Weekend
I am getting really behind here! So this past weekend we (the foreigners) got to experience how Ticos actually live. Sunday was Chio's brothers birthday. So that means we party all weekend long. Her brother and his family live in the mountain area of Chachagua. We left Saturday after the kids program in the morning. It was a 3 hr ride from our house. But I believe it was a little longer because of traffic. It was a gorgeous drive! It is easy to forget that we are living in the city and what country looks like because of that. All along the drive we saw multiple coffee plants, banana and plantain trees, and I know there are other fruit trees but I can't remember them at the moment. We were also able to see multiple valleys that were absolutely beautiful! The only bad thing was because we left so late in the afternoon, around 2:30 pm, it was dark by the time we arrived. Because the sun sets around 5 or 5:15 and it's dark by 5:30. But the funny part is, is that Alvin and Chio always miss the turn off for the road that her brother lives on. And it happened again this time but don't worry, after turning unto 3 different roads we finally found the right one. Once we got there it was very hot and muggy and with everyone speaking Spanish. We were introduced to everyone, but there were way to many people to remember. But Chio's brother has a pool at his place, so we went swimming for a little while. And then around 9:00 they brought out food. Us foreigners thought it was the meal but nope it was just an appetizer. The appetizer was a tortilla soup. Very delicious! Then around an hour later they had more food ready. This time we were smart though. We asked to share a plate. There was no way that we would have all been able to eat a plate. It had a meat, I believe it was pork, a cabbage dish, and yuca! Very good! But after that we were ready for bed.
Chio's brother's house is a really basic house. It's a rectangle with on one side the living room and kitchen. The other side of the house had 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. The bedrooms fit 2 bunk beds in them and that's basically it. With just a little room to walk around. We were lucky. We actually got a room. But our room had 4 beds for 6 people. So yes some had to share a bed. But like I said we were lucky. Some people slept out in the living room on spare matrices and others had 8 to 10 people in a room. So we went to bed. But the Tico's did not. We were so tired that we never heard them go to bed. But I believe it finally kinda slowed down around 1:30/2 am. We actually slept pretty good considering all the noise and the mugginess! I really don't now who hot it was but it felt like a normal summer day in Ohio. Which does not make for good sleeping weather.
With how families work in Costa Rica we had a celebration all weekend long and people just kept showing up. I believe we counted at one time and there was around 50 people all staying at the house. It was just a little crowded. There were cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces and nephews, and friends. It was neat to be able to see how a real Tico family works.
Saturday we were able to go and visit the cold river. We had to walk for about 20 minutes to get there. The walk took us down the gravel road and down a hill. But to get to the hill we had to climb under some barbed wire, onto someone's property, past their cows and finally into the woods and the river. But the river was beautiful! We were able to swim in it for about an hour or two and it was very refreshing!
After the river and the walk back it was lunch time. Which we were fed more food. Way to much food...but very good food. In the afternoon we went swimming again and then Chio's dad took us on a walk and showed us some different plants. We were able to see ginger plants, yuca plants, a papaya tree and a sweet lemon tree. We actually got to eat one of those and it was different. The juice was sweet but the skin/meat was sour. It made for a good fruit. I'm just bummed that I forgot to bring my camera along on that walk.
Then after it got dark, we went to the hot river. The hot river is by a volcano. Its not active at the moment. The last time it erupted was in 2012 I believe. But we had to wait until it got dark to go to his part of the river because it feels like a hot bath. It was so good to just sit in the water and enjoy it. But the crazy thing was, we had to walk a little bit down a path and then up the river to get to a pool to sit in. But out of the group of 30-40 people there was probably only around 4-5 flashlights. It made for an interesting walk but hey, it's an adventure right? It was a fun adventure though. We had to leave after a hour or so because the water started coming faster and we didn't want to get washed away. As it was, when we were trying to get over a little waterfall, Bruna got swept over. Luckily there were people at the bottom that caught her and helped the rest of us over. But we had to make sure we had firm footing when we moved. When we got back it was around 9:45 at night. And now it was time to eat. Because you know...it's time to eat at that time. But they had to fix the food first. Again we got an appetizer which was rice and beans. Which was good. But I couldn't keep my eye's open till the main course so I bailed around 10:30 and the food still wasn't ready by then. Bruna I believe said the food was finally ready around 11 pm. Just a little late for me.
