Veggie Burgers!

The other night, we made veggie burgers at the cabinas! We also had fresh guacamole and pico de gallo on the side. As an appetizer, we had patacones (salted, fried plantains) but needed a little bit of help with the from one of our landlords, Maria.

Tonight is Annie´s last night in Malpais before she heads back to the States to work on her new CD. If you haven´t checked out her music yet, you should totally do that now - www.myspace.com/anniebethancourt. We will be cooking a farewell dinner for her tonight, so I should have pics to post of that soon.

The Dry Season

So it is beautiful, lazy Sunday in Santa Teresa... It has been really hot and dusty lately. Running through Malpais and Santa Teresa is a long, winding road that basically connects one town to the next.

During the dry season (December through April), people water the roads to keep the dust down.

Molasses is also sometimes poured on the roads to keep the dust down:

Otherwise, this happens:

Typically, I am able to find sanctuary in my hammock from the dust and the heat. Recently however, my landlords have been burning leaves so my roommates and I have had to find ways to deal with the smoke that blows onto our patio:

Another hazard of the dry season is that sometimes water supplies can be scarce. There´s usually enough water from the street supply, but at times when there is a shortage, my roommates and I are able to use a reserve supply from a tank:

Worse comes to worst, one can always rinse off in the ocean...

Slacklining

Last Wednesday, my roommate Annie tried to teach myself and another roommate Matt how to slackline. Here is some more info on slacklining courtesy of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacklining

In addition to slacklining, my multi-talented roommate Annie also sings and songwrites. Check out her music here: http://www.myspace.com/anniebethancourt

La Playa

In addition to apprenticing in a restaurant and brushing up on my Spanish (I took four years of it in high school and am currently working my way through The Complete Idiots Guide to Learning Spanish by Gail Stein), I have been spending quality time in my hammock and on the beach... Which is about the same distance from my cabina as my office was from my apartment in New York... (That is to say about a 4-5 minute walk)

Here are some pictures of the path to the beach (I took these around midday):

Here are some pics of the path to the beach and the beach near sunset:

OH! And in other news... I bought a surf board on Saturday and went surfing for the first time since I have been back! Nothing too crazy - just played in the whitewater a bit. My board is an 8 foot 2 longboard made by Carton, a Costa Rican surfboard company based in Jaco. I have named it Jack. Pictures to come...

La Cocina

So last night at the restaurant, I helped prep yams for sweet potato chips. I was using the mandolin, which I had used earlier in the week, and had found that I was feeling much more comfortable with it. All was going well until I sliced my thumb... It was not a big cut though, so I just slapped some New Skin on it and was good to go. In case you have not used New Skin before, it is great stuff... http://www.newskinproducts.com/liquid-bandage.htm

Mi Apartamento

So, Tuesday was day 2 at the restaurant and I got to spend some quality time prepping squid for calamari... I will never look at calamari quite the same again. I was being trained by the sous chef, YoYo (pronounced JoJo) who does not speak any English, giving me an opportunity to practice my Spanish - butchered verb conjugations and all. I am working again tonight so I am sure I will have more kitchen updates soon...

Now, let me give you the grand tour of where I am living:

The walkway to the cabinas:

The gym:

The kitchen:

The hallway:

The neighbors (who were actually just evicted by our landlords):

Ok, I am off to work at the restaurant now! Hasta luego!

Pura Vida!

Well, here I am, back in Costa Rica! When I left in December after a 1 week vacation, I had no idea that I would be back here so soon. Pura Vida is something they say in Costa Rica which literally translates to "Pure Life." However, the phrase is more representative of a leisurely approach to living and enjoying life. Wikipedia has a pretty good explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Costa_Rica#Pura_Vida

Ok, here is a quick recap of what I have been up to since arriving last week:

I left a snowy scene at Newark airport early on Monday, January 19 and arrived in San Jose around lunchtime. After that, I had to take a regional flight to get to the part of the Nicoya Peninsula that Malpais/Santa Teresa is in.

I spent the first four nights at the Tranquilo Backpackers Hostel until I found an apartment. I hung out, played cards, cooked in the shared kitchen, and explored the town with other travelers from Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Austria, Germany, and of course the U.S. Everyone seems to have an interesting story as to why they are here and how they got here.

On Friday, I had lunch at this cute little Soda with a BEAUTIFUL view of the ocean called Soda Piedra Mar. A Soda is an informal restaurant/cafe that serves typical Costa Rican fare. A typical Costa Rican plate is a Casado which consists of some sort of protein (eggs or some kind of meat or fish) paired with Gallo Pinto (black beans and rice). This is especially delicious with Salsa Lizano, a vinegary condiment that goes well with just about everything. People here are also big on shakes made with fresh fruit and water or milk.

Also Friday, I moved moved into my own apartment. I share a bathroom and kitchen, BUT I have my own hammock. :) It was a nice change going from sharing a room with 5 random travelers at Tranquilo to having my own room again.

On Saturdays, there is an Organic Market here by the beach. People come out to sell organic fruits and vegetables, as well as little trinkets, jewelry, and art. Bongo players added to the festivities.

Sunday, I started my apprenticeship in the kitchen of a local seafood restaurant. The owners are a kind Canadian couple who were willing to give someone with absolutely no professional cooking or restaurant experience (and who has not cooked a thing in over two years since moving to New York) a chance to work in the kitchen and learn a few things. I started with scaling red snapper and prepping fish and vegetables. I reeked of fish by the end of the night but I had a BLAST. :)

Not much on the agenda for today - time for lunch! I might go to the beach later or work on studying some Spanish later this afternoon. Here are some pics of the sunset that I took last week. Come back later for more updates! Pura Vida!