Monteverde

**This is a blog from back in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Since I am just now putting it up I'll leave it on top so you see it! And one day, you can see the pictures from it!**


First of all Monteverde is difficult to get to. This was intentional--in order to keep the place from becoming too heavily trafficked and to preserve the cloud forest they left the roads to Monteverde unpaved. I think you can ride a horse from La Fortuna to Monteverde faster than you can drive. I opted for the quickest way to get between the two, which is to drive to the lake, cross the lake in a boat and then take a second boat from there. Even still, it's about 3 hours of rough, but incredibly scenic traveling.


An interesting fact about Monteverde is that it was started by American Quakers. When they refused to be drafted in the Korean War (Quakers are pacifists) they decided to resettle elsewhere. Apparently Canada was too cold and it was difficult for foreigners to buy property in Mexico at the time, so they settled in Costa Rica (who by that time had already dissolved their military--so it was a good fit).


They started a dairy farm and cheese factory to sustain themselves, which still provides the area with fresh milk, cheese and, my favorite, homemade ice cream (I tried the condensed milk with figs and it was RICH). They also set aside quite a bit of the land as a reserve. This protected area has now become the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. I could tell you a bunch of facts about the reserve, but you probably don't care.


It is beautiful, I will tell you that. And full of animals! In my time here I have seen a sloth, a monkey, teensy frogs, a tarantula, dozens of hummingbirds, sleeping birds on my night tour (so cute!), all kinds of bizarre insects, and maybe my favorite--a couple handfuls of Coati.


While here I also participated in a Monteverde must--a canopy tour, otherwise known as zip lines of death. To start it off I did a hanging (swinging...) bridge tour that was beautiful (even if it was raining) and actually a lot of fun. The English group was huge so the Spanish guide talked me into (not being lazy and) going with the 4 of them instead. It was a good choice. We ended the tour by him making me (tricking me?) into climbing up THE INSIDE of a ficus tree (probably about 100 feet up, with no security devices). It started to get narrow at the top, but I knew there was no way I could safely climb back down, so up I went until I could climb back onto one of the hanging bridges. Still shaking I had no idea what I was up for as I went to the zip lines.

Most of the zip lines were slightly panic inducing (you braked at the end by squeezing your gloved hand on the cable) but not too bad. They moved you along so fast you didn't have time to get scared. Towards the end they hooked you up the "Superman" cable. Through a huge valley you fly Superman style through the air, spotting your tiny shadow on the ground below. It was frightening, but also a lot of fun. 

They wrapped things up with a Tarzan swing. Nobody exactly knew what that meant, which turned out to be a good thing. You had to go one by one onto a suspended bridge (which was a lot like walking the plank). While you waited you just saw people disappear and scream. We kept asking the guys in charge what all the thing involved and the only real answer we got was--you jump and you scream. OK.


I was probably the third to go and by the time you walk all the way out on the plank 260 feet up you start to wonder what exactly it is that you are doing. They double checked my harness, opened a little gate and then told me to jump. Um, OK. I was still trying to figure out what was going on when they told me to bend my knees and pushed me off.


Just thinking about it makes my throat start to close up. SCARIEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE.


You free fall until the cable catches you and then you swing out 100 feet. Ideally that is the end of it, but they missed my break so I was lucky enough to swing back and forth a couple times.When I was finally lowered to the ground he told me, "You can stand up now." To which I responded, "I don't think I can."


Ah. I can't properly describe how incredibly terrifying the thing was because I have been actively trying to repress the memory.


The End.


(shudder)

Week in Review Sabbatical Style: Week 3!

So yes, the computer has now offically become a large paperweight I am hauling all over Central America. Boo. But I am at a public library in El Valle, Panama and have a few minutes left on my hourś worth of internet. It´ll be closed tomorrow so I figured Id send out a quick week in review, especially since I havent blogged many of the places I have been recently. Ahem, here we go:

