Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (14 Jan 1875-1965)
Up at 6:30 am this morning to walk to Bread & Chocolate for a wake-up cappuccino to find out it was closed every Monday! Fortunately, Soda Francia, just across the street was open and serving java so I ordered a mug and read The Bat as I sipped. So good I had another cup and while I was being served I watched locel TV coverage, from Limón, about 60 km north of us. Quite a bit of flooding there so I'm wondering how our drive to Volcán Arenal will go as we will have to pass through he city, at least the outskirts, on our way north. Must away, Dear Reader, as I've a bit of last minute packing to do before our van arrives.
Hi again, Marps! You might be breaking New Year's resolutions but we are growing webbed feet! Fondestos from Lady Dar to you and Colin. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: The grounds at Coco Loco and our bungalow with rain streaming down. Used a flash last night to catch droplets. Lady Dar, this morning, all packed and ready to hit the road! Hi Kids! Trust everyone is well. For our part, we are growing webbed feet! Fondestos from Lady Dar to one and all. Cheers, Dad/Patrizzio! Hi Kids! Thanks for the malt review, Sir Andrew! Have a wonderful time in Hawaii. Trust everyone is well. Fondestos from Lady Dar to one and all. Cheers, Il Conduttore/Patrizzio!
Elgaro, [We think!], our driver, collected us in sporty Nissan four-door, at 10:15am and after he had loaded our luggage in the trunk, we waved goodbye to Sabina and we were on our way. Were familiar with the first part of the drive as we went past Cahuita, stopping briefly when Elgaro pointed out two monkyes high in the tree tops above the highway. Then on into the outskirts of Puerto Limón, catching a glimpse of some of the cranes at this busy port. After we had wended our way through a few neighbourhoods we came across a really swollen river and soon became aware that all of the dwellings, on both sides of its overflowing banks high were flooded, probably to the depth of a metre or more. I had a glimpse of this on the local TV, earlier tht morning, but thought it was closer to town. Anyway, our hearts went out to the people standing, looking unhappily at their homes from the higher ground of the highway's shoulder.
Of course this is no laughing matter but as we passed one side road I couldn't believe my eyes as a bicyclist was riding through a dip in the street, [We could see both ends of the obviously significant depression.], submerged up to his shoulders, just his hands on the handlebars visible. Whether he was walking or pedaling, we'll never know but it was such an unlikely sight that the three of us broke out laughing. Funnily enough, when in LA I bought a book which matches wacky, posed photographs to laws which are still on the books in 50 of the US states. Think it is Texas, (but might be wrong), where it is illegal to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool. This image immediately came to mind at the sight of this plucky lad. Also reminded me of some of our seemingly long-ago rides around Stanley Park and over Lions Gate, with Robo and Stanchion Men, when Whirlygig and I were thinking of asking Big Al to fashion a SnorkelFlugenheimer gizmo so that we could cycle underwater to West Van!
Must say that Elgaro drove like a bat out of hell so Lady Dar was often applying the brake from the back seat. The fact that he kept rubbing his eyes and yawning didn't make her feel any better, either. Nonetheless, he was a very good driver so I wasn't worried and knew he would have us in Fortuna, given the warp speeds he was travelling at, in four hours or so, even if Google Maps suggested it was a five hour journey. Shortly after we left the stretch of highway lined by large container depots, [We'd seen these on our way to Puerto Viejo.], we turned onto another highway which took us through rich agricultural land. More huge banana plantations, at first, to be replaced by similarly large scale pineapple production as we gained altitude. Other noticeable crops, with sizeable plantings, were cassava and sugar cane.
About half an hour from Fortuna, Elgaro pointed out Volcán Arenal, its top shrouded in a frothy covering of cloud. Given the forecast for the time we will be here, we wonder if we will ever see it's crater rim. Elgaro took our baggage to Reception and after I tipped him, we said our thanks and waved goodbye. We were soon checked in to Hotel Monte Real by more than pleasant and helpful Isaac. Place is very nicely appointed and other than the fact that there were no bed-side lamps, we were quite pleased with our room. [Lady Dar has already complained to Isaac so we are hoping we will have lights by the time we return from dinner!] Once we'd unpacked a few things, we took off to explore the town.
