Turkey and Tequila with The 10:27 Club

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is having a joyful observance of whatever you celebrate during this season with family, friends, pets and any others near and dear to you. After a party-filled weekend, Layne and I have chosen to spend today muy tranquilo. We took a nice walk this morning but otherwise, it's all quiet on the home front.

Our big celebration was Friday night when we hosted a holiday dinner with turkey, cornbread dressing and all the trimmings. And just to be sure we had enough food for the crowd of 14 or so that we expected, Marc and Eroca added a ham and sweet potatoes, plus gift cookies for all. 

Marc strings lights with "supervision" from Layne 

Merry Christmas to the Santa Eulalia "gang"

"Very successful!"

With the holiday lights up in our mandarin orange tree, the back patio was quite festive. We can't get the wonderful free-range turkeys here as we did in California, but the Butterball we had bought (actually, for Thanksgiving, but that's another story) turned out quite good. As our good friend Joel might have said, "Very successful."

After the pumpkin pie and eggnog, the last of us sat around and listened as Daniel serenaded us on Layne's Martin backpacker guitar. It was so wonderful to hear such magical sounds coming out of that miniature guitar with the full-size quality. Daniel has been taking lessons and it showed as he strummed some beautiful classical songs. He has improved so much, it was truly a joy to listen to him.

Enjoying the music and the festive lights 

Daniel serenades

 After a recuperative day on Saturday, we were back to our old tricks on Sunday morning with a hike down to the small rushing stream that runs below the ridge we all live on, then a strenuous climb back up on the other side. It was a beautiful setting but a bit treacherous as Bonnie took a fall while crossing the slippery rocks. But her skill in falling "correctly" (tuck and roll) is phenomenal and she hopped back up with no damage done. Marcial showed his bravado by standing on the edge of the waterfall, Stephen and I cringing at the danger.

A beautiful day for a hike!

Seidy ready to cross the creek

Marcial gives us a heart attack!

With Marcial leading the way, we proceeded along side roads then cut through a sugarcane field, exiting on the other side at a hillside simply bursting with stunning yellow flowers. 

Our Tico guides pointed out Vanilla trees, which also sported yellow blossoms and for which the small Calle Vanilla (Vanilla Road) is named. Although not what vanilla flavoring is made from, the long seedpod is reminiscent of that plant and thus the name.

Vanilla Tree

As a little energy boost, Marcial cut down a stalk of sugarcane, stripped the skin with his machete and gave us each a piece of the sweet, juicy fibrous cane to chew on. Boy, was it delicious! 

"Costa Rica Dundee" and his machete

And as it turned out, we soon needed the extra energy when we realized we were a tad lost. We climbed through a barbed wire fence and while Seidy reconnoitered ahead, Marcial located some cherry tomatoes as another treat. 

A long trek up through the grasses

Seidy's report: dead-end. So it was back through the fence, then through another one at which point Stephen boldly struck out leading the way up a steep hill across a thick cushiony layer of tall grasses. At the top we could see there was a road, but no houses. Where are we? Who knows? It's an adventure!

Undaunted by our momentary confusion and Pura Vida being our motto (plus Marcial and Seidy coming well prepared with a whole pineapple), we stopped for a picnic and the machete again came into play. That thing sure is handy. In fact, we christened Marcial "Costa Rica Dundee," the hero always ready with the right weapon to turn a "crocodile crisis" into a pineapple picnic!

Soon we "found" ourselves again - there was never any doubt! -- and hiked our way on up the main road to Marcial's favorite hangout, Yeyo's Bar, where we arrived at exactly 10:27 a.m. Perfect timing! Well, almost. Cantinas here technically don't open until 11:00 a.m. but Yeyo was willing to make an exception for us, keeping the doors closed and the bottles open. You may recall it was 10:27 a.m. on a Sunday some weeks back when we had our first tequila shots on our trip to Zarcero, thus launching "The 10:27 Club." 

Bonnie & her "new best friend" Tomas

So in keeping with tradition, a few shots of tequila had us dancing behind the bar and laughing with local Ticos as they joined in our antics. Everyone here becomes your friend -- indeed family! -- at the slightest provocation.

Just another fabulous fun day in Pura Vida-land! We count ourselves enormously lucky to have such friends, to be healthy enough to take such hikes and fortunate to be able to enjoy this life in Costa Rica. On this Christmas Day, I feel blessed indeed.

(PS - As a holiday gift to my readers, Layne's novel MORAL TURPITUDE is available for FREE through January 31st. (NC-17 but not erotica.) To download it, click HERE to go directly to the book page; then click Add to Cart. You will have to register but it's very simple and you will get no spam. At the Cart page, enter Coupon Code QN77G, then click Update. The price will change to $0.00. Enjoy!)

Christmas Day in Atenas

With sunny blue skies and a light breeze blowing, Christmas Day in Atenas was celebrated by many families in the Central Park where the Fuerza Policia (local police) had set up their awning and were handing out food and gifts to the kids. There were trampolines and music and a clown to entertain. A totally festive scene with many smiling children running to and fro.

Meanwhile, Layne and I met up with friends for a relaxed afternoon at the lovely home of Glynn and Darlene, feasting on cheese and crackers, chips and dips, wine and some delicious chili made by Leonard. The hit of the day was Sally's outrageous chocolate drops made with Oreo cookies and cream cheese! Holy waistline!

Happy Holiday Party Time!

Happy Holidays to all my loyal readers! I hope your holidays are blessed with joy, good friends and beloved family and that the New Year brings you prosperity, peace and good health.

