We've Changed Our Ways....

Bill & I are both early people.  We get up early and get started on the day early.  Neither of us are procrastinators, so things that need done are usually finished as well.  We still are getting up early and doing whatever needs to be done here at this condo...  but...  the walks to town in the morning have become late afternoon walks.

It's just too hot to be walking on hot asphalt in the heat of the day.  And now, the heat of the day comes earlier and earlier....  especially if there's no breeze to move the air some.

Yesterday we delayed our walk until afternoon....  the sun had actually gone down enough by 3pm to provide some shade along our dusty road.  And by the time we walked home it was almost cool.  Well, that's stretching it a bit, but....  it sure was cooler.

Greg and Francine have been our neighbors across the road since our first day here.  They're a delightful couple from Niagara Falls, Ontario and we've become friends over the weeks.  They've had a lot of guests from home so we've seldom had more than a short visit together.

Today we decided to head into town and have dinner together.  So...  around 5pm we headed into Coco.  It's kind of a narrow road, but we're all used to it...  and while we pretty much walk single file, we still had time to talk all the way to town.

Of course we had to walk across the Rickety Bridge....  

This Great Egret was strutting its stuff...  even as the sun was casting long shadows....

And just beyond the bridge, where the chickens run loose...

The roosters and chickens had all gone to roost in the rafter of this old bar.

Colorful, aren't they?

We headed to Greg's favorite bar and each had a drink while deciding where to go for dinner.  As we'd walked up the street, Nelson, the guy who's always hustling customers stopped us to tell us the special of the night.  Sounded good, but Greg and Francine had told us about La Cog, a Mediterranean restaurant on the main street.  That's where we headed....

It's a tiny place...  the "kitchen" is barely 8'x8'.....  with seating either at the counter or along the rail.  The whole restaurant is barely 12' x 12'.  But the young man and woman who own/run the place have a fairly diverse menu...  and they work well together in such a small space.

Three of us ordered Mera Mera...  spelling may be wrong...  but it was a tortilla/pita like bread loaded with tomatoes, onions, chicken, lettuce...  and spices and a dressing (yogurt?) that was outstanding!  Francine ordered something similar, except her's was in a wrap and looked kind of like a burrito.  My description simply does not do this dish justice....  not only was it delicious, there was more than I could eat so I brought home enough for lunch tomorrow.

As usual,, in a tourist town, we start talking with other customers...  eating out isn't just eating out...  it's a real social event.  So, not only did we enjoy Greg and Francine's company this evening, we met other folks who shared some of their adventures while vacationing here.

It was dark and the nightlife in Coco was starting to come alive by the time we were ready to go home.

Since we live in the same condo complex, we shared a cab and headed home.

Even the taxi driver was friendly.  He was trying to get me to roll my rrrrrrrs when I was giving him directions.  

While I seriously doubt if I'll ever become a "night" person, it sure is fun giving it a try now and then.

That's All For Today!

Surf's Up!

The day started out with a new bird for us...

Stripe-headed Sparrow

Not a good shot by any means, but since this is the first time we've ever seen this bird, I'll include it anyway.  It really looks a lot like the White-throated Sparrow we have in the States, and that's what we thought it was at first...  I hope they (there were 3 of them) come back so I can get a better photo.

Because it is Ash Wednesday and services at the church I go to weren't until 5 pm, we waited until late afternoon before walking into town.

We saw that the tide was quite high...  actually, the highest we've ever seen it.  And during the hour or so I was at church, it got even higher.  Bill had headed over to the park and when I met him, he showed me some kids who had surf boards...  

They'd hang out by this tree, waiting for a big wave to come in...

Then they'd run out and try to catch it to ride it in....

Sometimes they'd catch a good one and do quite well....

Sometimes it just kind of fizzled out on them.

You can see how high the waves were...  I know, not like Hawaii or other surfing hot spots, but here at Coco, this is a pretty big wave!

We watched the kids for a while...  and of course it's fun to watch all the other folks in the park...

It may only be Wednesday, but evenings are party time....  time to get out and socialize...  time to stroll around the park or the main street...  time to sit outside and have a drink or eat a snack.  The days are just too hot to be outside very long, so when the evenings cools things off, people here really take advantage of them.  This guy was selling kababs.... we each had one....  and no, they weren't burnt.  He'd just revved up his grill before adding more meat.

We had to hurry home...  it was getting dark...

