Lyming in Costa Rica

As my friend Sunshine is half Costa Rican (her mother was from there) and she knows I love the country, when she, her daughter Cathy, son-in law Cardiff and younger children Amanda and Arianna were going for a family reunion, they invited me.

 So off we flew from Miami on Tuesday 15th March for one week of fun, eating and more fun. (Incidentally, while Kathy is fluent in Spanish the rest of us adults barely got by.) However, it amazes me though that the children know no Spanish as they live and go to school in Florida and one would have thought Spanish would have been taught as at least a 2nd language, there.

Sunshine has many nieces, nephews, cousins and even a grand-nephew there and they are the most hospitable people I have encountered in many years of travelling. To begin with her nephews Alexander and Harry took off the entire week from work so they could take us all over the place. From we arrived on Tuesday 15th March it has been go go go. On arrival at around 10 am (we gained two hours over Florida time due to day light savings time) we were met at the airport by Alexander and his wife Laura and appropiately they came in a minibus owned by Harry. 

He had been in the tourism business, hence his transport was tailor made for us.

From the airport we were transported directly to his sister Jackie's home and man was it georgeous.....about an acre of well kept lawn with pool, games room and entertainment centre. There we had a typical Costa Rican breakfast waiting for us.

 She lives in Ala Juela, the second largest city which is near the international airport. I had discovered from my second visit that they eat rice and peas with breakfast and just love it. Interestingly later meals are accompanied by plain rice and of course other starches, but apparently never rice and peas later in the day.

We stayed there until after 2 pm, just lyming and when we were taken to the hotel to check in, it was only to bathe and go back to dinner and to meet the rest the entire family, a very large family. 

The entire family is extremely warm, from very young children to the older folk...the theme was just tu casa es mi casa! I later discovered that Laura is a very accomplished artist as she paints and enhances her work with paper machet......really good stuff. Incidentally, she and her children speak English fluently, but her husband Alexander, doesn't. 

Anyway, she does not do art commercially as she says its time consuming but she has really nice stuff she has done for the home.

One Wednesday they allowed us to rest but by mid day, we had jumped on a local bus to go to Escazu in search of local food. We found a lovely place operated by an Iraqi but the food was Costa Rican and excellent and of course they had a full supply of natural, local juices. When we were at the bus stop to return to the hotel, up drove Alexander and we all piled into his vehicle. He and his family had been on the way to visit us at the hotel and to make plans for the rest of the week.

That evening he, Harry and their families took us to a restaurant way up in the mountains of Tarbaca called Alcides. The road was steep and winding but naturally it had a beautiful view all the way up. If I thought San Jose was cold, I really felt what cold was like up there. I was expecting snow anytime, but you know me, anything below 80% is freezing to me! Seriously though, it must have been about 60% up there. This place is a large grill house that specialises in various types of meats and of course I didn't look at anything but the pork. I was introduced to Chicariones, a type of grilled pork. It was super good and my only disappointment was that they didn't give us any pork skin at all. That's my one disappointment with the pork there!

Coming down was a bit scary as it is really steep and winding but the view is breathtaking and sections of that roadway seems to be a popular "lovers lane".

Thursday was a full day which should have seen us heading straight out to the eastern section of the country near the Irazu volcano. However, Harry asked if we wanted to go downtown to get souvenirs and do a mini tour, so off we went. 

Downtown San Jose is filled with pigeons and men make a living selling packs of corn to feed them and don't the birds swamp you when you open those packs! Cardiff enjoyed himself throwing corn over his wife Kathy so the birds could descend and land all over her.

Next we headed out to go for a dip in the hot springs and then to visit the famous Cartago Bascilica which was built in 1912 at a sacred spot where it is said the virgin Mary appeared to a local girl in 1635. However, we first went up a scenic route to Sanchiri restaurant. The view of the hills and the valley below with the coffee fields and a winding river was absolutely breathtaking. In the valley below, there is an outstanding triangular shaped house built by "Little Joe" of Bonanza fame. Naturally, as we were at very high elevation it was extremely cold and misty and I had a soup called Olla de carne.

