Atenas Painters Association Art Show - Reminder

I haven’t posted much lately. Getting ready for the art show has taken up a fair bit of time. I finally finished and varnished the big piece I will have on display and for sale. Here it is and also another new painting that will also be at the art show.

Once the show is over, I will have more time to talk about our new home town, Grecia.

In the meantime, don’t forget our art show!

Atenas Painters Association - 3rd Annual Art Show

Hope to see you there at Hotel Colinas del Sol. Seven local artists (including me) will be exhibiting new work.

Moving in Costa Rica

We are moving, not back to where we came from (Canada), but from Vista Atenas near the small rural town of Atenas to Hacienda El Paseo near the larger town or small city of Grecia.

The distance is not very far (about 12.5 km as the crow flies). The following map shows the shortest route in blue. This route is probably the most scenic route. But, if you are uneasy with steep switchbacks and narrow bridges along the road, then you might prefer the longer (gray) route along highways 3 and 1. In driving time, the difference is about 15 minutes.

The new place near Grecia is at about the same altitude as the old place near Atenas. So, unlike hot, humid temperatures on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts we should remain in our comfort zone. Like Vista Atenas, the new place should not require air conditioning or indoor heating.

We decided to move for various reasons. First and foremost, we wanted a larger house at reasonable cost. The new house includes 3 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths. This allowed one bedroom for ourselves, an art studio for me, and an office for Lance. Perfect! The house happens to be in a gated community, but that was not one of our prerequisites.

By the way, it appears that the community largely consists of ticos (native Costa Ricans). Our objective has been to assimilate and this should help.

The house does not have its own swimming pool, but there is a community pool a short distance down a winding street. That's all we need. Looking after a private pool wears thin after a while.

When we move in, we may very well be the only people in the community whose native language is English as opposed to Spanish.

Speaking of languages, the real estate agent who we dealt with in Grecia was Chris Schoo. He is Dutch and speaks at least 5 languages (English, Spanish, Dutch, French and German). He did a first class job introducing us to the community and the services in and around Grecia. His web site is 

here.

Atenas and Vista Atenas are great. We have innumerable friends and acquaintances in that area. But, Grecia and Hacienda El Paseo near Grecia will be a new adventure and we welcome one and all to visit us.

Weather Report, Vista Atenas, Atenas, Costa Rica

Compared to January 2017, January 2018 tended on average to be milder overnight and cooler during the day. There were significantly more clouds and overcast in January 2018. Although not accompanied with very much rain, it compares with absolutely no measurable rain in January 2017.

Growing Your Own Fruit in Costa Rica

This title is somewhat misleading because we are not farmers, but it is still easy to enjoy your own fruit on your property.

Almost every time we eat a pineapple, I stick the cut off tops into the ground. It takes ages for the tops to produce a new pineapple, but it’s fun to do and always a surprise when we see a pineapple developing. Today I found four:

Itty bitty:

                                                                               










Bitty #1:


Bitty #2:

Biggy:

One of the banana trees is fruiting. Not ready to harvest yet but getting there:

Finding a Mechanic in Atenas, Costa Rica

We received the final transfer papers for our newly purchased Subaru SUV last week. The San José lawyer sent them via certified mail and the Atenas Correos delivery person brought the envelope to our gate on his motorcycle. I thought the envelope was worth taking a photo of:

The handwriting is so elegant.

Now that we have a vehicle, we decided to find ourselves a mechanic in case of future problems. We have already used the garage at La Coopeatenas for oil and other fluid changes and we will continue using them for that and tire changes. We had been told of a good mechanic named Freddy whose taller (workshop) was somewhere on the same road as Kay’s Postres, Café & Restaurante, past this restaurant and after the small bridge. We went looking for it but could not locate it. Next plan: stop in at Kay’s and talk to the men who are frequently there for breakfast. They told us exactly where Freddy is and gave him high recommendations.

So off we went, looking for the three electrical boxes that were a landmark. Found them, turned left and continued down a narrow road. Came across a yard with vehicles in it so stopped and asked .... yes, this is Freddy’s place. Pulled in and waited for Freddy (who speaks English, by the way). While Lance was doing man stuff with Freddy, I started up a conversation with another guy who was busy with four Land Rovers. He is from Texas and he and his brother have bought five vintage Land Rovers here and are going to drive them back to Texas from Costa Rica. Apparently, they sell for quite a lot in North America. 

It seems like every day brings some sort of adventure or another.

Weather Report for Vista Atenas, Atenas, Costa Rica - and Happy New Year!

Here is the weather report for December, 2017, for the area we live in - Vista Atenas. Compared to December 2016, December 2017 was noticeably cooler, drier and windier.

Happy New Year to everyone - this is our sixth January 1st spent in Costa Rica and we look forward to many more. We are also looking forward to some changes in 2018. Come April 1st, we hope to be in a new home and we are considering different areas in which to live. We may not necessarily stay in the Atenas area. Now that we have a vehicle, we are free to explore other towns and cantons. I’ll post on where we explore and what we find.