Costa Rica 2013

Photos: Recap

kendal00 — Mon, 1 Jul 2013 00:56:00 GMT

Arenal La Fortuna

kendal00 — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 11:31:00 GMT

The shuttle bus picked me up at 8:15. Up to this point I have only been on the local busses ranging from $3 to $12. This was a big splurge for me at $47. The shuttle only had 5 of us and it had wifi so it turned out not to be such a bad deal. The shuttle is also hotel to hotel service. With all my previous adventures I waited until I got to town and walked around to find a place. To book the shuttle I needed to book a room first. I did a quick google search and the first couple hotels I clicked on were $300++. I then clicked on one that had a low season rate of $85 and had hot springs. I didn't think twice about it and just booked it for 3 nights although it was 3x more than the most expensive place I'd stayed in to date.

The trip was supposed to be about 4 hours and 1.5 hours into the trip we stopped at a soda. The drivers had lunch and I grabbed a piece of chocolate banana bread. The driver had said we'd be there for 20 minutes. After about 40 minutes he said there was a bad wreck on the highway and the other busses were running late. The soda was a stopping point for all the shuttles where they all meet and then shift the passengers around depending on their final destination. It took about an hour and a half for my new bus to arrive and all the passengers that were going to Arenal to get there. The new bus was a little fuller but still comfortable although it didn't have wifi. The driver said it would be about a 2.5 hour drive. The first bit was fine and I was able to do some writing. When we got near Lake Arenal we spent well over a hour going up and down windy roads that didn't settle well with me. I don't normally get car sick but I was definitely not feeling well. I put my iPad away, put my ear buds on and tried, successfully, to not get sick. I was very happy when I was the second stop and got out of the van.

I checked in at Arenal Paraiso (Paradise) around 2:30 and after dropping my bags in the room I headed straight for the hot springs. The clouds were coming in but I was bound to get wet before the rain started. It didn't take long. I was sitting at the wet bar maybe 10 minutes when the rain started; however, the wet bar was covered so it was perfect. I was able to have an Imperial cerveza, enjoy the hot springs, and watch the rain. After it stopped raining, Cesar, the bartender, pointed out a two toed and a three toed sloth in the trees as well as some bunnies running around. I decided to just stay at the resort for dinner so I cleaned up and went to the restaurant at 6. As I was walking to the restaurant the clouds cleared and I caught my first look at Mt. Arenal, something that wouldn't happen again for two days. When I got to the restaurant I was the only one there, just like I'd been the only one at the wet bar.

After eating I went back to the pools and dipped my foot in most the pools although it was pretty dark. There were a couple people in some of them and a few at the wet bar when I returned. Although the water was warm I ended up getting cold and tired and called it a night around 8. I had a lot planned for the next couple days so getting some sleep was definitely on the agenda.

I got up at 6 and waiting for the restaurant to open at 6:30 where I quickly scoffed down the breakfast buffett. I needed to be in the lobby at 6:50 for the shuttle bus for canyoning. Canyoning is also known as rappelling a waterfall and I was super excited about this tour. We picked up some more people and then drove about 20 minutes until we had to jump out of the van shuttle and on to the back of some pickup trucks. The last 15 minutes of the ride we up a bumpy dirt rode. We arrived at a facility where we were suited up with a helmet, harness, and gloves. We then jumped back in the trucks and up the mountain about another 10 minutes. Once at the top we got some instructions about how to rappel and then we were off. The area we were in was called the Lost Canyon because it's not on a map and you cannot see it by air because it's hidden under the rainforest canopy. The first rapel was a small practice of only about 8 meters. There were 16 of us and we got through that area pretty quickly. The second rapel was much higher and longer - a waterfall that drops 150 feet. I some how ended up last but that was ok. I watched some of the others take off and knew I could do this. When it was my turn I was so excited. I braced myself on the platform as I was hooked up to the line. When it was time I took off. It felt really fast and I felt like I was doing well. The first 8 feet is a free fall drop- hence te name of the fall- Angel's Freefall. Then you rapell for a bit, releasing the brake cable and jumping/walking backwards down the rocks. Then at a certain point the guides yell "Let Go" and you go flying through the canyon for about 50 feet until you get to the bottom. It was a complete rush and I couldn't wait for more.

