CONNIE’S JOURNAL—COSTA RICA 2006 with OAT
FRI, Feb. 24: Our Orindawoods van driver picked us up at 6:30 and took us to BART which we then rode to SFO (about an hour’s trip). Uneventful flight to DFW where we got the flight to SJO (San Jose, Costa Rica.) We were met at the airport by an OAT rep when we arrived at 9:30 pm. We were the only ones in our OAT group arriving at that time (others had already gotten in before 9 on a different flight), so a van driver took us to the hotel. The Marriott Courtyard is about 20 minutes’ drive south of the airport. Had a good night’s rest.
SAT, Feb. 25: Huge buffet breakfast. At 8:00 13 of us were met by our guide, Miguel Alfaro, and our minibus driver, Popy, who would be with us for the entire trip. The other 3 in the group had had airline delays and would be joining us en route as we toured the city. We had a short get-acquainted meeting and orientation from Miguel before leaving for our City Tour.
First stop was the Teatro Nacional, built in 1897 and modeled after the Paris Opera house. Beautiful and ornate interiors. Next we went to the Museo Nacional, housed in the old fort. Had a brief tour of the archeology, anthropology, geology and political history to give us general background for what we would be seeing. Walked past the National Senate buildings to the main park where we saw the statue which is the national symbol of the country. (The Costa Ricans kicking William Walker out of the country!) Some interesting history to research further here. The national hero is Juan Santamaría who was just a 15-year old boy. Passed other important landmarks as we headed north through Alajuela in the central valley, up in to the highlands of the Cordillera Central, or range of mountains which form the spine of Costa Rica. This area is where coffee grows best.
We stopped for lunch and a tour at the Doka Estate coffee plantation. The meal was a typical Costa Rican Casado or meal consisting of picadillo ( a variety of diced vegetables sautéed and eaten in a tortilla), gallo pinto or “spotted rooster” (the ubiquitous rice and black beans we had at every meal), fried plantains, salad, juice and fruits. Lunch cost us $5 (!) each as it was not included in the tour package. The guide, Cindy, demonstrated how coffee is cultivated and harvested. The coffee fields are planted with banana trees, which provide irrigation during the 2 distinct seasons. During the rainy season they absorb great amounts of water, which they slowly release into the soil during the dry period, as well as provide partial shade. The 3 varieties of banana there are the regular sweet ones, the plantains, and the guinéas, which are used as a vegetable. These are hard and are cooked in black bean soup.
This plantation has been in the Vargas family for 100 years. Cindy showed us how the coffee beans must be picked by hand as only the red ones should be selected. All the menial labor in Costa Rica now seems to be done by Nicaraguans who come south over the border in need of work. There is a concern about the immigration but the Costa Ricans will no longer do such work for such low wages. Sounds familiar. A good picker can pick 30 basketsful each day. Women and children work, too, as they are paid by the basket. Each plant will require 3 pickings to harvest the beans only when ready.
The beans are then processed through huge water-filled separating tanks by weight into 3 grades; the heaviest sink and the lightest float. Then the outer skin is removed, the “sugar” is washed off (we tasted it). Next they dry out in the sun for 5 days before the husks are removed and only then are they roasted. Quite a process. This is the only “wet mill” in Costa Rica, as they use no electricity in the process. Springs bring in the water and even the roasting ovens are fueled by the byproducts of the plant.
We asked if they had decaf and were informed that they ship the beans overseas (only Switzerland and Germany use the water process to extract the caffeine rather than with chemicals.) Germany then sells the caffeine to the Coca Cola Company to use in their drinks and the decaf beans are then shipped back to Costa Rica for resale. No wonder it is expensive! 70% of their product is sold to the US and Starbucks buys 70% of that.
