Art in the Park

The anual International Art Festival is here again! The park in La Savannah is once again filled with clowns, merry-go-rounds and great art.

 

There is no entrance fee and tickets for the rides are sold everywhere. You can find a clown around every corner to get faces painted and there are tents with music shows or puppet theater.

It is also the perfect place to buy typical crafts from different latin countries. Jewelry, wooden crafts, nice fabrics, paintings or food.

Since it is at the big public park, a lot of people still take their dogs along. And a lot of children take their bicycles or skateboards.

The festival usually last for 10 days. Starting on a Wednesday and finishes on the next Sunday. Keep in mind that it can be very busy over the weekends. I found it easier to take the very little ones during the week. That way you don't have to fight to find a spot on the merry-go-round.

Make sure to keep an eye out for a nearby parking lot, since they close off all the parking areas inside the park or by the Art Museum. During the week there was one on the opposite side of the road, from the Museum. They charged 800 colones for the hour. On the Sunday we had to use one down the road, 3000 colones for the day.

Coffee, Ice Cream or Cake ?!

I made a wonderfully new friend. Another new expat Mommy to San Jose. So we wanted to go for coffee and get to know each other a little bit better. I suggested Da Noi Gelateria in Guachipelin (in the same little plaza as Fresh Market), since it is close to both our houses and I have been eyeing their big white egg chairs for a while.

Nice, relaxing atmosphere, incredibly delicious ice cream and the the creamiest, cheesiest mini bacon quiche. We talked forever and since it was a quiet morning the babies had the whole place to themselves, crawling around.

The place is known for their ice cream but also has some cakes and coffees. Some branches are bigger than others and each one has slightly different decoration.

These darling tables are outside with tiny chairs for the children

Lake Atitlan

I have always wanted to see lake Atitlan, so when my friends told me we are going for a day trip I was thrilled!! 

We left early morning from Guatemala City and on the way there we stopped at a restaurant called Rincon Suizo. It is a lorge swiss cabin style restaurant at the top of the mountain, serving delicious traditional Guatemalan breakfasts and hot chocolate. The solid wood furniture and red and white tablecloths provided for such a nice atmosphere. They also sell their own locally made honeys, sausages and cheeses.

We were really surprised at how cold it was up there, so remember some warm clothes, especially for the kids. We were lucky to have a table right in front of the wonderfully cozy fireplace. 

We then carried on with our trip down the side of the mountain, enjoying the cenery. you will see local people everywhere still dressed in their traditional dress, herding sheep or goats.



Caribbean Weekend

You never hear a lot of people refer to Limon when they talk about Costa Rica's beaches. But I found that the Caribbean side is now one of my favourite places to go.

Since my husband often has to go to Limon for business, I decided to join him for the weekend and explore that part of the country. In distance it really isn't that far from San Jose but there are a lot of trucks and buses on the road, so it takes about 4 hours to get there.We stayed at a lovely hotel called Cariblue, in Puerto Viejo, about an hour outside of Limon. The owners and staff were very friendly. It has a small restaurant and lovely 3 level pool, with a swim-up bar, where we spent all our late afternoons. My favourite part was the sloth hanging from a tree above my head as I was swimming. And then going to sleep with the howler munkeys screaming away.

It is a small town with a lively atmosphere at night and relaxing by day. You will see a combination of tourists and local surfers hanging around, riding bicycles or swimming in the bright blue ocean. Here most beaches have golden sand, but you can also find darker sand at playa negra. All along the coastline there are different beaches but all of them are nice and safe to swim. Even the ones with waves. And there are plenty of coconut trees and jungle to offer shade. We spent most of our time swimming and bathing in the sun at Cocles beach since it was right in front of our hotel. As with most places in Costa Rica there are a variety of things to do and it is know as one of the best places for snorkeling. I will gladly go there every weekend!

There are multiple small places to grab a bite as well as bigger seafood restaurants. My favourite was Coki Restaurant, just down the road from the hotel, with a nice ocean view. It has brightly coloured furniture and catches your eye at night with all their fairy lights. I enjoyed a refreshing Mojito and the food was delicious.

                                        Cheese filled yuca balls, fried yuca chips, shrimp ceviche.