Cooking Costa Rican dishes and learning how to dance
Immersion in the local culture in Costa Rica
Traveling to other countries is not just about seeing stunning nature and participating in outdoor adventures. It’s also about local culture and customs. When Charlie was in La Fortuna, she had the chance to participate in a cooking class, followed by dance lessons. She’s not usually into cooking, but this seemed to be a good opportunity to gain some more insights into the local culture in Costa Rica.
First up: Serve yourself a drink
The location was a bit outside of La Fortuna and Charlie was picked up from her accommodation at 5 pm. She was joined by Liz from Boston, Joe, Mary, and their son Ethan from Michigan, and a family with two 9-year-old boys from San Francisco. The cooking workshop was led by Katherine. Her name seems to be English, but she was from Costa Rica. It was an authentic experience!
The first thing they had to chop was a mandarin lime. They put it in a glass and added brown sugar, Guaro (a liqueur similar to Cachaca), and water. Ready was the Guaro Sour. Charlie liked how this cooking workshop started.
Costa Rican Casado
Charlie had already had a casado for lunch, now she would learn how to prepare it herself. It is a traditional Costa Rican dish with rice and beans, meat, fried plantains, tortillas, and different types of vegetables. The word “casado” means “married” in Spanish and they use it for this dish to say that the rice and the beans belong together and are served next to each other.
In the typical breakfast dish, Gallo Pinto, the rice and the beans are mixed. That is the main difference. The reason why rice and beans are so traditional in Costa Rica is related to the cost involved in feeding a family with 15 children. Rice, beans, and vegetables can be prepared in large amounts, for a small budget and contain all the necessary nutrients.
During the cooking workshop, all tasks were evenly distributed amongst all participants. Everybody got to chop, measure, stir, or season the food. Everything was freshly prepared, even the tortilla. Katherine showed how to form the dough, and everybody prepared their own tortilla. It looked a lot easier than it was in the end.
The result was a delicious Costa Rican casado that they all enjoyed together on a large table.
How to Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Cumbia
After dinner, Charlie and Liz were picked up again and they drove back to the town centre of La Fortuna. The dance teachers Sam and Lilli were waiting in a beautiful venue where you can imagine great parties to be happening. They started with the basic steps of Cumbia, followed by Salsa, Merengue and Bachata. Everybody got the hang of it quickly and they even got to dance some Reggaeton. If there hadn’t been an organized transfer back to the accommodation, Charlie could have danced the whole night.