• Foreign keyboards are difficult. It takes me forever to remember how to get the @ sign. Half the time I have to go into my email cut and paste one.
• Also, excuse all the spelling errors, no spell check or time!
• Panama City is fantastic! It is a little intense and a little bit seedy, but fantastic all the same. The old town is a perfect mix of decaying buildings, colonial churches, restored art galleries and the presidentś house. 
• An old man started chatting with me when I was walking around the old quarter and tipped me off that if I went up to the guard and asked nicely he would let me into the street in front of the White House to let me take a picture. He was right! I walked right up front to take a picture. Definitely more access in PC than in DC!
• I had the best snowcone ever. The man shaved the ice off of an actual block with an old school hand scraper. Then he covered it in fresh pinapple juice and topped it with condensed milk. Perfect. 
• I also ended up buying snow cones for two little kids who talked me into it. Eh, it was a buck 50 for the 3 of us. 
• El Valle, where I am at the moment is very close to paradise. Itś in a beautiful valley and the weather is maybe 15 degrees cooler than in PC, which is great because 100 degrees in the Panamanian sun is really hot!
• I went to the Canal! I watched the ships go through the locks and it was fascinating to see it all in person. 
• I also felt accomplished by getting all the way to the locks by public bus. 
• Where do US school buses go when they die? If they were good, to Panama. Either that or Pimp My Yellow School Bus has come through the country. They call them Diablos Rojos, or Red Devils, and they are super tricked out. A lot of them also have some form of religious writing on them, which all things considered was reassuring.
• Costa Ricans all seem to say con gusto rather than the normal de nada for your welcome. It translates basically to it´s my pleasure, and reminds me of Chikfila. It kind of creeped me out. 
• As great as it was, I am definitely putting Panama ahead of Costa Rica on the awesome scale. Just so you know. 
• Delicious food here is so cheap. I paid 3.75 for a 2 course home cooked dinner last night. Maybe the best meal of the trip too.

OK, I am right at my time limit on the computer! Have a great week! Pictures to come...some day. 

Week In Review Sabbatical Style: Week 2

OK, I haven't had internet for a while, and only have a few minutes, but I know you've all been curious, so a quick week in review!

• I've been in Monteverde for the last few days--beautiful, but actually kind of cold!
• I spotted a White Throated Capuchin (a white faced monkey) when I was hiking in the cloud forest yesterday! All by myself!
• I think I have learned more taking tours and walking around in the forests here for the last 3 or 4 days than I did in entire years of biology classes I took. 
• I also saw almost a dozen Coati (super cute little racoon looking things), and all kinds of fun humming birds. Just a few: the violet sabrewering, the purple headed mountain gem, and a copper headed ninny muggin. 
• This afternoon I am taking a 4.5 hour bus back to San Jose. From there I'll board a bus to Panama City. 16 hours on that one. Ouch. 
• It seems maybe my luck is changing: I got the very last seat available on that Panama bus. Whew. 
• The super strong Off spray I bought is eating tiny holes in my watch. Makes you wonder what it's doing to your skin...It's also so humid that my watch is fogging over from the inside. It might not make it to Nicaragua. 
• Spanish update: The Spanish is for the most part coming back. I still find myself using random French words or adding French endings to my Spanish words. Most people seem to be at least moderately impressed though (I'm pretty sure this is due to the fact that most all the tourists here don't know much more than "hola.")
• Most common question though: Where did you learn Spanish? That's right, I've dropped the lisp, but the accent/vocabulary is still giving my Spain Spanish away. 
• Costa Ricans love to spice up there budget hotels by folding everything they can into little shapes. 
• In La Fortuna I stumbled upon a little ice cream shop. I ended up with Dulce de leche and Pitahaya (cactus fruit sorbet--that was BRIGHT purple). Yummy!

OK, computer's about to die so I'm putting this up right away! Pictures to come when I get to Panama!

Catarata La Fortuna

I am going to be sore tomorrow. Real sore. I can already feel it. Why? Because I hiked to a waterfall. I could have taken either a horse or a taxi, but what with it being nice and cool, having the day to walk about, and the guy at the hotel telling me it was a nice walk, I set off on foot. 

Oh man. The whole thing was only 7 kilometers from town but the last 4 were nothing but steep gravel roads. The last 2 kilometers almost killed my will to live. It was like a cruel version of the lines at Disney Land. You would climb each hill thinking it was the last only to find another (steeper) one once you reached the top. And of course the clouds dissipated the moment I started walking. 

I met some people at the hotel and they told me that their guide book described it as a stair-master with a view. That was a lot more apt of a description than what I received from the hotel guy. Partly due to the trickery of the slope and not knowing how much more I lacked, I eventually willed my way to the top. 

Then of course, once you get to the park entrance, how do you get to the waterfall? Oh yeah, right. More than SEVEN HUNDRED steps. They weren't normal steps either, a kind of like mud covered cinderblock legos. Ah, but the view at the bottom was worth it. The water was clear and bright blue. 

I took a dip in the water and iced my tired muscles and watched the fish swim around my legs. (I freaked out when one mashed up against my leg. Then I realized that it was a leaf.) I budgeted my time so that I could leave in time to make the hour and a half hike back to town before dark, so I dried off a bit and hiked it back up the SEVEN HUNDRED steps. 

