I last left off on the way to the beach with Jen and Fallen. We stayed in Dominical in a typical beach hostel. Lots of beds, lots of very hip, tan, attractive people in skimpy clothes, LOTS of humidity, and sand in all your stuff. We hung out on the beach, went souvenir shopping and had some delicious pizza with cuba libres (they come in a can in Costa Rica. How convenient!). The next day we headed a few kilometers down the road to the neighboring town of Uvita. The Saturday market there is wonderful with everything from woven purses and handmade jewelry to organic produce, unavoidable baked goods, coconut oil and wood crafts. We perused and purchased after having the best cup of coffee I think I've had yet in Costa Rica (from a tiny hole in the wall cafe of course--that's always where the good stuff is).
And after getting my fill of shopping at a local boutique (I found leggings and a sports bra! It was like finding the holy grail...I don't think the salesperson had ever seen someone so excited to be buying simple black leggings), we headed back to Dominical.
Then the national park madness began! We lucked out and got a ride from my friend Nick. His parents were in town and also going to Quepos. They kindly offered us a ride and we all crammed into their rental car. It started pouring rain--our timing seemed perfect on this trip.
Our luck was pretty good too. Even though the hostel we called was full, they offered us space in a guest house called Loma Linda. Which somehow turned out to be the entire bottom floor of a house--for $40 a night. It was amazing! And Manuel Antonio ended up being a very cute (and expensive) tourist town where we enjoyed browsing shops, stumbling upon live jazz, and having a "treat yourself" kind of dinner overlooking the ocean at sunset.
We headed to the National Park (which was like a zoo...of people, not animals). We decided not to buy the overpriced tour and just hike the 2 km on our own, hunting for the wild with only our own eyes and wits. Ok, so we might have eavesdropped on tours in front of us and stopped where they stopped to find what they were looking at...but we found some things no one else noticed. Overall we saw a few sloths, some monkeys, cool plants, a giant spider eating a dragonfly, a deer and 2 babies, a "snake" (all I saw was green but the guide ahead said it was there), bats, and tons of great people watching. At one point we ran across an adorable sloth climbing up a tree. All of a sudden a swarm of people pointing and whipping out their i-phones appeared behind us. There were probably 50+. It was crazy. At the end of the trail is quite a picturesque beach. It's one you'll see on postcards with white sand, palm trees, turquoise water and the coolest part...literally no development. No fancy hotels or bars or cement or trash. Just a beautiful place to spend the day getting sunburned :)
It was sad to see Jen and Fallen go! Our 2 weeks together was so wonderful. We were all flexible and made our decisions based on "what does your heart tell you?" (literally we said that about everyday) and never got sick of each other. It was one of the few times I've traveled with friends and it was da best.
My next 2 weeks of work were backpacking to homestays and the Rescue Ropes certification. It was pretty hard to stay focused seeing as mi madre hermosa was soon to be landing en el mismo pais que yo! But the weeks went well. I worked with a new group of students I hadn't before and it was super fun to get to know them. And we had a lot of new students. The program is growing a lot. The backpacking is one of my favorite itineraries. We get to camp out in the jungle for 2 nights (like real, out there, tarp camping in the jungle!) and stayed with amazing families for the next 3 days. We eat amazing food, speak in Spanish, get to see real Tico houses and learn what it's like to live far from the city on a road only passable by horse or hiking. The Rescue Ropes is super fun too. We get to play with ropes and harnesses and pulleys and hang from a bridge and ascend/descend a rope, haul a litter with a person in it up a steep incline, practice knots, swim, rappel into the river, and create crazy mechanical advantages to haul up a lot of weight. I love that kind of stuff!
And then my mom came to visit! It was a short 6 days but we packed it in! I had the luck of bringing a few graduated students to the airport on Tuesday morning (we left at 3 am!) and it worked out perfectly because after I dropped them off, mama Annelies arrived. It was amazing to see her smiling face walking towards me! I have been missing my family for 6 months now and what a treat to have her come visit. We took the local bus downtown and then taxied over to our "hostel". Our taxi driver kept telling me to tell her (in Spanish) how beautiful and young my mother looked and if she had a boyfriend. It was adorable.
The hostel actually turned out to be the nicest place I've stayed my whole time here! For $35 a night! We had a wonderful room with nice clean and new decorations and it was just so cute (good pick mom!). After planning and re-planning a few times, we had our itinerary: San Jose, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Arenal Volcano, Jaco Beach, San Jose. We rented a car and off we went!
It was weird driving. Not only were we driving in Costa Rica (let's just say people will pass on blind curves guaranteed every 10 minutes), I hadn't driven in 6 months! It was pretty plush being able to drive wherever we wanted with A/C and the security of always having our stuff secure in the trunk.
Monteverde and the town of Santa Elena are a good 2-3 hour drive from San Jose. The last part is up a rocky, pot holey dirt road (oops, we should have gotten a car with higher clearance). We were driving along and I look at the gas gauge. It had dropped to...gas light status. "Uh, the gas light just went on mom," I said. "Oh, I thought it was at half a tank!" she replied. "Umm..." I immediately began planning how to beg for gas from our hostel or anyone that might cross our path. "Ok, how much would we pay for a gallon...er...liter of gas?" I wondered aloud. I kept driving, not quite sure what to do other than just keep driving and hoping it would all work out. And then, somehow, in the middle of nowhere...a magical gas station billowed forth from the dusty dirt clouds we were making. I've never seen a gas station in a rural town here. Ok, Universe, I'll take it.
Then, as we drove into Santa Elena, this huge bustling tourist hub appeared. We were both very surprised by the amount of shops, people, and cars that were suddenly around us when we had just spent a good hour and a half of a very rural dirt road.
But Santa Elena was really cute and a nice place to walk around, be a tourist (souvenir shops! Treehouse restaurant!) and then relax in our nice hostel with our attractive and muscly host (ahem, mom seemed to want to talk to him about all the local info :) The next morning we took a guided natural history walk in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Our guide had grown up there and led tours for over 22 years. He was quite the expert. We learned a lot about plants/birds, saw a hummingbird swarm attack a snake, hung out on a suspension bridge and then saw dozens of hummingbirds feeding which was super cool. Then we headed over to the Don Juan Coffee farm where we took a cool tour about coffee, cacao and sugarcane. Yummy samples were included.
And we were on the bumpy dirt road again headed to La Fortuna (the town) at the base of Arenal Volcano. It ended up being slow going on the dirt road so we got into La Fortuna late (ok 9 but I was exhausted). The place I had scoped out turned out to be QUITE the party hostel...we walked into a lounge complete with smokers, pillow bed/lounge thingys, many a drink in hand and a pool with a swim up bar...everyone looked about 18. We got a few elevator looks (up and down) being a mom and daughter duo so decided to leave. We got a private room in a quiet hotel at the end of town and I'm pretty sure I passed out the second I hit the bed (my night of no sleep before going to the airport was catching up with me).
About 5 am, we both woke up to the sound of pouring water. I thought mom was taking a shower and wondered why we had to get up so early. Then I realized she was still in bed and it was giants drops of rain hitting the metal roof. Our plans to hike to the volcano seemed questionable. So we wandered for about 10 minutes with our umbrellas in the over developed town of La Fortuna until we ducked into a cafe for breakfast. Luckily, it stopped raining and we headed to the National Park. National Parks are quite different here than in the US. You might be familiar with large, interesting visitors centers, well marked paths with pedagogic signs and rangers in awesome outfits. Not happenin here. All the NP I've been to have been $10-20 admission for a 2 km trail and a bathroom. So that's what awaited us. But hey, at least they are protecting the beautiful land! We hiked up to a viewpoint of the misty, cloud enshrouded, mysterious volcano (apparently on clear nights you can see the lava running down) and then hiked up to an old lava boulder field. We happened to see some birds, tapirs and pizotes (an adorable raccoon type thingy with a long upright tail) on the way which was fun.
Then in the car again headed to the beach! We went to Jaco, which is rumored to be a sketchy surfer bum town so I wasn't sure what awaited us, since I had never been there. It was the closest beach to San Jose that wouldn't be a super long drive back to the airport. I would describe it as the Las Vegas of Costa Rica. There were casinos, lots of ladies in heels and leopard print, bumpin clubs and people randomly peeing in public (yes, while eating ice cream, in broad daylight, we witnessed a woman squat between cars, pull aside her undies, pee, then spritz a little water on her exposed lady parts and just walk away...). But we once again lucked out with our hostel. It was right on "the strip" but it was a nice, quiet oasis with a little pool and A/C. We enjoyed people watching, a lovely day at the beach and a wonderful treat of an organic/fresh food meal complete with appetizers and drinks (fresh ginger mojito please!).
