Charleston del
Costa Rica
by Charles Clever
Phew, it has taken a long time to build
this vacation home, but it is almost finished--or will new projects continue to
spring up?
Charleston del Costa Rica is certainly a fun place to spend
leisure time, as well as a perfect environment for relaxation and gardening.
Located in Central America, our Costa Rica retreat is about 75 miles north of
the Panama border. The ranch's banana, mango, citrus, coffee, and other trees dot
its 6 1/2 acre landscape, and there are several garden areas for fresh
vegetables--they are almost-daily watered by the refreshing tropical rains that also drains into the valley that drops about
1,500 feet.
Beautiful sunsets are visible from the full-width porch and balcony facing the
Pacific Ocean, about six miles to the west. Sometimes the sun reflects dazzling
gold off the Pacific; at other times it radiates fiery red through the clouds
and paints the smooth water with a mellow flame or plum color.
The living
room boasts 750 square feet and accesses the kitchen through a serving counter.
The cook, women, and men each have their separate rest rooms down stairs. The
second level has two more rest rooms, and three of the bedrooms have
high-ceiling lofts for extra beds. The three upstairs windows, seen in the
photo, offer beautiful views from two more bedrooms and the sitting room next
to the balcony. Because the house is on a peninsula, any window you look
from has a spectacular view of the valley which descends about 1,400 ft below.
A tropical
ocean breeze continually moves fresh air upward to a perfect temperature at
about 3,000 feet elevation; tropical birds sail majestically on these updrafts
with leisurely precision. Tropical birds more splendid than one sees in a pet
store dazzle the view and often visit our banana trees. Charleston is located
at cloud-level and the clouds break the sun's afternoon heat, often forming a
refreshingly cool mist, more invigorating than a spring
rain. Year-round temperatures are about 13 degrees
cooler than the beaches, and central air conditioning is unnecessary because
the climate and humidity is Heavenly. Average temperatures range daily between
a low of 65 and high of 85 year round.
This is a view of the house while
ascending the fertile valley. The tall palm trees to the left have clusters of
edible fruit that is boiled in salted water and dipped in sour cream. Some call
it a peach palm, but the locals name it piejevalle (pe-hay-vah-yaah). Behind the house are power lines
providing full electric service, and the Municipal offers spring-soft domestic
water piped from a flowing artesion well in the
mountain nearby.
The Costa
Rican's are very friendly, and in this community they will rent you their horse
for a ride to the valley; or, about two miles away is Baru
Falls (see link below) which is also accessible by horse or foot. For the more
energetic, it takes about one and one-half hour to backpack to the falls.
The bus stops
regularly where the asphalt highway passes our eastern boundry
on its way to the ocean; or, the opposite direction to the main town with five ATMs--use these to deduct money from your U.S.
bank for shopping and dining. The 25 minute bus ride costs about $0.80 each
way, which is very reasonable considering the 12 mile journey.
Access to the
beach is free, and many restaurants dot the shoreline. Tourists find it
attractive, even traveling from Europe and Hawaii to visit the coast and surf
in the fresh tropical water. Others leisurely bask in the sun on the clean
white sand that skirts the tropical rain forest's beach.
Costa Rica was named by the Spaniards and means rich coast. It is correctly called "the Switzerland of the Americas." As you can see, we shopped wisely while looking for a retreat, and God has blessed us more abundantly than we ever dreamed. When the blistering sun's heat radiates from your sidewalk and the car's hood can fry an egg; or, your water pipes are frozen and the driveway needs de-iced, these are excellent times to pay us a visit at Charleston del Costa Rica.
Contact Charles and Tish by
e-mail chasclever(and without spaces)@juno.com
Ponder God's wonderful cration by experiencing my exciting trip to Baru Falls:
Select: http://chasclever.tripod.com/barufalls.htm
To visit our homepage and read my book that unlocks the Bible code of the only
part that God's word says was "closed until the end of the days", The Wise Shall Understand, The Daniele 12 Code Revealed. Cut and paste the following URL to your
browser: http://www.revealed.org/