Las Montañas

A week ago on a Saturday, we woke up early and took a road trip with folks from our church. I can't really say where we went, because I never really understood where we were. I know that we were near the beach, and then went into "las montañas." But even the people we were with, although they call it "las montañas," admit that we weren't really in the mountains.

Along the way, we stopped at a beach near Puntarenas and ate. The men fired up the grill, a hubcap rim on poles with fire built from sticks and leaves. How handy is that? The kids played along the shore until the dark sand was too hot to walk on barefoot. The adults huddled under the shade of the trees along the road. We had just enough change and not a colon more to pay for two of us to use a very clean bathroom, gracias a Dios!

The purpose of the trip was to celebrate and worship with another body of believers in the same association of churches. So we packed up after the picnic and kept on driving another couple of hours. This fellowship meets outside a home, under an outside roof and a tarp. It's a dry and dusty place, with beautiful bougainvillea in bursts of bloom along the road and cows grazing near a barbed wire fence.

That afternoon the air hung hot and mostly still. We worshipped under the glare and heat of the midday sun. The floor was dirt, fine and powdery covering our toes. A chicken skittered around our feet. The dogs next door lay lazy until after the service was over and the food came out. We sang praises with gusto. Our pastor preached grace and thanks. The kids swung their feet from benches and the adults stood up and moved to the back in order to avoid eyes falling heavy. The final “amen” was a loud one.

And then the ladies brought out food, arroz con cerdo and sweet te frío and pieces of cake. In that humble place, they fed us all and offered seconds. The kids ran around and taunted the pig out back and played the games that are universal. The men sat in groups and talked and the ladies sat in groups and talked and we all shared hugs and goodbyes, just as anyone leaving a church supper would do.

We piled into the microbus, sweaty and dirty and tired after a long day, but oh so full (& I'd say that even if we didn't have the promise of a stop for ice cream on the trip home...!)
I can't help but think of the first stanza of the hymn,

How sweet and awful is the place
with Christ within the doors,
while everlasting love displays
the choicest of her stores.

Sweet and full of awe, indeed.

More photos of the day are available in a Picasa album here.

La Feria Saturday

La Feria Saturday

Warm sun, dusty path,
Underneath the tarps.

Wilted greens, striped zucchinis,
Bolsa of green beans.

Tomato red, radish bunches,
Cukes not close to cool.

Mangos, pineapples and
bananas not yet ripe.

The produce of the market
seems to come
more easily than
the fruit of the spirit
some days.

My friend Upsidedown Bee noted today that Poetic Asides from Writer’s Digest has started an April Poem-A-Day Challenge. Today's challenge was to write a "postcard poem"- Make it brief and communicate what it is like where you are. Also, make it personal.

Cartago-Valle de Orosi

We headed out first thing this morning, destination Cartago.  We weren't disappointed.

 

We visited the beautiful Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles, the legendary site of La Negrita. 

We strolled through the gardens within las ruinas de parroquia, the outer walls of the Catholic church built, and then destroyed, and then built, and then destroyed again. 

And then we hopped a bus and ventured on into the Orosi Valley, where we wandered for a bit and ate lunch.  There was a wedding finishing at la iglesia de Orosi as we were arriving, but I was too far away to get a picture right at that moment.

It was a beautiful day, with blue skies and fresh air and good food and great company.

For more pictures, visit the Cartago-Valle de Orosi album I put up on Picasa.

Pura vida.

saturday away

to the Pacific coast for the weekend, with old friends.

moving slowly.
fresh coffee.
birds chirping.
juice from fresh pineapple on my shirt.

(deep breath of refreshment)

Tuesday dusk

How strange this fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset.
George MacDonald

El sabado

Spent a fun couple of hours this afternoon in El Centro de San Jose (downtown) with a few friends, showing a visitor around.  We stopped to enjoy a gentleman with a great voice singing Christian praise music near the plaza. We watched a spray paint artist create a new work. We wandered through the artesans market while our friend searched for gifts to take home.  I even got to play checkers (tablero) with a couple of vendors behind the scenes.  (I won! But not without help from my new friend, Jose) We shared churros on the way back (& a capuccino, mmm...).  And then we survived another bus ride, this time reminiscent of a scene out of Speed. 

And all that plus a morning of encouraging teaching on evangelism with the ladies from church, lunch with friends, a load of laundry complete, a trip to the grocery store, a chat with family, and amazing mongolian beef cooked by my husband.

