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Xmas here was a mix of strict Catholicism and liberal
commercialism. I didn't get roped into a day at church
so was able to sleep in an look out at the sunny palm
trees swaying in the breeze and call my family for
much needed familiar voices. I was invited to Xmas
dinner with Lynnethe's family on the 24th and I ate
too much, another holiday tradition. It's interesting
to note that they serve roast chicken with a sweet
stuffing of mango, beans, hot dogs (yes, cut up hot
dogs), and some other items I couldn't identify. It
was quite good.
There was also rice, bread, salad and of course wine, lots of wine. :-) After supper the family posed for numerous photos and sat around the table chatting. Lastly there was a really refreshing pudding made with cas, a bitter fruit that combined with some sugar is really tasty. At midnight they opened their gifts. Suffice it to say that in a family of all women (Lynnethe's husband Michael is away in Switzerland) there were a lot of girly gifts under the tree. So I have been off to Hawaii, let me tell you it's an expensive trip. There's not much call for trips from tropical Costa Rica to tropical Hawaii. I saw my friend get married and had a good visit with him and his family. Honolulu hasn't really changed much from the last time I visited in 1999. Still has beautiful beaches, friendly people and warm breezes. Oh, and did I mention GREAT STEAKS? The food in Costa Rica is quite good, but I was starting to miss a nice juicy char-broiled filet or sirloin. The beef here is grass fed, making for a more environmentally friendly meat, but it's kind of dense and tough. Give me a grain fed heifer any day, damn the cholesterol. It was surprising to find out that you can't get there from here, at least not directly. First I flew to Houston, spending a night in a hotel that took 45 minutes to send the shuttle to pick me up at the airport, fume. I then tried to make a laptop shopping trip to a local computer superstore, the taxi was 25 minutes from the time I called to the time I gave up and cancelled that plan. Not a great start to the trip. Fortunately the flight from Houston to Honolulu was blissfully baby free. I seemed to be having difficulty with shuttles on this trip as the one I called at the Honolulu airport was a 25 minute wait as well (the group of us waiting actually watched one from that company drive right by us at the stop) before we flagged down another shuttle and made our way to our respective hotels. After a quick check-in to a very comfortable air conditioned room (with a view of the other hotels in the neighbourhood) I called and made arrangements to meet my friends for dinner. Then it was off to bed for a short, ha, nap ... good thing I told them to call me before they left. At dinner I had to reflect on the "Canadian-ness" of the situation. Here I was, a Canadian girl (please refrain from outright laughter when I say girl), living in Costa Rica, visiting the American state of Hawaii, for a Japanese wedding, eating at a Chinese Italian restaurant and drinking California wine. Wow. The Friday was spent sleeping in, laptop shopping (yes, I got a nice one) and just hanging out. Saturday morning found me in the pool for a swim and a nap on a deck chair, then it was off to a quick lunch with the groom before the big event. The ceremony was held at a local Buddhist church and friends and family saw Bruce Shiwa successfully married to Chikayo Tada, that's it, he's off the market ladies, we have witnesses. Sunday was spent discovering that you can get your souvenirs in one place for half the price of the tourist stores by going to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays). What a score. The rest of my time was spent visiting, celebrating, and enjoying the sun and surf. I overheard some American tourists Costa Rica on the trip from San Jose to Houston, discussing about a tour they had taken. They were complaining that they came here as eco-tourists but during a one day tour they were taken to three souvenir shops. They ranted on for a while before we landed. All I could think was "well duh!" If the point of eco-tourism is to allow the locals to make a living from tourism that isn't damaging to the environment how else are they supposed to make their money? Isn't that the point? One of the things I have "viewed" are the walls. Now, why would one even spend time looking at the walls in Costa Rica you wonder. Well I went to put a paper towel dispenser up and discovered that the walls in my place are concrete. As are the walls in the homes of the other people I know. I can only guess it has something to do with the climate. I just file it under "Costa Rica construction practices" in the back of my mind and leave it at that. |
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