Two New Restaurants in Atenas

For the last year or two I’ve worked hard a preparing good, healthy meals at home from making 8-servings of spaghetti with meat (eating 1 & freezing 7 for future meals) to multiple recipes of homemade vegetable soup to help me eat more veggies, last week a yummy Chick Peas Salad from a Washington Post Recipe and also last week a 7-layer dip (mostly veggies). And I do breakfast at home all but one morning a week with 3 or 4 fruits, nuts, whole grains in either bread, hot or cold cereal or French Toast, saving my omelets for some dinners! 🙂

But living solo, I still like to eat out and I’m now trying to find more restaurants that I like while some I liked closed during Covid. So I was a little surprised to see two new ones open in the last few weeks, one serving everything from pizza & burgers to steaks & seafood and the other one our first “genuine” Mexican Restaurant:

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My World From Above This Week

When I checked in the hotel yesterday I was kind of hoping they would put me in the same Room 109 again because I really liked it last week. But I was assigned 407 which is 4 floors above and one room left of last week’s room. Wow! I like it better!

I like looking at the world from above and these photos show that difference, but also I am closer to the top of the big tree where more birds hang out, like parrots! And yes, the first afternoon I got some or one, but that will be another post, maybe tomorrow! And look below at how much better the mother bird and babies show up from above! ¡Pura Vida! 🙂

From my room & balcony, 407.

See the mother bird with babies from above in more photos . . .

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A Hotel for Feeding

If one must stay at a hotel for a long period of time, it helps to have several dining options. And that is one of the reasons I chose this over 2 other hotels within walking distance of radiotherapy. There are 3 restaurants within the hotel or attached and up to 4 more within walking distance. Read on for my comments & photos of the 4 I’ve experienced so far . . .

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Perils of COVID19

I do not know a single person here in Costa Rica who has or has had the Coronavirus or died of it, but I keep seeing death of small businesses. The featured photo is of small shops closed in Alajuela on my trip there today. Typical of all over the country.

And this week I sadly report the permanent closing of one of my two favorite PocoLoco(1)restaurants, Poco Loco (“A Little Crazy” in Spanish). He seldom had big crowds, but steady customers until the pandemic came and now there simply is not enough business (even with home delivery & “take-out” orders) to pay the expenses and he has permanently closed much to my dismay.

It was my favorite place for soup and salad (fabulous!) or almost any kind of sandwich as the best in town and he made the best Sangria in Atenas! But no more. Poco Loco is gone due people being afraid to get out of their houses now. My other favorite, Parillada Androvetto (my Friday night steak place), is still hanging on but just barely with one brother supplementing their income driving a taxi. Likewise an old favorite, Donde Bocha, is hanging on and I ate there yesterday. It’s hard for a lot of people right now. But they all keep their spirits high here and continue to say . . .

¡Pura Vida!

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” 

– Thich Nhat Hanh

My TripAdvisor Reviews Read by 61,000+!

In case you didn’t know, I write reviews of places I visit on the TripAdvisor website. I think you can see all my reviews at: http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-reviews/29charlied  try it. The address is from my member page, so hope it works for the non-member. I have mixed emotions about TripAdvisor, which is good for some things but not all. I don’t recommend it as your main trip planning source. If a hotel, lodge, park, restaurant, etc. has its own website, then your best information is going to them directly. Don’t believe the promise of big discounts from TripAdvisor. And for turnkey trips in Costa Rica I have had good experience with My Costa Rica (https://costarica.org/ ) at reasonable prices. And if you want to get acquainted with Costa Rica, the absolutely best tour of the country at the very lowest price is from Caravan.com  from $995 including all meals and hotels! And of course my friends have me as an possible personal guide or trip planner, though I don’t have the discounts these big companies have. But my advice is free!  🙂

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Hi Charlie Doggett
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Charlie, 61,888 readers have read your reviews – impressive! As a leading contributor, your advice has really made its mark in our travel community. You’ve also earned a Readership badge with TripCollective. Congrats.
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