Category: Costa Rica

bullet journals as a life respository: bits of mine from 2025 & 2026

wanderessence1025 January 4, 2026

I have been making bullet journals for at least the last five years as a place to hold all the odds & ends of my life. I have found them to be a great repository to put down any ideas I have, bits of inspiration, important dates and goals, future ideas, TV shows and movies to watch, health items, reading goals and all kinds of miscellaneous stuff. It’s something I normally keep to myself, but Mike thought people might like to see how a compulsive list-maker and dreamer organizes herself.

I spend an inordinate number of hours preparing a new bullet journal for each year. In most years, I start thinking about the next year in October. I choose which color of Leuchtturm1917 journal (251 pp) might capture my mood in the coming year. I usually like to get the dotted version, but in 2025, I accidentally bought the lined version, which I didn’t like as much.

Once I decide on the journal to use, I start filling in the details in November and December. I try to give a lot of thought to what I’d like to get done in the year. Once the new year arrives and I start living the days, I jot down happenings, ideas, things that need to be accomplished, and even future ideas and dreams. I used to do this in many different places — on Word documents on my computer, in various types of journals, and on loose pieces of paper — but now my bullet journal is where everything goes for the year. That way I know exactly where to look when I forget something. Maybe it’s my way of guarding against memory loss. Mostly, I do it because I truly enjoy doing it.

2025 Bullet Journal

In 2025, I chose a dark turquoise journal for no particular reason. I picked 25 things to do in 2025. I usually put a collage at the front, and make a list that I print on aged-looking paper, ripped around the edges. On that paper, I include an overall theme for the year, projects for the year, travels, mantra of the year, a gratitude mantra, a poet of the year to read, music of the year to listen to, a subject to study or read about, and finally what kinds of activities I will do for fitness. If I find stickers, I put them in, along with washi tape.

Some years I have drawn pictures – of birds, flowers, etc. at the beginning of each month. In 2025, I put stickers on each month’s cover page. For each month, I include a title page, list of dates & special events, a habit tracker, and tasks for the month.

To give you a glimpse, here are some pages of my 2025 bullet journal. As you can see, my handwriting is not the best, but I can read it and that’s all that matters. Many pages are rather sloppy when I don’t have any particular organization in mind. For instance, restaurants in Costa Rica was very disorganized, but you will see in 2026, I created a whole new organizing system. I know, call me crazy! I also squeezed in seasonal BINGO cards in the appropriate spots once I started doing them in 2025.

I love it when I complete the year’s bullet journal and I have a kind of messy and bulky compilation of my year. The projects I continually put on my list (finishing a memoir and publishing my novel) are things I rarely take actions toward achieving (some years I take steps toward those goals, but other years I ignore them completely).

2026 Bullet Journal

Once the election results were tallied in the U.S. at the end of 2025, I chose my bullet journal colors for the next four years – all dark colors – since I felt the years ahead would be heavy and bleak times in the U.S. and in the world. I have so many bright colored journals I would love to use, but I want to save those for happier, more optimistic times. If there ever are such times in the future. If there aren’t any more optimistic times in the future, I’ll have to learn to create my own paths to happiness.

I chose a dark burgundy color for 2026. I actually started this journal before I left the U.S. in June because I knew I wouldn’t have a printer in Costa Rica. I completed the collage and cover page themes at that time.

In October, when I went home for two weeks, I added habit trackers for the first six months of the year. I’m sure I’ll have to adjust them as the months go by since my priorities will change. It was hard to begin so far in advance of the year. Once November and December rolled around here in Costa Rica, I began filling in more details.

Below are bits of my 2026 bullet journal. I’m sure my priorities and desires will evolve, but I’ll just change things as I go along. I’m sure you can imagine the jumbled mess my brain would be without something to organize myself!

Of course, I still have to have more journals. I use these for creative ideas, stream of consciousness journaling, and for adding details that don’t fit into my bullet journal. I also have a separate journal for each travel destination.

Left to right: Nicaragua journal, two Costa Rica journals and one for Guatemala & Belize

twenty twenty-five: nicaragua {twice}, mexico & seven months in costa rica {with an excursion to panama}

wanderessence1025 December 31, 2025

Twenty twenty-five was: A year of venturing to Nicaragua in February to visit Adam and his family: María, Cristy, Andrea and Mía and finally meeting little Mikey (nearly 9 months old at that time). A year of exploring Mexico: Mexico City, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Querétaro. A year where the worst president on earth was sworn in and immediately began the destruction of our democracy and our standing in the world. A year in which Mike finally retired at the age of 71. A year of moving to Costa Rica for seven months, after doing numerous repairs on our Virginia home and doing a lot of decluttering, prompted by a desire to boycott the USA under Trump and a desire to visit the Nicaragua family more often. A year of visiting Adam and family in Nicaragua (again), this time from Costa Rica in July. A year of traveling to Panama, visiting Panama City and Bocas del Toro, as well as exploring places in Costa Rica such as Playa Hermosa, Tamarindo, the Nicoya Peninsula, La Fortuna, Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio and the Central Highlands (including Zarcero, Sarchí, Grecia, Parque Nacional Volcán Poás, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and the waterfalls around Bajos del Toro). A year during which Mike sliced his leg open while getting out of the pool and had carpal tunnel surgery on his right hand. A year of the continuing raging of war in Ukraine with our current president siding with Putin, the invader; a year where mass shootings (defined as shootings in which 4 or more people were killed) in the U.S. (485) outnumbered days in the year. A year in which the Merriam-Webster word of the year was “slop”: “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” A year in which the Oxford word of the year was “rage bait”: “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive;” rage bait is “typically posted in order to increase traffic or engagement with a particular web page or social media account.” A year when the TIME Person of the Year was “the architects of AI:” “the most consequential tool in great-power competition since the advent of nuclear weapons. For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the possible.” A year of favorite movies: A Complete Unknown, Emilia Pérez, Conclave, and The Wrong Track (På villspor). A year of reading 48/48 books for the year (My Year in Books 2025); these were my top ten books of 2025.

January was: A month where snow fell on the 5th and 6th of the month and didn’t melt until the last day because of constant sub-freezing temperatures. A month of wildfires in L.A. which began on January 7 and which destroyed communities and homes, forced the evacuation of over 200,000 people, and have killed 29 so far. A month of walks in the neighborhood, Pilates, gym workouts and my last rowing sessions. A month of the inauguration of our fascist president {along with his UNELECTED Nazi sidekick, Elonia Musk), and the prompt and methodical dismantling of our government and all progressive initiatives, setting us back decades and making us a laughingstock on the world stage (basically turning us into a hellhole). A month of hell freezing over. A month of steaming bowls of ramen with our friends Karen and Michael, Ethiopian food to celebrate Martin Luther King Day (FUCK YOU, Inauguration Day!), vegetarian Indian food at Woodlands and Lebanese food at SERAY, a new restaurant for us. A month of a haircut and hair straightening. A month of movies: A Complete Unknown, A Real Pain, Emilia Pérez and The Room Next Door. A month of the Wolf Moon, snowstorms and gloomy skies. A month of hiking boots, puffy jackets, warm woolly sweaters, and walks in the snowy woods. A month celebrating a belated Christmas with Mike’s sister Barbara over chicken tortilla soup & a game of Ticket to Ride. A month dreaming about meeting our grandson in Nicaragua & hanging out with the family, as well as exploring Mexico City and the Mexican Highlands. A month beginning to declutter our house as we seriously consider moving to Costa Rica for a year beginning in June. A month of reading 5 books toward my goal of 48 for the year, my favorites being American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins and Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad. A month of finishing up various TV series: Better Things and La Palma, and continuing to watch Pachinko, Lincoln Lawyer, Maestro in Blue, Nobody Wants This, Unforgotten, Virgin River, The Diplomat, Bad Sisters, Shrinking, Another Self, Grantchester and Modern Family; a month of beginning Paradise. A month ending with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter colliding in mid-air with an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas as it approached the runway at Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport; both plunged into the frozen Potomac River near and killed all 67 people onboard both flights. A month where our new scumbag president tried to blame DEI for the crash with NO EVIDENCE. A month of lies upon lies upon lies. A month that ended with a long 1451 days left in the new administration. 😦

the january cocktail hour: the month hell froze over

Karen and me at Jinya Ramen Bar

me with Mike at Jinya Ramen Bar

Jinya Ramen Bar

Mike and me at Angelika

Allie’s first snow day 🙂

me on the CCT January 11

Mike on the CCT January 11

CCT

CCT

me at Woodlands

Mike at Enatye

Andrea and Mike

Adam and his growing family

little Mikey

the bar at SERAY

me on another cold winter night in front of SERAY

February was: A month of preparing to and going to Ometepe, Nicaragua to visit the family and to Mexico to explore possible places to move to put in motion our 75% boycott of the USA for the next four years. A month of Japanese sushi & ramen at Ariake, thanks to a Christmas gift certificate from our daughter Sarah, before taking off for Ometepe & Mexico. A month of meeting our new grandson, Michael Christopher Dutchak Hernandez, in Ometepe, Nicaragua, and swimming at Totoco’s pool & Ojo de Agua. A month of playing Kings-around-the-corner, having a sleepover and going to the Saturday market with our granddaughters. A month of Texas Hold’em with expats at Café Campestre, meeting Adam’s cows, assembling a playpen for Mikey, and doing yoga and healing with biofield tuning forks in Totoco’s new yoga pavilion. A month of a shopping trip to Moyogalpa, and eating out at Totoco, Pizzeria Mediterranea, Café Campestre, and Bustavo. A month flying to Mexico City and spending a day on a self-guided walking tour of our charming Roma Norte neighborhood. A month of exploring archeological ruins at Teotihuacán, capital of a pre-Hispanic empire, and Templo Mayor, the Aztec “center of the universe.” A month in Mexico City’s Centro Histórico visiting Catedral Metropolitana, Palacio de Correos de México, and the Museo Nacional de Arte. A month in Polanco and Condessa, perusing Museo Jumex and the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, and having beers along Avenida Amsterdam that encircles Parque México. A month of diving into Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky in San Ángel and Coyoacán. A month driving to Guanajuato and staying for 4 nights in a lovely Terra Vista apartment on a ridge above the colorful and charming town. A month of dropping into churches, the Museo Casa Diego Rivera, the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, & the Mercado Hidalgo. A month of driving to San Miguel de Allende, stopping into Santa Rosa de Lima where we picked up majolica plates at Mayólica Santa Rosa and mango jam at Conservas Santa Rosa, and then stopping in Dolores Hidalgo, where Mexican history was made. A month in which we celebrated Mike’s 71^st birthday around San Miguel de Allende by spending a day soaking and drinking Micheladas in La Gruta hot springs, having lunch at Nirvana, visiting Santuario de Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco to see its fantastic murals, and then tasting wine at Tres Raíces Winery. A month of exploring the many churches in San Miguel and doing some real shopping for the first time in our trip. 🙂 A month of walking through desert landscapes in San Miguel’s botanical garden, El Charco del Ingenio, and visiting the mining town of Mineral de Pozos and the ruins of Mine of Santa Brigida. A disastrous month of the FOTUS/Elon administration in the U.S.: dismantling government agencies, including USAID; threatening our allies with high tariffs or annexation (or war??); treating Ukraine’s President and war hero Zelensky with utter disdain and rudeness; handing the U.S. and its long-term interests over to Putin; and threatening all the alliances we have built up over decades. A month of feeling disgust over our country and its current direction. A month of reading 2 books toward my goal of 48 for the year, bringing my total to 7/48, my favorite being Berlin Poplars by Anne B. Ragde. A month of starting several TV series including The Åre Murders, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Thank You, Next. A month of finishing Maestro in Blue and sadly leaving the Greek characters behind on Paxos; a month of continuing Pachinko, Lincoln Lawyer, Nobody Wants This, Unforgotten, Virgin River, Paradise and Modern Family. A month that ended with a long 1,423 days left in our right-wing oligarchy.

a belated february cocktail hour: nicaragua & mexico

me at Ariake

Mike at Ariake

me with Adam at Totoco

Cristy, Mike and Mia at Totoco

Little Mike & Adam at Adam’s casa

Andrea upwraps a Christmas present

Andrea & Mia at Totoco’s pool

Mike tries crawling over the rough stone porch

Andrea, Mia and Cristy at the Farmer’s Market 2025

Helado time for the girls: Andrea, Mia and Cristy

Mia, Cristy and Andrea at the Totoco yoga pavilion after the sleepover

Andrea & Mia at Ojo de Agua

Mike in front, Adam and Maria in back, at Ojo de Agua 2025

the family at Ojo de Agua

Adam and Ben’s cow 2025

Cristy, Mia and Mike in his new crib/playpen 2025

Maria in one new dress we bought her, Mikey and Adam 2025

Mike in the Modo Museo Del Objeto

me in Roma Norte

Bob Dylan mural

Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacán

Templo Mayor

me at Templo Mayor

Palacio de Correos de México

Palacio de Bellas Artes

Museo Nacional de Arte

Museo Soumaya

Museo Jumex

Museo Nacional de Antropologia

Avenida Amsterdam in Condessa

San Ángel

Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo

Romita

Tr3s Tonala

Hotel Terra Vista

bedroom in Hotel Terra Vista

the long walk down

Jardín de la Unión in Guanajuato

inside Teatro Juárez

Teatro Juárez

Guanajuato

Museo Casa Diego Rivera

at the top of the funicular looking down on Guanajuato

view of Guanajuato from the ridge

Universidad de Guanajuato

Guanajuato

Mayólica Santa Rosa in Santa Rosa de Lima

Conservas Santa Rosa in Santa Rosa de Lima

Nuestra Señora de los Dolores parish church

our Airbnb in San Miguel de Allende

Mike at La Gruta hot springs

La Gruta

Nirvana

Santuario de Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco

Tres Raíces Winery

Mike at Tres Raíces Winery

Templo de San Francisco

me in San Miguel de Allende

Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel

me in San Miguel de Allende

El Charco del Ingenio

Mike at El Charco del Ingenio

Mineral de Pozos

me at the Mine of Santa Brigida

Arcos Mágicos at the Mine of Santa Brigida

“Hornos Jesuitas” (smelting ovens) at the Mine of Santa Brigida

Mine of Santa Brigida

March was: A month of meeting fellow Instagrammers and bloggers, Ben and Peta of Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek at the lively Mercado SANO, an organic market in San Miguel de Allende with great produce, excellent food, crafts and live music; we took a taxi together to the San Antonio neighborhood and saw the beautiful home that they recently renovated. A month of exploring Fábrica la Aurora, a large art gallery in barrio Aurora, then visiting the cute little Museo la Esquina del Juguete (Toy Corner Museum) not far from our apartment. A month of driving about 1 1/2 hours to Querétaro, checking into our hotel, and visiting the Templo y antiguo convento de San Antonio and walking through Plaza de la Corregidora and a street of shops selling Quinceañera and first communion dresses. A month of visiting the Museo de Arte de Querétaro, located in a beautiful baroque former convent. A month savoring a fondue dinner at Bistrot Chez Julien. A month of driving about an hour northeast of Querétaro to visit San Sebastián Bernal & its famous Peña de Bernal, a monolith which Mike partly climbed while I wandered around the charming town. A month of vegetarian pizza & 75-minute Swedish massages in our hotel, the first we had on this trip. A month of strolling around through the Centro Histórico de Querétaro, one highlight of which was MUCAL, the Museo del Calendario, housed in a gorgeous building with numerous flowering courtyards. A month in which we visited the Museo Regional de Querétaro, housed in another beautiful monastery. A month topped off by a visit to the Mercado de la Cruz, the city’s large covered market, and a lovely dinner and sunset on the terrace of our hotel, Casa Aspeytia. A month driving 3 1/2 hours back to Mexico City on Wednesday, the 5^th, where we turned in the rental car and checked in at the airport for our 4:50 p.m. flight to San Salvador, which was delayed, and then on to Dulles, arriving home at 4 a.m. Thursday. A month of returning on March 6 to the U.S. hellscape we have to call home after we wrapped up our trip in Mexico. A month of being immediately barraged with continual Trump/Musk nonsense, cruelty and chaos, which will continue to wreak havoc on the next four years of our lives. A month in which our current regime: ruined what was a good economy under Biden; tanked the stock market; methodically dismantled the entire U.S. government, including the “soft power” agency of USAID that helped people all over the world; imposed outrageous tariffs on our allies; and belittled and threatened Canada, Greenland and Ukraine’s war hero and president Zelenskyy. A month of feeling vile hatred for these incompetent and destructive people with every ounce of my being; I will never forgive the people that chose this Nazi-loving administration over Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. A month of visiting the eye doctor and getting a new pair of glasses. A month of watching the Brazilian movie, I’m Still Here, at Angelika Theatre, which was incredibly disturbing; it showed what can happen in dictatorships when governments decide to make people “disappear.” A month of feeling powerless as our country descends into full-blown fascism. A month of watching the newest (3^rd) season of White Lotus, in which obnoxious rich people treat other people like crap, apropos for Amerikkka. A month of crab cakes at Arties and Larb Gai at Vienna Thai and Bar. A month celebrating Alex’s 34^th birthday on the 10th in Atlanta via WhatsApp; Jandira treated them both to couples massages and then a nice dinner out. A month in which we booked a house near Tilaran, on Lake Arenal, in Costa Rica beginning on June 1; we hope to frequently travel across the border into Nicaragua and visit the family in Ometepe. A month in which Alex and Jandira agreed to live in our house while we’re gone which helps them and us at the same time; other than a short visit in early October for Allie’s 2^nd birthday, we hope not to return home until May 31, 2026, and then only briefly. A month of decluttering, designing a new closet, and buying a new laptop; our goal is to boycott as much as possible in the U.S. for at least 75% of the next four years. A month in which our daughter Sarah secured a new job as a paralegal in Richmond, VA, enabling her to move back to her favorite city from Virginia Beach. A month of going downtown to Politics & Prose in D.C. to listen to a book talk given by my ex-husband (& my daughter Sarah’s father), William Geroux, on his newest book: The Fifteen: Murder, Retribution & the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWS in America, followed by dinner at Comet Ping Pong; the place is an old D.C. standby but infuriatingly, since the rise of conspiracy theories and outright lies beginning with the FELON’s rise in 2016, the restaurant was the focus of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which has been discredited by a wide variety of organizations, including the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. A month of finishing 4 books, bringing my total to 11/48 for the year, with my favorites being North of Dawn by Nuruddin Farah and A Harvest of Secrets by Roland Merullo. A month of watching several movies once we returned home, including I’m Still Here, which I mentioned above, but also the Academy Award-winning Anora and Il treno dei bambini (The Children’s Train). A month of starting several series including The Split and White Lotus; we finished watching Apple Cider Vinegar and we continued watching Younger, The Äre Murders, Pachinko, Virgin River, Paradise, Valeria, Black Doves, The Upshaws, and Modern Family. A month that ended with a long 1,392 days left in our right-wing oligarchy.

the march cocktail hour: san miguel de allende, querétaro, & return to the u.s. hellscape

me, Mike and Ben at the market

me with Peta

murals in San Antonio neighborhood

Mike & me at Fábrica la Aurora

Museo la Esquina del Juguete (Toy Corner Museum)

