Off To The Vet

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As I wrote on April 3rd of this year, a tabby cat had decided to take up residence in our house - totally uninvited. That’s the CDS (Cat Distribution System) at work.

Knowing nothing about his background, we knew we had to eventually take him to a vet for an exam. When he started to sneeze a lot and develop some congestion, we made an appointment at Veterinary Clinic Moralva in Grecia. We did not have a cat carrier so purchased one. It was tricky getting him into it and of course he complained loudly all the way on the short drive to the clinic.

What we learned: he’s probably about five years old and neutered! A good surprise as I thought he was not. That’s how much I know about male feline anatomy. Diagnosis was that he has a respiratory infection.

Home we went with prescriptions which we picked up at Veterinaria Memo. This is the place to buy animal medications. They have a large inventory and also carry high end pet food.

We have a follow up appointment tomorrow morning.

Lunch - Victoria Cafeteria, Grecia

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We ate lunch at Victoria Cafeteria back in 2022 and have eaten breakfast there several times since then. We recently returned again for another lunch (almuerzo).

First up - drinks. I had the herbal lemonade:

Lance ordered a cold cappuccino, which came loaded with whipping cream on top. I forgot to take a photo.

My choice - salmon with Asian sauce.

Lance opted for shrimp and corvina (a white fish).

As you can see, the portions are quite large and we asked for takeaway (para llevar) so we had two more meals for dinner the next day.

This restaurant is in one of the original wooden Costa Rican houses with a large wrap-around porch. It’s a lovely setting.

It is situated beside the CoopeVictoria sugar cane and coffee processing plant. This is a view of the entrance to the plant:

Here is a short video I made of recently harvested cane waiting to go into the plant:

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Off Topic

ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica) has published its 2024 March/April issue of its El Residente magazine.

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

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.

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

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Breakfast - !donde! MAYE, Grecia

We discovered this restaurant through a recommendation on Facebook. We are always looking for places to have breakfast and the Facebook recommendation mentioned that they offer Denver omelettes, also known as Western omelettes in Canada. We have now been there twice.

And that is what we both ordered on our first visit:

These omelettes are loaded with everything - spinach, onion, ham, gooey cheese, pimentos, etc.  Price: 2,500 CRC, about $US 4.65.The three pieces of toast and the omelette are the perfect size.

And let’s not forget the batidos. Lance ordered the mora (like a blackberry) with milk. They are delicious and appear to have ice cream in them. The second time we had breakfast here I ordered a pineapple batido with milk … it was icy cold and so good. Price: with water: 1,000 CRC, about $US 1.85. With milk: 1,600 CRC, about $US 2.97.

Total for one omelette with toast and one batido with milk: 4,100 CRC, about $US 7.62.

This little restaurant may be hard to spot at first but keep looking. They have 4 tables and a lunch counter with about 10 seats. It’s pure Costa Rica to me. We can sit at our table and people watch the street outside, which always seems busy.

Here is a map to their location. You may want to get there early or you may not find a convenient parking spot.

On our first visit to this restaurant, we met the owner. As best I can remember, he originally came from South Carolina, then moved to Alaska. He also spent some time living on Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada. Now he is in Costa Rica running his restaurant. Everyone has a story to tell here.

Their menu:

Drinks.

Breakfast.

Lunch.

Snacks.

Their hours - and they do deliveries.

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Why Did the Knee Need a Vacation? Part 2

To carry on:

Besides the anti-inflammatory injections and the painkiller prescriptions, Dr. Baltodano also wrote prescriptions for x-rays and an ultrasound.

For these, I went to Clinica Medica Eidita in Grecia. Cost of the x-rays: 39,600 CRC (about 73.00  USD). Cost of the ultrasound: 30,000 CRC (about 55.00 USD).

In Costa Rica, patients are sent home with their x-rays/ultrasounds and we then take them to our doctor appointments. They remain in our possession. This works out well if you need to go for physiotherapy, for example - any therapist can see the test results.

The final diagnosis was medial collateral ligament injury of the left knee. Dr. Baltodano referred me for physical therapy. 

I’ve been going to Physio Terapia Física in Grecia once a week. Cost of each visit: 13,000 CRC (about 24.00 USD). Each visit lasts about an hour. This is a very modern clinic and they have another one in San Ramon. I don’t know how many visits I will ultimately need.

