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Wings on Her Feet by Winnie Bowen ISBN 978-1-891429-65-1 Travel/Youth, 151-pages $10.95 |
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THE REMOTE When traveling, my buddy and I agree that there is too much to see and do in a new place to turn on the TV. We figure if anything wild is going on in the world someone will let us know about it. We were in Melbourne, Australia in late 2000 when we didn’t have a president yet. Everywhere we went people asked, “What’s the matter with you Americans? Why can’t you elect a president?” One day, after tramping all around the city, we returned to our delightful little boutique hotel. Upon entering our room I asked, “Do you think we should turn on the TV and see if we have a president yet?” “I’m really getting tired of all the questions. I think maybe this might be an exception. The remote is there. Go ahead and turn the box on,” she replied. Picking up the remote I pushed the power button. Nothing happened, so I pushed it again. And again. Again. Exasperated I threw the remote on the bed disgustedly saying, “I know I’m technologically challenged, but you’d think I could turn on a darn TV!” Just about that time she grabbed her blouse and said, “It’s sure hot in here.” Simultaneously, we both looked at her bedside table and saw another remote. She picked it up, pushed the power button and, waala, we had TV. We started to laugh as we realized I had the heat remote and I’d been turning up the heat with every push of the button! For years after that, every time we walked into a new hotel room, we’d look at the TV and one of us would say, “Remember Melbourne?” and have a good chuckle.
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A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE It was an incredibly clear warm day when I boarded a gondola for a ride up to the top of Strassahorn in Switzerland. The panoramic view of the whole valley below was fantastic. Once at the top, the first things I did was walk a footpath around part of the summit of the mountain. The many wild flowers in bloom were beautiful. Suddenly I stopped to listen. A serenade of tinkling cow bells from the alpine valley was all that broke the incredible silence. It was a sound I would hear again on another trip to the Alps and every time I hear those bells I remember my first Swiss experience. After the stroll I entered the chalet gift shop/deli and spotted coffee on a hot plate behind the counter. I asked the young man, “Is that hot water there beside the coffee?” “Yes.” Excited, I said, “Wonderful! I’d like a ½ cup of coffee, and then fill the cup with hot water.” “No, no. This coffee is made to put a liqueur in. It is good.” “Just the coffee please.” “OK, if you insist.” I drink my coffee weak by many standards, so I always find European coffee too strong for my taste. After paying for my ‘special request coffee’, I went outside and sat on the sunny terrace 6000 feet up on a mountain to enjoy the only really good cup of coffee I had on that entire trip. It was worth every penny of the three dollars to just savor that cup of coffee as I listened to more of the lovely cow bell serenade.
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FANTA IN A BAG An incident in Costa Rica make me chuckle even years after it happened. Although a weekday, it was some sort of a national holiday. I was in transit, and it seemed every little town was celebrating a parade. The driver stopped and parked the mini van in one of the little towns so we could walk to the plaza to watch a parade. I was impressed with the quality of the children’s bands and their ability to play the instruments. After the parade, thirsty and looking for something to drink, one couple wandered into a small store on their way back to the van. When paying for her Fanta, the fellow behind the counter asked, “Would you like this in a bag?” The gal gave a shrug of indifference, so the fellow proceeded to uncap the bottle and pour the contents into a plastic bag. After gathering the bag at the top and inserting a straw he handed it over the counter to her. Somewhat surprised she accepted the bag and returned to the van sucking the cooled Fanta through a straw. Everyone had a good laugh over that. (Forget about any thing being really cold most places outside the U.S.) I remembered that in South and Central America soft drinks usually come in bottles instead of in cans and that bottles generally do not leave the premises. More than once I’ve had to stand around to consume a bottle’s contents at the store before continuing on my way. However, I have never received a drink poured into a plastic bag!
