I was beyond thrilled that my day started with easy transportation to the Atlanta airport, a simple security checkpoint in the international terminal and an on-time departure. A quick 3.5 hour fight had us in San Jose only a mere 20 minutes late. San Jose is a smaller airport than I had anticipated; customs took less than an hour and I was out the door.
I was met at the exit with a sign for pickup; “Amy Oare.” Eberto was there to meet me and quickly snagged my luggage from my hand. “Follow me,” he said. I don’t think we took 35 steps before my actual ride showed up. Eberto handed me off to Walter, but not before demanding a tip. Okay, first Costa Rica lesson learned - don’t ever let someone handle your bag for you; they will ask for money. Walter was less than thrilled; come to find out, he had pre-paid Eberto to pick me up at the exit so he didn’t have to sit on the curb for what could have been hours. Alas, we were on our way.
Walter is a native to Costa Rica. While he moved to Boston when he was in his 30s and then spent some time in South Carolina, he happily moved back when his then wife grew tired of the “American hustle.” We had a 4 hour trip from San Jose into La Fortuna and seeing as it was just him and I in a 18-passenger van, I knew we’d cover a lot of verbal ground before we arrived. As we started our drive through the coffee and sugar cane plantations, my rumbling stomach reminded me that breakfast had been approximately 8 hours before and I mentioned to Walter that I was hungry. “I know JUST the place,” he said. Next thing I knew, I was sitting in the middle of a local market, eating his favorite Casado.
Casado is Spanish for marriage. This dish is known as the daily staple in Costa Rica and was awarded that name because of the required pairing of rice & beans, regardless of anything else included. As Walter said, “it’s rice, beans…and whatever else the cook feels like throwing in there that day.” We made small talk about his time in America while we ate. If you’re curious what he loved the most about our country? The fact that he could get gravy on anything. Ha! #America
The remainder of the trip was somewhat uneventful, minus the absolute downpour that met us on the other side of the mountain. I was able to connect with my group right as they arrived at our hotel and Jeff, our guide, let me know that we were leaving for our next activity in 20 minutes; an authentic Costa Rican cooking class. Through all my delays, I had only missed a night in San Jose and a trip to the coffee plantation; i figured I’ll make up for that with the copious amounts of coffee I plan to drink this week.
This hotel is breathtaking. Their focus, as it is in much of Costa Rica is eco-friendly accommodations. Everything is green and lush and upon arrival, the only thing I could hear were the birds and the rain. Plus, there’s a precious little front porch on my room where I can sit and take it all in… Okay, I can stay here for a while.
I finally met the rest of the group as we boarded the shuttle for dinner and I couldn’t be more elated with the fantastic group of people that I am blessed to spend the week with. From the UK, Germany and all across the United States, the diversity is beautiful and the energy is contagious. We headed for dinner and upon arrival, we found out that we’d be learning to cook…you guessed it…Casado! Eager to now be able to compare and contrast from my earlier experience, I quickly took post at my station and helped prep the salad, cook the chicken and of course, make some homemade tortillas. Our chef consistently reminded us that everything we were cooking came from just a few squares miles around us; plain and simple, it’s hard to beat that and it was fascinating to see how different the same dish can taste with just a few modified ingredients.
Not done with the day just yet, Jeff had another surprise up his sleeve and after dinner, we made a stop at a little market in town so everyone could buy some beers and wine for the bus cooler. Our destination? The “hot river.” We drove out of town about 20 minutes, our driver pulled off the on the side of the road and Jeff ushered us out; “just down this way,” he said. Okay, when I say it was absolutely pitch black out, that may be an understatement. He lit a few candles, distributed them throughout the group and we made the trek down the hill to the river. What an incredible experience! Heated from the volcano, this is a go-to hang-out for the locals and we weren’t the only ones showing up with candles; everyone brings them and places them on the rivers-edge. The next few hours were filled with steam coming off the water, “Dink” frogs chirping from the trees, candlelight and too many stories and laughs to count. Major kudos to Jeff for taking the time to create this experience for us.
Back at the hotel, it’s time to call it a night. I signed up to go canyoning tomorrow (which I’ve most definitely never done) and I’m hopeful the skies have cleared in the morning for my coffee walk into town so I can see the Arenal volcano. More adventures to come.
Until then… Pura Vida!
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