Life in Costa Rica…What’s the rainy season really like?…Keeping it simple…

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This Giant Tortoise is located at the Zoo Ave location, although not indigenous to Costa Rica. We suspect the facility imported some of its wildlife to attract more visitors to its rehab facility.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Tom took this photo this morning at 6:00 am.  It may not clear this morning as it does most mornings.

It’s no exaggeration to state it rains every day right now in the central valley of Costa Rica. Nevertheless, most mornings start bright and sunny with a few rare exceptions, like today, when there’s a heavy cloud cover, as there was early when Tom took the above photo from the veranda.


But now, at 10:30 am, the sun is shining through a fine layer of a white and gray overcast sky. Here’s a chart with the average rainfall for Atenas throughout the year:

Blue Parrot is checking out her surroundings.

As shown in this graph, we are approaching the rainiest month of October, with rain declining in November during our last few weeks in the country. Of course, we knew our stay in Atenas, Costa Rica, would transpire during the rainy season. But, unlike typical tourists, it’s not as if we can plan our “vacations” avoiding inclement weather.

For us, as world travelers without a home, for the majority of the time, we move along to the following location regardless of the seasons and the potential for the kind of weather we may not enjoy, except for avoiding freezing and snowy winter weather.

Of course, there are exceptions to that as well. For example, we’ll be in Antarctica in January (it’s summer season) when ships can’t enter the massive continent and its seas during the colder, more frozen winter months.  Although the weather may be more tolerable during the summer months, it will still be out and frozen. More on that later.

A Peacock on a stroll through the park.

A few of our readers have asked how we manage to live in the Central Valley during the rainy season. As odd as this may seem, it’s not bothering us a bit. On the contrary, we love the fact that this lush green valley is nourished by the frequent rains, keeping its rainforest abundant with vegetation for its wildlife.

Since we didn’t have a car (although we’re doing another five-day rental starting tomorrow) after the rental car fiasco in San Jose last Monday, we’ve had to re-do our thinking about how we’ll spend our remaining days in this country.

We’ve decided to arrange the five-day rental a few times each month since it too is pricey at the US $34.95 (CRC 20,111) per day (including all fees and insurance), thanks to the arrangements made Aad and Marian, the property managers. 

The identity of every bird wasn’t always posted at the various habitats.

Even at the above prices, we still don’t want to spend the monthly rates this high daily rate would dictate. It would ultimately prove to be more than we’ve paid for a rental or taxis anywhere in the world. 

When travelers mention how “cheap” it is to visit Costa Rica, they may be misled by such statements.  As with any country, the resorts, the hotels, the tours, the restaurants, and such expenditures like rental cars, maybe much more expensive than one might anticipate.

Another unknown species.

Also, when considering some of the expenses for a week or two, it may not seem to be high compared to our many months spent in one location. For example, a one-month rental through Aad’s contact would be US $1,049 (CRC 603,630), which is a lot to us for one month.  

A typical tourist renting a car for one week may not even flinch over US $245 (CRC 140,981) for the seven days. But, here again, it’s all relative. The thought of us spending US $3,949 (CRC 2,272,387) for our entire 113 days in Costa Rica leaves us reeling. It’s just not worth that much expenditure, especially with the expenses we’re facing in the next few months. 

I believe this is a Lollipop flower, commonly found in Hawaii and other tropical climates.

One could practically purchase a used car in Costa Rica for US $4,000 (CRC 2,301,734), which one of our friends/readers suggested. But, we have no interest in finding a car, buying it, paying for insurance (very pricey here), and eventually selling it, let alone any maintenance required in the interim.

We always remember our motto, “Wafting Through Our Worldwide Travels with Ease, Joy, and Simplicity,” which we’d defy if we decided to purchase a vehicle for this short 113-day stay or even a stay of a year or more if that was the case.

In other words, “keeping it simple” easily fits into our realm of existence as we continue to travel the world. Of course, at times, it’s more complicated with circumstances we can’t avoid. Still, for the times we can control our environment, the less extra work we create in our lives, the better opportunity we have for happiness and fulfillment.

We hope your day brings you happiness and fulfillment.


Photo from one year ago today, September 3, 2016:

There’s nothing like spotting an adorable calf on a walk in the neighborhood in Sumbersari, Bali. For more photos, please click here.

Shocking effects of Hurricane Harvey…The devastation continues…

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These young rabbits appeared to be part of a herd, living in a “warren” in the well-designed spacious habitat of Zoo Ave.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

From the veranda, we spotted another fire burning on a nearby mountain.

















As we continue to share more photos from our recent visit to Zoo Ave, bird and animal sanctuary, and rehabilitation center here in the Alajuela Valley, we’re reminded of all the animals being rescued from floodwaters in Texas and other states due to Hurricane Harvey.

The habitat for rehabilitating birds and animals was as natural as possible, with wide-open spaces, vegetation, and apparent cleanliness in the care of its inhabitants.

Of course, the devastation of the loss of human life supersedes all else, along with the loss of all of the worldly possessions of individuals and families across the land. But, in the mix, in the hearts and minds of many who’ve already lost so much, is the frustration and fearful pursuit of finding beloved pets, including dogs, cats, birds, horses, and barnyard animals.

A parrot pair were sharing a large banana leaf.

As animal lovers well know, an animal can be as much a part of a family as its family members and, for many, their only day-to-day companions. When we’re reminded of our loving dogs over the years, we can’t even imagine the fear many are possessing at this time as they try to find their beloved pets, now that they and their family members are nearing safety.

Many enclosed areas housed several compatible birds and other creatures.

Can we envision the chaos as citizens of the ravaged areas scrambled to their safety coupled with the worry that their pets may be lost to them forever? What a comfort those pets could be at this horrible time of loss and grief, losing people they love, belongings they treasured while finding themselves homeless without sufficient funds to rebuild their lives. It all takes time and money, neither of which survivors may have at this point.

