Early morning routine…Life of retirees…More photos from cultural coffee farm tour…

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Tom was holding the broom (escoba) made of vegetation at El Toledo Coffee Tour.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Layers of clouds rolling into the valley.

As candid as we are regarding how we live our daily lives, we’re also curious about how other retirees may spend their time. Is it so unusual it’s Tuesday at 8:00 am, and we’re sitting in the screening room while Tom is watching last night’s Minnesota Vikings game while I busily peck away at my laptop?

The items throughout the cafe each had their own story to tell.

Probably not. We haven’t spent any of our retirement years living near friends and family, which would give us a better perspective of what other retirees may be doing in their spare time, as compared to us.

The El Toledo Coffee Farm’s coffee is nicely packaged.

It’s not a desire to emulate the activities of others. More so, it’s simple curiosity, the same curiosity bringing some of you back, again and again, to see “what we’re up to” from one day to the next.

An old-fashioned cart.

A significant difference for us, besides living in a new country every few months, is the reality of living without a car at specific points, often without easy access to public transportation. It’s the price we pay for choosing to live in more remote locations.

Every corner of the area was filled with family treasures.

Many world travelers with whom we’ve communicated chose to live in apartments and condos in big cities, heading out each day for sightseeing, dining, and tours. 

Gabriel was educating us while we sat at the long table.  We were entranced by his manner of speaking and expertise.

The big city life is far removed from our reality, except on occasions such as our upcoming one-month stay in Buenos Aires beginning on December 23rd (Tom’s birthday). Indeed during those 31 days, we’ll be dining out (no kitchen), using public transportation for tours and sightseeing, and getting out of the hotel room each day to wander about.

Handmade wood boat.

Even us, who don’t mind staying in, don’t enjoy sitting in a hotel room all day and night.  This period will give us an excellent opportunity to get out walking, something we’ve missed here in the villa in Atenas. The hills are too steep to navigate for an enjoyable leisurely walk.

The coffee cafe, with its cultural decor, was fascinating.

Luckily, in the weeks we’ve had a car (every other at this point), we’ve chosen various types of sightseeing, all of which have required extensive walking. Although these “hikes” aren’t frequent enough to build the level of fitness we’d like to restore, at least these tours, thus far, have kept us on the move.

The clutter was oddly appealing.

As for a day like today…once the football game ends and I’ve uploaded the post, most likely, we’ll spend time out by the pool. The past three days have been cloudy and rainy by the time I’ve finished the post. We’re both anxious to get our token 20 to 30 minutes of sun time and spend time in the pool. Rain or shine, we spend the better part of each day on the veranda with the roof protecting us from the rain.

Once we embarked on the tour, we entered this working area.

We discuss our dreams for the future during those pool times, where we’d like to go after revisiting the US in 2019. At this point, we’re tossing around some ideas, considering which countries we’ve yet to visit and those we long to see.

Gabriel was explaining the use of the space.

Our typical day-to-day lives may not be too different than yours, except for a few factors; we don’t do any household repairs and maintenance; we don’t do yard work, and we don’t go to Home Depot. 

Wine-making area.

We don’t “jump in the car” to drive short distances to visit with friends and family; we rarely go to the doctor; we don’t go to Costco for a fun shopping trip loading up large quantities of food and supplies; we don’t head over the Walgreen’s or CVS for a few items, using these little rewards cards for discounts hanging on our keyring.

Drying racks for the coffee beans.

Then again, most peculiarly…we don’t have a keyring! How odd is that?

Have a pleasant day!

Photo from one year ago today, September 12, 2016:

When we watched this activity on the river, we had no idea what was transpiring until we saw they were cleaning the carcass of a cow in the river. Yikes! For more photos, please click here.

9/11 remembrance…A sorrowful day for a nation…For the world…For residents of hurricane stricken states…

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This is the remainder of a banana tree’s inflorescence described as follows: From 26 to 32, banana leaves will have wrapped around themselves by the time the inflorescence emerges from the center of the pseudostem. This process is called shooting. Ten to 20 flowers spiral around the stem of the inflorescence. Each flower is covered with a fleshy purple to green bract that it sheds as it matures. While we were living in Madeira, Portugal, we post a continuing story with photos of the progression of these unique blooms. See here for details on our story with photos of the morphology of the banana tree.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

In Kauai, Hawaii, our friend Louise sent us the identity of this bird, an Inca Dove. Beautiful! Thanks, Louise!

