Our final trip to Puerto Viejo - We are leaving tomorrow

We decided that for our last weekend here we would take a trip to Puerto Viejo and get some beach time in before we leave. We got a rental car and headed out for two days. We stayed at Roberta's favorite hotel, Casa Verde. It was my first time there and I liked it. The room was great and the pool was awesome. My only gripe was that the beds in our room were well past the time to throw them out. The only bed big enough for me and Roberta had a huge divot on my side so I had to sleep in the other bed in the room which had metal springs gouging me in the back. If I would stay there again I would test out the beds before I accepted a room.

We had a great time there. We went down past Manzanillo and probably looked at the Panamanian frontier. Then we just pulled up a spot on the beach and chilled out. We were going to rent motorcycles and go for a mini tour but the guy who was renting them had a bad attitude so we decided not to. We made the better choice as I was able to finish the Culture Shock Costa Rica book. I will write a review of that in another post.

After a couple days in PV we decided to drive back and get into the real world. You know, to start packing since we are leaving on Thursday. I was driving from PV to Limon and I was going fairly fast but Roberta was prompting me to go even faster. We were railing along and I hit this big pothole and Roberta screams because the hubcap flies off into the ditch. We had to stop and try to find it. We found it but we had broken a piece off of it so we just threw it into the trunk to deal with later.

About halfway to San Jose I gave the wheel to Roberta and we continued. She was cruising along at about 60 and came across a car eating pothole. There was no way to avoid it so she just hit it with the front right wheel of the car hard. We made it home and got out and looked at the tire. It was half flat and the rim had a huge dent in it. I tried to put the hubcap back on but it wouldn't fit. I had to go borrow a hammer from the guard in our complex and pound it flat so that I could get the hubcap on.

It was Sunday evening and we needed to find some zip ties to tie the hubcap onto the car. We went to the new Hiper Mas in San Pedro but we couldn't find any zip ties. We asked the guard if he knew where any were. He was like, "No no, we don't have any" And we were like "Oh come on man, help a brother out" Costa Ricans can't stand to help if you act a little sad or aggitated. He went into the back and came back out with 8 zip ties and he gave them to us for free. He was a life saver since we had to take the rental car back at 9:30 in the morning.

We took the rental car back after zip tieing on the hub cap and they didn't charge us for anything. They were pointing at the rim and he called his boss over but there were no problems. Whew.

This will likely be the last post from Costa Rica. Expect the scenery to change and the stories to change. We have had a great time in Costa Rica and would consider coming back but the world is so big and unexplored.

Click for more pictures of the trip

Moving From Costa Rica to New Zealand

Well, I guess it is about time to change the title of our blog to reflect what is happening with our lives. We are moving to New Zealand at the end of April. Keep reading to learn about the New Zealand immigration process, establishing a home in Auckland, and new places we'll get to visit. Adam and I are really excited.

The Ox Cart parade in Escazu.

I went to the Ox Cart parade a couple weeks ago and am finally getting the pictures up. We have had other things, namely moving to New Zealand, that are on our mind.

The parade was an awesome display of meat and wood. The cows and oxen were huge. Everyone was having such a good time.

The pictures best describe the action at the parade so here you go:

Link to pictures

One more....

Our friends Michelle and Allan were in town from Portland and we went out to dinner with them at Jurgen's restaurant. It is excellent and fairly close to our house so we decided to walk there. On the walk home after a great meal I was walking a little bit behind the other three. While walking across a street in the streelight I saw Roberta just about step on a HUGE spider. You noticed how I capitalized "HUGE" right. I screamed and then everyone else screamed. It was basically a screamfest. I was confused, it wasn't a spider, it was a frakkin tarantula, hair and all. I grabbed a stick and poked it a couple times but Michelle looked like she was going to have nightmares so we kept going. Did I mention that the thing was HUGE?

What's that in my shoe?

I put my shoes on yesterday and walked around for about ten minutes and then felt something in my show like a large rock. I pulled my shoe off and dumped out a huge cockroach. Nasty.

Then, as if it couldn't get any worse, we went to bed that night and I woke up half way through the night screaming because a cockroach was running around under the covers.

This is the first time that a cockroach has been in my shoe or under the covers. It must be the season to get weirded out.

Things I miss (or will miss) Costa Rica, Portland OR, and New Zealand

I've been thinking a lot about Costa Rica and the things I like and don't like about living in Central America.