Bunnies are commonly seen in Costa Rica in the vegetation-rich environment.

Although not a good comparison and certainly under considerably different circumstances, I can recall the last few weeks we spent in Minnesota. The four-day professional estate sale found us reeling over how little value there was in our treasured personal belongings, all of which we had to let go of.

Based on the size of their habitat, most likely, they had no concept of being confined, as was the case for most of the residents of Zoo Ave, a highly rated animal rehabilitation center.

We were left with a paltry sum due to the sale of our belongings and our home during poor market conditions at the time. Tom continued working 12-hour days up until the day we left on October 31, 2012. 

Please see this link for our story during that painful process.

We had to leave the house during the sale of our belongings and stayed with dear friend Karen at her lovely home in a nearby suburb. I was swamped with Tom’s retirement party preparations and finalizing details of the many items we’d overpacked to take on our journey. 

Large birds were sitting in trees.

During the difficult last days, I came down with the flu and lost my voice. I was very sick but couldn’t stop. I had to keep going. Each night of the four-day sale, I met with the estate sale company to reprice items. Little did I know the devastation I’d feel when I’d show up seeing people walking down the road carrying “our stuff,” for which they paid but a pittance. 

We noticed hundreds of turtles of varying sizes and some ducks, all seemingly busy sunning and foraging.

It was during this period that, for the first time in my life, I knew what it felt like to forfeit every “thing” that I knew and loved, let alone the upcoming process of saying goodbye to every “one” we knew and loved. And this was voluntary! There’s no comparison to the horrific sudden losses so many have suffered due to Hurricane Harvey and others.

The grounds at Zoo Ave are meticulously maintained.

Can we even imagine the loss the people of Texas and other states are feeling when every “thing” they knew and loved was ripped away from them, not by choice as in our case, but coupled with the fear of losing their lives and, in many cases, having lost people and pets they’ve loved? It’s heartbreaking.

The gift shop at Zoo Ave (Ave translates to “aviary” in Spanish)

We’ve all experienced losses in our lives. That’s all a part of the “human condition” over which we may have little control. How we respond to those losses determines the meaning, the purpose, and the quality of the remaining years of our lives. And, for all those lost souls in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, we pray for their healing and recovery in times to come.

Photo from one year ago today, September 2, 2016:

When we returned to Bali for our second two-month stay after a two-month stint in Southeast Asia, we were excited to see the buffaloes walking along the beach shortly after arriving. We only paid for the villa for the two non-consecutive 60-day stays and were happy to return to the beautiful villa and location in Sumbersari, a four or five-hour harrowing drive from the airport, the only part we didn’t care for. For more details, please click here. 
Day #165 in lockdown in Mumbai, India hotel…Living in Kenya, adaption in 2013…

September firsts…Looking back over these past six years of posting on September 1st…

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The day we arrived in Kenya, on September 2, 2013, we were shocked to discover that there was no living room, no salon, no sofa, no chair, nor a dining table and chairs on the interior of the house. In other words, we spent three months living outdoors on this veranda with no screens, venomous insects on the floors, furniture, and walls, and excessive heat and humidity (no AC, no TV). We adapted spending from 7 am to 11 pm outdoors every day for three months, less when we went on safari in the Masai Mara. What a good learning experience this was!  By the time we reached South Africa after leaving Kenya, we had no interest in being indoors in the two air-conditioned living rooms in the Marloth Park house. Again, we spent every day and night outdoors! How quickly us humans can adapt! (To see this post, please click here).

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Most peculiar. This little bird was hanging on to the screen of one of the glass doors.

Yesterday, while we swam and lounged by the pool, prior to the arrival of the afternoon rains we started reminiscing about September firsts, many of which were of particular significance to us in our world travels.

Since we began posting in March 2012, this is our sixth September 1st post which we’re sharing in part with our Readers today after the playful poolside conversation sent our minds spinning over our past experiences.

We love sharing our daily lives with all of you and we also love being able to look back at our lives in words and photos during this many year’s long journey. Tom, who’s memory for dates is amazing, was able to recall exactly what we did each of the past five years after leaving Minnesota in October 2012.

The only September 1st he couldn’t recall was the month before we left as we began to wind down the time until our departure from our old lives to embark on a new life.

The first September 1st post went like this…

“September 1, 2012

Is a good memory needed for travel? How I improved my memory after it started to decline…
Peculiarly, my memory is better now than when it was when I was 20 years old (so I think). When I turned 50, while working at a stressful job, my memory started deteriorating rapidly. I expected to be a mindless blob at 60, let alone, my now almost 65.

I’d find myself wandering around a room, wondering why I was there, forgetting my keys (don’t we all?). On occasion, I’d get into a stranger’s unlocked car in a parking lot that happened to be the same color and model as mine. That scared me. Remember names? Forget about it!  Impossible, at that time.” To continue this post, please click here.
This morning at 6:45 am while watching the news in the screening room, Tom read me the above post in full.  Ironically, when we look back this far, we marvel over how little we’ve really changed in many ways since we began posting so long ago.

And yet, our travels have molded us, refined us, and lightened us by the vastness of the experiences, making us less worried, less fearful and more adventurous than ever.

The following September 1st came quickly when by that point we’d been gone from Minnesota for 10 months, gone from the US for eight months, having left by ship on January 3, 2013, on the exciting cruise through the Panama Canal. Gosh, that seems like so long ago.

The second September 1st post went like this…

“September 1, 2013

I arrived in Venice. Flying away tomorrow morning…

Last night, our last night in Boveglio, there was a wedding at the centuries-old church across the road. The smoke is a result of a short fireworks display set off to celebrate the newlywed couple.

