Veinte y Uno

La Cataratas

There are dozens of waterfalls around Uvita formed by the mountain streams as they drop to the sea level. We had already visited one up the road from us, but the walk was very treacherous and the rocks around the falls and pool were steep. Our friend Sonia directed us to some other waterfalls nearby. Today we visited one, just off the main road near Dominicalito. The roads to it all pass trough the stream, so we were lucky to have 4WD. Then it was a short walk down to the falls.

Everybody got wet, and Sarah, Samuel, and I made it across the pool to the falling water. The water is cool but not cold. We spent a few hours paddling around. Samuel likes to jump into the bubbly part where the water hits the pool.

Earlier in the day, S and S played with Donne while I uploaded the videos linked in the last post. We couldn’t figure out why Donne doesn’t smile when his picture is taken, until we realized his family probably doesn’t have a camera. These are probably the first pictures taken of him.

La Hamburguesa



The great North American hamburger has a cousin in Latin America. The Hamburguesa is offered almost everywhere you eat, and is always pretty much the same. The preparation is a little different than in the States, however. The meat patty is beef with some pork mixed in, and is also seasoned with salt and spices before it’s cooked. There is no such thing as rare meat here (for health reasons) so the burger is cooked on a griddle until almost charred on the outside. Burger buns are huge, even if you order the hamburguesa regular (as opposed to the Hamburguesa Especial, which is about 6 inches across). On the bun goes catsup (salsa di tomato), mayonesa, a big slice of onion, lettuce and tomato. Also added are a thick slice of queso (a farmer cheese that’s a cross between feta and monterey jack) and a slice of ham (no bacon burgers here, but every burger comes with ham. Sarah says they are real HAMburgers-hah!). The whole concoction is very tasty, and quite different from a fast food burger.



Critters



After the waterfall we came home and enjoyed the sunny afternoon. The weather has been a lot less rainy lately so we can swim and lounge outside right up to the 6:30 sunset and dinner.

Today we spotted some toucans (pictures up later with wi-fi), and Amy took pictures of lots of interesting flora. She also found a giant Katydid in the tree right next to the pool. The shoe is in the picture so you can see that it’s about 6 inches long!

There are also vultures in the morning.

Thursday we are off to another waterfall. This one involves a pretty good hike up a mountain. Pictures tomorrow.

Check You Tube thepovies and see if I got any new videos uploaded.