I am experiencing Costa Rica from the ground-up - literally.  Due to my semi-remote location and the fact that I don't yet have a car means I am putting my soles to the ground and hoofing it up and down a mountainside in search of daily necessities.  During my first week, all of my time from waking to sleeping was spent taking care of little things to make a new house and location feel like home.

We are living in Las Nubes de (the clouds of ) Coronado,  Costa Rica.  To get to our location; start in the Central Valley of San Jose, go Northeast up into the mountains past Guadalupe, through Moravia, then through Coronado and finally up to San Rafael / Las Nubes.  For better reference, an online map is available here: Las Nubes de Coronado, Costa Rica, C.A.. 

We're up here in the mountains where the weather is constantly Spring-like, the hummingbirds attend daily to the flowering trees, Junior picks from the trees nectarines and bananas and from the bushes red and green peppers.  500 meters below us is a working dairy farm complete with ox-pulled carts for moving around feed grasses and while we walk by both milk cows and chickens graze road-side.  The nights are chilly, but we have a great big fireplace that keeps us warm and cozy ... we just need to find a source for more firewood (one of the many, many things on my very, very long to-do list)

The bus from Coronado runs approximately every half-hour and the last stop is 400 meters below our home.  Junior and I have been taking the bus down and back from Coronado daily at a cost of 310 colones ($00.62) each way for the both of us.  In Coronado we always spend time at an Internet cafe, eat a meal and do some shopping for household items such as food and cleaning supplies.  Then it's back to the bus terminal to catch our bus for the ride up.  The final 400 meter hike up to the house with our back-packs and bags of purchases can leave you winded.

One of our more memorable trips to Coronado involved my perception that all ATM's are created equal.  In the states I never worried about how little money was in my pocket due to the vast number and reliability of ATM machines.  In Coronado there are only two ATMs that I know of:  one at Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) and the other at Banco Nacional (BN).  Without paying too much attention I spent my way down to about 100 colones and when I went to the ATMs for more money, I was denied access to funds by both.  Junior and I looked up at the mountain top, knowing that somewhere close to the top was our house ... so away we went - walking approximately 7 kilometers up & up & up & up .... and up!  About an hour and a half later we were home and sore - but at the same time, it was kind of fun.  After all, many travel from around the world to hike the mountains of Costa Rica and we had the high-class problem of needing to complete a hike just for the sake of getting home!

Friday, February 29th we did get a chance to see a bit more of the area thanks to John's friend Arne.  This morning Junior and I took a taxi to San Antonio de Coronado (an area below Coronado) to meet with Arne for a little shopping.  The closer you get to the capital city of San Jose, the more shopping variety you have to choose from.  In our travels we went to stores in the barrios of San Pedro, Guadalupe and Moravia.

In Costa Rica there is a variety of store (tienda) choices ranging from tiny home-front stores (literally) to the huge discount and club warehouse stores (similar to a Sam's or Costco). 

• Home-front stores often labeled as a "pulperia" or "abastecedor" are usually located in the front section of a structure or building that is otherwise a residence.  A simple sign out front or just a sign painted on the building denotes this type of tienda where you can get a quick snack fix such as a bag of Funions and a Coke.

• Grocery Stores can also be small proprietor shops up to larger stores often referred to as "Mini" or "Mega-Supers".  A grocery chain consisting of mid-sized stores in many areas of Costa Rica is called "Pali" (owned by Wal-mart, pronounced: pa-LI).  Pali is similar to U.S. based Aldi Food Stores in that they provide basic staples such as milk, beans, rice, snacks, cleaning supplies, etc. - complete with a bag-it-yourself service.  Grocery chains that more resemble standard U.S. grocery stores are MasXMenos (another Wal-mart owned chain), Mini Mega Super, Mega Super and others.  In these stores you will find most everything needed to stock your home - even Jif crunchy peanut butter!

• Specialty Stores can again be small proprietor shops or chain stores that sell a certain type of merchandise such as clothes, furniture, electronics, pet supplies, etc., etc.

