Gene's "fun" for his birthday? Watering our neighborhood "finca!" When he was a kid in Detroit, he swore that when he grew up, he would live in a place where his birthday wasn't always cold and windy and snowy and miserable! Once again, Gene, We Made It!
January 22, 2007
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Happy Birthday, Gene! |
January 21, 2007
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San Jose de la Montana - 6000 Feet Up |
What a fabulous day! Flora & Jim's house up in San Jose de la Montana - up past Birri - was actually HOT! Hardly a cloud in the sky! This is the reward that we all get, I think, for surviving the horrendous January winds over the past couple of weeks. First thing I did was toss my sweatshirt on the deck.
Then I removed my sweater. Next I stripped off my t-shirt, leaving nothing but my long-sleeved undershirt! When visiting Flora's heavenly little cottage
another 2000 feet highe higher than our place, I
I usually need all these layers and more! It was another of those wonderful lunches that start around noon and end by 6 pm.
We also enjoyed talking to Jim & Flora's friend Tim, another long-term expat. After a great afternoon of tacos and wine and lots of conversation, Jim drove us down the mountain to the bus stop in Birri, where we caught a bus home to Heredia - and then a taxi to our house.
Seems that even when the bus is filled to capacity, there's always room for a few more. After all, it's Sunday. It wouldn't be nice to leave someone standing on the side of the road waiting for the next bus if you can fit them on this one. This evening the temperature is comfortable, there is no wind, we have great friends. The view coming down the mountain was awesome. Life is good. Pura Vida. This must be what we were thinking of when we moved here.
Then I removed my sweater. Next I stripped off my t-shirt, leaving nothing but my long-sleeved undershirt! When visiting Flora's heavenly little cottage
another 2000 feet highe higher than our place, II usually need all these layers and more! It was another of those wonderful lunches that start around noon and end by 6 pm.
We also enjoyed talking to Jim & Flora's friend Tim, another long-term expat. After a great afternoon of tacos and wine and lots of conversation, Jim drove us down the mountain to the bus stop in Birri, where we caught a bus home to Heredia - and then a taxi to our house.
Seems that even when the bus is filled to capacity, there's always room for a few more. After all, it's Sunday. It wouldn't be nice to leave someone standing on the side of the road waiting for the next bus if you can fit them on this one. This evening the temperature is comfortable, there is no wind, we have great friends. The view coming down the mountain was awesome. Life is good. Pura Vida. This must be what we were thinking of when we moved here.
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Friends in the Mountains |
We're off today to visit our friends Flora & Jim, who live higher up in the mountains - high enough so that usually by the time we get there, the clouds have rolled in and we add a couple of layers of clothing. If we get lucky and the clouds haven't arrived, maybe I'll have some good photos for you tonight!
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Happy Birthday to All of Our Children |
Saratica over at Abroad in Costa Rica often has thoughts similar to mine on a variety of subjects - living in Costa Rica, adoption... Her post on her son's birthday is great. Someday I'll write a post about the day I got my daughter. 'Course it was really more like she "got" me - and my heart - forever.
January 09, 2007
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El Parque en Santo Domingo |
I love the parks in Costa Rica. Santo Domingo is one of my favorite Central Valley towns.
January 04, 2007
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Baile de los Diablitos |
Our New Year this year was spent in the wonderful indigenous village of Boruca, where each year the villagers have a 4 day festival that celebrates the fact that the Boruca people were never conquered by the Spanish conquistadores. Many of the men dress up as diablitos (in this case best translated as spirits) and fight against a bull (who represents the Spaniards). At
the beginning it seems like the bull might win, but in the end the diablitos prevail! There are sometimes over a thousand spectators (both extranjeros and locals) to this festival but only local men who have carved their own masks are allowed to participate.
Our entire trip was arranged and led by a marvelous couple, Sarah Joy and Julio. Anyone who knows us knows that we do not do tours. This trip was definitely the exception to the rule. Thanks to Sarah and Julio, we felt like honored invited guests for the entire 6 day trip. This was not a fancy resort, eat in the hotel kind of "tour." This was a trip with friends, where we were invited into peoples' homes and made to feel like a part of the family.
We met the van at 6 am on Friday for the 6 hour trip to Boruca. After lunch and getting settled into our various accomodations in private homes or the "hotel," we relaxed a while and met up with our group again for dinner at the home of Doña Rosa
, who indeed fed our entire group 3 meals a day the entire time we were there. She prepared all our wonderful meals on her wood stove, and she was always smiling! After dinner that first night, the local "story teller" arrived to tell us some Boruca stories and legends. Like most of the villagers, this community elder speaks the Boruca language as well as Spanish. He told his stories in Spanish - and Julio and Sarah translated for those of us who don't understand Spanish well.
