Cafe’ Rey Market: The Cultural Hub of Downtown San Buenas

Cafe’ Rey Market: The Cultural Hub of Downtown San Buenas

The Cultural Hub of Downtown San Buenas
By Ezekiel Tyrus

Sitting on a bench in front of Cafe’ Rey Market, and thinking this has the flavor of a general store in the Old American South, or even Old Florida.

Incredibly hot and the road is dirt. Chickens walk by freely. Down the street you can hear cows mooing.

And dogs, dogs everywhere. You assume they’re strays but the country folk of Costa Rica have a hands-off, lots of freedom attitude towards their canines.

They allow them to wander without collars to go explore the entire village with the faith they’ll eventually come home, and seemingly, they always do.

Each if fat, happy and curious, enjoying the freedom of strays with the bounty of food and affection of being beloved pets.

When a dog struts by Cae’ Rey Market, I will stick out my hand to pet the happy little creatures and one of the local Ticos will say, San Buenas dog“That’s Eduardo,” or “That’s Paco,” or “That’s Tito,” …

None are strays but rather beloved pets known and respected by the locals like little citizens. Can you imagine?

Never got close enough to pet a chicken.

Geraldo is the owner. There everyday, often outside in a rocking chair holding court among several Ticos. His son Abel and daughter Arlen are usually inside running the store. All good people whom I’ve grown to adore as they giggle at my broken Spanish and are so quick to introduce me to whatever local is standing around or inside the store.

I’ve gotten to know most of the village through them, and everybody here knows everybody. There are no strangers and few people simply walk past the market or drive by.

Most everybody stops to say hi, if bicycling or walking by, they usually stop to talk for about 15 minutes. If driving, they’ll roll down the window and shout pleasantries for about 5 minutes.

Yesterday, an old Ford F-150 pickup truck from the early 90s rolled by. The bed was filled with scrap metal and the truck was rather beat-up and missing paint, acned with rust stains.

Three guys came out from the front, each muscular in jeans and t-shirts well-worn, nearly threadbare and wearing black work boots that’ll outlive everybody. They swaggered and radiated a steely-eyed working-class toughness. If they were white dudes in America, we’d call them rednecks.

When they saw me sitting on the bench by the front door, every single one of them stuck out their hand, greeted me warmly and said, “Pura vida.”

They came outside afterwards and sat next to me on the bench drinking orange soda and eating ceviche in small green containers. Through my broken Spanish, I learned these gentlemen were from the larger and edgier community of Palmer Norte, and they were just as curious about me as I was them. Asking me if I had ever been to places like Miami, Los Angeles and New York City.

At break’s end, they threw their stuff in the trash, smiled as they waved me adios and, wished me ‘Pura vida.”

The market generally has most of the stuff I need.

Sometimes they feature homemade ceviche with the right amount of spica and tang. A dish I could eat with every meal 3 times a day every day for the rest of my life. I’ve been told Arlen makes the ceviche. It’s great and they run out of it quickly.

However, the best part of Cafe’ Rey Market?

It’s fun.

The family that owns it, that’s there daily, are laid back and fun.
The locals sitting outside on benches and chairs are having fun, laughter the most common sound.

Men, women, kids and the elderly come and hang out at various times, greet one another with familiar smiles and laughter.

They gossip, poke fun, and wave, always, without fail, they wave when somebody walks by.

Cafe’ Rey Market, the cultural hub of Downtown San Buenas, where everybody knows your name and they call me Ezequiel.

A few times a week, I go there to buy a few groceries, plus a drink, some juice or ice tea, and if available, Arlen’s homemade ceviche.

Then, I park it outside on the bench, drink my drink, eat my seafood and soak up the atmosphere the way you would a favorite bar, and always leave happier than I arrived.

#LasVIllasdeSanBuenas

#TheWritersRetreatofSanBuenas

#EzekielTyrus


If You Love Somebody, Bring Them to Paradise

Dusk san buenas dusk2 san buenas full moon san buenas Mountain san buenasI’m lonely in paradise.

