Adventures with my mom part II

Happy Saturday, everyone! At this moment, I am sitting on my bed listening to different music styles to prepare for my music final, listening to the thunder, watching the rain, and thinking how am two weeks away from returning to the USA. I have so much I want to share with all of you, but I realized I fell into the trap: I let too much time go by and now I’m going to try to cram everything into a few blog posts. My last post was about the first weekend with my mom. Here is what we did the second weekend:

Wednesday: We headed back out towards the Pacific and drove to Quepos. It was about a three hour drive, but there was no traffic and we had fun talking. We stayed at Hotel Sirena in Quepos and the best part was the air conditioning and the pool! Quepos and Manuel Antonio are very, very, very warm and humid. We walked around Quepos in the evening and bought 3 small cartons of strawberries, 2 mangos and 2 bananas for 3 dollars. I love how fruit is so cheap here in Costa Rica! We enjoyed the strawberries, ate dinner and went to bed.
 

Thursday: I woke up not feeling well, so I spent all morning in the air-conditioned hotel room. I wanted my mom to see Manuel Antonio, so she joined a tour group and explored the national park on her own. She met some very nice people and enjoyed herself, except she lost her flip-flops and sunglasses on the beach! whoops! She got back around 12 and we both jumped in the pool to cool off. I was slowly getting better, so we took the bus to Manuel Antonio. At a souvenir shop I found the towel I have been wanting to buy! The only other place I have found it was in Arenal, so I was super excited. My mom and I walked along the beach for a while and then walked to a restaurant I had found earlier on the internet and wanted to try. We found Café Milagro after a 2km walk, all of it uphill! It was not the smartest thing for me to do after being sick that morning, but the blackberry lemonade was worth it. The food was also delicious. It was basically a yummy Costa Rican bistro. I loved it! We caught a taxi back to Quepos and after a quick dip in the pool to cool off, I was ready for bed.

Friday: We got up and had breakfast, checked out, and headed to our tour of Villa Vanilla, a local spice and vanilla farm about 10 miles from Quepos. The tour guides were on vacation, so the owner gave us the tour himself. He is an expat and moved to Costa Rica around the 1960’s. He definitely has the “tranquila” lifestyle down. We moved slowly through the farm and saw the harvest process and drying process. I loved sampling the cinnamon trees. yummy! We were treated to mango cheesecake, cookies, chocolate, and other food made with products from the farm. My mom and I bought vanilla beans and real cinnamon at the farm’s shop. We ended around noon and the heat was incredible! We cranked the air conditioning in our car and started the drive to Monteverde and the cloud forest.
 

After 4 hours, and about 10 miles of dirt roads, we arrived in Santa Elena/Monteverde. It was so cool – a big difference from the heat and humidity of Manuel Antonio! We stayed at Camino Verde/Tina’s Cabinas. It’s a small bed and breakfast and I HIGHLY recommend people stay there! Andres speaks perfect English and was very, very helpful when we wanted to plan our day. They also have super fast internet (for Costa Rica) and that was definitely a treat. The rooms were clean, smelled wonderful, there was hot water and a great family atmosphere. My mom and I ate dinner at the soda next door and then hit the hay.

Saturday: We started our day nice and early. We got up at 7 and had a breakfast of eggs and pancakes. Andres, the host, was very surprised when I put peanut butter on my pancakes. He said he’s never seen that before! Peanut butter is just not that common here in Costa Rica. After finishing our breakfast my mom and I headed to Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. It is your stereotypical rainforest! We walked the trails under the very, very green canopy and the mist from the clouds made us feel like we had the whole reserve to ourselves. It was a very good morning, and we ended up walking about 3 miles on the trails. The gift shop also had very good prices, so we bought some souvenirs including a poster of local Costa Rican fruits. Hopefully my roommate next semester will let me put it up in our dining room (hint hint) We quickly stopped at the humming bird house then headed back into the town of Monteverde/Santa Elena. We had lunch at my now favorite restaurant in Costa Rica – Choco-Café de Don Juan. The barista was phenomenal! I got a swan in my coffee and my mom got a rabbit. The food was also wonderful and fairly priced. After eating I went to pay and told my mom I would meet her in the car. I bought her a display of a Blue Morpho butterfly and a small packet of the local coffee for a surprise. We had to be back at our hotel by 12:30 to be picked up for our next adventure – zip lining!