I don't like walking along the roads at night...  but tonight, after about half way home the vehicular traffic slacked off and it was okay.  The sun set....  and we were safely home.

I don't know how long the folks stay in the park...  but if we walk into town in the morning, the beach and park will be quiet again.

That's All For Today!

Oh Really?

What?

You expected me to write a blog today?

Well, after 79 days (I think...  but I may have lost count) of diligently keeping a daily log of our life here in Costa Rica, I fizzled out today...

We didn't even walk to town.

I didn't even hang out the hummingbird feeder because those darned wood bees took over and keep the lovely Cinnamon Hummer from even coming close to one of the ports.

Yeah...  I did laundry...  nothing like sheets and towels that have dried outside on the clothes line to make a person feel pampered come bedtime.

And I mopped the floor...  twice...

Only because I spilled a box of wine (what a waste) shortly after mopping it the first time.

I knit some on my latest pair of socks...  read some in my latest book...  got caught up reading a bunch of blogs that I've missed.

So...  maybe tomorrow I'll get back in the groove....

But...

That's All For Today!

City of Brotherly Love?

We took the bus to Filadelfia today...  A couple of weeks ago we had gone through this city on another tour - we were with Ann and Steve, and we decided then that we'd have to come back for another look.  So today, we four did just that.

There are archways as you enter the city...

And an archway at the street that runs alongside a large park, or plaza.

Apparently there had been an event this past weekend...

National Sporting Games

We never did figure out exactly what had gone on, but since the beginning of Lent is Wednesday, we thought there may have been some sort of carnival or street fair.

There were lots of food booths being dismantled...  as well as what appeared to be a stage for music.  The whole park was kind of in a state of either tearing down the booths... or possibly just closed until evening.

While none of the food vendors were open, we did see evidence...  like these pickled vegetables...  that maybe the event wasn't quite over.

One really interesting thing...

Look at the size of this bicycle!

Or is it a tricycle?  Wait a minute...  one person sits way up on top ...  that person steers the bicycle...  and behind and at either side of that big wheel, is a place for another person to sit...  and each of those persons do all the pedaling.  They have handlebars, but they're only to have something to hold on to.  We'd loved to have seen this in action....  but it was all loaded and ready to move on.

We didn't know about this street fair...  we went back to Filadelfia because we knew that that city park is home to dozens of iguanas.  It's nothing to look up in a tree and spot 6 or more snoozing away up on the branches...

They range in size from small lizard size, to huge ones...  maybe 4' or more.

The groundskeepers were working as we arrived...  and they had a wheel barrow full of watermelons, and other fruits and vegetables for the iguanas to eat.  

We got in a bit of conversation with one of the men...  

Among his other information, he told us that iguana was good to eat...  then he grinned like the Cheshire Cat,.  These iguanas are the pride of this city...  I have no doubt that it's illegal to harm one and the locals show them off to everyone.

Right across the street from the park is a huge church...

I'm always peeking in churches...  doesn't matter the denomination...  I always find them interesting.

The sign in the lower right is asking you to be respectful in this house of prayer... keep your feet off the kneelers and don't deposit your chewing gum under the seat... 

The tile sidewalk made a lovely entrance to the church. 

It was interesting just hanging out in the park...  people watching as well as spotting the iguanas.  But after a while we found a restaurant for lunch.  It was kind of funny...  a Chinese restaurant with a menu of everything from Chow Mein to Rancho Huevos....  all written in Spanish, of course.

The bus station was just up the street and we stopped by to check the schedule...

There are food vendors everywhere.

This cart has fruits for sale.  They peel oranges here, much like your Grandmother may have peeled apples years ago...  one of those spindle-like things with a blade that cuts the peel off when you turn the handle.  Kinda neat, isn't it?

The bus back to Coco didn't depart until 2pm, so we stopped at an ice cream store....  each got a cone and headed back to the park to have another look.

Soon enough it was time to catch our bus.... and we headed back home.  It was a fun trip...  and always interesting to learn what's in those little nearby towns.

The End

That's All For Today!

más de la misma

After almost 3 months, much of what we see is the same...

Here are my evening foxes...  sometimes one...  sometimes two...  sometimes even three.

Last night they looked like bookends...  

I try to see if I recognize them...  one's tail is skinnier...  the one who comes early (around 4pm) waits around for me to come out with the dog food.  He's by no means friendly...  he's a wild animal...  but he moves off into a safety zone when I bring the food out.  