The 4-hour drive to Venice was relatively uneventful although the traffic on the toll road was intense at times, moving fast with crazy driving typical for Italy weaving in and out of lanes with little regard for safety.

Tom is a good driver but his level of patience in traffic is lacking. From time to time, it was a nail biter.  In charge of navigation, my task, itself was daunting. With a severe lack of road signs, driving long distances in Italy is a challenge. During several stretches, we’d driven for miles unsure if we were on the correct road. How we managed to get here without ever taking a wrong turn baffles me.” To continue this post, please click here.

Reviewing the above post, we quickly recalled that the following day we were off on the longest travel day we’ve had to date, 34 hours from airport to airport, Venice Italy to Mombasa Kenya, an exhausting period with lengthy delays and layovers in Istanbul.  We’ll never forget that day and night.
The third September 1st post went like this…
“September 1, 2014

Part 1, A day in Normandy…Profoundly moving experience…

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.
Tom has always been the history buff in this family. His knowledge of wars astounds me at times.  Having never taken a particular interest in past wars, other than feeling pride and compassion for our loyal soldiers, I didn’t expect I’d find the 10 hour day exploring Normandy.

Not only did we both find visiting Normandy interesting but, our hearts were embraced by the way France and the US have maintained a peaceful and respectful tribute to our fallen soldiers from World War II.

Of course, we’re anxious to share some of the many photos taken throughout the day. Unfortunately, we just returned from our small group-of-eight-chartered-tour and time is short.” To continue this post, please click here.

Tom had suspected I may not enjoy the Panama Canal, as mentioned above, or visiting Normandy but both of these experiences were enlightening and meaningful to me as you can read in the above post from that September 1st.

The fourth September 1st post went like this…

(In this post, we reminisced about Kenya as we prepared to leave Trinity Beach, Australia for Savusavu, Fiji).

“September 1, 2015

Beauty is subjective…We’ve changed our perspective…

Mid-day sunlight filtering through the trees.
The fifth September 1st post went like this…
Kenya was dark in its mystery, its eerie sounds, dry, dusty plains, and sudden pelting rains. At night, we’d hear a freaky indescribable sound, comparable to the tones from the movie, “Close Encounters of a Third Kind,” a sound that impacted the way we felt about it, a little frightened, a lot in awe.
In many ways, Kenya was far removed from our familiar, as familiar as one can feel traveling the world with the certain ungainly expectations we’ve adopted as we’ve continued. Nothing was the same from that point on. We’ve changed.

We aren’t as afraid. We learned to live outdoors for 16 hours a day with no living room or lounge area inside the house, no screens in our outdoor living room, a spacious veranda with a wide array of nasty insects always in attendance. I was stung on the thigh early on, and a year later, it still hurt when I touched the spot.  We’ve changed.” To continue this post, please click here.

We have never been able to get Africa out of our heads, thoughts that still reverberate today after so much time has passed. It’s hard to believe that in a little more than five months, we’ll return.

“September 1, 2016

Today’s the day, the four or five-hour harrowing drive to Sumbersari…(Please see the year-ago-photo below)

With Butu picking us up at 10:00 am this morning after our included breakfast at the excellent and outrageously affordable Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Airport with room rates at US $50, IDR 663,300, we had a little time to complete this post, pack a few items and be on our way.

As for the flights from Phuket to Bali, we found comfortable seating at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Singapore for the three-hour layover.  We signed up at the information desk for free Wi-Fi after showing our passports and boarding passes, purchased tea for me and bottle water for Tom and there we were in comfortable seating, writing to our loyal readers.” To continue this post, please click here.

From there it was the four or five-hour harrowing drive, one of the most challenging car rides in these past years, one we’ll never forget and never hope to repeat again, although we loved the villa, the people, and the location.

The sixth September 1st post went like this…

Well, here it is, today’s post the sixth September 1st post we’ve done since we began posting on March 14, 2012 (here’s our first post). I suppose we won’t ever be able to write this same September 1st-type post again or it will seem too much like Groundhog Day. I guess.

Today’s September 1st has as much meaning for us as any other date in our world travels, rich with memorable occasions, even amid the quiet times like yesterday, when we languished in the pool, remembering and remembering.

Fortunately, both of us have retained, if not enhanced, our good memories as we’ve aged over these past years since we wrote that first September 1st post as mentioned above in 2012.  We pray for good health, well being and the ability to remember which will allow us to continue on for many more September firsts and… all the remaining days of the year.
Be well.  Be happy and cherish every memory.
Photo from one year ago today, September 1, 2016:
By far, the  Hilton Garden In n Bali Ngurah Airport was the best bargain in a hotel we’ve experienced in our travels, ideal for those needing to be close to the airport. For more details, please click here.

Setbacks of the past week long forgotten… It’s all relative…

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We noticed these bead-like strands in trees in Hawaii during our eight-month stint in 2014/2015 on four islands; Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Tom captured this unique cloud formation. The progression continues below.
Cloud formation is evolving before our eyes.
Finally, it wafts away, losing its shape.

We’re over it; the plumbing problems in the three kitchen sinks, the power and Wi-Fi outage; the car rental fiasco in San Jose; the lack of availability of necessary prescriptions in Costa Rica. It’s all relative.

When we watch news stories of the loss of lives, injuries, loss of homes, and livelihood, our minor issues are but a blip on the radar, hardly worth mentioning compared to what has transpired in Texas and the other US gulf states as a result of Hurricane Harvey.  

Peacock was strutting along the grass.

For many, it will be months, if not years, until they recover from the loss of their homes and businesses and a lifetime of sorrow for losing their loved ones and from suffering severe injury.  How sad this is.

In a perfect world, the inconveniences of our lives, free from such horrors as Hurricane Harvey, would remain paltry and inconsequential in how we see the world. 

Unusual blooming flower.