            It is essential to go zip lining in Costa Rica, and my mom and I picked a good place to go! We soared on 12 zip lines, 2 Superman lines, and one Tarzan swing. I have never seen my mom smile more! She loved the zip lines! The Supermans were my favorite because it felt like I was flying. My least favorite was the Tarzan swing. Originally I was not going to, but my mom did it, so I had to do it. The concept is very simple. You are attached to a bungee rope and you stand on a platform and jump off, causing you to swing out over the canopy. I did not like it! I told the guide he would have to push me off, and I think he helped push me a little. After a blood-curdling scream and about 30 seconds of swinging, I was never more thankful to be back on solid ground. I have done the swing, but never again! My mom and I can check that off our bucket list.

            We returned to our hotel around 3:30, and headed off horse back riding at 4. Our guide was a hoot! He was so funny and a real jokester. My horse was named Muñeco and he just wanted to run! The guide let me gallop for a small part of the trip – that was very fun! We rode up into the mountains and watched the sunset before heading down. My mom and I walked into Santa Elena after being dropped of at our hotel. We had dinner at an “Italian” place. My  mom loved her pizza with pineapple, ham, and coconut. We were so tired when we returned from dinner that we just went straight to bed.

Sunday: When I woke up I discovered something: zip lining makes my back sore! Between my back, and my legs from horse-back riding, it was slow going in the morning. My mom and I slept in and missed breakfast, so we headed back to our favorite café. After a relaxing breakfast we got in the car and started the drive back to San Joaquín. We wanted to get an early start to avoid the traffic jam we experienced last week. I am happy to say we had no traffic the entire way! We made it back to my mom’s B&B safely. I took her to dinner at a Peruvian restaurant and showed her the local church. We packed up her suitcases in my room and I sent many of my souvenirs home with her. We exchanged pictures and said goodbye three times – she kept driving back down to give me some things that had gotten mixed up in our suitcases. It was sad seeing her drive away for the last time, but I was ready to get back into my routine and I knew that I would be seeing her in a little over a month. Having my mom come down and be my 'adventure buddy' was wonderful, and definitely a highlight of my adventure here in Costa Rica.
 

Monday: Back to school! My mom made it safely to the airport at 6am, and I kept tabs on her as she made it safely to Seattle where my dad was waiting to pick her up. I worked on homework and projects. Being back in my routine has its advantages, but it also means I have to focus on school again.

Next post will be about Semana Santa (hopefully!) I can’t wait to see everyone soon! Hasta luego!

Adventures with mom, Part 1

Alright, time to update you all! I have had a wonderful 12 days with my mom down here in Costa Rica! Here are the adventures we have been up to: (This will be part 1)

The arrival!! I took the public bus to the airport and I have to say, I timed it perfectly! I only had to wait five minutes for my mom to come out of the customs area. It was so wonderful seeing her face…not to mention I got my first real hug in over three months. No matter how old I am, my mom’s hugs can’t be beat, especially when I am spending time in a foreign country. The Bed & Breakfast owner was there to meet us and drove us to the B&B. We had a wonderful room! After she settled in a bit, we walked to my house where my Tica momma had prepared a little “sopita” – turns out, there was nothing little about it!! My mom was able to try all the traditional Costa Rican foods and I had my work cut out for me with translating. My tica momma really went over the top – she even made two desserts! My mom was stuffed by the end, to say the least. After the “sopita”, I grabbed my overnight things and headed to the B&B to stay with my mom.

The next morning I arose bright and early to go to grammar class – my mom was able to sleep in. I had breakfast with Flor, and packed for the weekend, before going to class. Once I was done, I trekked back to the B&B and my mom and I went to pick up our rental car. Once we had that all settled, we took off for Liberia and the Nicoya Peninsula!

Liberia and Rincon de Vieja

I’ll be honest – this area was hot! We really enjoyed the air conditioning we had in our room. The first morning we got up early and headed to the Rincon de Vieja National Park. The roads turned to gravel quite quickly, and we rattled our way up the mountain. We took on the challenge of a 6 mile hike followed by a 2 mile loop of mud pits and volcanic vents. We made it, and saw wonderful waterfalls, iguanas, huge ants (icky!), birds, mud, and anything else you could think of. We were thankful we started early because the temperature got hotter really fast. We had left our hotel around 7am and came back at 3pm. Thank goodness for whoever invented the shower and air conditioning! After recollecting ourselves we took a tour of the farm where our B&B is located. It was interesting and reminded me of home. We headed back into Liberia, filled the car with gas, walked around (my mom got a tico’s phone number!) and found a wonderful little dinner café. It was a full day and we were happy to climb into our beds and get a good night's sleep.

Santa Rosa and Playa Conchal          

 The next day we drove to Santa Rosa National Park and visited the Casona. The Casona is now a museum and tells visitors about the wars Costa Rica went through, the history of William Walker (he was a jerk), and a bit about the development of the land. We didn’t go on any hikes, because the heat was coming and we wanted to go to the beach!!!!
 

