When I read the AirBNB reviews about Catalina and Rodry's Muy Tuanis tour, a very recent commenter said he'd gotten a private tour because it was rainy season. I immediately hoped "Magari! if only!"... and that's exactly what a got!
While the tour itself was fabulously enlightening and an adventure for the senses, the conversation was just as illuminating and interesting!
First, when Rodry was learning English he had a 6-month immersion experience working as a car washer in Greenville, SC. Bam what?! Yep. He became buddies with his boss, the owner of the dealership, who then took him to "a museum of the KKK", warning him "do not say a word while we're there". You can't make this up, folks!! He now owns a hamburger joint near the university, where he sells his patented ice cream + liquor.
Catalina is a champion river rafter architect, currently pregnant, who is building an AirBNB empire. Once a month she takes foreign female students on a week-long bus tour of CR, teaching about culture and entrepreneurship.
They are global travelers and plan to raise their baby, Marcus Aurelius, to be a citizen of the world.
We hit three "street markets". The first an outdoor market near their house where they do their personal shopping. We tasted fruits - many of which I'd never seen before -- and talked about typical CR cooking.
The second is an "organic market" (in quotes because it cannot be verified and there is no governmental testing to ensure it is truly organic) where the produce is triple the cost of the street market. This was a way cool place, filled with tat-covered hippies in rastas where retired Germans and Americans ran little booths selling North Atlantic salmon or hemp clothing or jewelry made from antique silverware. We sat in a light rain while Catalina had a mini-meal to feed the baby , I had coffee, and Rodry tried to corral their tough guy poodle who didn't want to be on his leash.
The last was in a building downtown where there were meat markets and tiny restaurants. We stopped for a bite, where I had red beans, rice and pico... delish. I bought some CR mountain coffee for my host family and we parted ways in the afternoon rain. It was a great day and I came home exhausted.