No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta RicaThe Continuing Journey of Hiking the Camino de Costa Rica (Part 3)

The Continuing Journey of Hiking the Camino de Costa Rica (Part 3)

You would be forgiven to think our little group ate simple carbohydrate-laden foods, and lots of them, given the calories we were burning each day. But nothing could be further from the truth. We ate like kings and queens.

All our hosts along El Camino de Costa Rica went out of their way to impress us with their local cuisine, and trust me, we loved it.  In a sense, we ate our way across a continent, and I don’t believe any of us lost a pound on the hike.

A Taste of Costa Rica: Gastronomy on El Camino de Costa Rica

Just a few examples:

Cuisine on Camino de Costa Rica
Mondongo soup. Photo by Garry Wallace.

Mondongo soup, made from cow tripe and local root vegetables, was creamy, smooth and warming. Dessert was a simple bowl of caramelized coffee beans spiked with cinnamon and served warm.

Cuisine on Camino de Costa Rica
Typical Olla de Carne. Photo by Garry Wallace.

Olla de Carne is the ultimate Costa Rican beef stew.  This was traditionally a community collaboration. Everyone brought the ingredients they could contribute.  Sometimes it was beef, or pork or the rabbit that was caught that day. Everything was thrown into a big pot, and no one went hungry that night.

Cuisine on Camino de Costa Rica
Gallo pinto con huevo. Photo by Garry Wallace.

How do you make a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs with gallo pinto special?  Serve it on banana leaves at 4,000 ft to famished hikers, that’s how.

Cuisine on Camino de Costa Rica

Photo by Garry Wallace.

Cuisine on Camino de Costa Rica
Photo by Garry Wallace.

A wood barbecue lunch served on a mountaintop consisting of mushroom skewers, grilled plantain and caramelized pineapple slices, was cooked by Chef Martine.  This has to be the best seat at any restaurant I know.

Cuisine on Camino de Costa Rica

Photo by Garry Wallace.

Healthy and tasty, this meal included fish river trout, lightly grilled served with vegetables and, of course, rice and beans.

No one — vegan, carnivores or omnivores — went hungry on this trip!

Garry Wallace recently completed the Camino de Costa Rica, and he wrote a series of stories recounting the experience.

Here is Part 4 of his hiking the Camino de Costa Rica tomorrow! 

Earlier this year, we told you about Camino de Costa Rica, a 280-km hike from Costa Rica’s Atlantic to its Pacific coast. 

Garry Wallace is a managing partner at Serenity Boutique Hotel in Quepos, Puntarenas.  Learn more at www.serenityhotelcostarica.com

Trending Now

Back North from Costa Rica: An Expat’s Culture Shock

I am presently away from Costa Rica. I am in a foreign country. I was born here, but it is now a different place...

Guns N’ Roses Kicks Off Latin Tour in Costa Rica at National Stadium

Rock fans across the country gear up for a night of hard-hitting music as Guns N’ Roses performs at the Estadio Nacional this evening....

Tragic Blaze at Hotel Oriente Kills Five in Costa Rica Capital

A tragic fire ripped through the Hotel Oriente in central San Jose early this morning, leaving five people dead and sparking questions about building...

Learning Spanish Through Music in Costa Rica: Misheard Lyrics and Wins

One of the most challenging parts of learning a language is understanding songs in that language. In my early days of learning Spanish, I...

US Marines Head to Panama Jungle for Joint Drills

US Marines plan to join forces with Panamanian security teams for a joint exercise in the country's thick jungle next month. The move comes...

New Poison Dart Frog Species Discovered in Peru’s Amazon

Peruvian researchers have identified a new poison dart frog in the Amazon rainforest, adding to the region's rich array of wildlife. The tiny creature,...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica