Where Silence Is Golden – Living on the side of a mountain in Costa Rica.

All you can hear is the breeze, the buzzing of a bee and the hum of the hummingbird’s wings as they both feed on flowers in one of the many baskets we have hanging from the large terrace at the front of our mountain home…

For me silence is indeed golden and truly peaceful silence is becoming harder and harder to find. Sure you can sometimes blot out the noise with earplugs and noise cancelling headphones but even when you do that in a built up area, you can still feel the energy of the people and the noise around you which makes calm meditation less satisfying.

The only time we feel really peaceful silence which is – perfect for meditating – is at our vacation home in the mountains where we’re surrounded by tens of thousands of trees, birds, rabbits, butterflies, moths, different coloured lizards and, the nearest human neighbours are about 2 kilometers away.

We built a 1,797 square feet vacation home (plus 462.68 square feet for the garage area, pila and bodega) on 5,000M2 of land and fully furnished it for less than US$140,000 and since construction was completed in July 2009, my lady has been making it more of a home.

As many men already know, this process inevitably involves carefully positioning 38 ornate cushions on top of the beds which must be removed before you get into bed and then, placed back on the bed in the morning after making it.

You know who makes the bed in our home.

We are quite capable of spending the first few hours of the morning relaxing on the terrace admiring the views below and trying hard to take photographs of those speeding little bullets or ‘flying jewels’ called hummingbirds as they race from one flower to another.

Come to think of it, we regularly spend an hour watching the sunset too and because we are at an elevation of 7,230 feet, this means we normally look down on the clouds.

On Saturday morning I took a long walk and spotted a number of colourful toadstools which had sprouted since last week as well as a very aggressive snake crossing a track…

I’m not 100% positive but it looks to me like a young Fer-De-Lance or, as it’s more commonly know here – a terciopelo – which is the deadliest snake in Costa Rica.

It’s my understanding that there are more poisonous snakes in Costa Rica but because the terciopelo is a very aggressive snake, it is quick to attack and therefore kills more people and pets than any other snake…

For that reason, I took a few photographs of the snake – which it did not appreciate – and then left it in peace.

For me, this is Costa Rica. Clean, fresh air, peace and quiet, swallows doing their aerial acrobatics in front us as if to say “Look at me! Look at what I can do!”

Hummingbirds feeding and various life forms literally bursting through the soil to be kissed by the Costa Rican sun…

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Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1: How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 2: Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore and 3. ¿Cómo Comprar Bienes Raíces en Costa Rica, Sin Perder Su Camisa?

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.