Sorry about the delay in this week's mail. My routine is well and truly broken between Rita and Enda's visit, and Christmas and New Years. The pic of the week is Enda and Rita outside the church up the road from the apartment on Christmas Eve.
This is my very first time writing the weekly email from a hammock. We're down in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean, and the room has a hammock on the porch outside.
Christmas
---------
I've never been one for the traditional Christmas dinner. But now I'm away and having family visitors for the Christmas it was back to the turkey! We were a bit more adventurous for the starters. First we had tamales. These are the traditional tico food for Christmas. They are made of pork, rice and vegetables places in cornmeal and wrapped up in a banana leaf. Next was sopa azteca, a traditional Chicken soup from Mexico, with cubes of cheese and avocado and some fried tortillas. Then we were fully traditional with turkey, stuffing, mash and roast potatoes and veg. I had ordered my turkey the week before Christmas. I just wanted a 10lb one, but they only had 14lb. However, when I went to collect it I had to take an 18lb one, so we've been eating turkey ever since. It was a very special Christmas, and wonderful to be able to share the experience with Enda and Rita.
Volcanoes - zero out of three
-----------------------------
We hired a car, so I had the very unusual experience of driving here, which I've never done before. On Stephen's Day we went to the Poás volcano, which is a couple of hours drive up in the mountains. On the way we realised that the cloud was getting thicker and thicker. By the time we got there it reminded me of my first holiday in Achill. We could see nothing but a thick cloud. There is the volcano crater and a lake higher up in a former crater, but we couldn't see either. The next day we were on our way to Irazú, which has the largest volcano crater in Central America, but which has been dormant since 1963. However, we had to turn back as the cloud beckoned before us. Then we went up to La Fortuna to visit the still active Arenal volcano. This was my fourth time. I saw the lava the first two, but last time with Clara and this time with Enda and Rita the mountain was shrouded in a thick foggy cloud and we couldn't see a thing. However, the trip was made worthwhile by a visit to the wonderful Tabecón hot springs where we spent a full day.
New Years
---------
We were back in Heredia for New Years. The Central Valley goes mad for fireworks, and we watched the whole thing from the apartment balcony, sipping champagne and smoking Enda's very expensive cigars that Clara brought him back from Cuba. When we hit midnight and the fireworks went off it was like being in downtown Baghdad. It was crazy, people were letting off fireworks just out in the street outside, and this was repeated all over the Central Valley. Michael McDowell would have had a fit. How people weren't killed I don't know, because the fireworks were going every which way. But it was an amazing spectacle.
Puerto Viejo
------------
Originally we'd only intended to have the car for four days, but it's been great having it, so we've held onto it a little longer. We're now down in the laid back town of Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast. We drove out to the beach in Manzanillo today, stopping to look at howler monkeys, a sloth and a toucan on the way back. It was beautiful and relaxed. Tomorrow we're going to the national park at Cahuita, where I believe there are some really beautiful beaches.
Nicaragua
---------
We're back to Heredia on Thursday, and then Rita goes to Manuel Antonio on Friday. She wants to spend a few days on her own at the beach, so myself and Enda are going to go to Nicaragua. For me it's a long overdue visa run, and we'll visit the city of Granada. When we come back we'll join Rita on the Pacific coast.
-----
Well that's it for this week. I notice from the papers that Rita and Enda aren't the only Christmas visitors, Brad and Angelina have spent Christmas and New Year here as well!
I hope that you've all had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all the very best for 2007.
Pura vida,
Éamon
Sunday's headline in La Nación: Road deaths climb by 19% in 2006.
This is my very first time writing the weekly email from a hammock. We're down in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean, and the room has a hammock on the porch outside.
Christmas
---------
I've never been one for the traditional Christmas dinner. But now I'm away and having family visitors for the Christmas it was back to the turkey! We were a bit more adventurous for the starters. First we had tamales. These are the traditional tico food for Christmas. They are made of pork, rice and vegetables places in cornmeal and wrapped up in a banana leaf. Next was sopa azteca, a traditional Chicken soup from Mexico, with cubes of cheese and avocado and some fried tortillas. Then we were fully traditional with turkey, stuffing, mash and roast potatoes and veg. I had ordered my turkey the week before Christmas. I just wanted a 10lb one, but they only had 14lb. However, when I went to collect it I had to take an 18lb one, so we've been eating turkey ever since. It was a very special Christmas, and wonderful to be able to share the experience with Enda and Rita.
Volcanoes - zero out of three
-----------------------------
We hired a car, so I had the very unusual experience of driving here, which I've never done before. On Stephen's Day we went to the Poás volcano, which is a couple of hours drive up in the mountains. On the way we realised that the cloud was getting thicker and thicker. By the time we got there it reminded me of my first holiday in Achill. We could see nothing but a thick cloud. There is the volcano crater and a lake higher up in a former crater, but we couldn't see either. The next day we were on our way to Irazú, which has the largest volcano crater in Central America, but which has been dormant since 1963. However, we had to turn back as the cloud beckoned before us. Then we went up to La Fortuna to visit the still active Arenal volcano. This was my fourth time. I saw the lava the first two, but last time with Clara and this time with Enda and Rita the mountain was shrouded in a thick foggy cloud and we couldn't see a thing. However, the trip was made worthwhile by a visit to the wonderful Tabecón hot springs where we spent a full day.
New Years
---------
We were back in Heredia for New Years. The Central Valley goes mad for fireworks, and we watched the whole thing from the apartment balcony, sipping champagne and smoking Enda's very expensive cigars that Clara brought him back from Cuba. When we hit midnight and the fireworks went off it was like being in downtown Baghdad. It was crazy, people were letting off fireworks just out in the street outside, and this was repeated all over the Central Valley. Michael McDowell would have had a fit. How people weren't killed I don't know, because the fireworks were going every which way. But it was an amazing spectacle.
Puerto Viejo
------------
Originally we'd only intended to have the car for four days, but it's been great having it, so we've held onto it a little longer. We're now down in the laid back town of Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast. We drove out to the beach in Manzanillo today, stopping to look at howler monkeys, a sloth and a toucan on the way back. It was beautiful and relaxed. Tomorrow we're going to the national park at Cahuita, where I believe there are some really beautiful beaches.
Nicaragua
---------
We're back to Heredia on Thursday, and then Rita goes to Manuel Antonio on Friday. She wants to spend a few days on her own at the beach, so myself and Enda are going to go to Nicaragua. For me it's a long overdue visa run, and we'll visit the city of Granada. When we come back we'll join Rita on the Pacific coast.
-----
Well that's it for this week. I notice from the papers that Rita and Enda aren't the only Christmas visitors, Brad and Angelina have spent Christmas and New Year here as well!
I hope that you've all had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all the very best for 2007.
Pura vida,
Éamon
Sunday's headline in La Nación: Road deaths climb by 19% in 2006.
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