 We drove back down to Liberia and headed west toward Playa Conchal. We did stop at a café – we were Americans, drinking costa Rican coffee in a European style café. Quite the experience! After an hour of driving we checked into our hotel, Hotel Conchal, and cranked the AC in our room. The hotel was very nice, and the staff is completely fluent in English. The owners are from England and New York, so there was no problem with communication. Later, my mom and I walked to Playa Conchal in the evening to catch the sunset. I believe I have found my favorite beach in all of Costa Rica. It is spectacular!!!! The beach itself is a mixture of white sand and crushed up seashells with every color possible. The bay is very sheltered, so there are no big waves to worry about, and the beach has a very calm atmosphere. I would go back to Playa Conchal in a heartbeat!

            Once the sun had set we walked back into town and ate at a local soda. The food was excellent! To finish our wonderful day, we stopped at a minimart and I bought my mom an Imperial beer, the Costa Rican favorite. We sat by the pool and enjoyed the cool evening, while sharing the beer and using the wifi.
 

            The only problem with the day – my mom accidently deleted all her photos!! Luckily, she is not the first person to experience this. Our cameras use the same memory card, so we saved her card and used a recovery program to get the pictures after we returned to San Joaquin. All the pictures are safe and sound!

            Saturday came bright and early! My mom and I were feeling very lazy, but I convinced her to sign us up for a catamaran tour. The tour started at 1:30pm, so we had time to drive to Playa Grande and explore a new beach. Playa Grande had wonderful spiral shells, so we gathered enough for all her second graders to have one. We drove back to the hotel and waited for our shuttle. After a quick ride, we arrived at Playa Flamingo where we boarded our catamaran, the Lazy Lizard! There was a group of about 20 people on the boat and we all enjoyed the ocean breeze, the free drinks, and the views of the shoreline. The captain took us to a sheltered bay where we went snorkeling to see brightly colored fish. Most of us headed to shore and relaxed on the sand and watched the little hermit crabs scuttle back and forth. Once it was time to go back, I watched people struggle to walk into the water with their fins. I decided to share a secret with them – it is easier if you walk backwards! Within two minutes everyone was walking backwards into the waves. I wanted to laugh and say they were all gullible, but it really is the easiest way to walk with flippers. I found that lesson out during scuba diving class. Once back on the boat, we sailed out to watch the sunset. We were in luck, and dolphins swam up to the boat and played with us!!!! It was a perfect end to the tour. We sailed back and after being dropped off at our hotel, we gratefully hit the hay.
 

Driving Back            

Sunday was bittersweet. We didn’t want to leave, but we knew we had to. It was time to make the drive back to San Joaquin de Flores. We took our time and stopped in Guatil, a village known for its traditional pottery. We watched a demonstration and bought a couple pieces. We explored the town of Nicoya, saw the oldest church in Costa Rica (built in the 1600’s) and crossed the Taiwanese Friendship Bridge. We kept on driving until we hit Highway 27, the main road into San Jose. I have said it before, and I will say it again – Costa Ricans are not nice drivers!!! We got so fed up with the traffic that we 'asked' Garmin for a detour. We took the next exit and detoured on Highway 3, the old highway, way up into the mountains. The views were spectacular and the traffic not as bad. We enjoyed the less stressful driving and got back to SJF around 6:30. After a quick stop at my house to switch clothes and pick up homework, we went back to our B&B for a restful night. Of course, it was slightly more restful for my mom than me – I was working on a grammar presentation for the next day!

Our first weekend in Costa Rica was full of adventures – I am sorry I can’t tell you everything we did, but I would need about 10 pages and a longer attention span! I will write about our second weekend and hopefully post it soon. Overall, I have really enjoyed having my mom visit me, and its been so nice getting to experience Costa Rica with her.

Nicarauga

Sorry for the long break in between blog posts! For some reason I just never sat down and wrote one even though I have had tons of fun and new adventures. I’ll write about the biggest: Nicaragua!!

Our school planned a trip for us to Nicaragua. Now, they have this mandatory international trip to work around some logistics. When you first enter the country, your passport gets stamped for 90 days. However, that’s not enough for our semester. Also, getting Visas is tough because Costa Rica only issues them when you are inside the country. Because it is expensive and a hassle, we just leave the country for at least 3 days and, when we return, we get another 90 days – plenty of time to finish off our semester abroad.

