Costa Rica, Episode 2--Arenal

About this whole episode thing....blame it on Downton Abbey, of which I was not even aware for its first two years. Soap operas in any form, even sophisticated PBS imports from the BBC, always seemed that they would be a little tawdry and appealing to our baser natures (not that I ever watched one to see how wrong I could be)--besides, waiting from one week to another for the next "episode" seemed much too suspenseful. Of course, I did do Mad Men for a while which definitely was tawdry. Anyway, it seems that Downton Abbey has become a craze in many sectors, not least of all among my friends. So....firing up Netflix, I watched Season 1, Episode 1 as it was clear that season 3 could not begin in a vacuum. That happened last week and now I am on episode 6 of season 2, with the VCR recording season 3; tawdry has been replaced by high intellectual value.


So, in keeping with my new addiction, this is Episode 2 of the Grand Costa Rica Christmas adventure, taking place in Arenal, home of the elusive Arenal volcano. This is what we saw of the volcano as we arrived at our lodging. Shortly there after, it disappeared into the mist and rain for the next 4 days. I believe it reappeared shortly after we left.

Beginning shortly after our arrival, the rains began--torrential, deafening, wet rains, night and day. In between the heavens emptying, there were light rains and misting--but keeping the motif of wet. We  never were reduced to lowly sprinkles. But..never fear, we did not travel all this way to be intimidated or have our plans derailed. We carried on in true Downton Abbey fashion.  Fortunately, it was not cold and beauty surrounded us, lifting our souls.

About our accommodations, suffice it to say they were lovely. A very large room--very large--with a balcony spa and a straight-on view of the volcano--or what should have been a view. The grounds were tropical with birds, monkeys and other scurrying wildlife. Because the Lost Iguana is quite a distance from the town of La Fortuna, we had our meals there (except for lunch when we were almost always away). Glad to say the food was quite good. The rooms are scattered through out the property and so golf card pick up service was available when needed--like when the skies opened up and it was dinner time.

OK--what did we do? Well, adventure #1 was white water rafting. When we first began working with Costa Rica Expeditions, Gustavo our agent, scheduled us for level 5 rapids which did not seem like such a good idea to me, a total novice. He seemed to agree once I explained this so we settled on level 2 and 3 rapids on a different river--the Sarapiqui.  I can tell you that it was amazing fun even when the rain came down so hard that it was truly impossible to see. The best part of this was that it made the rapids even more exciting and we certainly could not get any wetter.   

Above is our raft group. The guy in blue is Enzo our guide. See if you can spot us in the other two pictures? The paddles are lifted in the air as we shout Pura Vida after successfully conquering each rapid, and, I am pleased to report, I did not fall into the river, needing to be rescued by the kayak guy. Although, my body of ancient years did know it had had a workout which gave cause for a leisurely, wonderful massage in the late afternoon.

Oh yeah, you may wonder how we took such wonderful pictures of our adventure; well, clearly we didn't. I am not sure how they happened but it seems that there is this magician man who jumps from location to location along the river taking photos--quite difficult to picture. As we were all having lunch with our guide after the rafting, this guy sat down, opened his computer and showed us 35 amazing pictures of our trip down the rapids. Of course, we bought the cd just to have some pictures to show you.

The next day came the activity which had caused me the most apprehension--zip lining. However, as friends had assured me, this is really super easy and an incredibly memorable experience. Check this link to get a pretty good idea of what it was Sky Trek. The first line (well, the first real line as there are 2 baby ones so you can make sure you want to continue) started in the rain forest but within a couple seconds I was sailing through the air, looking down into a deep, really deep, chasm--quite an adrenalin rush. One line was 700 meters, allowing a fantastic view of the surrounding forest and Lake Arenal. I was so ready to start over when finished--except it is not a cheap activity. And...to prove that I am not a vain woman always needing to be beautiful...here I am fearlessly jumping into the unknown. See, I did do it.

Our third major activity (there were smaller ones), was Caño Negro Wild Life Refuge, a 2 1/2 hour drive but well, well worth it--beginning with it being warm and sunny, rather than wet and rainy. This tour is on the river right along the Nicaraguan border. Here we had a leisurely boat trip down the river, spotting all kinds of wild life along the way---birds, colorful male iguanas and their dull, brown females, caiman, birds, monkeys, birds, lizards, horses, cows, sloths and birds--and, I am undoubtedly forgetting something. We liked this excursion a lot and highly recommend it. It was one of the best wildlife viewing places we were as when in the rain and cloud forests, it is actually difficult to see many things other than frogs, spiders and some birds--at least that was our experience.

After lunch, we took a quick 5 minutes detour to the Nicaraguan border but, with security guards ever busy eye, we thought it probably wise not to pass by the barbed wire. Zendar, our very good guide, quite agreed.

