Back from Costa Rica

We got back almost three weeks ago.   I learned a lot of things while I was there.   After our last trip to Costa Rica in 2010 I had this idea that I would like to live there when we retired.   After spending a month there I changed my mind.   I still love the country and the people there.   We had a very good experience but there are just so many things that I don't think I could live WITHOUT for a long period of time.   I'm on another vacation right now in Orlando and it is worlds away from where I was less than a month ago (I couldn't live here either - at least not in this part of town)!   As most of you know we took a side trip to Panama while we there and I LOVED the part of Panama that we stayed in.   The areas outside Bocas del Toro are crushed in poverty and it is depressing; the only other Central American countries that I have seen that type of poverty in is Honduras and Guatemala.  

Costa Ricans have the highest standard of living in Central America but I fear that will soon change.   The taxes are ridiculous and the wages paid to their people are pathetic.   The infrastucture in Panama is much, much better than in Costa Rica while the cost of living is less than 1/2.   I fully intend to finish this blog as soon as we get back home.   I am going to start looking for work as soon as we get back, too.   I can't seem to relax into this whole "unemployed" thing.   I need something to keep my mind busy - LOL!  

We will be back on Monday and I have a ton of pictures to post and write about.  

We returned from Bocas del Toro, Panama yesterday around 3:00 PM.  Wow, it was beautiful there!!  I have taken almost 2,000 pictures while I have been here but of course the only ones I can post are the ones from my phone.   I will be posting them as soon as I get back.   I have had a few encounters while I have been here that I have to tell about.

There is a bar, The Point, at the end of the road we are staying on that we go to for dinner occasionally.   We went there last Tuesday night on our bikes for dinner and found out they have Woodstock night on Tuesdays so we stayed for awhile.   We met several Americans that haved moved here and talked to them.  We also met a local Tico man named Beniño.  Beniño doesnt speak a word of English and we barely understand Spanish but we learned that when they keep giving you free shots of some type of sugar cane alcohol it no longer matters.   You just talk and talk and everyone  thinks they understand everyone else.  (This is also the part where the bike wreck comes in).   We rode our bikes home that night (part of the way).   I was riding along and hit a pothole in the dark that was about a foot deep - I suddenly shot over the handlebars like a pilot who hit the eject button.  I landed in a ditch across the road.   I had skinned my knees and sprained my ankle - LOL!  We walked the bikes the rest of the way home!   Note to self: dont ever ride bikes in the dark on gravel roads that are full of potholes - also, find out what kind of liquor is made from sugar cane and refrain from consuming it in the future!

I will never go back to Panama by way of Costa Rica again - that was a nightmare from hell and you will understand why when I post the photos.   The bridge we had to cross was over 105 years old and rickety.   There were major holes all over the place that you could fall through and some of the boards were not secured down and would fly up when you stepped on them.   The only down side to the trip when we got to Bocas was worrying about going back across that bridge!   I am not usually afraid of anything but that was SCARY!

We went there with a couple from Nashville, Fred and Margaret, who are staying in a cabin right behind us on the same property.   We had a great time on Monday after we got there and then all went out on our own for shopping and sightseeing yesterday before we left.  We went to BiBis for lunch on another island.  There are several islands there and you have to use a water taxi to go between them.   The only way to Boca town is via water taxi, too.  It costs $1.50 per person for a one-way trip to any of the other islands.   We went for drinks at a great little place on the water and later to a dive shop/restaurant combo for dinner.  They didnt have anything vegan on the menu for Margaret and I (she is vegan, too) so they created something for us and it was delicious!!   John and Fred had the special - lobster tails with mashed potatoes.   They got 1 1/2 HUGE lobster tails for $15 each.  Food is VERY expensive in Costa Rica now but it is dirt cheap in Panama.   The most expensive bottle of wine we saw on the menu over there was $13 for the same bottle that would cost $30 in the states.


Bocas del Toro (mouth of the bull) looks like something you would expect to see in the South Pacific.  We loved it.   The Panamanian people are very unfriendly - even in the tourist areas.   There was a Tico girl on the return trip and her mother is American - she said they thought she was American because she was speaking in English to her friends and they were calling her names under their breath in Spanish.   She said that would never happen here.   I would have loved to hear her response!  They are not nearly as nice as the Costa Ricans (Ticos).  That is NOT a derrogatory term, they prefer to be called Ticos.

I have documented everything in pictures and will be posting more as soon as I get back about the whole trip!

The road to Manzanillo

We have been venturing out of Puerto Viejo the past week.   Yesterday we rode our bikes to Manzanillo which is right beside the border to Panama.  We did about 25 miles of biking and it was over 90 degrees.   We were on the beach and I was bitching about how hot it was and I told John it was February and it seemed crazy to both of us!  