1. I will miss speaking and hearing spanish on a regular basis. Living with another language is challenging on a daily basis. Go out to eat? You have to translate. Pay a bill? You have to speak spanish. Nope, can't send it via mail.

2. I will not miss standing in line to pay the utility bills. You stand in line for everything. I've learned to take a book or magazine everywhere just in case I have to wait.

3. I will miss smiling, dancing, happy people, genuinely happy people. Coming from Portland there are a lot of transplants from other cities in the United States. They say people are just nicer and friendlier in Portland. Well the 'happy' people in Portland don't hold a candle to the happy Ticos. I was in the supermarket yesterday and I saw four people either dancing or singing. Yes people here bust out in dance or songs because they are happy. Two of those people were stock boys. No sarcastic teenage ankst here. I've been in a dozen or so taxis where the drivers will just bust out a latin serinade just for you. How can you not smile and be happy here.

4. I miss my motorcycle. I have a Suzuki GS 500, but I'm hoping to upgrade in New Zealand. There are a lot of people on motorcycles here, but IMHO it is too dangerous for motorcycle here, especially with the mean drivers.



5. I will not misss the mean drivers here in Costa Rica. I swear, the Ticos turn into Dr. Jeckyl and Hide. They are nice dancing singing folk, but when they get behind the wheel they will run you over in a heart beat. I will not miss the transporation system here.

6. I miss the great restaurants of Portland. I miss Milo's for breakfast, Pizza A Go-Go for lunch with real NYC style crust, and I miss a dozen other of my favorite restaurants for dinner. I hope New Zealand can live up to Portland restaurants.

7. I MISS GOOD BEER! Portland has so many great breweries.

8. I don't miss the 15lbs I've lost since moving to Costa Rica. Not many restaurants or beer to temp me. The most fun we have going out for food is the Plaza Viquez Saturday market with so many different types of cheap, fresh local produce.

9. I miss my Portland friends and will miss my new Costa Rican friends. So many friendly people!

Car Jacking

The other evening I went to pick up Adam at the airport. I took the back roads because it's faster and easier. I was playing video games and was running late.

I was behind a taxi, a nice four door sedan and a semi stopped at a light. A skinny kid comes around the corner of the semi and lunges into the open window of the four door sedan. I thought they were just doing a drug deal. The car started shaking and then I see the kid pull his arm out of the window with a gun and walk off. I guess the guy in the car wasn't going to let go of it so easily. The light turned green and everybody rushed off. I'm just glad he didn't come for me.

Moral of the story don't take short cuts through bad neighborhoods at night and don't drive with your windows down.

Traveler's First Aid kit

What medicine always goes in your bathroom bag when you travel? This is my new favorite question I ask when chatting with other travelers. I've heard bag-balm, Pepto-Bismol tablets, weed, pain relievers, or condoms.

In the last 10 months we've been living in Costa Rica, but have traveled to Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala. And being the hypochondriac that I am, I've put together a beat-em-up first aid kit that does not take up too much space. It has already come in handy. This is only my personnel list, hopefully it will get you thinking about what you should carry with you depending on where you are going, what type of traveling you intend on doing and the current status of your health. Do you really want to spend a couple of days sick than a few more trying to find the right medicine or doctor? Planning ahead and prevention is worth a pound of cure. Here's what's in my bag:

Pepto-Bismol Tablets, these are small pink tablets that help with most digestion problems: otherwise known as the Black Water Fever, otherwise known as shits like you’ve never known!

Ciproxina 500, this is a strong general antibiotic for infections that just won't heal. Or if you have a serious case of diarrhea and or throwing up you can take one of these and it will clear your system out of everything, but only for very serious instances. Don't take antibiotics on a whim; you don't want to develop resistance. I met a fellow traveler-pill popper who got sick, ended up in the (developing nation) hospital for five days and went through 3 strong antibiotics before getting better. The doctors never did figure out what the virus was.

Imodium, is for blocking up your system during diarrhea. I only take immodium when dehydration becomes an issue. It blocks both the good and bad stuff.

Fluconazol is a one pill antibiotic for yeast infections. For me, this is only for use in remote areas. For a natural cure for yeast infections go here.

Bandages and band aids, include various sizes. Also don't forget. moleskin, if you plan to do serious hiking.

Antibacterial skin cream for various scrapes and open wounds. In the tropics you can never be too careful.