At 3:00 we left for our drive up over the Continental Divide, 7-8000 ft. elev. Into the rain and clouds through the Braulio Carrillo National Park and down into the cloud forest on the Caribbean side. Passing through one village we saw a festival going on with children dressed up as mascaradas (with devil-like heads). The clowns are called pallasos and chase and tease the children.
Next stop was at the famous waterfall, Catarata La Paz, the Peace Waterfall, for a photo op. We arrived at the town of La Virgen about 5:00 and checked in to our lodge, Saraquipí Centro Neotropico, just outside of town and in the Tirimbina Biological Reserve. We had time to walk through the grounds and visit the Museum of Indigenous People there, the only one of its kind in the country. Costa Rica has 7 distinct indigenous groups of people and 3 of them still maintain some of their own language and culture. The Botos were the pre-Columbian inhabitants in this area. We had a very knowledgeable young woman as a guide. She was a wealth of knowledge equal to a PhD in the subject but it was just that this was her passion and she lived this history and anthropology.
SUN, Feb. 26: A beautiful sunny morning with time for a walk and bird watching on our own before breakfast. Then we were off to the Sarapiquí River (means “clear water” in the Boto language) for our white water raft adventure. The company was called Aguas Bravas and the guide in our boat was Victor who seemed to be the leader—and quite a clown! We rafted down 7 miles through class 3 rapids and in between got to see blue morpho butterflies, howler monkeys, 2-toed sloth, iguanas, cormorants, ringed kingfishers and more. After a final “High five” with our paddles we beached and were met by Popy and the bus for a ride to a riverside restaurant to change and enjoy fried chicken, salads, vegetables, mashed yuca (a vegetable we have been getting in many different forms—but it is good), and candied plantains for dessert.
After a siesta back at the lodge we were off at 2:00 for a 3-hour walk in the Tirimbina Rainforest. Divided into 2 groups of 8 and Miguel led ours. Saw an Emerald Basilisk Lizard which is beautiful and quite shy. It is otherwise known as the Jesus Christ lizard as it seems to walk on water! On the Caribbean side of the mountains they are bright green and have a huge crest but on the Pacific side in the dryer forest they are brown. We covered about 2 ½ miles through the forest, crossing and re-crossing a number of suspension bridges over roaring rivers.
When we got back at 5:30 we decided to skip the lecture on ecology, ecotourism and forest conservation in favor of a shower and a beer. After dinner Ken and I did attend the optional lecture and demonstration on bats. Saw slides and learned the difference between insect bats, fruit bats, and vampire bats. Then the young students there had 3 or 4 bats that they had just caught in the mist nets to show us up close. We tried to feed a fruit bat a bit of sugar water. Later we released them. The object of this Center is to preserve 97% of the forest in its natural state.
MON, Feb. 27: Today we went on a tour of the Finca Corsicana, a pineapple farm. We rode through the fields in a colorful, specially built wagon with the guide. The guide would reach down, grab a pineapple off the plant, quickly slice off the outer part with his machete and then cleverly slice the rest and pass around the dripping, juicy fruit. We have never eaten such delicious pineapple! We learned that the pineapples are all fully ripe in the field when they are picked, but still have a green color. When purchasing in our local markets we must look for the ones that have not turned yellow! Total yellow means it is beginning to ferment. Most people buy bad pineapples. Look for the label to be sure it is MD2 variety or “gold”. They are the sweetest. They must have a fresh crown and can be stored in the refrigerator if not used right away.
This farm is gradually converting to all organic production. It will take a couple more years. They have a large contract with Dole.
We had lunch back at the lodge and left afterwards for our drive to Chachagua. It was raining and Chachagua means “much water”! In the town of Aguas Zarcas we parked and we all given a half hour to explore on our own, wherever we chose. This was supposed to be our individual “discoveries”. Of course Ken found the pasteleria (bakery) and we learned the names for cachos (horns), costillas (ribs—look like bear claws) and palmitos (cookies). Then I found the heladería (ice cream shop) and had a cona doble!
