Lunch - Northern Roots Bar & Restaurante

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This newly opened restaurant is located in Santa Gertrudis Norte and is about a 7 minute drive from our house near Grecia.

We recently ate lunch here and will be going back for sure. They have started offering breakfast on the weekends.

The menu (prices are in colones - 1,000 colones is about $1.87 USD):

Lance ordered arroz con camarones (rice with shrimp), accompanied with a salad and fries:

For me, I got the pasta salsa rosada con salmon (pink sauce pasta with salmon):

We accompanied our meals with glasses of chardonnay. 

Then - dessert! Crème brûlée de vainilla. We shared one portion. It was so delicious that it disappeared before I took a photo of it.

The ambience of Northern Roots is really nice.  There is an outdoor eating area with a lovely view.

Personable and friendly staff. Large parking area. We are fortunate to have lots of excellent restaurants to choose from in and around Grecia.

Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - June 2023

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

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 135. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions - e.g. Guadeloupe - an Overseas Department and Region of France (not included above) from which two visits have been received.

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

The "green season" with at least some rain on most days was in full swing. Most mornings had little or no rain. Most afternoons had at least some rain - on occasion very heavy rain for short periods of time. Temperatures were moderate and generally comfortable. On the hottest day (84°F/28.9°C) the corresponding relative humidity was 64%. This leads to a heat index or "feels like" temperature of 86°F/30°C.

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Off topic

ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica) recently published the 2023 July-August issue of its EL RESIDENTE magazine. Lance and I are members of ARCR.

A PDF version of the magazine can be viewed and/or downloaded HERE. It contains many articles and references which may be of general interest or to those planning a visit or move to Costa Rica.

Update - Our Subaru Forester and Grupo Purdy

We have our vehicle home now. Here is the work that Purdy did and the charges were:

• Replace battery (has a warranty): 114,675 CRC (approximately $212.87 USD). This price included a 25% discount,
• Injector cleaning kit (10% discount): 28,055 CRC (approximately $52.00 USD).
• Labour (10% discount):  24,255 (approximately $45.00 USD).
• Total final cost: 150,387 CRC (approximately $280.00 USD).

Work they did at no charge:

• Check engine - spark plugs, air filter, oil filter, etc. 
• Wash and clean car inside and out.
• Replace clips that held the driver’s side door panel in the correct position.
• Totally removed a scratch on the passenger side that ran from stem to stern. This happened when we were pushed too close to the side of a road by a large truck. The bushes we were passing or something in the bushes made the long scratch. We did not ask them to do this and I don’t know how they removed the marks! The vehicle looks great.

Our contact at Purdy - Pedro Alfaro - (Spanish/English) kept us informed via WhatsApp and telephone. We have nothing but good things to say about Grupo Purdy in Grecia and this is the only place we will be taking our vehicle to from now on.

Physiotherapy and Purdy Motors, Grecia

The other day I had another physiotherapy appointment for my knee at Terapia Física. I usually just go by myself because it would be boring for Lance to sit around a waiting room for an hour. But this day he decided to come with me. We were planning on grocery shopping afterwards.

The best laid plans, etc. Got into our car (Subaru Forester) after my appointment and it would not start. Battery? Alternator? 

We decided to go by taxi to Purdy Motors (Grupo Purdy in Spanish).  I WhatsApp’d the red taxi folk (the red ones are the official taxis of Costa Rica) and it didn’t take long for one to arrive. The driver had the best haircut - it was shaved into a star on the back of his head. He was pleased when I told him it looked cool.

Why Grupo Purdy? As La Nacional put it:

“Lovers of adventure and safety when driving received good news since Grupo Purdy officially announced that it is the exclusive representative of the Subaru brand in Costa Rica.

This announcement comes along with the inauguration of a new showroom where lovers of this renowned brand will be able to live an experience in keeping with the characteristics they already know from Subaru.

According to Jorge Guerra, manager of Grupo Purdy's Ominicanal, the incorporation of Subaru into the Grupo Purdy vehicle portfolio provides Subaru consumers with all the protection and support that comes with a 64-year track record of success in Costa Rica.”

Also, they are located in our town of Grecia. 

A nice receptionist found a bilingual representative for us - Pedro. He asked: “What is the problem with your car”? Lance explained what was going on. In no time at all, we were in a Purdy vehicle with a mechanic and a battery charger on our way to our vehicle parked in front of my physio clinic. It was the battery! Temporarily charged up, we drove to the Purdy lot with Pedro following us. We left our Subaru there to have a new battery installed and have a couple of other things checked out. Pedro asked if we needed a ride home.

We said we would call for a taxi from Mas x Menos right next door, because we still needed to stock up for the weekend. And that’s what we did. Mas x Menos is a good sized grocery chain here.

We were so impressed with Purdy’s service and we will use only them from now on. They have the well trained mechanics, the proper equipment, and the knowledge. Plus super helpful and very nice staff.

Our Subaru Forester

Click on images to enlarge.