Rainforest Pizza

If you are traveling in Costa Rica and have never been here before, you should be excited about the roasted chicken sign. The chicken will be tender and juicy and accompanied by black beans and rice and most likely some kind of coleslaw. It will be cheap and served to you by a small Costa Rican woman who has lived here all her life and speaks not a lick of English. Signs like this are a treasure to the traveler. They represent the chance to connect with the culture in an authentic way.

However...

If you have been living in third world countries for the last two years, and you have enjoyed enough chicken that it is coming out your ears, you will find your heart leaping at the appearance of a sign directing you to PIZZA out in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest. The pizza may not have a thick crust and it may not be dripping with layers of mozzarella cheese, but that is OK because it is not chicken. Of course you can get your pizza topped with chicken, OR...you can get it topped with chorizo sausage, pineapple, and palm hearts....mmm

Comments

Mr. Flutter-by

Flutter-by, why are you drying your wings in the morning? Is it because the night is damp and the weight of the dew has you down? I know how you feel Mr. Flutter-by. I too need to dry the water from my wings. Perhaps if I stand very still you can teach me how to catch the first rays of the morning. Perhaps if I remain very quiet I can catch the small whisper that reminds me that I, like you, will fly high again if I will only alight on a safe place and open my heart and let the sun in.

Beware of Falling Mangoes

There is a book I love called An Embarrassment of Mangoes . Its about a couple sailing in the Caribbean, meeting locals, and collecting recipes. It is nearly my favorite book of all time because this is what I want to do with my life...sail the Caribbean and collect people and recipes. Little did I dream one day I would own a Tiki Bar and B&B in Costa Rica, much less one gifted with mango trees. In fact, I do think I am going to need to post a WATCH FOR FALLING MANGOES sign above my door as the still green fruit is falling off the trees. I have no idea why. A local told me the tree sheds the unwanted-unfit fruit before it ripens. I am glad no-one has shed me. So I am waiting for the fruit to ripen and dreaming of ways to use it: mango-chili chutney, mango mohitos, mango ice-cream, mango topped burgers. I am dreaming quite actively actually, as it looks like soon I will be the proud owner of an embarrassment of mangoes!

Striking Out and Hitting a Home Run

Two months ago, Lee was playing baseball in a field full of garbage with some of the kids on the island of Carenero. An 11 year old girl struck him out. Of course everyone laughed and Lee made his way down the little path that runs through the village where he soon ran into a guy named Javier. Javier speaks great English and is a business owner in the village. The two of them started up a conversation about the conditions the kids were playing in and before you know it, they had agreed to meet the next morning with garbage bags to do a little clean up. The next morning the two of them and about 6 kids spent several hours cleaning up. A week later, the entire town got together and took out 5,000 bags of garbage! And that was just the beginning. Two months later: A few days ago we walked though the village again. I was shocked by how many changes have been made. Probably about 75 percent of the homes have some change besides being cleaner and having their grass cut: new p...

Where Wonder Meets Wander

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