The Hotel Bosques de Chachagua is 2 or 3 miles off the somewhat paved road on a very rutty dirt road but is in a lovely, lush setting by a pond and a stream. We each had individual cabins, all designed with the huge shower room completely glassed from shoulder height on up (even the roof.) And yet they were private and we could watch the birds in the trees overhead as we showered. The bathroom floor was also slatted and open below, so we had geckos on the walls. (One chirped for a mate almost all the first night. I had to use ear plugs!) And there were birds outside the shower window who apparently could see their reflections and insisted on tapping on the glass at odd hours.
We gathered by the pool before dinner for bocas (tapas) with our drinks. I tried the Chilean merlot which was quite acceptable. We found most places served wine from Chile. Costa Rica makes wine but in my opinion it is not up to California standards. The hotel restaurant is open-air and very comfortable. After dinner we followed Miguel down to the swimming pool where he caught one of the many toads sitting on the edge croaking and he gave us a talk about the difference between toads and frogs. Another learning discovery! (OAT’s motto)
TUE, Feb. 28: Someone stole cash from one of our group’s locked rooms last night while we were at dinner. The guides and hotel are very upset. (We found out later it was a recent employee who they identified and the hotel reimbursed the money.)
After breakfast we stopped at a home nearby for a visit with a typical rural family. They keep 5 or 6 cows for milk, so those who wanted to got to milk a cow. La Abuela (the grandmother of the family) said the cow was also an abuela. I’m sure they chose the most placid one for us to practice on. We each patted out a tortilla which grandma cooked for us over her outdoor fire and we ate them with some of the homemade cheese. The mother (Flory Arieta) had made a large assortment of dulces (sweets) for us—yuca (a root vegetable) candies, tamal asado (like pieces of pudding), empanadas with guava jelly inside. She also made us coffee the “old fashioned” way, pouring the boiling water through a sock-like filter hanging on a traditional wooden frame.
The family also has 2 pigs which the little boy, Josué, showed us. There was a garden with all sorts of medicinal herbs. The family does not use doctors, just traditional healing ways. The pasture is divided into 5 separate hectares so the cows can be rotated through different fields as they graze. For extra income they also have a field of plants used for fencing which they sell to the electric company. The teenage daughter was home from school that day with a cold but Josué will go to school in the afternoon. In the country all primary children evidently go to school only half a day and alternate weekly from morning to afternoon.
Next we visited the Escuela San Rafael de las Peñas Blancas, a primary school in the area that is partially supported by the Grand Circle Foundation. (This is a very poor area and the Foundation has enabled them to build many necessities such as indoor plumbing, electric wiring, a new roof and other equipment. It also helps with school uniforms and supplies.) This school includes kindergarten and grades 1-6. The secondario schools are for the next 5 years. Each of the three classrooms houses 2 grades (1&3, 2&4, 3&6) Like our “one room schools” the older children help the younger ones. And as I already pointed out, a different group of children come in the afternoon, rotating weekly.
We were greeted by youngsters in traditional costume. They seated us in their main activity area and with both the US and Costa Rican flags they sang both countries’ national anthems. Then they performed several typical dances and lined up to tell us their names and each child told about one fruit or vegetable in English and Spanish. We asked them questions and they asked us some. After each of us being led on a tour of the school by one of the students we went back to the activity area where we played games with small groups of kids. The music system played American kids’ folk songs in the background. Ken and I played Twister. The youngsters were supposed to know the names of the colors, body parts, and right or left in English. They made us do it, too!
At noon we were divided into 3 groups of 5 or 6 and were taken on the bus to one of the student’s homes for lunch. We went with Marta. First her mother showed us an album of pictures of the family and we gave them the little gifts and souvenirs we had brought along for the occasion. Fortunately, Louise and I were able to speak with her and translate for the others, but the other groups were a bit more at a loss, I suppose. Mother had prepared the lunch: salad, rice, meat with garbanzos, picadillo (2 chopped vegetables) in tortillas, fried plantain, pineapple juice, and for dessert a dish of jello with vanilla ice cream and fresh fruits (papaya, watermelon, pineapple, and bananas.) We understand that this jello/ice cream is a very common dessert.