Overall a wonderful, wonderful, trip. Mom definitely treated me to a lot which was incredibly nice and I hope she had a great time too.
Then, after madre safely on her plane, I was off to renew my 90 day tourist visa again (had it really been that long?). I headed up to Nicaragua again by bus. I tried to spend less on travel so I could treat myself to private rooms! I spent 5 days in San Juan del Sur. I did yoga everyday, ate fresh food and smoothies, read, knitted, hiked up to a giant statue of Jesus overlooking the bay and took 2 surf lessons. And I stayed in my own room every night! It was an incredible treat that I haven't had very often here. It was the most relaxing and slow paced trip I've taken here and much needed to reset myself for my last month of work.
The surfing was awesome and I met a woman who had just moved there and we buddied up for 2 days of lessons from Norwin (a local surf star...literally his last name is Estrella). We asked him to give us more of an intermediate lesson on how to catch waves by ourselves and on form and all that. It was wonderful and we tried 2 different beaches (Playa Remanso and Playa Maderas). Luckily for us when we went to Maderas it was a small day (apparently waves can get 10+ feet tall there). It was crystal clear blue water, cool rock formations, white sand and lots of surfers. I would have been nervous without a teacher to tell me which waves to go on. That day was probably the best surfing I've done. I actually caught the "green waves" and rode them sideways. It felt amazing but my shoulders were so tired after 2 days of paddling. My last wave in I caught it and then fell straight down onto the board. I ended up sitting with my legs off to the side (like side saddling it) and somehow staying on the whole time. It was pretty funny.
The power also went out 2 nights in a row. In the entire town. Apparently if a nearby town needs repairs on the electrical lines, since all the power for kilometers is connected, they just shut of everyone's power without warning. Some places had generators, but can you imagine never knowing when your power was going to be randomly turned off for 5+ hours? Everyone just brought out their candles and twiddled their thumbs waiting patiently. Can you imagine if that happened in the US? People would freak out and complain and it would make the news. But that is just part of life in Nicaragua. Can you imagine what that would be like for a restaurant? How much business, food and money they would lose if they can't afford a generator (which a lot can't). It was interesting talking to the family who owns the hotel I stayed at about it. They were just like, "Yeah, it happens when it rains in Rivas, but don't worry it'll come back on anytime now." Perspective.
And now I'm back at my favorite hostel in San Jose (Hostel Casa Del Parque) where they somehow remember my name every time I come back. I can't believe I only have 1 more month here! I bought my plane ticket back to the States for October 1st! 3 more weeks of work and 2 more weeks of play! My friend Christy is coming to visit my next off shift (how did I get so lucky with all these visitors?!) and I'll have to get all my last Costa Rican kicks before I leave. Que loco!
Ok, muchos besos y hasta proximo!
Pura Vida,
Rose
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Thursday, July 24, 2014
The Struggle Bus Salute
Whew! It's been a while! I guess that means I've been busy. June flew by in a blur. I had a different schedule than usual and had one week on/one week off in June instead of my usual 2 weeks on/off. I worked a week of rafting and a week of Wilderness First Aid and on my weeks in between planned an entire staff training (and then led the training), and spent some time relaxing at a friend's casita overlooking the ocean. That was wonderful. I put my clothes in drawers, put pictures on the refrigerator, I had a refrigeratior (!) and life seemed a little more normal. Those 2 weeks made me realize how much I enjoy little things now. I seriously rejoiced and danced around while I was putting my clothes away in drawers. It was the coolest thing to cook myself 3 meals a day, have a shower, be alone, be able to be messy if I wanted or clean if I wanted. I thought I had learned how to live simply on my bike trip living out of panniers, but Costa Rica has taught me that there is always more to learn. This time it's living out of a plastic bin or a backpack, always moving, never having my own space, never being alone, never having internet, lots of bus time, not feeling pretty (it's so sweaty here all the time!), not being able to save food, not being able to find things I want to buy (I've been looking for black leggings and a sports bra for 5 months...not kidding). I really just have to go with the flow 100% of the time.
July has also been a blur...mainly because I could not wait for my friends Jen and Fallen to come visit! The first 2 weeks of July I worked on trail. Rafting and Surfing. It's the summer (busy season!) so we have lots of new students and lots to do at work. We have new staff coming, some policies have been changing so it's seemed very busy and sometimes stressful. Summers are always busy for outdoor adventure guiding. This surf week was the first time I felt like I would feel comfortable renting a surf board and going out on my own. I felt like I was getting more of a taste of "real" surfing...paddling till my arms felt like they would fall off, getting thrown around by waves, spending 2 hours on the water and only catching 2 waves, bobbing up and down on flat water waiting for waves, getting sun burned, always hoping to catch that next wave...
And then Jen and Fallen came! They got here a week ago and we still have 6 glorious days together! It has been amazing to get to hang out with people I love so so much. To feel completely at ease with them whether we are laughing or just reading quietly together or getting stuck in a funny situation. And we have had some funny ones so far.
Their first 2 days here we decided to go to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. I had never been there before so it was a new adventure for me too! We left San Jose and took a private shuttle/boat to Tortugero National Park/Village. It's located on some canals near the Atlantic Ocean so you can only get there by boat--should have been our first sign of how expensive it was going to be. We had a cool ride there--our tour guide was very talkative and told us all about plants and animals around. We got to the village, unsure of what to expect. It turns out to be one stretch of a concrete walkway with tourist traps/souvenir shops and expensive restaurants about 1/2 km long. We stayed at a dirty hostel for $40 a night (!). Everything to do there cost between $20 and $40. Want to take a canoe ride or rent a kayak? Want to see some turtles? Ok, spend tons of money! We decided to try out the National Park since we had come 4 hours to see it. So we paid the $10 entry fee and took the only 2km trail. That ended up going right next to the beach we had walked all along the day before for free...The park was literally only that trail. I guess I've been spoiled by National Parks in the US that have lots of trails and huge visitor centers/displays. So we decided to leave as soon as we could before we spent more money. The boat taxi out was $35 each.
So 2 days down, unnecessary money spent and not much seen, we landed in the tiny port town of Moin to start again. We got off the boat and immediately had taxi drivers offering to drive us to Puerto Viejo for $15 each. We opted for the local bus which maybe took an extra hour for a grand total of less than $4. And we got to see Limon (another port town where Costa Rica gets most of it's imports) and some local culture. Public transportation in my opinion is more interesting since you get to see the regular folk doing their regular thing. Why isolate yourself in a comfy, clean private shuttle all the time when you can get some local flair for way less expensive?
When we got off the bus in Puerto Viejo, we smiled and almost started skipping. Hippie beach town vibes came at us from all directions and as we checked in to our mosaic/mural/garden filled hostel we felt like the trip we had envisioned had finally started.
The Caribbean side. So much of a different culture I almost felt like I was in a different country! There is a lot of African and Cuban influence mixed in with the Spanish. It was super cool to hear someone speak Spanish one minute, and then change to English with a Jamaican twang the next. It seemed like everyone we encountered spoke 4 languages. We walked around the town, peering in bakeries, locally made clothes boutiques, and eyeing all the colorful bracelets people were selling on the streets. As the sun started setting, we came upon a restaurant called "The Lazy Mon" where a man playing John Mayor covers was belting it out. We sat down and enjoyed the 2 for 1 drink special. We were 2 feet from the beach. What a perfect setting!
The next day we rented cruiser bikes and made our way down the 10 km stretch of beaches in our sundresses. Put me on a bike and life is good! We met a man named Franklin selling "patty" (a delicious pastry with pineapple or plantain or meat filling. He would ride his bike yelling, "Patty, patty, patty, patty!" so of course we had to try some!) and he told us of a sweet beach where we hung out all day playing in the waves and getting sunburned (...Jen). On our ride back we stopped at a little soda and tried Caribbean rice and beans and chicken...made with coconut milk. Sooo goood! All the food we tried here was amazing.
We played at the beach the next day and met some more characters (we made a soul sister friend named Aurora who was 57 and kept telling us about girl power and how "the love of learning is what makes life beautiful" and took us Salsa dancing at a local haunt. A cute and wonderful experience.
We then had a nice long travel day! 8-9 hours on buses heading across the country. We decided to spend a day or 2 in the mountains to let our sun kissed skin heal before hitting the beaches on the Pacific side. So I took Jen and Fallen to one of my favorite little towns, San Gerardo. This is the town where the Chirripo National Park is which I climbed in March.
