Back on the Shuttle Again Blues: Saturday, January 27th!

Pray, v. To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. -Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), [The Devil's Dictionary, 1906] 

Buongiorno Amy and Ian, (Neighbours from Minneapolis, Falcon Lake People)!

Simply terrific to meet you. Thanks again for lovely evening. Wanted to send along these snaps to make sure I recorded your email addresses correctly. Travel safely. Take care of each other and trust our paths will cross again in the not too, too distant future. As we mentioned, you are always welcome to stay with us WHEN, NOT IF, you visit us in Penticton! Fondestos from Lady Dar, to you both, busy doing a bit of last minute packing. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Pics: Post-java blues! Email to go; La Pachanga; Frog went a courtin' and he did go...; Time for bed! Patrizzio at Tramonti in Monteverde; Caipirinha Man at the fabulous Night Market which you missed, need I remind you, again!

Up at just before 6:00 am, this morning, when my trusty travel alarm-clock went off. Out of bed to send a few messages before I hopped in the shower. While I was drying off, packed the last few things I had let out on our patio, to dry overnight. Lady Dar was ready to roll by about 7:25 pm so she walked over to see if breakfast was served. I joined her a few minutes later and found her chatting to Amy and Ian. Java was not yet ready so when I learned that I had incorrectly read Ian's email address I went back to our room to resend him the message I had posted earlier.Also wanted to see if my camera battery had charged as I planned to take a last minute snap of The Minneapolians.

On way back, I took over two of our suitcases, ones with rollers, and left them outside Reception so that we'd only have 26, (in fact, only four, Dear Reader, shopping bags full of the Necessities of Life, [beer, Casique, cheese, crackers, salsa and whatever else we couldn't fit into our "legitimate" travel bags)], left in the room, hoping, beyond hope, that by the time we reach the airport in San José, a week or so hence, we will have whittled our possessions down to the point where we can conform to Delta's baggage allowance. At any rate, joined Amy, Ian and Lady Dar at one of the tables. Lady Dar had already ordered me an omelette so I sipped on my wonderful java, chatting, until our food arrived. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to either eat or visit as shuttle was to arrive about 15 minutes after our breakfast was served.

Still, a pleasant time with our new friends. Lady Dar left before I was quite finished eating, bidding both goodbye and shortly after she departed I made my own farewells and returned to gather the last of our gypsy possessions. Larger bus than we've had in the past and by the time we had made another four or five stops, around hostels and hotels in Tamarindo, it was all but a few seats full. 

Delightful, young English couple ahead of Lady Dar, [She, suffering from a very nasty gash on her right shin and terribly bruised right side as a result of a horrible fall into a large, unlighted, drainage hole for the Infinity Pool at their hotel. A doctor, from Montreal, happened to be staying there, treated her and checked her out, and she said that she was extremely lucky not to have been more seriously injured! Makes the non-return of Lady Dar's laundry pale in comparison! I think she paid someone so that she would have an excuse for more Power Shopping!], very hung-over German lad, working in Santiago, Chile, as a teacher for the past year, next to me, and Patrique, Swiss-French, from Lausanne, software designer, in front of him, and a New Zealander, from Marlborough, working in London as a pharmacist, beside him. She left her knapsack beside Lady Dar who used it as a pillow, for most of the six and a half hour journey, [broken by a half hour stop, midway], while conducting her wind tunnel experiments!

In fact, it was the longest shuttle we have been on and much of the time it was over wash-board so most of my fillings will have to be replaced. Thought that we had left the hills and mountains behind us when we left Monteverde but this was not the case. Although the heights were not nearly as pronounced, we literally roller-coastered for a goodly part of the way. Driver even turned off the air-conditioning on some of the steeper, more prolonged climbs and we could all hear the poor engine struggling as he geared down. Fairly typical landscape, based on what we've observed so far, when one could see it, with what looked like large scale agricultural plantings, (plastic covering endless rows of some crop), the closer we came to the coast. Some sugarcane as well as what I suspect, or theorize, were fruit or nut bearing trees of some kind, huge, regular plantings that suggested method as opposed to natural occurrence.

Anyway, about half an hour from Santa Teresa-Mil Pais, we disgorged all those travelers bound for Montezuma, to catch another shuttle bus there, and then continued on to our destination,  Otro Lado Lodge, in ST-MP. When we turned onto the road which runs parallel to the beach and on which are located msot of the hotels, restaurants and shops here, it looked and was, extremely dusty and bit forlorn. We were last two to be dropped off and from the barely visible sign at the entrance, both our hopes flagged, imagining what awaited us. Couldn't have been more wrong as this hotel is probably the most comfortable we've yet stayed at. We have two bathrooms, each with it own shower, a full kitchen, with everything one needs to prepare and serve meals, and a regular fridge, for booze!

