My Favorite and Only 99 Year Old Friend

Wow! Great Great Grandma Inez just celebrated her 99th birthday. She has 5 generations all around her and stands about 4ft. 9 inches of beauty. In this era of botox and plastic surgery, her wrinkles are her loveliness and her mind is 100% clear. She enjoys Janet and my visits and when she hugs us, she holds on and doesn’t let go.

While seniors in the USA live in retirement communities, assisted living and nursing homes, Inez lives in the same neighborhood where she grew up in downtown San Ramon. Women are the glue in Costa Rican culture with Mommies the stars, Inez is a matriarch for the ages. She told me she has 6 children, 22 grandchildren, 45 great grandchildren and 2 great great grandkids. The childless 52-year old man that I am stands amazed … I guess the 2 of us balance out populating the planet in some wild way. As we hung out on her porch, lots of family walked by composing many generations shouting their affection.

Both of my dead grandmothers were born in 1900 and lived until 95. I could feel my grandmas Sonia and Rachel’s energy nearby when I visit with Inez.

Inez’s sister is still alive at 105 and lives directly across the street. She swears that drinking Guaro every day is her secret. (Guaro is a clear liquor made from sugar cane and is the national drink of Costa Rica in the same way that tequila is the drink of Mexico.) I have a few shots myself every day and it has helped me retain a Pura Vida Costa Rica vision of life for the last 6 years.

Inez somehow went to the University of Costa Rica to discover a bigger world, rare for a woman of her time. She became a teacher and taught in El Empalme for forty years, which strangely is where I have my organic coffee farm. She rode a horse 45 minutes every day to get to work while I make the 8-minute drive on a regular basis. She earned 75 Colones a month as a teacher. That was when Colones had real value!!! (The current exchange rate is about 500 Colones for $1.) 5 Colones isn’t worth squat today, but then it was paper money rather than a worthless coin.

Her husband was part of the Costa Rican Revolution in the 1940’s whose leaders were from San Ramon. As she shared her story, an alcoholic female neighbor passed by and Inez went in the house to get a loaf of bread to give her and said her style is to still try to help everyone when she can. I jokingly asked her if she had a boyfriend these days but she told me she didn’t want the obligation.

Her vision is fairly simple. If you have enough food to eat, your health and family around you … it’s reason to be happy and not obsess on more complex desires. This joy has consistently revealed itself to me in San Ramon while in the richest country in the World, people often focus on what they don’t have.

Inez is a beautiful woman/person in every way and I’m proud to call her my friend. It’s pretty easy for me to whine about what I wish was different. A visit to my 99-year old friend Inez, keeps life in a healthy perspective.

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.

Guide to San Ramon

Check out my new Guide to San Ramon's hotels, restaurants, shops and things to do and see. Here is the link:
www.sanramon-costarica.com

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.

Riteve : Costa Rica Car Inspection

Costa Rica has a national system of annual car inspection called Riteve. Having a current Riteve sticker allows you to drive confidently and legally. It is a common experience which makes me feel like I really live here. Both of our 2 experiences at Riteve were weird and notable.

While many people think moving to Costa Rica is about living in a country with no army, ecotourism, seeing lava at Volcano Arenal, surfing at Malpais/Santa Teresa or doing the canopy tour at Monteverde ..... getting your car inspected is more indicative of day to day Costa Rica life.













The process starts out impressively smooth and logical as you make your Riteve appointment on the internet choosing place, date and time. We did our first inspection in Alajuela. They said our emissions didn't pass the test, but that was the least of our issues. By the time we had worked our way through the inspectors' paces, one of the technicians destroyed our brakes. We had to drive home using the handbrake to stop. Last week, we decided to go to the Puntarenas Riteve for our second inspection. This time an inspector destroyed a line that held the car's power steering fluids. We drove home with the steering wheel barely working. On a better note, a technician allowed us to re-do one of the tests 5 times until we finally passed.

In a different culture I might have complained or written a letter to right the wrong. That seemed like a waste of time here.

Many people pay someone to take their car for inspection. I'm beginning to see the wisdom of not going through this process.

Once again patience and a sense of humor are a virtue in navigating aspects of Tico life.

Cerveza, por favor...Gracias!!!

House Construction and Renovation in San Ramon, Costa Rica

Building or renovating a house in Costa Rica is a wild adventure, a very different process than a non-native might expect. Janet and I are pleased and proud to be nearing the completion of the renovations to our house in El Empalme, just outside San Ramon.


The community of El Empalme, with possibly the best ocean views in the San Ramon area and it’s friendly people, has been a fabulous discovery that has been the source of many joys and an equal amount of lessons.When we found this house, we knew this was a special site. The near total renovation put us through many highs and lows.

After one year and some false starts with more than one contractor, we found our crew: Christopher, Guillermo, Jose Angel, and Victor. From that point on, things rocked on all fronts. Our crew did great work and together we created a fun work environment with trust and respect in all directions.


