Live Music in Grecia!

Last night we went to Diego's Red Door in Grecia, and had a great visit with friends, along with an excellent dinner and fabulous live music! You can read a spot-on review of the restaurant and the band "Two Can Jam" in this month's Mountain Howler (note: this is not a permanent link).

After dinner, we extended our visit over coffee and dessert, then crashed at a friend's house nearby.

We returned home this afternoon - the trip had the added benefit of learning about some new bus routes :-D.

We left our apartment in San Pedro in the afternoon - 3 buses and 2 hours later, we were in Grecia. We took the San Pedro bus and Sabana Cementerio bus to the Grecia terminal downtown. When we got on the Sabana Cementerio bus, I asked the bus driver if he knew the Grecia terminal, and could he tell us when we got there. This has become a good habit, but I also never count on the driver to remember. So, we roughly knew where the terminal was, and so as we neared Coca-Cola, we peered around anxiously. At one stop, we started to rise, and the driver put his hand out to us - indicating that we should wait (nope, not there quite yet). Then he stopped a few blocks farther (I don't even know if it is a regular stop), and motioned to us. We thanked him profusely, and got off the bus. Then what? Well, we asked someone, and she pointed back the way we had come and said it was a couple blocks back. Having just come that way, we were inclined to ask someone else... We waited until she was out of sight, then asked at a nearby cafe. The gentleman behind the counter *came out* of his cafe, walked us down part of the way, and pointed around the corner - doh! We had gotten off the bus within 10 feet of the entrance to the *huge* terminal, *full* of buses, all with *great* *big* signs on the front, saying "GRECIA." Ok, it *was* out of sight around the corner...

A short wait later, we hopped on the bus - we were a bit surprised by the c815 fare - we were thinking of the c425 fare for the Alajuela bus. But, as we thought about the alternative bus route (SJ->Alajuela->Grecia), we figured the total amount would be the same. It comes to only about $1.45, but it stripped us of all our small bills and change.

About an hour later, we pulled into the terminus in Grecia - it is the same place that the bus from Alajuela uses - just West of the central park.

We killed some time sitting in the park (aahhh) and drinking iced coffee (AAAAHHHHH) with a friend, then headed over to the Red Door.

Our return trip was nearly the reverse - buses leave for San José from Grecia every 25 minutes. We decided to get off on the Paséo Colón, and after about a 10 minute wait, caught the Periféricia all the way home. I timed some of the distances on the way back:

• Grecia terminus 2:10
• Enter Autopista 2:25
• Airport 2:45
• Paséo Colón 3:00
• Home 4:00
  

San Jose Banco National Central

Yesterday we picked up our new bank cards! As we left, we made sure that the building we *thought* was the central Banco National really was the right one :-). (it was – the really tall building near the Mercado Central) We took the San Pedro bus to the terminus, then hopped on the cementerio bus to our bank. We went to customer service on the second floor, saw the line, and said “hmmm, let’s come back after lunch.” So, we walked down the pedestrian boulevard looking for cheap eats. These are amazingly difficult to find! We finally found a soda (cafeteria style) tucked in the back of a panaderia – after that, lunch was *fast!*

We got back to the bank, got our ticket, and sat down to wait. Well, I saw our number come up, and then – boom! – it went right past us! I looked around (with a good, confused look on my face – really, who could help it?), and the woman sitting next to me asked what was wrong? Well, she explained that they were only on the black numbers, and I had a green number – arg! I still had a *hundred* people in front of me! But then – I can *not* get over how *nice* people are here! – she handed me a black number! Said it was for me! She had two, and only needed one. (Note to self – next time, get two numbers and do the same for someone else.)

We had completely forgotten about getting a ticket first, then going to lunch. Another thing to remember…

So instead of god knows how long, we only spent an hour (including lunch) waiting. Then we spent 15 minutes getting our brand new bank cards – this is the branch of the bank that stamps the cards from blanks. We could have waited a couple more days and gotten them from our local branch, but we had no other good way to get cash. We immediately checked them at the ATM in the lobby of the bank – success!

