alive and beautiful! We will be caring for a lovely property, 4 dogs, and 1 cat. The home owners are warm, friendly and helpful people and have since become life long friends!
The Property and Pets
It was dark when we arrived our first night, but in the morning we were awed by the beauty of the scenery! Our little "casita" faces Lake Arenal with a vast garden of green and lushness before us. There are so many sounds of birds and animals. It feels so alive yet serene. We'll be sharing the house sitting responsibility with another sitter on the premises.
Lake Arenal and Volcano
Lake Arenal is the body of water directly in view from our casita. The volcano is often shrouded in mist during the rainy season, but we were lucky to catch a glimpse.
Photo's of Tronadora
The photo's of the children were taken in front of the local school where they were having a festival and the reason for the colorful costumes.
Photo's from Local Walks and the City of Tileran
Howler Monkey's in our Backyard
We were only here a few days when we were lucky enough to spot a howler monkey in the tree in our backyard! How cool is that!
Video of Sounds of Howler Monkey's
Spotting a Tucan in our Backyard
Its amazing how much wildlife we get to see and hear in our own backyard
Did Someone Say Snake?
Yes, they did. Our neighbour Averro told us that there was a Boa Constrictor up in the tree next to our house. Doug grabbed his camera to snap a few pics while they waited for animal rescue to relocate the snake to another area.
Video - Leaf Cutter Ants
We see a lot of these amazing ants all over the local area. They work so hard cutting leaves and bringing them back to their home where they eat the fungus that grows on the leaves.
Alverro Our Friendly Neighbour
Our neighbour named Alverro has a farm where he grows and harvests macadamia nuts and coffee. He offered a tour of his farm and it was amazing to see how a local farm operates. Averro builds everything himself to make his farm work. He was so proud to show us his land.
Milking Our Neighbours Cow
Alverro was so kind to come and offer us an opportunity to milk his cow! Doug had past experience with his Pa, but this was Deb's first attempt to milk a cow.
Video of our Milking Competition!
We believe (or at least one of us believes) that Alverro was suggesting that Deb was the better milker!!!
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Regional Holiday Rodeo - Tronadora
The region of Guanacaste celebrated a holiday to commemorate joining Costa Rica. The locals in the village of Tronadora (where we live) held a rodeo to celebrate! It was really neat to be a part of such a local event.
Kayaking Lake Arenal
Our nearby neighbours (Kevin and Sheri) took us out on a day trip to kayak Lake Arenal. We were happy to get onto the water that we look at every day from the Casita! We had such a nice time with such nice people!
Photo's By Doug
Here's a collection of pictures that Doug captured during various occasions
Independence Day - Costa Rica
In 1821, Costa Rica declared Indpendence. Tronadora celebrated with festivities all day long and in the evening a parade of lanterns. The kids got extra credits in school if they hand made their own lantern. It was really nice to be a part of something so special and a awonderful way to end our time here.