by Anne Watcher on Tuesday February 26th, 2008 at 8:44am
Lunch time at Rancho Montisel was so good the first time, we made a return trip for bean and rice soup. Not really sure if it is a soup but that's what we call it. It is extremely flavourful and is served with freshly made tortilla chips. The owner also brings over the marinated vegetables, in this case cabbage and peppers. We have noticed that each local soda has their own combination of vegetables. We have seen some with cauliflower and carrots, obviously each are unique to the restaurant. As before the dish was excellent and filling. I'm sure we will be back a few times before we come home.
Soup and Marinated Veggies
The owner doubles as waiter
The help and a helpful local
Rancho Montisel
by Anne Watcher on Tuesday February 26th, 2008 at 8:37am
Pastry shops are very plentiful here and there is one close to the bus terminal that we have gone to a few times. We have found in general that the baked goods in Costa Rica are not as sweet as at home but very good none the less. There are a lot of different breads and cakes but so far our favorites have been the fresa (strawberry) strudel and cream filled puff pastry. Pictured below is how you order and pay. The shop is always busy with about 5 girls behind the counter taking your order. She writes the amounts on a slip . . .
. . . and you go pay while she packs your goodies. When you return with the paid slip she hands you your package. Very fast and efficient and the girls handling the baking don't touch the money.
c1720-$3.40 for 4 strudel and 2 puff pastries
by Anne Watcher on Monday February 25th, 2008 at 6:09pm
Rob and I had noticed the painting of the parrots pictured below sitting by the pool but didn't know who had painted it. I had also noticed that Keith and Ilene next door had different paintings on wood sitting at their place. One day I asked who did them and was informed that Keith had done them. I guess I never mentioned it to Rob until tonight when we came home and I saw him working on one and I told Rob. He thought it was cool that we had a "artist in residence" so went over to take some pictures. He collects pieces of drift wood and uses acrylic paint to depict scenes of beaches, surfers, golfers or wildlife. It is very interesting how he uses the natural grain and grooves of the wood in the scene. Who knew!!
by Anne Watcher on Sunday February 24th, 2008 at 11:58am
The quaint town of Grecia, voted cleanest town in Latin America, is located to the north of us here in La Garita about 30 km away. It is nestled right in the heart of sugarcane plantations and the harvest is in full swing right now. Grecia has a beautiful central park, perfect for people watching or just a stroll through on a warm afternoon. Home to the only metal church in the Americas, Grecia is a pleasent place to visit or by all the real estate signs a place to move to also. We saw an advertisement for a 10,000 sq.m home for $1,100,000.00 Anyone interested, I can get you the phone number. Mind you the photo was impressive.
Grecia's streets are much wider than we have seen, pace of life a little slower and perhaps a more "modern" feel to the atmosphere. We arrived on the bus at lunch time so headed into the Central Market looking for lunch. It was very busy and every soda seemed full so we just stood there for a minute. We were directed to Soda Don Juan by a local so took his advice. Boy we were headed in the right direction. The tables inside were full so the owner, who spoke English, directed us to a couple of stools along the outside counter. We both ordered casado, mine with chicken, Rob's with fish and a couple of Coke Lights. The meal was awesome!! Flavourful and once again almost too much food. Rob did eat all his!! Best was when we went to pay. Total bill: c3100-$6.20 for both of us. We could not believe it and the owner said to Rob "yes we have good prices here". I think that will be our spot in Grecia.
We strolled through the market and looked for the washrooms. Upon seeing a sign for sanitation services we headed that way. On the lower level where the bathrooms with two lady attendants and a sign c150. Remember the days of putting a quarter in the bathroom door to unlock it, same idea here only it was for toilet paper and an extremely clean, well kept bathroom. Well worth the 30 cents and I even had enough paper to blow my nose! A real bargain, I thought.
We continued down the street and after a pleasant walk stopped at a really cute coffee shop. Sat by the open window and enjoyed a cup of "cafe con leche" and a piece of strawberry cheesecake. Rob had tea and a piece of lemon pie. Real filling, no packaged stuff. Very good. One thing we have noticed is that here in Costa Rica pastries and pastry shops are all over and the product is always excellent but not very sweet. Actually quite refreshing for a change.
After that we headed back to the bus and had another twisty, up and down trip back to Alajuela. What a nice way to spend a warm sunny afternoon. You should all try it at least once.
by Anne Watcher on Friday February 22nd, 2008 at 10:36pm
Walking back to our cabina the night of the super bowl we noticed a long thin green line winding it's way down the laneway and across into the grass. As we got closer we could see it was a troop of these wonderful energetic creatures, the leaf -cutter ant. It was truly amazing watching them each carrying a cut piece of leaf (almost all identical shape) away to their nest. The line was long, down one side of the lane, cut across, down the other side until the right spot to trail off into the grass. We have even heard stories that attempts to break up this line prove futile as they will quickly find a way to get back in line. AMAZING!
We saw this guy going along the sidewalk yesterday, he wasn't entirely alone but the question is: Where were the rest?
