Day Trip to Atenas - Not

Sundays happen. Decided to take a bus to Atenas via Alajuela. Wanted to see how long it would take to get there from here, now that we knew we could bus through Alajuela, instead of through San Jose. Thought we would stop off at Fiesta del Maiz in Garita. It’s famous for very tasty local dishes from corn. Free tastings. No plate over $3. Sounded like a place we had to try.
Walked downtown and through Parque Central. The park is so great on Sundays. The band was just warming up. There were adorable little kids everywhere, as always, chasing the pigeons, blowing bubbles, laughing at the clowns. There were a lot of vendors in the park today, selling jewelry and various novelties. One vendor had these funny foam-rubber lizards on sticks, which jumped and hopped around when he “walked” them.
We walked by Azzurra and spotted Sonia and Ron, so of course, stopped to say hello. Before we got away, Chuck walked up. Next came Richard Goebel, who we had not met before, but who was down to see Dr. Pacheco (my dentist)! Chuck and I had both recommended Dr Pacheco to him on line. He’s trying to start up a business with a friend down here re airplane maintenance. He plans to return to US in a couple weeks and then move down shortly if all goes well. Then Loyd showed up. We discussed places to live, Loyd’s experiences with Ticas, cooking, restaurants and shopping. Chuck and Loyd had both been sent out in the rain by their cats, who were out of food!
By then we decided it was too rainy and late to go to Atenas! Oh, well, there’s always Manana! Had lunch at the vegetarian restaurant “Vishnu,” which was ok, but not worth writing home about.
Still can’t get over the fact that I can buy 4 great oranges & 4 great bananas for 120 c (30 cents)!