Adventures in the Kitchen and in the River

Yesterday morning I was awoken from my mid-morning siesta by unfamiliar voices. Popping up from the couch/my office, I turned to see a group of women who were looking around disconcertedly. The predicament then dawned on me; we must have forgotten that a group was scheduled for the Rainforest Tour tour today. Thankfully Roberto, our eco-tourguide, was available for the impromptu tour, but we had told all the kitchen staff to take the day off. Rebecca, the young assistant hotel manager, and I looked at each other, realizing the inevitable. Lunch is always served at the conclusion of every tour, so we were going to have to put our chef hats on.

I certainly didn't forget to bring my awkwardness around kitchen appliances with me to Costa Rica. Upon watching me manhandle the stove with a glove, Rebecca recognized my ineptitude and delegated me as su-chef. Grateful to be away from things that were hot, I accepted my position of peeling tomatos and chopping veggies. I only got a few eye rolls in response to my sorry looking potatos and my slow chopping methods. Thanks to Rebecca being an efficient and natural problem solver, between the 2 of us we served up chicken breasts in ginger sauce, a rainforest salad, beans, rice, mashed potatos a la Casa Luna, and chia. Chia was what I spent most of my time chopping. This dark, leafy green, when raw, is full of cyanide and high consumptions are not recommended. But when you sautee it, in this case with olive oil, garlic, and onions, it tastes better than spinach and has twice the iron content, not to mention a smattering of other vital nutrients. I was quite proud of how the chia turned out. Once we saw that everyone was starting to clear their plates, we brought out naranja ice-cream. The only comparison I can think of to this delicacy is an orange-creamsicle sorbet, but healthier and lighter. Ok I confess- the ice-cream had been made the night before by the real cooks... but we sure made it look appetizing by scooping it into crystal china dessert bowls. As the group was leaving, they all came up for one last ginger cookie or 3, making sure to applaud us for our fine cooking. Rebecca and I just smirked at each other and kept washing and drying the dishes.

About a half an hour after our cooking escapade, Roberto came up to me and asked if I would have time this afternoon to help him identify some trees on a new rainforest path. Unable to hide my ecstatic grin, I enthusiastically whipped out some boots and grabbed my camera, binoculars, and notebook. Mosquito repellent was a must as well. We trekked on out of Casa Luna, first passing the cacao grove and the water buffalo. Thinking we were going to head on the usual path to the pot-belly pigs and goats, I was surprised when Roberto delicately stepped off the path between thick undergrowth, revealing a well-worn footpath through primary rainforest. 'Whoa' I marveled. 'I didn't think this place could get any cooler, but now a whole new area of secret paths and beauty has opened up to me..." Roberto and I would stop at trees that had tagged numbers on them, about 30 in total. At each one, he'd tell me its name and why it was so cool (usually something such as its medicinal benefits, if it was good for building, its spiritual associations, etc). I would snap a picture and take notes rapidly. The plan is to get signs on the path, identifying each tree by its scientific name. After 10 minutes or so of tree discusssions and frog spotting, I followed Roberto off the beaten trail, creating a new one through the dense forest floor. After 5 minutes or so of trudging through decaying leaf mass, bark, and trippy vines on the side of a hill, I was beginning to doubt Roberto's promise of a truly marvelous tree ahead. Never doubt Roberto. Suddenly before us, I witnessed the biggest tree I've ever seen. Truly awe-inspiring with its snakelike buttresses (a tree trunk with a widening base), I gazed up at a tree that would ilicit a treefort-building desire at any age. Roberto snapped a few photos of me posing inbetween the buttresses. I couldn't help but entertain the thought that these areas would be perfect for jaguar families, or better yet, anacondas, to be sheltered from the elements. With one last lingering look behind me, I snapped one more photo. Sadly, a camera simply cannot capture the regal stoicism of such a tree.

The next leg of our adventure ended at the riverbanks of the Chachagua River. Think classic, gorgeous creek winding through a fern-gully, and you have the Chachagua River spot on. I was a sweaty mess from keeping up with Roberto's gait, so a quick dip in the river's swirling pools was more than perfect. Although I had put my swim suit on that morning with the pool in mind, I was grateful for my pre-planning as I jumped in. It was the perfect temp: just cool enough to be refreshing, but the description "cold" is far from accurate. We floated around and chatted for awhile, finding natural slides and welcoming an ensuing downpour. When you're wet, more water just adds to the experience. Eventually, we struggled back to the lodge, water-blogged and happy as can be. From endeavours in the kitchen to unwinding in rainforest rivers, I considered the day to be one big adventure, Costa Rican style.