  • I purchased a computer APC Back-UPS surge protector/battery back-up (model # BE350R) for $40.80 from a computer/electronics chain called Group3C (Grupo3C) that has stores in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador.  The name of the Costa Rica store is called COC.CO (I think :o) located in San Pedro.

  • After shopping several discount stores (see below) I ended-up finding a better deal on a microwave oven at a specialty store called El Verdugo in Moravia.  My purchase was a Haier 1,000 watt stainless steel microwave (model # MWM10100SS) for $101.80

• Discount or Club Stores offer the shopping experience of a Sam's Club or Costco.  Hiper Mas (a wholly owned Wal-mart subsidiary - seeing a trend?!) and Price Smart are two of these types of stores ... but anywhere, shop these stores against each other and specialty stores for price and product.  Just like a casino offering free drinks and comps, the way these one-stop-shop stores do business is to lure you in for many discounted products while charging allot more for other items.  In other words, if you're not careful - net gain goes to the house. 

  • Price Smart club store example prices (Moravia store, 02/29/08):
    • Philips 50" Plasma - $2,600.00
    • Frigidaire Washing Machine (model FWS9333FS) - $475.00
    • comforter set (Queen comforter, bed skirt, 3 small decorative pillows, 2 pillow cases - no sheets) - $70.00
    • blanket (a soft queen sized) - $38.00
    • sharp cheddar cheese - $13.00 / 2lb package
    • bed pillow (standard) - $10.60
    • couch pillow (small soft square) - $14.00
    • pistachios - $9.20 / 2lb package
    • hot dogs (large pack) - $8.00 / 37 hot dogs
    • trail mix - $7.40 / 2lb package
    • Land-O-Frost Honey Ham luncheon meat - $5.20 / 1lb package
    • Land-O-Frost Turkey Breast luncheon meat - $5.40 / 1lb package

As demonstrated, prices for certain items in Costa Rica may be higher than in the U.S., Canada, Europe, etc. - but labor and services are usually much cheaper in Costa Rica than elsewhere.  Foreign residents, retirees, etc. end up buying the expensive washing machine and lawn equipment then pay domestic employees to run them (ie: hire a maid/cook/gardener ... even on a modest or retirement income).

• Private Bilingual Primary (grade) School - $200.00 / month (with many included extras; soccer team, gymnastics, dance, cheer leading squad, math club, etc.)
  
• Gym Membership - $13.00 / month (complete with Aerobics, Step Training, Spinning, Tae-bo & antique weights and equipment)
• Hair Cut - $3.00 men & $4.00 women
• Meal for 2 - $10.00 including a cup of coffee or soda each
  

Due to the higher costs for many 'one-time purchase' items, many foreign residents that live, have second or vacation homes or just spend a considerable amount of time in Costa Rica choose to make selective purchases of electronics, appliances and other items elsewhere in the world and bring or have them shipped to Costa Rica as a cost savings measure ... but be careful! 

The single best way to bring anything into the country is to personally carry it in your luggage when you travel.  However, Costa Rica has figured this out too.  After arriving in Costa Rica, your bags will be x-rayed for un-declared items (yes, I said after arriving - as in, after you have retrieved your luggage and before you leave the airport!)  So use your best judgment in filling out those customs declarations.  You are allowed a certain dollar amount of new items per every so many months as well used personal items without any customs fees.  Knowing this, if you are bringing any new item into Costa Rica and you don't plan on declaring it as new and taxable, it is best to remove the new item from its original packaging prior to placing it in your luggage.

As for shipping items into Costa Rica, it may actually cost more to import an item based on purchase price + shipping cost + duty fees, etc ... than it is to purchase the item in country.  Do your homework and believe half of what you hear from others as to how much money they saved in Importing an item - after all, many people can't admit they messed-up or they subconsciously forget part of their expenses when calculating their total cost 'savings'.

For detailed information on your shipping and Importation questions, contact Charles Zeller of Ship to Costa Rica at 866-245-6923 or in Costa Rica at 506-2258-8747 or via e-mail at ShipToCostaRica@racsa.co.cr.