2011 - The Year We Moved to Costa Rica - A Retrospective in Photos

Yesterday - May 31, 2019 - marks the 8th year we have lived in Costa Rica. On May 31, 2011, we flew from San Francisco, to Dallas, to Juan Santamaria Airport in Costa Rica. I can still remember how I felt as we landed - we’re really here! And we’ve never looked back. It’s been a great adventure - so many new things to learn, experiences, new friends, the great beauty of this country - I could go on and on.

So our journey actually began in Cloverdale, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada - a client of Lance’s had visited here and told us we had to visit also because it was such an incredible country. Lance started investigating on line and one thing led to another - we decided to move to Costa Rica. I have documented our journey on this blog since the beginning so I won’t go into all of it again.

But I decided to put together a montage of photos from 2011, and you can see them at here at the bottom of this post. It starts with some final visits with family and friends in British Columbia, getting rid of/selling most of our stuff (Lance’s huge oak desk is shown heading out the door), then moves on to our early morning loading of luggage into our friend Jon Churchill’s car en route to the train station in Vancouver. Jon thought we were crazy but was a great help. We boarded the Amtrak’s Cascade train to Seattle, overnighted there, then caught the fabled Amtrak Starlight Express to San Francisco and then Los Angeles. We got off in San Francisco and spent two nights there ... it’s one of my favourite cities. 

Then on to Dallas, and Costa Rica. We spent a week in San José, the capital city of Costa Rica, to meet with our immigration lawyer. We had previously sent our cat Genny ahead of us using World Pet Travel. Then we moved to Atenas and the rest is history.

Click on this link Costa Rica to view the photos.

Tuffy Update

Remember Tuffy? He's the cat who moved uninvited into our Cloverdale, B.C., house about six months before we moved to Costa Rica. We became attached to him and he to us so we did not want to just abandon him when we left.

We were bringing our cat, Genny, with us but had no wish to bring a second cat. To the rescue - my niece and her husband in Toronto, Ontario. We air shipped Tuffy to them and he adopted them as his own in no time.

An interesting aside to the Tuffy story - we were convinced Tuffy was female but it turned out he was not!

Here is a recent photo of Tuffy living the very good life in Toronto, Ontario. Thank you, Stephanie and Dave.

Photography: S.J. Kalinowski

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Hedge Trimming Time

Yesterday, we both decided it was time for haircuts. The last cut I had was in San Francisco the day before we flew to San Jose (May 31) and, folks, that cut cost $155 U.S. It was a great cut but surely the most expensive one I've ever had in my life and I was used to expensive Vancouver, B.C., salon prices. Lance's last haircut was even earlier than that.

Even in Cloverdale, where we lived and that was outside of Vancouver, my cuts cost $60 and Lance's cost $7 for a number 3 (shave the head, 5 minutes) which was a heck of a lot less than the $30 or  $40 that was charged in Vancouver.

So Lance went to a barber - Yugo - this morning ($5.00 CAD) and I went to the salon next to El Balcon del Cafe y Bistro where we had breakfast, and the cost for my great cut was 5,000 colones or $9.71 CAD.... that included a shampoo with conditioner, the cut and styling. I had brought in a photo of the cut I wanted and, although there was barely any Spanish/English cross-communication, my stylist did a fantastic job.  And I am sorry that I did not think to ask for her card so I could share the info with everyone. But everyone knows where the Balcony Cafe is, I think - you can order a Tico, German, American or light breakfast and they have a cooler full of locally made sausages, etc., for sale.... so it is the only salon right next to the cafe.

I said to Lance that my head looked a lot smaller and he said that is because you got rid of the big hair. I feel a lot cooler topside.

Oh, and I have to mention our taxi driver, Mario Castro. He and Jorge Calderon appear to be in business together and, if we can't reach Jorge, then we call Mario. So Mario picked us up this morning and we needed to be dropped off near a tailer I had found because Lance has a pair of jeans he bought in San Francisco that are much too large now. We both have dropped weight from around our midsections since arriving in Costa Rica....it is the healthy food, the weather, the Pura Vida!

The tailer was closed but Mario drove us, gratis, to another place that sells mens' clothing and also does alterations. Lance's altered jeans will be ready next week.

We are amazed, over and over again, about the friendliness of Ticos and Ticas .... both Jorge and Mario try to help us with our Spanish every time we meet them. Costa Rica is an amazing country.

Two Month Anniversary!!

It was May 31, 2011, that we flew from San Francisco to San Jose, CR, via Dallas. We left Vancouver, B.C., on May 27th, riding the rails on Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight trains. This is a train trip well worth doing.