DEET and Anti-itch cream, I just discovered Jungle Juice, which is %100 DEET. Anything else is pathetic. Spray this on; don't take a shower for a couple of days and you are good to go. Yes, there are health problems associated, but it works for me. But it might kill you or make you insane. Dengue is a serious problem in Central America, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Plus bites are prone to infection. I contracted mange, the skin disease, in Mexico after a bug bite. It lasted for six months because I refused to take antibiotics. Now I carry them everywhere!

Pain killers, I carry a little bit of ibuprofen, aspirin and vicadin. Ibuprofen is for headaches and cramps. Aspirin doesn't do anything for me, but I heard it is good for heart attacks. And the vicadin is for serious broke your arm kind of injuries. Or for hellishly long plane rides!

Sun Block I didn't think I had to list this but we had some guests come without, so here it is on the list. It's up there with toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss. Sun block is expensive down here so please, if you come to visit us, bring your own sun block.

So that's what's in my bag. For more information on healthy traveling see The Travel Clinic hosted by a doctor specializing in traveler’s health. Also it's helpful living in a country where you can buy your own drugs over the counter from a knowledgeable pharmacist.


PS: Do not pet cats and dogs on the street. I just saw a well fed and well taken care of dog with ring worm. And we all know what ring worm leads to....

Good night, I'm going to go cleanse my colon and puke.

Zancudo and Taj Mahal

Roberta's mom and sister came into town for the yearly Taj Mahal show that is out at Zancudo. It had been a while since they had been on vacation so this was a treat.

The first night we were in Zancudo we heard rumors that there was going to be an impromptu show by Mudcat at Sol y Mar. We went down there and grabbed dinner and a bunch of drinks before the show started. Then the friends that we made before the show kept buying us drinks after the show started which is a viscous spiral that leads nowhere good. Mudcat was awesome. He has more energy than a puppy at Christmas.

After the show at 1:30 in the morning we were trying to find a ride home. The one taxi in town was no longer running and Sol y Mar is a ways from our hotel. Willy said that he would give us a ride home on his motorcycle one by one. The only problem was that we were buying Willy drinks. Oh well, seemed like our best option at that point.

The next morning for me was not a good day. I spent 6 hours of the day in bed with a bad hangover. It finally went away in time for the Taj show. There were a ton of people at the show. It looked like the whole town came out for it. We missed Mudcat on the main stage but got there for a couple bands before Taj. Taj was definitely the highlight. He has a great sound that was huge with just a drummer and a bass. The crew that we came with had purchased a bottle of Cacique which is just cheap white liquor. They all proceeded to get rip roarin’ drunk.

On the way back from the show I was literally dragging Roberta, not because she didn’t want to go, but because she could barely walk. I think that we have all learned an important lesson about Cacique.

When we got back the rest of the crew was sitting next to the pool chilling. The Joan, not knowing her power of suggestion, dared Roberta to jump in the pool. Roberta thought about it for about two seconds and was in with all of her clothes and shoes on. Hilarious.

The next evening Roberta and Andrea started walking down to an Italian restaurant down the road and Karla and I were going to wait for a bit and take a cab. There was this other guy who I had seen cruising around the hotel but I hadn’t talked with him yet. He walked by and I started up a conversation. Pretty much the first thing out of his mouth was how much money he makes. Then he went on a tirade about how horrible it is to get stuff produced in China. Then he started talking about how he has been sued 5 times in the past year. Then he starts going off about how horrible Zancudo is because there is nothing to do. Then to cap it off he said that he wasn’t impressed with the Taj Mahal show last night, and I quote him, “It wasn’t like seeing Celine Dion in Las Vegas”. He then proceeded to jump into the pool which caused huge chuckles from Karla and me since the guy weighs probably 300 pounds and caused a mini-tsunami. Oh yeah, he was from Florida.

Enjoy the pictures

Immigration, Parking Officers, and Bribery in Costa Rica

We were parked in a bad spot. But, everybody else was, there were four other cars parked in similar spots. Right as we were about to drive away a parking guard walked up to us and wanted to see our license and registration. This request was in Spanish and we kick into dumb gringo. "I don't understand Spanish"...

