Semana Santa

Semana Santa, or "Holy Week" was full of color, cooking, and witnessing intense faith. The kids had the week off from school and so lots of play time ensued. We had a couple of playmates over at different times, visited a live snake park, dyed eggs, and Eva made cookies filled with dulce de leche with Rebeca. We tried dying our eggs with beet juice (cooked and uncooked), purple cabbage juice, and even achiote--a natural colorant used for arroz con pollo here, in addition to standard green and red food coloring.

One day we had the pleasure of having Icela, Rebeca's two-year old daughter, over to visit. On Sacred Thursday, businesses shut down, liquor sections of stores were cordoned off, and we attended an evening mass at the local church where there was a foot washing of the "disciples", a group of 12 churchgoers, all notably women, and the priest did the washing. The next day was the pinnacle of Semana Santa for Ticos, Good Friday, when we attended a "procesion", in which the journey of Jesus ending in his crucifixion is acted out by churchgoers on a walk from station to station, according to his last interactions, a walk of about a mile or so to the local church and a rather graphic and, for young children especially, gasping portrayal of the crucifixion.

Easter Morning--el conejo de Pascua found us

Easter egg dying with friend Declan, or "Duckling" as Eva calls him

Making galletas with Rebeca--a recipe from her mama

Local Good Friday "Procesion"

Vipors!

Unusual double plume of steam from resident Volcan Turrialba (by Asa)

Frog friend

Purple rainy dusk photo by Asa

Yikes--are those babies texting each other?

Art on the floor

Toucan Day

Today was a hang out at home kind of day. The muchachos, Yojan y Jefferson, spent the night with Asa last night. Asa says he heard Jefferson saying his prayers before he went to sleep, and Asa supplied him with all the names of our family members for him to include in his prayers. All three boys slept in the queen bed downstairs. And everybody was up by 6AM today, mainly due to Zena's early morning squealing.

We were so lucky that Tim spotted a pair of keel billed toucans out of the kitchen window at about 6:30 AM and that we got not only a good luck but even a photo of one. It's been a long time, many months, in fact, since we've seen a toucan so close. These are really one of the most dramatically beautiful birds with a huge bill that has yellow, green, orange in it and black, yellow and red coloring on their bodies. Here's a zoomed in photo Asa took.

The muchachos were so excited to see it as well. They said that it was the first toucan they'd ever seen, just like the kind they had been drawing! After the sighting, they went to work drawing more toucans, then breakfast, then we blew eggs and they painted them. What sweet boys they are, so polite and happy to play with Asa. We are so grateful for their friendship.

Yojan, Jefferson, Asa drawing toucans

Sunday breakfast around the round table

For some fresh air and exercise, I went on my little 3 mile run up the hill. A cow was peeing out the side of a truck in a huge gush as I ran by. A few drops landed on me but fortunately I missed the hydrant. It has all of a sudden gotten hotter again here. I got sunburned on my run.

We are entering Semana Santa, a very special holiday week here. People either go to the beach or on vacation somewhere or they stay at home and partake in the processions, masses, and make lots of traditional food, much of which is very sweet. Interestingly, Good Friday is the most special of the days around Easter, when everything is closed. Around this time, churchgoers will re-enact Jesus' last days with the washing of his disciples feet, a procession imitating his own last procession to his crucifixion. In essence it seems the community is re-living the process of the Crucifixion. Then on Sunday, apparently, everyone parties.

This is interesting to compare to my experience of Easter growing up. The big deal was always Easter Sunday, when the focus was on Jesus arising and the Easter bunny came and there was a potluck at church. Here is a photo of a posada in Granada a few weeks ago. Tim was just reflecting on how meaningful it was to see the community carrying Jesus, who represents any individual human being bearing his cross, or facing his own suffering. He noted that this is in fact the only way any of us can face our own suffering, utterly by ourselves, but hopefully supported and carried by a community of people, or sangha, in our practice.



Jesus in traffic