Today’s a sad day for millions of citizens as the remembrance of September 11, 2001, is fresh in our minds. Most of us can easily remember where we were when the horrific news was broadcast worldwide of the heinous attacks on the two World Trade Center buildings, flight #77 crashing into the Pentagon, and the crash of flight #93 where brave souls somehow managed to prevent the plane from crashing into yet more structures.

Almost 3000 people lost their lives in the tragic events, and more have perished, including countless first responders over the following years from exposure to the toxic debris. 

Bottle Brush plant with white flowers.

The impact on the lives of the families, co-workers, and friends of those affected by this outrage will remain in their hearts and minds for the rest of their lives. Yet, when those of us are not directly impacted by the attacks, other than bearing witness to its horrors over many months and years, with the utmost compassion and empathy, we can barely imagine how so many have suffered.

Now, in the news over this past week or so, in stunned silence, we watch the news of the devastation of two record-breaking hurricanes losses suffered by countless citizens of Texas, Florida, and other states, including unknown loss of lives; injuries to thousands; and the loss and damage to homes, businesses and worldly goods.

A type of palm tree that produces these bead-like berries.

Those of us tucked away in safe parts of the world may go about our daily lives untouched by these horrific events save for the emotional toll inflicted upon those of us possessing untold compassion and empathy. In other words, none of us with access to news of world events are exempt from feeling the wrath of such events.

The hard part for many of us is that we are helpless bystanders, many of whom may choose to contribute via donations, but few of us can “jump” in and help. 

These berries are

Gaining access to these ravaged areas is difficult, if not impossible, for most who’d like to pitch in. But, then, many of the older generation (and others) don’t have the funds, the fitness, and the physical health to participate in rescue efforts.

Overall, as we’ve traveled the world, we’ve found most of each country’s people to be kind, open-hearted, and more than willing to pitch in during a crisis. This is easily evidenced by watching the news during and aftereffects of many tragic events, including war and natural disasters.

Lovely.

Fortunately, in our world travels, we’ve remained safe. And, although we’ve encountered unexpected events; storms, earthquakes, nearby bombings, and less-than-ideal health issues, we’re grateful to be safe and unharmed, our primary objective as we continue in our quest to see the world.

Pine Cone Ginger.

We can’t let fear immobilize us.  We can only let love, hope, faith, and a positive outlook drive us to the following location, the next adventure, and the next opportunity to embrace this gift of life bestowed upon us.

May you embrace life and opportunity on this sad day and treasure the rest of the days to come.

Photo from one year ago today, September 11, 2016:

Plumeria, aka Frangipani, is a flower used in Hawaii to make leis.  For more from this September 11th post published one year ago today, please click here.

Part 2…El Toledo Coffee Tour…A farming experience unlike any other…

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 Our video of roasting coffee beans at El Toledo Coffee Tour.
As a result of the end of the roasting cycle, these dark beans created the darkest roast, which, much to our surprise, contained the least caffeine. The light roast produced at the beginning of the roasting cycle includes the highest levels of caffeine. (See our above video) Who knew?
“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”
Yesterday afternoon this visitor came to call.  This lizard, most likely a Chameleon, was bright green near the vegetation and gray to blend it with the rocks and stone on the veranda.  Fascinating!

When we met farmer/owner Gabriel his warmth, openness, and innate desire to provide each visitor with an exceptional experience were highly evidenced in his welcoming demeanor. 

Arriving earlier than the scheduled 2:00 pm tour, as mentioned in yesterday’s post, we had an opportunity to “pick his brain” about his farming techniques coupled with his passion for the farm, which has been in his family for 85-years.

