The future of our wild horses and burros in Canada and the U.S.A. is in peril.
To bring awareness to the plight of these animals, a Save Our Wild Horses Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. from April 26 to 30, 2022.
There will also be an art show on April 29th. One of my paintings will be on display and available for purchase. It is titled “Alberta Wildie”, 24”x36”, acrylic on wrapped canvas. Reference photo courtesy of Sandy Sharkey Photography. This is a painting of one of the wild horses living free in the foothills of southern Alberta, Canada.
In addition, a pre-show online auction for the art is being held from April 26 to 30, 2022. This is your chance to buy high quality art and photography before the art show.
Alberta, Canada, also supports wild horses. Wild Horses of Alberta Society’s mission is to ensure the provision of all aspects of the conservation and humane treatment of wild horses living in the foothills of Alberta. They are committed to the preservation of these magnificent animals in their natural environment.
During March, visits to this blog were received from the following 11 countries:
The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 134. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc.
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The following is a summary of weather for the month in the area where we live:
March 2022 had marginally warmer overnight lows and significantly warmer daytime highs than March 2021. The average low was 0.7 °F (0.4 °C) warmer. The average high was 2.6 °F (1.5 °C) warmer. The 3 days with measurable rainfall compares with none in March 2021.
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Covid-19 Update
The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on March 7, 2022:
Overall, the death rate in Costa Rica is down 0.01% since my last post on this topic. It is 0.04% in Canada and up 0.02% in the U.S.
If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to Costa Rica, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.
If you want more up to date information and statistics on the situation in Costa Rica, including various locales in Costa Rica, then the web site of the Costa Rican Ministry of Health ("Ministerio de Salud") is a good source. If you do not understand Spanish, then you should enable translation features on your web browser if they are available.
On September 15, 2021, we left our house in Puente de Piedra, Grecia, for a road trip to the Buena Vista Beach Villas in Quepos. We spent two nights there and returned home on September 17, 2021.
I did a blog post on our little trip and you can read it here.
We also recorded our drive there and back with our car cam. There was a lot of footage to organize - Lance did a great job with this. I did the editing and posting to YouTube.
So here they finally are - nine videos of about 15 minutes each starting with number 1 through to number 9. Some people may enjoy seeing what the roads and driving conditions are like.
Video 1 - off we go!
Video 2 - Entering Atenas and then Hwy. 27 west:
Video 3 - Hwy. 27 continued and through the coast mountains, bypass highway 34, and carry on to the Tarcoles/crocodile bridge:
Video 4 - Hwy. 34 continued:
Video 5 - Hwy. 34 continued, thru Parrita, palm tree plantations:
Video 6 - Arrive at El Avion restaurant in Manuel Antonio, end at Buena Vista Beach Villas, then heading home:
Video 7 - Heading home, Hwy. 34 north:
Video 8 - off Hwy. 34 north, onto Hwy. 757 east, then Hwy. 27 east, then radial to Atenas:
Video 9 - Through Atenas, then shortcut to Grecia via Hwy. 716 and onto home:
To learn all about the wild horses (or “wildies”) of Alberta, an excellent source of information is the Wild Horses of Alberta Society (WHOAS). Their mission is to ensure the provision of all aspects of the conservation and humane treatment of wild horses in Alberta.
A similar organization in the U.S.A. is Save Our Wild Horses. They are holding their first annual conference in Washington, D.C. April 26 to 30, 2022, with an art show on April 29th and “Alberta Wildie” will be there. The show is open to the public and all members of Congress and staffers are invited.
The art show will feature photographs, paintings and drawings of wild horses and wildlife that live on public lands. This is an excellent opportunity to help the wild horses and wildlife and also raise funds for this worthwhile organization.
So “Alberta Wildie” will soon be securely wrapped for shipping and on his way to Washington, D.C. from Costa Rica! I think he is a good ambassador for the beleaguered wild horses.
During February, visits to this blog were received from the following 9 countries:
The number is down from the same period last year. I have no way of knowing, but I would not be surprised if it is somehow connected with the current situation in the Ukraine. Many who might otherwise contemplate a visit or a move to Costa Rica may now have other priorities.
The total number of countries and non-independent jurisdictions from which visits have been received remains at 134. Of this number, 13 are non-independent jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, etc.
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The following is a summary of weather for the month in the area where we live:
February 2022 had cooler overnight lows and hotter daytime highs than February 2021. The average low was about 2.6 °F (1.4 °C) cooler. The average high was about 1.3 °F (0.6 °C) hotter.
As is characteristic of February during the dry season, there was no rain. Also, many days were accompanied by fairly strong trade winds. These two factors when combined with a barren property of land under development led to numerous dust storms day after day. The dust went everywhere both inside and outside our house and presumably will continue to do so long as the trade winds continue or until the property is more fully developed. The following is a satellite view (annotated in yellow) showing the location of the house relative to the property:
The yellow star indicates where on March 6 Lance and I drove onto the property and took the following ground level photo (looking west to east):
It may be noted that the yellow star in the satellite view is adjacent to a green area. But, that is not so anymore. Subsequent to whenever the satellite view was taken, that area has also been filled with brown dirt and graded just like the rest of the development.
The name "Condominio Corteza" in the satellite view caught our attention and led Lance and I to a web page of Fusion Inmobiliaracr. Amongst other things, the web page shows a planned layout of roads, lots and costs of building a home. The plan is ambitious and will hopefully come to fruition sooner rather than later. We do not want another season of dust storms like the present. The advertised costs of buying a lot and building may come as an eye opener to some who live in Canada and the USA (and maybe elsewhere).
