My Blog Has Moved

Thank you for stopping in to see what has been happening with our
tropical retirement in beautiful Costa Rica! 

Please visit my new blog about life here in Serenity Gardens EcoVillage
at www.serenitygardensecovillage.org  Look along the top for the "BLOG" button.

 

If this is your first visit here, be sure to scroll through here first, tons on great pics and stories.  Then visit Serenity Gardens EcoVillage through the new blog at

www.serenitygardensecovillage.org

Look along the top for the "BLOG" button. 

 

 Our Costa Rica Life in Pictures

Almost everyone that visits Costa Rica wants to see a sloth.  Unless you visit an animal sanctuary, you can't be sure to see one.  But they do pop up along the road ways, in the roads, crawling along wires above the roads, hanging from trees, etc.  When we walk along the jungle trails through our village, I just know they are out there looking at me but I can't see them.    Here is a series of pics of John helping one little guy get across the road.  (It is highly unlikely you see sloths hit by cars, almost EVERYBODY stops to help sloths across the roads.)

John is getting brave; this day he decided just to pick up the sloth crossing the road.

 

 Here it appears John is playing with the little guy.

 

"Lets you and me go for a walk."

 

Safely across the road and now back on his merry way.

 

On a recent outing with friends, they took us to this is a beautiful restaurant.  Amazing views! 

 

 

From both sides of the restaurant, you can see the Pacific Ocean.

  On one side is a peaceful cove with many fishing boats.

 

 

The view out the other side of the restaurant is a beach shoreline of the Pacific. 

Come visit us and I will make sure you get to visit this gorgeous place.

 

 

Red Legged Honey Creeper

Heliconias are very easy to grow in the tropics and a favorite of hummingbirds.
  I have one variety and have been so impressed with its growth
 I am will be searching out two new colors and styles.   

Feburary 2016 in Beautiful Costa Rica

News from Serenity Gardens EcoVillage

Look closely and you can see my head near the falls.

 

Several of us women have started going to the local river swimming pool with a beautiful waterfall. I go for exercise and a nice time to spend with our new neighbors. If I swim against the waterfall current, it is like a jet to hold me in place like a lap pool. It is so very refreshing and great exercise.

 

The local Ticos also swim at the river swimming hole.  They have always been friendly and want to share anything they can be it food or swim goggles.  Pictured here are a group of kids with me. 

 

While at the river, I saw all these  colorful “tall” dragonflies on a rock. After I took pictures and could see the pictures up close, we discovered it really was dragonflies mating. If you look closely there is a head at the top and also near the rock, two dragonflies!  The picture doesn't show their true colors though, the long bodies are iridescent bright blue and top head it bright shiny orange. 

 

 

What a huge surprise to get a mail delivery on our mountain! We didn't think mail could reach us here. Costa Rica is notorious for not using addresses so we have used a mail forwarding company for 2 years and recently rented a PO box in San Isidro. Much to our surprise Aldemar showed up with mail for John from US Dept. of Social Security. Guess if Uncle Sam wants to find someone, they will! Even on a remote mountain in Central America.

The Crested Guan is a native bird to Costa Rica but we had a special one visit our village. One day it showed up at Aldemar's house sitting on top of his truck. Her next stop was Mike's chicken pen, finding her way to the food. Mike named her Gwen (haha Mike-Guan, get it?) as she stayed around enjoying Mike's company and the chickens (and the food!) Pretty soon she was visiting more families in the village making a name for herself. Wildlife and nature in Costa Rica is extraordinary.

 

 

In this picture you can see Gwen's crest on her head.

  John said she would flare up her crest if he got too close.

 

Some of our friends back in Michigan were worried that Costa Rica's perpetual summer would get boring for us. Looking “Autumn like” at times; this picture is of our yard maintenance guy, Victor, raking up our leaves a couple weeks ago. It really isn't “fall” here but what Ticos call "verano" or “summer”, the dry season. Trees drop their leaves at odd times of the year but rarely do you see a tree bare for long. Often times within 2 weeks of a full drop, new leaves are reappearing while other trees never loose all their leaves at one time but drop continually throughout the year. Although it feels like summer 365 days, for the observant person there are distinct changes throughout the year that are fascinating to discover.