Museo de Arte de Querétaro

Mike at Museo de Arte de Querétaro

Museo de Arte de Querétaro

Querétaro

San Sebastián Bernal & Peña de Bernal

Peña de Bernal

San Sebastián Bernal & Peña de Bernal

Peña de Bernal

San Sebastián Bernal

MUCAL, the Museo del Calendario

Querétaro

Museo Regional de Querétaro

Querétaro

Mercado de la Cruz

Terraza la Grupa

me with my Ford Bronco Sport

Mike at El Manantial

me at Artie’s

Thomas Kapsidelis and William Geroux (r) at Bill’s book talk at Politics & Prose

me at Politics & Prose

Bill’s book

Mike at Comet Ping Pong

Comet Ping Pong

April was: A month of preparing our house for our son and his family to move in & house-sit when we move to Costa Rica for a year. A month of sorting through and tossing clothes, and then organizing the remainder in an Elfa closet we had installed in our smallest bedroom. A month of walking amongst springtime tulips and cherry blossoms and attending a couple of yoga sessions. A month of having my hearing tested; it’s getting worse but not to the point of needing hearing aids – yet. A month of sushi, pastichio, Indian food at Woodlands, and a Good Friday Italian lunch at Filomena Restaurante in Georgetown, surrounded by an extravaganza of Easter bunnies, cherry blossoms, and painted eggs. A month of walking by the Ukrainian Embassy in a show of solidarity for their endless fight against Russia, and feeling disgusted by our current administration and their gaslighting nonsense and outright lies about the war. A month when the world lost Pope Francis, a progressive pope who cared about the poor and the suffering, unlike the MAGA and so-called “Christian” Nationalists of the U.S. A month of thumbing our nose at fascists by drinking “Gulf of Mexico” and “Lady Justice” beers from the progressive Wisconsin brewery, Minocqua Brewing Company. A month of eating delectable meat mantu and lamb shanks at Mazadar. A month of upgrading my iPhone to an iPhone 16 Pro and all the hassle that the process entailed. A month of power washing and sealing our screened-in porch and replacing our roof. A month helping Sarah settle into her new apartment in Richmond and celebrating her 41^st birthday with wine and dinner at Alewife. A month in which I was able to see a Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, since I missed seeing anything “Frida” in Mexico. A month of finishing 4 books, bringing my total to 15/48 for the year, with my favorites being Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips and What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama. A month of watching several movies: La Dulce Villa and Sult (A Copenhagen Love Story) on Netflix and The Ballad of Wallis Island at Cinema Arts Theatre. A month in which we finished the 3rd season of White Lotus, the 4th of The Upshaws, and the 6th of Virgin River, the 1st of The Äre Murders and Paradise, and the final seasons of Modern Family, Valeria, and the Turkish show Kimler Geldi Kimler Geçti (Thank You, Next). A month of starting several series: Dying for Sex, The West Wing, Long Bright River, Your Friends & Neighbors, & Severance, as well as continuing to watch The Split, Younger, & Unforgotten. A month that ended with a long 1,362 days left in our right-wing oligarchy.

the april cocktail hour: prepping our house for our son & family to housesit

Walk around Lake Anne in Reston

cherry blossoms in Reston

Mike at Woodlands

me at Woodlands

new Elfa closet units

the clothes in the new closet 🙂

tulip mania in Vienna, VA

redbud in our neighborhood

Filomena Restaurante in Georgetown

Mike atFilomena Restaurante in Georgetown

me at Filomena Restaurante in Georgetown

Georgetown murals

Ukrainian Embassy in Georgetown

Georgetown murals

in the Verizon store getting my new iPhone

our newly sealed screened porch

me on the colorful cushions at Mazadar

Mike at Mazadar

Frida: Beyond the Myth at VMFA

Frida in Bed at her Home, Coyoacán, 1952 by Bernice Kolko

Frida Kahlo, Xochimilco, Mexico, 1941 by Rosa Covarrubias

Frida Kahlo, 1931 by Imogen Cunningham

Still Life with Parrot and Flag, 1951 by Frida Kahlo

Self-Portrait with Loose Hair, 1947 by Frida Kahlo

Self-Portrait with Monkey, 1945 by Frida Kahlo

Frida in Thought, 1944 by Sylvia Salmi

Frida Kahlo in New York, 1946 by Nickolas Muray

Friday with Olmeca Figurine, Coyoacán, 1939 by Nickolas Muray

Sarah blows out a birthday candle

Sarah and me at Alewife

new roof ini progress

Allie in Atlanta

Adam and Mike in Nicaragua

Mia and little Mikey in Nicaragua

May was: A month of continuing to declutter and prepare our house for our son and his family to move in & house-sit when we move to Costa Rica for a year. A month of Mike cutting back to an hourly schedule and switching our medical insurance to Medicare. A month of various medical appointments for Mike and me. A month of arranging to buy a used car in Costa Rica and putting down a deposit. A month of dirty martinis and lots of laughs at Se7en with our friends Karen & Michael. A month of Mike zipping his leg open on a lane hook at the pool, requiring 6 stitches inside and 26 stitches outside his right calf. A month getting recessed lights put in throughout our house and getting repairs done to our garage door. A month of getting our Real IDs. A month of eating delectable mezze at Lebanese Taverna with Mike’s sister Barbara to celebrate Mother’s Day. A month when Mike’s friend Mike from Ohio came for an overnight visit. A month of eating Chili Softshell Crab and braised beef Massaman at Tiki Thai. A month when Alex, Jandira and Allie came to visit to attend Louisa & Edwin’s wedding; we went to the rehearsal BBQ dinner but didn’t go to the wedding, opting instead to babysit Allie. A month in which we took off for Costa Rica on the 31^st, spending the night in Cañas before checking into our Airbnb on Lake Arenal on June 1. A month of finishing 8 books, bringing my total to 23/48 for the year, with my favorites being Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, The Summer House by Philip Teir, and Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue; I also read On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, which basically outlines twenty lessons learned from 1930s Germany and Stalin’s Russia, and draws parallels with what is happening in the U.S. now. A month in which we eeked out time to watch two movies, Conclave, which was appropriate since Pope Francis died and the conclave picked a new pope during May, and Revolutionary Road, based on the book I read this month. A month of starting several series: The Four Seasons, Istanbul Encyclopedia, & W1A and continuing to watch The Split, Younger, Dying for Sex, The West Wing, Long Bright River, Your Friends & Neighbors, Severance & Unforgotten. A month that ended with a long 1,331 days left in our right-wing oligarchy.

the may cocktail hour: final wrap up, a wedding & leaving for costa rica

Allie at the pool in Atlanta

margarita time

Mike, me, Michael & Karen at Se7en

Mike and his 26 stitches on his leg on May 6

Barbara at Lebanese Taverna

Mike and me at Lebanese Taverna

me at Lebanese Taverna

the two Mikes

me at Tiki Thai

Mike, Allie and me

Mike, Allie & Alex

Allie & the peonies

Louisa & Edwin, the bride and groom to be

Alex and Nick – fast friends

Jandira & Alex

Alex carries Allie

Alex & Jandira on the way to the wedding

Allie

Allie & me

Allie & Dido

Jandira and Alex at the wedding

Nick and Alex

little Mikey in Nicaragua

Allie with her new orange boots

Jandira, Serena, Cindy, Alex and Allie

me at Reagan National at 5:30 a.m.

flying into Miami

Mike on the plane

me on Puenta Real at Hotel Hacienda La Pacifica

Hotel Hacienda La Pacifica

Mike sips tequila

statues on the grounds at Hotel Hacienda La Pacifica

lizard atHotel Hacienda La Pacifica

June was: Our first month of moving to and living in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, near Tilaran on the shores of Lake Arenal. A month of stocking up on household items to make our home-away-from-home feel more like a real home. A month of Mike continuing to do some consulting for his company and me beginning a new blog: a pura vida year in costa rica. A month of buying a used 2014 Mistubishi ASX and relearning a stick shift. A month of taking hilly walks through stunning countryside, joining the Monster Gym in Tilaran, and taking up yoga at Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center. A month of exploring the tidy town of Tronadora, including the beautiful Peninsula 1, until the road there nearly washed away and was in the midst of being repaired under threat of immenent collapse. A month of exploring local cuisine at Brisas del Lago, Mary’s Restaurante with our friend Bruce, Café & Macadamia, Beer Garden Tinajas, Chicharronera on Peninsula 1 in Tronadora, and Cevichera La Pasadita. A month of celebrating Father’s Day at Gingerbread in Nuevo Arenal, owned by an Israeli man who has lived in Costa Rica for 23 years. A month of making many soups using chorizo, ground beef & chicken; our favorite creation so far has been the chorizo, potato and green bean soup we made with the chorizo we got from Rigoberto in Tronadora. A month of driving the mountains around Lake Arenal, often on gravel or potholed roads, gasping at the gorgeous greenery and scenery, and trying to breathe when we got stuck behind trucks or buses belching black smoke. A month of a two-night escape from the rain to visit Playa Hermosa, where we enjoyed great food at Ginger, Café Corazon, and Hacienda Blu Beach Lounge & Grill; lounged on the beach; swam in the gentle Pacific; met interesting & lively fellow travelers, and read books: for me, Paul Theroux’s The Old Patagonian Express. A month in which we got the Permiso de Salida from the Registro de la Propiedad in order to take our car out of the country and into Nicaragua. A month in which Trump bombed nuclear sites in Iran after he had sparse attendance at his 79th birthday military parade while millions marched peacefully across the country on “No Kings Day” to protest his cruel White Supremacist fascist administration. A month in which I beat Mike at several games of online Scrabble. A month in which we deepened our connections to the community, took our first cash out of an ATM, found a barber for Mike, discovered La Casa del Plastica (a store that sells plastic goods), ate tacos and listened to Olsen del Torro sing at Lake Arenal Brewery’s Taco Tuesday, found a farm where yogurt is sold, enjoyed the pool, and went to Nuevo Arenal where we ate at the German Bakery and checked out a Farmacia Organica. A month in which I finished 2 books, bringing my total to 25/48; I enjoyed both: The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux and The Confessions of Frances Godwin by Robert Hellenga. A month during which we watched two good movies: The Wrong Track (På Villspor) and the 2022 movie, What’s Love got to do with it? A month of beginning several series: Togetherness, Pernille (Pørni), The Secrets We Keep, and Sara: Woman in the Shadows, and finishing Four Seasons, Bad Sisters, and Your Friends & Neighbors. A month in which we continued watching Istanbul Encyclopedia, Younger, North of North, The Manny, and Severance. A month that ended with a long 1,301 days left in our right-wing fascist oligarchy.

the june cocktail hour: our first month in costa rica

Our house on Lake Arenal

our Airbnb in Buena Vista near San Luis, Costa Rica

Mike on our balcony

our Airbnb in Buena Vista near San Luis, Costa Rica

me on our balcony

the pool in our community

the cove & boat dock

our 2014 Mitsubishi ASX

Mike in Tronadora

church in Tronadora

Soda Doña Chila in Tronadora

Tronadora

pretty yellow church in Aguacate

Beer Garden Tinajas

me at Beer Garden Tinajas

rainbow seen over Lake Arenal from Nuevo Arenal

Mike & Bruce at Mary’s

drive up to Cerro Tovar, Parque del Viento

Tilaran seen from Cerro Tovar, Parque del Viento

Mike at Chicharronera on Peninsula 1

Mike on Father’s Day at Gingerbread

Gingerbread

me at Gingerbread

a walk up on a gravel road outside Tilaran

Playa Hermosa

Mike at Playa Hermosa

me at Playa Hermosa

Mike at Playa Hermosa

Mike at sunset at Hotel el Velero

character at Hotel el Velero

me at Ginger

Mike at Ginger

Leche frita con helado

Café Corazon

Playa Hermosa

me at Playa Hermosa

Playa Hermosa

Mike at Hotel el Velero

me at Hotel el Velero

Mike at Monster Gym

cows on Peninsula 1

Mike at Soda Doña Chila in Tronadora

My first day driving the stick shift

Mike has his first haircut in Costa Rica

Mike at Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery

Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery

Yoga studio at Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center

sauna at Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center

Mike at Tisú Farm

the roadwork on the road to Tronadora

bus stop mural on the way to Tronadora

Tronadora town park

horse we found on the way to Tronadora

German Bakery

Mike at the German Bakery

German Bakery

Farmacia Organica in Nuevo Arenal

me at Cevichera La Pasadita

July was: Our second month living in San Luis, Costa Rica, on the shore of Lake Arenal. A month of two pedicures, one called a “Ukrainian pedi.” A month of online Scrabble games where I was on a winning streak until Mike finally achieved his own victories. A month of birds serenading us around our house – Red-lored Amazon parrots, Crimson-fronted parakeets, and Tropical Kingbirds – as well as a hummingbird building a nest and laying eggs outside our kitchen window (sadly the hummingbird met an untimely end while we traveled). A month of a blessing of the boats on Lake Arenal and an open-water swim competition. A month of visiting Adam & family in Ometepe, Nicaragua for 6 nights, during which we watched Cristy march in a parade in Altagracia as Queen of her school and watched Andrea and Mia practice gymnastics in preparation for a competition in Managua (Andrea won gold in the floor exercises at the competition after we left). A month of beach days at Xalli, a day a Ojo de Agua, and dining out at Libélula Café, Xalli and take-out pizza from Pizzeria Mediterranea with the family. A month of bracelets and ice cream at the Saturday market with the girls. A month in which Mike and I went on a chocolate tour at El Pital Chocolate Paradise and drank ceremonial doses of cacao. A month of beach walks at Lake Nicaragua and at Tamarindo in Costa Rica, where we went for 2 nights. A month in which I got a shopping fix in the westernized beach town of Tamarindo and we ate Italian at Fish & Cheeses, a hamburger wrap at Cha Café, sushi at Kabuto Sushi, and tacos at Little Lucha. A month of taking an Estuary Boat Tour in Tamarindo where we saw mangroves, vultures, termite nests, green herons, black-bellied whistling ducks, a yellow-headed caracara, howler monkeys and scuttling red crabs, but no crocodiles or leatherback turtles. A month of dancing to Jimmy Loop at Lake Arenal Brewery and listening to “Smooth Jazz on the Lake” at La Tortuga. A month of dining out at Soda La Macha, Guadalupe, La Pradera, Paseo del Viento, Moya’s Place, Playa Tila, and La Pasadita. A month in which I finished 3 books, bringing my total to 28/48: I learned a lot about the Panama Canal in Cristina Henríquez’s The Great Divide and I truly enjoyed Speak, Silence by Kim Echlin. A month during which we watched one mediocre movie, Nonnas, and one enjoyable movie: The Life List. A month of beginning several series: Maid, The Survivors, and Letters from the Past; and finishing The Secrets We Keep, The Manny, Istanbul Encyclopedia, Thank You, Next, and Sara: Woman in the Shadows. A month in which we continued watching Togetherness, Pernille (Pørni), North of North, Seinfeld and Severance. A month that ended with a long 1,270 days left of the U.S. right-wing fascist oligarchy, which we are watching from afar with great disgust.

the july cocktail hour: a trip to ometepe, nicaragua; a beach getaway to tamarindo; & homebody activities

Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery

Beauty S.O.S.

dipping in the creek after the sauna at Living Forest

me at Soda La Macha

me at Playa Tila

a walk near Tronadora introduced us to Santiago and his pitaya farm

Mike at Lake Arenal Brewery

Lake Arenal Brewery

Mike at the pool reading Behold the Dreamers

me at the pool

wasp nest in process

me at Moya’s Place

Mike at Moya’s Place

Moya’s Place

Blessing of the Boats

Mike eats ice cream at Pop’s

Soda Doña Chila

Mike on the ferry to Ometepe

Xalli on Ometepe

walk on the beach from Xalli

Adam leads Mia on the slack line

little Mike

Andrea and Mia in a tree

El Pital Chocolate Paradise

Cristy marches in the parade as “Queen of her school”

Adam & Mike

beach walk

Andrea, Maria, Adam, Mike, Mia and Cristy

Andrea, Mike and Mia at the Xalli Beach

little Mike at the beach

Adam and Mike at the beach

Cristy at Xalli

Big Mike and little Mike

beach walk at Xalli

me, Andrea, Mike and Adam at Ojo de Agua

Adam, Mike and Maria

El Pital Chocolate Tour

Mike at El Pital Chocolate Tour

me at El Pital Chocolate Tour

little Mike at Xalli

Andrea at Xalli

Mia, Andrea and Cristy at

Maria and Mike in their kitchen

bracelets for the girls

me with the girls at the ice cream shop

Mike, Adam and Maria

me on the ferry

looking back at Volcán Concepcion on Ometepe

Mike on the ferry

Mike at Playa Tila

a horse we met on our way walking up through San Luis

Playa Tila

Mike at La Tortuga

me at La Tortuga

La Tortuga

eggs in the nest

Cha Cafe in Tamarindo

BOHO Tamarindo

Langosta Beach Club

Tamarindo Beach

Tamarindo Beaach

Mike and me at Fish & Cheeses

Estuary Boat Tour

market in Tamarindo

me in a unicorn inner tube

Little Lucha

Kabuto Sushi

my Summer Bingo Card at July 31

August was: Our third month living in San Luis, Costa Rica, on the shore of Lake Arenal. A month of one pedicure and a hair hydration, 3x/week workouts at Monster Gym and once a week yoga. A month of more online Scrabble games where Mike and I each claimed victories. A month of birds serenading us each morning: Keel-billed Toucans, Red-lored Parrots, Orange-chinned parakeets, and Great-tailed Grackles. A month which began with leaving Tamarindo in Costa Rica, where we had been for 2 nights. A month of a 2-hour stint witnessing our 80-year-old friends, Anne and Jack, sign their will and then being treated to lunch after at Restaurante Tinajas. A month of listening to tunes from Charly Lopez from Uruguay on Taco Tuesday and sampling Cuban food and music by Olsen del Toro on Día de las Madres at Lake Arenal Brewery (with Anne & Jack). A month of dining out at Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express, Equus, Wabi Sabi Sushi, Hacienda La Pacifica Eco-Lodge, Plaza Paseo del Viento with our friend Carol, Restaurante Linda Vista with friends Darrell and Farida, Soda La Macha, and Vento Bistro. A month of attending a cool Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen), as part of the Celebramos 102 Años de Cantonato del 21-31 Agosto 2025 (celebrating 102 years of Tilarán as a canton). A month of visiting La Fortuna, the area around Volcán Arenal at the east end of Lake Arenal, where we enjoyed upscale thermal springs from Volcán Arenal at Baldi Hot Springs; went whitewater rafting on the Class III-IV Río Sarapiqui; descended 517 steps to the Catarata Río Fortuna and swam in the surrounding pools; hiked a boring trail at Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal; enjoyed a mediocre massage at Spa Luz de Luna; and visited Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park in the rainforest of La Fortuna. A month in which I checked off many experiences on my Summer Bingo Card, including: kayak, paddleboard and swim in the lake, beach time, make corn soup with shrimp, have a frozen drink on a rooftop, paddleboard and swim in the lake, and visit a puma sanctuary. A month in which I finished 3 books, bringing my total to 31/48: I especially enjoyed Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. A month during which we watched three movies, The Penguin Lessons (Argentina), My Oxford Year, and Fall for Me (Mallorca), all of which we enjoyed. A month of beginning several series: Territory, Asura no Gotoku, If Only (Si lo hubiera sabido), and Platonic and finishing North of North, Tuiskoms, Letters from the Past (Gelecege Mektuplar), and The Survivors (excellent!). A month in which we continued watching Togetherness, Pernille (Pørni), Maid, Younger, and Seinfeld. A month in which we made a decision to stop watching Severance: it’s just too bizarre and not our thing. A month that ended with a long 1,239 days left in the U.S. right-wing fascist oligarchy, which we were watching from afar with great angst and anger.

