Celebrating a Saint, Costa Rica Style

In Costa Rica most every little pueblo has its own Catholic saint, no surprise given the number of towns with "San" or "Santa" in its name. You have our own Santa Eulalia, for example, along with dozens of San Rafael's, San Carlos', Santa Elena's, San Ramon's, Santa Cruz's and, of course, San Jose's, including the nation's capital city. Each year most all of these communities set aside a few days to honor their saint with a fiesta for the whole town and anyone else who wants to join in.

The church in San Isidro

Thus it was that most of the Santa Eulalia gang (minus Marc, who stayed home, and Eroca, who is currently back in Canada) made our way to San Isidro de Atenas last Sunday for the final day of their "saint's day" celebration in honor of Saint Isidore, the patron saint of farmers. San Isidro is a beautiful little barrio located at almost 3700' high in the mountains above downtown Atenas. Atenas is also the name of our canton, or county, so just as our barrio is Santa Eulalia de Atenas, so San Isidro needs that identifier to separate it from all the other San Isidro's in Costa Rica.

When we arrived by taxi, the church service was just finishing up and much of the town was out in force, on motorcycles, bicycles, cars and pickup trucks. Marcial and Seidy, it turned out, were acquainted with Doña Rosa, who had cooked huge pots of food for the event and we were ushered into her kitchen to tempt our palates for later.

Doña Rosa in the kitchen

As we wandered around we discovered one of the big attractions for the day was to be 4x4 mud races on a muddy track in a large open space, previously a soccer field, in the cradle of steep hills. Spectators were already perched around the sides of the basin ready for the day's action, but since we had a hike to do, we decided to return later when we were sure the races would still be on.

So with our intrepid leader Marcial in charge, we headed down the road, now bumper-to-bumper with fiesta-goers looking for parking. Marcial had spied a trail heading up the side of a hill across the way but we didn't know how to get there from here. Never fear! Having noticed what looked like a path beyond a barbed-wire fence, Marcial stopped and asked a fellow who was helping park cars across the road how we might get in. An instant amigo, the guy sent over another man to cut the fence and open a gate for us! How's that for friendly? He gave Marcial his name so if anyone stopped us as we hiked along, we could say Juan gave us permission.

Just cut the fence -- No hay problema!

Seidy and I are across, Marcial helps the others

We traipsed down the narrow path alongside the fence and soon came to the inevitable river to cross. But this one was shallow and easy so I just walked through the 3-inch water in my trusty boots. Marcial helped the others to cross safely. The trail took us up through coffee fields, shade-grown under a canopy of banana trees and other tall nameless greenery. 

Marcial and Chris far ahead, Sue coming along

Seidy picks culantro

Along the way Seidy noticed some native culantro growing on the sides of the path and began picking the tender leaves, explaining to me how good it was in frijoles or gallo pinto, the ubiquitous beans-and-rice dish so popular here. Culantro is similar in smell at least to cilantro, which Layne and I love, but I've not found the flavor to be quite the same. Still, when Seidy pulled up a small plant for me, roots and all, I put it in my backpack and have now planted it out back alongside my other herbs. 

Looks like blueberries, tastes like plum!

Marcial peeled a "potato mango," one of the many varieties here, and cut off pieces for us - delicioso! - and Seidy introduced us to tasty little berries that looked like blueberries but tasted more like a peach or plum.

On our return trip, Seidy and I stopped to look more closely at some rusted old metal and concrete structures. She described how they had been used in the past to press the juices from sugar cane, using the giant waterwheel to power the press. Then in large metal pans seated in the huge concrete bowls now filled with plants, workers had heated the syrup (miel or honey, as Seidy called it) to render granulated sugar. It was a fascinating taste of Costa Rican history.

The big rusted waterwheel

A press for the cane

What used to be concrete bowls for heating sugar cane juice

 Returning to the festivities, we found the 4x4 mud rally already underway. Chris and Sue, Marcial and Seidy and Layne all stayed to watch while I walked back to the churchyard to check on Bonnie and Stephen who had opted not to hike. They were enjoying some of the comida tipica or typical food for sale and shared a couple of tasty Chicharrones, fried pork, with me before they taxied back home.

The ever-popular 4x4 mud races

When I rejoined the others at the rally, the races were in full mud-spattered swing, with some of the cars stalling out in the deep murky pools of water and having to be towed off the tracks. But the crowd was enjoying the day with barbeques and picnics throughout the grassy hillsides.

Eventually Layne and I left the rally heading for the dance being held in the salon near the church. There we joined in the salsa dancing and even managed a waltz, which garnered us a nice compliment from a Tica, before Marcial and the gang joined the party. 

