Blogs from Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

Nancy and I are packing up and moving to Costa Rica. Why Costa Rica and not Panama or Belize or even Mexico? These were all on our radar once we figured we could be happy living in an LEDC (less economically developed country.) We had visited Belize recently, and Mexico in it’s glory days. Ultimately, it came down to the mountains, the scenery, the beauty and the people of Costa Rica. Belize has no mountains to make for temperate climates and natural beauty. In the areas away from the northern borders and tourist areas and the high crime, Mexico has some lovely mountain communities. Both countries have their share of beauty. But not as compact or as dramatic as Costa Rica. And neither has... ....MORE...http://goinglikesixty.com/?p=10299 ... read more

The title of today's blog entry is due to the fact that we are without water here for now. Actually we're on their emergency backup system but just to flush toilets. Evidently this is affecting all of Atenas. Since it's Sunday they won't try to fix the problem until tomorrow. So no shower for me this evening. Tomorrow morning I'm meeting Barb at the bus station to take the bust to the airport like we did before. Once again Maria Elena will pick us up there but this time we're going to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens Falls Nature Park. You can check it out through this link. I'll be taking many photos but won't be downloading them to my blog until after I get to Maryland. http://www.waterfallgardens.com/ This park should be amazing with all the ... read more

Hmmm...did you notice a trend with the blog title this evening? Food! The MR (Montezuma's Revenge) I've had now for over two weeks has subsided enough that food is tasting better and my stomach is calmer. So today I ate a several foods I've been avoiding for a long time. Of course it just so happens that these are some of my favorite foods but they don't mix well with MR. I had popcorn with my lunch then for dinner I cooked up sauteed some onions & garlic, added water and quinoa and simmered. I then microwaved some broccoli that I cooked in the microwave that I added to the cooked quinoa. It was so flavorful! After both lunch & dinner I had a little dark chocolate! Oh happy day! I actually took two walks into ... read more

Have I aroused your curiosity with today's title? I would guess so. Okay I'm not an expert on bathroom backflow issues but I am privy to what can happen if you don't have plumbing set up right. Now what I and many others have discovered here in Costa Rica and probably other third-world countries is just what the result can be if the plumbing isn't set up correctly. In a nutshell you can get BAD odor coming up from the drains due to the escaping of certain gases. So a quick remedy for the odor issue is to place a paper towel, folded in double or more if you'd like, over the drain when not in use and this tends to take care of much of the problem. Did you know that in the U.S. there ... read more

What a lovely day here in Atenas! We had more sun than we've had for a few days plus a nice and at times a fairly stiff tropical breeze. The day started early as most of them have been recently...ever since I got MR (Montezuma's Revenge) I've been all messed up. More ways than one;( We were without Internet connection between about 8-11am. So I went for a walk. As I approached Central Park I heard music playing loudly and went to check it out. There were a group of mostly Ticos & Ticas working at one of the first recycling project in Atenas. Barb had told me awhile back that a very ambitious young Tica, unfortunately I can't remember her name, was the energy and brains behind this project. Barb predicts that this woman will ... read more

Well as you might have noticed I'm not having much luck at all with downloading photos from my recent trip to the Orosi Valley. One per day isn't going to cut it so I've decided to wait with the rest until I get to my sister's house in Maryland next week. There should be a stronger connection that I think will help. After some off and on rain yesterday today was partly to mostly cloudy with some cooler breezes. Probably in the low to mid 70's instead of the upper 70's to low 80's. So I walked into town this morning to go to the bank and the store. One interesting observation I don't believe I've yet shared....the young Ticas all wear very very tight pants! Now before all you male types book the next flight ... read more

This will be short as I've very tired....I really enjoyed my trip with Barb and Maria Elana to see Heredia as well as the beautiful Orosi Vally. More blog & photos tomorrow! Ciao, Barb ... read more

A busy day indeed it was! Busy and good. As always I bought a lot at the Feria even with limiting myself to the bland/soft diet on on. Everything looks so tasty and fresh! Probably because it is! I bought quite a bit of watermelon since that's high on my "can eat" list. I've already eaten most of it;) It was a pretty hot day here today. I mostly noticed it when I walked to my follow up doctor's appointment. The person I saw reminded that recovering from MR is a process and doesn't happen overnight. I'm definitely doing better just not 100% yet. I expect it to be somewhat challenging to stay on the bland diet while traveling but I'll do my best. Certainly don't want a reappearance of MR...especially when traveling;(. So far I've ... read more

I was pretty ambitious this morning as I walked to the bank and store before taking a taxi up to Barb's lovely casita. I was feeling slightly better before lunch but then started feeling lousy right afterwards. So she encouraged me to schedule an appointment with a doctor she went to see a few weeks earlier. I was able to get an appointment for 4pm today. So we took a taxi there. As I had suspected I had the common stomach upset that often happens to Gringos.....otherwise known as Montezuma's Revenge! I guess there's a first time for everything! Before the female doctor came in the male paramedic took my vitals and they were all normal. Then Dr. Candy Midence Noquera entered and asked many questions about my health in general. She seemed familiar with scleroderma ... read more