We walked through the canyon a bit, following the stream. One spot we got to jump into a big water hole. The water was cold but exhilerating. We then were told to sit down in the one tight area of rocks. One of the guides above us had been damming up the water and released it so that we felt like we were in a waterfall. I was at the top of the group which meant the water hit me first and I had to brace myself from flying forward. The water was strong and cold but it really was pretty fun. We also did another small, technical rapel before getting to the Big Daddy.

The Big Daddy watefall is 220 feet. The rapel part of this was pretty short before running out of rocks. Again we got to let go and fly through the canyon to the bottom. After that we walked out of the canyon. I was bummed it was already over (it took about 2 hours) and wanted to go again. Once we climbed back to the top of the canyon we changed clothes and had some lunch before riding back. I was dropped back off at the hotel before noon. I hadn't made any afternoon plans assuming, correctly, that it would rain. I decided to take advantage of the spa facilities at the hotel and made an afternoon appointment for a body wrap, facial, and massage. The whole treatment took about an hour and a half and was very nice and I followed it up with some time in the hot springs.

Since it was Saturday night I decided I wanted to go into town. I had the hotel call a cab for me and headed in around 6:30. About halfway to town the cab driver asked if he could pick up someone else. We picked up Steve, a Tico bartender who was just getting off work at another resort. Steve's English was very good and he told me he would take me to a great bar/restaurant in town to party. The taxi driver dropped us off and we went in. The place was dead so I asked Steve where all his amigos were. He said everyone gets off work at 10 so the place wouldn't be too busy until 10:30. We chatted for a bit asking each other questions when Steve asked me my age. When I told him I was 42 he kept telling me that I was lying and my skin and face were too pretty to be more than 27, his age. He then proceeded to tell me that I needed a Costa Rican boyfriend since mine was in Europe. It was all very sweet and flattering. He actually friended me on facebook and posted a picture of us before telling me he needed to change out of his work clothes and that he would be back. After he left I finished my beer and I also left. I didn't think staying there was a good idea in case he did, or he didn't show back up.

I walked around the town of La Fortuna for a bit. It wasn't a big town but had a park in the middle and people were starting to show up. I had gotten some names of some traditional Costa Rican restaurants but the ones I could find were not busy (they were mostly all open air.) I got tired of walking and decided to just stop at a place called the Lava Lounge. It looked a little touristy but fun and it turned out that the food was pretty good. I had a pasta dish with sausage and a beer and was very happy. After I finished I thought about hanging out more and walking around but the hotel said they'd pick me up before 10 and I decided that was probably a good idea. I had lots more planned for the next day.

My shuttle for Sunday wasn't going to pick me up until 8:20 so I had time to enjoy my breakfast and walk around the property some before heading out for a big day of zip lining and hanging bridges walk. When we arrived we got suited up in a harness and I decided to upgrade to the GoPro camera helmet so I could video my ziplines. We took a sky tram up to the top and the views were spectacular despite the rain starting as we got near the top. Due to the rain we waited a bit before starting. After the rain finally slowed down we took off on the first two practice liens. There were only about 100 feet long so it was just to give us a taste of what we were doing and how to stop at the end. The third cable was the highest of the eight at 656 feet with a length of 1550 feet.

he were spectacular and so much fun. The lines were loud and I tried to look all around me while flying through the air. I wasn't sure what angle the camera was so I looked all over. On the first run I let go to give a thumbs up to the camera and decided quickly that wasn't a good idea as I started to twist. I knew I wouldn't fall but I was more worried about slowing down and not making it all the way to the end. A couple people would slow down too soon and would have to pull themselves along the cable to the end.

Immediately after finishing the third cable I jumped onto the fourth one which was 1440 feet long and 535 feet high. The fifth cable was 1136 feet long and 256 feet high. The sixth one was the fast with a speed of 50 miles an hour. It was also the longest at 2060 feet with a height of 263 feet. The seventh cable was the last of the long ones at 1440 feet with a height of 276 feet. The last cable was just a short 82 feet so they could get a picture of you at the end. The were all exilerating! It took about two hours for everyone to complete the course. I watched the video and was very pleased with the results. I then had about an hour break before I was scheduled for the walk. When I got to the start of the walk at 12:30 I was informed that it was a 3 hour hike. I somehow missed reading this in on the website but was ok with it. I started off on the hike up and down the rainforest with a guide, another gal, and a father/son duo from Austin. The guide was very knowledgeable and taught us a lot about the different trees and bugs in the forest. We didn't see many animals- a couple birds, a snake, and a bunch of ants. There were 4 hanging bridges which were quite interesting to walk across and two waterfalls. There were a few spots with spectalular views. It was a nice hike but by the end we were all defintiely worn out. The shuttle bus took me back to the hotel where I immediately hopped into the hot springs. I ended up staying here for the rest of the evening and even enjoying my dinner at the wet bar.

