Four years ago Kay and Tom, originally from the United States, decided to hold a Chili Cook Off competition, with money raised to benefit Hogar de Vida, the local home for abandoned, abused and orphaned children. It started out small and has since grown to attract chili cooks and chili fans from Grecia, Alajuela, Heredia, San Jose and other surrounding communities.
Here is a photo of Kay and Tom and also Helen (in the middle), the director of Hogar de Vida.
We were excited to volunteer for this event and had a great time. Randie spent most of the day cooking burgers and hot dogs and I helped sell food tickets.
Our friends Penny and Craig were helping out at the beer tent. Can you tell they are having fun?
We ran into our friends Vera and Jonathan from Vista Atenas B&B. We stayed at this B&B a couple of times and loved it!
In addition to food, there was entertainment and several raffles. This year’s event raised about $3400 for the orphanage. We had the opportunity to visit the orphanage, however, for security reasons, we are unable to post any photos of the beautiful children.
When we first decided to go to Granada, there were two things I really wanted to do (based on what others recommended). I wanted to go to the Market in Masaya and also tour the islands by boat. We decided to take the afternoon boat tour so we could experience the sunset. Before being picked up for the tour, we had lunch in the central park. There are several locals who have stands selling food. It’s amazing what they can put together with very little to work with.
As it turned out there were only 4 people (including us) who were on the boat tour along with our English speaking guide, Osman and the person driving the boat. Once you see the slide show below, you will know why I highly recommend you take the tour of the islands if you visit Granada. If you are looking for a great guide, you can contact Osman at: osmanandresmg@hotmail.com. He is a licensed guide and will pick you up at your hotel. We appreciated how he took time to point out highlights along the way and knew where to stop for a delicious lunch! We also got off the boat to walk around an old fort that was originally built to protect the mainland.
During our time in Granada we took several photos as we walked around the town, including some shots from the top of one of the church bell towers and at the local market.
We ate at various restaurants including a very nice Garden Cafe and a local pizza place that was recommended by the staff at Hotel Kekoldi where we were staying.
Hotel Kekodi, where we were staying, includes breakfast. They offer a small breakfast buffet including beans and rice, toast with butter and jam, cereal, fruit, coffee and juice. You can order eggs and other items "a la cart" if you wish to pay for it. The outdoor breakfast area was in the courtyard.
The view of the gardens from the tables was picturesque.
Before visiting Granada, we heard there was a popular market in a nearby city. We couldn’t remember the name of it and when speaking with another couple who were also in Granada for their 90 day Costa Rica "visa run" not only did we find out the name of the market, but we were invited to share a taxi with them since they were planning on going to the market that morning.
The market is in the town of Masaya, about 20 or 30 minutes from Granada. Although it is a very large market, many of the items being sold are household items including beautiful pottery, etc, and since we no longer have our own home, we are not in the market for these types of items. We managed to get a great deal on t-shirts since we purchased 15 of them to give to someone in Granada who distributes them to the street children.
I tried on some clothes and didn’t find anything I liked. Change rooms are generally squeezed into a back corner of a stall and are very basic. I’m behind the red curtain with the yellow flowers.
I managed to get a picture of Randie at the restaurant in the market where we had lunch.
Before hopping in the taxi to go back to Granada, Randie took a picture of the entrance to the market.
On our way back to Granada, we took the same taxi since the taxi driver waited for us. The car was in very rough shape and as we were travelling on the highway, one of the ties blew. Thankfully, the driver was skilled enough to safely pull over at the side of the road. Since there wasn’t much space and the road wasn’t flat, he was having a very difficult time jacking up the car because it kept slipping in the ditch. All the guys where trying to keep the car from sliding. In the end, another taxi driver was flagged down and he had a much better jack that made it easier for the tire to be changed. When you see a close up of the replacement tire, you’ll know why the one on the car blew.
Once we were safely back in Granada we decided to go for a walk around the town. We noticed there were several horses and carriages to transport tourists who didn’t want to walk or who wanted a romantic experience. We chose to continue walking.
On one of the side streets we saw a place where young people were taught how to make hammocks. This was a center that was working to keep children off the streets by teaching them a trade. The hammocks are beautiful and there are rows and rows of different colors and designs.
Here is a video of some of the young people making the hammocks. They work very fast.
Granada is known for its colonial buildings.
We ended the day by going for dinner near the center square where there are several restaurants to choose from. The poverty in this country was very apparent as we had about 40 people (children and adults) come to our table during our meal either trying to sell us something or asking for food or money. We gave one young boy money in exchange for a rose he made out of palm leaves. We also invited another young boy to sit at our table to eat some rice. It’s hard to see so much poverty and even though we contributed to a few people, we know we can’t help them all.