Naively, I thought 3 months in Costa Rica would be like Hemingway’s ‘A Movable Feast’ or like any of the Beat Generation writers living in Mexico City or Morocco. Instead it was like ‘Walden’ by Henry David Thoreau.

I’ve spent an incredible amount of time alone in communication with nature. Often I awake at sunrise or moments before, and always, without fail, I make sure I am outside during sunset.

I’ve never been an outdoorsy person and yet I love Costa Rica’s countryside. Everything is so beautiful here, the mountains, the jungles and the sky, sometimes I swear when I look up, the clouds are perfect, perfect sizes and perfect shapes, during the day when they’re white and puffy and at sunset when they reflect gold and pink.

Strangely, I grew up in Florida drinking orange juice and ice tea and yet, the best ice tea and orange juice I’ve ever had is in Costa Rica. Their milk shakes are great, too as is their ice cream. Coffee here is potent and delicious and their chocolate rivals the best in the world.

Like the quest of the Transcendentalist, I’ve ‘found myself’ in this beauty and solitude. I’m happy, and see my life with a newfound clarity. I’ve accepted every aspect of my past, happy with my present and have renewed enthusiasm for my future.

While here, I’ve meditated, I’ve prayed and I’ve written a novel. I’ve also lost weight and genuinely look the best I’ve looked in years.

Life is transformative in Las Villas de San Buenas de Osa and whatever it is that you are seeking, you will find in its natural beauty and pace of life. And I want you to come here and have the same experiences I have in regards to ‘finding yourself’ and being one with the world around you. (If that’s what you’re seeking.) (You can come here if you simply want to relax and have good time, too.)

However, there’s something I’ve lacked down here that I don’t want anyone to suffer from. Lack of companionship. All this beauty would be enhanced if I was here with somebody I love.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve had a great time here and have enjoyed my solitude but there have beenezekiel tyrus headphone so many moments that would’ve romantic with the right company.

A few nights ago, we had a full moon that hung over the villa, just a few clouds in the sky, even the dark, stone-filled dirt roads that are generally black as midnight by 7, were now illuminated by grey light bright enough to not use my flashlight, a necessity in a part of the country where there are very few street lights and the jungle’s protected by the government.

It felt like I was walking through a black & white movie. You can see everything clearly but it’s all dark and grey.

Walking into the beautiful night I thought first of Erskine Caldwell who once wrote, “At night, I saw how beautiful the day could never be,” and I thought about love.

I would’ve done anything to share that night with somebody I love.

To share the sunsets, the sunrise, the perfect clouds, the coffee, the chocolate, the food, the nearby beaches, the waterfall, and the multiple swimming pools here in the villas, with somebody you love, would make my here as romantic as it would be perfect.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy and think this time here has been exactly what the doctor ordered and I know you can have the same great, enriched, transformative experience that I have.

However, you can do one better than me by simply bringing somebody with you whom you love. And loves you back. Be it a spouse or a lover.

Come here alone, -I’m having a great time, or bring somebody you love and hold hands while walking during the full moon and pretend you’re in a black and white movie and kiss. Lay in the fresh cut fields pointing out which cloud is most perfect, admire the other’s skin when the sun sets, and open the bedroom windows, pull the curtains aside and snuggle when the sun rises.

My name is Ezekiel Tyrus. I am the gatekeeper to paradise. Contact me. Come down here. You’ll have an amazing time. Bring somebody you love and make it romantic.


My Christmas Eve in Paradise

I am house-sitting where you belong. This place belongs to you, dear Reader.

Do you understand? I’m merely the gatekeeper, the house-sitter of YOUR paradise and I’m in bliss.

Again, I repeat. It is Christmas Eve in Costa Rica and I’m in bliss. And this experience, belongs to you.

Made some lemon ice tea last night. It’s some of the best I’ve ever had and I’m originally from Florida so I know my lemon Ezekiel Tyrus poolice tea.

It’s sunny. I’m hanging by the swimming pool, got the house open, the windows, the doors, and have the TV on the classic MTV channel playing music from the 1980s, my generation. the good songs and the bad, which are good now, too, if only for nostalgia’s sake.

