Our Friends from Tennessee

Stef and I lived in Nashville for almost 20 years. In 1993, we got really involved in pleasure boating. That April, we purchased a 12x42' Gibson that we named Sea Es Ta and we had a lot of fun on that boat. It was the 1st of 8 Gibson's that we owned over the years. The best thing about boating is the people you meet. On the dock, nobody cares about what you do or how much money you make - we are just one happy family.

A couple of very special friends that we grew to know, now come to visit us in Costa Rica. They are still into boating and tell us some of the wild stories that still go on at the lake. Let me introduce them to you...

This is Charlie Bob Hughes seated to the right. Charlie really gave me a rash of sh** about moving to Costa Rica - My response was "Charlie when I get there, you come on down and visit -then tell me what you think" Well, about 3 months after we moved here - Charlie came down and spent a few weeks with us - After the 3rd day, Charlie bought a lot and formed a corporation and then returned later with some investment monies to buy more properties. He now comes down at least once a year and spends a month with us. - This time, he spent the entire month of February with us.

Charlie is a widower whose wife Ann died of Cancer many years ago - Recently, Charlie met the lady seated next to him and my God - he is really nuts over this girl. Her name is Victoria and she is a CPA from Nashville. This is not a good time for a tax lady to be away, but Charlie used his charm and got her to come down to see what our little country is all about. - I got things set up so she could use the computer and communication to get some work done while she was here. I really kind of think that Victoria really likes Costa Rica and was very happy being here with Charlie.Victoria arrived in Costa Rica on the 13th and headed back home on the 22nd.

Our other friends visiting were Bob McDow and Carol Milam. Bob is a retired Professor of Physics and Carol owns a bookkeeping company - she takes care of our financial affairs in Nashville. Bob is a very dear friend and was with me on my first exploratory journey to Costa Rica so he knows a lot about the country One very important thing to note is that Stef and I were responsible to Bob and Carol getting together. This was at least 10 yrs ago. Another thing is that they come here at least once a year to relax and enjoy what Costa Rica has to offer. They arrived on the 15th and headed back home on the 28th. Carol can explain her new "Milam Medical Heath Care Plan" that she implemented here a couple of years ago. - It is pretty neat.

Now, we have Charlie, Victoria, Bob and Carol here at the same time - some of the next posts will give you an idea of some of the adventures we had - Remember, we are all boaters and boaters really believe in having a good time - Stand by for more.

The Taj Mahal

If you like Indian Food in an authentic atmosphere, you need to check out the Taj Mahal located on the road between Escazu and Santa Ana.

The guy who bought Bek's property in Atenas happens to own the place. He invited Bek for dinner one night and Bek told us how good it was, so we decided to check it out. Because boaters have a tendency to drink one or two extra drinks and party a lot, we felt that it would be best if we had Walter drive us there in his van.
The attendees were:

Bob & Carol

Charlie & Victoria

Stef & Me

Bek

Walter

This was only the second time I had ever eaten Indian food, and it was really good. The first time was when I was working at Bridgestone - A couple of my friends and co-workers were Indian and they took me to one of their favorite places. Well, as you can see, we were having a good time

Victoria & Charlie - look at the big smile on Charlie's face :-)

Bob & Carol - I just remembered that Bob forgot to take his daily Power-nap this afternoon

Stef & Your's Truly - notice how she glows when I put my arm around her?  Hee Hee










Dinner was great and everybody stayed out of trouble. If you are looking for a nice place that is different, you may want to check out the Taj Mahal - This is the link to their website

http://www.thetajmahalrestaurant.com/

Upon leaving we noticed some really neat decorations - their website has an interesting photo gallery - But a un-named person in our group got a little crazy on the way out - not sure you should see this, but here goes:

 Now, a little more subdued

That is about it for this outing - Next trip is to the Pacific Beaches in Guanacaste - Stay tuned.

