As I patiently wait for the arrival and Hank and Vanessa (8 days to go!!), I've kept myself fairly busy. Let's see, maybe three weekends ago or so I went to Monteverde, which is a very popular tourist attraction due to the abundant wildlife, canopy tours and hanging bridges found in Cloud Forest Reserves. I went with a group of 6 people and even though we only stayed one night; we had a great time. Saturday we went to the Santa Elena Reserve and did a canopy tour and walked through the park. The longest cable on the canopy tour was around 1 kilometer; we had some really amazing views, even though it was raining a bit.
The next day, we got up very early to go hike around the trails of the Monteverde Reserve. There you can hike up to the Continental Divide and see both the Pacific and the Caribbean, well at least in theory. We weren't able to see the Caribbean due to clouds; turns out they call it a "cloud forest" for a reason. Anyway, we saw some wildlife, mainly birds (including the famous Quetzal and many hummingbirds), as well as waterfalls and amazing plant life.
After the Monteverde trip, I realized how exhausted I was from traveling every weekend. So, I decided to slow down a little, but I still managed to go to the beach the very next weekend (luckily by car, which makes a huge difference).
Besides that, did I forget to mention that I'm so excited for Hank and Vanessa to visit? haha. For me, it's like Christmas in March. Even though they are ones escaping the cold KS weather to come to paradise, there is no possible way they could be as excited as I am. I mean, I'm the one who already knows how awesome it is to travel here, plus I'm looking forward to time away from work, mostly from explaining (and re-explaining) that you CANNOT use the preposition "to" with "near". Besides the traveling, I'm just as excited to show them what my life's been like for the past 8 months.
One last thing, I just want to let everyone know that as of right now I will be home el cinco de mayo; just in time for a late night margarita! I tried (and tried again) to change my ticket to a later date so I could enjoy the end of the dry season here, but I decided it wasn't worth the cost. I don't for how long or where I'm next, but I'm going to put that off for now...and focus on enjoying my last two months as a "teacher" (still sounds weird, I know).
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Fiestas and fun in the sun
My first few weeks back in CR were slow as far as my work schedule goes; however, the past few weeks have been busier than usual. I'm enjoying the change in pace, although at times I feel like my time here is running short. On the other hand, sometimes I feel like I'll be ready to move on in May.
Anyway, I've traveled every weekend since coming back to San Jose, mostly to various beaches. However, around the middle of January I went to Palmares for the famous fiestas that take place every year. Lucky for me, I have a friend who lives there so I was able to stay at his place. Palmares is normally a quiet little town outside of San Jose, but for two weeks in January it is converted into the biggest party of Costa Rica.
At first glance, it reminded me of what a county fair might look like in Kansas. There were various rides and "carnival type" foods to sample. The crowds were full of families young and old. The main difference however was the absurd amount of alcohol readily available and the various people passed out on sidewalks, park benches or wherever they fell. As you can imagine, after nine o'clock the once family-friendly environment began to look a little different. The various bars that had been constructed solely for this occasion were full of thousands of people. My friends and I went to "La Barra Imperial" which was the biggest (3 stories) and most popular. Despite the fact that getting a beer or seeing the stage were both challenging tasks, we had a great time.
The next day I had the opportunity to see the Tico version of a "corrida de los toros". Basically, there are a few professionals but anyone can enter the ring to run around and taunt the bull. The only incident worth mentioning is when a drunken gringo got a little too confident and got attacked. After it was clear that he wasn't going to get up on his own, a group of Ticos (with no concern for spinal injuries) rushed over and picked him up to carry him to the red cross station. Luckily, he was fine and was even brave enough to enter the ring for a second time. I'm sure he was feeling great the next day.
Besides the fiestas in Palmares and a few other random weekends full of surfing, this past weekend I checked out a new spot called Playa Guiones in Guanacaste. It's a little harder to get to, making it off the beaten path. I knew of one hostel there; however, I wasn't able to make a reservation (because they don't have a phone). Andrew, Antje and I decided to just go and hope for the best.
We arrived at the hostel around noon on Saturday and were quickly told that it was full, which wasn't surprising due to the fact that there was a surf competition (that we didn't know about before arriving). Wondering what to do next, we started to walk away and were stopped by a woman who demanded to know where we were going. We explained that the hostel was full; she quickly responded that she would "make room" for us and then turned to the others and said: "Would I ever turn any of you away? Come on!" Regardless, there were no beds, just a couple hammocks and couches in the communal living area. We gladly accepted this offer.