Which is only partially true, but playing dumb worked getting us through immigration from Guatemala. When we flew back from Guatemala they stopped us at customs and requested to see our return ticket, which we didn't have. You have to have one to enter the country. Adam had a return ticket to Houston which he flaked on a week earlier but he was going to attempt to have them change the flight that he missed. They told us to go buy a return ticket, but all of the ticket booths were on the other side of custom booths. I'm not sure how they expect you to buy a ticket. But we found a phone, make some calls and determine that we are not going to buy an overpriced ticket to Panama. So we return to the same immigration lady, she calls her boss and eventually the boss accepts the argument that we were having difficulties 'changing' Adam's ticket. Adam just told them that I didn't have one. They took our passports for about an hour and than came back to us. At that point they were sick of dealing with us, stamped us, and waved us through. Dumb gringo act kind of worked. Next time we aren't chancing it. We will buy cheap bus tickets to Nicaragua as our exit tickets.

….Back to the Parking Officer. He kept telling us it would be 5,000 colones parking ticket to park in that spot. Adam kept telling him, well write us a ticket and we'll pay it. This went on for a while. The Parking Officer just wanted some cash. Finally he let us go and didn't write us a ticket, which he could have except it probably wouldn't have been for 5 mil.

Moral of the story play dumb, but hold your ground and always let Adam do the talking. He is great at this stuff. He credits his stereo-typical Jewish grandma.

Zancudo Zancudo

We are back from our New Years trip to Zancudo and I am almost completely recovered. The trip went off without a hitch and had to be one of the most fun group times I have had in Costa Rica.

Most of the group showed up on on the 28th of December and started their adventures and Monty showed up the following day in the evening. While in town I took everyone on the standard tour of downtown and the central market which I think is a must see. The Teatro Nacional is worth a quick poke in and the cafe is worth a stop except it was closed because it was Sunday. The Mercado Central is sort of an overwhelming journey into hobbit shopping land. We tried to find the ice cream shop in there and failed miserably. I asked a guy where it was and he told me it was out of the exit to the market and two blocks south. I think that he was confused as to my intentions. He might have been trying to get us out of the market so we didn't get jacked. It is hard to blend in when you have seven people following you with cameras.

Monty showed up and then we left for the real adventure the next day. We had rented out another apartment in our complex to make it easier to coordinate and it worked really well. We all got up and hopped into the taxi shuttle and hopped out at the Sansa terminal. On the shuttle ride to the airport I told everyone to imagine the tour bus with wings and that will be what the plane trip is. Everyone laughed unknowingly. When we hopped on the Sansa plane there were 12 seats and 10 of us. A lady and her husband were supposed to be on the plane also but he was over the weight limit so he had to take the next flight. The flight to Golfito was great, no one freaked out, except maybe Kearstin a little but she calmed down quickly by snacking.

Then the real adventure begins. We get a couple cabs to the Moyecito (boat dock) and do some shopping at the market next door. We manage to get a hundred pounds of liquor and a bag of chips. That should hold us out for a few days, or so we think. Macho from Los Cocos is an hour early at the dock waiting. That was a pleasant surprise. The boat trip from Golfito to Zancudo was very scenic.

We showed up in Zancudo and got dropped off at the two houses that we rented and were amazed at how nice they were. They were two story houses with a big deck on the front of both of them that looked directly at the beach. They had all of the amenities. They were even nicer furnished than my apartment in San Pedro. If we needed something then it was inevitably found in a drawer or cabinet. At one point someone busted out their IPOD and said "Wouldn't it be nice if we had a set of portable speakers?" Oh yeah, right behind the set of dominoes. Then everyone busted out their ipods and a it was a virtual music cornucopia for the whole trip.

The beach was awesome and everyone was of the same mindset, chill. I don't know if we did anything for the first three days aside from eating and drinking. Sol Y Mar's food was amazing and amazingly cheap. $5 for a Mahi Mahi steak that was amazing. Drinks there are a little weak though.

On New Years eve we were down at Sol Y Mar expecting a big party but it was fairly mild so right before midnight we went out to the beach where there was a fire. 6 people decided to head up the beach and check out the Tico party that was bumping and loud up the beach. Me, Monty, Roberta, and Kearstin stayed. We were fairly drunk so we got the amazing idea to hop in the ocean right after the woohoos of midnight. Kearstin was the first in the water and she started screaming for us to join. We all hopped in and found that our whole body was glowing. The phosphorescence were glowing very brightly. They were so bright that you could see the glow of your feet. When you splashed your arms in the water it was light a fireworks show. Absolutely amazing. That was a nightly ritual after that.