Bedroom is upstairs, reached by a lovely, wooden, circular staircase. Large Queen size with a balcony off this floor and a table and four chairs on ground level patio. A large hammock at our entrance way with drying racks for towels or other laundry. Once we'd did a bit of unpacking we hied ourselves to have a bite of lunch as kitchen closed at 3:00 pm. Ladu Dar enjoyed a wonderful shrimp, avocado and tomatoe salad while I had a grilled chicken sandwich on on home-made Foccacia with a small green salad. Cook/chef is Italian and Vanessa, receptionist, is Spanish. After our more than delicious lunch, she walked us through the town, using a local map, to show us how to access beach, local mercados and restaurants.

 Thanking her, we returned to our room to apply a bit of sunscreen and then took a jaunt to scope out beach. Looks fabulous so, tomorrow, we plan to return to swim and read in the shade, making note of where we could set up our towels, etc. Walked to next access trail, leading back to main road, and then to a mercado to buy three bottles of white wine, two large tomatoes, two equally large avocadoes and a cuke. Plan to have a salad for dinner as we have some cheese we can grate upon it. Don't really need a full-blown dinner after such a  tasty and filling late lunch.

Back to our room to refrigerate wine and wash vegetables and then straight into the pool. Water was much warmer than in Pasatiempo's pool but nevertheless refreshing. Had most convivial, almost hour long conversation with a couple from Norway, [They live an hour or so north of Oslo.], who arrived just as we were leaving to scope the town. Back inside to shower and change and pour drinks.                                                                Just wanted to know as I'm hopefully going backpacking in Grande canyon before we leave to go back to Penticton around the 19/20th, depending on weather of course. I wanted to arrange that for when you are not here and friends I'm going with can't go till around 8/9th I'm looking at leaving early on 13th to go there. Hopefully that is when you are leaving? I thought you said too that you would be here on Feb 10th - correct and what time would that be? Look forward to seeing you Gil

Hi Jack Rabbit Slims and Fillipo! Trust you are both well. As far as things are playing out, we expect to be knocking on your door, in Sedona, [What is your street address, by the way?], sometime on Saturday, February 10th, probably around noon. Gather Sedona is about two hours from Sun City and I assume we'll leave around 9:00 am. Must away as I'm charged with making the salad. Fondestos from Lady Dar, to you both, reading upstairs until I call her for dinner! Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Green Papaya, one of our favourite restaurants in Tamarindo; Ian and Amy at breakfast this morning, before we caught shuttle to Santa Teresa-Mil Pais; beach not far from our hotel, Otro Lado; Chicken Joe's where we will probably buy a bbq'd chicken for dinner and take it back to our place to eat as we have a great outdoor table and chairs, close to the bar fridge, filled with chilled white wine! cinnamon buns Dusty would have loved, at Night Market, this past Thursday, in Tamarindo!
 

Hi parents, it’s a snowy Saturday and I’ve been studying all day, Etta has become quite adventurous and Duke is not happy with her stealing his spots!!! Was in Kelowna yesterday for a conference and went to Call me by your name after as it’s not playing in Penticton then to Costco for feta and chicken etc.

Will make a real effort to see some films this week as I’m not great at doing to much studying late as the days are so draining during the week. Duke had me up at 5:30 this morning and finally relented and got up at 6:50 on a Saturday as he was so annoying as soon as I was up we played soccer. He really does need a nanny for play time. Etta has been very loving and meows in the morning and evening for rubs and pets, she’s really nipping me with love.

Work is non stop and I truly don’t know what I’ll do when I get more buildings it’s not hard but just busy I am enjoying it though although some of the council members are a trip!!!

Love you both!!! Glad your getting sun for the end of your trip!! The hotel sounds glorious. I’ll call grandma tomorrow but I did as Ayn said call in a rather early happy birthday 😉 

Hi Chloë, et al! Trust everyone is well. Thanks, Chloë, for the terrific snaps of Miss Etta! She is a very, very cheeky thing, indeed! I suppose she blames everything on her older sibling, just as Giorgio does!!! Funnily enough, there are three cats, here at our hotel, and Vanessa, the lovely woman at Reception talks to them, very gently, in Spanish, of course, reminding them that they are not allowed on the tables in the dining area. They look so sad when she does this but they obey! Lupina, an equally attractive, small pooch, assumes the same demeanour with her mournful, brown eyes. They all co-exist so that is great to witness.

Up at just before 6:00 am, this morning, when my trusty travel alarm-clock went off. Out of bed to send a few messages before I hopped in the shower. While I was drying off, packed the last few things I had let out on our patio, to dry overnight. Lady Dar was ready to roll by about 7:25 pm so she walked over to see if breakfast was served. I joined her a few minutes later and found her chatting to Amy and Ian. Java was not yet ready so when I learned that I had incorrectly read Ian's email address I went back to our room to resend him the message I had posted earlier.Also wanted to see if my camera battery had charged as I planned to take a last minute snap of The Minneapolians.

