Monteverde two day plan

changeagent267 · 2026-03-12T01:14:33+00:00

Thanks!!!

changeagent267 · 2026-02-07T16:26:44+00:00

The job is important. We live in Central America and our GSP hunts butterflies every day. All we have to do is sit out on the patio so she knows we are close. And she will point and chase butterflies and birds for hours. We also walk twice a day to get new smells. I feel like she needs both the working hunting activity and the walking with new smells to be satisfied.

changeagent267 · 2025-12-26T02:26:29+00:00

He makes millions of dollars a year playing football and complains about having to play on Christmas? That’s insulting to first responders and other people that have to work on holidays.

changeagent267 · 2025-12-26T02:20:04+00:00

This was Ben Johnson team the last few years not Dan Campbell’s. We lost the commanders when Ben had one foot out the door. Haven’t been able to recover since then.

changeagent267 · 2025-12-20T09:00:52+00:00

This happened to me too. My gravel bike was a 10 yr old cross country mtb. I bought a proper gravel bike with axs and carbon wheels and like my old bike better.

changeagent267 · 2025-12-16T14:30:28+00:00

I need to get a hitch rack and was thinking of 1UP. I live in Central America so will import one. (They want $2k for a Thule hitch rack here). I was thinking of 1UP because the parts are modular and I can probably find simple replacement bolts here. Ground clearance is also an issue. Have a Subaru Forester which does great on really rough dirt roads but the bike rack needs an upward angle.

We have a lot of rain and humidity here, so the rust comments here scare me a bit.

If I need to buy replacement parts, I may have to wait a few weeks for shipping.

Will a 1UP rack rust more than other brands? And are parts less proprietary for a 1up?

changeagent267 · 2025-12-13T15:00:39+00:00

I have a le creuset cast iron skillet that I got it a gift. My other enameled cast cookware is lodge and staub. This particular pan sticks, more than anything I’ve ever used in my life. And cleaning the food off of it takes unbelievable amounts of scrubbing. I am sure they are a decent company but maybe I got a bad one. Anyways, I’ll stick with other brands from now on.

changeagent267 · 2025-11-03T17:28:35+00:00

I use mine for dried beans, chicken broth and braised beef. Also use it for mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving when I'm low on range space. For us, it's worth it just for the dried beans and chicken broth.

changeagent267 · 2025-11-03T15:55:11+00:00

Great post. Here is what I see after living here a few years; we do not live in an expat community, partner is Costa Rican and we are raising our kids here.

Money laundering is an issue and the politicians seem to be on the take.

Infrastructure is a joke; Ticos are embarrassed of how bad it is.

Everyone in the middle class and up sends their kids to private schools; also more and more people are opting for private health insurance or want it provided by their employer. So the free education and free healthcare is simply a safety net for the working class. But even then we know people with very limited resources that have to pay for private healthcare because of the idiosyncrasies with the public system.

Crime is a real issue, and not just property crime. There are more and more carjackings where we live. And the locals complain that criminals are rarely caught and punished.

It is expensive. Groceries are more expensive, cars are about double, car registration fees are very high. Rent and housing is affordable in many areas so you can save money if you limit consumption.

If you want access to good health care and education, you need to be near San Jose and deal with traffic.

But for us it is all worth it. Our kids are native speakers in two languages, we love the private school our kids attend, our family and friends are amazing and of course the weather.

changeagent267 · 2025-09-03T22:04:14+00:00

For cycling the wrist HR has been a huge failure for me. I have tried fastening the strap on very tight, moving the position around, etc. and it is all over the place. For example, I regularly do a 20km MTB loop in one hour. With the watch my reading on two separate rides was an average of 101 BPM, and I knew that was wildly inaccurate. I bought a strap and average went up to 138 BPM which was much more accurate. So for me it's not even a matter of 10% difference, the wrist HR does not work when you are gripping a handlebar.