A good Saturday, indeed.

on the bus

Because we do not have a car here in Costa Rica, the public bus is our primary mode of transportation. Well, I guess our feet are our PRIMARY mode of transportation, but the bus definitely comes in second. To attend worship on Sundays, we take two buses to church.  We first walk a few blocks to a stop where we wait for the first bus.  Sometimes we wait longer than we ride, I think.  Then we change buses, get on a second bus, and get off right in front of where we worship. We leave our house about an hour before the service begins, and if all goes well, we are seated with time to spare.

The second bus is the less predictable of the two.  On the way to church yesterday, we thought that perhaps the driver was maneuvering through his own NASBUS circuit, taking the turns wide and fast to move to the inside corner for the pass.  There were streets blocked off on the usual route, which necessitated more turns than usual.  We held on tight, even while sitting.

And then it came time to get off the bus.  I got off first, and thought that Tim was right behind me.  It took longer than normal, and when he did get off, immediately he and another woman exiting were in what looked like a pretty heated conversation. There were a lot of arms waving and then one of our Tico friends from church who was also on the bus got involved.  I crossed the street and waited.

The group finished, and crossed the street, and then I learned the entire story.  While getting off the bus, the lady exiting in front of Tim stopped because she lost an earring.  She bent down to look for it on the floor of the bus.  In the process of waiting for her, the lady immediately behind Tim pickpocketed his wallet.  THAT FAST!!  But, after a moment he suspected something funny was going on, felt for his wallet, noticed it was gone, and confronted the lady behind him. She denied it all, but we are sure that she was in cahoots with the lady who dropped the earring, and maybe even a third person we didn't notice at all. (note: I love being able to use the word "cahoots"...)  Yes, the wallet was gone.

But the good news? There was absolutely nothing of value in that wallet.  It had a couple of empty gift cards and a few worthless receipts. Isn't he a clever one, my husband?  Everything of value was in the wallet strapped to his belt and tucked into the front of his waistline. 
HA!

Nonetheless, it was a pretty sobering moment- that it happened that fast.  We were on a bus last week when we watched a woman have her purse stolen from her shoulder at a stop across the street from where we were at a stoplight.  Again, it happened THAT fast, in a blink of the eye.  Both incidents serve to remind us not to be complacent, and that we need always be alert.

All in all, though, just another day on the bus...

(photo credit- really taken on the first bus Sunday morning!)

Lankester Gardens

Last week I took an afternoon field trip to Lankester Botanical Gardens in Cartago. 

Peaceful.
Still.
Quiet.
Beautiful.
Green.
Bright.
Lush.
Serene.
Relaxing.

Everyone should make it a point to visit gardens, no matter where you live.  I am convinced, it is good for your soul, no matter what the weather, no matter what the circumstance.

Lately...

We have been out of school, on the Christmas trimester break, for almost a month now.  At the beginning of the month, I could barely fathom how the time would pass.  Turns out that we had a good break, exceedingly relaxing, and we're already to get back to classes next week.  (well, except perhaps one girl and one science class... we'll cut her some slack...)

In the last month, we've wandered around San Jose, watched movies, read books, and slept in.  We rejoiced in Christmas celebrations.  We made new friends and we renewed old friendships, too. 

But the highlight of the month was having our first visitor.  I promise, if you come to visit, I'll be this happy to be with you, too. She was a great sport- it's probably not so easy to travel with our group of 7!  She will always be welcome to join us.

We journeyed to Monteverde, the cloud forest of Costa Rica.  Beautiful!  More shades of green than I could even begin to describe.  More shades of green than even a camera can capture.  We saw cheese being made.  We went to a bat exhibit.  We saw an amazing sunset.  We ziplined through the cloud forest!  (whoa!  I was sure I was going to crash into the tree every single time!!  I didn't.  phew.)  We saw the amazing colors of birds and of flowers.  We played games and ate good food.  

We made it to the beach at Jaco.  And spent a great day at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, but I forgot my memory card there- no pictures.   Thankfully, we have a lot of memories, and some friends with cameras!

And, oh yeah, we spoke some Spanish too!  :-)

For more photos, check out this album on Picasa. 

December Photo Project- 15

And for a while, I forgot that it is December.

December Photo Project- 12

A pretty twirly swirly dress and her first formal party, a Quinceanera.

Time goes by oh so very quickly...

December Photo Project- 9

Why does a Costa Rican rental house have a Statue of Liberty in the window?

outside...

The nicest thing about rain is that it always stops.  Eventually.
- Eeyore

It was raining when we went to bed,
and when we woke up, it was raining.
It was raining when we went to bed,
and when we woke up, it was raining.

And it is still raining.

They tell me that December is the beginning of summer.
I'm ready.

