Bicycles and Breakfast

On Sunday, August 29, 2021, we decided to drive to La Casona del Maiz to have breakfast. We have eaten there before and I have mentioned it in previous posts. Excellent restaurant for tipico food.

We made videos with our car cam of the drive to La Garita, where the restaurant is located, and our drive back home, with a stop to pick up some groceries.

Video part 1 - from our house to highway 118 south to Alajuela, then highway 3 towards Atenas. Bicycle riding is very popular in our area and weekends are the time for groups of them to travel the roads. This is unfortunate for those driving vehicles. We are required to give riders a 1.5 meter clearance when passing them. This puts cars squarely in the oncoming lane. As you will see in the videos, roads can be narrow, twisting and with little or no shoulders. They often do not ride in single file as they are supposed to do but in groups that occupy an entire lane. For this reason, we usually avoid the highways on weekends.

Video part 2 - Highway 3 towards Atenas. We are now in the area called La Garita where many viveros (garden shops) are located. I was told that the reason for this is because there are many aquifers here, which provide lots of water for the garden shops in the dry season. Also in this area is the Rescate Wildlife Rescue Centre (formerly known as Rescate Zoo Ave). We highly recommend visiting this worthy centre and there is a good restaurant, Kivu, on site also.

After breakfast, we proceeded north on highway 1 and eventually turn off to highway 154 east to Grecia.

Video part 3 - Continuing on highway 154 east to Compre Bien to pick up a few groceries. Then back on highway 154 east, until taking a shortcut route to our house. The entrance and exit gates open automatically with our Quick Pass system - a tag on our windshield.

I hope you enjoyed riding with us!

Breakfast with Garlic - Costa Rica

Yesterday, Saturday, September 26, 2020, we decided to go out for breakfast. The week had been sort of busy - Lance had a dentist appointment on Monday, his birthday was on Wednesday and our gardener Jaime was here that day also. On Tuesday we went to Ekono to buy Lance some new clothes. Came away with two shirts 70% off! 

I ordered Lance two pairs of Lee jeans online  Sometimes it is easier to shop this way then to drive around looking for the right shop and then never finding the correct size. I have an account with Aeropost in Miami. I have my orders shipped there, pre-alert them as to what will be arriving, and they calculate the shipping costs from Miami to our Aeropost counter in Grecia plus the duty and taxes for Costa Rica. When our order is ready to be picked up in Grecia, I’m notified by e-mail.

So we had breakfast at Restaurante La Casona del Maiz  in La Garita on ruta 3, not a very long drive from our house in Grecia. We have eaten there on more then one occasion and their breakfasts are always good. It’s an open air restaurant, they follow Covid-19 protocols very well, and everyone was wearing a mask. They had a table full of local products for sale - tomatoes, baked goods, and a big bag of garlic for one mil (1,000 colones, about $2.50 Canadian). I decided to buy one of the garlic bags.

Back at our vehicle, I checked our bill and saw that the garlic was not included. I went back inside with a one mil note to pay for them. Turns out that the bag of garlic was included with our meal!

I counted the heads of garlic - there appears to be twenty! I don’t believe this is garlic from China. The bulbs aren’t dried out, they have red line patterns and they look different then the Chinese imported ones.

Lance’s birthday dinner was the one he always asks for - his mother’s macaroni and cheese! It’s really good. I bought a small tres leches cake for dessert.

Our cat, named Cat, absolutely hates dogs. Yesterday, a neighbour dog got out of its yard and started to come up our laneway. Our Cat fluffed up his fur, arched his back and literally charged right down to the dog - by the way, it was a miniature Doberman Pinscher. Cat stood on his hind legs, his front legs open wide and launched a full attack on that dog’s face. The dog yipped, yelped, cried and went running home. We didn’t have time to grab Cat before all this took place. It’s the third time he has attacked dogs. In Atenas, he took on three dogs in our yard, taught two of them a good lesson and the third one wisely ran off before he was next. I wish he wouldn’t do this. One day he will meet his match.

As everyone knows, Costa Rican coffee is excellent. I’m always trying the different brand names. We like a darker roast. My recent purchase was this one:

We drink our coffee black and Volio brand has a deep, dark taste.

