Sep 30, 2006 | Travel Tips
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...
Sep 30, 2006 | Criticia Voluptua Right-Right, Culture Shock, Time, Weather
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...
Sep 30, 2006 | Culture Shock, Driving, Renting A Car, Travel Tips
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...
Sep 29, 2006 | Culture Shock, Driving, Renting A Car, Travel Tips
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...
Sep 28, 2006 | Arts, Cultural Events, Movies, Teenagers
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....
Sep 28, 2006 | CR: Working
"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...
Sep 28, 2006 | AIDS, Bush, Political Blah-Blah, September 11, 2001, War
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...
Sep 26, 2006 | Amistad Institute, Communications, Culture Shock, Expat, Spanish
In the great landscape of Things To Know When Moving to Costa Rica, you start with Thing 1 and Thing 2. I have heard people say you do not need to learn Spanish to live in Costa Rica. They must be selling real estate. You absolutely DO if you are going to thrive here....