I doubt that we will ever see lockdowns like the world has seen over the last few years. While we weigh the pros and cons of isolation in preparation for the next pandemic, I think it is safe to say that at some point, for better or worse, we are willing to risk death for a little less Zoom-time and a little more human interaction.Most of our friends and family have caught Covid, some twice. Cathy and I had somehow remained Covid-free in Portugal. Since May, we have had friends visit us from Arizona, Florida and Hawaii. We just got back from a wedding in Costa Rica, with a short visit in Miami in both directions to break up the last flight. Unfortunately, Covid finally caught up with us.
After experiencing the USA for the first time in almost three years, I did feel a bit of nostalgia around my old stomping grounds. And after experiencing Costa Rica for the first time, I will do a bit of comparisons between Costa Rica and Portugal for those wannabe expats who are trying to decide where to move.
Here we are approaching beautiful Costa Rica.
Visitors Arriving After Two Years of Covid Delays
Our first visitors were our long-time friends from Hawaii, Gary and Yesan Ackerman. Gary is a walking miracle, at 81-years-old, having had three open-heart surgeries in his life, the first as an experimental surgery when he was only in his mid-thirties. Out of two thousand experimental open-heart surgeries in that group, he was the only one still alive after a year and a half.Gary is youthful in spirit and a true artist. While he was here, I set up an easel next to his and soaked up his suggestions and instructions. I have found a new passion. But if I live for another 50 years, which I won’t, I will still not be as good as he is. It is all about having fun and having a creative outlook, though.
Next, it was a visit from our good friends, Dave and Karen Burnham from Washougal, Washington. They now live full-time in Arizona and travel the world extensively. You might call them disciples of Rick Steves. Showing off our life in Portugal as we caught up with our dear friends was a wonderful experience, and way overdue.
Algar de Benagil
We drove to Portimão, Portugal with Gary and Yesan, met up with Dave and Karen and enjoyed a wonderful boat excursion to the Benagil Caves and beyond. The boat driver had many historical and humorous stories along the way, and I would highly recommend this side trip in the Algarve. I hope you enjoy these photos!
Steve and Joy Schneider from Ft. Lauderdale were our next round of visitors. Steve and I go back all the way to junior high school and we have remained friends through thick and thin. His wife, Joy, is one of our favorite people. We took some side trips, but mostly enjoyed relaxing in our sweet little town by the sea. We also had fun making pizza one night.On our trip to Costa Rica this month, we stayed at Steve and Joy’s beautiful condo in Ft Lauderdale for two nights in both directions to break up the long flight. They weren’t home for the first two nights and Joy, bless her big heart, stocked the refrigerator and freezer with lots of goodies for us. I think there were seven flavors of ice cream!There was even a bowl of candy (Joy has a sweet tooth) outside the door in the foyer to the elevator. At one point, Cathy had an urge to grab a candy bar. She stepped out for a second when the door slammed shut and locked. Fortunately, she had slipped on her flimsy silk robe after her shower. She banged on the door for 15 minutes for me to open it for her. I happened to be on the balcony, drinking a beer, and couldn’t hear her over the sound of the crashing waves.
Granted, the waves were only about six inches (not the 60-foot waves we witnessed in Nazaré, Portugal) but the sound was loud enough to drown out her banging.Of course, she didn’t have her phone on her, so she had to take the private elevator down to the lobby to call me from the front desk. I don’t know if she would have done that if she was naked. I don’t think it’s a clothing optional condo. My calm reaction was, What the hell are you doing in the lobby?
Anyway, Miami is my old stomping grounds and I admit to feeling a little bit nostalgic. However, the place has changed a lot since I lived there. It now drips of wealth. Walking down Los Olas Blvd, I couldn’t count all the Lamborghinis and Ferraris. I used to cruise Collins Avenue in my mother’s 1963 red Comet convertible.
Here is a picture from 1968 when I drove it from Miami to San Francisco and back. It died many times along the way, but always miraculously came back to life. Here is me with my friend, Don Langberg, who is putting flowers in the radiator when he pronounced it DOA along the highway. Don died way too young, but unlike my Comet, he never miraculously came back.
On Los Olas, Cathy and I stopped in El Camino restaurant after Jim Steere enthusiastically recommended it. The waiter suggested guacamole and chips while we waited for our meal. The bowl was so large that we could have shared that for our entire meal. The place was packed and quite noisy, but it was a cool experience. The food and margaritas were excellent.
We took a selfie in front of the restaurant for Jim, to prove that we were there. Jim is another one of our artist friends, who lives near us. Here he is standing in front of two of his paintings that hang in our home.
Comparing Costa Rica to Portugal
Costa Rica has been near the top of expats’ wishlist for as long as I can remember, and for good reason. It is laid-back, tropical and beautiful. I imagine that one would acclimate to the heat eventually. I think that I could be happy there as well. I am still glad that we chose Portugal, but Costa Rica has some advantages along with some disadvantages.
Advantages of Costa Rica are that you can swim in the ocean without a wetsuit, and there is a lot of wildlife that you don’t find in Portugal, like this Schmonkey. At least that is what I called it and it turned it’s head to pose when I said, “Hey, Schmonkey!”
It is quite pleasant sitting outside in the mornings and evenings. Here is a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker that would come sit with me in the morning for coffee. She likes hers with cream and sugar.
It is not always comfortable to sit outside in Portugal year-round as it can get too windy and chilly on the Atlantic Coast. While Portugal rightly boasts of its abundance of sunshine, it is sub-tropical. Sunny does not equal tropical, which seems to catch a lot of people by surprise. So, before you decide where to set up camp, you need to choose the climate that appeals to you.
