Cahuita

School ended on Tuesday, so on Wednesday my friends (Kelli and Emily) and I hopped on a 6:00 a.m. bus to Cahuita. The tiny town is on the Caribbean Coast and is a 3.5-4hour bus ride. We basically hung out at the beaches all day and eventually left as lobsters. Seriously. The town is in the province of Limon, which is where you will find a lot of Jamaican-blood ticos. The place is all about reggae and Rastafarian.

Main Street



The water was so nice and warm, and the waves were huge. The three of us just sat in the water and let the waves carry us away. One concerned surfer asked us (in English) , “Do you know how to swim?”

The food was ok, but I am not a huge fan of cooking with coconut. I did have some yummy food at the last restaurant that we ate at. It literally was right on the ocean. So beautiful!!!
View


On Thursday, we rented bikes and rode all over Cahuita. It was so much fun! I felt like the witch in the Wizard of Oz because the bikes had baskets. I seriously want a bike like that! The bad news is that I lost the key to the bike lock, so I had to pay to replace it. Boo.


Mamon Chino (delicious fruit)

Monteverde aka Estoy en el cielo

Last weekend, I went to Monteverde with some friends. The name means Green Mountain. It's a 4-5 hour bus ride from San Jose, even though it's only a 140 mile journey. Why so long, you ask? Well, because there is not straight shot. No 4-lane highway. Instead, there's uphill and downhill on semi-paved or not-at-all-paved roads. There was a highway for the last hour or so...

We stayed in a really cute place called Monteverde Country Lodge. It reminded me of being at a summer camp because there was wood everywhere. The first night, there were only four other people besides Katie, Becky, and me. We literally had to walk uphill about 20 minutes to get to the hotel from the center of town. I would have been annoyed if (a) it wasn't so beautiful, and (b) it wasn't great exercise.

Hotel


The first full day, we went ziplining.

Survivors (Me, Becky, Katie) Seriously, why do I have a cabezon?

It wasn't your ordinary zipline. Not at all. It included the tradional lines, but then had a vertical repel down and a Tarzan swing. I was lucky enough to be the first to go on that one, so I had no idea what to expect. You're alone on a platform accept for the worker that pushes you off. Seriously. For the first few seconds, the rope is slack so it feels like you are going to plummet to your death. I screamed like a baby. Then I laughed. The last zip line was done superman style. What is that, you ask...instead of being harnassed by the chest, you're harnessed by the back and your legs are hosted up, making you completely horizontal. The line is 1km long, takes 40 seconds, and goes over a deep, green valley. It was awesome. Plus, I have it on video.

Tarzan Platform. Pushed from here, flew down passed lower platform into the open air. They stopped us by catching us in front of the stomach with a rubber padding thing. It hurt.


We also went to a butterfly farm, where our guide was a 15 year old tica who knew her insects like no other.

Scary Beetle that's noctural and blind.


On the morning that we left, my compañeras slept in while I went on a solo tour of the cloud forest. Amazing. I walked on hanging bridges over the forest. It felt like I was in a movie or something. It was really peaceful. Generally, I am a social person who avoids doing things without company, but I am glad that I did this on my own. I had time to reflect and take in all the nature.

Why is it called a cloud forest?

La Negrita

Costa Rica's patron saint is La Negrita (little black one). It's actual a representation of the Virgin Mary. 375 years ago this year, an indigenous girl found a black stone that looked like a doll, so she brought it home and put it in a box. The next morning it was missing. She went back to the spot where she first encountered it, and it was there again. She brought it home...and the same thing happened, so she took it to the priest. I don't know all of the details, but the ticans proclamed it a miracle and wanted to build a cathedral where La Negrita was found.

This is the original church. It was never finished because earthquakes kept hitting the area and the ground couldn't support the weight. Now it's a park-like place. There are gates around it, which aren't always opened.


Every year, there's a Romeria (pilgramage) to Cartago, where La Negrita was found. People walk from all over the country to show their devotion. This cathedral is fairly new. If I am not mistaken, it was built last century.


