¡Nuestro Árbol de Navidad! (Our Christmas Tree!)

Now isn't that a cool looking Christmas tree?!? Well it's not ours. That's the one at Rio Shanti where Hannah teaches yoga. And have I mentioned that Taylor, the guy who made it, is an architect? Yeah. So when I saw the bamboo there in varied lengths in a corner on the floor, I thought he was making some kind of giant xylophone or wind chime. Took me a day to figure out it was going to be a tree. Great idea! I started begging BigJohn to machete me down some bamboo. Turns out he has an aversion to cutting down plants in people's yards. Even after dark. Finally got Francisco to hack me one piece. Talk about conserving!

 So here it is! Our creation! Took two weeks! Had to find just the right vines to tie it all together. Here is BigJohn telling me what kind of birds those are. Turns out ornaments are at a premium here and the birds turned out to be a good deal.

 Hannah felt sorry for us and brought over her ornaments. Looking better! The walls of this house are concrete so had to hang it from that nail in the wood up there.

 Now I feel really "green". You know, tree hugger type. And it made me start to notice how BigJohn and I conserve around the house since we are in Monteverde. Like in this picture below. Those are tea bag wrappers being used as a note pad.

 And that's our outdoor shower for use when the sun shines to save on electricity costs.

 We are even washing out baggies.

 And you know those white plastic trash bags that litter every road across the USA? They're pink and white down here. And we rinse them out and reuse them. Costa Rica does that to a person. There isn't much waste that I'm seeing here in this community. I remember back in the good old days living in Naknek, Alaska where you could go to the dump and go shopping for wood, metal, glass, furniture, exercise equipment, etc. Those days are gone!

 And we reuse plastic bottles for ice in the cooler or to use as a water bottle. This post isn't turning out to be as Christmassy as I thought it would. But wait! I have something!

Saw this nativity scene in a store window on our last trip to Santa Elena.

Hey!! Somebody stole Baby Jesus!

I jokes! (That's Alaskan for "I'm kidding".)

Keep reading for a sweet Costa Rican tradition.

 

"Traditionally, the figurines of Mary, Joseph and the shepherds grace the portal throughout December, but the baby Jesus is placed in the manger for the first time at midnight on December 25. Likewise, in accordance with the Christ story, the three wise men arrive on January 6, Epiphany Day. One religious belief states that only families who own a home may purchase a nativity scene; families who rent use gifted portales so that the Holy Family will someday help them buy a home."

Feliz Navidad everyone!