Monday morning I woke up and packed before taking off for a two and a half hour horseback ride to the base of the Arenal volcano. My horse was named Mariposa and she was a good horse although she constantly wanted to be near her mother. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it did catch me off guard at one point when the man on her mother took off in a full run and Mariposa followed. Years ago Dan and I took a few horseback riding lessons but they did not prepare me for the speed she was running. I had the reins in one hand and held on to the saddle horn with the other knowing full well that wasn't how I was supposed to ride. We ran up to the top of a hill before she stopped. It really was quite fun so later on when we had a chance to run again I was only slightly more prepared but didn't hold on to the saddle horn any less. The views of from the hills were great and we were able to see the volcano very well until we got to the base when the clouds came in. It was a great way to spend my last morning in Costa Rica.

The shuttle back to San Jose picked me up at 1 and I was the only passenger for the ride. The driver didn't speak English so we chatted for about 5 minutes until I ran out of Spanish. I couldn't believe my time in Costa Rica was almost up. I arrived at the Marriott Courtyard by the hotel which was located right next to a WalMart so I decided that was the first kick back to reality. I stayed at the hotel and had lunch and dinner, watch the hockey game, and went to sleep early. I needed to be on a 6:30 shuttle to the airport in the morning for my trek back home.

Photos: Canyoning

kendal00 — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 03:02:00 GMT

Photos: Arenal La Fortuna

kendal00 — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 11:47:00 GMT

Tamarindo

kendal00 — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 23:16:00 GMT

When I posted that I was going to Costa Rica my friend Angella mentioned that she had her honeymoon in Tamarindo so I figured I'd check it out since it was close to the Marriott (20 minutes, $7). Despite missing the 2:00 shuttle I still made it with over an hour of daylight before sunset. It is a small surfer town with a great beach and great waves. It isn't big but it was a little bigger than I expected. My amigo Carlos, at the Marriott, told me some hotels and I was walking around town checking them out. The nicest place, according to him, was $135 but I didn't think I would get to take enough advantage of the place to pay that. I was looking for the $30 deals I paid in the other playas. After walking around, dragging my luggage, and sweating up a storm I decided to just go to a hostel that was only 50 meters from the beach. Although the room was technically a dormitory it is slow season so I was able to get a private room for only $15. I dropped my bags and headed straight for the beach. I didn't want to miss the sunset.

Tamarindo has a large, long, pretty beach. There were still surfers out and one area of the water was full of moored boats. I enjoyed the view, watched the sun go down, and checked out several of the beachfront bars. They were all pretty quiet and the bugs were starting to attack so I went walking around away from the beach. I spotted a big crowd at a bar and headed that way. The place was called Sharky's and it was a sports bar. The hockey game was on so I sat down and watched as the game went into overtime and the Blackhawks won. I was sitting next to a guy from Boston that had been in Tamarindo for 3 months and was hoping to stay and make money and surf. I really needed to figure that out too!

After the game I went back to the hostel and crashed. Again, I was up at the crack of dawn. I forced myself to lay there until 6:30 and then headed to the beach. It was pretty deserted except for about a dozen surfers and a few joggers. I walked around and watched the surfers for about an hour before I decided I needed to figure out where I was going next and how to get there. On my way back to the hostel I noticed a flyer on a telephone pole announcing it was International Surfers Day and activities were planned on the beach.

I got back to my room and was googling the bus schedules. Originally I was going to stay on the coast for another day and visit some friends of friends but I hadn't heard back from them and decided to just go straight to the volcano area. I was confused by the local schedule but saw the shuttles to Arenal ran at 8 & 2. As I started planning I realized I really needed more days. I thought about it a bit and decided to call American Airlines and see if I could change my flight. They were able to move my flightfrom Sunday to Tuesday. I went out and paid another $15 to the hostel, emailed the shuttle for an 8am pickup, and headed back to the beach. It just didn't seem right leaving a surfer beach on International Surfer's Day. For $8 I was able to secure a nice chair and umbrella for the day near the surfers. I spent the entire day just chillaxin there and enjoying the ocean. I took a short break to grab some lunch but pretty much stayed out there all day.

