Rolling with the waves in the Montezuma tide pools

There is so much to love about Costa Rica, and I am glad to be here with my family.  The people here are friendly and will be charmed by your children.  Still, it is not all easy, especially for families.  Here are some travel tips for families that will help you have realistic expectations and make plans for a great time in Costa Rica.

Packing Tips for Families

You know the basics–clothes, underwear, swimsuits, toothbrushes, deodorant.  Here are some details you might not think to plan for:

• Clothes – Kids get dirty so you should bring lightweight clothes that can easily be hand washed and hung to dry.  This will be much easier than finding a laundromat.
• Keen sandals – Not a necessity, but if you have them they are all you need.
• Umbrellas or light rain coats – Wet, whiny kids can put a damper on your vacation.
• Car seats – Bring them!  Car seat laws are as strict here as in the U.S. (taxis are excused), and the roads can get kind of crazy.  I recommend this travel vest and booster.
• Digital cameras for yourself and your kids.
• Hats, swim shirts, and sunscreen – The sun’s rays penetrate the atmosphere more easily here than in areas further from the equator increasing sun exposure.  This means you will burn more in a shorter period of time unless you take extra precautions.
• Hand sanitizer and wet wipes for cleaning hands while you are out.
• Books and toys – These provide entertainment during downtime, and you can teach your children a valuable life lesson by bringing a few things to give to Tico children before returning home.
• Electronic games and movies – Sometimes they are just what you need. These headphones for children fit small heads and limit volume so no eardrums are blasted.

Lounging by the river

Safety Tips for Families

• Establish habits of washing hands before eating if your kids do not already do this.
• Practice not sucking thumbs or biting nails for several weeks before traveling.  (Our three-year-old sucks his thumb when he is tired or upset, but he always asks first “Is it alright if I suck my thumb?”  He knows he has to wash his hands thoroughly with soap before it is safe.)
• Practice shaking shoes out before putting them on feet, otherwise some little toes might get pinched by a crab or something worse.
• Bring medicine and/or essential oils for first aid.  You cannot always find what you need when you need it and there is no telling if your child will break into a terrible fever in the middle of your first night on vacation.  (That is exactly what happened to us on our first big adventure here.)
• Pack lightly enough that you can always hold hands with your kids while you are out.  No driver will intentionally run into your child, but the cultural expectations here are different and pedestrians are expected to watch out for themselves and get out of the way of traffic.
• Pay attention to where you are going wherever you walk, otherwise you may end up twisting an ankle, stepping on dog poop, falling into a gigantic curbside hole, or walking into wet cement.
• Carefully examine all play equipment in a park before letting your children play on it.  It may be broken or have sharp edges or pointy parts.
• Keep valuables secure at all times.  Violent crime is very uncommon here, but if you leave your things accessible there is a good chance they will disappear.  Keep an eye on your kids’ things and remind them to stow their goods when they are done with them to avoid tears.
• Buy bottled water.  Sometimes it is safe to drink tap water here, but do not risk ruining your vacation.

Precarious play equipment

Getting Around as a Family

Families have all the usual options for transportation in Costa Rica.  The roads here are not great and traffic gets heavy, so keep that in mind when making plans.

• Rent a car or SUV – It is easy to rent a vehicle from the airport and might be worth the expense if you are planning on covering a lot of distance, although the driving style here intimidates a lot of foreigners.  It can be difficult to find your way around even with GPS because there are no addresses.  Instead, you get detailed directions based on well-known landmarks that may or may not be visible.  For example, our home address is a certain number of meters in a certain direction from a certain somewhat well-known restaurant.  We do not drive here.
• Buses – The buses here are a reliable way to get around and go just about everywhere.  We usually pay between 260 colones (52 cents) and 400 colones (80 cents) per person getting between nearby cities.  The bus from San Jose to Manzanillo (the southern-most town along the Caribbean coast) cost about 5,000 colones (ten dollars).  Occasionally we have ridden in school buses, but for the most part the buses here were made for public transportation and are well-maintained.
• Taxis – Taxis here are usually easy to find or can be called by a hotel or restaurant.  We have met drivers who spoke some English but most do not.  Taxis can cost ten times as much as bus fare for individuals, but they are more affordable for families.  (In Costa Rica you pay taxi fares based on time and distance, not number of people.)  Still, they can get expensive over long distances.  Seat belts in taxis are common but not a guarantee.
• Tours – Tourism is an important part of the economy here so everywhere you go you will find tour companies, including hotels.  If you have specific destinations in mind you may want to schedule a tour ahead of time online.
• Rent quads – Depending on where you stay, you may want to rent quads or mopeds for half a day instead of taking a tour.  Kids love riding them and they give you a little more freedom about where to go and when to take breaks.
• Rent bikes – Some places have bikes available and they can be a lot of fun, but most likely they will all be adult-size.  Older children might ride big bikes on their own, and smaller children might sit on the handlebar with their feet in a basket (if there is a basket).  Most likely the bikes will be rusty but that is all part of the experience.  We have seen families of four riding a single bike but never tried it ourselves.
• Ride horses – This is a popular way to do tours and might be just what you need to get little legs across great distances to see beautiful sites.
• Make new friends – Sometimes the best parts of a vacation are unplanned.  You might make new friends who want to show you around, and it would probably become your favorite memory.  Some of our best friends are the family of a young woman who sat by us on our plane ride here from New Jersey.  Within a couple of days we were connected on Facebook and within two weeks we went on a weekend excursion together.  We loved it and we love them!  Maybe you will be so lucky.

