Last Thursday, only two days into the New Year, was another
wild and crazy day for "The 10:27 Club" as we took off to revisit the
site of our initial incarnation in the mountains above Zarcero. You might
recall the incident, recorded in my blog
post of October 24, 2012, in which my innocent request for a potty stop
resulted in a tequila-soaked day of fun and adventure. This time the original
gang was joined by a few new friends, whom I fondly refer to as
"groupies," for a total of eighteen. There was the old gang of
Marcial and Seidy, Bonnie and Stephen, Chris and Sue, Eroca and Marc and
Yours Truly (minus Layne, who stayed home with a bunged up knee), along with
semi-official members Darlene and Glynn, Howard and Judi, and Joni, who came
without her jovial spouse Mike. We were joined by enthusiastic newcomers Sue
and Rick and Vicki and Julian.
Around every curve, a gorgeous vista!
We piled into a jumbo-size van, driven by our capable (and
sober) conductor Mainor, for the
beautiful drive up the mountain past Naranjo, through Zarcero, and on up to La
Posada del Buho, the Owl Inn, where
Christmas decorations and even napkin holders are shaped as owls. As on our
first visit, we arrived prior to the "legal" opening time of 11:00
a.m. but apparently they were expecting us because the doors quickly opened to
welcome us.
The bartender laid out eighteen shot glasses rimmed with salt and
Marcial began to pour. We all checked our watches or smart phones, only to find
that the times didn't agree. Was it 10:27 or only 10:24? Who knew? Who cared!
Down the hatch went the first toast with a hearty cheer for The 10:27 Club!
With Latin music to inspire us, we were soon dancing on the small stage, led by Glynn
and Joni, followed by Eroca and Seidy and Yours Truly.
Marcial pours as Rick and Joni wait impatiently
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?
Joni and Glynn start the dancing...
... Eroca and Seidy keep it going
Eroca and Yours Truly having fun
Rick and his "earrings"
Lunch is served!
But we were there, after all, for a hike so after a couple
of shots and some dancing as warm-up, we struck off up the gently sloping road.
Along the way Eroca picked some stunning white flowers (lilies perhaps?), which
Rick later used as "earrings." Hardcore members, Chris, Seidy,
Marcial, Stephen and others made a real trek out of it but some of us decided
on a less strenuous outing and soon took advantage of the van for a ride back
to the bar where lunch was to be served. We all agreed the food was "¡muy
rico!"
The guys pose for a photo
After our leisurely lunch, we thanked our wait staff
profusely and left a nice tip, then posed for a few pictures as we tried to get
organized to leave. As we were preparing to depart, we were surprised to see a
herd of dairy cows traipsing down the middle of the road, herded from behind by
a small pickup truck.
Cows have the Right of Way!
The drive back down the hill to Zarcero was a panorama of
one gorgeous view after another so we stopped for photos several times along
the way.
Seidy adds beauty to the beautiful scene
Once back in town we made the mandatory stop at the home of the lady
who makes incredibly delicious helados
(ice creams), some prepared using Zarcero's famous sour cream. Chocolate with
peanuts, mixed fruits, strawberry, coconut... who could decide? So most of us
had more than one!
Sue, Bonnie & Stephen chow down
Mr. Miller is serious about that ice cream!
The "Ice Cream Lady"
After a few minutes exploring the fabulous topiary park in
front of Zarcero's dramatic Catholic church and watching kids play in front of the beautiful mural, we were soon on our way again.
Zarcero's topiary park
Seidy picks some "lucky" flower for us
As
we passed a field of blue flowers, Seidy insisted we stop so she could pick
some for us all. It seems that if you pick one of these flowers on New Year's
Day, press it and put it in your wallet, you will have money all year long. Even though this was the second day of the New Year, we all hope the old custom
works for us. Whether or not our day brought us wealth for the coming year, it
certainly provided us with wonderful memories!
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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.
