Day Sixteen – Rain, Rain, Go Away

Mondays seem to be the rainy day here in Monteverde. Both Mondays we have been here have been filled with storms that last for hours. In fact, over half the day has been rainy. From a light drizzle to torrential downpours, we have seen it all. That doesn’t mean we didn’t have a good time today  - we knew we were headed to Costa Rica in the rainy season. So rain jackets in hand, we ventured out for whatever the day would bring.

New classes started today. Each week, regardless if you stay at the same CPI campus, you get a new instructor. My new instructor is the same one Kelly had last week, and interestingly enough, the same one my friend Claire had when she studied in Costa Rica a few years back. Once again, talk about a small world! This week’s classes already seem to be a bit more focused and faster paced. I just hope I can keep up!

After classes today, we decided we would take the tour of the Monteverde Cheese Factory. The tour didn’t start until 2:00 and classes end at 12:30 for us, so Kelly went to go fetch us some lunch during one of the lulls of the rain. There are a few places to eat around school and one of our favorites is a place called Sobres. It’s an ice cream shop that serves sandwiches and paninis. I stayed back at school to finish up some work while Kelly fetched our lunch. Sadly, about 5 minutes before Kel got back to school, it started to rain. Then it got harder, and harder, and harder, until we had a full fledged storm on our hands. Kelly was like the little engine that could and made her way through the storm to bring us lunch. I felt so bad, but the lunch was good.

To help make up for her natural shower, I paid for Kelly’s tour of the factory. The tour was actually pretty information both about the process of making cheese and how Monteverde became to be. Monteverde is an area that was established by Quakers in 1953. They came here in response to the draft for the Korean War. Being the pacifists that they were, the Quakers loved the idea that Costa had already abolished their army in the 1940s. They came to the Monteverde area and started settling it; however, they needed a way to make money. After doing some pre-internet research, one guy decided that cheese making was the way to go, and thus, the Monteverde Cheese Factory was born.

During the tour, we were able to sample a few of the different cheeses the factory makes. Costa Ricans tend to like the less strong cheeses that have only been aged for a few days compared to the stinky blues that Europeans enjoy. We also found out that over 40 different farms sell their milk to the factory. Each batch has to be tested for bacteria and fat content. The more fat content, the more money for the farmer, and the less bacteria, the more money. Some farmers hand deliver their milk in 40 litre containers each day by truck or oxcart, while a majority of the farms all go in on one big refrigerated tank. The catch with the big tank is that if one of the farmers contributes tainted milk, the whole truck must be thrown away, and the one farmer who supplied the bad milk has to pay for it all. What a way to ensure quality insurance!

My Mama Tica was excited for dinner tonight – she bought an eggplant at the Farmer’s Market and asked me to help her prepare it. We made an excellent eggplant parmesan served with garlic bread and a salad based with rhubard. It was a delicious dinner with much conversation and laughter. We really enjoy our Tico family. In fact, Tomas, our Papa Tico, shares a lot of the same personality traits as me. I think that’s why we get along so well. It’s going to be sad to leave them, but we will definitely stay in contact.

Much love,
Casey