It’s hot, very hot and the sun is baking but I’m wearing suntan lotion and there’s a breeze coming through the trees from over the mountains. Whenever I get too sweaty, I jump into the pool, always the right amount of chill, refreshing, invigorating.

I’m reading Hemingway’s A Movable Feast, though I’ve read it before, I often reread books I love to rediscover certain gems you may have missed the first time:

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be the happiest.”12391113_969324436481157_5712329312238870911_n

-Great line, Hemingway and though I know you were writing about Paris in the 1920s, the same is true about Costa Rica today.

You may want to read another book or listen to another music channel but this experience belongs to you, you deserve i
t, let’s make it happen.

I’m happy here and this morning I had a moment walking into the sunny, spacious backyard where I had to stop, stretch my arms towards the sky and shout, “I’M IN COSTA RICA!!”

Come to Villas de San Buenas de Osa. This place is beautiful and magical. The land gets inside your soul and changes you in a positive way.

With all this beauty and happiness happening in the daytime, I don’t know how I will contain myself at 4:30 when the sun sets turning the earth and the sky into pink and gold, my favorite time of day in San Buenas.

Regardless how giddy or silly I’ll be, surely you’ll see me back in the same spacious backyard taking pictures of the sunset like I have every evening since coming down to Costa Rica a little over a month ago.  10295816_969309709815963_5834358375575404862_n 1463252_969324479814486_1778100848631566433_n


My Christmas Eve in Paradise

I am house-sitting where you belong. This place belongs to you, dear Reader. ezekiel tyrus dec 2015

Do you understand? I’m merely the gatekeeper, the house-sitter of YOUR paradise and I’m in bliss.

Again, I repeat. It is Christmas Eve in Costa Rica and I’m in bliss. And this experience, belongs to you.

Made some lemon ice tea last night. It’s some of the best I’ve ever had and I’m originally from Florida so I know my lemon ice tea.

It’s sunny. I’m hanging by the swimming pool, got the house open, the windows, the doors, and have the TV on the classic MTV channel playing music from the 1980s, my generation. the good songs and the bad, which are good now, too, if only for nostalgia’s sake.

It’s hot, very hot and the sun is baking but I’m wearing suntan lotion and there’s a breeze coming through the trees from over the mountains. Whenever I get too sweaty, I jump into the pool, always the right amount of chill, refreshing, invigorating.

I’m reading Hemingway’s A Movable Feast, though I’ve read it before, I often reread books I love to rediscover certain gems you may have missed the first time:

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be the happiest.”

-Great line Hemingway, and though I know you were writing about Paris in the 1920s, the same is true about Costa Rica today.

You may want to read another book or listen to another music channel but this experience belongs to you, you deserve it, let’s make it happen.

I’m happy here and this morning I had a moment walking into the sunny, spacious backyard where I had to stop, stretch my arms towards the sky and shout, “I’M IN COSTA RICA!!”

Come to Villas de San Buenas de Osa. This place is beautiful and magical. The land gets inside your soul and changes you in a positive way.

With all this beauty and happiness happening in the daytime, I don’t know how I will contain myself at 4:30 when the sun sets turning the earth and the sky into pink and gold, my favorite time of day in San Buenas.

Regardless how giddy or silly I’ll be, surely you’ll see me back in the same spacious backyard taking pictures of the sunset like I have every evening since coming down to Costa Rica a little over a month ago.


Meet Ezekiel Tyrus.

Ezekiel Tyrus is the newest member of the Las Villas de San Buenas team. ‘Zeke’ is our new onsite property manager and will meet you when you come to rent one of our homes during check-in, and/or when you come to look at purchasing an affordable Costa Rican lot or home. Because of this, we like to refer to him as “The Gatekeeper to Paradise”.

Although he has only been here a month, and is still learning the area, he has quickly learned his way around the region and can offer some great advice. Zeke quickly fell in love with Costa Rica and has invited  everybody down here for a visit.

