The Journey Around The World, In Order To Save Spring

Liberty

Amaruq was feeling very bright today. They had fought of some monsters two days ago which Solar had decided to call 'Chupacabras'. Apparently it meant goat-sucker in Spanish. But that wasn't what was making Amaruq feel chipper. No, why he was feeling so was what Taggak had told them. It turned out, they were in Costa Rica. And the capital city smack dab in the middle of the country, San José, was their destination. That's right. The secret temple they were looking for the past month, was somewhere around the young city. Even though it was one of the youngest capital cities in Latin America, it still had a thriving economy. This is mostly thanks to the tobacco industry and the new Tobacco Factory built in the last century.

Amaruq wondered why tobacco was so popular. He'd only ever read of its effects, the alkaloids contained inside acting as a stimulant and affecting the sympathetic nervous system. It also induced pleasure, he read. Hmm. It was consumed in many forms, but the rich usually do so in the form of cigars. He also heard from the news that France were inventing a new form of little cigars or cigarettes' as the French called it. Instead of normal cigars where you only soak up the smoke in your mouth, these new ones allow you to inhale the smoke into your lungs, thereby increasing its effectiveness.

Amaruq shuddered. Inhaling smoke? No thanks. No matter how good it would feel, that sounded gross. Wasn't there a bad effect from freaking inhaling smoke? He would have to investigate some day. Maybe publish a research paper if he found out smoking tobacco had a negative effect on people. Yes, that would do a lot of good for the world. He liked that thought and he knew his dad would too. His dad always told him he was, in his dad's own words, 'too good for this world'. Amaruq did not know if that statement was true, but he just nodded to his dad. Dads were always right.

It seemed that Amaruq's thinking took a long time, for they had already reached San José. The city was named after its original chapel, which was named after the parish patron of its year of conception, St. Joseph. "Let's head downtown. I heard the central market there's great food," Amaruq said as he pointed to the area with his thumb. Taggak was about to protest, to say that they should not waste time when Atsuguk's stomach grumbled. "Actually... yeah, I'm kinda... hungry too," the youngest said sheepishly. Taggak rolled his eyes, but conceded. He had to make sure the team was well fed. Work would not be done on empty stomachs.

So they went to San José Central Market and had a look around. Amaruq spotted a good soda to eat at and they went to it. After being seated, the waiter offered for them to have casados for lunch and steamed guapote as an entrée. Taggak promptly asked if it was spicy to which the waiter chuckled. He could see that they were first-time tourists. "No. Costa Rican cuisine is generally not spicy," he assuaged the black wolf's fears. When the entrée arrived, Amaruq was sad to see it. The fish was a beautiful cichlid with a blue base colour and rainbow highlights. It also had a spotted pattern which made it all the more prettier to look at. It would've made a fine pet.

But, alas, the trio ate it. With much gusto, I might add. The steamed fish was sweet to the tongue, and very savoury compared to how fish normally tasted like. It was stripped to the bone in minutes. Amaruq could only cry as he smiled. The fish was beautiful, but also so very guiltily delicious. Then their main course arrived. So this was a casado. It consisted of rice, beans, and meat, and came with cabbage-and-tomato salad, fried plantains, and/or tortillas. He didn't know how it was married, though. Yes. Casado meant 'married man' in Spanish. Maybe it's because the beans and the rice are always together?

Or maybe the restaurant customers that usually ordered this were married men? He might never know. The three finished their entire meal, having not eaten since their encounter with the Chupacabras. The waiter seemed amused. It wasn't everyday you find tourists as entertaining as them. They payed the bill with the pieces of eight they had gotten back in Mexico. The real de a ocho shined silver. No wonder they were also called silver dollars. That reminded Amaruq of a fish. The silver dollar was a common name given to multiple species of fish in the Metynnis genus. They looked like silver piranhas, but they were vegetarians.