By then it was time for the entertainment to begin with dancers from San Ramón performing historical Italian dances and a group of colorfully-clad Ticas doing a spectacular full-skirted rendition of Costa Rican traditional dances. Once again we all reveled in the great opportunity to join with our Tico neighbors in a celebration of their history and culture.  

Check out Layne's book "Moral Turpitude," available for only $2.99 at Smashwords.com. High adventure with corporate intrigue, danger and romance; from the exotic jungles of Borneo and Costa Rica to the erotic jungles of San Francisco. Sample or purchase at --https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/159570 

Hammocks, Horses and Crazy Geese

A milestone: Fabulista de Costa Rica has now passed the 50,000 all-time page view mark! A big thank you to my loyal readers!!

Time to bring you up to date on our busy lives here in Costa Rica. I say "Costa Rica" instead of Santa Eulalia because we traveled last week to a different part of the country, the Monteverde area, to enjoy Bonnie's 60th birthday with her and Stephen at a beautiful secluded rancho. Monteverde is a popular tourist destination, a remote mountain region of misty cloud forest, centered in the small town of Santa Elena almost 4700' above sea level. The weather there is chilly and predictably rainy much of the year. Fortunately for us, after one night in Santa Elena, we spent our next three nights some 3000 feet lower - though only 18 kilometers away - near the small village of Guacimal at Rancho El Rio, a working ranch and rental cottage located along the banks of a river, where the days were warm and sunny and nights crisply cool. 

Rancho el Rio

 

Bonnie and Stephen had discovered this little paradise by virtue of their friendship with the owners, Veronica and Alex Alvarado, who also own Casa Cielo, an A-frame cabin further up the mountain with spectacular views of the Gulf of Nicoya. Casa Cielo was the first place Stephen and Bonnie stayed when they arrived in Costa Rica two years ago and they quickly became friends with their charming hosts. With Bonnie's big birthday coming up, we all decided Rancho El Rio would be an ideal place to celebrate.

Hammock-time for Yours Truly

If snoozing in a hammock to the sounds of a rushing river, communing with chickens, geese and horses, hiking through pastures or relaxing with a book on a patio swing are your idea of a holiday, then Rancho El Rio is a great choice. Veronica and Alex have spent the last few months renovating a dilapidated cottage on the 112-acre property, creating a comfortably rustic and handicapped-accessible retreat. Bonnie and Stephen, who had seen the building before its overhaul, were amazed at the transformation. 

Geese pay a visit - watch out for that gander!

With a focus on environmentally friendly construction, the Alvarado's have built a snug two-bedroom, two-bath bungalow with a broad patio overlooking the river and a big open-air kitchen fully equipped for a comfortable stay. Having stocked up on food in Santa Elena and with Stephen's excellent cooking skills (with a little help from the rest of us), we took full advantage of the barbeque unit as well as the ranch fruits, which Veronica supplied on our first day. Other than my having to fight off the aggressive gander once or twice, our days were relaxing and tranquil. 

Stephen readies the BBQ 

Layne mounted and ready to ride

The highlight of the trip for me was our Thursday morning horseback ride with Veronica to explore the ranch. The couple has a string of mostly rescued horses that with their wrangler Memo's help, they have brought back to health and trained to be reliable but energetic mounts for guests. 

The Palomino mare I rode, Soñadora (Dreamer), was their newest addition and although she was still thin to my way of thinking, she was an enthusiastic partner as we cantered up the hills or trotted along in that smooth Paso Criollo gait. For me, there's nothing like the view from the back of a horse!

View from aboard Soñadora

Bonnie gets inspiration from "Spirit Rock"

We wound our way up a long hill to an unusual rock formation, a huge monolith sprouting straight up out of a level plain. We mulled the mystery of that rock in that position and agreed it was a very special place. After an hour or so of exploration, looking at the baby water buffaloes and the herd of cattle, we made our way to the river, tied up the horses, changed into shorts and waded out into the rocks for a cooling dip in the rushing waters. Wow! What fun!

Bonnie & Veronica - ride 'em Cowgirls!

A refreshing dip in the river 

Afterwards, I helped Veronica and Memo with the unsaddling and then led Soñadora to where dozens of ripe mangos lay on the ground. Veronica joined me with her horse Raya and we laughed as we watched the horses gobble up the delicious sweet fruits. Oddly, Costa Rican horses don't seem to like carrots (I've offered them to several), but they sure love mangos!

