More Stuff From Costa Rica

One of the interesting things we tried in Costa Rica was a new fruit, the granadilla (say grana-de-ah). It looks like an orange on the outside but the moment you pick it up, you know it's not. It feels like a small, deflated soccer ball. You can tell it's hollow and it dents easily. Inside it looks like this (one without flash, one with):

See what I mean about the frog's egg thing? Not the most appetizing thing you've ever seen, huh? Next is a shot of my brave father (hi Daddy!) aka The Sicilian about to taste-test it. Don't you love the way it hangs from the spoon like mucus?

The Sicilian said it wasn't bad so I tried some. It wasn't as slimely as it looked. More like loose Jello with soft sunflower seeds in it with a sweet-tart citrusy flavor. Not bad, but not something I'd wake up craving at 2 AM.

Would you have tried it?

Costa Rica - Post 2

The Wildlife! Costa Rica teems with wildlife of all varieties. Considering the country houses both rain forests and cloud forests, it's no surprise. Here are a few of the things we saw on our travels:

These guys (along with their brother) were strolling the beach like they owned the place. Apparently the raccoons in the state park are no longer nocturnal since there are only people on the beach during the day. And no people means no bags to rummage through. Seriously. They were more thorough than TSA.
These lovelies were clogging up the brackish river beneath one of the bridges we went over. There had to be at least 20 or more of them. You're welcome for the close-up. Makes our Florida gators look downright cuddly. Saltwater crocs are mean. Sort of like TSA again.

And this little fellow was scampering around at the outdoor pitstop were we took a drink break. A young boy (17-ish) there pointed out a few more to me. Those were running up and down a tree with surprising speed. I said to him, "Como se dice iguana?" (How do you say iguana?) He just laughed and said, "Iguana." Yeah, my language skills are made of awesome.
By the way, doesn't he kind of look like he's wearing a sweater?

Tomorrow...more pictures of random Costa Rican goodness. Including a fruit that looks like frog's eggs.

Costa Rica - Post 1

On Wednesday, we (the 'rents, Hotrod and moi) headed to Jaco (say huh-co) and Quepos (say capos) which is the Pacific shore of CR. Check out that bridge. Can you say bumpy and scary? I knew you could. Hotrod drove the whole day and did a fabulous job. Those years he lived in Boston really paid off! The Ticos drive like it's a competition sport. Passing on a double line on a narrow two lane highway on a curve is nothing to them. Seriously.

It was about a 3 - 4 hour drive each way due to the road conditions and the heavy traffic in some spots. Our main goal was to hit Manuel Antonio National Park and see some monkeys, with a stop a El Gran Escape in Quepos for lunch. El Gran Escape is nice enough to provide a roving selection of dogs (at least five) in their outdoor restaurant so anything you drop is instantly cleaned up. Genius! Hotrod made good friends with one named Snoopy who proceeded to lay at his feet and paw him when the scratching stopped. (Yes, I made him use Purell before he ate.)

That's El Gran Escape on the corner. The food was good and plentiful. I had chicken rice, which was like a CR version of fried rice, but with black beans and plantains. Is it any wonder I need to diet?

Of course, by the time we ate lunch and got to the park it was almost 3 and the park closed at 4. A young American couple told us that if we walked around on the beach, we'd come to a couple of guys in boats who would ferry us to the back side of the park for a couple of bucks - instead of paying $10 each to go through the front. Whatever. We were game.

The "boat" turned out to be a large sieve that held off water long enough to cross the narrow but deep inlet dividing the beach from the park's backside. I think my dad gave the kid $4 America for the ride. That photo is after our return trip. By then the water had receeded with the tide quite a bit and was at least half the width it was originally.

Apparently, this boat crossing is illegal but completely ignored. This seems to be a unwritten rule for Costa Rica.

Tomorrow I'll show you some of the wildlife we saw. Including one thing that not even the locals really seemed to know about.

This Is Not A Post

This is just a post to say I'll be posting later today. After I workout. (That gallo pinto isn't good for the waistline.) And download the Costa Rica pics from my camera. I think today's post will be about our illegal boat trip. Stay tuned!

Hola!

I'm back from Costa Rica and over at Fictionistas talking about my vacation from email - could you do it?

Mysterious Objects

One thing Costa Rica is known for is these large stone balls. The largest is estimated to be over 16 tons. In other words, LARGE.

No one really knows what the balls were used for. Some speculate navigation or astronomy, but others have postulated that the balls were originally kept indoors, making the whole map/landmark idea impossible.

There are several hundred of them, and they are considered endangered. Some have been cracked or broken open by people thinking they might hold treasure. Most the remaining ones have been moved, making it even harder to figure out their intended use. In fact, there are two of them in the States: One in the museum of the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., the other in a courtyard near the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

If I see one, I'll get a picture.

Hola, Tico!

A Tico is a native of Costa Rica (which is where I am this week with Hotrod and my parents), in case you were wondering. I, however, am obviously a gringo. Hola is about the extent of my Spanish but I'm guessing I'll come back from this trip with a few more words under my belt

Costa Rica, while not a large land mass, has an enormous amount of flora and fauna. About 25% of the land is protected as national parks, which helps keep the diversity of animals and plants high.

I really hope I get to see a monkey.

That Mission Trip

A couple of you asked for more info about the mission trip Hotrod and I and my parents are going on, so here's the deets:

We're off to Costa Rica, where my parents have some friends who are missionaries there. They've been there for ages and have established several churches. One of those churches is in a fairly poor area and the people need clothes. This is where we come in. Over the last few months, we (me, Hotrod & the 'rents) have been collecting clothing donations from our respective churches. Those clothes have been sorted and bundled up so that each couple is bringing 200 pounds with them.

That means all our checked baggage is donated clothes and our own stuff will be in the carry-ons. Can I pack for a week in a carry-on? Totally! Can Hotrod? That's where it gets interesting. I'm sure at some point in the packing process he'll ask me if I have room. He always does.

Anyway, while we're there we'll be seeing the sights and so on. They have a lot of monkeys in CR, so I'll be looking for them. My dad, who's been there several times, keeps talking about the spiny lobster. My dad + food = typical

Have you been to Costa Rica? Heard anything about it?