Bananas/plantains are growly abundantly in the coffee fields.
Over the years, they’ve changed his farm from growing beans to be marketed to other manufacturers to working and producing their beans, packaging their product, and bringing it to market to local citizens and visitors.
Each Friday, he and his dad each take up residence at each of two local farmers’ markets, one in Atenas and the other in La Garita (which we’ve yet to visit but will do so soon).  
Coffee beans, not ready for the harvest until they turn red.
They each set up a display of their fine coffee beans, both ground, and the whole bean, along with their delicious coffee wines, the red of which both Tom and I tasted and found to be of excellent red wine quality, somewhat similar to a Port wine. The white was considerably drier and reminded me of a quality Sauterne.
A type of Heliconia plant growing wild in the coffee fields.
There were four major elements to El Toledo Coffee Tour:
1.  The introduction and discussion about organic versus traditional farming and our misconceptions; how diversity in growing a wide array of other fruits and plants along with the coffee beans may eventually impact the quality of the flavor of the coffee beans; how he sees the growth of the farm in years to come; the introduction of other coffee bean products such as the “juice” and the two varieties of wine.
2.  The trek through the hilly terrain, up and down steep and muddy inclines due to recent rains, lasted almost two hours.  We stopped many times along the way as Gabriel explained the value and use of various other crops he’s begun to harvest and, of course, all about coffee bean growing. (It was a vigorous hike. At one point, Tom mumbled “The Queen’s Bath,” and although it was nowhere near as dangerous, at many points, it was pretty tricky.  Click here for the most challenging trek in our travels in Kauai, Hawaii).
3.  A return to the cafe for the coffee tasting, wine tasting, and more educational discussion during which we asked questions.
4.  The actual roasting process for which we’ve included the above video.
Many varieties of flowering plants grow prolifically in the fields attracting insects used as a deterrent to keep the insects off of the coffee beans instead of using toxic pesticides.
Here are a few notes from El Toledo Coffee Tour’s website that further exemplifies the nature of the above discussions:

“Welcome to El Toledo!Toledo coffee is a project that features coffee production in harmony with the environment. Here on the farm, we try to use natural resources to produce our organic coffee to minimize the impact on nature! To reach this objective, it is necessary to make a lot of changes to a typical coffee plantation-changes that we have implemented over the years and are glad we did.

First of all, an organic coffee plantation requires a different way of living and thinking about life. We cannot believe that the most important thing is money, because our health, future, and the environment are priceless!

Gabriel’s father was sorting black beans, frijoles negros which also are grown on the farm.

Once we achieved this change in our thinking, the next step was understanding and opening our eyes to everything we do to preserve our future and our health. In other words, we had to avoid using chemicals and damaging the environment in a way that could harm our health and put our future at risk! It is essential to understand its nature, as simple and as complicated as it is! Nature acts wisely. It can make everything grow in harmony; however, when we try to control everything in our way, we break all those functions using techniques that would make more problems instead of doing better!

Did you know people can grow organic products and still be against the environment?

We’ve learned so many things in our 20 years of experience that we want to share with you! Now, our production method is not only compliant with all the standards of organic farming by the certification we have. It’s more than that. It’s using the means of nature to work with and not against it, and that is the principle by which we live and operate our plantation!”

Check out the size of these plantains, a type of banana.  Gabriel in the hat in this photo kept us all educated and entertained during the tour.

During our five years of world travel (as of upcoming October 31st), we’ve visited many farms and agricultural businesses, which provided us with an education that has enhanced our lives and travels. But, Thursday’s tour with Gabriel at El Toledo Coffee Tour will always remain one of our favorites.

While the coffee roaster was working, Gabriel removed some of the beans at varying stages to illustrate how the color and richness of the roast changes the more extended the beans are roasted.
Right now, I’m avoiding coffee due to its high acidity, but hopefully soon, while we’re still in Atenas, I’ll be able to enjoy a full cup of El Toledo’s light roast. Tom will continue to enjoy the bag of light roast we purchased at the farm in the interim.


Enjoy a cup of locally grown coffee this weekend, wherever you may be!
Photo from one year ago today, September 10, 2016:
Beautiful beach scene from a stop halfway through the four to five-hour harrowing drive from the airport in Denpasar Bali to the villa in Sumbersari.  For more photos, please click here.

Part 1…El Toledo Coffee Tour…A farming experience unlike any other…

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Purple flowers on white vines located on the El Toledo Coffee Farm.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

An identical or similar Woodpecker stopped by again for a visit.

