Sushi in Costa Rica?

One thing attending the AMSMIC meetings does is open your eyes to different ideas and who would have thought learning how to make sushi would be something to do in Costa Rica.

While the chairs had their formal meeting, the spouses were invited to learn this Japanese culinary style.  I know the fundamentals of sushi-making and even have a cookbook to help me but I figured you can always learn new cooking techniques so decided to attend.  I wasn't the only one with this positive attitude so there was a great crowd having fun playing with rice balls and rolling sushi.

The chef began the class in a traditional manner of teaching from a raised dais but he soon threw that to the wind and began wandering the room, helping where he could.  He had a bevy of sous-chefs who were enthusiastic and helpful.  I finally learned how to do a roll with the rice on the outside and covered it with black sesamé seeds which I love.  We also learned how to make an 'ice cream cone' type roll using tuna drenched in Sriracha.  I ate my rejects so no one knew of my mistakes except my partner in crime, Susan.  Sherry, from New York, also sat next to me.  She was an expert but still enjoyed chatting and creating good food.  There was lots of laughter and the chefs themselves had as much fun as we did.

It was while eating my sushi I realized I had a toothache.  I've injured this tooth before and had the crack filled so knew what to expect pain-wise so began taking Advil.  I must have crushed down on it while rafting and that had aggravated my previous injury.

I was glad I'd eaten while rolling sushi as lunch was late (what else is new?).  There were three tours after the morning meetings.  We went to La Paz Waterfall Gardens while others toured a coffee plantation or did a volcano site (this was Jay's, Sherry's husband, second attempt seeing a volcano and it failed due to heavy clouds).  Again, we endured a two hour bus drive through the city and countryside.  We saw coffee plantations, banana and berry farms, and the dairy region before reaching the rainforest refuge.

This area of Costa Rica experiences heavy rainfall so was not suitable for early farming techniques.  Dairy farms were established in the 1960s when roads created by the American government during the Second World War reached the area.  Japan had cut Indonesian quinine exports to the US and it was believed that the Costa Rican cinchona tree would be a good substitute.  This proved a failure but it opened the area to people with vision.  Lee and Cindy Banks saw the potential to build a nature persevere in this cloud/rain forest area.  They began their project in 2000 as a series of trails that connected five waterfalls then added a wild animal refuge.  The aviary is home to rescue birds caught by poachers or donated by their owners.

We began our tour having toucans 'buzz' us as we wandered through this aviary then we wandered through the butterfly house.  Butterflies have become a big industry in Costa Rica and their pupa are exported to be used in schools and ceremonies such as weddings (they breed over 25 different species).  Hundreds flitted about the house and posed for pictures as if on cue.  The next exhibit housed the amphibians.  The red-eye tree frog made my day but the blue jean frogs were cute, too.  The hummingbird garden was amazing.  All the birds were wild but drawn to the freeders and foliage planted to attack them.  There were about 25 species and identifying them from my photos will be an on-going task.  After viewing the snake exhibit, we had lunch in a wonderful open cafeteria.  A coati came to mooch and I identified it before our guide told us its name.  You see, you do learn something by going to university.

The food was very good with the usual fare of beans and rice, chicken and plantains but they also had a great salad bar and served an excellent pizza.  Italian farmers settled in Costa Rica so their cuisine is often reflected in buffet choices.  I actually had dessert here as it was a creamy rice pudding that was delicious.

After lunch we wandered down the trails to the waterfalls.  I had wanted to try a new photography technique my sister, Lynda, uses when filming waterfalls.  Unfortunately, I forgot my unipod which is an essential piece of equipment but I tried bracing myself and holding my breath to keep my hand steady.  I had my old camera with me as it lets me play with the F stops to create the effect of smoothing water.  I actually had 4 cameras on this trip and used each one so I guess I'm more of a photographer than I thought.

The rainforest was chilly so I was glad I had worn my raincoat but it didn't actually rain.  The refuge is high in the mountains so be prepared for inclement weather.  Our group was slowly learning that a southern holiday didn't necessarily mean warm.

The bus ride back was long -- what can I say? so it was late when we got back to the hotel.  We decided to forego supper and have a couple of drinks before bed.  It was Glen's birthday so I humoured him.  Not so the friends we agreed to meet.  Kathy and Susan descended upon the bar with their bags of sushi and proceeded to divide it among us.  The chef had added some of his creations to their bags so we had quite a feast.  Good beer and good company--a great way to end the day!!