Ethel has turned out to be quite the counterpart for both Kevin and me! She and José decided to take us on another adventure this past weekend, this time to the province of Limón on the Caribbean coast. Ethel’s got Caribbean roots, so she took it upon herself to introduce us to its colorful culture. For Kevin and me, it meant a day at the beach, a break from the rain and quality time spent with friends.
Sunday morning was gorgeous, warm and without a cloud in the sky. Kevin and I spent several hours walking the beach and swimming in the super warm water. I was dying to wade through the creek to the Gandoca –Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge next door, but the tide was too high and there wouldn’t have been any beach to walk on. I’ve been slightly obsessed with Gandoca ever since I read the Costa Rican book La Loca de Gandoca, which goes into great detail about the area’s natural beauty. It’s alright though – it will just give us a reason to go back.
The drive down to the coast was the quintessential Tico road trip. Costa Ricans, and Ethel and José in particular, love to take their time and enjoy every minute of every experience. We stopped approximately 10 times between here and the beach, purchasing intriguing fruits at roadside stands, breaking for drinks and again for lunch, pausing for interesting views, and gathering information here and there.
One of our stops was at a heavily flooded area near a wide river. The last few days of relentless rain meant overflowing rivers, and this particular area on both sides of the highway was completely inundated. We talked to a woman cooking plantains under an improvised metal cover on the side of the road. Her husband had to swim (the water was up to his chin) to deliver the food to their children on the second story of their waterlogged home. It’s amazing to see the things that people go through year after year and still are so resilient.
We stopped in Limón, a giant and bustling port city on the Caribbean and saw the nearby island where Columbus apparently stopped off before reaching the mainland. We ate lunch in Cahuita, a smaller and more beautiful town home to a large national park. We nearly rubbed noses with a sloth in a nearby tree. When we arrived in Manzanillo, the small beach town at the end of the road, it was nearly dark but the rain had ceased. It was a delight to feel the sand between our toes and take in the sea breeze before dinner.
One of the staple foods of the Caribbean culture in Costa Rica is “rice and beans,” not to be confused with the rice and beans (arroz y frijoles) or rice and beans (gallo pinto) that we eat every day. It’s basically rice and beans mixed together and cooked in coconut milk. It’s got a very interesting flavor that is quite nice once you get used to it. We sampled plenty of fresh seafood (what a treat!) and greatly enjoyed the nightlife in Maxi’s Restaurant.
Sunday morning was gorgeous, warm and without a cloud in the sky. Kevin and I spent several hours walking the beach and swimming in the super warm water. I was dying to wade through the creek to the Gandoca –Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge next door, but the tide was too high and there wouldn’t have been any beach to walk on. I’ve been slightly obsessed with Gandoca ever since I read the Costa Rican book La Loca de Gandoca, which goes into great detail about the area’s natural beauty. It’s alright though – it will just give us a reason to go back.The ride home was nearly as eventful as the ride there, though considerably drier. The houses and fields that were under several feet of water just the day before were all dried out and life there had resumed its usual course. Our life too has gotten back to normal after our beach adventure, but now we have luxurious beach memories to conjure up any time we need an escape from the heat.
Comments