Asian Fusion Dinner

A few weeks ago, we went to an Asian fusion dinner catered by Vamos Gourmet International Cuisine and held at Kay's Gringo Postres (www.kaysgringo.com). Vamos Gourmet is owned by Dom and Angela Najab, born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Their web site is www.vamoscatering.com. They live in our town of Atenas. Telephone numbers are 8658-6465 and 8659-0430. International: 647-722-6307.T

The menu on this occasion was Vietnamese cold rolls, Korean style beef, Thai coconut basil chicken with jasmine rice, and banana chocolate wontons. Everything was delicious.

Please go to Dom and Angela's website and have a look at their catering menus ... I saw some creations that I would love to taste.

Korean Style Beef and Vietnamese Cold Roll

Thai Coconut Basil Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Banana Chocolate Wontons

 

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Saint Rafael, Atenas' Patron Saint

The weather this morning was very foggy, so we decided it was a good day to walk into Atenas for breakfast at Kay's Gringo Postres. It's more comfortable to go on a long walk without that tropical sun beating down. The ambient air is comfortable - it's the sun that makes one sweat.

We needed to pick up a few groceries at El Canario mercado, near the church and park. We had no idea there was a festival today so what a nice surprise to see tents and booths were being set up outside the church and in the park. The church bells were ringing.

We were just in time for the religious parade. After some research on the internet, I believe this was the annual festival of Saint Rafael (Raphael?), Atenas' patron saint. The parade consisted of individual groups (of families?), each group carrying the image of a saint, angel or other religious figure. The figures were beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and colourful fabrics.

A priest was walking out in front and behind him was a band of young men playing what sounded to me like lively jazz or New Orleans style music. This was a very happy parade, nothing somber about it. All the images were carried into the church. I think there will also be a cattle auction later on today.

My big regret? I had not brought my camera!! This is a no-no - always, always carry your camera. The priest was taking photos so I wouldn't have offended anyone if I had done so too.

If you are in the Atenas area today, this would be a good festival to go to.

Fitting In

Atenas is starting to feel like our home town now. This past Sunday, we were in Atenas and enjoyed the Sunday brunch at Kay's Gringo Postres.

Then, while walking back to Atenas Centro, one of our gardeners honked his car horn at us as he was driving by. A minute later, one of our taxi drivers honked and waved at us as he was driving by.

A bit later, we went into the market in Atenas Centro to pay our CAJA health insurance (go figure that one out) and on our way out, Roberto from Remax stopped to shake our hands, say hello and ask how everything was going.

Today, Friday, we were in Atenas again and I noticed how busy and full of people our little town is. Friday is feria (market) day, so lots of people were walking around with carts and arms full of fresh produce, eggs, etc.

In Canada, it seems like people drive to big malls, shop, drive away and that's it - no real interaction with anyone. Of course, it might be different living in small Canadian towns and perhaps the same friendliness still exists there - at least I hope so.

The Eleventh Month

April, 2012, marks our eleventh month experiencing fabulous Costa Rica. May 31st will be our one year anniversary. We love it here so much.

We moved here in the green season, have experienced the dry season and are now moving into the green season once more. This week brought several thunderstorms in the afternoon and desperately needed rain. We unplug the electronics when the lightning starts and sit outside and enjoy the free show. Genny goes into her Thunder Closet of course, but I think she is a bit more relaxed about the storms then when we first arrived.

Last week, we lost our internet and satellite connections and were incommunicado and without computer access and TV entertainment for about five days. Even the house phone handset's batteries died but we were able to find a new bundled pack at a great little shop in the enclosed market area in Atenas Centro. I'm sorry I don't know the name of the place but they sell jewelry, watch batteries, etc. It's near the butcher shops. They can weld eyeglasses back together if you break the side pieces (happened to us).  It's a Mum and Pop operation I think. They even hooked the battery pack wires up to the gizmo that snaps into the phone handset.

We think Cabletica turned our service off by mistake when they were working at a house across from us. Thanks goes to our landlady in Boston and Andrew at ReMax in Atenas for helping us with getting the account number and the right phone numbers to call at Cabletica - it took a while to get through the menu choices to the English option. Anyway, if it ever happens again we'll be able to call them right away and get back on line fast.

We used an internet cafe in Atenas to check our mail, and also enjoyed a breakfast at Kay's Gringo Postres while using their service. Lesson: chill out, find a temporary solution and all will be back to normal before long. It was a great opportunity to read in the hammock without distractions.