But we’re human. And, although most of us possess varying degrees of empathy and compassion for the losses of others, we tend to stay stuck in our little worlds. 

Today, tears will be shed worldwide for losses that in no way compare to Hurricane Harvey’s rage across the gulf coast of the US or other disasters that strike people’s lives throughout the world.

Houses close to the road as we drove along the highway.

In today’s world, one may cry over a lost set of keys, a wine stain on a favorite article of clothing, or a sad scene in a TV show or a movie. We were thinking about the losses of others at such times does little to put an end to our whimpering and momentary sensation of failure for even the most insignificant of things. It’s all relative.

We always say, “If we’re safe and healthy, we don’t have a complaint in the world,” as we live this life of world travel. But, we’re not exempt, no matter how hard we try, from getting ruffled by the most meaningless of scenarios.

A popular garden store near the Zoo Ave rehab center.

Who cares if, for some reason, eggs are hard to peel in Costa Rica? Are they hard to peel because they’re so darned fresh from the farm? Who cares if the whole cream we finally found won’t whip due to a lack of emulsifiers added to make it possible?  Is it possible Costa Rica puts less “junk” in many of its products?

Who cares if we can’t find decent imported cheeses or smoky-tasting bacon? Costa Rica is not known for either of these products. They use their queso (cheese) for their meals. They don’t need a fine quality Dutch Gouda to line their deli cases and fill their refrigerators. 

Pretty blooming plants for sale.

Who cares if at night we spot cucarachas (cockroaches) running along with the kitchen counters, which all but disappear during the day? After all, we are living in the rainforest.

Who cares that we find gecko poop on the floors, counters, and furniture. With a quick flick, it’s gone.  Who cares that we can hardly find an English-speaking person in a local shop or market with whom we can have a conversation? It’s their country, not ours. They don’t need to learn our language. We need to discover theirs. (We’re trying).

Pineapple for sale at a farm stand.

Who cares about the loud music wafting through the air at night when we’re trying to sleep? It’s their culture, not ours, that inspires them to celebrate life. Above all, who cares that it rains each day without exception, giving us a reprieve and sunlight for a few hours most mornings when every day the temperature is comfortable with no air-con needed?  We came here in the rainy season based on our schedule, not for some pre-planned sunny vacation.

Who cares about a less than half-day power outage, a temporary plumbing problem, or a ripoff car rental? In the realm of things, these are merely inconveniences that are easily forgotten in no time at all. 

These hedges were trimmed into letters.

Sure, I cringed when a cucaracha ran up my arm when I slipped my hand into a kitchen oven mitt. I got over it. Now, I shake the glove before slipping my hand inside. It’s all relative.

Remain well and safe, dear readers.

Photo from one year ago today, August 31, 2016:

Colorful shrine in front of a property in Phuket, Thailand. It was on this date one year ago that we posted the final expenses for Thailand. For more details, please click here.

Warning to all tourists taking prescription drugs…Could result in a Costa Rica nightmare…

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Yesterday we shared a photo of an Owl Eyed Butterfly, and today, we have a winking Barn Owl.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Ulysses was creating a perfect trim on the hedges at the villa.

After yesterday’s scathing tongue lashing on Monday’s less than a pleasant attempt at renting a car, we hesitated to go down a somewhat negative path two days in a row.

For the majority of tourists, today’s post will have little significance. You book a vacation/holiday in Costa Rica, staying at a resort for a week or two. If you take prescription meds, you bring along a sufficient amount for your entire stay. If innovative, you bring enough for an additional few weeks in the event of some mishap or delay in returning to your home country as initially planned.

Creatures in Costa Rica are colorful, including this massive spider in her web.

However, suppose travelers like us plan to stay for an extended period. In that case, it’s an entirely different scenario when no prescription drugs (including non-narcotic meds) may be shipped into the country. Also, no vitamins or supplements may be shipped into Costa Rica and will also be confiscated.

Why is this? These are stringent drug laws, coupled with Costa Rica’s intent to create a revenue source from selling their prescription medications in the local and chain pharmacies. As a result, other than prescribed narcotics, mood-altering, or brain function medications, most medicines are sold over the counter without a prescription.

I take low doses of three non-narcotic meds for the following conditions (bad genes); hypertension, thyroid, and a hormone…fairly innocuous items, all typically requiring prescriptions from a doctor in the US.  (Other country’s laws may vary).

It was frustrating, taking photos through the fences, but these birds weren’t ready to return to the wild after their rehabilitation.

When I noticed my supply dwindled these past months, I decided to purchase over these next few months from ProgressiveRX, where I’ve been buying refills regularly over these past five years through their online service, comparable to buying from any online pharmacy in Canada.  

Easy as always? So I thought. This has never been an issue in any country in which we’ve lived over these past years. So I’d make the online purchase well before I needed them (slow delivery times) and have them shipped to wherever we may be at any given time. 

Although one shipment was lost while we were in Italy, the company happily replaced the lost items at no additional charge. Luckily, I’d planned the shipments months before I needed the pills and never missed a dose through the lengthy process of replacing the lost items.

Three Barn Owls at Zoo Ave, the bird and animal rescue facility in the Alajuela Valley.

While in Australia, for the sake of convenience, I received new prescriptions from a doctor we’d visited for physical exams while in Trinity Beach. But, unfortunately, I couldn’t get more than a six-month supply, which is typical, even through online pharmacies. 

Thus, again with a several months supply on hand, I ordered more from ProgressiveRX, which we had shipped to us in a box of supplies from the US from our mailing service.

I’d also considered making the purchases of a few month’s supply while here in Costa Rica since both of us must have physical exams no more than 60 days before the upcoming cruise to Antarctica. So we’d have the necessary exams and purchase my meds while here at any pharmacy.

Three Barn Owls were sharing a tree branch.

