Dim Sum - San José

This past Sunday, June 12th, we drove from our house in San Roque de Grecia to San José to have dim sum at Casa China.

We have previously eaten dim sum at this restaurant and I did a blog post on it here.

This Sunday, we were treated to a stage show of dancers and music. I made a short video:

This venue is typical of the dim sum restaurants we were accustomed to when we lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, and when we would go for dim sum in Richmond, B.C. Large open space with tables big enough for families to sit at. 

As is typical in dim sum restaurants, carts were rolled around with the prepared offerings and we could select what we wanted. Everything was very good.

Since we were going to San Jose, I wanted to combine dim sum with shopping at an Asian grocery store that came highly recommended. That would be Super Asia in the Tibas area of San Jose. They are open on Sundays. Here is what I bought:

Fish sauce, dried mushrooms, mirin, oyster sauce, candies, miso, and a packet of noodle soup.

Also, varieties of frozen dim sum: 

Note: we needed to use the Waze app numerous times to navigate where we wanted to go. It takes two people … the driver to listen to the instructions and the passenger to watch the on line instructions on what road to turn into next. Also BEWARE there are many serious potholes on some of these roads between Casa China and Super Asia.

Click on images to enlarge.

Dim Sum in San José

A couple of Sundays ago, eight of us took the 10:30 am bus from Atenas to San José to have dim sum.

We had not eaten dim sum since leaving Vancouver, British Columbia, almost two years ago. Vancouver and the Lower Mainland have the best Asian restaurants, and any restaurant for that matter, in North America. Richmond, south of Vancouver and home to Vancouver International Airport, is where the greatest concentration of Asian restaurants can be found. We used to go for dim sum on the weekends, quite often being the only non-Asians seated. We watched what other tables were ordering and tried many different dishes.

There are quite a few Asian restaurants in San José to choose from. I decided to start with Don Wang, situated on Calle 11, between Avenidas 6 and 8. The phone numbers are 2223-5925 and 2233-6484. They are open from 11:00 am to 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm Monday to Thursday; and to 11:00 pm on Fridays. On Saturday, their hours are 11:00 am to 11:00 pm and 11:00 am to 10:00 pm on Sunday. English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Spanish are spoken. Note: if your browser does not show a link to the menu items on the Don Wang website, click here and then click on the American flag if you want to read it in English.

The restaurant is very nice inside, with a koi pond in the middle. We were seated at one of the two round tables that each seat twelve. Service was prompt and friendly.

We ordered from the dim sum menu. Selections were turnip cake with shrimp sausage, Chinese churro roll, shrimp rolls, sticky rice in lotus leaf, bamboo shrimp, mushroom pork shrimp, and vegetarian dumplings. The menu numbers were 3, 21, 27, 28, 33, 34, 5 and 20 if you want to try any of them. These are on the dim sum menu, not the regular menu. For dessert, we ordered numbers 50 and 51. One of these was sticky rice balls with black sesame seeds.

One of our party did not eat meat and another did not eat pork but we were able to order enough varied items to satisfy everyone. In addition to the dim sum, we also ordered drinks - beer, tea, soda, a fresh fruit drink. Total cost for eight people: $100 - that is just a little over $12 per person and we had so much food we could hardly finish it. I think that is very reasonable.

We want to go back to try some of the Szechuan items - they are spicier. I would highly recommend Don Wang Restaurant. The dim sum compares favourably with what we would receive in Richmond Asian restaurants. One of our friends, also from the Pacific Northwest, liked the sticky rice balls so much he ordered some to take home.

Yum!

Happy Group

 

 

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Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica

This post is in remembrance of my nephew, Allan Michael Miskell, November 10, 1983 - March 22, 2006. He was a gifted musician and would have loved going to the Teatro Nacional.

This past Sunday, November 4, we had tickets for the X Concierto of Los Gavilanes (The Hawks) at the historic National Theatre of Costa Rica (Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica).

Construction was started in 1891 and it opened in 1897. The building is considered the finest historic building in San Jose. The lobby is beautiful, with marble floors and paintings depicting life in the 19th century. There is a very good café on site also.