Five of us went kayaking in the mangrove swamps behind Zancudo which was fun. It was mid-morning so it was getting hot and the tide wasn't to our advantage but it was still fun. We paddled by a crocodile that was swimming in the water.

The second to last day the whole group went on the Casa Orqedia botanical garden tour. It was great. We got to taste all sorts of odd fruit and plants. I think that my favorite was the fresh pepper(black pepper). It was such a strong pepper flavor that lasted forever. Yummy.

At the end of the trip we all went our separate ways in Costa Rica. We went back to San Pedro with Monty and Kearstin and some people went up to Tamarindo, and Dan and Julene went to climb Chirripo.

All in all it was an amazing trip. It is rare to find a group of ten people that can get together and not have drama or freak-out moments.

Where should we go next year? Thailand methinks.

More pictures here

Manuel Antonio for my Birthday

Yeah buddy it was my birthday, just turned 31 on Dec. 27. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday, besides the usual snowboarding in the cold countries. Kearstin, a friend from grad. school came down and we headed out to Manuel Antonio. I gave her a good lesson on beach bum etiquette. Drink lots of water and use a sarong to lounge on not a regular towel, which becomes a sand sponge.

The beaches in Manuel Antonio are extremely beautiful. Nice big spaces with trees for shades. The waves were small enough for kids, but occasionally big enough to twirl you around for a spin while body surfing.

But mostly we just sat under a beach umbrella napping and reading. I'm getting over a sinus infection so I had to forgo the alcohol and smoke for my birthday. Oh well, kind of getting over all of that as I get older.

One piece of advice: The week after Christmas is the busiest time for beaches in Costa Rica. There were huge lines to get into the national park. Some people didn't get in. We got in, but we promptly left because it was totally crowded. This may have jaded my opinion of the area, but I still prefer Puerto Viejo over Manuel Antonio.

It was a lot harder getting around Manuel Antonio. All of the cab drivers refused to use the meter, so you were getting jacked if you needed to take a cab. Riding the bus was difficult because the bus only stops at designated stops. I'm not sure who designates the spots because half of them weren't marked. You had to be a local to know where to get on. We were literally 20 meters away from the stop and the bus driver just kept driving. This hardly ever happens in CR, if you are close and flag the bus they usually stop. This was a little irksome when coupled with non-metered taxis and curvy, dangerous for pedestrian roads.

But we still had a blast. Who doesn't on the beach?? Also big thanks to Jacqueline for referring us to Cabinas Piscis. This place was super cheap, $20 dollars a night for a room, the hostess was nice and spoke easy to understand spanish, great breakfasts, and they were a short trail walk to the beach.

On the way home we were at the bus stop in Quepos. There was a very small earthquake. I felt it, but dammit, I wasn't going to lose my place in line at the ticket booth, but I was going to dart out if the roof was collapsing. There were no walls. Kearstin was wandering around, she didn't feel the quake. But, that didn't stop some random guy trying to drag her out to the rode. She thought he was crazy and no she isn't going out to the rode with him, she's not a stupid gringa. He's thinking she's crazy for staying under the bus shelter! The earthquake's epicenter was in Escazu and Adam, in the central valley, said it felt like somebody punched him. No damage to our building or the nearby roads.

Tomorrow we are heading to Zancudo with the possy from Portland. Kurt & Rachel, Kirsten & Darren, Dan & Julene, Kearstin, and Monty. We've been planning this trip for a long time and are really excited. It's nice having your old friends around.

Newcomer's Club of Costa Rica

Monday I went to the Newcomer's Club Christmas party where we donated a bunch of gifts to a local orphanage and watched the Country Day School's children's choir. Sounds nice and tame, but it was hilarious. The Newcomer's club is not necessarily for newcomers, there are women that have been apart of the club for 15+ years. It is basically a social club for english speaking women. These women are quite hilarious. The women were so loud talking up a storm, it took about 10 minutes to get people quite and attentive. You could have sworn they were drinking something else besides coffee.

I hooked up with a bunch of ladies the next day to go poinsetta shopping, yes I am turning into a lady of leisure...

Before heading out for poinsettas we had lunch somewhere. Quote of the day "All a girl needs is a shotgun, you don't have to aim". These are women who have been living in Latin America for decades, before tourists, before fast food places showed up.