 This particular adventure began at 3:30am on Thursday. Yes, 3:30am! I got up and gathered all my things, including the chocolate chip cookies I made to share along the way. I tried to sneak out of the house without waking anyone up and nearly succeeded – the sliding door in the hallway woke up Flor. She saw me out of the house and wished me safe travels. The bus was at the institute when I arrived and half of my fellow students were there, so I didn’t have to wait alone. Because I was early, I got a big seat in the front all to myself! Everyone piled on and we were on our way. We talked for about 10 minutes and then everyone fell asleep.

I woke up for breakfast in Liberia, a town about 1 ½ hours away from the Costa Rican- Nicaraguan boarder. The town is in the Guanacaste providence, and it was HOT! San Joaquín de Flores is in the central valley where there is more protection and elevation to keep the temperature cooler. The heat of Guanacaste and Nicaragua was similar to Wenatchee in August with 90-100 degree weather. After breakfast, we got back on the bus and travelled to the boarder. I lost track of how many times we had to show our passports, but we finally made it to the Nicaraguan side. Because we had a private bus, the process took a bit longer than we were expecting. We had to wait for 2 hours to get our passports back from the immigration office! Once we finally got them back, we were on our way to our final stop, Granada, Nicaragua.
 

Driving through Nicaragua, we realized something. Our air conditioning in the bus couldn’t keep up with the heat, and the hot air from the windows only cools you down so much. We endured the hot car rides for the weekend, and I just told myself it was all part of the adventure.

Granada! Granada is a beautiful town and is very popular with tourists. It is a shining example of colonial architecture with its cobblestone streets and painted houses. Our hotel, La Gran Francia, was located in one of the oldest buildings in Granada. All the buildings are very colorful and the people are friendly. We had time to explore and then went to dinner in Masala, a town about 1 hour from Granada. Masala had a souvenir market, but everything was very touristy and the prices reflected that. We were all excited to come back to our hotel at night and enjoy the wonderful air conditioning! After a long day of traveling in hot weather I was ready for bed.

Friday morning rolled around. We had an early breakfast and left to tour Leon Viejo. Leon Viejo was one of the earliest settlements in Nicaragua. It was abandoned and covered by earth due to the eruption of Momotombo. Even now, 75% of the city is underground and they are still in the process of excavating the foundations.

After Leon Viejo, we journeyed to Leon, the big, bustling town. We had free time to explore. I walked with Megan and we visited a bakery for lunch followed by an air-conditioned coffee shop. In the afternoon our group met back up at the cathedral, and we got to climb onto the roof! The views were spectacular! It was definitely the highlight of Leon.

Coming back from Leon was not much fun for me. I was beginning to feel the first part of food poisoning. L Friday night I spent a lot of time in the bathroom, and luckily I had wonderful roommates who were very understanding. I have no idea what I got sick from, but the one good thing is that I was done being sick around 11pm on Friday so I managed to get some sleep and was ready to go with the group on Saturday.

Saturday morning after breakfast (I was hungry since there was nothing in my system!) we went on a boat ride around the isles in Lake Nicaragua. There are some FANCY houses! We even saw the summer lake house of the owner of Flor De Caña, the Nicaraguan rum. We really enjoyed the ride and the water and wind kept us all from getting overheated. The boat ride was followed by a car ride to very touristy town where the main attraction was the viewing of the Nicaraguan Crater Lake. It was very beautiful, but there were many people selling things and asking us to buy trinkets. We saw a couple of tourists pay through the nose for small trinkets. We didn’t buy anything because we knew we were going to real market in Masala after viewing the lake.

The local market in Masala is a swarming mass of life and people selling everything under the sun. The market was broken up into sections – each one for vegetables, meats, fish, souvenirs, pharmacy products, shoes, clothes, and anything else you can imagine. Megan and I walked all the way to the end of the market and it was in the midst of cabbages I heard one of the funniest piropos (catcalls) yet. We heard a man say,  “Wow! Beautiful! I’m going to move to Miami!”. Megan and I had a hard time not laughing. Here we were, two gringas from Washington State and Illinois in a Nicaraguan market and the guy thinks we are from Miami. It does make you think about how a big country like the US becomes very small and general, and for some people, anyone from the US is from Miami. In my experience down here, the USA is broken into Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. This viewpoint has been very interesting and it has shown me how people from Central America think of the US. Anyway, back to the market! The prices in Nicaragua are very cheap, so I bought some small trinkets, two hair clips, and a famous Nicaraguan hammock! I was hoping to buy a pair of sandals for $8, but alas, the curse of big feet struck again! The largest size offered was 39, and I am a 40. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Thank goodness for Target back in the states!