Flowers on our fence

We are in full-blown Christmas party mode here, imagining that the sunny skies and warm temperatures actually harbor snowflakes and icicles. If you delight in fall colors, winter snows and spring blossoms, Costa Rica may not be the place for you. Well, the spring flowers certainly burst forth, but oddly that happens here during what is North America’s winter season. Since the end of the rainy season a few weeks ago, colorful blooms have sprouted everywhere and the trees are neon green with new leaves and flowers, promising abundant fruit just weeks from now. So it’s Christmas in Springtime here in Costa Rica.

A beautiful couple, Sadie & Marcial

Daniel, Sadie, Marcial and David, neighbor dog Bean

This week has been party central for us. Thursday night we enjoyed grilled sausages at Marcial and Sadie’s home a few blocks from us, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. We sat around a small campfire they have in their yard and listened to their son Daniel play his guitar. It was a really fun evening and made Layne and I nostalgic for all the cozy wood fires we used to enjoy in California winters. On Friday afternoon there was a community party honoring senior citizens of Santa Eulalia and our neighbor had invited us. With a clown to entertain and some tasty pork stew for sustenance, the elderly crowd seemed to enjoy themselves. Layne and I were tested on our ability to follow instructions in Spanish as we got picked along with several other couples for one of the playful exercises on stage. We held hands, then let go, hugged then released, touched cheek-to-cheek then backed off and finally we danced. Everyone was gifted with a small picture frame and lotion for the women and socks for the men.

Daniel serenades us

Today it’s a pool party at our Japanese friend Hisano Bell’s bed and breakfast down the hill in barrio Rio Grande. I’ve made a big pot of Italian Sausage Spaghetti Sauce with Marcial’s great sausage (do you see a pattern in our food these days?) for the potluck and look forward to some relaxing at poolside. Then tomorrow we’re off to our friends Glynn and Darlene’s place in Turrucares with local pals Sally and Leonard, Neil and Jackie and our sidekick Marc. New Year’s Eve will find us partying with our favorite realtors, Dennis and Gerardo of Pure Life Development, an event we’re looking forward to enthusiastically. These two guys, along with their office helper Nelson, are some of the nicest people we know here and they have been so helpful to us in our long house-hunt before finally settling here in Santa Eulalia. We know they will host a kick-ass party!

So we hope your holidays are as full of fun as ours are and that 2012 brings Pura Vida to your doorstep! 

December = Springtime in Costa Rica

What a thrill! We had a Blue Morpho butterfly flutter through our backyard yesterday afternoon. What a gorgeous creature it is with its iridescent azul upper wings. A friend said that the butterflies are returning in force now that springtime is here and the rainy season is mostly over. That’s good news for us as we love watching the amazing variety of mariposas here in Costa Rica. Of course, the visiting Blue Morpho was gone so fast I had no time for a photo so I’ll just “borrow” one from the Internet.

There was no problem identifying the fellow as we recently visited the Butterfly Farm in La Guácimo when our friend Marcy was here and learned all about the Blue Morpho as well as many other types of butterflies and moths. Although there are numerous such facilities in Costa Rica, this particular location not only breeds and cares for butterflies, from caterpillar to chrysalis through their magical transformation into beautiful winged fliers, but they also export the embryonic form, the chrysalis, all over the world to botanical gardens, other butterfly farms and nature centers. It was extremely educational and quite a treat to have the lovely creatures light on our clothes or arms.

Another wonderful feature of our new neighborhood are the incredible sweet flower smells that arise in the late afternoon and evening. I have located the source of the odors, in the white flower boles of tall plants nearby but a Google search failed to turn up the name of this tree. Every evening lately at about five o’clock, the air is filled with a rose-and-jasmine fragrance that just takes your breath away it’s so sweet. I’m led to believe that the smell attracts nighttime pollinators, such as bats and moths.

We seem to be blessed with some of the best of Costa Rica’s flora and fauna here in Santa Eulalia, including a young raptor we spotted in a tree on our latest walk. Then there was the three-foot long iguana I spied waddling along across the street today as we waited on the bus with some of our neighbors. I pointed him out to the others but no one was concerned. Just part of the local color. Welcome to Costa Rica. Ho-hum.

December marks the one-year anniversary of my trip back to California last year to put my dear horse and good friend Mojave down. After a very intense and poignant dream about him a few days ago, I have appreciated even more some of the horses that live nearby, such as this little yearling colt. He lives alone, it appears, in a large pasture down the road from us, and when we approached his enclosure he trotted eagerly over to say hello. I think he’s a bit lonely as he was most appreciative of my brief affections and followed us along the fence line when we turned to go.

Coffee plant Christmas tree - click on to enlarge

Much of Santa Eulalia is agricultural with acres of edibles nearing maturity. The coffee plants seem primed for the Christmas season, ripe red berries suspended like so many ornaments. Papaya trees are heavy with fruit and the feathery flowers of the sugarcane dance in the wind. Peanuts are laid out on canvas tarps to dry in the sun and our own naranja (orange), mandarina and limon trees are filled with fruits. 

Field of Papaya

Preparing peanuts for market

Add to that the many friends we have made here and you can understand our contentment. And if we needed anything more to please the senses, we got it on Thursday at new amigos Francis and Brian’s jam session. With Francis on keyboard and singing, local musician Barry on saxophone and young Daniel on guitar, Layne and I added our vocals on several songs as we all whiled the afternoon away. 

Tomorrow we’ll visit them again for a huge neighborhood party they are hosting to celebrate the sale of their southern Indiana property. We’ve found a good spot here in Santa Eulalia! Pura Vida!