San Jose (Fri., 3/6/09) - Mystery Meat

So, I flew into San Jose on Friday morning and in order to meet the rest of the group, I had to catch a bus to Bagaces.  From Bagaces we would all travel to Palo Verde to stay at the research station.  

The inside of the bus station...

Since my last meal was the bagel with butter on the plane and an expired strawberry yogurt (needless to say I didn't eat the yogurt), I was really hungry by the time I got to the bus station.  It was in a kind of sketch area, all the buildings nearby had fences with barbed wire and barred windows and doors.  Inside the bus station was a small food counter with various items of who knows what.  In a case was some food: rice-chickpeas-potatoes and "meat" of some variety.

After attempting to find out what the food was, (I failed) I decided to go for it.  At least I knew what the rice was rice.  I got it, paid somehow and tried to cut some of the meat.  It was basically all fatty and sinewy. Gross.  I ate one tiny piece of the meat and left the rest of it.  The rice-chickpeas-potatoes part was good.  

A little later on, a man sat near me and he was eating the same thing I ate, including the mystery meat.  I asked him what the meat was and after some difficulty he told me it was cow stomach.  Ugh.  But at least I only ate one piece and I was hungry.  After that I got on the bus and rode to Bagaces, the adventure had just begun.  

 : ) Alex