 This is a delicious beef soup but the meat, rice and food are served separately. It seems white rice served with soup is quite a tradition and I am going to add that to my cuisine when I return. I couldn't believe the amount of food I got with the soup though....cassava, plantain, corn, sweet potato , pumpkin plus a good portion of beef. (I have never seen any type of yam in CR.) When you see I can't finish a meal, you gotta know is jus nuff! Everywhere we went it was just nuff food so I suspect I will have to ride double time when I return.

After lunch, everyone was so full and cold and as it was getting late that we decided to bypass the hot springs and go straight to the Bascilicia. The is a huge, beautiful church a with very expensive and attractive painted glass windows all around. A service was in session as we entered but no one stopped us taking pictures and wandering around. Downstairs there are three pipes through which water constantly flows. They say no one can find the source of the water although many have tried but that exact spot is where the child saw the virgin Mary. They sell containers there and you can go and fill these up with the holy water. I bought one, can't harm I guess.

Below the church there are display sections laden with silver pendants of various body parts, vehicles etc. These you buy and hang up in the display cases and pray for a miracle to heal whichever body part is sick or even if you are going a on a bus trip, plane ride etc. Who knows, maybe it really works and because CR is highly Roman Catholic, most people seem to believe it will. As we had driven quite a distance from San Jose, it was almost night when we returned so they dropped us off till next day.

On Friday, Alexander and Laura came and took us to Monrovia. This is a quaint town in the centre of the country where there are lots of souvenir shops. Because competition is stiff, one is able to bargain and really get good prices. That night it was off to Alexander and Laura's home to a wonderful Italian dinner.

Saturday was a really full day as most of the members of the family came to take us to Poas volcano and La Paz Waterfall and Gardens. To get there we had to drive about 60 kms in very pleasant and fruitful country. The roads were excellent and when we started to ascend the hills, we could see the heavy mist resting on the volcano. That area is extremely fertile, the volcanic ash I guess and the landscape is covered by what seems to be hundreds of acres of greenhouses and well laid out plantations of strawberries, coffee, peaches as well as humongous flowering trees and wild flowers.. It seems too that most Costa Rican farmers make some kind of cheese and vendors sell this along the way.

 A vendor asked Cardiff for a souvenir of Jamaican money and when he was given a $50 bill, he gave us lots of strawberries and peaches. As we drove to the gardens, you could see numerous landslides and cracks in the road. Harry told us that this area had been the epicenter of a large earthquake some two years ago.

The signs of the destruction were evident everywhere and Harry told us that 16 persons had died and many homes destroyed. The gardens and waterfalls are breathtaking and everyone who visits Costa Rica should go there to get an introduction to the animals, snakes, butterflies, colourful birds, waterfalls and plants that make that country a virtual Garden of Eden. Be warned though, the walk is not for the faint hearted but there is a bus to take you back to the main area. An interesting aspect of the tour was a traditional house where a campesina was baking corn pudding on an old dover stove. It was absolutely delicious when eaten with the locally made cheese and I made a pig of myself. She also offered us dulce agua, their name for cane juice. The difference is it is mixed with milk and served warm. Really nice.

After the tour we had to cancel the visit to the volcano as it was so misty that we couldn't see anything. It was really a lovely but tiring day.

Sunday was the grand finale as we had to come back to reality on Monday. Alexander invited us to visit his farm in the country and most of the family and extended family came. Again we headed for the mountains, this time in the to Tortuguro where there is also a volcano. This is where Alexander and Harry's mother was from. On the way we saw hundreds of cyclists nattily donned in their attractive outfits. I felt like joining them. There was apparently a bikaton in the area. We made a stop at a cold, misty, rainy resort. I nearly froze to death until I got myself some delicious hot coffee. There they have attractive gardens, a fresh food market, cut and potted plants for sale and a sampling of the animals found in Costa Rica. The kids really enjoyed that stop.

When we arrived at the "farm" we discovered it was an attractive 3 bedroom log cabin with concrete floors and you had to walk over a little bridge to get to the house. Although the pastures were well kept and even had electrified fencing to keep the cows in, I saw no farm animals . So basically it seems to be a country home..... .lovely place. Harry and his older brother Hugo were the barbecue chefs and the fillet and pork were to die for. Cardiff, Ronald and Alex went hill climbing and when they returned they showed signs of having rolled in the mud.

