Cafe Cultura is a newly opened restaurant, situated on the east side of the park or, to put it another way, if you were standing in the park facing the church, the restaurant is on the left.
Six of us had lunch there today and I highly recommend this restaurant. They serve breakfast, too, which is a big attraction for me. Lots of menu choices. They have an extensive list of smoothies, teas and coffee drinks.
The inside of the restaurant is very nicely decorated. We decided to eat outside in the large walled courtyard at the back. It was so nice sitting at our table, shaded by trees with a good breeze blowing. I had no idea that all this quiet outdoor space exists behind the shop facades on this street. You really have to just walk into businesses to find out what is going on, because often you cannot tell only by looking at the outside of the building.
Between us, we ordered a chicken Caesar salad, a Greek salad, lasagna with house salad, pasta with salmon and a Cuban sandwich. Everyone said their choices were very good, ditto with the smoothies. Mine was made with coconut water, watermelon and carrots. The plate presentations were very attractive. Oh - the lemon pie - try it, try it. One of our group said the pecan pie is really good also.
Our server liked to take all the food orders first, then the drink orders. I'm not sure if alcohol is served here.
This is a great place for a leisurely meal. On the way out, the chef told us they are going to serve a brunch this Saturday - reservations are needed. Not only that, he said he can offer Thai food! He just needs to know ahead of time if it's something off the menu.
Well, I know what I want to do - get a group together and go for Thai food. They close at 7:30 pm but can stay open later if needed.
Here's the important info: owners: Marcial Rodrigues and Osmin Gonzalez. Phone number 2455-0081. Open Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 7:30 pm and the same for Saturday. Closed Sunday. They also do take-out and catering. Visa and Mastercard accepted.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Tortuga Island
This past Saturday, we went on a tour to Tortuga Island. This tour is offered by Varso Travel in conjunction with Gloria and Paul Yeatman of Retire For Less in Costa Rica.
For the very reasonable price of $64 each, an air conditioned shuttle bus picked us up in Atenas at 0700 and drove us to Puntarenas where our boat was waiting to depart at 0800. I think there were about 30 total in our group, which included Ticos, with 19 coming from Atenas. Without the shuttle bus, the price is $54 each but it was so nice not to have to drive oneself to and from Puntarenas.
Tortuga Island lies on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, in front of the Curu Wildlife Refuge and is a tropical island paradise with white sand beaches.
Our bilingual crew were great - very knowledgeable and safety conscious. We were provided with information about each of the different islands we passed, the bird and sea life we were seeing. A thrill for all was seeing pods of dolphins close by the boat, leaping out of the water and playing in the boat's wake.
Snorkeling was included with all equipment provided. The sea this day was calm and the water crystal clear. We could see multi-colored tropical fish swimming everywhere. I wish now I had tried the snorkeling but figured the ocean was no place to start - a swimming pool would be better for a first try and I want to get my own equipment. One of our crew dived and brought up different sea creatures for us to touch and look at. Of course, everything was put carefully back into the ocean.
Motored on to Tortuga Island - a stunningly beautiful setting with white sands, palm trees and turquoise waters. Our crew started preparing fruit appetizers and lunch on the beach. Water, sodas and iced tea are included. We had several hours to swim or explore the island. We were asked not to take anything - no shells, no coral - and to leave nothing behind.
We left around 3:00 pm, I think - nobody was really keeping track of the time. All too soon, our boat trip was over and we landed at the dock in Puntarenas, where our shuttle bus was waiting for the hour long drive to Atenas.
I highly recommend this tour - we had a wonderful time and I think that was the farthest south in Costa Rica that we have been so far.
For the very reasonable price of $64 each, an air conditioned shuttle bus picked us up in Atenas at 0700 and drove us to Puntarenas where our boat was waiting to depart at 0800. I think there were about 30 total in our group, which included Ticos, with 19 coming from Atenas. Without the shuttle bus, the price is $54 each but it was so nice not to have to drive oneself to and from Puntarenas.
Tortuga Island lies on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, in front of the Curu Wildlife Refuge and is a tropical island paradise with white sand beaches.