the august cocktail hour: local gatherings, la fortuna adventures, & a “desfile de caballistas”

Tamarindo Beach

Santiago’s pitaya farm

Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express

Mike at Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express

me at Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express

Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express

ready to kayak on the lake

kayaking on Lake Arenal

Lunch at Equus

Keel-billed Toucan in our tree

Santuario Las Pumas in Cañas

me with my frozen drink on the rooftop

pool day

paddle boarding on the lake

Mike paddle boarding on the lake

me paddle boarding on the lake

Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery with Charly Lopez from Uruguay

Anne & Jack at Lake Arenal Brewery

Cuban night at Lake Arenal Brewery with Olsen del Toro and his mother

Jack, Nixon, me and Anne at Restaurante Tinajas

mural at Restaurante Tinajas

Carol and Mike atPaseo del Viento

me at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Mike at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Mike doing tree pose at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Spicy Sloth and Green Gin at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

me at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

whitewater rafting on the Río Sarapiqui

Mike jumps into the Río Sarapiqui

Me, Mike, Carlos and Monica from Madrid on our whitewater rafting trip

me at Catarata Río Fortuna

Mike at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Turquoise-browed Motmot at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mike at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen) in Tilarán

me at Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen) in Tilarán

Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen) in Tilarán

Toucans seen August 27

pedicure at S.O.S. Beauty Salon

Darrell & Farida at Restaurante Linda Vista

me, Darrell, Farida and Mike at Restaurante Linda Vista

me at Soda La Macha

Mike at Soda La Macha

beautiful sunset

Orange-chinned parakeets

me with daiquiri at Paseo del Viento

my Summer Bingo Card as of 8/31

September was: Our fourth month living in San Luis, Costa Rica, on the shore of Lake Arenal. A month of one hair hydration, 3x/week workouts at Monster Gym and once a week yoga. A month of more online Scrabble games where Mike and I each claimed victories. A month of birds serenading us each morning – Montezuma Oropendolas, Crested Guans and Bare-throated Tiger-Herons. A month of dining out at new restaurants: Marisquería Lago Arenal, Chafi’s Restaurante, the Chinese Restaurante El Lago, Hotel La Rana de Arenal, and El Corral Restaurante, as well as old standbys such as Paseo del Viento, Chicharronera, Restaurante Brisas del Lago with our friend Carol and La Pasadita with Bruce. A month of visiting the “Blue Zone” Nicoya Peninsula – Sámara & Nosara – in search of longevity. A month taking a horseback ride to La Piedra del Indio Waterfalls, soaking in the pool at the bottom and riding up to ridges in the Tilarán mountains where we enjoyed strong breezes and stunning vistas. A month in which I checked off the last few experiences (except two) on my Summer Bingo Card, including creating a summer playlist. A month in which I created a Fall Bingo Card, which is full of all kinds of plans, including going home to Virginia for two weeks and seeing the family, celebrating my 70th birthday at Celeste Mountain Lodge, going to Panama (Panama City and Bocas del Toro) in November, attending a cattle auction, putting together at least 2 of the 4 puzzles we bought, moving into our new home at Lake Arenal Condos, making lots of bean soups and root vegetable recipes, wearing cowgirl or horse tee shirts, and exploring some towns in Costa Rica’s Central Valley as well as Poás Volcano and surrounding waterfalls. A month in which I finished 5 books, bringing my total to 36/48; I especially enjoyed What We Owe by Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde. A month of watching four movies: a Mexican family drama called Familia; The Unforgivable starring Sandra Bullock; a mediocre Turkish movie called Sen Büyümeye Bak (In Good Hands 2); and French Lover, starring Omar Sy, that we really enjoyed. A month of starting new TV series: Toxic Town and Diary of a Ditched Girl (Halva Malmö består av killar som dumpat mig). A month of continuing to watch Younger, Seinfeld, Togetherness, Platonic, Fisk, If Only, The Morning Show (S4), and Pernille. A month of finishing Maid (depressing yet fabulous!), Territory, and Hostage (also good!). A month that ended with a long 1,209 days left in our right-wing fascist oligarchy.

the september cocktail hour: a nicoya peninsula getaway, a horseback ride to la piedra del indio waterfalls & a fall bingo card

Mike at Marisquería Lago Arenal

me at Marisquería Lago Arenal

Chicharronera

me Chicharronera

Darrell, Farida and Mike at Restaurante Brisas del Lago

walk to a ridge above San Luis

Chafi’s Restaurante

Camarones con Arroz at Chafi’s Restaurante

Hortifress

Bar & Restaurante El Ancla in Sámara

Hotel Bahia Beach Front

a Canadian woman’s paintings on the beach

mussels at Hotel Bahia Beach Front

Playa Sámara

Mike at Playa Sámara

me at Playa Sámara

Playa Sámara

Sámara

Kiwi salad bar in Sámara

Sámara

Playa Carrillo mirador

me at Hotel Bahia Beach Front

happy hour at Hotel Bahia Beach Front

view from Hotel Bahia Beach Front

Playa Carrillo

Nosara

Restaurante La Luna in Nosara

Playa Pelada & Agujero de Salpicaduras (Splash Hole)

me at Playa Pelada & Agujero de Salpicaduras (Splash Hole)

Mike at Playa Pelada & Agujero de Salpicaduras (Splash Hole)

me at Hotel Bahia Beach Front

Mike at Hotel Bahia Beach Front

Playa Sámara

happy hour at Hotel Bahia Beach Front

Playa Sámara

Hotel Bahia Beach Front

Ahora Sí!

marimba at Café con Amor

the “Freedom Torch” goes by Café con Amor

Mike at Tilatacos

Tilatacos

young people on stilts

girl holding one of the faroles

Carol, me and Mike at Restaurante Brisas del Lago

walk to Parque del Viento

green lizard who lives under our walkway

me at Hotel La Rana (frog) de Arenal Restaurante

Mike at Hotel La Rana (frog) de Arenal Restaurante

Hotel La Rana (frog) de Arenal Restaurante

view from Hotel La Rana (frog) de Arenal Restaurante

Summer Bingo Card

me at Paseo del Viento

Mike at Paseo del Viento

sunset from our house

La Piedra del Indio Waterfalls

Cataratas Viento Fresco

horseback ride back from La Piedra del Indio Waterfalls

My Fall Bingo Card

Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

me at El Corral Restaurante BBQ

Mike at El Corral Restaurante BBQ

Bruce and Mike at La Pasadita

Cristy in Ometepe

Adam and Mia in Ometepe

Little Mike in Ometepe

Mia and Andrea in Ometepe

Andrea and Mikey in NIcaragua

Allie practices her numbers

Allie & Jandira at a Flying Squirrels game in Richmond

Allie, Alex and Jandira at a Flying Squirrels game in Richmond

Jandira, Allie, Alex and Sarah at The Diamond in Richmond

Sarah, Allie, Alex and Jandira at The Diamond

Allie at daycare

little Mike at El Pital

October was: A month in which we returned to the U.S. for two weeks to visit the family, celebrate Allie’s 2nd birthday, take care of doctor and dentist appointments, vote for Abigail Spanberger for governor of Virginia, and get our COVID vaccines and flu shots. A month in which we ate dinner out with the family at Bear Branch Tavern; went with the family, including Sarah, to the pumpkin patch at Temple Hill Farm and drank beers at Barnhouse Brewery; met our friends Karen and Michael at Lantern House Kitchen & Bar; watched Allie at her swim class; ate out on our own at Mazadar; strolled through Meadowlark Gardens with Allie and Alex; babysat Allie; and went to Old Farm Winery at Hartland. A month in which we returned to Costa Rica and enjoyed a cookout with Darrell and Farida at their home; went out to Soda El Nilo and Café & Macadamia; held signs and chanted “This is what democracy looks like!” at a NO KINGS protest with like-minded people in Nuevo Arenal; and ate lunch at Los Platillos Voladores (Flying Saucers) after the protest. A month in which I had my hair straightened and started a personal training regimen with Nela at Monster Gym. A month in which we celebrated my 70th birthday by: stopping at the Colibri Organic Chocolate Factory near Upala where we got a short tour by Giovanni and nibbled on PilHio chocolate bars; eating lunch at Bajo Mundo; enjoying a nice massage at Celeste Mountain Lodge where we stayed for the weekend; hiking in Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio along the Río Celeste; eating another lunch at Yeye’s Restaurante where the staff sang “Happy Birthday” to me; and enjoying two wonderful meals by the French chef at Celeste Mountain Lodge. A month in which we went to the Subasta Ganadera (Livestock Auction) Tilarán and watched the fast-speaking auctioneer as the cattle were chuted in and out of the holding pen. A month during which I checked off more activies on my Fall Bingo Card including finishing our 1,000-piece “Hummingbirds” puzzle, doing an open-water swim in the lake, having a “spa day & massage (3x)”, making two bean soups, and going to the Friday cattle auction while wearing a cowboy t-shirt. A month in which I finished 2 books, especially enjoying At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon; this brought my total to 38/48, putting me behind in my goal. A month during which we watched one mediocre movie: Limpia (Swim to Me). A month of starting the mini-series Adolescence and finishing Toxic Town and Long Bright River, which we loved, as well as If Only, Togetherness, and Diary of a Ditched Girl. A month in which we continued watching Younger, Seinfeld, Platonic, The Morning Show (S4), Angela, Unforgotten, The Diplomat, and Pernille. A month that ended with a long 1,178 days left in our right-wing fascist oligarchy.

the october cocktail hour: a trip to virginia, a NO KINGS protest, two birthday celebrations, & a cattle auction

flying out of Liberia, Costa Rica

Mike with Adam at the Miami Airport

on the way to Bear Branch Tavern

Allie, Jandira and me at Bear Branch Tavern

Allie, Mike and me at Bear Branch Tavern

MIke reading to Allie

Allie giving us the side-eye

Jandira, Allie and Alex at Temple Hill Farm

me at Temple Hill Farm

Allie at Temple Hill Farm

me, Alex and Allie at Temple Hill Farm

Alex, Sarah, Jandira, Mike and Allie at Temple Hill Farm

me with Allie on her birthday

a cake for Allie and me

two birthday girls: me and Allie

Allie digs into her birthday cake

Mike, Mike and Karen at Lantern House Kitchen and Bar

Alex and Allie at Big Blue Swim School

Allie and Dido asleep in the family room

Allie dons a fireman’s hat

Allie plays in the laundry basket

me on the way to Mazadar

Mike at Mazadar

Allie and Alex on the butterfly bench at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Allie matches the flowers

Alex & Allie in the Korean Garden at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Alex, Allie and me at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

babysitting Allie

Jandira & Allie ata Old Farm Winery in Hartland

Alex, Allie, Jandira, Mike and me at Old Farm Winery in Hartland

Jandira, Alex and Allie at Old Farm Winery in Hartland

Alex and Allie at Old Farm Winery in Hartland

Flying into Miami on October 14 at 7 a.m.

Landing in Miami

Flying out of Miami at 10:52 a.m.

me at Soda El Nilo

Mike at Soda El Nilo

NO KINGS protest in Nuevo Arenal

Farida, Carol, Darrell, Mike at Platillos Voladores (“Flying Saucers”), EatAlienFood

me with Carol outside of Platillos Voladores (“Flying Saucers”), EatAlienFood

Mike and me outside of Platillos Voladores (“Flying Saucers”), EatAlienFood

Mike on our balcony

me on our balcony in Costa Rica

Mike at Soda Doña Chila

“Hummingbirds” puzzle – finished!

me after having my hair straightened

Mike with view of Volcán Tenorio

PilHio Organic Chocolate

Mike at Bajo Mundo

our room at Celeste Mountain Lodge

Celeste Mountain Lodge

me at Celeste Mountain Lodge

the blue dessert at Celeste Mountain Lodge

Celeste Mountain Lodge

view from Celeste Mountain Lodge

bird at Celeste Mountain Lodge

me with Mike at the Río Celeste Waterfall

Río Celeste Waterfall

Bobollones in the Río Celeste at Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio

bridge over Río Celeste at Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio

me at Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio

me with Mike on my birthday at Celeste Mountain Lodge

me blowing out my candle at Celeste Mountain Lodge

me with Nela at my assessment at Monster Gym

Café & Macadamia

Mike at Café & Macadamia

Pastel de Yucca, or Yucca (Cassava) Shepherd’s Pie stuffed with beef and tomato sauce

me at Café & Macadamia

view of Lago Arenal from Café & Macadamia

chorizo, garbanzo beans and spinach soup

black bean soup

me at the Friday Cattle Auction

Mike at the Friday Cattle Auction

Friday Cattle Auction

lunch at the Friday Cattle Auction

Friday Cattle Auction

The girls from Ometepe at the gymnastics competition in Managua

Andrea wins gold in the gymnastics competition

Mia wins silver in gymnastics

Mia lets Mikey wear her silver medals

Mikey in Nicaragua

little Mikey in Ometepe

Cristy and friend with goats

Jandira and Allie at Flying Ace Distillery

Alex and Jandira at Flying Ace Distillery

Allie and Jandira at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Allie, Jandira and Alex at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Allie plays with a toy I gave her for her birthday

Allie as Bingo from Bluey for Halloween

Fall Bingo Card as of 10/31

November was: A month during which Mike arranged a belated birthday/Halloween get-together at Paseo del Viento with friends. A month during which Democrats won seats in elections all across the U.S., especially in Virginia where we now have a Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, and a trifecta of Democrats in the state government. A month of a Ukranian pedicure in green just after the Beaver moon. A month of sunset-watching with Carol and then dinner after at Cielo’s Pizza, and another dinner with our long-lost friends Anne and Jack, who we hadn’t seen since August, at Chafi’s. A month during which we visited Panama City and Bocas del Toro on our first-ever trip to Panama (country #41 for me). A month of visiting Casco Viejo, staying in El Cangrejo, and learning about and seeing the Panama Canal in Panama City. A month of zipping around on an ebike to wade among starfish at Playa Estrella, taking water taxis to islands, and kayaking and snorkeling in Saigon Bay at Bocas del Toro. A month in which travel back to Costa Rica from Panama was rife with challenges and delays. A month of another dinner with Darrell and Farida at a new unnamed restaurant in Tronadora, during which they told us they were selling their home in Costa Rica and moving to Kenya, Farida’s home of origin. A month which marked the end of our first six months in Costa Rica, with 6 more months remaining. A month during which I checked off more activities on my Fall Bingo Card including visiting places in Panama, making a navy bean soup, visiting San Ramon and Atenas, celebrating Thanksgiving with friends, and moving into Lake Arenal Condos for our last six months in Costa Rica. A month in which I finished 6 books, especially enjoying The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, Memento Park by Mark Sarvas, and 1968: The Year that Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky, in which I found many similarities to the U.S. political environment right now; this brought my total to 44/48. A month during which we watched one movie: Mango, which took place in beautiful southern Spain. A month of starting The Beast in Me, The Asset, and A Man on the Inside, and finishing Adolescence, the 5th season of Pernille, and Angela. A month in which we continued watching Younger, Seinfeld, Platonic, The Morning Show (S4), Unforgotten, and The Diplomat. A month that ended with a long 1,148 days left in our right-wing fascist oligarchy.

the november cocktail hour: a trip to panama, a costa rican thanksgiving & a move to lake arenal condos

view from Carol’s house

Carol, Mike and me at Subterra

Subterra decked out for Halloween

Bruce and Mike at Mary’s

me with Veronica at Tomodent

me at Monster Gym after a workout with Nela

Mike and me at Restaurante Cielo’s Pizza

Anne & Jack at Chafi’s

Mike and me at Chafi’s

views from our El Cangrejo apartment

Cabeza de Einstein

Pho Vietnam

me in Casco Viejo

Kuna women selling molas on Paseo Esteban Huertas, or Esteban Huertas Promenade

Mike on Cacao St.

Altar de Oro at Iglesia de San José

diorama in Iglesia de San José

Panama Canal Museum

Migration Exhibit at Panama Canal Museum

Panama Canal Museum

pool at our PH Sky Swiss condominium

me at Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar

Mike with his flight at Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar

me at the PANAMA sign

Mike at the BioMuseo

BioMuseo

Mercado de Mariscos

Mike at the Mercado de Mariscos

Mike at La Rana Dorada

Miraflores Visitor Center

Container ship now raised in the water and leaving the Panama Canal, pushed and pulled by powerful locomotives

cruise ship coming into the Panama Canal

Panama Canal Murals

“Musa” at MAC Panamá

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá, or MAC Panamá

Mike and Danny, Tae’s father, at Peach Fuzz

me at Marques for our anniversary

Mike at Marques on our anniversary

me with the puzzle

Purple House Over the Water

El Ultima Refugio

me with my ebike

map of Bocas del Toro

Mike drinks coconut water on the water taxi to Playa Estrella

starfish at Playa Estrella

Playa Estrella

me at Over the Water

on the dock to the Buccaneer Hotel

me at Bibi’s on the Beach

walk on Red Frog Beach

Mike with driftwood at Red Frog Beach

me with my wound

relaxing at our Orange House

Orange House

sunset at our Orange House

view from our Orange House

me kayaking

Mike & me after snorkeling

kayaking on Saigon Bay

flying into Costa Rica

Dragon roll with shrimp tempura & Spicy tuna roll

me at El Corral

Veggie-packed navy bean soup

our house for 10 more days

gorgeous sunset in Costa Rica

Lake Arenal Brewery

Mike, me, Anne and Jack

me with Mike

Farida, Eden, the chef and me at Eden’s new cafe

living area of new condo

Guanacaste tree coffee table

kitchen

master bedroom – home

view out the window from inside the living room

view of Volcán Arenal from our condo

sunset from our condo

ant infestation in Master bed frame

move from Puerto San Luis west to Lake Arenal Condos

Municipal Auditorium

Concierto de “Ensamble Atrespam”

Christmas lights in Tilarán

me at Paseo del Viento

Fall Bingo Card

Mikey with the cows

Allie at an Airbnb near Elkton, VA

the family hiking near Elkton, VA

Alex and Allie “playing chess”