 

International life

Since moving to Costa Rica we have had opportunities we wouldn't have experienced in our former lives. Costa Rica attracts people from all over the world so we have had the joy of meeting people with fascinating stories to tell. This is in addition to the joy of meeting Ticos and spending time with them, and learning about their wonderful country and many of their traditions.

We met an older guy from war-torn Poland who escaped from Poland with his young pregnant wife by hiding on top of coal cars at the start of WW11. It was fascinating to listen to his stories of those many years trying to survive. After a lovely dinner he entertained us with his homeland music on his accordion.

One day a young German couple stopped by and wondered if we had coffee, guess they were really tired hiking on our jungle trails, mountain roads and river walks.  We were just starting to have dinner so invited them for a meal.  I loved hearing their stories!  They were young adults back when the Berlin Wall was torn down allowing East and West Germany to reunite. They each had their own version of what it was like during that tumultuous time. Her family, who were against communism, sat crying for joy while watching the news event unfold on TV. But 'His' family, who supported communism, was terrified of what life had in store for them. Who would have thought I would be able to sit down at my table and hear about what it was like to live through this history making event firsthand?

 

We had the pleasure of staying with some new friends,

 Bob and Ione, in a lovely place called Hills of Portalon.

 

Bob and Ione came to Costa Rica 20 years ago and had amazing stories of what it was like to move to Costa Rica back then. No electricity or phones where they built a house in the southern zone, roads were atrocious and life totally different than now.  Although John and I might seem adventurous to some of you, would we have been able to move in such conditions?  Moving here with internet, better roads, electricity and even smart phones sure made the move easier than they experienced. 

 

Portalon is a bit lower elevation than our village and warmer,

so the pool is always a comfortable temperature and very inviting for a nighttime swim.

  That tiny white dot was actually a big moon!

Pineapple

We have never eaten so many “pinas” as we do now. We use about 3 pineapples a week and each top I put in the ground so it will grow a new pina for us. Many neighbors do the same, so we have hundreds of pinas growing in our village!  At this elevation it will take about 18 months to get a pineapple ready to harvest, at lower elevations where it is warmer, about 1 year.   After that first harvest, if the plant remains in the ground it will grow a new pina for next year.

Kumquat

From the citrus family, kumquats are very tasty and make a refreshing drink. Some cultivators are sweet enough to eat the whole fruit, peel and all; while others are best used for juice or in dishes.

 

Bananas

We have bananas galore here in Serenity, called bananos in Spanish.

  Our own rack of bananos are just about ready to harvest from our front yard.

Living in Costa Rica has enriched our lives beyond what I ever thought possible. What a fascinating life for the encore of our lives.   

Hola from Costa Rica 2016

I have a cute winter decoration of 4 snowmen playing that sits out now to remind me that it truly is winter in my home state of Michigan. I Love Michigan, but got to say, I sure don't miss the cold and ice.  I look at snow at little different. Snow has a beauty like no other but living without being cold and trying to navigate ice...blessing!

Lindsay, Dan, John and Lauren

Our daughter Lindsay, our son-in-law Dan along with two friends, Lauren and John, came to visit us a week in December. From all reports, they love Costa Rica and now can comprehend our desire to spend retirement here. Dan would like to come to live here but finances will keep them working in Oregon. A Gringo can't work here at traditional jobs. Jobs are saved for Costa Ricans or Gringos that have put in the years to obtain a cedula and permission to work.  Yes, we refer to ourselves as Gringos and Gringas, easier than to say Norte Americanos. 

 

They rented a car to come down to the Southern Zone. Nothing like a car for freedom and ease to experience the beauty on a trip along the Pacific coastline. On a trip to the south you go through mountainous areas with vistas of great beauty, sleepy beach and coastal towns, miles and miles of palm fruit plantations, the unsurpassed beauty of southern Pacific coast and finally the thrill of 4 wheeling through the jungle up our mountain to get to our house.

