Beside my bed I have a carbon fiber Trek Mountain Bike. It is state of the art and almost as light as many road bikes like the ones used in the Tour de France. Technology has really improved cycling over the last fifteen years.

Cycling, especially off-road, has really become popular in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, it is still really dangerous to ride on the main streets here because there are no bike lanes or ciclovías. Because of this I converted my mountain bike into stationary bike thanks to a tripod like device I use on the back wheel. It is rather boring pedaling like a hamster on a treadmill but at least I still get exercise and the feel of riding a bicycle. However, all is about to change to make cycling more pleasurable in Costa Rica.

Johnny Araya, the mayor of San José, just announced that a bike path will be built across San José along streets that are less traveled by automobiles, thus making it safer and easier to ride a bike through the capital. The bike lane will extend from the the Law School at the the University of Costa Rica in the eastern suburb of San Pedro to the Sabana Park in the west.

Mayor Araya said that the only thing lacking to start the project is authorization from the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation or MOPT. The cost of the project will be around $1 million.

This project together with the city’s new China Town, the Paseo Colón condominium projects, the proposed Urban Trolley and bus terminals on the outskirts of San José will definitely improve the quality of life in the city.

Many Retirees may reconsider living in or near the downtown area because of these imminent improvements.

Puntarenas, the “Pearl of the Pacific “or Perla del Pacífico” as it is sometimes referred to, will have a new attraction for Costa Ricans, tourists and retirees starting in July of 2012.

At a cost of just over $3 million the resort promises to be one of the most modern in Central America with two swimming pools (one for adults and another for children), bathrooms, a two-story bar-restaurant, a fast food court, a conference center and a playground for the kids.

The Hotel Ramada Plaza Herradura will run the new resort. The company has invested over $500,000 dollars in folding beach chairs, parasols, restaurant equipment and other necessary items. The resort will not be a private beach club so it will be open to the general public. Admission will be reasonable at about 2,500 colones or $5 dollars per person.

In addition to the new resort other improvements are being made to Puntarenas in an effort to restore it to its former glory as “The Pearl of the Pacific” with the goal of attracting more people and improving the local economy. About $80,000 have been spent cleaning Puntarena’s beach which earned it a Blue Flag Rating – the highest honor for a beach area. $200,000 has also been set aside to make other improvements around the city.

If you are retired and living in the Central Valley you can reach Puntarenas by the new Calera Highway in about an hour and one half. Besides the new resort there are a lot of other activities in and around Puntarenas: fishing, sunbathing, savoring the local seafood, walking along the scenic malecón or seaside promenade, taking a day cruise to Tortuga Island or visiting the nearby Nicoya Peninsula.

The other night my girlfriend and I had dinner with Ron Brocca at his beautiful home in Los Angeles de Heredia. The area is absolutely is reminiscent of Switzerland with its many vistas, verdant hillsides and meadows and pine trees.

Ron is an example of a retiree who has made good use of his time while in the country and excelled at his craft. He was born in Italy and eventually emigrated to Canada where he became a successful electrical engineer and architect. However, his real talent was painting. He was blessed with a natural gift for his craft and never received any formal training. Anyone who has seen his incredible paintings in person would find it hard to believe that they were done by a self-taught artist.

When Ron retired a few years back and wanted to relocate to a country with warm weather to pursue his passion as an artist. He narrowed his choices to Costa Rica, Panama and an island in the Caribbean. After visiting these countries he decided on Costa Rica. He liked the fact that Costa Rica had no military and above all the limitless subject matter the country’s natural settings provided for his paintings.

With the help of knowledgeable realtor Ron found a home that met his needs and where he could purse his passion. His house is in an upscale gated community in the mountains about fifteen minutes by car or bus form the city of Heredia. It has four levels and is mainly built of wood. Ron converted the fourth floor loft-like room into his personal studio. It is filled with all of his materials, the tools of his trade and some of his works in different stages of development. Ron’s finished paintings hang from almost every rafter and wall in the home. What really stands out is the level of detail of his work. His skillful technique captures even the most minute details of nature and rivals photography in terms of the clarity of the images.

