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| A church across the valley. |
“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”
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| The sunsets behind the mountains, viewed from the veranda. It gets dark very early in the evening with no daylight savings time in Costa Rica. |
There’s no question; we always prefer to live in less-populated villages, far from the typical tourist communities. With a population of around 5000, Atenas does attract some tourists, and several ex-pats live here.
With plenty of opportunities for sightseeing within a two-hour drive, it couldn’t be more ideal for our needs. We’re in the process of booking our first sightseeing tour with Aad and Marian, the property managers and tour company.
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| The hazy afternoon before the rains come. |
Here are a few details about the region in Costa Rica from this site:
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| Tomorrow night we plan to cook in the outdoor kitchen. |
The town is surrounded by mountains and coffee plantations. It is located in a prosperous agricultural area that hosts a weekly farmer’s market on Friday mornings. The town center features an immaculate white church and a picturesque park lined with palm trees. There is a community health center, pharmacies, doctors, dentists, tennis court, fitness center, swimming pools, parks, banks, shops, bed-and-breakfasts, and restaurants.
Atenas is a popular place for North American and European retirees. There are four major real estate developments with existing homes and building lots: Roca Verde, Vista Atenas, Lomas Al Paraiso, and Hacienda Atenas. There are other real estate developments in various stages of completion.
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| One of many varieties of plants thriving in the yard. |
Some have asked why we don’t stay in larger cities where activities, restaurants, and nightlife are abundant. From time to time, we do, when the town offers what we need at that point in our travels.
Over the next few days, we’ll be pinning down a hotel booking for Buenos Aires, a city with a population of over 15 million. In this particular case, we’re searching for convenience when we’re only staying for one month and need a hotel where we can leave most of our luggage for the immediately following Antarctica cruise.
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| Valley side of the property. |
A vacation homeowner won’t be able to accommodate keeping our luggage, nor would we feel safe leaving it in a private home in the big city. A hotel will be the best option for these particular circumstances. Once we select a hotel we’d like, we’ll contact them to inquire about the luggage storage before we book it.
As for the city of Atenas, we are currently located in one of the above four mentioned gated communities of Roca Verda, which has a guard at the main gate 24/7. The house itself is gated, but the area is known as safe, and we aren’t worried about crime, although, as always, we’re sensible when traveling into town.
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| The yard and gardens are amazing, definitely on a smaller scale to Bev ad Sam’s stunning property in Kauai, Hawaii, a former botanical garden. We can see their personal touches in the gardens and the interior of the vacation home. |
As for this fabulous vacation home, we continue to appreciate all of its good features. Bev and Sam left no stone unturned when they renovated and stocked this property a few years ago, and we’re taking advantage of its many amenities. There will be more details on the property as the days continue.
Again today, we’ll stay put with considerable research required to wrap up somewhere to live in Buenos Aires. Hopefully, we’ll be back with our final decision over the next few days.
Have a blissful day!
Photo from one year ago today, August 4, 2016:
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| A fishing boat tied to a tree at the beach in Phuket, Thailand. For more photos, please click here. |