ODDS AND SODS.... worth mentioning!

I have returned from my second visit to the beautiful central American country of Costa Rica, with a few nuggets I want to share.  I promise this will be the LAST post on Costa Rica....until I return next year to the Caribbean side, for a month!

Some of you asked if we had a good night's sleep after reading Day 8,  where we had had adventures every night for four nights in a row. Adventures that had prevented us from having a decent night's sleep.

Day 10 was our first night in Tamarindo.  We both woke up in a sweat during the night, finding the room very stuffy.  Lou opened the windows.  The next morning, I spotted a big puddle of water on the floor. The AC had become blocked outside by birds (with WHAT exactly, I don't care to remember) and water or whatever is in an AC unit, had leaked ALL the way down the couch, onto some of Louise's clothing, various bags, and onto the floor.  We told Jarred and it was fixed immediately. So to answer your questions as to whether we had slept well?  .... NO!!!!

The MOST unique password for Wifi?   In the Green Papaya restaurant in Tamarindo,  I burst into laughter when the waitress answered my question with "dontaskme"

You really have to try to be "green" in Costa Rica.  Your limits may be tested, when you realize you put toilet paper IN the flush, and that's a NO-NO!  Do you or don't you fish it out? :)  What do you think I did?

It really makes your travel much more pleasurable, if you try to speak a few words of Spanish.... even if they are only what I call, en français, les petits mots magiques - "Gracias. De nada. Por favor. Pura Vida!

When I ask someone a question in Spanish, and they answer, "Qué, mi amor?", "What, my love?", I am toast!!!

I came home without a S=I=N=G=L=E US GREENBACK, and without a S*I*N*G*L*E colon, the Costa Rican currency. 550 colones is equal to $1 US.  Talk about spending my money well.  My generous sister treated me to a hamburger and fries at the airport in San José. Get this! It cost her $35 US!!!!  For two hamburgers, two small fries and a drink. Mind you, they were the BEST, JUICIEST, GREASIEST burgers we had had in a while! TOTALLY YUMMY!  Muchas gracias hermana!

I also came home without putting a single charge on my Visa! THAT was a first.  Louise put stuff on hers and I paid her back.  No points, but less stress.

FURTHERMORE, I came home with scabbing on my knees, bug bites EVERYWHERE, and bruising on my calves from gripping my legs around Eric, so hard, on the zipline. I am NONE the worse for wear though!

PLUS, I only gained one pound. All that fresh fruit.... papayas, mangoes, bananas, passion fruit, pineapple, grenadine ... you know what that does to you, right?

I leave you with a laugh, I hope. MY FACE, when I realize I am truly about to go ziplining! No backing out. I paid the BIG BUCKS!  YIKES!!!

DAY 16 - COSTA RICA IS A WRAP.... until the next time.

I woke up early the day of our departure from San José.  I had forgotten to put in the earplugs, so I heard the planes, AND the trains, though they didn't really start taking off and running, until 4:00 am.
My overhead guest, as I had my homemade breakfast out in the garden.

Our little Airbnb was a sweet little spot. I could have passed on the D=E=A=D cockroach in the closet, but...he was harmless, and certainly not the first one we had seen on this trip. We had one scurry across my side of the bed, to Louise's, when we were in La Samara.

Lou was sleeping so I decided to quietly take my shower. WELL.... that was an ordeal, Déjà vu all over again.  I got undressed and turned the shower on. Water flowed down from the shower head, but also out of this white tube attached to the wall.  Except that water was hitting the ceiling!! So there I am NAKED, of course, trying to figure this out.  I thought maybe it was a small sprayer, so I removed it from the wall. THAT ONLY exacerbated the problem. The other end of the tube then detached itself from the shower head, and water starting SPRAYING  sideways out of there as well!!! F!! R!! I!! G!!!  Now the ceiling and walls are wet, the toilet paper is wet, and the floor is wet.  The only thing that ISN'T wet and is SUPPOSED TO BE, is ME! I turn the shower off, and try to reattach one end of that white tube, back behind the shower head.  NO GO!  It had a black, tying type thingy that wasn't right.  I stuck the other white end back on the wall, after fiddling with it. I took one more chance, and turned the shower on again.  All the same things happened, except water starting coming out of the TOP of the shower head, springing from some kind of leaky red plastic cover thingies. THAT is when  I GAVE UP on taking a shower.

I informed the owner.  She fiddled with the NOT-TO-FANCY plumbing, don't you agree?    Lou came along and fiddled some more, then took HER shower, commenting that I am NOT very mechanically, nor DIY inclined. No kidding!  Jeepers, I can't know everything.  Telling Nery in Spanish about my mess,and apologizing, was good enough for me. :)

You know when you travel that you can expect anything. So... the following little "delays" were all new for me, because of the reason.  We were delayed on the tarmac in San José, because the air conditioning had to be fixed. That is very IMPORTANT.  However, Costa Rican Immigration had to go over the entire flight manifesto again, or whatever it is called, so all told that took over an hour.