In the cathedral, there are tons of glass cases like this one, containing representations of body parts like arms, legs, hearts, and heads, or babies, beds, and other things. Each represents a prayer sent to La Negrita. Literally, I was overwhelmed by the devotion! There are also trophies, degrees, etc. that people send to La Negrita in appreciation.

Ya casi es la hora...

I only have 9 days left in Costa Rica. Of those days, I only have two days of class. The remaining classes should be pretty easy. In my composition class, we have the test on Monday. If we finish, we don't have to come on Tuesday :) The test is an essay. Based on the corrections of my first essay in that class, I am feeling a bit nervous about it. What I noticed, however, in the subsequent essays that I have written is that a lot of the corrections seem to be a style-based correction, not a grammar one (side note: on the second one I scored a 97).

In my culture class, Monday I give a presentation and turn in a paper on Costa Rica fashion. I know. Seems weird for me to choose that theme, but we had to pick something cultural and I thought that it would be easy. It wasn't. But, I think that my project is pretty good.

This weekend is a long one (one class tomorrow), so I am leaving at 6:30 a.m. for Monteverde. Hopefully, there won't be a disasterous wake-up like the last time I had to leave at 6..Mama Tica is going to be up at 530 and she told me that she'll make sure that I'm up :) Monteverde is a cloud forest. I can't wait. Wendy went there last weekend and said that it was beautiful.

We are looking into going to Arenal next week Wednesday-Thursday. It's a 5 hour ride, but it's the 3rd most perfect cone-shaped volcano and it erupts almost daily. We'll see.

Manuel Antonio-Parte 2

After the park, we headed to the beach. From the restaurant, we saw these guys using horses as ladders to get coconuts. Then, they used leaves as cups.


At the beach, we witnessed a robbery.


I happily identified the suspect.


These are the boats that used to take people to the entrance of the park, but are actually not used anymore. The entrance and the exit have swapped positions.



Here we are having fun on the beach. The water was really warm. Steve likened it to bath water. Other than the nasty cut I got on my knee from some coral, it was perfect.



The next day, we just lounged around at the hotel, went to the beach for lunch, and then went to the airport. NIGHTMARE. To make a long story short (too late?):
Hombre: The airplane is having a mechanical problem. The pilots are going to do a test.
(five minutes)
Hombre: Test failed. We're going to take you to San Jose via van. (Cue Steph crying because we were supposed to eat dinner with my tica family)
(10 minutes)
Hombre: They are sending us a plane! Should be here soon. (Cue Steph rejoycing)
(35 minutes)
Hombre: The plane can't leave San Jose because of weather. We're going by van. (Cue anger)
(10 minutes)
Van arrives. We make it in two hours. Should have taken about three. My life passed before my eyes. We were able to make it (really late) to my tica family's house for dinner. Laughter was shared. Food was eaten. All was right in the world.

Manuel Antonio-Parte I

Steve surprised me with our awesome hotel for our second anniversary. Because it is low season, he was able to get a really good deal. The hotel offered us transportation to the beach and national park whenever we wanted. Their golf carts brought us up the big hill. We had a private balcony overlooking the wildlife reserve. Breakfast was included. The bartender at the pool gave us fresh fruit on a stick whenever we passed him. The pool was three levels. Needless to say, it was awesome. Oh. Aforementioned bartender was convinced that Steve was Tobey Maguire.

View from balcony


The first day we went to the National Park. I highly suggest going with a guide, because there is no way a gringo like me (or you) could spot these animals. Seriously, Jesua (our guide) saw insects on branches. No lie. He had a scope that we could look through and we saw the cutest things. Sloths eating. A crocodile completely submurged besides an eyeball. And best of all, lots of monkeys. Lots and lots. They were so cute, I couldn't handle it. We saw them steal someone's food, only to throw down the bag in frustration when he couldn't get it open. The walk though the park took us about 3 hours. It was really awesome.



