www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Raining so goddamn hard right now I can't hear myself think. Word to the newbies out there, if you come during rainy season, it's gonna get wet, both inside and outside la cama.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

haha Is that in SJ K-Pax? We had an 8 inch rain in Jaco a couple of nights ago...

Yes, the rain today was the worst I've seen it yet but only been here four days.

On the plus side, I am finding plenty of things I am familiar with in the grocery stores, so I can continue to cook for myself. Saves a lotta money. Plus I finally found some spicy ingredients - red pepper flakes - I can use when cooking. Seems that Ticos don't like spicy foods much but I'm a big fan, so thank god. And there is a great channel on cable called Cinecanal and all the movies are in English with Spanish subtitles.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

You can find lots of products you are familiar with at the AutoMercados. Yeah, spice isn't a high priority here...

Yep there's a great one a 10 min walk from me in San Pedro. Got a great panaderia and tons of stuff...but didn't have pineapples which I was kind of surprised to see.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

Here in Herradura, and other than that hammering the other night, I haven't seen much rain this season at all. Particularly during the day, there has been no rain at all.

K-Pax and all future Amigos and CRT Brothers,
I pulled the trigger yesterday. Everything finalized and will be moving to CR 7/27. Get in shortly after 11am. I figure I will end up at the SL sometime late that afternoon or early evening. Hope to tip a few with you all. As Hannibal from the A-Team used to say "I love it when a plan comes together"

OK look forward to meeting you soon!

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

Just curious, but where did you find your apartment to rent?

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

Gonna keep my apt. in Jaco, but planning to go to the city for football season. Will travel super light so hope to hit message boards and find a shared rental in a house or apt. Last time I lived up there you could always find someone wanting to share. Just thinking out loud, don't imagine many on here would want to go that route...

I chose the Scotland Apartments since it seemed pretty secure, but it's too expensive. I will be out of here and find something else soon.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

Last time I lived in the city I had a room mate and we paid $450 per month close to Curridabat. It was unfurnished but the room mate already had the furniture. There are good places for reasonable amounts out there. Different situation this time. I basically just want a room that is comfortable and secure. Will most likely be coming back to Jaco weekly for a day or two so don't want to spend a lot.

Why not just ship a car to Costa Rica with your stuff in it. I think the cost is $700 to do this?

Coupla observations after living here almost a month:

Learned to walk around looking up and down simultaneously. Up to be aware of my surrounding so I'm alert to any potential threats. And down to make sure I don't step into an open sewer or a deep drainage ditch or a big hole in the sidewalk.

Not so afraid of walking around at night, at least not in San Pedro. At least not before 9PM. Seems like it's OK, and I try not to stand out as gringo.

Sooo many places especially restaurants, close early here. Several of my favorite sodas close as early as 4PM.

Decided it's not really wise to bring chicas back to my apartment. For all I know the next time they have no money and their tico boyfriend pressures them, she'll spill the beans about the expensive looking stuff in my apartment and he'll be on his way to rob me. So it's MP's for me, or I will book a room at the SL for a few days and get my thing on.

Alcohol here is not as cheap as I thought it was. In some cases it's about as expensive as in the USA, and with a lot of imports, it's a lot more expensive.

I hate the trains here. Scotland Apartments is sandwiched between two train tracks. When I've gotten a chance to actually see the trains, they're hauling nothing except what looks like junked out wooden beams and hunks of rusty steel. And their horns are loud as hell.

One of the redeeming qualities of CR is the weather. Yes, rainy season is pretty wet but it ranges from cool to just a little warm right now. My electric bill in Houston was often over $300 a month in the summer. Here it's usually under $20.

Gotta keep my kitchen constantly clean. Any scraps of food, any at all, and little ants come out of the woodwork and I've got ants all over the kitchen.

Another positive - loving the panocha and the thrill of the hunt at the SL. Gotta be smarter and book weekends further in advance to make sure I get a room at the SL. I got a room for next weekend, but this weekend they are full up.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

Nobody told you about the trains at Scotland? Also if you leave a window open the squirrels will come into your kitchen when you leave and eat your fruit.

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Living well is the best revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUtj_YnNoY