After lunch Marta showed us her calf, her chickens, and pigs she is raising. She wants to become a veterinarian and there is a technical school nearby so perhaps her aspirations are possible. This is something new in Costa Rica for women to choose something other than marriage and family.
An uncle lives next door and grandpa beyond that. He was out in the fields tending to the cows. And another aunt was hosting one of the other groups for lunch. They apparently take a turn about once a month. An OAT group visits weekly and pays the host family, so it helps supplement their income. Father drives a lumber truck and is gone from 6 am until 8 or 9 pm every day but Sundays, and sometimes even then. Since two of the children in the family are in the morning school schedule and the other 2 go in the afternoon, Mother always has kids at home. She makes cheese and sour cream, too, and sells it to the neighbors. Not an easy life.
When we got back to the lodge Miguel took us on a nature walk through the nearby woods, along the Waterfall Trail, warning us to stay behind him at all times because of snakes. We never saw any. Then at 6:00 he gave us all a lecture on volcanoes and the geology of Costa Rica. We are impressed with his ability to talk without notes, since he is mostly self-taught. Never went to college but instead studied at the tourism institute. He must have been a diligent pupil, and he says he is still learning every day. He has all the Latin names of birds, animals and plants in his head and is most impressive. And he presents it all with a friendly manner and sense of humor.
WED, Mar. 1: We had to wait a while after breakfast while Popy changed a tire on the van. I’m not surprised after the roads we have been driving on! This morning we visited a small women’s cooperative nearby called GEMA. The women started it by growing medicinal herbs and preparing them for sale. Finally their husbands became convinced and now support them. They have raised funds for grinders, dryers, packaging equipment and are now a model of what women can do. They served us tea and we bought some of their teas or herbs.
Along the road Popy spotted a 3-toed sloth up in a tree and we all got a look through Miguel’s scope. It is even possible to take a picture with the digital camera through the scope!
Also spotted a Laughing Falcon and I tried another picture through the scope.
Our next destination was a small private farm—only 2 acres, on which the farmer grows 23 different crops—all organic. Just the father and 2 sons, 11 & 15, with occasional help, do all the work. His wife prepared our lunch from food they had grown here themselves. It is a model of ecologically sound organic farming. He claims that the geometric shapes of each little plot discourage insects and he combines 2 crops in each area, so one shades or discourages pests from the other. The soil is very rich. He showed us his own design for a cabin in which a cow and 2 pigs spend time. The manure drains out below into a holding area covered by a large flexible plastic “bag” which collects the methane gas. They use that for cooking. The residue below is for fertilizer.
He showed us how his “hand roller” squeezes juice from the sugar cane. We then drank the straight juice. Next he had us taste the clear liquid he distills from that. Like vodka! Then he gave us a bit of his sugar cane candy on an edible lemon leaf and we were all given strips of the heart of the cane to suck and chew on. Nothing is wasted. He was a school administrator until 3 years ago when he bought this land. It is now a demonstration farm and he contracts with OAT to serve lunches. The dining area setting is lovely, overlooking a forested stream.
We checked in to the Volcano Lodge at the base of the Arenal Volcano by mid-afternoon, quickly changed, and were off to the Hanging Bridges Park for a 2-hour nature walk in the rain. There are 15 suspension bridges traversing steep canyons in the dense and drippy rain forest. We all put on our rain gear as it was pouring when we started but it soon let up and only the trees dripped from the fog and mist hanging over us.