We went with our neighbors, Rosemary and Tony - the four of us took the 0900 bus from Atenas to San Jose. We had a real cowboy of a bus driver this time - only 48 minutes from Atenas to San Jose, a new record. Rounding some of those mountain s-curves on the bus was a new experience.

Arriving at the Coca Cola bus station in San Jose, it was a short taxi ride to Teatro Nacional. We picked up our tickets and climbed up to the third balcony. We were fortunate to get our tickets at a reduced price through the Atenas School of Music. The concert started at 1030.

Ono Mora, Atenas' very own tenor.

No flash allowed, so it was hard to take a clear photo. The ceiling is completely painted in a mural.

The white panel hanging from the ceiling displays the words to the music, in Spanish of course.

It was amazing to be in this historic theatre listening to a live performance. The orchestra was excellent and, of course, so too were the choir and the invited soloists. Imagine all the people from the past who have sat right where we were sitting.

The concert ended at noon and we started walking towards the Coca Cola bus station, stopping en route at a food fair for lunch. We thought our bus left at 1300 on Sundays but turns out it is 1330. No problem - benches to sit on and people to watch. Cost for one person to ride from San Jose to Atenas: 855 colones or about $1.70 CAD or USD. The buses are very comfortable. Sometimes the driver plays Latin music or has a radio station playing.

There is a fellow who often shows up selling water, pop, snacks and so on and there are no rules against consuming them on the bus - another thing I like about Costa Rica. This guy knows us now and  we get hugs and handshakes - he speaks Spanish, English and French. He always hands us water bottles.

Our bus arrives.

How did the Coca Cola bus station get it's name, you ask? There used to be a Coca Cola bottling facility here, now long gone, but the name remains because navigation in Costa Rica is by landmarks. This is changing in San Jose though - street signs are starting to go up.

One Year Anniversary

I meant to write this entry on May 31st but we've been so busy!

We arrived in Costa Rica at 8:30 pm, May 31, 2011. Funny how the exact time sticks in my head. I remember how I felt when the plane's wheels touched the runway - we had actually arrived after all the planning and work.

Tortuga Island

Yesterday we were in San Jose and stopped at the historic Gran Hotel for an early light lunch at their outdoor terrace. We were commenting on how San Jose is so much more familiar to us one year later and we can find our way around easier. By the way, the Gran Hotel serves very tasty ham croissants that come with a small side of fries. If I were staying overnight in San Jose, I'd like to try this hotel. It's right across from the National Theatre and near a lot of other attractions.

But I digress. We celebrated one our year anniversary Thursday night with friends at Gregos Video Bar on highway 3 just outside of Atenas. We usually sit outside on the covered deck, push a bunch of tables together and enjoy the company and the food. On Thursdays (or Thirstdays), if you buy beer and keep your receipt, the following Thursday you will receive the same number of beers free. I think this also applies to certain other alcoholic drinks.

So, looking back on our first year - it has been wonderful and we are very happy to be here. We have so much more of Costa Rica to explore. Much more to learn, more people to meet, different terrific foods to try.

My advice to those thinking of moving here: learn Spanish; embrace the Costa Rican culture; try as many food items as you can; eat at the sodas; always be polite; shop local - both the shops and the products; stop comparing Costa Rica unfavourably with your home country; ride the buses; learn patience; use the taxis; have fun; smile lots; learn about the flora and fauna; appreciate every day where you are.

Pura Vida!

Oxcart Parade, Atenas

CIMA - Our Experience

CIMA (Centro Internacional de Medicina), San Jose, in the suburb of Escazu, offers high quality medical services in a state-of-the-art facility.

Walking into the main building, it certainly did not look like any hospital lobby I've encountered in Canada. Off to the right was a nice open cafe with real linen tablecloths on the tables. We were early for my appointment, so we had breakfast. They didn't skimp on the fruit plate I ordered!

Unfortunately, the lady I was going to meet who would match me up with a doctor was unable to meet with me, due to no fault of her own. No problem - we were sent to the Public Relations office and the Co-ordinator had an appointment for me in no time. She cheerfully squeezed this unexpected snag into her already busy schedule.

