August 03, 2007 - Orosi Living: Pros and Cons

Our plan for Costa Rica is to live in several towns for several months each before deciding where to settle down. During our visits, we have been trying to keep in mind that we are looking for the best place for us - this is difficult because it is so easy to focus on the positive and ignore or downplay any negatives. It is easy to say "Oh, we can live without that," etc.

We lived in Orosí for almost 3 months, from the end of the dry season through the beginning of the rainy season. When we left, we knew the town wasn´t a perfect match for us. We let our impressions settle for a while, then came up with this list of Pros and Cons.

Overall: Orosí is a small town of about 2,000. The surrounding community brings the population to 10,000. It is near a wildlife reserve and a lake (used for hydroelectricity and fishing). It is about 20 km South of Cartago - about 45 minutes by bus, or 25 minutes by car. It is in a small valley, surrounded by coffee fincas - a bit lower in elevation than Cartago.

Pro:

· Very Friendly

· Easy to have a horse nearby

· Not a tourist town, but you will see a lot of travelers

· We made many good friends there

· ¨Good¨ climate - not too hot or humid, although we needed a fan

· Quiet; not much going on; easy to get lazy

· Good dentist available in town

· Some opportunities for social interactions via Montaña Linda Spanish School and private music parties

· Good place to visit and have visitors

· Very few of the helpful people have ulterior motives (e.g., they genuinely want to help; they are not just trying to sell you something)

· Affordable

Con:

· No Park

· No Central Market

· San José is multiple-bus-rides away

· Neighboring cities are uninspiring (that is an opinion, based on *our* needs)

· No ethnic restaurants

· The locals do not recommend the local doctor or clinic; it is a long way (San José or Cartago) for good health care

· Neither of us could drink the tap water without some degree of discomfort; we ended up using bottled water for drinking and for making soups

· There were a few aggressive drunks - in a small town, you have to avoid the same ones

If a small town suits you, Orosí is a wonderful place to consider. You can click on the ¨orosi¨ tag to see more posts on the town.

Something we have noticed in general is that the people in small towns have lives which are more influenced by religion. The church is a central part of the community.

July 26, 2007 - Something to Remember, When...

Something to remember, when we get frustrated while trying to do something (anything) in Costa Rica...

We are adding a patio to our house in California. We went to a near-by rockery to order materials, and found that the selection was not very good; on the way back, we stopped at Home Depot - they had plenty of choices, and all the materials needed.

We arranged for my family to trek down here this weekend to help - many hands make light work, etc. We reserve a "vibe-plate" - the tool to rent that tamps down the pavers and sand - for Sunday.

Yesterday, we went to the Home Depot and arranged for everything to be delivered Friday afternoon. Pavers, sand, edgers, stakes - no problem. Hah!

This morning, HD calls - their inventory count was wrong, and they have no sand. They couldn't arrange with another store to get it for us, they didn't offer any sort of "o0ps, I'm sorry" discount, nothing.

We called another HD - they had sand, but no pavers. So now we have two choices. Either we reschedule for a week later (when we don't have help available), or we pay for deliveries from 2 different places. Well, we said "send us the sand" and we go forward with plans for this weekend.

This afternoon, the second HD calls (!!!) - oops, no sand afterall. Do I see a pattern? Am I destined to not have a patio?!? (to be determined). The HD guy says that another HD (about 30 minutes away) has a lot of sand, gives me the number, and I call. Yes, they have sand (where have I heard *that* before?). I get in just under the wire - 4 minutes before the "delivery" cut-off time. But it is a long distance delivery - those take 48 hours ;(. But the HD woman (thank you Delores!) checks - they can do it Friday! And they won't charge more!

So now I have two credit cards with sand refunds, two places delivering stuff Friday, two places to return pallets and bags (gotta get those deposits back), a vibe-plate rental, and *help*!

As I said, something to remember...

July 12, 2007 - Orosi Celebration

Thanks to Roni, I now know
what happened in Orosi in mid-May

July 12, 2007 - Practicing Our Manners

Today we drove across the bridge - a toll bridge - in California. We used to have FasTrak (that electronic gizmo that lets you just slow down a bit, and get charged the toll automatically) - no human interaction needed. But we got rid of them when we got rid of a bunch of other stuff before our last extended trip to Costa Rica.

So this toll bridge - Four dollars! I felt my irritation rising - just like the good ol' days, when I drove to work every single day, humping through traffic and tolls. BUT! A funny thing happened when I rolled down my window and passed a fiver to the attendant - my mouth opened, and out came "Good Morning!" and then it closed again, and a *smile* formed (!!!). I got my dollar change, and said "thanks, and have a good day" - OMG!

Even before I had FasTrak, I used to play a sort of game - I would slow just enough to pass the toll; the objective was to see how fast I could get past the booth (I even remember missing once - Que embarrassment! The toll booth attendant had to leave her booth to get the dough. She was *not* happy.)

So today, as I was calmly leaving the toll area, still smiling, I said to Rick (by way of explanation) "just practicing my Tico manners." But I kept thinking about that - it's really not true. I think I have actually *gained* Tico manners. So even if there were no other reason, I say "Thank you, Costa Rica!"

July 01, 2007 - Strange

We're back in California now, and some things are pretty strange.

I haven't driven a car in over three months. I find myself going soooo slooowww! Every once in a while, I'll look at the speedometer, and I'm going 50! I speed up again, and before I know it - 50! Those drivers whizzing by at 80 are wondering what I am on. If they don't blink as they pass me. Don't worry, it's just Costa Rica hangin' on. The Max speed limit in Costa Rica is ~60 mph, and most "fast" roads have a limit of ~40 mph. And buses go even slower. (of course, taxis make up for that). I'm almost back to my normal habitual-speeder self; doesn't take me long...

