Wildlife Wednesday: Crabs!

I had no idea until I moved to Costa Rica that crabs lived anywhere other than the beach. But guess what? They do! There are crabs living in the rainforest, right here around Casa Siempre Domingo.

These little guys are what some call “mouthless crabs” or “halloween crabs” – or as the more scientifically inclined would call Gecarcinus quadratus. Every year, the crabs make the trek off of the mountain and down to the beach to lay their eggs. And when they do, it is a sight to be seen. They are everywhere! They only come out at night, and we are right in the path between them and the ocean so we get to be right in the middle of the action. This “running of the running of the crabs” starts around the middle of February, when the majority of them come out, but there are the occasional smaller numbers that come out several nights over the following months.

Have a look at some of the Pavones “nightlife”…

The Garden is Under Way!

Which means we are getting closer and closer to having our own fresh veggies!

We’ve been working on building table-top garden beds, to keep critters from getting into the plants. And now that we have them finished, we’ve started building a greenhouse roof to protect them from getting too much sun and too much rain. You can see how the project is coming along in the pictures below.

In the meantime, our little seedlings are thriving. They are just waiting to get transplanted into their new beds.

Tomatoes, and Peppers, and Basil... Oh My!

Wildlife Wednesday: Hear the Howlers Howl!

If you ever stay here at Casa Siempre Domingo, you’ll undoubtedly hear the Howler Monkeys. But it’s not too often we get a chance to see them up close – they usually prefer to stay a little deeper into the forest. But every now and then they will come close enough to let us catch a glimpse of them! We got a great video of them howling – if you’ve never heard them before, you’ll be amazed at how a sound that big comes out of a monkey that small!

From The Kitchen: Banana Bread French Toast

A tasty treat to mixup your breakfast! Use fresh banana bread to make a delicious spin on traditional french toast. Below is  our recipe for Banana Bread French Toast, as well as a recipe for our simple banana bread for you to make your french toast with. My favourite thing about this dish is that it doesn’t require any additional syrups for serving – it tastes great on it’s own. Or you can top with fresh fruit, or fruit syrups to complement the banana flavour!

Visiting Artist: Peter Sit

Recently, we were fortunate enough to have talented painter and designer Peter Sit stay at Casa Siempre Domingo. Peter spent a good deal of his time here painting the surroundings, and he has generously allowed us to share with you the two watercolours he did while staying with us.

The first: the view of the Osa Peninsula from our front deck.

 

The second: one of the many banana trees at the start of our trail.

Many thanks to Peter for sharing his work with us! We encourage you to visit him at PeterSitDesign.com to see more of his work.

Wildlife Wednesday: New Resident at Siempre Domingo – Meet the Sloth!

Yesterday we had a new resident move into Casa Siempre Domingo… a young Three-Toed Sloth! He has found himself a nice little spot in a mango tree, and seems to be making himself at home. We hope he stays for a while!

Check out the rest of the pictures…

Wildlife Wednesday: Mid-Morning Monkey Business

These curious squirrel monkeys were in the trees lining our driveway this morning. We got some great shots of their cute little monkey faces!

Season’s Greetings from Siempre Domingo!

Wishing you happy holidays and a wonderful new year!

With Love,

Bekah & Mandy

Exciting Changes at Casa Siempre Domingo!

Casa Siempre Domingo has been at the heart of Pavones for a loooong time. The original owners who built this beautiful place, Heidi, Greg and Jackson, have said goodbye after 16 wonderful years. And stepping in to continue the tradition of hospitality are Mandy and Bekah, new to Pavones by way of Toronto, Canada.

We hope that guests both old and new, outgoing and incoming, stop by this blog from time to time to see what’s new and exciting around here! We’ll be keeping you updated on the comings and goings, what the monkeys are up to, how the weather and the surf are, show off some pictures, and maybe even throw in a few of our breakfast recipes from time to time.

We hope to see you here at the blog AND at Casa Siempre Domingo soon!