FOOD GATHERING , FARMING, AND CUSTOMARY MEALS IN PLAYA DEL COCO

In my short, but extensive, conversation with Mayra, I learned that the town that she lived in for two years was called Playa Del Coco, which means city of coconuts. She spoke mostly about the kinds of food that they ate there and the customs that were involved with the meals.

In the town there was only one supermarket in which everyone shopped. There was a daily trip to this store which involved buying white rice, black or red beans (which they ate at every meal), eggs, and vegetables. Their breakfast included rice, beans, and eggs. Lunch included rice, beans, and vegetables. Dinner included rice, beans, and fish that was caught daily. They also ate platanos, which are caramelized plantains about three times a week, or whenever there was company. Every weekend they would go to an open-air flea market called a Ferro. The ferria consisted of many tables with thatched roofs. There was a different type of fruit or vegetable at each one. She said that almost everyone in the town was there and it was like a party for two days. The various fruits and vegetables at the stands came from small crops which everybody owned and the people bought at least one item from everyone. Mayra then spoke about the culture of the people.

In Playa Del Coco, everyone had mango trees, guava trees, papaya, and coconuts which they would gather themselves and share with the village if there was too much. Refrigerators were very small and were only used for things like milk and cream. Quite often, some of the people's trees and gardens would produce more than was necessary to feed the family. In cases like this, they would invite anyone from the community to join them in a feast or to take it home for themselves. Nothing was ever wasted in the town and she recalls having to eat every bite on her plate at each meal as to not offend her family. She went on to tell of a family that lived down the street whose father had died and whose mother was not well enough to tend to a garden. The people of the town would make daily visits to the family to give them food, clean the house, and take the younger children to give their mother some rest. In America, this is hardly seen. But in Costa Rica, the towns are like large families and everyone takes care of each other without a second thought.

Most families didn't have electricity or water. They got their water from wells and cooked in wood stoves called lenas. The name of the stove came from the special type of wood that they used which would burn long and very hot. There weren't very many restaurants in town, so everyone ate at home or with friends at their home. Apparently there was one American restaurant on the other side of the town, and Mayra would walk or ride her bike for forty-five minutes to get a hot fudge sundae. She then told me that it was very hard to live in a place that had no modern conveniences and to live like the foreigner in a place that wasn't used to tourists. Mayra has since learned to appreciate the simple things in life like hot showers and banana splits.

In asking her about a possible visit to a farm, she smiled as she told me that everyone's house was like a small farm. Mayra did visit a shrimp farm, which is a big market in Costa Rica. The plant looked similar to a sewage plant with long, shallow ponds, which held various types of freshwater shrimp. The people that were working took great pride in their work as they took turns showing the farm to her and explaining how humanely they were raised.

My visits with Mayra are becoming fascinating and I continually look forward to our conversations. Even though she can talk for twenty minutes without answering a single question, she seems genuinely interested in her culture. She is looking forward to showing pictures of Playa Del Coco and I am anxious to put a real picture with her vivid descriptions.