Monthly Archives: February 2012

February 29, 2012 in Gastro

Sticker supremo Meyler Avilers turns it around in 15 minutes flat!

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The Beast always gets a sticker when he has been in a new country, and although he’s been in Costa Rica once before, he has nothing to show for it. Having stopped in auto shops, bookstores, hotels and even the odd souvenir shop along the way, there was no finding one! So, in the sweltering heat of the border town of Paso Canoas, it became my mission. Finally, a couple of recommendations later, we ended up at Meyler’s Graphic shop. Now, Mr. P is not the most patient of people especially when it’s not directly related to food, but worse still when his humour has been tried by an insect sting on his cheek though his semi-open visor the day before. But Meyler’s very pretty manner and calm assurance that the job would get done pronto won the day! Paso Canoas is hickeldy pickeldy with mechanic workshop and food stores – not my kind of place, so a little bit of design calm and Euro chat was just the tonic required. Definitely Meyler is the fastest, most imaginative graphic designer combo I have ever seen and the promised sticker was delivered on time at bargain price!

February 25, 2012 in Gastro

The Beast gets a new tyre at MOTO BOUTIQUE – Costa Rica

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After the little hiccup with The Beast, Mr. P reckons its time for a new rear tyre!
At the Moto Boutique, owned by 50-year-old female champion in Enduro Bike, Lena Larsson, we find the lot: service, kit and lots of smiles!
Although it can be a bit tricky since there are no street signs in San Jose, after a couple of times we managed to locate it with landmarks like Pizza Hut and “200 metres right and left” plus a lot of patience on behalf of Esmond on the other end of the phone!
Once kitted, Mr. P decided to save time by hailing a cab, to put me, my wits and the tyre in, and followed us to Mario Perlaza’s workshop where it was fitted in all of 30 minutes, AMAZING or what?
It’s definitely time for GPS, although Mr. P still swears by maps!

February 25, 2012 in Bright and Shiny

LFW AW 12 – designers that set you dreaming!

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February 25, 2012 in Gastro

Pops Ice Cream Parlour- Pee stop extraordinaire and rather nice ice cream to boot

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Going since 1968, Pops is a Costa Rican concern that has expanded into El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Pops is a beacon in the middle of any hot and achy ride. Scattered all over Costa Rica, I first came across it on the autopista general at Cañas. The girls were sweet, although rather shy and could not understand why I was soooo excited about finding something that simulated Europe – a loo with a proper mirror to put on a bit of lippy. It just has to be lauded! Plus I enjoyed a very, very generous portion of dulce de leche ice cream with lots of hot chocolate sauce. So yummy!

February 23, 2012 in News

The Beast gets a hiccup!

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The Beast started whining and whirring as we arrived into Atenas, Costa Rica. Of course I reckoned he just needed a break; after all this BMW 1989 R100 GS has carried Mr. P through 33 countries and over 30,000 miles!  Although, The Beast has now earned Panamanian residency and relaxes for 5 months of the year, the poor chap has been ridden relentlessly over the last couple of days in mind boggling heat! Even with a nights rest his discomfort was still apparent and Mr. P went in for a closer look. After having discovered the noise coming from the electronics under the petrol tank, Operation Motor got underway with a faulty relay unit being identified. Wanting confirmation from his mechanical team at Wollaston Motors Northampton, Mr. P Skyped Richard Higgs (the same, who identified a motor fault listening to the sound, from a phone call placed from Pakistan) for confirmation!
A failing indicator relay unit confirmed as the culprit, we all breathed a sigh of relief. In a country where indicators are hardly used at any time, the problem became a minor one and we set off to San Jose to search for a tyre! Poor, poor Beasty!