So I might have forgotten how hilly the town was and how far the bus drops you off from the hostel...well it's 2 km up a freaking giant non-stop hill. Jen and Fallen killed it (even though they were probably hating me during the climb haha) and we made it to our adorable hostel, Casa Mariposa.
We've realized sometimes we make things a struggle when they really don't need to be, or funny things just happen to us. Or sometimes things are just a hilarious struggle because we are in a foreign country. So we've dubbed ourselves "The Struggle Bus Salute". An example of the struggle bus salute is that say we decide to take a normal bus to San Gerardo like I already have before, so I thought it would be no problem. Half way through the ride, it stops, parks on the side of the road and the bus driver indicates to get off the bus and walk up the hill. So we do, thinking we are all cool and understand Spanish. Then we realize the bus is not going to drive up the hill with our bags, and we walk all the way back down and up with our bags with the bus driver thinking we are crazy. Then we walk on a tar covered road for a while and get on another bus that takes us the rest of the way up the hill. Thus the struggle bus salute was born.
And yet the mountain air and views were worth it for sure. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, sitting by nearby waterfalls, playing cards and drinking local wine and chatting with our hostel mates. 2 northwesterners (they are everywhere!), 2 girls from Sweden, and a couple from Belgium who were volunteering at the hostel for free room and board. We had our own room called "The Jungle Room" with views into the forest and half the wall just open screens. The main common area felt like a mountain lodge/living room with a stove, couches and recycled art everywhere. Very cute! One of the coolest hostels in Costa Rica.
The next day, we had a plan to hike what we thought was 4 1/2 km to some hot springs. We thought it would take us about 45 minutes since it was all down hill. It took us 1 1/2 hours and the last half was up another grueling hill! (Jen said she was not made for backpacking after that...). We made it to the hot springs with about 10 minutes before we needed to head back down to catch the bus back to San Isidro. We were pretty stressed and tired from such a long hike and bummed we couldn't even enjoy the water before leaving...until we realized we could just take the later bus. No stress. What a great plan that ended up being!
We let our stress evaporate in the steam of the hot springs, then hiked back down the hill to an artisan chocolaterie. On the way, it started to pour (of course!) so we arrived ready to sit and eat as much chocolate as we could. We just about got everything in the display case. Just a little bit down the hill was a family that made Swiss style cheese. We knocked on their door and they gave us a tour and some samples and we got about 1/2 a kilo of deeeelicious artisan cheese for about $8!
Next we met up at my friend Rachael's for the night. She let us stay in her little Casita (which I stayed in for June) for the night. What a relaxing segue for the beach times ahead. An ocean view, a pool, smoothies and naps.
We are now headed to Dominical, Uvita and Manuel Antonio to soak up as much sun as we can before Jen and Fallen have to leave on Tuesday! 15 days of fun and adventure :) Thanks guys for coming to visit me!!! I am so grateful to have a little slice of home and lots of laughs this off shift!
July has also been a blur...mainly because I could not wait for my friends Jen and Fallen to come visit! The first 2 weeks of July I worked on trail. Rafting and Surfing. It's the summer (busy season!) so we have lots of new students and lots to do at work. We have new staff coming, some policies have been changing so it's seemed very busy and sometimes stressful. Summers are always busy for outdoor adventure guiding. This surf week was the first time I felt like I would feel comfortable renting a surf board and going out on my own. I felt like I was getting more of a taste of "real" surfing...paddling till my arms felt like they would fall off, getting thrown around by waves, spending 2 hours on the water and only catching 2 waves, bobbing up and down on flat water waiting for waves, getting sun burned, always hoping to catch that next wave...
And then Jen and Fallen came! They got here a week ago and we still have 6 glorious days together! It has been amazing to get to hang out with people I love so so much. To feel completely at ease with them whether we are laughing or just reading quietly together or getting stuck in a funny situation. And we have had some funny ones so far.
Their first 2 days here we decided to go to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. I had never been there before so it was a new adventure for me too! We left San Jose and took a private shuttle/boat to Tortugero National Park/Village. It's located on some canals near the Atlantic Ocean so you can only get there by boat--should have been our first sign of how expensive it was going to be. We had a cool ride there--our tour guide was very talkative and told us all about plants and animals around. We got to the village, unsure of what to expect. It turns out to be one stretch of a concrete walkway with tourist traps/souvenir shops and expensive restaurants about 1/2 km long. We stayed at a dirty hostel for $40 a night (!). Everything to do there cost between $20 and $40. Want to take a canoe ride or rent a kayak? Want to see some turtles? Ok, spend tons of money! We decided to try out the National Park since we had come 4 hours to see it. So we paid the $10 entry fee and took the only 2km trail. That ended up going right next to the beach we had walked all along the day before for free...The park was literally only that trail. I guess I've been spoiled by National Parks in the US that have lots of trails and huge visitor centers/displays. So we decided to leave as soon as we could before we spent more money. The boat taxi out was $35 each.
So 2 days down, unnecessary money spent and not much seen, we landed in the tiny port town of Moin to start again. We got off the boat and immediately had taxi drivers offering to drive us to Puerto Viejo for $15 each. We opted for the local bus which maybe took an extra hour for a grand total of less than $4. And we got to see Limon (another port town where Costa Rica gets most of it's imports) and some local culture. Public transportation in my opinion is more interesting since you get to see the regular folk doing their regular thing. Why isolate yourself in a comfy, clean private shuttle all the time when you can get some local flair for way less expensive?
When we got off the bus in Puerto Viejo, we smiled and almost started skipping. Hippie beach town vibes came at us from all directions and as we checked in to our mosaic/mural/garden filled hostel we felt like the trip we had envisioned had finally started.
The Caribbean side. So much of a different culture I almost felt like I was in a different country! There is a lot of African and Cuban influence mixed in with the Spanish. It was super cool to hear someone speak Spanish one minute, and then change to English with a Jamaican twang the next. It seemed like everyone we encountered spoke 4 languages. We walked around the town, peering in bakeries, locally made clothes boutiques, and eyeing all the colorful bracelets people were selling on the streets. As the sun started setting, we came upon a restaurant called "The Lazy Mon" where a man playing John Mayor covers was belting it out. We sat down and enjoyed the 2 for 1 drink special. We were 2 feet from the beach. What a perfect setting!
The next day we rented cruiser bikes and made our way down the 10 km stretch of beaches in our sundresses. Put me on a bike and life is good! We met a man named Franklin selling "patty" (a delicious pastry with pineapple or plantain or meat filling. He would ride his bike yelling, "Patty, patty, patty, patty!" so of course we had to try some!) and he told us of a sweet beach where we hung out all day playing in the waves and getting sunburned (...Jen). On our ride back we stopped at a little soda and tried Caribbean rice and beans and chicken...made with coconut milk. Sooo goood! All the food we tried here was amazing.
We played at the beach the next day and met some more characters (we made a soul sister friend named Aurora who was 57 and kept telling us about girl power and how "the love of learning is what makes life beautiful" and took us Salsa dancing at a local haunt. A cute and wonderful experience.
We then had a nice long travel day! 8-9 hours on buses heading across the country. We decided to spend a day or 2 in the mountains to let our sun kissed skin heal before hitting the beaches on the Pacific side. So I took Jen and Fallen to one of my favorite little towns, San Gerardo. This is the town where the Chirripo National Park is which I climbed in March.
So I might have forgotten how hilly the town was and how far the bus drops you off from the hostel...well it's 2 km up a freaking giant non-stop hill. Jen and Fallen killed it (even though they were probably hating me during the climb haha) and we made it to our adorable hostel, Casa Mariposa.
We've realized sometimes we make things a struggle when they really don't need to be, or funny things just happen to us. Or sometimes things are just a hilarious struggle because we are in a foreign country. So we've dubbed ourselves "The Struggle Bus Salute". An example of the struggle bus salute is that say we decide to take a normal bus to San Gerardo like I already have before, so I thought it would be no problem. Half way through the ride, it stops, parks on the side of the road and the bus driver indicates to get off the bus and walk up the hill. So we do, thinking we are all cool and understand Spanish. Then we realize the bus is not going to drive up the hill with our bags, and we walk all the way back down and up with our bags with the bus driver thinking we are crazy. Then we walk on a tar covered road for a while and get on another bus that takes us the rest of the way up the hill. Thus the struggle bus salute was born.
And yet the mountain air and views were worth it for sure. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, sitting by nearby waterfalls, playing cards and drinking local wine and chatting with our hostel mates. 2 northwesterners (they are everywhere!), 2 girls from Sweden, and a couple from Belgium who were volunteering at the hostel for free room and board. We had our own room called "The Jungle Room" with views into the forest and half the wall just open screens. The main common area felt like a mountain lodge/living room with a stove, couches and recycled art everywhere. Very cute! One of the coolest hostels in Costa Rica.
