Up To Date At Last

At last, my journal has caught up with the date.  Most of the time, I have been too busy to make entries in my journal, too tired to write.  I  had  hoped to keep this journal in real time, but found it hard to drive and blog at the same time.  Perhaps we should have hired a driver, or paid for escorted transfers between hotels.  Rather we preferred the freedom from other people’s schedules, not to be hurried when we wanted to linger (even if foolhardy) and to be able to skip faster at other times.

This morning, we lingered.  We had to wait for a replacement car to come from San Jose to replace the rental car which turned out to have a dead battery.  I lingered over coffee and sat on the hotel veranda looking out at the clouds and the rain forest.  The temperature was cool and refreshing after the hot jungles of Arenal.  We lingered for what seemed like ages — until 9:30 AM.  At last, the driver arrived and we switched vehicles.

Espiratus Santos Coffee Cooperative

We decided not to be too ambitious for our last day in  Costa Rica.  We had only one destination — Espiritus Santos Coffee Tour.  This was to let us see how coffee was grown, harvested, cleaned, sorted and roasted. It was en route to the airport in San Jose — well not quite, we still had to head a short detour into the mountains.

Espiratus Santos is a coffee cooperative, co-owned by 2500 farmers many of whom  have their own fields of coffee.  In the U.S., you would call it a farmer’s grange.  Coffee is bundled for sales to the big corporations with each farmer sharing in the profilts.  What we found interesting is that coffee picking is no longer done by Costa Ricans; they are too wealthy.  While some still do their own picking, most will supervise teams of Nicaraguans at coffee harvesting time.  The coffee harvest is done by hand and must be done in a few short days when the coffee ripens.  The rest of the time, trimming the plants, fertilizing, growing new seedlings — that is done by the Costa Rican members of the cooperative.  At the end of the tour, we sampled the coffee and bought the obligatory bags of coffee to take home to family and friends.

Costa Rican Fried Food Platter

One last drive and we were back in San Jose airport environs.  We had time for one last meal in Costa Rica.  We saw signs for a “barbecue” restaurant.  If you remember, we saw no  restaurants on the Pan American highway on our trip out, but this time we let our GPS alert us to  the location of restaurants.  The trick was they were “off highway” in the villages that surrounded the road.  We found a new type of restaurant with a concentration a few kilometers off the highway.  Our find was a quiet place with a valley and mountain view, and an enormous mango tree.  Our meal was punctuated by careening mangos dropped from a canopy 150 feet above our heads.  You can imagine the force when a full sized mango hits the ground from such  heights.

I decided to sample the fruit and asked our host for a sharp knife.  He made some comment about flies which I ignored in my haste to sample the pulpy fruit.  I soon found out the error of my ways.  What looked fresh and ripe turned out to be pocked by brown tunnels.  You know how a worm in an apple can spoil the experience.  Well, after cutting a few pieces off this seemingly perfectly ripe mango, I realized why the proprietor was shaking his head as I sliced into the fruit … brown trails were everywhere throughout the pulp.  Thoughts of swallowing fly larvae quickly quenched my appetite as Rose jettisoned the fruit down the mountain and out of the restaurant.

Our meal arrived; a platter of mixed grill and fry — steak, chicken, grilled peppers and onions, french fries, fried cassava root or yucca, fried fish and salami.  It was hot and delicious; if a little greasy.  It was our last full meal in Costa Rica.

We had allowed 3 1/2 hours before departure judging by our experience in New York.  Happily, we breezed through the check-in line, breezed through security, and arrived at the gate 3 hours before our flight.  In retrospect, we could have lingered in the  mountains or over our dinner; maybe caught another site.  But we were now secure in the knowledge that we would be departing the jungle and returning to our temperate forests, our house by the lake.  On my prior trip to South America — Cusco, Peru 25 years earlier — I had barely made my connecting flight back to the U.S. due to weather condition.   We had free WiFi at the airport (it was free at ALL the hotels) and were able to reconnect with our friends, family and clients. Homeward bound at last.

Sweet Nectar For Some – Sugar Water for Others

We awoke in the mist at 5:30 and put on a pot of Cafe Britt coffee.  We were leaving on a 6:00 am bird watching tour. Guess what? It was raining again, a cool wet rain and mist that you can feel in your bones, in your clothes, and everywhere.  Our perky young guide warned us that the birds didn’t like to fly in the rain, but she was nevertheless hopeful.  I knew why.  She had stacked the deck.

Our first stop in the jungle was the hummingbird station, and 6:15 AM was feeding time.  There were 4 bird feeders on a wire and a hotel employee filling them with fresh sugar water.  Shortly thereafter a raft of hummingbirds swept in, fearless of human contact, aiming for that sugar water; known to them as “nectar”.  A few interesting facts which we learned later that afternoon: (1) a hummingbird’s wings flap 98 times a second; (2) a hummingbird eats twice its weight in nectar and insects every day; (3) hummingbirds are territorial and will fight over food; (4) a hummingbird’s heart can beat 1,000 times a minute; and only 130 times a minute when it is at rest.  Something else, they are equisitely beautiful and amazing flyers who can hover in mid-air.

The rest of the trip was a little plodding.  We did go on some paths that were closed to guests except accompanied by guides; but most of the birds stayed hidden.  You could hear them, but not see them.  We emerged in a clearing at last and were greeted by birds we could see — a sparrow.  We saw a few others, but I could not remember their names; the hummingbirds were cool.

Onto The Peace Lodge & Waterfall Gardens

La Pax turned out to be a zoo, but an absolutely amazing zoo.  It had an aviary with friendly tropical birds (all rescued) — including a single legged duck and very hungry toucans (think Fruit Loops).  There was a monkey cage with glass viewing areas and a cat house with pumas, ocelots and jaguars.  We visited a butterfly garden with monarchs and a indiginous blue morph butterfly. Down the hill was a Casita, turn of the century coffee plantation house. But what was amazing was the hummingbird garden.  Where Villa Blanca had four feeders, here there were two dozen feeders at La Paz.  The hummingbirds were careening around everywhere, hovering just inches in front of you, no cages.  And then there were snakes and orchid garden.

La Paz also included waterfall gardens – five waterfalls in a single course with the tallest plunging 120 feet.  You descend on a trail of steps to the edges of a white creek and then on metal stairs on the edge of a cliff as you follow the course of the river over the cataracts.  Standing at the base of the largest cataract you are all but soaked by the spray.  Signs guide you out to the shuttle bus for the climb back in the comfort of a small bus.  After all our other hikes, it seemed  too easy.

Where Angels Fear to Tread

The return trip to Villa Blanca started uneventfully, except for one thing.  In the morning  our car had failed to start, and we had gotten a jump start from one of the hotel employees.  We had been warned the problem might recur again.  And true to our adventure, when I started the car at 5 PM for the 2 hour drive back to  Villa Blanca, the car would not start.  Luckily a bus driver offered us a jump start and the car engine turned on.

With night descending (it sets at 6 PM in the tropics on the equator) we decided NOT to stop on the road back and proceed straight (well the roads were windy and hilly) back to the hotel.  I had suggested gently to Rose that we leave at 4 PM, but she saw a “fern trail” through the jungle and wanted to stretch her feet.  That put our projected arrival back at Villa Blanc at 7:15-7:30 PM — over an hour after sunset.  The fern trail was beautiful and secluded — up and down, well paved with stone, but a new cloud forest experience.  I don’t regret the walk, but I knew, I would regret the time.

The sun set as we finally reentered the Pan-American Highway.  Highway lines seem optional, particularly since so much of that highway was under construction.  In the pitch dark, I found a truck (a large target) and followed it.  We exited at San Ramon for the approach to our hotel.  Surprisingly, the road here was better marked at night.  There were street lights, and even reflectors embedded on the sides of the road.  They say the Lord gives and the Lord taketh.  As we ascended into the mountains from the valley of San Ramon, the fog descended.  Rather, we ascended into the fog; into the clouds.  Visibility decreased, but I could still make out the road.  At least we were moving at a reasonable pace.

The GPS signaled a turn off ahead — the single lane, pot-hole ridden, curvy mountainous road to Villa Blanca was just off to the left, down a void.  As I turned, my headlights hit the cloud — no road to be seen, though the GPS said it was there.  Slowly I edged off the main road and at last my headlights revealed a road below the swirling white cloud.  My slow pace changed to a crawl; I could have walked faster, and certainly the cantoring horse at Alberto’s ranch in Arenal could have easily passed me.  It was just Rose, me and my Hyundai.  We inched along the road.  At that speed we had ample warning of the potholes; dark black voids in the middle of the road.  Often our headlights disappeared in the swirl of white as we centered on the road, knowing it was somewhere, hopefully in front of us.

