It is now just three day until Christmas, and we both want to wish our family, friends, and all of the followers of our blog a very Merry Christmas. Looking forward, may 2019 bring health, happiness, and peace to us all.
Since our blog posting in November, we have definitely settled into a weekly routine which keeps us busy, but also allows us as much time to relax and explore as we need. We volunteer at the Toucan Rescue Ranch on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Most Friday mornings you can find us at the farmers market in San Joaquin. We walk often at a shopping mall in the nearby city of Heredia. We have a few restaurants we especially like, and usually eat out once a week. We have only been to see two movies since returning, but that’s only because there haven’t been more of interest to us than that. We still love taking drives to places we have not explored before, or just driving through the hills and mountains being awed by the beauty of this country. And of course, there is always the porch. We have coffee, sometimes breakfast, every morning on the porch. The view overlooking the city of Escazu in the valley below us is wonderful. Birds, butterflies, coffee, the porch. We have definitely settled in again.
As I mentioned we still like driving to no where in particular, experiencing places that are new to us. On December 7th we hopped in the car for just such an expedition. After being on the highway for about 20 minutes Deb suggested we go to the city of San Ramon, in the province of Alajuela. Last winter we drove past San Ramon on our way back from La Fortuna. That was around Thanksgiving last year, and we had not returned to that area since then. So off we went to spend the day in San Ramon.
When we arrived in San Ramon, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that there was a festival going on in the heart of the downtown area. The central park was decorated for Christmas, food stands filled one of the streets, and singers and entertainers put on a continuous show for everyone. The park was filled with people. This was the early afternoon on a Friday, and the party was on! Exactly what the festival was celebrating, well, we never did find out. But we really didn’t care, we were enjoying ourselves so much that whatever the occasion was, we were just happy to have stumbled upon it. No advanced planning. Blind luck. Great day.
A good portion of the entertainment involved a group of dancers in various native and traditional dress. The group of about 15 were telling a story of romance and courtship while dancing to Latin music. It went on for close to 30 minutes, and through at least 3 changes of clothes, maybe more. It was beautiful and exhilarating. At one point I was overcome by the fact that Deb and I are so lucky to have these types of experiences that I had to fight back the tears. We both said it was like we were watching the Travel Channel! But better. Much better. Pictures always seem to tell a story with greater detail than words ever could. That being said, here are some of the pictures we took while at the festival in San Ramon.
The main Catholic Church in San Ramon. As in most cities in Costa Rica, the central park here is located directly across the street from the church.
One of the paths going through the park, decorated for the holiday season.
Chickens can be seen everywhere, even in the central park!
Snowmen in Costa Rica. Okay, so they can’t melt. Is that so bad?!
Flowering trees and plants are being to blossom now that the rainy season in drawing to a close. This tree is in the central park in San Ramon.
Two young ladies wearing traditional dresses. We got there too late to see their group perform, but they were nice enough to pose for this photo.
The remaining photos are of the dance group that we watched for about 30 minutes. I won’t try describing each of the photos, as I believe no words are needed.
We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we do. Obviously, we are having a great time in Costa Rica again. On January 2nd, we will be getting our first visitors this winter. A wonderful woman from the Minnesota Zoo, Gail, and her granddaughter, Emily, are coming for nine days. Emily is a college student, and they are coming down on her winter break. Then at the very end of January, Deb and I are spending close to 4 days in Quito, Ecuador! A few days after getting back here, our good friends Renee and Rob are coming to spend just over 2 weeks with us! We are excited about all of our visitors as well as our trip to Ecuador. So there will be more stories, and lots more photos to share with all of you. Until then, stay healthy and happy.
Feliz Navidad.
Pura Vida.
Deb & Tim.
Deb & Tim's Adventure 