The next day, we had a plan to hike what we thought was 4 1/2 km to some hot springs. We thought it would take us about 45 minutes since it was all down hill. It took us 1 1/2 hours and the last half was up another grueling hill! (Jen said she was not made for backpacking after that...). We made it to the hot springs with about 10 minutes before we needed to head back down to catch the bus back to San Isidro. We were pretty stressed and tired from such a long hike and bummed we couldn't even enjoy the water before leaving...until we realized we could just take the later bus. No stress. What a great plan that ended up being!
We let our stress evaporate in the steam of the hot springs, then hiked back down the hill to an artisan chocolaterie. On the way, it started to pour (of course!) so we arrived ready to sit and eat as much chocolate as we could. We just about got everything in the display case. Just a little bit down the hill was a family that made Swiss style cheese. We knocked on their door and they gave us a tour and some samples and we got about 1/2 a kilo of deeeelicious artisan cheese for about $8!
Next we met up at my friend Rachael's for the night. She let us stay in her little Casita (which I stayed in for June) for the night. What a relaxing segue for the beach times ahead. An ocean view, a pool, smoothies and naps.
We are now headed to Dominical, Uvita and Manuel Antonio to soak up as much sun as we can before Jen and Fallen have to leave on Tuesday! 15 days of fun and adventure :) Thanks guys for coming to visit me!!! I am so grateful to have a little slice of home and lots of laughs this off shift!
Monday, June 2, 2014
Alone but not lonely: my solo trek to Nicaragua
As per usual, the month has flown by. Working 2 weeks on and having 2 weeks off breaks the month into 2 chunks--a small measurement when you think about it. It's June 3rd, 92 days since I first arrived in Costa Rica. A biggish number if you think about it. 92 days. My bike trip turned out to be about 80 days and oddly felt longer. Time is a weird, weird thing I tell ya.
May was a beautiful month here. I worked two shifts, one rafting and the next surfing. Lots of new students, new dynamics, new challenges for me. We rafted 2 new rivers I hadn't been on (El General and El Savegre) and my surfing the next week got a lot better. I still clearly remember this one beautiful moment: We had paddled out a bit and I was starting to feel a little more self-sufficient on the waves (being pushed less by the instructors than before) and I stood up, dropped in stably and turned to the right. I actually caught the wave at the right time (doesn't always happen, let's be real). I looked over and saw this beautiful blue curl folding over. I wanted to reach out and put my hand through it like in the movies...but alas I fell off. I feel like the whole week was worth that one moment and that small memory fuels my desire to learn even more. It was probably only 2 or 3 seconds, but those moments are why I believe adventures can inspire, heal and help us grow. They are what we live for. Those are the moments we remember, not stressing over work or checking our bank account.
So then...my next 2 weeks were off. All for me. I also had to renew my tourist visa (it only lasts 90 days), so I thought, "Why not make an adventure out of it?" So I packed my bag, hitch hiked up the hill and headed north--to Nicaragua.
A month ago, I had planned to only travel to somewhere where I knew someone. I thought, "There's no way I'm traveling alone in Central America." My options were Puerto Rico (expensive plane ticket), Florida (cheap plane ticket) or home (really expensive plane ticket). I wasn't sure I had the budget and it donned on me...why not travel alone? I started researching other women's experience traveling solo in Nicaragua and found reassuring reports that it was not a dangerous endeavor. I got up more courage and bought a guidebook. I started reading about the history and culture and sights to see and started to get stoked. Never had I thought I would get to Nicaragua. So I planned a route and decided to take an 11 day journey.
I started out by exploring San Isidro and San Jose for a few days on the way up to the border since I hadn't spent much time there. It was in San Jose, walking along concrete on my way to a museum with a huge smile on my face that I realized how much of a city girl I am. You might think that's weird for a wilderness guide to say, but it's comfortable to me. I grew up in one after all. I feel safe with so many people around and the ability to find anything I need within walking distance. I love me some wilderness, but I also love me some museums, coffee shops, street art and local handy craft stores. Whooooeeee! I sure did appreciate the wifi, smoothies, vegetarian restaurants, shopping, city parks and people watching. I hadn't seen so many interesting people in one place for a while. I even met a couple from Seattle who were road tripping down to Brazil for the world cup. Small world!
I decided to treat myself and take Ticabus across the border. It's like a greyhound type bus with a bathroom and movies (got to see The Hunger Games and Terminator both for the first time in Spanish--hilarious). They help you with the border crossing and charge you more. I started talking with a woman aboard who was from Paris and was teaching at a French school in Costa Rica. We were headed to the same place so after the 8 hour bus ride and a few more stamps in my passport we shared a taxi to our hostels in the city of Granada. My guidebook had made me think that my pick would be affordable but reliable...it turned out to be affordable and dirty. I did get a private room for $10 but had weird dudes ask me where I was going and why I wouldn't come visit him. The next morning I got breakfast and skiddadled out of there to a cute hostel with hammocks and right in town for the same price. Lots of nice people to chat with, fans to relax by and sights to see. I walked around town and discovered a chocolate museum, bakeries, a beautiful restored Spanish building turned organic restaurant/boutique, the picturesque central park, the crowded market and lots and lots of people. I spent one more day in Granada, ok, I'll be honest, pampering myself. I got a $25 massage, $9 manicure, swam in a pool, had a nice dinner with wine...it was great.
I headed on to a hostel situated on a volcanic lagoon. It...was paradise (and called Hostel Paradiso). There were kayaks, a private beach, free coffee, a beachside bar and great food. Not bad for $10 a night. I stayed there 2 full days enjoying swimming a few times a day, talking with people, reading and trying to get a tan. I met an Australian named Courtney and we were headed to the same place next so we decided to travel together. I figured I would be following her (she's visited an entire backpack covered in patches amount of countries). It turns out, she had never been to Granada and didn't speak much Spanish so I turned out to guide us to our bus stop. Public buses in Nicaragua are literally old American school buses. They call them chicken buses and they can get packed full of people, baggage and well, chickens. The bus stop is a patch of dirt in a city block, so after getting directions in Spanish that I understood as 1 block up, 1.5 blocks left, I'm impressed we found it. No chickens on our ride, although people do hop on and walk up and down the aisle selling drinks out of bags and all sorts of food. I had to try some, of course.
After a sweaty hour and a half (Nicaragua is much hotter than Costa Rica it seemed), we made it to Rivas, my jumping off point for the coastal town of San Juan del Sur. I said goodbye to my temporary travel buddy, and pretty soon found another. Hannah from Sweden sat down next to me on the next chicken bus, distraught that her phone had just been pickpocketed out of her purse. We struck up some conversation and as two solo lady travelers, joined together to find a hostel. We soon found a 3rd musketeer whom Hannah had known previously on a farm she had stayed at nearby. Ashley showed us where she was staying and for the next 2 days we hung out. It was amazing feeling scooped up by other travelers and just knowing we would be spending most of our days together. We went shopping, got smoothies, went to yoga, swam in the ocean, laid in the sun, got more smoothies and swapped stories about our adventures. How incredible that you can feel so open and excited to be with people you have just met and will most likely never see again (unless of course we really road trip across Canada in an old school bus like we dreamed of doing :). The traveling bond is a quick one to make. I love it.
Ashley and I were both making the run back across the border on the same day so we made the trek by chicken bus instead of Ticabus together this time. All went pretty smoothly and we enjoyed each others' company accompanied by mangoes and crackery thingys that we had no idea what they were but bought to use up our Nicaraguan currency (the cordoba). After the border crossing we kept asking people where the bus was to San Jose. They told us back by the building and we thought they were trying to get us to buy a more expensive ticket (lots of people at the border try to get you to give them unnecessary money) so we walked past all the semis for probably half a mile before coming to a bus stop...for the same bus as back at the border. Oh well, that's why we got all those funny looks.
After parting ways again with my new found friend, I made my way by bus back to the jungle, meeting up with one of my co-guides Nick on the way. And now I'm off to a rafting itinerary once more.
So even though I set off alone, not knowing what to expect, there weren't many moments I felt lonely. Surrounded by people, city life, and the romantic optimism in travelers' tales, I gathered new places to visit, new perspectives, new appreciation, good conversations and a pride in my choice to set out to a new place. I felt confident. I felt strong. I finally learned to like walking alone.
