A Lesson in Compassion

A couple of weeks ago I was on training for a computer program at work for three days. I sat beside a woman who needed a lot of help with learning the program, and every time she wanted to ask me a question, she would say “sorry to bother you, but…” At the end of the second day, I had started to get annoyed by it. I complained to my boyfriend and my coworkers about the woman saying: “if she knows she’s bothering me, why does she keep doing it.” When I got to class on the third day she handed me a Tim Hortons gift card and said “this is for helping me so much this week, I really appreciate it.” I felt like such a jerk. She then went on to tell me how she has been struggling with physical and mental illnesses lately, and how she was having a very hard time learning the new computer program during this training. I was reminded in this instance that you really never know what someone is going through and how important it is to be kind to everyone.

Exploring Playa Flamingo

On our first full day at Casa Frisons last week, we decided to explore Playa Flamingo. We dipped our feet in the water and found it was a bit cooler than the water in Tamarindo. Not cold by any means, just not quite as warm and because it was one of the only days that didn’t feel scorching hot, we weren’t as desperate to be in the water. We took a nice walk on the beach and stopped at Coco Loco so that A could grab a drink and continued down the beach. We saw a huge pelican (we think) with a wing span that appeared to be longer than a person. It must not have liked A very much, because when he went to walk past the pelican, it charged at him fairly aggressively. Luckily for me, since I got a great photo of it (and A was okay, it didn’t get too close to him…). After we were done at the beach, we stopped so that another couple in our group could rent a golf cart for the week (so much fun).

The group consensus was that a snack/late lunch was needed asap. A and I got on the back of the golf cart, and the rest of the group followed us in the car. We felt like we were going so fast and had so much fun, but the people in the car felt like we were going painfully slowly. We saw a little local-looking restaurant on the corner with outdoor seating right next to the beach, which we decided to give a try. The waitress was wonderful. Some of our group spoke Spanish, but a lot of us didn’t, and she worked with us, teaching us how to order in Spanish. There were a ton of options on the menu; fish, pork, chicken, salads, rice and beans, fries, etc… in so many different combinations. I ordered fish sticks with fries and a side of rice and A ordered pork with rice, black beans and salad. One of the women in our group ordered a pina colada with rum and lime juice that she promptly passed along the table for everyone to try. It was the BEST pina colada (maybe even drink) any of us had ever had in our lives. It was made with fresh pineapples, and tasted a bit closer to pineapple juice than a pina colada, in a combination that was heavenly. The majority of the table immediately ordered pina coladas. When our food came it looked incredible. Once we started eating, everyone started raving about their meals. We all shared bites of our food, so that everyone could try a bit of everything. Not one person was disappointed in their meal. The breading on the fish sticks and chicken fingers was incredible. I have never tasted breading like that. Everything down to the black beans was amazing, and I have never tasted black beans I’ve been excited about, but I was excited about these black beans. The way I am describing this meal does not even do it justice. If you are ever in the Playa Flamingo area, you need to visit this restaurant (Restaurante Pleamar). I promise, you won’t regret it.

Lucky Find in Tamarindo

My boyfriend and I were walking around Tamarindo on a very hot Costa Rica morning last week, looking for a coffee (I’m addicted) and something small for breakfast. We began sweating something fierce very shortly into our walk. In Canada, we’re not used to that type of heat, especially before 9am! We saw a little café called Rumors with the doors closed, which we took as an indicator of air conditioning, and with heat quickly becoming the main thing on our minds, we thought we would give it a try. We were delighted by the air conditioning as soon as we opened the doors. Rumors had a really cool feel (pun intended), with exposed brick walls, live plants throughout the café and varying seating arrangements. The two ladies working were very kind and, luckily for us, spoke English quite well. Not eating a lot of meat, and having a lot of food restrictions due to acid reflux, I was pleasantly surprised by the options on the menu. I ordered a coffee, greek yogurt with honey and oats, and A ordered eggs, bacon and toast with orange juice and vodka (he also ordered Kahlua for my coffee). My first sip of coffee was heavenly. The coffee alone was worth going in for. My yogurt and oats was delicious as well, and A thoroughly enjoyed his eggs and bacon. The pricing was reasonable; comparable to Canada. I would highly recommend visiting Rumors if you are in Tamarindo looking for some good food, good drinks or just for a break from the heat!