Playing Tourist

We are currently entertaining VIP visitors, my sister and her husband. They arrived last week from Carlsbad Springs, Ontario, Canada.

Today we went to see the Poas volcano.  This volcano is a post in itself so I'll just say for now that it is well worth visiting - so amazing.

Lance checked the weather at 0530 and declared it a perfect day to see the volcano - clear skies. We were on the road just after 0730. We recommend getting to Poas by 1000 before clouds come in.  Lance was correct - the volcano was clear of clouds.

After the volcano visit, we drove to  Restaurante Chubascos for lunch. Restaurante Chubascos is 1 km north of Fraijanes and about 20 minutes from Poas. The setting is lovely, they have cabinas for rent and the food is excellent - they serve typical Costa Rican food. The portions are large and the fruit drinks delicious.

The cooler elevations of the Poas area support strawberry growing, dairy farming, lots of coffee plantations, cheese making and the views are incredible. We stopped along the side of the road and bought flats of fresh picked, juicy red strawberries and balls of the local white cheese. A large flat of berries cost 2,000 colones and the cheese was the same price.

Also recommended: use a GPS! We do and it makes things so much easier - most of the time. "Jill" steered us wrong a few times, leading us to a washed out road that was impassible.

Patacones rellenos.

Yuca appetizer

This soup was delicious, filled with good things.

Peace in the Valley

It will be a week tomorrow when the 7.6 quake hit Costa Rica. We didn't feel any aftershocks in the area around Atenas where we live but I know others have and it must have been scary. Our thoughts go out to those who suffered injuries, damage to homes and buildings or worse.

To mark this post-earthquake week, here are some photos I took which I hope you will find soothing.

The beautiful sunset last night.

Lychees are in season!

Lance took this photo of a lizard at the pump house.

More sunset - looking towards the Vista Atenas ridge from the Picaflora ridge.

Costa Rica - Where the Real Movers and Shakers Live

By now, the whole world must know about the powerful 7.6 earthquake that occurred this morning in Costa Rica. It's epicenter was beneath the Nicoya Peninsula and we live about 70 miles away. We have been minding a house in Picaflora while our friends are away and that is where I was when the quake hit.

Lance was at our house in Vista Atenas, one ridge over from the Picaflora ridge. He said he got out of the house in 3 seconds and the vehicle we are using was bouncing up and down. No damage to the house or property except for a fallen ornament.

As for me, I was in a lounge chair by the pool, keeping out of the way of the two housekeepers. It was the noise that first got my attention - a loud rumbling - then I saw the water in the pool was sloshing back and forth and over the sides. The ground was shaking and the doors in the house were rattling.

I, foolishly, ran into the house to check on Genny. She was under the bathroom counter making that mew mew mew sound that tells me she is frightened and stressed. I patted her until the shaking stopped. Cleo, the resident cat, was already outside and she turned up shortly seemingly unaffected.

The housekeepers had more sense than me - they immediately went outside and waited in the laneway.

Phone service was completely unavailable, probably because of heavy usage. There have been no aftershocks.

It's rather unnerving, although not unexpected of course. We were always waiting for "The Big One" to happen in Vancouver, B.C., and one day it will.

Not sure how much damage was done near the epicenter - will keep following the news reports. Hope people are okay.

Thanks to April for the great blog title!