How much can a weekend hold?

...driving to a Costa Rican tropical beach and finding a restaurant serving Hebrew National hotdogs (oh, my, yum!)
...doing crossword puzzles while facing the Pacific Ocean
...eating dinner in (or at least near) a downed U.S. plane
...finding the best hazelnut lattes in Costa Rica in the surfer-central city of Jaco (think Santa Cruz, Calif. meets Central America)
...no sign exists for the next major town on the map, so we were driving out of our way, south, for an hour (and that, of course, is how long it also took to get back :>)
...but then stumbling upon another national park
...eating patacones (smashed & twice-fried plantains) the size of my head.  
....Finally, after a one-hour trip took three, walking, dripping wet and sandy, into THE Applebee's in the fanciest part of San José for dinner on the way home.  


Cheap beach trip with my roommie? = Not as spendy as the tourists do it.  
Nachos at one of very few U.S. restaurants loaded with more cheese than necessary (i.e., U.S. food when you most need it)? = Priceless!

A Day in the Life

I am honored that I am reviewing a 4-year plan for the Nahuatl-speaking people of México. Lives are being transformed!  I may not get to be there in person, but I'm blown away that I am in any way involved in the process of this people group's salvation.

Market Day

Every Saturday in Huánuco, the market came to ME.  Hundreds of mostly Quechua-speaking vendors traveled to the city, to the street I lived on, the Alameda, bringing their fresh (and sometimes organic) produce to sell.  Most of these fruits and vegetables I'd never seen before I moved to Perú.  A dozen or so of the 3,000 varieties of potatoes (including the fermented potato "delicacy", togosh).  The enormous sweet corn called choclo.  And my favorite flower, the calla lily--a handful of these cost about 17 cents here.  


I took pictures this time around, since I may never shop at the Alameda Saturday Market again.

Cutting Edge Music

My favorite music right now is Christian Reggaeton, which is kinda like hip-hop+reggae.  Hanging with the music group from my Huánuco, Perú church, we thought we could go one step further...and add the Quechua music sound (called "Huayno") into the mix.  Here is Julio demonstrating what we created:

La música que me gusta ahora es reggaeton cristiano, que es más o menos hip-hop+reggae.  Cuando yo estaba con el grupo de musicos de mi iglesia en Huánuco, Perú, hemos decido que podriamos ir un paso más adelante...y agregar el sonido de la música Quechua (que se llama "huayno") al mesclado.  Aquí es Julio mostrando lo que creamos:

The Infamous Garage Door Restaurant

When I moved to Huánuco, Perú, a few years ago,

I immediately latched on to this cute spot as my favorite restaurant in town.  It honestly reminded me of the cool restaurants on the Portland, Oregon, street I used to live on, Alberta, with it's garage door entrance, mismatched, chipped dishes, and excellent food.  Let's just say it's MORE like a cool Alberta St. restaurant than the other joints in Huánuco. :)

How could you not love this awesome food (skewers of chicken & veggies or cow heart).  Seriously, this is the most well-seasoned meat I've ever had:

And all cooked on the grill inside the open-roofed restaurant by this awesome dad and his family:

Unable to remember it's name, I dubbed it The Garage Door Restaurant, and I wish I'd brought some back to Costa Rica with me!