Can you spot the sloth?


So cute

Vamos a la playa

This past weekend, my husband (Steve) flew into San Jose to spend a long weekend with me in celebration of our second anniversary. He flew in on Thursday and almost missed his connection flight because his plane in Chicago left really late. He ran through the Miami airport to make his connection...only to be delayed again. Gotta love those airports.

While I was waiting for him at the Santamaria Airport, I saw a bunch of reporters. I was hoping that they were waiting for Juanes or Daniel Radcliff, but instead it was a football team called La Liga(I verified this with one of my tico brothers). I took a picture just for giggles.


Steve and I spent the night in the Marriott near the hotel because we were flying to the beach. Yes, we flew instead of taking a bus. He was only here for a few days, so I didn't want to waste three hours on a bus. My taxista, Johnny, told me that Bill Clinton stayed at the Marriott. The next morning, we flew on a regional airline to Manuel Antonio. Seriously, the flight was 15 minutes of air. No joke. The ticos don't take the airline, it's basically all tourists. One of my tico brothers told me before I left, "It was nice knowing you."

View from plane. It seats about 12 people.


Plane at the Quepos "airport"


Our hotel van picked us up. We stayed at the Gaia Resort. Seriously. Was. Awesome. Our room wasn't ready yet, so the van took us down to the beach for lunch.


Calle with venders all selling the same stuff


More to come...it's late. I'm tired. And my internet is slow today.

I thought I was in the tropics...

Word to the wise. When going to Costa Rica in the summer (their winter), make sure to pack plenty of warm clothes. I made the mistake of thinking, "Oh, it will be hot there." It is hot...for about 2 hours then it rains and gets chilly. My iPhone's weather bug mislead me to pack the wrong things. You see, it said that I would be in a place of 80 every day. Liar. Currently, it's 70. At night, it gets colder. Since I'm used to the cold of Illinois, I am generally ok, except for my feet. I only brought one pair of non-sandals (my gym shoes), so my toes might soon fall off. I think that it's hilarious that I am in the tropics, but it's hotter in Illinois.

On a side note, Steve is coming today! He almost missed his connection in Miami, but he ran to the gate and made it on time (only to have to wait for a maintenance issue). We're spending the weekend in Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast. Fingers crossed for warm weather!

Random thoughts...

¿Estudió Ud. en España?
Practically every tico that I’ve met has commented on my accent. Apparently, it’s obvious that I studied in Spain. Here, they speak pretty smooth (more or less). I however, do the Spanish I’ve-got-phlegm-in-my-throat-when-I-make-a-j-or-g-sound pronunciation. Luckily, I don’t have the Spanish lisp (there are plenty of those among my fellow students).

Cocinera fabulosa
I am extremely lucky because my mama tica is an AMAZING cook. Although rice and beans make an appearance at every lunch and dinner (and sometimes breakfast), she manages to make the rest of the meal a feast. We eat a lot of chicken because Wendy is a semi-vegetarian and mama tica doesn’t want her to go hungry. In addition to the main course, we have rice, beans, some sort of salad, another salad, and sometimes bread. Today, we ate stuff shells that had cheese and egg. Yummy!
Every once in a while, she serves up something…interesting. For instance, yesterday at dinner we had “apple cinnamon milk.” It tasted rather like oatmeal, and when I looked at the package I realized that it was, indeed, oatmeal. Instead of cooking it a la americana, she dumped some of it into a pitcher of milk. It was ok, but very bizarre. We’ve also eaten some weird breakfasts. We always have a plate of apple, pineapple, and banana (which, by the way, they call banano). Then we have either eggs and toast or toast with some topping. The toppings have included: black bean puree (actually quite tasty), cheese (Wendy’s and my fav), ham, turkey, chicken, and avocado (by far the most interesting).
She also makes 99% of her juice by hand. Literally. I’ve seen her squeeze about 10 lemons to make lemonade. I’ve had lots of exotic fruit drinks here, many of which I have no idea of the name. I know cas is one and the other is tarmandino (or something of the sort).

