I’ve spent this past week doing a combination of entertaining my friend Terry who is visiting for three weeks and doing more work than I have time for! Whatever happened to “Pura Vida” anyways! Actually, I cannot complain as last weekend I spent on the Pacific Coast and this week I spent on the Caribbean coast. The Caribbean coast…. I really love the Caribbean coast! It’s just not as built up as the Pacific Coast and there are still some good real estate deals there! I stayed at a cool B&B, Banana Azul, right on the beach in Puerto Viejo. While [View Full Entry]

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It has been several weeks since I’ve updated my blog, actually the last time was on July 29th. I had hoped to update it sooner but getting back and getting into the routine of things has taken longer than I had expected. So, from here on out, I’ll try to update it as I usually do, on a weekly basis. You have to give me some credit, however, as I’ve been updating this thing for 14 straight months! If you have been following my blog regularly as do over 3,000 of my subscribers, you know I’ve been traveling in South America [View Full Entry]

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“Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges—Something lost in the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!” --Rudyard Kipling, “The Explorer” It’s been a few weeks since I’ve updated my blog largely because until this past week, life in Peru has been fairly uninspiring and routine—until I went to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Heading to Cusco—the Inca Capital I headed to Cusco, the closest large city to Machu Picchu with some American friends here in Lima who also wanted to explore Peru’s most well-known rui [View Full Entry]

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After returning from Ecuador I spent several days back in Lima in the comfort of my very nice B&B which is my base for two months. It has been a terrific place to meet other travelers and it is in an excellent location. More on Lima…. Having been in Lima off and on for almost one month, I’ve noticed a few things about “living” here. To start with, I was told the weather would be lousy—overcast all the time and cold (well, “cold” is a relative term; in the low 60s)—but so far the weather has been fairly pleasant with several [View Full Entry]

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One of my objectives in heading to Ecuador was to find a relatively cheap package to the Galapagos Islands. However, finding a package, within the price range I wanted, and within the time frame I wanted to be there, was next to impossible. You can simply fly to the Galapagos for about $350 roundtrip but you risk either not finding a package within your budget or you end up having to wait several days before being able to explore the islands. It is virtually impossible to tour the Galapagos without being on a guided tour (usually by a small boat with [View Full Entry]

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I am writing from Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, located in the southern part of the country, just north of Peru. I’ll say more on Guayaquil soon. I’ve included a few more photos from Lima, and yes, none of them show much sun. It is just how Lima is this time of year. However, one day last week there actually was a day of partial sun which was terrific. The city just seemed so much more pleasant and the Miraflores section, where I am staying, felt a lot like Miami Beach. My blog entries are usual very upbeat and several people have [View Full Entry]

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Hello from Lima, Peru! I’m traveling in South America for the next two months so this blog will temporarily be a “South America” blog instead of a Costa Rica blog. I’ve never had two months off to travel, so this should be an adventure! I picked Lima as my home base, and from here, I hope to visit more of Peru, then Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia (not necessarily in that order). When? Where exactly? For how long will I travel in each country? These are questions I cannot answer at the moment as I’m making no specific plans. I’ll get up [View Full Entry]

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To be introspective or not…. I could not remember until just yesterday exactly what day last June I moved to Costa Rica. I looked through my handwritten notes, emails, and even airline ticket receipts—essentially anything that would have a date on it. I could not find anything. Then in the middle of the night, it came to me (stupidly!): “Look back at your blog entries Andrew!” So, I went through my blog, now at 120 pages and 60,000+ words, and found an entry from June 4, 2005: “Day 1 (June 4, 2005): Today truly is the first day of the rest [View Full Entry]

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This blog entry has many pictures and little text, particularly to compensate for the lack of pictures in my last blog entry and because I took so many pictures from our recent birthday party (more on this below). We decided to have a big birthday bash for our terrific cleaning lady, Karol, and our great neighbor, Fernando, since their birthdays fall around the same time. It was also a good time to “celebrate” the beginning of the rainy season (called “green season” by the national tourist board). We also decided we would go all out and ordered several trays of v [View Full Entry]

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As I come close to my one-year anniversary living in Costa Rica (June 4, or 5, I forget exactly) I again find myself being introspective. I ask myself a number of questions such as: “How would I characterize my first year here?” “Am I happy living here?” “Did I accomplish the goals I set for myself in the first year?” “What would I have done differently looking back at the last twelve months?” “What will I do during the next year?” I am sure there are many other questions I could ask myself if I thought about it a bit longer. [View Full Entry]

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