We now realize we have l...e...s...s  than an hour to make our connection in Montreal. Thank goodness we hadn't checked our backpacks.  Lou gave away lots of stuff, and I did too, though I wasn't as generous as SHE was. We were thus carrying less than ten kilos on our backs.  Believe it or not!

We RAN, and I mean, RAN, from the minute we got off the plane, to clear customs and security and make it to our gate. It was really good practice for THE AMAZING RACE CANADA! The flight attendant, when I asked if the boarding had started, said, "Stay right where you are!  We were waiting for you to arrive to start boarding". Such sweet words. We even arrived ahead of a younger couple from the Peninsula, who had been on the same flight from Costa Rica. They went through SECURITY twice, poor things

I have traveled a lot, and I don't pay attention to small details, such as: DON'T use a red pen to fill in your customs declaration form.  It CAN hold you up at Customs. It did hold me up, all of two minutes. DON'T trust DUTY FREE in the country you are leaving, to do the packaging of your purchases, correctly.  In the land of the true, north, strong and free, security can take away your lovely bottle of rum, by saying that the sealed bag your rum was put in, DOESN'T conform to Canadian specifications. Total baloney!  So, if your choice is to take the time to go to another counter at security, have them repackage your rum and charge you, or you catch your flight... what option would YOU choose?

HOME SWEET HOME! Even if I STILL can't see out my living room windows.

Day 15: What can I say? 8:00 pm

My last words to Ernie, one of the concierges at Camino Verde, when we boarded our shuttle to San José this morning, were, in Spanish. "I will come back to your beautiful country a third time." Ernie asks, "When?" I reply jokingly "When I have a man, and money!" He says, "Very soon then!" We both burst into spontaneous laughter! It was another Pura Vida moment.

It was a f-r-e-e-b-i-e day today. Lou and I had a free drink with our last lunch in Monteverde, at the Morphos restaurant, thanks to our concierge José, who gave us the card. Then in our shuttle to San José, we made a rest stop. I was looking where to buy a cold beer. Hey, it was hot!  I heard some people in a tour group speaking English, so I asked them where they got their beer. Turns out the two men were from Ottawa and Vancouver. The beer was 2$ US. I muttered to myself, "I only have a dollar." Despite my protestations, they bought me a beer. CANADIANS  are good people. 🇨🇦

Hermanita and I are in our cute little AirBnb room, very close to the airport. We were going to stay at the same AirBnb one we stayed in when we arrived.  HOWEVER, Wolfgang canceled our reservation. He said he was going out of town, but we think he was upset with me, because I said in the review of his place, "Not right now". I meant I didn't want to review his place right now. I was on VACATION, for crying out loud! Anyway, with our Airbnb credit we chose this other place VERY close to the airport, knowing full well that it is right by a train track, and on the takeoff flight path of some airlines. They are so close to us when they fly over, that I DON'T need my glasses to read what is written on the underbelly of the plane. 😉 Nery, the drop dead beautiful young owner of this place, who is also a total sweetheart, offered us earplugs. We have them... remember that damn rooster? In the last two hours we have heard three planes, two trains, but NO automobiles 🚗! It can really shake, rattle and roll here! You know what? It just adds to the ambiance and the sense of adventure! Did I mention she has three dogs? Train number three just rolled by. I have to add that there is a cacophony of barking by ALL three dogs, when a plane takes off or a train rolls by! TOO FUNNY!

Buenas noches from San José, Costa Rica!

PURA VIDA: DAY 14... WHAT A DAY!

By now you ALL know I went zip-lining at Selvadura Nature Park, in Monteverde.

I told myself I was going to do it, but when we came to the top of the first platform, I knew I couldn't go alone.  It WAS NOT a problem though. The staff there, all young, cute, male Ticos who could be my sons, or grandsons, were ever SO, SO WONDERFUL.

Eric, twenty-one years old, and a S-C-AM-P, took me along with him on the first one.  I got off and started CRYING!! WELL, AT LEAST I WAITED UNTIL I HAD TRIED ONE BEFORE the tears flowed! They move you right along from one zip line to the next. Very professional, but no dilly dallying here, folks. You only have time to kind of catch your breath when you hike some steep paths to other zip lines.  (This is a hiker talking!) All told there were seventeen.  I did TWO by myself, real short ones. Eric and I chatted in Spanish the whole time. I had to wait and go last in our group, with him.  He introduced me here and there as his "novia", his girlfriend, and I would say "abuelita", grandmother.  I did the "LOOK MA...NO HANDS" thing, I swear.  It was totally incredible. I looked down, all around, screamed and yelled, NOT out of fear, but out of SHEER EXHILARATION!

We then visited the wonderful Hummingbird Garden.  I was close enough with my finger to feel its' wing, and to feel the movement of air around the rapid beating of its' little wings.  It was a magical moment.

For the rest of the day I was on a natural high. We had a delicious, early supper at Soda Bonanza again, then settled ourselves in on the beautiful deck of CAMINO VERDE, to touch base with friends and family online, read and relax.  That was our intention... however...