The Arenal Volcano is one of the world’s most active volcanoes since it reawakened from a long dormancy in 1968. The top was shrouded in clouds the whole time we were there so we did not get to see any of its displays, but from the roadside near the base we were able to stop, walk a little way away from vehicle noises, and in the silence hear the crashing and rumbling of building size boulders breaking away from the rim of the crater and rolling down the mountainside. This continues constantly and there is always the possibility of a new eruption.
From the Hanging Bridges we were driven to a lovely hot springs resort, EcoTermales de Arenal. We had a wonderful hour and a half to soak and relax before they served us a delicious dinner.
THU, Mar. 2: Today we had a 2 hour drive north almost to the Nicaragua border. The river port of Los Chiles is just 3 km from the border so there is much immigration on this Río Frío. Before arriving there we stopped at a café for a toilet stop and to see all the green iguanas everywhere in the trees. From the road bridge we could look down on them and see the males who have turned bright orange and display a crest.
Our tour boat on the Río Frío spent a couple of hours on the river observing howler monkeys, spectacled caymans (caymen?), tiny insect bats sleeping on a tree trunk, green backed herons, anhingas, white faced capuchin monkeys, swallows, kingfishers, snowy egrets, lineated woodpeckers, emerald Jesus Christ lizards, both male and female, and lots of cormorants.
We were served a lunch on shore afterwards and were back to our hotel by 3:00. The schedule called for us to be dropped in the town of La Fortuna for an hour to just explore on our own and shop but only one person wanted to do that. The rest of us relaxed and swam and enjoyed the lovely hotel grounds. This was the nicest hotel complex so far and we wanted time to enjoy it. In a pond below our unit we saw lots of northern jacanas—a very colorful bird. Dinner that night was in the hotel.
FRI, Mar. 3: This morning we drove around the north side of the volcano and along the shore of Arenal Lake, a manmade lake about 60 miles long, built for hydroelectric power. Since arena is the Spanish word for sand, the volcano was named because of the amount of sand it produces. Our van was stopped briefly by a white nosed coati mundi who came out on the road to beg for food from passing vehicles. Unfortunately they have been fed by passersby and many are killed by the traffic. The big joke on this section of highway was potholes! Potholes! Potholes! Road repairs are almost non-existent and drivers really have to be alert. The saying is that if you see a driver swerving from side to side he is sober but if he drives a straight line he is drunk!
After crossing the Cordillera of Guanacaste we were on the dry Pacific side of Costa Rica. We followed the Pan-American Highway north to the town of Liberia where we were allowed an hour on our own for lunch. As we arrived in the center of town we discovered that it was a fiesta day and everyone was out waiting for the parade to start. Since we did not have much time to find a spot for lunch away from the crowds, the Shappees and we asked at a jewelry store nearby what they would recommend for us for a light local meal and the suggestion was great. It was very hot in the noon sun and we walked several blocks to find the Restaurante el Pilon which specialized in a local comida casada or traditional lunch. Inside there were no tourists, and we were escorted to a table right under a ceiling fan which felt great. We had Imperial beers, one of Costa Rica’s best, and Ken had Kaiser (alcohol-free) which is also made in the country. Rudy had the full plate lunch but the rest of us just each ordered a tortilla (homemade) filled with meat. It was delicious and all we could eat. Of course, afterwards we did head to the heladería for ice cream before finding our van again.
On north up highway #1 a ways we turned east toward the mountains for a 20 mile ride on a bumpy dirt road to the Buena Vista Lodge, nestled at the base of the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano. Here we were at 4,500 ft. elev. After a little rest we were off at 4:30 for a nature walk in the dry tropical forest (different from what we had been seeing on the other side of the mountains.) A few new animals we saw were an agouti (a small squirrel-like mammal) and a bird with a strange double tail—a turquoise browed motmot. The walk was timed so that we arrived out at the El Mirador view point bar just in time for sunset out over the Pacific 10 or 15 miles to the west.
