Feria del agricultor and Talent Show

It's Saturday here in Monteverde and that means farmers market in St Elena.  This morning Marisella took me with her to the market at 7:00 am so we wouldn't miss the good stuff.  Great selection of tropical  fruit and greens....lettuces and at least four other kinds of greens I have never seen plus spinach and cilantro and basil and and and.  The pineapples in this country are also fantastic. I ve probably eaten more piña since I've been here than all I've ever eaten before and it's omnipresent (or it seems that way) at every meal. 

Of course we had to stop and have coffee.   Have I talked about Costa Rican coffee yet?.  Can't remember if I have sung the praise of Costa Rican coffee or not but these people drink it all the time.  It's dark, smells divine and is non acidic which is why they can drink as much as they do.  This area is known for ther mountain coffee and it is great stuff (way better than any Peets I have had). 

Got home and walked down the hill to talk to Omar and see Zeke, (I love FaceTime) and on my way home  bought some ice cream from the dairy that is near where I am staying as a treat for the family and then took another walk to see the cemetery and the gravestones of many of the original settlers.  Tried to bird but it was too hot and too late in the day.  People walk here or have motor bikes. It's steep dirt roads with deep ditches on either side for the rainy season. The tourists drive by in mini vans. 

Tonight was a "coffee house" cum talent show in the Meeting House at the school.  It was held by the school and the Monteverde conservation Institute who have organized a symposium to discuss ways to better coordinate conservation in the region and ways to expand the conservation areas from Monteverde to Mt Arenal. One part of the initial discussion that I found really interesting are the four reasons they believe why conservation has been so successful here. FYI : most of their work is not with government support 

1. Research as the  basis for their work 

2. Education and starting with young kids and continuing with parents

3  ecotourism to have economic sustainability

4. Community support and, 

5. Strong spiritual basis

It's making me think there is a missed opportunity in North America regarding conservation.  That is not to say there isn't discussion about wilderness values in Canada but these people are seriously religious and taking care of the planet is integral to their religions (Quakes, Catholics, Evangical Christians etc).  Mighty impressive.  I plan to explore this more with the director of the Institute over the next   few weeks. Well, after the intro came the talent show.  OMG...

First there were The Smith Sisters who sang "sincerely" and other songs from the 50's...

Apparently they are the Creme de la Creme of Monteverde society.  I played Scrabble Friday afternoon at Evelyn's home and met most of the local  ladies....but more on that another day.  After several more really awful acts Lucky Guindon came on to talk about the origins and history of the monthy coffee house events.  She is one of the original Quakers who came here in the 1950's ((she came at 19 and just married and is now 82).  What a character and it felt like a living history lesson. It's impossible to capture the irrepressible energy coming off this woman I but her photo is below. 

And then there were the kids.  Angelina played her violin and did really well although I could NEVER be a violin teacher.  

I left after intermission when some older dude started singing I'm A Truck Driving Man off key.  

And while the talent show was mostly in English every thing else around me is in Spanish.  I'm exhausted at the end of my days.  Hard to stay focused after concentrating more intently than usual on what people are saying, especially because I don't understand most of what is being said.  

Night