Rose tracked each curve on the GPS.  We were in the clouds.  It is funny that when we picture heaven in the movies, we see angels in the clouds, hovering at the pearly gates amidstly fluffy white substance.  What they don’t realize, and what we realized on this trip, is that if heaven were in the clouds, it would resemble Villa Blanca Cloud Forest — cold, wet, damp and with limited visibility.  We proceeded very slowly, using the white living fences on the side as our guide when we couldn’t see the road.

At one point, I spotted a cow on the road.  He wasn’t just on the road, but in the middle of the road.  I waited for him to pass.  Instead, he just started moving directly towards our car.  I had no desire to hit  a cow or damage our vehicle.  But when he started directly towards us, I tried the only weapon in our arsenal, our horn.  So there on a dark country road in the middle of nowhere, I was honking at a cow.  Finally, a dog came out and moved the cow out of the way.

Finally back at Villa Blanca, I had earned my drink … a Guara sour (similar to a Pisco Sour, popular in Peru).  We  weren’t particularly hungry, but decided to sample the local deserts.  While Rose called our car rental company about a replacement car, I checked on business and world news.

Every road seems to come back to the Pan American Highway eventually.  Our trip from Flamingo Beach to Villa Blanca Cloud Reserve and Hotel was no different.  We checked out early, as the drive was over 4 hours.  We decided to take it straight with no stops.

Not All Costa Rican Food Is Good

We stopped for fresh pipas frio (cold coconut) and were on our way.  The road was fairly straight,  going through meadows and pastures where the real costa Ricans work.  At one turn in the road we saw a line of tables by the side of the highway with baked goods.  The patrons appeared to be of darker skin, likely native indians (indigininos).  While I filled up with gas for the push into the mountains, Rose purchased a sampling of bread and pastries.

As I said, not all Costa Rican food is good.  Every meal hereto had been good, delicious or exceptional.  The pastries Rose purchased (a treacle tart and a sweet cheese shaped like an empenada) looked delicious.  The crusts were thin and crisp.  The contents were sweet, but not overly sweet.  But something was wrong, really wrong with these pastries.  There was a foul aftertaste that Rose didn’t seem to notice, but prevented me from taking more than a single bite of each pastry.  It took me a while to figure the source of the taste since it was like nothing I had ever tasted in the world; rather it was more like something I had smelled on several occasions in the Alps, in Vermont, on a farm in Holland.  It smelled like cow dung.  And then I realized, it smelled like cow dung because the oven used to cook the pastries was likely made of adobe mud and fueled with dry cow dung.  Needless to say this was the one and only meal we threw out.  So much for trying ALL of the local food — not all Costa Rican food is good.

Into the Clouds.

We turned off the Pan American highway in San Ramon and returned to a narrow road we had previously traversed en route to Arenal Volcano.  This time, after traversing the hill tops, we turned off onto a single lane semi-paved road — or  should I say plunged, as the initial entrance  was a steep drop off to the “country  road” we were on.  At last, we hit the potholes that we had been warned about. Every few hundred meters there was another major pothole, the kind that required a full stop as we respectively turned, climbed, and plunged along the ride of the hills and into the Clouds … yes, the Cloud.

This was the district of Las Angelos (the angels).  We were inside a cloud much of the 9 km of twisting roads to our final destination, the Villa Blanca Cloud Reserve.  Villa Blanca (the “White House”) was owned  by a  former president of Costa Rica, who turned it over to the country as a reserve, stocked with naturalists, and a center of eco-tourisme.

The narrow road to the Villa Blanca was lined with living fences.  Imagine, you are in a rain forest (a  cloud forest rains intermittently, but is humid and cloudy most of the time). Dead wood rots very quickly; concrete is expensive; and  metal rusts.  The solution is a particular species of tree which has a single small growth on top and no branches.  These trees are spaced a few yards apart and barbed wire is attached to them.  It is perfect for ranches in the Cloud Forest.  All you need to  do is periodically prune the trees; no paint, no preservative, and you don’t even have to dig in the fence posts.  I suspect the life span of such a fence is near on 40 years.  These living fences are all over Costa Rica.

However, don’t expect the cows to obey the rules about fences.  The area farmers regularly walk the cows down  the road, stopping all traffic, or even let them graze on the grass besides the road at night.  We had an  encounter with such a cow who decided that our headlights were an opportunity to wander into the center of the road.  We actually thought he would charge our car.  Thankfully, better sense (or laziness) overtook him and he moved off to the side.

Frogs in the Night

We decided to try another night tour of the jungle.  In Arenal, we had been in a tropical rain forest. At Villa Blanca, we were in a cool cloud forest, temperatures in the 60s and 70s fahrenheit.  Armed with LCD flashlights we headed out, adventuring in the dark on steep mountain trails.  Like Danaus Eco-Center, we were searching for frogs.  Sadly a heavy downpour at the start of our tour had sent many of those little peepers scurrying  for cover.

The tour guide was informative, but it seems that the guidees, my fellow guests and myself, were better at spotting frogs and wildlife than Roy, our guide.  It seemed like a bust (“seen that, done that, another frog”) until someone spotted a snake in the tree tops.  It was a green vine snake, commonly called the spaghetti snake.  Highlighted with our flashlight it glided across the thin branches and leaves with death-defying dexterity.  Its head would stretch out several feet off the end of a branch, suspended 50  feet above the  jungle floor and then glide across the void to land on another branch.  It seemed to be gliding towards us (following the light) several yards over our heads.  It was an eery experience.

Organic Food in the Clouds

We returned to the hotel ready to eat.  Villa Blanca grows or raises most of the food on the premises using organic farming techniques.  They also have an extensive wine list … and a captive audience.  We were their captives for two nights, in luxory accomodations.  No one, in their right mind would venture down that single lane, pot hole ridden road to a restaurant in San Ramon at night.  We didn’t (at least the first night).  Rather, I  had a t-bone steak and Rose had fresh soup. The Argentinian Malbec wine was rich and hearty.  The vegetables were delicately cooked.

Sunset at the Beach

As resorts go, Flaming  Beach Resort and Spa was beautiful.  It had the large pool, the pool bar, the spacious rooms with balconies and the long sand beach with views of the Catalina Islands.  It was the type of resort you would expect in the Carribean, although we were on the Pacific Ocean.  There were palm trees and cococut trees (we have fresh pipas from the tree picked by a local man who climbed the tree and knocked it down for us).

Breakfast continued to include fresh fruit, to which was added bread baked on premises and a new twist — an omelette station – Yum

In the morning we rented a tandem sea kayak from the hotel.  We declined the offer of a guide for the sea kayak — looking out to sea it was hard to imagine getting lost (or seeing anything interesting).  However, we did take a recommendation to paddle south to a small island, around the bend and out of sight which was reputed to have a private sand beach.

With some assistance, we breached the waves and were out on the open ocean.  The sea was calm with a slight breeze.  We rode high on top of the ocean, and moved quickly when we paddled in unison.  The hotel palms swiftly shrank on the horizon as we progressed to the cove pointed out by the guide.  We never felt the sun as a cool breeze wicked off our sweat (more on that later).

Around a rocky point, another beach, even longer emerged.  There we no hotels on this stretch of beach, only green jungle hills and a narrow sandy strip.  A small group was touring by ATV vehicles.  Another family was frolicing in the water, but the beach was otherwise devoid of humans.  In the middle of the cover was a rocky outcrop, towering 50 feet above the water with waves crashing around rocks that ringed it.  It was less than half an acre all around and seemed forbidding.

We paddled around the island searching for a beach head.  Hidden from view, 3/4 round the island was a sand beach, big enough for two … our private beach.  The beach was a distance away.  There  was nothing but the sun, our island and us.  Time to take a break and  a private swim.

The return was “against the wind” requiring some effort.  Previously we had stressed our legs.  Now it was time to fully exercise our upper bodies.  It did not seem like much of an exertion, but we certainly felt it later.  Here we were in the opening  of Hawaii Five-0 — kayaking on the open ocean, with a jungle and a beach in sight.

The Lazy Lizard

We returned in time to rest at the pool before our afternoon adventure aboard the Lazy Lizard sailboat.  The Lazy Lizard is the product of a Canadian expatriate from Calgary, Canada.  This large catamaran sailboat was the source of a messy divorce (and midlife crisis).  For us, the sailboat was clean, spacious and very well organized.  The staff kept us lubricated with drinks for our hour and half long sail to a private cove for snorkeling.  Once in  the cove, we donned our snorkeling gear and headed to the rocks.