On the second day we were taken by truck and car to the top of Mount Cuasrán, from where we could take photos of the incredible views and hike through the wilderness, either the short hike or the long. The mountain is a holy mountain
in the Boruca tradition and the home of one of the most important gods of the Brunka, Cuasrán. In the afternoon we were invited to the home of the "mayor," where we were allowed to watch the creation of the "bull." We were then told about the rules for visitors, which involved staying out of the way, understanding that we were guests and not to get in the way of the ceremonies.
The main thing was to not use flash cameras and to keep a reasonable distance with cameras. The actual ceremonies were to begin at midnight.
By morning of the third day (Sunday, New Year's Eve), the "game" was in full force. We awoke to the sound of the diablitos shouting, horns blowing and more fireworks, which we had already learned the night before sound more like bombs than any fireworks I had ever heard. There was a "battle" on the corner by the hotel - before breakfast even! The excitement begins! After breakfast, which didn't begin until 10 since some of us had actually attended the opening "ceremonies" the night before, we visited some of the artisan's homes. At our first stop, at
the master carver's home, we saw the mask that I should have bought. It was an incredible "traditional" mask, made of natural cedro wood - not painted. Although it was amazing, I made the mistake of wanting to see others before deciding what to buy. So of course it was sold by the time I went back. Nevertheless we had a great time viewing the masks of various carvers as well as the homes of the weavers (the women). These women are amazing. 
They grow and harvest and process the cotton, dye it, spin it, weave it - everything. Beautiful stuff. And when you look at what they sell their weavings for (based on hours required to create them) compared to what the men sell the masks for, you have to start thinking again about the perceived value of "women's work." Eventually I bought a mask - one of the painted ones - carved from balsa wood. It is truly beautiful. I also bought a woven bag (purse). The diablitos paraded about the village all day, stopping to stage a battle and then continuing to another location in the village for another battle. It was an ongoing process throughout the day.
In the evening our group gathered at the local bar to drink beer until close to midnight, when we had been invited back to Doña Rosa's to see the new year in. There was a large crowd of locals and visitors gathered at her house - and every sort of booze was offered on a big table. Interestingly, there were no "mixers" offered - until Sara went back to the bar and bought some.
I guess if you're accustomed to drinking "chi cha," (an evil corn liquor thing) which many of the participants seemed to drink throughout the 4 days, you might not find mixers to be a necessary part of drinking alcoholic beverages! All of us had a blast. I think it was the most fun New Year's Eve I've ever had.
Monday, Day 4 - New Year's Day - We wandered about most of the day - watching the diablitos do battle and looking at weavings and masks. Some of the group had planned to go horseback riding, but the horses never showed up. We think that the horses were ok, but that their owners perhaps had had too much chi cha!
Tuesday, Day 5 - This was really the big day for the "game," with major battles going on throughout the day, and the bull eventually being defeated at day's end. In the evening, the bull was burned (fortunately just the "costume," not the human being inside!
I wish I could do a better job of describing this 4 day event, but it's definitely one of those things where you "had to be there." The next morning, leaving the village, I wished that we could stay longer. We had to leave, but have already decided we want to go to the Baile de los Diablitos again next year - and we definitely want to go with Sarah & Julio. I hope the photos will give you a feeling of this awesome event. For even more photos, go to our group's photo site
.
the beginning it seems like the bull might win, but in the end the diablitos prevail! There are sometimes over a thousand spectators (both extranjeros and locals) to this festival but only local men who have carved their own masks are allowed to participate.
Our entire trip was arranged and led by a marvelous couple, Sarah Joy and Julio. Anyone who knows us knows that we do not do tours. This trip was definitely the exception to the rule. Thanks to Sarah and Julio, we felt like honored invited guests for the entire 6 day trip. This was not a fancy resort, eat in the hotel kind of "tour." This was a trip with friends, where we were invited into peoples' homes and made to feel like a part of the family.