On Monday, the day of the rental car fiasco, I’d brought along the pills in the bottles with clearly marked labels to the Walmart Pharmacy. As it turned out, I’ll run out of two of the meds before the time we leave on November 22nd, thinking they could easily be replaced by some Costa Rica versions of the same frequently prescribed drugs for these conditions, common throughout the world.

Oh, foolish me. Walmart could not supply me with any of the three meds without changing doses and brand name components. One of the meds required the brand name when I tried alternates to no avail in years past.

After the pharmacist and I counted what I had left, we discovered I’d run out before leaving. “Local pharmacies don’t carry what you need,” explained the kindly pharmacist. So it’s a lost cause. I contemplated my options which included taking wrong doses and wrong meds and decided against it.

These birds were too high up to get clear shots without a tripod.

During the last month, when I’ll run out of two of the three meds, I’ll take doses every other day.  Doing so should not be life-threatening, although it may create some unpleasant symptoms. I’ve experienced worse. I’ll be fine.

In the interim, I’ll place an order from ProgressiveRX to arrive at our mailing service in September or October (at the latest) and have them shipped in a box of other supplies we’ll be sending to our hotel in Miami, where we’ll stay one night before boarding the 30-night cruise to South America.

How will we ensure the proper timing? We’ll have the shipment arrive from Nevada to Florida at least two weeks before our arrival on November 22nd. The hotel will hold the package for us until we arrive. 

Parrot sitting atop a perch at Zoo Ave (Ave means “aviary” in Spanish).

At that point, I’ll have enough to hold me for a few months until I place another order for a shipment to South Africa. That will work. We received a shipment while we were in Marloth Park in 2014 without incident.

The result…bring enough medication with you when you come to Costa Rica unless you’re confident you can purchase refills from a local pharmacy of the products/brands/doses you typically use. You are allowed to bring a regular supply into the country commensurate with your stay, plus extra for unexpected events.

Did I learn a lesson? I suppose regarding Costa Rica, I sure did. And, of course, in the future, I will check if there will be an issue receiving medication by mail from countries where we aren’t quite sure. But, after five years of world travel, this is the first time we’ve run across such a situation. 

A bit blurry from afar but a pretty parrot nonetheless.

But, like the rental car situation (BTW, we did get a refund from rentalcars.com for which we’re relieved and pleased), one never knows what may be encountered in unfamiliar territory. Neither of these scenarios would be an issue for a typical short stay by most travelers. 

Our unique nomadic lifestyle can be challenging at times. And we continue to learn as we go.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, August 30, 2016:

Shorter than he’d usually prefer, Tom’s buzz cut in Phuket Thailand held through the 33-night cruise, which began on October 31st. For more details, please click here.

After five years of experience…Even we can be fooled!…Car rental warnings….More Atenas Farmers Market photos…Stunning sighting from the veranda…

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A farmer with several coolers of homemade sausage cooked us a sampling of his Italian sausage, which we have trouble finding in many countries. After tasting the delicious, perfectly seasoned sausages, we purchased six packages to use for our next batch of low-carb pizza.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

From this website: “The owl butterflies, the genus Caligo, are known for their huge eyespots, which resemble owls‘ eyes. They are found in the rain forests and secondary forests of Mexico, Central and South America. Owl butterflies are enormous, 65–200 mm (2.6–7.9 in), and fly only a few meters at a time, so avian predators have little difficulty in following them to their settling place. However, the butterflies preferentially fly at dusk, when few avian predators are around. Therefore, the Latin name may refer to their active periods; caligo means darkness.”   
This morning’s sighting of this Owl Butterfly sent us both to the moon with sheer delight! Can you imagine the magic of this amazing creature with spots that appear to be eyes resembling an owl to keep predators away? Wow!
After tasting the above Italian Sausages, as shown above, we purchased six packages from the farmer.

When we spotted this butterfly on the front veranda this morning, I couldn’t grab the camera quickly enough. Tom witnessed it flying, but by the time I grabbed the camera, it had landed in this spot by the sliding glass door.

The small but fun-filled Atenas Farmers Market.

We’ll be sharing more photos of butterflies over these upcoming months in Costa Rica due to the fact we’ve seen more butterflies here than in any other part of the world. So please check back for future stories.

There are plants for sale along with produce and handmade goods.

Speaking of our remaining 85 days in Costa Rica, yesterday’s experience at the car rental facility in San Jose will be emblazoned in our minds forever. Never once in the past five years of world travel, having rented cars for approximately 50% of the time, have we ever had such an outrageously awful experience.

Sure, we anticipated the US $9 (CRC 5,169) a day rate (included all taxes) would never end up at that rate when we went to pick up the car. In addition, we anticipated add-on charges for our age which were listed at US $5 (CRC 2,871) per day, per person. But even at the US $19 (CRC 10,912), we could live with that with both of us able to drive. 

We were impressed with the elaborate displays.

In many countries, we’ve rented cars for around US $600 (CRC 344,574) to $700 (402,003) for a monthly rate which we’ve always felt has been fair. But, the discovery we made after our taxi ride from Atenas to the Europcar facility (franchise owned) next door to the Walmart store in San Jose, where we planned to pick up a few items after getting the car, threw us for a loop.

Huge bananas picked in giant bunches caught the eye of many shoppers.

It all started fine when the rep behind the counter began processing our booked rental, asking for our passports, driver’s licenses, US address, etc. Of course, we’d brought along the printed documents with our confirmation number and pertinent information to ensure nothing would infringe upon our getting the decent rate we’d derived online at our usual rentalcars.com, a reputable company.

Belts, wallets, and other leather goods.

And, we’ve used Europcar at least 10 times over these years, expecting they’d honor the online pricing without gouging us. But, after finding they were franchise operations and subject to any peculiar laws in a country (so they say), we were shocked over the “bait and switch” tactic we were presented.

