Just in Time For Christmas Art Show and Music Festival, Atenas

As I mentioned in my November 29th post, I had been invited to participate in this art show and of course I accepted. It was to run from December 9 to 11, 2022, with setup of art works, etc., on December 8. The show was held at Colinas del Sol. Our plan was to stay in the Atenas area from December 8 to 12 rather then drive back and forth from Grecia.

About a week prior, we received notice from our Asada that they would be installing new water pipes on our street and directly in front of our laneway starting on December 6. Our landlord Luis confirmed that in all probability we would not be able to drive into or out of our lane on December  6.

Plan B: Since we did not know when this might start or how many days this might take, and since the imperative was to get my art work to Atenas on December 8, we decided to stay at La Terraza Guest House B&B in Grecia, together with my paintings, for the nights of December 5, 6 and 7. This would ensure that we would be able to get to Atenas on the 8th. This turned out to be an excellent plan as Luis told us later that indeed our laneway was blocked as he drove by.

La Terraza is not far from our house and the host, Charles E. Owens, is very welcoming. So is his manager, Natalia. We had a nice room with king bed and porch with two rocking chairs. Breakfast is included (coffee, juice, gallo pinto, steamed vegetables, poached egg, toast). Everyone eats on the large veranda so you get to meet other guests.

The property is beautiful. A river runs down at the bottom and beyond that are various fruit trees. 

Our balcony:

The pottery was made by Romeo Gallegos. I did a blog post on Romeo - dated January 24, 2022.

Our next stop was Hotel Villas de la Colina just outside Atenas, where we stayed for December 8, 9 and 10. Atenas is quite mountainous and this property has fantastic views. We had a cabin overlooking the hillside with a full kitchen and wraparound balcony with table and chairs.

Breakfast is included here also. There is a swimming pool at the bottom of the property. Again, really nice hosts.

View from the dining area:

Part of the dining area:

View from our balcony:

Hammock included:

One night we ordered a pizza:

Which attracted Lola, the resident bulldog:

Lola would pop in for a visit and make herself at home:

On the morning of the 8th, it was time to take my paintings to Colinas del Sol for setup and hanging. Here’s my display:

The painting in the middle left - “Painted Lady” - sold before the show officially opened. The horse painting on top - “Alberta Wildie” - was exhibited in Washington, D.C. See my blog post dated March 11, 2022. By the way, the painting at the middle right of “Madam Justice Bovina” sold after the show ended.

Besides paintings, there were handmade soaps, orchids, photographs, jars of pickles and lime curd, etc.

By all accounts the arts festival was a big success with 10% of the proceeds of sales going to several different Atenas charities. The ladies that organized the show are to be highly commended.

Because Hotel Villas de la Colina were booked up for December 11, we went to stay at Eden Atenas B&B for that night. Again, another friendly and helpful host. Our room had a fully equipped kitchen and balcony. Breakfast is available but not included. There is a swimming pool.

Click on images to enlarge.

Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Every year since our friend Pete Snider made this Christmas tree from Costa Rican beach driftwood, I have posted a photo of it. This is 2022’s photo:

It’s on the front of our gate at our house at San Roque de Grecia. We moved here in April, 2022, from our rental house in Puente de Piedra, Grecia.

Pete was our neighbour when we lived in Vista Atenas.

Here is the tree when we lived in Puente de Piedra, Grecia:

Click on images to enlarge.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - November 2022 / Covid-19 Update

I apologize for the lateness of this report but I have been involved with an art and music festival in Atenas during the last week. This ended yesterday so I am now back home and on our normal routine.

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

The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 135. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc.

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The following is a summary of the weather during November and from April 11, 2022 to November 30, 2022 in the area where we live:

The coldest daytime high temperature, 68ºF (20ºC), occurred on two successive days with almost continuous drizzling rain. It was the second coldest daytime high that we have experienced during all our time in Costa Rica.

In contrast, there was a 5 day period during the month with moderately high temperatures, no rain and relatively low humidity - a sign of the upcoming “dry season” in the Central Valley of Costa Rica.

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Covid-19 Update

The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on November 6, 2022:

With regard to the Death Rate Trend, the rate has risen by 0.01% in Canada but remains unchanged in Canada and the United States.

If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to Costa Rica, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.

Click on images to enlarge.

Just In Time For the Holidays Art Show and Music Festival, Atenas

Mark your calendars for these dates, folks! December 9 to 11 - the 2022 art show and sale at Colinas del Sol, Atenas. Twenty-one local artists, artisans and musicians will be at this three day event. This is your chance to fill the Christmas stockings with high quality art, jewellery, pottery, ceramics, photography, soaps, candles and more!!

I will be there! This be me:

Margaret Centorcelli Photography

Here are just a few of the pieces that I will be offering:

“Moodiness”:

“Moo-tual Friends”:

“When Pigs Fly”

“Costa Rica Siesta”

Click HERE to see my art web page.

Click on images to enlarge.

Dinner Takeaway - Felipe’s KC BBQ, Grecia

Recently I saw an ad for Felipe’s KC BBQ in Grecia. It was on one of the expat Facebook pages. These are great sources for information sharing and I belong to lots of them. Click HERE to see the ad on Facebook that caught my attention (be sure to turn on the sound).