Canada Day 2019 in Costa Rica

July 1st is Canada Day or Dominion Day as some people like to call it. It is a federal statutory holiday and celebrates the anniversary of July 1, 1867, the effective date of the Constitution Act.

This year, being Canadians, we received an invitation to a Canada Day celebration, courtesy of the Canadian Club of Costa Rica.

The festivities were held at Café Kivu (formerly Café David) at the highly regarded Zoo Ave (“ave” is Spanish for “bird” not “avenue”) in La Garita. It is not really a zoo but a sanctuary for injured birds and animals, which hopefully can eventually be returned to the wild. It has won awards for the work it is doing. Here is how Café Kivu got its name. The owner is Canadian and he gave a welcoming talk. 

The Chargé d’Affaires from the Canadian Embassy was there. We shared a table with a Canadian couple from Ontario and it turned out they live not far from us. Also met Canadians that I am friends with on Facebook but had never actually met in person. There was live music and prize drawings. The buffet was good, so was the cold beer. We ordered cheesecake with mora on top - excellent. The Costa Rican anthem was played, and then the Canadian anthem. Thanks to Ron Findlay from the Canadian Club for putting this on - and I’m sure there were others too but I don’t have their names.

We had a great time.

Ron Findlay and his hat:

My lunch - breaded fish, vegetables, cucumber salad and plantanos:

Live music - thanks, Frank.

Botanical Orchid Garden Visit

On Friday morning, we drove to the Botanical Orchid Garden in La Garita  This is a really nice garden complex to visit, especially if one is interested in orchids as I am. But it offers more then just orchids - there are aviaries for rescued birds, beautiful grounds, a gift shop, a large pond with ducks, a playground for kids, easy walking trails, well marked trees, bushes and plants so you can learn about the different species and a very nice restaurant.

This is the off season in Costa Rica and a great time to visit beaches, resorts and attractions. Prices can be low and crowds are minimal. We usually go out and about in the mornings because there is always the possibility of rain in the afternoons. Also we usually go during the week as weekend traffic can be quite heavy. We had the orchid garden to ourselves.

Everything is well marked so you can just wander around at will. There are several large orchid greenhouses and one has explanatory signs so you can learn how orchids are cultivated - from dust mote size seed to adult plant. Seeing how all the different species are planted and being grown is useful to me so I can compare how my own collection is doing. The small greenhouse behind the gift shop sells orchids - I resisted because I have enough of them.

After doing our tour, we went to the restaurant for a cold drink and a dessert. We each had mora bebidos - mora being a type of blackberry grown here and bebido (or refresco or natural), meaning a cold fruit drink made with milk or water. There were several postres (desserts) on offer and we both chose the lemon pie which was a tangy lemon filling on top of a type of graham cracker crust.

The Botanical Orchid Garden would be a good place to take your visitors. We enjoyed it and it’s an easy and close drive from our house in Grecia.

Scarlet macaws. Two types of macaws reside in Costa Rica - the scarlet on the Pacific Coast and the great green on the Caribbean Coast. Sadly, both species are considered endangered. I have seen the scarlet macaws flying wild and it is a beautiful sight. These aviaries were large enough that these birds could have a short fly around.

This sweet lady cockatoo has been in the gardens since the 1980’s. She seemed to like attention.

Orchids, orchids everywhere. This is just one of several greenhouses.

I think (but correct me if I am wrong) that this is the national flower of Costa Rica - the Guarianthe skinneri orchid, or Guaria morada.

Vanda orchid collection. I have three vandas that have yet to flower. They were very young and small when I bought them so hopefully they will flower one day.

One color of vanda flower:

Friendly ducks at the pond. They followed us around for a bit. There is also another smaller pond with koi fish and turtles.

Etlingera elatior or torch ginger.

The enormous Samanea saman tree. I believe the name has now been changed to Albizia saman. The wood makes attractive cabinets and furniture.

Large bamboo stand.

Looking out from inside the restaurant.

Lemon pie and mora batido. Mine was made with water and Lance’s with milk.