Headed to The Beach

As a big plus event for our friends, Stef made arrangements for us to stay at a place near Flamingo Beach overlooking the mighty Pacific Ocean. This is in the Guanacaste Region of Costa Rica where many people come to vacation.

Sunday - February 19, 2012
All 6 of us were packed and ready to head out. We took two vehicles because of the enormous amount of luggage these girls had to pack. We finally headed toward the Ocean around 11:00 AM after breakfast.

It was a nice drive and we took our time. Stopped along the way for the girls to have their normal breaks and for Bob to have a smoke. It was also a good opportunity for a rum & coke and an Imperial beer. We also stopped for lunch and then again to get supplies.

We finally arrived at the place around 4:30 PM, and my God -
 WHAT A PLACE!!!

This is the entrance from the front door. As you can see, you really need to watch your step or risk the chance of an unwanted swim.

This is the outside of the house that is completely open to the ocean

And this is the view of the ocean - Notice the infinity pool?










Just more proof that Life in Costa Rica is good. - Stay tuned for more...

What To Do While on Vacation

February 20-24 at Playa Flamingo

When you think about it, I have been so busy working for Stef in her business that I have not taken a vacation in well over a year. Having the opportunity to take some time off with my very dear friends was very refreshing, and good for my mental health.

Except for the boat trip we really did not do that much site seeing, but really just relaxed around the pool. The management of the place we stayed provided us a housekeeper and cook for us at a nominal additional charge. We asked her to make us breakfast several days and then a couple of dinners.

Here they are at work doing everything possible to make sure we enjoyed our stay.

Our first breakfast on Monday

Now before any pool activity began, our two accounting girls had to work on their clients bookkeeping needs. Here you see Carol who has many clients in Nashville that depend on her to keep the books straight - it's obvious that she is not letting them down. Then, we have Victoria who is a CPA in Nashville who also is taking time off from her vacation to make sure her clients needs are met. These girls were doing this every day while we were there.

And now - Time to Enjoy!!

Relaxing around the pool - It is obvious that the girls are having a good time.

The Love Birds

Charlie and Victoria

It is obvious that Bob and Carol are quite content

Boring Pete who didn't get in the water and my happy girl who enjoys her vacations.

Costa Rica is only 8 degrees away from the Equator and the sun can bear right down on you - so I decided to opt for the shady places during the day.

Now - take a look at an example of the Sunsets we saw every night

You just can't beat a Pacific Sunset in Costa Rica

Pretty disgusting isn't it? :-)

We did a lot of other things that really did not amount to much. Bob, Charlie and I took some trips into town to check things out and maybe have a pizza - We took the girls to do some shopping for gifts to take home and out to dinner a couple of times - However, everyone really just wanted to lay around and relax at the house, and I think we deserved it.

One special thing that we did was take a Sunset Boat Cruise - I will put that adventure in another post. 

Stay tuned..

Oh Yes - we want to take this time to thank our hosts who did an outstanding job of making us feel welcome. Thank you 

We aren't done yet - click the "older posts" tab below for more.

A Boat Trip on Bob's Birthday

February 22, 2012 - Bob's Birthday, mark it down on your calendars'

This is the day for our long-awaited boat trip. Stef had made arrangements for us to take a Sunset Cruise on a 45' catermaran. It was also a great way to celebrate Bob's 69th birthday.

The cruise started around 1:30 PM and would end just after the evening sunset. They served us a meal in the afternoon, and all the drinks were free. The cost was about $75 per person and well worth it. Stef and I have taken several of these type cruises while in Manuel Antonio. Although the boats were a bit larger, this one offered a little more personalized atmosphere.

This is our hostess Kathy and she made sure we had a good time. The guy in the background is the captain driving the boat. He seemed pretty experienced at this which provided a sense of security while on a boat in the Pacific Ocean.

