Christmas Eve. The day started with our first breakfast at Casona San Nicolas, which is included with our room. Breakfast consisted of fresh orange juice, a bowl of hot soup (meat broth, potatoes, cilantro, onions, beef...called caldo), bread, jam, scrambled eggs and coffee with milk. The hot broth was especially welcome since the morning was cold (Roger says in the 50s and Kathy says in the 40s...whichever it was, it felt cold because our place has no heat).
After breakfast, we hopped a ride to town with our host, Consuelo. She gave us a tour, introducing us to every shop owner, some of whom were family. She seemed to know everyone. We stopped at a little kiosk run by her nephew for a hot fruit-flavored drink. It was basically hot water with a mint leaf, sweetened strawberries and uchua (a tiny citrusy fruit). It was delicious. I'll have to try it at home. We then explored town, including a Saturday regional market, on our own for the rest of the day until it started to rain. Once again we retreated to a restaurant, sipping beers and listening to live guitar music until the rain stopped (about 2 hours! We sip slowly.). We then caught a taxi back to the Casona.
We were invited to join the owner's family and a few other guests for a special Christmas Eve dinner at 9:30. Usually Kathy is in bed at that time, but she reluctantly agreed to go...especially since Roger had not fed her since breakfast. It was another chilly night, so we dressed in 15 layers (okay, I exaggerate) and walked up to the dining hall which was all decorated for Christmas. We had Santa hats and bells at our seats, and we were asked to sing Jingle Bells in English. Lots of laughter, good food and holiday spirit. Dinner was shrimp salad, fresh fruit, cold potato salad with peas, and a small piece of beef cooked to perfection. Red wine and wonderful desserts too. It was so nice to be included in their Christmas celebration (we were only English speakers). Made us feel a part of the family.
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