After dinner they put on Latin music and everyone was feeling energetic. Ronald, Cynthie and Julie are absolutely superb dancers. Cardiff the clown gave a demonstration of dancehall dancing to the Latin music but eventually we found some Movado and a better demonstration by himself and Ariana was given.

After an absolutely wonderful day of real lyming I really felt sad to have to say goodbyes to some of the folk. For although I had only met them a week before, they really felt like close family. Their culture of mi casa es tu casa is very real.

On Monday Harry, Alexander and Laura came to take us to the airport but not before we stopped at Jackie's for lunch. I was introduced to arroz con pollo and it is really good. I think I have to learn to cook it.

I really regretted having to leave and if we had stayed where Jackie lives it would have been absolutely perfect for that is closer to the Atlantic side where it is much warmer than in San Jose and Santa Ana.

I look forward to lyming with the Henriquez and Browns again in the near future.

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MEMORIES

Returning to Costa Rica

On the 15th March 2011, I made my third trip to Costa Rica (CR) with my friend Sunshine, her daughter Cathy, son-in law Cardiff and younger children Ariana and Amanda.This time I saw the country as never before for the Henriques family (Henriquez in Spanish) transported us all over the place.

Things have gotten extremely expensive in CR since I was last there but of course in comparison to Jamaica they are still cheap.....no sales tax and can you believe the toll fee for 30 kms was only Ja$20! 

However my favourite tour had been to Arenal volcano where they have several hot springs. It had cost me US$25 for a day tour with meals the last time I was here, some six years ago, now its $120!!!!

 I am happy I went there when I could afford it for now I certainly can't. One of the reasons for the steep increase in the cost of living since my last visit is the fact that the the colon has devalued to 500 to US$1 whereas it was 220 to $1 then. Gas now costs US$1.20 per litre but that has not eased the traffic jams. In fact so bad is the traffic in San Jose that the municipality has established a system where only vehicles with certain licence numbers are allowed downtown during the morning and afternoon peak hours. San Jose has gotten so huge and congested I barely recognise anything. What impressed me a lot was the absence of potholes and I do note that many of the side roads are made from cement. 

In CR, they have 7 active volcano and Doka, has the worlds largest crater.....9000 feet. I have been there in the past. Near our hotel which is between Santa Ana and the large town called Escazu. The Santa Ana area has become the corporate centre of CR with a huge IT and call Centre industry. Our hotel (The Alta) is a lovely boutique property five storeys but only 22 rooms. Because of the quaint and tasteful architecture, you would never know it was more than two storeys tall. And I did notice that high rises are not that popular there which is good for there is nothing worse than a cconcrete jungle in my book! Although the hotel is only 15 years old, it is built in rustic Spanish colonial style and looks very original.

You can detect the wealthy areas as most of the residences there are in the colonial style and using deep red paints reinforces this. What I 0bserved too is that the houses are built very close to the streets (like old Spanish Town houses). I assume the bulk of the land is in the back and to enhance their privacy, they use colourful zinc and other metals and even green house material to block the view. This I only saw in San Jose though not in the smaller towns where the houses are just as close to the road. San Jose seems to have developed quite a crime problem though for as we arrived at the airport a policeman was there giving out brochures with anti crime information for visitors to adopt and we were warned to stay away from the city after 10 pm . Interestingly, while we see a lot of security guards downtown, I rarely saw any police and even driving out into the countryside the lack of police activity was significant to someone like me who lives in Jamaica. However, everywhere you go, you notice that most houses in the better areas have electronic gates and some even have electrified fences to shock intruders. The fruits here are just like in Jamaica but larger. You have to watch how you talk about guava there as that is some kind of bad word.... they call it guayabera. They consider March their summer as they say it is hot and dry at this time (I nearly froze to death as it hovered around 70 degrees most of the time) while during the real summer, July, August etc it gets very overcast and cold, so they call it winter! Well I am here to tell you that the only day that felt summer like to me was the Wednesday after we arrived and when we visited Jackie at her home near the airport. The Wednesday after we arrived, was the only time I was inspired to take off some clothes and jump in the pool and I am glad I did for every day after that I was adding clothes, not taking off. (Oh oh, we just had a power cut so now I really feel at home!) I love how the streets in San Jose undulate sharply like in San Francisco so it is easy to get good exercise here as going around the block is like walking up Mountain Spring. I didn't see much walkers and joggers though but a lot of cyclists. Near the hotel there is reptile refuge where they care for sick snakes, monkeys etc and let them back into the wild when they get better. That I discovered from my first walk then later Ariana and I visited it. She went wild over the monkeys and has been nagging her mom for a real live one ever since.

