Refreshments

Central Valley, COSTA RICA
Jan.31-Feb.2, 2015

Would you believe I just ate a whole lemon?!  Sweet, like an orange, right off the tree in the yard.  And then, apparently the big orange tree a few metres away produces sour oranges, like lemons, good for cooking only (ie. marinades).  Go figure.  There are also bananas, plantains, mangoes, papaya, coconut, guava, avocado, guanabana, yucca, beans, aloe vera...  Unfortunately I'm a bit early for most - due at the end of summer season in March-ish, other than the bananas.  And the early lemons.

Leo & Shelley's back garden

An over-ripe banana is a fantastic tool for bird watching - all kinds of birds seem to love the pungent sugary fruit.  In the mornings it's a constant parade of different bright-coloured happy birdies having their turn at the bananas - mesmerizing.

Leo is generous with his garden/orchard - after surviving the sweet lemon, over the course of the next few days he brought me a plantain - which I first tried raw, then properly fried with a dollop of sour cream on the side (so good), guanabana - a big prickly pear-like fruit which he sticks in a blender and then freezes in lumps, making for a hot afternoon cold treat, and my first Costa Rican cerveza - Imperial.  I shared my first Costa Rican wine with him - it was a very sweet, more fitting for a dessert wine.  I think I'll stick with Argentinian and Chilean.

First thing I do in the morning is grab my glass for a slug of water.  This morning, my eyes still half closed, I had the glass at my lips and was about to tip the water in.  Suddenly, my subconciousness registered a dark and scary object and I shrieked.

I managed to dump the water and save him.

Besides eating, I spent the rest of my time in the Central Valley doing what I want when I want:  reading, writing, doing some yoga on the grass outside, going for a couple runs (eeeeeearly morning - otherwise, you die), walking the 25 minutes to town for food, and sleeping NINE hours a night.

Costa Rica has waterfalls, and it's interesting: people love to go see waterfalls.  Insightful entrepreneurs the world over have figured this out, and have generated revenue - to protect the waterfalls, for profit, maybe a bit of both - charging people to go see waterfalls.  So what's the attraction?

Leo insisted on taking my photograph

They are big - far bigger than us, and they carry a lot of power.  That combination tends to evoke a sense of awe, along with a reminder that us mortals are but mere mortals.  It instils fear and a gut feel of danger - which attracts some, and repels others.

I went for a cool swim under the falls - glorious after the hot hike in, and gave myself a nice neck and shoulder massage.  Poking around the waters under Leo's guidance, there was an even bigger set of falls (which I only observed from a comfortable distance), and a line of gentle massages.

Little massage waterfalls

On the way back from the falls, Leo stopped off in town and picked up some ceviche for his family.  Inspired, I got some too - fresh fish "cooked" in cool lime juice with fresh herbs.

...refreshments come in many forms.