Last week in Costa Rica

Our last week in Costa Rica we spent in my possibly favourite part of the country, the south west corner where they mix coconut milk with their rice and beans. 

In this Chiquita part of the country it was quite an impressive drive down, not only bananas, bananas, bananas, but also containers, containerns, containers, like a giant had been playing with building blocks. Impressive. Reading about the United Fruit history and the conditions for the plantation workers is rather depressing though.

We had some great hiking in Cahuita national park, where a big group of howlermonkeys passed above our heads and some good beach time (but these waves were a bit more hard core than those in Tamarindo). All three girls have gone from having a certain respect for even small waves to being totally fearless. Kiara needs to be punktmarkerad to say the least. Another highlight was a tour in an indiginous tribe, where we learnt how to make chocolate (our guide claimed that mixing it with milk was a big no-no), and learnt about their culture. Justus and I found it really interesting, the girls mainly liked the face painting and all the hands on experiences.

I wonder how this trip influences the girls, as at least Junia, maybe also Alma, will remember parts of it. It is fantastic to be able to spend so much time together, but the fights are also rather frequent, and even if the girls often play great together, they also miss their friends a fair bit. Kiara really likes to have both her sisters and parents around (even if she is extremely mum-ish now, wonder how the kindergarden start will go...)

Tamagringo

After our wonderful time in Dominicalito we headed north to visit the beach town Tamarindo - or “Tamagringo” as the locals call it. The apartment was this time located in the middle of the village, right at the ‘heart of all the action’. When we unloaded the car, we directly noticed the smell of the herby substance we are so used to when visiting Amsterdam. It also came with the American accent.  Yes, after a long seven hours drive (including two breaks) we had finally arrived. 

Although being housed in the middle of the centre, we could still hear the howler monkeys every morning. It was either them (the monkeys) or Kiara who was waking us up. Kiara makes it btw a habit to wake up between 05:15 and 05:45 every morning so not much nightlife for us in this nice but not too crowded beach town. 

The main attraction in Tamarindo is obviously its wonderful beach. In Dominicalito, the waves were a little too high for save swimming but here in Tamarindo, they were just perfect. One of the first times that we were swimming, Alma and Junia got to borrow a boogie board from two American girls. As they both hit the waves quite perfectly, they were sold right away and they wanted to have their own board. One of the many surf shops in town had a nice pair of second hand, though slightly damaged boards for sale. The local grocery store sold some duck tape and together they made the perfect boards. I am sure Håkan would have been very proud of me. 

The rest of our time in Tamarindo was mostly spend at the beach and in the water. Going there in the morning around 08:30 and leaving again around 11:00. Lunch between 11:30 - 13:00. Siesta between 13:00 and 15:00 and back again shortly after that. The sun went down around 17:30 so that was also the time for us to go home. Not the typical Anna and Justus style of spending our time but we really enjoyed it. 

One thing that really annoys and worries us is the fact that that there is so much rubbish in the water and on the beach. And this is Costa Rica, one of the more environmental conscious countries and it is that bad already. It is sad and worrying at the same time, especially as it seems to get worse every year. 

To make the girls more environmental conscious, we often go out (with a “bolsa de plastico”) and clean parts of the beach. It is amazing what you actually find but cans of beer, plastic straws and bottle tops are the most frequent findings. It makes a good family activity and it is educational and rewarding at the same time.

Today (In Puerto Viejo), I was even offered a beer (by an astonished local family) when I was cleaning the beach. I kindly rejected the offer, asked them to take their trash with them and left them wondering about my priorities. A ‘gringo’ cleaning up their beach will certainly make a great story on their next birthday party. As long as it ‘spreads the word’ and that they take their trash with them, I am all fine with that. We might have even inspired them, and all the other families on the beach that day. Lets just hope so because something really needs to be done. 

The food in Tamarindo was quite varied. From typical American (and delicious!!) burgers, very healthy vegan stuff to the usual rice and beans. Our local favorite was the ‘surf shack’ were they sold the best burgers and milkshakes. The owner coincidentally lived in the same apartment building and also had young children. She also knew a god nanny so Anna and I got to go out and had dinner without the kids. It goes without saying that we truly enjoyed that opportunity, albeit the food not being that good. We had higher expectations. The cocktails were awesome though. 