Profe. fabulosa
I had a bit of a panic attack after receiving my score on the first composition. Because I am a nosey Rosey, I saw what my neighbor’s grade was, and it was significantly higher. I was in a funk for the rest of the day, and eventually I wrote the profe (Ale) saying that I was frustrated. She responded with a really long email telling me that because I wrote more and had more elaborate sentences, I had more room for errors. She agreed to pre-read my second composition and go over the corrections with me. Then she signed it “A hug, Ale.” Today in class, while everyone was working on a review sheet for our test tomorrow (my first test since 2004!), we went in the hall and she helped me out. She reassured me that I am very capable and that I have a big vocabulary, but I need to watch my prepositions. Seriously, prepositions are so hard to learn in a foreign language because the English equivalent isn’t necessarily used the same way. They don’t really teach prepositions in school, so you have to learn by osmosis. Not. Fun. Nor. Easy.

Isla Tortuga

Yesterday, we went on an excursion to Isla Tortuga in the Pacific Ocean. We were leaving at 6:20, so I had to be at school at 6:10. I had set my alarm for 5:25 and the taxi driver was arriving at 5:45. Well, I had my earplugs in, so I woke up at 5:51. That’s right, my alarm was going off for nearly 30 minutes and I had no clue. I ran like a banchi outside to tell the taxista that I would be right there, hurried inside, brushed my teeth, and changed. Thank goodness that I am an organized person and had packed my beach bag the night before. Seriously. I am never late! I never sleep until the alarm either. The worst part was that I told someone that I would pick them up in the taxi. Of course, she ended up taking her own taxi because I suck. But, I did get to the bus on time.
The first part of the journey was about 45 minutes to the restaurant. The food was so delicious! That’s not really a surprise since everything here is yummy (minus the Mexican restaurant).

I bought some souvenirs for some lucky people and then we headed back on the bus for another 45 minutes or so. Once we got to Calypso Cruises, we hopped on a catamaran and headed to Tortuga. We got to the island, which is really isolated, about an hour later.



The first thing that Becky (the previously mentioned friend who I abandoned) and I did was go snorkeling. Two little boats took about 40 of us out about 5 minutes off shore. I’d give distance, but I am horrible at that…There wasn’t a ton to see, but there were some pretty fish. After about 30 minutes of that, we returned to shore for lunch. I thought that breakfast was good, but that had nothing on lunch. I even liked the ceviche. That’s right, family, I ate raw fish and it was delicious! Then there was peanut chicken. Mmmm…
Ceviche


After lunch Becky and I lounged around on the beach. It was so nice outside and relaxing. I always say that I hate relaxing because I am not any good at it, but whenever I am on a beach like Tortuga (e.g. Kauai), I love it.


Eventually, we went on the banana boat. It’s basically a long yellow banana that seven passengers ride on and hope not to fall off while the boat tugging it drives. At first, I was white knuckling it for fear of falling off, but then figured, “why not enjoy yourself?” The captain of the boat made sure that all of us fell off. It was really fun (except the mouth of salt water).

By this time it was about time to go, but we had a little visitor. A wild boar came down to say hello. The workers told us that there’s a pack of them, and that this little chica comes down for the free food and some loving. I know that she looks dead in the picture, but she was alive and kicking. Literally. You she was like a dog when you petted her stomach.
On the catamaran back to the dock, it started raining (shocker). There’s not a whole lot of coverage on the boat, so lots of people got soaked. I managed to stay fairly dry. Once on land, we headed back to the buses for San José. The journey was about an hour and 45 minutes. It was a bit scary since it was dark and Costa Rican expressways are (a) often on the precipice of a cliff, (b) don’t have lights, and (c) are filled with crazy drivers.
All in all it was an awesome day worth every penny. Of course, I came home a bit burnt since that’s how I roll. I did put on sunscreen; obviously I should have reapplied it. Oh well. Today was really the epitome of Pura Vida.

