Saturday, February 28 - Sabado
Aura and I drive into Puerto Veijjo de Sarapiqui. I want to visit a souvenir shop that is closing soon and find some raw almonds as the food delivery service failed to bring them today. She needs to pick up some medication at the pharmacy for her husband. The souvenir shop is closed, it seems they weren’t making enough money and we can’t find the almonds - despite going to three different grocery stores. Aura picks up the medication and we stop for coffee and pastry. It’s 6:00 p.m. and I’m drinking coffee.
It’s Saturday night and it’s also pay day. Most Costa Ricans get paid on the 15th and the last day of the month. The streets are full of people, dressed up, hanging out. Neither of us are dressed up as we are just running errands. It’s funny to see people dressed up walking around the streets. Family’s are having dinner at the local chicken shack, men gather for conversation and everyone just seems to be in a good mood. We have our coffee and watch the buses come and go.
On the way back we stop at the gas station. The attendant tells Aura that she needs to have one of her tires fixed, there is a hole. The tire repair shop is still open, we drive around to the back of a building off the main road and are greeted by 5 men. It’s obvious they don’t see many gringa’s back here as everyone gathered on my side of the car to watch as I exited the vehicle. I look around notice most of them are drinking beer and we are far from the main road, tucked in behind the gas station and a disco. Before I can even exit the vehicle, the jack is placed underneath. I suggest to Aura that she call Joaquin and let him know where we are. She gives me a funny look. I tell her we are far from the road and these guys are drinking beer - it would be a good idea if someone knows where we are. She understands and calls Joaquin. The man assisting us listens to the call and gives Aura the exact location so she can tell her husband. When she hangs up she tells me it was a good idea. I feel a little better. The men keep looking and one of them is shirtless parading back and forth in front of me. I find it a little amusing as well as perplexing that I am spending my Saturday night in old jeans, sneakers and a tank top at a tire repair shop. I’m out of place and grateful that I remembered to bring my passport because I’m sure the police are going to notice my blonde hair and wonder what the heck a gringa is doing at a tire repair shop on a Saturday night.
Thirty minutes and the equivalent of four dollars later, one tire is repaired another two are rotated and we are on our way back to Sueno Azul without incident.
Thursday, February 26 - Jueves
The Tour of Horquetas. Today I accompanied Whitney and her 74 year old mother into the town of Horquetas. I am looking forward to tasting soupa ollia de carne (meat soup). I told Canello and Cokie that I really enjoyed my visit to their mother’s house and the food was delicious. Both were very happy and Canello asked me if I wanted to try ollia de carne on my next visit. I eagerly agreed.
After a walk through the town, we arrive at Dona Mari’s. This week she has prepared a wonderful feast. None of us has to make our own tortilla - for which I am grateful. She hands me a bowl and directs me to this huge pot of soup, instructing me to take one of each thing in the pot. I fill my bowl with cabbage, yucca, meat, potato, sweet potato, a root vegetable and some more things I can’t identify. She then adds in a few spoonfuls of seasoned white rice and throws a thick tortilla on top. I take a seat and dig in. The soup is amazing. The taste is similar to corned beef and cabbage. After the soup she gives me a maduro (stuffed green banana) and coffee. The coffee has an amazing taste because it was prepared next to the wood burning fire.
The children are there again along with another girl. As soon as they see me, they are no longer shy. Immediately they ask to have their picture taken. We spend the time taking pictures, showing them their picture and conversing in Spanish to the best of our abilities. They understand and speak English - but are hesitant to do so. Again we leave, completely full and I promise to visit the following week.
Wednesday, February 25 - Miercoles
Dia Libre! My long awaited free day. I have an appointment in Pacoris with Jacqualine at 10:00 a.m. for a much needed pedicure. I desire peace, quiet and alone time almost as much as I desire a pedicure. I am torn between a need to spend the day blissfully alone - not speaking with anyone or honoring the appointment which comes with the added benefit of a 45 minute drive and plenty of socialization. I haven’t had a day off in two weeks. My last free day was spent working in the morning and then driving to Guaplies with Lynda, one of the faculty and Aura. Although it was fun - it was more socializing than I needed during a particularly challenging week of work.
