Costa Rica
We left town right on schedule (10pm), traffic was light and we arrived at the Miami International Airport an hour earlier than we needed to be there. I have never seen a dead airport before, rather eerie.
Our flight boarded late but took off on time at 5:30am. The flight load was very light so I got a row to myself and managed to sleep for an hour on and off. As we took off, I noticed the enormity of Miami, lights twinkling as far as I could see and then we swung out over the ocean and it was black below as we soared toward the sliver of the moon. As the sun began to rise the orange red sky reached above the clouds to kiss that sliver of moon goodnight.
I sure hope the food in Costa Rica is better than this airline, I paid $3 for a three-cheese crescent that was tasteless and greasy but I was starving! All I want now is a monster pot of coffee and I will be ready to take on Today’s adventure.
Our first stop is Managua, Nicaragua. As we approach, I notice the dwellings, they look like something from a feed the children commercial and I am quite humbled. It is scary to me to think of raising a child in such substandard housing.
While we waited for the plane to be deboarded, reboarded, fueled and serviced, I spoke with another passenger, Mary. She was on her way to San Paulo for a modeling job. She was a bit nervous since she had never done modeling only some music videos. All the guys on the plane were fawning over here. We are heading to San Salvador now and I am preparing for the ear pain.
We deplaned in El Salvador and I had the realization that my high school geography teacher did not get through to me, as I cannot remember where this country actually is. Anyway we had a few minutes and I wondered a couple of shop but didn’t buy anything except a cup of coffee, amazing to be in the land of coffee and the cups are much too small to get me moving.
Currently we are about half way through the last segment of the journey to destination of Costa Rica. Next up ground transportation to our hotel: should be interesting as we have nothing prearranged.
It is a very strange feeling to be in a place where I don’t understand a word spoken around me. I tried to communicate to the shop keep in the little souvenir shop and failed miserably. It is going to be an interesting weekend.
Friday morning the birds woke me at 5am. Kinda rude but the reward was so worth it! The forest is covered in a canopy of clouds. Birds and howler monkey’s call to each other. Beautiful, stunning, amazing falls way short of describing the scene in front of me.
It took us 8 hours to get here yesterday: 2 taxis, a chicken bus and approximately $60, we arrived tired, hungry and frustrated at about 6pm. The chicken bus was an experience, 6 hours to go less than 100 miles. We passed beautiful houses with amazing gardens, slums from the movies, mountains and forests and bubbling little creeks. The bus stayed crowded with many people standing, we kept our bags in our laps and were glad we did. One guys bag was stolen from the rack above his head when he fell asleep. Jackie said she knew who did it cause he was eyeing her and she awoke to find him looming over her. Scary crowd. Anyway- the bus was an old tour bus, which bumped along, and stopped at what seemed like every driveway by the time we arrived in Fortuna, I would have paid anything for a taxi! I will pay for the transport back from the hotel. It was worth the ride though as I have been rewarded with a quiet morning on a rocking chair with the birds and monkeys whom I hope will show themselves soon. Today we are doing the canopy tour and a guided hike through the forest to see the Maleku Indians. The next adventure begins in just a couple of hours.
The canopy tour was incredible. Scary, yes but amazing too. I got stuck twice and there is no way I can pull myself hand over hand up a cable so the guide slides down and rescues you by attaching another line and pulling you. They make it look easy. I came out of the canopy on one long stretch and was above the tree tops: my first thought was “Oh my God” and then instantly “How beautiful!” We went on our tour with 4 ladies from Canada and a couple from Mexico. One lady got stuck in the middle on the first line and then was afraid so a guide took her the rest of the way. Then Jackie got stuck and the guide on the other platform missed his signal and sent the next girl while the rescue was in process. It all worked out though and everyone arrived safely at the platform. The feeling of completing the tour was incredible. My legs were so shaky through the tour that at each platform I needed a steady hand to get my legs under me. Our guides were awesome and made it fun even if they had to rescue us. I feel empowered that I have conquered that fear of heights. Our guides were Max, Mario and Gustifan (I am sure that I am not spelling his name correctly). We finished the tour with a visit to the Maleku Indian hut where they showed us their crafts and talked about the symbolism and we could buy some souvenirs. I bought myself a gourd type container (cannot remember what fruit they said it was made from) and three necklaces for the girls.