Rain, hills, Mexican, and movies

Today and yesterday were good weather days. It wasn’t raining, so I was able to walk to and from school both days. It’s about a 35-40 minute walk with plenty of hills, so it’s really good exercise. Yesterday, I decided to go for a run for the first time since getting here. I was a bit apprehensive since the roads are horrible (both in lack of sidewalks and crazy drivers), but I really had the urge to hit the pavement. I ran about 1.5 miles to the University of Costa Rica sports complex, ran around there (about another mile) and ran home. I just about made it home when it started to drizzle. No kidding, as soon as I got into the garage it started to pour. The run was challenging because of the roads, the air climate (not polluted, but thinness), and the hills.

Today after school we went to a Mexican restaurant near school (not my idea). I had a chicken quesadilla, but instead of shredded chicken, it was chunks. Not the best. After that, I met up with my friend Katie and her roommate to go see a tican movie called “A Ojos Cerrados.” It was a short movie, only about an hour, but really moving. It’s the story of an old man who lives with his wife and granddaughter until his wife dies suddenly. The title (Closed Eyes) refers to the man having his eyes closed almost all the time after his wife dies. It was unique because there wasn’t a ton of dialogue, but there was so much emotion in the facial expressions and the music. I highly recommend it.

The theater itself was so cold! Literally, my toes were frozen! Good thing I had a long sleeved shirt in my purse! Maybe it seemed colder since it had air conditioning and no other place here does. The good news is that the seats were so comfortable. They were plush, rocked back, and had TONS of leg room. The best part, however, was the cost. It was 1500 colones to see the movie, which is about $2.50. Not bad for a first-run movie in a comfortable chair!

El Teatro Nacional

Yesterday, we went on an excursion to el Teatro Nacional. Everyone says that it’s the prettiest building in the country. It was built in the 1800s and has Italian marble throughout it. The coolest thing, in my opinion, was the floor of the theatre itself. The floor was built so that it could be raised up to make a dance floor. To do so, 12 men turn a massive wheel underground. The fastest time was two hours.
Interior

A few cool things:
1. The president’s balcony is basically open for all to see. There isn’t a big security set up, or walls dividing her (the president is a woman!) spot from the public. The guide told us that it’s common in San José to see the president. She’s run in to previous presidents on tours, in the pharmacy, and on the street. I think I’d pass out if Obama was in front of me at Walgreens!

2. There are smoking rooms (not in use anymore) for men and women. There were no windows in these rooms…nice. The women’s room had some pictures, while the men’s had a naked woman statue with no head.

3. There are beautiful paintings on the ceilings. The one in the main foyer used to be on a Costa Rican bill. There are some errors in the painting, however, because the artist never set foot in Costa Rica. Therefore, the bananas are upside down, the oxen's braces are in the wrong spot, and the women look European and not Tican :)


After the teatro, we had some free time, so I went to the cathedral down a block away. Not really my tastes. It’s really modern on the outside.

I did, however, like the statue of John Paul II. It was round, like a Botero statue.


After the five minutes it took me to go through the teatro it started to downpour, so I went with some friends to a café for some hot chocolate. You might be surprised to find out (as I surely was), that it’s actually colder here in San José than it is in Illinois right now. In the mornings it’s about 80, but once the rain hits, it drops down to the 60s. Should have packed more appropriately!

Clases de baile

Today, I took a Latin dance class. It was the first of four. Seriously, it was so cheap. $20...total. $5/class! Can't beat that. We were in a little room in some old building on the outskirts of school. There was ONE fan, no air, and you couldn't open the windows. We were packed in like sardines, about 30 of us. The instructor taught us for an hour. We covered the basic dances (salsa, merengue, etc). Some people have no rhythm, especially the men (mind you, there were about 4 guys). We all sweated our butts off, but it was so fun! Next week we have two classes, and the woman said that they would get harder with time.

