La Fortuna, Costa Rica/Arenal Volcano

Poas Volcano in Costa Rica has been spewing ash and gases so that wasn't on the agenda to visit. People were being evacuated from the area. Arenal Volcano, however, hasn't erupted since 1992; for a volcano trip this was safer, but it isn't dead, just sleeping. There's a national park around the volcano, or rather the whole volcano appears to be protected by the Costa Rican government. It's approximately 3.5 hours to walk/hike on the designated paths, up to a higher vantage point to see Lago Arenal, and down through the rain forest, through a silence that was loud with rain drops, birds, some howler monkeys, lizards with yellow stripes down their backs, and flora and fauna as some Costa Rican friends have said. I have more pictures in my mind but here are a few. The swimming pool is at our hotel, Hotel Bijagua, a small place in La Fortuna. Did I tell that we rented a car and I drove to La Fortuna from San Jose...yes! I can pass cars and trucks on mountain roads with the best Costa Rican driver.

Panama City, Panama

Mark met me in San Jose, Costa Rica as we had planned. We explored the city a little then decided to go to Panama City since we were so close, a short plane ride away. I've wanted to see the Canal my whole life; Mark also was very interested. We saw the Canal and more; a new section is being built and should have been completed in 2015, but it looks more like it will be 2016. There were huge ships waiting at either end to go through the passage; we saw several from start to finish from the Miraflores lock. All I can say is, "Wow!" My jaw is still hanging down from the sight. The last two pictures are from viewpoints in the Ciudad Vieja/Old Panama City. I like this city, too.

Saturday's Reiki workshop

I'd heard of Reiki as a healing experience; Saturday, a 10-6pm workshop was scheduled which I attended. It was held in a yoga classroom up the mountain at La Colina lodge. There were ten of us in the workshop including the leader, Karen, and another yoga instructor, Etta. It was a meaningful experience for me and well worth the money. Lunch wasn't bad either...pasta with pesto sauce, coffee or sweet tea, and gluten free cookies (yes, the anti gluten fad has infiltrated Costa Rica.)

Here's a brief description of Reiki; enjoy reading it and think about attending a Reiki I training and/or experience a treatment at a local center.

What is Reiki? A Brief Overview Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy. The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy." A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results. Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery. An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life. Its use is not dependent on one's intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds. While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it. While Reiki is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others. Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki system of natural healing, recommended that one practice certain simple ethical ideals to promote peace and harmony, which are nearly universal across all cultures. During a meditation several years after developing Reiki, Mikao Usui decided to add the Reiki Ideals to the practice of Reiki. The Ideals came in part from the five prinicples of the Meiji emperor of Japan whom Mikao Usui admired. The Ideals were developed to add spiritual balance to Usui Reiki. Their purpose is to help people realize that healing the spirit by consciously deciding to improve oneself is a necessary part of the Reiki healing experience. In order for the Reiki healing energies to have lasting results, the client must accept responsibility for her or his healing and take an active part in it. Therefore, the Usui system of Reiki is more than the use of the Reiki energy. It must also include an active commitment to improve oneself in order for it to be a complete system. The ideals are both guidelines for living a gracious life and virtues worthy of practice for their inherent value. The secret art of inviting happiness The miraculous medicine of all diseases Just for today, do not anger Do not worry and be filled with gratitude Devote yourself to your work. Be kind to people. Every morning and evening, join your hands in prayer. Pray these words to your heart and chant these words with your mouth Usui Reiki Treatment for the improvement of body and mind The founder , Usui Mikao

Visiting a volcano...maybe with Mark when he comes to CR next month.

Four ways to be killed by a volcano

Pyroclastic flow boiled the brains and vapourised the flesh of Herculaneum's inhabitants

Active volcanoes are dangerous places. They can wipe out whole cities and kill large numbers of people.

The ghost-like casts from the Roman city of Pompeii are a reminder of the lethal eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79, which killed thousands and preserved their bodies in the position of their death. But it wasn't red-hot lava or suffocating clouds of ash that killed them, it was something far more unusual. Lava flows, or the molten rock that oozes from shield volcanoes moves far too slowly to be truly deadly. The real killers are much more frightening.

Here are four ways a volcano can kill:

1: Cooked by super-hot waves of gas

The Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were annihilated on 24 August AD79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted explosively, sending fast-moving waves of superheated gas down the sides of the volcano at hurricane speeds. These 'pyroclastic flows' contain gas, ash and rock and can travel up to 450mph (700km/h).

The first wave hit the nearby Herculaneum with temperatures as high as 500 degrees Celsius. The searing heat was enough to boil the brains and instantly vaporise the flesh of its victims so that only blackened skeletons remained.

But how the people of Pompeii died has remained a mystery for many centuries. Volcanologists have now discovered they were killed by a later wave of pyroclastic flow.