When I went in to make a first appointment, they were able to see me right then and I had ultrasound and electro therapy. The second appointment was the same, but the electro therapy was stronger.

The electro therapy being applied.

Electro therapy machine and other gadgets.

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Breakfast - Mas Q’Sabor, Grecia

Más Q’Sabor is a Tex-Mex restaurant in Grecia on calle 2 and very close to the correos (post office).

They are closed on Mondays. On Sundays they offer breakfast from 0830. We decided to try their breakfast menu.

The “Divorced Eggs” sounded intriguing and so I ordered it. Two poached eggs on a corn tortilla - one with a green sauce and one with a red sauce. Both were nice and spicy. Tortilla chips with refried black beans on the side. I’d definitely order this one again. 

Lance chose scrambled eggs, gallo pinto, plántanos, sausage and toast. That is natilla (sour cream) in the little cup. This too was a good choice.

Some years ago we ate lunch here with our Canadian friends, Diane and John. Now I want to return again for lunch. There are some items on their menu that I would like to try.

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Lunch - Wilfredo’s Restaurante

Yesterday, February 26, we decided to try out a relatively newly opened restaurant - Wilfredo’s. It’s located a short drive from our house:

We arrived just after noon. There was ample parking at the back of the restaurant with a parking guy on site to organize everyone.

There were inside and outside areas. The one we chose was outside but under cover. Other outdoor areas were tables covered with umbrellas but they were open to radiant heat from the sun reflecting off patio areas.

The outside areas were nicely decorated, with plants and some whimsical decorating touches. 

For drinks I ordered white wine and Lance ordered an Imperial beer (popular in Costa Rica).

I had a hankering for a hamburger and I ordered the house burger - hamburguesa de la casa. 

My burger …. it was enormous, and with fries!

Lance decided on the pollo crispy asiático.

Neither of us could finish our large meals so we asked for take-away (para llevar). 

We’ll be going back here … the food is really good and it’s so close to our house.

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Eyes on Costa Rica and Weather Records - January 2023

 During January, visits to this blog were received from the following 11 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 (e.g. Isle of Man).

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

Winter in Costa Rica is referred to as the "dry season" because, as the name implies, there is generally very little rain. January this year was no exception. However, in the Central Valley away from the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, the dry season is also marked by frequent cold early morning temperatures. At least, they "feel" cold by Costa Rican standards.

We have now spent several years and accompanying "dry seasons" living in the Central Valley (originally the Atenas region and now the Grecia region). Gradually, we have become fully acclimatized. Now, anything less than 60°F (15.6°C) "feels" cold. When we lived in Canada, such a temperature in January would have been considered absolutely balmy. No jacket or sweater needed.

The 55.0°F (12.8°C) temperature that we encountered this January was, with one exception, the coldest low temperature that we have experienced during all our time in Costa Rica - it felt very cold. The exception was on a day trip to the Irazú volcano. At the summit over 11,000 feet (3300+ meters), the morning temperature was in the mid 40's (6-9°C).

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Breakfast - Granja Rysol

I learned of Granja Rysol from a Grecia Facebook friend who said it was a fun place to visit and have a meal. It has lots of farm animals to interact with, which is just up my alley. So on January 14, 2023, we decided to go there for breakfast.

At just 6.4 km from our house, it didn’t take long to drive there.

Hours are 0845 to 1600. There is a large parking lot with a nominal charge to park there for the day. This is the entrance:

Here are some photographs of the restaurant area with fun art work:

We could hear “moo’ing” behind the log wall and I discovered a couple of calves, two pigs and a horse!

After breakfast, we walked around the grounds. Here are my photos of the critters we met up with:

While we were having breakfast, the workers were bringing in fresh cut grass for the three horses that were used for giving short rides to kids. They were saddled with kiddie saddles. It’s not grass like you may have for your lawn but long and thick grass. All the animals were well cared for.

An interesting sign near the front entrance - notice where the top arrow points to. It points upwards to “Dios” which is the Spanish word for God.

One arrow pointed to Volcán Poás (under “gallinas” and above “burra batalla”):

We live on one of the ridges of Poas Volcano. Here is a good article about our area.

The trade winds were blowing hard on the day we visited Granja Rysol so we didn’t stay as long as we wanted. That’s fine … a good excuse to go back and visit, have lunch and pet more farm animals.

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