Before any decisions can be made, I need some exercise. After sleeping in until 6:30 a.m., drinking plenty of Kangen water, I don my sneakers and head out for a solitary walk. It is a beautiful day - one of those rare Costa Rica days that will alternate between sun and clouds, a little breeze and no rain. The walk is fabulously uneventful. Due to the difficulties with previous groups, I have made it abundantly clear to this weeks group that I am off today. If they happen to see me, which I make a concerted effort to avoid, they have been asked to simply wave. Conversations and questions can wait until Thursday morning. I manage to dodge most of them, timing my walk between their breakfast and meeting time with the additional precaution of using a circuitous route. One which minimizes my exposure on the common walkways. Before the walk I thought I would go to Pacoris. After the walk I am not as certain. I languish in my room, reviewing the decision while enjoying the peace and quiet of having the entire resort to myself. Perhaps tea will help or a shower. Still I am unable to arrive at a decision and the hour is growing late. I dress in a light cotton tank dress and make my way to breakfast.
Ah, the decision has been made for me, there is no way I can have breakfast, dress appropriately and leave on time. I realize that I really want to have lunch with Aura at a nearby soda. I cancel the plans with Sherri and Jacqualine and make plans with Aura for lunch at 12:30 p.m. Adrian gives me the keys to his car and Sherri and Jacqualine offer to come to the resort on another day so I may have a pedicure with Jacqualine! The morning passes amazingly fast. I read, lay by the pool and then it’s time to dress for lunch with Aura.
Despite the heat, I don pants and a t-shirt. We hop in Adrian’s car and are off. There is this amazing sense of freedom and liberation as soon as I drive over the first bridge. I feel like I am having a “normal” day off - one that most people have - doing exactly what I want to do when I want to do it - it’s just in a country different from the one in which I legally reside. The soda I really want to try is full - every one of the 10 stools at this road side stand is taken. We continue driving and decide to eat at a restaurant which serves soda type food before the entrance to Puerto Veijo de Sarapiqui.
Sodas continue to amaze me. It is Costa Rica’s answer to fast food - which isn’t fast at all. Throughout the country you can stop at any one of these roadside stands and get a casado (literally four compartment meal) with a refrescos natural for under 2,300 colones (less than $ 5.00). The main compartment of the meal is prepared fresh to order and the soda can be attached to a gas station, hardware store, someone’s house or occasionally a free standing structure. I think you could live in the country for a year, drive from soda to soda each day and still not eat at all of them.
After lunch, we stop for ice cream and head back to the hotel. I spend the rest of the day lounging in the hotel, on my terrace, in my room. Aura comes up for a visit at 5:00 p.m. - this is a rarity. She has been drinking the kangen water for few weeks and has finally found a container for me to fill so she may also drink the water at home. I have been walking back and forth from my room a couple of times per day, filling her 32 oz bottle - keeping her hydrated throughout the day.
Tuesday, February 24 - Martes
Tour de Chocolate! Yes a chocolate tour. As delicious as it sounds. We left the hotel at 9:00 a.m. - me and the three perisos (spanish word for sloth, my affectionate term for guests on Rest and Relaxation Retreat). I was extremely excited, despite being tired. Sitting in the front seat of the statix (Van) drinking in the Costa Rican country side, sipping green tea with the ambient sound of “getting to know you” polite conversation in English underscoring the journey. Road trips, once arduous undertakings have become familiar, pleasant journeys. Gone are the days when everything seemed so far away from the hotel. Now each trip seems a little short - surely it must be farther - it used to seem so far, so unpleasant. I’m sure the balmy temperate climate that is Costa Rica this year is a contributing factor.