Afterwards, we decided to see just how long a walk it was back to our San Pedro bus – not bad at all! The pedestrian boulevard goes all the way East to the bus terminus, and is an easy walk. It looks long on the map – but is only 6 short blocks, with lots to see on the way. We found a Pop’s (yummy ice cream) right before the end – did we stop? Of course!

November 29, 2007 - Shopping for Unfurnished House

Wow! We are almost done getting STUFF for the unfurnished apartment!

Unfurnished here means - no (NONE!) appliances or cabinets in the kitchen. A kitchen is defined by a room that has a sink and an electrical connection for a stove - no more.

We moved in Saturday, expecting that at first we could just sleep and shower at the apartment - no problem; we had air mattresses, and we went right out and bought sheets and towels. Our next step was to be able to cook, and finally we wanted to be able to relax and to have company.

--- continued ---

A friend dropped by on our moving day, and lent us a shower curtain and mosquito netting - whew!

We wanted to get a bedframe that could be either two twins or one king, so we contacted a furniture maker and got a quote. Yikes! For a simple platform w/ one side left off, no fancy wood or stains, he wanted $120 each - $240 total! We said we'd think about it. We went to some local furniture stores to see what they had. We saw regular platform bedframes for less than half that amount. We ended up buying a wooden table with 4 chairs and a rocking chair. We decided that being able to sit was also pretty important for our first few days... One problem that we didn't anticipate is that the table didn't quite fit through out door and up the stairwell :( - the delivery guy did finally get it in place, but it got scraped up. We'll have to get some sandpaper at some point and do what we can.

Immediately after that major "oops." we measured the narrowest part with some string - we carried that around with us for the rest of the furniture trips.

After visiting the furniture shop, we headed to Pali for kitchen and cleaning supplies. Got all the important stuff, and then found that they had a nice section of sheets and towels (much cheaper than where I got ours, but also not as thick - I *almost* kicked myself...). Other things we got there - pillows, plates, glasses, silverware - so *now* we are already *way* ahead of where we were in Orosi! We have *four* of everything! I also got one blanket - it is very thin, almost like a thick tablecloth. Since our kitchen has no real counters, we are keeping our dishes in the dish drainer next to the sink - it works pretty well.

So, for the first couple of days, we're sleeping on the floor in the living room. But we have a table and some chairs! We're in the living room because it is the only room that is private - we have no curtains yet... Now curtains! Wow! We went to the ferreteria for metal pipes to hang them on (this time we used the new laundry line as a measuring line). Then we looked for the material - I think I made a mistake going to Llobet's (a high-end department store) for the towels and sheets; the Pali had much cheaper versions. But, we went back to Llobet's to find curtains - none looked like they were heavy enough to give some privacy; we looked for single sheets to hang instead - only sheet sets. I kept thinking about those thin blankets in Pali - as a test, we put one up in the bedroom, and got to move our beds in where they belong :D. That worked well, so on our next trip to Pali, we got a enough for all three big windows. Note: two good things to travel with are a packet of safety pins, and a small sewing kit.

Now - how to get cooking! We'd been glancing in at the electronics/appliance stores, and (as we remembered) stoves and refrigerators are *expensive*! We had heard about a used appliance store, but when we got there, it was only new stuff. So we hit craigslist and the papers. And we adjusted our thinking.

We decided on a three-burner gas stove (just the top, no oven). These run about $30. Then we got the hose and regulator for a few dollars more at the ferreteria. (We asked 3 or 4 people where one was close to where we were; they all pointed us toward the same area, but we were blind and couldn't find it. We knew where another one was, and went to it instead. Later, we finally found the other one...) Then we had to arrange for gas (you know, so we can cook with gas!). The supermarket is where many people buy the gas (c9,800) and cilindro (c18,000). But we needed to find a way to get it delivered up our stairs. So we looked around some, and asked around some. We got two good leads - one that delivers to a restaurant (c9,000 for gas, and c18,000 deposit for the can), and one that delivers to various people in the neighborhood (c8,500 for gas, c9,000 deposit for the can - used, but usable). In either case, the deposit could be turned into a purchase. Rick arranged for the latter, and they met him at the apartment in less than 20 minutes! They even connected the hose, regulator, and stove! Now we just have to call them when the gas runs out, and they exchange it for us - nice!