SAT, Mar. 4: After breakfast those who wanted to got horses for the one hour ride to the hot springs. The non-equestrians rode over in a tractor-pulled wagon with our gear. The ride was partly on a dirt road and partly through the woods on an up and down steep and rocky trail, crossing 3 or 4 streams. Very pretty. The horses were all sure-footed and gentle; obviously they knew the trail well. The hot springs were in a forested ravine with a series of pools of different degrees of heat. After a brief soak we were presented with great vats of mud, supposedly therapeutic for the skin. Like little kids we all slathered each other from head to toe and then had to take lots of pictures while waiting for it to dry. After that the fun was around the outdoor showers, hosing each other off. When most of the mud was off we all traipsed back down to one of the big pools for a final soak. After changing back into our clothes we rode back to the lodge where we had time to clean up and relax before the 12:30 lunch.
At 2:00 those of us who had signed up for the optional forest canopy zipline tour met with the guides and got all outfitted with harnesses, clamps, helmets, thick gloves, etc., and made the steep hike up the hill to the first station. The ride consisted of 10 segments, sliding between 11 tree stations, high over the treetops. I found the height scary at first until I developed confidence in the harnesses and the instructions of the guides. We braked with one hand on the cable behind us, going between tree platforms one at a time, and the guides at each end told us when and how to brake for the next segment. From up there over the forest canopy we could never see through to the ground. At times we were almost 90 feet up in the air! Quite a thrill.
By the time we got back to the room a very strong wind had come up, but it felt good because otherwise it would have been very hot. The wind comes from the Caribbean side through the passes between the volcanoes. As a result, the tops of the mountains are almost always blanketed in clouds. One advantage here is that our hand laundry dries right away, whereas before it was still be damp after 2 days.
We walked back to the lobby bar at 4 and had a beer and a piña colada (sin alcohol) for Ken. Plenty of time to relax before dinner. We did not sign up for the optional snake talk at the serpentarium after dinner. The photographers here had taken our pictures on the horseback ride and on the zipline so of course we looked at them on the computers and bought them.
We watched the sunset from the porch of our room this evening as the wind was blowing a gale. As a matter of fact, it howled all night so much it sounded like the roof of the cabin would blow off. I slept with earplugs again.
SUN, May 5: The usual large buffet breakfast also had gallo pinto (Guanacaste style) this morning and chunks of deep fried cheese.
On the drive back down to the main highway Miguel stopped and picked a fruit from a cashew tree. None of us had ever seen how cashews grow. The big nut is suspended below the round bright red fruit. Odd looking.
We made such good time driving this morning (Sunday, no trucks) that we arrived at the
Monteverde Cheese factory and ice cream store at 10:30. But we all elected to stop anyway. It is the best and creamiest ice cream in the country and can only be bought here. Most of us had cups, but several had milkshakes and Frank ordered a banana split, complete with a tiny umbrella! The dairy was started by a group of Quakers who left the US in protest of WWII. About 50 families settled here.
We arrived at the Villa Lapas Hotel in Tarcoles by noon, with plenty of time to relax and enjoy the setting in the tropical jungle before lunch. Their buffet was one of the best. A cream of pureed vegetable soup, several salads, beef fajitas, chicken, picadillo, etc. I tried another Costa Rican beer, Pilsen, which was also good. The dessert area had a chest from which you could scoop your own ice cream! And the usual “3 milks cake” which we have had frequently.
Over the bridge across the stream from the hotel is the Santa Lucia “artisan village”, a little park with several specialty shops and 2 restaurants. Walked, took a dip in the pool and by 3:15 we were off in the van again down to the tidal estuary of the Río Tarcoles for a 2 hour boat ride, especially to see the crocodiles. One must have been 15 feet long! Spotted many more birds including scarlet macaws. The basilisk (Jesus Christ) lizards are brown on the Pacific coast. They were green on the Caribbean side.
Our buffet dinner tonight included a nice fried fish, oriental chicken, baked bamboo shoots in cheese sauce.
