I can’t wait to go back to EARTH University. It’s a horticulture heaven. Note: the non-herbicide bananas are grown for Whole Foods Market.
Pictures for this entry are now on my Flickr in the album EARTH University, Costa Rica.
Archive for the 'food' Category
Why?
1) The food in Costa Rica sucks. Seriously, the only good food I’ve had here is Italian. In Ecuador I think I only had like one bad meal and the variety of places to eat was staggering. The food in Costa Rica is also expensive. At first I didn’t think this, because I ate at some typical local places which are cheaper. But if you want anything that isn’t boring local food you have to pay up. To compare, the other night I had a little tortilla thingy that was about the equivalent serving as 1/2 of a McDonald’s cheeseburger… ie, not much… for $1.25. In Ecuador, in the middle of the tourist district, I could get a whole-grain, organic, veggie burger with half a plate of fresh-cut fries for $1.79.
2) The food at Ecolodge San Luis sucks. They make the same variation at every meal. Beans, rice, salad, steamed veggies, and some kind of meat in a sauce. We’ve had potatoes like once or twice. Once in a blue moon they will prepare something totally different, but normally the food is so bland I don’t even want to eat. I mean, seriously, it’s like Costa Ricans don’t give a damn about food. It doesn’t even compare to the excellent meals I enjoyed at the Maquipucuna Reserve in Ecuador. If Maquipucuna is a 5-star restaurant, Ecolodge San Luis is like eating at Denny’s.
3) Phone calls here are outrageous. 33 cents per minute to call home. WTF? And there are no internet phones… apparently they are outlawed by the government so they don’t take money away from the govt-controlled telephone company. I miss Ecuador, where I could call home for 8 cents per minute.
4) Internet here is expensive. $1-4 per hour. And it’s slow and unreliable. At most places I went in Ecuador, Internet was 70 cents - $1 per hour and a lot faster and more reliable.
It’s funny how Costa Rica is considered (I guess) to be one of the most industrialized countries in Latin America. I guess national health care is great, but if everything else sucks…
Eating Rice and Beans at almost every meal sucks.
And Costa Rican food is terribly bland in general.
More later…
Ever since, oh about 5 days after I arrived in Ecuador I haven’t been vegan anymore. Chicken, Beef, Pork, Shrimp, Fish, Cow Tongue… I’ve had it.
Shock.
I never thought I would go back to being vegetarian (from vegan), much less back to eating damn near everything. But you can’t get Tofu here. Well, you can, but it’s the shitty shelf kind and it’s unrealistically expensive. And there is nowhere for me to cook it anyway.
Plus, I figure they probably don’t inject their animals with hormones and antibiotics. Everything seems really fresh, so that knocked out one of my primary objectives against meat eating.
Then, as well, I’m doing a lot of physical activity and I need some sort of protein. Bell peppers and onions do not a complete meal make.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making a habit of it. There’s a great vegetarian restaurant here and I eat there almost every day when I have the chance. Their veggie burger is killer. And I’m not giving up Veganaise anytime soon.
But maybe, just maybe, when I get back to the states I’ll go to Chick-fil-A. Or maybe I’ll just go to the Daily and stock up on Tofu. Only time will tell.