tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39603056011017709242024-03-12T18:03:49.217-06:00Costa Rica SabbaticalTakin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-47566916783245492012012-04-05T17:15:00.000-06:002012-04-05T17:20:27.664-06:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We could not resist posting a few photos we took a week ago on yet another wonderful family beach trip...we are soooo lucky! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jennifer, Doug and Brandon came to visit Costa Rica for the first time.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvlHNohVv8AVOzpzFKlEuRT77S35gnL08vc6lLyIiGzxt-sPnCXXWSrO_w6hTB_uGD7HQ3UpFmZoOh0J1XKqD4iS2sGecFHXIWFm8YPNesmZgoZOsRoSmqH9_72GZMV7-6dH8kcsAH_e4s/s1600/jennifer,+doug+and+brandon+vacation+143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvlHNohVv8AVOzpzFKlEuRT77S35gnL08vc6lLyIiGzxt-sPnCXXWSrO_w6hTB_uGD7HQ3UpFmZoOh0J1XKqD4iS2sGecFHXIWFm8YPNesmZgoZOsRoSmqH9_72GZMV7-6dH8kcsAH_e4s/s400/jennifer,+doug+and+brandon+vacation+143.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrF40B7Qvyh1DerHPgI9-QOv_t8sdCtbPR-m21PIn9AQ43xsuqXNEUtloJLxz2s6n12Ll3aKJNYUeqVvlBwJvMnBqSQCfiTJI9MdSUGGNrRXqg1oxWxYmqySYiYHUTc2qj5-smC7REFe6/s1600/jennifer,+doug+and+brandon+vacation+138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrF40B7Qvyh1DerHPgI9-QOv_t8sdCtbPR-m21PIn9AQ43xsuqXNEUtloJLxz2s6n12Ll3aKJNYUeqVvlBwJvMnBqSQCfiTJI9MdSUGGNrRXqg1oxWxYmqySYiYHUTc2qj5-smC7REFe6/s320/jennifer,+doug+and+brandon+vacation+138.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was an amazing week at the Rui Resort in Guanacaste spent relaxing, and enjoying fun in the sun and water...oh, and great food every day and night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There was also a zipline adventure....deep sea fishing....crocodile hunting....oh wait..maybe that is a slight exaggeration. Maybe it was really a ride through the backroads, then a relaxed riverboat trip in ..... yes, crocodile infested waters (also including viewing exotic birds, iguanas and howler monkeys--it was Disneyland only real.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Michael and I skipped the zip line trip (too calm for us--ha ha) but we got a good account of the day from the brave ones who participated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I need to say about the fishing is that if you happen run into Michael this summer, be prepared for his deep sea fishing tales. Stories that most assuredly will grow and grow from the "for real" really big fish to who knows what.... Let's just say that his first deep sea fishing experience will be hard to ever top. ( Thanks Doug!) And dinner cooked by the resort chef that night was amazing. (too bad we didn't take pictures before we started eating!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A really good time was had by all....</span></div>
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<br />Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-53801701630992711092012-03-19T05:51:00.000-06:002012-03-19T05:51:59.467-06:00Day Three<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Day three was a relaxing Sunday walk to get some sample pictures of the amazing doors in the city. These doors are right on the sidewalk, but sometimes if you are lucky a door might be open and you can catch a glimpse of the intriging living spaces. These might include modest to more elaborate family homes, but all have courtyards and gardens and outdoor living spaces "behind closed doors".</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Misc. photos around the town.........</span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhql6mkGMqi_EJSHmPi3_G-lRO9iskRYOPXYO_qNy_osaVa5eoSMsC8XnDhytQUJwixYQLYqStT5rRzaMeWJGID3pjBtuM8a-y04og_k4fqkYz7okC5dVqiFPn3oBjColfisH8zU94Tcsco/s1600/DSCN0883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhql6mkGMqi_EJSHmPi3_G-lRO9iskRYOPXYO_qNy_osaVa5eoSMsC8XnDhytQUJwixYQLYqStT5rRzaMeWJGID3pjBtuM8a-y04og_k4fqkYz7okC5dVqiFPn3oBjColfisH8zU94Tcsco/s200/DSCN0883.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Art School</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcEHz2_7U4NegPv6Km-F6G04nX1UwV_SwRiPYhp8pA6brRcGEYd-yBh89NwDvwYzSrYdowBYnWcglgP0FEVbfULw5Dkotwv4sWluD8Z7AJB8JzmScCaIz2iOzQ-CgKrnDQ-_CJTnDMWZB/s1600/DSCN0875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcEHz2_7U4NegPv6Km-F6G04nX1UwV_SwRiPYhp8pA6brRcGEYd-yBh89NwDvwYzSrYdowBYnWcglgP0FEVbfULw5Dkotwv4sWluD8Z7AJB8JzmScCaIz2iOzQ-CgKrnDQ-_CJTnDMWZB/s200/DSCN0875.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">One of the many city parks</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNFB50AZCi-Q03yDOXPFR5CZdBbJ8n5rTXfuA81So6k0ijbl9thCADYcEhuGJ7qI1HfClSVG4sRrbCHfhxvRzCbHSc9y_jBOi2oTg0BdjMRMqmX85Pa23yl60OKFFPXaYTR7Nv4XbOnuO/s1600/DSCN0878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNFB50AZCi-Q03yDOXPFR5CZdBbJ8n5rTXfuA81So6k0ijbl9thCADYcEhuGJ7qI1HfClSVG4sRrbCHfhxvRzCbHSc9y_jBOi2oTg0BdjMRMqmX85Pa23yl60OKFFPXaYTR7Nv4XbOnuO/s200/DSCN0878.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Need I say more....Pizza and beer</span></td></tr>