I started chatting with two young men, who were fellow guests.  You know I talk to everyone!  I always find a language in which to communicate. Meet Omer and Mahmut, two Turkish men who live and work in Dubai.  They are flight attendants for United Emirates Airlines, on a hiking vacation through Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.  We had such a great time laughing, discussing politics and the world, sharing information about ourselves and drinking wine for three hours, that my natural high continued into a red wine high!  I was later asked by another Canadian guest there, Jen, if I had had a good time last night. :). These young men do their country of Turkey, and their parents, proud!
I shall always remember our three hours on that windy patio!

Day 15.... mañana.  It will be our last full day in Costa Rica.

Hermanita and I have discussed this.  We have had all these adventures, and survived, so WE are going to apply for the N-E-X-T season of "THE AMAZING RACE - CANADA!"

PVCR: Day 13- MONTEVERDE MAGNIFICIENCE

I am sitting on the huge patio of our B & B in Monteverde.  It is 18 degrees Celsius.  I am wearing my Lululemon hoodie and I couldn't be H-A-P-P-I-E-R than a clam at high tide.

Much as we LOVED Tamarindo, the heat was debilitating at times.  We didn't do anything other than sleep, eat, read, swim and socialize with the other guests. But then... isn't that what you are supposed to do on vacation? Time to move on though!

We took our shuttle at 8:00 am, walking down the hill with our backpacks on. Aren't we tough?  LOL
A fellow passenger was a Canadian from Toronto.  There are LOTS of Canadians in Costa Rica.  Our driver, a very young Mike, was so sweet.  He is going to be a first time father in four days!  He is so excited. Desafio is the company we book our shuttles with the most, and they are very, very professional.  They give excellent service, and THEY have WIFI in the shuttle.  We transferred shuttles and drivers, in a little village, for the one and a half hour drive up, UP, UP AND UP this mountain, with rough terrain, narrow dirt roads, and plunging ravines.  Not to mention panoramic vistas.

MONTEVERDE is a pretty little touristy town, where you can do all kinds of CRAZY, extreme activities, if you are young and foolish.  Fortunately, I am old and wise.  That being said, I can still be s-t-u-p-i-d!  I have just paid my last $50 US, to go zip lining tomorrow morning!  I AM TOTALLY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE PEOPLE!!!  DO YOU HEAR ME?  HERMANITA is definitely OUT of hers as well, but we are doing this!  (I already ziplined across the top deck of the largest cruise ship in the world, but that doesn't really count because it only lasted eight seconds!). Because there are seven zip lines, I have to get used to it sooner or later, I figure.  Furthermore, I have been assured that a very strong, handsome employee will attach himself to ME, if I am too afraid to go it on my own.  Very good insurance, I would say.  Plus it doesn't cost me a penny more. :)

Now d-r-i-n-k-i-n-g  moonshine less than an hour after our midday arrival, with the wonderful owner Marcos, of the Soda (diner) next door to our B & B ...  now THAT is totally normal behaviour for me.  Actually, I drank mine and Lou's because she didn't like this mix of honey and local cherries.  It is a LOT better tasting than grappa, let me tell you.  We ate at "Soda Bonanza" on the recommendation of my nephew JP, and he was SPOT ON!  Where we went for supper as well, "TACO, TACO", was what TICOS call "BUENO, BONITO, BARATO!"  It was also on JP's recommendation.  From now on, I am only eating where HE has eaten. Gracias sobrino!

IF I don't blog Day 14, you will know that I had a HUMONGOUS heart attack while ziplining. I want someone to sing Leonard Cohen's "HALLELUIAH" at my funeral.  Total Karma today... as we checked in, THAT song was playing here at Camino Verde.

Bonne nuit tout le monde - sweet dreams!

PVCR: Day 12 - The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY!

THE GOOD! I  have already given ALL the GOOD about Costa Rica, haven't I?

THE BAD! Well, it's not really bad here.  It can be less than perfect I guess, if you want to get really picky.  I don't!  However, there are a few things that some of you might consider bad. In Tamarindo it is very, very H-O-T. Es muy caliente!  You have -36 on the North Shore? Here it is +37, as I type at 12:45 pm. The heat can be crushing, if you aren't close to the beach, a pool, or air conditioning.  It is also VERY windy in Tamarindo. The wind blew our chairs right off our patio, onto the second floor deck, below us. It will blow your drinks away too, NO problem.

I am missing my Vimy terribly. I got a little weepy this morning, for the first time. Then Lou found a recent video online, of Vimy at his kennel, playing, and I am okay! Louise said "Haha! You were the first one to cry... you lose!"  Crying is DEFINITELY out of Lou's comfort zone, but NOT mine.  I can cry at the drop of a hat, doesn't bother me.  I have just learned over the years, to hold back those tears.  Tears terrify people.  I can't figure out why. THEY are so cathartic.  I will NEVER GET AN ULCER!!