Little Mike trying to be a gymnast like his sisters

December was: A month of carpal tunnel surgery on Mike’s right hand with Dr. Andrés Ugalde in Liberia; during his recovery time of 4-6 weeks, he had to refrain from using his right hand, so it fell to me to take over the driving, the cooking, the cleaning, and even tying his shoes. A month of beautiful views of the Cold Moon, Volcán Arenal, Lago Arenal, rainbows, and coral-hued cloud formations from the balcony of our new condo. A month of buying a fake Christmas tree to take to Ometepe in January. A month of a bronze-flecked pedicure and completion of our “Skull Whispers” puzzle. A month of eating at Eden’s new unnamed café in Tronadora for a “soft opening’ and then later for the grand opening as “Lava Lake Café.” A month of dinner and Christmas music by Andru & Anapau at Paseo del Viento with our friends Anne and Jack. A month of having lunch one day at Marisqueria Lago Arenal and meeting some adventurous tourists. A month welcoming our first guests: Anne and Jack for take-out pizza and Darrell & Farida for drinks and snacks before going up to Brisas de Tilawa. A month of a road trip to Costa Rica’s Central Highlands with a stop in La Fortuna, where we had massages, soaked in our room’s hot tub, ate Indian food at Sunny’s, shopped for Christmas gifts for each other, and fought an invasion of ants in our hotel, Yellow Tree Suites. A month of visiting three towns: 1) Zarcero with its whimsical topiary art and beautiful church, Iglesia de San Rafael; 2) Costa Rica’s artisan capital Sarchí which displays the world’s largest oxcart and is home to a cool oxcart factory, Taller Eloy Alfaro e Hijos; 3) Grecia, with its merlot-red church built entirely out of metal, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Mercedes. A month of staying at La Terraza Guest House B&B, which sat on tropical grounds and had cottages in brightly colored murals. A month of visiting other places in the Central Highlands: Parque Nacional Volcán Poas with timed tickets to view the caldera (we didn’t see a thing because of steam and gas from the volcano); the animal sanctuary and waterfalls at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park where we saw toucans, peacocks, Scarlett Macaws, pink-footed ducks, parrots, butterflies, an ocelot, a mountain lion, a jaguar and a grey fox; waterfalls around Bajos del Toro, a tiny village in a cloud forest west of Volcán Poas, including Catarata del Toro and The Blue Falls. A month of working out at Monster Gym, walking around the town of Tilarán and on a ridge up near Tisú Farm where we were knocked off balance numerous times by blustery winds, and walking on the ridge above our condos around the small town of Parcelas. A month of a Christmas Eve dinner at Gingerbread, WhatsApp conversations with the family, and wine & cheese with Anne & Jack on Christmas day. A month of ceviche at Cevichera La Pasadita to see their Christmas decorations, having a home-cooked international meal with Anne & Jack at their home, and listening to Christmas music by Andru & Ana Paula at Moya’s Place. A month ending with a New Year’s Eve dinner at Chafi’s and falling asleep before midnight. A month of finishing 4 books in December, bringing my total to 48/48, especially enjoying Rules of the Wild: A Novel of Africa by Francesca Marciano. A month of being enlightened by books such as The Girl in Grey (by Annette Lyon) about the 1939 Winter War between Russia and Finland and Madness Visible: A Memoir of War (by Janine Di Giovanni) about the war in the Balkans which has got to be one of the most confusing and brutal wars in modern times. A month of watching four movies: Champagne Problems (France), A Merry Little EX-MAS — both of which were a bit hokey — as well as the 1945 Christmas in Connecticut and My Secret Santa. A month of starting a couple of new series: Home for Christmas (Hjem til jul) (S3), Grantchester (S3), and Untamed (Yosemite); finishing watching The Morning Show (S4), The Diplomat (S3), Nobody Wants This (S2), The Asset (Legenden) (S1), and Unforgotten (S6); and continuing to watch Younger, Seinfeld, Platonic, The Beast in Me, and A Man on the Inside. A month that ended with a long 1,117 days left in our right-wing fascist oligarchy.

the december cocktail hour: mike’s surgery, a central highlands road trip & christmas in costa rica

Mike after his carpal tunnel surgery

Lake Arenal Condos

Cold Moon

view from our condo

view of Volcán Arenal from our condo

Mike, Jack and Anne at Paseo del Viente

Jack, me and Anne at Paseo del Viento

Andru and Anapau singing

view of Volcán Arenal from our condo

me at Marisqueria Lago Arenal

rainbow views from our condo

Jack, me and Anne after pizza at our condo

Dr. Ugalde, Mike and Stephanie when he got his stitches out

Farida and me at Brisas de Tilawa

me in La Fortuna

Mike after our massages at Serenity Spa in La Fortuna

Mike at Sunny’s

Iglesia de San Rafael in Zarcero

topiary art in Zarcero’s Parque Francisco Alvarado

topiary art in Zarcero’s Parque Francisco Alvarado with Iglesia de San Rafael behind

largest oxcart in the world in Sarchí

Taller Eloy Alfaro e Hijos

me at Taller Eloy Alfaro e Hijos

Taller Eloy Alfaro e Hijos

La Terraza Guest House B&B

Mike having breakfast at La Terraza Guest House B&B

Parque Nacional Volcán Poás

me at Parque Nacional Volcán Poás

toucan at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park

butterfly at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park

white-face capuchin monkey at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park

Ocelot at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park

me, Mike and oxcart at butterflies at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park

Mike at Templo Waterfall at butterflies at La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Mercedes in Grecia

Catarata del Toro

me at Catarata del Toro

Blue Falls: Mike in Poza Azul

Cataratas Las Gemelas at the Blue Falls

me at Cataratas Las Gemelas

Mike on the bridge on our way back from the Blue Falls

Bajos del Toro

Lesson’s Motmot

Mike at Lava Lake Café

dairy cows near Tisú Farm

a huge rainbow

Gingerbread on Christmas Eve

Christmas morning

Christmas day with Anne & Jack

our car looks spanking new!

me at Cevichera la Pasadita

Mike at Cevichera la Pasadita

me in our house on our way to Anne & Jack’s

Anne’s delicious international meal

Moya’s Place

Mike at Moya’s Place

Ana Paula, me, Mike and Andru at Moya’s Place

the view out Sarah’s Richmond apartment

Allie has her first dentist appointment

Chef Allie makes pizzas at daycare

Allie tries on bike helmets at Target

Allie watches a Christmas scene with her nose to the screen

Alex, Allie & Jandira on Christmas morning

Jandira, Allie and Alex on Christmas morning

Cristy at a photo op

Andrea celebrated her 12th birthday

Mía celebrated her 9th birthday

Cristy got her hair done!

little Mike rides a bike

Miá at a new restaurant in Balgue

Andrea, Mía & Cristy

Andrea & Mike

Mía with a man representing the old year

me with Mike at Chafi’s on New Year’s Eve

Award for the owner’s prize-winning racehorses

Here are some of my previous years’ recap posts. I now wish I had one for every year of my life, as they serve as great reminders of my adventures, joys, challenges, and tribulations in years past!

Here’s wishing everyone a Happy New Year in 2026!

the december cocktail hour: mike’s surgery, a central highlands road trip & christmas in costa rica

wanderessence1025 December 31, 2025

December 31, 2025: Welcome to our December cocktail hour. Let’s have some rum and goat milk egg nog. We can enjoy breezes and sunset views, and maybe we’ll be lucky enough to see rainbows or a Cold Moon. You can even come along vicariously on our trip to Costa Rica’s Central Highlands, and celebrate a belated Christmas and New Year’s Eve with us. Sunset is is now at around 5:30 every night and if it’s not raining, we can enjoy some magnificent painterly skies at sunset.

I have a variety of soda, seltzer water, or bebida de aloe for those of you who don’t drink. Mike can also whip up some excellent smoothies. Thanks for joining us in our escape into a peaceful corner of the world.

December marked our seventh month in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It was more laid back than our usual month since Mike had his carpal tunnel surgery on the 2nd, and we were limited as to what we could do. However, we did manage to carve out a 5-day road trip to the Central Highlands of Costa Rica. We made the most of our one and only Christmas in Costa Rica.

Homebody stuff

On Tuesday, December 2, we drove to Liberia where Mike had carpal tunnel surgery on his right hand with Dr. Andrés Ugalde Cordero at Orthocell. During his recovery time of 4-6 weeks, he had to refrain from using his right hand, so it fell to me to take over the driving, the cooking, the cleaning, and even tying his shoes. He got the stitches removed on Thursday, the 11th, but he still had strict orders from the doctor to refrain from using his hand for most tasks including cleaning dishes “until next year!”

We enjoyed beautiful views of the Cold Moon on Thursday, December 4, as well as many magnificent views from our new condo. We bought ourselves a small fake Christmas tree on the 12th, which we plan to take to Ometepe when we go visit in January.

I had a pedicure on the 13th and we finished our “Skull Whispers” puzzle on that same day.

We got our car washed for only the second time since we bought it at Lavacar Vargas; it now looks spanking new!

I finished 4 books in December, bringing my total to 48/48. I especially enjoyed Rules of the Wild: A Novel of Africa by Francesca Marciano. I found enlightening the books The Girl in Grey (by Annette Lyon) about the 1939 Winter War between Russia and Finland and Madness Visible: A Memoir of War (by Janine Di Giovanni) about the war in the Balkans which has got to be one of the most confusing and brutal wars in modern times. We watched two movies: Champagne Problems (France) and A Merry Little EX-MAS, both of which were a bit hokey. We also watched the 1945 movie Christmas in Connecticut. We started watching a couple of new series or new seasons of old series: Home for Christmas (Hjem til jul) (S3), Emily in Paris (S5), The Manny (S3), Grantchester (S3), and Untamed (Yosemite). We finished watching The Morning Show (S4), Unforgotten (S6), Nobody Wants This (S2), The Diplomat (S3), and The Asset (Legenden) . We continued watching Younger, Seinfeld, Platonic, The Beast in Me, and A Man on the Inside.

Dining out

We went out to lunch at Eden’s new unnamed restaurant in Tronadora for its “soft opening” on the 3rd where we met a table full of Americans and Canadians who I didn’t know, other than Bev who we’d met there before and Darrell and Kirk from the gym. We went there again on the 20th for its grand opening – now under the name “Lava Lake Café.” On Saturday night the 6th, we went with Anne and Jack to Paseo del Viento where it was crowded with families and children. At 7:00, two singers performed Christmas music in what was billed as “Gran Velada Navideña” (Grand Christmas Evening) with Andru & Anapau y “coro voces venti” (twenty choir voices). We ate lunch one day at Marisqueria Lago Arenal, where we met some tourists on their way to La Fortuna. We got take-out pizza from Cafetería y Pizzeria Guadalupe near Rio Piedras and had Anne & Jack over to see our new condo. Darrell & Farida came up for a visit and then Darrell drove us all up the hill from the condos to Brisas de Tilawa, a cute restaurant with mediocre food.

Exploring Costa Rica’s Central Highlands north of San José

We took a road trip on Monday the 15th to Costa Rica’s Central Highlands northwest of Alajuela. First we stopped in La Fortuna where we enjoyed massages at Serenity Spa, soaked in the hot tub in our room (since it was raining and we couldn’t go to Baldi Hot Springs as planned) and ate dinner at Sunny’s Indian Restaurant. We did some Christmas shopping for each other and came back to our room at Yellow Tree Suites to find an invasion of ants. We won’t be staying there again!

The next morning we drove to three small towns: Zarcero, Sarchí, and Grecia. Each town offered something different.

Zarcero displayed whimsical topiary art in its Parque Francisco Alvarado and is known for its progressive organic farming practices. It also has a beautiful church, Iglesia de San Rafael.

Sarchí is the artisan capital of Costa Rica and displays thousands of models of brightly colored model oxcarts – including the world’s largest oxcart. We admired the oxcart in the town square, ate a healthy lunch at Enrrolato, and then visited the cool oxcart factory: Taller Eloy Alfaro e Hijos.

We drove on to Grecia, where we went straight to La Terraza Guest House B&B, which sat on tropical grounds and had cottages covered in brightly colored murals. We ordered take out from Andaluz through Uber Eats.

On the 17th, we visited Parque Nacional Volcán Poás with timed tickets to view the caldera. The volcano has erupted as recently as 2017. Visitors have a maximum of 20 minutes to view the principal crater and its Tiffany -blue pool in the center. We didn’t see a thing because of steam and gas from the volcano.

We then drove to La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park, which has an animal sanctuary and a series of waterfalls. Before exploring, we ate a lunch of an empañada trio and a chicharrón bowl at the on-site Tortillas Restaurant. Our first stop was the bird aviary where we saw toucans, peacocks, Scarlett Macaws, pink-footed ducks and parrots. We also saw butterflies, an ocelot, a mountain lion, and jaguar and a grey fox. We enjoyed the series of waterfalls along a well-maintained paved walkway.

Later that afternoon, we strolled around Grecia, where we found a park decked out for the holidays and a merlot-red church built entirely out of metal, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Mercedes, which adorns the town. We walked through the city market and had an early tapas dinner at Andaluz.

Our final day, we drove an hour to Bajos del Toro, a tiny village in a cloud forest west of Volcán Poas. From there, we explored two waterfalls: Catarata del Toro and The Blue Falls. Though the Blue Falls has 6 waterfalls altogether, we only visited Poza Azul (the blue pool) and Cataratas Las Gemelas (the twins). This was a fabulous day!

On Friday the 19th, we drove 3 1/4 hours on another route home (the unscenic route) skirting the west side of San José and coming up on Route 1 back to Cañas and on to Tilarán. I let Mike drive the last third of the way.

Drives, walks and local explorations

The weather here has been windy, rainy and rather chilly, so we haven’t been on many walks. On Saturday the 14th, we walked around the town of Tilarán and saw neighborhoods we’d never seen before. On Tuesday, the 23rd, we walked up on a ridge near Tisú Farm where it was so blustery that we were knocked off balance numerous times. It was a gorgeous walk with amazing views. We walked another day on the ridge near Parcelas above the condos.

Our holiday celebrations: Christmas & New Year’s Eve

To celebrate Christmas Eve in Costa Rica, we went out to eat dinner at Gingerbread. We exchanged a few gifts on Christmas morning, talked to all the family by WhatsApp, and then had our friends Anne & Jack come over for wine & cheese & crackers. We enjoyed ceviche and Christmas decorations at Cevichera La Pasadita on Friday after Christmas, and then went to Anne and Jack’s for a home-cooked international meal on Saturday. On Sunday, we went to Moya’s Place in Nuevo Arenal to eat and listen to Christmas songs in “especial de navidad” with singers Andru y Ana Paula.

On New Year’s Eve, we went to Chafi’s for an early dinner. We’re not ones to stay out late on New Year’s Eve, but it was fun to be in a local Costa Rican restaurant.

Finishing up the Fall Bingo Card and creating the Winter Bingo Card

This month, I completed more things on my Fall Bingo Card, including the following:

Got a bronze-flecked pedicure
Finished our “Skull Whispers” puzzle
Made a lentil soup (the last of my bean soups)
Created my Fall playlist on Spotify: Fall in Costa Rica & Panama 2025
Drives: Zarcero (topiaries), Sarchí (oxcarts) & Grecia (red metal church)
Stay in a cabin (cottage) in the mountains (La Terraza Guest House B&B)
Spa Day & Massage (at Serenity Spa in La Fortuna)
Stay in a cabin (cottage) in the mountains
Volcán Poás, Catarata del Toro, Cataratas Las Gemelas
Plan next year’s goals & get 2026 calendar and complete 2026 bullet journal
Finished The Girl in Grey by Annette Lyon

As of December 20, the end of fall, I achieved 5 Bingos, and read 11 out of 13 books I had hoped to read. I never wrote 3 fall poems, never visited a botanical garden in Bocas Town in Panama, and never hosted a wine & cheese evening. I also never managed to take a boat ride on the Tucan Arenal and never made any squash or root vegetable recipes.

As of December 21, with the beginning of winter, I created a Winter Bingo Card, shown below. Some of the items revolve around our upcoming January visit to the family in Nicaragua, my daughter’s visit in February and our trip to Guatemala & Belize in the first two weeks of March.

On my Winter BINGO card, I did a couple of things:

Started a new journal for our last 6 months in Costa Rica
Made 1 of 3 hot soups: white chicken chili
Watched two more Christmas movies: Christmas in Connecticut from 1945 and My Secret Santa. We continued watching season 3 of Home for Christmas (Hjem til jul)
Celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Finished three books: Rules of the Wild: A Novel of Africa by Francesca Marciano, Getting a Life: Stories by Helen Simpson, and Madness Visible: A Memoir of War by Janine di Giovanni.

Birds, flora & other Costa Rican wildlife

We saw a band of coatis on the road to La Fortuna, as well as a lot of animals at the sanctuary at La Paz Waterfall Gardens; however, those were all in captivity. We did encounter a new bird at La Terraza Guesthouse B&B, a Lesson’s Motmot.

Family Happenings

Andrea celebrated her 12th birthday on the 12th in Nicaragua and Mía turned 9 on the 18th. Allie had a fun time in day care making pizzas, helping her parents decorate the tree, and watching the Christmas scene on TV with her nose to the screen. All the grandchildren seemed to have a happy Christmas.

On my Costa Rica blog, you can find my weekly recaps of our lives in Costa Rica for the month of December:

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I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the winter and the upcoming new year.

How did your December go? Did you have any special family gatherings? Have you welcomed any new additions to your family? Did you celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries? Have you read any good books that can inform your worldview, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any winter or holiday getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Have you gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you marked off activities on your Fall Bingo card? Have you created a Winter Bingo Card? Have you made any new friends? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

Please share your December with me by giving me the plot below, or a link to a post in your blog that tells about your month.

the november cocktail hour: a trip to panama, a costa rican thanksgiving & a move to lake arenal condos

wanderessence1025 December 1, 2025

November 30, 2025: Welcome to our November cocktail hour. Let’s have a Pedro Mandinga Casco Viejo artisenal rum in memory of our fun time in Panama. We can enjoy strong breezes and sunset views and maybe even a Costa Rican-style “tormenta.” You can even come along vicariously on our trip to Panama, and celebrate Mike’s and my 37th anniversary.

November marked our sixth month in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It was the third month that we traveled outside of Costa Rica (the first being a trip to Nicaragua in July and the second back to the U.S. in October). We enjoyed exploring a country we’d never visited before and I added to my country count: I have now visited 41 countries. We still had plenty of down time while not traveling.

a belated gathering for halloween & my birthday

On the first of the month, Mike organized a little belated birthday/Day of the Dead get-together with Darrell, Farida and Carol at Paseo del Viento, where we listened to live tunes by singer Andrú and the local eye doctor, Dra. Ana Maria of Óptica Murano. She and singer Andrú, whom we met at “Smooth Jazz by the Lake” at Restaurante La Tortuga at the end of July, sang haunting and lively tunes. Andrú has a deep sultry voice that brings tears to my eyes! Darrell also took us to his favorite spot Subterra where not much was happening, but it was decked out for Halloween. I thought the big mirror at the far end was another room. 🙂

Dining out in Costa Rica

On Tuesday night, we took our neighbor Bruce out to dinner at Mary’s to repay him for driving us to and from the Liberia airport in October.

On Friday afternoon, Carol extended a last minute invitation to come up to her house for sunset on the first sunny day we’ve had in a while. By the time we got up there, it was no longer sunny and there wasn’t much of a sunset to see. No matter, we enjoyed the views as we sat on her expansive porch drinking cava and gnoshing on chips & salsa. That was until lightning struck nearby followed by a loud clap of thunder that sent us scurrying into her house!

We drove to Restaurante Cielo’s Pizza in Cabrada Grande and enjoyed pizza and more chatting: about TV shows, her daughters and her coming grandchild, our sons, family dynamics and books by Pat Conroy. The people who ran the quirkily-decorated restaurant were super friendly; their space featured a bicycle display, a gold-decked Christmas tree (yes, already!), a wall of toy cars still in the packages, and a giraffe display outside the bathroom. We had a fun time as usual with our friend!

Our friends Anne and Jack finally returned to Costa Rica after nearly 3 months away late Friday night. We went to their house for drinks on Saturday night and then went out to dinner at Chafi’s.

