Essentials

1. Maps2. Compass3. GPS4. Umbrella5. Sunscreen6. Sweatshirt7. Comfortable shoes that can get wet. Flip flops are big here. If you are going into the jungle, you need snake-proof boots. Do not mess around with anything less than good full-coverage boots. Don’t...

Weather & Time

Costa Rica time is GMT -6, what the U.S. calls Central Time without Daylight Savings. So summers we are two hours behind Key West and winters we are only one. Très confusing… Daylight Savings with a twist! On the simple side, Costa Rica is so close to the...

ETA: Daylight!

When you make your plane reservations, try to time your arrival so you have plenty of daylight left, particularly if you are renting a car and driving off somewhere your first day. You want to do your driving the first few times (months?) before dark, no later than...

Renting A Car

If you are the adventurous type and will be driving yourself around Costa Rica in a rental car, bring a compass (we have the Brunton) and a GPS. Garmin is state of the art. We have a Lowrance Avionics GPS, big screen and expensive. Jal was taking flying lessons before...

Oh Romeo, Romeo, dónde está, Romeo?

For my birthday celebration tonight, we watched Franco Zefferelli’s Romeo and Juliet. The boys are diving into a little Shakespeare in homeschool and this movie burned a place in my heart 38 years ago. I remember the first time I saw it like it was yesterday....

Want Your Own Website/Blog?

"Today’s The Day!"- Mel FisherDo you want your own website/blog? Now, you can have it all for $160:- your own domain name that you will control- one year’s hosting (renewal @ $30/year)- 100 pages (each additional 100 pages @ $10/year)- tons...

Emily Perez, 23 years old

I turned 51 today. Emily never will. She was killed in Iraq on my cousin Celia’s 51st birthday two weeks ago, September 12. Like reading the names on the Key West AIDS memorial, like reading about those killed 9/11, painful as it may be, we must read about Emily...