Manos Abiertas

Today, after Spanish school, we had a very tasty and very cheap lunch at a most unexpected location. We have previously visited the Monteverde Heladeria for ice-cream (as one would expect), but today we went in to get a quick sandwich. We only expected to get a small sandwich for the price, but ended up getting the equivalent of a foot long subway, a drink (fresco) AND an ice-cream cone for pudding. Total cost for 2 of these meals was 2400 colones (less than £3).

Later, we went to Manos Abiertas with some folk from the Taoist Tai Chi Society of Costa Rica. We were invited to visit along with a choir group from Heredia. Manos Abiertas is a home for profoundly disabled people which is run by nuns. Last year the Society collected toys for the home and this year the donation was something very practical – nappies for adults. The choir group sang various Christmas songs (in Spanish of course) to entertain the residents (and nuns and nurses who worked there). It was a good experience, with many of the residents showing a lot of enthusiasm for the singing.

Zoë’s Spanish Phrase of the day

Detrás del cerco ladra un perro chico que se considera grande.

This comes from Colin’s “First Spanish Reader”. We think this nicely sums up part of Costa Rican life as we have already encountered many of these in our short time here!