Upon arrival at Tarimbina, we meet our guide and join people from Germany and Switzerland for a tour given in English by a Costa Rican guide. We are also accompanied by a Costa Rican film crew! Once again, I will appear on Costa Rican television. I seem to be the only person disturbed by the film crew. This is my third time being filmed for Costa Rican television. I imagine I will become the face of tourism for North Americans in Central America. Since this has taken place over the course of three years, I wonder if the Costa Rican nationals think I am a paid model. Regardless, I find it annoying. We hike over an 850 foot long suspension bridge. The bridge is suspended over rain forest and the rushing waters of the Sarapiqui River. About half way over the bridge it occurs to me that my keys are dangling from my pocket. My hands are full with a camera and water bottle. I pray the keys stay in their usual spot, and make a note to myself to tuck them safely in my pocket before trekking through the rain forest. Once we are over the bridge, the guide reminds us not to touch anything during the walk. After spending many years in this country, hiking through various rain forests, I have actually stopped touching things when I am outside - regardless of the country. Todays warning pertains to the bullet ant. A large ant that is common to the rainforest. The bite is reported to be extremely painful. I have seen the ant, the after effects of a bite and heard stories about the pain. This is not something I need or want to experience first hand. We hike through the rain forest along the banks of the Sarapiqui, dependent upon core strength for balance throughout inclines, declines, steps and turns. After 30 minutes of hiking we arrive at a clearing with an outdoor pavilion. The incongruence of a structure while architecturally congruent takes my breath away . I am simultaneously amazed, impressed, in awe of the structures that seem to appear miraculously after a hike through the thick green lushness of nature, feeling remote and isolated from the world. I marvel at the use of native materials, the simplicity of design and the functionality.
The process of growing coco (cacao) beans and producing chocolate is fascinating. This is a small, private, traditional plantation. Traditional plantations are located within a mature forest near a river. The mature trees provide the necessary shade for the smaller cacao trees. The soil close to a river is rich and fertile due to years of the river overflowing and depositing sediment on top of the clay. The guide explains the entire process, while demonstrating each step complete with tasty and interesting samples. The cacao seeds are contained within the cacao fruit - which varies in size and color. To harvest the seeds, traditionally the fruit is broken open by hitting it against the edge of a wooden stool. Contained within are seeds with a thick milky textured covering. Each of us sucks on a seed and then contribute them to the drying rack. The seeds are left out in the open air for the bugs and insects to germinate while they dry. The drying process takes 7 days. We each sampled a dried bean. Next the seeds are roasted and hand shelled. Again, we sampled one of the roasted beans. The shelled beans are ground by hand. Once ground, traditionally sugar and cinnamon are added. The ground substance is processed through a grinder producing a fabulous tasting and smelling cacao paste. Boiling water is added to the cacao paste producing a delicious tasting chocolate drink. In order to produce chocolate bars and candies, lecithin and cocao butter is added. If milk chocolate is desired, milk is also added. We sampled so much chocolate that is was difficult to eat lunch upon return to Sueno Azul. This was defiantly the most informative and tastiest tour I have ever had the pleasure of taking.
Saturday, February 21 - Domingo
I join Aura and Joaquin for a Saturday night as San Chi Cha’s. Saturday nights are the big night out in Horquetas. San Chi Cha gives me a hard time because it has been 14 days since my last visit. According to him I need to come more often. He has already harassed Joaquin and Aura on two previous occasions because they came without me. He has offered to drive up and get me, whatever it takes. According to him, if they are there, I should be there as well. Dona Nice brings out a platter of pantacones before we can even order. She knows they are my favorite.
Thursday, February 19 - Jueves
Today the Rest and Relaxation group accompanies Diego on a tour of the Horquetas, the town in which Sueno Azul is located. I accompany the group on the pretense of sampling the tour. This year the tour includes a stop at a local house to prepare and sample Costa Rican food. Dona Mari is our host and she is also Canello and Cokie’s mother. Canello and Cokie are big guys so I’m pretty sure her cooking is fabulous.
We walk into town, stopping along the way to learn about local plants and take some pictures. We visit the Royka supermarket, elementary school and while we are on our way to the police station, one of the store owners offers to show us a Perizoso. We walk through his property and view the sleeping blob in a tree. Perizoso (sloths) are pretty inactive, so even though you get to see one - you usually don’t get to see more than their backside. He continues to show us his property and we are joined by his two daughters. We visit his Tilapia farm, wood working shop, pigs, turkeys, chickens and roosters. The people are very friendly and proud to show you their way of life and possessions.