Food

The typical food in Costa Rica is rice and beans. A la breakfast they are mixed, together with some onion, pepper and coriander, and called "gallo pinto". The painted rooster, as the literal translation is, is served with sour cream, scrambled eggs and fried plantains if you are lucky. A la lunch the rice and beans are instead served separate and called casado (meaning married, even if they now are divorced on the plate) with meat or fish, and hopefully those sweet, oil dripping plantains again.

Kiara is the one in our family who enjoyes this kind of food the most. She is a massive fan of the black beans which she picks out one by one, and when there is none left she continues with the rice (still the one by one method.) Junia and Alma are unfortunately not that easy to please any longer, and the standard kids menu (fries with fish sticks/ breaded chicken) is altered with plain scrambled eggs. Today they were out of fries where we ate lunch so Alma's mid day meal consisted of two bags of ketchup. 

We usually eat lunch out, and dinner time is 

a) too early b) too chaotic for most restaurants so then we eat at home. I remember Richard Tellstrom (meal reseacher) saying that the average Swedish family had 10 standard dishes they altered between. For families with children the number was down to five. During our last months here we have served 

1. "cheese soup" (broccoli soup with as many vegetables smuggled in as possible, in the mixer in order to make sure not one tiny piece of carrot is visible, and top with cheese)

2. scrambled eggs with a) carrot sticks (Alma), b) boiled carrot sticks (Kiara), c) avocado (Junia)

3. Pasta with tomato sauce (tried to sell it as ketchup sauce as Alma is an extreme rasist when it comes to her pasta - she wants it white.) 

With all that said, we have had some fantastic food this trip. And scrambled eggs, chips and ketchup means both protein, carbs and vegetables, right?

Tamarindo

The set-up of this trip was basically based upon where and when we found home exchanges (5 of them) and for the remaining weeks we booked airbnb. So far we have been really lucky with our home exchanges - amazing homes in brilliant places! 

The week in Domenical we spent in a mansion in the middle of the jungle, where we especially enjoyed the indoor/ outdoor pool, the fantastic view and the wildlife (toucans and monkeys especially). The small place Domenical was about 10 min drive away, a surfers place which was touristy in a good way - meaning great fish tacos and coconut pies, but still a dirt road and not too exploited. Definitely no resorts. We spent our days swimming in waterfalls, checking out the first marine national park in Central America (but no whale spotting season unfortunately) and playing in the pool. One day we also took the 1 hr drive to Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica's smallest and most popular national park. This park is like an open zoo with amazing beaches. The monkeys and raccoons are so used to humans that you sometimes need to chase them away as they approach your bag in search for food. And they are quick... Alma got devastated as her sandwich was left alone on a picnic table for a second, and was found in the top of a tree the next.

Yesterday we said goodbye to this corner of paradise and drove about 5 hours north, to Tamarindo - also known as Tamagringo. Here prices are in dolares instead of colones, and even if it is still a surf place (meaning laid back and great hamburgers) it is also the party and tourist Mekka of Costa Rica. Our home exchange apartment is in the middle of all this, and it was strange to fall asleep to the sound of music instead of the jungle noises last night. I quite like the change that it is possible to pop out and buy ice cream in the evening though. Today we bought two 2nd hand boogie boards so I am quite certain that we'll enjoy this week as well... Just need to find some silvertejp.

Our pool in Dominical

In Manuel Antonio

Alma eating a new sandwich - protecting it well 

Manuel Antonio

Climbing a waterfall

Saving a humming bird who landed in the pool

Dominical

After a fantastic week in Monteverde with beautiful hiking (not so much appreciated by Junia and Alma who required endless story telling and candy bribes in order to walk further than 10 minutes) we yesterday drove about 4 hours and 10 degrees warmer. This second home exchange is just as fantastic as the first, we have swopped our garden agoutis to toucans! 

Alma by the way tried the emergency room in Monteverde (the waiting time was maybe a 1/5 of the waiting time of what we are used to in the emergency room in Stockholm....) and is now on antibiotics due to a double ear infection, Kiara has a mild eye infection, Anna's stomache has checked out twice (but was ok one day in between) and Justus' stomache is ... as Justus' stomache. Junia is very well though!