Again it was muggy and warm when we got up in the morning. But at least it was cooler when we went to sleep. Monday we stayed until around 11. Some went swimming in the pool and others got pushed in. I didn't feel like dealing with wet clothes so I didn't go swimming but it was fun to watch them. We were able to see the volcano in the daylight and able to see an artificial lake that they are very proud of because it provides electricity for the country. We then at lunch at the tourist town that is near the volcano.
From there we went to see some topiary that Chio's grandfather worked on. While we were at that park and driving back we got to see a rainbow! It was so bright and beautiful.
That was my past weekend. It has taken me a whole week to write this post. I keep getting interrupted by a little boy named Caleb. Ah but I don't are. :)
Chio's brother's house is a really basic house. It's a rectangle with on one side the living room and kitchen. The other side of the house had 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. The bedrooms fit 2 bunk beds in them and that's basically it. With just a little room to walk around. We were lucky. We actually got a room. But our room had 4 beds for 6 people. So yes some had to share a bed. But like I said we were lucky. Some people slept out in the living room on spare matrices and others had 8 to 10 people in a room. So we went to bed. But the Tico's did not. We were so tired that we never heard them go to bed. But I believe it finally kinda slowed down around 1:30/2 am. We actually slept pretty good considering all the noise and the mugginess! I really don't now who hot it was but it felt like a normal summer day in Ohio. Which does not make for good sleeping weather.
With how families work in Costa Rica we had a celebration all weekend long and people just kept showing up. I believe we counted at one time and there was around 50 people all staying at the house. It was just a little crowded. There were cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces and nephews, and friends. It was neat to be able to see how a real Tico family works.
Saturday we were able to go and visit the cold river. We had to walk for about 20 minutes to get there. The walk took us down the gravel road and down a hill. But to get to the hill we had to climb under some barbed wire, onto someone's property, past their cows and finally into the woods and the river. But the river was beautiful! We were able to swim in it for about an hour or two and it was very refreshing!
The cold river
Walking back
The road Chio's brother lives on
Part of the property that Chio's dad bought
Relaxing in the pool
A sunset
Then after it got dark, we went to the hot river. The hot river is by a volcano. Its not active at the moment. The last time it erupted was in 2012 I believe. But we had to wait until it got dark to go to his part of the river because it feels like a hot bath. It was so good to just sit in the water and enjoy it. But the crazy thing was, we had to walk a little bit down a path and then up the river to get to a pool to sit in. But out of the group of 30-40 people there was probably only around 4-5 flashlights. It made for an interesting walk but hey, it's an adventure right? It was a fun adventure though. We had to leave after a hour or so because the water started coming faster and we didn't want to get washed away. As it was, when we were trying to get over a little waterfall, Bruna got swept over. Luckily there were people at the bottom that caught her and helped the rest of us over. But we had to make sure we had firm footing when we moved. When we got back it was around 9:45 at night. And now it was time to eat. Because you know...it's time to eat at that time. But they had to fix the food first. Again we got an appetizer which was rice and beans. Which was good. But I couldn't keep my eye's open till the main course so I bailed around 10:30 and the food still wasn't ready by then. Bruna I believe said the food was finally ready around 11 pm. Just a little late for me.
Again it was muggy and warm when we got up in the morning. But at least it was cooler when we went to sleep. Monday we stayed until around 11. Some went swimming in the pool and others got pushed in. I didn't feel like dealing with wet clothes so I didn't go swimming but it was fun to watch them. We were able to see the volcano in the daylight and able to see an artificial lake that they are very proud of because it provides electricity for the country. We then at lunch at the tourist town that is near the volcano.
The volcano
A truck of pinapples
Scenery from the drive back
From there we went to see some topiary that Chio's grandfather worked on. While we were at that park and driving back we got to see a rainbow! It was so bright and beautiful.
A churro with dulce con leche inside
The rainbow
Coffee plants on the way home
That was my past weekend. It has taken me a whole week to write this post. I keep getting interrupted by a little boy named Caleb. Ah but I don't are. :)
Loved reading about your weekend. With all the pictures I felt like I was there. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you have a great time while you are in Costa Rica. Lorraine
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