Our little brother Pierre, sent us a message online to be on standby, while he drove over to our Mamacita's this morning. On her IPad, he enabled a video messenger chat with her, which was so wonderful. Maman s'ennuie de ses deux filles!! It was barely 7:00 am here. There we were on the patio Louise and I, chatting very loudly with Pierre and Mamacita. Out comes the owner, Joey, yelling upstairs to us, "Hey, are you guys okay?  I am hearing a lot of yelling!"  BAD that we woke him up, and other guests. Joey only got to bed at 2:00 am, cause HE went partying downtown. WE were in bed at 9:00 with a book. Joey is such a good host. He just wanted to make sure we were okay!

When we arrived on Monday, we put away some hummus in the communal fridge. Joey shortly after, cleaned it out, because guests had just left.  People leave food behind.  He THREW out OUR hummus.  When we were looking for it a few hours later, and mentioned it to cutie Jarred, he said he would find out what happened to it.  Lou and I said, "Never mind! There was only a little left!"  Later in the evening, sitting on our balcony, we heard them down below saying, "Those poor girls!  We have to get their hummus back!"  I yelled down, "Forget about it!"  No way JOSE!  JOEY DUG IT OUT OF THE GARBAGE.  It was in a plastic container.  No big deal. We accepted it graciously, but then we fed it to the dogs!  LOL

We found a gift in the refrigerator when we got back from town and the beach. You guessed it? A lovely little container of homemade hummus from Jarred and Jen, bought at the market yesterday.

IF you are not a DOG LOVER, do not come to Casa Bambora. There are four dogs here.  Raya and Scrappy belong to Joey.  Maya and Andre belong to Jarred and Jan.  They are sweet and make us feel right at home.  Scrappy was rescued by Joey, off the streets of Tamarindo, half dead.  He has gained seven kilos in the six months Joey has had him. Poor little thing, he eats everything he finds off the floor. Hence the  name Scrappy!

In most places in Costa Rica, you CANNOT PUT PAPER IN THE FLUSH.  So...you put your paper in the waste paper basket. Then you empty the waste basket, OFTEN!!

MANY Americans come here to have their dental work done, because it is so cheap. Claudia had a temporary cap put on a tooth last week, but it fell off today.  It is Sunday. No dentist is working, so she got some Polygrip to hold her cap on, until she returns for the permanent one.  NOT BAD,
BUT...?

THE BEACH in La Sámara is more beautiful, with bigger waves, less people and just more PURA VIDA!

THE UGLY? There is NO UGLY! We are on vacation!

PVCR- Day 11: It's ALL about Casa Bambora!

Hermanita and I are in Tamarindo. This blog is going to be an unabashed P-L-U-G for this marvellous place we are staying at, and the people who live and work here.

IF you are following Louise's private FB page called Pura Vida Con Mi Hermana, you will have seen that she posted the link to this"MARAVILLOSO" Casa Bambora.

Neither the pictures NOR the information give this place ANY justice.  I found it back in November while surfing the Net.  Louise had done all the work getting us information and booking places, so I had to book ONE thing at least, don't you think?  We are paying $50 per night each, Canadian, and it is H-E-A-V-E-N.  Check out our pictures and their pictures.  If you can step out of your comfort zone, (if all-inclusives are your thing)  than GO for this place.  Spend a week here. It might cost you more than an all inclusive, but the EXPERIENCE WILL BE SECOND TO NONE!

We are high up on a hill, overlooking ALL the beaches of Tamarindo.  It is warm and windy. Our room on the third floor doesn't even need the air conditioning; we just leave the windows open. HELL, we don't even lock our doors! We can be at the beach in less than ten minutes, which is a quick walk down the hill.  However, we just spent four days being right on the beach in La Samara, so we don't feel the same need to be right next to it.

Joey owns this place. He came here in 1992, a surfer DUDE!  Tamarindo was a sleepy fishing village then.  He came... and he stayed.  He bought a piece of land on this hilltop, and pitched a tent. Over the next twenty-five years, he built as he could afford, following his tent with a rancho on stilts,(basically a shack!).  Joey figures he did 80% of the work himself.  Let me tell you, he laid every single tiny tile in his pool.  He will never have ANY cracks in it.

So now Joey has this gorgeous three story home, which he lives in, wondering around being the convivial host, barefoot, in his swimming trunks. This CUTEST couple, called Jen and Jarred, from Rhode Island, run the place.  They came here five years ago, on vacation, loved it and KARMA LANDED THEM THIS SWEET GIG. They have been coming for five years, to work here for three months.  This year they are staying five months.  Work? They don't consider it work. They JUST LOVE being here.

Jen did our laundry this morning, can you believe it?  Jarred's parents, Claudia and Frank, who are the poster picture for FREEDOM 55 (all you Canadians out there!) are visiting.They are staying elsewhere, and will take my and hermanita's room, when we leave Monday morning. Boohoo!