She even went so far as to walk us over to the building where the doctors' offices are and even walked us another block to show us where Aerocasillas was located - another stop on our day's itinerary. We had two hours to wait before my appointment so we took a taxi to the Art Depot, where I bought some more acrylics and canvases. Also had time for bocas in a coffee and wine bar.

The doctor assigned to me was amazing. He spoke perfect English, which is imperative for us right now in a medical setting. He spent an hour and a half with both of us, explaining my condition in great detail, how he planned to treat it immediately and what tests he was planning for the future. I now feel as if I have completed Med Student School 101.

So - we had an hour and a half with a superb physician, an examination, meds - final cost: 45,000 colones or $90 CAD!!!!

Wait! There's more! I have instructions to call him back on Sunday (!)  on his cell phone number and let him know how I'm doing. No doctor in Canada has ever spent this much time with me during an appointment - it was always more like "here's your prescription refill script, see you in 3 months, goodbye". We didn't feel rushed at this appointment. Furthermore, now my husband is involved too - I think that's important.

We highly recommend CIMA.

Visit to Archivo Nacional

On Thursday of this week, we bused our way to San Jose to pick up our mail at ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica). We decided that every time we do this, we will also combine it with visiting some landmark in San Jose.

This trip, we decided on going to the Archivo Nacional (National Archives) in Zapote because they had an exhibit on of early photos and documents of Costa Rica, dating from as early as perhaps 1853. We took a taxi from Casa Canada to the Archives.  AM Costa Rica, a daily English language news source on line, featured an article on this exhibit and that's how we found out about it.

 It took us a while to get in the door, because we were trying to explain why we were there in terrible Spanish and get past the guard with his Magic Wand. Eventually, they let us in and sent a lovely curator who explained the exhibit to us in English. Embarrassing ....  she apologized for her English which was very good and here we are with just a few words of this country's native language. We tried to apologize to her.

Then we took another taxi to PriceSmart, which is like Costco, only the yearly membership is $30 US, not $50 CAD which is what we paid for our Costco membership in Canada.  I decided to sign us up for this thinking that maybe once a month I would take the bus to the PriceSmart in Alajuela and stock up on basics. Then if I go to the feria in Atenas most Fridays, I could get the perishables (fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese). I think I need to get a wheelie cart though.

This particular PriceSmart in Zapote is huge. We got there just before noon so decided to have lunch at their fast food counter. We both got the two pieces of chicken, fries and drink combo - huge portions - we could easily have split one order. Then off to shop - then I realized they don't provide bags - so whatever we bought had to fit in my small fabric shopping bag.

I was particularly looking for gel ice packs - didn't see them. We did stock up on razor blades, found some local Gouda cheese, saw Hebrew National hot dogs which are supposed to be the best, but decided against them because we had a long ride home and what if they went off.

I found shorts! yahoo! for six dollars U.S. and they fit, only bought one pair but now wish I had bought all the colors offered.

This shocked me: a display of lighted Christmas trees for sale along with kids' gifts. I know Christmas is a big holiday here, but this does seem early.

Then, taxi to the Coco Cola bus depot, bought two bottles of water from our now well known snack vender who recognizes us, and seems to be able to speak Spanish, English and French (he said to us "comment allez vous?") so we think he recognized that we are Canucks.

Here are some photos of the fruit drinks we had in San Jose and of the Archives building.

Museo de Arte Costarricense

Last week, we were in San Jose and when we finished our business there, we walked over to the fabulous Museo de Arte Costarricense.

The art museum is located at the Metropolitan La Sabana Chapui Park that was once the international La Sabana airport, on the west side of San Jose.

The current exhibition is called "Otto Apuy: Journey 1974-2011". Otto Apuy holds an important place in Costa Rican art history and we very much enjoyed looking at his work. I always learn a new technique when studying other artists' creations.

The land the park is on was bequeathed for the benefit of the poor in the 18th century by Reverend Father Chapui, so they could graze their cattle on the fields. Later the land was used for horse racing and as a training field for the Costa Rican army (since abolished), and various other uses over the years.

