Here and There in Atenas

A couple of days ago we went into Atenas for supplies. We stopped to pick up the jeans Lance had altered at a local tailor (see previous post) - the bill was 1000 colones (2.00 CAD).

Then we walked over to the Supermercado to shop for groceries. Along the way, we met the nicest senior you would ever want to meet. We first met him at Kay's Gringo restaurant not long after we arrived here. This lovely guy walks around Atenas with a wicker basket full of fresh made tortillas, hot, 2000 colones for two packages. We've been eating them for the last two days. These are not flat tortillas, they are puffy and I think they have cheese in them. He or his wife must make them at home I guess.

They are so good with lots of butter on them!

Here's a picture:

This Week In Review - Even Though It's Only Tuesday

Genny caught a bird this morning - the first critter she has ever caught in her eleven years. I didn't see exactly how it happened but there she was with a pile of feathers in her mouth which she then spit out. The bird flew away, thank goodness - we sure hope it didn't have mortal wounds. She is also stalking lizards and I need to find out if any of them are poisonous.

She adores being outside - but of course it's under our strict supervision. Her Costa Rica routine is going out first thing in the morning, coming in for breakfast, going out again until around noon. Then she sleeps the afternoon away in her cupboard and goes out again for a bit before the sun sets at six p.m. It seems I spend a lot of morning hours outside in my beach chair - reading and cat sitting.

Today, I made Fran Browne's fabulous key lime pie - we've eaten half of it already. I finally found graham crackers at the Super Mercado. I love our horno (stove) - it's an Atlas with three burners and a small oven with four settings - medio (warm), dorar (grill), hornear (bake) and maximo (high). I have no idea what the oven temperature might be on any of these settings but it cooked the pie just fine at the hornear setting.

Here's how we handle our garbage - put it out in this above-ground metal box and it gets picked up twice a week. I think the raised boxes are a great idea - animals can't get at it. Every house has one of these out front.

And, here is how we get our hot water - instant heating, no hot water tank. Why pay to heat a hot water tank 24 hours a day ... I don't know why these units aren't more popular in North America.  We can take hot showers for as long as we want....never run out. We have hot water in the bathroom and the kitchen. This particular unit is about a foot and a half high.

On Sunday, we spent a lovely day with two new friends from Maryland. They'll be moving down here permanently in a  couple of years and are scoping out different areas where they might want to live.

Doctors and Coffee

I have a need to see a doctor every ninety days so the time had come to find myself a family doctor in Atenas. In Vancouver, when my long time family doctor retired (and he was unable to sell his practice), it was impossible to find a replacement. Family doctors have gone the way of the dodo, unfortunately. I had to use a walk-in clinic - the doctors were great but how I hated the waits! "Come back in three hours!" and wait some more, "No, we don't make appointments".

To find a doctor in Atenas, I consulted the "Atenas Today" yellow pages and saw an ad for Linea Vital de CR. Phoned their office this morning, got an appointment for 11:00 am, and met Dr. Noguera promptly at 11:00!!

She is really nice. She spent quite a bit of time talking with the pharmacist, trying to find a substitute for a couple of my meds, was successful and I have my prescriptions in hand. I think I even know where this particular pharmacist is ... across from the central park. Cost of my doctor visit today: $40 US.

Coffee: I bought 8.8 oz. of Ateneo ground coffee produced by Coopeatenas R.L. at the SuperMercado today. The aroma is bursting through the bag. Cost: $2.50 CAD!! Can't wait to try it tomorrow morning. Coffee grown, picked, roasted and ground in the very area we live in - unbelievable.

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!!