Reverse Blog ... Ithaca, NY ... Winter Wonderland!

I will be heading back to summertime in San Ramon, Costa Rica in a few days. My tradition for the last 8 years has been to spend Thanksgiving with friends and family in Ithaca and NYC and then leave as winter begins. Each place has much to offer, but the cold, darkness and snow are better to be enjoyed from a distance.

My house in Ithaca is ready for winter. My tenants, Cristian and Josh, allow me to feel mostly burden free when I am gone. I live in the City of Ithaca in the Fall Creek neighborhood, just 2 blocks from Ithaca Falls, a monstrous natural wonder. Winter is funny as ice formations shine while the water flows loudly.

Downtown Ithaca had a festival this week with huge ice sculptures on display. Activities like this get people to come out of their houses and forget how cold it really is. I love my friends and neighbors here but from my perspective, it seems crazy to spend 4 months isolated, freezing etc. when summer is beginning in San Ramon.

I am returning to summer in San Ramon with kids on vacation until mid-February. Families are taking vacations at the beach. Most importantly, the rains have stopped and endless sunny days in the mid 70's await me.

I'm looking forward to buying loads of fruits and vegetables at the farmers market and eating healthy, local and light. We will swim daily in the outdoor pool downtown and top off the day at a bar/restaurant for some drinks and dinner. Reverse sticker shock is a treat as everything seems so inexpensive compared to the USA, Canada or Europe.

Somehow I smile and laugh more and life has a simplicity that gives me a healthy perspective. I'm ready to return to my Costa Rica home and hear the birds and sounds of the cool Costa Rican street life.

If the snow doesn't limit our travel plans, I should be home in San Ramon very shortly.

My Personal Funny Globalization Anecdote

I don’t consider myself a funny person but in San Ramon, making people smile and laugh is held in higher regard than showing how smart or knowledgeable you are.

The other day my Chinese friend Kenneth asked us to take a look at a property he owns and try to help him sell it. Kenneth speaks no English (although he plays excellent English music at his bar Sol Naciente) and I speak no Chinese. Our mini global group got in the car and Kenneth and I did the talking … him speaking Spanish with a Chinese accent while I spoke Spanish with my North American one.

My San Ramon friend who was with us couldn’t stop laughing at the 2 of us. He said listening to the 2 of us speaking our non – native Spanish, was hilarious and surreal. He said he had never heard a Spanish conversation quite like the one between Kenneth and I.

In this Globalizing world, you have to just dive in and connect with different people with whatever tools you have in common. I’m sure there would be less conflict in this crazy world if people just tried to communicate in their imperfect ways. As the world gets smaller, laughter between people from diverse cultures is a step in the right direction.

On a recent trip to Ithaca, NY I had the good fortune to see and hear the Dalai Lama. One of his main messages was that national borders have become obsolete and that “we are all brothers and sisters.”

My 7th Winter (6 years) in San Ramon, Costa Rica

Winter is clearly a relative global concept. Here in San Ramon, winter means temperatures in the 70’s …. fresco. After 25 years of New York State winters … snow, freezing temps, days without sunlight … I’ll take this anytime.

Without freezing temperatures and extreme swings of light and darkness, there are 2 seasons in San Ramon with little variance of hot and cold. There is basically 12 hours a day of both daylight and darkness year-round. The winter is characterized by a few hours a day of rain most afternoons….while summer has months at a time of sunny days with no rain.

My Ithaca, NY life has darkness at 4:30PM in December and 9PM in July which puts a real strain on my body and emotions. I feel healthy and balanced here. My summer visits to Ithaca, NY are now totally exhausting by 8PM and I try to avoid winter visits for obvious reasons.

Many Ticos prefer the winter season here as everything is lush and intensely green with plants and other species boldly alive. For travelers, it’s a good time with fewer tourists, lower prices and less competition for hotels and other activities.

The winter strategy of locals is to wake up early, wash and hang your laundry by 8AM and then proceed with your errands and other outside projects. When it starts to rain at 2 or 3PM, it’s time to go home and take a nap to the sounds of the raindrops hitting your roof. Very peaceful … tranquilo.



When the rain stops, there is electricity and freshness in the air. I don’t know how to quantify it but the evening air is charged and inviting. Time to change into your nicer evening clothes and join your friends at Rincon Poeta (www.sanramon-costarica.com) or another favorite restaurant.

It is a joyful experience to see my friends and neighbors and enjoy drinks and dinner together in San Ramon centro. San Ramon has retained the local boca (small plates) style of eating, which helps me not gain weight. For between $1 and $2, I can enjoy fish, chicken or shrimp and salad. Janet and I rarely spend more than $10 for all the guaro, beer and bocas we desire.