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Wings on Her Feet by Winnie Bowen ISBN 978-1-891429-65-1 Travel/Youth, 151-pages $10.95 |
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Grandma’s Magic Carpet in The Americas by Winnie Bowen ISBN 978-1-891429-64-4 Travel/Youth, 5.5”x7.5” format, 135-pages $7.95 |
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LOVELY COSTA RICA
On a lovely warm sunny day in late winter I found my Grandma sitting in her back yard soaking up some vitamin D and reading a book. Surprised to see me, she marked her book and said, “Hi Punkin’. How are you on this gorgeous day?” “I’m kind of free today so I decided to pump up my bicycle tires and go for a ride. I’m surprised you’re not working in your yard,” I commented. “Well it’s a wee bit too early. About all I really could do is pull weeds---and they’ll not go anywhere!” “What about all this dead looking stuff? “I am getting pretty tired of looking at it, but it protects all the new growth underneath. It’s likely we’ll have another freeze. Just a couple more weeks and then it will be safe to uncover everything and start cleaning up the yard for spring.” “It really is too nice a day to stay in the house so let me get something to drink and another chair and I’ll sit here with you. While I do that, think about where we can go today. Or would you rather keep reading your book?” “The book will keep. I can read anytime. I always have time to visit with you. There’s peach green tea in the fridge. It’s refreshing. Help yourself.” When I reentered the yard Grandma had fetched a chair for me. As I sat down, she asked, “Shall we visit Costa Rica today? Your uncle and I had a really great time there.” She began by telling me that with one exception water was safe to drink and there was no need to have to buy water. She added, “You know that pretty blue umbrella with the flowers on it that I tote everywhere? I bought that in a department store in San Jose.” I learned that Costa Rica, about the size of New Mexico, is a peaceful Central American country located between Panama on the south and Nicaragua on the north. The country is a stable democracy among the political unrest of its neighbors. San Jose, the capitol, is little different than any other large metropolis. Drugs and alcohol are readily available and are a problem for the city. The world started to take note of Costa Rica after its President Arias won the Nobel Peace prize in 1987. Grandma told me, “The National Theater or Opera House, on the city’s central plaza, is absolutely gorgeous. Built in 1891, it was damaged in the earthquakes of 1904 and 1910. The floors are done in native woods and are beautiful. We sat on the steps of the wide stairway to better view the large painting on the ceiling in the main foyer. Painted in 1897 the Italian artist was given specific instructions as to size and content. Never having visited a tropical climate, he was unaware of how bananas and coffee grow, so there are several errors in the painting, which our guide pointed out to us. It is a unique painting and is pictured on the back of the five-cent bill.” I questioned, “A five-cent bill?” Laughingly she added, “Yes, at one time the country did have such a bill. In the back bedroom, you’ll find a framed one. It’s strictly a souvenir item now. “The artist had the ships on the wrong coast. Although he painted the banana stalk the way it grows, it is carried upside down to prevent the bananas from falling off. The people are all dressed in European dress instead of their native warm weather clothes. Coffee grows at 800-5600 feet above sea level, but the artist painted them at sea level. He also put palm tress on the wrong coast.” “I wonder if the artist ever knew about his mistakes,” I wondered. In Costa Rica above that coffee-growing altitude, the crop switches to apples and dairy cows. The typical Costa Rican breakfast consists of rice, black beans, scrambled eggs, and toast or tortillas. Breakfast and dinners took place at the lodges and lunch was eaten at a restaurant during travels. Cassava, a starchy root crop is also popular in the diet and can be eaten in salads or cooked with other vegetables. Fresh fruit and vegetables were plentiful. Juice was always freshly squeezed. The national drink, called guare, is a rum made from sugar cane. Grandma had a chance to try some one noontime and said she liked it. Grandma continued, “In Sarapiqui we woke to birds singing at daybreak. In another lodge, howler monkeys screaming woke us every morning. We did some white water rafting on the Sarapiqui River. It was great fun and a couple of times we got pretty wet. “In Costa Rica we visited and stayed in several rain forests. At a large biological preserve I finally saw toucans after hearing them in both Belize and Panama, where they were too high up in the canopy to be seen. They are beautiful birds. Besides lots of bird species, in the preserve, we saw wild pigs and agouti, a dog-size rodent.” It was explained to Grandma that throughout the country one will find