Today, there are just not enough hours in the day to present our entire story and photos from our tour of the El Toledo Coffee Tour. As a result, we’ll share photos of this tour over the next few days, explaining the informational and educational experience we had with Gabriel, the coffee plantation’s owner.

While Gabriel spoke to the eight of us on his passion for coffee farming, his mother brewed three roasts for us, each a mystery from which we chose our favorite; light, medium and dark. Tom and I both chose the light roast, which ultimately, explained Gabriel, contains the most significant amount of caffeine, much to our surprise.

Shortly, we’re leaving for the village to return the rental car and do our weekly grocery shopping.  Tom will hang out in the cafe to wrap up the rental car return with Edgar and later chat with locals who stop by for coffee and easy morning chatter.

With this morning’s late start and many distractions, I’m behind a total of two hours from my usual starting-to-post time. What a busy week we’ve had while making the most of every moment while we’ve had the rental car.

We were served coffee in these tiny cups, perfect for sipping the fine coffee.

Having spent the bulk of the five days out and about sightseeing, we have enough photos and stories to keep us going through the next nine days until we have a rental car again to repeat the same process over and again.

Tom’s eye widened when plates of these vanilla wafers were placed on the table.  Politely, he ate only three or four.

The highlight of the week’s activities, although all were worthwhile, was Thursday’s tour of the El Toledo Coffee farm located on a mountainous road about 25 minutes from the villa. 

Gabriel explained the different roasts, which attribute to the varying degrees of flavor and caffeine. Again, we were shocked to discover that dark roast, although possessing a more robust taste, has the least caffeine, contrary to what most of us believe.

According to “maps,” the drive to El Toledo, as the crow flies, appears to be only about 15 to 20 minutes. But once on the steep winding mountain roads, often behind trucks and slow-moving vehicles, the travel time is considerably greater.

We all had an opportunity to sample his delicious coffee “wine,” one white and the other a deep red. The red was delicious, tasting like an OK port.  How surprising.

Finding this location is tricky. It’s only by using “maps” with “her” saying, “You’ve arrived at your destination,” we found the rough rocky, muddy road necessary to navigate to enter the farm. There’s no off-site parking, so it’s that particular driveway or none. 

During the daily rainstorms, the driveway was muddy and challenging to maneuver, even for the most adept of drivers like Tom. He took him time, fearing he’d damage the rental car. He did fine, and we arrived and left unscathed.

In the lush canopy, even the simplest of plants are stunning.

We’d arrived 40 minutes earlier than the scheduled tour at 2:00 pm, allowing us ample time to interview Gabriel. This gave us an excellent opportunity to learn about his family (we met his mother, father, and aunt). At the same time, we quickly grasped his dedication to healthful, ecologically, and environmentally friendly farming. We’ll discuss more on this in tomorrow’s follow-up story.

A-frame containing various butterflies.

Six other tourists joined us a short time later for the scheduled tour, all of whom were 20-somethings, three young women from Arizona and another woman, and two men from Germany and the Netherlands.

Here again, another yellow Lollipop flower.

Not only did Gabriel (who speaks excellent English) share his unique take on organic vs. non-organic farming, but he explained many aspects of his family farm differing regarding most coffee farming in Costa Rica and throughout the world. 

Tucked away in the deep vegetation, I spotted this pretty pink flower.

With my and Tom’s mutual interest in farming and agriculture throughout the world, Gabriel’s perspective left us reeling over an entirely new spectrum of education we had yet to pursue.  Tomorrow we’ll be posting a coffee roasting video we took during the roasting process.

We encountered a wide array of plants and flowers on the steep and muddy path through the coffee farm.

As time has marched on this morning, it’s time for me to wrap this up and get dressed in street clothes for our trip into the village. It is easy to spend the better part of each day wearing a swimsuit, but a journey into town requires a bit of added coverage.

A creek was running along the narrow road up into the mountains where El Toledo Coffee Tour is located.

We hope your weekend is filled with pleasant surprises!

Photo from one year ago today, September 9, 2016:

Balinese food truck. For more photos from Bali, please click here.

Yesterday’s power outage…Taking advantage of having a car…Lots of sightseeing and photos…

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During this rainy season, every blue sky is a treat.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

During a pelting rainstorm, this gutter pipe, stemming from the villa’s roof to a portion of the lawn, was spouting like a fountain due to the powerful rains.