The next morning I took a long solitary hike along the dirt road and enjoyed the pastoral scenery of white cattle grazing on steep hillsides.
Along the way, I noticed a gorgeous Turquoise-browed Motmot in a tree down below and tried to get a good shot. Then I looked up and saw two of them perched just above me on the telephone line and another half dozen in trees nearby. Slightly smaller than the ones we have around our house in Santa Eulalia, they were still stunning with their iridescent green and blue coloring and distinctive long tail. 

The ubiquitous Iguanas were also easy to spot, such as this guy crossing the road in front of me.

He scurried up the steep side of the hill and disappeared into the roots of a large tree that seemed almost suspended above me.

Layne and I hiked along the river

The incredible variety and abundance of wildlife in Costa Rica continues to amaze us and we feel lucky to have opportunities like this to enjoy it.

Check out Layne's book "Moral Turpitude," available for only $2.99 at Smashwords.com. High adventure with corporate intrigue, danger and romance; from the exotic jungles of Borneo and Costa Rica to the erotic jungles of San Francisco. Sample or purchase at --https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/159570 

      

Monster Mangos and Edible Flowers

The backyard mango crop is coming in! And look at the size of these behemoths... easily 6" long and 14" in circumference! With many more on the way. We didn't think these babies were ripe yet but when our landlords were over the other day, Isaac enthusiastically picked these, saying we should take them before the birds eat them. So now they await full ripeness on the counter as I try to figure out how to make use of so many mangos coming ripe all at the same time. Fortunately, I recently learned to make Mango Chutney so that will utilize some of them. Then there's mango on ice cream, mango in salads, mango smooties and when I run out of ideas, there's always Epicurious.com, Allrecipes.com, the Food Network and dozens of other online recipe sites for inspiration.

A backyard bounty!

The chutney came about after our friend Marcial introduced us to Raymond, a local resident who sells Indian spices. As I had been looking for garam masala for a while I promptly bought that only to learn that he also had some packaged spices including Shan Chicken Curry seasoning. So along with ground coriander, cumin and Tandoori seasoning, I took a package of the curry mix and cooked it that night. Wow! It was excellent but since I used the whole package, it was quite fiery. I decided it needed some chutney to cool the heat a bit. I always thought of chutney as a complex dish but much to my surprise the recipe I found on Epicurious was rather simple. Other than chopping the mangoes, it was a quick preparation and very tasty, the perfect accompaniment to an Indian curry.

"The drinking club with a hiking problem"

With Layne home again to enjoy my cooking, we're back in our routine of regular gourmet meals. But living in a foreign country also means learning about unfamiliar foods, which was the case after our latest hike with our "gang" of friends. The very strenuous trek up took us up into a national preserve near the home of Chris and Sue, who have moved away from Santa Eulalia temporarily while they obtain residency and buy property to build on here in the "old neighborhood." They have rented the very grand home owned by our Guatemalan friend Carmen and her Tico husband Roberto, who literally built the house himself. 

The "great" Great Room

With Roberto as our guide this time, we headed up the hill behind the house into a densely forested jungle of massive trees with huge vines  wrapped around their trunks and branches, creepers as fat as a man's bicep winding up into the canopy above us. We all posed on the aboveground root or arm of one particular type of tree, which Marcial said was used by Ticos in his youth to make tables and even beds because of their flat width.

Sitting on what could be a bed!

View from the top 

We're just getting started...

Stephen and Marc

See those cattle trails?... that's where we're heading!

Eventually we emerged onto an open plateau looking out over the entire Central Valley below, tired but thrilled by the view and fully expecting a less demanding walk back to the house. Oh, but no! What was viewed by Roberto as "easy" soon proved to be a challenging and treacherous scamper for Layne and me, up and down the narrow tracks made by cattle. That's "up and down" several times! Nursing a lightweight hangover from party-time the night before with Bonnie and Stephen, Layne and I clenched our walking sticks and soldiered on, but not in very good spirits.

Can you see me? I'm the one in the red shirt
(click on photos to enlarge; hit Back button or Escape to return)

Bonnie, Layne and Eroca

Still, by the time we made it back to the house and cooled off with a cerveza, we had regained our good humor and took consolation in our successful and safe return. We were all ready for the banquet we knew was to come. Chris and Sue had promised "beer-butt chicken" and everyone else had brought tasty offerings to add to the meal. Marcial, however, had harvested an unexpected Tico treat along the way: Flor de Itabo, an edible flower of the Yucca plant here in Central America and a centerpiece of holiday meals around Easter when it is in bloom.

