We've started hanging plaintains on the clothesline on our balcony for the birds & butterflies and have been rewarded with some amazing visitors.
While the blue-grey tanagers are a bit skittish and rarely pose for pictures, the moths and butterflies are quite the opposite. When they find a good food source, they settle in and sometimes stay for hours - oblivious to camera flashes and movement around them.
The wings on the Caligo (owl) eurilochus butterfly below measure a good 4" from top to bottom and has a wingspan that approaches 7"!
Clearly, they must love plantains almost as much as I do!
Farewells at the Feria
Today we made our last trip to the feria before we leave for the States. As we made our rounds, we said goodbye to the vendors who have come to think of us part of their regular Saturday morning clientèle.
There's the college student who, along with her mother & brother, sells chicken. She studies English in Alajuela and next year plans to start at the university. She knows our order by heart - 1 kilo of bonless skinless chicken breassts. Today we surprised her by taking home a whole chicken. It is hot soup weather, after all!
Then there is the young married couple from whom we usually buy papaya and a few vegetables. On this particular morning, he was at his post in the produce booth, while she offered some of her homemade pastries in another. She told us today that they lived in New Jersey for about 10 years. "The U.S. is nice, but our country is our country," she explained with an apologetic shrug. We bought a pineapple braid from her and promised to get with them when we return so that her husband and mi esponso can share stories about fishing off the coast of New Jersey.
Last, but far from least, there's the butcher from whom we buy our beef products. He wears a hook prosthesis on one arm - we presume the result of an unfortunate meat-cutting accident. His son works in the business with him. Neither of them speak a lick of English, but they both seem to look forward to seeing us each week, always greeting us with a big smile and warm welcome. When we told him we were leaving for a few months, he tossed a package of spicy chorizo in with our order and said, "de la feria." As always, he also dropped two small bags of homemade candy into to the bag, as well.
We'll miss our Saturday morning routine while we're away. We'll miss the papaya and pinaapple and plantains. But we'll also miss the people who have welcomed us into their community and made us feel right at home.
Patron Saint Fiesta
This is also the weekend during which Palmares celebrates its patron saint with a street fair. Actually, the fiesta opened last Sunday, but the activities will kick into high-gear today.
Yesterday we ate lunch (a delicious gallo de picodillo) in the church social hall. Today we're headed back to try the lomo relleno (stuffed pork loin), which one of the volunteers was proud to show us while we were there. Full from our picodillo, we promised to return to try it luego.
This promises to be a busy, but fun week. We decided this morning to take one more trip to San Jose before heading home. Then there is one more doctor's visit to review the results of our routine bloodwork, prescriptions to fill, about a dozen little errands to run, and, of course, friends to say goodbye to. With luck, there will also be time for at least one more message from Costa Rica.
Pura Vida