Mike and I went to El Corral for lunch one day, where we enjoyed gorgeous weather and good food.

Finally, on the Friday night before our move, Darrell and Farida invited us to meet them at a new unnamed restaurant in Tronadora. When we arrived, we found that a young woman named Eden was running it; we had met her and her mother Yendy at yoga back in June or July. I thought for some reason they were returning to the U.S. after the summer because Eden was attending university in North Carolina. But it turns out she’s attending school online and now has opened this cafe. We had a great time with Darrell and Farida, with lots of laughs and much wine flowing. Sadly, we found out upon our return from Panama that they have put their beautiful house up for sale and they plan to move to Kenya, Farida’s home of origin. Of course we hope they won’t sell their house right away as we love their company.

Election Day in the U.S.

We were thrilled with the U.S. election results from Tuesday, November 4. It appears that the country is coming out strong against Trump and his ill-begotten policies, his cruelty and hate-mongering, his Gestapo-like tactics and embrace of Naziism and Christian White Nationalism, his foreign policy, his handling of the economy, trade and tariffs, and his policies (or lack thereof) regarding healthcare. Mobilizing troops in U.S. cities has turned many Americans against him.

I did my duty in October and voted early in Virginia,; the election brought in a sweeping blue change to the entire state government, electing Abigail Spanberger for the first female governor of Virginia, Jay Jones as the first black attorney general of Virginia and Ghazala Hashmi as the first Muslim woman to hold statewide office. In addition, Democrats flipped 13 House of Delegates seats, giving Democrats a trifecta in the state’s governance. I’m very proud of Virginia for coming through for a more progressive agenda that should address the concerns of Virginians struggling in an economy that just isn’t working for them.

Virginia wasn’t the only bellweather. In New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill triumphed over her Republican opponent by 13%. Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out his opponents (including Andrew Cuomo who ran as an independent and was endorsed by Trump) by 9% for mayor of New York City. Finally, California voted FOR Prop 50 to redistrict the state to add more democratic votes to counteract Republican states redrawing maps in obeisance to Donald Trump; he demanded they do such to give him more Republican votes in the 2026 midterms.

A 10-day trip to Panama: Panama City & the Panama Canal

We visited Panama from November 10-19. In Panama City, we explored Casco Viejo, the old compound, where we found famous churches, the Panama Canal Museum, and “Panama” hats. We walked the Amador Causeway, explored the Frank Gehry-designed BioMuseo and visited the Mercado de Mariscos. We explored our neighborhood of El Cangrejo, enjoyed our 19th floor apartment and pool, and tried rum drinks at Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar. Finally we visited the Miraflores Visitor Center and the Panama Canal, where we watched a container ship and a cruise ship pass slowly through the locks. We explored the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (aka MAC Panamá) and visited the father of one of Mike’s co-workers in the impoverished neighborhood of Curundú.

Our 37th anniversary celebration

We celebrated our 37th anniversary at Marques in Panama City, toasting our enduring marriage, the ups & downs, with wine & a special dinner out at Marques. I had catch of the day – sea bass fillet with pistachio crust, mussels in coconut milk with lemongrass, ying yang sauce, and blue curaçao. Mike got a Del Bosque: Risotto served with asparagus, mushrooms, and Parmesan with imported beef strips. We shared a brownie with ice cream for dessert. As we are early eaters, we had almost the entire restaurant to ourselves.

Bocas del Toro

In Bocas del Toro, we relaxed a lot in our Orange House at Over the Water Rentals. We rented ebikes and rode 40 minutes to Boca del Drago and took a water taxi to Playa Estrella, where we waded through the water among starfish. We rode the ebikes to Bluff Beach. We took a water taxi to Isla Careneró for a lunch at Bibi’s on the Beach, and then on to Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimento, where I ran into a piece of driftwood, drawing blood and causing an edema. We enjoyed drinks with our neighbors from Vermont, Sidney and Steve. We kayaked to a little island in Saigon Bay where we snorkeled among corals. We then returned to Panama City under trying conditions.

Returning from Bocas del Toro to Panama City -> San José -> home

As we approached Panama City from Bocas del Toro on Panama Air, we flew in circles around the domestic airport, Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport (PAC), because of a “meteorological event.” We finally landed in the middle of “una tormenta,” a storm with raging winds, a torrential downpour, thunder and lightning. We sat on the plane for 40 minutes, unable to safely get off because it was a small plane where they pull up a portable staircase so passengers can disembark on the tarmac. The storm wasn’t letting up at all. Suddenly the plane started moving and we thought they might be taking us to a hangar to let us off the plane under cover. But the next thing we knew, without a word from the pilot or the stewardess, we were taking off down the runway. Nobody had a clue what was going on. We flew in a wide circle overlooking the ships sitting waiting to enter the Panama Canal. We thought maybe they were taking us to Tocumen International Airport, east of the city. But no! We realized that they were taking us back to the same airport where we’d landed the first time. Why, why, why?? We never discovered the answer.

This time, the storms had cleared and we were able to disembark, an hour late, just in time for rush hour.

After the dogs sniffed everyone’s luggage, we picked ours up and called an Uber. The Uber driver told us it would take two hours to get to our hotel near Tocumen Airport, 18 miles away. But he was wrong. The roads were in utter gridlock, we weren’t going anywhere. The estimated time was growing to 2 1/2 hours! The driver said it was because of the big fútbol match between Panama and El Salvador that was at the stadium near Tocumen. (Panama won and qualified for the World Cup; it was only the 2nd time they’ve qualified for the World Cup since 1978.)

We changed our destination with the Uber driver to Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar in El Cangrejo. It took us 1 3/4 hours to get there. We drank (a Casco Viejo – their in-house aged rum – & a Carajillo a la Pedro) and ate (Crostini Romesco & Vegano Trio de Patacones). We waited until the game started at 8:00, confirmed by Waze that the traffic had died down, and took an Uber another 30 minutes to our hotel. What a day!

When we flew into Costa Rica at 9:05 am (CR time) on Wednesday, we were awestruck by the mountainous surroundings around the capital of San José. From the air, they looked to be uninhabited, with barely a car, road or house in sight.

We were pleasantly surprised by the perfect cool and breezy weather (especially after sweltering Panama). We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel where we’d left our car. We found when we put our route home into Waze that we needed to avoid Route 1 and go north over winding mountain roads through Atenas, Palmeras, and San Ramon and then through La Fortuna at the NE end of Lake Arenal to get home, an estimated time of 4 hours and 40 minutes. We weren’t happy about that, but it would be better than sitting in heavy traffic on Route 1. Plus, we would see parts of Costa Rica west of San José that we’d planned to visit on a road trip the week before Christmas. It took a lot of time and concentration, especially for Mike who was driving, but we loved the scenery especially once we got away from the city.

We arrived in La Fortuna at 1:30 and stopped for lunch at Kappa Sushi, a place we’d liked when we visited the area in August. I enjoyed a Dragon Roll with shrimp tempura and Mike a Spicy Tuna Roll. After lunch, it was another 1 hour 40 minutes to our house in San Luis.

We arrived home at 4:00 and opened the house to cool breezes and gorgeous skies. Within an hour, we witnessed a marvelous richly-hued sunset. We were happy to be home to our house on Lake Arenal, but sad to know that in just 10 days, we’d be moving to the other end of the lake to Lake Arenal Condos for our last 6 months here.

Thanksgiving in Costa Rica

Thursday night we went with our friends Anne and Jack to Lake Arenal Brewery where they were offering a Thanksgiving meal and Spanish tunes by Olson del Toro.

Homebody stuff

On Sunday, November 2, we walked our 4-mile loop from our house to Tronadora and back, finding for the first time since July that the road that almost collapsed has now been redesigned and paved over. Another walk in Tronadora on Sunday the 30th, revealed more improvements on the road.

I continued my personal training with Nela on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while I was in Costa Rica, and then continued with her once we returned home from Panama.

On the 4th, Mike and I went to Liberia, me for a tomographia on my mouth and Mike for a consultation with Dr. Andrés Ugalde for a surgery for his carpal tunnel syndrome. Mike scheduled his surgery for December 2 here in Costa Rica, after which he won’t be able to swim, lift weights, drive a stick shift, etc. for 3-6 weeks. This means that for 3-6 weeks, I will have to do most of the cooking, cleaning, and especially driving the stick shift. We have a road trip planned to Volcán Poas in December, where I’ll have to do all the driving.

Meanwhile, the dentist wrote that my tomographia didn’t show any problems with my mouth, allowing me to lay that worry to rest.

On the last Tuesday of the month, we returned to Liberia to get a new permiso to take our car out of Costa Rica for our last 6 months here. This should cover us for two more visits, one in January and one in April. The permiso was surprisingly easy to get, with no line at all and a very helpful service professional. After that, we went to WalMart to buy clothes to take to the girls for a belated Christmas in January. It was an incredibly stressful 1 1/2 hours. For one the selection was really pathetic and figuring out the correct sizes, colors and styles was nearly impossible. We had already bought toys for Mikey on a previous visit. We wanted to get all this done while Mike still had use of both his hands and before we moved, and before everything was totally picked over as Christmas approached.

We went to Burger King for lunch, and because I never know how to order properly on the screens they provide for ordering, I accidentally ordered a Kid’s meal, and the server handed me a Kiddie box and asked which toy I’d prefer. Hilarious!

I finished 6 books in November, bringing my total to 44/48. I especially enjoyed The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith and 1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky; the latter tells about a year of upheaval which had many similarities to the current U.S. timeline in 2025. I also loved Memento Park by Mark Sarvas. We watched one movie, Mango, a bit cheesy but still enjoyable, especially the scenery in the beautiful town of Frigiliana, Spain. We started The Beast in Me, A Man on the Inside, and The Asset. We finished watching Adolescence, Angela, and the fifth season of Pernille, which I hope will have more seasons in the future because we LOVED it. We continued watching Younger, Seinfeld, Platonic, Unforgotten, The Morning Show, and The Diplomat. We endured another month that ended with a long 1,148 days left in our right-wing fascist oligarchy in the USA.

Moving to Lake Arenal Condos for our last six months

We spent much of the morning and early afternoon on Saturday the 29th moving into our new home at Lake Arenal Condos. The new place is on the ground floor of a three story condominium complex which sits high on the edge of a steep hill and has a magnificent view of Lake Arenal and Volcán Arenal.

Most things were going smoothly until we realized that we had ants and larvae living in the rim of the master bathroom toilet bowl, where water is distributed from the tank to rinse the bowl after each toilet flush. After much spraying of Black Flag and flushing, we seemed to get most of them out.

When we went to bed in the master bedroom, we found ants crawling around the bed. I freaked out, thinking they must have come in through the door we had left open to the porch (with a screen). However, when we woke on Sunday morning, we lifted the mattress to tuck in the sheets and found ants crawling all over on the the bed frame. We took the mattress off the wooden platform and there, under the mattress and on the bottom of the mattress, we found a whole ant colony, complete with larvae, bustling around. They had been having a grand time while we were sleeping right on top of them. Argh!!!

We sprayed Black Flag all over and washed all the bedding, but we are not going to be able to sleep in that bed until we’re certain that all the ants are permanently exterminated. As of Sunday afternoon, we hadn’t seen any movement, but our bed was still disassembled and we refused to sleep in it.

Embattled and stressed from our first day in the condo, we decided we deserved a treat after our harrowing adventure. We went to Tilarán to attend a concert billed as “Concierto de Ensamble Atrespam;” Atrespam is the Escuela de Musica in Tilaran. We watched some singers perform, but we didn’t know the names of any of them. The woman singer was especially good. We enjoyed the concert, checked out some artwork on the walls of the lobby, then took a walk around the city park, where we saw Christmas lights and another live concert.

We wandered to Paseo del Viento for drinks and hamburgers. It was a relief to escape our stressful first day in the new condo.

The Fall Bingo Card

This was a good month for checking off things on my Fall Bingo Card, especially during our trip to Panama and our move to Lake Arenal Condos.

Got a green pedicure
Worked on my 2026 bullet journal, especially creating my reading list for 2026
Wore more of my cowboy-themed t-shirts
Saw the Panama Canal and the Miraflores Visitor Center
Visited museums in Panama City: Biomuseo & Museo de Arte Contemporáneo; we also saw the Panama Canal murals
Went snorkeling in Bocas del Toro and took an island “boat tour” – in water taxis
Made a Veggie-packed navy bean soup
Celebrated Thanksgiving at Lake Arenal Brewery with our friends Anne & Jack
Moved to our new home at Lake Arenal Condos
Finished five books: The Narrow Road to the Interior: Poems by Kimiko Hahn; 1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky; There Must Be More Than This by Judith Wright; The Last Light Over Oslo by Alix Rickloff; and Memento Park by Mark Sarvas.

Family happenings from afar

Maria sent photos of the girls and Mikey dressed up for some friends’ Halloween party. Maria posted a photo of little Mike wandering with his overalls hanging off one shoulder, hanging with the cows, making a mess while eating, finally growing some hair, and trying to do gymnastics moves like this sisters.

Alex and Allie “played chess” with Allie concentrating — on the TV. Also, Alex, Jandira and Allie went for a two night getaway to Elkton, Va, where they did some hiking and celebrated Jandira’s 32nd birthday on the 24th.

On my Costa Rica blog, you can find my weekly recaps of our lives in Costa Rica for the month of November:

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I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the holidays and the rest of this year.

How did your November go? Did you have any special family gatherings? Have you welcomed any new additions to your family? Did you celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries? Have you read any good books that can inform your worldview, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any autumn getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Have you gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you marked off activities on your Fall Bingo card? Have you made any new friends? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

Please share your November with me by giving me the plot below, or a link to a post in your blog that tells about your month.

the october cocktail hour: a trip to virginia, a NO KINGS protest, two birthday celebrations, & a cattle auction

wanderessence1025 October 31, 2025

October 31, 2025: Welcome to our October cocktail hour. Let’s have a Río Celeste Guaro, an icy blue drink that mirrors the blue waters of the Río Celeste in Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio. We can enjoy breezes and sunset views over Volcanoes Tenorio and Miravalles, and maybe we’ll be lucky to see or hear some of the 17 birds I’ve added to the Merlin app this month, including a Yellow-throated Toucan, Summer Tanager, Bananaquit, Piratic Flycatcher, Buff-throated Saltator, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Great Antshrike, Bright-rumped Attila, and Tody Motmot. We invite you to celebrate my 70th birthday with us at Celeste Mountain Lodge near Volcán Tenorio. You can even come along vicariously on our return home to Virginia for two weeks, go to the pumpkin patch with the family, celebrate our granddaughter’s second birthday, stroll through Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, and sip wines at a winery.

October marked our fifth month in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It was in most ways a busy month and in some ways a laid-back, homebody-type month.

A two-week return to the US for Allie’s birthday & other business

We flew out of Guanacaste Airport in Liberia on the first of the month. Our friend Bruce drove us to the airport and there, we met Adam and his friend Jon, who happened to be flying on the same flight as us to Miami. Adam had called us the night before to tell us he was returning to the U.S. for a job, and we were all surprised he had happened to book on the same flight. What a nice alignment of the universe.

In Miami, Adam and Jon flew on to Washington State, and we flew onward to Reagan International in D.C., where we arrived close to midnight.

Family Affairs in Virginia

On Friday night, our daughter Sarah came up to our house from Richmond to spend the weekend with us. We were thrilled to have her. She always adds so much joy to every occasion.

Temple Hill Farm and Barnhouse Brewery

On Saturday, all of us went to Temple Hill Farm for a pumpkin patch, games, drinks, and hay rides. It was hotter than I would have liked, but we had a good time anyway.

After our time at the pumpkin patch, we went to Barnhouse Brewery for some craft beers.

Allie’s 2nd birthday

We celebrated Allie’s birthday on Sunday, October 5, with everyone in attendance, including Aunt Sarah and Great Aunt Barbara. Sarah and Alex made a delicious frittata based on Sydney’s “Omelette” from The Bear because Sarah knew I loved that Boursin cheese omelette topped with Sour Cream & Onion potato chips. They also made sausages, blueberry pancakes and mimosas. They brought out a cake with birthday wishes for Allie (2) and me (70 – although my birthday wasn’t until the 25th).

Allie got lots of gifts and was of course the center of attention in her little princess dress.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

On Sunday, October 12, Jandira had to work, so we went with Alex and Allie to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. Allie got to climb on the gazebo and see the Korean statues, the bell tower, ponds and flowers. She especially loved the butterfly bench.

Babysitting Allie

Sunday night we babysat Allie while Alex and Jandira went out to dinner at Tsunami Sushi. We had fun listening and singing to songs, watching Bluey, eating dinner, and putting together gear puzzles and blocks.

Old Farm Winery at Hartland

On Monday, October 13, (Indigenous People’s Day), our last full day in the U.S., Jandira had the day off so we all went to Old Farm Winery in Hartland. We had pizza, pita chips and dip, a bottle of Viognier and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Allie had fun running around in her leopard print dress and “leather” jacket, a birthday gift from her Aunt Sarah.

Dining out in Virginia

We dined out while we were in Virginia, some new places as well as some old standbys. Our first night back, on October 2, we took the family to Bear Branch Tavern, where Allie was well behaved and we were warmed by a fire pit outdoors. On the night of the Hunter’s Moon, we met our friends Karen and Michael at Lantern House Kitchen & Bar, an Asian fusion place we’d never before tried. Mike and I went to one of our favorites, Mazadar in Fairfax, where we lounged on pillows and shared a bottle of wine.

Homebody stuff in Virginia

We had booked the tickets home at the same time we booked our tickets to Costa Rica, mainly to be home to celebrate our granddaughter Allie’s 2nd birthday. We spent a lot of time hanging out around the house with the family. Mike and I also had various doctor and dentist appointments, voted a straight Democratic ticket for governor of Virginia and other statewide offices, and got our COVID and flu shots. I had a haircut and pedicure and a couple of trigger point massages while I was there, and I had to see the dentist three times, once for mouth pain I was having, once for a cleaning, and once for a filling. I took some of my familiar walks in northern Virginia. Mike and I also accompanied Alex to Big Blue Swim School for Allie’s weekly swim lesson.

Returning to Costa Rica via Miami

On Tuesday the 14th, we got up at 2:30 a.m. to catch an Uber to Reagan National outside of D.C. for a 5:00 a.m. flight to Miami. After a 3-hour layover, we flew home to Costa Rica. Our trusty neighbor Bruce picked us up in our Mitsubishi at the Guanacaste Airport in Liberia at 11:45 Costa Rica time. After a 1 1/2 hour drive, we opened the house, which was like a greenhouse after being closed up for two weeks. As we waited for it to cool off, a huge thunderstorm let loose overhead and our power went out for about an hour.

We unpacked all the stuff we brought from Virginia, including over 30 books.

Dining out in Costa Rica

Upon arriving back in Costa Rica, we went to Soda El Nilo on a foggy night with birds in Tilarán making a cacophony of noise; there we learned of the famous Leche dormida (sleeping milk). Darrell and Farida invited us to their house for smoked chicken, corn, smashed potatoes and lots of Chilean wine which they generously shared from their recent trip to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. One rainy day we went to Sodita El Mercado, a local Tico spot in a food court in Tilarán. After protesting at a NO KINGS protest in Nuevo Arenal, we went with Darrell, Farida, & Carol to Los Platillos Voladores (“Flying Saucers”), EatAlienFood, where we enjoyed pizzas, lasagna and ravioli. Mike and I had a lunch out at Soda Doña Chila in Trondaora.