We are being serenaded by so many birds right now - it must be the breeding and nesting season. Our mango tree is loaded with mangoes and I think we'll be enjoying them before long. I've picked a couple of tomatoes from our plants and have some sweet peppers ripening. As an experiment, I planted what I hope are melon seeds and they have sent runners everywhere and putting out flowers. The orange tree is full of oranges.

I bought my first ever snorkel, mask and fins because I really want to snorkel in the ocean. Was fortunate to be able to practice in a friend's pool:

This week is also Semana Santa - Easter Holy Week - everything is shut down tight on April 5 and 6. Ley Seca is the "dry law" when the sale of alcohol is prohibited from dusk on April 4th to dawn on April 7th. I'm sure everyone stocks up ahead of time!

Daily Life in Atenas

We're back to normal green season weather....rain or the threat of it some time during the day, or at night. Last night we listened to a symphony of hard tropical downpour and thunder, accompanied by a light show in the sky. Poor Genny heads for her storm cupboard at the first clap of thunder.

Since we are ex-West Coasters, we don't mind the rain, fog or cooler temperatures when they occur. I would have to say that since we arrived May 31st, we have enjoyed a lot of sun and higher temperatures. It will be interesting to see what October brings, as that is supposed to be the rainest month. We also have the dry season to look forward to come November.

It is said that if you don't like the weather where you live in Costa Rica, move up or down 100 feet and experience something different.

I'm now able to call the taxi - we use Jorge Calderon - I think he gets a good laugh out of my broken, awful Spanish and he always helps us with pronouncing words.

We have so many limes on our tree. They are semi-sweet and turn yellow as they mature and that is when they are super juicy. Fran Browne from www.boomersoffshore.com sent me a no-fail recipe for making key lime pie. I bought all the ingredients today, except for the graham crumb crust. I'll have another look for graham crackers next week. That tree ain't goin' nowhere.

We had breakfast today at Kay's Gringo Postres - we always meet new people there. I borrowed two books from their library and enjoyed one of the best breakfast BLT's I've ever had. What a great place to share information - we found out where the best butcher shop is, where to find 40 watt bulbs for our bathroom light over the mirror, who does what and where.

 No street addresses though - everything is "200 metres up the road from ... just around the corner and head north from ... you know where that shop is, well turn left and go one block ... if you know where the candy shop is across from the park, well the pharmacy you want is right next to that ....". As someone who got lost driving from Harrod's in Reno, Nevada,  to a mall 10 minutes away and ended up in California, you can see how this is difficult for me. We keep a small compass out on the patio table so I at least know what direction north is.

We needed to buy Genny her special Hills prescription diet k/d feline renal health kibble (what a mouthful) and I thought we'd have to go out of town to find it. But, no, we found it at Medico Veterinario - directions: 50 metres west of the Supermercado Pali in Atenas. They have two resident cats and I think this will be a very good place to take Genny if she needs attention. Cats here seem to look a lot different than North American kitties - they are smaller and in really good shape.

Having big trouble with wasps and our hummingbird feeder - the wasps swarm around the feeder so much that the hummers can't feed. I need to find a different feeder - the kind that the wasps can't feed off.

Today was the feria in Atenas - I bought strawberries, green onions (huge), a big bunch of cilantro with the roots still attached which I will now try to plant, and red peppers. A special surprise was a craft fair and we took pictures of the young dancers:

We've Been Here 21 Days Already?

I find it hard to believe we've been here twenty-one days. Seems like we just arrived.


On Sunday, we took a cab into Atenas and had brunch at Kay's Gringo Postres, located just west of the 24 hour  clinic in Atenas, past the Red Cross facility and heading towards Pica Flora (there are no street addresses in Costa Rica, you find your way around using landmarks). My favorite landmark is the bus stop at the Coca Cola bottling facility in San Jose. The business is long gone but it's still used as a descriptive landmark.


It was Father's Day so Kay and husband Tom were serving a selection of fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pinto gallo and the best biscuits and gravy I've had in a long time. Prices are very reasonable.


This was the second time we've eaten here and Kay remembered our names as soon as we walked in - amazing. Kay and Tom moved to Costa Rica from South Dakoka. This is a bakery and a library, as well as a restaurant. It's a meeting place for gringos and Ticos and a good place to make contacts. People come right over and introduce themselves. 


They also offer use of their internet. Two walls of books to borrow and share. The restaurant is open air, as are a lot of eating places here. Perfect for this climate.


Wow - just looked outside and the clouds have rolled right in to our mountain cabina. It's been thundering and raining a bit. Lance and Genny have gone off to have a siesta - a good thing to do here in the afternoons during the green season. I was going to walk down the road to the small corner store, about a 10 minute walk downhill and 20 uphill, but then the afternoon storm arrived. Maybe it will clear later.