Isaac had recommended a number of restaurants so we scoped them out, along with any others we happened upon. Quite like Fortuna, from what little we've seen of it and especially the very attractively landscaped town square. After we picked up a couple of bottles of wine we returned to our room. I left Lady Dar to buy a few appetizers and on the way back stumbled upon Snappers, an unpretentious sea-food restaurant, highly recommended by Isaac, once I mentioned it to him.
As it turned out, the food and service at Snappers were more than wonderful. A fairly understated decor but very comfortable and place exuded a pleasant, bustling atmosphere, even a resident, sleek orange feline who wandered from table to table, rubbing the customers' legs in fond hopes of a morsel or two. To start, I opted for the Ensalada de atún and shared it with Lady Dar who was most appreciative even though she had ordered Filete de atún herself! I followed with an Aguacate relleno and was in heaven. We both were as food was so delicious that we will probably return, even though there are so many other fine-looking restaurants, to choose more sea-food dishes from their extensive menu.
Light mist as we walked home. Stopped at Reception to remind Isaac that he had promised Lady Dar a bed-side lamp and then returned to our room. I wanted to take a walk through the hotel garden, slightly beyond the swimming pool as Isaac had mentioned that we could probably see some tree frogs there. Lady Dar wasn't interested so I made my way on my own and came across a number of other guests who had found, just off the patio, what I later learned was a so-called Poison Dart Frog, the name stemming from poison contained in the skin. Unfortunately, it hopped under a shrub before I managed a snap.
However, in the lower garden itself the helpful security guard pointed out a delicate tree frog, a Red-Eyed Tree Frog, I believe, balanced on a frond and I was able to snap a few shots of the colourful creature, before returning to our room to read in bed, chuffed that we now had a lamp to see by! Pics from yesterday's drive: flooding, pineapples and cassava. Fortuna's town square and craft beer for Chloë! Lady Dar more than happy about her tuna steak at Snappers! Tree frog.
Hi Patrick and Corinne I am really sad that we will not see you this year as you know I like to break up the skiing with visiting you guys! We arrived here on the afternoon of Monday 8th and proceeded to organise lift passes and have our
skis tuned We had ordered our groceries for the week via an online store who deliver from Kamloops so waited until 5pm for them to arrive. Then Rae arrived and we settled in with a bottle of wine, she has a new man in her life and of course I wanted to know all about him!!
Tuesday saw us both out at 9am testing out the slopes, Trevor skied with me for a while then he was off on the more advanced runs. We met Rae and her man Steven (very nice friendly guy) up at the newly renovated Sunburst Lodge, they now have a bar, quite European! Mark and family arrived at 9:30pm so as we had eaten our spaghetti bowl with meatballs at 7pm they tucked into a hearty bowl each. We caught up with their adventures in LA and Disneyland, the girls and Bree had a ball, Mark so so!
Wednesday saw me, Bree and the girls at the lift ticket and ski lesson office bright and early then over to the Ski rentals, where Mark was waiting. Once all of that was complete they all wanted to go for a ski! Thursday morning Bree and the girls started their lessons, Trevor was out skiing at 9am with Mark and I
Followed at 10am. Morning tea with Mark and Trevor at Sunburst then a few more runs for me and in at 3pm. Out to Cahilty bar for appys and then decided to have dinner there. The girls stayed out till the lights went out at 7pm!!
The same routine followed on Friday, Saturday, the girls and Bree had a late morning, Trevor and Mark went out skiing , then after lunch the girls and Bree joined them. and I woke up with the FLU!! Not happy! Stayed in room all day then went for fresh air when Trevor came in at 3pm. Mark cooked a mean mushroom and chicken risotto for dinner and we downed it with a bottle of Sterling Market red 2016. Sunday was much the same, Mark out at 8:30am for first tracks, Trevor out at 9am, Bree and girls out at 10am, I mooched in the room until I was bored silly, feeling sorry for myself, got dressed and went out for a few runs at 12noon😡😡
The days pan out much the same, except for the fact that Bree and the girls have lessons for the next few days. Your holiday is more to my liking, doing lots of different things everyday. I should have been a gooseberry and come with you!! I so enjoyed our trip to Ireland and Norway as that is exactly what we did!
Never mind, I appreciate that Trevor loves skiing and everything the mountain has to offer. I am meeting the girls after their lesson at 12noon and will take them for Poutine at the newly renovated Bentos, now called the Annex.