 

 Southern Pacific Coastline

Southern Pacific Beach, not far from our home.

  It is not unusual for nearby beaches to be very quiet with few people. 

Next time Dan and Lindsay come to visit, Lindsay said she wants to arrive before Feria/Farmers Market day so she can pick out all the fabulous produce they will eat that week. I did have tons of produce at home for them, but she wants the fun of shopping la feria herself. Going to the San Isidro la feria is an adventure that shouldn't be missed. Almost every week we get to shop directly from the farmers at the market, 95% of our food comes directly from la feria.  Here in Serenity we also have 2 food trucks that will bring produce to your door.  We can even have pizza delivered now!  Pretty amazing! 

 

 

"Daniel meet Daniel", one of our favorite market friends at la feria

 

 

 

 

 

 In the Southern Zone, rivers abound.  Lindsay and Dan on a jungle river walk.

 

 

 

We have numerous waterfalls to enjoy 

 

Our Christmas celebrations consisted of a progressive dinner here in our village, it was a beautiful "summer" day and much fun.  We were also invited to our friend Christian Arce's parent's home on Christmas Eve day. Christmas Eve day is their biggest celebration day for Christmas. After the traditional Costa Rican meal they set up the rancho for their traditional tamale making. This is a huge family festivity in Costa Rica; most Ticos make tamales for Christmas.

In Costa Rica instead of corn husks as wrappers for tamales (like in Mexico) they use banana leaves. All the ingredients are lined up, the family members have their special position and down the line the banana leaves are passed with each person adding their ingredients, until the final job of tying up the little package with string. When 2 tamales are tied together it is called a “Pina”; which is strange because “pina” is Spanish for pineapple. Chris couldn't tell me why this 2 tamale-package is called “pina”. Papa had a wood fire going to cook the tamales outside in a huge kettle of boiling water.  Our tico friends were practically drooling to eat those tamales!

University of Michigan Bird, just the perfect colors.  Actually it is a male Spot Crowned Euphonia.

 

Praying Mantis

Insects in Costa Rica take on a look we are not familiar with, especially growing to humongous sizes.

 

Ox Carts and Oxen are a special part of Costa Rican culture

 and often they take part of parades and special events

Happy New Year to all our family and friends.  We love you and miss you all.  But don't hold your breath waiting for us to return, we are very happy in Costa Rica! 

 

 

Driver's License and Orosi Valley

We just got back from a nice little trip to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, to get our first Costa Rican driver's licenses. Now that we are official residents we are required to get a CR drivers license. Up to now we have been driving on our Michigan licenses. The process became a two day ordeal, not surprising to anyone knowledgeable with CR government red tape. Day one we were turned away because of a change in the way they count days from the last passport entry stamp. Day two, started out in the morning but it wasn't until 2:30pm we were proud owners of Costa Rican licenses. And this was with hiring our attorney's office to escort us and help us through the maze!! Getting through any process involving the Costa Rican government can be incredibly time consuming. Now just another 1.5 hours just to get out of town! Going to San Jose is not on our list of things we love about Costa Rica! The traffic is horrendous.

 

Orosi Valley, Costa Rica

 

Since we were already “up north” we planned a side trip for several days to Orosi Valley. Actually Orosi Valley is about in the middle of the country. We had visited Orosi Valley during our first trip to Costa Rica and I was anxious to go back to this lovely valley. At 4000 feet above sea level, the temperatures in Orosi are mild, humidity low and the beauty outstanding. I had hoped to see Turrialba volcano blow off some steam while there but nope, no go. Turriable blew two days before we arrived, bummer. Turrialba is a safe 40+ miles away from the valley. “See a volcano blow” is still on my bucket list.

We made reservations at a villa with beautiful botanical gardens surrounding it. The day before we left San Jose we got a surprise email telling us they were so sorry they accidentally double booked our villa and we would have to spend one night at nearby a Rio Perlas Hot Springs Resort; which they would pay for. Oh, what a sacrifice we made enjoying the hot springs!

