Our First Christmas in Costa Rica

Lots of parties up on these ridges during the holidays. When its all over I think we will have attended 10 different events.

Here is a video of the Annual Solstice party hosted by our friends Jim & Irina. It was held on El Cajon which is the next ridge over from ours.

It was an awesome party. And what a lovely home they have!

Annual Solstice Party Dec 2016 from Devon on Vimeo.

Hotel Atitlan - Panajachel Guatemala

I LOVE a nice hotel!

Our stay at one of the best!!!

A First Class Hotel - for more information on rates etc contact Hotel Atitlan, Panajachel, Sololá Guatemala

The view speaks for itself and the service was superb!!

Let the photos do the talking...

below is our personal video with photos of our stay! Four days in paradise! (BTW the prices are very affordable)

HOTEL ATITLAN from Devon on Vimeo.

(click video ink above for email subscribers)

Easy like Sunday Morning - Life in Costa Rica

Lily & Lola chillaxin as the sun come up over our ridge

Getting around San Pedro Guatemala

TGIF

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

The Tuk Tuk

I cast my vote for Friendsgiving!

Friendsgiving is a growing trend, but one I had not heard of until recently.

The genius of Friendsgiving is in its name—before now, Thanksgiving has always been about the gathering of family members, dissimilar people from different generations with different philosophies and attitudes who only share a last name and receding hairline.

The idea behind Friendsgiving is to have a relaxed and enjoyable meal with friends  it's a celebration with people you consider another type of family to you.

While Thanksgiving can often be a stressful day,  Friendsgiving should be fun and stress free. 

I picked up these 2 guys in Guatemala - aren't they cute

Not sure what we will be doing for the holiday but I vote for "Friendsgiving"!

Seven Days in Guatemala

For those of you following our journey:

I know it's only been 5 months since we arrived in Costa Rica, but... when the travel bug calls, we gotta answer!

As it turns out, we would need to make our 2nd "border run" around the 3rd week of November. Since Lily & Lola will be arriving today we decided it would be better to make the border run a little early and give ourselves more time with the girls before we had to deal with leaving them with a pet sitter.

So the big question became "where should we go?"

We studied our bucket list of favorites.

We both enjoy traveling to historic sites. The cost of a round trip airline ticket from San Jose Costa Rica to Guatemala City is about $168 and the travel time is less than 2 hours. (BTW - the cost of living is also lower in Guatemala than it is in Costa Rica) We had also seen a couple of episodes of HGTV's House Hunters International where expats had settled in Lake Atitlan and the beauty of the lake and the volcanoes was something that stuck in our minds.

We checked airline and hotel prices and made our decision from there.

It was not a very difficult one.

And the winner....Guatemala

We planned to visit the beautiful, vibrant old Spanish cobblestone city of Antigua -- and no trip to Guatemala would be complete without a stop at what has been called, and is (IMO) the most beautiful lake in the world, Lago de Atitlán! Its shore is dotted with 12 small towns and villages, each with its own unique personality,  

Our trip would be for 7 days Wed 10/19 - Wed 10/26

First up Antigua -- and a local tour recommended by a friend

Tour Elizabeth Bell 

Thursday, October 20^th 2016 – National Holiday

9:30am            Meet your Antigua Tours guide at Hotel San Rafael for a private Cultural Walking Tour around this World Heritage Site. The tour focuses on the city’s history, cultural trends and restoration efforts. Walk to the central park to visit the City Hall Palace, focus on the Royal Palace, visit the Cathedral with its majestic ruins, and learn about Maya archeology at the Maya Jades Museum. Complete the tour at the best museums in town at Paseo de los Museos (Hotel Casa Santo Domingo) at about 12:30pm

$30 per person for the private tour includes entrance fees and beverages x 2 people = $60

(minimum 2 people)

About Antigua 

Antigua Guatemala means "Ancient Guatemala" and was the third capital of Guatemala.

Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or la Antigua) is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala at an altitude of 1470 meters (or roughly 4,800 ft), famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque architecture of Sevillan style roots, as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

During colonial times it was known as "Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala" and was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, between 1541 and 1776, when the capital was moved to the newly established city Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (Guatemala city) after the earthquakes of Santa Marta ruin the city for the third time in the same century and civilian authorities will use that as an excuse to weaken ecclesiastical authorities -following the recommendations of the Bourbon Reforms undertaken by the Spanish crown in the second half of 18th century- forcing the regular orders to move from its majestic monasteries to fragile temporary structures in the new city.