We are planning a trip to Boca del Toro, Panama next Monday.   You have to go through customs and get a ferry over to the island.   Costa Rica has become EXTREMELY expensive since we were here last.  The only thing that is still cheap here is housing and local produce.   A tube of itching cream like Lanacaine costs $15 here!    I could go on and on.   Most of the time when I feel like we are being gouged I just do what the locals do and do without!!

I keep thinking that I am going to get tired of being here but it hasnt happened yet (I still cant figure out how to get the apostrophe on this keyboard and the guy that works here cant speak English).  The hardest part of leaving here and coming back is acclimating to the tropical climate with no air conditioner and then going back to it or even worse - going back to cold weather.  John will not be driving a car for more than a month and that is going to be tough to get used to as well.

I have gotten addicted to pipas and I wont be able to get them at home.   They are baby coconuts that have been chilled and the vendor takes his machete or knife and opens them up and puts a straw in and you drink the coconut water out of it.   It is the most refreshing drink I have ever tasted (except wine).  Yesterday there were two little boys on the road selling them and we stopped and bought some - it wasnt like buying lemonade from kids back home and they get so terribly excited to be making money - these kids were helping support their families.

I still love it as much as ever but its definitely all palm frongs and pineapples here - there are definitely some down sides.   I have documented everything in photos and will be posting them all as soon as I get back.  This is the longest I have been without a computer in 25 years - my hands started shaking when I realized I was totally isolated and then I remembered that I had tucked our phones and charges away in the luggage for when we came back!  Voila!!!   We have email, Facebook, and I added some money to our Skype accounts so we could call home occasionally.   Except for wanting to blog about this trip we are probably better off.  

I went through all the analytics with the computer we found the issue to be with the motherboard.  It wasnt the power supply as I had originally suspected.   The closest computer supply house that I know of around here is in San Jose and they would probably charge me more than the computer is worth.  Another reason I havent pursued fixing it any further is because it is still under warranty and if I open the case it will void the warranty.   I just wanted to answer the questions we keep getting about how many computer people does it take to fix a computer - LOL!!!

I have got to post a picture of this keyboard when I get back - I am going to end up in a Costa Rican jail somewhere for busting up the keyboard in this Internet cafe - nothing is in the right place and I type faster than I talk so it is making me a little crazy.

We havent seen any indication that there is anymore crime here that there was last time we were here.  Several different people told us that they heard things were pretty bad here.   Puerto Viejo is very close to the Panamanian border.   It could be that the drug trafficers are going through the Central part of the country.  Columbia is the biggest drug producer in the world and the US is the biggest consumer so all the countries in between will be affected. I dont know why drug traffic would affect tourists anyway.   Can you imagine the man with 1,000 pounds of heroine in his trunk pulling over and snatching someones purse?   Surely they screen the runners a little better than that -LOL!  I think that the trouble comes in when someone tries to stop them.

There is a lot of marijuana here.  You smell it everywhere.   A bar down the street had a live band the other night and the drummer was smoking a joint while he was playing - it still amazes me every time I see it.

Hopefully, I will be able to post some pictures soon.   I will as soon as I can - these computers are archaic and it will take FOREVER  to download.  

¡Pura Vida!

Every time I have been here I have said that there is no way the locals can afford the prices in the stores.  I read online about a store a few miles north of here that sells very inexpensive food.   We rode our bikes there and checked it out.  Sure enough  everything there was half price.   Guess who owns it - Walmart of course.   The name of it is Pali.

We had dinner down the road from our cabin the other night - there is a hotel with a bar/restaurant.   They served the salad bar in bowls on banana tree leaves.   The grounds are gorgeous!!   I have to post some pictures of it when I get back.   It is the nicest place I have ever seen here.   I am in an Internet cafe now and the computer does not have card reader so I cant post pictures (or find the damn apostrophe on this Spanish  keyboard)!!!  You have to hit Alt Gr and Q to get the @ sign so I dont have time to figure it out - ¡LOL!

We keep getting caught in the rain out on our bikes.   We brought ponchos and look like a pair of fat, yellow ducks riding around with them on.  I have made a friend here - he sells vegetables and cant speak a word of English and he tells me everyday that his vegetables are al fresca.   He has the best fruit and vegetables in town - not to mention the cheapest.

We have been here a week and 2 days and I am still loving it.   I will see how I feel in another week.   

There is an animal rescue center in Playa Chiquita about 7 miles from here - we are going to go there one  day this week.   They dont have liabilities here like they do in the US - if you get hurt you cant really sue anyone so things are a lot more laid back.    They let you handle the animals if you want to - even the wild cats.   If you get hurt it is your problem.   It is really cool, though.   I dont mess with the cats but I like the sloths.