ceramic tile front porches or entryways. The clean glistening tile indicates that the inside of the house is also clean, and it is an important status symbol. One day while riding in the country they ran onto a rodeo, so they stopped to watch it. During some national holiday they stopped in a small town to watch the parade around the city square. On hearing that I said, “What fun! Weren’t you lucky!” “Yes, Punkin’, it is always neat to run onto something unusual when traveling.” She continued telling me, “In Chachagua our lovely cabin was smack dab in the middle of a rain forest. It was gorgeous! We crossed over a small waterfall on the way to our cabin. Looking out our windows all we could see was lush foliage. The lodge had a resident female green macaw. Her mate had died so at times she was a bit cantankerous. We fell asleep to the sound of the water fall not far from our cabin. I sure would have loved to stay there another day or two to just relax and enjoy the surroundings.” She then described their ride down the River Frio that borders on a large wildlife refuge. They floated very slowly down river, as the tree lined banks were full of monkeys playing and beautiful colorful birds singing. Costa Rica is one of the most ecologically aware counties in the world. One-quarter of the country is designated as national park or preserve. Tabacon Hot Springs lie at the foot of Arenal volcano. Grandma said, “There are several pools joined by cascading waterfalls. The pools range from warm to quite hot and from shallow to quite deep. Some of the pools are hidden by tropical foliage. It was great fun to play around in them. I sat under the waterfall in one of the pools and let the warm water fall on my shoulders and neck. It was heaven. It was with some reluctance that your uncle and I got out of the pools when it was time to leave. Our skin was all wrinkled and pruney by that time. “From there it did not take long to get to our lodge that faced Arenal. After 400 years of being dominant, Arenal blew in 1968 killing 80 people and has been spitting and fuming ever since. Only a small percentage of people have a good view of this perfect conical shaped volcano because clouds keep covering the top part of it. We had several good views from the hot pools. One had to be quick with the camera though before clouds floated by again. “The best viewing is at night when it is easy to see the hot lava rolling down the sides. I laid on my bed and watched the action out the window. Your uncle stayed up most of the night with another fellow to photograph the action. The clouds seemed to totally disappear that evening.” “Wow, were you lucky!” ‘Yes, we were. The day of the mud baths we walked through a dry forest where we saw and watched a long line of leaf cutter ants at work. They are fascinating to watch. The leaves they carried were many times larger than they were. I don’t know why the big leaf didn’t knock the ant on its side. “At the mud pit we stepped into a sauna built over a natural steam vent. It was really hot inside but the guide distracted us by telling us jokes and stories. When finished, we moved to a large vat of warm mud where attendants covered us all over with mud. We stood spread eagled to dry. Feeling your skin draw is a weird experience. Getting the mud off was no easy task as it really wanted to stick. Under showers we helped each other clean up before we hopped in a natural hot tub. It was a fun morning.” “It sounds like it was. I assume you all wore bathing suits under your clothes,” I queried. “When we reached the coast we stayed in a plush resort one night that we all thought was much too touristy, especially after the beautiful lodges we had enjoyed. At the ferry landing we were cautioned to keep a close eye and hand on our belongings. Welcome to civilization!” A ninety minute ferry ride on a big catamaran took Grandma to Punta Coral, a small island. All during the ride waiters came around offering fresh fruit. On the island she took her first kayak ride or paddle. She found it rather hard work. The clear water was warm. After lunch she hiked a path to the opposite side of the island to see the ocean. The lush landscape of the island was cooling. An American couple had bought the island and built a small resort. Talk about being away from it all. The wife was a gourmet chef who produced a scrumptious meal. Grandma concluded by saying, “All too soon it was late afternoon and time to leave the island. The next day we would be back in San Jose before flying back home the day after that. The days of this wonderful vacation passed much too quickly.” “It sounds like you had a really fun time. I hope maybe I can visit there someday. It’s not all that far away. Now that the sun is over the house it’s getting a little chilly. It’s time for me to head out. I’ll see you next week.” As I left Grandma moved inside.
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Grandma’s Magic Carpet in The Americas by Winnie Bowen ISBN 978-1-891429-64-4 Travel/Youth, 5.5”x7.5” format, 135-pages $7.95 |