In Tamarindo there are people that walk up and down the beach trying to sell the tourist wood bowls, bird carved whistles, and jewelry. It gets a little obnoxious because the same people walk up and down the beach all day long asking over and over again. I did breakdown in the morning and bought a coconut from one guy and drank the coconut water. After lunch I was pleasantly surprised to find waiters on the beach from a nearby bar selling buckets of beer. Now they were talking my language. I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon although I didn't see any of the surfer day activities from the flyer. Later I learned there is another beach and that's where the festivities were although there was not a lack of surfers where I was.

After cleaning up I headed back to the beach to catch the sunset again and grab some dinner. I knew I would end up back at Sharky's for game 7 of the NBA finals but didn't want to eat there. I opted for a bar across the street with a 'best burgers in town' sign. I'd been trying to eat local food but was really craving beef. The only good thing about the burger was it was cheap. After eating what I could I walked across the street to cheer on the Spurs. I was able to grab a seat at the bar before the place became completed packed. Sitting between a new University of Maryland grad named Amish rooting for the Spurs and a guy from Miami, Trevor, rooting for the Heat, the night began. It was a great time despite the final outcome of the game. I talked a lot to the guys around me. Trevor's friend moved to Tamarindo 2 days before after purchasing a BBQ place, Longboards, 2 doors down. Too many people are figuring out how to live here. I really need to put my thinking cap on. I ended up leaving the bar and having an empanada at a 'food court' down the street before heading to bed at midnight.

I actually slept in until 7, although this was one day i wanted to get up early and walk the beach. Oh well. I packed my bags for the next adventure. Next stop Arenal La Frontara!

Photos: Tamarindo

kendal00 — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 11:45:00 GMT

J W Marriott

kendal00 — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:32:00 GMT

My friend Emily goes to Costa Rica a lot and always posts pics from the JW Marriott and it always looks so gorgeous. When I decided to go to Guanacaste I definitely had to see if the Marriott would fit into my plans. I was so delighted when I realized it was so close to Playa Negra and Steve. Even better was the fact that I could book a room using hotel points.

I checked in at 1 pm and headed straight for the beach. Carlos, my new bartender, set me up with towels and beers and I enjoyed the sun for about two hours before it started raining. At that point I hung out at the bar with Carlos and practiced my Spanish. The rained stopped around 4 and I enjoyed lunch and then headed back to the beach to watch the sunset. It was a gorgeous sunset and made me wonder why I don't go to the West coast more often.

I cleaned up and then headed to the lobby bar in time to get a great seat for the Spurs game. I wish I could say that the game ended as great in overtime. Despite the Spurs losing I talked to many people from the states, had some great sushi and wine, and enjoyed the evening. I even ran into someone from Indianapolis that knows my friend Kelly Bird Crall. It really is a small world.

I crashed around 10 and was up again at the crack of dawn. I waited until around 7 to head to the pool. Since I was the first one there I got to pick the perfect spot - a chair by the infinity pool with a view of the ocean. Now I just had to wait for the bar to open. At 9 I spotted my amigo Carlos and he fixed me a piña colada. We both agreed with the fruit it was a perfect breakfast drinl. Sobreakfasting fact that I had another I had another while texting my Mom and making here fully jealous.

I enjoyed the pool and the sun and hung out until noon. The hotel had given me a 1pm late checkout and the shuttle to Tamarindo was at 2. I really did not want to leave the beautiful setting and the wonderful pool but I didn't have enough points to stay longer. While I waited for my shuttle I hung out with Carlos at the bar. I really really didn't want to leave but at least by the time I needed to catch my shuttle it was raining so that made it a little easier to leave.

At 12:50 I went to get my shuttle and talked to the bellboy to assist me get on the right bus. Unfortunately that didn't work out quite as planned. He apparently didn't understand me and I missed the shuttle. I had to wait 2 more hours so I headed back to the poolside grill for lunch. Emily had told me to get fish fajitas but they weren't on the menu so I went for the beef fajitas instead. It wasn't a bad way to wait out the time, especially since I really didn't want to leave but I think I mentioned that.

Next stop Tamarindo!

