So the Santa Eulalia Sunday party gang punked out on us
today, can you believe it? We were all scheduled to take the 8:20 a.m. bus into
Atenas and then hike down to Barrio Los Angeles to the soccer field on the off chance
that we might catch a "futbol"
game there. But at 8:05 this morning Marcial called to say that Bonnie and
Stephen had decided not to go and that in fact, he and Seidy were still in bed
as well. With Chris and Sue back in the States for a couple of months gathering
the paperwork for their residency application, our Sunday hiking plans were
off.
After a pretty strenuous evening for both couples last night
I suppose a more generous hearted correspondent might say one could hardly
blame them. Bonnie and Stephen had spent last night watching the third game of
the World Series, rooting with great enthusiasm for the Giants. (Of course, we
know how exhausting that can be!) Marcial and Seidy had gone with us to the
Halloween party at Kay's
Gringo Postre, where we danced the night away in our imaginative costumes:
a Rasta couple for them and Ernest Hemingway and Mae West for Layne and me.
Ernest and Mae make a lovely couple!
But since I am not such a generous hearted journalist, I
hereby officially shame them for their slovenly ways. Layne and I are obviously
the hardcore couple in this neighborhood. Since we were up and dressed, ready
to catch the bus, we decided to get our exercise alone. So off we went,
arriving in town to find that the Fiesta Patronales (see last week's post
for more on Fiestas Patronales) was
still going on in the Parque Central and along the street in front of the Catholic Church. As we wandered by
the food booths we listened to the melodious sounds of some sort of xylophone,
as Ticas prepared tortillas on an open burner for people waiting in line. Had
it not seemed so "touristy," I would have taken a video of the scene
because it was a classic look at Tico life.
Monumento de Boyero
But onward we hiked down the familiar route we used to take
when we lived in Barrio Los Angeles, remembering the noisy traffic along the
main road before taking the turn off at the Monumento de Boyero, which commemorates the historical route of the
oxcarts and marks the entrance to the community of Los Angeles. (See this post
for more on oxcart history.) After stopping for short rests at a couple of bus
benches, we eventually arrived at the soccer field. A worker was mowing the
grass and coach-types were just starting to put up the game paraphernalia but
when we asked what time the game would start, we learned that it was still more
than an hour away. So after a pleasant break, Layne and I headed back toward
Atenas, stopping off for a few groceries before calling a taxi for the ride
back up to Santa Eulalia.
So here we are with a Sunday afternoon to ourselves. But
alas! We have no Internet! So who knows when I'll be able to post this blog? We
have suffered intermittent problems with our broadband the last few days. On
Thursday we thought it had been fixed after our landlord went to ICE (the
electric company that handles our Internet service) to report the problem and a
worker promptly came out to reprogram our modem. It seemed to be working until
yesterday when once again it dropped off and we've been unable to revive it
since. We're definitely experiencing withdrawal symptoms, so reliant are we on
that technological connection to the world.
Of course, we feel a bit dragged out after a night of Halloween
festivities ourselves. Though the crowd was much smaller than last year's event
at Kay's, the zealous attendees more than made up for their low numbers with
high energy as they danced to the oldies, drank wine and toasted each other's
costumes.
Seidy as da Rasta gal
Star Trek Commander Leonard and Rasta-mon Marcial
Trekkies Sally and Leonard
Hostess Kay danced every dance!
When the judges of the costume contest began their deliberations, there was little doubt of the eventual winner. Decked out in a sequined flapper dress, a lengthy strand of pearls draped round her neck and armed with a long black cigarette holder, Francis easily carried away the 10,000 colones ($20) prize. Although I missed getting a really good shot of her, this pose will give you some idea of her pizzazz. With her dedicated work rescuing animals here in Atenas, we know that prize money will be put to good use at the Lighthouse Animal Shelter. Congratulations, Francis!
Francis takes the prize!
Well, a couple of hours later and the Internet is magically
alive again so I'll try to get this posted before it fades away. Pura Vida!
Sprawled out on the grass halfway through another splendid
Sunday outing with the Santa Eulalia gang, our friend Eroca, newly returned to
Costa Rica from Canada where it was minus four degrees, asked me: "How can
you possibly describe a day like this in a blog?"
"You really can't," I replied. "Pictures
help," I added, while shooting this photo, "but mere words can't
really capture the magic of a day like today."
We were relaxing on the lawn after an extravagant Tico
lunch of tamales, some kind of rich soup, picadillo, rice, beef loin and tortillas, now awaiting our
mini-van to pick us up and haul us to our next stop in this wild tequila-fueled
day. Behind us were hundreds of Ticos on the plaza in front of the Catholic
Church in downtown Zarcero, a
charming mountain town about forty minutes up the slope from Atenas and a few
thousand feet higher elevation. They were gathered there for the Patronales
Fiesta, another religious celebration in
this oh-so-Catholic country, in which Ticos from local barrios parade through
town carrying their community's own saint statuette into the big church, there
to pay tribute to the higher level saint, in this case San(to) Rafael, patron
saint of Zarcero, and by the way, of Atenas as well. Although religious in
nature, for some Ticos it's a good excuse to party, with live music, food and
craft vendors, caballeros on
horseback, kids dressed up as angels, buxom young women in fancy clothes and
high heels, carnival rides and a cattle auction.
