Where chefs run away from the rat race…

Sat, Nov 28, 2009

I think I know what happens to good chefs when they get tired of the big city lights and the pressures of running a fine restaurant. They run away to the tropics. We witnessed it in Costa Rica, and have discovered, once again, fine food waiting for us at the end of nowhere.

Our stay at the Cape Tribulation Beach House is a bargain in many ways – we get a hearty complimentary breakfast each morning, and the dinners are fantastic. The first night we were there I had the coral trout with prawns in a Thai yellow curry with roast potatoes and asparagus. The second night I had the grilled kangaroo on a bed of cheese tortellini tossed with pesto and served with spinach and watercress. The meat was cooked perfectly… rare and juicy with a beautiful wood grilled flavor. Wow! Hard to believe we were getting that kind of food at a backpacker hotel.


Our private swimming hole

As you can imagine, the weather in the rainforest is quite warm and humid. To cool off, we went in search of the Emmegen Creek swimming hole, what we had been told would be a treasure in the midst of the jungle. True enough… after a 10 minute hike through dense jungle, we came to a wide spot in the freshwater creek with a little sandy beach. We were the only two there, and as we stepped into the water, we looked at each other and grinned like fools, slipping into the delicious, velvety coolness with oohs and aahs. The creek was not very wide, but it dropped off quickly so that by the time we were a few feet from the shore, we were in water over our heads. The sun was high, but the jungle canopy thick, so we just got dappled sun shining through to us. As the light hit the water, it reflected up on the creek bank and the trees lining it, creating a shimmery, ethereal light, that looked to me like water fairies dancing on the edge of the water and woods. There was a tree that was partly anchored in the bank and partly undercut by the river. Caught up in the exposed roots, were dozens of large rocks, wrapped up in the roots, like a many-armed mother cuddling her babies. Floating, watching the light, exploring the river stones, cooling down… what a treat. Kept me cool for the rest of the day.