While preparing yesterday’s post, Tom heard a loud boom that sounded like a transformer blowing out. Indeed, seconds later, we lost power along with the WiFi connection.

A school we passed in a village as we drove through the mountains.

Rather than panic and rush to the store to buy ice to preserve the food in the refrigerator and freezer, we decided to give it some time to be resolved. Based on the reading on the clock, it came back about three hours later while we were gone on a sightseeing expedition.

The trees are painted to avoid rot and insect infiltration.  There’s some debate about the effectiveness of this technique, but we’ve seen this done in many countries throughout the world.
We’d planned to stop for ice on the way back, unsure if the power had come back on, but Tom suggested he’d run back out if we still didn’t have electricity when we returned around 5:00 pm.  Why buy the ice if we didn’t need it?
We encountered many old tiny houses along the way.

Instead, he suggested, once we were back inside the villa and found we had power once again, that we’d start accumulating plastic bags of ice to store in the bottom of the freezer for just such a purpose. 

The greenery everywhere is breathtaking.

During the last power outage, we didn’t have a car to drive to town to buy ice, but we managed for 10 hours without it. If we keep our supply, we won’t have to worry when this occurs again…and undoubtedly, based on two occurrences in two weeks, this will happen again.

Fences made with unfinished logs are commonly seen in Costa Rica.


I guess the most challenging part of being without power is being unable to complete and upload the day’s post, the apprehension as to how we’ll preserve our food, and the anticipation of spending the evening before bed in the dark.

The sunny morning allowed us to takes photos with expansive views of the valley.

Now that we’ve decided to do the five-day car rental every other week and compact our exploring and sightseeing into these small time frames, it’s less problematic when we may not always be stranded when there’s a power outage. Without a car, the lack of power seemed to add to the inconvenience.

It’s not unusual to see welcoming signs when entering an area.


After picking up the rental car on Monday morning, we’ve made a point of getting out each day. Today, we have enough new and exciting photos from this week’s activities to upload over the next month with the experiences we so enjoyed in the process.

A corner shop in a tiny village in the mountains.

Yesterday was such a unique experience. We may share that story and photos over a few days, beginning tomorrow. It was one of the best production/farming tours we ever experienced in our five years of world travel. We can’t wait to share it with all of YOU.

Fence making not entirely completed.

We’re sorry for yesterday’s lack of a post. We could see from the stats that many of our readers continued to see if we’d ever been able to add a normal-sized post. We’d hoped to get started on it early this morning but at 7:00 am, we were out the door and on our way to the Friday Atenas Farmers Market.

We won’t have a car again until September 18th, although we already have plans about what we’d like to do. A few days ago, we’d written how I wasn’t quite up to hiking. In the past two days on specific tours, we embarked on two strenuous hikes, although only one hour each. I managed pretty well and was pleased to be able to participate.

Every road is bordered by lush greenery.

In time, I’ll continue to rebuild my strength to handle the possible eight to 10-hour hike to see the gorillas in Uganda upcoming in about eight months. The best way to do this is to get out and walk as much as we can. We’re working on it.

Here’s the photo from this morning’s trip to the Farmers Market, including the cost:

Included in this morning’s farmers market shopping but not shown in this photo are two giant free-range chickens and a small bag of fresh turmeric root which I’ll use to make a tea. The total we spent for all the items, including those not shown, was US $48.50 (CRC 28,058).
Have a happy, healthy day!

Photo from one year ago yesterday, September 7, 2016: (Since there was no post yesterday, we’re including September 7 and September 8, 2016, year ago photos.  See below):

Each morning when we walked in Bali, we’d seen this huge pig, but they hadn’t been in a good spot for a photo when the yard is shrouded in greenery.  That morning, we had a chance to see “a pig in the mud.” We howled. For more photos, please click here.
Photo from one year ago yesterday, September 8, 2016:
This was a working well at the home of a local in the neighborhood in Sumbersari, Bali. Click here for more photos.

Driving in the mountains in Costa Rica…Not for the queasy…

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Tom spotted this waterfall and turned around so I could take a photo.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Yesterday’s clouds and rain as it made its way toward us. It proved to be one of the most severe rainstorms we’ve had since our arrival.