Jared and Jen go back to Rhode Island in May, and work there bar tending, doing electrical work, and maintaining rental property, until they return again in January.  I SO, SO admire these young people WHO DO THEIR OWN THING.  They are not locked into a 9 to 5 grind; they are free spirits.  Mind you... WHAT KIND of retirement will they have twenty years down the road?  Certainly not the one Jared's parents are having. They are in their mid-sixties, and have been retired since their early fifties.  They come here to visit with Jen and Jared, have a condo in Florida, a home in Rhode Island, and will be traveling cross country (US) with friends for 45 days, in May.  What a dream life! Claudia and Frank are MY generation.  They are doing what they DID NOT do when they were young, when they were too BUSY raising a family, paying a mortgage and camping out for their vacations.

ESO ES LO QUE ES LA VIDA!  Such is life.  It is yours to live it as you choose.  ¡PURA VIDA!

Need I add that hermanita is TOTALLY chilled out?

DAY 10 - Pura Vida Costa Rica: Our adventures continue...

I can't even blog about a fraction of our adventures. I will have to add blogs when I get home, believe you me!

Suffice to say that we left La Sámara today and are safely ensconced in our FANTABULOUS digs, on a hilltop overlooking all the "playas" "beaches"of Tamarindo. I can't post any pics because of my usual storage problems. F<$$?!$&&!!! Mañana!

We hope to get a r...e...a...l...l...y good night's sleep tonight. The first night in La Sámara we had that damn rooster! The second night Louise could smell woodsmoke, when we went to bed. So could I, and my sense of smell is poor, so you can imagine how STRONG it was. The turistas next door in the AirBnb had made a campfire on the beach, and gone to bed without putting it out. Louise was so concerned that embers would set our little casita on fire, and we would burn up quickly because everthing is SO dry. Honestly, her mind goes a mile a minute ALL the time. I figured that effin rooster would wake us up in time, if the place were on fire.

The third night, when the rooster started to CROW (because he would start around 3:00 am),  a S-K-U-N-K  got scared, SPRAYED and THAT smell woke us up!! HOWEVER, it DID shut the rooster up, so thank goodness for small mercies. Furthermore, new arrivals in the casita in front of us, partied hardy quite late, to boot!!  We had little to no sleep.

Our fourth and last night, the smell of marijuana wafted through the open beamed ceiling/roof of our casita. Of ALL the odours and smells our olfactory senses were teased and tormented with these last
four nights, I have to admit this one was THE least offensive. We fell asleep on a high! LOL

PVCR-Day 8: I COULDN'T get my hands on a gun...

but I got the NEXT best thing! Hermanita (aka Lou, Loulou, Louise,my sister) gave me a pair of earplugs! They worked really well!  Either that or SOMEONE else got a hold of the rooster.😉  We barely heard him.

Those ear plugs worked a heck of a lot better than the mosquito netting. I felt cocooned under it, but I have MORE bites. Tis to be expected, and I am okay with that as long as whatever bit me does NOT lay eggs. GROSS EH?

Today was a total beach day, as you saw from my picture posting on FB.  Not missing the German bakery truck was OUR biggest challenge of the day.

We have been hanging out with Sara, the owner. She calls us her "Canadian Chicas Vivas", which means her "Wild Canadian Girls!"  Geez Louise! I would hate to see quiet Canadian girls; they must be quasi comatose.  It IS true that we are a bit lively, plus we are always arguing as only sisters can.  Besides, everyone loves Canadians.  Though again, as soon as anyone hears us speaking French, "Québec? Montreal?"  Then we have to give them a geography and history lesson, from 1755 to the present. LOL

We walked into Samara yesterday, to do a bit of shopping and join our Canadian Albertan neighbours in the Casita behind us, for supper.  The cutie red haired Swiss girl tending the shop told us it had  hit 39 degrees in town in the afternoon. We found it incredibly HOT yesterday, and we were by the water ALL day!  Tomorrow promises to be another scorcher.

I didn't do my job yesterday... walk Jojo.  I was just too tired, too lazy and it was too hot.  I understand now why life is at such a s...l...o...w...e...r  pace here. You just can't move as fast, nor accomplish AS many things.  I could be quite the SLOTH if I lived in Costa Rica.

It was our FIRST evening out AFTER DARK!!! IMAGINE!!!  AT our Italian restaurant, Lou called our waiter a "Fabio" lookalike, until we found out his name was Mateo.  It was a good meal, and such fun to be dining with Dave and Carole from Edmonton.  We had to be careful though, when it came to discussing politics. They liked STEPHEN HARPER!  Enough said!

On Lou's bill, she was incorrectly charged for two glasses of wine, and I too was charged incorrectly for one, that neither of us had ORDERED. We deduced that Mateo was either smarter or dumber than he looked! It all depends on how you look at it.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt ... an honest mistake. YOU CAN really get away with anything when you are young and handsome!

We had a marvelous walk back along the beach, which was virtually deserted. Dave and Carole went back to their patio for a nightcap, and I WENT SKINNY DIPPING in the Pacific.  It was almost a full moon, and Lou kept lookout.  IT WAS TOTALLY WONDERFUL!! Another item OFF my bucket list!!

Hasta mañana amigos!

