Hola ECers!
My daughter, Alexis, and her husband, Jason, have been living in Costa Rica for 5 months. Jason is the son of Renee Gilbert, recently retired art teacher and an OAEAer, too! In fact, Renee was here for a week with us and just returned to Mansfield. I was here for a month. I am writing this from CR but by the time you read this, I will be home in East Liverpool again, hence the contradictory verb tenses! Alexis and Jason will be back stateside by then, too.
We were living in the state of Guanacaste in the village of Potrero. Potrero is on the Pacific coast. It is about an hour from Liberia where the closest big airport is. (Yes. I thought Liberia was only in Africa, too.)
Guanacaste has been devastated by the same economic factors that plagued our resort areas. There are many unfinished buildings and projects. If the world economy recovers I imagine that Potrero will eventually be a very different place. In some ways you can see it occurring now. The main road has been paved this year.
Prices for commodities, especially American commodities, are very high. Everyone who comes to visit brings a suitcase full of requests for their hosts. $40 luggage fees are cheap compared to local prices (if you can even find what you want.) On the other hand, rentals are cheap by American standards. Sea view rentals are much cheaper but still ... Not really cheap. Electricity is high but I think it's high stateside, too! As in all countries, the more money you have, the better your living conditions will be!
And speaking of receiving packages ... See paragraph after next.
Sadly, as were many people in Potrero, we were plagued by the same flu that has been rampant in Ohio. My personal opinion is that we flew it down here with us. The result was that we were only able to go on two expeditions out of the area since everybody but Alexis and Renee took their turns being under the weather. These are things I learned from this experience. The closest hospital is about 45 minutes away. The pharmacist is 4 kilometers away. The pharmacist listens to your symptoms and will sell you most of the medicine you will need. A doctor is at the Pharmacy several days a week and you can make an appointment to see her. None of the medicines are quite like the medicines we are prescribed stateside. Some of them are remarkably effective. I wonder if they are not FDA approved.
You can buy stamps and post letters from the pharmacy, too. Receiving letters is another matter. No one seems to have an address. It seems that you use an address that indicates how many blocks you are from a landmark?
We did visit both Volcan Arenal and Volcan Poas. These were both 5 hour drives and several hours apart. We went on separate weeks. It seems that everywhere there is a volcano, there are waterfalls. So, of course, we visited these, too.
These areas were lush, green, and in the case of Poas, actually cold at night! If you like hiking up and down steps, Costa Rica is the place for you. Do not think that there is some hidden road that the elite get ferried down to see these natural wonders. 400 steps down and 400 steps back up is the norm. You might think 'down' wouldn't be too hard. Think again. Your legs are quivering!
Guanacaste is unlike much of Costa Rica in that the temperature does not vary. It is always about 85 to 100 degrees. And, the area has seasons. How can this be if the temperature doesn't vary? The rainfall varies. I was here during the Dry Season.
The land is brown and very dusty. No lush greenery during this period. It reminds me of the African or the western USA plains in the fall. Very beautiful in a sere way. Very hot! The mornings and the evenings are the best times of day. Aren't they always from an artist's point of view?
Guanacaste has magnificent beaches. Costa Rica is primarily volcanic. There are islands jutting from the sea that are rock promontories. Jarring but captivating to see. The color of the sand can vary from black to pale brown. Each beach has it's own characteristics as well as the color of the sand. Some beaches are gentle (for the Pacific) and some have dangerous rip tides. The ones with the rip tides are apparently the best for surfing, etc. I wouldn't know ... I only go in up to my knees. The waves make sure the rest of you is wet! Blessedly, water temperature is quite warm considering that it is the Pacific Ocean.
Due to illness and no car (we rented one for the Volcano trips), I didn't get to see much in the way of regional artists and artwork. Costa Rica has flourishing art communities. Many painters practice here. They also make wonderful things from the local woods. Ceramics are a staple for the tourist industry. Naturally, beadwork, too. But in our area what I saw the most of were public murals made of mosaics.
I am including several pictures of these. The woman responsible for these, Ana Ovares,
just gets better and better.
Until our next meeting ...
Barrie
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