Funniest story:

My husband had to leave for the evening so I slept with my machete. In those days having a machete was a part of your outfit, everybody had one and we kept them sharp. Well that night I heard something so I snuck down beneath the window with my machete. Well this was the days of bell bottoms, and I saw a leg coming through the window and I wacked it with my machete. I missed the leg but I got the bell bottom. I couldn't get the machete out and so the man was stuck there for a while. Needless to say nobody every broke in again, "the crazy gringa woman lives there."

I have a lot to learn from these ladies. This lady was from Eugene Oregon and wants to go rafting soon. Although she says nothing in Costa Rica compares with the McKenzie River.

After lunch we headed out to vivero row. This road was lined with viveros and all of them went back from the road with acreas of plants. I just got done reading Botany of Desire so I was pretty interested in the plants. This is unusual because the only thing I look for in a houseplant is that it is green and bushy. The garden is usually Adam's domain. So if you come to Costa Rica and want to go plant shopping I know where to go.

We also found the bird zoon Ave Zoo, but didn't go in. Looks pretty nice. We also drove by the Ojo de Agua, a swimming area for locals.

Puerto Viejo Weekend

I just can't say enough about Puerto Viejo. I LOVE PUERTO VIEJO!

Heidi, Shar and I met at the Caribe Terminal and headed to Puerto Viejo for two days. The 6 am bus dropped us off in PV around 10am. Casa Verde let us into the room early and we packed our beach bags and headed out. Casa Verde is now my favorite hotel in Puerto Viejo

Stopped across the street from Casa Verde for breakfast. Yummy breakfast, especially thank you Roger for the kind treats. But, don't rent bicycles from him. My chain fell off.

Luckily Bobby, the local builder, and rastafarian peace man picked me and my bike up. Bobby showed me all of the buildings he built with love on the way back from town. He also knew everybody and his proud little red truck beeped a tune to everybody on the way. Now, one shouldn't get in a truck with two guys (one in the back with the bike), but these things are OK in Puerto Viejo. Did I mention I LOVE PUERTO VIEJO? Tranquilo!

The rest of our time was spent eating yummy Thai food and caribean style bean and rice with coconut milk, pina coladas, and floating in the lovely Caribean sea. Roger That!



A few more weekend pictures

Arenal Volcano & Tabacon Hotsprings

Last weekend we took advantage of the half price airfare and the end of the green season (re:cheap) in Costa Rica. We flew into La Fortuna and stayed at Tabacon, which was expensive but we wanted to go to their hotsprings.

The hotsprings were really cool. There were about twenty or so springs with varying degrees of temperature. Most of them were really hot. This picture I've just about lost my bikini bottoms, and I'm holding on to them to make sure I don't lose them. The force of the water fall was pretty intense.


It also didn't help that Tabacon has a two for one happy hour until 4 and there are not rules. This combined with the hot water leads to some pretty interesting results.

Arenal volcano was incredible. We got to see lava flowing down the mountain from our hotel room. I guess we were lucky because most of the time it's clouded over. You could hear in the background big loud thunderous booms and hissing sounds. For a while we couldn't figure out what that was, but it was the volcano exploding and blowing steam out the top. Tabacon hotsprings has an OK view of the volcano from the hotsprings. Arenal and the Tabacon hot springs are definate must sees if you are coming to Costa Rica.





And for a half day we went down the rio Pina Blanca in a canoe looking at wildlife. The highlight were the monkeys. We passed a large family of monkeys and then later on we saw a mama monkey waiting on one side of the river for a baby monkey on the other side who was afraid of leaping to the next branch. Incredibly cute. And we saw a number of huge iguanas the size of medium dogs.

Here's a cute little sloth we saw on the side of the road.

This is Adam now:

I need to interject some funny stories about our trip.

I got up at about 5:00 in the morning like I always do and went out to watch the volcano from next to the pool at the Tabacon resort. It was perfectly clear out and the volcano was amazing. There was lava rolling down the north face and huge puffs of steam shooting out the top. The was an amzing view as the sun was rising. I was the only person out there aside from the people in the restaurant getting ready for breakfast. Then this guy walks up and has a bathrobe on and a drink in one hand. I instantly get creeped out by this guy. He kinda walks aimlessly around for a while and then takes the bathrobe off and hops in the pool. He had american flag shorts on that almost looked like boxers.

