Towel animals, mobsters and mosquito bites

It does not take much to impress me, and here is proof. Every day we were at Jaco they would do the coolest little animal designs with our towels when they cleaned our room. Given that pink puppy is Elizabeth's favorite buddy - it was no surprise that this little towel dog was her favorite. Also of no surprise is that the more we tipped our maid staff, the more flowers and more elaborate designs we got made on the bed.

Here is another thing that was moderately humorous and a little terrifying to me. So we are looking to buy a car so we can get around. Obviously my personal checks are worth little down here unless I'm willing to wait months for them to clear. Also, most places will not take large charges on a credit card. Financing is out of the option as interest is outrageous down here for used cars (think 20%+). Lastly, to wire the money using western union would cost an additional 5% for the wiring fee. So...what do you do? Cash. I've never felt a) more like a mobster in my life and b) happier to rid myself of US dollars when we bought the car today.


Last thing for tonight, some amazing pictures of mosquito bites. Now I know all you folks back in the US are saying...'Little bites...no big deal...we got them those thare things too!' Well, each bite produces something equivalent to a hive sized welt on your body that last for many days. I've shown a picture of Elizabeth's leg where clearly some bored insect went to town. The sad part is, they have them all over their faces too. They seem to be worse in San Jose than they are in Jaco - not sure why that is.

Beyond random pictures for the day, things are going great. Our ever changing move in date saga for our apartment seems to be settled. We can move into our house anytime we want to starting tomorrow! I think Christy and I are going to take a load of bags over there tomorrow and check the place out. However, we likely will not move in until Friday or Saturday when we have our car and close things out in Belen. Also, as mentioned before, we finished paying for our car which is a win.