They have been open for just a couple of weeks and at the moment are offering only two menu items: pork rib and pulled pork tacos and both are accompanied with cheesy corn and baked beans.

I ordered one of each and picked them up for Sunday dinner. I got to meet Phil and his partner - super nice guys. Phil gave me a lesson in BBQ’ing and smoking meats. The pork rib had smoked for 12 hours. We don’t BBQ so this method of cooking was interesting to learn about.

They are located in Grecia just around the corner from Gasolinera Sanchez Viquez - “X” marks the spot:

All the items were very good with the pulled pork and the two sides being my favourites. Portions are large and we had leftovers the next day. I forgot to take photos of the two dishes but did take one of the next day leftovers:

So support your local businesses and go say “hi” to the guys. Prices are reasonable, portions are large and the BBQ is excellent.

Click on images to enlarge.

Lunch - Monsoon Asian Bistro, Atenas

Recently we met our friends Tony and Rose Mary for lunch at Monsoon Asian Bistro.

When we lived in Vista Atenas, Tony and Rose Mary were our neighbours. Here are the happy couple:

Monsoon has an extensive menu. They feature Indian, Indo-Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Thai cuisines and also offer Italian pizzas - just my sort of restaurant. You can view their menu with the link provided above to their website.

Garlic naan bread from the tandoor oven and margaritas:

Lance ordered the chicken biryani:

I decided on the spicy Goan fish curry:

Tony and Rose Mary both ordered the chicken curry (I think). Portions are large and we took quite a bit of it home. All the food was delicious. Definitely returning to this restaurant to try some other cuisines.

From the guide Best Restaurants in Atenas, Costa Rica:

“Owner of Monsoon: David Mander was born in Scotland and moved to Canada with his parents. David’s Mom taught him authentic cooking skills during his entire childhood. In 2002, David opened the very first Indian restaurant in Costa Rica and after years of success, he moved back to Canada in 2016 to pursue his career as an airline pilot.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, David was laid off from his job so he returned to Costa Rica and officially opened Monsoon Asian Bistro and Pizza on July 4, 2021. Monsoon’s chef Ganga Singh (from Uttarakhand, India) is passionate about cooking, and David’s restaurant is open all year round from Wednesday-Sunday, even during major holidays!”

Click on images to enlarge.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - October 2022 / Covid-19 Update

During October, visits to this blog were received from the following 17 countries:

The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 135. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc.

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

We were mildly sideswiped by hurricane Julia as it crossed Nicaragua late night on October 8 continuing well into the day on October 9. With a few short breaks, we had a steady and persistent drizzle of rain totalling about 2 3/4 inches (~ 70 mm). But, the winds were relatively light. Overall, the situation was not nearly as torrential as in some areas of Nicaragua. 

With the rain from Julia, there was also a lot of fog. The result was a record low daytime high temperature for us during all our time in Costa Rica - a mere 64ºF (17.8°C).

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Covid-19 Update

The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on October 9, 2022:

With regard to the Death Rate Trend, the rate has fallen by 0.04% in Costa Rica but has risen by 0.01% in Canada. As indicated, the United States remains unchanged.

If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to Costa Rica, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.

After a hiatus, Worldometer is again reporting U.S. population numbers, cases per million and deaths per million on the same web page as other Covid data. Thus, unlike the last while, it was not necessary to obtain population data from an unrelated Worldometer web page to determine cases per million and deaths per million for the U.S.

Click on images to enlarge.

Hearing Doctor Appointment

A couple of weeks ago we drove to Escazú for an appointment with my hearing doctor, Dr. Natalie Goldgewicht Davidovich. Because of Covid-19, we had not been able to see her for a couple of years. I suspected my hearing aids needed to be recalibrated due to further loss of hearing. Or, as Lance said to Dr. Davidovich at this appointment: “she can’t hear!”.

I remember my grandmother and grandfather on my mother’s side both wore old fashioned hearing aids … the battery pack was the size the size of a deck of cards that they wore in a pocket on their clothes. So I suppose this is where I inherited the hearing loss from because it doesn’t relate to anything else in my life. Hearing aids today are totally different, very sophisticated.

The drive there was uneventful until we reached the Centro Commercial mall on Avenida Escazú. We mistakenly drove down into a dark, private underground parking lot and eventually reached a gate which wouldn’t open without a pass card. I think that was my fault …. I said “oh yeah, turn left here”. Lance had to back up in the dark along the curved and upwardly sloped driveway. It was tricky and he did a good job. We then drove into the public lot and went to my appointment.

Sure enough, the audiogram showed further loss. The hearing aids I have are Signia Pure Charge&Go. They were not inexpensive but well worth it. I have an app on my iPad and my phone that lets me control the sound levels and I can choose where sounds are coming from. For instance, in a noisy environment such as a restaurant I can adjust them so I can better hear the person sitting in front of me and not all the other diners. And mine are also hooked up to Bluetooth so I can listen to videos on my iPad or movies on our TV directly into my ears.