Local farmers and butchers have a wide array of beef, pork, and poultry for sale.

Aad has warned us about “bait and switch” type rental situations frequently occurring in Costa Rica, the reason why we’d chosen to do the five-day rental through his regular guy from “Thrifty.” Having used Europcar many times over these past years, we didn’t anticipate any problems.

Refrigerated cases with traditional and uncommon cuts of meat.

Here’s the prices we’d have had to pay, had we taken the tiny car yesterday:

1. the US $9 daily rate, plus the US $5 (CRC 2,871) for one driver over 64 years old (Tom) PLUS…an additional US $44.95 (CRC 25,814) per day for insurance (we already have insurance through our credit cards and a separate liability policy) for a total of US $58.95 per day (CRC 33,854) for a total for US $5,070 (CRC 2,911,444) for our remaining days in Costa Rica.
2.  Plus, they wanted a letter from our bank stating we have sufficient funds to pay for the car in the event of an accident (what the heck was the US $44.95 (CRC 25,814) per day supposed to be for?
3.  Plus, they required a US $9,000 (CRC 5,168,610) deposit!!!

Specialty flavored sea salts.  We purchased a similar item in Tasmania, smokey Himalayan salt which we continue to use and enjoy.

Why in the world would we pay any of this? But, of course, none of these above three would send us walking out the door in a huff, which I did, this time, not so much Tom. Yep, I was the “overly grumpy” traveler this time, appalled by this unbelievable trickery. 

I couldn’t resist buying one of these containers of two dozen quail eggs.

Sure, if someone were renting a car for a one-week holiday, it wouldn’t seem so bad, but still, they’d required the outrageous deposit! Who’d be willing to put a US $9,000 (CRC 5,168,610) deposit on a credit card?  Not us!

Over a period of a few days, I boiled these tiny quail eggs and had them in my taco salad. They’re tiny and fun to pop in one’s mouth for a tasty treat.

We left…no car…as frustrated as I’ve ever been in our years of world travel.  We walked across the road to the Walmart store, our yellow Costco bag in hand with a shortlist of items we needed to find, some of which we did find and others we did not.

For illustration purposes, I placed one large regular chicken egg atop the boiled, peeled quail eggs. About four quail eggs are comparable to one chicken egg.  I ate all 24 of them over a period of three days. Tom didn’t care for them, although they taste almost identical to a regular egg.

Until tomorrow, folks, when we share the story of what transpired at the pharmacy at Walmart that left me with a dilemma for which there’s no logical solution. However, by the time we paid for our few items, we were both in a better state of mind, and we found a taxi outside the store that drove us back to Atenas. 

Since Tom’s been eating fruit, we purchased this watermelon which he hadn’t eaten since we left Minnesota. So today, I used this cauliflower as an ingredient in my favorite meal; Chicken Sausage and Cauliflower Bake. Could you email me this amazing recipe?

Round trip taxi fares from Atenas to San Jose?  The total came to US $54.83 (CRC 31,485), which actually wasn’t as much as we’d expected. That was one pricey trip t0 Walmart!

We used these small purple onions in taco salad over these past few days.

No one ever said it was ever easy. So we’ll be back with more.

Photo from one year ago today, August 29, 2016:

Final photos of Chalong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, are preparing to depart on September 1, 2016. For more final photos, please click here.

We’re here!…Power is back on after 10 hours…We’re off to the big city…More Atenas Friday Farmers Market…

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When this sweet and friendly butcher at the Farmers Market spotted me with the camera, he willingly posed! The people of Costa Rica are approachable and warm.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

A breathtaking ridge of low-lying clouds.

Two things are of most concern to us when there’s a power outage; one, that our food in the refrigerator and freezer will spoil, and two, the prospect of boredom at night in the dark.

Check out the size of those bananas!

We can easily entertain ourselves during the day by playing cards, chatting, sunning and swimming in the pool.  But, once darkness falls, life without power is daunting.  Our phone batteries are usually dead by dark, and thus we’re unable to read online books, and our laptops may only have enough juice to watch one to two downloaded shows or one movie.

Last night would have been incredibly annoying in the dark had the power not come back on at 1:00 pm yesterday. As it turned out, my laptop, which contains all of the downloaded shows, was dead when I attempted to fire it up when the power returned.

Some vendors offered handmade crafts.

Somehow, on Saturday night, the plug-in came loose, totally draining the battery. We wouldn’t have been able to watch a thing or…to transfer a show to Tom’s laptop. Thank goodness we got the power back yesterday.

These handmade shoes were beautifully made.

In the realm of things, none of it’s a big deal. We could be like the folks dealing with floods and devastation after massive Hurricane Harvey over these past days. Who are we to complain?

Then again, with us humans, it’s all relative. We each live in our moment in time, and although we may feel empathy for those less fortunate, we do tend to get caught up in our own “dilemma of the moment.”

Handmade candles.

Besides the 10-hour power outage on Sunday and the resulting lack of WiFi, which doesn’t work without power, the three sinks in the kitchen had begun leaking on Saturday night to the point where we can no longer use them. Julio is coming today to make the repairs.

These perfectly shaped tomatoes may have been imported, which we’ve discovered is not unusual at markets throughout the world. Instead, we purchase a big bag of uneven, less perfect tomatoes, as shown below.

Luckily, we already had last night’s meal prepared, which required reheating the meat for our taco salads.  No worries there.  We’d have managed even without power when the gas range still worked, power or not.

On Saturday, when we went to Supremercade Coopeatenas, we waited at the outdoor cafe for the rental car #1 guy to pick up the car at 10:00 am after our five-day rental. (This morning at 8:30 am, taxi driver Henry picks us up to get rental car #2 near the San Jose airport).