Two new guests arrived and are staying in the house right behind us.   Their names are Fred and Margaret and they are from Nashville - they live on Belmont Blvd.   It really is a small world!

We went to a Super Bowl party at the bar down the street last night.  It was really cool.   There were hardly any locals in there - most of them were American of course.

I am going to bring my card reader the next time I come so I can upload some pictures.   I have some really good ones.

¡Pura Vida!

A sloth got on the powerlines here Wednesday night and caused a short that blew a transformer  when the power surged it ruined the power supy to our laptop.   We are not sure  if we can find.another one.  I am going to make notes and go to the Internet cafe to try tto keep blogging.

Our computer crashed last night )-:

It started raining last night.  It was one of those tropical rains that POURS.   It is the nicest rain, though.  It's not like back home when it rains, it come straight down.  Not one drop of rain on the front porch or in the house and it is wide open.  It just rains really hard and then stops.

We went into town and rented bikes today.  It makes going to town a  lot faster and easier.  

We had grabbed a couple of things from the grocery store so we brought them back to the house and then took a ride to Cocles.   The beaches are gorgeous there and the rainforest is beautiful, too.

This is on the road to our house.

We will be riding along on our bikes and suddenly I will see something so beautiful it takes my breath - this was one of them.

I've been in Costa Rica 3 days and I haven't gotten into trouble ONCE!   I am SOOO proud of myself!

We left San Jose and took an Interbus to Puerto Viejo yesterday.   We are finally here!  When we got our bags packed and went outside to wait for the bus there were literally HUNDREDS of people on the street waiting for the city bus - we have never been in San Jose on a weekday so we hadn't seen it before.   There were people as far as you could see for blocks.

The bus ride here takes 4 1/2 hours but it is a beautiful ride through the mountains, some secondary rainforests and several small towns.  The bus only stopped once so I didn't get any photos of the ride.  We met a really nice young couple on the bus from Canada - they were spending a little time here then backpacking to Nicaragua and Guatemala with 20 other people.  I wish I had done things like that when I was younger!

We were both a little nervous when we arrived about the house we had rented.   It was VERY cheap and we have learned through the years that pictures on the Internet can be misleading (that's another blog!).  We were pleasantly surprised -it is very small but clean and cozy.   We can lie in the hammock on our front porch and listen to the ocean.   The ocean is right in our front yard but the jungle is so dense that you can barely see it.   Here are some pictures of the house.

Notice the showerhead - it's what the gringos call a suicide shower - it is the only hot water in the house - that is the electrical wiring right above it.   They used to make me nervous but I'm used to them now.

Front yard - the beach is right in front of the trees but you can barely see it.

I've never liked having a window over my sink but now I have changed my mind.   I love this one!

Dinner being prepared.  I have to write a post about the food here - this was one of the best dinners I have made in ages and it was simple and CHEAP!  

 

John checking his emails.

 

John lounging in the hammock after dinner.   Note to self:  we can't both lie in the hammock at the same time - it is just not strong enough.

The only thing about where we are is that the sand is volcanic sand and it is almost black- right past town it turns white.

Puerto Viejo

Today we are going into town to rent bikes from a Columbian man we met.  John negotiated a very good price with him.   He has a son that lives in the Hamptons on Long Island - small world!   The price the Columbian is giving us is about $200 cheaper than the Americans down the road wanted to charge us!!

Packed for a month!!!

We spent the day in San Jose.   Have I mentioned that I am not a big fan of San Jose?   It is the heartbeat of Costa Rica – it really is.      About 30% of the population of Costa Rica is here.   You can find anything you might need here.   It is in the Central Valley so the temperatures are spring-like year round.   That is about the end of the pros.    It is crime-ridden, dirty, ugly, and I can go on and on.   If you see anything beautiful in San Jose – there will be bars, cages, or barb-wire around it.   Photographers bring your editing software because you can’t get a nice shot of ANYTHING here without something ugly in it.   Like I said in my first post – people only stay in San Jose because they have to.   Our room at Casa 69 - $35 a night!

Fresh bromeliads everywhere!!!

Pura Vida means “Pure Life” and it is the greeting Costa Ricans (Ticos) use like we use Hello/Goodbye in the states.

We walked to the grocery store (super Mercado) this morning and saw raw sewage running out of a house and into a storm drain in the street.   It was disgusting.   John said “don’t get bent out of shape over sewage”!  We bought stuff for a sandwich – tomatoes, avocado, fresh basil, a loaf of crusty bread – it was absolutely delicious!   You can buy homegrown EVERYTHING here year round.  The bread was heavenly – the selection was great and the loaf John chose was fresh out of the oven! (don't you love how i discuss raw sewage and food in the same paragraph?).