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next week we look forward to a visit with daughter, son-in-law and grandson at the beach.....yeahhhhhh</span>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-73876791696222204182012-03-18T11:39:00.000-06:002012-03-18T11:39:54.563-06:00Nicaragua Adventure in Granada<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Day 1 (click on photos to enlarge)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">We left our place in San Jose to arrive at the fairly close by bus terminal at 5:00 am. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">On time bus departure at 6:00 am began our 8 hour trip to Granada, Nicaragua.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">We did enjoy the scenery.... between little naps. The border crossing out of Costa Rica into Nicaragua was uneventful...yeahhhhhh.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zFt0j_EDwIkoBaR8l6wHHgoOuv8jjc6CGj_o9tHjRkdjTyXzejeBVXmjdJN8jlZuHTn7j3KU2NzxTeenhNkuyoxf3LXhsK4G5BJlYQ7k4lnwEJ5aud_EQFP8RnA9k7aANgg7l-UWOCl1/s1600/DSCN0818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zFt0j_EDwIkoBaR8l6wHHgoOuv8jjc6CGj_o9tHjRkdjTyXzejeBVXmjdJN8jlZuHTn7j3KU2NzxTeenhNkuyoxf3LXhsK4G5BJlYQ7k4lnwEJ5aud_EQFP8RnA9k7aANgg7l-UWOCl1/s200/DSCN0818.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Our introduction to Granada was a short 5 block walk to our hotel. We are not quite sure of the significance of the purple flags but loved the effect.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIzg-y_iXTjm3gg6UDGUVrs5nSEdMkV_Qwq7fg1h3_Ta64im2uN-udssaRVYypABxIfSodxIIrYlQcol7vvKsO74QVu_zsmPOlhjrkcPzQaY51hUb_Tn3KX6_JSZKb8ZTEK8KzqDHBsqT/s1600/DSCN0820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIzg-y_iXTjm3gg6UDGUVrs5nSEdMkV_Qwq7fg1h3_Ta64im2uN-udssaRVYypABxIfSodxIIrYlQcol7vvKsO74QVu_zsmPOlhjrkcPzQaY51hUb_Tn3KX6_JSZKb8ZTEK8KzqDHBsqT/s200/DSCN0820.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Our small hotel was not fancy, but very pretty.....especially this lush courtyard complete with the wild parrots on a neighboring rooftop.......<a href="http://www.kekoldi.com/">www.kekoldi.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Day 2 Highlights</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Breakfast at the hotel after a refreshing nights sleep was typical fresh fruit, beans and rice, fresh juice and great coffee. There were 3 small groups of guests having breakfast at the same time with us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">One group asked one of the hotel employees about the starfruit tree in the courtyard. Next thing we knew, he was climbing the tree... and picking the ripe starfruit. He came down the same way and disappeared into the kitchen to return shortly with a plate of fresh...verrry fresh... starfruit for each table! Customer service at it's best, right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">A good part of the rest of the day we spent on an open air bus tour of the city of Granada which also included a boat tour of the Granada Islands located in the huge Lake of Nicaragua. It was totally worth the argument with Michael about taking a "tour" We BOTH loved it. The pictures say it all...</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Of the 30 some beautiful islands, some were very small, some were larger...some were uninhabited and some were inhabited by humans....one by monkeys. The "island dwellings" ranged from local fisherman's modest homes to very luxurious international estates.......</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">A very good day ended with a very good pizza at a local restaurant in a festive downtown Saturday night setting.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUM3zi1-VI_pOXvr8-qjPFeuX1eiazc8PBwlyjbY0GSC9g0gpatq1oGDJTS4gqLWmaVvnhTIZoXLWcUPFiG55gacxLnBg7d3HBQFlntdoXKVNFI7K9VdEGA8FFrXP_D7hOhpBq_xM2iRC6/s1600/DSCN0870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUM3zi1-VI_pOXvr8-qjPFeuX1eiazc8PBwlyjbY0GSC9g0gpatq1oGDJTS4gqLWmaVvnhTIZoXLWcUPFiG55gacxLnBg7d3HBQFlntdoXKVNFI7K9VdEGA8FFrXP_D7hOhpBq_xM2iRC6/s200/DSCN0870.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The 3rd and final day tomorrow........</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-33744317439772112922012-03-12T09:32:00.000-06:002012-03-12T09:32:46.457-06:00Catch Up Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our summer</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (December thru April) in Costa Rica has been, and is a time of discovery for us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have to admit that I now understand that it is somewhat difficult to keep up with blog posts as often as we intended. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Having an amazing time making new friends and exploring seems to have been top priority.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The beach......</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> In February, it was determined that we <em>needed</em> another trip to the beach. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We asked expat friends and Tico friends which beach was their favorite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;">There were as many different answers as the number of people we asked. The only exception was one artist friend who declared she was not a beach person...???? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; mso-spacerun: yes;">It still is an amazement to us that we can get on a bus or rent a car and be on either coast in the matter of a just few hours. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After we chose<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Playas del Coco in Guanacaste for this trip, we found a charming and reasonably priced small hotel with good customer reviews right across the street from the beach. (</span><a href="http://www.hotelcocopalms.com/"><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">www.hotelcocopalms.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-YGYGLxuHgxIOxNNVEJhtQGDepfDwuneUnqZ4GNrK8M84mpB7ZlabjuBNqDmwt2vdFyoeVxhTYNFRWYPfP8rljkSG2uE2HWi4VddTx2n7HKBePefKAyxUHo1NQrNyOgbqURIvUvMY0-M/s1600/beach+feb+2012+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-YGYGLxuHgxIOxNNVEJhtQGDepfDwuneUnqZ4GNrK8M84mpB7ZlabjuBNqDmwt2vdFyoeVxhTYNFRWYPfP8rljkSG2uE2HWi4VddTx2n7HKBePefKAyxUHo1NQrNyOgbqURIvUvMY0-M/s200/beach+feb+2012+035.