We came back to Granada around 5pm and had the rest of the evening to ourselves. Most of us walked down Gringo Street (yes, tourist central :) ) and got gelato. Ellie, Brenda, and I went to Mass at 6pm in the Cathedral. That was a really cool experience, and the church was beautiful. We did experience a bit of cultural differences though. Ellie went up for a blessing, and the sister who was giving out the Eucharist didn’t understand why Ellie had her arms crossed. The experience made us all chuckle.

 After mass a group of us went to dinner at a fancy, Asian-fusion-American restaurant. The prices were very reasonable! I had a chicken crepe, fruit tea, and a dessert crepe all for $11 USD. It was fun having food that I normally wouldn’t get in Central America. After talking for a long time, I called it a night and returned to my air-conditioned room for a wonderful nights sleep!

Sunday morning came. We all had breakfast, I exchanged my Cordobas (Nicaraguan money) for Colones (Costa Rican) and then we set off back for the border. When we got there, we were all ready for a long wait. This time we took our water, books, and money with us off the bus! Luckily, we only had to wait 45 minutes. On the Costa Rican side we had to take our bags through customs, and I had to answer some questions from one of the officials when I got my passport stamped. I was the first in line and had no idea what he was asking me! David, one of our professors and administrators, had to step in, and it was a good thing he did! The officer wanted a list of everyone and I didn’t have it (obviously!). It was one of those moments were I thought my Spanish was sufficient but I was reminded of how much more there is for me to learn, especially when I have to talk through the plastic screens to a customs official. :)

We all endured the 6-hour car ride back to San Joaquin. I say endured because the air conditioning still wasn’t working. Getting back to San Joaquin felt great! I came home, unpacked, and took a wonderful shower! The adventure in Nicaragua was very fun (except for food poisoning!) but nothing beats the area you are comfortable with and your “own” bed.

There are 51 days left in my Costa Rican adventure – I hope to update you all sooner rather than later. This weekend I plan on attending a FIFA women’s U-17 game, so hopefully I can share that experience with all of you.

Have a great day and enjoy the first official day of spring!!

It's March!

I can’t believe it is already March!! Let me fill you in on the past two weeks.

After the adventures of Tortuguero, I had a “normal” week. I say normal because its so different only having three days of class. Thursday was a work day, and then on Friday a group of us went to Ojo de Agua. It is a small water park with 3 or 4 different pools, a restaurant, and two platforms of different heights to jump off of. We all jumped off the top, and when the Tico guys saw us jump, they miraculously had the courage to jump off too! It was quite funny.

We all enjoyed the sun, and after coming back, I went to bed! On Saturday, we met around 8 o’clock and took the bus to San Jose. We walked around and explored a bit, then went to the Puntarenas bus terminal. It was very crowded, because everyone, ourselves included, decided to attend the Carnival over the weekend. Luckily, they had plenty of extra buses running. The bus to Puntarenas took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The town was full of people when we got there, and we had fun exploring the market, listening the music, and just people watching. The market was special because it normally is not on the beach – two cruise ships were docked at Puntarenas, so the market was for them. Surprisingly, the prices were comparable to the markets in san jose. I bought a bracelet and a t-shirt. It was funny buying souvenirs with colones because most people were using US dollars, and therefore, the vendors had trouble making change for me. It just shows how big of a part tourism plays in Costa Rica.

We spent all day exploring, then went to dinner as a group. After dinner, we caught part of the parade before we had to leave. The parade was a good example of Tico Time. The parade was suppose to start at 5, and we did not see any signs of life until 6:45 pm. We enjoyed the few groups we saw, then caught the bus back to San Joaquin. On the way back, the bus stopped at the airport. Our tica moms had told us that it was easy to get off there, so we disembarked and asked around. We caught one of the many buses to Heredia, and it dropped us off right in San Joaquin! We saved about 4 dollars each and over an hour of travelling.

The next week passed by rather normally. I went out to ladies night for the first time, and all the drinks for the ladies were free. It was definitely an experience, and I got carded for the first time ever. We got home at 1am, and for a girl who loves sleep, it was interesting. When I woke up around 9am, my mom teased me saying “good afternoon” and asking me if I brought the bread for breakfast. they have a saying that if you are going to be out super late, you might as well stop at the bakery when it opens. 

Thursday and Friday were homework days. In history, we had to read and summarize the early history of central America by writing two papers, so it was important to get started on those. On Friday I experienced my first ever Costa Rican downpour! It was crazy to see the grey sheets of water, and the sound was incredible. The water was welcome here in the central valley. Right now, we are in the peak of the dry season, so any water is wonderful. I also loved how it helped control my allergies by batting down the dust.

