Eyes on Costa Rica - Update

This follows my blog entry on June 10, 2013. At that time, more than 60 countries from where people were visiting this blog were identified. The number has now risen to over 80. The newest countries or quasi-countries include Belize, Bermuda, Curaçao, Martinique, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Peru, Armenia, Bulgaria, Ireland, Serbia, Hong Kong, Iraq, South Korea, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.

In addition, there has been at least one visit from the U.S. Army Post Office (APO) for the Armed Forces Europe, and more from “ - - - ” (no identified place, no identified region, and no identified country).

The mystery of who or what “ - - - ” might be has now been partly solved. In Internet jargon, they are “anonymous proxies” flying or trying to fly under the radar. On the globe which appears in the sidebar of this blog, they are indicated by the red dot which appears at Latitude 0°, Longitude 0° (about 350 miles southeast off the coast of Ghana in the Gulf of Guinea).

Costa Rica is obviously in the eyes of the world.

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Fiesta de las Culturas

Today we went to the Atenas Day of Cultures event in our central park. This was organized jointly by the Municipality of Atenas and CATUCA (Cámara de Turismo y Comerciode Atenas) to celebrate the International Day of Cultures.

There was live music and dancing, lots of booths selling different kinds of foods, beautiful hand made belts, jewelry, embroidered linens, Christmas ornaments, orchids, and lots more. We headed right to the Salvadorian pupusa stand for our first snacks.

Pupusas are a traditional Salvadoran food - thick, handmade corn tortillas with fillings usually consisting of quesillo (a soft cheese found throughout Central America), ground pork meat and refried beans and then topped with curtido (lightly fermented cabbage slaw) and a tomato salsa. I could eat one of these every day.

We then moved on to a Tico stand selling strawberries and grapes on a stick and dipped in chocolate. Grapes and chocolate go very well together. Then it was a drink of cas (a fruit, also known as sour guava). To take home, I bought cheese biscuits from a Tico stand, organic dill pickles with garlic from an expat lady, Irish scones made by our very own Marietta Arce (Atenas Today), and two tamales. Someone was selling arroz con leche (rice with milk). Not sure if it this is a type of dessert or a savory. I am proud to say I walked right past the orchid stand and did not stop to buy one.

We ran into lots of friends. The weather was perfect and so was this day. I made a small video of two groups playing music. The first video features a marimba, handcrafted by the man playing it. He named it "Mi Leidy" for his wife whose name was Leidy. She passed away recently. The other video is of three young people playing bluegrass music. The videos are below the photographs.

Pupusas!

The pupusa in all it's glory

 

The lovely lady in the middle is 92 year old Yoshii Sasak. She did all the paintings shown hanging up and wanted all proceeds of sales to go to the Hogar de Vidi, Atenas' home for abandoned/abused children.

 

The little kid in the plaid shirt could not stop dancing to the music. He was really serious about it.

 

Marimba band. The fellow on the left side of the tent in the tropical shirt is our local, and very good, jazz musician.

 

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No Banditos At Our House

These two dogs have chosen to guard our gate tonight. They live somewhere in our area - we heard their owner call one of them once. Dogs in Costa Rica are often allowed to roam loose. On my walks into Atenas, I come upon all manner of pups lolling about in the sun, or going to visit their friends. I recognize lots of them now. They all look well fed. Not a bad life for a doggy.

Yes, there is a somewhat different cultural viewpoint on animals here from what we are used to in North America but we can't bring our prejudices with us when moving to a new country. Besides, we live in a farming community and everyone knows where their meat comes from. There are, thankfully, many volunteer groups and individuals who do care for the abused and abandoned animals here. I always think of how many animals languish in British Columbia shelters waiting for homes and the same is true across Canada. People there still are not neutering and spaying their pets. There is much abuse of animals all around the world.

It exists in the horse racing industry and the horse show world. I suspect it also festers in dog and cat shows, some zoos, circuses. Think about the dairy industry, the poultry, egg, and pork factories - anywhere where humans can exert their power over creatures that have no means to fight back and where consumers think a cut up chicken was created from a plastic covered styrofoam package in a grocery cooler.

So, these two having a nice snooze outside our gate and warning us of any intruders seems okay to me. They'll go home eventually - we hope!

 

 

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Stanhopea Orchid

A few months ago, I bought several orchids from a lady who was disposing of her collection. I was told one of them flowered from the bottom, rather then the top. None of the orchids had tags but I recognized a couple, an oncidium for example.