Long story short: the most incredible airport terminal I have ever seen was opened in 1940. You have to go see it. And don't miss the Golden Hall upstairs, the original VIP lounge.  This airport served as an international air terminal until 1955, when air traffic was transferred to the Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela (note: SJO is not in San Jose, as many visitors believe ... it is about 17 km away).

This is the control tower - it's beautiful. There is a lightening rod on the top.

The rear of the terminal building. Can you picture yourself waiting here for your DC 3 flight to Panama?

Every time we are in San Jose, we are going to go see a different museum or building. Costa Rica has a very interesting history - lots of beautiful old, old buildings to explore.

We're In!!

Just received confirmation from our lawyer in San Jose that we have our receipt of presentation and we don't have to exit the country at the end of August. So now we just wait for the next step - our cedulas or ID cards.


And, we need to get our Costa Rica driver's licenses this month. Our lawyer in San Jose will arrange this for us.

Bus to Alajuela

On Monday, we boarded the 9:00 a.m. Atenas to Alajuela bus. I still get a kick out of the window curtains - great for blocking the sun. All the windows were open and a cool breeze blew in for the entire trip, which took about 30 minutes.

Lots of hill climbing and twisty roads with steep drop-offs. Incredible views. Another thing I like about the Costa Rican bus system is that you can bring food and drinks on board. In fact, on our San Jose trip a fellow boarded selling cold pop and water and we were happy to see him. When I think back to the Lower Mainland transit system and all their rules and regulations - phooey! If the bus driver feels like it, he might have a Costa Rican radio station playing on the sound system.

The bus station in Alajuela is a large dirt field where most of the buses park. Depending on which bus you want to catch, you might board at the station or out in the field. Nice small market area as you walk into town, which takes about three minutes. We stayed in Alajuela about four hours, which included getting lost and asking directions in the police station, having lunch, and shopping at Torre del Lobo. Bought a couple of shirts for Lance but could find no shorts for me. Also bought four towels which I think are duds because they don't absorb water very well and keep pilling up even after being washed. Made in China - should have known the quality would be poor.

As everyone who lives in, or has visited, Costa Rica knows - there are no street signs! Navigation is by landmarks. Okay if you live in the town, but not so good if you are visiting. There is always a central park and a church in every town to use as your GPS.

Found a large department type clothing store - two stories - filled with clothes for everyone. Forgot to write down the name. Really needed more time to look at everything so came out empty handed.

We were very fortunate in showing up at the bus depot about 5 minutes before the Atenas bus left - weren't sure of the schedule or even the time - so we lucked out. It started raining on the way home and people started closing the windows - it got quite humid and hot inside the bus.

This morning we went into Atenas nice and early. Had breakfast at the Tres Hermanas soda ("Three Sisters"). Excellent place to eat and you can watch the world go by out on the street. Cost of breakfast for two: 5125 colones, or $9.75 CAD. For that price, we got two plates of rice and black beans, scrambled eggs with ham, corn tortillas and two big mugs of really good coffee.

After breakfast, we crossed the street to a bakery. You can smell the fresh baked goods all over Atenas in the mornings. Bought a loaf of bread and four pastries for the grand total of 1300 CRC or $2.47 CAD. Eight fresh eggs, probably laid yesterday from hens who get to run free, set us back 735 CRC or $1.40 CAD. So I suppose a dozen eggs would cost about $2.10. These eggs are terrific. The shells are really hard and the yolks are very yellow.

Here is a photo I took the other day on the road that runs outside our house of a hen in a corn field.

On The Buses - for the first time

This week, for the first time, we rode the Costa Rican buses. We needed to go to San Jose so we went into Atenas in the morning to the bus depot. Everyone here is always so helpful - the ticket vender guy told us to go across the street, which we did, and there was our bus ready to go.

The fare was less than $2.00 CAD each (and bear in mind that the bus fare from one end of this country to the other is less than $12.00 CAD). The bus was very comfortable, big plush seats, windows you can open for the air - and it was just over an hour's drive to San Jose.

We got off the bus in San Jose, dealt with our business there, had lunch, and found our way back to the Coca Cola terminal and hopped on our bus back to Atenas.

Same great bus trip back - the scenery is lovely.