Emergencia Nacional

Tropical Storm Tomas dropped rain, and rain, and more rain, over Costa Rica this week, and especially over the last couple of days.  Last night in one two hour period, it rained over 6 inches near San Jose.  Tragically today mudslides have occurred all over the country, even within miles from where we live.  In an area less than 10 miles from us, 20 people were killed and 15 remain missing after mudslides early Thursday morning.

Around us it is wet, but other than that, we are fine.  We are reportedly among the 800,000 without potable water, but we still have water coming out of our faucets right now.  Rain is predicted to continue until tomorrow midday.  We were able to buy bottled water (and Betty Crocker chocolate frosting) this afternoon, so we should be fine for a few days. 

Watching the tv and seeing the devastation around us, puts our inconvenience into perpective.  We pray for comfort, peace and provision for those that have lost loved ones and their homes, and for safety and strength for those serving in the rescue efforts.     

(photo credit to Katie Onheiber, Tico Times)

this weekend

After a stop for cash, and then another stop for cash when the first stop yielded nothing (Friday was payday in San Jose), we reached the bus stop Saturday morning at 6:25 am. 

3/7 of our family was headed to the hills, joining other folks from ILE on a hike to the locally famous Tres Cruces.  Tres Cruces is a series of crosses high on the hills surrounding San Jose.  Hikers climb, and descend, even into the cloud cover, and are rewarded with a stop at a waterfalls, amazing views of San Jose, and the satisfaction of knowing you did it.  And, pizza on the way home.

4/7 of our family was headed to a church yard sale across town, requiring bus transfers we have never before made.  With our Amazing Race-worthy adventurer, Kathy, we trekked across central San Jose, found the right bus, and got off at the right place, too.  After the yard sale, we hitched a ride (gasp!  just kidding!  with people we know!) to the gigante Multiplaza Escazu.  We oohed at seemingly overpriced American import groceries at AutoMercado, and enjoyed a tasty lunch at Quiznos.  (mmm... just like the States!).  And then we headed home.  Except that in our hurry to catch the coming bus, we somehow found ourselves traveling the wrong direction.  ooops.  We confirmed that with the nice lady sitting behind us, exited at the next stop, crossed under the highway, came up on the other side, and turned ourselves around.  Once back in San Jose, we negotiated through the packed Saturday crowds, a Mardi Gras style parade, and vendors of every purse, cheap toy and pirated movie under the sun, and after only standing in one line for the wrong bus, we were on the final leg home. 

Have I mentioned that, in general, I have a fear of buses?  You never know where they might turn.  Subway trains are so much more predictable...

Halloween is not really celebrated in Costa Rica. 
Except for the lack of candy, I haven't missed it a bit.  If you have extra KitKats, Almond Joys or candy corn, I'll be glad to take them off of your hands...

Reformation Day is recognized in the Costa Rican church. 
Gracias Martin Lutero!

Listening to the World Series, Los Giants contra Los Rangers, in Spanish is a hoot.  The Latino announcers are as excited about a home run as a goal scored in soccer!

An unexpected Skype appearance by a friend is a welcome distraction on a Sunday afternoon.

And homework on Sunday night always takes longer than expected, no matter how old you are.

Blessings in the week ahead!

Tortuguero

We took an amazing weekend trip to Tortuguero, CR.  Tortuguero is on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, and can only be reached by plane or boat.  We left San Jose at 6am on Saturday morning, and arrived on the island by lunchtime.  It almost became the trip known as "the one in which two girls forget their duffel bag," ("I thought she had it."  "I thought SHE had it...") but thankfully we noticed that in time for a full recovery. 

Along the way we stopped for breakfast at a place with a butterfly garden, and also made a stop at a banana processing plant at a Del Monte plantation.  It was really interesting to watch the huge stalks of bananas trimmed down to the bunch we buy at the grocery store, though in the bright green color before they are ripe.

Once on the boat to Tortuguero, we began to see the huge variety of birds and animals that live in the region.  At times it seemed like we could not have been any closer.  When the seemingly uninterested Cayman turned on a dime and slapped our boat with his tail, a few in my family thought that perhaps we were a bit TOO close!  I was thinking that myself when the iguana puffed at us!

I think most of my family would agree that the best part of the trip was to see the newly hatched sea turtles make their way down the beach and cast off into the ocean.  We were not able to see any of the adult females, though we saw their tracks on the beach, leading from the shore up to their pit nests.  Seeing the babies more than made up for missing their mamas.  What a wonder, to watch them make their way straight toward the ocean with such determination and then get swept away by the outgoing tide. 