What objects did people take as they fled?

Pompeii's wave was significantly cooler than the one that swept through Herculaneum, so although the victims bodies remained intact, the heat 'cooked' their flesh instantly. They were preserved by the falling volcanic ash and some of these can still be seen in Pompeii today.

Pyroclastic flows are arguably the most deadly volcanic event because they can travel for miles and are impossible to outrun.

They are produced by explosive 'composite volcanoes', which are made up of alternating layers of lava, ash and rock. When a composite volcano erupts, the rock layer is smashed into tiny dust particles. These particles mix with the hot ash and gases to form a giant mushroom cloud.

As the eruption weakens, this cloud can collapse under its own weight. It then cascades down the side of the volcano as a pyroclastic flow - destroying everything in its path. But that's not the only way they can cause big problems...

How devastating could the next Mount Vesuvius eruption be?

2: Buried by fast-flowing mud

In Colombia, 1985, a volcano called Nevado del Ruiz erupted. As pyroclastic flows exploded from the volcano they melted the glaciers on the mountain.

The melted water mixed with the volcanic ash, mud and rock, causing four enormous hot 'lahars' to speed down the mountain at 40mph (60km/h).

Armero: Only a few houses were left standing after hot lahars swept through the town

Lahars are concrete-thick mixtures of mud and water that slide down mountains like avalanches. They can be extremely destructive because they travel with enough force to carry huge boulders at high speeds for up to 50 miles (80 km).

The lahars from Nevado del Ruiz flowed into the six major rivers at the base of the volcano before engulfing the town of Armero - killing more than 20,000 of the people that lived there.

3: Suffocated by poisonous gases

Pyroclastic flows and lahars are dramatic events, yet volcanoes can also be silent killers.

When a volcano sits beneath a lake, gases from the magma can filter through cracks in the Earth and become trapped under the water as carbon dioxide.

Silent but deadly: Lake Nyos in Cameroon, Africa

Violent movement, from an earthquake or landslide for example, can cause the carbon dioxide to rise rapidly to the surface of the lake - a rare but deadly event called a 'limnic' eruption.

One of only two limnic eruptions ever recorded happened in Cameroon in 1986. A landslide disturbed a deep lake called Lake Nyos which sat within the crater of an inactive volcano.

More than 80 million cubic metres of carbon dioxide was released and surged into nearby villages; suffocating more than 1,700 people and thousands of animals and livestock.

Hear a survivor's account of the Lake Nyos disaster

4: Annihilation from ash clouds?

Poisonous volcanic gases, lahars and pyroclastic flows are deadly to almost anyone who gets in their way. But the devastating effects of a volcanic eruption can be even more far reaching.

In the Philippines in 1991, Mount Pinatubo exploded in a cataclysmic eruption, blasting 22 million tonnes of ash particles and sulphur dioxide 12 miles (19 km) into the atmosphere. Fierce winds from a passing typhoon blew the ash in all directions before it fell like thick snow on nearby buildings. Many roofs collapsed under the sheer weight; killing 300 people in their homes.

Ash rises as a plume from Mount Redoubt in Alaska

Explosive eruptions like this are so powerful that lightweight ash particles can be lifted as high as the lower stratosphere by convection currents. When ash and volcanic gases spread across the globe after Mount Pinatubo's eruption, they reflected some of the Sun's radiation back into space.

This caused the global temperature to drop by 0.6 degrees Celsius. The cooling effect only lasted for two years. But some scientists think that volcanic activity like this may have caused a change in climate which contributed to the Permian mass extinction - an event which saw a staggering 96% of all the species on Earth perish.

Could a new giant volcanic eruption produce enough ash and gas to trigger extreme climate change that might threaten all life on Earth?

The conditions of a solitary bird are five:

The first, that it flies to the highest point;

the second, that it does not suffer for company,

not even of its own kind;

the third, that it aims its beak to the skies;

the fourth, that it does not have a definite color;

the fifth, that it sings very softly.