Saturday, March 1^st rolled around!!!! Its crazy! Anyway, 4 of met at 11 o’clock to explore the town of Sarchí. Sarchí is known as the artisan capital of Costa Rica, and also known for their furniture stores. We took a bus to Alajuela, then Alajuela to Sarchí. We got off on the outskirts, then explored and shopped our way into the heart of the town. One of the main artistic products of Sarchí are their painted oxcarts. We saw a shop where we could watch people painting – the amount of work that goes into one ox cart is truly incredible.

In the center of the city we found the world’s largest ox-cart. See the picture:

We enjoyed exploring, and then caught the buses back. We arrived in San Joaquín at 7pm. I ate dinner, sat with my tico family, and monica read over my second history paper. All in all, a relatively calm evening.

On Sunday I woke up, went to church, ran, and went to the gym. I wrote this blog post, and got caught up for homework and ready for the week. Update you all soon!

Turtles!!

Lets talk about turtles!

This weekend I traveled with the ecotourism class to Tortuguero. When you think about baby sea turtles, this is the place that probably pops into your mind. But before I continue, I have to say, unfortunately, we were not there during the right time and missed out on seeing the little ones scurry to the ocean. 

I’ll start with Thursday. I spent the day doing homework (and many some Pinterest J ) and emailing my mom. She is coming down in March/April so we are working on figuring out what we want to do. On Thursday night, all the girls met at the bus stop in San Joaquin and went to the mall, El Paseo de las Flores. A free mini-concert was being held, and most of us needed to see it for a music report we had to write. The singer, Xiomara, was wonderful! She is about 4’10”, but her voice is huge! I found out later that she won the Costa Rican version of The Voice. After the concert, we hung out in Heredia for an hour, then those of us heading to Tortuguero, a.k.a. Turtleville, headed home for a good nights sleep.

We all woke up on Friday and met our driver and Ana, our administrator/principle/mom/secretary at the institute at 7:00am. Taking the back roads, we traveled through Heredia and picked up the ecotourism teacher. It was my first time meeting her, and she was really nice! I felt bad because I had taken Dramamine for motion sickness, so I slept most of the way. However, I was awake when we crossed the mountains out of the central valley. They are truly rainforest, and it rained slightly on our way out, which is normal. It is always strange to me how the central valley can be relatively dry, yet the mountains that surround it always have fog and drizzly weather.

We made our way to the area where boats will ferry people to Tortuguero. Tortuguero has no roads, and the only way in and out is by boat. Lets just say, for the first time in Costa Rica, I matched everyone around me – white skin, light hair, and big backpacks. Since we arrived on Friday morning, there were many other tourists, scientists, and students waiting to catch the boats. We didn’t have to wait long – Ana had already reserved a boat for us, so we only had to wait 20 minutes for the other half of the boat to show up.

A little warning here – if the following paragraph describes you, I am sorry, and try to not take offense.

There, that’s my warning. The other half of the boat was full of stereotypical GRINGOS!! Now, I know, I am a gringo. It’s my hair, my eyes, my skin – but there is a difference between being a gringo and acting like one. This group was full of high school students and two chaperones. One chaperone would not quit talking, even though she had lost her voice before the trip. The others were constantly talking and not enjoying the peaceful river or looking for animals. Our driver, Manuel, said something to our group in Spanish. One girl yells from the back, “We don’t understand Spanish! Can you speak English??” in the whitest, blonde girl voice I have heard in a long time. When a Tico speaks, and its not directed directly at you, it might be a good idea to try to act like you understand. My group and I talked in Spanish, just because we were so fed up with their actions and it was good practice for us. I know we are all tourists, or extranjeros, en Costa Rica, but when your own countrymen think you are obnoxious, you know the locals are rolling their eyes at you. The 40-minute boat ride finally ended, and it was wonderful to get some space and put ourselves fully back into the Tico frame of mind.  Pura vida 

After eating lunch at our hotel, Vista al Mar, we got on a smaller boat and set out for the Turtle Conservatory Center. The other students passed out surveys to students as part of their class, so I had time to look around. A path led from the center to the town, so we headed down that way. The town of Tortuguero is truly a one-street town. The spit of land is not wide enough to have it any way else! I had plenty of time to shop around and enjoy the view. I found a cute, family run store and I bought a keychain and a piggybank made from a coconut. On our way back to the hotel, I stopped and grabbed a smoothie for 1000 colones, or 2 dollars. It was pineapple, mango, papaya, and it was delicious! I have been so lucky getting to be in a place where the fruit is readily available.