So that was done for another year and we headed for Auto Mercado in Santa Ana for some high end grocery shopping. 

Driving home, we saw a downed power pole on Hwy. 1 at the turnoff to Grecia. The turnoff itself was blocked by another downed pole so we had to detour back to Hwy. 1 north and get to our house via Sarchi.

We made a dashcam movie of the drive, except for the portion of driving from Sarchi to our house, because we previously did that and you can see in on my YouTube channel.

A Lightning Strike and Noisy Parakeets

Yesterday afternoon we experienced a fierce lightning storm with torrential rain. I was in the kitchen when I saw out of the kitchen window a red and orange fireball followed by an ear splitting crash of thunder.

You can imagine how fast I departed that room! Looking around outside today, we saw the tree that the lightning had hit. It was in the vacant lot below us. Bark had been stripped from it, some of which was blown onto our property.

Here’s the tree - you can see where the bark has been stripped off:

Debris on our patio walkway:

The strike even blew a piece of bark around the corner of our house, where it landed on this bush:

On a less scarier note, last week a huge flock of parakeets landed on this same tree and held a noisy convention for a good while. As you can see from the video I made, they are hard to identify because they blended so well into the green leaves. My best guess is that they were crimson-fronted parakeets, the most common parakeet in the Central Valley, where we live. If anyone can make a more definitive identification please let me know.

Turn up the sound!

Click on images to enlarge.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - September 2022 / Covid-19 Update

During September, visits to this blog were received from the following 9 countries, 1 unidentified European country and, for the second time in the last two months, 1 totally unidentified country (Europe, Asia or otherwise):

The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received has risen to 135. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc. The latest country is Guyana located in South America. The visit came from Georgetown, Guyana's capital city.

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

Temperatures during September were moderate and relatively unremarkable. The real story was rainfall. Except for a single day, there was at least some rain every day - ranging from 0.01 inches (25 mm) to over 5 inches. The total rainfall for the month was the most we have ever encountered during any single month since our arrival in Costa Rica in 2011 and, with 3 months to go, the total rainfall this year to the end of September has now exceeded that during the full 12 months of any previous year. 

Despite the amount of rain, most days in September were marked by several hours in the mornings by broken clouds and no rain.

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Covid-19 Update

The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on September 5, 2022:

With regard to the Death Rate Trend, the rate has risen by 0.01% in Canada, but has fallen by 0.01% in Costa Rica and the United States.

If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to Costa Rica, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.

Click on images to enlarge.

Lunch - Chirinquitos Del Rio Restaurante & Bar, Grecia, Costa Rica

Today we returned for a second time to have lunch at Chirinquitos Del Rio Restaurante & Bar. I wrote a previous post about our first visit to this restaurant and you can read it here.

The setting above and beside the river is so nice. Because we have had so much rainfall this green season the river was full and running fast. The sound of it is nice to hear.

Their menu is quite extensive and I remembered how large the lunch portions were so this time we decided to order bocas, thinking the dishes would be more snack size and we could try several types.

Well folks, at this restaurant they are definitely NOT pequeño (small) dishes. We started with sangria. Even these are very generous sized. Lance ordered arroz con camarones and gallo de pescado. I too had the gallo de pescado and also the chifrijo de chicharrón, one of my favourite dishes.

Lance’s choices translate to shrimp with rice and breaded fish on a small corn tortilla. Both dishes came with chips and a salad. The rice was loaded with shrimp. My chifrijo is best explained here.

The sangria:

My gallo de pescada (and Lance ordered the same dish):

Lance’s arroz con camarones: 

And my chifrijo:

So, as the photos show, it was a lot of food and we brought a good deal of it home to enjoy tomorrow.

While up at the cashier, we met a customer from the U.S.A. who had brought his beautiful English cocker spaniel to lunch with him and a friend (it’s not unusual here to see dogs and cats in restaurants - some of them live there). Well of course I had to make friends with this doggie, whose name is Junior. Outside at our cars, we had a good chat about what brought us to Costa Rica. He was of like mind and had the same mantra as we do - “if not now, when?”. He was a pharmacist and, while counting out pills every day, he pondered on making the move and then did it. We all agreed that this is our home now and we have no intentions of leaving.

Dim Sum in Sarchi, Alajuela, Grecia!

I had read good reviews about Bar Restaurante Sabor Oriental in Sarchi, a town about a 20 minute drive from our house in San Roque de Grecia. So we decided to drive there and try it out for ourselves.

Map of our drive:

When I looked at their menu on line, I discovered that they served dim sum, one of our favourite traditional Chinese meals. All prices indicated are in Costa Rican colones.

We ordered the ha koa, the siu mai, the lao won bao and the empanadas chino al vapor (steamed not fried), aka gyoza.

The traditional drink to have with dim sum is tea but we opted for frosty cold Imperial beers.

When the food arrived, I was so busy eating it that I forgot to take pictures but did remember at the last moment and so here we have a photo of two of the items we ordered:

The dim sum was excellent. We will definitely be going back here for dim sum. It’s so much closer then driving to the Asian restaurants in San José.

We made a dash cam video of our drive to Sarchi:

Click on images to enlarge.