Most of  the  time, you avoid the rocks when travelling.  However, when snorkeling, you go where the fish are, and the fish go where the food is, and that is one and around the rocks.  We were able to  see a blow fish, a porcupine fish, a trumpet fish and several colorful angelfish, even a sting ray.  Observation is for the patient.  The waters of Costa Rica, while clear, did not  match the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea off Eilat, Israel.  You could only see a few yards in front of you.  Nevertheless, there was a profusion of wildlife once you  found where they were hiding.

After a while the salt water gets to you.  It gets in your eyes through the goggles.  It gets in your mouth and burns your throat.  Your arms get tired propelling your through the water.  It was at last time to go in.  Rose and I had outlasted most of the other passengers of the ship, despite our 50 years of existence (a century combined).  Back on board, the drinks resumed. There were sandwiches, tortillas and fruit.  Somehow, after ingesting salt water, the food didn’t taste quite so good.  Rose and I sat on the leeward side of the ship, with the sail protecting us from the sun as we got underway.

We traveled back to Flamingo Beach and halted off the coast of our Hotel in the lagoon. It was then that I noticed more closely the beauty of the Catalina Islands.  I tried to find out any legends about these  unusual shaped islands, some only a few yards in diameter that look more like figures dropped into the ocean.  None could be found except that one island looked like a sombrero.

Fresh Fish Fry

Back on shore we set out for an “authentico” restaurant for fresh fish on the beach.  We stopped in Brasalito, en route to Tamarindo, a largish resort town south of our hotel.  We were drawn by the lights and the sound of crashing waves.  There was fish on the menu (whole red snapper and mahi mahi).  Rose stretched out on a hammock to enjoy a Margarita.  Local music entertained us and we could see the white crest of the surf.  At last, fresh fish. And … for Rose, a hammock to swing in while we avaited our food.

From Roots to Sculpture

It was time to depart Arenal.   It was 4 1/2 hours to our next Hotel.  We did not know  the condition of the roads (turned out to be more Costa Rican highway – well paved 2 lane roads with narrow or non-existent shoulders).  The route to Flamingo Beach is amusing, since there is essentially one road with few choices to  turn off.  And so, you see signs for “tourist traps” many miles before they emerge whetting your appetite and inspiring you to pull off the road and part with your dollars and collones.  One such place was aptly named “Toad Hall”.  I pictured the ”frog” in the Wind in the Willows driving his car down the open road.  It was really a small hotel, cafe and gift shop on a steep hill overlooking Lake Arenal.  We had the coffee (so  so) and  some Yucca chips (delicious).  No toads in site.

A while further we saw an artisan shop with beautiful wood sculptures out front.  We pulled over.  There was someone watching the shop, but it was closed.  We looked in and were impressed by the handiwork.  The man called the artist from a cell phone and the artist arrived shortly on a motorbike.  We had been looking for “native indian” art.  What we found was a talented Costa Rican artist who worked with “roots” of trees harvested from Lake Arena when  the water was low.  He had access to trees and wood that can no longer be harvested;  ancient hardwoods that cold survive years submerged in lake water.  The man had been a chef, turned artisan.  He built beautiful tables for the American expatriates who lived in villas in the region.  The work we liked best he was preserving for an exhibition.  We settled on a multi-figured mask and a salad bowl set.

Onward, Onward, Ownward

We continued along the enormous lake.  The lake gave way to small rolling hills.  And  finally these gave way to lush green meadowns filled with cows grazing on grass amid the Palm Trees and other jungle vegetation.  Along the route, Rose had read about Las Pumas Preserve.  One of the drawbacks of adventuring in the jungle is that it is difficult to spot the wild-life.  If you think about it, there is a good reason for that.  The jungle is full of predators, and if you can spot the wild-life, so can they, and that means “dinner for one and death for the other”.  Surival depends on camouflage.  The same is true for the predators.  If you are seen while stalking prey, that means no dinner for you.  So that while we had spent several walks in the jungle, we had seen no predators.

Las Pumas Preserve (photos on top), had solved that problem of seeing animals in something  close to their native habitat.  Las Pumas owes its existence to the idiocy of many persons who thought they could raise an ocelot or a monkey as a pet, only to realize these were still wild beasts and quite dangerous.  And so, all the animals in this preserve, a small zoo off the road to Liberia, are rescue animals.  That jaguar had been raised as a pet; same with the puma,  the toucans, the “monkeys”, and the ocelots (jungle cats).  It was neat to see the animals, but the cages with their  close wires resembled  old zoos and provided limited opportunity for photographing.   They did have one large open field for a “retired” jaguar (resembled a large tiger) which, if expanding would make this place more interesting for a visit. Nevertheless, it did breakup  the long drive to Flamingo Beach.

I Must Leave Costa Rica Before It Kills Me

At last we emerged from our vehicle  at Flamingo Beach Resort.  Having spent the past few days traipsing up and down mountains, galloping on horseback or swinging from zip lines had taken its toll on us; particularly Rose who was now limping into the hotel (no specific injuries; just sore muscles from constant exertion).  My apologies for getting ahead.  The next day with 2 hours of sea kayaking, followed by sun-bathing, snorkeling and sailing, left us with one more complaint — full body sunburn.  And so, Rose coined the phrase, “I must leave Costa Rica, … before it kills me.”

Flamingo Beach resort was in an isthmus with a long private beach, a large cove overlooking Catalina Islands.  The sunset is the type that post cards are made of.  We ate dinner on the rooftop terrace and listened to the waves crashing, planning  our next day’s adventure.

What Goes Up Must Come Down

Morning began with another cup of perfect coffee and ripe fruit: bananas, papaya, pineapple and watermelon.  We woke up earlier than planned and decided to catch the 7:30 am tour through the canopy at Arenal EcoGlide.  Rose checked out TripAdvisor to check whether the place was safe.  When you are suspended 200 feet above the ground in a harness attached to a thin wire and travelling at 15 km/hr, you want to be safe.

One would think that “canopy tours” we saw everywhere were about nature and exploring wildlife among the tree-tops. That was the furthest thing from the truth.  Yes, you were in the tree-tops, and yes it was beautiful up there, but there was NOT a word about nature on the tour.  Rather, there were words about safety, how to hold your hands, how to lean back and cross your legs, and mostly, how to brake with your gloved hand.

This was adventure tourism.  Canopy tours are in the same family as bungee jumping.  Put someone in a very very high place and push them off the cliff.  In  this case, we were in a harness.  Our compatriots on the tour were from children up to late middle age. We took a rattling open-air truck up a steep winding mountain road to the send-off point, a platform high in the jungle.  From our initial run we landed on a tiny platform, 200 feet up a tree, with a view of the valley way way way below.  That was a short run, a “trial run”.  The next leg of the trip was longer, sweeping across a valley, in some places several hundred feet up.  We  were told “no brake, until the end”, and that if you run out of power, momentum, you could turn around, with your back to your destination, and pull yourself, hand over hand until the next landing pad. I did look around a lot at the amazing vistas of the valley and treetops, but did not “see” much wildlife.

I had a surprise in store this time for Rose, which I didn’t tell her about until it was too late.  I  had read the reviews and knew there was a “Tarzan swing”.  Rose was naturally cautious about the heights; it took several glides to gain her trust.  After the sixth run, we departed from the tree tops and lined up in front of a cliff.  There awaited us a long rope, no zipline, and a platform to  jump off. One my one were were harnessed to the rope and pushed off the cliff onto this giant swing.  After the initial free-fall (a few feet), the swing rope tenses and we swinging high into the treetop and over the valley (back and forth).  The guides, on a platform way below slowed us by hitting our legs and then finally hawling us to earth at speeds that almost removed my leg joints and took them off the cliff.  Rose surprisingly found the Tarzan swing less frightening than the ziplines.

Several more courses, and we had one single run that was over 1/2 a mile long …. suspended over the valley with nothing seeming to hold us up.  Behind us were the tropical rainforest sloping to the top of Mount Arenal (Volcano) and below the fields for grazing catch, ranching horses, and growing yucca and other root vegetables.   At the bottom, I sampled another Imperial beer; it was only 9:00 am and we had the full day ahead of us.

