MEET OUR SMELLY FRIEND!

Everyone who comes to Costa Rica quickly learns there are many strange and wonderfully facets to this land’s culture. Here, for your consideration, is a legend handed down to me by my Aunt Betty from when she first made the trip- “The Legend of The Aroma Muchacho.” His name roughly translates to “The Smelly Friend”, suiting him well, as you will soon find out:

In 1998, I was visiting with my Aunt Betty or ¨Bad Betty¨, as she was called, enjoying a few relaxing days of summer vacation. ¨Bad Betty¨ got her name because of her love for good, cold beer on long, warm afternoons. One day as she was about to finish her second trusty six pack, she looked off into the setting sun and gave me a smile that always let you know she had a story to tell. I was about to lean over and ask her what was on her mind when she groggily chuckled and pointed off toward the horizon.


¨Ryan, this sunset reminds me of a time…I was about your age, when I went on vacation with a man I dearly loved. He asked me to join him on the trip of a lifetime, exploring many distant and exotic places, and being young and care-free, I went along. One of our many adventures found us in Costa Rica, where we visited many places along the Pacific Coast to enjoy some sailing and shopping. One small fishing village had a souvenir shop for the growing tourist set and sold carved images of local animals and jewelry made of shells. I went into the darkened shop and browsed some very beautiful pieces of woodworking until I found a really unusual carving that looked like a man, with the face of a monkey, holding what looked like a sandal. Now I’d seen all kinds of things on these trips, but for some reason this ugly creature captured my imagination and I brought it with me to the shopkeeper. I asked him what the trinket was and his eyes grew wide. He looked up at me and responded in very hushed tones.


¨Señorita ¨, he said with a hand resting to his lips, ¨this is a very especial carving for my people, very powerful and very sacred. It is one of our most ancient stories told for nearly as long as that tree has been alive!” The man pointed to a small bush, roughly a foot tall and then continued on with his tale. “This is the AROMA MUCHACHO!” At that moment, a sweet yet rotting smell wafted through the small store, unlike anything I had smelled before. “The Aroma Muchacho is a creature as revered by my people as he is feared! Sit with me, Señorita, and I will tell you the tale, very estrange, but TRUE! ¨

“Outside I heard a loud voice of a man yell ¨Pipa¨ on the foreign Papagayo winds and the shopkeeper handed me my very first Imperial Light, Costa Rica’s native drink. He then began like this:

When COSTA RICA was very young and unexplored, as far back as 1975, many a native Costa Rican told the story of the creature we have come to know as The Aroma Muchacho. It is said to awake very early in the mornings, just before the sun rises, to quietly creep into the village and take the people’s shoes in the night. But even estranger than this…it would only take one at a time! We are told he likes the smell of the shoes and will do anything he can to have them! For many ayears my people were plagued by his unending desire for our smelly shoes, until one man from far to the north came to town selling his Pipas or coconuts. The man walked the beach during the day selling these delicious fruits and would rest beneath the palm trees after a hard day’s work. Usually he would return to his home village but this day he worked extra hard with more Pipas than ever before…having only one left for himself. Many passersby warned the man to be careful for his shoes…they smelled especially bad from the long, hot day...but he said he did not believe in silly folk tales and did as he pleased. Well, the tired man slept through the whole night and in the morning awoke to make his way back home. Immediately he realized the Pipa he kept for his return trip was gone, but his pair of shoes were still together! That’s when he began calling out to all who could hear “Pipas! Pipas!” so they too would learn the secret to appeasing The Aroma Muchacho. A few days later, people from all over Costa Rica came together to discuss what they would do with this especially exciting news! Soon a fiesta was created where the people would bring their best fruits to one place and leave it for The Aroma Muchacho so he will leave our shoes alone…and it worked! From then on and until today, we are still meeting together for The Frutos Zapato, or The Fruit Shoe Festival (held annually at The Oaks), and The Aroma Muchacho has been never seen again. But, every once in a while you can smell him on the Papagayo Winds letting us know he is ready for either our fruit…or our SHOES!”


“I thanked the man immediately for the story, the beer, and paid him for the strange and wonderful statue, returning to my hotel on the hill. I placed the little figurine on the window near my patio and got ready for a date with the man I loved. After a lovely dinner and a walk on the beach, we enjoyed the perfect Costa Rican sunset, then a few drinks at the hotel bar. My gentleman friend walked me to my room a bit later than we both may have liked, kissed me sweetly in the moonlight, and bade me goodnight. I removed my sandals at the door and slipped into my bed and then into sleep. The next morning was yet another gorgeous day and I made some coffee, looking out at the ocean from my terrace. I decided I would bring my friend his morning cup and fixed a tray to bring with me. I stepped out my door, ready to put on my sandals, when I quickly realized that there, at my feet, was only one lone sandal and leading off toward the hill were large muddy footprints! To this day, I swear it is true and I will never forget that there are some things in this world that we may never quite understand. But when it comes to The Aroma Muchacho, I believe.”


“Bad Betty” then came out of her trance-like story, kissed me on the cheek, and made her way into the house to make dinner. Just then, my uncle came home from work and sat down next to me, pulling out an Imperial Light from some bags he carried. He looked at me, took a quick drink of the cold, golden brew, and then looked out to the nearly darkened sky, saying:


“Ryan, this sunset reminds me of a time...I was just about your age, when I fell madly in love with your Aunt Betty,,,”