In my explorations of Panama I often find myself on long bus rides in search of the “best” things the country has to offer. Although this often pays off, sometimes you forget to look in your own backyard for beautiful and interesting things. For a nice, easy and very rewarding hike I had to look no further than Taboga Island, just a short and cheap boat ride from the city. While I had been to this island many times before mostly just to drink cheap beers on the beach and escape the heat of the city for awhile, not until a recent journey had I truly explored all this wonderful island has to offer. While there are at least 3 Read more
This last Spring I made an oath to be home for the holidays. The ongoing flow of travel and work had kept me away for a majority of these last 12 years since I had first left California in September 1999. And an extended stay at home is always a welcome hiatus from the road and her wearies.
This last Spring I made an oath to be home for the holidays. The ongoing flow of travel and work had kept me away for a majority of these last 12 years since I had first left California in September 1999. And an extended stay at home is always a welcome hiatus from the road and her wearies.
This last Spring I made an oath to be home for the holidays. The ongoing flow of travel and work had kept me away for a majority of these last 12 years since I had first left California in September 1999. And an extended stay at home is always a welcome hiatus from the road and her wearies.
Being a surfer, I know how frustrating it can be negotiating the rising and often restrictive baggage policies of major airlines. The so-called handling fees for your surfboards, snowboards, musical instruments can be annoying and at times preposterously high. In the wake of competition, rising fuel costs airlines….
I forgot my sweater! Arrgh! As we drive through San Ramon, I start feeling the chilly mountain air coming down and start rifling through my bag only to find I forgot my sweater…again.
Living in Guanacaste I’m used to the hot weather and I never need a sweater. Seasons are pretty much the same everywhere. It’s hot and dry from December to May and it’s rainy and humid from June to November but temperatures vary by region. Costa Rica may be small but the weather changes quite a bit from one area to the other.
The Central Valley
This area includes Alajuela, San Jose, Heredia and Cartago. For the most part the Central Valley stays around high 70s and low Read more
So the topics around the dinner table revolved around two topics: religion(Catholicism) and food(rodent)…I am adventuresome when it comes to travel, but rather on the strait and narrow when sampling local cuisine. But for those traveling in the Andean regions of Ecuador such as Banos, Cuenca and Otavalo, you will eventually see one of those oversized rats being skinned, butterfly split and skewered, roasting in the open air markets. I am referring to the Cuy(a Quechua word, pronounced Kwee)
So the topics around the dinner table revolved around two topics: religion(Catholicism) and food(rodent)…I am adventuresome when it comes to travel, but rather on the strait and narrow when sampling local cuisine. But for those traveling in the Andean regions of Ecuador such as Banos, Cuenca and Otavalo, you will eventually see one of those oversized rats being skinned, butterfly split and skewered, roasting in the open air markets. I am referring to the Cuy(a Quechua word, pronounced Kwee)
Great ice cream is hard to find in Costa Rica and great cheese is even harder to find. Monteverde is the answer to our cheese and ice cream deficiency problem.
Established by Quakers in the early 50’s, the Monteverde factory is where all the creamy lactose goodness comes from. In 1954, Monteverde factory was the first to produce pasteurized cheese in Costa Rica thus setting the tone for the quality and originality that continue to characterize Monteverde products.
If you plan a visit to Monteverde, a tour of the cheese factory is a must. We watched from the other side of a large glass window as the cream and milk were churned and slowly turned into wonderful cheese. After Read more
As moving to Panama was quite a random decision for me (read about why I moved here) I had virtually no preconceptions of what the cuisine would be like. Because of its relatively close proximity to Mexico, Spanish language and Latin culture I automatically assumed it would be somewhat similar to Mexican food. However my time in Panama thus far has taught me that aside from the abundance of rice and beans used in their dishes the types of meals are vastly different. Panamanians rarely use tortillas or cheese so large hearty burritos, tacos and enchiladas are typically out of the question. As this gringo comes from Colorado where a large hispanic population has created a some of the Read more
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