Riding scooters around Ometepe Island, Nicaragua

Other Travel Tips for Families

• Prepare some typical foods before your trip so your family will be familiar with them.
• If you are planning on riding in taxis or buses here, ride them at home first.
• Learn the travel policy of your health insurance company, and if they do not cover international travel you can purchase a low-cost travel health insurance policy (we used IMG).
• Purchase rental car insurance if you rent a car.  Imported cars and car parts are heavily taxed (100%) and you do not want to pay to replace a cracked windshield or anything else.
• You might want to unlock your mobile phone so you can put a local SIM card in while you are here.  Phone services are really affordable and can be purchased in kiosks at the airport and almost any town.  We use Claro and pay 60 cents per day (as used) for 3G data.
• Get a debit card if you do not already have one and check the fees for international ATMs.  If you plan to travel out of the country often, consider creating an account with First Republic Bank (it is the best).  Some big hotels, restaurants, and tour companies accept dollars or credit cards, but many places only accept local cash called colones.  The exchange rate here is approximately 500 colones to 1 U.S. dollar.  I do not think traveler’s checks are used much here.
• There are many climates within the country and the weather patterns change considerably throughout the year, so once you have settled on a time of year for your trip you will want to find out about the weather specific to that time of year for each location you are considering.
• Hot water and glass windows (or even screens) are not standards here (at least in more economical venues), so check on those amenities specifically before making reservations if they are important to you.  You will usually be given soap but not shampoo so either bring it, buy it here, or do without.
• Expect to pay a small fee to use a public restroom and remember to grab the roll of toilet paper offered you in return.  Toilet paper goes in a trash can instead of being flushed.  For fun, you can post a sign on the bathroom door at home reading “Fee: 100 colones” and place little rolls of toilet paper on the counter along side a collection jar.  It would be a good idea to teach your children bathroom rules ahead of time, but I recommend continuing to flush toilet paper as long as you can.

Pipas, patacones, and Caribbean-style shrimp at Arrecife restaurant Punta Uva

You might also want to check out the article Places to Go and Things to Do in Costa Rica with Kids.

The post Travel Tips for Families Going to Costa Rica appeared first on Lost and Found Family.

Costa Rican Christmas Tamales

There is so much to see in Costa Rica with kids, way too much to cover in a single trip.  I suggest you choose a couple of activities and plan your vacation around them.

It is easy to stay in San José and take day tours from there.  There is plenty to see within easy driving distance, but the city itself is not that exciting.   Some of our favorite places have been small, less touristy towns far from San José.  These destinations require several hours of travel on buses and/or ferries, so I only recommend them if you have enough time to relax in San José for at least a day in between travel days.  Most families will probably be happiest with something in between.

There are some awesome mountains and volcanoes within a two hour drive of San José, including Poás and Irazú.  You can get to either coast from San José in about two hours as well.  Keep in mind, not all beaches are created equal.  Besides the difference in flora and fauna, many beaches in Costa Rica have a strong rip tide, something you want to avoid with kids.  The further you get from San José, the more difficult it will be to get emergency medical care if you need it. Some of the bigger coastal cities probably have decent clinics but I cannot say for sure, so that is something to look into.  Electricity and internet is less reliable in remote places as well.

