Horses, Quads and Tilapia Ceviche

Sunday beautiful Sunday with no wind and clear skies in the mountains of Costa Rica!  What could be better in life!  Early in the  morning we saddled up Chalana and Prieto and headed off into the jungle for a two hour early morning ride.  Too beautiful to describe with all the song birds singing and blue morphos flying by!  We rode up into the rain forest on a favorite trail surrounded by huge rainforest trees and the sights, sounds and smells of the jungle.  Our surefooted horses allowed us lots of time to look around and enjoy the day!  Before long we are back at the house.  Off come the saddles and quick showers for the horses, a quick nap for the riders then off on our Suzuki Quad.  A great ride through the country side toward Guayabo and onto another favorite quad trail which takes us up and up over the pass to Colonia Blanca through the jungle again.  A little driving around the pueblo of Valle Verde and then a quick stop at the bar  Las Vegas  for a cold cerveza.  Then off to Sanata Maria lodge for some late lunch.  On the menu today fresh Tilapia Ceviche and wow was that delicious!  Washed down with another cerveza and then back  home in San Jorge via the back roads.  Crossing rivers and bouncing along with the tireless Suzuki quad.  Another great day in paradise!  Pura Vida!

Pura Vida - Life in Costa Rica

Click on the link below for a great video on living the life in Costa Rica.  This video is made with local residents who have moved here from Canada and the USA. 


Click here for a video of "Pura Vida - Life In Costa Rica"

Nosara Visit March 2013

We drove down to Nosara last week and stayed for three days.  Beautfiul area with great surfing beaches but the infrastructure and services are brutal.  To access  the Nosara area and the popular Guiones Beach you have to drive 35 kilometers of  dusty rough roads after driving 2 hours on a reasonable paved road.  I had been down there before with a quad but even with a SUV you really get the "feel" for the infrastucture or lack thereof.  The beaches are nice and great for surfing but be careful with the little ones as these beaches have riptides and undertows that can be very dangerous.  Guiones beach is beautiful.  HOWEVER I will take our area of Guanacaste any time!  We are only 25 minutes by paved road from the International  Airport and good hospitals while the Nosara area is at least 2 to 2 1/2 hours from the airport.  There is a lot to be said for driving 25 minutes after a long flight as opposed to 2 or 3 hours especially at night!  No wonder the Hilton put in a new hotel next to the airport:-)  By all means visit this area and if it is your cup of tea then buy but I would certainly recommend you have a look at our area before making any decisions.  The difference in price verses convenience and infrastructure could be very small in the long run.  Pura Vida and best of luck in your search! 

Happy New Year from Costa Rica Discovered!

Hola Everyone from Paradise!

We hope you had a great Christmas and wish you all the best for 2013!  So much for Mayan predictions as we all seemed to have handled the end of their calendar without any natural disasters!  Man made disasters are another story.  A good comment I read  recently - if the Mayans were so smart why did they not predict their own demise!!  Lots of people made a lot of money and worried themselves sick over this whole load!  I guess we will have to wait for another doomsday prediction.  Kind of reminds me of the cartoons we use to see as a kid where the guy stood on the street corner dressed like a bum holding  up a sign that said "The End is Near"!!! Here in paradise we experienced the busiest of our two weeks per year as all the beaches including Playa Hermosa were very busy during Christmas week as the Ticos head for the beaches as is their family tradition.  New Years Eve was nuts in Coco but as usual no major problems.  Costa Ricans know how to party without all the nonsense we seem to create up north.   We are now back to normal with the beaches cleaned up and the crowds very small.  As one resident put it - a busy Christmas time beach here is like a normal beach in some of the worlds busy beaches.  Pura Vida:-)
Visit our website www.costaricadiscovered.com 

Costa Rica: RACSA promises fast internet in January

RACSA, the subsidiary of the once-telecommunications monopoly ICE, promises ultra-fast Internet communications are coming for their customers next January.