Fun Times with Friends

Late last year, I was contacted by Linda from Arizona - she had read my entire ten year plus Costa Rican blog in one night! She wanted to try living in Costa Rica for a period of time, to see what it was like and if it suited her. We upset her plans to live in Atenas by moving to Grecia, so she decided to live near our new town.

After Linda’s arrival, we got together and it was fun to show her around and go to different places. When we first moved here, we met our Canadian friends Diane and John and they were so generous with their time and driving us around, showing us the ropes. So we were more then happy to pay it forward. Unfortunately, Linda has now returned to the USA but says she will be back and is going to try out Atenas next trip. 

Linda took lots of photos and here they are.

Breakfast at Kay’s Cafe y Restaurante in Atenas - me and Linda.

I always order the BELT sandwich (bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato) at Kay’s. Lance usually gets the egg and bacon breakfast with gallo pinto because he says Kay’s gallo pinto is the best!

Lance and myself at our house in Hacienda el Paseo:

Visiting our wonderful neighbours in Vista Atenas (where we used to live) - Rose Mary and Tony:

Tony, Lance and Rose Mary. They fed us good food! Linda fell in love with their house and the location. This is their outdoor kitchen which I think is so practical in a tropical environment. They also have an indoor kitchen. Like us, Rose Mary and Tony are from the Pacific Northwest.

One day, we planned on having breakfast at Dave’s Restaurant at Zoo Ave but discovered it had been renamed Kivu and didn’t seem to be open for breakfast. There’s a story behind the name Kivu and the lion icon - find out here. On to Plan B - you always have a Plan B in Costa Rica.

Plan B - breakfast at Restaurante La Casona del Maiz in La Garita. This is a super place to try typical Costa Rican food, at reasonable prices, and if you sit near the back there are great views as you can see. I usually get the omelette, which is a very generous size, and a fresh fruit drink.

Next stop - Vivero Central La Garita  because I needed orchid supplies. This photo is funny because .... Lance looks amused, I’m desperately trying to convey to my assistant in Spanish that I’m looking for clay orchid pots with holes in the side and my assistant is giving me the “okay lady, try again” look! Having an assistant in a store is common in Costa Rica - you can wander around but as soon as you find what you want, you give it to the assistant, who puts it all in a pile somewhere. When you are finished, he tallies up the bill, which you take to the caja (cashier), pay, and your assistant loads everything into your vehicle. We always tip them.

Thanks so much for the photos, Linda. It was great meeting you and come back soon!

Breakfast and Dia de las Madres

We decided to go out for breakfast this morning and headed to La Garita, Alajuela - a nice area where many of the viveros (garden shops) are located and not too far away from Atenas.

There are lots of restaurants along this stretch of highway three and we stopped at Restaurante La Casona del Mais, a typical Tico restaurant. We chose to sit at the back where we could look out onto the tropical hillside. The restaurant is open sided for the most part. Tables are wooden with benches. It's a busy place with lively music.

Today is Mother's Day (Dia de las Madres) in Costa Rica and the restaurant was busy - perhaps lots of mums were being taken out for breakfast.

For our desayuno (breakfast) we both ordered the same thing - pinto con huevos y jamon (gallo pinto with an egg and slices of ham, plus corn tortillas). Gallo pinto (spotted rooster) is a traditional Costa Rican dish - black beans and rice with seasonings and cilantro. It's so filling and I can never finish what's on my plate. There is no rooster in this dish! We also each ordered a bebida (fresh fruit drink with milk). I had zanahoria con naranja (carrot with orange) and Lance ordered a mora (berry).

Driving back to Atenas is always interesting. The road is very twisty and goes up and down. Lots of shift work with the vehicle. Stopped at Coopeatenas in Atenas to pick up a few groceries. We normally shop here or at El Canario for our groceries.

A sweet young lady at the entrance to Coopeatenas was handing out red roses for Mother's Day and she gave me one and said Happy Mother's Day in Spanish. I shamelessly took it (even though we have no children). It was wrapped with fern and tiny daisies.

Here is a short video I made of our day:

Breakfast and Dia de las Madres Costa Rica August 15 2015 from Diana Miskell Turlock on Vimeo.

Posted with Blogsy