Unfortunately for the diehard skiers (not me) the 3C temperatures is melting the snow and making conditions slushy and less than ideal for skiing. WARM regards Tina
Greetings from Sunny White Rock, soon to be Hawaii! Glad you’re both enjoying Costa Mucha! We loved it , especially the jungle camp we were in for 4 days on the Caribbean coast, with all the howler monkeys🐒 waking us at 4am, the Sloths and iguanas! Great life.🥃 Stay in touch. Safe travels, Baldrick
Hi Patrick and Corinne! I wanted to send over the RMA and Bylaws for you to review. Your reservation requests have been sent to our in house reservation team to take care of for you and you will receive confirmation emails for those stays. The RMA needs to be signed on page 14 and that page returned to me. If there are any questions at all please let me know. With care, DEANNA DEMPSEY Director of Owner Relations We will do that when we return to LA in early February. Also please note my first name is Corinne. Thanks
Actually, Her Royal Ladyship is always to addressed, in all but the most informal of intimate situations is Lady Darjeeling, Empress of all the eye can see, Queen of Credit Cards and Off-Shore Bank Accounts, Dear Reader, and lesser beings, such as scullions, minions and her more than obsequious, not to say uxorious consort, The Most Insignificant Other/Husband, Patrizzio!
Elgaro, [We think!], our driver, collected us in sporty Nissan four-door, at 10:15am and after he had loaded our luggage in the trunk, we waved goodbye to Sabina and we were on our way. Were familiar with the first part of the drive as we went past Cahuita, stopping briefly when Elgaro pointed out two monkyes high in the tree tops above the highway. Then on into the outskirts of Puerto Limón, catching a glimpse of some of the cranes at this busy port. After we had wended our way through a few neighbourhoods we came across a really swollen river and soon became aware that all of the dwellings, on both sides of its overflowing banks high were flooded, probably to the depth of a metre or more. I had a glimpse of this on the local TV, earlier tht morning, but thought it was closer to town. Anyway, our hearts went out to the people standing, looking unhappily at their homes from the higher ground of the highway's shoulder.
Of course this is no laughing matter but as we passed one side road I couldn't believe my eyes as a bicyclist was riding through a dip in the street, [We could see both ends of the obviously significant depression.], submerged up to his shoulders, just his hands on the handlebars visible. Whether he was walking or pedaling, we'll never know but it was such an unlikely sight that the three of us broke out laughing. Funnily enough, when in LA I bought a book which matches wacky, posed photographs to laws which are still on the books in 50 of the US states. Think it is Texas, (but might be wrong), where it is illegal to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool. This image immediately came to mind at the sight of this plucky lad. Also reminded me of some of our seemingly long-ago rides around Stanley Park and over Lions Gate, with Robo and Stanchion Men, when Whirlygig and I were thinking of asking Big Al to fashion a SnorkelFlugenheimer gizmo so that we could cycle underwater to West Van!
Must say that Elgaro drove like a bat out of hell so Lady Dar was often applying the brake from the back seat. The fact that he kept rubbing his eyes and yawning didn't make her feel any better, either. Nonetheless, he was a very good driver so I wasn't worried and knew he would have us in Fortuna, given the warp speeds he was travelling at, in four hours or so, even if Google Maps suggested it was a five hour journey. Shortly after we left the stretch of highway lined by large container depots, [We'd seen these on our way to Puerto Viejo.], we turned onto another highway which took us through rich agricultural land. More huge banana plantations, at first, to be replaced by similarly large scale pineapple production as we gained altitude. Other noticeable crops, with sizeable plantings, were cassava and sugar cane.
About half an hour from Fortuna, Elgaro pointed out Volcán Arenal, its top shrouded in a frothy covering of cloud. Given the forecast for the time we will be here, we wonder if we will ever see it's crater rim. Elgaro took our baggage to Reception and after I tipped him, we said our thanks and waved goodbye. We were soon checked in to Hotel Monte Real by more than pleasant and helpful Isaac. Place is very nicely appointed and other than the fact that there were no bed-side lamps, we were quite pleased with our room. [Lady Dar has already complained to Isaac so we are hoping we will have lights by the time we return from dinner!] Once we'd unpacked a few things, we took off to explore the town.