- San Juan de la Cruz, Dichos de Luzy Amor

Mark sent this lovely poem to me because he knows how much I love poetry. It will be the basis of a lesson in the classes I'm teaching when we get to poetry as a literary genre. Speaking of classes/school in Costa Rica...I'm struggling with "singing very softly" as an American teacher in Latin America. I came into school two weeks late of student/teacher classes, four weeks late of the inception of the school. My classes were being taught by an Art teacher who is also the mother of one of the fourth grade students. A fair description of the third grade class was made by the Chicago native acting as curriculum/principal who said they were hanging from the ceiling wearing silly things on their heads, loud, etc. After observing three days, the current teacher got sick and had to stay home...I was thrown into the melee at that point. I set up class rules, enforced them, meted out consequences both good and bad, and the class began to be that, a class where learning could begin. I had no grades from last year, no reading levels, no idea of the reading system that was said to have been administered three times a year, the class looked like a dumping ground for anything broken or not in use, you get the picture. Still, I continued. One child said I was too "strict." Another, that I acted like I was her mother. Now, after meetings upon meetings, these two students are my BFF's bringing me food, pictures, and giving me hugs. Their parents greet me warmly in both Spanish and English, asking after my health, my family. Most of the students seem to like to be able to learn. Then, there are some of the other teachers who have been at the school over two years and know more than I do as a result, they think. I've been told to close bathroom doors, told that a student who went home ill was really "triste," told to do this and do that until my level of cultural awareness and acceptance has been met. This may be yet another short time placement for me. I am an American teacher with over thirty years of experience and training in the U.S. plus additional years of experience teaching internationally. It's not this "solitary bird's" first rodeo to use a Texas phrase. Tomorrow is another day, another dollar...oh wait, I think this salary works out to be around $.50 a day.

Another beach in another country

Playa Samara is where I chose to go on our 3 day weekend. (We got Friday off because all teachers were required to participate in the Independence Day parade on Monday.) I'm staying at a small hotel, SolSamara, located a few kilometres from the centro de la ciudad, Samara. I can walk the beach to town or take a taxi, or...rent a motorscooter which is what I decided to do. Did I write that I rode a horse down the beach yesterday? The motorscooter, however,  allowed me to ride to Playa Carillo, too, and have a small picnic watching and listening to the waves. The ocean was a little "hungry" so I didn't go in beyond the shore because of the strong pull outward. I do love the Pacific Ocean!

Monday, the 15th, was Costa Rica Day of Independence with another parade. This started with everyone in town, it seemed, meeting at around 7:30 for music, speeches, music, more speeches, then the parade at 9. Our school had a heavy presence with two bandas, groups of girls doing fans, batons, tipica dancing, and lots of teachers monitoring and walking the parade route, too. It was fun at first, then got a little hot for small children to walk with uncovered heads, and then it ended. I bought two tamales...very yummy...went home for a nap, then had a pedicure and went swimming at one of the luxury hotels in Monteverde.  All in all, I like this independence thing, but independence is tiring (as Mark said.)

Still celebrating Independence Day/Los Faroles (the laterns)

Today, Los Faroles was celebrated in Monteverde, actually Santa Elena. This is a parade complete with songs, speeches, songs, speeches and culminating with a parade of children holding laterns they've made. The pictures say it all. Pura Vida!

Recipe for Costa Rican black beans and rice

Costa Rican gallo pinto (black beans and rice)

Recipe adapted from many plates of beans and rice I tasted in Costa Rica, and from this recipe on Boulder Locavore, which is most like the gallo pinto I enjoy at least once a day. Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked black beans, plus 3/4 cup bean cooking liquid (can be made days in advance)
3 cups cooked long-grain white rice, cooled (can be made days in advance)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (in Costa Rica, this would be a green pepper, but I love the red)
1/2 cup diced celery
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme leaf
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper, or more to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Directions

I used a pressure cooker to cook a batch of dry black beans, with no presoaking, in less than an hour (wow!). You can cook beans in a slow cooker or stovetop pot. Any way you prepare them, beans made from scratch will have a more firm texture than canned beans. Make the beans way ahead, even days ahead, and store them in the refrigerator. In a pinch, of course you can use canned black beans; reserve some of the bean liquid before rinsing the beans.

In a large, deep frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes, until translucent. Add the bell pepper and celery, and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Toss in the garlic and thyme, and stir for 30 seconds.

Gently pour the black beans and reserved 3/4 cup of bean cooking liquid into the pan. Stir well to combine, and try not to break up the beans. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Then, add in the rice, breaking up clumps with your fingers as best you can.

Stir the rice and bean mixture together so that all of the liquid coats the grains of rice, turning them a brownish color. Season with salt and pepper (this dish needs a lot of salt to be authentically Costa Rican, so don't be afraid to add more than the recipe calls for).

Top with chopped fresh cilantro for serving, if you wish.

Costa Rican Independence Day celebration

Every morning this week, we've met as a school to celebrate Costa Rica's independence. It's really the 15th. There have been dances, poems, videos, and the national anthem and the state of puntarena anthem. The following tells you independence from whom. I've also added the songs and a recipe for the national dish:  rice and beans. I'm cooking a pot as I blog.

The first natives in Costa Rica were hunters and gatherers. A small sedentary culture also developed simultaneously. During the Pre-Columbian Period, Costa Rica served as an "Intermediate Region" between Mesoamerican and Andean native cultures.