May was a beautiful month here. I worked two shifts, one rafting and the next surfing. Lots of new students, new dynamics, new challenges for me. We rafted 2 new rivers I hadn't been on (El General and El Savegre) and my surfing the next week got a lot better. I still clearly remember this one beautiful moment: We had paddled out a bit and I was starting to feel a little more self-sufficient on the waves (being pushed less by the instructors than before) and I stood up, dropped in stably and turned to the right. I actually caught the wave at the right time (doesn't always happen, let's be real). I looked over and saw this beautiful blue curl folding over. I wanted to reach out and put my hand through it like in the movies...but alas I fell off. I feel like the whole week was worth that one moment and that small memory fuels my desire to learn even more. It was probably only 2 or 3 seconds, but those moments are why I believe adventures can inspire, heal and help us grow. They are what we live for. Those are the moments we remember, not stressing over work or checking our bank account.
So then...my next 2 weeks were off. All for me. I also had to renew my tourist visa (it only lasts 90 days), so I thought, "Why not make an adventure out of it?" So I packed my bag, hitch hiked up the hill and headed north--to Nicaragua.
A month ago, I had planned to only travel to somewhere where I knew someone. I thought, "There's no way I'm traveling alone in Central America." My options were Puerto Rico (expensive plane ticket), Florida (cheap plane ticket) or home (really expensive plane ticket). I wasn't sure I had the budget and it donned on me...why not travel alone? I started researching other women's experience traveling solo in Nicaragua and found reassuring reports that it was not a dangerous endeavor. I got up more courage and bought a guidebook. I started reading about the history and culture and sights to see and started to get stoked. Never had I thought I would get to Nicaragua. So I planned a route and decided to take an 11 day journey.
I started out by exploring San Isidro and San Jose for a few days on the way up to the border since I hadn't spent much time there. It was in San Jose, walking along concrete on my way to a museum with a huge smile on my face that I realized how much of a city girl I am. You might think that's weird for a wilderness guide to say, but it's comfortable to me. I grew up in one after all. I feel safe with so many people around and the ability to find anything I need within walking distance. I love me some wilderness, but I also love me some museums, coffee shops, street art and local handy craft stores. Whooooeeee! I sure did appreciate the wifi, smoothies, vegetarian restaurants, shopping, city parks and people watching. I hadn't seen so many interesting people in one place for a while. I even met a couple from Seattle who were road tripping down to Brazil for the world cup. Small world!
I decided to treat myself and take Ticabus across the border. It's like a greyhound type bus with a bathroom and movies (got to see The Hunger Games and Terminator both for the first time in Spanish--hilarious). They help you with the border crossing and charge you more. I started talking with a woman aboard who was from Paris and was teaching at a French school in Costa Rica. We were headed to the same place so after the 8 hour bus ride and a few more stamps in my passport we shared a taxi to our hostels in the city of Granada. My guidebook had made me think that my pick would be affordable but reliable...it turned out to be affordable and dirty. I did get a private room for $10 but had weird dudes ask me where I was going and why I wouldn't come visit him. The next morning I got breakfast and skiddadled out of there to a cute hostel with hammocks and right in town for the same price. Lots of nice people to chat with, fans to relax by and sights to see. I walked around town and discovered a chocolate museum, bakeries, a beautiful restored Spanish building turned organic restaurant/boutique, the picturesque central park, the crowded market and lots and lots of people. I spent one more day in Granada, ok, I'll be honest, pampering myself. I got a $25 massage, $9 manicure, swam in a pool, had a nice dinner with wine...it was great.
I headed on to a hostel situated on a volcanic lagoon. It...was paradise (and called Hostel Paradiso). There were kayaks, a private beach, free coffee, a beachside bar and great food. Not bad for $10 a night. I stayed there 2 full days enjoying swimming a few times a day, talking with people, reading and trying to get a tan. I met an Australian named Courtney and we were headed to the same place next so we decided to travel together. I figured I would be following her (she's visited an entire backpack covered in patches amount of countries). It turns out, she had never been to Granada and didn't speak much Spanish so I turned out to guide us to our bus stop. Public buses in Nicaragua are literally old American school buses. They call them chicken buses and they can get packed full of people, baggage and well, chickens. The bus stop is a patch of dirt in a city block, so after getting directions in Spanish that I understood as 1 block up, 1.5 blocks left, I'm impressed we found it. No chickens on our ride, although people do hop on and walk up and down the aisle selling drinks out of bags and all sorts of food. I had to try some, of course.
After a sweaty hour and a half (Nicaragua is much hotter than Costa Rica it seemed), we made it to Rivas, my jumping off point for the coastal town of San Juan del Sur. I said goodbye to my temporary travel buddy, and pretty soon found another. Hannah from Sweden sat down next to me on the next chicken bus, distraught that her phone had just been pickpocketed out of her purse. We struck up some conversation and as two solo lady travelers, joined together to find a hostel. We soon found a 3rd musketeer whom Hannah had known previously on a farm she had stayed at nearby. Ashley showed us where she was staying and for the next 2 days we hung out. It was amazing feeling scooped up by other travelers and just knowing we would be spending most of our days together. We went shopping, got smoothies, went to yoga, swam in the ocean, laid in the sun, got more smoothies and swapped stories about our adventures. How incredible that you can feel so open and excited to be with people you have just met and will most likely never see again (unless of course we really road trip across Canada in an old school bus like we dreamed of doing :). The traveling bond is a quick one to make. I love it.
Ashley and I were both making the run back across the border on the same day so we made the trek by chicken bus instead of Ticabus together this time. All went pretty smoothly and we enjoyed each others' company accompanied by mangoes and crackery thingys that we had no idea what they were but bought to use up our Nicaraguan currency (the cordoba). After the border crossing we kept asking people where the bus was to San Jose. They told us back by the building and we thought they were trying to get us to buy a more expensive ticket (lots of people at the border try to get you to give them unnecessary money) so we walked past all the semis for probably half a mile before coming to a bus stop...for the same bus as back at the border. Oh well, that's why we got all those funny looks.
After parting ways again with my new found friend, I made my way by bus back to the jungle, meeting up with one of my co-guides Nick on the way. And now I'm off to a rafting itinerary once more.
So even though I set off alone, not knowing what to expect, there weren't many moments I felt lonely. Surrounded by people, city life, and the romantic optimism in travelers' tales, I gathered new places to visit, new perspectives, new appreciation, good conversations and a pride in my choice to set out to a new place. I felt confident. I felt strong. I finally learned to like walking alone.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
April showers bring...the rainy season.
I can't believe it is May 1st. Time sure can fly when you work 16 days in a row!
My April was good. Full of some solo adventures and lots of work! The first week of April was my second week off and I decided to go on a solo adventure since everyone I know around here was gone. I've found that I get the most homesick when I'm not moving. I went from the beach to the mountains and decided to check out the highest peak in Costa Rica--Cerro Chirripo. It's a national park nestled in the tiny mountain village of San Gerardo de Rivas. Easily enough, a bus runs up there 3 times a day, so I packed my backpack, put on my quick dry travel dress, and scanned my traveler's spanish dictionary to gather courage (valor) for my first solo adventure in a spanish speaking country.
My first challenge came when after hiking up a gravel road for an hour (a very sweaty, hilly hour) to catch the bus, I saw it drive past the stop I was 30 feet away from...the next one was 6 hours later. Awesome. So I stopped at a soda (roadside restaurant) to cool off (seeing me using napkins to wipe my brow the proprietor kindly told me he had bigger towels if I needed them...how sweet) and heard a man and his son speaking English and watching animal videos on youtube. They seemed like a trustworthy pair. I struck up a conversation, learned we had a mutual connection in the valley and asked him for a ride to San Isidro. My day was looking up. He dropped me off at an air conditioned cafe where I spent some time before the bus to San Gerardo. I was nervous to be at a new bus terminal but lucked out again by stumbling upon the bus first thing. It was a exactly like a school bus in the US (latched windows and all) except it had a string to ring the bell to get off. An hour ride up a bumpy mountain road later and I had made it. I got my own room at a cute family owned hostel and relaxed while enjoying the cooler mountain air.
To climb Chirripo, you've got to do some planning. Only 10 people can get a permit the day of, and the only other office is in San Isidro and hard to get to. So I woke up at 4 to hike to the park office by 5 to wait in line for when the office opened at 6. I'm glad I went early because there were already 6 people in front of me! I started making conversation with the others waiting and was amazed to be surrounded by such a mix of worldly people. A solo traveler/scuba diver from France, a South African man who had been sailing around the world for 5 years already, a fellow West Coasty from California, some Swiss Germans and some Germans. I ended up seeing them all at the top of the mountain where we hiked around, cooked and spent some time together which was nice to have some company! I also checked out this amazing natural reserve that day that had waterfalls, trails and a meditation garden. A couple from the US had hiked up Chirripo, been saddened by all the logging, came back a few years later to buy the land and reforest it. An inspirational place called Cloudbridge Nature Reserve.
