Sunday with the family

On Sunday we finally had a day off to spend with our host families.  We started off by cooking pancakes for Mama Rita and family.

Mama Rita's granddaughter-in-law Carmen had a birthday, so we all headed off to Carmen's mother's house in the country for a celebration.  The first item on the agenda was to get some coconuts down so that we could drink the liquid, which was more like water than milk - it's called "agua de pipa".  Pipa is the term they use for immature coconuts.  When they are mature the liquid thickens so that it is the milk that most people are familiar with.  Carmen's husband Aramis shows us how to get the pipas out of the tree.

How to get the pipas out of the tree

Aramis shows how to cut the pipa to get the water out.

There is a thin layer of "meat" on the inside of a pipa

Aramis gets some more pipas

The next item on the agenda was to cook up a big meal for everyone.  They started with a big pot of rice, to which was added pork and seasonings.  It was very good!

Heather helps to cook the big meal

It's almost done!

 When the meal was cooked, they laid a few palm leaves on top to keep it warm while we all headed to the river for a swim.  The cool water was very refreshing on a hot day!

Then, back to the house for a meal followed by the birthday cake:

Carmen and her birthday cake

 All in all, it was a fun day where we got to meet more of the family (and practice our Spanish!)