After riding around the river and seeing birds, monkeys, and a few adult turtles, we arrived back to the hotel. I used the Wifi to call my mom and email people, then headed to dinner.

Friday was valentines day, and I have to say, for being half a world away, I managed to have a good one. My boyfriend had sent me a package earlier that week, so I got to eat my chocolate and read his card on the beach in the moonlight. The beach was so calm and serene with the waves and the full moon. It was wonderful to sit and be able to think with no cars or people.

Saturday rolled around! We headed to Tortugeuro National Park and learned more about the conservation process. After, we had a few hours free-time, then boarded the boat to return home. The drive from Tortuguero to Heredia lasts about 3.5 hours, and this time I was awake to see the country. Its amazing how many small towns there are, and there is really no wide open spaces. That’s one thing that’s been different. The idea of “rural” here is not the same as mine. I think of cattle-ranches, or the Palouse at home, and there is just not that much space here. Its been interesting adjusting to that.

On Sunday, I went to mass at 9am, then came back and worked on homework. Monica and Angelica had gone to a party, so the house was very calm with only Flor and I. We watched Letters to Juliet in Spanish. I was very glad I could take it easy on Sunday and get ready for the week, including prepping for the English class I help teach on Mondays.

Have a good rest of the week!

Arenal and Rio Celeste

Arenal!

This weekend myself and the other API kids (Albert, Jill, Scott, Abbie, and MaryClaire) had the opportunity to visit Arenal and Rio Celeste with our fearless guide and director, Esteban! We were all super excited, and for good reason.

We left San Joaquin de Flores at 9am on Friday. It was very nice having private transportation, and not having to deal with the bus system. We followed some windy roads up into the mountains. Our first stop, about 1 hour into the trip, was a town called Zarcero. It’s a small town with around 4,500 residence, but we went to see the gardens at the Parque Francisco Alvarado and the church, la Iglesia de San Rafael. The park is full of bushes and trees that have been shaped into fantastic animals, shapes, and are altogether wonderful. We all had fun running around and taking pictures. The church was also beautiful. It is made of wood, which is different from many of the stone churches you will find in Costa Rica. There was a pianist playing when we visited, so the experience was quiet majestic.

The drive from Zarcero to La Fortuna was beautiful. The skies were clear and we saw many mountain villages. The roads are very twisty, so if you have problems with motion sickness, like myself, take medication. It will help! As we descended, we saw the first view of the Arenal Volcano. It instantly reminded me of the lonely mountain from The Hobbit. Arenal is very impressive, and loams up. It is the quintessential volcano. It has stopped spewing lava, but we did see a little bit of gas released from the top.

We checked into our hotel, Arenal Paraiso, and then took off for the national park. We took a short hike and went to the observation point where there are views of the volcano and Lake Arenal. See the pictures below:

After, we had a few hours at the hotel, then headed to Baldi to visit the hot springs. They were wonderful! The water was super warm, and we explored the whole complex. Our ticket time was for 6-10pm, but we all were tired, so we found Esteban and returned to the hotel around 8:30. I checked the Olympic games, then fell asleep.

On Saturday, we had a delicious buffet breakfast and headed to Rio Celeste. It was raining, and I forgot my raincoat! I guess I’m used to the semi-desert of Wenatchee, where I never need one. Esteban and his girlfriend, Lucia, didn’t have raincoats either, so we stopped and got dollar ponchos. Best purchase of the weekend!

We hiked into Rio Celeste and saw the waterfall, sulfur pools, and where the water changes from normal to the brilliant blue. Although it was raining, we still could see the color, which was a blessing. We went to the end and soaked in some natural hot springs, and then headed back out. After a total of 5 hours of hiking in the rain and mud, we all were grateful to head back to the hotel.

*Note, if anyone is planning on going to Rio Celeste, the trail is pretty treacherous. It was super muddy for us, and there are many tree roots and rocks. Take an extra pair of shoes, because my tennis shoes were covered in mud and soaking wet.

On Saturday night, we all went to a nice group dinner in La Fortuna, and I had yummy steak. J  I also experienced Pops ice-cream for the first time. It is delicious, and reminds me of Baskin-Robbins.  

Sunday morning rolled around and we had the morning to ourselves. The group basked in the sun, watched movies, and used the WiFi in the hotel lobby. At 12, we headed back to San Joaquin. I got back at 3:45, dropped my bags, and went to the church to attend 4pm mass. Once I got back, I had some quality time with my Tica mom as we cleaned and scrubbed my tennis shoes. They are now squeaky clean, but I need some bleach to get them white again.

On the agenda this week: Classes, teaching English, working out, observing a physical therapist, and enjoying the package my boyfriend sent me for Valentines day. J Lots of yummy chocolate and candy!!