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyB_QlvcJ28h5d1WvCCnwwXeIterClOgiU4FrtVj3dIsiX3tXWX0gAbClJqLKgJBgpEMvVybon7k_e5LiIQHOcNCdGPgLm1AYHMLO1EMvcBinzMx4tuVEwekH-CIGvGyFkhTrgb89dvwjB/s1600/beach+feb+2012+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyB_QlvcJ28h5d1WvCCnwwXeIterClOgiU4FrtVj3dIsiX3tXWX0gAbClJqLKgJBgpEMvVybon7k_e5LiIQHOcNCdGPgLm1AYHMLO1EMvcBinzMx4tuVEwekH-CIGvGyFkhTrgb89dvwjB/s200/beach+feb+2012+020.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Theater......</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the absolutely most delightful findings this summer has been our introduction to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Teatro al Mediodia. This is a series of performances at noon that runs February thru November each year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It features 45 to 60 minute performances held in the beautiful historic Teatro Nacional (<a href="http://www.teatronacional.go.cr/"><span style="color: red;">www.teatronacional.go.cr</span></a>) in the middle of downtown San Jose. The cost is 1000 colones (about $2.00) So far we have seen wonderful top quality music groups and dance troupes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an wonderful and delightful break in the middle of the day.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeakPn0F0hF9krZgS7GVsOmsviRjXoCrWUYYmi-gutMViij5m1UX5xB26RwYqR_5CsVKpdIaTTt5Kgv_apCX3Opyng-lyoGErfrs4LZG75Ifmxtf9218KM4hxHG4_Qnqvk2Ml340z6oPTq/s1600/theater+and+Meg+017+(480x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeakPn0F0hF9krZgS7GVsOmsviRjXoCrWUYYmi-gutMViij5m1UX5xB26RwYqR_5CsVKpdIaTTt5Kgv_apCX3Opyng-lyoGErfrs4LZG75Ifmxtf9218KM4hxHG4_Qnqvk2Ml340z6oPTq/s200/theater+and+Meg+017+(480x640).jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5YUOBZZJq8XxNVi2jHw6-iUmvPszMKTB0j3qBCVV_LA68RVXyaJ3SgrhVc7TYZ4pdN2fIApt70KdNeTCbGtWd8chEv2xkKd8lJ8Em29xyetBdNyTHaUobMpMzfeJxMX8rHyrPnNe-20lq/s200/theater+and+Meg+007.JPG" width="200" /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeakPn0F0hF9krZgS7GVsOmsviRjXoCrWUYYmi-gutMViij5m1UX5xB26RwYqR_5CsVKpdIaTTt5Kgv_apCX3Opyng-lyoGErfrs4LZG75Ifmxtf9218KM4hxHG4_Qnqvk2Ml340z6oPTq/s1600/theater+and+Meg+017+(480x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzy5hDMAv6sYojMWjHZappZAEBQRs-EB1cvJUGRQMGiFjeCAAMJtTxRZDwzkvt_U6_GDYPSS37coe63hyphenhyphenOnbPEtPnPEehw4ZGr2jULAESJueyP9f-efdiO4vrsLOuMTudlzMDlsReosXz/s200/theater+and+Meg+013+(480x640).jpg" width="150" /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The arts......</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The many and diverse styles and mediums of sculpture and the public mosaics have excited and fascinated us when we are out on our own “art discovery walks”. Sometimes we can find artist signatures or identification on the sculptures or mosaic—sometimes we can’t. At any rate, public artwork abounds in the city-- in parks--corporate settings-- on street corners, and of course on the sides of buildings, walls and fences. Here are just a few our favorites.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcfSAKNUpGpadwHJhrU9O_gRG4fIspt7jyIOKMS_hAr8TAbplU0ddyW6EYM70D7BjQXXO8xZRVOnmyaD7QEB23KstHOEheAYIE62PWw22HTksEbWyk2SyDT0QC9L0K-rsnlDHSoeMAOsB/s1600/pictures+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcfSAKNUpGpadwHJhrU9O_gRG4fIspt7jyIOKMS_hAr8TAbplU0ddyW6EYM70D7BjQXXO8xZRVOnmyaD7QEB23KstHOEheAYIE62PWw22HTksEbWyk2SyDT0QC9L0K-rsnlDHSoeMAOsB/s200/pictures+033.JPG" width="150" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLekq4z6l_9cUFSbvIueNOaQ5Xf7liBrWXsVAn8DqHyhKJUHP0GYqrxUHnwsEWDlLd92C6qMjf-rLfa69ZMCAsqmYhPD9irx-mk4Vz_07tWZQA4zjSg5LgP4iRuIksNYRY1aQr-j_wkzJ/s1600/pictures+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLekq4z6l_9cUFSbvIueNOaQ5Xf7liBrWXsVAn8DqHyhKJUHP0GYqrxUHnwsEWDlLd92C6qMjf-rLfa69ZMCAsqmYhPD9irx-mk4Vz_07tWZQA4zjSg5LgP4iRuIksNYRY1aQr-j_wkzJ/s200/pictures+040.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42Uwu-RXxs9cdtfModX9FThxGc6vIdSeS_RYu3g-USdmAZLNbjGXUNPvJbHsz6s8QHZmlDL7JZqoYNUkVZpVMpbVJdlcQMA-rje3QahkQYzTSvGKEml85WLNNCwA4bpCypYoLElOtArjn/s1600/pictures+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42Uwu-RXxs9cdtfModX9FThxGc6vIdSeS_RYu3g-USdmAZLNbjGXUNPvJbHsz6s8QHZmlDL7JZqoYNUkVZpVMpbVJdlcQMA-rje3QahkQYzTSvGKEml85WLNNCwA4bpCypYoLElOtArjn/s200/pictures+027.JPG" width="150" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_jIMfW6PKaiS-ZznwheVku9JnE-opPYRi1X4-Pbtooh9QpAP-VStnuNtQpiIxhoRDEIflSNgeyFcde1f1_m6BzHACBpo6I-BasEJp68Q3PbDhheoHIWXiV6k9EKZtqaefSkkJsM2mFtW/s1600/pictures+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_jIMfW6PKaiS-ZznwheVku9JnE-opPYRi1X4-Pbtooh9QpAP-VStnuNtQpiIxhoRDEIflSNgeyFcde1f1_m6BzHACBpo6I-BasEJp68Q3PbDhheoHIWXiV6k9EKZtqaefSkkJsM2mFtW/s200/pictures+038.JPG" width="147" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpifHRuyT0zHyLrSsDF8hDhSLlhM1B5QVYG38H_66QBb9SWEM0V7bQZN-wCFeye2p9YPX9C0FNAQZc3US8_hpCoMM5P-yJFaLagulsPNFMyv_A4N1mtk-nF-XO6fzzvQGfWLboiWbMX8cM/s1600/pictures+041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpifHRuyT0zHyLrSsDF8hDhSLlhM1B5QVYG38H_66QBb9SWEM0V7bQZN-wCFeye2p9YPX9C0FNAQZc3US8_hpCoMM5P-yJFaLagulsPNFMyv_A4N1mtk-nF-XO6fzzvQGfWLboiWbMX8cM/s200/pictures+041.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">House sitting, Cuidad Colon.....</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are currently in the second week of house sitting for new friends. We are getting to experience typical life in a smaller community about 30 minutes outside San Jose. What comes to mind here first <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is how friendly and welcoming the people are here, both the locals and the expats. It is a lovely Costa Rica style home with not only very beautiful tropical gardens out front and back, but we also have our<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>very own temporary pets (3 dogs and a very elusive kitty). Avocado, mango, orange, and lime trees out back shade the more delicate tropical flowers, not to mention the strategically placed hammock.