My second challenge came when I realized I ran out of cash. I suppose I had subconsciously figured there would be an ATM around when I hadn't grabbed enough cash in the city. Guess what? There are no ATM's in rural mountain villages! I will never forget that again. I had used all my cash to pay for my hostel and the park entrance fee and a giant mug of delicious hot cocoa the night before. My first plan: take the hour bus back to San Isidro. The buses were cancelled due to road construction. Great. Plan #2: Learn how to beg for money in Spanish. No thanks. Plan #3: Hike 2km up the biggest hill ever to eat at the only restaurant that takes cards. Ok, I can do that.
So the next morning I woke up and left at 5 am to start up the trail. It was really nice to hike alone. No one to slow down, no one to hurry me, and I could just be silent. It was 16 km up, up, up. It took me about 6.5 hours to get to the Crestones Base Lodge--a hostel on a mountain! It was soooo gorgeous up there. Nice and cool and lots of interesting people to chat with. The next morning I started hiking at 3:30 am to get to the summit of Cerro Chirripo at sunrise (5:30). It was well worth it. A 360 degree view above the clouds--the Atlantic on one side and the Pacific on the other. I could even see into Panama! I spent 2 nights up there to soak it all in and enjoy what I'd worked hard for.
My next 2 weeks on trail were backpacking to homestays and surfing! A great experience. For backpacking, we hiked 16 km the first day through the jungle, got POURED on and then made it to our first homestay--my co-guide Emma's mom and the house she grew up in. The community is called Pierres Blancas (white rocks) and is the most beautiful place in Costa Rica I've seen. Lush farmland, rivers, mountains...amazing. Very, very rural. You can only get there by hiking or on horse. There is a traveling doctor who comes by once a month and high school students have to move away from home to go in the city. Right now there is one student in the school! We hiked a bit each day and visited more families (where my other co-guide Santiago grew up too). We swam, made sugar from sugar cane, made chocolate from cacao, learned about local medicinal plants, interviewed the families, had spanish lessons, made bread, helped cook, and ate amazing food. The students really liked the week.
Surfing was a cool experience too. We have separate surf instructors so I basically was a student when they were teaching. We would take a 2 hour lesson everyday, we did beach clean ups 3 days, and had stayed at Casa Amarilla (the yellow house) which is our base for surf week. It's right near the beach so we just walked to surf lessons! Surfing is a beautiful sport, but definitely one that takes years of skill to do what we always see in movies and surf videos. I was getting scared with waves 3 feet overhead. I was watching a video today of a guy surfing at least 20 feet overhead...but by the end of the week I could get up on most waves so that's a good first step.
I've had one week "off" (I took a technical rope rescue course with the students and it felt like I was working being around the group the whole week, but it was interesting and good to do!) and now I'm relaxing on my second week off. My next 2 shifts will be rafting and surfing again.
I love being on trail and being in Costa Rica, but there are definitely aspects of being situated where I am on my off weeks that are difficult. It's hard living in a rural community without a car. It's an hour walk to the main road where I can catch an hour bus to San Isidro, or buy a few groceries at a little store and walk an hour back. It's hard to want to do that anytime I want something. It's hard just to do that. It's hard to want to haul a heavy backpack, shove it on a bus and not be sure you're getting off at the right bus stop if I want to go anywhere. It's hard not being able to buy stamps to send letters for 3 weeks (and to do so, I have to take an hour bus, and wait 4 hours for the return bus). It's hard not having many friends to go adventure and play with. It's hard when the internet doesn't work because it's raining or too cloudy. It's hard always sharing space with co-workers (bedroom, kitchen, office). It's hard to be homesick so I don't let myself be.
It's hard to be in one of the most beautiful places on earth and feel isolated and not have loved ones to share it with. Places are incredible, but a lot of the beauty of adventures and travel is the ability to turn your head and see that goofy grin on your face being matched by someone just as stoked as you are.
Ok, ok. I hear you. Yes, I feel incredibly lucky to be here. Yes, I know you would give a lot to be in my position. Yes, before I know it time will have flown by and I'll wish these moments would have slowed down. The hardest things are the most worthwhile. I'm growing. I know. I'm truly glad to be here and I'm glad things are hard. It's all about perspective.
So enough complaining! It's pretty much officially rainy season here! Fewer tourists, a few hours of rain a day sandwiched with sunshine and cheaper hostel prices. Boy do I need to get myself some rain boots and an umbrella! I also already have to leave the country for 3 days to renew my "visa"...how has it already been 60 days?
Well, got to do some yoga and study spanish :)
Pura Vida!
My April was good. Full of some solo adventures and lots of work! The first week of April was my second week off and I decided to go on a solo adventure since everyone I know around here was gone. I've found that I get the most homesick when I'm not moving. I went from the beach to the mountains and decided to check out the highest peak in Costa Rica--Cerro Chirripo. It's a national park nestled in the tiny mountain village of San Gerardo de Rivas. Easily enough, a bus runs up there 3 times a day, so I packed my backpack, put on my quick dry travel dress, and scanned my traveler's spanish dictionary to gather courage (valor) for my first solo adventure in a spanish speaking country.
My first challenge came when after hiking up a gravel road for an hour (a very sweaty, hilly hour) to catch the bus, I saw it drive past the stop I was 30 feet away from...the next one was 6 hours later. Awesome. So I stopped at a soda (roadside restaurant) to cool off (seeing me using napkins to wipe my brow the proprietor kindly told me he had bigger towels if I needed them...how sweet) and heard a man and his son speaking English and watching animal videos on youtube. They seemed like a trustworthy pair. I struck up a conversation, learned we had a mutual connection in the valley and asked him for a ride to San Isidro. My day was looking up. He dropped me off at an air conditioned cafe where I spent some time before the bus to San Gerardo. I was nervous to be at a new bus terminal but lucked out again by stumbling upon the bus first thing. It was a exactly like a school bus in the US (latched windows and all) except it had a string to ring the bell to get off. An hour ride up a bumpy mountain road later and I had made it. I got my own room at a cute family owned hostel and relaxed while enjoying the cooler mountain air.
To climb Chirripo, you've got to do some planning. Only 10 people can get a permit the day of, and the only other office is in San Isidro and hard to get to. So I woke up at 4 to hike to the park office by 5 to wait in line for when the office opened at 6. I'm glad I went early because there were already 6 people in front of me! I started making conversation with the others waiting and was amazed to be surrounded by such a mix of worldly people. A solo traveler/scuba diver from France, a South African man who had been sailing around the world for 5 years already, a fellow West Coasty from California, some Swiss Germans and some Germans. I ended up seeing them all at the top of the mountain where we hiked around, cooked and spent some time together which was nice to have some company! I also checked out this amazing natural reserve that day that had waterfalls, trails and a meditation garden. A couple from the US had hiked up Chirripo, been saddened by all the logging, came back a few years later to buy the land and reforest it. An inspirational place called Cloudbridge Nature Reserve.
My second challenge came when I realized I ran out of cash. I suppose I had subconsciously figured there would be an ATM around when I hadn't grabbed enough cash in the city. Guess what? There are no ATM's in rural mountain villages! I will never forget that again. I had used all my cash to pay for my hostel and the park entrance fee and a giant mug of delicious hot cocoa the night before. My first plan: take the hour bus back to San Isidro. The buses were cancelled due to road construction. Great. Plan #2: Learn how to beg for money in Spanish. No thanks. Plan #3: Hike 2km up the biggest hill ever to eat at the only restaurant that takes cards. Ok, I can do that.
So the next morning I woke up and left at 5 am to start up the trail. It was really nice to hike alone. No one to slow down, no one to hurry me, and I could just be silent. It was 16 km up, up, up. It took me about 6.5 hours to get to the Crestones Base Lodge--a hostel on a mountain! It was soooo gorgeous up there. Nice and cool and lots of interesting people to chat with. The next morning I started hiking at 3:30 am to get to the summit of Cerro Chirripo at sunrise (5:30). It was well worth it. A 360 degree view above the clouds--the Atlantic on one side and the Pacific on the other. I could even see into Panama! I spent 2 nights up there to soak it all in and enjoy what I'd worked hard for.