The weekend was a blast, and now I have a normal week ahead of me. Hope everyone is having a wonderful February!

Happy February

Some people have been bugging me to update my blog, so I think it’s time.

Time is flying by! It’s been two weeks since I have last posted. I can’t believe I’ve already been here a month! It seems like yesterday I boarded the plane and said goodbye to my family and my boyfriend.  

So much has happened these past two weeks. I finished my resume material and sent them to my mom for her to proof read and mail. I also got some sad news from home. My dog, who was a puppy when I was 9, had to be put down. She had cancer and it was time. Having to deal with those feelings and emotions while in another country has been interesting. I think it was easier to get over my dog’s death because there is nothing here to remind me of her, and thankfully I haven’t seen any chocolate labs around.

Classes are going well. I only have four, so I can’t complain about anything. My week starts on Monday at 8am and ends Wednesday at noon. There are definitely worse things!  In my conversation class, we have to do community service. I choose to teach intro to English at the local library. The first class was a little crazy because my partner and I didn’t have a lesson plan. Luckily, we could focus on the basics, like the alphabet, how to say the letters, and little greetings. Tomorrow will be a lot better – we are working on numbers, colors, and some basic information, and we have handouts for the students. There are 5 women, so we are able to help them one-on-one a lot. I have found I really like teaching them, even when I have a hard time explaining something because my Spanish isn’t perfect.  

Other fun news, I will be observing a physical therapist here in Costa Rica! I have been working with one of the administrators at the Institute and he has helped me get everything set up. Hopefully I will be able to start this week, and if not, for sure the week after. I am really excited to see if there is a difference in how they treat clients.

Last weekend (January 25^th) I went to a wedding with Monica. It was very fun, with lots of food. I found it very similar to a normal US wedding. The ceremony was similar, and there was plenty of dancing! A DJ took care of the music, but a Mariachi came by, along with a Mardi Gras drum line and dancers! There was a ton of energy at the wedding, and everyone had a wonderful time. 

Also, I was craving chocolate chip cookies two weeks ago. So, after asking my host mom, I bought everything to make them with Emily and Brenda. They turned out slightly different - I think it is the brown sugar. It is not the same as at home. But, they still tasted great! 

This weekend, everyone went to Puerto Viejo! It’s a wonderful beach on the Caribbean. I think I liked it more than Manuel Antonio. We left early on Friday and came back Saturday night. In that time we explored the town of Puerto Viejo, laid on the beach, had a group dinner at a lovely restaurant, and hung out at the hostel. On Saturday, Emily and I rented bikes and rode the 12km down to Manzanillo beach and walked around the Gandoca-Manzanillo Preserve. The views of the ocean were spectacular! We enjoyed our time, and on the way back up, stopped at a chocolate shop. It was okay, but we had found a better one on Friday. It was located in a yoga shop (Om Yoga), and was awesome! The owner had a tasting room with free chocolate samples, and he let us have as many as we wanted. In fact, he actually left us, two young women, alone with all the chocolate J It was delicious! I ended up purchasing Black Beach Espresso, Chai Choco Latte, and Three Kings chocolate bars. So good! The company is Caribeans, and everything was made in Puerto Viejo. I could seriously talk about the chocolate all day, but I think I should move on :)

After biking 15 miles and hiking around, I was glad to get back to the hostel and shower. We had return tickets for 4pm, so around 3pm we started trekking into town. There are no assigned seats on the bus from Puerto Viejo, so we wanted to be in the front of the line. The ride back was uneventful, and everyone was glad we had decided to do a short trip. We arrived in San Jose, and found a bus to take us back to San Joaquin. I was so happy to fall into my bed! I slept until 8:15am, which is the longest I have done so far. I know, that’s not too late, but if you heard the traffic outside my house, you would be impressed, especially today.

Today (Sunday) is voting day! People really get into the voting and drive around playing music from their cars while waving flags. It’s a really fun atmosphere. I am going to church at 4pm, then I’m having my own celebration for the Super Bowl! Go Hawks!! I am so excited to watch it, and represent the Seahawks from Costa Rica. I have loved seeing the news on Facebook, and am really excited for this Super Bowl, especially since my cousin in son the team! He is a wide receiver, and has worked so hard to get to where he is. Cheer him on, #19, Bryan Walters!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I want to say good luck to the Seahawks, and my friends at St. Thomas More who are planning the Founder's Dinner. I know how much work it is, but I know you will all do a wonderful job!

Hasta Luego!

PS - I will edit this when I have faster internet and post some pictures!