Our cat Genny was shipped from her vet, Cats at Home, in Cloverdale, B.C., flying from Vancouver to Houston, TX, where she overnighted in feline luxury, and completed her voyage the next morning, flying to San Jose, then being met there and delivered to Veteinarios Asociados in Santa Ana, where she boarded until we picked her up once we finished our business in San Jose and moved to Atenas. Many, many thanks to Angela and her wonderful crew at World Pet Travel for taking such good care of Genny. And thank you wonderful people at Cats at Home for preparing Genny for her trip. Also thanks to the staff at Veteinarios Asociados for caring for Genny after her arrival. She has adapted and settled into her new home and country very well.

What do we think of our new home? It is everything we thought it would be - Costa Rica is a beautiful country - and we have barely scratched the surface. We found a lovely home to live in for the next year; we explored San Jose for a week and it's such an interesting city, very historic. We are learning our way around on the buses - cheap transportation and a great way to meet the locals and do what they do. We are enjoying the town of Atenas, meeting our great neighbors, eating at the sodas, trying to speak Spanish, the weather is amazing, so is the bird, plant and animal life .......

To sum up, we are very happy with our decision to try a new life in Costa Rica.

Oh yes, a big thank you to all the expats who have helped us on this journey - you know who you are and we won't forget you.

Out and About On My Own

Today I decided to walk into Atenas by myself. Ach, my feet! I really must buy proper runners.

Moving at the same pace I used on the treadmills when I was going to the gym every day in Cloverdale, I made it to the SuperMercado in about 45 minutes. Bear in mind that my shoes were crappy, the sidewalks are (a) broken, (b) non-existent, (c) covered in fallen ripe fruit, (d) chickens were walking on them, and (e) my absolute favorite - a caballista on a grey Paso Fino trotting up the same narrow sidewalk I was trotting down. I stood aside to let him pass, because that horse was kind of nervous looking and sweating but he steadied it to a standstill and waved me to pass.

I made it past without a kick to the noggin and continued on. Got distracted looking back at that horse and trying to count the beats of it's hooves on the sidewalk. There is something about the Paso Fino's movements that are very precise. I wonder if there is some hackney horse breeding in there.

Got my shopping done, checked out the CoopeAtenas coffee for sale and then hailed a taxi home -- where I soon realized I hadn't kept aside enough small colon bills to pay the taxi driver. A shout to Lance to bring me out some coins and I soon had enough to pay the driver.

Then we realized I had taken the house and fence keys with me, so Lance was essentially locked into the property unless he wanted to wade through the barbed wire fence. Oh well, it all worked out. But next time I must remember to bring our phone number with me in case I get into trouble somewhere.

You know what? My walk today beat any 30 minutes on any treadmill anywhere - the weather was perfect, the scenery was incredible, animals and birds everywhere - and I'm not paying gym fees!!

Exercising and Exploring Atenas

This morning we decided to walk to Atenas. It's about a 2 mile trek and, since it was overcast, good walking weather. An added plus is that it is all downhill - coming back would make me cranky if we were walking and Lance wouldn't be happy either - it would have warmed up too much for comfortable walking, especially carrying groceries. So we took a taxi home - so very reasonably priced.

I need to buy new running shoes. The ones I wore daily to the gym in Cloverdale were worn out so I didn't bother bringing them. If we are going to continue walking around here, we need the right footwear.

So we started off early and walking is the best way to see the neighbourhood. We said hola and buenos to all the Tico neighbors we passed, farm trucks were going up and down the highway, there were beautiful vistas to see, fat hens were pecking away in the yards and grass .... the two miles went fast.

If we had not been walking, we never would have found Soda y Cevichera Tita in Atenas. We were hungry and it looked interesting, so in we went. It is quite a large soda, part of which is filled with tropical plants and orchids. Local art on the walls, nice big kitchen, take out area.

Of course the menus are in Spanish. We could recognize some of the items. We know what casados are, so we each ordered the small size of pescado casados - we just didn't know what "pescado" means. Turns out it means fried fish and it was so good. I imagine the fish was tilapia since it is very common here. Came with two corn tortillas. I also ordered one of the cold, fresh fruit drinks (refrescos) which I've come to love.

It was a great breakfast, totally different. We wrote down the names of some of the other menu selections and translated them on line, so we can order something different next time. "Cevichera" in the restaurant's name refers to seafood marinated in lime juice and I definitely want to try that.

When we were in San Jose earlier this week, we ordered huevos maduro natilla which I thought was going to be like huevos rancheros but it was completely different. Lance didn't like the sauce much but at least we tried something different again.

We also discovered a barber shop today in Atenas. Since Lance will need a haircut soon, he is going to look up "number 3" on line and see if Costa Rican barbers will recognize that. I need a cut too and Magda gave me the name of a stylist in town so I will try her.

Earlier this week, by walking around the side streets, we discovered a dollar store so bought clothes pegs, a small garbage can to put Genny's used litter in, some juice glasses, etc. Also went into a vet's office - they have this crazy resident kitty living there. He was nuts, wrapped himself around my neck and purred and purred. They also sold garden supplies so I bought a hummingbird feeder and some tomato seeds.