In Search of Lava

It is funny that we we now on our 3rd day at the foot of a volcano and we had never seen any lava.  In fact, it didn’t look much like a volcano from our vista.  Covered in clouds most of the days, you could not see the top.  It just looked like a steep mountain.  This day, were determined to “see the volcano”.  Little did we know that so “see the volcano” you had to leave the volcano.  The is because the crown of most volcanoes is steep (too steep for cars) and potentially dangerous if a volcanic even happens.

We followed our GPS to a place that offered volcano vistas.  We then passed to the Arenal national park.  It looked like a sad empty parking lot with an obstructed view of the volcano.  We decided to continue on the dirt road following signed for an Arenal Volcano Lodge and Reserve.  Glad we did, the heavens opened up and the heaviest rainstorm we had seen to date emerged.  We would have been caught in the downpour.  We turned off the direct road after 10 km onto a single lane concrete winding road that seemed to travel straight up the mountain.  We emerged at a gate house for the Lodge which turned out to be an exquisite hotel, high up the mountain with views of the volcano peak.  We waited on a covered patio for the rain to cease; even using the hotel’s WiFi to make  phone calls back to the U.S.

We also saw a video showing the volcano during 2 eruptions in recent memory, one in 1968 (when the Lodge was build to house teams of vulcanologists) and other smaller eruption in 2007.  During these incidents, large sections of the mountain were covered in hot lava.  Today, you could barely see any remnants of these incidents, the mountain covered in jungle vegetation.  Yet we did see a sign for the “Lava Trail” which looked promising.  The track was listed as 30 minutes, but difficult.  We took it since the rain had ceased, armed with cameras, a water bottle, and lunch.  A machete would have been useful, but not required; a walking stick or an extendable hiking pole would have been highly recommended.

A beautiful winding path meandered through gardens of connas, birds of paradise and other bright colored flowers.  We then plunged into the jungle.  The path led straight down.  In some places there were steps; other places roots; and some, you had to hang onto the vines.  For 30 minutes it just descended.  We finally emerged at a mountain creek which was lined with black rocks and grey sand.  We had found the lava fields.  Around us, verdant green jungle and we could not even see the peak of the volcano.  Rose took a souvenir (some pumice stone) and we ate our solitary lunch in the jungle. The trip back was a little faster, but an unrelenting climb.  There were more trails to hike from the lodge, but we opted to travel to a place called Arenal Hanging Bridges to arrive with enough time to take the trail.

The True Canopy Tour

Arenal Hanging Bridges was 20 minutes away, down the mountain and across the base of Lake Arena (an enormous manmade lake that services the irrigation and drinking water for much of Costa Rica.  The rain had well ceased by now and the drive was scenic.  The further from Arenal we got the more  we could see of the volcano.  From the damn at the foot of  Lake Arenal, we had a near perfect view of the entire mountain; including the steep sides near the peak with the round crater at the top.  We turned down a single lane road which was paved with beautiful stones, and lined with luxory villas and resorts with amazing mountain views.  At the end of the road was Arenal Hanging Bridges with the best view of all.

It was still a few hours before closing, but too late for the guided tour.  We got a map and headed off.  We started on a suspension bridge over a deep mountain gorge and entered a wide near level path through the jungle.  The path ascended and descended gradually for most of the trip, but there were many areas of stairs and some alternate routes.  The “hanging bridges” were sturdilly constructed, but still  swayed as we walked.  High guide rails made us feel safe.  Here at last, though, we could stop and see the tree canopy and photograph it.  At  EcoGlide we were careening at high speeds through the tree-tops.  Here, apart from some kids rushing by us on occasion we could  stop and linger in the tree top; wait for the birds and other pollinators; and view the flowers, fruits and vines.

Free Range Chicken Roasted Over An Open Fire

Using the Internet, Rose identified another great restaurant in the town of  La Fortuna.  We chose to have a whole roast chicken and a hearts of palm salad.  The chicken, which had be slowly rotiseried over an open fire in the front of the restaurant was served cut up on a 3-bowl platter with guacca mole, pica de gallo, and refried beens.  The presentation was beautiful and of course delicious.  The setting, was an  open air, covered  cafe lined with traditional Costa Rican art and costumes.  There was even a Pachenko (local indian) artisant carving gourds.  We had purchased one the previous evening.

Sleeping at the base of an active volcano would seem to be a hair- raising experience only for the foolhardy and strong of heart. After spending three days at Arenal Volcano i can safely say it is certainly one for the strong of heart.  In this place only the fit survive. Every walk, even the short walk involves a steep climb or even a precipitous descent. What leads down (and most interesting paths to visit waterfalls do) must eventually lead back up. After 3 days, we certainly felt it.

And so, we came to appreciate the  agua calientes or hot springs at our hotel. Behind the dining hall, previously pictured, there are a series of pools, descending from the mountain in decreasing temperature. As you climbed through a lush garden path there were semi-private pools of hit mineral water. The temperature decreases as the water exits from the hottest point on the top and descends to the next pool. The final pool is the coolest, followed by a clear water pool for swimming.

If you stop for a moment and think about the origins of the hot milky-brown water, it should give you pause. You are sitting in a thermal bath at the base of a volcano on a luxurious spa resort. Can you think of another similar place? Do you remember what happened there? Who would be stupid enough to put a luxury resort, let alone a dozen luxury resorts at the base of a volcano? Yea, now I recall. Ask the mummified residents of Pompeii, in the former Roman Republic.

And yet the danger seems so distant in this tropical paradise. Most of the time the mountain, for that is what it looks like, is shrouded in clouds. Its sides are a lush green filled with endless varieties of flora and fauna. This is a thriving resort community with choices galore for the adventurous. There are riding stables, canopy tours on zip lines, white water rafting, hanging bridges, caves and cliffs to explore and challenging hiking trails.

Turn a corner and you are swallowed in the jungle. The light is muted and dappled. The sudden rain bursts seem far away at the jungle floor. Most of the rain is absorbed by the trees and their epiphytes before the reach the jungle floor. And if you stop for a moment and look with your ears you are treated to a profusion of bird calls, frog peeps, cricket chips and numerable unidentified sounds.

Blessed sleep

After a long drive sleep comes quick. And so day one ended. The next morning we woke with the sun. The morning seems to be the time when animals call out to their mates. Since the base of Mt Arenal is interspersed with ranches, farms and resorts we were greeted with the calls of the rooster.  That was only the beginning. Like a well functioning family, the morning is the noisiest time of day: wakeup, chores, breakfast, and planning for the day whether in school and work. In the jungle amo g the birds it seems no different. I could not identify the source of each sound, but the sounds surrounded me and were both quite distinctive and different. I could see hummingbirds gathering nectar from bird of paradise plants. There were hawks catching the thermals and souring above. On the top of a large tree I could see an enormous bird stretching out its wings to catch the morning sun. The wing span of this giant bird must have been close to six feet.

Breakfast came with that delicious strong Tico coffee, fresh papaya and pineapple, with guanabanana juice. This morning we were off to Alberto’s. We had looked at the packaged activities offered by our resort and then turned to the Internet. More specifically TripAdvisor.com which Rose had mastered. We found Alberto’s horse ranch which feature horseback tours at the base of the volcano. What Rose didn’t tell me was that it featured tours at a gallop; not those pansie plodding walking tours on horseback, ridden on beaten old nags. These horse broke into bumpy trots at the slightest chance. It was not until the return from a beautiful waterfall visit that I realized thereal reason for the choice of Albertos. By that time I was flying across the fields at a full gallop.

Villa Mucca – House of Cows

Once my heart stopped pounding and I caught my breath, my attention turned to food.  Rose had the inside scoop, courtesy of TripAdvisor on a place called Villa Mucca, or House of Cows.  No, it was not a barn, but rather a lovely outdoor cafe.  First we stopped at the workshop of a local artist.  With Easter Island size masks we could hardly resist.  The wood sculptures carved out of single pieces of wood were out of this world.  The figurines of women would make Madonna quake in envy.  We skipped those photos to preserve the G-rating of this blog.

The house of cows, while empty at mid-day, was perfect.  We ordered (off the menu) a casado (beef and chicken) and ceviche which is raw marinated sea bass.  The ceviche was a meal in itself, served with freshly baked tortilla chips.  And the cervesa, Imperial Beer was to die for.  I was that thirsty and it was ice cold.

Hot Tubs in the Rain

We are not known to waste a minute. Early that day we reserved a spot at the Danaus Eco-Center in La Fortuna.  This was to be a night tour starting at dusk when the nocturnal animals come out.  With a few hours before dusk we decided to sample the hot springs at the hotel.  Cloudy weather in the tropics didn’t phase us.  Once we had immersed ourselves in the hot waters, even a full downpour didn’t even bother us.  We just ducked underwater and chatted with our fell resort guests.  The only thing we could not continue doing was read our books.

