30.06.2013 – Monteverde, Costa Rica

I am finally well rested. I am still up far earlier than I would prefer but I feel more in my own mind than I have in a few days. Breakfast at our hotel came with a startling and disturbing revelation – a pool and hot tub had been tucked away around the corner from my room all night long. Had I discovered this fact earlier I would be prune-skinned, less slept, and blissfully happy. Trade-offs. We left our La Fortuna hotel to the sight of the Arenal Volcano puffing a short string of smoke, a sight that had even the locals gazing at the peak which is often obscured by cloud cover. Our hot spring going friends last night had been soaking at its base where, on occasion, one can chance the sight of lava streams rolling down the hill under starlight. One thing you learn in traveling is not to spend too much time lamenting the experiences you do not have.

The drive was beautiful though uneventful. We passed Lake Arenal and caught glimpses of a family of monkeys resting in the treetops. We made a quick pit stop and, with quick snack options limited to cookies and potato chips, I opted for a bag of fresh made tortillas and a confection made of shredded coconut and condensed milk. 

The road to Monteverde was long and slow, twisting through the hills and rising above the lowlands affording a view of the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The green rolling pastures with grazing cattle and mountain forests both contrasted the bright blue sky with its puffs of white cloud and islands in oceans on far off horizons. Even for people traveling from the beautiful Pacific Northwest who are not strangers to a stunning vista were awed by the picturesque scene and were camera-ready to capture the glory of it. I clicked, and giggled. The gravel roads to the town have deteriorated with time and weather conditions which locals believe has hurt the tour industry there. In fact, community members in Monteverde staged a protest that shut down a section of the Pan-American Highway to demand better upkeep of the road.

We arrived in Monteverde and were greeted by caravans of local folks who were there to whisk about half our group away to their home for the first of two home-stay opportunities on the trip. The home stays here were set up by a woman who works with the local Spanish language school who also makes such arrangements for their students. Alicia and I arranged to have the experience together and, when our names were called, we were greeted by Maria,  a lovely woman in her late 50’s with a warm smile and serious face. She was accompanied by her two granddaughters, Alison, 8, and Nahomy, 9. We took a short taxi ride just a few blocks and walked the rest of the way of a short hill toward her home. It was a simple structure with a large glass sunroom facing toward the mountains and the town. 

We put our things away and were offered a lunch of garbanzo bean and chicken soup with a side of rice and fresh salad. This easily sits in the top 5 meals I have eaten in Costa Rica.  We spoke a little, Alicia translating with her Spanish skills. We were joined by her daughter-in-law, Rebeca with 8 month old granddaughter, Alexandra, on her hip. Again, with the babies - each one makes me happy enough to want a plane ticket home and the adoption paperwork. I got a few smiles out of Alexandra but she did not take well to grandma's attempt to set her on my lap. We simply don't know one another well enough for that level of intimacy yet. Sign. Maybe tomorrow.

Maria showed us pictures of her family including Alexandra's daddy, Alexander, and a daughter, Anais. Her youngest son, Keilor, lives at home. We would be meeting him later. In the meantime, Alicia and I retired to our room to rest before the evening’s concert. Alicia wrote in her journal while I started an episode of the podcast, Radiolab. Appropriately, it was on the subject of musical language. I dozed off in the middle of tonal languages and woke up to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.

Alicia and I gussied ourselves and walked back toward town alone, Maria having already made her way to the church for Sunday evening mass. We joined our group outside the church, warmed up, and walked in singing Ariko. We sang 18 songs with great response from the audience including a standing ovation. Our host family was there too, Maria, Keilor, Anais, Rebeca, Alison, Nahomy, and even Alexandra. It was a joy to watch Maria smiling and swaying and singing in the pew. 

We joined them after the concert for a quick trip to the grocery store. Alicia and I, like two starving children, bought everything that looked attractive, and some chocolate for Maria. We walked home together, getting to know Keilor and Rebeca a bit better, still trying to make good with Alexandra. Back home we prepared for dinner with some confusion over wheat products and Alison showed us a Costa Rica mushroom identification book written in English and Spanish. We shared a lovely meal with a lot of laughter through our limited sharing of language and then Alicia and I insisted on doing dishes - scoring points with Maria and maybe setting a bad precedent for Keilor. Maria reported more than 30 home stay guests over the years. It is, of course, my goal to be one of the favourites. 

Time for bed. Very early wake-up call at 5:45 am.