Seven Years!

May 31, 2011 - on this date seven years ago, at 8:30 pm, we landed in Costa Rica. We had met our goal of moving here and arrived with six suitcases and one cat.

We had never been to Costa Rica before but had done a lot of research on line for some years before our actual move. We became interested in Costa Rica when a friend of ours visited here and raved about the country. Costa Rica looked more and more appealing for many reasons. It was time for a change and our motto is, “If not now, when?” 

Don’t get me wrong, Canada is a great country but we had driven every highway and byway on the Pacific Coast, been across and up and down Canada and the U.S.A. numerous times and just wanted to experience something different. We gave up the leases on our house and car, downsized our possessions, put what was left in a storage locker and took off. We had our cat Genny shipped by World Pet Travel. We cleared out the storage locker last August. Genny was an old cat when she came here and we lost her two years ago. Now we have another cat - a story for a different time.

We have never regretted our decision. Now we have moved from Atenas to Grecia (in the Central Valley) and are experiencing new roads, a new town, restaurants, markets and so on. We bought a car and are looking forward to road trips to see more of this beautiful country.

Every year, I post this photo. I did this NY Times crossword puzzle on the last leg of our flight here - San Francisco-Dallas-Costa Rica. I keep it as a reminder of how happy we were when we finally arrived and how happy we still are with our decision.

Garden Shops and More Breakfast

Today, we decided to go to a vivero (garden shop) in La Garita, Alajuela, for some bags of soil and orchid supplies. It is a trip of about 23 km from where we live in the Grecia area, depending on which route one takes.

Our plan was to stop for breakfast enroute and when we saw that Restaurant Café David at Rescate Animal Zoo Ave was open, we decided to try it. A good choice - not just for the food but also because of the surroundings and the peacock who gave us a display for most of our meal. He and his peahens were just a few feet away from us. In fact, one peahen strolled into the restaurant (open air as as usual). The peacock was absolutely stunning. He tried so hard to impress the ladies but they were totally disinterested.

Restaurante Café David is on the grounds of Rescate Animal Zoo Ave - a must see place. This is not a zoo in the traditional sense but a rescue and rehabilitation centre for injured Costa Rican wildlife. We’ve been there a couple of times. Some of the animals/birds can never be returned to the wild so they live here protected and so well looked after.

They we headed to Vivero Central La Garita  not far from Zoo Ave. I think it is the biggest vivero in the area. I have been told that the reason why there are so many viveros in La Garita is because the area has lots of aquifers and so there is plenty of water for all of them. The way it works at garden shops here is that you will be approached by a worker who will be your helper during your visit. We asked for bolsas de tierra (bagged soil) and our helper took us to where they were piled up. We selected two. No need for us to move them to our car. Next I needed orchid bark mix and he took me to that aisle. Bought three of those and then two bags of coconut coir, which I use to line the wire orchid baskets. Couldn’t resist buying two plants (not orchids) because the colour of the flowers was so lovely. The underleaves are purple. I forgot to note the name. All of these purchases were taken by our helper and when we reached the checkout, everything was piled up for us and he was writing out the prices and totalling it all up.

He gave me the slip, which I took to the cashier and paid. Back to the car and our helper was loading everything into it for us. This is such a great system  and as usual everyone is friendly and helpful.

Here are the pretty plants I bought:

My orchid supplies and the two bags of soil:

Air Conditioning, Breakfast, and Fruits and Vegetables

The air conditioning in our 2006 Subaru Forester has been unreliable for the past few months. It would operate just fine, then stop, then start. We don’t always use AC in the car, but it sure is nice to have it when needed. Last Saturday, we took it to Frio Grecia - a shop that specializes in automotive air conditioning. We were immediately ushered into a diagnostic slot and in a short time we were told part of the problem was a dirty filter (it was, we saw it being removed) and some minor repairs to the compressor. We decided to wait for the work to be done, which took a little over an hour. Final cost: 45,000 colones (about $80 USD). This includes a two month guarantee. We highly recommend Frio Grecia. I wonder what this would have cost in Canada.

Notice that I am called “Diana Florence” on this invoice! I get that a lot here. My full name is Diana Florence Miskell. I think it may have something to do with how females are named in Costa Rica. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe they think “Florence” is my father’s last name and “Miskell” is my mother’s. Anyway, when waiting for my name to be called in lineups, etc., I always listen for “Diana Florence” or “Diana Florence Miskell”. 

Then we went to Cafeteria Arte Latte for breakfast. This popular place is conveniently located near the Grecia church and park. Friendly service and a good breakfast. We had a ham and cheese omelette, a tomato and mushroom (fresh, not canned) omelette, a mango smoothie and Lance ordered a cappucino. Price: 9,030 colones (about $15 USD). The omelettes were large and came with a slice of toast. Some of the dessert items on the menu looked amazing.

We discovered a new (to us) place in Grecia to buy fruits, vegetables, organic eggs and lots of other things. It is called La Gran Bodega and they also have another store in San Ramon, about 32 km from Grecia. Although it is fun to go to the weekly feria, La Gran Bodega is really convenient and they have lots of parking. We went there today and loaded up on eggs, granadilla (passion fruit), chard, sliced almonds, apples, potatoes, papaya, sweet red peppers, tomatoes and a small bag of parmesan cheese. Apparently some of their prices are cheaper then those in the feria.

May 11, 2018 - Green Season Storm

Yesterday afternoon was the first real rain deluge we have experienced at our new house in Hacienda el Paseo. Over 2.5 inches of rain fell. It doesn’t take long for the land to really green up after the dry season. Here’s a video I made of the storm:

Note: If your browser does not support full screen, then click on the “YouTube” link.

Grecia Feria

The feria (farmers’ market) in Grecia is much larger than the Atenas feria. We went there this morning and came home with this bounty:

Four pineapples, spinach, papaya, melon, mango, tomatoes and fresh flowers for our living room.

We needed cat kibble and a few other items so we stopped at Super Rosvil and picked up more fruit and some advocados:

Notice the beautiful bowl. It was created by Atenas resident David Mallette and is made of mango wood. It was a gift to us from our friend Leticia.

Photos - Hacienda el Paseo

Here are a few collages of our new home in Hacienda el Paseo, Puente de Piedra - about a ten minute drive from Grecia, Alajuela. I found a good link that describes Grecia and the surrounding countryside. You can read it here.