Antigua Guatemala serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It also serves as the departmental capital of Sacatepéquez Department. source 

Antigua has a flourishing and diverse expat population. We enjoyed our stay very much and plan to go back often!

Please check out our video below

I like it! from Devon on Vimeo.

What your clothing says about you

Things are a changin!

but...

one of the things that has not changed, is my love for fashion and design. 

We moved into a furnished house in Costa Rica. I brought very few of my personal belongings and the space did not feel quite like "me". After living with what we had for a while I decided to buy a couple of Costa Rican Rockers and also some pottery from Nicaragua. Next I added some other odds and ends like lamps, a few pictures and some kitchen items. Although it still isn't quite "me" it's coming along. We are planning to make a trip to Guatemala soon and I am eager to bring back some of their beautiful textiles for our home. 

My next project...

my clothes

Since we were not bringing a lot of clothing, I downsized my wardrobe and then selected the clothing I thought would be most appropriate for our new life and a very different climate (mostly based on what I had read from other expats).

Since we have been here almost 5 months I have learned quite a bit about how I want to dress and it turns out that I brought many of the wrong items.

It is next to impossible to have packages shipped into Costa Rica so I thought I would have to live with what I had brought, until, an expat friend told me that she makes trips back to Houston a couple of times a month and would be happy to bring back some clothing items for me.

So I set out to find myself some new clothing.

YES!!!!

(thank you Deborah!!!)

BTW - up until now I have NEVER ordered clothing online (unless it was something I had already seen and tried on in the store) 

So this was completely new to me.

I took to Amazon, reading the reviews and checking each piece very carefully as I knew that it would be very hard to return any of the items that I did not like or that did not fit properly. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered a site that specializes in 100% natural linen (the perfect fiber for the hot Costa Rican weather)

I want to feel comfortable and confident in my clothing

My new favorite place to shop online is Vivid Linen!!

Vivid's linen apparel is cool, stylish and comfortable. The boutique meets the demand from both men and women on linen wear.

link  Online Store

I found so many pretty things on their site that I went a little overboard (I bought tops only) and I was super happy when my friend delivered them to me.

I might also note that the packaging is 1st class. They are individually wrapped in plastic and then slipped into a very nice linen bag (picture below does not do it justice).

The clothing quality is amazing!!

I plan to take some photos of me modeling the clothing (I also bought linen slacks from another retailer) and will share them here at some point in the near future. Stand by

link this is the yellow top pictured in the photo

It might be late in the year for some of you in the U.S but consider for warmer weather.

The styles are also very comfortable for those of us who like a looser fit.

They have a physical store in Hong Kong but thank goodness you can shop them online! 

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Coffee Grounds - I'll take you there!

This was originally the Saturday video/post for my blog The Aspiring Expats but since I finished the editing early. YAY!! (for once) I thought I would post it here first

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Marcelo took us on a tour of the coffee farm that is behind our house (Casa de Coffey) and down a steep hill. To be honest, I always thought we were living on the edge of a cliff, and if we went out too far, we would go tumbling down the hillside, crashing through the trees and coffee plants and land in the river (which of course would contain wild animals and snakes). Truth! (smile) Really though, all I can see from our patio is coffee and trees for miles (and of course the rose garden).

I had no idea!

We were both pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it is out there. There are paths and trees and flowers and lots and lots of coffee! No wild animals only the neighbor's friendly Schnauzer.

I am so happy we had a chance to see it and Marcelo was so nice to answer the 1001 questions we had.

Come along with us and see for yourself.

Today's video is about 12 minutes long, so grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine (depending on what time you are reading this)get comfy, sit back and enjoy. (Excuse the audio in portions it is a little low - just turn up the volume a little)

Coffee Grounds - Exploring the farm from Devon on Vimeo.

 email subscribers click the link above

(If any of you come to visit  us "I'll take you there" out behind our house and walk along the beautiful paths leading to the river)

The Awesome Ridges of Grecia - Our life in Costa Rica

There are many reasons why we chose to live in this house, but one of the main reasons is... the view.