Yesterday about 15 minutes before heading out the door to a famous sightseeing venue where we’d arranged to do an interview and tour for an upcoming story, we received an email from the owner kindly asking if we could visit on Thursday at 2:00 pm when he’d have more time to spend with us while giving us the entire tour.

This worn old property is currently occupied.

That was fine with us since we’ll have the little gray rental car until Saturday morning. Dressed and ready to go (in something besides a swimsuit), we decided to head out anyway and drive through back roads exploring, an activity we both thoroughly enjoy more than any activity.

Exploring our own without time constraints, crowds, or traffic always gives us a more expansive view of country life than being a part of the crowds in a typical tourist venue.

Further down the road, we encountered a continuation of the creek we’d seen earlier.

Surrounding by mountains, what may appear on “maps” to be a 30-minute drive easily turns into several hours while driving through the winding mountainous roads of Costa Rica. In many ways, it reminds us of the winding mountain roads in Tuscany, Italy, which at that time left me white-knuckling each road trip in 2013.

Scene along the waterway.

Now, four years later, I’m practically hanging out the window with my camera in hand, hoping to take illustrative photos of the steep, winding roads and the resulting exquisite scenery. There’s nothing comparable to mountains to create some spectacular views.

No longer finding myself car sick or queasy from such unpredictable terrain, I’m able to relax and fully embrace our surroundings. Tom, the sound driver that he is, makes me feel incredibly at ease with his eyes on the road. Although he’s quick to spot a good photo opportunity in his range of vision, he never hesitates to stop or turn around for a good shot.

So far, all the cattle we’ve seen have been grazing and skinny, usually indicating they’re not fed grains and chemicals.

Yesterday was no exception while we both reveled in the tiny mountain villages we encountered, the homes tucked away in the trees, and a first-hand look at how many Costa Ricans live in the mountains under the canopy of vegetation and trees of all types and sizes.

Grass-fed cattle’s ribs are readily evident.

The sounds of roosters crowing, cows mooing with wild bulls snorting, along with an occasional sheep or lamb’s warbling baa wafting through the air like music to our ears. Gosh, we love this part of our travels.

Sure, the famous tourist spots are often worth checking out. After all, they are the draw for many travelers to this country and others.  In Costa Rica, many of the most popular sites requiring a degree of hiking. As I slowly recover from this frustrating gastrointestinal thing, hiking has not been on my radar.

A brown calf among the all-white cattle.

Having started a new treatment regime two weeks ago by giving in and taking PPIs which I should have done for a more extended period last March, slowly, I’m finding some relief. It could easily take two to three months until I’m feeling well again. 

Rough lean-to, which may have been used for livestock at one time.

Hopefully, by the time we leave Costa Rica in November, I’ll be free of the lingering effects of the formerly diagnosed and vigorously treated Helicobacter Pylori, known to go its victims with many months required to recover. 

Finally, I’m able to eat without discomfort. But I still have a way to eliminate the frequent bouts of discomfort, during which I never feel up to going on a long hike. But, we both try to stay active and fit. I continually keep an eye on my FitBit to ensure I’m moving about enough as I strive to keep close to my daily goal of 10,000 steps.

A babbling brook in the mountains of Costa Rica.

Soon, we off on another outing to a site of particular interest to Tom. Back at you soon with more new photos!

Photo from one year ago today, September 6, 2016:

Offerings are placed in these cubicles for the upcoming Hindu holiday,  as shown in more photos over several days. Please click here for more.

We’re off sightseeing today… Earlier post than usual…

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What a lovely flower!

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

This pretty little hummingbird hit the glass wall and perished. It’s so sad to see this happen. There are stickers on the windows specifically designed to avoid these types of incidences, but they still occur every so often.

At 10:30 yesterday morning, a taxi we’d found online picked us up to drive us into town for a relatively reasonable US $2.61 (CRC 1500), dropping us off at the Supermercado Coopeatenas. This was the lowest fare we’d paid for this fairly frequent ride, and we’ll use the same company again.