Photo by Frank Sullyvan Cardoza Ruiz

http://blog.inbio.ac.cr/editorial/?p=1502

Marcial patiently removed the delicate white petals of the open flowers, along with the central stem full of unopened blossoms. He set all that in water and brought it to a slow boil for five minutes or so. 

Marcial removes the petals

Cooked immature buds - yummy!

Beer-butt chickens on the grill

Once done, Chris, Stephen and I sampled the small flower buds from within the stem and found them to have a piquant, slightly bitter flavor, not unlike Brussels Sprouts. Adding the softened flowers to a sauté of onions, chili dulce and eggs, Marcial produced a delicious egg scramble that tucked inside a tortilla served as appetizer along with Carmen's black bean dip and picante green salsa, Eroca's pico de gallo and my Caesar dip with veggies. We enjoyed these delicacies while we awaited the finale of those outrageous chickens. They proved well worth the wait, tender and juicy with a distinctive flavor from Chris' spicy rub. As our friend Joel would say: "Very successful!"

After dinner Daniel serenaded us with beautiful classical guitar music. He's getting better and better! 

Daniel and Layne entertain

Eventually, he invited Layne up to join him in a rousing rendition of "Pecos Bill," a humorous Western ballad that Daniel learned from Layne. All in all, another excellent day of hiking, good food and great friends.

Check out Layne's book "Moral Turpitude," available for only $2.99 at Smashwords.com. High adventure with corporate intrigue, danger and romance; from the exotic jungles of Borneo and Costa Rica to the erotic jungles of San Francisco. Sample or purchase at --https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/159570

Don't Cry for Me, Costa Rica!

Our Santa Eulalia neighborhood

Just as we are feeling comfortably settled into our Santa Eulalia neighborhood, we've been hit with a wild pitch: We must return to our home in California! It has been a stressful two weeks since we got the news that the tenant renting our house had broken the lease. On top of that, our property manager said we probably needed to reduce the rent in order to lease it again. Given the small margins we have had between the mortgage and the rental income, we've decided our best course of action is to return to our Pilot Hill ranchette to live for a while as we look for ways to cut our expenses there. If we manage to do that, hopefully we will be able to return to Costa Rica one of these days.

At least it's springtime there so we won't be heading from tropical balmy days to frigid wintry weather. But it's also "springtime" here with many fruits and vegetables coming into season. Our avocado tree in front has bulbous green fruit all over it but they probably won't ripen before we depart on April 11th. Likewise, our mango tree in the backyard has fruit ripening but still too green to pick. 

Avocados about to ripen

Still-green mangos

We have so many mandarinas (like a tangerine), they are falling on the ground in abundance. Even our landlords came over recently to ask if they could pick a few. They filled two big bags and we still have so many I'm beginning to add them to salads just to try and use them.

Sadly, my brand new orchids, which I just bought a few weeks ago, cannot travel with me. I plan to offer them to Seidy (finally, this IS the correct spelling of her name!). She has a yard full of wild orchids of all kinds so I'm sure they''ll have a good home. Likewise, my "kitchen garden" of herbs will be parceled out to friends nearby. Bonnie wants the basil and I'm sure Jackie will take the oregano and rosemary. Hopefully, someone will take the big Aloe Vera plant. Sigh.

Goodbye to my herb garden

Of course, we had planned to go back to the States later this year to see family and friends, as we have every year, so this just pushed those plans forward a bit. We will now have time to deal with some of the "stuff" still in the barn. I worry that between the heat and the moisture that some things of value are being ruined. Long-time readers will recall what a hectic dash out of our home we had to make in December of 2009 when we decided to rent the house and head for Costa Rica. The prospective renters were being pushed out of their home due to a foreclosure. To paraphrase an old saying: Manure rolls downhill, so we had to get out of our house of over 14 years in less than six weeks. A lot of our stuff just ended up in our large storage barn. This return to residency there will give us a chance to clear it out.

We also look forward with joy to the opportunity to spend time with old friends again. Dinner parties with Ruth, chats over the fence with our neighbor Susan, time to drive into San Francisco to see our son Damian and grandson Kai and other friends there. We will make our pilgrimage to Portland to visit family there this summer and on to Spokane to see Layne's son Jess and his family. I will have a chance to fly to Texas and spend some time with my mom.

Still it's a bittersweet pill to have to leave Costa Rica, our adopted homeland that has welcomed us so warmly. As time allows, I'll continue to post reports on our activities as we settle back into life in California. And as circumstances allow, we hope to return to Costa Rica, at least for visits if not for good. Pura Vida!!