Roughing it in Costa Rica

Yesterday we decided to head into Santa Elena, have a few beers and check out the local nightlife. We have spent a good amount of time in Santa Elena and been to several local places but have so far returned home before dark like old folks. Now it was time to get a taste of the cloud forest nightlife! So, around 5:30… we headed to the bar. Now, 5:30 may seem a bit early. We are too young for the early bird senior citizens discount but with the sun setting between 6 and 6:30 we decided to make the 30+ minute walk before it got dark. We got to our new favorite bar possibly in the entire world (it’s in a freakin’ tree, for crying out loud!) at just about the right time as it was getting dark and the place filled up completely within 30 minutes of our arrival. We got to sample a local craft beer, as well as beer from the two main breweries in Costa Rica. We enjoyed our $2 beers while listening to a local band play Oasis and Bob Marley before getting in a cab and successfully describing (in Spanish!) where we lived. A perfect evening!

-Nick

I have been looking forward to today since we got into Santa Elena, it’s Saturday and that means its Farmers Market Day! We got up and went into town with our host Beth, and her two children. This was advantageous for two reasons: one, she knows all the vendors and could tell us who grew organically, who grew their own produce locally and who brought in their produce, who would give you a fair price and who would jack up the prices for us tourists. The other reason we were excited was because going with her meant a ride all the way into town and back with all our loot! The Farmer’s Market was fairly small and inside a large building. Beth gave us the “who’s who” of the produce stands and introduced us to some organic farmers who specialize in sustainable agriculture and macrobiotics. Their farm is about 2 kilometers from where we are staying and they welcomed us to come look around or even volunteer there if we have time. We made our way through the stands “oohing” and “aahing” over the exotic looking produce, some of which I had never seen or even heard of before. Like a guaba- we had to get instructions on how to eat it, and I am still not all that sure. Here are some of the exciting things we picked up and now have in our fridge: rambutans, guaba, passion fruit, Costa Rican apples, farm fresh eggs, and some unbelievably creamy Costa Rican avocados.

The Farmer’s Market is also home to a small kitchen known as the “Old Folks Club” so we stopped and had a breakfast of “Pintos”- beans, rice, scrambled eggs, a corn tortilla, cheese and fried plantain. The tortillas were made by hand to order- a fascinating process to watch!

We also got some new neighbors in the apartment next to our cabina! A family from the Czech Republic came in last night. While they are only staying a few days, we did get to chat with them a little last night and this morning and they have given Nick a chance to practice his Czech.

-Katy