As I've written before, I don't have any intention of "civilizing" these guys...  I feel kind of like it is when you put out a bird feeder....  you aid a little, but don't make anyone dependent.

Another evening occurrence....

Smoke across the valley.

Even when we don't see active fires, there is often a smokey haze across the valley.  Sometimes we get the residual ash...  sometimes the clothes I hang on the clothes line to dry smell like smoke....  it's an almost daily occurrence.

Another bird that we've seen before...  

The Squirrel Cuckoo

For those familiar with the cuckoo in the States, he'll look somewhat the same.  You'd know what family he's in... We saw this one on our walk home yesterday.

We first saw this species when we lived up near San Jose a couple of years ago.  The birding down here by the sea (lower elevation, of course, and the tourist towns are quite busy) just isn't quality birding.  But...  hey.... we'll take what we can get...  and are always happy to see an old friend.

Our daughter who is freaked out by snakes is on a road trip from Arizona to Pennsylvania as I write, so maybe she won't see this.  But...  scroll through fast if you don't like snakes.....

As we were walking into town this morning, we saw this young boy carrying around .....

 this HUGE snake....  

Dead...  been killed by a hoe or other sharp instrument.  Of course I noticed it right away...  I asked him if I could take his picture with the snake...  and he happily agreed.

Doesn't he look proud?....  that's one heck of a BIG snake.

If I had a printer I'd make a copy of this to give to him...  but...  alas...  we just don't have....

We walk this road every day...  guess I better watch where I place my feet....  although most of the snakes we've seen are roadkills...  long dead and thoroughly flattened.

Just around the corner from us, someone fenced in a piece of property and last week put in 5 young cows.

Didn't take them long to figure out where the weak place in the fence is...

Today they were ambling down the road.

The funny thing is ...  there are a fair amount of dogs that live along this road...  and they have never intimidated us in any of our walks.  Well, we sure saw another side to those dogs today!  Talk about territorial!  They hustled these cows right along...  git along little dogie!  Get the heck off my property!

Just in case your Spanish is a little weak...  my title is "More of the Same".....  which is pretty much what our life is like these days.  Not bad for a great vacation!

That's All For Today!

Hot Tamales!

Each day it seems to get hotter earlier in the day.  I think one of the reasons it feels like this is that the last few days there hasn't been much of a breeze, and when the air doesn't move, it sure feels like the heat is sticking right to you.

So we walk early...  headed to town around 7:30.  Just before leaving, our neighbor, Francine came over to tell us that their, and therefore our, water supply was turned off at 7:00 last evening and isn't expected to be turned back on until possibly tomorrow at the earliest.  Now...  we do have that auxiliary holding tank up on our deck, but let's face it...  55 gallons doesn't really go very far if a person isn't careful.  

Bill e-mailed our landlord about the situation and Robert assures us he'll have water delivered if needed.  Oh well...  we'll deal with it as it plays out.

We walked into town to buy some mahi-mahi.  Or, as it's known here...  dorado.  We haven't seen fishing boats coming in to off load for a couple of weeks...  don't know if the season is over or what.  But we know where there's a very nice "Mom and Pop" fish market just around the corner from the rickety bridge.  

We got our fish...  and headed home...

We're well over half way home when we walk pass a couple of young women who are pushing a bicycle....  they are yelling something...  Bill is first to understand....

 They're selling Tamales!

Oh Yeah...  Hot Tamales!!!

Never one to pass us good local food, we figure out that they are "cerdo" (pork).  We kinda went through the carne, pollo, thing first..  and I don't like mine filled with "papas" (potatoes)....  then got the price sorted out....  1,000 colones each ($2.00 American)....  and.... before you knew it, we were carrying home lunch.

In the southwest USA, and much of northern Mexico, tamales are wrapped in corn husks...

When we lived in the Veracruz area of Mexico, I learned to make tamales using banana leaves as the wrap.

Here in Central America, it's banana leaves.  These were tied with some kind of wire-like binding...  kind of like a twisty....  but I think they probably just used what was available... something that wouldn't fall apart when boiled or steamed.

We got home by 9:30...  I was thinking maybe a mid-morning snack was in order...

But...  no... we waited until our usual lunch time to indulge... 

All those banana leaves makes it look a bit small...

Not so....  you've probably seen those huge Nabisco Shredded Wheat things...  looks kinda like a huge brillo pad?  Well, these were every bit that big, probably bigger.

(tasted much better, too)

Comprised of Masa (corn flour), pork, rice, some potato slices, and a couple of other vegetables....

 then wrapped in the banana leaves and steamed...  blending together all the flavors and tastes.

