Blogs from Heredia, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 21

By the way, Shana Tova everyone. Although there are 2 synagogues in San Jose, we did not make it to services. Instead, we rang in the New Year by baking challah, eating apples with honey and having friends over for dinner. It was very nice and casual but we did miss everyone up north with whom we usually celebrate. Back to our lives here in Costa Rica - Way back in 1821, a Central American congress declared their independence from Spain, effective on September 15. Well, as you can imagine, here in Costa Rica - and as it is in the United States - Independence Day is a big holiday. Every town has a parade and, it seems, every school in every town has a band that marches in the parade. Unfortunately, it seems that every ... read more

I was recently asked why I don't have a photo gallery here, considering how much I enjoy photography- particularly in Costa Rica. So, I figure it's overdue to put this together- I am organizing it as follows- it's not so easy to add pics, so I apologize fo this being a bit messy: 1st - Orchids- Since our Inn will be named "The Orchid Lodge"-- the website listed on the pics is not yet operational 2nd - Macro- These Macros are my favorite type of photography work 3rd - Wildlife- Anyone coming to visit Costa Rica to see the beaches is really missing the point of our wonderful country. The wildlife here is so amazing! 4th - LandscapesThere are so many beautiful places in Costa Rica, especially near our house on the mountains... 5th - Hotel ... read more

With a thunder-like rumble, a spurt of bright orange broke the velvet darkness of the cool night. Mesmerized, oblivious to the pesky mosquitoes, we couldn’t take our eyes off the incredible sight of red-hot rocks being hurled out of the top of the nearby mountain and tumbling and breaking up down the steep slopes. This was Volcano Arenal, one of the most active volcanoes in the world and we were lucky enough to catch it on a clear night. After basking in the luxuriousness of jungle hot-springs during the day, it was the perfect way to spend the evening. Thus we spent a few days of Nana and Pop-pop’s visit. Since I haven’t written for a while, I figured I needed a dramatic beginning. At the end of July, for the last week of the summer ... read more

When we were out shopping with our “interior decorator” (see earlier entries) we discovered that prices would actually get significantly higher than the ticketed prices on items when the shopkeepers realized that you’re a gringo. So when we found a place that sold patio furniture that we liked, we were afraid what to expect when we asked for 3 sets in my broken Spanish. These places work like car-dealers in the US, where the shop-keeper needs to call the fabricator for a final price, regardless of the ticketed price. In the past this was when the price went up. At our local store, they actually made us a deal, coming down on all the sets! So, we ordered our furniture two weeks ago and picked it up today. It came out perfectly, and we decided to ... read more

Last night Rachel complained that the toilet in the master bedroom wouldn’t stop running. So, figuring it was a quick-fix, I opened the top just as the tank was about to overflow. So I flushed the water down and started trying to figure out why the float wouldn’t turn off the flow of water. While working on the problem, the toilet started to overflow again, so I figured that I would just turn it off at the wall, preferring to work on it in the morning. As soon as I turned the shutoff valve, something let go inside the valve and waster started to gush from the shutoff valve! I just love Costa Rican craftsmanship… So, with toilet-water ankle deep in the bathroom, I ran to the basement and luckily found a new float setup for ... read more