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| Beautiful scene from the veranda. |
“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”
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| This is a Rufous-naped Wren sitting atop the African Tulip Tree, captured from the veranda. |
Two mornings from today, we’ll be on our way to the airport to fly to Miami to board our cruise the following day, Thanksgiving Day. This morning, I packed all of my clothes, leaving out a swimsuit, tee shirt dress, and underwear for the next few days.
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| Frog visitor on the bumper of the rental car while at Supermercado Coopeatenas. |
A few minutes ago, Tom and I weighed my packed suitcase, and it weighs 48 pounds (22kg), well within the maximum allowed by American Airlines of 50 pounds (23 kg). It seemed so heavy, and I’m thrilled it all worked out well.
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| Ulysses was working in the yard…no lawnmower…weed whacker instead. |
Last night, we watched the final two episodes of the final season of Mad Men. It was a peculiar thought-provoking finale that could be interpreted in many ways. We opted for a more optimistic perspective. If you haven’t watched this series, we highly recommend it.
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Giant iguana at Zoo Ave.
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Today, we’re using all of the remaining food in the fridge for a mishmash two-night dinner; tuna salad, salmon salad (using the remaining eggs), sausages, bacon, salad, and steamed veggies. Soon, I’ll start chopping and dicing.
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| Stunning blooms, Pine Cone Ginger. |
Boiled eggs are hard to peel here. I don’t know why. I’ve tried every trick I’ve found online, yet I still ruin half of each egg trying to remove the thin shells. That will keep me busy for a while.
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| Closer view of Atenas from the veranda. |
In reviewing our photos for favorites, I struggled a little. With thousands of photos, it could take me all day to go through them, which I’d prefer not to do. Instead, I uploaded a handful to post today.
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| Butcher at the Friday Farmer’s Market. |
Tomorrow, we’ll write a detailed review of this lovely vacation home with photos, and on Wednesday, the final day, we’ll include the final expenses and favorite bird photos. That will wrap up our final posts from Costa Rica.
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| An Owl Butterfly we spotted in the courtyard with what appears to be a large eye to scare off predators. |
How are we feeling about leaving? We’ve loved it here. The house, the people, the grounds, the wildlife, and the scenery has been over-the-top. Will we return someday? It’s improbable. As I always say, there’s so much more world to see and let’s face it. The clock is ticking.
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| Graffiti on a wall in Atenas. |
We’ve asked ourselves, “Could we ever settle in Costa Rica?” For us, due to a lack of desire to “settle,” the answer is “no.” Costa Rica is a relatively affordable place to live. It possesses lovely people, scenery, and wildlife, appealing to many ex-pats from all over the world, but we can’t see ourselves settling anywhere at this point.
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| Juan Ramon was showing us around the museum. |
The ex-pat lifestyle isn’t for us. Buying or renting a permanent home, buying furniture and household items, and a car are so far removed from our radar, we can hardly even imagine the possibility.
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| Old railroad bridge after a long walk from the railway station. |
Sure, at some point, we won’t be able to continue. We accept this reality. At one point long ago, we mentioned here that we’d begun to peruse real estate options in various countries to get an idea of where we may live when that time comes.
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| It was roasting coffee beans at the El Toledo Coffee Tour. |
But, the longer we’ve continued, we’ve lost interest in pursuing such a premise. We have little interest in looking at houses for sale in any country unless we’re doing a story for a property owner/landlord, helping them to promote their property, or out of curiosity to share details here.
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| Inside the antique cafe at the El Toledo Coffee Tour. |
This morning it dawned on us that in six days, we’ll be going through the Panama Canal for the second time. Tom reminded me that we’re currently “living in the moment” and shouldn’t “think that far ahead.” Good grief! Six days isn’t too far ahead.
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| A babbling brook in the mountains. |
And yes, we are living in the moment. As soon as I upload today’s post, Tom proofreads it for errors, I’ll peel eggs, finish making dinner, and we’ll head out to the pool for yet another fabulous sunny afternoon in Costa Rica.
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| Mom and calf in the neighborhood. |
May you have a fabulous sunny day wherever you may be!
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| Topiary at Zarcera Topiary Garden |
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| Elephant at the topiary garden in Zarcera. |
Photo from one year ago today, November 20, 2016:
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| It was a bright and sunny day as we exited the ship one year ago today in Adelaide, Australia, to walk through this port building. For more details, please click here. |
The only time I can’t get the hard boiled eggs to peel is when they are too fresh. Might need to be a week old. Also as soon as they are cooked I pour out the hot water and add cold water and intentionally break the shells and leave the in the water for a few minutes. The water seeps between the egg and the shell which makes them easy to peel. Good luck.
Nancy, such a great tip! Surely, I’ll try this new method as soon as I can cook our own hard-boiled eggs! Fortunately, the hotel restaurant peels the boiled eggs they serve us. Thanks for writing!
Warmest regards,
Jess & Tom