Photos: JW Marriott

kendal00 — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:59:00 GMT

Guanacaste bound - Playa Negra

kendal00 — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:31:00 GMT

It was a bit surreal saying goodbye On Monsay morning. We had to leave at 7 so Donald could take me to the rental car place. I didn't have time to do my dishes but got a quick picture with Donald and Xinia. After a big goodbye hug from Xinia I was off. I threw my last rock to Tara and waved goodbye to the rest of the animals.

My friend Caroline, Dustin's girlfriend, had put me in touch with her Uncle Steve who lives in Guanacaste in Playa Negro. We'd been emailing and arranged to meet on Monday afternoon. After Donald dropped me off and gave me a big hug I was working on payment with the car company. There was one big glitch though- I did not pack my Texas driver's license. Without that I was not able to rent a car. Plan B - take the bus to San Jose and figure out the how to get around. I started walking to the bus terminal and gave Steve a call. He was out surfing but I talked to his buddy Gared that gave me some options on how to bus it from San Jose. I was able to get on a 9am bus to San Jose and texted with Dan, who is in India, and he helped me sort out the information I had been given. This wasn't going to be the easiest or fastest way but it was definitely the cheapest. Dan figured out what bus I needed to take so when I arrived in San Jose at noon I grabbed a cab to the next bus station. I was able to get a ticket on a 12:30 bus to Santa Cruz. I was so excited because I thought I was going to have to wait until 3 pm before boarding for the 4 hour ride. I immediately got on and had a row to myself. I was pretty annoyed with myself in the morning but things were looking up. So far I had spent only $26 and would make it to Santa Cruz before dark.

When I arrived in Santa Cruz and got off the bus there were no taxis in sight. I thought this was odd but spotted an ATM machine across the street and beeline it over there for some colones. After getting dinero I walked back and around the bus station but still couldn't find a cab. I started walking down the street and a guy hollered if I needed a cab. It was not a legal cab but a man and wife. I jumped in and they asked if they could stop at the super mercado real quick, which was right in front of us. While the wife was inside I spoke to the husband about the fare. He originally said $60 and I worked him down to $40 before deciding to call Steve and confirm what a proper fare should be. He said $40 would be good.

We set off towards Playa Negra and as we drove through a policia checkpoint they got a little nervous and kept telling me I was the wife's friend. There was no incident at the checkpoint and we did not get stopped. We continued on when I noticed the husband reaching over and grabbing a grande cerveza from the wife. Maybe I should have gone into the super mercado afterall.

Once we got into town we had a little bit of a problem finding Steve's casa. The directions were on my iPad but the battery had died during the 7 hours of busing it North. I did manage to take a picture on my iPhone but with my cracked screen it was difficult to see. We eventually made it after several wrong turns.

Steve has been in Costa Rica for several months staying with some fiends that have been in Costa Rica for 7 years. Their casa was great in a nice neighborhood right on the ocean. They had an extra room so I was able to stay the night. That was a super nice treat since I was tired of traveling and wasnt looking forwars to another cab ride that night. After chatting with Steve a bit and watching the sun go down I had a banana for dinner and headed to bed. I forced myself to stay wake until 9pm and at 9:01 I was sound asleep.

I woke up around 5:30 and hung out until around 7 when Steve was ready to go surfing. I walked down to the beach and watched him for a bit before taking a stroll down the beach. It was a nice beach and walked for about 2 hours collecting a bunch of shells before deciding I was starving. I really didn't eat yesterday and it had caught up with me. There was a hotel on the beach so I stopped and grabbed an omelet before heading back to the house and trying out the swimming pool that was calling my name. Gared and Megan were at the house and i vahtted with them a bit. They said ings had changed quite a bit in the 7 years theyd been there and things weere getting more expensive. Megan said she's amazed when she goes back to Texas how cheap some things are.

Steve got back soon after me and was kind enough to give me a lift to my next destination - the JW Marriott, which was about 20 minutes away. It was great meeting Steve and his friends but it was time for some luxury!

Photos: Playa Negra

kendal00 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:30:00 GMT

Last Weekend on the Finca

kendal00 — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:30:00 GMT

Although it was Saturday and my first day to get to sleep in in 3 weeks I was up and ready to go at 6am. I had gotten up and was heading downstairs to use the bano when I spotted Lazaro. I was determined he was not going to milk the cow without me. I ran back upstairs and got dressed and headed to the barn. After about 30 minutes he was ready for me. With the cows back legs tied, and her teets cleaned we set out to milk her. It is not as easy as it looks. There is definitely a skill to it that takes practiced. After learning the proper technique so that the milk comes out, and not back up, I worked on the cow until I got tired. Lazaro took over with quite an impressive speed; however, it was matched by the speed that the two of us jumped when the cow decided to poop, not once, but twice, and peeped once. We managed to save the milk but after I went inside I realized my clothes weren't as lucky.