MON, Mar. 6: We learned at breakfast that 2 rooms of our group had been burgled last evening while we were at dinner. One couple lost 3 cameras and the others lost cash, jewelry and their camera. Miguel has been many hours with the hotel management and the local police. The room doors were jimmied and a locked suitcase was broken open. The explanation was that the police have been looking for someone in the area who checks into a different tourist hotel each time, looking very legitimate, with luggage and all. Apparently they watch when it is dark and folks are at dinner for their window of opportunity and then leave without a trace. The hotel wants to reimburse the losses but both couples had taken out the insurance policy with OAT and apparently that will cover it. The tragic loss, of course, is all the pictures of the trip which were in the cameras.
It is unfortunate for the reputations of the hotels, the tour groups, and the country generally, and they are all trying their best to make it up. We have been keeping our money, passports, credit cards, etc. on us at all times (something we always do when we travel anyway) and in this hotel there was a safe box which required a $3/day rental of the key. The affected couple had not used it. But I am not sure we would have thought to put our cameras in it as well. And of course putting things in a suitcase and then locking it was just a “flag”. This has been a good “heads up” for all of us.
When Miguel and the folks involved returned from the early morning drive to the police station to file reports (for insurance purposes) we got on our way for the 45 minute drive to the port of Puntarenas. (Neither Popy, Miguel, nor the other couples had had a bite of breakfast.) There we boarded the Catamaran Calypso for the hour ride across the Gulf of Nicoya to Punta Coral, a private beach resort reserved just for our group for the day. The other people on the cruise had come down from San Jose by bus to take this day trip on further to Tortuga Island. They were the ones mostly sitting out sunning on the webbing and getting a pretty good start on the drinking! During the cruise the crew kept passing out platters of pineapples, papaya, watermelon and free soft drinks, so our hungry members at least got something to eat.
The boat left us at Punta Coral where we changed to swimwear, snorkeled, swam, and relaxed in hammocks and on chaises until it was time to gather around the outdoor bar under a palapa for our “appetizer” of ceviche. It was very tasty and some of the group had never had it before. Of course the raw fish has been chemically “cooked” by marinating it in lime juice, and the other seasonings were very nice (except for those who do not care for cilantro.) Then we were seated in the dining area with white tablecloths, a complimentary glass of wine, salad, a delicious mahi mahi with a sauce of macadamia nuts and mushrooms, rice, vegetables, garlic bread and a coconut brownie with whipped cream and berry sauce. Coffee was served in individual little wooden filter holder frames like we have seen in homes before. While we were eating we were entertained by El Abuelo—a 93 year old grandpa who built his own marimba and has been working for this cruise company as a musician for 18 years! He said he plays nothing modern, only the old melodies “from the heart”! We enjoyed him.
After a brief rest, those of us who wanted to went kayaking out in the bay. Zell and I went together and she was my “coxswain”. Others went for a walk and some just napped in the hammocks. The catamaran with the other passengers already on board stopped to pick us up at 4:00 and we were served more fruits and drinks on the way back. We passed close to a tiny island where the frigate birds were just coming in to roost in the trees for the night. The sky was a cloud of them and the trees looked full! Quite interesting.
As we were driving back down the coast to the hotel the sky blazed with the most beautiful sunset we had seen on this trip. Plenty of time at the hotel to shower, wash hair, relax and have a drink before our 7:30 dinner but Miguel, Popy, and Jerry had to go to the police station again to fill out reports, so they did not get back to eat until almost 9.
TUE, Mar. 7: Driving inland after breakfast about 1 ½ hours through the village of Orotina to Atena (Athens) for a stop in the Mola shop. This stitchery craft is done by the Cuna Indians off the coast of Panama but now their work has become a well-known tourist attraction. I remember seeing them and buying some in 1974 and the designs then were much more symbolic and traditional. Now they show recognizable flowers and birds a lot, which I guess appeal more to the tourists. They are still lovely and very colorful. This shop also had a good representation of all the souvenir craft items we might see in the country, so many folks shopped here. I noticed they had the medium size hand painted oxcarts for sale for $320 and not as carefully painted as mine at home (bought in ’74) This was also a necessary toilet stop!
