Daily Tropical Downpour

It is two fifty p.m. here in Atenas and we are enjoying the daily downpour. I love the sound of the heavy rain on the tin roofs, the air has cooled and smells wonderful. The usual thunder and lightning.

One thing I have learned, get your laundry done first thing in the morning! Nobody uses dryers here (why would they when they have the sun and fresh air to dry the clothes for free all year) so wet wash has to be hung out early enough to dry before the rains. Sometimes the lights flicker but we haven't lost power yet.

Genny never did like thunder storms and she doesn't like them any better here. We open a cupboard door for her and in she goes to hide away in her little nest until the all clear. Maybe over time she will adapt but she doesn't like loud noises of any kind so I sort of doubt it.

Magda, who owns this resort, sometimes offers dinners to her guests. We've had two so far and they were delicious - she's a great chef. Last week, at one of these dinners, she introduced us to two expat Canadians, Diane and John. They are from the Maritimes and have been living in Atenas for quite some time. They built the most beautiful house up in the hills.

Diane and John very graciously offered to drive us to the city of Alajuela yesterday because we think it is where we want to live. It has more amenities for us than the more rural town of Atenas. We had lunch in a Mexican restaurant - excellent - and went to a number of big grocery stores (love the names: Mega-Superstore, AutoMercado) and Price Smart, which is like WalMart. Also tried to find a new keyboard for my laptop, but no luck so far.

Walked around Alajuela - it's similar in some ways to San Jose, lots of noise and traffic, but also lots of restaurants! Interesting shops. We would like to find a house about a 10 minute taxi ride from the city, in a quiet area, all or partially furnished, and if I could have a pool that would be divine.

Two Ticas have rented the cabina next to us - Magda told them about us - and now they've offered to help find us a place to rent. The people here are amazing. Magda even said she'd drive us there. They know the good and bad areas and we don't. So there you go - word of mouth, it's who you know.

Bought some chicken breasts yesterday so I'm going to marinate them in oil with lime juice from the fresh limes we were given yesterday. No stove in our cabina, but four countertop burners and a microwave so I should be able to do something with them. I can make a salad from the tomatoes and mangos too.