PS:  I love to stay connected when I travel.  To you, the faithful readers of my blog and those who comment on pictures, thank you SO MUCH! I ❤️ having you along with me on this journey.

DAY 7: I GOT A JOB!

It is only walking Sara's dog, Jojo, the cutest beach mutt. Sara is the owner of Las DIVAZ Casitas, and she is a TOTAL firecracker! I have met my twin. I am worming my way into her good graces so that maybe she will help find me a real job here next winter. My title was what we call a "hook".  Did I hook you? LOL

This place is divine! We are right on the Pacific and it is as beautiful as I remember it in San Francisco.  Sara is from Boston and has owned this place for over fifteen years.  It caters to adults and the gay community.  Right now, there is only another Canadian couple here from Edmonton, Dave and Carol.  This is how SMALL Costa Rica is. I mentioned to Sara that I had visited the Caribbean side of this gorgeous country, five years ago with a girlfriend from Montroeal. When I said we stayed at the Banana Azul, she said "Colin's place?"  When I replied with surprise, that "Yes, he was a Canadian from Vancouver, no longer with his partner", she added "No, they are back together!"
That is so cool!

We had our guest beer from Sara on the beach at sunset yesterday, around 6:00. It gets dark early in Costa Rica.  Sara is very straight forward about informing us of all the good and the bad of this beach town. Louise said, laughingly, after, in our little casita, "She is trying to terrorize us!"   I am not that easily terrorized. Just don't go on the beach after dark. Don't flaunt your stuff either!

There are lots of bugs and insects here.  I have a few good welts, but nothing major.

Yesterday, while enjoying a wonderful lunch on the beach, who should go by but Alex, one of our French friends, from the bus floor party. We hailed her and she stopped to have a chat with us.

I wish I could have gotten my hands on a gun this morning, to KILL that FRIGGIN' rooster that started crowing at 4:00 AM. He crowed until 6:00 am!  By that time, I had to get up for my job: I had to take that cutie Jojo for his walk on the beach at 6:30. She was waiting for me outside on the patio. We did a 4 km walk, and I managed to jog one of those kilometres. She be warm boy! That's what they would say in NFLD!  36 DEGREES Celsius is a regular day here.

Sara took us along with her to the local market this morning, then to run a few errands, so now we are totally free to relax, swim, soak up the sun, drink "cervelas"  = Imperial Silver, walk up and down the beach, eat, chat and really, do absolutely NOTHING much.  MARAVILLOSO!

This place is totally FUNKY in its decore.  I will post some pictures later. My phone has gone on strike and refuses to let me take more than half a dozen pictures, before telling me my storage is full!  ARRGH!!!!

So, if I don't blog for the rest of the week, until we leave Friday, you will know it is because there is nothing going on.  UNLESS, of COURSE, I get my hands on a gun, and/or that ROOSTER!!!

Louise just screamed! She was surprised by a BIG lizard. :)

Day 6: What a difference a day makes!

TO YOUR HEALTH:  As soon as I got off the plane in San Jose, my sinusitis disappeared.  Just like that!  It is so wonderful to feel wonderful again!  Pura Vida Costa Rica!  Lou is still coughing but she says she is getting better.

TO YOUR LIFESTYLE: We left our quite luxurious accommodations at Ti-fakara Lodge, to move into a very humble Air BnB room with a typical Tico family.  The eighteen year old daughter, who runs the listing for her parents, was leaving TODAY, to go study English for three months in Tampa. She was a real little sweetie.  There was a big party last night celebrating her departure, so Lou and I didn't get to spend much time with the family.  I wouldn't have understood a word- with all of them chatting. Come to think of it, they were just like our loud, Acadian families when we get together! Ah.... we Latinos!

TO YOUR COMFORT ZONE: Dare I use those words? We slept with the windows open, because we couldn't close one of them. We needed the natural air conditioning.  Lou went to close the curtain and the whole thing came tumbling down.  I laughed!We got it back up, while stumbling around in the dark.  We didn't want to put the lights on and let more bugs in.  NO mosquito netting! We were really roughing it.  For sure Lou was WAY out of her comfort zone, but she NEVER complained.  She took it all in for the unique, but NEVER to be
REPEATED, experience that it was.

TO THE TOPOGRAPHY: We are on our way in a private shuttle, with our driver Horacio and three young Canadian graduating students from Toronto, to La Sámara, a beach enclave. Can't wait! We meet Canadians everywhere. They got a 400$ flight with Delta, direct to Liberia. SWEETER deal than ours, and an even sweeter graduation gift! I flew standby to Toronto to visit friends, WHEN I graduated from UNB.

 We have left behind the humidity, the rain forest with its gorgeous flora and fauna, for the dryer land and blue coastal vistas of the Pacific Ocean.

Thanks to all of mi hermana's hard work, research and preparation, we are getting every
thing in the way Ticos refer to as: BUENO, BONITA, Y BARATO!! Good, pretty and cheap!

Furthermore,I wrote this entire blog in the SHUTTLE! It has WIFI!  How S-W-E-E-E-E-T is that?

