Tiquicia, breakfast on the road, our trip to Sierpe South Pacific Costa Rica
~ by Dr. Leiner Vargas Alfaro
We Ticos love breakfast on the road, it is part of the flavor of tiquicia, land of the Ticos. Look, there’s the Puntalito, -name of the soda-, Don Pedro says to his wife, Doña Matilde. Then, we get out of our carcacha –a popular term to refer to an old, worn out car-, and walked en fila india,- in a single line-, going directly to el servicio, – the restroom, as it is usually called in Chepe (San José).
“What would you like, don?” “I…wwwooouuullld liiikkke…, -a frequent, slow response in the south,- “well, I’d like medio pinto with huevo pateado, -scrambled eggs-, maduritos,-fried ripe plantains -, and a couple of tortillitas palmeadas, -tortillas made by shaping them with the palm of your hand- ; but they must be hot and freshly made, like the ones I’m watching in the fogón” , -a Costa Rican typical wood-burning stove.
“Now, doña, what do your güilas want?”, -referring to the kids. “Tráigales”,- a verb that means “to bring”-, “half a plate of pinto to caduno”,- each one-, a huevito duro,- a hardboiled egg-, and 2 aguadulces,- a traditional Costa Rican drink made from sugar cane-based blocks-.
“And you, seño?”,- ma’am-, “what can I get you?”, says the girl who is in a hurry to attend them. “I wwwooouuullld liiikkke…a hot tea, a gallito de queso,- a rural area-style with softened cheese on top, which is usually melted in a griddle-, “and a platanito entero”,- a fried ripe plantain covered with sugar and honey, cut in half so another ingredient can be added-, “with natilla-, sour cream-.
“Over there, viejillo”,-a term of endearment for an older man that doña Matilde uses to address don Pedro, we have almost crossed the river, and next stop is Sierpe”.
“¡It is so good to live in the countryside, don’t you think? Here there are no presas,- traffic jams-, “or so much yelling as there is in the city”,- meaning any Central Valley location-.
“Let’s see when we can move pa’ca,- colloquial expression to refer to the place or town where people are, on the way to the southern part of the country-.
INFO: Dr. Leiner Vargas Alfaro – Blog>>>