This is a regular size dinner plate...

You can see that it was a very hearty...  very tasty meal.

I guess both Bill & I qualify for the "clean plate club"....

Bill asked the girls when they usually sold tamales...  according to them they sell on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings.  We may have to make a point of finding them again....

UmmmHmmmmm....

Hot Tamales!

That's All For Today!

A Day At Sea....

This should really be called "A Day At Bay"...  but that sounds like we sat on a boat that was moored and stayed in one place all day.

That couldn't be further from the truth...  

Bill & I walked into Coco early...  even stopped at the Jardin de Tropical for breakfast, before heading on up the beach to meet our "cruise" ship.  

The boat's capacity is 120 guests, but the group we were with numbered only 40.  A panga (lower middle) photo shows us being tendered from the beach out to the boat....  upper right.  I think there were 2 trips to pick up everyone, but we also stopped in Hermosa Beach and in Panama Beach (don't confuse this with Panama, the country) to pick up other folks.

The tour is from 9 am until around 2 pm.   There was a buffet fruit bar available as we headed out to sea.  

One of our first sightings was a Humpback Whale and her calf...

She never did breach, but we saw her back, her tail and her fin off and on for at least a half hour.  Several times she "blew"....  spouting a huge spray of water straight up in the air.  The baby stayed quite close, and often we'd see a big hump and a small hump...  side by side in the sea.

We also saw a good size Yellow-belly Sea Snake....

We saw one washed up on the beach last week, but this one was at least 4' long, and swimming happily along.

We didn't see many birds...

Just the usual gulls and terns...  and vultures.  But this Great Black Hawk flew over, giving us a good view of his black and white striped tail.

Our destination was a spit of land across form Panama Beach.  There are sandy beaches there and the water is shallow enough to wade around, but gradually deepens enough to swim, kayak or snorkel.  The big boat stayed moored out in the water and the panga brought us all to shore...  in about 3 trips altogether.

Neither Bill nor I are swimmers, but we were hoping to do some birding.

Wasn't gonna happen...

Instead we saw an abundance of other wildlife...

A troupe of Capuchin (White-Faced) Monkeys visited us first...

There were maybe 10 or 12 that came quite close to us.  This Mama was carrying her baby on her back.  I believe there were a couple other females with their young, as well as several who were alone.  

These sea urchins had washed up on shore...

Not the spiny kind, but a  bumpy symmetrical thing of beauty....

Tiny, but, oh, so interesting...

This little hermit crab scurried along the beach.

This is first Coatimundi we've seen during our stay here...

Distantly related to the Raccoon,  if you look close you can see the black and white face.  It is locally known as "Pizote".  He was quite large...  bigger than a cat....  maybe about the size of a small dog.  He checked us out then ambled off into the jungle.

Most folks came on the cruise to see the wildlife, but also to enjoy the time in the water...

This young girl was doing a rather intricate performance with balls tethered to chains.  She held a chain in each hand and did all kinds of fancy maneuvers.  I'd have had them wrapped around my neck... or someone else's neck...    You can see a couple of the kayaks about to go out...  and lots of folks enjoying the water.

Not everyone headed for the water...

That's Bill....  

And yes, he has a weird suntan on his legs...  and a fresh line of sunburn just above his sock line.  You can see Bill has his binoculars out...  ready to catch that elusive bird.

Neither of us are "barefoot" people, and neither of us gave it much thought that we'd have to wade into the beach from the panga.  

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to the Monkeys...

Time to go...

Goodbye, beach.....

Back to the boat...  where a snack awaited everyone...

We were told we wouldn't be served a meal, just a light snack...

Well, there was not only several kinds of fruit, but a pasta salad, bean dip, guacamole, chips and cookies...  as much as you wanted.  Maybe it was more like "heavy hors d'oeuvres".  You could buy beer, water or soft drinks at a very reasonable price.  

One thing that made this trip kind of special was that our neighbors, Greg and Francine, and their guest Wendy, were also on board.  What fun it was to visit with them and hear more about their lives.

Sometime around 2pm or so we headed back to Coco...  got in the panga which took us back to shore...  and we headed home.

Yeah... I took 249 photos...  but think I got most of the day compacted into these dozen or so.  It was a great day...  one I'd certainly recommend to anyone who visits here..  for a week or for months....  as a matter of fact, I'd go on this trip again!

That's All For Today!