Tomorrow … Another Day In Paradise.

The World is Flat

Living here in Costa Rica in Spanish allows me to be right in the Tico culture. It also tires me out by the end of the day. Like many ex-pats, having some great reads in English is a nice relaxing treat. As a New York Times devotee for most of my life, I easily devoured The World is Flat by Times writer Thomas Friedman.

I recommend The World is Flat as a must read for anybody wanting a big life that sees the possibility to utilize the whole world no matter where you are geographically. People no longer have to be in the same location to share information and collaborate. You no longer have to be a huge corporation to have an impact on people all over the world. An individual person's creativity allows growth, not just the amount of money one throws at a situation. This book basically describes our International life and the life of a blogger (as well as many other situations).

What a different world. I guess I'm old as I can remember living in a world without the internet and cell phones. When I traveled in Europe at the age of 17 in 1972, I used to mail aerograms to family and friends. They took about 10 days to arrive and were totally obsolete by the time they did. In a way, my travels in the 70's allowed me to really remain in my experience.... cut off from my familiar world....but in another way, the reality of living in Costa Rica is much easier now. I can keep in touch with family and friends, do business with internet banking, etc...

It's been amazing and fun for me to have readers from all the continents.... 25+ countries and growing. There was the nice note from Australia from a woman who had the same magical feelings as me about San Ramon a decade ago. She googled the bar/club Secretos and ended up on our blog and website www.costaricapm.com.

The funniest and biggest contrast was seeing that we have at least 1 reader in Baghdad. San Ramon and Costa Rica, a country without an army could clearly be the ultimate fantasy for someone living the violent insane life that exists in Iraq. It would be a total pleasure to find a home for someone in San Ramon after they survived the war in Iraq.

Life no longer needs to be a black and white choice of one thing or another but can be your own melange of what works for you. Enjoy the book, The World is Flat, and more importantly enjoy opening up your mind to how rich and global your life can be.

Drinking The First Organic Coffee From Our Farm

It still seems way outside probability that I would ever own an organic coffee farm in Costa Rica. From my roots in Brooklyn and Ithaca NY, this has been a long journey in many ways.

This year, we have over 50 lbs. of coffee to enjoy and share with friends and family. We've been told a few hundred pounds of coffee is just a few harvests away.We turned the farm organic this year, lessening our yield while we learned about the plants and trees on our hillside acre. The banana, plantano, limon, orange, mango and other trees are trimmed and next year we should have a larger coffee yield and make better use of the fruit which shades the coffee.

The good news...the quality of our coffee is excellent. We brought our picked coffee to my friend Martin Rodriquez who is both an organic coffee farmer and also has a small roasting operation. Whereas with the San Ramon Coop, which mixes coffee beans from many local farms, Martin could keep all our beans separate and it is always fun hanging with Martin. Martin roasted it a little darker than normal as we discussed and the flavor is excellent with hints of chocolate and a rich full body.

Brewing our first crop of coffee from our farm has been a daily treat.

Our farm has the highest altitude coffee in El Empalme. It is a classic pueblo, with a school, church and very simple way of life. Our neighbors rarely seem stressed and have taught me a lot in terms of prorities and what's important.

While we enjoy our coffee, our people are working at the farm to make it an even better place in the future.

Life's a trip. You just gotta make room for what life might bring your way.... even the improbable possibilities.

Taking a Break from San Ramon

It is time to take a break from San Ramon and experience New York City and Ithaca for a few weeks. There's lots of snow on the ground and it's cold, dark and a little scary. I had fun with my 8 year old nephew Daniel in Brooklyn who seems to enjoy hanging with his uncle. I managed to eat Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Mexican, falafel, pizza, bagels and lox and every other ethnic food favorite that defines the New York culinary scene. Walking the streets of NYC and looking at the people is a fun contrast to San Ramon and Costa Rica. Topping the days off with reading the NY Times and living in English was nice for awhile. Did I mention how cold, snowy and expensive it was here?

Manana, I return to San Ramon. We left our crew to work while we were away. There are 4 contractors renovating a house, a Nicaraguan family improving the farm and Rosario and Ivania cleaning and watching our property. And then there's Oscar who drives by the farm on his tractor many times a day and makes me laugh and smile whenever we connect.


For now, my life in San Ramon and El Empalme is full to the max with work and transformation. My life in the USA is pretty much a vacation and a break from responsibility and decisions. The balance is always shifting and both lives and cultures nourish me yet also make me crazy ... kicking and screaming for the other. I feel pretty lucky but also kinda brave to live this big life.