Frogs, and spiders and bats oh my!

Danaus was a secondary forest.  20 years ago it was a ranch; now it is a thriving ecosystem with frogs, sloths, bats and a welter of insets to feed them all.  Night comes very quickly in the tropics.  One minute it is dusk; the next minute it is pitch black.  Most days in Arenal are overcast and so there are no stars or moon to light the night.  There is some reflection of light off the clouds that accentuates the silouhettes.  One can make out the path as the area of light gray against the pitch black of the jungle.  Our private guide, a 19-year old boy was quite knowledgable.  He knews  all the spots where animals congregate, in this case, frogs.  We found out later frogs congregate near pools of water where they give birth to their young, and this property (a man-made and cultivated jungle) had a number of enhanced water pools of the type liked by frogs.

These frogs were colorful and some poisonous.  We learned a lot about the flora as well.  There were vampire bats flying around.  We also saw the “eyes” of a caiman, a mother and her children, but not their bodies.  We saw crickets and their familiar cousin, the cockroach.  We saw a “jesus bug”, a preying mantis with the ability to walk on water.  We toured by flashlight, using super-bright LCD lights that could project deep into the forest canopy.  Mostly we looking on top of leafs and ferns for bugs and peepers (aka frogs).  You ”see” with your ears in the jungle, alert to all senses.  Over time you can distinguish the calls.  If the lights had gone out, we would have been surely lost; as we were en route to the parking lot, taking a left turn, instead of a right turn, that led us back into the jungle.

The night we picniced on our balcony.  We had bought some local cheese, bread, and rum.  I put together a small platter of sandwiches with fresh avocado and mayonaise with limon.  Together with our Panamanian rum and coke, we enjoyed the night sounds of the jungle.  It was the end of a perfect day.

We touched down in El Salvador at 7:30 AM on Saturday morning.   The flight, despite the auspicious beginning (lines at 2 AM in JFK), was pleasant and uneventful, except for one thing … the early morning cup of coffee.  I never dreamed that coffee could be SO BAD! The airline coffee, which is usually mediocre at best, was actually toxic.  One would expect a little jolt, but the TACA Airlines (note the Central American origin) coffee, after an initial sip was left un-drunk.  Rose nearly spit the coffee out on her lap, gasping for air.  The omelets were tasty, but that coffee. …

Exiting in El Salvador

And so … as we staggered off the plane in El Salvador, we were delighted to learn our connecting flight to San Jose was at the neighboring gate.  And better yet, we had a full hour before it boarded because we had arrived exactly on time.  Now, my perception of El Salvador was clouded by the politics circa early 1980′s during the administration of Ronald Reagan when our country was sponsoring one side of a civil war between the Sandinista guerrillas (the human kind) and right-wing death squads.  We were on the side of right, truth and freedom.  And for everyone else, the country was too dangerous to even consider visit.  And this was the country that I had just landed in.

And so, it was with trepidation that I exited the plane, expecting some rink-dink banana republic, and some dusty, rundown airport.  What I found was a modern facility, reminiscent of my recent flight into Palm Beach Airport.  There were modern shops, restaurants, technology exhibitions.  The airport even had a free set of Nintendo devices for children (and adults) to sample the latest in world technology.  Yes there was an “artisan shop” with genuine Salvadoran goods … and they weren’t manufactured in China like many of the trinket shops I have visited in the American west.  But the goods for the most part were the same we would see in the U.S.

There was one exception … a coffee shop … And that is why I write.  We decided to spring for a cup of Java, thinking that anything could be better than the airport fare.  And, with another flight ahead, and then a long drive to Arenal Paraiso Hot Springs Resort (3 hours), we would be very much in need for the extra milligrams of caffeine.  What we found, and it could have been the context, was some of the best coffee I have ever tasted.  There were no extra “flavors” to enhance the coffee (aka mask its mediocrity).  Served black for me, it was piping hot, aromatic, strong  and smooth.  We entered the connecting flight to San Jose, muchly refreshed, thanks to the coffee.

Arrival in San Jose

A short hour later, we arrived in San Jose.  We  found the contact for our rental car company, amusingly called Adobe (no trademark infringement intended) Rentals.  We were greeted by our first exposure to Tican (aka Costa Rican) courtesy.  The rental agent, actually the manager of the rental agency, explained in careful English, with a heavy Chicago accent (he had spent several years in Chicago, before returning to his native Costa Rica), all the rules of the rental, the details about insurance, the exact scope of coverage, the terms of the rental of the GPS, the security deposits and the refunds, why the government required payment for 8 days, even though we were renting for seven days.  This process, even though we were “first in line” took over 20 minutes for a transaction that typically takes me less than five minutes back in the U.S..  Throughout, the man was pleasant, helpful  and cheerful.  As for myself,  having been up most of the night, and raring to get started on my vacation, it took a great exertion of will not to throttle the man.  It wasn’t that he was slow; he was exceedingly careful and thorough.  I just wanted to sign the *%&$ papers and get on my  way.

The Great Pan American Highway – Route 1

While  we were hungry from our overnight flight, I decided to hit the road and get out of San Jose.  My thought was that we would find food en route, just outside the town limits.  We were to being our travels on the Great Pan American Highway – Route 1.  This is a highway, reputed to stretch from the American border, through Mexico, Central America, and all the way down to Tierra de Feugo in the tip of Argentina.  Alas, reality always differs from perception.  While the Pan American highway is long, and quite storied, it is not particularly grand.  Yes, the road is paved; and yes it  connects San Jose, in the East to the beaches on the Pacific, as well as the rest of Central America.  But, to call it a “highway” would be an overstatement in most senses of the word.  It was relatively straight.  But don’t look for entry and exit ramps; don’t look for four-leaf clovers, soaring bridges, and majestic toll booths.  Rather, this is a highway, Central American style; a two-lane road with a shoulder.  In some places, for  brief stretches, there are three lanes, 2 on one side, and one  on the other.  In other  places, there are even four lanes for very short stretches.

If you remember, I told you I was hungry.  The part of town where our rental agency, Adobe, was based had a few restaurants, markets and car repair shops, but most looked wanting, in need of improvement.  Having programmed the GPS (a Garmin) for our final destination, Arenal Volcano area, we were off.  I had been traveling on Route 1 for almost 10 km before I realized I was even on it.  I thought I was on a long access road.  As for restaurants, we quickly left the dusty town behind us, and were traveling though lush hills of green vegetation and pastures, rising and falling in the foothills.  And no restaurants could be  found for love or money.  We did see lots of car dealerships, some new, some used, and some  that should never have been offered for sale.  This went on for miles.  There were a few roadside stands for  fresh fruits, like papayas, watermelon and bananas.  After a long while, the car dealerships gave way to furniture showrooms (“meubles”).  And yes, no food.

En Route to Arenal

After an hour, we turned over the main highway onto an unmarked road (the GPS told us).  There was a small gated shopping center surrounded by barbed wire, with a large restaurant featuring Tipico cuisine.  As we later learned, Tipico means “casado” or plate of the day.  The casodo is white rice, beans, salad, french fries, and a meat or  fish (steak, chicken or  fried tilapia).  They offer “chimichuri” which I thought was a parsley and vinegar based steak sauce, but turned out to be pico de gallo, a super fresh salsa with diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.

Fortified with food, we continued our journey.  Our rode started winding though the hills.  It was not so much a mountain road like we drop in Switzerland, but rather, we were winding through verdant valleys, and grass-covered meadows.  It reminded me of the alpine meadows of Switzerland, with dramatic views. The road continued to be two lanes  and well paved.  The borders of the road narrowed, and in some instances we were alerted to by the GPS to pelligroso or danger.  It turned out the danger were narrow, one lane bridges over occasional ravines.  We would slow down, check for traffic coming from the other direction, and then pass safely across.

The trip to Arenal Paraiso Resort was, according to the GPS, near 3 hours.  Given our lack of sleep, I took it at the speed limit, variously 50 km/hr and 80 km/hr — not particularly fast.  I was enjoying the exquisite scenery.  Picture rolling Alpine meadows, studded with Palm Trees, enormous ferns, giant ficus trees, vines, and other lush vegetation.  There were cows and horses abounding.  And the air was fragrant and moist.