 

Rio Perlas Hot Springs Resort

 

 

Staircase outside our room 

 

Rio Perlas Hot Springs Resort

After dinner we walked through beautiful landscaped walkways to the warm pool of mineral water. As we are swimming and floating in the bathwater temperature pool, dark descends with palms trees and tropical plants all beautifully lit with mood lighting. I marveled at our good fortune of living such an amazing life as I peacefully floated on my back looking up to the stars. AHHHH!!!  We are soooo blessed! 

In Orosi Valley are two of Costa Rica's oldest churches. Iglesia de San Jose Orosi built in 1743 is still still an active Catholic church in the lovely valley town of Orosi.   Ruinas de Ujarras (ruins of a church in Ujarras dating back to the 1600s), was damaged by a flood that caused the whole town to become deserted.

Iglesia de San Jose Orosi

 



Ruinas de Ujarras

The town of Orosi is on the south side of a large lake created by a dam & hydroelectric facility. The colorful valley, surrounded by beautiful mountains, is full of friendly Ticos and abundant produce grown right in the valley. If coming to Costa Rica, Orosi Valley is a great place to visit.

 I don't know bird

 Yes, Costa Rica has deer but no hunting allowed

 

 

Scarlet Mcaws can be such hams

Love to watch the geckos

 



 

Loved our trip, but good to be back home

 

Tomorrow, Thursday, back to our routine;

Shopping day at the San Isidro Feria (farmer's market)

Mini-Vaca from Our Perpetual Vacation

Since our residency has been held up for 19 months now, we still need to leave the country every 90 days to keep our driver's licenses and car insurance valid. According to immigration we have been excepted into their system but the arm of the government that controls motor vehicles sees things different than immigration. Panama is only a 3 hour drive south of where we live in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica so naturally we choose Panama for border runs. The northern border is Nicaragua and many people visit that country but for us that would be too many hours away.

Similar to Costa Rica, Panama has something blooming all the time.

  Bougainvillea are incredibly common.

During our other Panama border runs we walked over the border, just stayed for a few hours and then came back. But we wanted to see some of Panama and do some duty free shopping in the city of David. Great shopping and lower prices than here; we can each bring back $500.00 of goods duty free. Panama uses US dollars as currency and it was funny when we got back my mind thought something so very odd, “Oh, we can stop using those dollars now and go back to common currency.” How very strange for me to briefly think that. Obviously I have become comfortable with colones, Costa Rica's currency.

In order to take a car out of Costa Rica you must apply for permission beforehand so the week before we stand in a long line to get this special paper, Check. Then at the border we check out and then go to another building to check our car out, Check.  Now off to Panama. Check into Panama, hand the guy all the car paperwork along with our passports and immigration papers, Check. We get all our paperwork handed back to us and the agent says we are good to go.

After finally getting across the border we had a long drive through mountains without much in directions and no GPS or Waze on a phone. We don't have phone service to use Waze because we can't find the right SIM card in the little mountain towns. So we guess our way through the mountains to the Calderas with a paper map, matching up what we see with the squiggles on the map and no road signs. Getting lost isn't hard, Panama has very little in road signs; seems to be a common theme in Central America. After getting detained by the military for a traffic stop for about 20 minutes and then getting lost a bit we finally arrive at the B&B after dark but just in time for dinner put on by our hosts. Nice!  

We stayed at a B&B in the Caldera mountains; lovely views with mountains a bit lower than those in Costa Rica and where we live. We had a great stay with an older couple and their visiting adult daughters. Their daughters are 30 & 26, both are US citizens, but they have chosen to live in the tropics on a 65 foot sailboat, chartering vacationers around the warm waters of Central America. It was all very interesting. Glad we got to hear every one's stories and see a beautiful area of Panama.  

 

Cows and Horses were the welcoming committee at the B&B we stayed at in the Calderas.

