Jungle Trails & Badminton in the Mango Grove

Layne and I are about to head out the door for a hike around the neighborhood and soon I'll be packing for still another trip to the U.S. My mom in Texas has had a few non-serious health issues of late and I leave tomorrow to spend a few weeks with her to help get things back in order around her house; Layne will join me there in mid-September. Meanwhile I owe my readers an update on our busy lives here in beautiful Costa Rica.

Back on August 15th, it was Dia de Las Madres or Mother's Day here and it was our good fortune to be invited to our neighbor Rosa's family celebration. Over a delicious lunch of pollo (chicken), steamed vegetables, rice and the delicious chicken soup pictured here, we practiced our Spanish and learned more about the big family on whose large traditional family estate we reside. Rosa and her sister Suzie live together in a comfortable home on the main road above us. In fact, it is Rosa's house that we give as a landmark to taxi drivers when heading home, there being no house numbers or indeed road signs in Costa Rica. "A la casa de Rosa Mora," we say, and they all know the place. The two sisters are siblings of Isaac Mora, our landlord who lives next door to us; Rosa's house is next to Isaac's, just up the hill. Across the road is Juan, a brother, and next door to Rosa's place is still another sister who lives with her son. A fourth sibling, Angelica, lives in Heredia and arrived later with her lovely daughter Maria. Maria spoke some English as she works at the airport as an industrial engineer so she was able to translate a bit for everyone. The fiesta was so entertaining that I neglected to take any more pictures once the food was on the table!

It is the rainy season here and as in all tropical countries, sometimes it really pours. During a deluge, the noise on our metal roof can be deafening. But most Ticos prefer this wetter time of year because everything is so green, the flowers bloom gloriously and the heavy rains clear the streets and gutters of trash and debris. Because of this, Costa Ricans tend to throw plastic bags and other litter on the ground, confident that when the rains come, it will all disappear. It does, of course, but they don't seem to realize that most of that garbage will end up in rivers, streams and eventually the ocean, contributing to a global problem. Fortunately, recycling of paper and plastic and other materials is beginning to catch on with a service that collects recyclables now coming regularly to Atenas and other communities.

 

The rains also wash away a lot of dirt from the steep hillsides here. On a recent walk, we passed a gentleman shoveling dirt from the concrete gutter where it had collected after a big downpour. Further along we crossed the usually small creek, now running fast and deep, a muddy brown from the runoff.

Seidy, Layne, Bonnie, Chris, Sue & Marcial
(Photo by Stephen Kopel)

Yesterday was overcast with a light sprinkle now and then but it didn't stop us from joining a group of good friends at Marcial and Seidy's house for a Tico feast and some badminton. The group, led by Marcial, had earlier in the day taken a long hike down by the river, down treacherous muddy slopes and up steep hillsides. Layne said it was a challenging walk but invigorating. I had to miss the outing in order to call my mom and let her know I was coming for a visit this week. It had been a worrisome couple of weeks for me, as we didn't know what was causing her to feel so bad. But after a trip to the doctor, she had learned it was not serious so my trip should be fun, not troubling.

By stretching elastic cord over the ground for borders and setting up a net, Marcial and his sons Felipe and Daniel had constructed a makeshift badminton court in the midst of the mango grove. Soon everyone got in on the game, with Seidy making some great shots and Layne giving it his all. New friends Chris and Sue got into the game, with Chris' height giving him a strong advantage. Meanwhile, the "fans in the bleacher seats" nibbled on local peanuts in the shell, chips and guacamole and sipped on beer or Seidy's delicious refresca drink, made from star fruit. 

Daniel and Stephen vs Layne and Seidy

Chris celebrates a shot

Seidy in action!

Eventually, a duel between "the old guys" of Marcial and Stephen and "the young bloods" of Felipe and Daniel got started with Layne on the sideline keeping score and correcting the teams on the rules of the game. It was fast and furious for a while, with the winning team uncertain. At one point, Marc's dog Bean decided to take a nap in the middle of the court and when Stephen gently touched her on the rump with his racket to encourage her to move away, she curled up in terror of punishment. With some gentle coaxing from Marcial, she was finally persuaded to lie down out of bounds and the game proceeded. With a final score of 15-13, the seniors beat out the kids and gloated appropriately.

Bean just wants in the game...

