I arrived around 10pm last night. My cousin Chris met me at the airport and suggested that we drive back to his place. It was a 3 hour drive through the mountains with fog and rain, but it was fun. I was too excited to sleep, so I only slept a couple of hours, from about 2am until 4:40am, when I woke up to a symphony of birds singing just before dawn.
The starry night was amazing, the dawn was beautiful, and the temperature cool and comfortable. Chris cracked some coconuts for breakfast and we drank the water and ate the meat. They have small coconuts here that have a lot of water and a thin layer of soft meat. The coconut water is fantastic.
The clouds dance around here in the mountains, and the sun melts away the morning mist as it rises.
I was eager to get my kefir going, so the first thing we did was go straight to the cow farm; a small Costa Rican family place called Quesos Canaan, run by Wilber and his wife Katia. This is a biodynamic farm that has only 7 cows, and produces a wide variety of cheeses, yogurt, and butter to be sold along with their raw milk. We purchased some of everything to bring home with us.
Chris and I watched Wilber milk a cow for our gallon of milk. The container was warm as I carried it home. While we were there they let us sample a handful of their cheeses and showed us dozens and dozens of wheels drying on racks. This is the place that Chris gets his ricotta cheese from. We bought some of that too.
We had good conversation with the owners… in Spanish… so I hardly understood anything; however, Chris has gotten real good, so we made plans for me to volunteer there and get them started on making kefir and kefir cheese. Luckily their son speaks English, so I will work with him. I’m excited to see how well they do with it. I will be making my own kefir every day, but this farm can become my source for seminars, workshops, and other times when I need large amounts of kefir.
It is hot… still morning, but the sun shines strong and if you stay in it too long it feels a lot hotter than the temperature readings. It is usually easy to find shade though, since we are in the mountains. Luckily Chris has a raging river on the border of his property, so we went home and cooled off in the water for a while. Unfortunately I stood outside shirtless for a bit too long and burned my shoulders a bit. Not a good start to get sunburn on the first day.
After lunch we went to meet some more people… Lobo and his wife Maira, and their 8yo son Milo and 15yo daughter Chamonix. People have interesting names around here, as they come from all over the world…
Lobo is almost done with a butterfly dome… an impressive building that is accompanied by a cafe that makes ice cream. The site is not complete yet, but I can spend time there with Lobo and use his internet connection 😉 Once completed it will serve as a great tourist center.
The rain started in the early afternoon… just as expected. At this point is was welcome, as I had already experienced about 8 or 9 hours of sunshine. We relaxed at Lobo’s home… a spectacular place that overhangs the river.
The rain stopped in the early evening and we went home to relax. I’m still unpacking and trying to get settled. It was a busy first day.
Hi Victor, glad to hear you are enjoying Costa Rica. Best way to learn a language is thru immersion in the culture. I’m sure you know this from your experience in Japan. Next time I see you, I hope we can converse in Spanish. Best Regards to Chris and family, cousin Ed Cohen
Hi Ed! You are so correct! I hope to see you in a few months when I visit NY, but I don’t think my Spanish will be so good then. Chris is fluent, and get to see him speak every day, so hopefully it will start to rub off 😉 Give my best to everyone!
Hi Victor THIS is uncle Freddie in Florida. Glad you got to Costa Rica safely. With all of you traveling , you got to be exhausted.
I miss you and Chris
and the rest of the family dearly.
Hope your new adventure and kefir business is successful in Costa Rica. I love the info on your web site.its like being there with you. I miss that, Thank you.
Love and miss all of you.uncle Freddie
Hi Uncle Freddie! Thanks for your comments. You should visit us here in Costa Rica! It’s only a few hours away 😉 It would be great to spend time with you here. I think you would love it. I’m loving it. I’ll be sending more updates on a weekly basis. Miss you.