Since I was staying on the farm for the weekend Donald and Xiani invited me to go to the supermercado after breakfast. I love going to super markets in foreign countries and seeing the products. This one was great. We went to one that caters to vendors so it was sorta a cross between a grocery store and a Costco. I walked in and the music was blaring- Sir Mix-a-lot's 'Baby Got Back.' I enjoyed looking at the products and labels and learning some more Spanish. I was also excited that we bought some flypaper. In addition to the mosquitoes being bad this week the moscas were too. Over the next two days I kept checking out the 2 sheets as the becamecompletely covered which gave me an odd pleasure. Xiani was delighted in my happiness as well. She said she had a volunteer once that thought it was cruel and wanted to unstick the flies.

The afternoon was lazy and I napped a little after taking some allergy medicine that Donald gave me. Apparently I was bitten by several bugs that were causing more swelling. My left elbow and wrist were completely swollen and hot and I had a few areas on my legs that were slightly swollen. And to top it off I had a huge bite on the front of my neck. I am definitely not going to miss the bugs after I leave.

That evening Danielle arrived. Danielle is a 26 year old volunteer from Delaware that was going to be at the farm for a week. I was bummed she hadn't arrived the previous week but was excited to meet her. Danielle speaks Spanish so she'll have no problems at the farm. On Sunday I did sleep in until a whopping 7:30, Donald spent the morning giving Danielle a tour of the farm so I just putzed around until when Xinia asked if I wanted to milk the cow again. I jumped at the chance and this time I did a little better. It definitely takes practice. And even better- the cow didn't use the bathroom this time. Xiani and I decided it must have been due to Lazaro!

After the chores were done I relaxed until Danielle returned from the tour. We then suited up and I took her down to the waterfall. This time I was much more prepared and we wore hiking boots. The hike was quite enjoyable this time and we were able to get right up on the cascade. We hung out for a while, got our feet and legs wet and then decided to head down to the Super Weber. I had told Danielle about Megan and my adventures to get beer and she wanted to do the same. The trip didn't seem quite as bad this time, probably because of the shoes. We were able to make the trip about 10 minutes faster than the last time and I think we would have been even faster if Aconnie, the little schnauzer of Larry's, didn't follow us for the full hike. We stopped several times to let her rest and feed her water but she was a trooper.

We got back to the casa, had lunch and cooled down before enjoying our beers. I packed my bags before Donald's Uncle and 4 cousins stopped by in the afternoon and his sons and their families came over for Father's Day dinner. Danielle and I played with Mateo while the adults all socialized. By 8 Danielle and I were wiped out and ready for bed. As I laid there for the last time I couldn't believe the time had flown so quickly. It was a great experience that I will always remember. I learned so much about Ticos and their culture, farm life, and Costa Rican cooking. I learned some Spanish but not quite as much as I'd hoped although Donald keeps telling me it takes 3 months and that i just need to come back. I lost weight and got fitter without trying, got to go on several adventures and saw other parts of Costa Rica, and met some great people. I learned that I can produce as little as 1 gallon baggie of trash in 4 weeks. I learned more about animals, fell in 'like' with some dogs I hated in the beginning, and found a new appreciation for nature. And I probably learned a thing or two about myself.

Donald and Xiani are wonderful people that like to laugh a lot and love each other and their family with all their heart. They taught me the words 'abrazar y besar' 'hug and kiss' because they did that often. I couldn't always speak/understand Xiani but she always had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. Some days I felt like I was at summer camp, some days I felt like a teenager in my room with my parents downstairs, and some days I felt like an adult really making a difference to the family and the farm. Next time I decide to do this I might ask some different questions up front (like will I be alone or with other volunteers) but I don't regret my decision to come here.

Now on to touring the Northern province of Guanacaste where it's supposedly hotter and more touristy but beautiful with many playas, volcanoes, and National Parks. Donald's taking me to the rental car place in the morning for my next adventure to begin.

