Author Archives: Bigguy

A few more shots to complete this trip….tomorrow we will spend traveling – not something I enjoy. But I hope to publish some pictures from South Western Ontario (Home) since after the last 5 months I hope to see it … Continue reading →

We are coming to the end of this trip and it has been a very good one. The weather here continues to live up to its reputation as being the best in the world. Almost everyday is an early summer … Continue reading →

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have had some rain after almost 4 months and things are starting to turn green again. We went for a drive to look at properties and took a few pictures before going … Continue reading →

This is Semana Santa (Holy Week) and many things (stores, restaurants) are shut down. It is nice to see the Costa Ricans “close” the country and take a break. Everybody heads for the beach since this is the last big … Continue reading →

Some of the picture we took while Dorine was with us and Matt visited from Esterillos Oeste.  

Took a drive down the old ox cart road to Orotina….beautiful drive. Had breakfast (Gallo Pinto and huevos – Rice and Beans and eggs in the traditional style).  Dorine took pictures and I took a few as well…..take a look!! … Continue reading →

A Tope is a horse parade and the ATENAS Tope is among one of the biggest in Costa Rica with more than a 1000 horses and riders. People enjoy the evening with food, music, dancing, fireworks, and cerveza.  

At this time of year, they’re harvesting sugar cane and then burning the fields. The carbon is a great fertilizer for growing the next season’s crop. At night, you can see the flames for miles!  

Just a few photos of Costa Rican life.

We went to La Paz Waterfall Gardens, a beautiful park with great exhibits of animals, birds and other creatures that have been rescued. There are also has 3 amazing waterfalls……look at the pictures.

Since our guests Paul and Suzanne and Doug all love photography, we decided to go down to the center of town and spend a half an hour taking pictures…..here’s what I took.

We spent a couple of days along the Pacific Coast hanging at the beach and with our friends from Esterillos Oeste.

Went for a walk to the coffee fields next door to our house.

It was a beautiful day for a country drive so we decided to go to Sarchi, a small town north of here renowned for its ornately painted oxcarts. Oxcarts such as these were once used to haul coffee beans to … Continue reading →

We spent the day in Santa Ana and Escazu doing some business and taking in the Multi-Plaza (Mall). We have been in Costa Rica a total of 7 1/2 months and finally drove over to see it. I spent about … Continue reading →

It was a beautiful day for a drive through the country, especially when you get to a high point and can see the whole valley. This is the dry season and it has been even drier than usual – it … Continue reading →

Friday night (24th) our friend Andrew invited us to his family’s dance lesson (in Spanish). We didn’t “get” much of the instruction but Marg and I just filled in the blanks and followed the “bouncing ball”. Sunday (26th)  We haven’t … Continue reading →

Just catching up after a few days of a hectic schedule. Here are some of the moments we took time to capture…..on this amazing adventure.

We came down to the beach to visit old friends (the best way to spend a special day) and pick up Dan who will return with us to Atenas. A trip to EO wouldn’t be complete without dinner a Los … Continue reading →

Two of the better local tourist sites are”ZOO Ave.” and “The Butterfly Farm”, both only 20 minutes from Vista Atenas (our place). John loved it and so did we …..the pictures speak for themselves.  

We have been traveling around the country with Margaret and Greg showing them more of Costa Rica. Today, we are heading down to Esterillos Oeste to attend the opening of  Colaborarte (Art Gallery) which our friend, Ozzie Hoppe has created. … Continue reading →

Chris and Kristina and baby Gilbert returned from their trip to Monteverde and San Jose today. We went to Cafe del Casita which overlooks the valley for a great afternoon lunch together before they head home early tomorrow.

Today, was a day of working on “This Is Wisdom” but about half way through the afternoon we all took a break and went for ice cream. The guy that served us (owner) looked familiar. Eventually, I recognized him as … Continue reading →

Christopher loves to cook so after a visit to the outdoor market we had a great meal prepared in the rancho…… On Sunday we drove to Manuel Antonio (National Park) making some strategic stops along the way.  

Today, unintentionally became the “coffee day”. We started by going for a walk through a nearby coffee plantation. Later, we went for a drive and ended up in the mountains and near an organic coffee plantation which we had thought … Continue reading →

We have only been to San Jose once since we came to Costa Rica (including last year). It is a big city with 1.5 million people which in itself does not appeal much to either Marg or me. Our friend … Continue reading →

Such a beautiful day to just relax, lay back and enjoy the vista…… I decided to make a few photos to illustrate the beauty of this place……amazing!

