Our World in Food

This was not the bus I took to get to Panamá, these are the public buses throughout the city. They are pimped out old US school buses, but next week they will all be replaced by a quieter, less polluting, regulated fleet!

The bus ride from San Jose to Panama City was the longest, coldest bus ride I have ever been on. When I got to the ticket office they told me all buses were booked until next week because it is “temporada alta” high season. Fortunately, I got on the waiting list and managed to jump on the first bus out, unfortunately, that bus arrived in Panama City at 4am. Awesome. Arriving in the middle of an unknown city in the dark without a plan. Okay, so I procrastinated my planning, well, I didn’t really have a plan at all, I was going to wing it. I knew these two things: I had to get out of Costa Rica because of my visa, and my dad would be in Cartagena, Colombia on business. So I headed for Panamá and from there I would get to Colombia. 

My idea was to get to Panama City, bus to a port city and take a boat to Cartagena. I dropped in to a hostel (Hostel Mamallena) where I was informed that all boats to Colombia are booked for the month and they are package deals on sailboats that take you on 5-day trips around the islands on the coast for $500. I found out the next day that all the trips are actually canceled until Christmas because of all the rain, the coast is being battered. Awesome.

Plan B: fly to Colombia. There is no other way to get there from Panamá because of the dense jungle known as the Darien Gap which borders the two countries. So there was a moment of panic, well, a morning of panic where I had to figure out how to get to Cartagena. All flights were booked so I had to change plans once more and get a flight to Bogotá, the capital.

Meanwhile, the hostel I’m mooching internet off of is booked up! But I begged to stay the night there, I begged for anything they had, a sofa, a hammock, whatever. I ended up sleeping on a mattress out on the balcony for $5! Perfect! It wasn’t cold, didn’t rain and the balcony had a door I could close and it was like having a private outdoor room. 

It all worked out in the end. I bought a plane ticket to Bogotá for the next day and hung out in Panama City for a few hours. 30 hours total. Just enough time to eat some Panamanian street food: fried pork, bananas, oranges, rice and beans and take a bus through the city. I’m not at all upset about how quickly I passed through the country; now I get to see my dad!!

The moto ride from La Iguana to the bus which was to take me to town had never been so fast and cold. This morning I left Mastatal for Puriscal, from there I took a bus to San Jose, and am presently on a 10 hour bus ride to Panama City. The day has finally come to bid La Iguana and Costa Rica farewell. It has been such an unforgettable experience; I will cherish it forever. I am so grateful to the Salazar Garcia family who hosted me at La Iguana, they were an absolute joy to live and work with. Los quiero mucho y los voy a extranar tanto. Gracias por todo.

Before leaving La Iguana there were a few last things I wanted to do:

I wanted to visit the finca one last time, so first thing in the morning I hiked down to the fields

Visited the bananas I helped to clear

Crossed the river to get to the finca one last time; it was the lowest I’ve ever seen it so I just trudged through it about thigh deep

Visited the cacao I harvested. At this point in the season most of the pods have been harvested, are rotten, have been taken by monillia (fungus) or have been eaten by animals. These are some of the challenges this perserverant family has to overcome to make chocolate.

But as this baby cacao flower indicates, there is always next season!

Visited the field I cleared for frijoles (my very first time chopping!), they are doing so well despite the tropical storm!

Hiked back home and helped Kealy in the garden one last time. We made soil and transplanted squash we had planted from seed during the last full moon.

Meanwhile, Roy, the youngest brother in the family, had started a fire, heated up oil and was frying the chicharones I bought for the family. Chicharones are a traditional tico food, (I wrote about them and ate them in San Jose when I first arrived) they are salted, fried pig skin. We marinated ours in ajo y apio, crushed garlic and chopped celery from the garden.

I made alfajorcitos de maicena too, the family had never heard of alfajores. I only make them on special occasions for special people (they take quite a bit of work). They are the typical Argentine cookie; a delicate, lightly lemon flavored cookie sandwiched with dulce de leche and rolled in coconut. The recipe is on the blog. Chicharones and alfajores, it was a pretty indulgent lunch!

Saying goodbye to everyone was tough. Here I am with the mama of the family, Lydia.

These past few days have been very special and difficult. The family was gracious enough to prepare tamales and chicharones, usually only eaten for Christmas or other special occasions. This meant so much to me. I know I’ll never forget my time at La Iguana, but I had not expected to make such an impact on the family as well. I don’t know if I’ll come back to Mastatal, but as Roy and I pulled away from the drive way this morning he reassured me, “Tranquila Nicole, las puertas de la Iguana siempre estaran abiertas.” It’s okay Nicole, La Iguana’s doors are always open.