 The varying taxi fares from the villa to the market is baffling, and we’ve yet to settle in with one company/provider perhaps until now. However, there’s something to be said for consistency that is often lacking in many countries regarding taxi fares and other services.

Mother Nature is astounding in her infinite wisdom and creativity!
Dropping us off at the cafe in front of the market, we only had a short wait until Edgar would arrive with the second of two five-day car rentals arranged for us by Aad. At a rate of $167.50 (CRC 96,417) for the five-day rental, still pricey by the day, we decided we’ll most likely do the five-day rental every other week or so, depending on what we have planned. 

 I sat outside with Tom for a few minutes and then headed into the market to do the grocery shopping while he waited for Edgar. I prefer to shop without Tom at my side.  He has a routine for perusing the aisles, which is very different from mine. Plus, I can be determined when I’m attempting to find a specific item, leaving anyone with me frustrated and bored while I’m “on a mission.”
The outdoor cafe at Supermercado Coopeatenas where we waited for the Thrifty Car Rental guy. Also, earlier in the day, this can be an excellent place to meet people.
Thoughtful as he is, he keeps an eye out for me to load the items onto the counter for checkout. I can certainly do this myself, but he insists on being helpful, also carrying all the groceries inside the house while taking a few smaller bags.  

 Early yesterday morning, I called one of the two dental offices in town and, with my choppy Spanish, managed to get a 2:00 pm appointment. I was pleased knowing I’d somehow managed to convey my need to have the crown repaired, only requiring a short appointment.

 After bringing the groceries to the villa and putting it all away, we stayed busy until it was time to leave for the dentist appointment in the little gray rental car. We’d hoped to do some sightseeing after the dental appointment, but the rain started again at 3:00 pm as we were leaving the dentist’s office, and we decided to forgo driving in the rain.
A hen and her chicks in our gated community.
As for the dentist, she was terrific. Here’s her information if you’re looking for a great dentist; Clínica Dental Dr. Karina Valerio, phone # 506 2446 3515.  She’s located close to the center of town. As I sat in the dental chair in the meticulously clean treatment room (and waiting area), I watched everything she did to repair my crown.

 Her attention to sanitation, her use of freshly packaged and sanitized tools kept me mesmerized while in the chair for 45 minutes. We tried to communicate via an app on my phone, but when she spoke into the phone, the translation put both of us into a bout of laughter we could hardly stop. Even Tom heard us carrying on while he waited in the reception area. 

 After my appointment ended, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. My tooth felt fine after she worked hard for a perfect fit. The bill for the 45 minutes of care (minus laughing time) was a mere  US $17.37 (CRC 10,000). We couldn’t have been more pleased.
Could this be a dad and his young boy, yet to grow his full crown of glory, his comb, and his wattle?

Shortly today, we’re off for our tour and sightseeing, which both of us are looking forward to.  We booked an appointment and tour with a facility’s owner to do a story on their highly-rated facility (ranked #1 in TripAdvisor for Atenas), and we’re expected at 10:00 am. 

This appointment resulted in a rushed post today, especially when I’d planned to prepare tonight’s low-carb lasagne (email me for the recipe) before we left, leaving it refrigerated and ready to be cooked at dinner. This left us the entire day to travel about at our leisure with no time constraints whatsoever.

Now, I’ll upload this early post. Tom will proofread it while I put the finishing touches on tonight’s dinner. It’s a great start to the day, sunny in the ’70s, and perfect to be out.  Tomorrow, we’ll share details and photos of our day!

You have a lovely day, too!

Photo from one year ago today, September 5, 2016:

Tom shot this scene in Sumbersari, Bali, early that morning one year ago. Good job, Honey! For more photos, please click here.

Another inconvenience…Life in the world…

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We jumped for joy when we came across this Iguana, especially when taking photos without a chain link fence impeding the view.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

One of these cows moos so loud several times a day it’s ear-splitting, which also makes us laugh out loud.

A few days after our dental appointments on August 21st, while eating a relatively easy to chew casserole-type dinner, I gasped when I felt something metal in my mouth. Much to my surprise, one of my dental crowns fell out from the last tooth on the bottom left.

This is an Emu we spotted at Zoo Ave, the aviary we visited in the Central Valley.

