Freshwater Shrimpin' in Costa Rica!

Never a dull moment it seems in our life in Costa Rica.  Yesterday our neighbor dropped by and asked if I wanted to go shrimp hunting that night.  Well I am always up for an adventure and when Hubert is involved it is always an adventure.  This man is the modern day Jungle Jim.  Born and raised in the Guanacaste mountains near our home Hubert knows the wildlife and countryside like no one.  If I were to be stranded in the mountains anywhere it would be with this man.  Plus you throw in our friend and worker Rafael and you have pair of modern day "real men" as my daughter Jessica said after meeting Hubert:-)  So that evening just as darkness was falling we saddled up our two horses and rode off to meet Hubert at his home just a kilometer down the road from us.  We rode off in to the failing light on our trusty Costa Rican horses.  I will never know how these horses can navigate with zero light - amazes me everytime!  A beautfiul Costa Rica evening with a nice warm breeze and incredible stars overhead with little moon.  Spooky but beautiful. We rode for about an hour on roads I am familiar with but just before the town cemetary (I told you this was spooky) we turned off onto a side cattle trail.  Up and up we rode following this narrow path until finally we turned on our headlamps as the trail was getting very tricky.  Then down we went through brush as thick as can be.  Our horses never missing a step - thank goodness for headlamps- next time I am at Mountain Co-op I will buy an even more expensive headlamp! Hey do they make headlamps for horses?  Finally we are at  the creek.  Hubert and I dismount and Rafael takes the horses up ahead and we will walk the creek looking for the elusive freshwater shrimp.  Off we go slipping an sliding though the warm, clear  Costa Rica creek water.  The water is about mid way up our rubber boots and the walking is tricky but not too bad.  We walk along shinning our headlamps into the water - me with the modern LED headlamp Hubert with the 1950 version battery pack headlamp.  Guess whose worked better?  Of course the old one!  The LED shines nicely but does not penetrate the water.  The old light really shows the creek bottom.  We walked along for about an hour with no luck.  We met up with Rafael and the horses  and went back the way we came pushing bush with our trusty mounts.  Once back to the main road Hubert decided to try another creek so off we went into the inky black night.

In this next creek we were much more successful as Hubert speared several large and mid size shrimp.  Of course in this creek the water was much deeper in places and our rubber boots were soon filled to the top.  Squishy but it sure made me glad I did not wear by riding boots. Look for the ojos rojo (red eyes).  Below are photos of our evening catch.  Hubert speared the shrimp with a small trident affair he made with a broomhandle and some nails. Cheap and effective!

 Grandaddy on the left about 17 inches long - what a BBQ!

 This guy is a about the size of a small lobster! 

Rafael is a big guy and this shrimp is too!

Rafael and Hubert speared this big one just before we finished for the night.  I was waiting with the horses and wondering who makes all those sounds in the jungle when it is pitch black - some real some imagined.  And yes I did remember the feared Fer de Lance snake loves water:-)  Next time we blog about the BBQ! 

Fresh Tilapia - Sunday Dinner in Costa Rica

Wow - another great Sunday quad ride to Colonia Blanca and our favorite Tico Restaurant at Santa Maria Lodge.  Great ride through the junlge crossing about 9 rivers and creeks.  Cool water splashing us on this warm day in the mountains.  Our friends at the lodge have their own tilapia ponds and serve the freshest best tilapia around.  They grow these delicious water chicken in their own ponds as shown in the picture.  Note this not some gated up stale pond, this is a huge pond with lots of fresh water.  Tilapia will grow in just about any size of pond or depth of pond from 1 foot.  However the bigger the fresh water source the better they taste and these breaded tilapia filets were fantastic.  We look forward to many more trips to our secret little restaurant in the middle of the Guanacaste Mountains  - Pura Vida!

 Tilapia Pond with netting to keep the fish secure - lots of fresh water!

Sunday dinner - patacones (fried plantain) - breaded tilapia - rice and beans - fresh salad and picadillo! 

Finca Miramontes - A Costa Rican Get-A-Way!

Here is a great little farm near the boundary of Rincon de La Vieha National Park.  Perfect for those looking to live in the great outdoors and enjoy the countless adventures in the mountains of Guancaste.  Check out this video Finca Miramontes

National Bird of Costa Rica - The Rains are Coming!

Clay Colored Robin - National Bird of Costa Rica

In a country filled with beautiful colorful birds everyone must wonder why this plain colored bird could be the National Bird of Costa Rica.  With colorful toucans, mot mots, scarlet macaws - why would they chose this bird?  In 1977, the Costa Ricans chose the yiguirro as a national symbol (over many mcuh more coloroful birds that inhabit the country) due to its strong melodious song that always comes during the start of the rainy season. In addition, unlike many of the forest songsters of Costa Rica, the present bird has been familiar to the general population since the country's early history, thanks to the species tendency to live near houses and settlements. Agriculture is a major business in Costa Rica and the coming rainy season is very important to the success of the large number of people who rely on agriculture, so this now makes sense to us extanjeros.  On my early morning bike ride this morning I heard my first clay colored robin singing.  Very similar to our robins up north whose song signifies spring.  This beautiful song of a not so beautiful song bird is telling us the rains are not far off!  Pura Vida! 

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!