My next 2 weeks on trail were backpacking to homestays and surfing! A great experience. For backpacking, we hiked 16 km the first day through the jungle, got POURED on and then made it to our first homestay--my co-guide Emma's mom and the house she grew up in. The community is called Pierres Blancas (white rocks) and is the most beautiful place in Costa Rica I've seen. Lush farmland, rivers, mountains...amazing. Very, very rural. You can only get there by hiking or on horse. There is a traveling doctor who comes by once a month and high school students have to move away from home to go in the city. Right now there is one student in the school! We hiked a bit each day and visited more families (where my other co-guide Santiago grew up too). We swam, made sugar from sugar cane, made chocolate from cacao, learned about local medicinal plants, interviewed the families, had spanish lessons, made bread, helped cook, and ate amazing food. The students really liked the week.
Surfing was a cool experience too. We have separate surf instructors so I basically was a student when they were teaching. We would take a 2 hour lesson everyday, we did beach clean ups 3 days, and had stayed at Casa Amarilla (the yellow house) which is our base for surf week. It's right near the beach so we just walked to surf lessons! Surfing is a beautiful sport, but definitely one that takes years of skill to do what we always see in movies and surf videos. I was getting scared with waves 3 feet overhead. I was watching a video today of a guy surfing at least 20 feet overhead...but by the end of the week I could get up on most waves so that's a good first step.
I've had one week "off" (I took a technical rope rescue course with the students and it felt like I was working being around the group the whole week, but it was interesting and good to do!) and now I'm relaxing on my second week off. My next 2 shifts will be rafting and surfing again.
I love being on trail and being in Costa Rica, but there are definitely aspects of being situated where I am on my off weeks that are difficult. It's hard living in a rural community without a car. It's an hour walk to the main road where I can catch an hour bus to San Isidro, or buy a few groceries at a little store and walk an hour back. It's hard to want to do that anytime I want something. It's hard just to do that. It's hard to want to haul a heavy backpack, shove it on a bus and not be sure you're getting off at the right bus stop if I want to go anywhere. It's hard not being able to buy stamps to send letters for 3 weeks (and to do so, I have to take an hour bus, and wait 4 hours for the return bus). It's hard not having many friends to go adventure and play with. It's hard when the internet doesn't work because it's raining or too cloudy. It's hard always sharing space with co-workers (bedroom, kitchen, office). It's hard to be homesick so I don't let myself be.
It's hard to be in one of the most beautiful places on earth and feel isolated and not have loved ones to share it with. Places are incredible, but a lot of the beauty of adventures and travel is the ability to turn your head and see that goofy grin on your face being matched by someone just as stoked as you are.
Ok, ok. I hear you. Yes, I feel incredibly lucky to be here. Yes, I know you would give a lot to be in my position. Yes, before I know it time will have flown by and I'll wish these moments would have slowed down. The hardest things are the most worthwhile. I'm growing. I know. I'm truly glad to be here and I'm glad things are hard. It's all about perspective.
So enough complaining! It's pretty much officially rainy season here! Fewer tourists, a few hours of rain a day sandwiched with sunshine and cheaper hostel prices. Boy do I need to get myself some rain boots and an umbrella! I also already have to leave the country for 3 days to renew my "visa"...how has it already been 60 days?
Well, got to do some yoga and study spanish :)
Pura Vida!
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Pictures!!
Ok, I'm posting a link to my facebook picture album. It's supposed to be available to anyone even without a facebook. Let me know if it works! Just keep using this link. I will post pics every few weeks if I have time.
Pictures: Costa Rica 2014
Pictures: Costa Rica 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
Where did March go?
My second week on trail was sea kayaking across the Golfo Dulce which is on the Southern Pacific coast. We kayaked about 35 km the whole trip (14 km the first day!). It was hard for all of us and really hot and buggy down there but so beautiful. Another affirmation of my theory that for really beautiful stuff you've got to work hard to see it. We were guided by this gentleman named Alberto who was a local expert in edible plants. We picked limes, mangos, starfruit, and papaya off the trees and collected coconuts, lemongrass, sugarcane and cilantro from the ground. We also went fishing! I caught 4 fish: 3 mackerels and a baracuda! Which we fried up with garlic and salt--the best fish I've ever had! We just used a lure we made out of a piece of white rope and glue attached to a fishing line that you would roll back up on a wooden spool type thingy. Very simple--Alberto style. He was getting a doctorate in Theology and seemed very wise and would always say slowly, "Wwwooonnderfuuul." with a sage smile. The students continue to say this all the time haha.
My third week was the same itinerary as the first: rock climbing and rafting with a homestay. We had mixed up the groups so I had some different students and it was a pretty fun week. The hardest part about this job so far has been when the students complain. I can't fathom how someone could be ungrateful to be doing what we are doing! I need to be patient and hope that at the end of their time here they will have learned something and hopefully appreciate life back at home more than they used to. The students are 18 to 22 and it's pretty amazing to see the difference of 4 years. I guess thinking back to when I was 18 and 22 a lot changed and I gained a lot of life experience. A lot of the 18 year olds are here for not finishing high school and drug abuse. Very entitled in thinking they are adults and know everything. The older students are mainly here for motivational issues and dropping out of college and think they know nothing.
I was pretty tired by the end of 3 weeks and didn't realize until Sunday and Monday when I was soon to be off (freedom!). It all came crashing down on me. But I headed to the beach with my friend Tevra who also works here. She helped me get a local cell phone in San Isidro (the nearest city) and then we navigated public transportation to the coast. Really easy and only a few bucks. It's funny how certain things are really expensive here. My cell phone (including months worth of minutes) only cost $60 (about 27,000 colones). We were walking around San Isidro looking at some shops and a pair of shorts cost the same as my phone! And cheese is really expensive here. Fresh fruit is super cheap and I got a pair of sunglasses for under $2 (less than 1,000 colones). And the bus is about $1-$2. Hey, atleast here I'm making thousands!
Tuesday we headed to a local farmers/craft market in Tinamastes (the closest little town--about a 40 minute walk up a gravel road or a 10 minute ride by friend's car). I'm planning on going this week and getting locally made coconut oil, chocolate, fresh juice and some gallo pinto made Carribean style (with coconut milk). Another 40 minute bus ride to Dominical and we were at the beach!
We stayed 3 nights at a hostel (private room with shower/bathroom for only $25 a night!). We took advantage of the free wifi, kitchen, and cool fan in our room, spent time on the beach, walked around and enjoyed a few cervezas. We met the surf instructor for our students (Gabriel) and took a lesson from him. Man is surfing scary! I managed to stand up 4 times (definitely not catching the wave without Grabriel's help) which felt satisfying, but maybe since it's still such a foreign thing for me it's still so scary. But, as Gabriel said, you can't surf if you're scared or negative. I guess I'll just have to get over that. There were so many tourists who spoke so many languages other than Spanish/English is was surprising. A definite tourist spot even though the town is literally one dirt road and the beach. I even spoke french twice!
After enough of the humidity (I can only stand constantly sweating for so long), Tevra headed to Panama and I was on my own! I couldn't rely on Tevra to communicate for me anymore. So I kicked up my courage and decided to try to speak to one person a day in Spanish. First test...asking where to buy stamps. Success!
I took the bus back (alone and successfully!) to San Isidro where my new friend/co-worker Roy and his wife Carla picked me up. Roy drives our group around during the week since driving is scary/intense here. I spent 2 days at their house/farm enjoying the quiet, practicing my spanish and walking around their property. They built the house and cleared the land to plant lots of stuff. It was cool to see how much work they put into it. They also live next to a pineapple plantation. Pineapples for days! Probably millions of pineapples. And in case you didn't know (I didn't until I came here--pineapples grow on the ground not in trees!). Roy's mother also lives on the property and she loves to garden and plant flowers. She's only lived there a year, but already there are tons of orchids, edible flowers, a veggie garden and it's really beautiful. I asked in very basic spanish if I could take pictures and she said, "Claro que si!!!" and proceeded to give me a tour and explanation of all the flowers in spanish (I was able to understand some of it haha, mostly I just nodded and said, "claro!") and tell me I could take a picture of this one, and this one, and this one...so now I have more pictures of flowers than I know what to do with :) When I went for a walk around the property, in case I met anyone Roy told me to say "Soy amiga de Roy". That made me smile--atleast I have one friend in the country!
