Category Archives: Costa Rica

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 →

The mornings are about as perfect (weather) as anyone could imagine so we have been spending our time walking and enjoying this small town – looking around and taking a few pictures of whatever pleases us. Afternoons we work…..here are … Continue reading →

Today we went up the mountain with a friend to see the whole central valley and to visit his friend’s house. I think it is pretty spectacular….the pictures really don’t communicate the awesomeness of this place – but they help.

Today was market day and we enjoyed the morning poking around and buying some veggies and fruit. Later we went downtown and bought a few things just to check out the stores and the vibe. Marg is making a sign … Continue reading →

The weather has been absolutely the best – sunny and warm (not too hot) with a nice shower to cool things off in the mid to late afternoon. We did breakfast at “Kay’s Gringos Postres” (dessert). We pitched the Film … Continue reading →

Tracey, our friend and neighbour in Esterillos last year, visited us in New Hamburg in October before she headed back to Costa Rica. The day we arrived, Tracey was in Atenas to leave for Panama for a month so we … Continue reading →

We haven’t posted much about our busy lives while we have been in Canada, but most of our time was spent this summer expanding our film festival, writing and presenting a new seminar called, “Living an Authentic Life”. The biggest … Continue reading →

This is the end of one of the most amazing trips we have been on. We were enchanted by Costa Rica and its beauty, lush foliage and abundant wildlife. However, the people were the best part of this trip without … Continue reading →

Today is the last full day here in Esterillos Oeste. We packed and went down to the ocean and played in the surf. We also gave away all the rest of the food and then went to Los Almendros (Karen … Continue reading →

With only 2 days left of our 15 week adventure, we planned a waterfall trip today (Wednesday) with Melissa and Brian and a bit of time in the Ocean. Our directions were a little weak and we ended up on … Continue reading →

Melissa and Brian have returned from the Nicoya Peninsula and we have been busy preparing to return to Canada. We have been making a point to connect with some of the many people who we have met here.

Marg and I decided to take in the surfing competition at Playa Hermosa today (Saturday). Some amazing surfers and some big swells…..a very popular event for gringos and ticos alike.

The Butterfly Sanctuary was amazing. CR is one of the best places to see butterflies. Melissa and Brian did the longest zip-line in CR – 13 links, the last one was over a kilometer long. About noon we headed down  … Continue reading →

One nice thing about the high country is the breeze and cooler air. We slept last night with a blanket. Today, we are driving to Santa Elena and booking our tickets for Selvatura (zip-lining and butterfly park). The drive is … Continue reading →

Today we left the Pacific Coast and headed up to Mount Arenal near the Nicaragua border. Arenal is an active volcano (last eruption 1968). The journey to the high country took us through the Central Valley (north-west of San Jose). … Continue reading →

We hung around the house and the pool just enjoying the sun and then went to Jaco for lunch (at a soda) and to do some shopping. Later we went to the very upscale development “Los Suenos” (The Dream) and … Continue reading →

We went to the market in Quepos and then on to the National Park in Manuel Antonio today. There was lots of wildlife and we swam on some remote beaches. We ended with a drink at the “Airplane Bar” (El … Continue reading →

We had a good day showing Melissa and Brian around Jaco. We went up a mountain to overlook the city and then went to Hermosa  to watch the surfers and the sunset.    

Today we took a drive through the mountains on our way to pick up Melissa and Brian at the airport in San Jose. These are just some of the pictures from that 4 hours in the mountains. Happy Birthday Lil

Did a little wandering and shopping in David before catching the bus to the border and then driving back home. Took a little side trip to San Isidro – on a beautiful road which winds through the mountains.  

We hired a car for the morning to drive us around the area and show us some sights. Later he drove us back to David where we spend the night before returning to the border.

David is a city of about 120K but not all that interesting so we decided to take the bus up to (you can’t take a rental car across the border) Boquete for one day – an area known for its … Continue reading →

Costa Rica has a 90 day visa so for people who want to stay longer you have to go out of the country for 72 hours and then re-enter. We were only staying 21 days over but the problem was … Continue reading →

Today we have been here for 3 months and to celebrate we went for a drive up to Orotina near San Jose. We always take the scenic route when we can and stopped by the Crocodile and Bird Tours place, … Continue reading →