Day 5: GOOD THINGS TO KNOW ...

when traveling in Costa Rica!  This is my second visit to this beautiful country, so I feel that I am a TOTAL expert. LOL

There are NO facecloths in most hotels, B& Bs, etc. Bring one from home.

Toilet paper is paper thin. Double up if you don't want to be surprised.

Get used to birds flying into open living areas, like lobbies, and making themselves at home in every way.  THEY don't need toilet paper.

Cleanliness is NOT cleanliness by North American standards, so DON't freak out IF your bed isn't made every day, nor your floor swept, nor your wine glasses replaced...LET IT GO!

Roads are narrow and people are crazy drivers, especially taxi drivers.  Be prepared for many near misses, and lots of gasps from fellow passengers.

Make an effort to say a few words in Spanish. A few words go a long way, toward building a bond with these wonderful Ticos. (Costa Ricans are called Ticos.)

Say "PURA VIDA" to locals. It means "Pure Life", but it is their COUNTRY' S slogan, their branding of their country.  It doubles for "Enjoy your day; have a great day; Hello; Goodbye; Thank you; You are welcome." They will smile and answer back "Pura Vida." The letter v is pronounced like the letter "b."

Nicaragua is a very poor neighbouring country.  Many Nicaraguans come to Costa Rica to work in the service industry.  So don't be afraid to tip a dollar or a 500 colones (roughly one $US).  You get a beautiful smile EVERY TIME!!

Try to figure out how the money works as quickly as possible.  Use $US as much as possible, and your credit cards.  Bring lots of one dollar bills.  550 colones is one US$ so if you aren't too good with mental math, you may have trouble dealing with the fact that 10,000 colones is $24.50 Canadian.  200,000 colones can cost you $480 Canadian dollars at the ATM. Hard to wrap your head around some of this math.

Get OUT of your comfort zone .... explore..... do things you have never done before.... go for the gusto...

On a final note, for all of you who have seen videos, read postings, and my blog, I want to get ONE THING STRAIGHT!  I AM not TERRORIZING my sister!!!!  😉☺😀

PVCR: Day 4

Oh what a night!  I never slept a wink. Neither did Louise. Maybe we  were too strung out from our hike?

We found out today that the CERRO CHATO TRAIL was CLOSED TODAY by the federal government of Costa Rica. Why? Because it is too dangerous!!!!! Where the trail starts there is a hotel, and a reception area where you pay. We didn't know it wasn't regulated. The trail itself is in a national park, but when the government tried to build a safe trail to the crater (green lake), the owner of the green lake, destroyed the hanging bridges. Can you believe it? The owner of the crater, has people selling this trail as a tour, when he really has no right.  He never maintained CERRO Chato, and was just interested in making money off unsuspecting tourists, like us. All the hotel owners and tourism people here are very glad that the government has shut him down. So we have the dubious distinction of having been pretty much the LAST tourists to go up CERRO  CHATO!!! Can we pick 'em or what?

So what did we do today? We are aching from our heads to our toes. I feel like I have been in a school yard fight. We went on ANOTHER hike after breakfast, which was however, much less arduous, must safer and very well maintained. We went to the Mystical Hanging Bridges National Park, near the Arenal Volcano.  Louise was terrified at first of these high, swinging bridges, but she got used to THEM.  We had a wonderful taxi driver, Jesus, take us there and back, while we had a leisurely three kilometre stroll through the rain forest, with MORE waterfalls, and where we saw all kinds of flore and fauna. IT was incredibly beautiful.

I have just had the BEST chicken quesadillas EVER, next door to our lodge, where we had a great chat with Alonso, our waiter, and where Louise fed half of her gigantic plate of nachos to me and the resident dog, Atmos.  Dos cervezas mas tardes ... two beer later, I am ready for a siesta.

It will be an evening spent relaxing around the pool, and to bed early. Tomorrow we move into La Fortuna, where we will spend ONE night with a REAL Costa Rican family. HOW FAR OUT OF LOUISE'S comfort ZONE do you think that will be?


Hasta mañana muchachos.

PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - DAY 3

I started off my day with a visit from Lola, who came to see me as soon as I sat down at our patio table at 7:00 am. No doubt looking for food, but I didn't have any.  As I am writing this, now, almost ten hours later,  she is back and trying to eat the bracelet I tore off, and left on the table,  from one of our outings today. We have ordered in pizza so maybe we will share with Lola. She EATS anything, our cutie concierge Julissa tells us. Her favourite is yogurt and granola. Am I repeating myself?  I did indulge in a bit of wine last night.  Poor Lola has trouble flying; her claws are damaged, so she doesn't get around easily. She poses for the camera, I swear to God!

Ten hours later I AM a total wreck today!  Physically that is. I have war wounds to prove it.

Hermanita and I were up EARLY and on the road by 8:30, hiking up to the Rio Fortuna Catarata, with its 500 steps down, and 500 back. Worth it totally!!  She will post awesome pictures.