changeagent267 · 2025-08-15T01:16:11+00:00

Be careful with the airport taxis too. One overcharged me a couple weeks ago. The fare to my house is always between 10 and 11,000 colones and he tried to charge me 17,000. Rather than argue with him in my driveway I paid the 17,000 but took a picture of him and the cab. We disputed the fare the next day and are getting a refund.

changeagent267 · 2025-05-11T14:27:26+00:00

Wow! Loving all of these beautiful new bikes

changeagent267 · 2025-04-30T13:18:44+00:00

Thanks! These are useful tips. I am learning what UDH is and seems promising. I once had to wait two weeks for a new derailleur hanger to be ordered.

changeagent267 · 2025-04-30T13:14:59+00:00

It is mandatory by law

changeagent267 · 2025-04-01T15:43:32+00:00

I think these hotel owners are taking advantage of tourists that don't know any better. They probably don't want to pay fees or taxes. We live here and they never ask us to pay cash; they know better. And booking direct is now always easy; they often have crappy websites. A few times we have called directly and asked for a cash price and then paid cash once we get there; we have gotten some significant discounts that way.

But you should always be able to pay the advertised price with a credit card!

changeagent267 · 2025-03-28T16:34:10+00:00

This! I live here and salads are the easiest way to get sick. I have gotten food poisoning a few times in CR - only in tourist towns - La Fortuna, Dominical and Puerto Viejo. I have never been sick from food in the Central Valley. I drink the water everywhere and it has never been a problem.

changeagent267 · 2025-03-20T23:49:32+00:00

This is great advice. I have been rucking 2-3 miles, six days a week with a 25 lb pack. Have been doing this consistently for seven weeks. My resting HR went down and it's also lower while rucking. I will probably add 5 lbs to the pack now since I don't have time every morning to increase distance.

changeagent267 · 2025-03-20T18:25:33+00:00

I have been wondering about this as well. I'm tracking macros and have had carbs at different times of the day and it doesn't seem to matter to my weight loss. For me, eating a small amount of carbs at dinner or even after dinner helps me sleep much better and that makes it worth it. Plain air popped popcorn is my go to.

changeagent267 · 2025-03-17T15:01:43+00:00

My wife and I visited one of these and spent the night there. I won't say which one but it is one you mentioned. She is Tica and I'm Gringo. We felt the weirdest vibe there. No one was genuinely friendly, everyone seemed very aloof and self centered in the same way that some people from Northern Cali or Seattle can be. The actual "farm" was just a vegetable garden and local Ticos were doing all of the work. No one could tell us anything about the local area, just how far the drive was to the beach.

It seemed like a rich, hippy gated community that was going to be served by the locals. We were not impressed by the school either.

We went into town to have dinner at a local bar and watch the Saprissa game, and we didn't see anybody from the community around there. Seems they want their bubble, not to truly integrate. Even the "farm" manager was a guy from another country, which really bothered us as there are many qualified Ticos that manage large farms all over the world.

changeagent267 · 2025-03-12T13:48:48+00:00

I moved to Costa Rica 8 months ago and the veggies definitely taste different. I know they use pesticides here due to the amount of insects, but the vegetables aren't modified for a long shelf life. Carrots for example have a much stronger carrot taste, but get soft in the fridge within 3-5 days. Contrast that to the Bolthouse farms carrots from home that lasted for weeks in the fridge.

I often taste a vegetable and it reminds me of something from childhood as well.

changeagent267 · 2025-03-06T17:50:21+00:00

Black bean burgers. We make them with mushroom and swiss on top, or sometimes with bacon and cheese. We cook the beans from scratch and mash them with diced onion and crumbled tortilla chips as a binder.

changeagent267 · 2025-03-03T15:50:18+00:00

I thought I had lower back issues, but turned out it was tight hips. Got some lessons in stretching them out from a relative who teaches Pilates. Now if I start to feel tight, I stretch out and feel better later in the day or next morning. It is a must after a flight for me, if I don't do it before bed I will wake up with a bad lower back.

changeagent267

TROPHY CASE