On Thursday the 30th, we had what I would liken to a fall day in Virginia. My personal trainer Nela texted me a frozen grimacing face and we saw Costa Ricans wearing parkas. Meanwhile, I was still wearing shorts and it seemed the perfect day to me. We went partway around the lake to Café & Macadamia, a place we hadn’t visited since shortly after we arrived here in June. It was sunny and breezy and we enjoyed magnificent views over the lake. I got a tall lemonade with fresh basil that tasted a bit like pesto; Mike had a tamarind juice. I had a lasagna with chicken and white sauce while Mike had a special we’ve been looking forward to trying: Pastel de Yucca, or Yucca (Cassava) Shepherd’s Pie stuffed with beef and tomato sauce. It was a rather heavy lunch so when we returned home, I relaxed and read a book I was trying to finish by month-end: At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon.

A NO KINGS protest in Nuevo Arenal

I got a message the week we returned from someone in our yoga group about a NO KINGS protest being organized in Nuevo Arenal for Saturday morning, October 18 at 11:00. We let our friends Carol, Darrell and Farida know about it and told them we planned to go if they wanted to attend as well. Darrell and Carol came to our house first where we drew up some quick posters and then drove together to the meeting point at Tracy’s house. We got a bit lost so we were a little late for the largest of two gatherings, this one of about two dozen people. We all chanted “This is what democracy looks like!” Then we met a few others in front of the gymnasium in Nuevo Arenal where cars driving past could see our protest.

My 70th birthday celebration at Celeste Mountain Lodge & Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio

On my birthday weekend, October 24-26, we drove about 1 hour 45 minutes north to Bijagua, where we stayed at Celeste Mountain Lodge for two nights. Bijagua is near Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio 🌋, home to an inactive but huge volcano that covers much of the area north of Lago Arenal.

We stopped just south of Upala at the Colibrí Organic Chocolate factory, PilHio, where owner Giovanni gave us a little tour of the factory after suiting us up in hair nets & brown shirts and having us leave behind our watches, bags and jewelry. He showed us where they ferment and dry the cacao beans, where they dehydrate pineapple and other flavors they add to the chocolate, and where they mix the chocolate, put it in molds and package it.

While in that area, we ate a lunch in Upala at Bajo Mundo where I had the typical pescada de la plancha and Mike had Mexican tacos. We also had Imperial and Pilsen beers.

We arrived at the beautiful Celeste Mountain Lodge at around 2:30. The lodge’s decor revolves around an open-air concept, where guests feel the outdoors is enveloping them in a magical cocoon. Painted corrugated iron is used to great effect in decor and light fixtures. We had wonderful couples massages at 4:00.

Friday night we had drinks and dinner at Celeste Mountain Lodge, where once again the French chef outdid himself. We had a cold appetizer of Ceviche of Water Squash (chayote), a Tilapia filet with Lemon-Piperacia (wild bush) sauce, and Mike had Beef tenderloin Chimichuri. Mike had a blue dessert, Río Celeste: Lemon and ginger cream & Curaçao. The sleeping was good in our blue room with fall-like breezes wafting in through the window slats.

Saturday morning, we did a 3.7 mile hike that was partly strenuous due to steep climbs and descents and wet slippery rocks and mud. The rest of our hike at Rio Celeste, the blue river, took us to the blue pools, the bubbling sulfur pools, and bridges across the blue river.

Lunch at YeYe’s Restaurante brought a few treats. Mike mentioned to the owner Jorge that today was my birthday, and we were surprised when the family brought out a plantain desert with a candle and sang “Happy birthday” to me.

We enjoyed a fabulous birthday dinner at the lodge. I sipped wine & Mike a Scotch while talking to the French owner Joel, who has been in Costa Rica for 18 years. He has a beautiful house on the hotel property as well as a house in San Jose where his Brazilian wife and daughter live. He’s from the Loire Valley but is also a Canadian citizen. We commiserated about the orange menace in the White House, and it was great to hear the Canadian perspective.

I ate Tilapia with dill sauce, accompanied by scalloped potatoes and a squash soufflé with caramelized onions. Mike had Chicken with a Passionfruit Sauce. The staff brought out a mousse fringed with flower petals and everyone in the restaurant sang a rousing “Happy Birthday.” The food at this restaurant is superb and is prepared in a spotless open kitchen by the long-time French chef there.

What a wonderful atmosphere in which to usher in my next decade.

Drives, walks and local explorations

We took a walk down Peninsula 1 one day, and another walk on the gravel roads behind the pickleball courts where we encountered some of the local animals.

Tilarán’s Friday Cattle Auction

Every Friday in Tilarán there is a cattle auction just outside of town called Subasta Ganadera Tilarán (Livestock Auction). On Friday (Halloween) we finally decided to go and see what it was about. When we arrived we strolled over the walkways to inspect the cattle and then shared a lunch and some beers. The whole affair was fascinating to watch; the cattle were pushed through a chute onto a stage/scale in front of the auctioneer, they were poked and prodded to make them turn to and fro like models on a runway, and then they were rushed off the stage through another chute where they were set aside for buyers to take home in their red, white and blue cattle trucks. The auctioneer spoke so fast, we couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but the identifying number, price, and the weight of each cow were displayed for the audience to see. Sitting in the audience, I was afraid to move in fear we might go home inadvertently with a whole herd of cattle. 🙂

Homebody stuff in Costa Rica

Once back in Costa Rica, I had my hair straightened. I know a different product was used, so I’m not sure about the longevity of the treatment, but time will tell. I also had an appointment with Dra. Jessica María Ugalde Rodriguez at Alma Wellness & Dental Care who couldn’t find a lesion in my mouth but gave me an order for a tomographia (tomography) to be done in Liberia, which I’ve scheduled for the first week in November.

On Monday the 27th, I met Nela, a personal trainer at Monster Gym, for an assessment of my health and physical well-being. She said I’m in great health and did better on the assessments than some of her younger clients. I had misunderstood the cost of her training, and when I found out how much she charges I was flabbergasted. I don’t know how long I’ll work with her, but I will at least do five days of training before we leave for Panama on November 9.

I finished 2 books in October, bringing my total to 38/48; this really puts me behind schedule to reach my goal. Of the two I read, I enjoyed the quirky novel by Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford. We watched one movie, Limpia (Swim to Me) which was just okay. We finished watching Toxic Town and Long Bright River, both of which we loved, as well as Togetherness and If Only. We finished a season of Fisk and Diary of a Ditched Girl. We continued watching Younger, Seinfeld, Platonic, Angela,Unforgotten, The Morning Show, The Diplomat, and Pernille. We also started the mini-series Adolescence, which is intense and addictive from the first moment.

Family Happenings from afar

The weekend of the 18th-19th, Mía got silver medals at a gymnastics competition in Managua. Andrea also won five gold medals! Adam had originally been hoping to return to Nicaragua for this event, but he was still in California working. He made it home to Ometepe on Friday the 24th.

The family in Virginia went to Flying Ace Distillery & Brewery in Lovettsville, VA. Mike and I have been to this place before and loved it; one time we took Alex with us. Both Alex and Jandira are struggling with shoulder pain so they almost didn’t go out, but when they forced themselves to go anyway, they had a marvelous time. Another day the family went to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. We love when the family sends pictures. It brightens our days here considerably.

The Fall Bingo Card

I checked off quite a few things on my Fall Bingo Card in October. Some I checked off in Virginia, and some in Costa Rica. During our time in the U.S., I checked off the following:

Paint toenails coral
Take a scenic fall drive in Virginia (well, it wasn’t THAT scenic – too much traffic!)
Family time: Allie’s birthday, see Alex, Jandira and Sarah (& Mike’s sister Barbara)
Have two trigger point massages at Massage Therapy Works
Get 2026 calendar and bring back 2026 bullet journal

When we returned to Costa Rica, I checked off:

Try an open water swim in the lake. Now that I have a bright neon buoy to make myself visible to boats, new goggles and a swim cap, I feel much more comfortable swimming in the cove off Lake Arenal.
I didn’t have the NO KINGS protest on my Bingo Card, but I should have!
70th birthday at Celeste Mountain Lodge, Río Celeste, and Massage
Put together one puzzle: “Hummingbirds”
Spa Day & Massage – I had two trigger point massages in the U.S. and Mike and I had couples massages at Celeste Mountain Lodge.
Make 2 bean soups: a black bean soup and a garbanzo & chorizo soup with spinach.
Find 10 new birds in Costa Rica on Merlin. Over the entire weekend, I added 17 new birds, as well as 2 on September 27. Some of the birds from Celeste Mountain Lodge and Río Celeste included: Yellow-throated Toucan, Summer Tanager, Bananaquit, Piratic Flycatcher, Buff-throated Saltator, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Great Antshrike, Bright-rumped Attila, and Tody Motmot. I love the names of these tropical birds! We heard most of these from our corner room at Celeste Mountain Lodge.
Cattle auction Friday (10/31)
Wearing one of my cowboy t-shirts (of which I have 11 + a cowboy scarf!)
I read 4/13 books.

Completing our 1,000 piece “Hummingbirds” puzzle was an accomplishment – and quite addictive!

On my Costa Rica blog, you can find my weekly recaps of our lives in Costa Rica for the month of October:

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I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the fall and the rest of this year.

How did your October go? Did you have any special family gatherings? Have you welcomed any new additions to your family? Did you celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries? Have you read any good books that can inform your worldview, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any autumn getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Have you gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you marked off activities on your Fall Bingo card? Did you get spooky on Halloween? Have you played new games or put together puzzles? Have you made any new friends? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

Please share your October with me by giving me the plot below, or a link to a post in your blog that tells about your month.

the september cocktail hour: a nicoya peninsula getaway, a horseback ride to la piedra del indio waterfalls & a fall bingo card

wanderessence1025 September 30, 2025

September 30, 2025: Welcome to our September cocktail hour. Let’s have a Trinidad Sour (whiskey and almond syrup), a delicious drink we shared on the Nicoya Peninsula. You can join us vicariously on our getaway to Sámara and Nosara on the Nicoya Peninsula. We can enjoy breezes and sunset views, and maybe we can take a walk on a pebbly beach. Better yet, you can come along on our horseback ride to La Piedra del Indio Waterfalls and take a dip in the refreshing pool at the bottom. Sunset is is now at around 5:30 every night; twilight brings with it lots of mosquitoes, so be sure to slather on the mosquito repellent.

I have a variety of soda, seltzer water, or bebida de aloe for those of you who don’t drink. Mike can also whip up some excellent smoothies with pitaya, strawberries, bananas or any other fruit we have on hand. Thanks for joining us in our escape into a peaceful corner of the world.

September marked our fourth month in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It was in some ways a busy month and in other ways a laid-back, homebody-type month. We had a getaway to the Nicoya Peninsula, one of five “Blue Zones” in the world where people often live active lives to over 100. We also took an amazing horseback ride to La Piedra del Indio Waterfalls. We have also been preparing to go to the U.S. for two weeks beginning October 1.

Dining out

We dined out at more new places as well as some old standbys this month. We tried out Marisquería Lago Arenal, which specializes in seafood, for lunch. We enjoyed snacks and amazing views of the lake at Chicharronera one sunny afternoon. We met Darrell and Farida on Friday night the 5th at an old standby, Restaurante Brisas del Lago, where we enjoyed wine and delicious seafood and chicken. This would be the last time we’d see them until mid-October because they were taking off for a 3-week trip to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay; they would return home on October 1, the day we would leave for 2 weeks in the U.S. Mike and I also tried out Chafi’s Restaurante, another seafood place, on Sunday the 7th. When we returned from Sámara, we went to Café con Amor, Jackie Ruíz’s café, for a pop-up craft market and live marimba music to celebrate the beginning of Costa Rican Independence Day. Later that evening, we went to Tilatacos to eat before going to check out the ‘faroles’ parade: homemade lanterns symbolizing the original freedom torch. We went to our first Chinese restaurant, Restaurante El Lago, which was a mediocre experience. On the other hand, we enjoyed a lovely dinner with our friend Carol at Restaurante Brisas del Lago, where we talked about her deceased husband Carlos as well as her new responsibilities as a cattle rancher with 83 head of breeding cattle. We tried out a German place, Hotel La Rana (frog) de Arenal Restaurante, where the German owner showed us 30+ year old photos of him with Collared Acaris, toucans with a special serrated design on their beaks. We enjoyed a breezy and chill night at Paseo del Viento where we had fancy drinks from DrinKing and sushi from Wabi Sabi Sushi while enjoying Spanish conversations and a beautiful sunset. Finally, we went to El Corral Restaurante BBQ in Aguacate for a tuna special with caper sauce. There we met a group of Americans who invited us to join them on Thursday mornings for breakfast at El Corral. Finally, we took our friend Bruce out to dinner at La Pasadita to repay him in advance for taking us to the airport on October 1 and picking us up on the 14th.

A getaway to the Nicoya Peninsula

From September 9-12, we drove about 2 1/2 hours to the Nicoya Peninsula, supposedly one of five “blue zones” on the planet. A blue zone is a region in the world where people are claimed to have exceptionally long lives beyond the age of 100 due to a lifestyle combining physical activity, low stress, rich social interactions, a local whole foods diet, and low disease incidence.

Suggested blue zones include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California; and Ikaria, Greece. A book by National Geographic Fellow and explorer Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones: Secrets for Living Longer, explores this concept more fully.

The two places we visited on the Nicoya Peninsula, Sámara and Nosara, are in the northern part of the peninsula, in Guanacaste. We enjoyed the Hotel Bahia Beach Front, which had a fantastic happy hour and a great sunset vibe, although it faced south and didn’t offer a real sunset view; it sat in front of a pebbly beach with not much to offer in the way of comfort.

The things we liked best about this place were the nightly beachfront happy hours, an early morning walk on the beach at low tide showcasing spectacular cloud reflections, and the visit to Nosara, where I got to do some shopping and we enjoyed a Mediterranean lunch at Restaurante La Luna. We also loved our Italian dinner at Ahora Sí!

a horseback ride to la piedra del indio waterfalls

Thursday morning the 25th, we finally did something we’ve talked about doing for a long time. We drove about 35 minutes south, through Tilarán and beyond (towards Monteverde) to La Piedra del Indio Waterfalls (“the Indian stone waterfalls”) where we had booked a horseback ride to the waterfalls trailhead. Our guide Alejandro got us mounted up and we began our ride first down paved and then gravel roads to the trailhead for the waterfalls. After hiking to the bottom, we cooled off in a refreshing pool and then made our way back up, where we mounted our horses again and returned on a different route over mountains ridges with stunning views of the countryside. Exhausted from the 4-hour excursion, we enjoyed lunch at the little on-site restaurant.

Drives, walks and local explorations

On Saturday the 6th, we took a new walk starting at the top of San Luis by the pickleball courts and up a gravel road to a ridge with amazing vistas.

We took a walk on Thursday the 18th up to the cross at Parque del Viento just outside of Tilaran. We had been up there by car before, but this was the first time we walked it. We saw the windmill blade on which Liz, a Costa Rican woman who sells goat milk yogurt and cheeses to us weekly, painted the murals.

On Sunday the 21st, we also took our 4-mile loop walk from our house to Tronadora and back. On Saturday the 27th, we walked up the gravel road above the pickleball courts in San Luis again for more amazing views.

Costa Rican Independence Day

Costa Rica’s Independence Day, which fell on Monday, September 15th, commemorates the independence of the entirety of Central America from Spain, which took place in 1821. Independence Day festivities began on Sunday the 14th, with the reenactment of the notification of Costa Rica’s liberation by relay teams carrying the “freedom torch.” One of the traditions on the night before Independence Day is a parade of faroles, homemade lanterns symbolizing the original freedom torch. We didn’t participate in any of the actual Independence Day celebrations.

Finishing up the Summer Bingo Card and beginning the Fall Bingo Card

I wrapped up my Summer Bingo Card with only two things undone: “boat ride on the lake” and “tubing on a river.” I was also one book short on reading 12 books. Everything else was checked off. I definitely got several Bingos!

I created my Fall Bingo Card (September 22-December 20); it’s full of all kinds of plans! Some include going home to Virginia for two weeks and seeing the family, celebrating my 70th birthday at Celeste Mountain Lodge, going to Panama (Panama City and Bocas del Toro) in November, attending a cattle auction, putting together at least 2 of the 4 puzzles we bought, moving into our new home at Lake Arenal Condos, making lots of bean soups and root vegetable recipes, and exploring some towns in Costa Rica’s Central Valley as well as Poás Volcano and surrounding waterfalls. The items that will push me out of my comfort zone are “snorkeling in Bocas del Toro” (I don’t enjoy swimming in the ocean with sea creatures) and “try an open water swim in the lake” (Mike and I have ordered some neon swim buoys which I hope will make me more comfortable as I’ll be more visible to boats). The Bingo Card also includes planning my goals for 2026, one of my favorite things to do. Dreaming is my strong suit for sure! 🙂

I already checked off “Go Horseback Riding” on September 25. And we started our 1,000 piece “Hummingbirds” puzzle (rompecabezas in Spanish).

Birds, flora & other Costa Rican wildlife

I was able to catch a shot of a Montezuma Oropendola early in the month. The trees have more leaves on them now, making it difficult to capture the birds in photos. We spotted a Crested Guan, a very large, long-tailed game bird of tropical and subtropical forest. The plumage is dark overall (often looks blackish) with a bright red throat wattle; white streaking is visible at closer range. The crest is bushy and usually not a striking feature. We found another of the family of green lizards that live under our walkway.

The last week of September we found a new bird, a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. We saw a pair of them making grunting noises up in the tree outside our house but our Merlin app wasn’t picking up the sound. I was able to get some photos and Merlin identified the birds from the photo. They kept us entertained for a long time on Saturday morning.

Homebody stuff

Early in the month, we had mostly rainy days, but the latter half of the month has been hot! We did enjoy a couple of pool days. We finally took some pictures of our favorite vegetable market in Tilarán, Hortifress.

On Friday, we met with the property manager, Carla, at Lake Arenal Condos to make sure things are done to our specifications in the condo we’ll be renting beginning November 29. We also enjoyed some beautiful sunsets.

I finished 5 books in September, bringing my total to 36/48. I especially enjoyed What We Owe by Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde. We watched four movies: a Mexican family drama called Familia; The Unforgivable starring Sandra Bullock; a mediocre Turkish movie called Sen Büyümeye Bak (In Good Hands 2); and French Lover, starring Omar Sy, that we really enjoyed. We started watching a couple of new series: Toxic Town and Diary of a Ditched Girl (Halva Malmö består av killar som dumpat mig). We continued watching Younger, Seinfeld, Togetherness, Platonic, Fisk, If Only, The Morning Show (S4), and Pernille. We finished watching Maid (depressing yet fabulous!), Territory, and Hostage.

Family Affairs

In Ometepe, Adam has been busy clearing the land for his cows and planting grass. He also built a gate to put up at the entrance to his property. Besides, they always have various family activities going on. We can’t wait to see them again in January.

On Sunday the 14th, Alex, Jandira and Allie went to Richmond to visit our daughter Sarah. Together with some of Sarah’s friends, they all went to a Flying Squirrels baseball game, the last one to be played at The Diamond in Richmond. Future games will be played at CarMax Park. Sadly the Flying Squirrels lost 5-2 to the Hartford Yard Goats, but that didn’t dampen the family’s enthusiasm for the event.