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRs5xyhSNWt37s9mbXgfAOgIc0Yv7W-q0txwTIR6x6_bLozjve6-8ThK92dlA5klWs6RRiPI1F3YJpdyMuMH7e4n4NZ5Rakb5sMTB5bgXYBatDd7pqhWpSkCWwnj_xebEO9qvK1LFGDCto/s1600/isabels+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRs5xyhSNWt37s9mbXgfAOgIc0Yv7W-q0txwTIR6x6_bLozjve6-8ThK92dlA5klWs6RRiPI1F3YJpdyMuMH7e4n4NZ5Rakb5sMTB5bgXYBatDd7pqhWpSkCWwnj_xebEO9qvK1LFGDCto/s200/isabels+013.JPG" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-enhl7gbFgaT1ABDmEZzMn1PvIdXdLPnbjhhlU8Wz2VuATTq4bLAjzHwjCq0z1gdzPG0PH-uQin8mCRrnfSmFbGdNqqdm2kNnxlaVJJqPOJMzULGX_PIh8GsqPFDM6XnCevHgBZZrk2v/s1600/isabels+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-enhl7gbFgaT1ABDmEZzMn1PvIdXdLPnbjhhlU8Wz2VuATTq4bLAjzHwjCq0z1gdzPG0PH-uQin8mCRrnfSmFbGdNqqdm2kNnxlaVJJqPOJMzULGX_PIh8GsqPFDM6XnCevHgBZZrk2v/s200/isabels+009.JPG" width="168" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisO3MdzTCeHuPPhHaId6U4FbDUBBboYEPI_KURtjBV2_sTp_7Q42AhfO8DFydA3vq9HBrAX1fImMHGTARet7IXFjkuCTVOL42UDnLqlV-cW_8G21aqRZD96ccLpPKXc44GxdCNe5j1-fv1/s1600/isabels+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisO3MdzTCeHuPPhHaId6U4FbDUBBboYEPI_KURtjBV2_sTp_7Q42AhfO8DFydA3vq9HBrAX1fImMHGTARet7IXFjkuCTVOL42UDnLqlV-cW_8G21aqRZD96ccLpPKXc44GxdCNe5j1-fv1/s200/isabels+018.JPG" width="149" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCf-DRZyHpRNElTTyUY_e8h8KA-lmPA1rFvW3oIjl7ICB2efnkrvtNoaEWf6iYB80aQTBv74hI7CcksWBagtoCxBNx2WViWpYsGkl-mriP-jqJVdHM7EhFdjwGA33dzL0Gdf8iZ4BSoZZk/s1600/isabels+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCf-DRZyHpRNElTTyUY_e8h8KA-lmPA1rFvW3oIjl7ICB2efnkrvtNoaEWf6iYB80aQTBv74hI7CcksWBagtoCxBNx2WViWpYsGkl-mriP-jqJVdHM7EhFdjwGA33dzL0Gdf8iZ4BSoZZk/s200/isabels+023.JPG" width="144" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And the rest......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Michael has been very pleased to find a great company to work with in helping him fabricate sculpture for art shows in the states this summer and for marketing here in Costa Rica. Of course, inspiration is never a problem for my paintings of tropical plants and flowers in black and white.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Check in on this blog again for reports on a trip to Guanacaste and also bus trip to Nicaragua and winding up our 6 month trial run in Costa Rica. Stay tuned for big decisions....<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-5989889964581350382012-02-05T10:55:00.000-06:002012-02-05T10:55:43.634-06:00Super Bowl Weekend<div><span style="font-size: large;">Hola Amigos!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I was so excited to find all the ingredients here to make chili on Super Bowl day! </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">It has always been a tradition....</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that one Super Bowl day we would be living in an amazingly beautiful tropical paradise .............. soooo, even if there are sunny skies, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and it is 80 degrees,the chili tradition goes on. (I can just think of our family in Colorado in 14 inches of snow)</span> </div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBe5-3T9YG5Gyb0ns2kmzyGtoLUB5Xhlrw1LFadoPREIVaBi6Ftn_cNXAgYtVIbLjZ8eglYR7S8IgRVv9r638bbLuKBu9lVAGBagQSkmnTYGNjGTaYiXetPn_-eul91Z2ErwNYVKGgcnQ/s1600/San+Jose+park.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBe5-3T9YG5Gyb0ns2kmzyGtoLUB5Xhlrw1LFadoPREIVaBi6Ftn_cNXAgYtVIbLjZ8eglYR7S8IgRVv9r638bbLuKBu9lVAGBagQSkmnTYGNjGTaYiXetPn_-eul91Z2ErwNYVKGgcnQ/s320/San+Jose+park.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div> </div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-73397565397817019562012-01-30T07:50:00.000-06:002012-01-30T07:50:35.787-06:00Street Art<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On our very first day in San Jose last November, we noticed a small group of street artists painting a mural of the face of Bob Marley on the corner not far from where we live. Since that day, we have both loved discovering the murals and creative graffiti all over the city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> I’ve wondered if permission must be obtained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it legal or illegal….no one seems to know for sure?<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps I haven’t yet met the right people to ask?? At any rate, the artwork does exist everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The styles, the themes, the colors are widely varied. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One might even speculate about how many pieces of street art could be self-portraits in addition to political and social statements.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> I have read that one of the most rewarding factors of street art is the surface. Some may say the cold metal of train cars cannot be beat for a good surface. But then there is also shabby siding, dilapidated brick, heavily textured stucco and of course….concrete.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The essence of street art is often anonymous to the casual passerby, unless you take the time to decipher it – when possible – and study it. How long did a piece take? How many artists worked on it? And when you see a pile of spray paint cans tossed to the side – next to a scribble which may or may not be the artist’s signature – why? Who paid for the cans? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In most cases, no money was to be made from this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> In researching the street artists work, my favorite quote I found was ….”Whatever their reasons – they’re just doing their job, after all.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">”</span></span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-17521873638219672372012-01-10T12:47:00.000-06:002012-01-10T12:47:32.080-06:00San Jose Birds on Parade<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>So.... we got up at 3:15 am in Denver for a 6:00 am flight back to Costa Rica after a wonderful visit with family in Colorado. </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Twelve hours later in the cab on the way back to the apartment we thought something new had appeared on some of the streets and parks in San Jose……..We <em>thought</em> we saw colorful decorated fiberglass bird sculptures.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>After a good nights sleep we were delighted to see they were not a result of fatigue, but indeed real.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> When I started to do some research, much to my dismay, the whole official website was in Spanish with no translation.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The only way for me to translate was to type the text in Spanish on my much used Bing Espanol/Ingles translation website. Please remember those of you who know me---I am a one-handed, have to look at the keyboard typist! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This should be yet another hint to us that we need to hurry up and find a language class…<o:p></o:p></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> The event is called the Peace Parade. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Costa Rica is the only country in the world that has more than 60 years of living without an army. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></strong></span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The Peace Parade is organized by two private business organizations with the support of the city of San Jose. </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The event was born to promote and celebrate the message of peace to the people of Costa Rica and the world. Businesses and/or individuals sponsor one or more of the birds that are exhibited in main parks, boulevards and sidewalks all around San Jose (a cosmopolitan city where nearly half the population of Costa Rica passes daily).<o:p></o:p></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> There was a call for schools and artists across the country to submit their proposals for deigns….. 50 proposals from schools and 20 from artists were accepted to be displayed from the applicants. </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>These wonderful birds were installed December 15 and will remain in place until March 25 this year.<o:p></o:p></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> </strong></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Though it was impossible to pick any favorite, these are a few examples. Some are just artistic tropical colorful designs, while some seem to have subtle underlying messages concerning politics or ecology.</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The website is <span style="color: red;">peaceparade.com</span> if you would like to check it out.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TfAnplmC6Q7rowH66jZBCJ8q5D9sDFrlhtVBH56vYaxu_0hW56chWChDvVowtPt5Ojoy40KpJv0elUaL1IQpa0OGznd1pn8HWi1WQeKvoXi2osFLTjLB61HMaUoAYso6LpJpHVOZWh8E/s1600/cr+friut+and+veg+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TfAnplmC6Q7rowH66jZBCJ8q5D9sDFrlhtVBH56vYaxu_0hW56chWChDvVowtPt5Ojoy40KpJv0elUaL1IQpa0OGznd1pn8HWi1WQeKvoXi2osFLTjLB61HMaUoAYso6LpJpHVOZWh8E/s200/cr+friut+and+veg+021.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWZnuFHVCyuHywSGAxBA9wUfJbXxFJ_3OtDHcLCSuCrdgi-iOYd9MQo17kfm-SRWa6ZXzkE0uPYDYpYBBoqtScKeydxwNvBcOur6JD9QNdcjmmINO3_qLv05gmzxAUG__Ra4vxTb8S-xl/s1600/misc+cr+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWZnuFHVCyuHywSGAxBA9wUfJbXxFJ_3OtDHcLCSuCrdgi-iOYd9MQo17kfm-SRWa6ZXzkE0uPYDYpYBBoqtScKeydxwNvBcOur6JD9QNdcjmmINO3_qLv05gmzxAUG__Ra4vxTb8S-xl/s200/misc+cr+030.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpzCpMReZ5VKvQxIy7KE3J81bt3BKQrfOEFSudTnnwNeQmNdoJ5d42Z4tSf4pVOjn-c1Ypf9X3HIg3L8nn68mkkbzLFpF43kYMYDqot4P_dGzOW9WneMULk3HIX7CEjdwDvgE1JwQVhmD_/s1600/cr+friut+and+veg+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpzCpMReZ5VKvQxIy7KE3J81bt3BKQrfOEFSudTnnwNeQmNdoJ5d42Z4tSf4pVOjn-c1Ypf9X3HIg3L8nn68mkkbzLFpF43kYMYDqot4P_dGzOW9WneMULk3HIX7CEjdwDvgE1JwQVhmD_/s200/cr+friut+and+veg+022.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkLApMMLfQVDbWEo65i7Gk1vM7JAhZzxQT5YYf6m0CDAIpAw6US0F4blbnUri9UGr9BsULq9-8ad6CClTBzD2SpRdu5zvFOROI0WAY6js2EZCK58rk63FlyyDJItxNTy94FJvu1LuhA02/s1600/cr+friut+and+veg+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkLApMMLfQVDbWEo65i7Gk1vM7JAhZzxQT5YYf6m0CDAIpAw6US0F4blbnUri9UGr9BsULq9-8ad6CClTBzD2SpRdu5zvFOROI0WAY6js2EZCK58rk63FlyyDJItxNTy94FJvu1LuhA02/s200/cr+friut+and+veg+024.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7N_g11aVNDwhdUW_MFs5sHgac-vNSIftRmbMFFBD7a_SzF9JnEv38fMw2dShBs2CsFwjVuliX-pjp65hW0pvACrba5lukjR8Qi6ZHdYkio63IcFpE8WDKGM2Knmv_FGT9ywUMP1hL96T/s1600/cr+friut+and+veg+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7N_g11aVNDwhdUW_MFs5sHgac-vNSIftRmbMFFBD7a_SzF9JnEv38fMw2dShBs2CsFwjVuliX-pjp65hW0pvACrba5lukjR8Qi6ZHdYkio63IcFpE8WDKGM2Knmv_FGT9ywUMP1hL96T/s200/cr+friut+and+veg+030.