Tomorrow we go horseback riding and all say we will see the monkeys. Tonight we are going into town for an annual local festival and to do some shopping.
Saturday Morning: My arms are so sore. I didn’t realize how demanding that canopy tour was on arm strength! At each platform we had to pull the cable down and lift a leg up to fasten the pulley to the cable from our waists. The festival was very tiny and we didn’t stay long. Our taxi driver took us to a souvenir shop, which was very expensive. I bought a poster of the volcano and a couple of postcards to send home. Then we went to a local bar and had dinner with the Mexican couple and our driver. Again not knowing the language frustrated me, though Jackie translated the important parts of the conversation. We came home to lounge on the porch some more. I love this hotel, there are no TV’s or phones in the rooms and that encourages everyone into the common areas. It very much caters to tourists though and I feel I am missing an important part of the local culture. I would have liked to walk through the town and bought coffee for everyone at the local grocery. But, not knowing the language, it wouldn’t be the same. I am resolved to learn Spanish this year before I go to Guatemala. I miss being able to converse and learn about the people. This morning there is a bike race and then we will go horseback riding. By tomorrow my ass will sore too!
Horseback riding was very cool. Our guide was Mario from the canopy. He showed us a huge anthill and told us that the women ants spit on the leaves, which causes a fungus to grow and creates their food, I commented that of course it was the women who prepared the food and that got a laugh from the guides. Then he broke off little tiny flowers and said they were called little lemons. They smelled very citrus, way more smell than size: itty-bitty tiny things – very strong smell. It rained the whole ride and I accepted it as a gift from the jungle: life-giving rain. We were soaked and muddy by the time we got back. The views were awesome from the top of a mountain but no monkeys L
We ate ice cream when we back and of course lunch. Then we walked the trail: that was intense! Down we went into the darkness of the jungle and of course it rained and still no monkeys. I went on a walk by myself this evening all around the edge of the jungle but still nothing. I can’t believe everyone saw the monkeys but me, maybe in the morning. The driver is coming for us right after breakfast and our adventure will come to an end. I know though that I will return to the jungle. I am in love: it is beautiful and scary. I want to know more about it so I will return, hopefully, able to communicate and with a knowledgeable guide who can tell me about all the beautiful leaves, moss, trees, and animals that I know are there but I don’t see because I have not been enlightened. I will miss sitting on the porch listening to the singsong Spanish around me.
Our hotel hosts have been fabulous and they have a very sweet property. It is very touristy though and I don’t feel that I have seen the real essence of Costa Rica.
We left the hotel at about 8 this morning with the same driver who took us to town Friday night. He drove us to the airport via some sight seeing: stopping to let us take pictures and telling us local lore. Well telling Jackie, not knowing Spanish really sucked! We stopped at the poor man’s springs but I was told it wasn’t safe to climb down so I was good and just took pictures from above but when we stopped at the Rio San Carlos river there was no stopping me from putting my feet in that water. I collected some stones (I asked permission to take them) and took pictures before reluctantly climbing back in the van to search for the monkeys calling in the distance. We didn’t find them only an iguana spotted by our driver. We did hear the volcano erupt and learned that what we thought was clouds were ash. We stopped in Sarchi to do some shopping. I was a bit disappointed, expected to find more handcrafts but everything seemed very mass produced. The ox carts are beautiful but would be hard to bring home so I found smaller purchases and still managed to spend $70. Then we went to lunch at a local restaurant where the refried beans were black and I liked them. Smearing them on a very flaky tortilla then adding the chicken, peppers and onions.
The food was great, rice and beans at every meal and fried plantains – yummy. Juices are very popular and the hotel put out various types for us to drink at every meal. I really enjoyed the food. We looked and looked for the monkeys to no avail but I will be back and maybe then the forest will share her monkeys.
I discovered a few things about Central Americans – they drive like maniacs, stop signs and centerlines are viewed as suggestions. Most love the jungle and don’t wish to be anywhere else but those that do want to be somewhere else, want to be in the USA. They make about 70 cents an hour as the min wage and housing that is small and run down runs $150 a month. They love their children and even have a festival day dedicated to them. Schools are free through a professional degree as is medical care. Most said they felt both were better in Costa Rica than in the States. I loved the jungle and the clean air, even the rain. The mists of the morning were so beautiful and probably what I will remember most fondly. The bugs were odd looking, the birds and butterflies beautifully colored and the frogs were huge!