Remember that Cup of Coffee

As we neared what appeared to be the crest of these rolling hills, we started seeing signs for what I thought was cheese.  It  talked about Leche, which translates to milk.  After the five stand featuring Leche, I stopped.  The place had all sorts of baked goods and cookies, and candy.  But it also had the “leche” product.  It turned out to be a specialty of the region, a dulche de leche, or caramel candy.  We got a sampler package.  It wasn’t  too sweet.  It was a combination of caramel and fudge;  it was chewy like caramel, but had the texture of vanilla fudge.  Slowly chewing on it kept me focused on the winding road … until … finally …. I needed that cup of coffee.

When we travel, and we try to do often, we have a saying.  Try to find something special, and the harder you try, the less likely to find what you are looking for.  However, once you stop trying to find that  something special,  if  you really give up, then you will find it in abundance.  Here we were in the land of  coffee; this  was Costa Rica, home of the rich dark roast coffee prized by cognoscenti and connoisseurs.  But no coffee shops were to be  found … anywhere.  We found  bars, and “Sodas” … little family restaurants that also sold Coke and other sundry items.  But  nothing  look like it had coffee.  We finally stopped at a tiny place tottering on a cliff.  Rose, in her best Spanish ordered a cup of  coffee.  It looked like something  was placed in a microwave, and then the coffee appeared.  Not quite so good as the airport in San Salvador, but mighty hot and fresh.

Incidentally, the best coffee was not  had until we arrived at our destination in the Arenal Volcano region.  We had a packet of Costa Rican coffee waiting in our  room and one these 4-cup brewers.  Ah … heaven on earth.  And sitting on our patio, outside our room, looking out on the dormant volcano, we inhaled the coffee aroma, smelled the fragrant  blossoms, and listen to the sounds of the jungle that surrounded us. The first full day of our Costa Rican adventure was at an end.

And the next morning … since we slept through dinner … a whole pot of fresh coffee (cafe con leche) with the freshest papaya and pineapple you ever ate.

Escape at terminal velocity.. And I mean it.  At 2 am in Kennedy terminal 4 getting ready to check in for our flight to Costa Rica.  The line is moving at last, and yet in the short car ride from Lakeview Avenue to Kennedy I have entered another world.  In this world I am tall.  I am a head taller than most others on the line and far less tan.  My wife who trends to petite is of average height.  The language has changed.  English is spoken in polite tones between flurries of Spanish. The line is longer than opening night of Spiderman or The Deadly Hallows.  Yet, unlike a movie opening you see whole families: mother, father, son, daughter, grandmother, and grandfather… Along with mountains  of luggage.

It also seems as if time has slowed down. There seems no expectation of fast service. Everyone, despite the ungodly hour is pleasant and smiling.  It could be the thought they are going home.  There is none of the anxiety and rush of a domestic flight with businessman rushing to every last second of their time on line.  For the next week I will be posting from The Cloud Forests of Costa Rica.  Over the past fees years I have been.  looking into life in the clouds for lawyerswe in te next week I will put it to the test, looking at the panoply of   technology, the opportunity and the trials.  I will also have some fun and share that as well.

COLORADO SPRINGS FIRE

Just a few days ago I placed a call to a client of mine, a lawyer in Colorado Springs, to learn his office was only a few miles from the mandatory  evacuation line.  With fires ranging out of control on a 10 mile front there was a very real possibility his law practice could go up in smoke…. Literally.  Backups were in place, but the issue of business interruptions and business continuity were very real.

What would happen if the order came to evacuate?  How would the business continue?  And what could be done immediately.  For the past year we had been using Dropbox.com to share a folder of HotDocs templates we were co developing.  We quickly decided to upgrade the free subscription to a paid subscription with 100 GB for $200/year.  Then began the painful process of first copying 40 Gb of client files first to the Dropbox folder on the PC and then waiting for it to synchronize to the Cloud.  I was monitoring the process remotely via GoToMyPC from the safety of New York.

Once the files had successfully transferred and started uploading, I sent the client home.  From my safe abode in New York, I watched the progress of the upload while monitoring the progress of the fires on the Internet. The next morning the client called me from the office.  The fire had abated by then somewhat and he could go to his office.  And the upload had completed.  His works were in the cloud, backed up to the local PC and to the client’s laptop at home,  all in continuous synch.  And if the evacuation order came, he could have his staff join the shared folders from their home PCs.

Regret from my iPad and iPhone

I wrote the ORIGINAL version of this post, first from an iPhone, and then from an iPad.  As you can see, the results were horrible.  And that was after great attention.  On the iPhone, the post was interrupted and the text wiped out.  On the iPad, the cursor lost its focus where I was typing and moved to an entirely different section of the post.  I had to practically close the WordPress app and restart it to  get the cursor to where I wanted it.  Everytime I touched the screen, it moved the page, rather than the cursor.  Happily, I am now typing, far faster, from my Dell laptop.  iPhones and iPads are fun, but thanks for the real workhorses, Windows based PCs.

In the past few years there have been a number of entrants into the area of Cloud-based practice management.  These companies offer the promise of practice management Nirvana — run your practice on any device, from anywhere with no software installation, no server, and even no network.  ActionStep, which has an installed base in New Zealand and Australia, has adapted its practice management system for the U.S. law market.  I am going through their training curriculum this summer and will be releasing a formal review on TechnoLawyer’s SmallLaw newsletter in September.  For now, here are a few highlights.

Matter Management Dashboard

The “matter manager” is what distinguishes a matter management system from simply a jumped up CRM (Contract Relation Manager).  ActionStep has a sophisticated and configurable matter manager.  The dashboard lets you see in a glance recent activity, next steps, and billing.  And in 3 clicks you can see any information on the file.

Workflow Engine

Perhaps the most unique feature of ActionStep is their workflow engine.  It breaks a matter into “Steps”, and each step can be associated with a series of tasks, calls, notes and documents.  These Steps can be “imported” into a system allowing for rapid development. They also can have branches depending upon outcomes.

Customizable Invoices & Document Assembly

A matter management system without document assembly is simply a glorified calendar and billing system.  Even with custom fields, if you can’t produce documents using that data, in the words of Prof. Kingsfield in The Paper Chase, “Mister Hart, here is a dime. Take it, call your mother, and tell her there is serious doubt about you ever becoming a lawyer. “  Without document assembly, the “raison d’etre” of the system is simply missing.

ActionStep treats document assembly seriously.  First, there are custom fields that are data typed.  Fields are more than simple text-boxes.  They include text, text blocks, number, currency, dae and time, links to appointments, dropdown lists, and multi-select dropdown lists, as well as checkboxes and autonumbers.  And you can including repeating custom records, also accessible during document assembly.

They are associated with matter types.  Second, you can have collections or lists of custom records with custom fields.  And ALL of these fields can be put into the document; including repeating fields with proper handling of repeats and text formatting and changes.  The tools are not yet perfect, but there may be some further news down the pike that will bring full function document assembly into ActionStep.

Fully Integrated Billing & Accounting

Many Cloud based practice management systems and desktop client-server practice management systems can do billing; and most can do trust accounting; but very few can do full-on accounting inside the same integrated database.  ActionStep lets you set up a full chart of accounts.  It even supports multiple-division charts of accounts.  And that is because much of their business, and where they started was a business workflow system with a full-on accounting in the cloud.

When it comes to Trust Accounting, you can set it up to post the money to multiple bank accounts.  The system has reconciliations and a range of accounting features that come close to those of Quickbooks.  And because they are in one database, you can do reporting across the accounting back office and the practice management front-office.  If you want a separate accounting system, there is integration with Xero.com, a leading Cloud vendor of accounting software and Quickbooks Online integration is under development.

Email Inbox Management & Document Management

ActionStep builds email into the workflow.  Emails can be recieved into ActionStep and sent from ActionStep. Attaching an email to a Matter is as simple as sending it to [MatterNum]@firmname.com.  When sending an email from ActionStep, you can make use of email templates that are personal and cusstomized.  They can use fields from the matter and any linked contacts on the matter.

Read the Review

These are just “first looks”.  Be sure to subscribe to www.Technolawyer.com, the SmallLaw newsletter, if you want to read the full review.

At the last Amicus Consultant’s Conference I demonstrated some innovative ways of improving the way HotDocs and Amicus interact.  A recent post on the LinkedIn user’s group, Amicus Wizards, has prompted me to post some pictures from that demo.  The question was asked why is the HotDocs interview generated automatically by Amicus so long with so many dialogs.  The answer is that the automatically generated interview DOES NOT HAVE any dialogs, it is merely a list of variables that are used in the template in the order that they appear in the document.