These are the tomatoes we purchased.

While we waited, we met a lovely couple Pat and Jim, from the US, who owns a home nearby but happen to be returning to the US this week for an extended stay. Gosh, it was fun chatting with them. Their five years of experience living in Atenas were helpful to us. 

They even followed us into the market to show us where to find whole cream and unsweetened coconut milk. Yeah! The cream wasn’t located in a refrigerator section but instead was on a dry shelf in a shelf-stable container. The coconut milk was situated in the liquor section near the rum. Oh, I get it.  In three and a half months, we’d never have found those two much-needed items.
There are many apple orchards in the area.

While checking out, we met another lovely person, Sarah, who wrote down her phone number and whom we’ll call for a get-together in a few weeks. Her husband had just had surgery and needed a few weeks to recover before socializing. Most certainly, we’ll make contact.

Gorgeous flowers for that special occasion.

After the visits with the ex-pats, we purchased several kilos of organic chicken breasts and pork chops when the market was having its special Saturday sale. We filled our insulated bags to the brim, grabbed a taxi in front of the market, and were back to our villa a little after midnight.

We purchased six heads of this lettuce for our big daily salads.

With no car over the weekend until we pick up the rental this morning, we felt a bit stranded on Sunday, exacerbated by the lack of electricity. If we’d had wheels, we could have gone into town to buy bags of ice to keep the food cold. 

Instead, we dumped all the ice from the ice maker into a large cooler and added all the perishables from the refrigerator. Everything survived, and the frozen meats in the freezer stayed frozen. 

More locally grown fruit.

I’d prepared a short post yesterday to inform our readers that we weren’t able to post. I’d considered doing the post in the afternoon. Still, after changing my usual morning posting routine, I decided against it and took the rest to re-organize after the power outage and get caught up on a few tasks.

Now that we’ll have a car, we have many exciting tours on the horizon. Please stay in touch as we continue to share them with all of you.

Have a wonderful day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 28, 2016:

The elaborate sign at the entrance to the Muay Thai Kickboxing facility down the road from us. Many nights we can hear the activity. For more photos, please click here.

No power, no Wi-Fi, plumbing problems.

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What a day! At 3:00 am, the power when out. Nine hours later still no power or Wi-Fi. Three kitchen sinks leaking. Food in fridge rapidly defrosting after a huge grocery shopping. No car until tomorrow.
Thus, no regular post today. We are currently using phone SIM for this short notice.
Already swam in pool, played GIN and keeping cheerful. If power returns later today we’ll be back.
If no power tomorrow, we’re still taking off to San Jose to pick up the rental car at 8:30 and will post as soon as power and WiFi return.
Happy day!

A small Farmers Market with a big punch!…Wow!…

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This is, by far, the largest carrot we’ve ever seen. We couldn’t stop laughing over the size of this!

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Last night’s violent thunderstorm was one of the worst we’ve seen.  Check out our video from the veranda.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, we were out the door by 7:00 am to get to the Atenas Farmers Market which is highly regarded by locals, expats, and tourists who have the opportunity to spend time in this cozy community.

Check out the size of these radishes!

Although the market wasn’t huge like Rusty’s Market in Cairns Australia, the largest we’ve ever seen, it was diverse in a way that piqued our curiosity as well as sending us on a shopping spree to partake and savor many of the fine products offered by local farmers and vendors.

There’s something magical about visiting farmers’ markets throughout the world. It gives us an inside view of the foods the locals consider most likely to provide them with sales but also indicates those products they use in their day-to-day lives. 

These, too, are some of the enormous carrots we’ve seen.  The others in the bin are typical full-sized carrots.

Indeed, some of the non-food items, mostly local crafts and handmade goods, are expensive and often rightfully so, based on the quality workmanship and attention to detail we often see exhibited. 

The produce, both fruits, and vegetables are reasonably priced. We purchased a wide array of food items from quail eggs (a first for us), to homemade Italian sausage. 

CRC 1000 is equivalent to US $1.75. Prices are very reasonable at the Atenas Farmers Market and the organic products are excellent. We’ll be returning every Friday morning from here on.

Lately, as mentioned, with Tom finding he can eat fruit without gaining weight or suffering ill effects (lucky Tom), we purchased apples, bananas, and watermelon. 

We hadn’t purchased a watermelon since living in the US. Once he finishes the cut pineapple that’s in the fridge, I’ll cut and seed the watermelon for him. Much to our delight, this villa has numerous large Tupperware-type containers that will work perfectly. 

Many local farmers bottle their own products such as this spicy sauce and bottles of honey (to the right).

Unlike the US, none of the watermelon grown is seedless. Whenever I’ve cut watermelon with seeds, I’ve permanently removed every source, which I’ll do again. The hard part will be to avoid snacking on it while preparing it for Tom. Indeed, my mouth will be watering over the watermelon although I won’t take as much as a taste.

There are 18 grams of sugar is one typical sized slice of watermelon, equivalent to 4.5 teaspoons of sugar, with 21 grams of carbohydrates. When consumed, the body doesn’t perceive the fructose in the fruit any differently than it would if one downed the sugar it contains in teaspoons. Research is now coming to the forefront to substantiate these facts about the dangers of sugar in any form, fruit and starches included—enough about that.

The last time we saw dragon fruit was in Australia. 

As we walked through the rows in the farmers market before we put anything into our grocery cart, we had a hard time deciding where we’d purchase such items as tomatoes, lettuce and purple onions. Each stand looked lush and ripe with its variety of succulent produce. 

It was easy to determine that the produce was organic when we discovered bugs and worms as we handled the products when making our selections.  Also, the uneven shapes and sizes further exemplified that few, if any chemicals were used in growing these products. They reminded me other organic produce we’ve purchased from farmers in countries throughout the world.