Ezekiel Tyrus Gatekeeper to Paradise
Ezekiel Tyrus, The Gatekeeper to Paradise, is our newest team member here at Las Villas de San Buenas

Living in Costa Rica, Zeke says, “I awake every morning after a good night’s sleep with an urge to write, to draw, to paint, to create some sort of art because the world here is art. I always make sure I am outside at 4:30 when the sunsets happen. It’s a type of otherworldly beauty that feeds my soul. And I want to share it. Please contact me for more information at zeke@villassanbuenas.com.”

Further he adds. “I can provide you excellent value on any of these rental properties. Call me, so we can immerse ourselves in the beauty that is Costa Rica.”

Ezekiel Tyrus is an award-winning published author in the USA and during his down time here in Las Villas de San Buenas he is working on his next great novel. His byline includes short stories, plays and a novel with a cult-following.

Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Tyrus’ email is zeke@villassanbuenas.com


The Sunsets of Costa Rica Are An Even Greater Phenomenon than Aurora Borealis

I’m not discrediting the Northern Lights. If you are like me, seeing the Aurora Borealis, a collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere, is on your Bucket List.

However, I don’t believe the Northern Lights will have anything on the sunsets of Costa Rica.

Sunset villas san buenas
Another day, another beautiful sunset here in Las Villas de San Buenas

There are 5 specific reasons why I feel this way, the first 3 are practical, the other 2 are special like Costa Rica itself.

First, to get to the Aurora Borealis, you’ve got to travel to the far North. The closer you get to the Arctic Circle, the more prominent the Northern Lights are. For the sunsets, all you’ve got to do is come to Costa Rica.

Second, because it’s the far North, you’ve got to wear layers upon layers just to stay warm. It’s cold!

Here, in Costa Rica, I usually wear nothing but a tank top and running shorts, only throwing on shoes when I’ve got to go somewhere.

Go ahead and keep your layers, when I’m through writing this, I taking off my tank top and going for a swim.

Third, you’ve got to look up towards the sky to see The Northern Lights. Even though it’s lovely, who needs that neck-strain? Seriously.

I’m in Villas de San Buenas de Osa in the Southern Zone, and all one has to do is look straight towards the Pacific Ocean beyond the horizon.

There’s no Daylight Savings Time in Costa Rica like there is in The States, screwing up Americans emotionally and mentally for days and weeks on end.

This is why you always make sure you’re outside at 4:30pm every day all year long, and you can stand or walk or sit in a chair and just look straight ahead to where the sun’s setting. No neck-strain.

This leads to the fourth reason. The Aurora Borealis is up in the sky, beyond your reach. A Costa Rica Sunset envelops you. You watch the sun set, then at 4:45, almost 5, you look around you as the entire country turns into gold.
There’s a sheen everywhere. Everybody’s skin is glowing, including yours.

The incredible light, the soft golden hue is reflecting in all the vegetation, the mountains, the jungle, reflecting back against the houses, and you can walk around letting the light embrace you, or spin around like when you were a kid in a field. You are part of this natural wonder. It’s of the Earth, the air and sky. You don’t need to look upwards but around, or rather straight-ahead and side-to-side. You are inside the Costa Rica sunset from your bare feet to the top of your head.

If you are a spiritual person you will see and feel your God. This may be true regarding the Aurora Borealis but it’s different when you are inside your God, and can feel and see God all around you, not just up in the sky.

And lastly, if you are an artistic person, like myself, and we each have an art inside us, the sunsets of Costa Rica will make you want to create art.

Mine has always been the written word, but each sunset I experience, inspires me to go beyond words, enabling me to draw, to paint, and even take photographs than I ever have before.

Your skin will never look better than it will during a Costa Rican sunset, so take lots of pictures and nobody will need to tell you to smile because you’ll already be there.

The Northern Lights certainly inspired artists, folksinger Nick Drake wrote beautiful songs about it but when you’re inside a Costa Rican sunset, if makes everybody feel like an artist and you’ll feel like a piece of art for just being there.

My name is Ezekiel Tyrus. People call me Zeke. I am the gatekeeper to Paradise. Come see me.

zeke@villassanbuenas.com

#‎EzekielTyrusCostaRica‬

‪#‎LasVillasdeSanBuenasdeOsa‬

Las Villas de San Buenas de Osa

12/17/2015


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