We met the van at 6 am on Friday for the 6 hour trip to Boruca. After lunch and getting settled into our various accomodations in private homes or the "hotel," we relaxed a while and met up with our group again for dinner at the home of Doña Rosa
, who indeed fed our entire group 3 meals a day the entire time we were there. She prepared all our wonderful meals on her wood stove, and she was always smiling! After dinner that first night, the local "story teller" arrived to tell us some Boruca stories and legends. Like most of the villagers, this community elder speaks the Boruca language as well as Spanish. He told his stories in Spanish - and Julio and Sarah translated for those of us who don't understand Spanish well.On the second day we were taken by truck and car to the top of Mount Cuasrán, from where we could take photos of the incredible views and hike through the wilderness, either the short hike or the long. The mountain is a holy mountain
in the Boruca tradition and the home of one of the most important gods of the Brunka, Cuasrán. In the afternoon we were invited to the home of the "mayor," where we were allowed to watch the creation of the "bull." We were then told about the rules for visitors, which involved staying out of the way, understanding that we were guests and not to get in the way of the ceremonies.
The main thing was to not use flash cameras and to keep a reasonable distance with cameras. The actual ceremonies were to begin at midnight.By morning of the third day (Sunday, New Year's Eve), the "game" was in full force. We awoke to the sound of the diablitos shouting, horns blowing and more fireworks, which we had already learned the night before sound more like bombs than any fireworks I had ever heard. There was a "battle" on the corner by the hotel - before breakfast even! The excitement begins! After breakfast, which didn't begin until 10 since some of us had actually attended the opening "ceremonies" the night before, we visited some of the artisan's homes. At our first stop, at
the master carver's home, we saw the mask that I should have bought. It was an incredible "traditional" mask, made of natural cedro wood - not painted. Although it was amazing, I made the mistake of wanting to see others before deciding what to buy. So of course it was sold by the time I went back. Nevertheless we had a great time viewing the masks of various carvers as well as the homes of the weavers (the women). These women are amazing. 
They grow and harvest and process the cotton, dye it, spin it, weave it - everything. Beautiful stuff. And when you look at what they sell their weavings for (based on hours required to create them) compared to what the men sell the masks for, you have to start thinking again about the perceived value of "women's work." Eventually I bought a mask - one of the painted ones - carved from balsa wood. It is truly beautiful. I also bought a woven bag (purse). The diablitos paraded about the village all day, stopping to stage a battle and then continuing to another location in the village for another battle. It was an ongoing process throughout the day.
In the evening our group gathered at the local bar to drink beer until close to midnight, when we had been invited back to Doña Rosa's to see the new year in. There was a large crowd of locals and visitors gathered at her house - and every sort of booze was offered on a big table. Interestingly, there were no "mixers" offered - until Sara went back to the bar and bought some.
I guess if you're accustomed to drinking "chi cha," (an evil corn liquor thing) which many of the participants seemed to drink throughout the 4 days, you might not find mixers to be a necessary part of drinking alcoholic beverages! All of us had a blast. I think it was the most fun New Year's Eve I've ever had.Monday, Day 4 - New Year's Day - We wandered about most of the day - watching the diablitos do battle and looking at weavings and masks. Some of the group had planned to go horseback riding, but the horses never showed up. We think that the horses were ok, but that their owners perhaps had had too much chi cha!
Tuesday, Day 5 - This was really the big day for the "game," with major battles going on throughout the day, and the bull eventually being defeated at day's end. In the evening, the bull was burned (fortunately just the "costume," not the human being inside!
I wish I could do a better job of describing this 4 day event, but it's definitely one of those things where you "had to be there." The next morning, leaving the village, I wished that we could stay longer. We had to leave, but have already decided we want to go to the Baile de los Diablitos again next year - and we definitely want to go with Sarah & Julio. I hope the photos will give you a feeling of this awesome event. For even more photos, go to our group's photo site
.
January 01, 2007
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New Year's in Boruca - New Friends |
A great Time was had by all on New Year's Eve - first at the neighborhood bar and then at the ever friendly Dona Rosa's
Pictures of Our New Friends
Sarah - our Amazing Tour Guide
Mike ("Dad")- an angel from Bainbridge Island, WA
Pedro - font of knowledge on everything Borucan
Julio - font of knowlege on Costa Rica
Peter - always smiling & helpful (Mike is his Dad)
Annalisa - a year in Argentina & now in Costa Rica
Alexis - a year in Thailand, 6 mos in Nicaragua (Mike is her Dad)
Norma & Jose - from Sacramento, Calif - loved Costa Rica
Jose, Alexis,Rochelle & Tom - from Canada
Rochelle - likes to have fun
Gosia - the one with the pink hair - from Poland - then US - now Costa Rica
Christine - 63 countries so far ...
Annalisa - after talking with her I just know we have to go to Argentina
Gene had a great time!!!
Norma & Jose with Julio
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