The fiesta was held at Rancho Montecito, a 260 acre working cattle ranch not too far away from our town of Atenas. The fiesta had another purpose - to celebrate Debbie's birthday, the owner of this ranch.
Somebody should interview Debbie and write an article about her, because she is amazing. She bought the huge property with nothing on it and not knowing anything about farming, ranching, cattle, fruit trees, etc., and has turned all this land into a sustainable enterprise. It's not flat land, it's mountainous. Her cattle are a cross between the Nelore breed (I hope I have that right) and Brahmas. Before arriving at the ranch house, Debbie jumped on the bus with us and explained what we were seeing as we drove along.
Tables were set up under a tent, just outside the rancho (open air dining hall) where the food was being prepared. Before long, three pairs of young dancers performed for us. This was followed by trick ropers and a mariachi band.
During this entertainment, we enjoyed excellent Mexican food served at our tables. Dessert was a tasty custard, plus the birthday cake. I also tried a Mexican tamale, which was completely different from the Costa Rican tamales. The Mexican ones are wrapped in corn husks while ours are wrapped in banana leaves and the fillings are totally different.
We had a wonderful time. Debbie is a fantastic organizer. She’s also a patron of my art work and one of my cattle paintings hangs on a wall in her ranch house.
If you are thinking of a vacation in Costa Rica, I would highly recommend Rancho Montecito. It’s beautiful.
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