 

 Sunset mountain view at the B&B
 

Views from B&B veranda

  

Our first full day at the B&B we went sight seeing in Boquete.   Boquete is a town set in a mountain valley; made popular by International Living and AARP naming it as a top Expat retirement city. It reminded me of a tourist area in the US; very cute, lots of boutiques, restaurants and other tourist type businesses. As we sat at a restaurant, I could see Gringo after Gringo drive by, very obvious to spot Gringos.

 Bouqete...a lovely mountain town in Panama, very popular with Expats.

 

 

Sights driving through the mountains of Bouqete. 

 House is abandon but still has beauty that just beckons for a picture.
 

 Strange rock formation, popular with the locals for a family outing to climb the rock wall.

 

Farming on a mountain side, very typical in Panama and Costa Rica.

  They do an amazing job carving out areas to farm. 

 

Amaryllis are common, growing in borders all over the place, in many colors and sizes.

Our third day was set aside for shopping. Pretty cool shopping in Panama's city of David, especially after living in CR for 1 ½ years. One 'Do-It' Hardware was so huge and extensive it was like a major department store! Nothing like that around here in the Southern Zone of CR, even in the bigger city of San Isidro. One must go up north to Central Valley in Costa Rica to see those types of stores. 

Now for our trip back across the border to get back home. We get up early on our 4th day and get a great start. After driving for almost 2 hours, we get stopped by the first check point as we approach the border. Oh Boy! We are missing a paper, it was supposed to be issued by the Panama immigration agent when we first crossed the border into Panama.  After waiting 2 hours on the side of the road, we are introduced to a police officer who was sent to pick us up and drive us all the way back to David and impound our car with an appointment for the next morning to review our case. This is not looking good at all. We have heard crossing the border without the proper paperwork can be very costly in not only money but can take weeks to get your car back. One case we heard of the guy had to hire an attorney and didn't get his car for almost a month.

So our car goes through the gate, the police officer allows us to take out our suitcases when I say, “Ropa?” and pull on my clothes, and shows us to the gate. What?!?! John and I don't know where we are, we don't even know how to flag down a taxi (well, I have seen it done in movies, we truly are country people who always drive their own car.) If we were to stop a taxi not only can we not speak Spanish very well but we don't even know where to tell the driver to take us! But we have a very nice policeman who takes pity on us. I point to him and make a motion of him driving our car (pretend stirring wheel pantomime), he smiles and says, “Si”. He drives our car and takes us to a decent hotel and even goes to the front desk for us. Then he tells us he will come back for us at 8am in the morning. Whew! This is good because we have no idea where we are supposed to be for this morning appointment.

Our car in Jail.

The impound lot in Panama.

The policemen arrives at the hotel at 7:40am, we get a call from the front desk that the police are there for us (that is a very strange statement to us “never been arrested in my whole life” people) and when I see the officer at the front desk I give him a hug. I can't tell you how relived we are to see him because we couldn't get a single piece of paper as proof that they impounded our car and all its contents from our shopping spree in David.  Surprisingly we did sleep that night but it still was a relief to see that guy!

BUT...it took almost 8 hours to process our paperwork! I think that long wait is part of our punishment, along with having to sit in a 62 degree over air-conditioned room as torture. Finally as their workday comes to a close they have our little bit of paperwork completed and we get to pay a $250.00 fine and other legal costs. We politely argue this isn't fair, their agent said we were good to go and sent us on our way, we clearly don't know all the paperwork we should have received, blah blah blah, and finally just pay it so we can go home!  We now know what paperwork we were missing and it won't happen again.  And if any you out there need help so this doesn't happen to you, just drop me a line.   micasamontana@gmail.com

After waiting another half hour to get our car key we are sprung! Yahoo!

And when we finally get across the Costa Rica border, a triple Yahoo! We are home baby! Well, we still have 3 hours of driving ahead of us but we are HOME!! Oh what a relief it is!

BTW...as we are driving and I am feeling 'Gee, I want to be home so bad I don't think I even want to go to the farmers market this week', John informs me we will be going back in 6 months...he really liked the shopping! Who are you and where did you put my husband?!