Customers lined up for "gluten-free items" at Tamarindo's Farmers Market. |
In planning our first trip, we happened upon a description
of a beach house on the website VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owners) and decided
to take a chance on it. As it turned out, that was one of the best decisions
we’ve ever made, and we’ve returned to Casa Doshack on Playa Langosta every
year, increasing the length of our stay with each visit.
(Using such websites as VRBO, Airbnb, and House Trip, by the
way, is a great way for travelers with celiac disease to leave home without
having to worry about what they will eat. It’s easy to find places with
kitchens where you can cook your own meals, free from the hassle of searching
out restaurants with gluten-free food.)
The gluten-free muffin booth. |
I always wondered about putting my children in the
checked bags at the airport. Maybe it would have worked!
The muffin woman's "goodies tote" doubles as a baby bed
at the Tamarindo Farmers Market.
|
Imagine my delight at finding those booths, one selling
mango, cinnamon-apple, and banana-nut gluten-free muffins and the other
offering chocolate zucchini peanut-butter bread, pumpkin bread, ginger cookies
and snickerdoodles! I tell you, I couldn’t get my Colones out of my wallet fast
enough! (Note: You don’t actually even have to exchange your money in Costa
Rica; their businesses are happy to take USD.)
If loads of “azúcar” is not your cup of “té,” healthy
Costa Rican cuisine is readily available and perfect for celiacs and others
avoiding gluten. Most meals consist of grilled fish or chicken, rice, beans, plantains
(which I’ll discuss in my next post) salad, and fresh fruit. Yum!
In the four years since we’ve been coming here, it’s been
easier and easier to eat gluten-free in the restaurants and on the street. (At one popular place, I was pointing and
gesturing, saying in my dreadful Spanish, “No trigo (wheat), no harina
(flour),” and the waiter said, “Oh, you mean gluten-free!”) The relative ease
of eating gluten-free in Tamarindo makes it a true Paradise—even for celiacs!