Christopher Columbus made landfall in Costa Rica in 1502. Soon after, the indigenous people were conquered and Costa Rica was incorporated into theCaptaincy General of Guatemala as a province of New Spain. During the colonial period, Costa Rica remained sparsely developed and impoverished.

Following Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) Costa Rica became part of the independent Mexican Empire in 1821, and subsequently the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823, before gaining full independence in 1838. Its economy struggled due to lack of connections with European suppliers. In 1856, Costa Rica resisted American settlers from mounting a take over of the government. After 1869, Costa Rica became a democracy, and after the Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, the government drafted a new constitution, guaranteeing universal suffrage and the dismantling of the military. Today, Costa Rica is a democracy that relies on technology and eco-tourism for its economy.

Wikipedia

Canto a Puntarenas [Puntarenas, Costa Rica]

Puntarenas song with pictures. I live in this state in Monteverde...yes!

Himno Nacional de Costa Rica [con letra]

This is the national anthem.

What does it say that I cook in foreign countries?

There aren't any fast food restaurants like in the United States here in Monteverde...awwww. There's a Taco Taco, a chicken place that sells roasted chickens, several really good restaurants, and 2 super compro (grocery stores.) There's another supermarket somewhere up the mountain, behind some buildings, but I haven't found it. So,  that's one reason I cook. Another is it tastes good. The ingredients are fresher than even in GucciB (the HEB near my house in San Antonio, called GucciB because of its customers/not me, I shop in cutoffs and flipflops even there.) I've found great Argentine wine; the number of empties is growing. All countries have chickens, garlic, oil, onions and other essential ingredients; they use them differently and for different meals. The cooking and the eating requires me to think, search spices, try different combinations and I like it. I've made spaghetti sauce that was really delicious, chunky potato soup, and last night, chicken tortilla soup. If you want to try the Chicken Tortilla Soup, here's the recipe. Buenas comidas!

Chicken Tortilla Soup I

Rated:

Submitted By: Star Pooley

Photo By: Grvqn

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ready In: 40 Minutes

Servings: 8

"This soup is quick to make, flavorful, and filling! Serve with warm corn bread or tortillas.

This also freezes well. Garnish with chopped fresh avocado, Monterey Jack cheese,

crushed tortilla chips, or green onion!"

INGREDIENTS:

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken

broth

1 1/4 cups water

1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked

1 cup white hominy

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile

peppers

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and

drained

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 boneless chicken breast halves,

cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces

crushed tortilla chips

sliced avocado

shredded Monterey Jack cheese

chopped green onions

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until

soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and

simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado

slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2014 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allreci

The song from Friendly Persuasion, a movie set in a Quaker community. We didn't sing this.

I went to church (meeting) at the Friends school in Monteverde.

I was invited to attend meeting at 10:30 at the Friends School. It was delightful; we sang hymns for 30 minutes, then sat in peace for 60 minutes surrounded by the forest, with blue moths, hummingbirds, birds flying around outside the windows of the meeting place. Here's an exerpt from Wikipedia about this school:

What is now considered Monteverde was founded by Quakers from the United States whose pacifist values led them to defy the American draft during the Korean War.^[3] The majority of the group hailed from Fairhope, Alabama, and it included people who were not Quakers but pacifists and conscientious objectors. The spokesman of the group was Hubert Mendenhall, a dairyman who had visited Costa Rica in 1949 after joining a farmer's tour.^[4] These Quakers and pacifists chose Monteverde for its cool climate, which would facilitate dairy farming, and due to Costa Rica's non-violent, army-free constitution.^[5] Mendenhall noted that the soil was fertile and the people were friendly as well. The Quakers stewarded and farmed a large tract of land, which they eventually set aside for conservation. This reserve, which was named the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve), has become a major tourist attraction.

After the meeting, I was invited to eat a delicious lunch...many local dishes. All I was asked was to wash my dish, cup, and fork. I think I'll make this a regular pasttime here. It satisfies something in me to sing hymns and then silently sit for an hour with people who abhor war.

Treehouse Saturday

Saturday, a group of the teachers was invited to view a treehouse up in the forest. I had been sick with a version of the same stuff I get in any country where I teach (S. Korea crud, Kuwait crud, China crud, Cambodia crud.) I almost declined, but I'm so glad I didn't. We met the builder, Linx, a young man from Quebec and then took off into an area in a valley after one goes over the mountains. There was lushness surrounding us as we drove over La Trucha in cars to the starting point. We trekked through some pretty steep hills and dales, carrying picnic lunches, several young children, and our anticipation. When we arrived, the platform treehouse was so in sync with the forest we didn't see it at first. The one we climbed into is about 60 ft. from the ground, built onto a strangler tree, without nails of any kind. You can climb a ladder into the house or use the elevator/swing. The tree and the treehouse are living creations. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.