Our bilingual crew were great - very knowledgeable and safety conscious. We were provided with information about each of the different islands we passed, the bird and sea life we were seeing. A thrill for all was seeing pods of dolphins close by the boat, leaping out of the water and playing in the boat's wake.
Snorkeling was included with all equipment provided. The sea this day was calm and the water crystal clear. We could see multi-colored tropical fish swimming everywhere. I wish now I had tried the snorkeling but figured the ocean was no place to start - a swimming pool would be better for a first try and I want to get my own equipment. One of our crew dived and brought up different sea creatures for us to touch and look at. Of course, everything was put carefully back into the ocean.
Motored on to Tortuga Island - a stunningly beautiful setting with white sands, palm trees and turquoise waters. Our crew started preparing fruit appetizers and lunch on the beach. Water, sodas and iced tea are included. We had several hours to swim or explore the island. We were asked not to take anything - no shells, no coral - and to leave nothing behind.
We left around 3:00 pm, I think - nobody was really keeping track of the time. All too soon, our boat trip was over and we landed at the dock in Puntarenas, where our shuttle bus was waiting for the hour long drive to Atenas.
I highly recommend this tour - we had a wonderful time and I think that was the farthest south in Costa Rica that we have been so far.
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| Beach towel |
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| Snorkeling |
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| I've never seen a starfish like this one |
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| Swam here - so beautiful. That 4 master in the background is for hire. |
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| Lunch - rice, salad, BBQ chicken and tortillas. Fresh fruit was served for appetizers. |
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Good News!
Yippee! Our lawyer just e-mailed us to say congratulations - our residency procedures have been approved and we are now official residents of Costa Rica!
It only took nine months - kind of like a pregnancy I guess.
If you are looking for a lawyer, we highly recommend Romulo Pacheco, Pacheco, Marin and Asociados. Mr. Pacheco took care of everything for us, including getting our drivers' licences.
Everything has gone so smoothly throughout all of this adventure. Of course, planning helps! Still, we have a great lawyer, great doctor, great vet, great hairdresser and barber, great house and landlady, great friends, great weather ..... I need to come up with some new adjectives. Even the move down here, including Genny's trip, went off without a hitch.
It only took nine months - kind of like a pregnancy I guess.
If you are looking for a lawyer, we highly recommend Romulo Pacheco, Pacheco, Marin and Asociados. Mr. Pacheco took care of everything for us, including getting our drivers' licences.
Everything has gone so smoothly throughout all of this adventure. Of course, planning helps! Still, we have a great lawyer, great doctor, great vet, great hairdresser and barber, great house and landlady, great friends, great weather ..... I need to come up with some new adjectives. Even the move down here, including Genny's trip, went off without a hitch.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Restaurants and the Dry Season
Last Thursday, we met friends and enjoyed bocas and wine at Grego's, a bar and restaurant on highway 3 not far from Atenas. Service and food is excellent. We sat outside on the covered patio, enjoyed the company, the weather and chatting with everyone.
It's close enough that we can walk down there, but thank goodness our friends drive us home (or we call a taxi) because it's all uphill going back to our house.
We now know why this is called the dry season - no rain since early November. Today I walked up the hill behind our house where our banana trees are and the ground is cracked and so dry. Everything was rustling in the wind and there is a lot of wind. The mango tree is flowering but also throwing tiny mangoes on the ground so I expect that is some sort of normal culling? The tree is huge and old and has survived for a long time so I guess it knows what it is doing.
After several months of clear blue skies all day long, now we notice that clouds are forming in the early afternoon. They look like they could be rain clouds, but not a drop falls and then they disappear in the late afternoon. I think we are experiencing the gradual transition into the green season.
It's close enough that we can walk down there, but thank goodness our friends drive us home (or we call a taxi) because it's all uphill going back to our house.
We now know why this is called the dry season - no rain since early November. Today I walked up the hill behind our house where our banana trees are and the ground is cracked and so dry. Everything was rustling in the wind and there is a lot of wind. The mango tree is flowering but also throwing tiny mangoes on the ground so I expect that is some sort of normal culling? The tree is huge and old and has survived for a long time so I guess it knows what it is doing.