The house is looking and feeling great. Check out our listings page at www.costaricapm.com for more pics and info.

Getting to this point had many moments of disappointment, frustration and different realities. We started this project with a clear advantage over many people who move to Costa Rica with the dream of building their dream home. I have lived here in San Ramon in the community for over 5 years and Janet has worked as an architect, real estate developer and construction manager for over 25 years. This has been a super-challenging project for both of us.

With bulldozers and hyper development transforming Costa Rica and challenging it’s infrastructure and resources … we feel strongly that preserving existing houses and neighborhoods is where our priorities and energy lies. And, we are very proud of what we and our team have accomplished.

Back in San Ramon

It’s a relief and pleasure to be back in San Ramon after 3 weeks in snowy, freezing New York State. My body was stiff, cold and never really relaxed in the cold winter weather. But more than that, the vibe is so different in my 2 hometowns. Life in the USA feels under pressure 24/7 in some way that you can’t quantify but certainly affects everyone there. My first day back in San Ramon it felt like someone took the pressure out of many aspects of life. My daily walks to town keep me balanced and living life at the proper pace. It is easy and normal to return to Pura Vida …

The daily 80-degree weather overwhelmingly affects my mental and physical well being. My neighbors and friends are not rushing around and their greetings and smiles are real and infectious. The nearly 4000 ft. altitude, daily sunshine and moderate temperatures make life easy to embrace.

Eating fresh shrimp, mussels and fish in my favorite restaurants for under $2 a plate nourishes me. For under $5, I returned from the ferria/farmers market with a total bounty of fruits and vegetables; a quality not available at any price in the USA. I got 4 cantaloupes for 75c, 2 pounds of vine ripened tomatoes for 19c, a pineapple for 60c and similar juicy bargains on mangos, spinach, papaya, etc.

Our contractors did a great job while we were away and our ocean view house is looking good and ready for sale. It was reassuring that Christopher and the crew’s actions matched their words ..working hard and working smart. This has not always been my experience in Costa Rica and we’re happy to have people we can trust.

The final word is that it’s hard to explain the differences but easy to feel them. With all the money, privilege, and material possessions in the USA, my friends and neighbors in San Ramon smile more and take the time to enjoy life and each other. I thank my lucky stars that fate brought me here and immersed me in this wonderful culture.

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.

Lunch in the Parque Central

It's cool to just hang out in the Parque Central, the heart of the city. I'm always amazed at how many people are just sitting, talking to their friends and taking in life. There's not many places in the world where the weather rarely gets hot or cold and people don't consider work or rushing around as the defining aspect of their life.

February is the beginning of the school year so today the park was filled with hordes of uniformed school kids bursting with energy. Each group seems to have their bench or location and it's quite a lively scene throughout the day.

Janet and I also ran into our friend David who works at our building supply store Gema taking his lunch hour hanging in the park with his co-workers.

Anybody can pass their life away as a workaholic grabbing a few brass rings along the way. My friends and neighbors in San Ramon make an art form of enjoying life. I've learned a lot from them and enjoyed my afternoon walking to town, choosing a bench and enjoying the scene at the parque central.

Coffee Harvest

Owning an organic coffee and fruit farm in El Empalme, San Ramon, Costa Rica is just about the last thing I ever would have imagined.

This week was our first coffee harvest. The reality of the opportunity and responsibility that comes with owning a coffee farm blew our minds. We have the privilege to nurture the farm and help the community.

Don Alejandro and his family appeared out of nowhere and asked if they could pick our coffee and work on the farm. They are a poor Nicaraguan family looking for an opportunity. It’s just the beginning but using the resources of the farm to help our neighbors should be quite a trip.

We have a few hundred pounds of coffee beans that we brought to my friend Martin Rodriguez to dry, process and roast. In about 2 months OUR first organic coffee harvest will be ready to drink.

The day following coffee harvest, Don Alejandro said for the health of our 6 lemon trees, he wanted to bring in the limons. I was shocked and pleased to see 600 limons in a half a day. In 15 days, our trees should produce their next crop. We’re fantasizing about our future organic lemonade stand and how to use our mountain (literally) of fruit. Besides our lemons, our coffee farm produces manos (hands) of banana, plantano and cuadrada, guavas, guayabas, oranges and sweet lemons, water apples, mangos and pitaaya. This is the true meaning of shade-grown coffee plants, a rich eco-system of fruit shading the coffee and feeding the many birds and animals.

Our friend Christopher studied agriculture for 6 years and will coordinate the projects.

Our neighbors in El Empalme have welcomed us and the possibilities are endless. Poco a poco.... The incredible sunsets into the Pacific Ocean make this a truly magical place. I can’t really think of too many places in the world that compare to our farm in El Empalme.

My New Machete

I just celebrated a birthday and usually avoid gifts, etc. This year there was one thing I wanted. Janet bought me an 18-inch machete with lovely leather case. Now that I own a small farm filled with fruit, coffee and lush tropical plants, I wanted a machete to carve out my place. It was a blast holding them and trying to figure out size shape etc. It was kinda like a baseball player picking out a bat.