So, these are the highlights of Arenal. We loved everything here--even the rain. If you decide to go,  be sure to consider The Lost Iguana Lodge. It's only drawback is its distance to the town of La Fortuna if you are wanting nightlife, shopping, etc We were quite content to stick to nature.

Next up: Episode 3--Monteverde, bats, cloud forest (as opposed to rain forest,) and coffee.

Another Christmas Adventure--Costa Rica

It seems that Christmas has become a time for us to explore unknown places--that is, unknown to us. Last year it was historical, tumultuous, mysterious, revolution prone Egypt and Jordan--camel riding, pyramid climbing, temples and tombs. This year we chose beautiful, lush, nature at its best Costa Rica--rain forests, cloud forests, rivers, canals, rafting and ziplining. Very different places but both quite wonderful. The greatest joy of these trips, though, is the fun we have together and the memories that are forged and created for all of us but most particularly for Casey to carry with him through life. We are lucky that a 14 year old enjoys doing these things with his parents, so often this is not the case with teenagers. God blesses us.

Zip Lining

At one time, I would blog in real time as we experienced things; however, I find myself now choosing to use down time differently--reading a book, contemplating, lounging and watching life, maybe being ambitious enough to organize pictures from 3 cameras. I choose not to find time has disappeared in front of an iPad screen. With the journal that photos create, it is not too difficult to reconstruct when we get home. Plus, there is the added benefit of reliving the experience when writing and gazing into 600 visual records. Of course, it does take longer to write this way as pictures such as the one above cause me to reflect, remember and appreciate that moment we had. Such good memories.

As always, living on the west coast entails longer travel times than our east coast friends have..unless we are going to places like Hawaii, China and Japan. This time it was San Diego, Houston, San Jose (Costa Rica, that is.) We left Christmas morning as we wanted to have Christmas Eve with son Jeff, who then graciously took us to the airport as we abandoned him on Christmas day. We did make sure he had a few thousand piece Lego to keep him busy that day. No Christmas is complete for him without a Lego even though he is quite a grown man. 

We arrived in Costa Rica at 9:30 pm where we were met by a representative from Costa Rica Expeditions, whom I highly recommend when you decide to cross this country off your bucket list. After a short night of sleep, we were retrieved at 7:30 am to begin our acquaintance with sloths, toucans, monkeys, iguanas, crocodiles, caiman and at least 500,000 different birds. Casey was in his glory and now can give you the name of each of these birds. He and wildlife click.

Our first stop was La Paz Waterfall Gardens which had been recommended to me by friend Liz, an even more intrepid traveler than I. She is the one who gurued us re. Egypt and Jordan.  I knew if she approved of La Paz it was an OK side excursion before the real adventure began. La Paz is an animal sanctuary for rescued wild life which have been illegal pets or hurt in the wild. And, although the animals are penned, it is a way to see some of the elusive wildlife up close and personal. There are also wonderful butterfly and frog exhibits, ocelots, pumas, sloths and birds, of course. As in all of Costa Rica the foliage is lush, green and junglesque. There is a hike to and from the exquisite waterfalls but the trek is well worth the effort and, fortunately for me who is rather non-agile (read clumsy) at times, a wooden handrail to grasp.

   

We spent 3 or so hours here, including having a typical Costa Rican lunch of meats, rice and beans and wonderful fresh fruit, before heading off to our first destination, Arenal.


Our driver Doña Irma and our guide Gustavo were delightful. Driving in Costa Rica is not like driving in San Diego-which may or may not be a blessing; however, we were glad for Doña Irma's skills as some of the roads are a little challenging. It took three or so hours through coffee fields, mango groves and countryside to get to our lodge in Arenal, The Lost Iguana which was all that the website promised--beautiful, relaxing, wonderful service and a full view of the volcano...except we only saw part of it the first day and from them on it disappeared into the rain and mist. Although this was the "dry" season, as with much of the world these days, the climate is turned upside down. We had torrential rains almost our entire 4 day stay in Arenal. But...never fear....we didn't let water stop us and so we did all we planned...zip lining, white water rafting (after all rain couldn't make us any wetter than the rapids), hiking and more. All of this will be dutifully reported in episode 2 of the Costa Rica Adventure.

Our one and only view of the volcano  

More to come

My Jordan Picture Book

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Really, Really Good Scallops and Veggies!

As a new recruit to the wonders of scallops, I've been experimenting with recipes. Tonight I repeated a past success and will now share as it was just as wonderful the second time around. Also, the veggie part of it is OUTSTANDING and would be good at any time.  A new favorite here.






