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Published: October 7th 2007
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Riding the trail
I'm the one in the white shirt in the middle. It has been quite some time since I went horseback riding, perhaps as long as six months. A number of factors have contributed to this fact. First, one of my horses died of old age and the remaining one I donated to a friend’s collection of other horses and animals since my surviving horse seemed very lonely. Second, I’ve been working much more than I should. This needs to change!
I do enjoy horseback riding and I had a terrific experience recently. The photos on this blog entry are from this trip. So, we saddled up five horses with the premise of going to look at a large farm in the Magallanes section of San Ramon. While we saw the property—or some of it, as it was 172 acres—it was mostly just a fun trip through mountains, valleys, rainforests and rivers along with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. While everything seemed to have gone wrong the past few weeks, I have to remember then I get days like this one!
Even though I’ve lived in Costa Rica for quite some time now, I’m still awed by the beauty of the natural environment here. While Costa Rica is a
small country, there is still so much to see, even in my own backyard. I think that today I found at least five spots in which I’d love to build a “getaway” home. While they were all remote areas, I was overwhelmed by the large expanse of mountains and valleys. I’d imagine it would be difficult to bring electricity and water to a few of these spots but I think it would be well worth it.
I’m always amazed at how reliable and safe I feel on horses. We went down some very steep, narrow and rocky paths at a few points during our trip. Horses always seem to know how to get down them—which direction to go and how fast or slow to go—because I’m sure they are more concerned about themselves!
The most interesting part of the trip was the final leg, crossing an area called “Calle Valverde” back to Magallanes. We ended up near the bottom of Magallanes’ main dirt road. I was about to enjoy a pleasant, leisurely trip up the hill when the heavens opened up and it poured down rain. Needless to say, I didn’t have a raincoat of any type and
Pedro and his girlfriend
God, I'm forgetting her name right now and I should know it! I got completely and utterly soaked even inside my supposedly waterproof boots. Luckily, it was a fairly warm day.
“TLC” day coming up….
A supposedly big day in the history of the country is coming up soon when Costa Ricans go to the polls to decide whether to go forward with joining the Central American Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA. The initials “TLC,” mean in Spanish “Tratado de Libre Comercio,” and Costa Ricans are to decide whether they want to join every other Central American country (and the Dominican Republic) in opening up trade and reducing tariffs between the US and Costa Rica. There are two factions as you might imagine, “Si” (yes) and “No.” Throughout the country you see “Si” and “No” just above everywhere. Then you see others handing out leaflets stating their case, people debating it on television and on the street. I usually don’t comment on internal politics as I’m not a citizen of this country but I can say both sides have been pretty vocal about their support of CAFTA or opposition to it. However it turns out (and I do have a preference), it’s great to see Costa Ricans taking it so
seriously. They definitely treasure their democracy and participate in it. My only fear (and I would say this for Americans as well) is that it is a fairly complex issue, much of which I don’t understand very well. So I have to wonder if people know what they are really voting for. I suppose like voting for President in the US, you really don’t know what you are going to get until the he (or possibly she) takes office. I imagine the same goes for this issue. We’ll just have to wait and see but I’ll be keeping a low profile for a few days after the results are in. Luckily, while Costa Ricans do tend to take to the streets and march on various issues, they are not violent people. I think eventually the “losing” side will come to accept the vote and will get on with their lives.
There’s a new place in town…..
Recently, a new nightclub/bar called “Benz” (as in Mercedes Benz) opened up, right near the big mall in San Ramon. Formerly a very bad restaurant for which I cannot even remember the name, the new owners did a nice job creating a fun atmosphere on the second floor. I like a place that has a nice, mixed crowed of all types so you don’t feel too young, too old, too out of shape, etc. The place also had a decent selection of drinks.
We started out on the first floor where the so-called “restaurant” is because we were a little hungry. I have to advise you though do not get the “mixed meat” platter. It is sampling of bite-sized pork, chicken, beef, and other indescribable stuff and we all felt a little sick after eating. It was just really bad, tough, gross-looking stuff! Luckily, none of us got really sick and we enjoyed the remainder of the night there.
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading and for your comments!
Pura Vida!
Andrew
andrew4cr@gmail.com
www.CRCommunities.com (real estate and more!)
www.BoomersInCostaRica.com (4-day/3 night relocation/retirement/real estate tour!)
www.CostaRicaRealEstate.typepad.com (Boomers’ Real Estate & More Blog!)
www.AngelValleyFarmBandB.com (the B&B!)
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Debi
non-member comment
Good Hearing From YOU!
Just a note to say hi and that I look forward to your blogs! I would have LOVED that horseback trip! xo Debi