One thing that I forgot to mention was how we got to and from the boat. There are not very many docks in the area that a boat can pull up to and all are tied up to a mooring buoy when not in use.

To get to the boat, we met them at a specified place along the shore where they came to get us in a pretty large transport boat that would take us to the main boat. - This process worked very good.

Now, once aboard - Captain Charlie Hughes (Retired US Navy) has a very serious discussion with the first mate regarding our course and who is in charge.

It looks like Charlie got his way on this matter, let us hope for the best.

By coincidence, we met some people on the cruise who were from Ann Arbor, Michigan. There home is just a short distance from where Stef and I lived in Canton, Michigan. Always good to see people from your home state.

The boat had a very comfortable seating area on the back where you could relax and enjoy the ride.

Comfortable seating areas all over the boat where Carol and Stef are discussing strategies on Man Control.











A good shot of the Costa Rican coastline - the place we were staying at is in the cluster of buildings close to the top. Now, you can understand why we have such a terrific view.

Everybody was having a great time on this trip. They took us into a cove and anchored for a while. Bob swam to shore to check it out and the girls were trying to get the guts to get in the water through the front deck of the boat.

Stef

Victoria

While we were here our hostess brought out the birthday cake that she made for Bob - We all sang HB and wished him many more - what a way to celebrate a birthday - on a boat in the Pacific Ocean off the Coast of Costa Rica - all with great year-round weather!! What more could you ask for? They then gave us hot dogs for our light meal - I love a good hot dog.

This part of the ocean, you will sometimes get a chance to see a whale. However, on the 4 trips Stef and I have been on, we have only seen a whale twice. On the way back, the captain tried to see if he could find us a whale, but they must have been off somewhere feeding.

One the way back, we saw that we had an escort leading us back. AN ESCORT OF SEVERAL DOLPHINS!!  Now, this is pretty cool - take a look below.

It is really obvious that we are having a great time on this cruise.
Happy Birthday Bob

 My Baby

                                                                              

Another Beautiful Costa Rican Sunset seen from the Boat

Perfect :-)

Well, that is about it folks - hope you enjoyed it.

A Very Strange Island

From where we stayed you could see this island that really was weird. It is a small deserted island not far off-shore from the mainland that when you look at it in the morning, you would swear that it looked like it had been in a snow and ice storm.

Well, I have to tell you - I wondered and wondered about why this island looked like this every day we were there. On the boat cruise - I found out, and you may have a very difficult time accepting this, but here goes. Also, if you have a weak stomach, you may not want to read any further... Anyway

I was told by the captain of our boat that many birds live there and that the entire island is covered by "bird do-do." In fact, he also stated that the birds will eat the fish whole and when they do their thing - the entire skeleton of the fish may also be discharged. YUCK!!!

Now, that is what I was told, and you may not believe it - but, it did make sense when it is obvious that Costa Rica doesn't have snow or ice storms. - Your guess is as good as mine.

Oh Well...

Atenas Annual Charity Chili Cook-off - WOW!!

February 12, 2012

The 2011 Event was a huge success. Attendance was over 600 and they were able to give the  more than $3,400 to Hogar de Vida de Niñez (a home in Atenas for abandoned, abused and orphaned children) 

The 5th Annual Chili Charity Chili Cook Off was bigger yet and can now be considered the largest charity event in the area. In my opinion, when you look at the large number of people getting  together and enjoying themselves - I sincerely feel that it can now also be considered the largest Expat Social Event in the surrounding area of Atenas.

They had:

• 24 Chili Teams competing for the big prize - 9 more teams than last year
• Well over 1,000 people in attendance - an increase of 66%
• Came up with enough money to donate more than $5,000 to Hogar - $1,600 more than last year, while leaving more than enough money to have an even larger event next year.

For this special event, we have added a separate page to show all the details - please click on the link above, or to save some time, just click the link below.

http://ourlifeincostarica.blogspot.com/p/atenas-charity-chili-cook-off.html