We drove on in to San Jose where we were taken to a jewelry store. Again I guess the idea was to show us as many different locally designed and produced crafts and souvenirs as possible. The shop is called Esmeraldas y Diseños. I believe the gemstones came from Brazil, but the designs were from the early indigenous people in this area, the Bruncas or Borucas. They have excavated the pre-Columbian jewelry and particularly duplicate the 4 gods—a shaman, the health god, the frog (for fertility), and the music maker. We were shown a film describing the lost wax process of jewelry making. They then make their reproductions in silver, gold, or gold plated bronze. I did buy tiny earrings of the music god.
Since it was then noon and lunch was not included in the package we went to a seafood restaurant in a nearby residential neighborhood, La Princesa Marina. It apparently is very popular with the locals and got quite crowded after we got there. Everyone ordered something different and seemed to like it. Ken and I had the platter of camarones grandes—huge grilled prawns.
We checked back in to the same Marriott Courtyard Hotel where we had started the trip and had some free time in the afternoon. Ken had wanted to find a CD of instrumental Costa Rican music to use as background for his video, so Miguel and Popy took about half the group to a large shopping mall nearby.
At 5:00 we all left for our “farewell dinner” at a restaurant in a suburb in the western hills overlooking the city. It was timed nicely for us to enjoy the sunset and watch the city lights all come on. The restaurant was called Tiquícia in the wealthy neighborhood of Escazú. It was Ann’s birthday and we surprised her with a card. After many hugs and tearful farewells we returned to the hotel for a rather brief night’s sleep.
WED, Mar. 8: We and the Shappees were scheduled on the same flight to LAX so we had a 5:15 wakeup call and a driver met the 4 of us at 6:00 to take us to the airport for our 9:30 flight. We had breakfast in the food court at the airport and browsed the shops one final time. Each shop had a big display of the Britt coffees and candies we have been enjoying and they each have small bowls of samples of all the dark chocolate covered goodies—macadamias, cashews, coffee beans, guava jelly, passion fruit, banana, and our favorite--pineapple centers. The samples are free as well as the help-yourself small cups of coffees, so one could spent quite a bit of time nibbling through the airport shops! Hard to resist. Ken found a couple of T-shirts he liked
The rest of our trip went just a scheduled. A short flight from LAX to SFO and from there we caught BART right to Orinda where the Orindawoods van took us up the hill right to our front door.
PURA VIDA!!
My pictures can be found at www.doty.org/gallery/costarica06
and this journal is at www.doty.org/travel/costarica06
Here are some miscellaneous notes on Costa Rica:
Ticos – are what Costa Ricans call themselves
Pura Vida is the national expression of pleasure
Chorizo (slang) – like the sausage, can be anything passed “under the table” such as a bribe
Buen Provecho = bon apetit
Hueco – pothole (we saw plenty of these)
Desechable – disposable
Recyclable – recyclable
Lajuela – limestone (La lajuela = Alajuela)
Muertos – speed bumps in the road (topes or “sleeping policemen” in Mexico)
In respond to a thank-you do not say “de nada”. Instead ticos say “con mucho gusto”
Achiote – the seeds are mashed into a red paste and used as a food coloring or spice. (the seed can also be used as a cosmetic – rouge or lipstick)
Maní – peanut in C.R. (cacahuete is a Mexican word)
Pulpería – a grocery store in C.R.
Meteologicos – weather reporters
Mentiralogicos (mentir = to lie) What the ticos call the weather reports
Casado – the typical C. R. lunch
Gallo pinto (spotted rooster) – beans & rice, often at breakfast