I researched orchids that bloom from the bottom and discovered I had a Stanhopea, a new orchid for me. This species needs lots of water, moving air and bright light but not sun, which can burn the thin leaves. Obviously, this type of orchid cannot flower in a pot, and this one is in a wire hanging basket. The potting material is very loose, consisting of what looks like coco husk fiber and rolled up pieces of periole base from a palm tree frond.

I made some more of the palm base rolls (cut into thin pieces, soaked in water, then shaped into a loose roll) and topped up the basket. We hung the basket under the eaves where it gets good morning light. I fertilize all my orchids with Ever Green organic foliar nutrient that can be sprayed on leaves and potting material. Ever Green Fungicida Multiefecto is also a good multi-effect fungicide.

Not long ago, I noticed my Stanhopea had an inflorescence ("flower stem") coming out the bottom of the basket. Since this orchid was not in bloom when I acquired it, and there are approximately 65 species of Stanhopea, 5 natural hybrids, and dozens of man-made hybrids, it was exciting wondering what kind I had.

We watched the daily development of the flowers and recorded them. Yesterday, we woke up to the amazing display of the fully opened flowers and the incredible scent, which was almost overpowering. It drifted into the house all day, a sort of spicy vanilla odor. Stanhopea flowers only last a few days, and today we noticed a slight change from yesterday's robust display, with less scent.

September 30, 2013

The good news is that Stanhopea will consistently produce inflorescences all year if it is healthy and happy, so we have many more spectacular displays to look forward to.

October 2, 2013

October 2, 2013 - the first day the flowers are open.

 

October 2, 2013 - showing how the inflorescence emerges from the bottom of the basket.

 

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Fresh To Our Gate

A few minutes ago, I heard "beep, beep" at our gate. It was a fellow on a motorbike with a bin on the back. He was selling lettuce and fresh cilantro. He said it was organic. No way of really knowing but doesn't matter to me anyway.

The cilantro, two big bunches, have roots so I've put them in water until I can figure out what to do with them. Perhaps I can freeze or dry the leaves or even try potting the stalks.

I had lettuce on my grocery list so that is one item I can cross off. Saturday, the fish man will be by and I can get sea bass and prawns - small, medium or really large. I like this way of shopping!

Addendum: I neglected to include the price. It was 1,200 colones, or about $2.40 CAD. I don't know what this would cost in different parts of Canada. We like supporting local businesses and having food items delivered to our gate is a huge plus to us.

 

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Saturday Morning

My wireless keyboard is out for repair and I find it slow going using my iPad on-screen keyboard, so I made a little video the other day of the sights around our house as an easy way to do a blog entry today!

Enjoy.

 

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Genny

When we moved to Costa Rica from Canada, we brought our then 12 year old cat, Genny, with us. There was no question of not bringing her. When we take on the responsibility of a pet, it's for the life of the animal. We had her shipped professionally, using World Pet Travel. She travelled from Cloverdale, B.C., to Vancouver, B.C., where she overnighted. The next day, she took her first plane trip, travelling to Houston, Texas, where she overnighted again. The following day saw her arrive in Costa Rica, where she was met and delivered to her vet, Hospital Veterinarios Asociados in Santa Ana, for a week of boarding. World Pet Travel professional handlers dealt with Genny at every stop.

We picked her up a week later and we all spent a month at Finca Huetares in Atenas while looking for a more permanent place to live. When we found our current house, she settled in right away and even acquired some animal friends ... Barney the cat and Scruffy the dog.

We knew before coming to Costa Rica that Genny had renal disease, so she was on special renal diet food and we tried to keep her weight down. She had regular exams here, including blood work, x-rays and ultrasound on her kidneys.

On September 5, 2013, the disease finally took its toll. Genny's two years in Costa Rica were great for her. Because of the year 'round good weather, she was able to spend a lot of time outside and developed great lizard catching skills. She was more active then when we lived in British Columbia.

She loved walking up the hill to our mango and banana trees. She became adept at slipping through the front gate to explore forbidden territory. She took long, luxurious naps outside in the deep grass under the pergola covered with passion fruit vines.

We miss her a lot but we know she lived a long, happy life with us. Consider what her probable fate would have been if my husband, Lance, had not heard her mewing in our backyard 14 years ago. It appeared that she was tossed there and she was a very tiny kitten.

Genny - 2013

So, if you are considering moving to Costa Rica, please make every effort to bring your pets with you. We know one couple who arrived with their seven cats! If they can do it, so can you!

Barney and Scruffy - "Can Genny come out and play?"

 

 

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