Greetings from my tiny house on the river. I’ve not been able to spend much time here what with dental appointments in San Jose and a long string of car problems that are eating my money faster than I can withdraw it. Evening is falling now, the river roars, the insects hum, the birds sing. Soon the night will be filled with fireflies and the clink of glass frogs.Carlos and I met with a young architect (Javier) who comes from a campesino background and seems enthusiastic about helping with the project. He has offered two possible designs for the main footbridge, and will be visiting San Josecito on Saturday to see the locations for the bridges. Meanwhile we came south to San Josecito and met with Alvin, Luis, y Ademar Nunez—three brothers from the main family living above the point where the river crosses the road. They have managed to get quite a few materials and more promises from the municipality to help them build one of the bridges. That leaves two other bridges.
As we talked it became apparent that their preference is to have the main bridge across the river be one that would accommodate small vehicles, and that there are more North Americans above where they live who would be interested in contributing if they could use the bridge for their cars. They assure me that the bridge would be specifically designed so as not to allow the large vehicles necessary for development. Additionally, Alvin tells me that money from the municipality has been promised for this purpose but never delivered. I’m hoping we can get to municipality headquarters Friday or Monday to answer some questions.
Carlos and I went with the Nunez brothers to explore the site of the main bridge, which is about 25 meters above where the river crosses the road. We took photos and got coordinates for Carlos to take back to the engineer and architect in San Jose.
I have visited a lawyer to get a “sister” corporation (“Puentes & Mas) started so we can have a Costa Rican bank account from which to draw funds. The application has been submitted and the business entity should be official in about 30 days. In addition the lawyer will prepare a document to sign for the owner of the land where the bridge will be, thus securing a right-of-way that will endure in the event the land is sold.
Carlos and I visited the third bridge location for the first time and it turns out there is already a very rudimentary footbridge, but it’s not adequate for the needs of the family whose mother is quite ill and disabled. Getting to and from the bridge was tough enough even for me, what with slippery mud paths and a steep grade.
Finally, the Nunez brothers are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of the river. In addition to compromising the river by plowing loads of earth into it, North Americans have brought in a lot of “Tico” laborers from outside the area. Now word has gotten out that the Morete is a great river for camerones (fresh-water shrimp), and people from outside the community are coming in with nets and poison to get the freshwater shrimp. Although there are laws against this, the local agency responsible for enforcing these laws is corrupt and only operates for pay-offs. For this reason the Nunez brothers would like to have a meeting with everyone in the community about measures we can take to ensure the safety of the river. Perhaps this will involve hiring a couple of local people to patrol the river during the upcoming “summer” (i.e. dry) months.
Dee and John Portnoy from Wellfleet are here right now and Dee will be doing a photo journal project with some of the elementary school kids tomorrow and Friday. I’ve met a teacher from a special science high school in San Isidro who is interested in pursuing an email exchange between his students and those at the Lighthouse Charter School.
I hope to mail this to everyone in one fell swoop. I had to send out the last letter one by one due to problems with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office. I’ve started an email account with Yahoo (bridges.more@yahoo.com) and am trying to get all the addresses transferred over there. Maybe tomorrow—I made pretty good progress today before the connection froze!
Merry Christmas everyone, and I’ll write more in the New Year if not before!
Hasta luego,
Elizabeth
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