Why Poco Cielo Resort?
About Atenas
Atenas is located in the western Central Valley, a
small rural town, and municipal seat for the Canton
Atenas, which includes many outlying barrios and
pueblos. It is located about 25 minutes from the airport
on the road from Manolo's Junction with the Panamericana
to Orotina.
Census 2000 put the population at over 29,000 people,
a healthy growth over the previous decade. The town is
strongly religious, mostly Catholic and is served by
three banks and three medium-sized food markets and many
small ones.
The main activity here is agriculture and in fact the
Central American School of Agriculture and Animal
Husbandry (Escuela Centroamericana de Agricultura y
Ganadería) is located in barrio Balsa. Mangoes, coffee,
and sugar cane are three of the core crops. We have all
the necessary goods and services here, now that the new
medical clinic is in final stages of completion.
Weather
We thought you'd never ask! Actually, we live in a
tropical paradise here… usual temperature is between 75
and 85 F ( 24 and 30 C )… great weather for shorts and
T-shirts! We can't have all that greenery without rain…
but at least in most parts of the country rain is
predictable to certain times of the day.
In early invierno, the morning’s dawn is sunny and
cheerful with very little breeze, rain coming
mid-afternoon, often in a short downpour. In July we
even get veranillo… called “little summer” which is
about 7 to 10 days of sun and no rain. In later invierno,
approaching the worst of the hurricane season on the
Caribbean all bets are off and when we're under the
effect of a hurricane whose effects can stretch for
hundreds of miles… it can rain steadily for days and
totally soaking the ground. Thankfully this is rare and
totally unheard of.
Schools
In addition to public schools, there are 2 private grade
schools in town, thru 6th grade, both offer English with
all required subjects.
For high school… only public education is offered in
Atenas. La Garita (to the east) has one private high
school. For the MBA aspirants… INCAE a Harvard
affiliated business school… is located nearby in La
Garita. There are no Costa Rican accredited colleges or
universities in Atenas, but in Barrio Los Angeles there
is a School for Field Studies CSDS, affiliated with a US
university.
Restaurants
Atenas offers a lot of choices for food and socializing.
There is a large array of Comida Tipica restaurants, many
little Diner-style countertop "sodas" offering Tipica again
but in a faster-food mode. There are three Pizza restaurants
one of which has recently broadened its menu to other cuisine.
There is a Chinese restaurant on the park and a new hamburger
place. Additionally, many bars offer food and some of it
is quite good. Kay's Restaurant offer several different
snacks and home cooked meals including a hardy breakfast
started at 7:00am… even biscuits and gravy is on the menu!,
Try the delicious McKay breakfast sandwich and perhaps a
plate of great French toast! On Sundays… “soul food” for
lunch such as meat loaf or pork roast!
All the little”sodas” around the bus stop offer breakfast
from about 6:30am and the girls make good Gallo pinto… to
which you can add an egg, sausage or bread and needless
to say… a hot cup of coffee. Try the fried farmer cheese,
Queso Frito.
Don't be shy to order the unfamiliar local food. Casado
is a mixture of foods based in rice and beans and… trimmed
with meat. Pipcadillo (a hot potato salad), green or pasta
salad perhaps with an egg or a fried plantain. Try the chicharrones…
they are excellent at Don Yayo!!! Something totally different
and very tasty is ceviche which is raw fish marinated in
lemon with cilantro and onion!.
Banks
Atenas has three banks, Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa
Rica, and Banco Popular, all of them national banks. Most
stores take US currency... however, typically they don’t
accepts bills over $20.00. The currency in Costa Rica is
Colones… basically 500 Colones is $1.00US.
Shopping
There is no large Supermarket in Atenas where you can
go to buy everything in one trip; that would be Alajuela…
approximately 35 minutes by car. But you can buy almost
everything now in Atenas by visiting the local food stores
and at the various stalls in the Mercado market (vegetables,
fish, meat and even a butcher) and the Farmer's Fair every
Friday morning on the plaza (get there early) for fresh
vegetables, meats, cheeses, condiments and plants. Zarcero
palmito cheese is available in the Fair most Fridays; look
for the round rolls of cheese. The Zarcero is better than
the rest of the palmitos.
One of the bakeries called Musmanni (it is the one under
the orange sign in the photo) is located in Atenas Central
where all the Taxi’s park… is one of the better bakeries
in town! They have a variety of breads, buns, cake and pastries
plus the basics… milk, butter, eggs and juice.
There are three household goods and appliance stores
now, and two building supplies, and three agricultural supply
stores. Goods and services have grown with the town.
There are three household goods and appliance stores
along with two building supply centers plus three agricultural
supply stores. Goods and services have grown with the town.
You don’t have to travel far because Atenas has many
services to offer! You can get insurance here, do your legal
business in Spanish, get your hair cut, get your car fixed
and take your pet to the Vet. There are at least 3 Internet
Café’s in town that offer a variety of different services
as well as International calling availability.
Atenas has several Doctors and an excellent Medical lab.
The National health system has only one clinic in town…
however, 50 minutes away in Escazu is the CIMA hospital!
This modern and professional hospital is affiliated with
the local health insurance program provided by INS!.
Small town life
As you might expect, small town life in Costa Rica has
many similarities to that in the States and Canada. Gossip
is a very commonplace recreation. When you live in a small
town and you will be commonly greeting folks you know with
a handshake or air kiss as you go about your errands.
Costa Ricans… have their own culture and attitudes,
formed mainly by the small size of the country and the
dominant religion as well as the independence and sense
of equality among the early settlers under the Spanish
colonial system. Many people enjoy the book called The
Ticos" by the Biesanz family… it is a very good book
explaining the culture and differences in courtesy,
business customs among other things! The Costa Ricans
are friendly, helpful and warm people and that makes it
extra special to visit Costa Rica!
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