beer Archives - Retired in Costa Rica

July 24, 2018

One Horse Town?

Another Atenas Horse Experience

The other afternoon I was eating a pizza and salad at Napo’s Pizzeria when I looked out the window and this guy stopped his horse at the little pulperia (corner grocery) nextdoor for a beer, while staying on his horse. And today a local FB Group “Atenas Info” had someone to post 3 pages from an old history book describing downtown Atenas full of horses, wagons and beer drinkers. Culture dies slowly! 🙂

History never really says goodbye. History says, ‘See you later.’ ~Eduardo Galeano

EARLIER POSTS WITH HORSES IN ATENAS:

Cars Slow for Horse & Carriage
Tope Tonight (Horse Parade, downtown Atenas)
Tope de Mercedes (Horse Parade in a barrio of Atenas)
My favorite: 4 horses stop for beers at Central Park – the Center of Atenas
Lilting Notes & Interesting Folks! (Guy rides in middle of street on horse.)

¡Pura Vida!

Rainstorm Roof Damage

You might also be interested in seeing this few seconds local video during a recent rain storm in Atenas. That roof flying off is from the bus station where I catch my buses to both Alajuela and San Jose. I wondered yesterday why roofers were there with a new tin roof – now I know!

July 18, 2017

Visit to Jade Museum Today

One of the retired Americans in Atenas organizes trips like this occasionally.
Today’s trip was to San Jose to visit the famous Jade Museum.

Like the gold museum here it is a museum of Pre-Columbian Culture
with modern exhibits of not only historic jade pieces but dioramas and
videos of the pre-Columbian indigenous people here in Costa Rica.
Magnificent
San Jose, Costa Rica

The modern building of 5 stories has
the latest educational presentations
assisting schools in history education.
San Jose, Costa Rica

Even a Jade-Jaguar monster for the kids!
San Jose, Costa Rica

Afterwards we have lunch at Porky’s Burger Bar,
Home of 50 types of hamburgers and 100 beers!
San Jose, Costa Rica

Enjoying Retirement in Costa Rica

Charlie Doggett

¡Pura Vida!

My other photos of San Jose from earlier trips San Jose

April 8, 2017

Tope Tonight

Washing a Horse in the street . . .
That, cowboy hats and boots, means it is “Tope Time!”
A tope is a horse parade & this year at night, 1st in 3 years!

It is suppose to be about horses, but is mostly about partying & beer!
Lots of beer!

The last time Atenas had a night Tope was three years ago (before I came) and the story is they trashed downtown Atenas so much they had to take a 3-year break. The later it gets the drunker people get I’ve been told and it is not pretty.

I had an early dinner downtown with Anthony and got just these two “pre-Tope” shots before we walked back home. I am not participating in the Tope tonight. I went to the afternoon Tope in Mercedes two years ago and it was pretty bad in the daylight! So I chose not to participate tonight. But I am hearing the music, noise, band, and an announcer from my house. I may sleep with ear plugs tonight.

And an announcement about Anthony, my artist friend who lives next door: He is moving back to the states the end of May. He cannot get the art supplies and support he needs here and is missing some of the opportunities he will have living in Chicago. He is retired from a corporate job, but does not want to retire from being a professional artist which he can simply do better in the states! (And he never learned to speak Spanish!) Living in Costa Rica is not for everyone! Pura vida!

And on top of that I just learned today that my landlord has put his house or compound up for sale of which my house is a part. I have to wait and see who buys it to know what happens to me. Possibly nothing will change. Or the new owner could want my house as a guest house or “Mother-in-law Apartment.” Either way, life goes on. 🙂 And maybe some new adventures. 🙂 ¡Tenga Paz!

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of “Retired in Costa Rica.” Every day an adventure!

July 15, 2016

Another Expat Trip to San Jose

Yeh! It is kind of like the senior adult trips we had at both First Baptist & McKendree Village when in Nashville. And a lot of fun! Focus this time was indigenous people art work that we were not suppose to photograph. I honored their rule (though some did not). Bought nothing!:

NAMU is the Bri Bri indigenous language for Jaguar and name of shop.
Not allowed to make photos inside. Lots of masks, baskets, carvings, etc.

Afterwards we stop at “Porky’s”
for a choice of 50+ hamburgers & 100’s of beers.

This was my second trip with this group, the other being a Central American Art show I shared about in one blog post. July 31 I’m going with the music lovers of this group of expats to San Jose for a performance of the opera La Boheme. That should be interesting since I have not generally cared for most operas, but think I will like this one. I’m reading the English translation of the script now thanks to Kindle! The men get together for dart tournaments but that has not interested me yet.

February 28, 2015

Tope de Mercedes (Horse Parade)

The next little town north of Atenas on highway 135 is Mercedes and they had their annual horse parade today, my first to see. Every town in Costa Rica has a “Tope” or horse parade annually. For more photos see my “Tope de Mercedes” Album. I think I got quite a few “keepers.”