Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - May 2025

Click on images to enlarge.

During May, visits to this blog were received from the following 9 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 137. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions; for example Macau - a special administrative region (SAR) of China. from which 1 visit has been received.

_____________________________________________

The following is a summary of the weather for May in the area where we live:

The rainy (or "green") season arrived in full force during May and the amount of rainfall was unusually high. The 27 days with measurable rain compares with19 days in May last year. and the amount was almost double that measured last year. In fact, it was more than May of any year since the time in 2018 when we moved to the Grecia region.

On most days, the sky did not begin to cloud up until the late morning or early afternoon. So, daytime high, low and average temperatures were roughly the same as last year.

The erupting Poás Volcano began to settle down in May. Compared to April, the amount of ashfall with consequent effect on air quality was substantially less.

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

Here is a photo I took (0450 this morning) from our house of last night’s Strawberry Moon:

Fourteen Years! and Jurassic Park.

Fourteen years ago, we landed in Costa Rica!

 

You can read about our move here. It has been a great fourteen years. Moving sight unseen to a foreign country has been a wonderful experience for us. So much to learn, so many new things, finding our way through the ins and outs of a new culture - we wouldn’t change a thing.

Now we live just outside the town of Grecia in the Central Valley. We live in a Tico neighbourhood with super neighbours. We have Costa Rican and ex-pat friends. Grecia is large enough to offer us many amenities and at the same time it is rural. We are surrounded by sugar cane and coffee fields. 

Here’s to another fourteen years!

Today was Festival del Amor at our Grecia park. There was a children’s show, a healthy cooking show, live concert, food - and dinosaurs!

We were having breaking at Arte Latte across from the park and walked around afterwards to see the dinos.

Here is a short video I made of the dinosaurs.

By the way, footage of Cocos Island (Spanish: Isla del Coco), Costa Rica was used in the opening sequence of "Jurassic Park" the movie.

The Importance of Having Contacts in Costa Rica

Click on images to enlarge.

We have made quite a few Costa Rican friends here and they are always available when we need help.

Minor is a bilingual retired EMT who now works for a Canadian company here. He has helped us with medical appointments at our hospital as our translator. He also helped us out during our last move. He arranged for a transport truck to help us move from Puente de Puedra to San Roque de Grecia, where we now live.

Alex is one of our taxi drivers when our car is out of commission. Recently we were parked at Super Rosvil grocery and our vehicle would not start - new battery was dead. Two strangers stopped to help. They gave us a boost but it still would not turn over. I WhatsApp’d Alex and 15 minutes later he showed up in his red taxi and got the car started. We drove straight home and let the car run for 15 minutes, as per his instructions. We continued driving the car as it continued to start and run.

The same thing happened again just the other day. Parked in downtown Grecia - battery dead. Lance flagged down a taxi and the driver got it going with a boost. Home we went. By the way, the taxi drivers are great for boosts and changing flat tires. I once had two Super Rosvil managers change a tire for me. They just came out of the store and did it.

We contacted our mechanic Josué. He recently installed the new battery. He picked up our Subaru at our house and took it to his shop. Turns out it was an electrical problem draining the battery. There were some other problems which he is now fixing and hopefully we will have our car back today. It’s not a new vehicle so problems can be expected.

There’s also Coco, a tow truck driver we know. I can WhatsApp him anytime if we need a tow.

Costa Ricans are great sources of information also. Alex referred us to Josué. Minor found Coco for us. They are wonderful friends. I once had a nice lady (bilingual) come up to me at our Ebais clinic. She offered her help when I saw the nurse and told me to call her any time.

Off Topic

As mentioned in my last blog post (April 2025) we have been having heavy rains. A storm that blew through the other day was fierce. Strong winds were blowing the rain sideways.  It resulted in this heavy mud floating down our laneway onto part of our patio and in front of our garage.

Our landlord Luis arranged for Toño and his helper to clean it up for us, which they did in short order.

Turns out the mucky mess is from a vacant lot next to us that is being developed and there is a lot of dirt piled up. Luis’ uncle lives near us and he is keeping an eye on the lot. Luis lives in Guanacaste (northern Costa Rica).

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - April 2025

During April, visits to this blog were received from the following 10 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012. In addition to the numbers shown, there was 1 visit in April from an unidentified location.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 137. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - for example the Isle of Man - a self-governing British Crown Dependency from which 1 visit has been received.

_____________________________________________

The following is a summary of the weather for April in the area where we live:

Similar to the last 3 months, there was again an unusual amount of cloud cover in April. Generally, the result was lower daytime high temperatures and higher overnight low temperatures. But, the clouds produced very little rain. In fact, in the area where we live, the amount of rain in April this year was less than any previous year.

Last month, I speculated that the erupting Poás Volcano might be having some affect on the weather in the area where we live. In view of the ongoing low amount of rain, Lance was prompted to pose the following question to Search Labs | AI Overview (a Google platform):

"Has the erupting Poás Volcano affected weather in Costa Rica."?

The answer was as follows:

'Yes, the erupting Poás Volcano in Costa Rica has significantly affected the weather, particularly in areas southwest of the volcano. Ashfall and volatile gases, carried by prevailing winds, have led to reports of ash deposition, acid rain, and poor air quality." Here's a more detailed look:

Ashfall and Air Quality:

The Tico Times reports in its April 14, 2025 edition that ash emissions from the volcano have been constant, with ashfall reported to the south and southwest. This has led to complaints of irritated eyes, skin, and respiratory problems in areas like San Luis de Grecia.