The decent into town was much better but I was using kind of a controlled falling method due to tired muscles. As I waited at one of the bends for the cars to pass one stopped. It was a Costa Rican family I met and eventually passed on the way back up the stairs. I had joked with Grandpa and now he was stopping to ask if I wanted a ride. Did I ever! So, in the end, the hour and a half I planned for took 25. Perfect. Pura vida!

PS. Bonus points for anyone who can tell me when a waterfall is a cascada and when one is a catarata. Or is catarata just a Costa Rican thing? 

And how cool is this tree I passed on the way up?

Arenal and La Fortuna

I've been here in La Fortuna for 3 days now. Everything here is pretty laid back, but the scenery has been outstanding! I took a guided hike to the Arenal Volcano (one of the world's top 10 most active volcanoes!). We saw all kinds of flowers and birds along the way up and then traced a portion of the 1968 lava flow (up until then they just thought that it was a mountain--no idea there was anything going on in there!). 

Our guide was full of colorful descriptions (like how leaf cutter ants are not Chinese ants, even though they look like it--always working, never taking a break, or how the name of the orchid is the testicle flower). In the end we watched the sunset at the observatory to see if we could see any of the lava flowing and glowing in the evening light. Nope, no lava. (Turns out, the lava hasn't been flowing for pretty much the last year. They definitely don't tell you that bit of information until you get here. We did see some "young ash" though.) 

The view was beautiful though and the company wasn't bad either--I met an Irish couple who've been traveling for the last 6 months who were full of good stories. 

Overall, it's been a good experience. Pictures of La Fortuna and Arenal below. 

Views of the Arenal Lake right behind the volcano. Turns out it is an artificial (dammed) lake which helps to irrigate the dry part of the country. 

The tiny town is centered around the square the church is on. This is one of the least Catholic looking Catholic churches I've ever been in. They were having a celebration for the Conversion of San Paulo so I stopped in for mass. 

Blurry picture, but these are leaf cutter ants! How fun! 

These trees were in Jurassic Park. Apparently selling and growing these is big business in New Zealand these days.  

The orchid is the official flower of Costa Rica

The volcano!

Another look at the lake from the top of the trail. (Nowadays you can't go up any further than this--3 hikers were killed by lava when they climbed up higher). 

It's me! 

This one is a Lady's Slipper orchid (because it looks like a shoe)

Monday Recap

This is my official take on the evening:

Turtle tour (where I got to go to the beach and watch an endangered species of turtles lay (112!) eggs)
Verdict: Pretty awesome

It was really neat to see it all, and I feel like I'm armed with some seriously cool turtle facts (I'm sure those will be coming up later), but it was also a little slow going. And you couldn't use anything for light besides the guide's tiny red flashlight. But we got to watch (cheer!) on 4 little hatchlings as they made their way to the coast. Which definitely pushed the night into the awesome category. (It was also hilarious because the turtles look for the white of the surf and one of the turtles kept going for one guy's white tennis shoes. It was a good thing I was wearing pants.)

Beach on the refuge at night
Verdict: Absolutely, astoundingly beautiful

I've never seen so many stars nor seen the stars that bright in my life. We were out in the middle of nowhere, and there aren't metropolitan areas anywhere near here. It was beautiful. And this is going to sound stupid and reveal the fact that I have lived in the city my whole life, but I never really knew stars twinkled. Yeah, yeah, I know the song. But I've never seen them like this.

Dinner of Pringles Crema Y Cebolla
Verdict: Very, very tasty.

Well done Costa Rica. I haven't had Pringles in a long time. And they are just as tasty as ever. Unfortunately there aren't many left for my 4-5 hour bus ride tomorrow. But doesn't that always happen?


OK, tomorrow I head inland, so I thought I would give an update tonight in case internet is sketchy in the next town! Hasta pronto!

Samara

So I thought I might say a word or two about the town I'm in. My guidebook said the town was one of the most beloved beaches in all of Costa Rica, that even the president had a house in the area. So, I was a little surprised when I got here. What do I mean? Here is the main street: 

Yep, that is all 3 blocks of it. It empties right onto the beach. Even on the weekend, this place is low key.  Saturday and Sunday there were definitely more people on the beach, but to say it was crowded you would have to have some serious personal space issues. Even if it is well known in Costa Rica, there is a very off-the-map feel to the place. 

Which is nice. 