Monteverde Costa Rica

Monteverde is a beautiful rainforest and can be a great home base for nearby excursions. The popular zip-line tours are not ideal for kids, however there are walking tours that have pathways and bridges through the forest. The bridges make for an easier hike than if you had to repeatedly go up and down with the landscape, and they allow you to see the variety within the height of the forest. The La Paz Waterfall Garden would be a really nice day trip for a family. Volcano Arenal is nearby and has hot springs.  River boat tours can provide an awesome view of many wild animals at the right time of year (not dry season, which is winter by North American standards).  The roads here are especially bad, but there are many websites and tour companies based in this rich area. It is truly a beautiful place.

Puntarenas, on the Pacific coast, is another great destination for families, and the highway leads directly there. We have never stayed in this city, but some of our friends rent cabins there for their family vacations and they really enjoy it. You could probably do a day trip to Monteverde if you were interested in seeing that rain forest. You can also take a boat to the incredibly gorgeous Tortuga Island, stay for half a day, and do some snorkeling. It’s an expensive trip and kind of a choppy boat ride, but there’s a lot to love about it.  Our boys had already tried snorkeling and were not up for it again, but since we had my mom with us we were able to send two adults at a time on each of the snorkeling trips.  Pretty spectacular.

Tortuga Island, Costa Rica

When we vacationed at the Pacific coast, we stayed in Montezuma on the Nicoya Peninsula.  Montezuma is a hip little town at the end of the bus route.  It has a lot of internationals which makes for fun new friendships and a variety of foods.  We stayed in a nice hotel right on the beach with a large grassy area (great for kids), several hammocks, and a private tide pool (and by tide pool I mean there was an actual round pool with chest-deep water, little blue fish, and a sandy bottom surrounded by rocks, crabs, urchins, and plenty more).  Just across the road was a trail leading a short distance upstream to a couple of waterfalls.  It was very enjoyable for hiking and swimming and we encountered an iguana family and a troop of monkeys along the way.

Tide Pools in Montezuma, Costa Rica

Limón is the closest beach city on the Caribbean side and more dangerous than most other parts of the country. We love the Caribbean coast with it’s luscious overgrown forests and unique culture, but from what I have heard about Limón I cannot recommend it.

North of Limón is Tortuguero National Park. The small village can only be reached by river boat and is a popular nesting site for three species of sea turtles. Turtle nesting seasons vary but generally span March to October. You have to be out on the beach in the middle of the night to see the nesting mothers and hatching babies, so if you are planning to do this with young children be sure they get a couple good nights of sleep ahead of time. Besides the nesting beaches, the forest has many rivers throughout and can be a cool place to explore in a canoe and maybe do some fishing. I do not think there are camen there.

Punta Uva, Costa Rica

Seventy-five miles south of Limón is Puerto Viejo, and six miles past that is Punta Uva where we stayed.  Punta Uva is smaller and less touristy than Puerto Viejo which is kind of a party place. The beach was fantastic with white sand; warm, turquoise water; and gorgeous greenery.  We literally spent entire days in the water and the boys still complained when it was time to get out.  A group of very loud howler monkeys went past our bungalow every morning around 5:00 a.m., so I set the alarm to make hot chocolate and we all got up to watch for them.  There is a chocolate factory in town and some other neat places, but it’s not a big hub for tours, more for relaxing and taking in the surroundings.

By Laura

You might also want to check out the article Travel Considerations for Families Going to Costa Rica.

The post Places to Go and Things to Do in Costa Rica with Kids appeared first on Lost and Found Family.

Bitcoin, the world’s first digital currency.

I’m reading A Beautiful Anarchy, by Jeffrey Tucker, which has me completely pumped for the future’s possibilities.  Tucker does a masterful job of painting a big picture of how technological advances are increasingly expanding our communities to global proportions.  Technology has given us a platform where we can easily participate in whichever communities we please; from Craigslist, to Etsy, Facebook, Goodreads, Pintrist, or any of a zillion niche communities for every personality and interest imaginable.

Reading Tucker’s book makes me realize just how dramatic and beautiful this big picture is.  And the fact that the splendor of this big picture eluded me before is perhaps the biggest reason I am now so strongly convinced that he’s right.  The power of this newly forming global community comes precisely because it is happening so naturally, so nonchalantly, so unassumingly.

We’re a few taps away from sharing our new favorite song with a friend in Germany, getting a recipe from an acquaintance in Korea, or discussing our thoughts on gun control with an activist group in Australia, yet this seems normal to us.

Check out TweetPing.net, a stunning nighttime view of the globe which lights up real-time with every tweet!

TweetPing snapshot of real-time Twitter communication.