It was great to get away.  It was great to take a zillion photos!
To see more, visit my Tortuguero Album on Picasa.

Temblor!

Earthquake tonight! 
At first, we thought it was a truck going by, but then we realized,
That's not a truck!
(that's what I thought at the beginning of  the last time I was in a significant earthquake, too...)

This one lasted long enough for me to start thinking that maybe I should unlock the front door and think about how to get out.
And then it was over. 

The USGS says that it was 5.9, and was centered 26 miles NNW of San Jose, so we figure that's about 30 miles from us. 

Close enough, I'd say.

Tim and the twins were walking friends home when it happened.  They didn't feel it at all.  When told she missed an earthquake, L replied, "I was doing the Jerk.  I was already shakin'!"

So, that's what's shakin' here...
snort!

P's

A list of p's:

Pelicula:  We saw The Legend of the Guardian today, completely in Spanish.  And understood it, mostly, which is worth a holler.  The animation in this film is terrific, the details visible right down to the last feather.  Keeping track of the owls is a little tricky.  The story is the best kind of animated tale, of noble animal heroes triumphing over  the forces of evil, of courage and valor and honor.  For my friends with young un's, warning!  This is a dark and sometimes scary movie.  But for those ready to handle intense battle scenes, you'll find it very worthwhile. 

Pops:  Me encanta Helado Pops!  This week, nieves frutas.  Delicious mixed fruit ice.  mmmmmm.






Pan:  (say: p-ahn) (translation:  bread)  Our Saturday morning routine consists of shopping for the bulk of the week's produce at la feria (farmer's market), and then a stop at la panaderia (bakery).  There are two bakeries, Pan Por Kilo and Musmanni, a block away from one another.  We don't have a favorite, meaning we like both, a lot.  Today we bought empanadas, which are croissant turnovers filled with potatoes, beef, and chicken (or pineapple, as the case may be...) to eat at lunch, a load of crusty bread to have with dinner, and a ring of apple cinnamon rolls for Sunday breakfast.  Could man live by bread alone?  Maybe...?

Pizza:  My husband is the pizza king.  El Rey de Pizza!  Look at those pies from last week- ham and (very fresh!) pineapple, and hamburger and tomato.  He's doing it again on Sunday evening.  It's no small feat to make pizza here, as cheese is premium.  The mega bag of mozzarella from PriceSmart (say: Sam's Club) is worth it.

Preview: We're hosting a visitor this month. Sneak preview here. More to follow... (He never fails to make me smile!)

Pests: Twice this week, I found one of these guys at the bottom of the washing machine tub, AFTER going through a full wash cycle... They must live for cold water adventure!
(and wait 'til I get around to posting the video of the ants in the nearby park...)

Life in the tropics...

Hairy Eyeballs

That is fruit.
Really!

They are a relative of the lychee.
In English, the name is the rambutan.
In Spanish, they are the mamon china.
In my house, they are the hairy eyeballs.

To get to the fruit, you tear open the outside peel.  The fruit is inside, and resembles a peeled grape with a small pit.  My kids like them. 
I haven't decided. 

But they are fun to take a picture of...

La Paz Waterfall Gardens

On Saturday we took a trip to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, about an hour outside of San Jose.  The travel just to get there was beautiful!  We drove through mile after mile of coffee plantations and fern farms.  We climbed to nearly 5000 feet in altitude, and the scenery grew more and more green as we traveled.  The trip included a Tico breakfast- scrambled eggs, rice and beans, cheese and toast, along with strawberry juice and cafe con leche; and later a buffet lunch.  Mmmm!

Once at La Paz, we were able to view, be right next to, all kinds of birds, animals, plants, flowers, and of course, waterfalls.  We walked through the bird house, and all the kids had their photo taken wtih the toucans.  We watched the life cycle of the butterfly up close, from emerging to death.  We watited patiently, trying to capture the hummingbirds on film, as they zipped and zoomed all around us, hardly still for a moment.  We could have reached out to pet the wildcats, but we didn't.  I was hoping the frogs would not hop on top of me! 

We arrived in the morning sun, but as the morning turned to afternoon, the sun turned to storms, and we experienced the afternoon rains, and then the downpour.  My pictures only begin to capture how gorgeous and serene the rain forest appears. On the way home, we stopped for coffee at a shop along the roadside, a tourist stop, yes, but a tasty cafecito nonetheless.

And, I got to get out the camera and snap away the entire day!  It was a wonderful adventure, and makes me want to see even more of this beautiful country soon!

(all of the pictures can be seen upclose at on my Picassa album of "La Paz Waterfall Gardens")