Week In Review Sabbatical Style: Week 1

Now that I'm on the road again, I figured why not revive the Sunday Week In Review? You know you loved it.

• Yesterday I still wasn't feeling great, so I went to the reception desk and extended my stay a couple more days. I feel very good about this decision. 
• Despite it's sickly start, yesterday was one of the most beautiful days I've had in a while. It was finally cooler so I spent the entire afternoon swimming in the ocean, laying on the beach and watching surfers. Sunset was especially gorgeous. (Sadly, I didn't take anything to the beach with me, so no pictures!)
• Biggest decisions of the day: beach or pool?
• It's kind of strange to be so far away without a single hour of time difference from home. 
• It gets dark here at 6 o'clock sharp. I know this happens when you get closer to the equator, but it's almost disorienting that its so hot, yet the day ends so early. Long evenings are one of my favorite parts of summer. Maybe this helps explain why I have been going to sleep before 9 all week!
• I've been pulling 9-13 hours of sleep all week. I don't know if it's because I've been sick (probably) or because I've just been that exhausted, but it has been pretty glorious. 
• Costa Rica is proud of its coffee, and it's pretty tasty too. The flavor is strong, but it's not a dark roast. It's not thick or heavy at all. It's almost like what an agua fresca is to a fruit smoothie. 
• I ended up getting a kindle before I left. I give it a thumbs up!
• After basically nothing but bread and fruit all week and a day at the beach, last night I was hungry for real food. I figured I would regret it, but I found soda (local hole in the wall) and ordered a casado (picture below). It was delicious! And my body didn't reject it! (Hamdula!)
• I ordered the casado to go so I could eat back in my room (mostly so I could drink out of my 6 liter bottle of water I bought and not have to buy a drink! Yes, I am cheap!). Once I got back and unwrapped it I realized I hadn't thought about silverware. Hmm. I popped open my multi-tool and decided to use the pocket knife to (carefully!) eat. Unfortunately it was not doing me a ton of good with the rice and beans (I was actually wishing for even some chopsticks!). Solution? I used the heel of the (bitter!) orange slice as a scoop. Bien hecho Lauren. 
• About half way through I realized that the peel of the orange probably hadn't been washed. But then again, I figured I was already sick, so what is the harm? (Let's hope!)
• I have the beginnings of a Chaco tan. 

OK, so that is the week in review! A few more pictures below!

Feet, meet ocean!

This has been lunch most of the week.  

Finally a proper meal! This is my casado: rice, black beans, a piece of chicken, potatoes, fried plantains (YUM!), and some veggies. And for $4, a good deal to boot!

We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Well, things got off to a rough start. I left Tuesday evening for Costa Rica...but woke up Tuesday morning at 5 violently throwing up. Fun. Not one to let a little vomit get me down (OK, I almost did, but it cost way to much to change my ticket so I refused!), I took a cocktail of different drugs, slept most of the day (and had some crazy fever-dreams) then woke up, packed in 30 minutes and was on my way. 

It was a long way, too--2 hours to Denver, a 3.5 hour layover, a 5 hour flight to San Jose, a 4 hour wait at the bus station in San Jose, and then a 5 hour bus ride to Samara. Most all of that was spent dozing so the contrast was even greater when I finally got here. 

In a way the landscape reminds me a bit of Puerto Rico, but it's really different too. The jungle just kind of falls into the beach. And I was just complaining about the cold a couple of days ago, so I won't go too far, but the sun is intense here. (PSA: If you fall asleep in the sun, you will get burned!) 

Once I got here and found my way to my hostel though, things unfortunately didn't start looking up--they had lost my reservations. Ugh. She did help us find a place in a new "hostel" out of the city some. Unfortunately, the place lacked some of the basic amenities that I generally prefer--like a door on the shared bathroom. I was so tired that night that nothing really mattered, and I got a good 13 hours of sleep out of that place, so I won't complain too much. In the end though I walked through town, saw a sign for a place full of Germans (which I figured at least meant it would be clean) and took a room. It's a bit of a splurge, but it has breakfast, AC and a pool that feels like you are right in the middle of the jungle (which...OK, you pretty much are). Also, I realized tonight, considering I'm still not eating hardly anything (I went for my first real meal since Monday yesterday...it did not go over well), I am still more or less making my budget! (Silver lining?)

It's been a rocky start, but soon I'll be feeling better, and in the meantime I've already seen 3 or 4 monkeys, 4 iguanas, a neon green and pink bird, tons of butterflies and 3 sea crabs. As the Ticos say, ¡Pura Vida!