Ruthie’s Project III

The ongoing account of a 70+ year old woman as she buys land in Costa Rica, builds, and relocates.

Part I :: Part II :: Part III :: Part IV :: Part V
Well, the next day we are having lunch at what was to become Ruth’s favorite lunch place in Domincal, La Parcela. La Parcela sits out on the point of Punta Dominicalito, so you are nearly surrounded by wave sounds, but you are high enough above them to where they effect a perfect background to conversation, with is the way Ruth likes it since she is the gran maestra of conversation.

So there we sit, enjoying a lovely lunch of Tuna, slightly seared on a bed of pasta with some kinda seasoning that my palette finds most agreeable, but with not nearly enough wasabi for this heat seeking tongue of mine. They were all to happy to bring me an extra serving of the green fire to further enhance my dining pleasure. Ruth is saying that she feels that maybe finding a house isn’t going to work for her and that she is going to have to build, and that since that is the case, she would like for Michael, the recurring builder that we had run into the day before, to build it for her. She liked him, and his work.

So whats available in lots that allow for a house to be built and stays within the budget. No worries there. We’ve got a number of options that fit this criterion, more so now that we are liberated from the “already built” restriction… when in walks… guess who… Michael the builder.

“Serendipitous” is the way Ruthie put it.

Michael joined us and we got acquainted, which only served to further bond Ruthie to him. In the course of the conversation, and as Ruthie’s plight came into focus for Michael, he mentioned that he has a lot that he had intended to build on as a speculation for resale. It sounded like it was the right size, we knew the location to be perfect for Ruthie’s needs, and it seemed as though the price that Michael had in mind was right in there where it needed to be for Ruthie.

One of the reasons that I wanted to write this account of Ruthie buying here is that, these sorts of seemingly chance happenings, are the way things work here. It helps having someone like Ruthie along since she is definitely “game”. I think that her motto must be “lets go!”. But really, it is simply a good way to live and get along in Costa Rica. Give it a try, expose yourself to the system and see what comes up.

In my former life as an art dealer, I used to love an ad that showed a guy from the back left side, standing holding a rain coat open with bare legs poking out below the bottom of the coat, standing in front of a piece of public art, a sculpture in a park, with the words “Expose yourself to art” in the caption. Well, in the same way, this is a good way of viewing a move to Costa Rica, starting with the real estate acquisition process. Expose yourself to it. Put yourself out there and see what happens.

Now, this story is, as I type, in progress. We have not totally resolved Ruthie’s land needs as of yet, but almost.

Stay tuned.

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