We were looking for a fridge - thinking very small, but hoping for somewhat larger. We heard of one from a friend that might be for sale, and found another posted on craigslist. But then another friend offered to *lend* us one! Wow! We found a mover, and brought it home ($30). And it FIT! The next morning, two days shy of a week in our new home, we made breakfast! Ahhhh.

A bit later, we finally decided on bedframes - we got two twin metal tube frames (green), had them delivered, and then we set them up. Finally we're off the floor! We're using our big suitcases as night stands, one of the totes as an end table, and the smaller suitcases as temporary kitchen shelves. The table-top stove is outside the kitchen door, set up on the laundry sink. Pretty soon, we need to get shelves in the kitchen - we're thinking of the college answer of cement blocks and boards...

One thing that caught me off guard - everything is done with cash. I haven't had to worry about carrying the right amount of cash in so long - at the end of it all, I definitely knew the phrase in Spanish for "I'm not sure if I have enough money with me - can I get subtotals please?"

I can't imagine trying to do this without friends who have been through it all themselves. One knew of and contacted several people for us for moving, for deliveries, for housing. One knew of the best place to get furniture and supplies. Several had kept items for us from previous trips and brought them back to us when we moved. Several lent us items for the duration. All had excellent suggestions for so many things. And all of them kept us SANE! THANK YOU!!!

November 27, 2007 - Expedition

CRASH! What a way to wake up! Yesterday we got a mirror, and used it for all of half a day - this morning, a high wind sprang up and blew it right off the wall. Since *we* didn't break it, I am maintaining that we *don't* get 7 years of bad luck...

We had planned to meet friends for coffee, go on to Volcán Poás, then have lunch at Chubasco's - a highly-recommended restaurant. Even with the high winds, we decided that you can never tell whether you can see anything until you get there.

Well, we walk to the restaurant, and hear the now-familiar refrain "no hay luz" - central Alajuela has no electricity :(. So we go to another soda, have breakfast, and call our friends - no problem, they meet us at the new place for coffee!

And we're off! We hit the mountain road - BAM! The water hose jumps off the radiator and steam pours out of the hood! We all get out, check the damage, and a taxi driver offers help. We re-connect the hose, fill the radiator, limp to his house, and he adds more water. It becomes obvious that the water pump is not working, so he fiddles some more, pours more water... Ultimately, he fixes the water problem AND a problem with the horn - then smiles and waves as we thank him and drive off :). (no more problems - with the car...)

At the final turn-off for Poás, it becomes obvious that we will see nothing but clouds at the top. So, we blow off the mountain, and turn towards La Paz gardens to see butterflies. We are thinking that we would spend perhaps half an hour or a bit more there, but when we get there, we find that the main trail takes 2 1/2 hours (too long) and they don't have a partial-tour price. So we would be spending a *lot* for our little stroll ($29 for non-residents and $15 for residents). Guess what we did - yep, went to the gift shop instead :).

On the way back, we stopped at Chubasco's - they are *closed*!!! (not shut down, but *closed*!) We head back to another restaurant we passed, and had a *great* buffet lunch instead.

Then we decide to see if the Christmas tree farm will sell us a living tree (dug up, not cut down). No luck.

So by now, we're asking ourselves "was this a completely failed trip?" Believe it or not, the answer is NO. We had a very nice visit through it all, we drove through gorgeous countryside, had an unexpectedly nice lunch, and met even more wonderful Ticos!

(Again, *we* *didn't* break the mirror!)

August 09, 2007 - Where Am I? 101

Where Am I? 101
Or, finding your way around a Costa Rican town.

First, REMAIN CALM! All will be well – don’t panic. Every time I panic, I get lost.
I finally feel confident stepping off the bus in a new town. OK, proud. Cocky even. I don’t expect to find everything on the first trip, and I know I will find plenty of interesting places that I didn’t plan on. Here’s what I do.