Our flight boarded late but took off on time at 5:30am. The flight load was very light so I got a row to myself and managed to sleep for an hour on and off. As we took off, I noticed the enormity of Miami, lights twinkling as far as I could see and then we swung out over the ocean and it was black below as we soared toward the sliver of the moon. As the sun began to rise the orange red sky reached above the clouds to kiss that sliver of moon goodnight.
I sure hope the food in Costa Rica is better than this airline, I paid $3 for a three-cheese crescent that was tasteless and greasy but I was starving! All I want now is a monster pot of coffee and I will be ready to take on Today’s adventure.
Our first stop is Managua, Nicaragua. As we approach, I notice the dwellings, they look like something from a feed the children commercial and I am quite humbled. It is scary to me to think of raising a child in such substandard housing.
While we waited for the plane to be deboarded, reboarded, fueled and serviced, I spoke with another passenger, Mary. She was on her way to San Paulo for a modeling job. She was a bit nervous since she had never done modeling only some music videos. All the guys on the plane were fawning over here. We are heading to San Salvador now and I am preparing for the ear pain.
We deplaned in El Salvador and I had the realization that my high school geography teacher did not get through to me, as I cannot remember where this country actually is. Anyway we had a few minutes and I wondered a couple of shop but didn’t buy anything except a cup of coffee, amazing to be in the land of coffee and the cups are much too small to get me moving.
Currently we are about half way through the last segment of the journey to destination of Costa Rica. Next up ground transportation to our hotel: should be interesting as we have nothing prearranged.
It is a very strange feeling to be in a place where I don’t understand a word spoken around me. I tried to communicate to the shop keep in the little souvenir shop and failed miserably. It is going to be an interesting weekend.
Friday morning the birds woke me at 5am. Kinda rude but the reward was so worth it! The forest is covered in a canopy of clouds. Birds and howler monkey’s call to each other. Beautiful, stunning, amazing falls way short of describing the scene in front of me.
It took us 8 hours to get here yesterday: 2 taxis, a chicken bus and approximately $60, we arrived tired, hungry and frustrated at about 6pm. The chicken bus was an experience, 6 hours to go less than 100 miles. We passed beautiful houses with amazing gardens, slums from the movies, mountains and forests and bubbling little creeks. The bus stayed crowded with many people standing, we kept our bags in our laps and were glad we did. One guys bag was stolen from the rack above his head when he fell asleep. Jackie said she knew who did it cause he was eyeing her and she awoke to find him looming over her. Scary crowd. Anyway- the bus was an old tour bus, which bumped along, and stopped at what seemed like every driveway by the time we arrived in Fortuna, I would have paid anything for a taxi! I will pay for the transport back from the hotel. It was worth the ride though as I have been rewarded with a quiet morning on a rocking chair with the birds and monkeys whom I hope will show themselves soon. Today we are doing the canopy tour and a guided hike through the forest to see the Maleku Indians. The next adventure begins in just a couple of hours.
The canopy tour was incredible. Scary, yes but amazing too. I got stuck twice and there is no way I can pull myself hand over hand up a cable so the guide slides down and rescues you by attaching another line and pulling you. They make it look easy. I came out of the canopy on one long stretch and was above the tree tops: my first thought was “Oh my God” and then instantly “How beautiful!” We went on our tour with 4 ladies from Canada and a couple from Mexico. One lady got stuck in the middle on the first line and then was afraid so a guide took her the rest of the way. Then Jackie got stuck and the guide on the other platform missed his signal and sent the next girl while the rescue was in process. It all worked out though and everyone arrived safely at the platform. The feeling of completing the tour was incredible. My legs were so shaky through the tour that at each platform I needed a steady hand to get my legs under me. Our guides were awesome and made it fun even if they had to rescue us. I feel empowered that I have conquered that fear of heights. Our guides were Max, Mario and Gustifan (I am sure that I am not spelling his name correctly). We finished the tour with a visit to the Maleku Indian hut where they showed us their crafts and talked about the symbolism and we could buy some souvenirs. I bought myself a gourd type container (cannot remember what fruit they said it was made from) and three necklaces for the girls.
Tomorrow we go horseback riding and all say we will see the monkeys. Tonight we are going into town for an annual local festival and to do some shopping.