When looking up from the pool in Dominical...

Evening show at our anfi theatre in Monteverde

Afternoon swim in Dominical

Happy hiker

A friend in our garden in Monteverde...

... where we had great view from the balcony. Here one of our 3 agoutis!

Monteverde garden

Bats in Dominical

Highway with leaf cutting ants

Pura vida!

I can't understand that it took me 15 years to come back to this fantastic country, but better late than never. The month here will be quite different than the 6 months I spent here last time, less barra libre and more playgrounds. After three days the jetlag is beginning to feel bearable (good thing that the girls are so easy to put to bed, they even ask for it, not so good that the whole family is awake at 4 at the latest.)

We spent the first night in an Italian owned airbnb close to the airport (where he had a pool with an inflatable unicorn - total happiness.) Then we drove the next morning the approx. 3 hours up to the cloud forest in Monteverde. Here we have an amazing home exchange, a fantasic huge house, with a former bar including dance floor and disco lamp, amfi theatre as well as outdoor hot tub. Not to forget, a lovely garden with so many birds, kolibris and also our possible new favourite animal, agouti (or beaver, as the girls call it.) When the whole family was relaxing in the hot tub today, we also got company from a little scorpion. He was quickly removed with a cyclope though. Outside of our backyard we have also spotted a tarantula, monkeys and an armadillo. Then the camera fingers were not up to Lucky Luke speed unfortunately. But right now, we just heard some noise outside the door, and it turned out that a coati had moved into our compost garbage.

We will stay here one week, and the Swedish summer climate together with some hiking, fantastic cakes and fresh fruit shakes makes us very sure that this is the best way to spend November!

Lovely air Edelweiss - Kiara even got a bassinet! And she is the first of our daughters who also managed to sleep in one!

First batido

Our balcony...

... Our disco...

... Hot tub...

... and backyard neighbour 

Summing up

We are now approaching the end of our vacation, and will be home on Friday with a few more kilos, mosquito bites and experiences - where hopefully two new bathrooms awaits us. 

In Vieques, the laid back island 1,5h by ferry from the mainland PR, we were spoiled with amazing beaches and a great playground. There are wild horses all over the island, and roosters roam around, but they are not so good with the clock. Hence there was kikerikiing both at 1, 3 and 5 in the morning (Alma: is it morning now?) I wasn't too concerned as I have another little Kikerikiing who makes noices with even higher frequency, so the roosters were filtered out. The most famous thing in Vieques however, is the biobay. Here some microorganisms create flourecent light by the movement of the water, and when kayaking in the dark it is then like loads of fireflies in the water. Our girls were very happy and excited in the beginning of the tour, not so in the end... Unique experience none the less!

A major difference here compared to the daily life in Sweden (apart from the weather) is how often we have conversations with strangers. The puerto ricans are absolutely lovely (I have never in my life got so many phone numbers from random women before), and as there are so many american tourists here, and they also usually are very open and talkative, we've had quite a few good conversations in English as well. When talking with an American now it is a bit like there is a big, orange elephant hovering around, and it is very very difficult not to let the T-word slip out. One woman said that she was now so ashamed of being American when she travelled, so she considered printing a t-shirt "I didn't vote for him". New business oportunity? Another woman claimed that all presidents in their history had been womanizers and had mistresses, the only difference was that Trump said things out loud.

 "There was no sex scandal with Obama though?" I said.

"No, but many people believe that he is gay, and that Michelle is a transexual. It's all over the internet..." No further comments.

Our last week in the capital has been spent at the beach, the old city, and as today, in the rainforest in absolutely pouring rain. Some parts of the road had litterally turned into waterfalls, but with unlimited amounts of candy portioned out in regular intervals, the girls did not complain.

Vieques

Swimming

Not many mammals on this island unfortunately, but lots if cool iguanas

It is difficult to say who likes to build damms the most

It smelled like pee. Old city wall, San Juan

El morro, which the dutch didn't managed to conquer from the Spanish in 1625. Most of them died on these fields (the remainder turned around and plundered and set fire on San Juan.)