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9uX32SAfkO5KMCZJxUG1-j5nx43G4PQFqRx0IVXNnClIP5N_f3x4yuUwHWZt8GcljbEY0vwRyeILNk1tTp3a5C77Nory2HWadctpMt_K9X3kjp9RMn3Nod44UI-EkWEubdHJPhvzsAC2/s1600/cr+friut+and+veg+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9uX32SAfkO5KMCZJxUG1-j5nx43G4PQFqRx0IVXNnClIP5N_f3x4yuUwHWZt8GcljbEY0vwRyeILNk1tTp3a5C77Nory2HWadctpMt_K9X3kjp9RMn3Nod44UI-EkWEubdHJPhvzsAC2/s200/cr+friut+and+veg+023.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From this exhibition to the exciting street art and murals to traditional and contemporary sculpture, public art it plentiful and so much fun to discover. Watch for future posts for information and pictures of more public art around the San Jose area.</span></div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-71739480962343140792011-12-21T18:17:00.000-06:002011-12-21T18:17:42.206-06:00Christmas in San Jose, Costa Rica 2011<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sights of Christmas in downtown San Jose are quite beautiful this year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The big constructed light tree is in the park in front of the National Museum of Costa Rica just down the hill from us.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPDDl3W4LU699nE2-F675aKCO-WBu9kIDDk7P4wVzlE9bxpwZDDHY53dvzapMP0yYU0UUs0vA9DHzi3bjrMYZR0px78M7aaw410sfwamwwJpH05PwRZh_PsTMQR6taf8_XGVY7XAndhYC/s1600/costa+rica+128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPDDl3W4LU699nE2-F675aKCO-WBu9kIDDk7P4wVzlE9bxpwZDDHY53dvzapMP0yYU0UUs0vA9DHzi3bjrMYZR0px78M7aaw410sfwamwwJpH05PwRZh_PsTMQR6taf8_XGVY7XAndhYC/s320/costa+rica+128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The hanging lights line the streets in the downtown area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The day we ventured downtown to do some shopping the weather was beautiful. The spirit of the holiday shopping crowds seem to be the same whether we are in San Jose or Charlotte or Denver. (not to mention the number of people!)</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are currently back in the US to spend Christmas with Colorado family and loving every minute of it. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We will return to CR New Years Eve...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We want to wish all of you a wonderful and blessed holiday season.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">More from CR later.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-51897122567599940752011-12-11T21:53:00.000-06:002011-12-11T21:53:43.759-06:00Off To The Market<div style="text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-size: large;">The Saturday Farmers Markets in Costa Rica are like a wonderful color wheel of exotic as well as more ordinary fruits and vegetables......</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Families, couples, restaurants, locals and visitors bring bags, boxes and all sizes and configurations of carts to do the weekly shopping for quality fresh foods for the week from the huge number of vendors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We were in great company yesterday with our Costa Rican friend Rafa.We headed out in the morning to catch the bus to Guadalupe, the closest market to where we are in San Jose. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">While we are getting ever so slightly better with the whole money thing, the issue with us now is not in asking the price of something we wish to purchase.The big problem lies in understanding the answer. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Rafa was great helping us understand the prices of what we were buying not to mention explaining about some of the totally unfamiliar fruits and vegetables. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I asked him if he would mind asking the price of some avocados that I thought looked really good. The young man selling the produce kindly cut off a small sample of the avocado and gave it to him to try. He had a strange look on his face as he sampled the avocado...When I asked if it was good, he smiled and said, "I don't really care for avocado". What a nice friend...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the way back to catch the bus, we stopped at a little cafe for the best yet (for me) Costa Rican tamale and coffee. Maybe we could find the little cafe again??</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Though we were tempted to buy one of everything, we got home with pineapples, avocados, bananas, and cilantro... all the freshest you can imagine . Hard not to overdo with the amazing quality and very inexpensive prices.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6-wuons068jzm06JzJuNPKtTCIWpxcBwPgrsojsGkVvTrW_T_oJtLwD5Uudd7JoOjOLRqq07_QuxXEEps7dnVWDCWtuMOQDgmzwx1gj_fdmSWmZCqHiqtZkGy8lvMR7I7nrHAR8hnJXc/s1600/CR+012+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6-wuons068jzm06JzJuNPKtTCIWpxcBwPgrsojsGkVvTrW_T_oJtLwD5Uudd7JoOjOLRqq07_QuxXEEps7dnVWDCWtuMOQDgmzwx1gj_fdmSWmZCqHiqtZkGy8lvMR7I7nrHAR8hnJXc/s320/CR+012+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYvTiz8JMeh7ROhIFGzVMJK2aGInHMZX61N7XfJ7E_gtwz7-93UBY70FICmNYjCghzpPKvBU2hBEQoog77YnLqFDbaB2dPf8NYI01Ih2mvi7l0bJVXJnt63wIE_iaN2NBBELcsHQe-mog/s1600/CR+011+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYvTiz8JMeh7ROhIFGzVMJK2aGInHMZX61N7XfJ7E_gtwz7-93UBY70FICmNYjCghzpPKvBU2hBEQoog77YnLqFDbaB2dPf8NYI01Ih2mvi7l0bJVXJnt63wIE_iaN2NBBELcsHQe-mog/s320/CR+011+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_3OK60POnmZBbSKKKTL8ePFocZa15hJpZ65nUpFkHHUAhsyrwMrclH8CAGWlFjlt6PO9ecEJMvPCJTy99X_Cxix_l_6gyHTwBGI1SwsKAJSSnpSzeZLQNuVW84UQjpxeDgvGDE3k0u49/s1600/CR+013+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_3OK60POnmZBbSKKKTL8ePFocZa15hJpZ65nUpFkHHUAhsyrwMrclH8CAGWlFjlt6PO9ecEJMvPCJTy99X_Cxix_l_6gyHTwBGI1SwsKAJSSnpSzeZLQNuVW84UQjpxeDgvGDE3k0u49/s320/CR+013+%2528480x640%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-75505255250623004102011-12-02T19:28:00.000-06:002011-12-02T19:28:09.225-06:00One More ThingOkay so..the monkey video of mommy and baby was so cute we really need to share it..<br />