A sample of Ron’s paintings may be viewed on his website at www.ronbrocca.com. However, I must add they have to be seen and experienced in person to appreciate their overwhelming beauty and realism.

By the way, Ron has multiple talents one of which is cooking. The night my girlfriend and I visited him he prepared a delicious three-course meal. Like painting Ron’s culinary talent is innate.

This year the Municipality of San José has been offering a series of free summer concerts in the Sabana Park. Summer means no rain and is the perfect time to get out and enjoy the many outdoor activities Costa Rica has to offer. La Sabana, as it is called, is the largest urban park in Costa Rica much like Golden Gate Park is to San Francisco or Central Park is to New York.

This week Pablo Milanés, a Cuban songwriter and singer, performed at one of the free concerts in the park. The concert was jam-packed and the music was excellent. Humberto Vargas, a local favorite, was the opening act.

Summer concerts are just one of the many activities found around the San José area every weekend. To find out what’s happening in town anyone including retirees only has to get a copy of the weekend entertainment section found in the Friday edition of La Nación newspaper. This week’s edition included two pages with a list of every first-run movie being screened in the country. There were even a couple reviews of new movie releases.

On the fourth page there was an article about a group of rock and roll all stars who will be performing on the third of May. One of the featured performers will be Gene Simmons of the rock group Kiss. Believe or not the master of ceremonies will be the infamous Charlie Sheen.

Another part of the weekend section featured a review of local restaurants. Usually one new restaurant is featured every weekend.

Finally, there is always a section entitled Agenda, lo mejor del fin de semana (Agenda – the best of the weekend). This part of the entertainment section is divided into three parts: Nightlife, live music and outdoor activities. I counted about 50 listings just for one weekend.

On February 3rd Elton John gave a stellar performance in San José’s Ricardo Saprissa stadium. His act lasted almost two-and-one-half hours and let everyone mesmerized. It consisted of almost all of his number one hits like “Rocket Man”, Yellow Brick Road” and “Candle in the Wind”.

Every year more and more big-name artists are performing in Costa Rica. A couple of years ago I went to see Carolos Santana and his band. It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen in my life. Truly incredible! Metalica, Iron Maiden, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Pavorati, Paul McCarthy, Marc Anthony, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, to name a few, have all performed performed here. My sources tell me that the Rolling Stones as well as other big name groups may give concerts here in the not-too-distant-future.

It seems every year more and more performers come here. Expats, retirees and others living in Costa Rica will have the opportunity to see some first-class acts. We don’t get the number of performers like most of the larger cities in the U.S. and Canada but good entertainment options do exist.

Besides the famous individuals and groups above there many local jazz groups, rock bands, salsa bands and a symphony which perform regularly. One of the best places to here good music is at one of the two Jazz Cafés. There is on west of San José in Escazú and another to the east in San Pedro. My son plays bass in a popular instrumental rock band called Niño Koi. They have performed several times at the Jazz Café. On February 11, 2012 they will play with four other rock groups in an outdoor concert in San José’s Morazán Park.

One of the best Costa Rican bands is La Solución. The Orquesta la Solucion de Costa Rica was founded in 2001 by renowned Costa Rican percussionist and composer Carlos Gutierrez Hine, better known as “Pitusa”, an artist from a family of musicians.

La Solucion de Costa Rica has produced some of the best Latin music in the business in the 10 years since its conception, in the form of 13 albums full of cumbia, merengue, bolero, and especially salsa.

The band has always been full of spirit, blending mix of urban and tropical sounds to produce an instantly recognizable identity. Their joyous salsa vibes have spread have spread to the most famous and popular clubs and dance halls of Costa Rica, and having won over tropical music fans from all quarters, is now widely regarded as one of the best salsa bands the Americas has produced in the last decade.