EYE TO EYE WITH A COATI


Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: New Battery for Car—$152

It’s one of those days. My electricity went out and when I try to drive to the bakery to get a cup of coffee…the car won’t start. I’m in a bad mood. The type of mood that only happens when I have been decaffeinated for over 15 hours.

But when I’m just about to go on a tangent on how unreliable the electricity is, or how crumby the car mechanics are….this guy comes my way. An adorable coati who walks straight up to me, gives me a sniff, and continues on his path.

This often happens to me. Right on the heels of a tantrum, a magical moment occurs. And after it passes, I can’t remember for the life of me why I was in such a bad mood in the first place.

It’s easy to forget your problems when a coati looks you straight in the eyes.

By | 2018-04-15T18:19:33-04:00 February 24th, 2012|Categories: Nature|Tags: , |16 Comments

About the Author:

Nadine is the author of the best-selling series, Happier Than A Billionaire. Join her as she navigates living as an expat in the sometimes confusing, always beautiful, country of Costa Rica.

16 Comments

  1. […] no one ever includes these amenities in their long list of gripes about living here. Getting to see coatis scamper in my neighborhood, or an anteater roaming right outside my door makes me feel incredibly […]

  2. nadine April 13, 2012 at 3:54 pm - Reply

    that’s a lot cooler than the canadian geese shitting up my parking lot in new jersey.

    • admin April 20, 2012 at 8:07 pm - Reply

      But I’m sure they crap equally as much.

  3. Fred Jackson March 15, 2012 at 1:46 am - Reply

    You know, Tolis Johnson says above that you’ll be returning “home” soon. I think you are home, and won’t be leaving any time soon. I think he has an American bias, which I understand and certainly don’t blame him for, but he is off base. Plus, where I spend my time in CR, it isn’t hot at all! It’s perpetual spring up around Lake Arenal near Tilaran. I haven’t been there during the real rainy season, so I can’t address the rain issue, but when I’ve been there, even the rain is an adventure. I was in a drenching downpour of an electrical storm down at Jaco, and it was so refreshing to sit out on the hotel balcony and watch the water pour down in sheets. This was on my first night in Costa RIca! I swore we’d be stranded in our hotel, surrounded by water, because of the immense amount of rain that had come down. But, to my amazement, the sun came out bright and brilliant the next morning, and except for a very few puddles on the hotel asphalt, you would never have guessed that it had even rained. And, I enjoyed a wonderful, clean, bright, and sparkling morning, my first morning in Costa RIca. I’ve been in love ever since, even though I really don’t like Jaco, but sure do love the weather.

    • admin March 18, 2012 at 7:36 pm - Reply

      Everyone has their opinions, but all I can do is write about how I feel at the moment. It feels good to live here, perhaps I will leave one day. But I live in the present now, and are grateful for everyday I get here.

  4. kcmookie March 2, 2012 at 3:56 pm - Reply

    Do they domesticate those at all, or are the simply wild? What would you compare them to here in the States?

    • admin March 4, 2012 at 10:59 am - Reply

      I don’t believe anyone domesticates them, but they always come so close to you. I’ve been in a forest with a pack of them, and each one walked right in front of me. It’s cute, but I wish they would keep a good distance from humans so they don’t get hurt.

  5. brett February 29, 2012 at 12:21 am - Reply

    Freaking Awesome. Bummer about the battery. I need to think up of a way to meter those things so it shows how many cranks are left. hmmm……

    • admin March 2, 2012 at 1:58 pm - Reply

      RIP battery. The dead parts from my car can fill up a graveyard.

  6. Tolis Johnson February 27, 2012 at 11:41 pm - Reply

    A cute coati vs electricity/internet/technology/modernity…

    I see you back home pretty soon !! Besides, there is only so much one can take of cute animals and hot and rainy weather.

    Enjoy your time in CR, but…. home sweet home !!!!

  7. Steve Brown February 27, 2012 at 4:25 pm - Reply

    I loved the video shot and your comments even more! I hear more and more folks down there are coming up with their own power sources like solar, wind, etc. I guess that pretty much explains why after reading your blog today. Oh electricity isn’t all what it is cracked up to be when you see a friendly critter that like that feller. Have a great day everyday! Cheers!

    • admin March 2, 2012 at 1:58 pm - Reply

      Thanks Steve. I do love my electricity, but boy those coatis are adorable.

  8. Antonia Lo Giudice February 25, 2012 at 3:44 pm - Reply

    LOL…that is so cute! It is amazing when we take the time to live and enjoy every moment, how everything just seems so much easier. It is also amazing, if we learn to laugh at ourselves, you know over the little things, our days would be so much brighter!!

    Ok, so you are running for the bus, you fall in a puddle of watery mud…LAUGH!!!

    • admin February 27, 2012 at 10:12 am - Reply

      You are right Antonia, you have to laugh. Sometimes I come across so many ridiculous things here (like my car being in a perpetual state of disrepair), that I end up laughing it off. What’s the alternative anyway?

  9. Mike Ferguson February 24, 2012 at 8:00 pm - Reply

    Thank you for that moment, and the reminder to enjoy the moment!

    • admin February 27, 2012 at 10:10 am - Reply

      Sometimes I can get so aggravated, so quickly. But then when I see something as cute as a Coati, things don’t seem so stressful anymore.

Leave a Reply to Antonia Lo GiudiceCancel reply

Join us in Costa Rica

Sign up and get the latest updates on life in Costa Rica!