On way back, I took over two of our suitcases, ones with rollers, and left them outside Reception so that we'd only have 26, (in fact, only four, Dear Reader, shopping bags full of the Necessities of Life, [beer, Casique, cheese, crackers, salsa and whatever else we couldn't fit into our "legitimate" travel bags)], left in the room, hoping, beyond hope, that by the time we reach the airport in San José, a week or so hence, we will have whittled our possessions down to the point where we can conform to Delta's baggage allowance. At any rate, joined Amy, Ian and Lady Dar at one of the tables. Lady Dar had already ordered me an omelette so I sipped on my wonderful java, chatting, until our food arrived. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to either eat or visit as shuttle was to arrive about 15 minutes after our breakfast was served.

Still, a pleasant time with our new friends. Lady Dar left before I was quite finished eating, bidding both goodbye and shortly after she departed I made my own farewells and returned to gather the last of our gypsy possessions. Larger bus than we've had in the past and by the time we had made another four or five stops, around hostels and hotels in Tamarindo, it was all but a few seats full. Delightful, young English couple ahead of Lady Dar, [She, suffering from a very nasty gash on her right shin and terribly bruised right side as a result of a horrible fall into a large, unlighted, drainage hole for the Infinity Pool at their hotel. 

A doctor, from Montreal, happened to be staying there, treated her and checked her out, and she said that she was extremely lucky not to have been more seriously injured! Makes the non-return of Lady Dar's laundry pale in comparison! I think she paid someone so that she would have an excuse for more Power Shopping!], very hung-over German lad, working in Santiago, Chile, as a teacher for the past year, next to me, and Patrique, Swiss-French, from Lausanne, software designer, in front of him, and a New Zealander, from Marlborough, working in London as a pharmacist, beside him. She left her knapsack beside Lady Dar who used it as a pillow, for most of the six and a half hour journey, [broken by a half hour stop, midway], while conducting her wind tunnel experiments!

In fact, it was the longest shuttle we have been on and much of the time it was over wash-board so most of my fillings will have to be replaced. Thought that we had left the hills and mountains behind us when we left Monteverde but this was not the case. Although the heights were not nearly as pronounced, we literally roller-coastered for a goodly part of the way. Driver even turned off the air-conditioning on some of the steeper, more prolonged climbs and we could all hear the poor engine struggling as he geared down. Fairly typical landscape, based on what we've observed so far, when one could see it, with what looked like large scale agricultural plantings, (plastic covering endless rows of some crop), the closer we came to the coast. Some sugarcane as well as what I suspect, or theorize, were fruit or nut bearing trees of some kind, huge, regular plantings that suggested method as opposed to natural occurrence.

Anyway, about half an hour from Santa Teresa-Mal Pais, we disgorged all those travelers bound for Montezuma, to catch another shuttle bus there, and then continued on to our destination,  Otro Lado Lodge, in ST-MP. When we turned onto the road which runs parallel to the beach and on which are located msot of the hotels, restaurants and shops here, it looked and was, extremely dusty and bit forlorn. We were last two to be dropped off and from the barely visible sign at the entrance, both our hopes flagged, imagining what awaited us. Couldn't have been more wrong as this hotel is probably the most comfortable we've yet stayed at. We have two bathrooms, each with it own shower, a full kitchen, with everything one needs to prepare and serve meals, and a regular fridge, for booze!

Bedroom is upstairs, reached by a lovely, wooden, circular staircase. Large Queen size with a balcony off this floor and a table and four chairs on ground level patio. A large hammock at our entrance way with drying racks for towels or other laundry. Once we'd did a bit of unpacking we hied ourselves to have a bite of lunch as kitchen closed at 3:00 pm. Ladu Dar enjoyed a wonderful shrimp, avocado and tomatoe salad while I had a grilled chicken sandwich on on home-made Foccacia with a small green salad. Cook/chef is Italian and Vanessa, receptionist, is Spanish. After our more than delicious lunch, she walked us through the town, using a local map, to show us how to access beach, local mercados and restaurants.

Thanking her, we returned to our room to apply a bit of sunscreen and then took a jaunt to scope out beach. Looks fabulous so, tomorrow, we plan to return to swim and read in the shade, making note of where we could set up our towels, etc. Walked to next access trail, leading back to main road, and then to a mercado to buy three bottles of white wine, two large tomatoes, two equally large avocadoes and a cuke. Plan to have a salad for dinner as we have some cheese we can grate upon it. Don't really need a full-blown dinner after such a gorgeous and filling late lunch.