My solution, demonstrated at the conference is to create a MASTER HotDocs component file that groups all the relevant variables pushed out by Amicus into HotDocs into a series of easy to view and read dialogs.  This component file can be INSERTED into any HotDocs template created through Amicus.  If the INSERT command for a “blank master that contains a single computation script” is placed at the top of the document, then the associated interview will appear automatically.

Below are thumbnails of what that series of dialogs could look like.  If you click any one of them, a lightbox opens and you can navigate the whole series just by clicking on the picture.

Alternatively, you can use SQL Queries with HotDocs database object to connect by ID or any other criteria to the database.

If you have ever wondered who Basha was, there is a story to tell. In 1996, when I was packing up my office then at Kalkines, Arky & Bernstein LLP, and leaving for the “great unknown”, I knew I wanted to do something with “software”.  I didn’t know what.  And so I wanted a name that met two criteria: (1) Flexibility, and (2) Near the top of the Alphabet, but not so obvious.  I also wanted something unique.

Introducing, Basha, the family dog, who grew up with me.  She was a lovable mutt, a Cockapoo … before they were in vogue, part cocker spaniel and part miniature poodle.  And as a “teenager and a dog” our relationship was sometimes tense.  And so, I dressed up “Basha”, who was then long deceased … she died while I was in law school.  In fact, she spent her last months with me in law school, if I remember correctly. I gave her a “bowtie” and put her behind a computer.  By that time, I decided I would be definitely doing something with computers, and so I called the company “Basha Systems”.  We later incorporated as an LLC.  And for many years, the logo above was everywhere.  And, for those who ventured to click on the icon, she even barked.

For now, here Basha is in her full and resplended glory.

The answer to the question is “MatterInfoSpareLong2″.  After several hours of searching, calls to former PCLaw product managers and tech support directors, I got the answer I was searching for.  My odyssey had started with a simple request: “Produce a report that combines File details in Amicus Attorney with billing and receivables details in PCLaw.  Having presented a seminar on integrating Amicus Attorney and HotDocs, I thought it a simple matter to integrate HotDocs and PCLaw.

On the surface, it was easy.  In PCLaw there is a MattInf table that stores the Matter information.  You can use the MatterID from within HotDocs to query the SQL database and get file information.  On the MattInf table there is a ClientID that links to information on the primary client, allowing you to pull in client data. For current statistics, there is a MattBal that contains data on each file regarding account balance, receivables, billings etc.

Where are the Billing Preferences?

The issue arose when I compared the “Amount Quoted” that was on the Matter form with the “Amount Quoted” that was on the MattInf table.  I found a series of fields on that table that had “no relation” to the fields on the actual Matter form.  A hint from a former PCLaw employee directed me to the MattBill table.  There I found another field called AmountQuoted and a whole range of billing preferences.  The problem was that there was no foreign key I could use to connect the MattInf table to the MattBill table.  Without a foreign key, there would be no way to “join” the two tables in a query.

The typical key would be one like ClientInfoClientID or MatterID or MattBillSettingsSeqID.  After pulling out my hair (the little I have left), several emails and call and hours of pouring through the SQL Manager, we found the filed.  It was called “MatterInfoSpareLong2″.  That was entirely obvious.

NOW, armed with that key, I could find all the Billing Preferences, link those to the File information, join it to the current Matter Balance, and actual report on the variance between the Amount Quoted (found on the MattBill table) and the Amount Billed, to determine the remaining amount available in the kitty for each client.

Would you believe this; someone wanted to dine in the clouds.  If you really want to, there is a restaurant that caters to this.  Check out Yahoo!!.  Law Firm Practice Management in the Cloud is certainly a goal. For that, there are programs like Advologix, FirmManager, ActionStep, Houdini, Clio and Rockmatter, and coming soon Amicus Cloud.  If you are moving your servers to the cloud, why not move yourself and have a good meal while you are at it.  Bon Appetit!!

The “Value-Add” in Document Management goes well beyond storage and backup.  Steve Best, in an article in Law Practice Today (“Document Management: Finding it in the Cloud“) captures the essence of what distinguishes a document management system from mere cloud storage when he uses the term, “The Document Butler”.

I can picture The Butler scurrying around to make sure everything is in its proper place.  I can envision the document appearing by “automagically” as my fingers reach for it, courtesy of my butler.  It is always the RIGHT document that I need at the exact moment I reach for it.  And more importantly, when I am finished with the document, it automagically gets filed in the right place where others can find it.

So what is this Butler worth to you?  Is it worth $38/month to have him (or her) at your beck and call 24 hours a day?  That rate is equivalent to 1/10 of an hour of an attorney’s time a month or 1/3 of an hour of a paralegal’s time.  Just on document search and retrieval, many multiples of that amount are wasted each month.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT REQUIRES …

So what should be in a proper document management system.  Let me quote Steve Best directly and then point out at least one document management system that lives up to that test. Document management software requires:

• That users take a moment and profile each document (which is absolutely faster than browsing your mandatory, but not really mandatory, document saving folder structure);
• The proper storage of documents pursuant to protocols that you design;
• All words of all documents are kept in an indexed database for fast (really fast) and accurate searching;
• The indexing of every single word of word processing docs, spreadsheets, PDFs, emails, email attachments, etc.;
• No one gets to bypass the system. DMS software locks down how documents are stored and retrieved. This forced user compliance that can’t be bypassed makes the investment worth every penny;
• Check in- Check Out – know who has your document and when it was last removed;
• Complete AUDIT TRAILS of document history including modification dates, times and by whom;
• Remote (web based) access to your knowledge (document) system;
• Version Control – will it track different versions of a document;
• Security – keeping unwanted eyes out of the system;
• Document Retention – automatically archive old documents;
• Scanning/Imaging – most DMS systems work hand in hand with your scanners or central scanner copy stations including OCR (optical character recognition) capabilities; and
• Centralized E-Mail management. Most systems integrate with Microsoft Outlook (and some with Google Mail) to ensure that e-mails are a part of the knowledge foundation of every single file/matter that you handle in the office. Many are simple click and drag systems similar to subfolders that many users create currently off of their own Inbox.

NETDOCUMENT DELIVERS …

So let’s look at NetDocuments.

• PROFILES: NetDocuments supports “document profiles” for its storage cabinets.  They can include required profile fields.  However, it goes beyond.  You can also have an optional folder hierarchy, and then have a “profile” of values associated with the folder definition.  That means you can drop a document (or set of documents) into a folder and the entire contents will be automagically profiled.
• PROTOCOLS:  NetDocument’s profiles are custom designed for each firm.  There are recommended profile structures that represent Best Practices.  But you are not limited by those practices.  You can even have cabinets which have different sets of protocols and different levels of permissions.
• MASTER INDEX: If your document storage system doesn’t have full-text indexing, toss it out as worthless.  NetDocuments goes the next level.  You can combine “profile-based” searching with full text indexing.  The indexes include whole word and partial word, as well as soundex.  And you can use proximeters, where one word is within a certain number of words of the other search term.
• AUTOMATIC INDEXING:  Full-text indexing occurs automatically with NetDocuments.  The process is continuous, throughout the day and night.  The profile indexing is in real-time; the full-text indexing occurs as NetDocuments balances its resource load.
• OFFICE INTEGRATION & LOCKDOWN: An “optional” Document Management System is a recipe for disaster since there is no certainty that everyone will use the central repository.  NetDocument ships with built-in integration with Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel), Microsoft Outlook, and Adobe.  Whether you are opening a document or saving a document, NetDocuments will intervene and force you into the system;
• CHECK IN/CHECK OUT: By default when you open a document from NetDocuments, or create a new document, that document profile is “locked” and the document is put in a Checked Out state.  With the Office Integration, when you save and close the document, it is put in a cue for automatic check-in.  No need to remember to “upload” your last work when you finished.
• AUDIT TRAILS: So who worked on that document last?  NetDocuments tells you who, what and where.  You can even subscribe to an RSS syndicated feed of all the changes — happy reading.
• REMOTE WEB ACCESS:  Hey, NetDocuments is “in the Cloud”.  It defines remote web access. For a small fee you can have local backup synchronized automatically. Otherwise, whereever you are, and whatever device you use, you can access and edit your documents.  Don’t have a Word Processor on your machine; there is even a web-editor.
• VERSION CONTROL: Hey, this can be a real mess with each person having different conventions.  In Word, choose SAVE AS and a NetDocuments screen comes up prompting you whether to replace or save as a new version (among other options).  And if you save as a new version, you can designate an “Official Version” and explain what is special about this version.
• SECURITY: If you are in the cloud, this really should have the first item you checked.  This includes secure access, secure end-to-end encryption, and security of the stored documents from access. Read the NetDocuments White Paper on security.  They read the book and went a step further.
• DOCUMENT RENTENTION:  This is a tricky matter to define.  With NetDocuments you can define business rules that look for inactive Matters and “flag them” for retention policies.  And then there are procedure to migrate these files to archival storage areas.
• SCANNING AND IMAGING: NetDocuments lets you scan directly to a workspace, their metaphor for a Matter Folder, or to an actual folder.  You can scan to an email address that automatically profiles the document to a particular folder.  You can also create “Cover Pages” for scanned documents that are designed so that when you send in the scanned stack of documents, they get automagically profiled correctly.
• EMAIL MANAGEMENT: Again NetDocuments has thought quite closely about this. You have a number of options.  The EMS Profiler lets you select a single or multiple emails, and profile them by selecting a client and matter dropdown.  The EMS Folders gives you a folder tree in Outlook that represents your active workspaces and you can DRAG the email into the appropriate folder and it will automatically upload.  Or you can drag the email to an autoprofile folder on your computer’s desktop and it will save to the document management system.