Seared Scallops with Summer Vegetables and Beurre Blanc
                     From Cooking Light

1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped shallots
3 tbs chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp lemon rind
5/8 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 orange bell pepper it into 1 inch pieces
1 small red onion
2 tbs. olive oil, divided
1 cup grape tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
1 1/2 lbs sea scallops
1/4 cup small basil leaves--optional

1. Place a jelly-roll pan in oven. Preheat oven to 500° (leave pan in oven during heating.)
2. Combine wine and shallots, bring to boil. Cook 6  minutes (I found this too long) unitl mixture is reduced to 2 tbs. Strain through sieve into a bowl, discard solids. Return to pan. Gradually add butter, stirring with a whisk until smooth and emulsified. Stir in rind and 1/8 tsp salt. Keep warm.
3. Cut zucchini and yellow squash in half lengthwise. Cut each half  crosswise into 3 pieces; cut each piece lengthwise into 4 strips. Combine zucchini, squash, pepper, onion and 1 tbs spoon oil i a large bowl, toss to coat. Put veggies into preheated pan. Bake at 599° for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic, toss. Bake for 4 minutes or until veggies are lightly browned. (I cooked longer.) Remove from oven; add salt and pepper.
4. While veggies cook, heat large cast iron skillet over high heat. Pat scallops dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1tbs. olive oil to pan. Add scallops; cook 1 1/2 minutes each side or until seared and the way you like them. 
5. Serve scallops with veggies and sauce. Garnish with basil.

Again, let me say, the veggies are so, so good.

Serves 4 

For Ken and I, I just use 5 scallops each and then sort of cut back on veggies to what I think we want. I do the full sauce as then if we want more, we have it. Better too much than too little. The key with the scallops is to have the skillet hot, hot.

Cooking Light Recipe

Temecula--A Hidden Destination

Yes, yes, yes---somehow keeping up with this blog after so many years becomes increasingly difficult--particularly when life is rather routine and ordinary. The thing is...I started this as a type of journal which hopefully will be meaningful to Casey in the years ahead. With that said, my on again off again commitment doesn't quite meet that goal, does it?

Several weeks ago, well months now, Ken and I went away for a few days while Casey was enjoying the fun of house boats on Lake Shasta. (Have to say that it is worth every penny to send him to summer activities far away so that we can have our own fun.)

Anyway, thanks to a Groupon purchase, we had a few discounted nights at The Inn at Churon a winery/BandB in San Diego's own wine belt, Temecula Valley, which is producing some excellent wines. Unfortunately, we were not very pleased with our lodging as it is in a state of approaching being a "has-been" in need of new owners who are willing to invest. This is quite strange as everything in Temecula Valley is relative new making it surprising that anything could be in serious disrepair so soon. Did not like their wine either.

We did stop by some wineries that we had found in the past and discovered new ones tucked into hillsides and resting on hill tops; thus adding to our "wine cellar" which consists of a small cooler and any cool hideaways in the house. How I would like the wonderful basements we had in St. Louis and Syracuse (which actually had a wine cellar but, sad to say, was before we were wine aficionados.)

However, this blog entry is not about wine or the lush Tuscanesque landscape of Temecula Valley.

Instead it is about the discovery of a hidden treasure that we have ignored and misunderstood for years and years. When we lived in Riverside, we would occasionally drive down to San Diego and now that we are in San Diego, we have driven up I15 more times than I can count or remember--on our way to Riverside, Palm Springs, Idlewild, Arrowhead, Big Bear, Apple Valley and other SoCal destinations. Each time we have driven right by the Temecula city turn off--seeing only the businesses spread out along the highway--MacDonalds, tire shops, a mall, maybe a roadside restaurant or two. Certainly nothing beckoned us down the ramp. It seemed like just a small, old, tired place, certainly not a place of charm or interest. As this old town and the new vibrant Temecula Valley are on opposite sides of the freeway, the town is easily ignored.

Our foray into the town only happened because Temecula Valley restaurants are really geared for the weekend crowds that come for wine tasting and a few days get away time. Many are closed during the week, or so it seems. So, we decided to cross the tracks (really the freeway overpass) and see what was available in Temecula proper. And we were enthralled by what we found. A town that lost its history and purpose when the freeway went in, reimagined itself and has become a place of wooden sidewalks, cute shops carrying wares different than the ubiquitous offerings of the mall culture, places to eat (not Michelin quality, for sure), a look into its old time jail, a Lionel Train store that has anything for which you may be searching,  a wonderful new theater and cultural complex and an old hotel for sale in the event you have always wanted to run an inn. It's a fun way to spend a few hours, strolling, exploring, and in my case, finding clothing that is unique that I love wearing.

So, if you have time to kick back, relax and just stroll a bit, take a detour into Temecula town.

While we were meandering, we began talking with Kristine Turner from nearby Marietta Springs. She offers "A Culinary and Wine Lovers Tour" if that sounds interesting. I have no idea whether it is good but she seemed interesting and fun--kristine@kristineturner.biz or 931-239-5973