In the words of many who live on the ridges of Grecia "It is to die for!".

Grecia has 5 ridges that lead to the top of the Poas volcano and they all have spectacular million dollar views of San Jose and the Central Valley.

Someday I will photograph views from all 5 ridges but today's post are the views from our ridge, San Luis. We are at about 4,300ft. Each day we awake to the beauty of Costa Rica. The next ridge over from ours is El Cajon where many expats live. The video today is the view from our patio over to that ridge.

You can see coffee for miles. The plant and animal life is abundant. The owner of our house grows 80 different varieties of roses which we can see if we look down from our patio.

It's a beautiful and peaceful existence. It's a great life and we Love it.

So thought i would share with you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Ridges of Grecia, Costa Rica from Devon on Vimeo.

email subscribers can click the link above for video

There's gonna be a Wedding!!!

Not me of course!!!

The other day Kathleen, Jane and I went into town.

Our mission: To find an acceptable fabric for Jane's veil

Jane & Kathleen are both part of the expat group of 10 couples 

that will be re-married  (under Costa Rican law) on El Cajon ridge this Saturday.

We went into town to get some last minute wedding items. Jane has a tiara which she plans to wear (a very heavy one) but beyond that -- she has no idea what else she is wearing (and the wedding is tomorrow)

This should make for a very interesting affair!!

Here's a clip of our little shopping expedition 

She's getting married! from Devon on Vimeo.

BTW- I will be one of the photographers and video folks who will document the event on Saturday!!!

Plus I feel a fashion reveal coming on

Stay Tuned!!!

Home Sweet Home - Costa Rica Reveal

We've now been n Costa Rica for 18 days and are finally starting to settle in.

The home we are renting has 3 bedrooms 1,700 + sq ft), 2 full baths, living room, kitchen with lots of gadgets & gas cook top but no oven only a toaster oven, dining room and TV room. It came completely furnished with EVERYTHING! And, I do mean everything.  Including a state of the art camera surveillance system. I think there are about 8 cameras monitoring the property which we can see on TV and we have access to on our phones. There was really nothing that I had to supply except personal items and food.

As it ended up most of the things I shipped turned out to be duplicates of what was already in the house. I brought about 8 towels, some dishes, silverware, a couple of sets of sheets, the throw pillows (which were used to cushion breakables in the box we shipped), some books, knick knacks, clothes and pictures. We didn't bring anything too big and nothing that was very expensive as we did not want to take the risk of breakage or theft in shipment. Now we have lots of doubles!

We have a gardener and a housekeeper who comes in once a week from 7am - 12noon (she is not included in the rent but we pay her 10 mil (which is about $20). She cleans the house from top to bottom including windows and speaks only Spanish. We got an app called iTranslate so we can chat with her but mostly we are just trying to learn Spanish. Our classes will start in July.

One interesting thing we discovered is that the houses in Costa Rica are made of cement, hence NOTHING sticks to the walls and you can't hammer a picture hook so as you will see by the photos we ended up hanging a few things on the nails that were already there and in the 3 cut out niches in the living room where I managed to fit three of my pictures and he 4th one hangs all alone on a big wall.

cement home in Costa Rica

I also brought a very light sheer wall hanging which you will see in the photo hanging on the living room wall. I think it looks great but please note - about 15 minutes after I took the photo it fell to the floor like everything else we have tried to hang. So....we are still trying to figure out how we can make the few pictures we have stay on the walls.

Ticos are obviously not as vain as we are because there was only 1 mirror in the entire house. So we went out and purchased a mirror for the 2nd bath. I also plan to get a full length mirror as well - just trying to figure out how to get it home on the bus! LOL

The houses also have no screens on doors or windows and most of the locals leave their doors open all day. We would like to do that as well for cross ventilation but due to insects/bugs we keep the doors closed most of the time. We bought some screening from EPA, the Costa Rica equivalent of Home Depot, and tacked it to the door frames with push pins since it is wood.  I ordered some magnetic screen doors from Amazon which Charles will bring in a few weeks when he comes and we are getting a handyman to make us some frames to use to make window screens.

We are having some difficulty getting cable. We ordered it but so far about 70 channels are missing. I can watch soccer, the music channels and a handful of Spanish stations (which I hope will help me learn the language) Most channels I have tried to access via my Apple TV are blocked for use outside the US. Might have to get a VPN.