Saturday Morning: My arms are so sore. I didn’t realize how demanding that canopy tour was on arm strength! At each platform we had to pull the cable down and lift a leg up to fasten the pulley to the cable from our waists. The festival was very tiny and we didn’t stay long. Our taxi driver took us to a souvenir shop, which was very expensive. I bought a poster of the volcano and a couple of postcards to send home. Then we went to a local bar and had dinner with the Mexican couple and our driver. Again not knowing the language frustrated me, though Jackie translated the important parts of the conversation. We came home to lounge on the porch some more. I love this hotel, there are no TV’s or phones in the rooms and that encourages everyone into the common areas. It very much caters to tourists though and I feel I am missing an important part of the local culture. I would have liked to walk through the town and bought coffee for everyone at the local grocery. But, not knowing the language, it wouldn’t be the same. I am resolved to learn Spanish this year before I go to Guatemala. I miss being able to converse and learn about the people. This morning there is a bike race and then we will go horseback riding. By tomorrow my ass will sore too!
Horseback riding was very cool. Our guide was Mario from the canopy. He showed us a huge anthill and told us that the women ants spit on the leaves, which causes a fungus to grow and creates their food, I commented that of course it was the women who prepared the food and that got a laugh from the guides. Then he broke off little tiny flowers and said they were called little lemons. They smelled very citrus, way more smell than size: itty-bitty tiny things – very strong smell. It rained the whole ride and I accepted it as a gift from the jungle: life-giving rain. We were soaked and muddy by the time we got back. The views were awesome from the top of a mountain but no monkeys L
We ate ice cream when we back and of course lunch. Then we walked the trail: that was intense! Down we went into the darkness of the jungle and of course it rained and still no monkeys. I went on a walk by myself this evening all around the edge of the jungle but still nothing. I can’t believe everyone saw the monkeys but me, maybe in the morning. The driver is coming for us right after breakfast and our adventure will come to an end. I know though that I will return to the jungle. I am in love: it is beautiful and scary. I want to know more about it so I will return, hopefully, able to communicate and with a knowledgeable guide who can tell me about all the beautiful leaves, moss, trees, and animals that I know are there but I don’t see because I have not been enlightened. I will miss sitting on the porch listening to the singsong Spanish around me.
Our hotel hosts have been fabulous and they have a very sweet property. It is very touristy though and I don’t feel that I have seen the real essence of Costa Rica.
We left the hotel at about 8 this morning with the same driver who took us to town Friday night. He drove us to the airport via some sight seeing: stopping to let us take pictures and telling us local lore. Well telling Jackie, not knowing Spanish really sucked! We stopped at the poor man’s springs but I was told it wasn’t safe to climb down so I was good and just took pictures from above but when we stopped at the Rio San Carlos river there was no stopping me from putting my feet in that water. I collected some stones (I asked permission to take them) and took pictures before reluctantly climbing back in the van to search for the monkeys calling in the distance. We didn’t find them only an iguana spotted by our driver. We did hear the volcano erupt and learned that what we thought was clouds were ash. We stopped in Sarchi to do some shopping. I was a bit disappointed, expected to find more handcrafts but everything seemed very mass produced. The ox carts are beautiful but would be hard to bring home so I found smaller purchases and still managed to spend $70. Then we went to lunch at a local restaurant where the refried beans were black and I liked them. Smearing them on a very flaky tortilla then adding the chicken, peppers and onions.
The food was great, rice and beans at every meal and fried plantains – yummy. Juices are very popular and the hotel put out various types for us to drink at every meal. I really enjoyed the food. We looked and looked for the monkeys to no avail but I will be back and maybe then the forest will share her monkeys.
I discovered a few things about Central Americans – they drive like maniacs, stop signs and centerlines are viewed as suggestions. Most love the jungle and don’t wish to be anywhere else but those that do want to be somewhere else, want to be in the USA. They make about 70 cents an hour as the min wage and housing that is small and run down runs $150 a month. They love their children and even have a festival day dedicated to them. Schools are free through a professional degree as is medical care. Most said they felt both were better in Costa Rica than in the States. I loved the jungle and the clean air, even the rain. The mists of the morning were so beautiful and probably what I will remember most fondly. The bugs were odd looking, the birds and butterflies beautifully colored and the frogs were huge!
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