These red beets are enormous.  I love beets but they contain too much sugar for my way of eating.

Back “home” a few hours later, with Isabel still here engaged in her usual cleaning frenzy, we monopolized the kitchen while we washed, prepared and bagged the clean produce. 

We always eyeball the baked goods but never purchase any.  These buns looked delicious.

She usually cleans the kitchen last so we had plenty of time to get everything under control and put away. I chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and purple onion for last night’s taco salad dinner. 

Within an hour we were done in the kitchen allowing time to finish posting yesterday’s story and photos and uploading it close to our usual time. I’d prepared part of it prior to leaving the house making the completion easy and less time-consuming.

These red hairy-looking fruits are rambutan. Atop the rambutan is an adorably decorated squash.

This morning at 10:00 am we’re meeting the car rental guy at Supermercado Coopeatenas, to drop off car #1. Afterward, we’ll arrange a taxi to return us to the villa where we’ll be stranded over the weekend. On Monday, we’ll take a cab to San Jose to pick up car #2 which we’ll keep for our remaining time in Costa Rica.

Tom checked out the cafe in the Farmers Market.  He’s always on the lookout for donuts.

So far, after last night’s wild thunderstorm, the sun is shining and the day is lovely. May you have a sunny and bright day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 26, 2016:

Chalong Bay in Phuket.  For more Thailand photos as we wound down our time in the country, please click here.

Continuing photos from visit to Zoo Ave in Costa Rica…Off to Friday morning Farmers Market…Back tomorrow with photos…

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This was a first for us, seeing red bananas, which are supposedly sweeter than yellow bananas.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

We were in awe of this view from the veranda when the afternoon clouds roll in each day.

This morning at 7:00 am, we took off for the Atenas Friday Farmers Market. A few weeks ago, we attempted to visit the market in the early afternoon, only to discover the times posted online were incorrect. Its correct hours of operation are from 6:00 am, closing at 1:00 pm, Fridays only.

We’d heard this was a familiar spot to meet ex-pats and locals;  buy produce, flowers, and spices, and get the natural feel of the energy of this small town with a population of about 5,000, with 27,000 in the entire district of Atenas.

Isabel and I couldn’t figure out what type of fruit this is.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with photos from the Atenas Farmers Market. Although we’d grocery shopped on Tuesday, purchasing most of our needed produce and other items, we made a list of a few things we’d buy at the market to last over the weekend until we shop again for next week. 

We hope to redo our grocery shopping day to Fridays, enabling us to purchase all of the produce at the Farmers Market. Most of the produce is locally grown and organic when shopping at the local grocery stores, although not explicitly certified in Costa Rica from what we tell thus far.

We were disappointed not to get a better photo of this sloth. Nevertheless, they are fascinating animals commonly found living in the trees in the jungles and forests of Costa Rica.

This weekend we plan to make one of our favorite dishes, taco salad, using grass-fed ground beef, lettuce, olives, onion, tomatoes, avocados, and homemade taco seasoning. I often add hard-boiled eggs to my salad and a little homemade salad dressing.

It’s now 10:00 am, and we returned from the Atenas Farmers Market about two hours ago, loaded up with goodies we’ll share with photos in tomorrow’s post. It was a great market!

Another failed attempt at a sloth photo when we were trying to shoot through the fence.

Once we returned, we found Isabel, our cleaner, chatting with Ulysses and just about ready to enter to clean our villa.  She has a key and doesn’t need us to let her in. So, loaded up with our fruit and vegetable(Tom’s been eating some fruit since we arrived) and other foods, we hustled to get indoors to wash the produce, put everything away, and start the pot of meat cooking on the stove for tonight’s taco salads.

We wanted to hurry and get out of the way to allow Isabel space to clean. But, this house is so big, it would be hours before she’d get near the kitchen. So, busily, both Tom and I got to work washing, drying, and dicing vegetables for the salad. What a treat it is that there’s a salad spinner here. We hadn’t had one of those since Trinity Beach, Australia, in the summer of 2015.

This Giant Bamb0o tree, as shown in the two photos of us, was no less than 4 meters in diameter.

Finally, we got the meat cooked, and it’s now cooling in the refrigerator to be reheated later for dinner.  We love hot taco meat topped with melted cheese atop the other salad ingredients. In addition, two ripe avocados are waiting to be sliced that I’d left out to ripen these past few days.

While we were gone, we downloaded season eight of Master Chef, another bit of mindless drivel we enjoy from time to time. Part of the simple pleasures of our daily lives includes a day just like today. 

Tom is standing next to the Giant Bamboo tree to gain a perspective of its massive size.  The vegetation at Zoo Ave was almost as interesting as the wildlife.

We were out the door at 7:00 am to head to the Farmers Market. We took tons of photos and spoke to many locals in our very choppy Spanish as best as we could. We’re prepared, chopped, and diced vegetables for a beautiful dinner tonight, somewhat befitting Costa Rica’s style of food. 

At the moment, the sun is shining with rain predicted, as always, in the afternoon. Around noon, I’ll call my sister Julie in California to wish her a happy birthday and then, shortly after, call my sister Susan to remind her to contact Julie. Since Susan had a brain bleed six months ago due to a severe fall, her memory isn’t quite so good anymore, and I’ve made a point of calling her to remind her of important events.

I used repellent at the facility but did get a few mosquito bites but indeed not as many as expected on the hot, humid day.

Oh, we all must grab what we can from life, living it to the fullest, embracing every single moment to fill our hearts and minds with good thoughts and great memories.  Our lives are but fleeting moments in the realm of the space and time of the world around us. Grab it all. Treasure it…for as long as we can.

Photo from one year ago today, August 25, 2016:

BBC news photo of earthquake rubble as rescuers search for victims of that week’s 6.2 catastrophic event. See details below. For our post about this disaster, please click here.