Blogs from San Ramon, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 13

We leave to go back to the States on Wednesday, so this will be the last update probably for a while. Last week we rented a car and drove to Jaco for a couple of days. We had been there just this past September and our impression was that it was a ¨dump¨. This time was a complete surprise because it looked like a different place. It was clean and all the buildings looked like they had just been painted. There were also a lot of brand new strip malls that had just been completed. There were all kinds of shops and restaurants that I didn´t remember seeing before--sushi and thai restaurants and shops that sell furniture and accessories from all over the world. It was very artsy and even a bit (do I dare say??) ... read more

Today is Election Day in Costa Rica. This election is particularly important as its citizens select a new president to replace the outgoing president, Abel Pacheo. By many accounts, Pacheo was not terribly successful. Not a professional politician (he was previously a radio announcer among other entertainment-related professions), he did what he could but it seems the country slid backwards a bit during his term. Many in the electorate claim the transportation system, particularly the roads, are in major disrepair, poverty is up, environmental issues are becoming much more serious, and the educational system, while considered the best in Central America, is not educating its students long enough, or as Bill Clinton used to say, “for careers for the 21st century.” In fact, the majority of students leave school sometime during high school and end up ... read more

In my last blog entry I wrote about my half day+ trip to pay my $66 property tax for 2006. If that wasn’t exciting enough, this past week I went to take my car to be inspected near the airport in Alajuela. This must be done annually, along with paying the “Marchamo,” or car tax. So, my emissions sticker expired last July and my Marchamo was due in December. Yes, I have been very remiss in my duties (apparently I am not alone in this as over 200,000 Costa Ricans, in a country with about 1,000,000 cars, are in the same boat). However, I learned recently that if one doesn’t pay Marchamo by the end of January, the police can take your license plates. Not wanting to risk losing the plates (and hence, the car), I ... read more

It’s been a fairly quiet week here at Angel Valley Farm Bed & Breakfast. Well, not perfectly quiet. This past week has seen to brought many cows, calves and bulls in our yard! One more, we were awakened early by the bloodly loud sounds of Osita and Reina yelping at the top of their lungs. From my window, I couldn’t tell what they were barking at, but later on, we discovered a bull had gotten loose and came right into our side yard, most likely to feed on the various vegetation growing there. Later in the week, in full view of our guests sitting outside on the patio, we had a whole parade of cows, calves and bulls streaming up our driveway—they apparently got loose from their pen down the road. This happened several times this ... read more

Never a dull moment...last week we made our first visit to a Costa Rican dentist to have our teeth cleaned. They don´t do it the same way as in the States--apparently it´s the same as in Italy. They clean them by using a tiny drill that shoots water between your teeth--kind of like a deep pressure cleaning. It worked fine, but I was soaking wet by the time it was over--but the best part is it was only $16.00 each. A few days later I ended up with a UTI and had to make a trip to the doctor. It´s so bizarre here. There is never a wait at the doctor´s office. You walk into a clinic and a doctor sees you within a minute. They have labs there also, so they can run tests and ... read more