Costa Rican Farms

Yesterday we visited Natalie and Pasquale's amazing farm. Many 'expats' have moved to Costa Rica, bought grassland and through hard work and determination created amazing self-sustaining farms. 

Natalie and Pasquale raise cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. 

That's an active volcano in the background. 

Natalie is a whirling dervish of endless projects and enterprises. She makes jams and jellies, roasts macadamia nuts, distributes coffee, crafts, honey to name but a few.  Natalie and Pasquale made their own beautifully massive furniture from fallen trees they found on their land..   

They are just beginning to use a hydroponic system which incorporates tilapia in a tank. 

Water circulates nutrients to vegetable plants, which are grown in rocks. 

The house they have built is reminiscent of an Italian villa in the hills of Tuscany. True frescos lend authentic old-world feel. I had to settle down and take time to absorb their beauty.

Natalie's kitchen is where she creates and presents her wonderful catered 7 course dinners.

 People come from all over the world for this experience. 

Fresh Fruit and Picadillo De Papaya Verde

Breakfast starts off with bananas, mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon. Delicious!

Next we have the main course. Picadillo de papaya verde is usually made with beef or pork but Villa Decary serves homemade authentic  tortillas with eggs and picadillo de papaya verde. It's made with unripened 'green' papayas, potatoes, local herbs, spices and fresh vegetable. This is an authentic Costa Rican dish. This dish takes a full day to prepare.

My new friend  Jeremy plays Poisson Rouge as we await breakfast!

Villa DeCary in Costa Rica

 Suzy Brown and Danny have owned and operated Villa DeCary for a number of years. Suzy and I grew up together in Montclair, NJ. Around the time that Jack and I moved to Nantucket, Suzy moved to Paris, then to California, and now she spends most of her time at Villa DeCary.

Suzy and Danny take special pride in the amazing breakfasts guests enjoy during their stay.

Homemade jam

Omelets and homemade bread 

After breakfast Suzy, Suzy's dog Olivia, and I went for a walk around Lake Arenal and took a swim. We met a young German couple with three kids, under the age of 5. They are spending six months traveling through Central America, living in this military-looking vehicle - It's very 'Mad Max.'

As we were leaving a gentleman rode his horse down to the water's edge. Costa Ricans train their horses to 'dance.' 

Berkeley, California Foothills

Today I am visiting my son in Berkeley California. While he is at work I have a chance to explore University of California's campus at Berkeley. It is so beautiful. The small river known as Strawberry Creek runs through the campus and there are many tall, old hardwood trees.

I also found out that the Hayward Fault Zone runs right through the campus too.  In fact it runs straight across California Memorial Stadium.

The Hayward Fault is about 74 miles long, and can cause big earthquakes. I notice that there are signs posted everywhere reminding people to "BE PREPARED" for earthquakes.

Berkeley California is filled with amazing restaurants. We have had Ethiopian,  Japanese, and tonight we are having Indian food. We plan to get 'take-out' and watch the Patriots game at home with some other Nantucket friends. Fun!

Ramen Noodles with Duck

Delicious!

Standing on Top of Two Plates: Plate Tectonics Makes for Great Hiking!

38.0400° N, 122.7400° W: Marin Headlands

We spent the morning hiking in the California county of Marin. Marin is just north of San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Mount Tampalias is a well known and much loved landmark in Marin. They call it the 'sleeping lady' because that's what it looks like.  Look at the photo. Can you see the sleeping lady?

The Golden Gate National Recreational Area has beautiful trails perfect for hiking and biking. The hiking trails are quite hilly. One moment you are hiking up a hill and the next moment you are hiking down a steep slope. These rolling hills were caused by the San Andreas fault.  This fault is the slippery yet sticky boundary between two of Earth's tectonic plates. It is responsible for the biggest earthquakes in California, up to at least magnitude 8.1.

Notice how the hills seem to have been pushed together, like the wrinkles in a blanket. It's the movement of the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate that are doing the pushing. They push the land together to make 'wrinkles' that we hike up and down. The San Andreas fault is the land where these two plates meet. 

Missing my students!

On the Fast Ferry with Elizabeth

I'm on my way to San Francisco for an extended visit.  I was lucky enough to run into Elizabeth, one of my former students,  and her mom on the fast ferry. The fast ferry is becoming a great place to catch up with friends and acquaintances, much like the Madaket dump is on a Sunday morning. You can never predict who you might run into for a visit and 'catching-up' session. It was great to see you Elizabeth!

Baby Bananas and Rainbows

These big red blossoms hanging from the bottom of this plant, turn into tiny little bananas. Just above the tiny yellow bananas are larger, more mature bananas, that still have three weeks until they are ready to be peeled and eaten.

Tropical rain showers came and went today, followed by sunshine, We saw five or six magnificent rainbows as a result.