Postcards from Escazu: January 2011

Okay, I will premise this post with the fact that I don't have a lot to of positive things to say about this park because it was crowded with people and I do not like crowds of people, but prefer to be in a quiet secluded garden atmosphere, however Brian likes to people watch and enjoys throngs of people, hence the visit. We parked. We walked a few blocks, then ran across a 6 lane busy road to a large statue dedicating the park, and then walked the short distance to the tree lined entrance.

The park is located in San Jose, near the new soccer stadium. It was a very large well planned park that doesn't look like it has been maintained all that well. It had a lake, but it was polluted with trash and a strange brownish-grey milky color to the water. It looked like it used to have a nice fountain but had some pretty bizarre looking statues and art. There were dogs both owned and wild (no leash laws as far as I can tell) running and pooping and humping. There were horses and ponies and poop.

We did get a sense of the pura vida though. Everyone looked like they were having a wonderful time with families and friends enjoying picnics, pony rides, kite flying, skating, cycling, swimming, cheer leading, skateboarding, and of course soccer.

New stadium

There were like 6 games going on all at once on this field.

Kite flying on the soccer field during play.

The most normal piece of the weird art

Swimmers

What used to be a fountain.

Roller rink. See the yellow kite behind the skater in black.

If he falls he is going through the windshield.

They are lifting her into the tree.

They were on asphalt. No mats.

It was an interesting experience. I am glad I went.

What have we done since my last post?
I will start with the least recent and bring us up to date.

We have been enjoying dry summer weather with cool breezes for most of January. We have not experienced precipitation of any sort except when we have traveled to the volcano areas. Because of the nice weather we hang out around the house and yard and we are able to leave the doors and windows open for real indoor-outdoor living. The cats can now be trusted to stay in the yard and to come when called so we feel comfortable letting them out when we are home.

We learned that the reason Costa Ricans wear long pants most of the time is not because they are modest God fearing Catholics, but because if you are outside and don't have on pants the no-see-ums and mosquitoes will bite you. The bites can last weeks. I still have some dark spots from old bites on my legs and Brian swelled up pretty good when he was bit.

I bought some bougainvilleas for the house and Francisco, our landscaper, planted them for me. In the dry season new plants have popped up,a couple of tomato plants, a pretty purple flower vine, the rose bush is coming back, and a few others. The begonias are blooming in the yard and in the house. I have been out taking pictures in the yard while Brian works and I took some during the last full moon. But, we get bored and feel we are squandering our time in CR if we don't get out and do adventurous things.

Brian and I discovered we can go and do a ton of fun things within one hour's travel time. The Central Valley area where we live is shaped kind of like a caldera in that it is perceived to be somewhat bowl shaped. We are on the side of the bowl looking across at the other side. I still can't tell what direction I am facing and after living in California and knowing precisely, it is kind of a weird feeling. I would love to get a digital hand held GPS device.

(Facing San Jose)

(Facing Escazu and Santa Ana)

Brian and I drove a couple pf weeks ago to do a hike at a local park called Braulio Carrillo National Park. we headed out late in the day and did not get to stay very long as it gets dark fairly early and the road was a a challenge in daylight. We will be going back because we missed all but the one trail we hiked. It was quite cool in the cloud forest. On the way back to the main trail we heard a spooky loud breathing sound-- that I said sounded like a rhinoceros, and secretly hoped wasn't a large hungry cat.

Last weekend we drove to La Paz Waterfall Gardens, also within a 2 hour drive. We had an amazing time. They had a butterfly garden that was easily the best I have ever seen, a bird exhibit, a snake exhibit, and a frog exhibit. It is the image of Costa Rica that was in my mind before I got here.