Grecia is a city about a 30 minutes drive from Atenas where we are staying (about the same distance north/west of San Jose). There is no direct bus to Grecia from Atenas and since we do not have a car we negotiated with Jurgen, the owner of Hotel Colinas del Sol, to drive us there and back. Grecia is mostly known for it’s unique metal church that was imported in pieces from Belgium in the 1890′s. The church is called, Cathedral de la Mercedes. Randie took some great pictures of it.
Since it was during the Christmas season when we visited, there was a beautiful Manger display.
This is the view looking outside from the church entrance.
After visiting the church, Grace told us she wanted to have an authentic Costa Rican lunch so we took her to a "Soda" (small Tico restaurant) in the market…you can’t get more authentic than that.
Across from the Soda there was an artist painting a 3D mural on the wall.
On the way back to Atenas, Jurgen stopped so we could take photos of a small waterfall and a bridge that is built upside down compared to the structures in Canada.
Our last stop before heading home was a souvenir shop called Molas & Coffee located on the main street that passes through Atenas (about 10 minutes from the center of town).
We were surprised to find out that Atenas, being such a small town of about 7000 people, was having a Christmas Parade. We were so glad that we went to see it. We watched from a side street where the parade was starting and then walked to the center of town so we could see more. There were several marching bands, young people walking and dancing on stilts and decorated floats. Here is a short video of parts of the parade.
; “>Here are a few photos we took as well.
At first we thought almost everyone in town was in the parade, including so many children and then we saw the crowds downtown watching. This photo shows just one group gathered on the stairs and sitting at tables at our favourite breakfast place across from the park.
Randie took a photo of a lit up nativity scene in front of someone’s lawn and the decorated tree downtown.
After having a wonderful fruit breakfast, Randie and I hiked down from the cave to another small waterfall and stream.
View from the Stream
When we got back to the cave, some people were arriving with food and bedding for a group of about 20 middle school children who were arriving today. Although horses carried the load for a good part of the climb up, we couldn’t imagine carrying all that weight for the last part of the trek.
These guys are in shape!
The children who would be arriving soon would be spending 2 nights at the cave and would experience rappelling on one day and horseback riding to up the mountain from the cave to more waterfalls the next day. There is a tour company that arranges this tour called, Tree of Life Tours.
Randie and the people we met yesterday who were staying at Fuente Verde wanted to climb up to the higher waterfalls. Jon chose to stay back at the cave to do some repairs on the washroom walls and doors in preparation for the school group. Since I was told the climb to the higher falls was even steeper than the climb up to the cave, I decided I would not join them. It was enough of a challenge for me to get this far.
To get to the higher waterfalls, they had to first go down to the plateau area where we stopped for a rest yesterday so I decided I would wait for them there. Jon lent me a book about Anastasia and since I heard so much about the Anastasia books since arriving in San Isidro, I was looking forward to the opportunity to start reading one of them.
When we got to the plateau area, there were 4 horse available and since I was not comfortable riding a horse, it worked out perfect for Randie and the other 3 people with him to ride the horses up to the cave. They had a Tico guide who led them by foot.
Here are some photos Randie took at the top of the mountain. There were 3 different waterfalls.
From the Top of the Falls Looking Down
I really enjoyed the peacefulness and quiet of being alone and surrounded by nature. After taking some time to just drink in the beauty around me, I started reading one of the Anastasia books. It was so captivating. I was starting to understand how these books sold over 10 million copies in over 20 languages with no advertising except word of mouth!
I had my iphone with me so in addition to reading and relaxing while waiting for everyone to return from the top of the mountain, I took a few photos myself of the beautiful view surrounding me.
When everyone arrived at my resting place, Randie prepared avocado and cucumber sandwiches for everyone in the very modest kitchen.
Before heading down to the bottom of the mountain, we finally got a picture of our trekking buddies from Fuerte Verde.
Yesterday, our friend Jon dropped by and asked us if we wanted to climb up a mountain to Diamante Verde (Green Diamond) and sleep overnight in a cave behind a waterfall. All we had to bring was a change of clothes and food. Jon would provide the sleeping bags. Of course, we said, “Yes!” We heard about this cave from our friend Andrew and although I knew it would be a steep climb, I was ready for the challenge. Randie and Jon said we could stop any time along the way if I needed to catch my breath. Jon owns the land where the cave and waterfall are located (not far from Dominical) and it was great to have him as our guide.
Before starting our hike, we stopped off at Jon’s home to get some gear. Jon showed us a fruit we had never seen before. It’s called “custard apple” and after tasting it, we knew why. It tasted like custard and it was delicious. He said since it came from China, he didn’t know of a Spanish word for it. Here is a close up of what the fruit looks like before and after cutting it open. The outside of it has a spongy feel to it.