Check out Bitcoin, a decentralized, digital currency backed by an exponentially growing community that enables Juan in Mexico to pay Shakhar in Israel for a programming job well-done without any bank fees, currency exchanges, ACH delays, or borders.  The implications of a global currency that enables free, global, real-time transactions are blowing my tiny mind.

A new global community is taking shape so subtly, so naturally, we hardly realize it’s happening.  But think about it.  It’s a new community.  The biggest one that this world has ever had.  I’m a firm believer in the power of community.  I believe in the power of human connection.  I anxiously await to see how our ever accelerating connectedness reshapes the world for the better in the next several years.

Here’s a link to a free copy of A Beautiful Anarchy, by Jeffrey Tucker, published under Creative Commons.

If you’re interested in getting your hands on some Bitcoins (which have gone up some 600% in the last year, and some 100% in just the last month) I would recommend creating a free wallet with Blockchain, and buying some Bitcoins with a service like MtGox or Coinbase.  I would also recommend enabling all the extra security features these services offer, like 2-step verification.

“You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.  I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.” – John Lennon, Imagine

See you around the community!

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Screenshot proof of my very first book sale!

I just sold my very first book, and the thrill is hysterically disproportionate to the achievement.  Or is it?

I know intellectually/analytically it’s not a very big deal – just a simple, self-published children’s book running on a Print On Demand distribution model that brought in a humble $2.74 – but on an emotional level this one little book sale represents so much more.

I think we all have a craving for validation stirring deep inside us.  We want to matter.  We want to be valued.  This book sale, in a sense, is this validation incarnate for me.  I created something that another person valued enough to trade their best value in return.  We gave each other our best and both came out the better for it.  Together, our voluntary exchange has made this world just a little bit better in our eyes.  This is magical to me.  I know it was just one book, but I feel like I matter.  I feel valued.

The book is Stick’s Masterpiece.  It’s available for free in PDF and video format.  I licensed it under Creative Commons, so you can copy and share away, if you so desire.  Check it out, and I hope you like it!

The post Just Sold My First Book Ever! appeared first on Lost and Found Family.

Brothers Whim Story 1 Page 3 Artwork

If doing 1 good thing is good, then doing 5 must be better, right?  Well, I thought so.  Except today I feel completely spent, and have nothing to show for it.  Reflecting on this dejection, I have diagnosed myself with a multitasking overdose.

If I’m honest with myself, I have to admit that I’ve spread myself too thin intellectually, and that I’m a failure at 5 things, rather than good at 1.

I had high hopes for myself.  I thought I could do it all.  Lost and Found Family.  Baby Scientists.  Brothers Whim.  Andy Man Manzanillo.  Family.  Friends.  Church.  Economics conversations on Facebook.  This week I even accepted a job to design and build a new website using Squarespace, which I haven’t used before.

Brothers Whim Story 1 Page 5 Artwork.

Unfortunately, I’m failing at all of those.  I wanted to do 1 video per week on both L&FF and Baby Scientists.  I wanted to write a new story every month for Brothers Whim.  I wanted to get Andy’s website up and flooding him with new clients.  I wanted to relax with my family, and laugh with our friends.  I wanted to solve the world’s problems with Facebook economics conversations.  I wanted to design the best Squarespace website ever seen.  Yeah.  No.  None of that is really happening.

I wouldn’t say I am a total failure, but I do feel like one.  It seems to come down to unrealistic expectations.  My impatience buried me under an impossible load.  Now I spend as much time feeling squished and depressed as I do creative and productive.

The straw on this camel’s broken back today was trying to finish this Brother’s Whim story of which you see couple of samples of my amazing artwork (actually, I can only take credit for the stick figures).  I thought I could knock it out in 3 hours today.  Nine hours later, I realize I’m not even close.  I need to redo most of it so that it sucks less.

Take 3 slow breaths.  Step away from my computer.  Admire my bits of work that I have completed.  Remember to enjoy the process since it is just as important as the result.  Okay, time for a movie break.

Photography Attribution Page 3, Page 5.

The post Multitasking Overdose – Spencer’s Journal appeared first on Lost and Found Family.

Heliberto’s wife, Idalia, and 2 of her sisters making clay bird-whistles

When Heliberto first approached us in Granada, Nicaragua central park with his painted clay bird-whistles, we were skeptical.  We didn’t know if he was giving us a high price, or if he was just reselling the whistles with a story that he and his family had made them.

Well, the more we talked with Heliberto, the more honest, hard-working, kind, humble, and sincere he seemed to be.  Our short chat about his handmade ceramics ended with his offer to escort us up to his hilly home in Catarina, an hour bus ride away, to go see for ourselves!

