Orosi, Costa Rica - Random Observations

I can write volumes about the food here. The most common meal is pintos, which is mixed beans and rice, with a side of either eggs, chicken, meat, or fish, and can usually be had for $2 or less. It’s quite addictive actually, especially with this “salsa” that is unique to Costa Rica: brown, chili-flavored, with a hint of mustard. We bought a quarter of a gallon of it to use in our own cooking, and we’ve been putting it on everything .. sometimes even just dipping bread in it. There is extremely little in the way of vegetables in the Costa Rican diet. If you get any vegetables at all with your meal, it’s often a jar of intensely pickled cabbage or onions so vinegary that a single sliver is all that a poor-soul gringo can usually handle. One restaurant owner was so generous she added a slice of tomato AND a slice of beet to our plates once. We felt very special. This behavior is more puzzling given that vegetables are actually quite cheap to buy at the store, though they’re often not very fresh. The vegetable truck comes to Orosi once or twice a week, and that’s the day when all the stores show off their fresh vegetables. The abundant green all around comes at an obvious price. It’s been raining here every day for the past week, and the rainy season doesn’t even start until May. It’s not the dreary cold London rain though. Quite the opposite. The temperature here is very comfortable almost all the time. The rain passes through fairly quickly, and is closely followed by clearing skies. Emission controls must be completely non-existent here. Every time a motorcycle passes by, it leaves behind a heavy trail of exhaust that is a somber reminder of what people here are breathing all the time. ATVs, abundant here, are even worse. And forget about buses! Speaking of buses, they’re the one mode of transportation used by most Costa Ricans. Because of gas prices, not very many here can afford cars. Buses, on the other hand, are very cheap and convenient. People in Orosi have a brilliant appreciation of color. The houses are simple, but each is covered with a fresh paint of at least two different colors that makes it distinctive amongst its peers. Even the walking bridge is deep blue with a bright green trim, and was actually being repainted as we walked on it. There is a whole other world in Orosi that is separate from the human world; a world of stray dogs! They’re everywhere, and it’s fascinating to watch their social interactions and hierarchies. Mixed in there are a few people-owned dogs as well, clearly marked with a colorful color, and a far more superior physique. No one keeps their dogs on leeches here, so the people-dogs and the stray dogs mix freely, creating a social scene that mostly ignores the human world .. gangs of thugs in a few cases, but mostly just protecting their turf – very vocally, day and night. Sad to say, but we think we’re ready to move out of this paradise of a town we’ve been living in for the last couple of weeks. Next stop, Nicaragua!