After several months of clear blue skies all day long, now we notice that clouds are forming in the early afternoon. They look like they could be rain clouds, but not a drop falls and then they disappear in the late afternoon. I think we are experiencing the gradual transition into the green season.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Ninth Month
We're nearing the end of our ninth month here and, as usual, we've been really busy.
We had our first visitors - family members who were making their first trip to Costa Rica. As soon as I get my photos organized, I will post a few pictures of my niece and her husband and the places we visited when they stayed near us.
Rented our first car, had our first emergency visit to vet with Genny, first time driving the Costa Rican roads, both in daylight and at night - lots to tell. More soon!!
We had our first visitors - family members who were making their first trip to Costa Rica. As soon as I get my photos organized, I will post a few pictures of my niece and her husband and the places we visited when they stayed near us.
Rented our first car, had our first emergency visit to vet with Genny, first time driving the Costa Rican roads, both in daylight and at night - lots to tell. More soon!!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Yet Another New Place to Dine At!
About a week ago, our fellow Canucks took us to a really fabulous place to eat - the Mirador el Pueblo Restaurant.
Total cost for 4 people, meals and drinks included: 23,000 colones, or $46 CAD. That is a just bit over $10 CAD per person. We each ordered the same thing - fish. The view from this place is amazing.
Total cost for 4 people, meals and drinks included: 23,000 colones, or $46 CAD. That is a just bit over $10 CAD per person. We each ordered the same thing - fish. The view from this place is amazing.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
We've Been Busy
The time just seems to fly by. Looking at my calendar, we met up with friends on January 20 and they drove us around to Grecia and Sarchi, towns we had not yet been to.
Grecia is a town I want to go back to and explore a bit more. It's the capital city of the canton of Grecia in the province of Alajuela (thank you, Wiki). We stopped and saw the church (Iglesia de la Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes) and the park. Wiki has a lot of good information on this church - very interesting.
Then on to Sarchi, home of the world's largest oxcart (carreta), and famous for crafts and locally made furniture. We stopped at one of the tourist souvenir places - it even had a carreta with two oxen and a boyero (oxcart driver) so the tourists could take photos. Lance bought a map and, when paying for it with colones, was asked by a bus tourist, "What kind of money is that?" Ha! why, it's the currency of Costa Rica! and we use it all the time. Everything in this shop was priced in USD so I guess these tourists just get on and off the buses, visit the tourist places, pay in USD, and that's it.
We found a really good soda in Sarchi, where we had lunch. Across the street was an ice cream shop so we had to visit it, of course. I tried to order a bebida de frutas mixtas (mixed fruit drink) but ended up with a plate of mixed fruit. Oh well, I'll know better next time. It was still really good fruit.
It is so much fun exploring all the roads, seeing new towns and we are so fortunate to have such great friends.
Grecia is a town I want to go back to and explore a bit more. It's the capital city of the canton of Grecia in the province of Alajuela (thank you, Wiki). We stopped and saw the church (Iglesia de la Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes) and the park. Wiki has a lot of good information on this church - very interesting.
Then on to Sarchi, home of the world's largest oxcart (carreta), and famous for crafts and locally made furniture. We stopped at one of the tourist souvenir places - it even had a carreta with two oxen and a boyero (oxcart driver) so the tourists could take photos. Lance bought a map and, when paying for it with colones, was asked by a bus tourist, "What kind of money is that?" Ha! why, it's the currency of Costa Rica! and we use it all the time. Everything in this shop was priced in USD so I guess these tourists just get on and off the buses, visit the tourist places, pay in USD, and that's it.
We found a really good soda in Sarchi, where we had lunch. Across the street was an ice cream shop so we had to visit it, of course. I tried to order a bebida de frutas mixtas (mixed fruit drink) but ended up with a plate of mixed fruit. Oh well, I'll know better next time. It was still really good fruit.
It is so much fun exploring all the roads, seeing new towns and we are so fortunate to have such great friends.
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| Oxcart in Sarchi. |
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| The church in Grecia. |
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| Pizza Mangia in Sarchi - you must try this place. We ordered fish casados and an arroz plate. Lance, Diana and the owner of Pizza Mangia. |
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