Today there was a Tope (horse parade) in Barrio (neighborhood) Jesus which is nearby. The Costa Ricans love their horses and everybody comes out to the parade and then stays for the more serious fun…bull riding. We watched and enjoyed … Continue reading →

Had a busy week interviewing people for the “This Is Wisdom” radio and podcast program (www.thisiswisdom.com) and enjoying a great week of life in Costa Rica. We have been also working on our Spanish a lot more as well…although we … Continue reading →

Fred and Brigitte Schutter always have a wonderful costume party on New Year’s Eve. This year, the theme was “Aliens on Earth”. Judging by the costumes, these aliens were certainly superior beings. Judging by the other (uncostumed partiers), the aliens … Continue reading →

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLI!!!! We have been enjoying being back in Atenas. The ocean was great – the mountains are also great. Looking forward to New Years Eve “Aliens on Earth Party”. Marg and I have been working on our costumes…..gonna … Continue reading →

We traveled from Atenas to Esterillos to celebrate my birthday and Christmas with the friends we met last year in this wonderful beach town. Costa Ricans celebrate Christmas and then start their summer vacations right after by going to the … Continue reading →

Seemed appropriate to do a Sunday afternoon drive and poke around the countryside much like we do in Canada. I checked the map and picked a little community only a few km from our place. We were less than 20 … Continue reading →

There was an amazing sunset over the ocean tonight. You could see the Nicoya Penninsula really clearly. I just hung in there and kept shooting looking for that one shot that would be better than all the rest. (pick your … Continue reading →

Dale and Linda left yesterday after 4 days of cloud and rain (longest in the 5 months we have been in CR). Today, it was beautiful again – sunny and warm – so we went to the market downtown and … Continue reading →

Tina Newton of Su Espacio (Your Place) runs a Christmas Party for kids. Margaret and I  were delighted to participate. She played music and since I couldn’t find some drums I took pictures…here are a few pix from the shooting. … Continue reading →

Dale and Linda Bolton have been visiting us and we’ve had the opportunity to do some traveling around the country. A few days ago, we went to Casita Del Cafe which is the first place Marg and I visited in … Continue reading →

I have been waiting for the right time to take this series of pictures from a new deck which is being built outside of our casita – what an amazing view of the Central Valley! Now that is is almost … Continue reading →

We traveled into Santa Ana and then went on to Heredia to connect with our friends, Albert and Dulia who were getting dental work done (it is much cheaper here and very professional). We looked around…just another big city. Sorry, … Continue reading →

We rented a car and instead of Dulia and Albert (from Prescott, ON) coming up here we went to Puntarenas for the weekend. Dulia and Albert used to live in Puntarenas but now spend most of their winters in Panama. … Continue reading →

We have been walking in the neighbourhood and finding some interesting stuff. These photos are from yesterday’s walk down the mountain. This is also the anniversary of Costa Rica disbanding its army – December 1, 1948. One of the great … Continue reading →

This morning we decided to explore a nearby coffee plantation which is adjacent to the property our house is on…..here is what we saw.

We’re lovin’ it here – the house, the beautiful climate, the property, the quiet and the awesome view! We even have SKY TV (Latin America Version) which lets us enjoy  “The Dog Whisperer” every day (one of the great  psychologists … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday, Melissa!! We got moved into our new digs (pictures coming tomorrow) and around sundown, we renewed our old tradition of picada – a light snack (guacamole this time) and a drink. The night lights of the valley were so … Continue reading →

Today, we packed up and prepared to move to a new and more suitable place. We are excited about the change since the new place is so very beautiful. Hank, the owner of the property we are going to, has … Continue reading →

We’ve been busy the last few days finding a new place to “hang our hat”. The place we rented turned out to be quite unlike its description and therefore unsuitable for our purposes. Tomorrow, we are moving to a new … Continue reading →

This neighbourhood (Barrio) of Atenas has some of the highest places and the best views. Andrew (a friend) took us up to a few of the best places to look at the surrounding countryside. You can see 60 KMs in … Continue reading →