When we returned to our Lodge, we met a couple from Quebec. They heard us speaking English and then switching to French, which we do all the time. They were amazed and we struck up a conversation.  So we ended up going on a super challenging hike, called CERRO CHATO, with them. I will leave Louise to tell her story, but suffice to say, I DID it, but it was tough.  Some young folks we met, told me I was amazing. That made MY DAY! Again, I was the oldest person on that trek, JUST like on The Fundy Footpath.

I fell coming down, three times, when the going was the easiest. Go figure!  Anyway, it was very challenging, but worth the four hours invested. We met Canadians from NS, more Québécois, Germans, Americans, Spaniards, you name it. Costa Rica is an international destination.

I am going to sign off. Lola is at my right elbow, and I can't type. If she wants your attention, she will peck at you with her beak. NOW she is perched on the back of my chair, the scamp!!

Hasta mañana!  Signing off from another day in paradise.  I will post pictures separately from my blog. I can't insert any here from my IPad or IPhone.  Mierda!

PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - DAY 2

There is good Karma and bad Karma.  We have had NOTHING but good. However, we know some who have had BAD, already.

Hermanita and I were up fairly early, after a good sleep of about seven hours. We had some problems heading out, in our taxi, to the local bus terminal, to catch a bus to Lafortuna.  THE DRIVER didn't KNOW WHERE the terminal was. Obviously, why would he? He drives a taxi for a living. We couldn't get the money we needed out of the ATM machine. The cab driver Miguel, was sweet.  Hit on me! How desperate are these Costa Rican men?  Ladies beware of that expression " Muy bonita!"

We found the bus terminal, and immediately met six Maritimers - a Newfie, four nurses from Halifax, and the Newfie's partner, from Ontario originally. Total GABFEST!!

The bus finally arrived. I went to board, but the driver said I had to check my backpack, though he let all the SWEET things on with their pack backs.  Age discrimination? LOL It didn't help that I didn't have it on my back, either. I was lugging it by the handle. Stupidity!!!

By the time I got back on the bus, there were no seats.  I sat on the floor, where a wheelchair would be, switching up with Hermanita now and then.  There is NO chivalry in Costa Rica. This older woman got on the bus. No one gave her their seat. We started to climb in the mountains, and when it got really dangerous, with winding roads, I was seated then. I gave her my seat.  They just kept letting people on at every stop, even though it was STANDING ROOM!  That poor woman would have gone tumbling down the aisle, for sure.

Anyway, I must have shamed one man at least, because the next elderly lady that gone on, he gave her his seat.

We spent over four hours on that bus, but you know what? We met these two sweetie French girls from Paris, Élodie and Virginie. They are going to come visit us in New Brunswick!! We had the greatest conversations, seated on the floor of that bus.  I also met Maria, from Bavaria and another Parisian Alex, traveling solo, after Élodie and Virginie got a seat.

Two German girls who never looked up from their seats, never smiled and never said a word, were missing a backpack at the end of the trip.  Karma?  They had put it up on the rack, and it looks like a local took off with it when no one was looking. Qué lastima!  Too bad.... so sad!

We are at a wonderful Air BnB where we have already met the local pet, a parrot called Lola! She has us eating out of her hand, as she eats out of ours!

I have just finished playing the "throw the water bottle" with Estevan and Frank, the two little boys of the owners of this establishment. Estevan won! He is seven and speaks a little bit of English. Too cute!!!

Bonne nuit tout le monde! Buenos noches a todos!

PS:  Getting the money straight is SO hard.  Hermanita tried to pay the taxi driver $30 for a $7 cab drive. Bless his heart. He was honest and told us. His name is Sterling! How apropos!!! We are going to be calling on Sterling to take us everywhere, while we are in La Fortuna.

PPS: Did I mention that our bedroom has a balcony overlooking the Areanal Volcano? More pictures tomorrow. Mañana amigos!

PPS: Living "La vita dolce" - Italian for "Living the Sweet Life!"

PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - DAY ONE ... FINALE

After 21 hours of traveling, we made it safe and sound to our Air BNB, not far from the airport.  Life is good.  We are tired, but all went well, and we are in for a good night's sleep, we hope, before we head out for the first leg of our trip... destination La Fortuna, in the rainforest, near the Arenal Volcano.

Hasta mañana!  À demain!

PURA VIDA COSTA RICA - Departure! DÉPART!

Freezing rain! School is cancelled, AGAIN!  Hermanita and I are seated in the lounge of MasterCard World Elite, in MONTREAL. Do I have a horseshoe up my "you-know-what?" LUCKY! LUCKY! LUCKY!

We got out of Bathurst in the nick of time. It had just snowed... no freezing rain had yet started when we left at 5:50 am. Come to think of it, my travel woes occur when I want to get BACK to the North Shore, NOT when I want to leave.

My "hermanita" ( little sister) sent me a text earlier in the week. "No hairspray, no gel, no brush, no makeup."  Guess who has eyeliner and lipstick on at 3:30 this morning. PAS MOI!

So, we aren't at destination yet, BUT we have much better options to go further, here in La Belle Province.

¡Hasta luego!  À la prochaine!