I Don’t Fly Well, Or Rather, I Don’t Land Well

Returning to Costa Rica in the fall of 1998. The trip had gone relatively well, as flights go, although the weather was a bit rainy when we arrived in Dallas. We got on an American Airlines flight listed as non-stop from Dallas to Costa Rica. Once we were secured in our seats. the captain came on

Under the Weather~

Costa Rica was hit with a cold front and strong winds last week, leaving 200,000 people without light in five provinces. Winds up to 85 km per hour were recorded, knocking down trees and tearing out utilities across the country. The photo above, courtesy of our newspaper La Nacion, is close to Matina and our

Earthquake!~

There I was on the third floor of a medical building in San José. A half hour early for my yearly exam, I sat patiently in my OB/ GYN’s waiting room. I had just passed my husband, Alan, a magazine and was about to fan through the pages of one I picked out… when all

From Foulness to Serenity~

Dawn crept under the window shutters yesterday morning, and as I woke something told me this day would be different from the past few weeks. I had closed them to keep the cold and damp of the weeks before out. Our bed linen has been clammy from the accumulated moisture in the air and it’s

It’s a Disaster!

Last week I wrote about the rain here in Limón province. Well, the statistics are in: November saw an increase in levels from the usual 372 mm (22 inches) for the month to over 780 (47 inches. That’s well over a yard in a month!)–– and those figures were before the end of November. The

Let it Rain!

All went well on my return flight from Oz… until I arrived in L.A. In Sydney, I waited endlessly at check-in but wasn’t concerned. Traveling is all about Being In Transit so it really didn’t matter to me if I sat on the plane, sat on a bench, or stood in line. At least in

Camarones, Por Favor

We left San José on Wednesday morning, headed for Puntarenas on the Pacific coast. This area of Costa Rica was originally developed during the colonial period and for most of the 19th century, Puntarenas was the only means of exporting the country’s products. Coffee was brought down out of the Central Valley by ox cart