Week 6: Independence Day, Playa Negra, and Strikes

The start to our week was a bit rough as Ray had a high fever which we thought was brought on by over-exposure to the sun. After 3 days of the up and down fever and body aches and pains, we brought him to the doctor who told us he had strep throat! Of course, there was no sign of a sore throat until the morning we brought him in. We are glad it was not some rare tropical fever that we feared! He missed three days of school so he is working hard to catch up on assignments and homework.

The week culminated in the celebration of Independence Day at the boys’ school. It was a big production! The boys had an assembly from 10:30-12:00 that all parents were invited to attend. Following that, families could purchase an authentic Costa Rican lunch-arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), frijoles (beans), tamales, etc-and then the games started. Since it was about 90 degrees outside (and even hotter in the un-airconditioned gym) Mark and I decided not to stay for those events!

*Note: Costa Rica gained its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821; this was the same time that all of Central America gained its independence from Spain.

The assembly ended with these large mask creatures running around the gymnasium chasing the students. It was pretty much a free-for-all for about 15 minutes; hilarious! (see video)

Playa Negra:

Following the events on Thursday, the boys had the day off of school on Friday. We decided to head to Playa Negra to stay in the hotel that Ray’s friend’s family owns. We got a “hut” for the family to stay in, and the boys ended up having a sleepover with two of the boys in a hut of their own. Pretty nice to know the owners!

It’s an animal’s dream in Costa Rica. There are so many dogs running around the beaches and towns, and frolicking in the ocean waves. Some have owners, some are just stray; I’m not sure that it really matters. Either way, we always joke that we have never seen an unhappy dog in this country!

Strikes:

Costa Rica is currently in a time of strikes on the part of public workers and those who are fighting for tax-reform. For a fairly peaceful country, things have been less “pura vida” than normal. Most of the protests are taking place in the bigger cities, mainly San Jose, although we are seeing some fallout here on the coast. People are concerned that we will run out of gasoline and the long lines for the gas stations started yesterday (see picture). Some places even ran out of gas. We’ll see if the coming week brings any peace to the situation.

More information can be found here: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/costa-rica-shaken-rare-unruly-unrest-labor-strike-57835957

Other interesting notes:

Cheese is hard to come by in Costa Rica (and is very expensive), but look what we found! Yep, that’s from Wisconsin!
We are currently in the “low” season here. The tourism is minimal and many places close for the next two months-September and October. The “high” season begins in December and runs until about March. That is also the same time as the “dry” season. We have been told that it gets busy!
September is part of the rainy season, although the rain comes and goes. When it comes, it can hit fast and hard! This sky darkened in about 2 minutes and then the downpour came.