OUR RETIRED ADVENTURE
qUEREMOS VIVIR AL SOL
KSha
Costa Rica is amazing! Beauty abounds.
Panama is "home" for now. Loving life!
South America is next! Columbia here we come.
Costa Rica is amazing! Beauty abounds.
Panama is "home" for now. Loving life!
South America is next! Columbia here we come.
Once again, I was glad to have had a driver to bring us up to the peak and down the Andes mountains from Quito to Canoa and the coast. The road, took active driving, as it was continuously snaking back and forth and very steep; secondly, the views were incredible and I wouldn't have been able to see the sights on the way down (all the while trying not to take too many pictures!). Bye Quito! Hillside farming! Active mining operation on the descending side of the mountain; as well as a cattle drive! Five hours after cresting the Andes, and thousands of switchback turns, we got our first glimpse of the ocean, (in eight whole days!) with a sigh of relief. Or maybe we were just glad to be breathing sea level air. We finally turned along the coastal road into Canoa and after several near misses of going down the wrong small beach side dirt/rock/sand roads, needed to use GPS location on WhatsApp to find our new place nestled in down a nondescript curved road heading toward the beach. Our private casita has a kitchen area and space for the wooden table and chairs from our patio we are using to eat on and play games. We do not have a TV. A sitting area and king bed with ensuite bath make up our living space. Jeff and Carole are wonderful hosts and live in the main house at the front of the property. We are so lucky to have local "guides" with 7 years of experience living here as hosts that show us were to shop and eat. "Buster" is the super friendly guard dog of the property, and a good beach walk companion. The small fishing village of Canoa is a kilometer or so north of our property and an easy 20 minute stroll on the beach or the road. Sha and I ventured into town one of the first mornings to explore and pick up some fresh bread for breakfast and dinner that day; here's some of the sights we saw along our way into and around town. [Press play upper L in picture.] In town you can find the baker, butcher (excellent chicken freshly chopped to order), the pharmacy, hardware store, grocery store, laundry services (your clothes come back neatly folded and smelling great) and numerous beach side restaurants/bars and shops to patron. Being on the Equator, there is 12 hours of each sun and night and the sun goes down into the ocean directly off our beach. I have 2 good examples to share with you. [Press play upper L in pictures.] In addition to taking us shopping and to town multiple times, Jeff also has two shore fishing poles and wondered if that might be something I would want to join him in doing...and I said I would before he finished asking. We bought some fresh shrimp from a vendor in Canoa and we hit the beach with poles, a bucket and shrimps, gloves and pliers. We started out in about thigh deep water and had some success with little catfish--need the gloves to protect yourself from their dorsal spines when you release them. As the day advanced, we were ending up casting in near chest deep water with waves slapping you good in what felt like full contact fishing. I started one session with a headband on and by the time I needed new bait, the ocean had blasted it off my head and eaten it alive. Jeff and I both caught a few fish including a couple of those little catfish, a flat silver fish, a couple of puffer fish and the big 18-20 inch slender silver fish that broke the line and got away at my feet as I reeled it in. Full contact shore fishing in action with 2 short videos below. We are enjoying walking on the beach each day and watching the sun go into the ocean. We feel safe walking the kilometer or so to town on the road or on the beach; just never at night. Our pool is a perfect place in the late afternoon for relaxing with a beer and renewing KSha Rummikub battles originating in Panama. Besides enjoying cooking in our kitchen and BBQing some shared meals with Carole and Jeff, we've eaten breakfasts (one was the local delicacy of tuna soup; yes for breakfast-Sha wasn't a fan but I was!) and dinners at some local places that were excellent. We still have a few more recommended places we want to go to before we leave. We went to Trivia Nite at the Surf Shak in town Wednesday; Happy Hour from 5:30-6:30; Trivia at 7 PM. Special was chicken and waffles, and yep I ordered it. About 40 expats from Canada and the U.S. showed up to form teams and do battle for the championship of the week at "The Shak". Sha and I ended up picking the right group to sit with (although we had met some of them at another restaurant before connecting for Trivia) because we won the grand prize...of a pat on the back! Weather here has days in the 80's and feels like temps in 90's; nights are 70's and a light breeze. It has been sunny about half the time and it has rained one morning and also a short time when we climbed the cliff road across the street from the property.
I'll let you know if anything cool happens during our last week in the Canoa Oasis property. Our next place we head to will be in Puerto Lopez, three hours drive to the south. Later mi amigos! Ciao. Pura Vida!
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Kevin & Sharon SeibelBeginning our next big adventure! Archives
December 2023
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