I really enjoyed seeing a new part of Guanacaste, especially during dry season. Everything looks very different and I couldn't get over the large number of butterflies. We spent a lot of time watching the surf competition on Saturday and I even got in some of my own surf time on Sunday. Considering that and the consumption of two bottles of Flor de Caña, I was exhausted upon returning to the city Monday.
I'm hoping to catch up on rest tonight, so I'm ready for the Costa Rica vs. Honduras soccer game tomorrow night.
Anyway, I've traveled every weekend since coming back to San Jose, mostly to various beaches. However, around the middle of January I went to Palmares for the famous fiestas that take place every year. Lucky for me, I have a friend who lives there so I was able to stay at his place. Palmares is normally a quiet little town outside of San Jose, but for two weeks in January it is converted into the biggest party of Costa Rica.
At first glance, it reminded me of what a county fair might look like in Kansas. There were various rides and "carnival type" foods to sample. The crowds were full of families young and old. The main difference however was the absurd amount of alcohol readily available and the various people passed out on sidewalks, park benches or wherever they fell. As you can imagine, after nine o'clock the once family-friendly environment began to look a little different. The various bars that had been constructed solely for this occasion were full of thousands of people. My friends and I went to "La Barra Imperial" which was the biggest (3 stories) and most popular. Despite the fact that getting a beer or seeing the stage were both challenging tasks, we had a great time.
The next day I had the opportunity to see the Tico version of a "corrida de los toros". Basically, there are a few professionals but anyone can enter the ring to run around and taunt the bull. The only incident worth mentioning is when a drunken gringo got a little too confident and got attacked. After it was clear that he wasn't going to get up on his own, a group of Ticos (with no concern for spinal injuries) rushed over and picked him up to carry him to the red cross station. Luckily, he was fine and was even brave enough to enter the ring for a second time. I'm sure he was feeling great the next day.
Besides the fiestas in Palmares and a few other random weekends full of surfing, this past weekend I checked out a new spot called Playa Guiones in Guanacaste. It's a little harder to get to, making it off the beaten path. I knew of one hostel there; however, I wasn't able to make a reservation (because they don't have a phone). Andrew, Antje and I decided to just go and hope for the best.
We arrived at the hostel around noon on Saturday and were quickly told that it was full, which wasn't surprising due to the fact that there was a surf competition (that we didn't know about before arriving). Wondering what to do next, we started to walk away and were stopped by a woman who demanded to know where we were going. We explained that the hostel was full; she quickly responded that she would "make room" for us and then turned to the others and said: "Would I ever turn any of you away? Come on!" Regardless, there were no beds, just a couple hammocks and couches in the communal living area. We gladly accepted this offer.
I really enjoyed seeing a new part of Guanacaste, especially during dry season. Everything looks very different and I couldn't get over the large number of butterflies. We spent a lot of time watching the surf competition on Saturday and I even got in some of my own surf time on Sunday. Considering that and the consumption of two bottles of Flor de Caña, I was exhausted upon returning to the city Monday.
I'm hoping to catch up on rest tonight, so I'm ready for the Costa Rica vs. Honduras soccer game tomorrow night.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Back to work
A lot has happened since I last posted. Let's see, before coming home for the holidays I went to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua. San Juan is more of a port than a beach, which makes it quite touristy. I spent most of my time staying near Playa Maderas outside of San Juan and had a really great time. I was happy to get away from the crowds in Costa Rica.
I left Nicaragua the day before my flight back to KS, which made for two long days of traveling. I arrived in San Jose Wednesday evening and left the next morning on an early flight. After a short delay in Houston, I got into Kansas City around 6 pm and was exhausted.
Despite the frigid cold weather (high of 6 F one day), I had a great time seeing family and friends. I was a bit overwhelmed trying to find time to catch up with everyone. I now realize that 2 weeks isn't enough time to say "yes" to every invitation, even though I wanted to.
I'm now back in CR and back to work. My flight back was muy tranquilo with no delays. This week has been surprisingly easy, and it feels great to be back.
I left Nicaragua the day before my flight back to KS, which made for two long days of traveling. I arrived in San Jose Wednesday evening and left the next morning on an early flight. After a short delay in Houston, I got into Kansas City around 6 pm and was exhausted.
Despite the frigid cold weather (high of 6 F one day), I had a great time seeing family and friends. I was a bit overwhelmed trying to find time to catch up with everyone. I now realize that 2 weeks isn't enough time to say "yes" to every invitation, even though I wanted to.
I'm now back in CR and back to work. My flight back was muy tranquilo with no delays. This week has been surprisingly easy, and it feels great to be back.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)