All the while he was kind of eyeing me for some reason. He kept nervously getting in and out of the pool. Then I was watching the volcano and forgot about the guy. Then I looked over and he was in the bushes hiding behind a concrete divider staring at me. Creepy. I don't want to know what he was doing over there. I went back to the room and got Roberta and came back for breakfast and the guy was still in the pool. We sat there and waited for the restaurant to open for breakfast. The creepy guy got out of the pool and went to the exposed shower faucet that is supposed to be used to wash off after being in the pool. He proceded to pull down his red, white, and blue shorts and take a shower. Luckily Roberta was the one to look over and see this. I wouldn't look. People were starting to show up for breakfast and this guy was just hanging out naked.

Then we kept seeing this guy all over the place during our trip. There are blurry pictures of him in the link at the bottom. That boy ain't right.

On a less creepy and more funny note, the flight from San Jose to La Fortuna was fun. On the ground in the plane in San Jose the pilot gave us the pre-flight instructions. He said that if anything bad happens just first scream, then pull on the red handles to open the door, and run because that is what he will be doing. There are certain things that I love about Costa Rica and that is one of them, the ability to laugh at life or death circumstances.

Also, I wouldn't recommend staying at the Tabacon Resort unless you have children. It was unreasonably expensive and I fealt like it took a lot of the soul and culture out of the experience. The staff at the hotel seemed to be scared of the guests. We are going to stay at a hostel on our next trip to balance out our Chi.

Here is a link to the pictures:

Link to Pictures

Ordered Chaos

Occassionally Adam and I have a bitch-fest about Costa Rica. We are not pleased to admit it but there are small things that annoy the living hell out of us. We could create a list right, but they would appear small and not worth the worrying. Which is true, but that doesn't stop us from saying 'well I hope in our next country we live they have covers on the storm drains so that when you step off a curb or out of a car you don't fall into a six foot dark pit of garbage and storm drain water runoff.'

That is the chaos part. You have to watch every step or you fall into chaos.

But, sometimes there is Ordered Chaos.

We have five, 5-gallon water bottles and the water delivery guy is supposed to come every Monday. We've calculated a 25% chance that he will come, maybe on Wednesday, but usually never unless we call. The last week he told us he isn't delivering water anymore. After calling ten times, and not being able to leave a message because his voice-mail box is full, I come to understand his non-employment status. By this time I was too distracted to catch the number he gave me in spanish. Speaking in spanish over the phone is still hit or miss based on the level of patience and accent the spanish speaker has.

Well, we had to take things into our own hands, literally. We were going to walk up to the store to buy some water and than catch a taxi back home. On the way up we passed a water delivery truck. They offered us some water; hell yeah we don't want to carry big water bottles home. So they followed us home (us walking them driving behind us) and we get five full bottles of water instead of the two we were going to walk/taxi home.

They said they'll be back next week. We give them a 50% chance that they will be back next Monday. We'll give them some benefit of the doubt.

Here's a story about ground water in Costa Rica and it is a good example of ordered chaos. It took 14 months for officials to declare a state of emergency after a diesel spill near the water source of some 320,000 residents. Costa Rica only has about 4 million people.

On a lighter note, here's a picture of a five gallon water bottle frog tank. Nifty!

Volcano Turrialba

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. Adam has been busy with work and I've had the Gripe. Gripe means a cold. But, I think it sounds like I should have something worse, where I would lose a lung or something. It felt like I should have.

Well, Shar's school organized another trip whereby we had the privilidge of having one student come with us. She was really smart and cool. Our goal was Volcan Turrialba, which isn't as well known because it's hard to get to and there isn't any lava flowing. But, I thought it was more interesting than the Poas and Irazu volcanoes because there weren't any tourists and you could get really close to the steamy craters.


We did see some tourists come up on horse back. They looked like serious city dwellers, with a European hint. They were having their Costa Rican adventure. Shar said they looked like they were watching a reality T.V. show. There's been two reality shows on recently plus and infamous Wild E-on! with a focus on Costa Rica. I swear though, the Costa Rica I know is way different then what I saw on tv. For one, they don't show any potholes or traffic.

Anyway back to the volcano. The bus dropped us off about an hour power hike up to the crater. We stopped for a snack and than went down to the Crater, hiked around the perimeter, and than a few adventorous souls climbed up to the ridge of the most active crater. I was having gallons of snot pour out of my nose from Gripe so I decided not to tempt my fate with sulphurous gases. There were three craters but I didn't take a picture of the oldest. It was a big hole with a marsh in it.