Company manager Orlando Cascante blamed delays on RACSA’s Swedish partner, Via Europa, for the January target date for offering the service. Not only is service to be faster but it will be much cheaper.

RACSA’s customers have longed for a break for quite a while. The subsidiary has been a worry for parent ICE when customers began abandoning its service when the market opened up.

Revenues dropped as service declined and customers fled until, in 2011, ICE was forced to give RACSA a company bailout to keep it afloat in a sea of red ink.

RACSA management hopes the rot will stop when it is able to offer 10 mpbs service for the colon equivalent of $50 per month. Currently, the same service costs customers $100 per month, reported La Nacion.

Cascante said the service will be provided by the lines of the Power and Light Company — also an ICE subsidiary.

Originally, Cascante announced, at a function last Sept. 24 by President Laura Chinchilla, that the service would begin this month. But what he should have said is that RACSA was ready — but the Swedish partner wasn’t.

Costa Rica: RACSA promises fast internet in January

RACSA, the subsidiary of the once-telecommunications monopoly ICE, promises ultra-fast Internet communications are coming for their customers next January.

Company manager Orlando Cascante blamed delays on RACSA’s Swedish partner, Via Europa, for the January target date for offering the service. Not only is service to be faster but it will be much cheaper.

RACSA’s customers have longed for a break for quite a while. The subsidiary has been a worry for parent ICE when customers began abandoning its service when the market opened up.

Revenues dropped as service declined and customers fled until, in 2011, ICE was forced to give RACSA a company bailout to keep it afloat in a sea of red ink.

RACSA management hopes the rot will stop when it is able to offer 10 mpbs service for the colon equivalent of $50 per month. Currently, the same service costs customers $100 per month, reported La Nacion.

Cascante said the service will be provided by the lines of the Power and Light Company — also an ICE subsidiary.

Originally, Cascante announced, at a function last Sept. 24 by President Laura Chinchilla, that the service would begin this month. But what he should have said is that RACSA was ready — but the Swedish partner wasn’t.

Great Bicycle Riding in Pura Vida Ville!

For those of you wondering about riding a road bicycle in Costa Rica I can offer a little insight.  As an experienced cyclist I can tell you riding in Pura Vida Ville is an adventure! Having competed in and finished two Ironman Triathlons I have considerable experience  road riding in Canada, the USA, Indonesia and now Costa Rica!  Three to four times a week I hit the road at 5 AM for my morning rides from 1.5 hours to 2 hours in length.  I have several great routes with some hills that will challenge the most experienced riders.  You may or may not know Costa Rica has some of the best mountain bike and road bike riders in the world. This past year a Costa Rican rode for one of the Tour de France teams.   After riding here for 6 years I know why!  These guys and gals learn very young how to handle some very steep grades both going up and coming down!  The roads here are narrow without wide shoulders so you have to be careful and keep your wits about you.  In the morning I ride with a blinking red tail lite, reflective vest and a very powerful 180 lumens headlite!  Thank goodness for the designer of this little gem!  No more hidden potholes at 35 kilometers per hour:-)  Hopefully no more broken collar bones!  The morning rides are wonderful with light traffic and the sound of the birds and monkeys echoing around the valleys and hills.  Riding through the small towns you will catch the smell of the wood burning stoves and the preparation of Gallo pinto and other wonderful dishes.  The sun rises in the rainy season are spectacular and can make the whole ride worthwhile.  The drivers here do drive a little crazy but they are used to seeing pedestrians, dogs, cows, horses, bikes whatever on the road so they normally give you a wide berth.  So if you lo love to cycle do not be afraid to bring your bike down or buy a nice one at some of the great bike shops in Liberia.  These stores have all the latest in gear and bikes so you will not be disappointed when you head to the store.  Cycle Guilly in downtown Liberia is great.  Ask for Peter!  Next time a little on mountain biking. Happy Trails!  Visit our website www.costaricadiscovered.com to pick your piece of paradise!