Blogs from San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 3

The washer & dryer here are fairly new but the washer stops for long periods of time between cycles so doing just one load can take well over an hour. And since it was just had a repair for another problem all of us living here have a backup of laundry to do. So today is laundry day for me. I'm continue to spend time trying to find a place to rent in Atenas. I'm considering just renting a room in a 2 bedroom 2 bath house, where I would have my own room & bath. The owner is a woman whom seems very nice. She's sent me photos and it's a very nice newer home. I want to see the place and it's proximity to town and the bus stop so I'm hoping to take ... read more

I was able to make the 'Big" move into my own room here at Nitzi's house today. Margie is staying in our old room by herself, at least for the time being. My room is at the other end of the house. We have a different kitchen...smaller. I prefer using the larger one, which I plan to do. I've met a few more people here including a young man fro Florida, Will, who is here for a bit of R & R after graduating from college with a masters in business. Another young man, Greg, from Maryland who seems to be a semi-regular person here at Nitzi's. He's traveled many places and was evidently quite wild as a teen and young adult. But now he says he much more settled down. Greg has told us quite ... read more

I turned up in Costa Rica, three months ago, knowing almost no Spanish. I did it at school but I haven't done anything at all in any language other than English for eleven years, so my thoughts that I would turn up and start talking like a tico were always going to be on the optimistic side. (A tico/tica is a nickname for a Costa Rican man or woman. Initially I thought it was like calling an Irish person "Paddy" but it turns out it's what they like to be called.) However, after three months of lessons with a very good teacher, working with Spanish speaking adults and kids and generally just doing normal stuff like going to the supermarket or talking to people on the bus, I have learnt more than I ever could have ... read more

Whilst all of the other stuff I have been talking about happens, Carpio goes on. We still go everyday and it is still the best and most rewarding part of everything I do out here. Everything I wrote about back at the start (if I knew how to do a hyperlink, it would be here, but as it is you'll just have to go back and find it yourself) is still completely true and valid but after several months I now know the kids and their personalities and I can talk to the Pastor in Spanish everyday which just makes the whole experience ten times better. Alongside all the playing around we do, over the last couple of weeks I have also started spending half an hour or so a day with one of the 11 ... read more

Good evening everyone. Before I arrived here I read that Costa Rican cuisine was 'basic', which is about as near as a guide book gets to saying that it's either 'boring' or 'rubbish'. I assumed this 'basic' tag must be ill-informed because there was no way that a country just south of Mexico and a bit north of Argentina could have anything other than varied, exciting food. But it turns out that those two countries are really not as close and you think they are, and that's reflected in the food. The national dish is something called Gallo Pinto, which may sound fancy but it's actually just rice and beans. I have always been a little confused by the term 'national dish'. I don't know if it's something that is a staple food of the country ... read more