The enchantment of this day is indescribable.  I spent 40 hours editing this video, squirming over what to cut out.  Every minute of footage was packed with so much magic, I did not know how to begin.  From the fascinating craftsmanship, to the humble dirt floors, to the walls made of recycled shipping pallets, to the house made of bamboo and plastic, to 8 kids sharing 1 small bag of chips, to playing baseball on a diamond populated with banana and mango trees with a stick and wadded sock, to the most gentle and snugly rooster I’ve ever seen, I couldn’t bear cutting anything out.  I just wanted so badly to share it all, every minute, every thought, every feeling.

Well, I did have to cut it out, BUT I asked Heliberto if he would be interested in offering a similar experience to tourists that wanted a glimpse into real, Nicaraguan, working-family lifestyle, and he got very excited.  He is the best kind of people person, and lit up with the chance to meet and share with other people.  I wish everybody could spend a day with Heliberto.

If you are traveling to Granada, and would like to spend the day, or an hour, or a minute with Heliberto, please email me and I will help you arrange it with him:  spencer@lostandfoundfamily.com (he doesn’t have email…yet )

Heliberto explained that the hardest part of handmade ceramics is gaining the trust of the tourists.  Latin America has a reputation for being unsafe and untrustworthy.  Trying to sell to suspicious tourists who have no reason to trust you is near impossible.  One must rely on pity and annoying persistence, rather than the quality and character of one’s product.  Please share this video so that the world can meet Heliberto, so next time he approaches a tourist in Granada central park with his clay bird-whistles, they’ll know just where, and who they are coming from.

Please help us to continue making more videos and posts like these.   We can’t do it alone!
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The post Granada, Nicaragua – Heliberto and Family Handmade Ceramics appeared first on Lost and Found Family.

Tossing in handfuls of pumice to watch the rocks float.

This amazing, floating rock called Pumice is created by a process similar to how foam is created when you open a shaken soda bottle.  When you open the lid on a soda bottle, the pressure quickly drops, and all the dissolved CO2 gas rushes to escape, creating soda foam. The same thing happens when superheated, highly pressurized rock violently erupts out of a volcano (usually between 1300 deg F and 2400 deg F).  All that pressure of millions of tons of rock is suddenly gone, and the dissolved gasses in the rock rush to escape, creating rock foam.  If this rock foam cools down fast enough, the foamy texture stays.

The density of Pumice varies, depending on how it was formed, but the more foamy pieces can be as low as ¼ the density of water, which means Pumice floats very well.  On 3 occasions over the last 33 years, underwater volcanic eruptions near Tonga created giant pumice rafts, some as large as 30 km, that floated hundreds of miles all the way to Fiji.

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The post Floating Rocks at Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua – Learning about Pumice appeared first on Lost and Found Family.

Jonathan enjoying some caribbean style chicken we cooked together with his mom.

While in Punta Uva a couple of weeks ago, we met some wonderful new friends, Jonathan and Eliza, who taught us how to make two delicious Caribbean style dishes.  The first was breadfruit, which was simple and delicious.  This caribbean style chicken dish is a bit more involved, but well worth the trouble. The caramelized sugar and coconut milk make for some wonderful flavors unlike anything I had ever tasted before.

Ingredients:
2 coconuts for making coconut milk (or 10 cups of coconut milk)
2-3 lbs chicken
4 cloves garlic
2 small onions
2-4 tbs salt
1-2 tbs chicken bouillon
1/8 cup sugar
2-3 tbs salsa Lizano
1 bundle fresh thyme
2-3 fresh celery tops
4 Panamanian chiles
1 small red bell pepper
1/4 cup shortening or cooking oil
3 cups red beans
5 cups white rice
1 head cabbage
1 tomato
2 lemons
2 ripe plantains

Directions:
Step 1: Make coconut milk
a. grate 2 coconuts, hand-massage shavings with 6-8 cups of water to extract flavor, filter out shavings and keep the milk
or
b. open can of coconut milk

Step 2: Make Chicken
a. Cut 2-3 lbs of chicken into large chunks.
b. Mix 4 cloves chopped garlic, 1 chopped small onion, 1 tsp of salt, pinch of sugar, 2-3 tbs Salsa Lizano, and fresh thyme into the chicken.
c. Heat 1/8 cup shortening or cooking oil.
d. Add 1/8 cup sugar to oil and cook until darkly caramelized.
e. Add seasoned chicken to hot, caramelized oil. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes.
f. Add chopped fresh celery tops, and 2 whole Panamanian chiles to chicken, careful not to break open chiles while stirring (or food will get very spicy). Cook for 10 minutes.
g. Add 3 cups coconut milk. Cook for 5 minutes.
h. Add chopped red bell pepper, and about 1 tbs chicken bouillon. Cover and simmer until chicken is done.