You can find my weekly recaps of our lives in Costa Rica for the month of September on my Costa Rica blog:

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I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the fall and the rest of this year.

How did your September go? Did you have any special family gatherings? Have you welcomed any new additions to your family? Did you celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries? Have you read any good books that can inform your worldview, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any shoulder season getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Have you gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you marked off activities on your Summer Bingo card? Have you created a Fall Bingo Card? Have you made any new friends? Have you had any end-of-the-summer-season getaways? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

Please share your September with me by giving me the plot below, or a link to a post in your blog that tells about your month.

the august cocktail hour: local gatherings, la fortuna adventures, & a “desfile de caballistas”

wanderessence1025 September 1, 2025

August 31, 2025: Welcome to our August cocktail hour. Let’s have a piña colada and pretend we’re drinking it on a rooftop. We can enjoy breezes and sunset views, and maybe we’ll be lucky enough to see Keel-billed Toucans and Red-lored Parrots. You can even come along vicariously on our getaway to La Fortuna near Volcán Arenal. Sunset is is now at around 5:30 every night; twilight brings with it lots of mosquitoes, so be sure to slather on the mosquito repellent.

August marked our third month in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It was in some ways a busy month and in other ways a laid-back, homebody-type month.

Our last day in Tamarindo

We left Tamarindo on the 1st of August after taking an early morning walk on the beach. On our way home, we stopped at Panamar for seafood.

Tamarindo Beach

BOHO Tamarindo

Dining out with a few musical interludes

This month we tried out more local restaurants. We ate pizza at Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express and enjoyed Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery while being serenaded by Charly Lopez from Uruguay. We went to the dilapidated-looking Equus for fish fingers and BBQ pork on the 8th. We sampled sushi at Wabi Sabi Sushi on the 9th and ate lunch at Hacienda La Pacifica Eco-Lodge on the 12th after visiting the Puma Sanctuary. Anne and Jack rewarded us for our time, after we spent two-hours witnessing their will-signing in Nuevo Arenal, by treating us to lunch at Restaurante Tinajas on the 14th. On Dia de las Madres (Assumption Day/Mother’s Day), we went with Anne and Jack to a Cuban event at Lake Arenal Brewery with Olsen del Toro singing and his mother cooking Cuban food for a tasting menu. We had a lunch out at Soda La Macha in Rio Piedras and enjoyed dinner and drinks with our friend Carol, who lost her husband Carlos at the end of July, at Plaza Paseo de Viento. We had dinner with our friend from the gym, Darrell and his wife Farida at Restaurante Linda Vista, and the next day, Mike and I enjoyed cocktails on the rooftop at Paseo del Viento while watching a thunderstorm move in. We also enjoyed a dinner at Vento Bistro before attending the last event, a dancing activity, of the Celebramos 102 Años de Cantonato (de Tilarán) del 21-31 Agosto 2025.

me at Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express

Mike at Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express

Gutierrez Family Pizzeria Express

Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery with Charly Lopez from Uruguay

Anne & Jack at Taco Tuesday

Lunch at Equus

Restaurante Tinajas

Jack, Nixon, me and Anne at Restaurante Tinajas

Anne and Jack at Restaurante Tinajas

mural at Restaurante Tinajas

Cuban night at Lake Arenal Brewery with Olsen del Toro and his mother

Anne & Jack at Lake Arenal Brewery

Mike at Lake Arenal Brewery

me with Anne at Lake Arenal Brewery

Plaza Paseo del Viento

Carol and Mike atPaseo del Viento

Carol and me at Paseo del Viento

me at Soda La Macha

Mike at Soda La Macha

me at Soda La Macha

Darrell & Farida at Restaurante Linda Vista

comida typica at Restaurante Linda Vista

me, Darrell, Farida and Mike at Restaurante Linda Vista

me with daiquiri at Paseo del Viento

drinks at Paseo del Viento

Mike at Paseo del Viento

Mike at Vento Bistro

Me at Vento Bistro

view of Tilarán’s city park from Vento Bistro

Drives, walks and local explorations

We drove on a gravel road to El Silencio, where we found some amazing views. We continued our walks around Tronadora: the gravel road to Santiago’s pitaya farm, two attempts to walk on Peninsula 2, and one walk on Peninsula 1, and the 4-mile loop from our door to Tronadora and back.

walk up gravel road from Tronadora to Santiago’s pitaya farm

Santiago’s pitaya farm

walk up gravel road from Tronadora to Santiago’s pitaya farm

Drive to El Silencio

first attempt to walk on Peninsula 2

Walk on Peninsula 1 in Tronadora

Walk on Peninsula 1 in Tronadora – sighting of Volcán Arenal

Walk on Peninsula 1 in Tronadora

a horseman & 2 horses in San Luis

view from our 4 mile loop in Tronadora

horse on Peninsula 1

horses on Peninsula 1

Walk around Tronadora

Four days/three nights in La Fortuna

On Tuesday (8/19) through Friday (August 22) we took a trip to La Fortuna, the area around Volcán Arenal at the east end of Lake Arenal. We explored new places, activities and experiences that made this one of our best weeks in Costa Rica so far. We enjoyed upscale thermal springs from Volcán Arenal at Baldi Hot Springs; went whitewater rafting on the Class III-IV Río Sarapiqui; descended 517 steps to the Catarata Río Fortuna and swam in the surrounding pools; hiked a boring trail at Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal; enjoyed a mediocre massage at Spa Luz de Luna; and visited Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park in the rainforest of La Fortuna. We really enjoyed our trip to this area.

Café con Amor in Nuevo Arenal

me, Jackie Ruíz and Mike at Café con Amor

me at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Mike at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

me at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Mike doing tree pose at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

view of Volcán Arenal from Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

sauna at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

tropical plants at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Spicy Sloth and Green Gin at Baldi Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Yellow Tree Suites

Sunny’s Indian in La Fortuna

Mike & me on our whitewater rafting trip

whitewater rafting on the Río Sarapiqui

Me with Mike at our break on the whitewater rafting trip

Mike jumps into the Río Sarapiqui

Me, Mike, Carlos and Monica from Madrid on our whitewater rafting trip

view of Volcán Arenal from Yellow Tree Suites

me at Catarata Río Fortuna

Mike at Catarata Río Fortuna

Catarata Río Fortuna

me at Catarata Río Fortuna

Catarata Río Fortuna

me on hike at Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal

Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal

church in La Fortuna

Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Turquoise-browed Motmot at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mike at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mike at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Me and Mike at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mike at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

me and Mike at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

Mike at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

me at Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

view of Volcán Arenal from Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

looking at the dam from Mistico

Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen)

Once we returned home, we enjoyed one event of many that comprise the Celebramos 102 Años de Cantonato del 21-31 Agosto 2025: the Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen). Before that event, we ate at Iván’s restaurant, Tilatacos. Iván has become Mike’s swimming buddy in the lake for the last several weeks; because Iván is new to open-water swimming, he appreciates Mike’s advice and companionship.

On the last day of the month, we went to the final event of the Celebration: Gran Actividad Bailable de Cierre en el Parque Flaqué Montull (Great Closing Dance Activity in Domino Flaqué Montull Park). It wasn’t all that thrilling, probably because we were there too early.

me with Mike at Tilatacos

Mike and fellow swimmer Iván (owner of Tilatacos

Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen) in Tilarán

me at Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen) in Tilarán

Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen) in Tilarán

Gran Actividad Bailable de Cierre en el Parque Flaqué Montull (Great Closing Dance Activity in Domino Flaqué Montull Park)

My Summer Bingo Card

I checked off a lot of items on my Summer Bingo Card in August. It’s a good thing since summer ends on September 21. I put smiley faces on the following:

Beach time (Tamarindo)
Taco Tuesdays (1 x)
Kayak in the lake
Have a pool day (numerous times)
Make corn soup with shrimp
Family time (Alex, Jandira & Allie – FaceTime)
Frozen drink – piña colada – on rooftop at Plaza Paseo del Viento (2x)
Paddleboard in lake (2x)
Swim in the lake (2x)
Visit Centro de Rescate y Santuario Las Pumas in Cañas
Eat seasonal fruit (added passionfruit – maracuyá)
Pedicure (white semi-permanent) 1x
La Fortuna (see above for photos)
1. Spa Day (Baldi Hot Springs)
2. Whitewater raft (on the Río Sarapiqui)
3. Hike a volcano (Volcán Arenal)
4. Visit a National Park (Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal)
5. Visit a waterfall and swim in it – Catarata Río Fortuna
6. Have a massage (Spa Luz de Luna)
7. Rain Forest Visit (La Fortuna) – Mistico Hanging Bridges
Finished 6 books (3 in August)

ready to kayak on the lake

kayaking on Lake Arenal

pool day

Frozen drinks on the rooftop at Plaza Paseo del Viento

cerveza and. Piña colada

me with my frozen drink on the rooftop

paddle boarding on the lake

Mike paddle boarding on the lake

me paddle boarding on the lake

Santuario Las Pumas in Cañas

pool day

on the way to the lake for paddle boarding

getting ready to paddleboard

paddleboarding on the lake

me paddle boarding again

Mike paddle boarding

my Summer Bingo Card as of 8/31

Identifying birds & flora

We saw Keel-billed Toucans in our tree outside our house two times this month, plus we saw them in captivity at Centro de Rescate y Santuario Las Pumas in Cañas. We have both downloaded the Merlin app to help us identify all the birds that wake us up each morning. So far I have a Life List of 34 species. We’ve had several visits by Keel-billed Toucans, and regulars here at our house include Great-tailed Grackles, House Wrens, Red-lored Parrots, and Cabinis’s Wrens. One morning a flock of Orange-chinned Parakeets descended on the trees surrounding our house. Birdsong is ever-present in our days, except on days when it’s raining.

At Anne’s suggestion, I downloaded “seek by iNaturalist” but I haven’t found it to work for me.

Keel-billed Toucans in our tree

Keel-billed Toucan in our tree

pretty tropical flower

a tree I tried to identify but couldn’t

Toucans seen August 27

Orange-chinned parakeets

ExperiencingVeranillo in August

Apparently July to August is considered the “little high season” (also known as veranillo or “little summer”) with pleasant weather with minimal rain, moderate crowds and lower prices. We enjoyed an overall less rainy month in Costa Rica than we did our first two months. People say October and November are the rainiest months.

Family happenings

Allie and Jandira arrived safely home from their month-long trip to Angola on August 6. Jandira got a new job as Assistant Manager at a jewelry store close to our house in Oakton, and Allie started going to a new daycare. She also continued taking swim lessons.

In Nicaragua, Cristy bought nail polishes and nail tools so she can practice doing people’s nails.Later, Cristy got her certificate of Manicure & Pedicure for the course she completed.

Allie at the Lisbon airport

Allie, Alex and Jandira – reunited after the girls were in Angola for a month

Allie at daycare

Allie taking swim lessons

Allie at our house

Cristy with her nail polish supplies

Cristy gets her certificate of completion for Manicure and Pedicure

Homebody stuff

We continued our three times per week workouts at Monster Gym and our Wednesday yoga sessions at Living Forest Yoga. We also run errands for food and day-to-day needs. We cook in quite frequently, trying to limit our dinners/lunches out only to 3x/week. I had a hair hydrating session at the end of August, as well as a pedicure.

Mike leaving Living Forest after yoga

verduras & frutas in Aguacate

tilapia and zucchini meal we made

sunset from our house

the front of our house

pedicure at S.O.S. Beauty Salon

beautiful sunset

I finished 3 books in August, bringing my total to 31/48. I especially enjoyed Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. We watched three movies: The Penguin Lessons (Argentina), My Oxford Year, and Fall for Me (Mallorca), all of which we enjoyed. We started watching a couple of new series: Territory, Asura no Gotoku, If Only (Si lo hubiera sabido), and Platonic. We finished watching North of North, Tuiskoms, Letters from the Past (Gelecege Mektuplar), and The Survivors (excellent!). We continued watching Younger, Seinfeld, Togetherness, and Pernille. This month we made a decision to stop watching Severance: it’s just too bizarre and not our thing.

On my Costa Rica blog, you can find my weekly recaps of our lives in Costa Rica for the month of August:

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I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the summer and the rest of this year.

How did your August go? Did you have any special family gatherings? Have you welcomed any new additions to your family? Did you celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries? Have you read any good books that can inform your worldview, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any summer getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Have you gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you marked off activities on your Summer Bingo card? Have you tried out any new water sports like kayaking, paddle boarding, white water rafting? Have you soaked in thermal pools or hiked in any national parks? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

Please share your August with me by giving me the plot below, or a link to a post in your blog that tells about your month.

the july cocktail hour: a trip to ometepe, nicaragua; a beach getaway to tamarindo; & homebody activities

wanderessence1025 August 3, 2025

Thursday, July 31, 2025: Welcome to our July cocktail hour. Let’s have some Flor de Caña 12-year-aged rum with Fresca, a drink easily made at home here in Costa Rica. We can congregate on the balcony and enjoy breezes and views of Lake Arenal. If you listen carefully, you can hear the grunting of the howler monkeys and you might even see a toucan fly clumsily by. You can visit our resident hummingbird, who has recently built a nest in a flower bush outside our kitchen window. You can even come along vicariously on our getaways to Ometepe, Nicaragua and to Tamarindo on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Sunset is at around 6:00 every night of the year; twilight brings with it lots of mosquitoes, so be sure to slather on the mosquito repellent.

I have a variety of soda, seltzer water, or bebida de aloe for those of you who don’t drink. Thanks for joining us in our escape into a peaceful corner of the world, not a place completely free from danger, but safe from certain things we cannot abide, like living in a police state under a fascist government.

July marked our second month in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It was in some ways a busy month and in other ways a laid-back, homebody-type month.

Our exercise & personal care routine

Three days of each week, we get up just after dawn (around 5:30), have breakfast and soon go to Monster Gym for our workouts. On Wednesdays we go to Living Forest for a yoga class. The remaining days of the week, we go on walks through hilly terrain, mostly to and around Tronadora or to the top of San Luis. Only once this month did I do an online Pilates class. Mike goes to swim in the cove near our house at least once a week.

I finally found a beauty salon where I got a pedicure and asked about hair straightening.

Dining out with a few musical interludes

We tried a lot of local restaurants during the month. At Soda La Macha, we found delicious tilapia and a pleasant setting. We went to Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery where we danced to Jimmy Loop while playing handmade musical instruments. We ate out at Guadalupe, La Pradera, and Paseo del Viento (a food court near Monster Gym where Mike got a hamburger at 506 Snacks and I got a tostada cup filled with shrimp ceviche). We drove to Nuevo Arenal one evening for a nice dinner at Moya’s Place. We had ice cream treats at Pop’s in Tilaran. We enjoyed a lunch mid-walk at Soda Doña Chila’s in Tronadora. We had ceviche at Cevichera La Pasadita in San Luis. And finally, on Sunday the 27th, we went to hear Smooth Jazz on the Lake by Eureka at La Tortuga, on the north side of Lake Arenal.

Other events

We looked at and pretty much decided to rent a condo at Lake Arenal Condos for our second six months here. We went to a Blessing of the Boats at the cove.

A visit to the family in Ometepe, Nicaragua

We took a trip to Ometepe, Nicaragua to visit Adam and family for 6 nights in the middle of the month. It was stressful crossing the border with our car from Costa Rica to Nicaragua, but we managed to survive it and the ferry ride across to the island. We had a great visit with the family as the girls were out of school for the entire week plus Adam and Maria closed their business for the week so we could all spend time together. We saw Cristy, who was voted Queen of her school, march in a parade in Altagracia. We watched Andrea and Maria practice for a gymnastics competition coming up in Managua at their neighbor Manja’s gymnastics pavilion.

Mike and I took a chocolate tour at El Pital Chocolate Paradise and drank ceremonial doses of cacao. We walked on the beach most mornings and on the road to Santa Domingo two mornings. We swam in Lago Nicaragua and played at the beach with Adam, Maria and the kids. We ate meals with the family: takeout pizza from Pizzeria Mediterranea, lunch at Ojo de Agua, and dinner at Libélula (Dragonfly) Café and at Xalli. Mike and I ate on our own at Xalli, Cafe Campestre, El Pital, Bûstavö, and Pan de Mama. It was the best family time we’ve ever had in Nicaragua and we loved it all.

Soon after we returned to Costa Rica after our visit to Nicaragua, we heard that Andrea won the gold medal for her floor exercises at the gymnastics competition in Managua. We are so proud of her!

Tamarindo: a beach break

Finally, the last two days of July, we took a trip to Tamarindo, one of the most developed beaches, known for its surfing culture, on the Pacific beach. We hung out at the beach and at Langosta Beach Club, ate meals at Cha Cafe, Fish & Cheeses, Little Lucha and Kabuto Sushi, went shopping, and took an Estuary Boat Tour through Parque Nactional Marino Las Baulas de Guanacaste. It was hot, humid and sunny, quite a difference from our weather near Lake Arenal.

IsVeranillo here?

Apparently July to August is considered the “little high season” (also known as veranillo or “little summer”) with pleasant weather with minimal rain, moderate crowds and lower prices. We definitely lucked out in Ometepe with Veranillo, as we had near-perfect weather. In Costa Rica, it was a mixed bag.

Homebody stuff

I finished 3 books in July, bringing my total to 28/48. I especially enjoyed Speak, Silence by Kim Echlin. I learned a lot about the Panama Canal in the fictional The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez. We watched two movies: The Life List, which I enjoyed, and Nonnas, which was predictable and mediocre. We started watching a couple of new series: The Survivors and Letters from the Past (Gelecege Mektuplar). We finished watching Thank You, Next, The Secrets We Keep, Istanbul Encyclopedia, The Manny and Sara: Woman in the Shadows. We continued watching Younger, North of North, Seinfeld, Togetherness, Pernille, Tuiskoms and Severance.

On my Costa Rica blog, you can find my weekly recaps of our lives in Costa Rica:

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I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the summer and the rest of this year.

How did your July go? Did you have any special family gatherings? Have you welcomed any new additions to your family? Did you celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries? Have you read any good books that can inform your worldview, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any summer getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Have you gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

Please share your July with me by giving me the plot below, or a link to a post in your blog that tells about your month.

the june cocktail hour: our first month in costa rica

wanderessence1025 June 30, 2025

Monday, June 30, 2025: Welcome to our June cocktail hour.Let’s have some tequila with Fresca, a drink easily made at home here in Costa Rica. We can congregate on the balcony and enjoy breezes and views of Lake Arenal and maybe we’ll even experience a cooling tormenta. Sunset is at around 6:00 every night of the year; twilight brings with it lots of mosquitoes, so be sure to slather on the mosquito repellent.

I have a variety of beers, soda or seltzer water for those of you who don’t drink. Thanks for joining us in our escape into a peaceful corner of the world, not a place completely free from danger, but safe from certain things we cannot abide, like living in a police state.