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</div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-83444889337162706262011-12-02T18:45:00.000-06:002011-12-02T18:45:05.562-06:00And The Rest Of The Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<tr class=" selected"><td class="title" onclick="setSelected(this, "1931150935639110904");"><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">Suffice it to say........ the rest of the time spent on vacation with our kids was memorable!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A few of the highlights were:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The educational and informative and really fun tour of the Cafe Britt Coffe Plantation--who knew coffee had such an interesting history!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Lodge where we spent the night near the Poas Volcano. (the clouds prevented us from seeing the volcano, but the lodge (and great food) was worth the drive up the mountain.</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">Manuel Antonio...the hike in the jungle, the monkeys outside our balcony and the amazingly beautiful beach.</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">The resort in Punteranas (our Christmas present from our daughter and son in law)...lots of great food and just some relaxing beach time! Melynda and Brent have already been missing the fresh fruit and breakfast beer.....</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">The wonderful boat trip to and from the beach on Tortuga Island (and the great food) .</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">Melynda and Brent reluctantly left Monday to go back home to Denver to their cats, their jobs and snow.</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">We are back in San Jose in our little apartment in the big city.</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">Back to learning more about life in Costa Rica and it's people.</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">Back to learning how to find our way around.</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">The language is beginning to sound a bit more familiar even if we still don't know what people are saying to us a good part of the time</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">.We both see beginning Spanish classes in our not too distant future.</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">Last night was our first attempt at making Gallo Pinto (the staple food for all Costa Ricans).</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">It was very good, but we are not quite ready to have our Costa Rican neighbor test it yet...</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow we are looking forward to attending (not yet participating) an art show in Escazu---will report on that later.</span></div><div class="flippy"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">Following are some recent pictures.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcjuMmFpyarYoFo1iuRk_BLmpwTQb2EPbnouhHmrz4sVrqhmKsvZ1Y-20m0ILsar9c-8hZHaNGah-6ORpY76DhOSQcd8DOGZfz1xfrAmLxBjZnNf76CR5F2-53x4fMAFXYiKSjhPEoReV/s1600/169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcjuMmFpyarYoFo1iuRk_BLmpwTQb2EPbnouhHmrz4sVrqhmKsvZ1Y-20m0ILsar9c-8hZHaNGah-6ORpY76DhOSQcd8DOGZfz1xfrAmLxBjZnNf76CR5F2-53x4fMAFXYiKSjhPEoReV/s200/169.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our friends outside our windows</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjumO3MtkP25_YZ9pQrJYjk1JFYQp2zFhX1N3paA8NQh9lFQTU8jyOxVb11EWzRX0q5dxBSIENQFD4prKsJ6p9S42PVQljcUFJNBrG6gJvOB2NxdJjQ56JTcbqdUi4KmUmk1AasSf9hh2/s1600/183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjumO3MtkP25_YZ9pQrJYjk1JFYQp2zFhX1N3paA8NQh9lFQTU8jyOxVb11EWzRX0q5dxBSIENQFD4prKsJ6p9S42PVQljcUFJNBrG6gJvOB2NxdJjQ56JTcbqdUi4KmUmk1AasSf9hh2/s200/183.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very slow moving sloth!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvHDw7rNcglzjnByEjLp8gt8IfQGhTHXeIPexYn2WPVkjQ_RsUpCbDf_Y8-o7fNMEiL3hx1i2-u3Vt8yMAefu8nnMXqpLT5C6bBd9fN-NGkwMFWHPAVcPuYdImX0qybC3wlvqeKaEHG1X/s1600/174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvHDw7rNcglzjnByEjLp8gt8IfQGhTHXeIPexYn2WPVkjQ_RsUpCbDf_Y8-o7fNMEiL3hx1i2-u3Vt8yMAefu8nnMXqpLT5C6bBd9fN-NGkwMFWHPAVcPuYdImX0qybC3wlvqeKaEHG1X/s200/174.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Connie & Michael on Torguga Island</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2R6T-PWSGOpzeVbGt1XIpy_vfeKiaDOG6t04peYc48YeTAg9h_7aVXu6epW5YdrNgn55NB3ZdDdrfaE5u45sTBjbCAPLibe4_5DKS9oO0xyFgWk-1VMCOB22yN4ih98ZlLE5FJJu9Alq5/s1600/234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2R6T-PWSGOpzeVbGt1XIpy_vfeKiaDOG6t04peYc48YeTAg9h_7aVXu6epW5YdrNgn55NB3ZdDdrfaE5u45sTBjbCAPLibe4_5DKS9oO0xyFgWk-1VMCOB22yN4ih98ZlLE5FJJu9Alq5/s200/234.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent & Melynda out on the pier</td></tr>
