Los Empacadores

What a grand day of adventure in the shadow of Volcan Turrialba. I'm not sure I'll ever quite get used to the idea that we are living and playing in the shadow of an active volcano. While playing shortstop in the neighborhood baseball game today, I was amazed by the sight of white smoke gently spewing from the volcano framed by the backdrop of a perfectly clear blue sky. Truly breathtaking.

Did you watch the Packer game today? We managed to invite ourselves to the home of a friend of our housemate's where on Fox Sports Mexico we watched Los Empacadores defeat Los Osos. The game was just one of the many interesting aspects of the afternoon. Marty (the friend) is an expat who retired from his life as a PhD attorney to run a chicken farm in the foothills just outside Turrialba. He generously showed us his pineapple garden and allowed us to join him in his afternoon egg gathering. Each of the kids were able to pick a nice warm freshly laid chicken egg to add to his stores. I do not recommend walking around a chicken coop in sandals. Not for the reason you may be thinking, rather the chickens enjoy pecking your toes - step lively y'all.

There are many traditional halftime activities during the big game. In the past I have grilled brats in the snow and tossed a football around to burn off some nervous energy. Today we picked fresh lemons, saw where macadamia nuts were harvested and walked to a waterfall in search of poison dart frogs (no luck on the frogs, alas). The vistas from the hillside were wonderful and quite relaxing.

Not only are we gaining confidence riding the local buses we are also beginning to gather the all important connections between people in our new town. Marty, our football host, is also pals with Maggie's kindergarden teacher. This can only mean good things are on the horizon.

We are off to see more of the country this week so stay tuned.