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Published: December 23rd 2012
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MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Love Ian & Karen We left Jaco and headed east to the little town of Atenas, where we will be staying over Christmas and New Years (19 days total). The town is very laid back; so unlike some of the other places we've been too. We are treated just like regular folk and not tourists so much. People are not trying to get you in their taxis, restaurants or sell you souvenirs. The town is situated in the "Central Valley" about an hour away from the capital, San Jose. From where we sit near the pool at our guest house we can hear the church bells chime the hours away. The town is named after Athens in Greece. The only reason I can figure why (as it doesn't look like it in the least) is the resemblance of the better parts of what made Greece a great nation. The social fabric is based on caring and working together. There appears to be a number of co-ops in town, including one for the local farmers in which they run a weekly farmers market. We haven't seen any beggars here, nor many people that are not cared for. Costa Ricans (Ticos) take care of their families and
Maria
2 beautiful Scarlet Macaws live on this property. Maria is 37 and Michelle is 23. the live outside and fly from tree to tree. They must have their flight feathers clipped. They are at least 2.5 feet long. life is centered on family values. The Catholic church plays a large part in peoples lives and there are alters outside of many houses. It is really a shame that there is the fear of robbery every where as people have bars and razor wire surrounding their homes. Sometimes Karen and I feel that we are locked up.
One of the reasons why Atenas is so nice is the weather. According to some, The National Graphic Society named Atenas the best weather in the world. The town advertises this "fact" on all its buses and signs. It is 2,300 feet above sea level and it never gets stinking hot like it does down by the beaches. At night it cools off and there is no need for any A/C. We are not far from active volcanoes and we plan on visiting one very soon. We are told that the beaches can be reached in 40 minutes if we wanted to head back down that way. There are less than 8,000 people living here which includes, we are told, 600 ex-pats. The morning after we arrived we were out looking for a place to have breakfast and we ran into
View from the restaurant on the ridge
The hills are so steep the cattle make paths on the hillside that look like terraces. a couple from Quebec. The restaurant that we were both trying to go to was closed and they asked if we would like to join them elsewhere. We jumped in their car and off we went up and out of town for about a 20 minute ride. We got to this restaurant that is perched on a ridge with a stunning view that you could see all the way to the Pacific off in the distance. Our hosts spend 6 months of the year here in Atenas (guess which 6 months!) and live for a living. There are many others just like them in the area.
Where we live they hold yoga classes on the patio next to the pool where about 10 ex-pats come to practice every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We attended both Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Thursday as we were settling down and doing all that breathing stuff to get into the "now" of it all, Karen poked me in the ribs all excited as she pointed up to the branches of a palm tree. In the tree was a Toucan. Boy talk about being in the now. It looked like someone took the bird right
Ox Cart in Sarchi
A day trip took us by bus to this wonderful little town called Sarchi high up in the mountain. They use(d) ox and cart and have dedicated this town to the beautiful decorating of their carts.This one measured at least 20 feet high. off of the cereal box. So bright and with a huge bill. The owner of the guest house, Anna, has two Scarlet Macaws on the property. One is 37 and the other 23 years old. They talk a little bit by saying the odd "Hola" and "Bonita". Our neighbor next to our unit owns a Green Parrot that does all kinds of talking. It also mimics the cats purring. Karen and I have become big fans of bird watching and we are always looking at new ones. This morning on our walk we saw some interesting birds which make a noise which sounds like it is computer generated. It's called the "Montezuma Oropendola" and their nests hang off the palm branches like a pendulum.
A couple of days ago we took a road trip via the local buses to a town called "Sarchi". As the crow flies (Parrot?) it is not very far at all. The bus does not go directly there unfortunately so we have to take a bus to Alejuala, find the other bus and then off to Sarchi. Round trip about 5 hours on the bus or looking / waiting for the bus. The town is
Church in Sarchi
Every town has a Church and park at the centre famous for making decorated ox carts and beautiful handmade furniture. It's a tourist town for Tico's. We found a hidden gem while there. There is a botanical garden that is completely empty of people with the most amazing gardens, all of which are labeled. There were plants from all over the world there. Anyways we met some nice people on the trip and it gave us opportunity to try out some "Spanglish".
Last night we went to the "Festival of Lights", which is a parade the locals have before Christmas, our equivalent Santa Clause parade. They closed off the streets surrounding the park and church (every town has a town square with the church and a park as the feature) and every body showed up. It gets dark around 6 so that is when the event was supposed to start. It was only 20 minutes late which I am told is pretty good for "Tico time". Karen and I are both fans of parades so we knew the best spot to take was down at the curb with all the kids and families. We sat there for almost three hours and our asses and legs could hardly move when
Else Kientzler Botanical Garden
We walked through a Botanical Garden and we had the grounds to ourselves. The foliage was stunning, as you will see in the next few pictures we tried to stand again. The parade was made up of a lot of bands from local schools and neighboring towns, some dancers, the Red Cross, local businesses and police cars and fire trucks with the sirens going. A typical small town parade. The bands all consisted mostly of drums which was kind of cool except it got repetitive and the pace of the parade was in slow motion as you had to wait 10 minutes for the next group to come up the street. My favorite moment was when a little boy behind me spotted a man dressed in a costume and started yelling, "Elefonte, elefonte, elefonte!!!!" at least 100 times. It took me about 50 of those yells in my ear to make the connection that the man was in an elephant costume. I learned a Spanish word which I will never need to use. Ever!
Both Karen and I miss all our friends and family especially over Christmas and would love to hear from one and all over the holidays. It doesn't really feel like Christmas when you are sitting by a pool with your shirt off and a cold Corona in your paw. We will
Bird of Paradise
You can certainly see how the Bird of Paradise got its name.... and may it fly up your nose :) keep our Skype open so if you want to call us you can reach us on our Skype account which is "Ian & Karen McGinnis"
Love to all
Ian
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