Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes I am often asked, with a lot of skepticism, why yoga and horses? Where is the connection? My standard answer is; I have experienced the similarities between riding and yoga practice. The same stillness and union I find in my yoga practice I feel when I ride. Last week I…
by Ivo Henfling The first time I was standing in line in a hardware store in Escazu, the attendant asked me “Y vos macho, en que te puedo servir”? And you “Macho”, what can I do for you. I didn’t realize I was being called blondy. (I was far from blond, I used to be…
Before you pick where to live in Costa Rica, you need to have some weather considerations. If you decide on the wrong location, it’s possible you end up hating it, which might oblige you to move elsewhere. Or return where you came from! November-April is the high season—or the dry season or tourist season. Ticos…
The pulpería and the polaco are two typical ways of purchasing for Costa Rica’s working class. Every week, “El Polaco” visits a poor neighborhood of Costa Rica, with a car full of merchandise. The Polaco is a department store on wheels and he sells on credit. He offers mainly clothing, women’s, men’s, and children’s. But…
Have you heard the story about the gringo and the fisherman? I’ve seen several versions, now that I Googled it. But it’s an interesting story, that I heard back in the ’80s. It shows the mindset of the average gringo and the mindset of the average Tico. Understanding both, is a fantastic assistance to anyone…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutos Costa Rica retirement vacation properties and bird watching go together well, the reason so many have decided to retire or buy a vacation home in Costa Rica. When you retire to a country like Costa Rica, you must love nature and in particular birds. If you don’t, why even bother…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Allow me to show you how we got to the point of looking at Costa Rica as our retirement destination. My story is an introduction to Costa Rica as seen through the eyes of a retiring expat. To briefly recap our decision criteria to find the right retirement destination, I…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes To make important retirement decisions, we needed to be specific about our criteria. In my introduction, you know that we have decided to make Costa Rica our permanent retirement residence. So, I’d like to show you how made retirement decisions based on a step by step process. Our criteria and…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes After I quit smoking, I needed to get fit again. Getting back in shape is hard work but a lot of fun if you do it in the right place and with the right guides. No matter where you live now, and if you are in good health or not,…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Costa Rican coffee and sexy condos in Costa Rica have a lot in common. They can both give you the ultimate experience. Both are for gourmets, connoisseurs, those who have higher standards than average. I remember very well my first cup of coffee in Costa Rica, it was totally horrible.…
Because I grew up in Holland it comes easy to talk about the topic and quite a few gay people email me asking that question: “are gay people moving to Costa Rica”. The answer is yes. When I was a kid, there was a gay kid on my block and at the time nobody would…
Have you ever heard of bouldering? Well, they do bouldering in Providencia de Dota. Where the heck is that? It’s a beautiful little town tucked away in the Los Santos mountains, near the National Park Los Quetzales. Most of you have never heard of El Valle de Los Santos. Well, we use to have a…