</tbody></table> </div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-4164016062925180352011-11-27T16:47:00.000-06:002011-11-27T16:47:17.950-06:00Our trip with the kids<div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hey Amigos!</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Our plan was to wait to post again until we were back in San Jose after traveling to several different areas in CR with Brent and <span class="J-JK9eJ-PJVNOc">Melynda</span>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">It seems, however, there are too many pictures and experiences to include in just one post.</span></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;">We will start with our one day trip to San Gerardo De <span class="J-JK9eJ-PJVNOc">Dota</span> with the intent to venture into the cloud forest in search of birds with Brents new binoculars.</span></div></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;">To set the scene for the following videos, we were delighted that the GPS on Brent's phone could actually find where we were and keep us on course.........we thought.</span></div></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;">It seems we got a little off course, but Google maps found us an alternate route.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I cannot even do justice trying to describe the road on which we found ourselves traveling but thank the Lord for 4 wheel drive! </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, the GPS continued to tell us we were right on the alternate course. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The following video clips that <span class="J-JK9eJ-PJVNOc">Melynda</span> took do a better job telling the story of this trip.............</span></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;">By the way, we did finally reach our destination, but the visit was cut short by the rains of the day. </span></div></div><div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;">And we are relieved to report that we did get back to San Jose by way of the "road more traveled."</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">more to come shortly.....................</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div></div>Takin' a Time Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00809599239713421145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3960305601101770924.post-63888596000600459612011-11-17T11:00:00.000-06:002011-11-17T11:00:32.432-06:00Buenas Dias from Costa Rica<span style="font-size: large;">We made a promise to family, friends and acquaintances that we would try to document and share our experiences for the six months we are in Costa Rica.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Soooo..here goes. Hopefully we can keep some consistency.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We arrived in San Jose Costa Rica one week ago last night. After a wonderful going away party with friends including tearful and emotional goodbyes, we headed to the airport to begin our exciting and long awaited adventure. Thanks to our dear friends, we departed Salisbury feeling loved and appreciated.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We were thankful for an uneventful flight, no issues with customs and a fairly calm taxi ride to the Costa Rica Hotel for our first night here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But the real fun began the next morning when Dick, a former Salisburian, (now Costa Rica resident) and Rafa, a native Costa Rican (aka landlords, friends and guardian angels) walked from what was soon to be our new temporary home in San Jose to meet us.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">First order of the day was to a get our 4 large trunks back to our apartment. It was only 4 blocks away but involved revolving taxi trips--we walked--the trunks rode in the taxi!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That day began the whirlwind of sights sounds and tastes of San Jose including bus trips (no car),a commuter train trip, many many walking tours through the downtown area of San Jose, lots of wonderful Costa Rica coffee (and food) and even attended Rafas Tico family celebration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It seems so far, every time we wonder out with out Dick and or Rafa we do spend a little of the time lost (shhhh don't tell Michael because he doesn't think we were lost!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of our favorite things so far is the fresh fruit and vegetables from the street vendors and markets...yesterday we found that prices can vary alot from place to place . For example a pineapple from under $1.00 to $2.50. And, by the way--the pineapple was really really good!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_JvRGqJn2H-eDygcAnPbw-Lt7lz9-49uYe0Sxr7qdEQXwuvlnFmzfG3KWE3ZBuYZ2yynPioDNDBhuUaDdqLH0lkE_0DQ0TTkEL_tH79Ts-hwbvuBWrriJnPYj3y9uPYS3kPyY-KS3laq/s1600/sanjoseblogpic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_JvRGqJn2H-eDygcAnPbw-Lt7lz9-49uYe0Sxr7qdEQXwuvlnFmzfG3KWE3ZBuYZ2yynPioDNDBhuUaDdqLH0lkE_0DQ0TTkEL_tH79Ts-hwbvuBWrriJnPYj3y9uPYS3kPyY-KS3laq/s320/sanjoseblogpic.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">Tuesday we were downtown trying to prove we could do some stuff by ourselves. We were having a late lunch in a little bar/restaurant/cafe where a tv was showing the Costa Rica vs Spain futbol match (game?). Futbaol does happen to the passion of Costa Rica. All of a sudden, there was this kind of rumble (earthquake???) coming from out on the street and people began to stop and look in the windows and doors of the cafe... What had happened was Costa Rica had just scored the first goal of the game (match?) Horns were honking, people cheering..........our first experience with the passion of Costa Rica.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow we are looking forward to our daughter and son in law from Denver coming to visit for a bit then we will all spend Thanksgiving at the beach in Punarenus. More after that trip...</span><br />
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