All American fast food restaurants are here as exhibited the debris strewn everywhere…..  

Everything here is open air and that is one of the things I love about Costa Rica.  We have windows here but in Puerto Viejo over 50% of the house will be screens.   There are no air conditioners.  You definitely don’t need them in San Jose – it is a little warmer in Puerto Viejo during the day but the nights are perfect  -  between 60-65 degrees.

  I will be in a secondary rainforest tomorrow and will be able to post some REAL photos!!!

Adios San Jose!!!

We've arrived!!!

Our flight to Miami left on time this morning.    A typical morning with an early flight to catch – not being able to sleep because you are afraid you will oversleep and miss the flight.   We’ve been up since 2:30 this morning.   We had a friend drop us at the airport to catch the flight; after he left we realized that we don’t have our keys and didn’t tell him what to do with them.  It took me close to a month to figure out what we needed to take with us.   A month is a long time to pack for!   The last time we flew internationally was in 2010 and we were allowed to check 2 bags each – I didn’t check with the airline before we left and they have changed the policy since then – they hit us with a $40 charge for one extra bag.  John was livid!   We have already formulated a plan to get around the charge on the way back. 

We have over 100 pounds of luggage in the cargo hold, not counting the carry-ons we brought.   There is no such thing as a Laundromat in Costa Rica (that I have ever seen).   The locals either have their own machines or they was clothes by hand on a washboard.   There are people who will do your laundry for a small fee but they rarely ever have dryers and when they do they still don’t completely dry your clothes.   It takes a long time for things to dry because of the humidity.    That is my excuse for bringing 45 pounds of clothing on this trip! 

We landed in San Jose without any problems.   I had forgotten why I loved this country so much until the plane did that huge tilt as we descended and I saw the beautiful mountains that flank the Central Valley.   I can’t wait to get to the jungle in Puerto Viejo tomorrow!!!

We don’t have Internet access in our room so I am typing up my post and going to the Internet café to post this.   I will start posting pictures tomorrow!!!

 

Okay everybody - I am having a hard time deciding how to start this blog so bear with me here!   After our first trip to Costa Rica in 2005 we fell in love with it.   We went back for 10 days in 2010 and it wasn't long enough.   We decided if we ever retired we would go for at LEAST a month.   That would give us enough time to explore the country as well as immerse ourselves in the culture a bit more (that sounds sorta nasty doesn't it?).  

John was offered early retirement last year and when we found out we booked the trip while we were still working and paid it off.  Tomorrow morning (January 26, 2013) we board our flight at 7:00AM CST and will be in San Jose, Costa Rica at 12:00PM CST.  I'm not very fond of San Jose - very few tourists are.   Tourist average 2 nights in San Jose per visit and that is only because you almost HAVE to.  It is several hours from San Jose to any of the beaches on both the Pacific and Caribbean side of the country.  The sun rises at 6:30 and sets at 6:30 every day - all year long.  You are not likely to get to San Jose before noon on any flight you take.  Unless you are very brave OR very stupid - if you rent a car it really isn't a good idea to arrive in a strange country with very bad roads and try to cross treacherous mountains in the dark.

We made the mistake of taking a bus to Puerto Viejo the last time we were there and we left on the 2:00PM bus.   There was a problem on the way - there had been a mudslide on the mountains and we had to take another route that took 2 hours longer than it was supposed to.   The driver didn't speak English so we had no idea what was wrong.   When we arrived we had a very hard time finding a cab from the bus station to the cabinas where we were staying.   Lesson learned - too hard to navigate around late at night.

The bus drivers are maniacs.   You see them whizz by on narrow, winding, curvy roads doing 90 mph.   As they pass people walking on the street look bizzare because their hair is standing up on end from the wind off the bus.   It is scary - we decided that if we ever take another bus from San Jose that we are going to sit in the back and read and never look up!

We will be staying two days at Casa 69 in San Jose before taking the Interbus (private minivan service) to Puerto Viejo on Monday morning.   We will remain in Puerto Viejo until February 28th and then we have two days that we have not made plans for before we leave.   If we get bored in Puerto Viejo we might even leave a week early and catch a bus over to the Pacific side for awhile - we are playing it by ear right now.

Our luggage is packed, passports dusted off and ready, and we are tying up the loose ends with the boat today before we leave.   It is in Pensacola Shipyard being worked on for our cruise to the Bahamas (that is our next adventure and the reason we moved here to be on the water).

I'm not taking my Canon Rebel to Costa Rica - I don't want to take a chance on getting it stolen but I am taking a decent Nikon and will post photos.   Nothing really to post photos of today but I will start posting them soon.

Leave me comments so I know that you guys are out there!!

Pura Vida!!!