Do some planning ahead, but don’t get anal – this (the latter) was the difficult part for me, but I’m getting better. If the town is fair-sized, look it up in a guide book. If you are staying in a hotel, see if they have a hand-drawn map. If not, make your own. Get some grid paper (or just any paper), and lay out a basic pattern, with a central park and cathedral in the center. These are usually a full block each, and within a couple of blocks of the center of town. If the guide book has a map (this is important), COPY it onto your paper – guide books usually show no more than 10 square blocks. Add some of the landmarks, like banks and perhaps a hotel. Mark the bus stop (coming and going) if this information is available. Mark a couple of avenidas and calles, and mark the compass directions. If you have any specific destinations, mark them on the map. Of course, if you are starting from scratch, your map will start out with nothing but a street grid and a central park & cathedral. That’s OK, because you will add to it as you go! Also, if you start with another map, keep in mind that parts of it could be wrong (or changed since it was published). This is also OK, since you will be marking it up.

Bring your map, a pen/pencil, and a compass (not always needed, but nice to have). Leave the guide book at home. The guide book is conspicuous and distracting – you are exploring! If you don’t know “enough” Spanish (“enough” is individually defined), bring a small dictionary or phrase book – if it makes you feel like a newbie, guess what? You are! You’ve never been here before! Most important, bring a smile and a “buenas.”

Which brings us to a very important aspect of this excursion – Attitude! Be flexible. Don’t expect to find everything you look for. Treat this as an adventure. When in doubt, know that a taxi is always near; relax and enjoy yourself. Accept that you and your travel companion will have moments of stress and get snippy – let it go. Best of all, go with Rick – he’ll let it slide unless you go off the deep end, *and* he’ll let you apologize gracefully (I know, that *could* be sarcasm, but it’s not).

As your bus is coming into the town, look for landmarks – Tribunales, parks, churches, banks, taxi stands, etc. Have your compass out, and try to fix North in your head (if you can’t, that’s OK – it will come). The bus ride is where I still get anxious. I often end up getting off WAAAY too early (click on “bus” in the tag cloud, and you will see what I mean). Wait till you can see the central park and/or central market, then ring to stop. Many bus terminals are within a couple of blocks of the central park (bigger towns have multiple terminals, and many small towns don’t have terminals). Sometimes it is difficult to tell if you are even in the right town. I find that bus passengers are very friendly, and love to tell you that your town is still ahead (and they aren’t pulling you leg).

Stop, look, and listen. When you get off the bus, your first instinct is to walk - anywhere. Don’t! Find a place to sit, or stand out of the press of people. Pull out your map and compass. Be discreet but not paranoid. Notice which direction most of the people are going. Notice which compass direction is uphill (most towns have at least a slight incline), and mark it on your map. Look around for the park, market, church, or other landmark. Look for the bus stop sign – it usually has some (but not always all) interesting information, like where it continues, schedule, and whether the return is from the same place. Keeping up/down and North firmly in mind, put away your compass and map, and start walking. You are looking for the park. Turn a few corners. Look for trees and spires.

Stop and smell the orchids. When you find the park, have a seat! This is a good time to update your map. Mark the bus stop and any landmarks you noticed on the way. I like to do this several times in a visit, and add stores, restaurants, schools, whatever. Mostly I just like parks . Don’t worry if you can’t remember exactly how many blocks or turns. Just mark what you think is right, and check it on the return. I once added an entire block to Grecia’s downtown – it stayed that way for nearly a week (no one seemed to notice the longer walk).

Ask and ask again. I have rarely had trouble finding the park within a few blocks, but in larger towns, you may want to step into a shop and ask. Also, if you have any destination in mind, like a bookstore or a Chinese restaurant, but you don’t have an “address,” just ask around. I have had conversations in parks that turned towards recommendations for restaurants and stores, and I have asked bookstore owners for directions to a close Chinese restaurant. I’ve asked bank guards and bus drivers about which street we were on. Sometimes you get an answer that is wrong, because (as my Spanish teacher says) Ticos don’t like to say they don’t know something, but most of the time you get the right direction. If you don’t find what you are looking for, ask again (and remember, stay flexible).