Then, later this same week, we decided to take the bus into Atenas. That involved walking down to Highway 3, then walking to the nearest bus stop - it was all downhill, good. On the way, we saw a lady knocking fruit from a tree - turns out they were soursops - and she offered me some - they are really good to eat raw and also to make into fruit drinks.

We had no idea when the bus would pass by - one hour later we were still waiting. But it finally showed up and five minutes later we were in Atenas.

We Found a Home in Atenas

Next Tuesday, we will be moving lock, stock and kitty to Atenas. We are renting a cabina for a month at Finca Huetares.

We'll decide which cabina we want when we get there. Finca Huetares has two very important features for us: high speed internet and kitty friendly. Each cabina is fully furnished, with bedroom, kitchen, living room, etc. And we have access to the restaurant and pools. Genny can go for a stroll outside, under close supervision, but she won't have a fenced yard. There is also a cottage available later on that is separate from the rest of the resort, has a fenced yard and might be good for us. It is currently booked but we can have a look at it once there.

It will be so nice to relax, unpack, and stay put for a while in the area we want to live in.

Today we again went into downtown San Jose to stroll around. Lance is becoming really proficient in giving the taxi driver our destination in Spanish and figuring out the fare. His head burnt rather badly yesterday so we got him a baseball cap today. With the sun straight overhead, we have to be really careful. I'm looking for a straw hat for me too.

Tomorrow we are meeting Genny's fairy godmother - the lovely Becky who has been visiting Genny in Santa Ana, playing with her and bringing her catnip mice.

It rains every afternoon at this time of year and what a pleasure it is to be sitting on the covered verandas while the rain falls on the tropical trees. Yesterday, we had a real downpour and the sound of the rain beating on the tin roofs makes one want to have a little siesta. Tonight for dinner we are going back to the soda we found yesterday. Since the Canucks game starts at 6:00 pm, we'll need to go eat at 5:00 pm.

By the way, a litre of Smirnoff vodka costs about $11 Cdn. here! See how much tax your Canadian government is mainlining out of the lot of you?

More First Day Excitement

Lance just said he can't believe he is sitting here in Costa Rica watching the Canucks playing the Bruins on the TV in our hotel room. He found the game on Sky Sports.

He also says he can't believe how temperate the climate is in San Jose here in the Central Valley. Shouldn't it be stinking hot so close to the equator? No doubt we will experience that at some point in CR.

Asked the front desk clerk for a dinner recommendation and he called a cab for us. Can't remember the name of the restaurant and I certainly could not find our way there again but it was as good as many restaurants we've eaten at in Vancouver....in fact, the vegetables were way better.

We ordered hearts of palm salad, fried plantains, and rice with shrimp. The hearts of palm were super fresh, not out of a can, with lots of lettuce, tomato, cucumber....and fresh dill. I've tried cooking plantains before but they were never successful. These ones were so good, and served with what I think was a black bean dip. Rice with shrimp also ..... pause - the Canucks just won!!!

So anyway, fabulous dinner and another great taxi ride. Talk about wild - I wonder how many accidents occur every day.  

June 1, 2011

That's an easy date to remember the first day of our new life. We enjoyed the hotel's wonderful breakfast buffet this morning, eating out in one of the gardens. Lots of fruits to choose from, pinto gallo, eggs, breads, cheese, fresh fruit juices, and so on - plus really good black Costa Rican coffee.

While ogling all the plant life in the garden, I saw mangoes, bananas and limes growing....birds I do not recognize and their calls. It is just fabulous.

We jumped in with both feet this morning and took a stroll around a small part of San Jose. I love it - it's crazy, noisy, gridlocked with traffic, people on the streets and in the parks, horns honking. We even went shopping at an Auto Mercado and bought some things we had run out of - shaving cream, shampoo, etc., and two bottles of personal sized vodka. Lance paid with colones and did a good job figuring out the CR money.

Took a cab back to the hotel where our very honest driver gave us a lesson in how to pay with colones as we had tried to give him way more than the actual fare cost. I loved the cab ride - they drive the way I always wanted to but we have so many rules and regulations in Canada.

Just heard from Angela at World Pet Travel and she said Genny spent a peaceful night in Houston, and was on her way to San Jose. In fact, she should have landed by now and is clearing Customs. Then she'll be delivered to the vet in Santa Ana for boarding.