As a side note, today it didn't rain!!! I couldn't believe it. It looked like it was going to, but nope. We managed to walk to school (which is normal) and home (un milagro!). In total about 2 hours of working out today: 30 minutes walking, 60 minutes dancing, 30 minutes walking. (Bonus, the walk is HILLY!!!) Not bad. Not bad at all :)

Poas y La Paz

Today was beyond amazing. First, we went to Volcán Poas, which is about an hour away from San José. To get there, we had to walk up some paths until we got the volcano, which is really a geyser. The last time that it was active was in the 1950s.


After that, we went to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. It was scary getting there, as we were in buses next to a huge dropoff. The park was unbelieveable. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing it was there. The flora was like we were in Jurassic Park, or as Wendy put it “This is like Avatar!” According to the brochure, the Travel Channel called its hotel one of the 10 best honeymoon hotels (and Trista and Ryan from the Bachelorette honeymooned there!).
First, we ate lunch. Let me just say that I stuffed myself silly. The plátanos con miel were deliciosos. Seriously, so good.


Then we went to the animal area. First, there was a butterfly enclosure. There were tons flying around. Next, was the toucans and parrots. The toucans fly on people’s shoulders, and I even got a kiss!

After that, we went to the hummingbirds. There are more species of hummingbirds there than anywhere else (26 types!). None of us cared about the snakes, so we skipped that building. The frog building would have been a bust had it not been for the guide. He could spot those things like no other.
My favorite, of course, was the monkey house. They were soooo cute and one guy kept following me around. We even held hands for a while, no joke!


Next was the Casita de la Paz, which is a replica of old Tica homes. Outside, there was a careta that we rode in. Of course, both oxen decided it would be a good time to poop as soon as we were in the careta. Nice.

There were also “jungle cats” there. There’s an ocelot named Tabitha that plays patty-cake with people (through a fence, of course). There was Torito, the jaguar, as well as pumas and a jaguarondi (basically a wild house cat).

Finally, we went to the cataratas (waterfalls). They were BEAUTIFUL. We walked up and down the mountain path to get to the three of them: Magia Blanca, Encantada y Escondida. My camera had died by this point, so I had to take photos with my iPhone. I need to email them to myself, but my phone won’t connect to the Web, so….hopefully soon.
Pics I stole from Heather's camera :)

Choques Culturales

There are some definite choques culturales when visiting Costa Rica. One of the biggest things, for me, is the toilets. The plumbing here can’t handle paper, so most of the t.p. gets thrown into baskets next to the toilets. Additionally, no public place has toilet paper. People carry it around in their purses. Today I went to the grocery store (Mas x Menos) and I about died of shock when I saw toilet paper.


Another thing is the food. While I am loving the food, I don’t think that I’ve ever eaten so many beans in my life. Yesterday for breakfast we had gallo pinto, a typical dish of beans, rice, cilantro and something else. Every meal has rice too. Antonieta, my señora, is a great cook. Yesterday, she made something out of nothing but veggies and cheese and it was so good. There are also tons of types of bananas here, each with a different use. The fruit here is out of this world. I don’t think that I will ever be able to eat a pineapple in the USA again because it won’t measure up.


Cena rica de Antonieta


The last thing that has been a shock to me is the language. Yes, they speak Spanish here, but it is very different from the Spanish I’ve learned from my time in Spain. They always use the formal Ud. for “you,” even with babies and animals. Also, they don’t use commands. Instead, they use a more roundabout way of telling someone to do something. They also write accents in weird spots. I don’t know why. My familia tica has told me that they can tell that I studied in Spain. I don’t have the “lisp” of Spain, but I definitely have a ton of Spain in my pronunciation.

Notice how it says Ponete and not Ponte


Lastly, be prepared for rain here. Lots and lots of rain. Today on the way back from Mas x Menos, my pants got soaked and my sandal kept falling off because I was walking uphill in the rain!