We have found that you cannot "judge a book by it's cover" in Costa Rica. Some of the most unassuming store fronts harbour treasures inside....and if you don't explore, don't walk in the doors, you will never know what you are missing.

Day One of Our New Life

Friday, May 27th - here we are in Seattle at the www.hotelmaxseattle.com, a very nice place to stay. We had dinner in their restaurant www.redfinsushi.com - great food, service and martinis.

Enjoyed the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Seattle this morning. We stayed overnight in Vancouver on Thursday so we could get to the train station at the early hour of 5:00 a.m. Our good friend Jon Churchill was kind enough to come over on the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver to drive us and all our baggage from our house in Cloverdale, to the hotel in Vancouver, and then to the train station. It was very generous of him to offer to help us and we had a great evening together noshing and yakking. Thank you once more, Jon.

Speaking of baggage, we realized our two biggest suitcases were just too big and too heavy, even unpacked. So this afternoon, we went baggage shopping and bought two smaller versions which are much lighter and yet still hold the same amount of clothing as the big ones. The hotel very kindly disposed of our old luggage pieces.

Jon gave us a good idea to keep track of luggage - number each piece and do a count before leaving your hotel, or picking them up at the carousel. We have way more bags than we normally would and I'm finding it hard to find stuff I need.

Here are some photos from our nosh and dinner with Jon, a few views from the Cascades train, and Seattle. It was raining in Vancouver when we left but Seattle was sunny and warm with a good breeze.

Lance and Jon

View from our Vancouver hotel - North Shore mountains.

Leaving for the train station - 5:00 a.m.

VIA and Amtrak train station.

Approaching White Rock, B.C., where we cleared Customs into the U.S.A.

View from our Seattle hotel.

A beautiful day in the Emerald City.

After the policeman's horse had his shoes repaired, he wanted something from Pamela's Fine Foods.

Day 8 and Counting Plus a Tuffy Update

A beautiful, warm, sunny day here in the Lower Mainland of B.C. Had our usual toast and coffee breakfast at our local Cloverdale Ricky's Restaurant and said goodbye to our lovely server, Carol. Carol is just a ball of fire and we're going to miss her lively personality. Carol, don't forget to tell us all about your New York trip - post lots of photos on Facebook, please.

Then we went to Simply Computing in Langley where Lance got himself a MacBook Pro laptop (or MacTop as I like to call them) to replace his heavy iMac G5 so he is all ready to travel to southern climes. He did complain about having all kinds of conniptions to "clone" an old computer to a new computer but now that all is said and done  - whew! according to Lance.

He does have another problem though - my laptop is an iBook G4, inferior to the MacBook Pro, so I think I need an iPad to balance things out.

Decided to have lunch out and we went to the Olive Garden in Langley as I've been wanted to try it. Turned out to be perfect - lovely interior, lots of happy chatting people enjoying their lunch, and the food was very good...plus enough leftovers for another meal.

Tomorrow is our last available garbage day so I emptied the fridge of all condiments, dumped the contents, and will put the bottles out for pickup tomorrow. Same with the freezer. Not much left in the kitchen. Have a pile of small appliances and miscellaneous things to take to the charity shop tomorrow.

Now to Tuffy - here is a picture of him lolling around in his Toronto home, courtesy of his new guardians - my niece and nephew-in-law. He is fitting in very well according to all reports, except he is not showing much restraint when it comes to scarfing down Rocky's food and using Rocky's litter box. Rocky is the resident cat and has graciously allowed Tuffy to live with him. What a happy ending. Photo courtesy of my niece.

West Coast Christmas

It's only a week until Christmas! Not sure if we will get snow this year here in Cloverdale - most years we don't but there have been a few winters where we were digging out the laneway.

I'm feeding the wild birds with suet and black sunflower seeds and I don't cut back any bushes/plants in the fall that have seeds on them because the birds go for them also.

I found a couple of strings of lights that missed going to the fellow who bought our Christmas stuff. I phoned and left a message for him but didn't hear back, so a string of pretty blue lights are hanging in our dining room window. That is about it for Christmas decorations this year.

Stopped in this morning at West Coast Select www.westcoastselect.ca, Canada's best selection of wild Pacific smoked salmon and seafood products. Their retail store (with wholesale prices) is located here in Cloverdale and it's the only place where I buy seafood. Drooled over huge stuffed clams, bought Pacific halibut cakes and two packages of lox for us, smoked salmon and tins of lobster, Pacific salmon and crab pate for friends. They also had big chunks of hot smoked tuna for sale ...... we are spoiled on the west coast.

So tonight's dinner will be the smoked salmon on crepes. Now, I need to look into restaurants serving Christmas dinner .....