Worldly Delights
Eat Well in the Land of
PURA VIDA By Roderick Eime
The tiny Central American Republic of Costa Rica leads the world in sustainable tourism.
OSA PENINSULA, COSTA RICA
Johnny Rodríguez grins broadly as he heaves on the huge lever, crushing a stalk of sugar cane in the rudimentary press. The rich juice runs down into a bucket while the mashed cane is set aside for compost and cattle feed. Here at Playa Blanca on Costa Rica’s remote Osa Peninsula, the Quiroz-Rodríguez family has been cultivating and harvesting the sweet, bamboo-like product for some 50 years at Trapiche Don Carmen. Carmen, Johnny’s sprightly father-in-law, is still helping out while the children look on expectantly, knowing that a sweet treat awaits them. Johnny is proud as punch with his 100-year-old trapiche, a rough wooden mill set up to crush the long juicy stems while his horse, Ricki, hauls the heavy beam attached to the old grinder.
66 • Vacations ® • Winter 2019
