Food | Costa Rica

We like to experience cultures and places through food and Costa Rica absolutely did not disappoint.  From day one we enjoyed fresh, local seafood and some form of rice and beans with practically every meal.  Also accompanying each meal was the local cerveza - Imperial (which we've recently spotted in stores stateside). A few meals stand out in our memory, like the enormous (I'm talking almost 2 feet across!) paella which was so delicious, that it was devoured before the cameras even had a chance to "click."  Preceding the paella, we had a ceviche appetizer with tons of seafood floating in magical lime juice and a side of ceviche-stuffed avocado, paired with a few sangria pitchers.

Left to our own devices, the cook-savvy girls of the group manged to grill some delicious meats. The men's job was to start a fire in the outdoor house grill, which was not always easy with daily torrential downpours. Hairspray and boyscout training aided in our success.

The more adventurous of us managed to do some hunting/gathering. Our beach house was surrounded with coconut trees and it didn't take long for me to make it my mission to knock down a coconut. Flinging rocks at the treetops may have been frowned upon by the women, but it worked - the coconut dropped to my feet. It took me at least a half an hour to "uncork" the coconut using some primitive sticks and rocks that I picked up on the beach. Eventually, our neighbor/bodyguard took pity on us and machete'ed a few more coconuts for our enjoyment, in mere seconds.

-Taras