Helpful information:

· Este (East) and Oeste (West) are the directions that start with vowels. Avenues (with a vowel) go East and West. Towns are a rough grid, with street numbers (rarely names). Calles are even (2,4,6) West of the center and odd East of the center. Avenidas are even South of the center and odd North of the center. The saw to use is “North-Easterners are Odd.” What do I know about Odd – I’m from California.

· You can usually see the tree-tops of the park and the spires of the church many blocks away.

· The central market is usually within a couple of blocks of the central park.

· Streets hardly ever have signs. Sometimes even bank-guards do not know which street their bank is on.

· Usually the wait between buses is half an hour or less.

· Banks usually have bathrooms available.

· Most of this will also work in San José, but there is so much more to deal with. I start with an actual city map here.

I’ll post some of my maps soon – you can see how messed up things can get :(

Visitors to Hospital Mexico

You can see our friend Joe's account of his experience with hospitals in an earlier post. Here is our experience *visiting* him. Rick and I agreed - we're very glad our first trip to a public hospital was as visitors. Now we will be a bit less worried when we go as patients (you know it will happen eventually).

So, after getting our Cédulas and driver's licenses in San José, - yes, all this on the same day :)

We catch the Alajuela bus towards the Hospital México, and ask the driver to tell us when we get there. He says he will, but... Of course, we miss the stop. We get off on the next stop - fortunately not too far, walk back and on to the Hospital. The hospital is like a circus, so we ask for help at an information window. They can't find Joe for quite a while, but finally tell us he is still in emergency. At about 4:00, the nurse leads us downstairs, and we wave to Joe through the window. She tells us to wait for the Doctor; it should be about 20 minutes. Well, about 4:30, we walk back to where we saw Joe, and the security guard shoos us into a waiting room - we have to wait for visiting hours at 5:00. Linda is there right before visiting hours start - she's been through this before; we give Joe's name, and they let us see him one at a time for about 5 minutes. He seems ok - he has a full face oxygen mask on, and can't talk without taking it off - we're just there to let him know we are looking out for him.
5:15 - we're back on the bus to Alajuela; it's rush hour, so we don't get to the last stop for another hour.
Boy, are we tired! We have our leftovers and conk out.

... The next day...

We caught the 11:00 bus from Alajuela, and got off at the correct stop for Hospital México. As we got off the bus, a very nice lady helped us cross the "muy peligrosa" street. She just grasped my hand, and we followed when she crossed. I am finding that this is so typical - so many helpful citizens. I felt like a Boy Scout in reverse :D

At the hospital, we go directly to the emergency waiting room (doesn't that sound like an oxymoron?), and wait for 12:00 visiting time. Linda appears, and we queue up. Then we find out that Joe is no longer in the emergency room (why didn't we check on this before?). We run around for a few minutes, then Rick asks the right guy - we have Joe's bed number, but (of course) visiting hours for the wards don't start until 2:00. So, Linda drives us all into San Jose, and we go to ARCR to get our hands held. Annabel is very nice - she talks to us a lot, and we feel a bit better about the situation. The hospital will not release Joe just to get him out of the way (what were we thinking?!?).
We grab a bite to eat, then head back to the hospital. My navigation skills are excellent - I was always able to point to the correct turn-off as we passed it :(.
At the hospital, we get in the line for the 6th floor visitors just before 2:00 (we're about the 4th group). Well... The people who run the visiting center don't even show up until 3:00 - by this time, I'm sitting down, and Rick and Linda are very tired of standing. To accommodate the long lines, the hospital folks had opened the doors to the outside. It was very strange seeing all these people zip up jackets and pull up their hoods against the breeze. It had to be 74 degrees! I guess it is all what you're used to.
We got to see Joe one at a time, but there was no time-limit. He was *much* better! He gulped down the yogurt drink I brought (he probably wasn't supposed to have it tho). He had a better oxygen system - no full-face mask, so he could talk easier without reducing his oxygen. He told us about the other patients in the room (there were 6 beds in the room). He said he is very happy with the care he is getting at the public hospital (all covered by his $36/month insurance).
Linda drives us all back to Jalapeño's in Alajuela - whew!