June marked our first month in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We spent the first couple of weeks settling into the rental house on Lake Arenal that we got through Airbnb. The house has a modern addition, but the original house is old and rather decrepit. The kitchen is certainly not well-stocked, so we had to spend quite some time and money getting it up to par. I hope to get our “settling in” over with as soon as possible so we can spend our time relaxing and exploring not only local spots but areas further afield.

our Airbnb in Buena Vista near San Luis, Costa Rica

Our house on Lake Arenal

our Airbnb in Buena Vista near San Luis, Costa Rica

me on our balcony

the view from our balcony

Mike on our balcony

me on our balcony

me in our front yard, communing with the tropical greenery

the pool in our community

sunset on the lake

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Mike carries on with consulting & I begin a new blog

Mike has officially retired, but he is not willing to let it all go; he is still doing consulting here and there. Luckily it doesn’t take up big chunks of our days. For my part, I’ve started a new blog which you can find here:

a pura vida year in costa rica

I still need to have some kind of project to keep me occupied and out of trouble. 🙂

A new used car: 2014 Mitsubishi ASX

The day after we moved into our house, on June 2, we bought a red 2014 Mitsubishi ASX from an expat American, Rand, who lives in the community. He had bought the car for his girlfriend Raquel. Since they broke up, he wanted to sell it. Though the car is 11 years old, it only has 40,000 miles on it and we hope we’ll be able to sell it when we leave the country next year. It has a stick shift, which Mike quickly got used to. It took me a while before I was brave enough to try it. With all the hilly roads here AND the fact that I hadn’t driven a stick shift probably since the 1980s, I was a bit nervous about it and knew I needed a straight and flat stretch to practice on.

I finally practiced driving the car on June 16 in nice flat Tronadora. It’s funny how some repetitive actions like riding a bike or driving a stick can come back to you like a familiar old friend. My driving lesson through Tronadora went smoothly. Regained confidence! 🤩🥳

our 2014 Mitsubishi ASX

My first day driving the stick shift

Shopping for big stuff in Liberia

Our neighbor Bruce, who is super friendly, hilarious and helpful, had us follow him to Liberia on our first Thursday, where we spent all day shopping for household items at PriceSmart (like Costco in the U.S.) and Walmart. He also took us to his favorite fish market, Panamar Seafood. We spent a small fortune on food and household items. Our biggest purchases were sturdy plastic tables to serve as computer desks, two giant floor fans, a rice cooker and a blender. We’ll of course take them with us when we move to another place in December, and when we leave Costa Rica next May, I hope we can take them to Adam in Nicaragua.

Monster Gym and exercise options

We got busy immediately scoping out our exercise options. I’m hoping to lose weight while I’m here. We found a couple of hilly walking routes in San Luis and Tonadora. We also joined Monster Gym in Tilaran, run by Diego. Mike rides the exercise bike there while I do the weight machines. I have never enjoyed going to the gym in Virginia, but this place seems to work well for me. We got a month-long membership for $40 each, quite expensive in my eyes. We’ve been going three times a week since we joined on June 9.

We also tried out Yoga with Adrien and Pilates with Sherry on YouTube. I don’t know Adrien, but I’ve taken pilates classes with Sherry at Oakmont Rec Center near my home in Oakton, VA. Now that Mike’s leg has healed, he started swimming in the cove of Lake Arenal near our house. We also hope to try some kayaking there and Mike wants to try paddle boarding, but I’m not sure about my ability to keep my balance. Of course, when we explore further afield in Costa Rica, we’ll do some hiking as well. During our last week, we also found a place to do yoga; I’ll tell more about that later.

Tilarán & Tronadora

We’ve checked out spots in Tilarán, mostly supermarkets and hardware stores, but also eateries. We’ve also explored the town of Tronadora, the tidiest little town imaginable. Residents keep their homes and lawns perfectly manicured. You can tell the townspeople have great pride in their town. Besides walking there, we found a carnicería run by Rigo (Rigoberto) where we bought bacon 🥓, chicken, fish, chorizo, & frozen shrimp 🍤. He threw in the most delicious sweet pineapple for free and even cut it for us. We found a small vegetable market, where we stocked up on veggies, and Soda Doña Chila, a breakfast and lunch restaurant. A “soda” in Costa Rica is a small, often family-owned restaurant that specializes in comida tipica, or traditional Costa Rican food. A soda feels like an extension of a Tico home, where recipes are passed down through generations.

church in Tronadora

mural in Tronadora

Mike in Tronadora

Soda Doña Chila in Tronadora

Tronadora

Exploring local cuisine

During the month, we visited Brisas del Lago, Lake Arenal Brewery, Mary’s Restaurante with our friend Bruce, Café & Macadamia, Mystica, Beer Garden Tinajas, and Chicharronera on Peninsula 1 in Tronadora. We went out to eat at the most upscale spot around, Gingerbread in Nuevo Arenal, owned by an Israeli man who has lived in Costa Rica for 23 years. We also cooked in quite a a lot. Our favorite creation so far has been the chorizo, potato and green bean soup we made from the chorizo we got from Rigo in Tronadora. One Saturday night we tried a place just up the road from us in San Luis, Cevichera La Pasadita. I enjoyed a ceviche de camarón, while Mike had Costilla Cerdo BBQ.

me at Brisas del Lago

Chorizo, potato & green bean soup made by us

Mike at Lake Arenal Brewery

Lake Arenal Brewery

Café & Macadamia

me at Beer Garden Tinajas

Beer Garden Tinajas

Mike & Bruce at Mary’s

Mike at Chicharronera on Peninsula 1

Mike ane me at Chicharronera

Mike on Father’s Day at Gingerbread

Gingerbread

me at Gingerbread

me at Cevichera La Pasadita

Mike at Cevichera La Pasadita

Costilla Cerdo BBQ at Cevichera La Pasadita

Local drives

We took a drive up to a cross on a hill, called Cerro Tovar, Parque del Viento, to see views of Tilaran and the countryside thereabouts. We also visited the towns of Aguacate and Nuevo Arenal.

drive up to Cerro Tovar, Parque del Viento

old bull ring in Tilaran seen from Cerro Tovar, Parque del Viento

Tilaran seen from Cerro Tovar, Parque del Viento

Cerro Tovar, Parque del Viento

view of countryside around Tilaran from Cerro Tovar, Parque del Viento

pretty yellow church in Aguacate

Peninsula 1 in Tronadora

We walked one Tuesday down and back on Peninsula 1, a beautiful peninsula on the other side of the cove from us. The green rooftops shown in some of the pictures are those in our complex, across the cove. I could live on Peninsula 1. It has great views and, being on a ridge, gets strong breezes off Lake Arenal. The white house at the end of the peninsula, shown in the photo below, houses a group of Germans who wear white everywhere and paint the local bus stops with colorful religious-themed murals. We passed them bicycling and walking on Peninsula 1 and they didn’t even meet our eyes or greet us in any way.

After our walk we stopped at Soda Doña Chila for fruit juices and an empañada for Mike.

cows on Peninsula 1

Peninsula 1: our complex are the green roofs across the cove

the white house at the end of Peninsula 1, occupied by the German group

cool trees on Peninsula 1

view from Peninsula 1

Mike at Soda Doña Chila in Tronadora

Two nights in Playa Hermosa

We took a 2-night break from the rains inundating Lake Arenal to visit Playa Hermosa, only about a 1 1/2-hour drive from our house. We were taking a gamble as it’s rainy season everywhere in Costa Rica, but we mostly lucked out with the weather. We stayed at the same hotel, Hotel el Velero, where we stayed in 2023 when we came here with our son Alex.

After lunch at Café & Macadamia near the Liberia Airport, we arrived at Hotel el Velero and promptly headed out to the beach. The day was beautiful, sunny & breezy and we enjoyed swimming, reading, and relaxing, topped off with drinks at the 3:30 happy hour. I made substantial progress on a book I’ve been reading sporadically for quite some time, Paul Theroux’s The Old Patagonian Express. Though written in 1979 (46 years ago), there are still many pertinent observations by the author about Central and South America. In the evening, we enjoyed sunset at the beach.

Playa Hermosa

me at Playa Hermosa

Mike at Playa Hermosa

sunset at Playa Hermosa

Mike at Playa Hermosa

Mike at sunset at Hotel el Velero

character at Hotel el Velero

After sunset, we went to Ginger, the same Asian-inspired tapas restaurant where we went in 2023 with Alex. We enjoyed talking to fellow American travelers seated on either side of us. We enjoyed glasses of Prosecco and the food was delectable (we shared firecracker shrimp, Ahi Tuna Tostadas, and Cremini and Pepper Jack Flatbread), the night breezy and comfortable, the ambiance great, and the company fabulous. And we topped it off by sharing a lava cake with ice cream.

Ginger

firecracker shrimp at Ginger

Mike at Ginger

me at Ginger

We enjoyed breakfast at Hotel El Velero Thursday morning. At breakfast we met a super interesting couple from Canada. The woman, Dana, works at the Canadian embassy in San Jose and her husband John is a prominent journalist originally from Scotland but who covers Canadian politics for Canadian media. After breakfast, we walked from one end of Playa Hermosa to the other. It was a beautiful morning!

Playa Hermosa

me at Playa Hermosa

Mike at Playa Hermosa

bird at Playa Hermosa

Playa Hermosa

pool at Hotel el Velero

We drove to Playas del Coco for a lunch of avocado toast with mushrooms and a beef burrito.

Café Corazon

avocado & mushroom toast at Café Corazon

beef burrito at Café Corazon

Playas del Coco

We enjoyed dinner our last night at Hacienda Blu Beach Lounge & Grill near Playa Panama. I got eaten alive by mosquitoes but otherwise, the food, staff, and ambiance were fabulous. We shared Chipotle Mussels with ciabatta bread, Tico rolls & Leche frita con helado. Yum! It was our last night at Playa Hermosa before returning to Lake Arenal.

Hacienda Blu Beach Lounge & Grill

Tico Roll at Hacienda Blu Beach Lounge & Grill

Chipotle Mussels at Hacienda Blu Beach Lounge & Grill

Leche frita con helado

me at Hacienda Blu Beach Lounge & Grill

Mike at Hotel el Velero

me at Hotel el Velero

Our last morning at Playa Hermosa, we took an early walk on the beach at low tide then enjoyed our last breakfast at Hotel el Velero.

Playa Hermosa

breakfast at Hotel el Velero

me at Hotel el Velero

Errands in Liberia

On our way home, we stopped in Liberia for a couple of errands. We had dreaded going to the Registro de la Propiedad to get a Permiso de Salida to take our car out of Costa Rica into Nicaragua. We had heard we would encounter long lines and that the Permiso lasted for 90 days, meaning we would have to repeat this process 4x over the year. We were pleasantly surprised to find no line at all, an English-speaking agent, and assurance that all our car documents were in order. We also were happy to learn the Permiso lasts for 6 months, meaning we only have to repeat the process once.

Our other errand was to go to Walmart. I hate shopping at Walmart and am supposed to be boycotting it as they support our feckless & despicable president and the Republicans who enable him. However we needed to get an air fryer as we have no oven in our house. We also wanted to get new bedding as the sheets and comforter provided by the Airbnb owners are cheap, ugly, old and made of polyester. There were also food items we wanted that we couldn’t find in Tilaran.

We got all that taken care of in Liberia and drove home in about an hour 15 minutes.

Once we get to Cañas, we drive on two-lane mountain roads to San Luis. It seems every time on these roads we get stuck behind trucks or buses plodding along and belching black smoke! I thought Costa Rica was supposed to be focused on the environment. Why are these horrible vehicles allowed to drive with all these polluting fumes bursting from them? I guess they don’t have to pass emissions inspections here.

Back home in Buena Vista

Once we returned home, we had rain for the rest of the afternoon. At least we enjoyed two sunny days at the beach!

Saturday the 21st, we woke up to pouring rain after a night where it rained nonstop. Finally we found a break in the rain and took a walk uphill through San Luis and then down to a gully where the road to Tronadora is on the verge of washing away. This is the only paved road that connects Tronadora to San Luis (where we live) and Tilaran. With all the rain we’re having, I hope the road doesn’t totally wash away before they get to the repairs.

on the way to Tronadora

a gated villa with a tree-lined drive near our house

beautiful green pasture near our house

Meanwhile, back in the homeland …

I’m happy to be in a country, unlike the U.S., that has no standing army. After the Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, it was permanently abolished in 1949, becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army. It’s a country that values green energy, biodiversity, and ethnic diversity. Sadly, it’s still not the safest country in the world, but then neither is the U.S. these days. The United States (currently the “Divided States”) now has too much rancor, hatred, and racism, encouraged by our utter despicable leadership. Violence is increasingly being not only condoned but actually perpetrated by our government. Democratic lawmakers are being arrested or assassinated for their political beliefs, for god’s sake! People are being disappeared off the streets by masked men who don’t present identification. I will not miss my home country under its current fascist regime. I expect it to get a LOT worse before it gets better, if it EVER does.

Saturday afternoon, we were appalled to find out that Trump bombed several nuclear sites in Iran. He did so without Congressional approval. I don’t know what his end game is, or what the consequences of this action will be, but I’m sure nothing good will come of it. I personally believe his action is a kind of wag-the-dog situation: creating a diversion from damaging issues, usually through military force. The damaging issues include his many losses in courts, his poorly attended birthday military parade and the 5 million people who took to the streets on that same day – “No Kings Day” – to protest him and his administration, the high disapproval toward his “big beautiful bill,” and his sinking poll numbers. I also think he likes to appear the strongman (aka bully) to the rest of the world. He is the most despicable human our country has ever elected and I blame the 77 million assholes who voted for this. Once again, the U.S. is jumping into another forever war, despite the promises by that idiot that there would be no wars under him. And he thinks he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. What a joke! If he ever got it, that award would become meaningless forever.

Another walk to Tronadora

Sunday morning, Mike and I went for another walk in Tronadora; this is my favorite of our walks. However, we are leery about the nearly-washed away road to Tronadora, so we will probably wait a while to return there for further walks or errands. As it’s my favorite little town, I hope the construction crews will repair the road soon.

Tronadora town park

I spent the rest of Sunday working on my blog, catching up on my journal, and watching an episode of My Friends & Family that I missed one night when I fell asleep. Mike and I also played a game of online Scrabble, and I am happy to say I won: 335-284. I so rarely win games against Mike that I’m happy to claim victory when I can.

Expanding our local connections

Our last week in June, we stayed close to home, deepening our connections to our local community. We took our first cash out of an ATM, found a barber for Mike, found La Casa del Plastica (a store that sells plastic goods), ate tacos and listened to live music on Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery, attended our first yoga session at Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center, found a farm where yogurt is sold, went to Nuevo Arenal where we ate at the German Bakery and checked out a Farmacia Organica, and enjoyed the pool.

We took several nice walks, one from our house to Tronadora and back, about 4 hilly miles round-trip. We are still in the midst of the ongoing drama regarding the road to Tronadora. It doesn’t look like much work is going on there yet, and even the people directing traffic seemed to be lackadaisical in their duties. We walked across but no longer trust driving across, even though buses and trucks go across continually. One of these days, if they don’t get it fixed soon, I fear the whole road will collapse.

Mike has his first haircut in Costa Rica

Olsen del Torro at Lake Arenal Brewery on Taco Tuesday

Mike at Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery

Taco Tuesday at Lake Arenal Brewery

bathroom mural at Lake Arenal Brewery

Lake Arenal Brewery

Drive to Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center

Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center

Yoga studio at Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center

sauna at Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center

Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center

Mike at Living Forest Lodge & Retreat Center

Mike at Tisú Farm

the roadwork on the road to Tronadora

bus stop mural on the way to Tronadora

bus stop mural

Tronadora town park

horse we found on the way to Tronadora

German Bakery

Mike at the German Bakery

Me at the German Bakery

German Bakery

Farmacia Organica in Nuevo Arenal

the ongoing drama of the road to Tronadora

beautiful Sunday view

We had a rare sunny day on Friday. We stopped on the way to the gym where we had a view of Volcán Tenorio popping through the clouds. After our workout we also took a short road up a gravel road where we found amazing views and a couple of beautiful houses.

view of Volcán Tenorio from the Mirador Tilaran on a rare sunny day

At the end of June, we began to look at condos for our December-May time frame. We found some good possibilities but are not ready to make a decision yet.

In August, after we go visit Adam in Nicaragua in July, we’ll make some trips to places further afield where we haven’t been before.

A month of the rainy season. Veranillo soon to come.

Since it’s rainy season from mid-May to November, we get to experience thunderstorms or steady rain, especially in the afternoons and evenings. The storms bring in cool breezes which we love; the rain keeps the house cool and comfortable. Apparently July to August is considered the “little high season” (also known as veranillo or “little summer”) with pleasant weather with minimal rain, moderate crowds and lower prices. The rainiest month is said to be October. I wonder how it will be in the dry season from December-April. Of course by then we’ll be in a different house, so I have no idea what to expect.

Homebody stuff

I finished 2 books in June, bringing my total to 25/48. I enjoyed both: The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux and The Confessions of Frances Godwin by Robert Hellenga. We watched two good movies: The Wrong Track (På Villspor) and the 2022 movie, What’s Love got to do with it? We started watching several series: Togetherness, Pernille (Pørni), The Secrets We Keep, and Sara: Woman in the Shadows. We finished watching Four Seasons, Bad Sisters, and Your Friends & Neighbors. We continued watching Istanbul Encyclopedia, Younger, North of North, The Manny, and Severance.

On my Costa Rica blog, you can find my weekly recaps of our lives in Costa Rica:

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I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the summer and the rest of this year.

How did your June go? Did you have any special family gatherings? Have you welcomed any new additions to your family? Did you celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries? Have you read any good books that can inform your worldview, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any summer getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Have you gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

Please share your June with me by giving me the plot below, or a link to a post in your blog that tells about your month.

a pura vida year in costa rica

wanderessence1025 June 12, 2025

Thursday, June 12, 2025: I’ve started a new blog about our year living abroad in Costa Rica. If you’d like to follow me there, check it out here:

a pura vida year in costa rica

Some of my first posts follow:

I haven’t started a new blog in a long time, so please be patient as I work out the kinks on the site! I’ll still be posting my monthly cocktail hours on this blog, as well as my year-end recaps. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll post our trips to Panama, Guatemala and Belize on this blog or the new one.

Our house on Lake Arenal

the cove & boat dock

Mike in Tronadora

church in Tronadora

mural in Tronadora

me on our balcony

Mike at Lake Arenal Brewery

Lake Arenal Brewery

pretty yellow church in Aguacate

me at Beer Garden Tinajas

Beer Garden Tinajas

rainbow seen over Lake Arenal from Nuevo Arenal

I hope you’ll come along on Mike’s and my first “living abroad experience” together. (I lived and worked abroad on my own in South Korea, Oman, China and Japan).

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Our last day in Tamarindo

Dining out with a few musical interludes

Drives, walks and local explorations

Four days/three nights in La Fortuna

Desfile de Caballistas (Parade of Horsemen)

My Summer Bingo Card

Identifying birds & flora

ExperiencingVeranillo in August

Family happenings

Homebody stuff

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IsVeranillo here?

Homebody stuff

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Mike carries on with consulting & I begin a new blog

A new used car: 2014 Mitsubishi ASX

Shopping for big stuff in Liberia

Monster Gym and exercise options

Tilarán & Tronadora

Exploring local cuisine

Local drives

Peninsula 1 in Tronadora

Two nights in Playa Hermosa

Errands in Liberia

Back home in Buena Vista

Meanwhile, back in the homeland …

Another walk to Tronadora

Expanding our local connections

A month of the rainy season. Veranillo soon to come.

Homebody stuff

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