Step 3: Make rice and beans
a. Boil beans with salt and fresh thyme. (actually this should probably be the first thing you do )
b. Heat 1/8 cup shortening or cooking oil.
c. Add 1 small chopped onion and fresh thyme. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.
d. Add 5 cups white rice. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
e. Blend 2 cups coconut milk with 2 cups of beans. Stir this into the cooking rice.
f. Add coconut milk to completely cover rice.
g. Add 2 tbs salt. Stir.
h. Add 2 Panamanian peppers, being careful not to break them open. Cover and simmer until rice is done.

Step 4: Make Salad
a. Combine cut tomatoes with shredded cabage in a bowl.
b. Add salt and lemon juice to taste.

Step 5: Make Plantains
a. Heat cooking oil in pan on high heat.
b. Add diced ripe plantains to hot oil and cook until browned to taste.

Serve and enjoy!

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The post Caribbean Style Chicken – Cooking with the Locals appeared first on Lost and Found Family.

Tony shaping a guitar while his son curiously looks on.

We met the owners of the famous Guzman Guitars here in San Jose, Costa Rica and got an inside look at their guitar workshop where all the magic happens.  Around the workshop are tattered notebooks scribbled full of their guitar-building secrets, passed down over 3 generations.  Just being in their workshop made me want to build a guitar and start learning how to play.  Such a beautiful craft.

The Guzman’s are now opening up their guitar-building secrets to the world.  Our friend Karl took a shot in the dark and asked if he could learn from them and make his own guitar in their shop.  To his delight, they said yes!  After such a positive experience with Karl, the Guzman’s are excited to now offer personalized guitar-building workshops for anybody to come and build their own guitar.

Let’s help the Guzman’s sell more of their wonderful guitars than ever before by sharing this video to get the word out about their fantastic work!  Thanks!

If you’d like to build your own guitar under the tutelage of the masters, you can email Tony directly at magufer@yahoo.es

Or, if you need a translator, I’d be more than happy to help –  spencer@lostandfoundfamily.com

UPDATE:  Today, 3 days after the video was posted, Tony emailed me that a guy came to buy a guitar because he saw the video!  Thanks for sharing the video!

Please help us to continue making more videos and posts like these.   We can’t do it alone!
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The post Guzman Guitars – Handcrafted Since 1948 appeared first on Lost and Found Family.

Grocery shopping with Jonathan.

While in Punta Uva, we met some friendly locals who taught us how to make breadfruit Caribbean style.  It’s amazing!  I couldn’t believe I had never had, or heard of it before.  More tender and flavorsome than chicken, more moist and robust than potato.

We met Jonathan on our Punta Uva Adventure.  He lives with his family in Playa Chiquita right on the beach surrounded by wild tropical fruits.  It’s like a dreamland.

Jonathan invited us over for lunch to show us how to prepare one of their favorite family recipes, Fruta de Pan a la Caribbean.  The finished result was more delicious than I could have imagined.

Breadfruit facts from Wikipedia
Breadfruit is roughly 25% carbohydrates and 70% water. It has an average amount of vitamin C (20 mg/100 g), small amounts of minerals (potassium and zinc) and thiamin (100 μg/100 g).^[4]

Breadfruit was widely and diversely used among Pacific Islanders. Its lightweight wood (specific gravity of 0.27)^[5] is resistant to termites and shipworms, so is used as timber for structures andoutrigger canoes.^[6] Its wood pulp can also be used to make paper, called breadfruit tapa.^[6] It is also used in traditional medicine to treat illnesses that range from sore eyes to sciatica.^[6] Native Hawaiiansused its sticky sap to trap birds, whose feathers were made into cloaks.^[7]

Ingredients

1 large breadfruit
2 coconuts
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp salt
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tbs cooking oil
small bundle of fresh thyme

Directions
Grate coconut, add 4-5 cups water and massage to work out milk. Strain out coconut.
Add chopped garlic, then onion to hot oil. Cook for a couple minutes.
Add chopped breadfruit.
Add thyme, chicken bouillon, and salt.
Add coconut milk.
Simmer covered for 20 minutes or until bread fruit is tender.

Serve over steamed rice. Enjoy!

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