Tico Drivers - the Experts

We were out walking, and saw a truck hit a car (or vice versa, who knows?). The law here is that if you get into an accident, you don’t move your cars (at all – not even 2 feet to make room for other cars to get around you) until the police *and* the insurance guy get there. If you move, the accident is automatically your fault. So – we walked up to it (it was on our way, we weren’t rubbernecking – honest!) – rainwater overflowing the sidewalks in places (this is why the gutters are 2 feet deep!), and stopped at a restaurant on the corner to watch the show (well, our feet were tired anyway – we weren’t rubbernecking, honest!). This is the kind of situation that shows the Tico drivers at their best – people were driving cars and good-sized delivery trucks around this accident, with a truck on one side, and a 2-foot-deep gutter on the other. While we were there, only 2 people got tires stuck in the gutter, and only one driver dinged his mirror :) :(. When the tires got stuck in the gutter, about 5 guys lifted the front of the car while the driver backed up – bam! Out of the gutter. No hay problema! We waited out another 5-minute cat-and-dog drop, had some cold coffee drinks and dessert, then walked the rest of the way ‘home.’

UCR angel

May 30, 2006 (from the past)

We decided to take the express bus to UCR today. This is in what used to be the town of San Pedro, but has since been absorbed into San Jose.

We were waiting at the bus stop with two others, when we saw “our” bus move on without stopping ;(. Well, one of the others waiting for the bus asked us (in Spanish) if we knew the other route for San Pedro. She said that the next bus from this stop would be an hour and a half! We said we didn’t and she took us under her wing – for the rest of the trip! We followed her to the San Jose bus terminal (the one we had taken before), got on the bus, and left right away. She was wearing heels, and walked in the street. This is apparently how the locals navigate (or not) the cracked sidewalks without falling down (now we know!). When we got to the stop in San Jose, she told us when to get off, then said it was a long walk, so we would take a taxi. We piled into a taxi and drove off. She is chatting away with the driver, and we’re just trusting that we will get where we need to go. When the taxi stopped, she didn’t even look at us to pay our share – she just paid the driver and hopped out, beckoning us to follow. We got out at another bus stop, followed her onto the bus, and as we were trying to figure out what to pay, she again beckoned us to follow. She explained that we were continuing, and so don’t pay again. She just told the bus driver that, and all was ok – no pass, no voucher, no nuthin! We still weren’t sure if she was going to UCR, or just somewhere in San Pedro. So, when the bus stopped and she got off, we floundered – she said “come on” and so we did. It was just an ordinary corner – no university in sight. But we followed, and lo and behold – UCR! Campus! Students! And a whole row of bus stops that look like expresses to/from everywhere! Yay! We thanked her, and then I asked if she knew which bus stop was the one for the return bus to Alajuela. I thought she would simply point and go on her way. But no! She walked us down about a block and a half out of her way and showed us the right bus stop sign. And then she asked where we wanted to go on campus! We saw some signs for music and arts, and thought “why not?” She then walked us down the path (more out of her way). We thought “yikes! We can’t take advantage of her any more!” and thanked her (very profusely). She was so nice through the whole trip – truly our San Pedro angel.

We walked around campus for a while, and ate lunch in one of the cafeterias there. The restrooms don’t have toilet paper (bring your own), or soap (bring your own), or towels (byo). There were a lot of people brushing their teeth – we have heard that Costa Ricans are very careful of their teeth, and this seemed to prove the point.

We walked around the area immediately surrounding the campus, looking for live music venues, and checking out the scene. We stopped at a campus information office, and got a map (free!). The campus is pretty big!

We got back to the bus stop and waited for our bus to show. It came ~15 minutes early, and they let us on (usually you can’t get on a long-distance bus that early), and we waited. But the bus filled up before the posted “leaving” time, and so… It left! Early! Something to remember…

This was the express, so we came straight to Alajuela. And its route went right by the old hospital, so we got off close to home! Good thing, because it was raining.