Pura vida!

 

Olà from Costa Rica!! I am devastated that we only have 2 days in this beautiful country. Today I went to a cloud forest and visited Poas National Park. It took about 3 hours to get to the national park, and it was well worth the drive. Clustered around the walk-way were “poor man’s umbrellas” which were huge plants that looked just as they are named. The main attraction of the park was the semi-active volcano and crater. When the wind was blowing, the sky blue boiling lake was uncovered from the steam. The volcano last erupted in 2009, and our tour guide had a friend who had been in the park at the time, and caught it all on tape. We left the park and jumped back on the bus, heading for lunch. We were notified that it was being served buffet-style in the restaurant we were going to; made my day! We had “casado” which means married in Spanish. Our tour guide said that the dish is called this, because after you get married it is all your wife will cook you. We had rice and beans, breaded fish, a beef stew concoction, plantains, and a noodle salad. Everything was delicious! I went back for seconds of the rice and beans; you can never get too much rice. The dessert was a piece of strawberry cake with a fresh strawberry on the side. We also had a strawberry smoothie for our drink. I tried Costa Rican coffee, which is one of the staples that Ticos are very proud of… It was so strong! I am not usually a coffee person, so I don’t think that I was able to value it for what it was worth, but it sure seemed like a strong, decent cup of coffee. After lunch, we were taken to a few different shops on the way back. Our bus driver would randomly pull over to the side of the road, and pick pieces of a random coffee bean crop, or banana leaves, or pieces of a tree from the side of the road. Our tour guide Eric, said he loved our driver Chico because he was always doing this sort of thing. So Chico would find us things on the side of the road, and Eric would pass them around the bus and tell us about the different crops and the economy of Costa Rica. I would love to come back and spend more time here; there never seems to be enough time in any of the countries we have been to. One thing I noticed that seemed very different from the States was the fact that most of the houses had a front porch. The USA seems to value the back-porch more, as it offers a sense of privacy and security. I think the front-porch has more of a meaning than just a few chairs in the front of a house. The Ticos were so friendly, and everyone seemed so happy and were all smiling. It was comforting receiving smiles back, especially coming from Asia where it really isn’t in the Asian culture to smile back at strangers. Every time we passed anyone on the street, they offered our tour bus a wave and a huge smile. My Portuguese skills have really helped here as well! I could make out what some of the signs said just from the little Portuguese that I have learned thus far! It just means that I am going to have to learn Spanish and come back to Costa Rica! Pura vida!