Trip to San Jose

We drove to San Jose the weekend before last to see the sights. We were a little anxious about driving as we had heard horror stories about the traffic, and we did get lost enough that it took us twice the time it should have to get to our hotel. We parked the car and took cabs the rest of the time. It rained the whole time and we were downright chilly and wished we had our fleece with us but we did get out and about and enjoyed seeing the major plazas downtown, including walking around el mercado central, a labyrinthian indoor market of various food, handcrafts, pets, costume jewelry, etc. A highlight was going to a children's/ art museum that had been made out of an old prison. It felt like we were witnessing the right kind of transformation to be patronizing a place with happy children flocking around inside of what once surely only housed heartache. Other highlights were fabulous food at Tin Jo, a nice Asian restaurant and Saporo, a Japanese restaurant. We also went on a crazy goose chase looking for a Lonely Planet guide for Panama, resulting in a $14 cab ride through multiple neighborhoods.
Next time we go, we'd like to finally find the purported bus/ train that does a little tour of downtown, see the gold museum and the national museum and maybe visit the big zoo outside of town.

Eva and Asa in front of gnarly tree on street

Asa feeding pigeons at Teatro Nacional

Trip to the Caribbean Coast

We went on an adventure to the nearby Caribbean coast a few weekends ago. It was hot, hot, hot. The sand at gorgeous Punta Uva was burning the soles of our feet at 10AM. And, sadly, almost everyone got sunburned despite spf 30 lotion and only morning sun exposure. Nonetheless, we loved the bath water temperature of the ocean, clear green, gentle waves, and the outragous howler monkeys yelping in the jungle behind us. Our main objective seemed to be either to stay submerged in water or retreat to air conditioning. A mere 2.5 hours away from Turrialba, I'm sure we'll return soon. 




Agapi



Eva and Friend in their Restaurant Kitchen

 We stayed at Agapi--an apartment hotel place, the main attraction being the swimming pool for the kids. It was perfectly fine for us with enough beds and a kitchen. We did find a lovely new bakery in town where we ate lunch and bought chocolate croissants and dense and delicious banana bread. Puerto Viejo seemed a little tired and has an abundance of Bob Marley beach towels and the iconic pot leaf on various chachkas for sale. Beyond Puerto Viejo going south seemed more wholesome in the family sense. We especially loved Selvins restaurant for lunch, right off the beach at Punta Uva, where the food was fresh, hearty and cooked Caribbean style--beans and rice cooked in coconut milk, pineapple in the salad, and an extra spicy kick in the broths and sauces, owned by a long-time resident of the area from a well-known family. We are loving "refrescos", or juices made of any number of fruits. My favorites so far: passionfruit and tamarind with ginger. After lunch, Selvin himself even offered us a free shot of some kind of fire water that seemed to rival the heat outside. While having lunch, Eva made a new friend, a little girl who was the daughter of the cook, and they played restaurant in the nearby courtyard, serving us various delicacies (stones on leaves) at our table.



Asa--hunter of los cocos





Eva, Zena, Daddy at Punta Uva



Mama and Zena at breakfast at Agapi

Costa Rica Independence Day

In a lucky break during a 5 day viral epidemic in our family, including yes vomiting and diarrhea and aching bodies (a wicked virus that rampaged Eva's kindergarten and eventually all the families in the school), we were able to participate in Costa Rica's independence day on September 15.

Asa's class made "faroles", or lanterns, and we all joined in with the whole town in the evening, gathering at town square and carrying lit up lanterns through the streets of Turrialba in a huge crowd. The lanterns came in all shapes and sizes, including a giant puffing Turrialba volcano being carried by a dozen people.

Our landlady told us the reason for the lanterns is because the news of Costa Rica's independence from Spain came country by country through central America by messenger carrying a lamp. Each country was in turn illuminated by freedom. Such a beautiful way to commmemorate this country's origens.

Costa Rica has a lot to be proud of with the way it has developed. Life expectancy and literacy rates have increased dramatically during the last part of the 1900's, housing is on the whole of decent quality, there is no army (thus freeing funding for healthcare and education), and they have done an admirable job preserving their natural environment. A good opportunity to ask how does the U.S. measure up in these same categories?

 

Äsa, Tim, Zena parading through Turrialba

Below is a close-up of Asa's lit-up farol in the form of the iconic wooden cart pulled behind a donkey, honoring the beauty and heart of Costa Rica's agricultural legacy.

 

Asa's farol

Waterfall Day

The weekend before last, we hiked to a waterfall a mere 4 miles from our house. We meandered through a huge coffee plantation in full-on harvesting mode, through a forest of stunningly tall trees, including the magical and colorful rainbow eucalyptis, and saw a lovely additional waterfall on the way. Our destination waterfall was a glorious gushing 60 foot flow of water pounding into a pool below, where we swam. It was totally exhilerating to get so close to such an intense and wild force of nature. Asa and I swam around and Eva dared to get in with her floaties and stayed on the edge. All the kids played in the pools and on the rocks, and we had a picnic lunch in the middle on some big rocks.

After hiking out, we got to town in time to check out the farmer´s market and go to the best ice cream store in town--Pops.



On the trail to the waterfall




Rainbow Eucalyptus

  





First Waterfall

 



Eva picking coffee








The Big Waterfall

 

 

 

Asa and me on the rocks

Zena investigating

Eva looking over lychees at market

Eating ice cream at Pops

Asa and Zena on the train

Eva and Zena in their private heliocopter