Then I decided to head back to base for a day or two to do laundry and plan an adventure for next week. On the way, I stopped in San Isidro again to get some groceries. Then I had a while before the bus so I stopped at a little cafe to wait. I tried to order a watermelon juice, but the woman said they didn't have that (in spanish). "Ok, mango?" "No." "Ok frio?" (cold?) and she said the only cold drinks they had were reallyfastspanishword or reallyfastspanishword. So I just ordered "el primero" and had no idea what I was getting. It turned out to be this really sweet pink drink that kind of tasted like grenadine with chia seeds floating around in there. Porque no? Sometimes ya just gotta try random new things, right? And then there were 2 gringos sitting behind me so I decided to be a daring traveler and start up a conversation. They are studying abroad here from California. They also happened to be on the same bus as me so we started talking and it turns out the girl is living in a homestay at a soda (cafe type restaurant) just up the road from basecamp! How cool! Maybe I will see her again in the future.
I got off the bus feeling proud for talking to them, when I truck offered me a ride down the dirt road to basecamp (otherwise it's a 40 minute walk). I jumped in and met Rob, a neighbor who moved here from England 8 years ago and now makes bamboo furniture who then proceeded to give another family a ride too. I like how in the area I live it seems everyone knows everyone and they all help each other out.
So I'm proud of how I've grown in the 4 weeks of being here. It's definitely tiring never being comfortable, always being hot, not being able to say certain thoughts because I don't know enough words, being very obviously an outsider, and not having much privacy (I don't think I've yet slept in a building where the walls go all the way up to the ceiling and I always have to call people using the internet i.e. very public places), but it's a good kind of uncomfortable. One that I know I will get through, learn from, and maybe even surpass. Quiza una dia.
My third week was the same itinerary as the first: rock climbing and rafting with a homestay. We had mixed up the groups so I had some different students and it was a pretty fun week. The hardest part about this job so far has been when the students complain. I can't fathom how someone could be ungrateful to be doing what we are doing! I need to be patient and hope that at the end of their time here they will have learned something and hopefully appreciate life back at home more than they used to. The students are 18 to 22 and it's pretty amazing to see the difference of 4 years. I guess thinking back to when I was 18 and 22 a lot changed and I gained a lot of life experience. A lot of the 18 year olds are here for not finishing high school and drug abuse. Very entitled in thinking they are adults and know everything. The older students are mainly here for motivational issues and dropping out of college and think they know nothing.
I was pretty tired by the end of 3 weeks and didn't realize until Sunday and Monday when I was soon to be off (freedom!). It all came crashing down on me. But I headed to the beach with my friend Tevra who also works here. She helped me get a local cell phone in San Isidro (the nearest city) and then we navigated public transportation to the coast. Really easy and only a few bucks. It's funny how certain things are really expensive here. My cell phone (including months worth of minutes) only cost $60 (about 27,000 colones). We were walking around San Isidro looking at some shops and a pair of shorts cost the same as my phone! And cheese is really expensive here. Fresh fruit is super cheap and I got a pair of sunglasses for under $2 (less than 1,000 colones). And the bus is about $1-$2. Hey, atleast here I'm making thousands!
Tuesday we headed to a local farmers/craft market in Tinamastes (the closest little town--about a 40 minute walk up a gravel road or a 10 minute ride by friend's car). I'm planning on going this week and getting locally made coconut oil, chocolate, fresh juice and some gallo pinto made Carribean style (with coconut milk). Another 40 minute bus ride to Dominical and we were at the beach!
We stayed 3 nights at a hostel (private room with shower/bathroom for only $25 a night!). We took advantage of the free wifi, kitchen, and cool fan in our room, spent time on the beach, walked around and enjoyed a few cervezas. We met the surf instructor for our students (Gabriel) and took a lesson from him. Man is surfing scary! I managed to stand up 4 times (definitely not catching the wave without Grabriel's help) which felt satisfying, but maybe since it's still such a foreign thing for me it's still so scary. But, as Gabriel said, you can't surf if you're scared or negative. I guess I'll just have to get over that. There were so many tourists who spoke so many languages other than Spanish/English is was surprising. A definite tourist spot even though the town is literally one dirt road and the beach. I even spoke french twice!
After enough of the humidity (I can only stand constantly sweating for so long), Tevra headed to Panama and I was on my own! I couldn't rely on Tevra to communicate for me anymore. So I kicked up my courage and decided to try to speak to one person a day in Spanish. First test...asking where to buy stamps. Success!
I took the bus back (alone and successfully!) to San Isidro where my new friend/co-worker Roy and his wife Carla picked me up. Roy drives our group around during the week since driving is scary/intense here. I spent 2 days at their house/farm enjoying the quiet, practicing my spanish and walking around their property. They built the house and cleared the land to plant lots of stuff. It was cool to see how much work they put into it. They also live next to a pineapple plantation. Pineapples for days! Probably millions of pineapples. And in case you didn't know (I didn't until I came here--pineapples grow on the ground not in trees!). Roy's mother also lives on the property and she loves to garden and plant flowers. She's only lived there a year, but already there are tons of orchids, edible flowers, a veggie garden and it's really beautiful. I asked in very basic spanish if I could take pictures and she said, "Claro que si!!!" and proceeded to give me a tour and explanation of all the flowers in spanish (I was able to understand some of it haha, mostly I just nodded and said, "claro!") and tell me I could take a picture of this one, and this one, and this one...so now I have more pictures of flowers than I know what to do with :) When I went for a walk around the property, in case I met anyone Roy told me to say "Soy amiga de Roy". That made me smile--atleast I have one friend in the country!
Then I decided to head back to base for a day or two to do laundry and plan an adventure for next week. On the way, I stopped in San Isidro again to get some groceries. Then I had a while before the bus so I stopped at a little cafe to wait. I tried to order a watermelon juice, but the woman said they didn't have that (in spanish). "Ok, mango?" "No." "Ok frio?" (cold?) and she said the only cold drinks they had were reallyfastspanishword or reallyfastspanishword. So I just ordered "el primero" and had no idea what I was getting. It turned out to be this really sweet pink drink that kind of tasted like grenadine with chia seeds floating around in there. Porque no? Sometimes ya just gotta try random new things, right? And then there were 2 gringos sitting behind me so I decided to be a daring traveler and start up a conversation. They are studying abroad here from California. They also happened to be on the same bus as me so we started talking and it turns out the girl is living in a homestay at a soda (cafe type restaurant) just up the road from basecamp! How cool! Maybe I will see her again in the future.
I got off the bus feeling proud for talking to them, when I truck offered me a ride down the dirt road to basecamp (otherwise it's a 40 minute walk). I jumped in and met Rob, a neighbor who moved here from England 8 years ago and now makes bamboo furniture who then proceeded to give another family a ride too. I like how in the area I live it seems everyone knows everyone and they all help each other out.
So I'm proud of how I've grown in the 4 weeks of being here. It's definitely tiring never being comfortable, always being hot, not being able to say certain thoughts because I don't know enough words, being very obviously an outsider, and not having much privacy (I don't think I've yet slept in a building where the walls go all the way up to the ceiling and I always have to call people using the internet i.e. very public places), but it's a good kind of uncomfortable. One that I know I will get through, learn from, and maybe even surpass. Quiza una dia.
Monday, March 10, 2014
la pura vida
My first week on trail was pretty good! I was co-guiding with Carlos (or Carlitos as it's common in Costa Rica to add itos to the end of words for fun). He is a local tico and grew up in the jungle and is amazingly learning english and guiding and had guided for outward bound programs the last 4 years. He's awesome and funny and a good co-guide. He also has an adorable 2 year old son!
We went climbing for 2 days and white water rafting for 2 days and stayed with a host family. They cooked us amazing food (gallo pinto is the national dish here--rice and beans which you add things like a scrambled egg or plaintains to spice it up).
The group was 6 students and 2 guides which was really nice and manageable. I didn't bring my camera this week because I was afraid of the humidity but I will take some pictures when I'm off shift and post them.
I'm actually going to be working 3 weeks in a row. This coming week will be sea kayaking with 5 students so it should be fun! Not sure what I'll be up to my last week. Then I'll have 2 weeks off and some time to relax and take pictures and post some more! I just thought an update would be good now since I got up early and have my computer handy.
Ok until next week!
La pura vida!
Rose (or Rosita :)
We went climbing for 2 days and white water rafting for 2 days and stayed with a host family. They cooked us amazing food (gallo pinto is the national dish here--rice and beans which you add things like a scrambled egg or plaintains to spice it up).
The group was 6 students and 2 guides which was really nice and manageable. I didn't bring my camera this week because I was afraid of the humidity but I will take some pictures when I'm off shift and post them.
I'm actually going to be working 3 weeks in a row. This coming week will be sea kayaking with 5 students so it should be fun! Not sure what I'll be up to my last week. Then I'll have 2 weeks off and some time to relax and take pictures and post some more! I just thought an update would be good now since I got up early and have my computer handy.
Ok until next week!
La pura vida!
Rose (or Rosita :)
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