The only other open item has to do with humidity. Although it doesn't really feel humid, let's face it - it is the rainy season so we are looking into a dehumidifier for the closet in the master bedroom. When we leave the doors open all day I think I can feel a bit of dampness on the clothes and don't want to take any chances.

Other than that - everything thing else is going well.

We could not have asked for a nicer house. No suicide showers! We have hot water in the kitchen, laundry room and the bathtubs. There is no hot water in the bathroom sinks. I am getting used to it since it isn't cold outside.

Another big plus is that the house has new septic so you can flush toilet paper down the toilet. YAY!!! Before about 1975 every home had clay pipes and a septic tank in the yard, so in most homes in Costa Rica (and many B&B's) you will find a waste paper basket in the bathroom next to the toilet with a plastic supermarket plastic bag in it (many with a pedal flip waste can).  This is where you dispose of your toilet paper after use. (we still have a pedal can in our 2nd bath - altho it isn't for waste disposal) This takes some getting used to. If you are in Costa Rica you can ask if the pipes are clay or PVC. If they are PVC, then no worries. Flush away.

When you are a guest in a home or a B & B where there is a sign in the bathroom that says "por favor no tire el papel higienico en el indoor" (please do not throw toilet paper in the toilet),  please don't.

We LOVE the house and our new life in Costa Rica. Everyday is a new adventure.

Hope you enjoy the video! Remember it takes me anywhere from 4 - 16 hours to upload a single video here!!

Pura Vida!!

Shopping in Costa Rica - it's all an adventure!

You might wonder what we have been doing with all of our spare time since arriving in Costa Rica.Well, the short and the long answer to that question would be, mostly "shopping".

I am a gal who loves to shop, however shopping is much different here in Grecia. That goes for food as well as household items. There is no Safeway, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Home Depot here. Also accommodating food for a vegan diet adds an extra layer. It reminds me of the options available in San Francisco back in the 80's. You can find organic foods but you really have to look for them. I know that it is not quite as difficult on the Caribbean side or even on the Pacific side but here in our little corner of the world it takes a little more time.

We have gone to several stores so far. The closest one was a pulperia.

Our neighbor Vinny drove us to the local pulperia. Vinny is one of our landlord Marcelo's cousins and speaks pretty good English. I think just about everyone on our street is related to Marcelo. (I remember a time in the states when things were the same way)

In Costa Rica small grocery stores like our corner stores are called pulperias.

Our little neighborhood pulperia is called Super Linda Vista

The store is operated by Christian (a very tall Tico)

It's neat and clean and has a variety of products.

but...

Not too many brands that we recognized

Vinny was very helpful recommending what to buy

The store that offered us the most familiar shopping experience was the Auto Mercado Supermarket in Alajuela (the next town over from us - and Costa Rica's 2nd largest city).  Auto Mercado is the most expensive grocery chain in the country! The store was beautiful and full of all the brands I recognized. They had a small selection of organic fruit and produce and even carried Kendall Jackson wine. However since part of our goal was to live more economically, no money would be saved by shopping there so....it was fun while it lasted but we will need to pass on making tis our go-to grocery store in the future. 

The Auto Mercado

We also shopped at Rosvil Market in Grecia. They have a very good selection of food. The store is pretty big. Something that stood out to us was that -- the store will deliver your food to your home for you. You shop and then tell them when you will be home and they deliver - no charge! I don't have any photos but I am pretty sure we will shop there often.

There is a pretty big feria (Farmer's Market) in Grecia on Friday and Saturday. We missed last week but plan to go this week.

Other options for fruits and vegetables include the Mercado Central (Central Market) which is right at the Grecia bus station, where we went today. We took the bus for the 1st time. The bus stop is about 500 meters from our house and is uphill (or I think about 5 city blocks). 

The Central Market has many small shops and offers a variety of products. There was also an organic store, Macrobiotica. 

These are pics of our trek to the bus stop - it is uphill all the way

Yes please wait for me

                            Please check out that blue sky - it is absolutely gorgeous

from the top of the hill

Finally we made it to the bus stop - after stopping about 3 times to catch our breath

This is the bus stop - you can tell by the yellow line - that is the ONLY marker

The adventure continues

a little taste of downtown Grecia (sorry for the shaky video)