We follow the scent of burning wood to Dona Mari’s. She is all business, she greets us and immediately puts each of us to work. After watching Dona Mari, I am instructed to make my own tortilla by gently flattening the wet ball mixture with one hand turning it with the other, while keeping the edge round and whole. I misunderstand and push to hard, the edges of my tortilla start to fray. Dona Mari insists I watch her again. I do so, then I have to fix my tortilla. I have difficulty getting the concept of gently, so when she isn’t looking, I call Diego over for assistance. Diego finishes the process. While I am learning the art of tortilla, Penny, one of the R&R guests, is making Costa Rican coffee the traditional way. She is spooning boiling water from a pot into a suspended cotton sack filled with ground coffee. The finished product drips out into waiting pot. During all of this we are joined by her grandson and another child she looks after during the day. After my tortilla is appropriately flattened, I require Dona Mari’s assistance to remove it from the wax paper and place it in a pan over the wood burning fire. Each of us makes our own tortilla - all are round, some are thicker than others. There is defiantly an art to this process. The aroma of the wood burning fire, coffee and tortillas has wetted our appetites.
The serving table is filled with delicious treats Dona Mari has prepared for our visit. We feast on empanadas with frijoies con queso (a fried corn and flour shell filled with beans and cheese), natilla (Costa Rica’s version of sour cream - used with just about every kind of food), and a plate of fresh white cheese. Taking a bite of a tortilla covered with natilla and filled with fresh white cheese is so satisfying, my eyes roll and I let out a little groan. Dona Marti smiles. I realize she doesn’t know who I am and no one has told her I am coming. I tell her “Yo es Charrito” - she doesn’t speak or understand any English. As soon as she hears “Charrito”, her face lights up. I tell her how much I like her sons. At first she speaks only of Canello and then she gets very animated and tells me how much Cokie speaks of me. Cokie and I have a very special bond - he is truly a gentle soul and a pleasure to be around.
Dona Mari continues to feed each of us until we are so full we cannot fit another bite. In between the children, who are becoming less shy with each passing moment, take turns showing us the chickens, their eggs and the baby chickens - which are all within 5 feet of the wood burning stove and table of food. We are also joined by various cats and dogs - none of which are really anyone’s pet - just local animals that seem to go from house to house. When we are all satiated and find it difficult to move, she asks if I will come again. I say “If you are cooking, I am coming, every week!” This pleases her and she inquires about some other food, asking if I would like to try. I tell her in perfect Spanish - that I like all Costa Rican food - forgetting momentarily about my intense dislike of tripe. We agree to meet again next week and I’m excited about the possibilities. Diego knew we wouldn’t be able to walk back to the hotel and he wisely made arrangements for Rodrigo to pick us up. Each of us piles into the van, full and happy with our tour of Horquetas.
Wednesday, February 18 - Mericoles
Today is my scheduled day off - but it’s not working out like that. For some reason, I have a lot of work to do. I meet with Federico, tie up some loose ends, make arrangements with Lynda to accompany me and Aura to Guaplies for my appointment, errands and dinner. Lynda is one of Omega’s faculty and someone with whom I enjoy spending time. We sit together every night and talk and I always look forward to the week she teaches. It’s the closest I have come to having a friend visit me in Costa Rica.
At 2:00 p.m. we get in the car and I drive to Guaplies. The first stop is the orthodontist. Aura is amazed at how well I know Guaplies and how easily I can find my way. The orthodontist office is filled with children and teenagers - it’s standing room only. I have a 3:00 p.m. appointment and we are on time, but it is doubtful that I will be seen in a timely fashion. I complete the necessary forms, growing increasingly nervous. I have no idea what braces entail, how much it will cost, if I can even stand the process of getting them put on, let alone living with them. We try to ask the receptionist questions, but she just smiles (she has braces too) and assures us the Doctor will be able to help us. We wait a while - Aura thinks I should get braces, Lynda doesn’t - then decide we are not going to be seen in a reasonable period of time and leave.
We walk to the fabric store, to help Aura pick out fabric for new curtains. I’m not a big fan of curtains, luckily Lynda, who is an artist and really good with color, is with us and assists Aura in making her decisions. Sherri meets us for a quick visit. We all walk to the shoe store, then the homeopathic store (it’s really a health food store). While we are looking for book store, it occurs to me that I know where the pepia (cold coconut) vendor is. I know Guaplies better than Aura and Sherri and head directly to the market where the coconuts are sold. Unfortunately he is out of pepia’s - which I’ve asked for and have been understood in Spanish. Apparently it’s been a bad year for coconuts - because I haven’t been able to purchase a pepia since I’ve been here. Sherri leaves to go to school and we get back in the car and go to dinner.
