Tuna and Bananas????
Trip Start
Apr 04, 2005
1
20
43
Trip End
Jul 18, 2005
La Fortuna, Monteverde,
Costa Rica
Saturday, May 7, 2005
At the end we were told there would be a little surprise and boy they weren't kidding! The Tarzan swing is this long rope that is attached to a tree way up high in front of you then connected to your harness and cinched up so tight that once the guides let go of you that's it, you're going over! So of course I volunteer to go first and when they let go of me I freefell for about 35 feet or so before the rope became taut and pulled me around and I was on the upswing. I screamed on the way down but after that couldn't stop laughing! What a rush. Then they grabbed a leg on my way by and gave me a big spin like we used to do on the tire swing as kids. It was sooo fun and when they finally caught me I was still laughing. I was so dizzy from the spinning that the guide offered me the advice to let up on the tequila as I stumbled away. It was fun to watch everyone else go, too. Leila kept getting further and further towards the back of the line but eventually made the drop and was happy for it. I loved it and really want to do it again but for 25 bucks it's not in the budget. Well worth the $ since it was about 2 hours of adventure safely delivered. I will never forget it.
Later, after dinner- oh dear lord, dinner! Ok , not trying to sound unappreciative of the food or anything but my newest host mother fries everything, and I mean everything. The rice, the beans, the plantains, everything. So when I came home and didn't smell the familiar deep fried corn smell I smiled and prayed for salad. She brought in my plate and I looked at the orange mush next to the rice and beans and tried to discern its contents, to no avail. With Anabel and the kids looking on I ask what it is and to my surprise I find out it is canned tuna mashed with bananas and this orange animal fat they put in many things here. With a poker face I take the first bite and dear lord in heaven please help me. I know I need to finish it because the culture here is very different and since they cannot afford meat most of the time I don't want to waste it or be rude. So with the help of a lot of water and a small amount of courage, I pretended like I was on survivor and then it wasn't so bad. Afterwards Leila and I went out to Taberna to have a couple of cervesas and dance and every time I burped it was so nasty. So I ended up not dancing with anyone for fear they would be repulsed by my fish breath. Sick. Canned tuna, grease and bananas... not a dish I will replicate back in the states for certain.
Saturday Rolando was at my house at 7:30 on the dot to pick me up for the weekend tour to the Volcan Arenal. It is the third most active volcano in the world and puts on a show daily for those who take the time to get up there. It is located in the country's Northern Region, in the Northern sector of the Tilarán mountain range. It extends from the Tilaran mountain range to the border with Nicaragua.
There were 5 other students on the bus and we began the 3 hour bus ride through the hills of Monteverde down to the volcano. The scenery was amazing and very different than other parts of CR. Rolling hills of grass with lazy cows grazing before the milking bell rings them into the barn. Monteverde is famous for its dairy farms, started by the Quakers which still populate the area. The cows here are really beautiful and I will have to find out what kind they are before I leave.
The passing fincas and rustic homesteads randomly scattered on the rolling greens of property changed as we climbed further into the mountains. Unfortunately for us it was too overcast to see the volcano as we came into range and it stayed that way the whole weekend.
Despite the weather we found much to do and our guide was very professional and knowledgeable. He told us the myth about Lago Arenal, which is the man made lake responsible for 50% of the power in the area. Apparently there was a city and also an ancient Indian burial grounds on the location for the site of the lake. The city was relocated and despite the pleas of the Natives, the lake was filled in after 5 years of construction. On a clear day you can scuba down and touch the cross on top of the old church that was in the original city.
It is said that as revenge the Indians put a curse on the lake. The maiden voyage on the lake was made by the important people responsible for the project. The 4 of them got on a boat and as they were celebrating their accomplishment the boat capsized and all 4 perished. To this day many locals refuse to get in the water here despite it's acclaim as one of the best windsurfing locations in the world.
We stayed at this killer hotel at the base of the volcano. It was raining so we postponed our planned hike to the rainforest and went to hang out in the Baldi hot springs and have dinner. The hot springs were so nice but not by any means natural. It was like 10 beautifully tiled swimming pools, all a different temperature, filled with tourists drinking foo foo drinks from the swim up bar. I went up there with Katy, another student I met in San Joaquin de Flores who happened to join us on the trip. As we were sitting talking I felt a really warm current of what I just know was pee from the person next to me so we immediately regressed to the warmest and least populated pool at the very top. We were the only people in there and as the rain poured buckets on us we laughed and had the best time. Ate dinner, went back to the hotel, watched the futbol game and went to bed to get ready for our 6 am hike through El Silencia, followed by another walk to the Fortuna Waterfall. We tipped the guy who works there to wake us up if the volcano cleared up or erupted, which it does every day a couple of times but it is best to see it when it is dark. No knock and Katy and I slept soundly through the night while the volcano up the hill from us displayed its brilliant orange light show under a veil of clouds..