I put it aside until after dinner when I read online about how to handle such an incident. At that point, I remembered I’d initially been packed a small tube of dental glue/adhesive used for these exact types of situations. Over these past years of world travel, we’d never had a reason to use the glue.

He posed nicely for us, seemingly unperturbed by our proximity.

Immediately, I opened our blue medical/dental/supplies suitcase to find the little tube unopened in its original packaging with instructions. Perfect. I brushed my teeth and the crown and attempted to fit in its place, as instructed before placing the glue on the crown. This was to prevent the possibility of putting it in the wrong way while using the glue.

As soon as I attempted to fit it in place, it became so stuck. I couldn’t pull it back out. Humm…I’d read that sometimes you can re-seat a crown without glue, and it will stay, possibly for years to come.  I liked that idea. As much as I tugged and pulled, it wouldn’t come out. OK, leave it be, I thought.

A face only a mother could love. But for us, we love every creature, finding beauty in their often peculiar appearances.

It felt as if it was seated correctly, fitting comfortably. Within a few hours, I forgot all about it. Most likely, we assumed, it had been jarred loose during the strong teeth cleaning on the 21st. 

Last night, Alas was eating meatloaf, again, an easy to chew item, it fell out once again. This time, I decided to follow the instructions on the package and glue it back in myself. After dinner, I brushed my teeth and cleaned the crown. This time, I’d open the box and poke a pin into the tinfoil opening of the tiny tube when reversing the cap, and using that piercing tool didn’t seem to work.

An Emu at rest.

After poking at it several times, I discovered, much to my dismay, that the glue was completely dried out. It wasn’t surprising it had dried out entirely. After all, I’d had the thing since 2012. At this point, I had two options; one, to re-seat it once again, hoping it would stick or, go to a dentist to get it done professionally. 

I had no intention of returning to the dentists in San Jose. It was too far away, hard to find, and required a long wait. We’d try to find an appointment with one of the few dentists here in Atenas. It wasn’t as if I’d need lots of skilled dental work to glue this back on. I could have done it myself if I’d had the proper glue on hand.

This chick’s fluffy, molting feathers made us smile as we recalled the Laysan Albatross chicks in Kauai, Hawaii, in 2015.

The next challenge was to communicate with the Spanish-speaking only receptionist when I called one of the few dentists here in Atenas, one that had more activity in google and no seeming bad reviews, actually no reviews at all. 

I looked up the Spanish words for “crown fell out,” which translates to “la corona de cayó” and managed to figure out that I have an appointment today, “hoy,” at 2:00 pm, “dos en puento.” Whew!

Another Emu in the natural habitat.

We sure took the simplicity of our old lives in the USA for granted!  Crown falls out? No worries. Call, email, or text the dentist’s office for an easy and quick appointment. When there’s any type of medical or dental issue in a non-English speaking environment, a solution becomes tricky.

Besides, we didn’t have to use the navigation to find our dentist’s office in our old life. We’d been there at least twice a year for cleanings and whatever other miscellaneous procedures we had performed over the years.

At around 10:00 am this morning, we’ll call a taxi to pick us up and take us to Supermercado Coopeatenas to grocery shop. We’d had enough food on hand to last for nine days, and now it’s time to restock. While I shop, at 11:00 am, the Thrifty car rental guy will arrive at the market’s outdoor cafe to drop off our five-day rental car, which we’ll return to the exact location at the same time on Saturday morning. 

What a large and beautiful hawk.

At that point, we’ll run the groceries back to the villa, unpack and put it all away while I get a bit of a head start on making tonight’s low-carb lasagne. At 1:30 pm, we’ll head back out for the 2:00 pm dental appointment leaving ourselves ample time to find the clinic and park the car in the congested downtown Atenas area.

We’d hope to go sightseeing today, but we’ll save it for tomorrow, weather permitting, and other days over the remainder of the week based on the timing. So there it is, folks, another minor issue in the lives of these world travelers. But, as many of our readers often say, it’s the trivialities of our daily lives that pique their curiosity as well as the “big” memorable events.

Have a great Monday or Tuesday (depending on where you are in the world)!

Photo from one year ago today, September 4, 2016:

The morning view in Bali, as I worked on the post by the cabana by the pool. For more photos, please click here.

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.