Anyone visiting San Gerardo should have the experience of picking coffee – if only to appreciate the effort that goes into each ‘cuppa joe’. Looks easy eh? Coffee bushes are at shoulder heights, no spiny branches and the beans (granos) come off easily. It took just one trip to pick coffee to change all my [...]

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Time has flown – the carrera and fiesta, time to get burnt to a crisp, eaten by ants (far worse than mosquitoes!) and take a lovely break to Dominical for beach time and a stop at a favourite hotel overlooking the bay: Bella Vista Lodge. (If you like you can join a horseback rise to [...]

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We took a short trip to Dominical – the closest beach resort to San Gerardo (55 km) on what is now a superb road and only takes 1 hour from San Isidro. The winding road down to the coast passes farming communities and roadside stalls of fruit (pineapple, mango, watermelon, all sorts of salad veggies [...]

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What else? Well, still waiting for ICE to install the phone (and then internet). Probably delayed because of the winds and downed lines. Buy a stove and a washing machine – things are looking up! In the midst of that the water heater decided to put on a spectacular thermal display – full steam and [...]

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The runners left as scheduled at 7am to start the gruelling 11km run to the Crestones base camp, and back again. Young and old(er), males and females, locals and visitors from abroad, over 220 took part in 2009 and there were hundreds more to cheer them on. At around 10:30 the winners were in sight [...]

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One week to go to the XX1 annual Carrera Chirripó – the annual madcap 11km race to the peak (Cerro) of Mt. Chirripó. It’s a 4-day fiesta that takes local volunteers and supporting patrons 6 months to arrange and everyone participates in making donations, helping provide food and running the activities, all day restaurant and [...]

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Another kind of disaster – but much more familiar! The night before (being Saturday of course) anonymous merrymakers had decided to play pranks up and down the Herradura road (where we live). In the morning I had no electricity – how come? Had ICE cut me off because I hadn’t paid a bill? Had the [...]

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What is it about my arrival that seems to bring on a fresh natural disaster each time I’m here?!! Wednesday afternoon the wind began to howl and the velocity was such that we all hid indoors. Metal roofs flapped and many came apart, trees fell and the incessant howling was really scary. Thursday morning we [...]

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