Shenanigans is lovely word for mischief going on in San Isidro, or Perez Zeledon as our municipality is called.

For months there’s been one common talking point across the whole community – the state of the roads; who has the worst potholes and who has just survived another ‘near miss’.

Driving is suicidal here without crazy Tico’s weaving their way around the craters! Last year I wrote about how lucky we were in having a Council that kept on top of road repairs. Well, that was last year; the Alcaldesa (mayoress) lost her seat in December and since then, activity in the municipality has been conspicuous by its absence.

Urban myth abounds – money lost, stolen, spelt elsewhere and so on… suffice to say, there’s jubilation – the potholes are being fixed! The President of the Council was replaced last week and now there’s rumbling about a plebiscite to replace the Alcalde (Mayor). Opposition politics is as popular as football in Costa Rica, so frustrating for the population but I sense PZ will soon be on the ‘up’ again.

There’s been a long delay in completion of the first of two bridges being widened on the highway through town. Apparently contractors raised inadequate provision for pedestrians; agencies bickered back and forth and eventually agreed to the height of a safely wall. So here we have it – but there’s now a frantic rush to finish the work before the heavier rain arrives.

The river ‘re-modeling’ got finished very efficiently (a national contract) and only last week we were speculating about how it would stand up to floods when trees come cascading down El Rio. No sooner said… we had a dreadful storm at the end of last week, concentrated on one mountain ridge that feeds two local rivers.

Classically, land cleared for pasture gets water-logged, more heavy rain causes a ‘carpet’ of pasture and vegetation to slide, that blocks the river, creates a dam… it bursts and a raging torrent comes down, wiping out anything in its path. And yes, there’s a first huge tear in the metal ‘cage’ that holds all the boulders in place in the river!

Club members regularly play games at Hotel Papa del Paramo, up the beautiful Pedregosito valley. Poor ‘Papa’ got washed out two years ago so spent a small fortune building a huge rock dyke to protect his property.

But this time, a huge tree blocked the river, boulders piled up and the water came roaring over his dyke. The swimming pool disappeared in a lake of mud. This huge caterpillar to clear the river is costing him $120 an hour – perhaps not much by American or European standards but a lot for a small family business.

He will not get Government compensation; there are strict limits on building near rivers now but for properties that existed before the new laws, its just tough luck. Dreaming of the riverside property? Beware, and do your homework well!

Suddenly Tico homes are being decorated with white, red and blue bunting and national flags – warming up for Independence Day on the 15th. That will lift the spirits of the community, flood damage will be forgotten for the day, I’ll write about it next time.

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