Saturday May 19 2012
Art & Literature Archive
Village Art & Literature
Relocation to the rainforest
Posted on May 20 2009 at 2:10:02 0 comments
A former Wythall resident tells the tale of her family’s Costa Rican adventure in a new book.
Most of us have visited idyllic locations for a holiday and harboured dreams of moving there permanently, but the reality of moving to another country is another matter - especially when it’s halfway across the world with a different language, climate and culture.
However, a new life in the sun doesn’t have to remain a dream, as the Freeman family proved when they decided to relocate to Pavones, a virtually undiscovered town in Costa Rica, and set up a real estate and property rental business.
Jo Freeman’s book, A Friend Laughs, is the story of how she, her husband Crispin and their baby daughter Estrella adjusted to their new surroundings and eventually became part of the community.
Jo, who grew up in Wythall, was encouraged to write the book by friends and family who had been gripped by her entertaining emails from abroad.
She tells the tale with refreshing honesty, as her delight in the beautiful beaches, amazing sunsets and tropical flowers is dampened by her fear of the local wildlife (tarantulas, snakes, scorpions), delays in the building of their house, and coping without things we take for granted in the UK (phone lines, electricity, tarmac roads…)
But despite a succession of disasters, plus Jo’s frustration at how quickly ex-lawyer Crispin adapts to his quad-biking, kite-surfing, machete-wielding new life, she realises that Costa Rica is beginning to feel like home.
“I’m not freaked out by creatures any more, although I did find a scorpion in the oven recently!” says Jo. “There are certain things you just have to get used to, like the laid-back nature of the locals. Crispin has learned carpentry to help with building the house - we’d never get anything done otherwise.”
The couple’s second child, Arturo, was born in Pavones, but Jo elected to have the third, Ruby, back in Britain.
“The private hospitals in Costa Rica are actually great - in fact Americans often go there for dental or cosmetic treatment,” Jo points out. “But I just wanted some extra support with Ruby; I wanted my mum!”
Missing family is one of the hardest things to cope with, although Jo’s parents have visited Costa Rica and Crispin’s have built a house there.
“My parents are getting older and won’t be able to travel so much, so we’re planning to spend six months of the year in Pavones and six here,” Jo adds. “The kids are so well-adjusted that it shouldn’t be a problem for them, and it means we’ll have the best of both worlds. I do appreciate England more when I come back.”
Jo is currently here for an extended visit (regulars at the Coach & Horses will spot her behind the bar), and you can chat to her in person as she signs copies of her book at the summer fair at Meadow Green Primary School in Wythall on June 26 (5-7pm), and at Waterstones in Birmingham on July 18 or 25 (TBC).
She is working on a sequel to A Friend Laughs, due out next year- meanwhile, if you’ve been inspired to take a holiday in Pavones (around £500 for a month’s stay for up to five people) or even buy some land (about £50,000 for three-and-a-half acres) check out the website: www.southerncostaricaland.com
A Friend Laughs is available at Amazon, Borders, Waterstones and WH Smith, and Ambleside Nurseries, Liaisons salon in Wythall, Becketts Farm and the Coach & Horses, Weatheroak, priced £8.99.
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