Back to our room to refrigerate wine and wash vegetables and then straight into the pool. Water was much warmer than in Pasatiempo's pool but nevertheless refreshing. Had most convivial, almost hour long conversation with a couple from Norway, [They live an hour or so north of Oslo.], who arrived just as we were leaving to scope the town. Back inside to shower and change and pour drinks. Must away as I'm charged with making the salad. Fondestos from Lady Dar, to one and all, reading upstairs until I cal her for dinner! Love and Cheers, Dad/Patrizzio!

Pics: Green Papaya, one of our favourite restaurants in Tamarindo; Ian and Amy at breakfast this morning, before we caught shuttle to Santa Teresa-Mil Pais; beach not far from our hotel, Otro Lado; Chicken Joe's where we will probably buy a bbq'd chicken for dinner, one night, and take it back to our place to eat as we have a great outdoor table and chairs, close to the bar fridge, filled with chilled, extremely expensive and rare, white wine! cinnamon buns Dusty would have loved, at Night Market, this past Thursday, in Tamarindo!

Patrick and Corinne, Thank you for the update. I am looking forward to hearing about your trip in person upon your return…which is when by the way? Have you run into many ex pats in your travels through Costa Rica? Bill really enjoyed CR when we spent a couple of weeks there in 2012. 

[Chloe Alexis Dunn WHY??!?!? yesterday was a spring like day today this......]
It’s a grey snowy day here today…a perfect day to make spaghetti sauce, one of my few culinary specialities these days (years). The Scots Tournament of Hearts is on in Penticton at the moment. I hadn’t planned to attend any of the games but on second thought I think that we should support this kind of event. So far I think the crowds have been thin…not sure whether it is the fact that it is a women’s tournament of there is little interest in curling in Penticton. Are you hearing much about the #Me too movement in CR. We are getting a steady diet of it here. The leader of the Ont Liberal party just stepped down after allegations against him by one or more women. A politician in NS bit the dust too after similar allegations. What is it about humans in power?? Power seems to have an ill effect on many…don’t get me started about prison guards and their power tripping behaviour. I wonder if women had enjoyed the balance of power instead of men whether we would have seen the same poor behaviour…interesting question for a novel or a research paper.

Bill and I just returned from a 10 day road trip. We drove to St. George in southern UT (3 days drive). Stunning scenery. We visited Zion National Park which is a 45 minute drive from St. George and hiked to Angel’s Landing. We had spectacular weather for the 2 days that we were there (18, 19 degrees). It’s a winter destination for retirees. Great hiking, cycling and golf (10 courses located in and around town). No raison d’être for the town except as a resort town for tourists and retirees. From St. George we drove for 2 days to reach Portland, OR which we had never visited. We drove through some very high passes in Nevada (8000 ft…higher than any pass in the Rockies) and encountered snow. In fact we had snowy driving conditions on three separate days during our trip. Happy to have snow tires on the car. We enjoyed Portland too. We stayed downtown at the Hilton Embassy Suites which is in a great location close to downtown, the Pearl district and the waterfront. Nightly rate was high (for us) until you considered the free breakfast (fresh made omelet ,oatmeal with all the toppings, french toast, bacon etc.). They also had happy hour with free beer (ok) and wine (not great) as well as basic appies. All in all a great trip. We learned that we don’t enjoy days of driving unless we are going somewhere for an extended stay. We enjoyed each other’s company (24/7) which is a good thing in retirement when the likelihood is that you will spend more time than you ever have together:)

Looking forward to the Super Bowl game. The Philadelphia Eagles is my son’t (Duncan’s) favourite NFL team and I do enjoy watching another team beat Brady:) Safe travels and hasta la vista! Pamela

Hi Pam! Trust you and Wild Bill are both well. Really enjoyed hearing about your travels. Sounds as if you had a wonderful time. Speaking of spaghetti sauce, funnily enough, the couple who own Otro Lado are Italian, from Milano, and the food here is simply fabulous. On the media front, we haven't had an TV in last two places so I've been streaming BBC/CBC. Consequently, not really sure about #Me too movement here in CR. We did hear, however, about the two Canadian politicians you mentioned. 

 

In this vein, we met a lovely couple, Amy and Ian, from Minneapolis and she works for Minnesota branch of NPR. She said she had never had a positive encounter with Garrison Keeler and she suspects allegations are true. Basically, Garrison was responsible for founding the organization, (Prairie Home Companion, etc.), and she said her boss would not have let him go unless there were legitimate reasons for doing so. Say it 'ain't so Joe! Haven't met all that many Canadians but while in Tamarindo we went on a turtle tour and bus was filed with nothing but Canucks, two from Summerland and rest from Winnipeg!

Fondestos from Lady Dar to you, Pamela and Bill. Cheers, Patrizzio!