Traveling While Introverted

In my post about Monteverde, I shared that there isn’t really a culture of reading in Costa Rica. It’s understandable: after a long day of hard work in the heat and humidity, who has the headspace to curl up with a book? So often, our environment dictates culture. Still, I was curious about what libraries or bookstores could be found in Tamarindo. By chance, I found Bookstore of the Waves, the only bookstore in town. The store boasts a surprising selection of used and new books in several languages, including Hebrew! I settled on the fiction book East of the Sun by Julia Gregson, which is about Englishwomen traveling to India to find husbands in the 1920s. Adam chose 1421 by Charles C. Mann, a historiography about the Americas before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. The store itself isn’t huge, but I appreciated the collages all over the walls and the second-floor seating area. While I was waiting for Adam to choose which book to purchase (only 1 for each of us since we’re traveling), I couldn’t help picking up a book in Hebrew. How funny to read Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor, set in the Deep South, translated into Hebrew at a store in Costa Rica!

Getting to stay in a place for a while is an opportunity to experience the nuanced, banality of daily life like grocery shopping. (One of my favorite chores, obviously.) Tamarindo has a variety of grocery stores. Most often, we go to MaxiPali, a Costa Rican-ified Walmart chain that reminds me of the Dollar Store from the ’90s, and MegaSuper, a chain that offers a free membership to give regular shoppers a discount. (Of course I signed up. I’m no silly goose.) Last night, we visited Auto Mercado, located next door to one of the luxury condo communties in the area. It’s as fancy as you may expect so we didn’t purchase much, but it was funny to find things we couldn’t easily find elsewhere like Black and White Arizona Iced Teas ($3 a can!).

We had heard from a few folks that the best place to buy produce is from the roadside stalls. I love roadside stalls. When I was a kid, roadtrips were the highlights of the summer and my mom, who typically drove, always stopped to see what they were selling. I still remember the best beef jerky I ever had was at some random stall in Ojai. So, earlier this week we drove into town to run a few errands and we happened to see a roadside stall. Naturally, we parked and bought some yummy treats.

Stalls selling rambutan are everywhere in CR. On the scale of juicy fruit that tastes of a flower bouquet, rambutan was on the bottom of my list. I don’t mind working for my food, but the papery cover around the seed inside really takes away from the soft texture of the fruit. Or so I thought. Turns out, that isn’t a problem with locally-grown rambutan. Lychee is still my favorite of these bouquet-flavored fruit because of its bolder flavor, but if you find it overpowering, rambutan might be more up your alley. We also bought a fruit called jocote, which has a thin skin and soft flesh surrounding a very large seed. It tastes like a tart mango but the texture is more custardy.

(Listen, I know. Rambutan looks like a hairy testicle. Eat it anyway. The good news is that the little hairs won’t get stuck in your teeth since you don’t eat the peel.)

We also noticed that the lady running the stall sold cooked food. Initially we wanted to just buy the fruit and keep running errands but by the time we got to the car, we couldn’t stop thinking about having a little snack. Adam got the fried dough filled with chicken, which he enjoyed. Look at how big it is! I got the pastele filled with pork, potatoes, and carrots, and wrapped in a banana leaf. Pasteles are similar to tamales, but wrapped in banana leaves rather than corn husks. The flavors were very mellow and we added a homemade hot sauce that was just hot enough to add some zest. Salvadoran tamales are still my favorite, but this was the perfect dense snack to keep me going. She also poured us a cup of hot, well-sugared coffee. I didn’t get it at first, but when I had a sip I realized it was just what I needed. (More about that in a bit.)

I was also curious to explore the farmer’s market on Saturday. When we lived in Alabama (Roll Tide!), I loved visiting the farmer’s market. It was an opportunity to socialize and learn more about Southern foods like boiled peanuts and sweet tater greens. Once we left the South, I don’t go to farmer’s markets much. I roll my eyes at the exorbitant prices, lack of produce compared to nonfood items, and general poor quality of produce. I wasn’t planning on buying much at the farmer’s market, but we did get a few more maracuyá (passion fruits) and some mangosteen. The best part, though, was the lady selling super cold fresh coconuts. It refreshed us in a way that water alone couldn’t do. No wonder people are obsessed with this stuff!

Though we cook most of our meals, we had a chance to visit two different restaurants. The first was a soda, or roadside diner that locals go to. They’re not fancy, but the food is hearty and delicious. Adam ordered the ceviche mixto (fish, shrimp and octopus) while I ordered the seafood rice (fish, shrimp, mussels, calamari, and crab). In the friendly competition we have over who orders the best food, I think I won this round. (Adam claims he won that round, but we all know the truth.)

On the day we ran a bunch of errands, we decided to eat lunch out and wanted something by the beach. We found a taco stand but, unfortunately, they only serve flour tortillas. So we hopped into the hotel next door that had the perfect casado. A casado is a typical lunch consisting of rice, beans, plantains, salad, and a meat. Included in the meal was a fruit drink made from concentrate, which was, again, the refreshing sweetness we needed. I ordered the guanábana and Adam ordered the blackberry. I couldn’t resist ordering fried yucca as an appetizer. Fried yuccas are better than potato fries. Fight me!

Who knows what culinary experiences await us in Tamarindo next week. It’s also my birthday (#VirgosAreTheBest), so stay tuned to find out how we celebrate the big 3-9.

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