A Play at Rio Shanti!

 These two lovely ladies helped local children create a fantastic presentation yesterday. Michelle teaches music at the Friends School and Natalya manages Rio Shanti.

 The play was all about having courage and being brave enough to stand up for what's right. The children were the writers. How cool is that? You could tell the kids were having a blast.

 And the audience loved it too!

 Kids created their own backdrops and had them suspended from bamboo poles across the ceiling.

 I've been to school presentations before where you could tell that some of the boys were not into it. Especially the older boys. Looked like onstage was the last place they wanted to be.

 That wasn't the case here. Choreography included breakdancing and some hiphopping rap and made you want to jump out of your seat and join in!

 Here they are canoeing past the volcano.

 Made it to the pyramid but almost defeated by the bad guy!

 Singing it out! I'm not sure what kind of special powers Michelle has, but the kids singing was awesome! And on key! Which isn't always the case with children's performances!

 The whole cast comes onstage for the final dance.

 Rapping out the final number!

 Performance was given a 4 thumbs up by the directors! At this point Natalya was so excited and moving so quickly that she was just a blur. Thanks ladies and children for a great performance!

Guess What Kind of Tree This Is!!

We were on a drive to Grecia with Francisco when he pulled over by a tree and picked some fruit challenging us to guess what it was. No luck. Finally after many hints, we guessed it! Okay, I'll admit it. He had to give us a bunch of clues. So many that it was starting to be embarrassing.

 The tree -

 The fruits -

 What is it?

 The seed grows OUTSIDE the fruit -

 Take a look at the shape of that seed. Got it?

 Yes! It's a cashew! And these are cashew apples. And if you're wondering why your local produce section doesn't carry this - here's why -  "The pulp of the cashew apple is very juicy, but the skin is fragile, making it unsuitable for transport."

And also it's poisonous - The seed is surrounded by a double shell that contains an allergenic acid, a potent skin irritant.  Properly roasting cashews destroys the toxin, but it must be done outdoors as the smoke (not unlike that from burning poison ivy) contains droplets which can cause severe, sometimes life-threatening, reactions by irritating the lungs. So let's be be careful out there folks!

These yellow cashew apples were on a tree in Cameron and Therese's yard outside of Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula.  I do so want a cashew tree when I get my own place in Costa Rica!

Rockwell's Garden

Francisco and Hannah live near this spot. The Rockwells are great about letting us wander through their gardens. I love the place. It's beautiful.  Marvin was one of the first Quakers to come here. He has an outdoor kitchen and cafe and tour groups come there to hear him lecture about the early days founding Monteverde. Interesting people to talk with! If you don't like flowers or plants you can skip the rest of this post.

 The hummingbirds love this purple flower!

 Canela lives with the Rockwells and has become a good friend to Mia and Malak.

 Mia loves to pose with a stick.

 Our favorite bird the Motmot.

 Giant agave. They use this plant to make tequila.