Little fellow awaiting his Fate
This excursion was a variation on the regular Sunday hike
and after-party that we've been enjoying in recent weeks. Our fearless leader
Marcial had come up with the idea to hire a mini-bus for the day and take a
drive up the mountain visiting several of the surrounding cities, fitting in
our mandatory trek along the way. Our first stop was Zarcero, where we arrived
earlier in the day just as the parade was starting up, marchers and saints
blocking our way. So we all hopped out of the van and joined the sidewalk crowd
as they watched parade participants stroll by.
Besides the beautiful surrounding mountain landscapes, Zarcero's main attraction is the incredible topiary gardens of Francisco Alvarado Park. Carved continuously since the 1960's by artist Evangilisto Blanco from conifer cypress that thrive in the crisp high altitude with its foggy mornings and frequent rains, the trees have been transformed into all sorts of fantasy creatures, from dinosaurs, elephants and birds to monkey faces, turtles and two enormous Alice-in-Wonderland archways leading toward the huge church. It is quite a stunning display of landscape artistry.
Sir Layne against the Dragon
Monkey faces all in a row
Yours Truly in Wonderland
A Green Bird in the gardens
Looking back at Zarcero
We gathered for a picnic breakfast provided by
Marcial and Seidy of coffee, French roll and local natilla or sour cream, at a table in the park then wandered
off to take photographs, peek into the big church or shop at vendor
booths.
A hillside of farmland
But Marcial's plan for our hike was to take us further up
the mountain so we soon headed up the road passing some spectacular scenery
along the way: pastoral views of the bulky black-and-white dairy cattle for
which the area is famous, patchwork hillsides with agricultural produce in
every possible shade of green and small red-roofed Tico houses with horses,
goats and chickens running around.
At my request for a bathroom, we stopped at a bar which at
first glance appeared to be closed but Marcial worked his magic and we were
soon inside where the barista was just setting up for business. Now since it
was my need for the baño that had landed
us there, I got the blame (or the credit?) for all the craziness that followed
but I swear I was hardly the instigator. When I exited the bathroom, I found the whole
gang bellying up to the bar for shots of whiskey or tequila!
The 10:27 a.m. toast!
Laughing at the spontaneous display of decadence, Sue said,
"I can't believe it's only 10:30 in the morning and I'm having
tequila!" Her husband Chris quickly corrected her: "Oh, my dear, it's
only 10:27!"
Unable to resist the mass insanity, I joined in and was soon
enjoying a salt-rimmed shot of tequila followed by a pucker-inducing suck on a limón. And since one was so good, most of us had another!
Soon Eroca, rather cheery on her second tequila, had dragged our tolerant (and
sober) driver onto the dance floor for a little salsa and Layne and I were
quick to follow.
The friendly black stallion
As you can imagine, we were all by now laughing hysterically
at ourselves but the day's exercise still lay ahead so thanking our hosts for their
kindness, we headed out for a leisurely hike down the mountainside through a
lightly misting rain. Along the way we petted this beautiful stallion who
seemed to want to join us happy humans in our freedom and indeed could have almost stepped over the low wire fence. Looking at the
roadside fields in cultivation, we consulted with Seidy on the crops there:
broccoli, cabbage, radishes, carrots, all abundant and lush. The operative
word, we decided, was fecund -- a bountiful land producing lots of healthy
foods.
After a mile or so of walking, someone said they were
thirsty and within minutes we had conveniently come upon another bar where we
were again welcomed by a friendly bar staff. Without delay we proceeded to add
to our tequila quotient with a couple more shots, followed by a beer chaser.
Does the word "festive" come to mind? Oh yeah, we were feeling mighty
festive.
Boarding the bus after our visit to the cantina, we next
stopped at a dairy farm where Marcial talked our way into an
up-close-and-personal tour of the place, including the milking room, where poor
Marcial got an unplanned spray of cow urine from one of the cows who chose that
moment to relieve herself.
Chris (l) and Marcial in harm's way
Off we went once again, this time heading back to Zarcero
for lunch but our first stop in town was at an unusual helado (ice cream) shop -- basically just the front step of
a home -- for an unlikely but delicious appetizer before our upcoming meal.
Yours Truly enjoying helado
The
Zarcero area is known for its excellent dairy products, especially natilla, the ubiquitous sour cream served with gallo
pinto, the national dish of seasoned rice
and beans. The lady proprietor of the ice cream shop makes her own natilla and uses it in some of her ice cream specialties,
including the fabulous strawberry version I had. Then, as if Fate had planned
out our debauched day, she brought out a tray of shots of an utterly decadent
homemade liqueur for all of us to try. After indulging in one more jigger of
booze, Eroca and Layne demonstrated their inebriated state with this classic
pose, which got an enormous laugh from everyone.
Eroca and Layne after one too many!
Following lunch at the Salon Parroquial , we headed back towards Santa Eulalia but not
before one more stopover at still another bar, this time with some food to
accompany our tequila or beer. Although the ceviche and nachos were less than
spectacular, the joy of being in the company of our friends was wonderful. We
all recognized what an amazing day it had been and none of us wanted it to end.
Unwilling to part company just yet, everyone except Eroca
(who wanted to return to her sweetie Marc) got off the van at Sue and Chris'
house for one last hour together. It was a very special day, one we will never
forget. Fun and fellowship, laughter and happiness with good friends along with
a little -- or a lot! -- of tequila thrown in for good measure sure make for a
magical Pura Vida memory. (And remember, dear readers, you can click on any photo to enlarge it and sort of join the fun!)
Travel adventurer, organic foodie and cultural explorer, Kat Sunlove hopes to make her way to hidden jewels around the world and report her findings to you.