Cardiff has been walking too. One morning he walked to Santa Ana with his 15 year old daughter Amanda and he said he noticed that the men kept tooting their horns as they passed. His daughter kept her head straight but Cardiff waved to the drivers. They must all have thought he was funny! Anyway there seems to be a real problem with the men going for underage girls and maybe even foreigners go to CR to get involved in pedophilia for in the airport there is a large notice warning that having sex with underage girls is illegal. Poor Amanda seems to have attracted more unwanted attention as she also saw a peeping Tom watching her at one location! Anyway talk about funny, we met a guy called Ricky in Santa Ana and he laughing told us his name was Ricky X Martin, the "x" meaning he was not gay like the famous singer!)

Anyway, back to my morning walk , after the first day Amanda decided that the had been too much for her , so Cardiff and I have kept up the pace and man he had me sweating, for whereas I used to reverse up the hills to allow me a respite to catch my breath, he had me walking up front ways and even jogging to a light post! He is a former air force man and I swear if he were in Jamaica walking with me I would soon Be jogging up to the Blue Mountains! But back to things I found significant in CR. I also notice that they go for mixed neighbourhoods, residential and commercial all co-existing happily and it works very well for them . The landscape is absolutely breathtaking and everywhere there is a proliferation of pink poui and a variety of colourful boganvilla and many other flowering tees which I had never seen before but which really brightens up the place.

I like how they have placed sleeping policemen near schools as they do in Guadalooupè and Martinique. I don't know why those idiots in Jamaica do not adopt this for it would make life so much safer for the kids . It is something I have often spoken about on radio but I guess we will never think of such safety measures until some politician's child is killed near school by a speeding motorist. There are some things in CR which I found very striking. For example, they have only one cell phone company, ICE, but no one complains about monopoly as the rate is kept very low I hear. 

 The bus transportation system is also excellent and cheap. The other thing you can't miss is the fact that Costa Ricans are highly educated for as from back in the 40's the government abolished the army and ploughed the money into education. So education is free up to high school and if you maintain 90-100 percent averages, university is also free. However that does not leave out slower students for with grades under 85% they pay only US$20 every six months!

Costa Ricans have therefore attained middle to upper class status and very few do menial work. This is done by the Nicaraguans who come over to do farm labour, maid work etc. When you travel to the countryside you can't miss their accommodations as they are striking by comparison....barrios I suppose.

Something I found a bit strange was the fact that you do not need to have motor vehicle insurance to drive there and I did find the driving a bit scary....they really like to get close to you when they are passing! However, talking on the cell phone while driving is a big no no. There was one aspect of life here that I found a bit disconcerting, to say the least. That is what happens after death! Apparently the relatives have to pay an annual fee to the municipality for the upkeep of the cemetery and if they fail to pay the fee for five years, the remains are dug up and removed to a mass burial site. A bit gruesome I found.

 Then there is well used term of endearment....negrita. Literally it means little negro or little nigger but it is used strictly for affection there. I wonder how the super sensitive Americans react when they hear it since they consider the so called "n word" and absolute no no?

CR is an absolutely beautiful country with its many mountains, manicured pastures and lush, verdant scenery. I would put it in the developed world category since while they did have a downturn in 2009 with the world recession, they seem to have recovered fully and construction is now booming, helped no doubt by the influx of North Americans who want to retire there.

I am told that today they are seeing growth between 2-5% and the towns really all look prosperous and metropolitan. Of course almost every American franchise is visible but the country has not lost its Spanish Soul.

 Not yet anyway, thank God.

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