When we arrived at the bottom of the mountain to begin our hike, we met 3 people who were also climbing up the mountain. They were staying at a place called Fuente Verde. One person was volunteering there for about a month and a young couple were on a one year backpacking journey that started out in Texas. The 3 of them were planning on climbing up and down the same day and were very excited when Jon invited them to stay the night. Randie was glad he followed his intuition earlier in the morning when he was packing food. He initially put one package of pasta in our backpack since he felt it would be plenty for 3 people and then he had a feeling it would be better to put 2 packages in his bag so he did. Now we had enough food for everyone. Here are some photos taken as we climbed up the mountain:
Along the way, Jon pulled what is called “heart of palm” out of a palm branch and showed us the edible part. It tasted pretty good.
One of my many rest stops.
Part way up the mountain was a beautiful plateau of land filled with all kinds of fruit trees and medicinal plants. Jon took us on a tour. Here are some photos including a cacao plant that we’ve never seen before:
Cacao Growing on a Tree
Inside a Cacao (you can suck on the white covering on the cacao beans...very tasty)
Here is a picture of a “Magic Berry” plant. When you eat this berry before eating anything sour, the food will taste sweet.
After resting a while, we continued on our hike up the mountain. Although it is very difficult to really capture the view, here are a couple more photos.
Finally, we arrived at the waterfall and cave.
Entrance to the Cave
Sign as you enter the main part of the cave.
Eating and Lounging Areas in the Cave
Cooking Area
Sleeping Quarters Before Mats are Placed on Boards
A View From Our Bed
View of Waterfall from our bed.
Another View
View of Waterfall From Inside the Cave
Very happy and surprised to find flushing toilets.
Our plan was to check out San Isidro for a few days to determine whether or not we would want to rent a place for about a month. If we didn’t like it here, we would travel North to the Atenas and Grecia area and look for something to rent until going back to Canada in June.
As it turned out, we knew right away that we liked it here and decided we would start looking for a place to rent for about a month. It’s hard to explain how we knew we wanted to stay here for a longer term since it is more of a feeling of the energy here than anything else (the great weather also helped). San Isidro de El General feels similar to Atenas and yet the town is about 4 times the size. Just like Atenas, we would not want to live in the town itself since it is too hot. We prefer to be close enough to town to take a bus or short taxi ride and yet higher in the mountain where it is cooler.
Here are some pictures of the actual town of San Isidro We will add more at a later date.
We would have loved to stay at Monic’s B & B but she does not have high speed internet available at this time and since all our businesses are Internet based and even our ability to call people is through Internet with Magic Jack and Skype, we need Internet wherever we are staying. Monic is looking into getting high speed with WiFi connection so that she can better accommodate future guests.
Monic (and Vicki from the House of Connections) told us that we would meet many Gringos at the Feria who might be able to help us find a place to stay. The Feria is every Thursday and Friday and we went to meet some people and to stock up on some food for the week. We were very impressed with the size of the Feria and with the abundant selection of fresh food! There are also a few vendors selling goods such as sandals, bamboo furniture, kitchenware, etc. We met some Gringos, some of who also sell fresh and baked goods and other products at the Feria, and started spreading the word that we were looking for a place to rent for about 5 weeks.
Grateful to have a roof overhead since it is very hot in the town.
Since walking around in the mountain area is not exactly smooth and since I didn’t bring any sandals with me that had a strap on the back, I sometimes had difficulty walking without losing my shoes. I took the first opportunity we had to shop for new sandals. There are more shoe stores here than I’ve seen anywhere else. When I asked Monic about this she said it was because shoes get ruined during the rainy season and people buy shoes often. The cost of shoes here can be very low and you can also spend a lot, depending on where you shop….just like anywhere else. Randie was very patient as we went from shoe store to shoe store looking for a good fit.
Finally, I found a pair that fit comfortably!
After buying my sandals, we spent a short time at an internet cafe catching up on emails and checking for any telephone messages.
Later in the evening, Randie shared some bonding time with Monic’s dog.
It’s been a while since I posted a new entry. I recently heard about place in Costa Rica that might be of interest to some of you who have been following this blog. It is an environmentally conscious community called Eco Joya. The owner of this development is offering internships for those interested in learning about permaculture and sustainable living. You can sign up for a newsletter if you want to be kept posted on their progress.
Unfortunately, we did not learn about this place until after we returned to Canada. We are strongly considering checking it out in the fall when we make our way back to Costa Rica and/or Panama….still not sure where we will end up.
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After resting a while, we continued on our hike up the mountain. Although it is very difficult to really capture the view, here are a couple more photos.
Finally, we arrived at the waterfall and cave. 