Oh yeah, the neighbor cat sprayed on my hiking shoes so I was in Chaco sandals. I think Chacos are only good for a couple of miles. Here are the rest of the photos... http://public.fotki.com/kingnerd/costa_rica/volcan_turrialba/

English Style Riding

I've been taking horseback riding lessons in Tres Rios for the last month, once per week. When I was a kid we had one horse and occasionally took care of neighbor horses. We only rode western style and our only goal was to stay on, explore the old stage coach road between Florence and Eugene OR and imagine we saw sasquatch foot prints. For the shetland pony we took care of, that was an elusive concept for me.

So now I'm learning the 'right' way to ride a horse. The only 'right' way is to develop thighs of steal. Just kidding, but it helps. They've been keeping me on a short lease, literally and getting my methods down. Next week I will have lessons two times a week and graduate into a class of other riders.

I hope to get better and join some endurance runs in Costa Rica. Endurance runs are quite popular here. I've been told that they've circumvented Arenal Volcano and have other interesting rides. Should be fun. Thanks Marla for introducing me to your instructors. They are really nice and I'm learning more spanish. For instance there are spanish color words for horses that don't apply to anything else.

Nothing worse than a Costa Rican Dentist

I thought I was being a totally well informed dental client. I went to four, different, highly recommended US educated dentists for a problem I have stemming from an accident as a clumsy teenager.

Each dentist had their own very different idea for a solution. I went with the dentist who suggested the least amount of drilling (Adam's criteria), was the oldest, certified by an American Association and incidentally recommended by the three other dentists I went to.

This is how Adam puts it, "There's nothing worse than a Costa Rican dentists, wait the worst is getting ripped off by a Costa Rican dentist.." Plus the mother-f$*@#r wasn't even gentle. Yanked open your mouth and his dental assistant consistently jammed the sucker thingy in the exact same spot which wasn't even the lowest point in my mouth. GAG-GAG-ouch I should also mention that I tried to pay every time I left the building but they just said, Next time, Next time...

We get the bill for $200 for each teeth cleaning, plus some extra for the miniscule work done on my previous issue. $600 total. I was originally told the cleaning would cost $40/person and any additional work should be no more than $60.

Nothing worst than going to a Costa Rican dentist, besides getting the bill. Our friend who has been here forever said he's had that happen a few times and he just doesn't pay it. I guess it happens a lot. Milk the gringos for everything. I want to pay him something but, JMFC, it doesn't even cost that much in the states.

Tico Nick Names

I think I'm starting to understand Tico culture. Ticos have a habit of calling people by names. For instance the parking guard on our street always greets me with 'buenes linda' (linda = pretty). At first I was a little put off. What does he mean hey pretty? Should I be nervous should I walk on the other side of the street? The next guard up the streets always calls me guapa (beautiful). And the orange juice grocery cart vender calls me reina (queen).

Now, I was trying to make friends with the guards because you never know when you might need them. A sheepish smile and a nod, nothing big you know. This is a third world country and there is a reason why every three cars needs a guard. If you didn't know this about Costa Rica there are parking guards for every block. You pay them around a dollar for parking in their area under the theory that they are guarding your car. They carry a stick that was probably an old broom stick and they wear an orange safety vest usually crusted with dirt. If anything happens to your car you don't have to pay them because they probably won't be around. Sorry got off topic.

So I think all of these terms are just friendly banter. Ticos are flirts that's just what it comes down to. They are so nice it becomes flirtatious with the opposite sex. Nobody actually thinks they are seriously trying to get with you that's just what they do. When I go to the gas station I will be called a cute name, but only if Adam's not in the car. But these names don't really mean anything.

I realized this when the old lady selling cheese in the market called me mi amor, meaning my love. You would never hear that from a clerk in the states but here it comes naturally, and I'm loving it more and more. What I don't like though, is being called dona. Our apartment guard calls me dona, which I think translates into ma'm of the house. I'm not old enough to be called ma'am, how do you spell that anyways?

Also the nick names can be quite funny. On Wednesday's I take horseback riding lessons (super cheap). Last Wednesday I rode a horse named Mr. Clinton. And seriously they named him Mr.Clinton because he's a studly stallion, you know like Lewinsky?!? My instructor had a good chuckly explaining that. Yes I understood your spanish...

So whatever the Ticos say, there still is a small miniscule element of truth in the nick names. It's just a cute thing they do, which is becoming more endearing not threatening.