But she is banished to the sidelines

Stephen and Marcial vs Felipe and Daniel

The "peanut" gallery

Feisty little Bean (l), Yours Truly and Referee Layne
(Photo by Stephen Kopel)

Relaxing after the game
(Photo by Stephen Kopel)

Leftovers from the feast

Then it was back to the house for a yummy chicken and garbanzo soup, avocado salad, traditional Tico cabbage and tomato salad and Marcial's great Italian sausage and peppers dish, flavored with fresh basil and tarragon, served over rice. What a feast!

Don't expect many posts from me, dear readers, while I'm in Texas. But I'll resume my reports after Layne and I return on September 30th. Meanwhile, Pura Vida!

Don't Rain on Our Fiesta!

The thunder has been growling down from the sky for the last two hours, like some huge angry lion, with occasional hazy lightening flashes through dark clouds, followed by more rumbling until it’s virtually a continual sound, rising and falling with the distance. The rain continues to come down in a steady hum through the leaves. It’s a very “tropical” afternoon.

The normally placid Concho River

My mom relayed to me in great excitement this morning on the phone that in West Texas they had finally had a gully-washer of a storm, with the Concho River carrying dead trees, blue trash cans, Styrofoam cups and coolers and all manner of stuff downstream, as it rose along the banks that run by the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center where she works. Total rainfall? According to the newspaper, about 1½ inches. Wowsa. Here in Costa Rica, I think we get more than that every afternoon lately. The rainy season seems to have moved in past veranillo, or little summer, when the weather dries up for a couple of weeks in July just in time for the kids’ summer break from school. Now we’re heading into the serious stuff that comes in September and October.

But the daily downpours don’t stop a fiesta, and since yesterday was Mother’s Day here in Costa Rica there were fiestas aplenty. I made my way to two of them, one Tico and one Gringo.

A few days ago my Tica housekeeper Cidia called and tried to communicate something to me about a fiesta for “Dia de Madre,” or Mother’s Day. I got that much. But the rest was … well, Spanish. Bad enough in person; impossible on the phone. So we finally agreed she’d have someone call back in English. When he did, I found that Cidia had paid for a ticket for me to come to a Mother’s Day dinner-dance at the community center behind the soccer field here in Barrio Los Angeles. When I learned that our friend Jeannette was coming as well, she and I made a plan to go together in her car in case of rain.

And of course, it was raining so off we went last evening, slogging our way through wet grass to the entrance of a long open hall with a stage at one end and a kitchen at the other, decorated in merry abandon with hundreds of red and white balloons, red hearts along the walls and red flowers on the tables. Loud music from the Latin band onstage was spilling out the windows as we parked and since Cidia’s table was in the front near the speakers, Jeannette and I suffered seriously numbed eardrums by the time we left.

But the only way to deal with loud music is to get up and dance. And dance we did. The entire crowd was women; the men were in the kitchen cooking, then serving us drinks and food. But the audience of women just ganged up on the dance floor and shook some booty, so to speak. It was a kick! One of the most enthusiastic dancers was a well-dressed grandmother who happily posed for my camera.

Cidia, in center, kickin' it!

Cidia's dancing shoes

Cidia, 2nd from right, and friends

Jeannette and the dancing grandma

After dinner of chicken, rice and salad, there was an apparently funny skit performed by four men, two dressed up as a mother and a daughter. I say “apparently” because Jeannette and I couldn’t follow the Spanish but the crowd would explode in laughter now and then. Finally, when the “daughter” turns up “pregnant” with her boyfriend, the “parents” go crazy but eventually forgive and all ended happily. The performers got a huge round of applause. When Jeannette and I finally left, Cidia and her friends gave me the carnation centerpiece, which now graces my coffee table. I’m honored that Cidia invited me. Hopefully, next year I’ll understand more Spanish!

Today was a fried chicken luncheon at Kay’s Gringo Postre, the gathering place for the Gringo community here in Atenas. With Layne in Oregon, it was just me in the taxi but once I got to Kay’s, there were lots of friends already seated and our buddy Marc was helping serve the food. After saying Hello to proprietors Kay and Tom, I found a seat by our friends Jackie and Neil, lately of Bend, Oregon. Although relative newcomers in town, the two have easily fit right in here in Atenas. We chatted about how they are enjoying life here and about other places to live in Costa Rica, all while being served a nice green salad, then a big plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and a biscuit; iced cake for dessert. Buena comida! Good food!