Traveling While Introverted

One of the fruits that I really wanted to try during our stay in Costa Rica was guava. I wasn’t a fan in the past, but we tried some guava jam and it was so yummy. When I saw it at a local vegetable & fruit stand, I bought two for both of us to try.

I don’t know if it wasn’t ripe enough (it had some give) or maybe this particular type of guava isn’t very good, but it didn’t really taste like anything. Totally by chance, a good friend of mine sent me a photo of a guava-filled pastry she had baked. Since she’s clearly in the know, I asked her why the guava fruit didn’t taste as good as the jam. The answer was sugar. It’s always sugar. Oof.

On grocery haul days, we usually “treat” ourselves with a meal out so that we don’t go shopping hungry and to change the pace a bit. We had seen a Chinese restaurant on the way into Tamarindo and joked that it was probably some weird Costa Rican-Chinese fusion place. We all know what happens when you see something and then crave it. Was it the best Chinese food I ever had? Nope. Was it good enough to make me think I should stop being so dang judgmental? You bet. Adam ordered corn and pork-filled steamed dumplings and a shrimp chop suey, while I ordered the sweet and sour pork ribs.

Another food adventure we had was when we randomly stumbled upon a food truck park in Tamarindo. For the first round, we shared a shredded pork arepa and a shawarma plate. Since we were still hungry, I ordered a chicken pad Thai and Adam got a burger with fries.

You’ll notice that the shawarma isn’t pictured. We were both so excited that we forgot to take a picture. After all, how fun to have a bit of a taste of home! As soon as we took the first bite, we realized that we had make a mistake. I’m still not sure what that was, but it was not shawarma. Maybe Middle Eastern food is too far of a culinary leap. Everything else was perfect.

Spending so much time in the same town means we’ve developed a rhythm for the day that has revolved around taking care of the dogs, job hunting, catching up with friends and family, and attempting to absorb as much Spanish as we can, either from the grammar book we bought before we left the U.S. or from TV shows or movies. (By the way, Monarca is a great show!) Since we have so much time on our hands, I’ve only got 150 pages left of my nearly 600-page book that I purchased at the bookstore. It feels so good to read like this again! It’s been a struggle to enjoy reading books since graduate school and I have missed getting lost in a story I can visualize in my head.

On the other hand, I did start to feel a little stir-crazy from being home so much. Even introverts need to be out and about. Plus, having so much down time can make a person who is addicted to productivity (me) feel a bit down in the dumps. On my birthday, we had planned to start the day with some beach time, but I felt off emotionally and had a stomach ache (typical Virgo). After crying-talking it over with Adam, I felt a bit better and decided that what I wanted was to drive to the other nearby towns to see the beach but not necessarily swim in it.

One of the places we visited was Playa Flamingo, a wealthier town not far from where we were house sitting. We decided to walk around the little marina so that I could roll my eyes at the opulence and rant about the perpetually growing wealth gap worldwide. (Whatever, it was my birthday. There are worse things I could want.) I’m not too petty to admit that I very much enjoyed my frozen maracuyá margarita at one of the restaurants there.

As we drove back to the house, we noticed a few Indian restaurants and decided to try Tandoor for lunch. If you look at their menu, you’ll notice that tandoor is their speciality, but since everything is marinated in yogurt, we opted for other entrees I could eat: pinto chana (chickpeas with tomatoes, onions, and pomegranate); chicken coco malai (a Southern specialty of chicken in coconut milk & curry leaves); and, coconut lime rice. Adam also ordered a Kashmiri naan filled with coconut and dried fruit for himself. Of course it was all delicious.

After going home to walk the dogs and spend some time with them, we decided to have drinks and dinner in Tamarindo. Initially, my plan was to eat my weight in french fries since calories don’t count on your birthday, but after such a carb-heavy lunch, it felt like too much. As we were walking around, we passed by a very American bar called Sharky’s that was serving wings. Perfect! In addition to 18 wings, I also ordered a smoked bacon-wrapped drumstick and Adam ordered a pulled pork slider. It was a wonderful junky way to end the night.

Was this was my best birthday on the planet? No, not particularly. But it was not my worst either. On my 27th, for example, I was so sick with food poisoning I couldn’t even eat the birthday cake I had asked my boss to bake me. That food poisoning also caused my gluten allergy, so that was an extra fun year.

Despite my internal upset, I am very grateful to live in a time with technology that allows me to connect with people all the world over who I love and were kind enough to remember my birthday. What a wonder to be on this grand adventure and still feel close to people so physically far away.

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