Dinner is fabulous - each of us orders exactly what we want. Instead of a typical dish, I opt for Hawaiian Pizza, which I can even order in Spanish, as it is so close to English with the different parts of the word accented. After dinner we drive to Mas por Menos for a little shopping. Driving in Guaplies is like driving in a place where the rules of the road are unclear. Dividing lines and directional street signs are non existent. Fortunately I know the roads, which is little comfort to Lynda as it is dark and traffic is thick and fast. Lynda does really well until we have to circle the store and pull out into oncoming traffic. She doesn’t realize it’s a two lane one way street and let’s out a little scream as I pull into what I know is a lane. Aura and I laugh and I explain the road to her. It probably doesn’t help that I’ve already stated how much I dislike driving at night and I left my night time driving glasses in the United States.
I pick up blackberries - excited to have a different fruit, only to find out later they are terribly bitter in this country. Inedible alone and usually added to water or milk for a natural fruit drink. After paying the “car watcher” (someone who watches your car and helps you back out into traffic) a few colones (less than a dollar) we are on our way back to the hotel. For me, it was a very successful and satisfying day - I spoke Spanish with the locals and they all understood me - a huge improvement from three years ago in the same town.
Tuesday, February 17 - Martes
Today I accompanied Adrian and his friend Grabien on their trip to the dentist in Guaplies. I’m interested in getting braces, because my teeth seem to be getting a little more crowded and out of alignment as I age. Costa Rica is known for their affordable cosmetic procedures so I might as well take advantage of these opportunities. Plus, Adrian’s dentist speaks English. We arrive at the dental clinic in Guaplies - it’s very clean, comfortable and not at all like any clinic I have ever seen in the United States. Costa Rica is the land of uniforms and everyone from school children to technology employees sports a uniform. Adrian and Grabien enter into the dental room together, leaving me in the open air waiting room. I am accompanied by two Costa Rican women and a couple of children. I settle in to reading a book. Another Costa Rican woman enters and after a few minutes of waiting - the dental assistants are busy in the room with the doctor’s and patients - she begins speaking in Spanish to me from across the room. I hesitate to look up because surely she can’t be speaking to me. I am obviously American and there are two other Costa Rican women here who must know more than me. As I look up, she is walking towards me - still speaking. I feebly say “I don’t understand” in Spanish. She gives me a strange, but friendly look, continues to stand next to me and asks her question to one of the other women. I understand the answer, and realize the woman hasn’t really answered her question, but I can’t explain it in Spanish. A few minutes pass and she’s still standing next to me. She looks at me and says in Spanish “ So, you don’t speak Spanish?”. I look up, bashfully and say in Spanish “A little bit”. She say’s in perfect, clear English “You should really learn.” I look at her with wide eyes and say “Yes, I know. I have tried. I know a lot of words, but my accent, intonation and grammar are bad.” She spends the rest of the time talking to me. Her name is Flora, she is from Limon and teaches English. When I compliment her on her English, which is the most clear, perfect, grammatically correct English I have ever heard in this country - she explains that she is not a native speaker so it is not that good. As we talk, I realize that I am thrilled to have this slice of Costa Rican life. My experience here is always fun and entertaining, but someone surreal in that it usually involves some aspect of tourism, dining or entertainment. All of which are fabulous, but somewhat removed from daily existence. This conversation with Flora in the dental clinic is different and for the first time I get a glimpse of how easy it is to live in another country. Flora encourages me to practice my Spanish. There is something about the way she says this, her honesty and openness. Her simple statement hits home, she has managed to convince me that perhaps with a little practice, I could speak Spanish well enough to be understood by others.
Adrian and Grabien emerge and it’s my turn. I enter the office and the dentist is fabulous. She checks my teeth and tells me that she can refer me to the orthodontist who is in town once a week. She explains that before I receive braces, I’ll need a cleaning and shows me the tarter build up. I agree to the cleaning as long as she’ll do it . She tells me when she’s there and sends me on my way.
The assistants make and appointment for me with orthodontist for the next day and Adrian offers his vehicle. So now I have an appointment in Guaplies at 3:00 p.m. on my day off!
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