So, everything has come together as planned. Based on our half day here so far, I can't see us ever returning! I love this country already.

Day Four of Our New Life

Our last day in San Francisco - I love this city. It's so vibrant. Last night we both had one of our best sleeps ever in months. Opened the window in our room and had fresh breezes blowing in. Lance said he heard emergency vehicles at one time but our room is not facing a street so is probably one of the quieter ones. We would stay in this hotel again any time.

Went out and about this morning looking for a good place to have breakfast. Found Mason's California Cuisine at 320 Mason Street. They don't seem to have a web site but you can Google them and read reviews. Lance ordered the huevenos rancheros and I had the pumpkin crepe with fruit. Lance says these huevenos rancheros were the best he ever had, and I have to say I've never had pumpkin crepes before but these were delicious.

Today I had the most expensive hair cut ever in my life and also the best cut ever. It is Memorial Day in the USA so we didn't think many shops would be open, but we found Helen of St. Moritz Styling Salon in the Hyatt on Union Square. My stylist said I looked like Buster Brown when I walked in - my last cut was really bad! She took off about 10 pounds of hair without cutting it too short. It swings and sways and feels really light. We took pictures so I can hopefully find someone in Costa Rica who can replicate the cut.

Lance bought a new pair of jeans at the Levi store and they altered them too. I went shopping at Macy's and bought two Jones New York shirts, one of which I'll wear tomorrow on our flight to San Jose.

We spent about an hour late this afternoon re-packing our bags. Lance bought another large piece of luggage so we could put all the small bits and pieces of other luggage into it and reduce the number of pieces were were carrying by hand. So we now have six pieces of luggage to be checked and then we are carrying two each on board.

I have taken many, many photos on this trip but have not had time to upload them. As soon as we are  settled a bit more, that is the first thing I will do.  Genny got picked up today by the agent who is taking her to her flight from Vancouver International tomorrow and spends tonight with this agent. Tomorrow she flies from Vancouver to Houston, Texas, and overnights there at a pet hotel in the airport. Wednesday morning she flies from Houston to San Jose and will be cleared through Customs by the World Pet travel agent in Costa Rica, and then delivered to the vet in Santa Ana.

We are flying American Airlines to Dallas, then Dallas to San Jose. Arrive San Jose 8:15 pm. We are staying at the Hotel Aranjuez for four nights. Then we're planning on moving to a B&B or hotel in Atenas, where we hope to find a house to rent.

This is our last night north of Costa Rica - tomorrow night we sleep in a new country.

Day Three and Counting

I think I need another 33 days, not three. House inspection went fine and we got our damage deposit back. Was asked to remove all the screws/hangers from the walls because everything is going to be painted. Have absolutely no tools left so had to use the one and only knife I kept to cut food with.

Our diet has gone totally downhill. Dinner tonite: frozen personal pizzas with half a fresh tomato each (cut with aforementioned lone knife). Took all our plates, bowls, etc. to Value Village this morning so had nothing to eat off. Had brilliant idea: lay a sheet of the last of parchment paper on two office binders and eat off of those. Our wine is served in plastic cups that keep cracking. We're eating all our meals in a restaurant tomorrow - how do people survive on these frozen foods.

Took Genny to her vet this morning for her International Health Certificate exam and she passed - no fleas, no worms, no vomiting, no diarrhea so she is good to go. Cannot go outside until she departs as she could pick up worms or fleas. She goes back to the vet for boarding on Thursday. Looks like she will be flying from Vancouver Int'l Airport on May 31st to Houston, where she will overnight at the airport pet hotel. Then on to San Jose the next morning.

I had to take the completed Int'l Health Cert. to the vet at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and have their stamps applied - why I do not know. Thought I knew where their office was at the truck border crossing but didn't. Stomped around through various Customs offices asking directions and finally found the right place in a fenced compound. Sigh.

Scanned all docs, including my passport and Genny's innoculation record, and emailed them to Angela at World Pet Travel. Things are happening fast now. Just hope the weather in Texas is ok next week.

