Comida para gatos

I'm experiencing Costa Rica from the ground up - literally. My semi-remote location and the fact I don't yet have a vehicle means I'm putting my soles to the ground and hoofing it down and down a mountainside in search of daily necessities. Inside my first week, all my time from waking to sleeping was spent looking after small things to produce a new house and location feel just like home.

Comida para gatos we're surviving in Las Nubes de (the clouds of ) Coronado, Costa Rica. To get to our location; come from the Central Valley of San Jose, go Northwest up to the mountains past Guadalupe, through Moravia, then through Coronado, and finally around San Rafael / Las Nubes. For better reference, an on line map can be obtained here: Las Nubes de Coronado, Costa Rica, C.A.

We're up within the mountains where the elements is consistently Spring-like, the hummingbirds attend daily to the flowering trees, Junior picks from the trees nectarines and bananas and from the bushes red and green peppers. 500 meters below us is just a working dairy farm detailed with ox-pulled carts for getting around feed grasses and while we walk by both milk cows and chickens graze roadside. The nights are chilly, but we've a great big fireplace that keeps us warm and cozy ... we just need to locate a source for more firewood (one of the many, several things on my very, very long to-do list)

The bus from Coronado runs approximately every half-hour and the last stop is 400 meters below our home. Junior and I have already been taking the bus down and back from Coronado daily at a price of 310 colones ($00.62) each way for the both of us. In Coronado we always spend some time at an Internet cafe, eat a meal and do some searching for household items such as food and cleaning supplies. Then it's back to the bus terminal to catch our bus for the ride up. The last 400 meter hike around your house with this back-packs and bags of purchases can leave you winded.

One of our more memorable trips to Coronado involved my perception that most ATM's are made equal. In the usa I never worried about how little money was within my pocket because of the vast number and reliability of ATM machines. In Coronado there are only two ATMs that I am aware of: one at Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) and one other at Banco Nacional (BN). Without paying a lot of attention I spent my way right down to about 100 colones and when I went to the ATMs for more money, I was denied usage of funds by both. Junior and I looked up at the mountain top, knowing that somewhere near the top was our house ... so away we went - walking approximately 7 kilometers up & up & up & up .... and up! About an hour and a half later we were home and sore - but at the same time frame, it was sort of fun. After all, many travel from around the world to hike the mountains of Costa Rica and we had the high-class problem of needing to complete a hike simply for the sake of getting home!

Friday, February 29th we did get a chance to see a little more of the area thanks to John's friend Arne. Today Junior and I took a taxi to San Antonio de Coronado (an area below Coronado) to meet with Arne for a little shopping. The closer you can the capital city of San Jose, the more shopping variety you've to decide on from. In our travels we went to stores in the barrios of San Pedro, Guadalupe and Moravia.

In Costa Rica there is many different store (tienda) choices which range from tiny home-front stores (literally) to the huge discount and club warehouse stores (similar to a Sam's or Costco).

Home-front stores often called a "pulperia" or "abastecedor" are often located in the leading element of a structure or building that's otherwise a residence. A simple sign out front or simply an indicator painted on the building denotes this kind of tienda where you are able to get a quick snack fix such as a bag of Funions and a Comida para gatos.

Grocery Stores may also be small proprietor shops around larger stores often known as "Mini" or "Mega-Supers" ;.A food chain consisting of mid-sized stores in several regions of Costa Rica is named "Pali" (owned by Wal-mart, pronounced: pa-LI). Pali resembles U.S. based Aldi Food Stores for the reason that they provide basic staples such as milk, beans, rice, snacks, cleaning supplies, etc. - detailed with a bag-it-yourself service. Grocery chains that more resemble standard U.S. food markets are MasXMenos (another Wal-mart owned chain), Mini Mega Super, Mega Super and others. In these stores you may find most everything needed seriously to stock your home - even Jif crunchy peanut butter!