Everything seems so much bigger! Our normal little old house is HUGE! It practically echoes! The cars are enormous - "small" SUVs here (Escape, RAV-4), are large cars there. It is unheard of to try to drive any of the "mid-sized" or large cars around the Costa Rican streets (ok, we did see one Cadillac in Orosi, and semis do fit on the major arteries). Even deodorant comes in bigger containers.

It was almost 9:00 at night before I realized it - the sun was still up. I did miss that...

I got un-addicted to all those TV shows - ahh.

Big shopping trips for groceries. I got used to going every day, walking, and carrying back only a couple of bags. Yesterday, I drove, filled up a cart, and lugged in about a dozen bags. It's a voyage in itself!

Hot water in the kitchen!?!?!

Oops - TP goes where?

We got mail. Junk mail - yuck. Books and DVDs - yay! In Costa Rica, we got no mail - none whatsoever. But we did get a different sort of "junk mail" - cars with PA systems drive around the neighborhoods performing the same service. None of that in California, unless you count the musical ice-cream trucks ;).

People are hidden away :(. I definitely got used to greeting a lot of friendly "strangers." And constantly running into friends around town, and "planning" a get-together later the same day.

July 01, 2007 - Flying Rant

OK, I can't be a Pollyanna *all* the time. Especially after the flight we just survived. I suppose it could be said that I brought it on myself - I booked our return to the USA, and saved a whopping $400 by taking 3 (that's THREE) flights instead of the normal two (I have not yet been able to get a non-stop flight from Costa Rica to the San Francisco Bay Area). NEVER AGAIN!!!

Our first leg got us to North Carolina a few minutes early - looks good so far, right? Then we hit immigration/customs control. OMG!!! There were three international flights that got in at the same time, and there were only 4 (FOUR!) customs agents to handle the US Citizen line =:( . It seemed that everywhere we looked, people were asking "How are we going to make our connection?" and "My plane leaves in 10 minutes, will they wait for me?" We had about an hour of standing in line, wondering the same thing, fondly remembering our Phoenix immigration "line" of a couple of people.

We got through, got our passports stamped (mine is blurry - sure hope that doesn't hurt too much later), got our baggage, turned it back in to get re-checked, and found out our gate (the gate where our plane is scheduled to leave in 5 minutes). Then we made a mad dash to the checkpoint. Well, there is only one (ONE!) checkpoint open, and it is NOT the one direct to our terminal. Everyone in line is angry and afraid of missing their connection. We are surprisingly calm - must be that leftover Costa Rican Pura Vida vibe, or maybe we're just too sick (did I mention we both got the flu the day before?)

After the checkpoint, Rick runs ahead to the gate to see what can be done, and I pull our carry-ons. And I get a lift! yay! BUT! The flight is closed. There is a family of 10 also trying to get on, and the guy at the gate is passing the buck. The plane is still at the gate, but he says "they" won't let us board. Then a guy comes from the jetway, and we say "Let us on!" and the jetway guy says "that's his decision, not mine" (pointing to our original guy). Well, we all look at our guy, and he relents - he opens the door! We get on! We leave! (did our luggage make it?)

Remember, this is only our second :( leg; we still have *another* connection to make. And this leg is now late (hmmm could it be because of those people they let on late?). Well, it makes up some time, but then there is trouble at the gate - we end up walking off the plane with only 15 minutes to make our final connection. Finally! some luck! Our next flight is at the very next gate! :D And, it is also a bit late.

By the time we get our luggage (guess what? It *did* make it!), we are 45 minutes late, and by the time I get the rental car, pick up Rick, and drive home, it is nearly 4:00 a.m. For some reason, when I was scheduling the flight, getting in at 1:30 a.m. sounded bad, but do-able. ugh.

That was our Thursday. Friday was a haze. It is now Sunday, and we're starting to feel human again.

June 27, 2007 - Alajuela

Ahhh - Alajuela! We took the bus from Grecia to Alajuela yesterday.

It is pretty good weather now (sorry Mark, I didn´t know!); apparently, the few days around the "Festival of San Juán" (last Sunday) is known as the summer of San Juán - usually somewhat overcast in the morning, but not much rain at all. In a few weeks, we expect the "little summer" that usually lasts a couple of weeks.

We finally figured out the right direction to walk from the Grecia bus stop - I´m getting less shy about asking shop-keepers for information :). We walked all along the pedestrian walkway to the central park - most of it is still dug up, but the block next to the park has a nice brick pattern, and looks ready for light posts. It looks like it will be a very pleasant way to shop soon. But, of course, the car traffic is pretty bad - lots of people don´t yet expect the closed roads.

We said good-bye to a few friends and places - we got reacquainted with the central park (we sat a lot), then got coffee :D in the lovely courtyard of Café Britt, then lunch at Jalapeño´s, and dropped in on Vida Tropical.

Then we walked down to see the progress on the Juán Santamaría park - it was torn up on our last trip, and they were just getting it started at the beginning of this trip. Now it is nearly done - certainly usable; it has the same nice brick pattern as the pedestrian mall by the central park, and the statue of Juán Santamaría is now surrounded by a stage-like area. The benches and lights are not in yet, and we suspect that the stage will get a roof as well.

We very nearly stayed to get dinner at Cugini´s, but decided we were a bit too tired. So, we headed back to the bus stop. I forgot that the stop is 2 blocks from the central *market,* NOT 2 blocks from the central *park!* Ugh! Well, we asked more shopkeepers, and the police (who asked a taxi driver), and made it :). That's what I get for thinking I know a city pretty well - overconfidence got us lost (-ish).

We had heard that there was a scheduled increase in the police force, and we sure saw more in Alajuela, mainly near the parks and central market.