17 Days and Counting

I'm using the day we board the Amtrak Cascades to Seattle as the beginning of our epic adventure but we actually don't land in San Jose until May 31st.

Here's what our living room looks like:

I'm particularly pleased with our lamp tables. Genny likes to have an afternoon snooze in her small carrier so we leave it out for her. That is good, actually, because she'll have to get used to spending travel time in her larger, airline carrier (provided by World Pet Travel, so I don't have to buy one).

The big suitcase is one of two we are taking, in addition to two smaller ones. I have them all sitting out so we can experiment with how much we can pack in each - have to watch the weight. Amtrak has a 50 lb. limit on each bag. American Airlines does also but if a bag is over, they just charge for it.  Amtrak won't accept an overage at all.

Oh my goodness, I just noticed my ship's clock on the wall - that has to be boxed up. It was a gift from the Canadian Coast Guard when I retired.

Check List

Done:

• Amtrak Cascades reservations made
• Hotel in Seattle reservations made
• Amtrak Coast Starlight reservations made
• Hotel in San Francisco reservations made
• Flight reservations San Francisco to San Jose, Costa Rica, made
• Our house has new tenants

Almost Done:

• Only a couple more plastic bins to fill up - once I put the few cooking utensils that I want to keep in storage, guess we'll be heating frozen food in the microwave. Oh wait, the microwave is going into storage too. Well, there's still the oven and restaurants.
• Genny's travel to be finalized.
• Need a hotel in Vancouver for a couple of nights.
• Need a rental car for a couple of days. 

Whatever extra things we want to bring with us, we'll buy in San Francisco. Our strong Canadian dollar will do very well there. Oh yes, I want to get tickets to the Mariners/Yankees game in Seattle.

Oh My Gawd! It's May!

This is zero month, the month we leave, no more sitting around saying "when we go to Costa Rica" - because we really are going there this month.

So much has been happening. A lovely young couple with a toddler have rented the house we have been leasing. Genny our cat had a wellness exam last week, plus a chip inserted, rabies shot and one of her innoculations. She goes back on May 9th for a couple of more tests and another innoculation. We are liaising with her vet, World Pet Travel and Veterinarios Asociados in San Jose, Costa Rica, where Genny will be boarding until we find our long term accommodations.

I'm now down to packing the last few storage bins and my paintings. We went to Rona this morning and bought pipe insulation tubes. They are perfect for putting around the edges of paintings to protect them from damage.

Here are some photos of Genny helping me pack today, the paintings I need to pack and the insulation tubes around some paintings.

Atenas Is Our Choice

We've chosen Atenas in the Central Valley as our place to live while we explore Costa Rica. I was recently asked, "Why Atenas and not the beaches?"

We initially want to live in an area that is close to a lot of amenities and Atenas has that. The beach areas on the Pacific side will be great to visit but we may find the weather too hot and humid, at least until we acclimatize. The Caribbean side is another area we want to eventually explore.

For day to day living, it seems Atenas has everything we could want. It has a temperate climate with dry days and cool nights. Apparently, one can fine tune their micro-climate by moving up and down the hills. Atenas also has such natural beauty and culture. It's a tranquil coffee growing town. It's also close to universities, hospitals, the capital city of San Jose, and so on.

AARP claims it is one of the best places to retire and, as everyone knows, National Geographic claims Atenas has the best climate in the world. We don't want to be stuck inside all day with an air conditioner running because we find it too hot and humid outside. I would like to have a swimming pool for the hot days. The cool nights are a big plus to me ... windows open to let in the fresh air. Well, I guess the windows would be open all day and night anyway. No furnace and no AC!

There are two seasons in Costa Rica - rainy (May to December) and dry (January to April).  It seems like there are a thousand and one micro-climates though.

Costa Rican Furniture

Why drag your old used furniture down to Costa Rica when you can rent a furnished house OR go shopping here in San Jose:  www.laartistica.net/main.php?.action=quienes.

All the corners of our 3 year old sofa and loveseat have been shredded by our cat Genny and her visiting feline neighbour friends. I think they leave messages for each other. The condition of our furniture is why we are not shipping it to Costa Rica but I wonder what we can do with it.