Isaac had recommended a number of restaurants so we scoped them out, along with any others we happened upon. Quite like Fortuna, from what little we've seen of it and especially the very attractively landscaped town square. After we picked up a couple of bottles of wine we returned to our room. I left Lady Dar to buy a few appetizers and on the way back stumbled upon Snappers, an unpretentious sea-food restaurant, highly recommended by Isaac, once I mentioned it to him.
As it turned out, the food and service at Snappers were more than wonderful. A fairly understated decor but very comfortable and place exuded a pleasant, bustling atmosphere, even a resident, sleek orange feline who wandered from table to table, rubbing the customers' legs in fond hopes of a morsel or two. To start, I opted for the Ensalada de atún and shared it with Lady Dar who was most appreciative even though she had ordered Filete de atún herself! I followed with an Aguacate relleno and was in heaven. We both were as food was so delicious that we will probably return, even though there are so many other fine-looking restaurants, to choose more sea-food dishes from their extensive menu.
Light mist as we walked home. Stopped at Reception to remind Isaac that he had promised Lady Dar a bed-side lamp and then returned to our room. I wanted to take a walk through the hotel garden, slightly beyond the swimming pool as Isaac had mentioned that we could probably see some tree frogs there. Lady Dar wasn't interested so I made my way on my own and came across a number of other guests who had found, just off the patio, what I later learned was a so-called Poison Dart Frog, the name stemming from poison contained in the skin. Unfortunately, it hopped under a shrub before I managed a snap.
However, in the lower garden itself the helpful security guard pointed out a delicate tree frog, a Red-Eyed Tree Frog, I believe, balanced on a frond and I was able to snap a few shots of the colourful creature, before returning to our room to read in bed, chuffed that we now had a lamp to see by! Pics from yesterday's drive: flooding, pineapples and cassava. Fortuna's town square and craft beer for Chloë! Lady Dar more than happy about her tuna steak at Snappers! Tree frog.
skis tuned We had ordered our groceries for the week via an online store who deliver from Kamloops so waited until 5pm for them to arrive. Then Rae arrived and we settled in with a bottle of wine, she has a new man in her life and of course I wanted to know all about him!!
Tuesday saw us both out at 9am testing out the slopes, Trevor skied with me for a while then he was off on the more advanced runs. We met Rae and her man Steven (very nice friendly guy) up at the newly renovated Sunburst Lodge, they now have a bar, quite European! Mark and family arrived at 9:30pm so as we had eaten our spaghetti bowl with meatballs at 7pm they tucked into a hearty bowl each. We caught up with their adventures in LA and Disneyland, the girls and Bree had a ball, Mark so so!
Followed at 10am. Morning tea with Mark and Trevor at Sunburst then a few more runs for me and in at 3pm. Out to Cahilty bar for appys and then decided to have dinner there. The girls stayed out till the lights went out at 7pm!!
The same routine followed on Friday, Saturday, the girls and Bree had a late morning, Trevor and Mark went out skiing , then after lunch the girls and Bree joined them. and I woke up with the FLU!! Not happy! Stayed in room all day then went for fresh air when Trevor came in at 3pm. Mark cooked a mean mushroom and chicken risotto for dinner and we downed it with a bottle of Sterling Market red 2016. Sunday was much the same, Mark out at 8:30am for first tracks, Trevor out at 9am, Bree and girls out at 10am, I mooched in the room until I was bored silly, feeling sorry for myself, got dressed and went out for a few runs at 12noon😡😡
Never mind, I appreciate that Trevor loves skiing and everything the mountain has to offer. I am meeting the girls after their lesson at 12noon and will take them for Poutine at the newly renovated Bentos, now called the Annex.
Unfortunately for the diehard skiers (not me) the 3C temperatures is melting the snow and making conditions slushy and less than ideal for skiing. WARM regards Tina
Greetings from Sunny White Rock, soon to be Hawaii! Glad you’re both enjoying Costa Mucha! We loved it , especially the jungle camp we were in for 4 days on the Caribbean coast, with all the howler monkeys🐒 waking us at 4am, the Sloths and iguanas! Great life.🥃 Stay in touch. Safe travels, Baldrick
Actually, Her Royal Ladyship is always to addressed, in all but the most informal of intimate situations is Lady Darjeeling, Empress of all the eye can see, Queen of Credit Cards and Off-Shore Bank Accounts, Dear Reader, and lesser beings, such as scullions, minions and her more than obsequious, not to say uxorious consort, The Most Insignificant Other/Husband, Patrizzio!
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