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Covid-19 Update
The following table updates information which appeared in my blog entry posted on February 6, 2022:
It appears that the Omnicron variant with its lower mortality rate has now taken full hold in Costa Rica. Once again, it seems that if you are inclined to catch any version of Covid-19, then you may have a better chance of survival in Costa Rica.
Overall, the death rate in Costa Rica is down 0.09% since my last post. It is unchanged in Canada and up 0.02% in the U.S.
If you want to see how some other country is doing in comparison to Costa Rica, then visit the website of Worldometer. Numbers for populations, reported cases and reported deaths can be obtained from that site. All that is then needed is some simple math to calculate the percentage death rate for the other country and the death rate in that country compared to Costa Rica.
If you want more up to date information and statistics on the situation in Costa Rica, including various locales in Costa Rica, then the web site of the Costa Rican Ministry of Health ("Ministerio de Salud") is a good source. If you do not understand Spanish, then you should enable translation features on your web browser if they are available.
Yesterday (Sunday) we had lunch at the Red Door Restaurante y Cafeteria.
Their original location was on the plaza by the hospital but it permanently closed. Back then, their name was Cevichera Red Door and it was quite small.
They have now reopened at the old location of El Patio Gourmet in Grecia. Their grand opening was on January 23, 2022. The reopening received lots of positive reviews so we decided to try it out.
This location is much larger then their old one and the setting is very nice. You walk off the street into a shaded and cool open sided restaurant:
Lots of places to choose to sit:
As of this date, they do not yet have their liquor licence. Lance ordered a fruit drink smoothie and I tried the pineapple/basil herb drink (on the right) and it was delicious. I’ll try and duplicate it at home.
Lance ordered the grilled marlin, topped with a sauce that included shrimp, scallops and two mussels. He generously gave me the mussels because I do like my shellfish. It also came with hand cut fries and steamed vegetables.
For me, I ordered the breaded shrimp with buffalo sauce, cole slaw and fries. They must have been jumbo shrimp because they were really large, but I ate all of them but couldn’t finish the fries.
Our orders - mine is in the foreground and Lance’s is in the background.
As I have said many times before, food portions here in Costa Rica are generously large and we can hardly ever finish what we have been served. Once again, we asked for take away and tonight we are dining on grilled marlin, hand cut fries and vegetables.
If you are in Grecia, highly recommend you eat here. I’ve read good things about their ceviches and I think that is what I might order on our next visit.
February 12, 2022, marked our 40th wedding anniversary and February 14, 2022, marked our 6th wedding anniversary!
How did we achieve this, you ask? February 12, 1982, was when we married in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and February 14, 2016, was when we got married in Costa Rica. I did a blog post about this wedding and you can read it here.
We decided to drive to San Jose for a weekend stay. I couldn’t get reservations at Hotel Aranjuez, where we stayed for a week when we first arrived in Costa Rica May, 2011.
The Gran Hotel had vacancies so this is where we spent two nights. This is the high season so I was surprised we were able to get a reservation. The hotel has undergone a lot of renovations inside since the last time we were there but part of the historic 1930’s exterior has been retained. The Gran Hotel is in an excellent location - steps from the National Theatre, a pedestrian walkway which extends for several blocks, the Gold Museum, shops, cafes, the Plaza de la Cultura and so on.
Staff are very friendly, bilingual and helpful. We left our car with the parking valets out front and they whisked it off to a nearby lot. Parking is $25 USD for 24 hours. It’s worth it. Our luggage was first taken up to the 5th floor - this is where check in/check out is and also the piano lounge and dining area.
That done, our luggage was then taken to our room on the 4th floor. We had a king bed room with inside view. It was small but very comfortable, with a mini fridge, a safe, very large wall TV, toiletries, etc. Check in time is 3:00 pm.
We had dinner at the hotel. The view is excellent. Very good menu and bar drink choices. We opted to share the cured meats and cheese board which came with marinated olives and bread. Drinks: Tito’s handmade vodka.
The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel’s buffet. Lots and lots of choices, including Costa Rican traditional foods.
We discovered that John Fitzgerald Kennedy (USA president from 1961 to 1963) had visited Costa Rica in March, 1963 and stayed at the Gran Hotel. On the fourth floor we discovered this:
I sat in one of the chairs and imagined that JFK had sat in that very same chair. Here is a video of his visit.
Because we had been to San Jose several times before, visiting the National Theatre, the museums, the parks and so on, we just opted to relax around the hotel area. We went to their casino but were not that impressed with it. There is a Peri grocery store close by and we picked up some items to take home. I also had to pay our electric bill and we were directed to an ICE office not far from the hotel.
On the way there, a young fellow approached us and asked if we spoke English. He was very relieved to find out we did. He proceeded to tell us a tale of great woe …. he had been robbed - his backpack was torn off his neck (showed us neck injuries) - he needed to get to the airport to meet his parents - but had no money to get there. He had a vaguely British accent. Anyway, we gave him a few colones and he thanked us profusely. Yes, most probably none of his story was true but his performance was worth it.
Back to our hotel and decided to have cold fruit drinks at the Quiznos outlet. There we could sit, watch the world go by and relax. A tour group:
The National Theatre:
So after this exhausting day, and to give the housekeeper time to clean our room, we went up to the 5th floor lounge. There we could sit quietly, listening to the piano player and checking our emails. There are a lot of pigeons in the vicinity of this hotel. They hang around the Plaza de la Cultura where people feed them and tourists take photos.
The pigeons were quite active on the window ledges and seemed to be in tune with the piano player. I made this video of them through one of the windows.
One thing we wanted to do in San Jose was go for dim sum. This was one of our favourite meals when we lived on the west coast of Canada. We went to Restaurante Casa China (aka China House) on Sunday, before driving home. We have eaten here previously. Excellent dim sum and we ordered extra to take home with us.