It can rain for weeks on end in Costa Rica. While I enjoy sitting under an overhang watching the rain come down in buckets, I’m good after a couple of hours. You need a good rain to cool down the oppressive heat, but not for weeks on end. But the weather while we were there was quite pleasant, although somewhat toasty during the day.
Cathy loved the lush jungle, beautiful mountains and unusual wildlife in Costa Rica. But she disliked the constant heat, and the muddy dirt roads. I think she missed the cobblestones of Portugal.
The currency in Costa Rica is deceiving. When I was holding a thousand CR bill in my hand, I was surprised when I found out it was only worth about a buck and a half. And the coins are huge. A 500 cent coin (worth about 75 cents) is about an inch and a half in diameter. A few of those would weigh you down significantly.
We ate at one restaurant in Tamarindo, the town where we stayed, that was divine. The servings were massive, and the food was delicious. The ribs that I ordered would have satisfied even Fred Flintstone. I took them back to the house and made two more meals out of them.
There are a lot more Americans in Tamarindo, Costa Rica than in Ericeira, Portugal. I would say that it is almost 100% tourist related. Real estate prices, once extremely low, have shot up in recent years. They have shot up here in Portugal too!
Here are a few shots from our day on the catamaran. We swam to an island, where we saw Schmonkey. The last picture is us returning to the beach after a lovely afternoon of sailing.
The Wedding
We went to Costa Rica for our son, Dustin’s, wedding. It was supposed to be held on the beach, but it was raining off and on, so they changed the venue to the house. It was a spectacular event even with the unforeseen circumstances.
Dustin, the groom, tested positive for Covid the morning of the wedding, but he mostly stayed isolated until the wedding. He wasn’t the only one incubating at the time. Danielle, the beautiful bride, had already gotten Covid previously, so she wasn’t too worried about the wedding kiss.
With the sharing of ping pong paddles, foosball handles and playing cards, it would have been nearly impossible to avoid catching it. I started feeling sick on the airplane back to Lisbon after leaving Miami. Cathy and I both tested positive this morning.
We stayed in a beautiful home with a crew that came in every morning to clean up and cook breakfast. Here is a view from the front. There was a hot tub and pool and slide. Some might say that the cell tower was a blight on the scenery, but I must say we had great cell reception!
There really is a lot more to write about but this Covid is wearing me down. Just because restrictions have been lifted around the world, it doesn’t mean that the pandemic has been lifted. I’m guessing that without the vaccine, this would be worse. We tried to get another booster before we left but they were limiting it to people over 80. Really? Since when has 70+ been too young for anything other than the funeral parlor? Oh, well, what can you do? Friends and neighbors have been offering help with stuff, for which we are most grateful.
Foxy
Almost forgot to mention Foxy. She was happy to see us, although she was taken good care of while we were gone. She was a bit naughty, though. She got into the sitter’s purse, took out her license and chewed it up around the edges. Fortunately, she didn’t steal her car. Foxy’s trainer says she is one of the most stubborn girls she has dealt with, but they still love each other, as you can see.
Glad you are on the mend from Covid. We had the same issue when we returned to our home in Colombia. Got it in Madrid. Hit me a day after we got back.
We looked at Costa Rica, Panama and Medellin as we have family in all of the. Settled here because better weather and health care better than CR.
Medellin sounds wonderful. It sure has made a lot of progress in recent years!
Enjoyed the blog. TAMARINDO is where we stayed like 10 years ago when we visited Costa Rica. Too bad about the Covid. Get well soon!
Thank you, Rita. Tamarindo is a great place. Not to worry, we are feeling better already. 🙂
Great blog! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you, Roger!
Loved hearing from you Bob and especially the bits about south Florida. Growing up there was a time out of time and will never be again. Nice to have new adventures and new places to visit. Regards to you and Cathy.
Good to hear from you, Leslie! Yes, those were the days, my friend.
Glad you are writing again!!!
Glad you are reading again! ❤️
I love all these photos! And I love that we made it into your blog as the guests from Arizona 😎🌵 We feel pretty sure we would dig Costa Rica, but we know for a fact we thoroughly enjoyed Portugal! Thanks for the wonderful experience!! We look forward to lots more wedding photos of Dustin and Danielle. BYW, who was brave enough to drive the catamaran?
Many more wedding photos to come. We had a very professional team driving. And a beautiful French woman, named Seven, serving shots.
Thank you for your superb writing. After visiting you in Ericeira I would have to say your observations are accurate for sure. The temperatures at the time we were there were perfect. Your city is divine.
Your trip to Costa Rica sounded incredible. It is good to be home though, especially when you have COVID.
Thank you, Dave. There is no place like home when you have Covid.
Ever the good (and very descriptive) writer Bobby. You made it entertaining even Covid. Get better soon!
Obrigado! I will survive.
So pleasant to read about your travels to Costa Rica and South Florida. Your writing is enjoyable, and seems effortless. Hope you’re feeling better, Bob.
Thanks, Gerry. I get moments of relief, but this morning is rough. Headache, fever, killer sore throat. This, too, shall pass. Or so I’m told.
You make writing look easy, Bob, and old age seem like fun.
Hmm… what’s wrong with this picture?
Great column!
I appreciate that, Larry. Old age has its moments, but young age beats it hands down.
Hey friend…. so glad you were at least feeling well enough to create your wonderful blog. I have missed it. It was wonderful to hear more about your latest adventure and David and I are really looking forward to being able to meet up with you and Cath. Love and BigHugs!
Hi Sharie. We are also looking forward to catching up with all the latest as soon as we are fully recovered!