My only past machete experience was walking the nightime streets of Managua, Nicaragua a few years back My local host said that after someone stole the chocolate cake he was eating, he always armed himself at night. I wielded it on our walk home. Luckily, we arrived without incident. It would have been hard to explain why a peaceful guy from New York was walking the dangerous Managua streets brandishing a huge machete.

I'm hoping for a lifetime of mellow peaceful experiences with my new birthday present, cutting down fruit and carving paths through my lush farm in El Empalme outside of San Ramon.

My Dinner With Juan

I met Juan a number of years ago when he was the head teller at Banco Popular. At 25 years old, he was half the age of many of those working under his supervision. Juan would help me in English in order to practice. Over time, he would be anticipating my bank stops, saving up lists of words and idioms for translation.

Now he works for Proctor and Gamble in San Jose, a prestigious job in Costa Rica, and during our dinner we both spoke about the challenges of living in two cultures. There are huge and numerous differences that we both see from our outsider vantage point of a foreigner living in another culture.

When he calls Cincinnati, and asks his suppliers how they are, they often respond with, “Not too bad.” There are only two answers for most Ticos to “How are you?” … Todo Bien or Pura Vida. For a Costa Rican to even have the word bad in your answer is socially unacceptable,

Juan was trained at P & G to give great service to “go the extra mile.” This is a new concept for him. In Costa Rica, “No Hay” is the most common response when a worker doesn’t have what you ask for. It is rarely followed by an explanation or a further attempt to find out more specific information.

At Banco Popular, Juan’s co-workers routinely kissed each other on the cheek to say hi and touched each other playfully and jokingly. He learned at P & G that this could be considered sexual harassment at a large U.S. company.

There is no right or wrong here, just 2 different cultural realities and norms. In order to best live in a foreign culture, it helps to understand the paradigm shifts. I’ve seen many non-Costa Ricans here filled with frustration and confusion when situations defy their logic and past experience. It’s been a long journey for me to flow smoothly here and has required a premium of patience and openness…and few shots of Guaro.

My Dinner With Juan was cool for both of us to discuss and laugh about our observations from living in each other’s cultures.

Living in the culture is an expression of eco-tourism.

Mi Destino/My Destiny in San Ramon, Costa Rica

This will be my 6th Christmas season living in San Ramon, Costa Rica. Wow...I have grown, changed, been at emotional highs and lows ... and truly spent my years 45-51 experiencing things that I never imagined for myself. I'm thankful to the Ramonense (San Ramon natives) for taking me in and making me comfortable in this special town and country.

While the differences began as English/Spanish, snow/sun, expensive/inexpensive. I now feel the subtler differences... the ones that take awhile to get. Living in the present is a spiritual pursuit in the 1st World, while here it is intrinsically a part of life. A comical and sometimes difficult reality is that it's hard to make plans with people for days or even hours in the future. Punctuality and efficiently productive days are not a big part of the culture. When I walk down the street I shake hands with all my men friends and kiss all the ladies. This takes priority over rushing to accomplish and puts a smile on my face. Another way of saying this is... San Ramon and Costa Rica are more about being than striving. For most of us 1st World folks, this has the potential to create a happier and healthier life.

In the USA I had a series of careers...mortgage banker, vegetarian restaurant owner, CFO of a high tech company, restaurant reviewer for a newspaper, diamond sorter. I was born in Brooklyn, New York...graduated with a degree in International Politics from University in Albany and have lived in Ithaca, NY for over 25 years.

I spent the first years in San Ramon, Costa Rica renting a $70 a month apartment and living without car, phone, tv, all the accoutrements of my 1st World life. I walked the streets learning the language and little by little became a part of the scene. And I had my share of angels helping me make a life here. Pablo and Mary at the cigar store, Jimmy Lee the chiropractor, Sylvia (my landlady) and her family. Alonso and the folks at El Buho (now Rincon Poeta) and all the others who kept me here when the loneliness and the sometimes seemingly insurmountable daily challenges would have led most sane people to leave and go back to the comfort of their known life.

Now, over five years later, I have traveled Costa Rica from the Osa Peninsula to Guanacaste and been in every country in Central America. The nightime streets of Managua or San Salvador hardly resemble the Pura Vida of Costa Rica. San Ramon is clearly where I belong. For the last 2 years I have had a girlfriend and partner Janet with whom I own a home and other properties around San Ramon. You can visit our website at www.costaricapm.com to learn more. Feel free to contact me.

Costa Rica is a culture centered around the family while the USA feels like the ultimate expression of the individual. Having Janet here has connected me in a deeper way in San Ramon. This being Thanksgiving, I am thankful for how my years in Costa Rica have helped me to appreciate and connect with my own family. Now that I've given a little background on myself...I'll be regularly adding new postings, sharing my experiences and reflections on life in San Ramon and Costa Rica

Pura Vida
Steven

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