Acid Rain:

In the same edition, the Tico Times also indicates that acid rain has been an issue in areas like Grecia, due to the volcanic gases.

Wind Patterns:

The prevailing winds are carrying the ash and gases, particularly towards the southwest, leading to the effects mentioned above.

Water Quality:

Heavy rainfall atop the volcano could lead to increased ash and debris entering rivers, potentially impacting water quality in downstream communities, The Tico Times states in its April 24, 2025 edition."

                                    ____________________________________________

The references to Grecia in Tico Times are indefinite.  We live in San Roque de Grecia which is one of 7 districts in the Grecia Canton. The Canton covers a wide area generally southwest of the Poás Volcano. Another district is the City of Grecia. Click HERE to see a map from Google Maps where the Canton has been bordered in red. The word Grecia appears on the map and is positioned precisely where the City is located. We live a short distance northeast of the city.

The map includes a link to "Parque Nacional Volcán Poás". If you click on the link you may get a message that the park is "Open" but will close at 4 p.m. or that the park is "Closed" but will open at a specified time on the next day. Don't believe it. The park is presently under "Red Alert" meaning that nobody will be allowed in without proper authorization. Whoever, if anybody, is responsible for keeping Google Maps information up to date is not doing their job.

There are 3 levels of "Alert": Red, Orange, and Yellow. At most, on some days, we have been under a Yellow Alert. We have encountered ash fall and reduced air quality. But, we have not encountered noticeable acid rain or reduction in first class water quality.

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

   

It’s My Birthday and I’ll Eat Dim Sum

Click on images to enlarge.

And, no, I am not revealing my age. As soon as one does that, one gets lumped into a category and there they stay.

Lance took me out for dim sum, one of our favourite meals when we lived in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.  Richmond, B.C., (near the international airport) has many excellent Asian restaurants - and dim sum restaurants are excellent.

We found an Asian restaurant here in our town of Grecia - Restaurante Sian Wei. It is really nicely decorated. There is an attached parking lot.

We started off with a Bavarian beer for Lance and a glass of red wine for me. 

All meals come with a complimentary bowl of broth and it was very tasty:

We ordered min pao de lechón (steamed buns with a meat filling), ja kao (dumplings with shrimp filling) and wonton frito relleno con camaron (fried wontons with shrimp stuffing).

I was so busy eating that I forgot to take photos but everything was quite good. And there was enough left over to bring home for another meal. They have a lot more than dim sum on their menu so we’ll return to try other dishes.

All in all, an excellent birthday.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - March 2025

Click on images to enlarge.

During March, visits to this blog were received from the following 9 countries:

Each country is followed in brackets by the total number of visits received since records first started to be kept in November 2012.

From the time I started to keep track, the total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 137. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - for example, Hong Kong - a special administrative region of China from which 13 visits have been received.

_____________________________________________

The following is a summary of the weather for March in the area where we live:

Similar to January, February and now March there was an unusual amount of cloud cover on many days in March. Generally, the result was again lower daytime high temperatures and higher overnight low temperatures. But, consistent with the "dry season", not much rain.

Part of the reason might be the Poas Volcano which is not far from where we live. Lately, it has been erupting and producing large volumes of fine ash.

Information on current and recent weather conditions, climate change and more in various parts of Costa Rica can be obtained from the website of IMN: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) or National Institute of Meteorology (English). IMN also has a Facebook page which may be of interest.

Cats and More Cats

Click on images to enlarge.

Don’t ever say: “We don’t want to have any more cats”.

It immediately attracts the attention of the Cat Distribution System (aka CDS). In the last several months, we have had a Siamese cat stroll in and out of our house at will. He’s a snob. Doesn’t really acknowledge us - just flicks his ears at the sound of our voices. Walks through the entire house to inspect it, probably judging us. If you try to touch him, he is super quick with his front paws, claws extended. He belongs to a neighbour - he’s clean and well fed - so just a visitor.

Next up for our selection: Little Orange Cat. A small female, a bit nervous but affectionate to a point. She showed up every day until:

This unneutered tom came waltzing into the kitchen one morning. He has the longest legs and is quite pushy. Orange Kitty and this tabby didn’t fight but he established dominance immediately.

So we don’t see Orange Kitty very often now. Now Big Tom is here all day every day, but goes somewhere else at night. He too must be someone’s pet because he is super cuddly and in good shape.

Here he is airing out his “trouble puffs”:

And an art lover:

Lance set up a bird video on my iPad for him to watch:

So all this visiting was working out fine until the day he got underfoot. I tripped over him and fell down, hitting a cabinet on the way. Right arm partially skinned! Bump on head, sore right shoulder. One very red toe. 

The next day we decided I should go to a clinic to have the arm cleaned up. And off we went to Clinica Medica Sanchez here in Grecia.  You can see a general practitioner without an appointment. They also accept MediSmart, a discount medical plan.

Not all doctors at this clinic accept this plan so I waited for one that did, and she arrived at 10:00 am. Dra. Estefany Pacheco is really nice. She asked the usual questions, made sure nothing was broken, then passed me over to a nurse to deal with the arm injury. Well I have to say that debriding a wound with a cleaning solution of some sort does involve a bit of pain! That done, she covered the area with bandage and then ten feet of gauze wrapped around.

I left the clinic with antibiotic cream to put on it every 8 hours. You will not believe what this visit cost me! Doctor consult: 8,100 CRC (about $23 CAD) and 5,000 CRC (about $15.00 CAD) for the infirmary treatment.

Too bad we can’t sue cats for bodily harm.