If you are interested in trying out NetDocuments, please visit our Contact Page and arrange a time for a free half-hour consultation.  We are certified NetDocuments implementation partners.

Basha Systems uses a variety of tools to support its clients. We have standardized on the GoTo … suite of products.  This includes GoToAssist for remote support, GoToMeetings for client sessions, and GoToWebinar for training.  We also use GoToMeeting to remotely access our own internal computers and those of select clients who are not setup for unattended support with GoToAssist.

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We have recently restructured our website navigation to make it easier for you to get the prompt and thorough support our clients have come to expect of Basha Systems.  This includes a big SUPPORT button on the top of every page.  Be sure to call us first to ask for your “Support Key”; in moments we will be on your desktop, inside your computer, giving you the guidance you need.

For those who do not yet know us, you can introduce yourself by clicking on the CONTACT button on every page.  Just give us your name, your email, and what we can do to help you.

Someone will be sure to contact you and answer your question.  We may include a Support Key with a link for immediate assistance, time permitting of course.  And this is one cool feature; we added a special reCAPTCHA. Every time you click on our contact form, you are helping OCR some great (or lesser) work of literature (See video on T.E.D.)

If you do become a regular client, we have some additional support options.  Using the Salesforce.com customer care center you set up your own support ticket (try it out).  The ticket will be logged in our Salesforce.com customer care center and assigned to a consultant. You will receive notifications of progress on your ticket.  You will also elect to have access to your own private customer portal (Login here).  All is designed to give you prompter, faster service with tracking and accountability.

What makes this interest is that you don’t have to be a big software or consulting company to provide this service.  We are using features of Salesforce.com and GoToAssist, and integrating them into our website.

Matthew Berg recently reviewed TheFormTool Pro in the BigLaw newsletter distributed by TechnoLawyer.  Having read the review and the videos of TheFormTool website, I applaud some the technology used by the developers of FormToolPro.  It seems to make the “simple things” easy, and gives you somewhat more functionality than Merge Fields.  The support for conditional fields and live variable edits is more than what you would expect from a cheap utility. It may be adequate for some of your needs; but not for all of your automation needs.

Don’t be deceived.  Document assembly tools like HotDocs, XpressDox, DealBuilder and Exari offer a wealth more features.  Handling of REPEATS or COLLECTIONS; seamless integration with databases, and support for nested levels of conditional logic are assumed in these systems.  Check out the tool of course, but you will soon want to take automation to the next level of efficiency.

Total Attorneys advertised practice management in the cloud for $1/month per user.  I recently came across Josh Campman’s review (Choosing Practice Management Software Part 1.5 of 2) and checked out their website  (TotalAttorneys.com).  I have not had a chance to review the offering, but plan to in the future.  For now though, I wish to note that price-points are not what they seem.  For many cloud-based practice management systems, there is a fixed fee that covers everything.  This is true for RocketMatter, Clio, and Houdini ESQ. For AdvologixPM, there is a base fee that cover quite a lot of features, but there are add-on’s for a few extra dollars a month per user. TotalAttorneys is different.

In the case of TotalAttorneys, Ed Scanlan, replied to Mr. Campman’s review:

Please do not be suspicious of our price point. We have a different model and go-to-market strategy. Our business model does not require that we charge $50 per user per month. We believe that all attorneys and their clients should have access to fantastic tools whether the attorney services low-bono clients or charges several hundred dollars per hour. We make money when attorneys choose to add additional integrated services onto their platform through ‘Total Apps.’ For example, attorneys can add payment processing for $35 per month. When the app is activated, attorneys can set up one-time and recurring payment processing through e-checks or credit cards. They can also allow their clients to pay via their client portal. We have many attorneys that just pay $1 per month to use the software. But there are even more that have activated one of our apps.

The $1 fee is just the beginning.  Much as PayPal is “free” but charges you for the money that is transacted through their service, TotalAttorneys includes transaction fees.  These include fees for referrals.  There are transaction fees for payments received through Total Attorneys credit card payment services.  At one time there were fees for document preparation fees for using their automated templates.  There are fees for web design services.  And even if TotalAttorney does not collect the ancillary fee for partner services, there is likely is some revenue sharing with that partner.

Not that any of these fees are unreasonable; many of them are valuable services and cost effectively delivered.  It’s just that you should inquire about all the ancillary fees and then decide whether the service as a whole is cost effective for your needs.  Like TotalAttorneys, my company sells a service –  a set of automated Probate Forms — for “free”.  Software, installation, and support are free.  The catch is you pay per open file.  The more files you open, the more payments we receive.  If you never use the sofware, it costs you nothing.  If you use it a lot, then you have gotten the business and the money from your clients, and our per file transaction fee is just a disbursement on the file.

I applaud TotalAttorney’s pricing model; it is flexible and based on usage.  In fact, the $1 fee is less of a “charge” and more of a way of getting your credit card authorization on file for the added TotalAttorney apps.  Way to go.

Every once in a while you come across an interesting tech article that gets to the HEART of what distinguishes successful well-run companies from their competition.  Often, what is said is common sense, but put in a particularly pithy manner.  In the Baseline.com article How Stupid Companies Treat Customers, Dennis McCafferty makes a few key points that are often forgotten.

Service Desks are ASSETS, Not Liabilities

One Size does NOT fit all.  Personalization is KEY

Customization and personalization should not be a SECOND phase, but should be built into the design from the beginning.

Previously, I have written about XpressDox integration with Salesforce.com and Advologix from a technical side, how from Microsoft Word you can access your template library, launch a template, and pull data from a Salesforce.com based practice management system.  Such approach is very powerful and cost effective.  But it also requires you to have Microsoft Word installed with an XpressDox plugin.

This post, however, focuses on implementation of a completely cloud-based assembly engine integrated into Salesforce.com.  A prototype has been tested and implemented on a client site; however the tool is not yet ready for public distribution.   In this system, a simple button would be added to the Matter object (or any object) in Salesforce.

Your template would have been posted to the XpressDox Cloud.  When you click on the button, an embedded window in Salesforce would show you the folders for your templates on the XpressDox Cloud-server.  You can navigate down the folder tree to select the template you wish to use.  When you click on the template, it will launch an embedded interview, right in Salesforce.

The exciting part is what occurs under the hood.  The XpressDox integration, which will eventually be offered as a CustomApp on Salesforce, sends to the XpressDox server an XML string which contains a unique ID for the Matter (or other Custom Object).  The unique ID is included in an XML answer set that may contain data that has been saved from previous assembly of documents for that Matter.  Using the XpressDox integration discussed in an earlier post (CLICK ON LINK), you can use that unique ID to pull data from the Matter, as well as any linked objects, including child objects.

And this is the beginning.  Because, the system merges the imported data with the prior answer set.  You are presented the interview which has an elegant, customizable skin (basic CSS stylesheet).  In the interview you are presented all RELEVANT questions for the select templates.  And you are also presented the data from Salesforce.  If, in this process, you change the data in the interview, that data is written back to Salesforce.  Not just into the XML storage of the answer set.  It is written back to any Salesforce fields on the parent object AND the child objects.  This is powerful.  For it allows the interview to serve as a powerful wizard for populating Salesforce.

At the end of the process, you are given a download link for the completed template.  You can download and open it in Word.  And then, you can save it to a Cloud storage location of your choice, whether it be the AdvologixPM Content management system, or NetDocuments, or SpringCM, Box.Net or DropBox.

If your are interested, as always, please contact me privately.