Photos: Last weekend on the Farm

kendal00 — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:33:00 GMT

Finca Work Week 4

kendal00 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:15:00 GMT

Monday started with the normal breakfast and dishes routine; however, Donald had left for work before I made it downstairs at 6:50 so I wasn't sure what my job for the day was. As I started to head back up to my room Xinia gave me my task. I was to go back down the mountain and plant more grass. This time Lazaro was already down there. I quickly put on my work clothes, sunscreen, and bug spray and headed down. Tara of course followed, but Lucky was unchained and came with me too. This was a first for Lucky and he was well behaved and quite funny. When I throw the rock for Tara, her ready position is to watch the rock. Lucky's ready position is to bite Tara's back leg. Loco perros!

When I got to the bottom Lazaro had already started digging a bunch of holes so I grabbed a shovel and started helping. Lazaro doesn't speak much English so when we work it's in silence. I never know if he thinks I'm doing a good job or not. At one point though he did ask me how old I was. I told him and asked his age (28). He told me I was young, or young looking?, and strong, using arm muscle gestures. I took this as a good sign he was happy with my work. He also helped me throw the rocks for the dogs and joined in my fun of throwing the rocks down the mountain. Tara would fly over the cliff regardless of the steepness while Lucky would just stop and watch. Lazaro and i just laughed every time.

After we dug the holes we climbed back over to the neighbors and filled 2 sacks of grass. I was able to carry mine almost the full way today and felt good. We did have to go back for a second round about an hour later and I had to drag the second one most of the way. All in all we got the field done in about 3 hours and headed back.

I was filthy but waited until after lunch to shower and noticed all my dirty clothes were removed from the bathroom- laundry day. Xiani had done a load while I was working and it was ready to be hung on the line to dry. When I garbbed the clothes she asked for my clothes from the morning because she was doing a second load. When I brought them to her I realized for the first time that she scrubs most of my clothes before they go into the washing machine. I am so filthy from planting grass this is required to get all the dirt out, especially my socks. I immediately jumped in and started helping. I was glad I didn't have but one small load last week. Since it took my clothes 5 days to dry the first time, I had worn the same clothes, to paint in, every day during week two. Last week the sun shone on laundry day and my clothes only took 1 day to dry.

After dealing with the laundry I changed my sheets and cleaned my room and then decided to just chill for the afternoon listening to the thunder and rain. Although it rains here almost daily it is usually not accompanied by the thunder and lighting of Monday's storm. Unfortunately the wind whipped up and it wasn't just chilly but downright cold. I shut my windows and got under the two blankets on my bed and still couldn't get warm. Finally I just got up and started my evening dinner chores.

Tuesday started out early because I got to go back to the escuela with Donald where we started the compost project 3 weeks ago. It took awhile to get to the school. It's a 2.5 hour drive but we had to stop and wait for Donald's coworkers that were going to ride with us the last hour of the trip. The coworkers, Mario y Wilfred, whom I met on the first trip, are consistently slow so I nicknamed them the Los Hermanos Linto - The slow brothers. Donald thought it was hilarious and I think the name will stick. Once they showed up and Donald finished a second breakfast we were off again. Donald stopped many times to show me many different sites or to pick some fresh mangos to eat. We also drove past the school to look for a farm that had called Mario for some assistance. He just needed to see the place but it was cool driving through the mountains seeing some other areas. We were near the La Amistad National Park high in the mountains, that borders Panama. There were a lot of cafe farms because apparently the higher altitudes produce better coffee. We did finally make it to the school in time to eat lunch. Classes were still in session and my amigo Kathy, the English teacher, was teaching a 2nd grade class. She let me come into the classroom and told the students that I was from the US. They were so cute and excited I was there. As Kathy and i were talking one of the ninos said, in Spanish, that they didn't understand anything I was saying. They did let me take a picture of them and were even more excited about that.

After that Donald gave another presentation to the group. This time the group was even bigger than the initial 40 people that came out 3 weeks ago. Kathy wasn't in the room initially to translate for me so I found some school books to work on my Spanish. I was pleasantly surprised reading a science book that i knew the correct terms for the female and male anatomy. I still can't remember the basics but I could definitely figure those out! After Donald's talk, and another break for coffee and a snack, everyone headed out to the greenhouse. The original pile was uncovered, with a little snake greeting us, and everyone felt how hot and different the dirt was. They then shoveled the original pile into two volcano shape piles, added lots of water and recovered. The piles will cool down and will be ready to be bagged for fertilizer in about 4-5 days. Everyone was really happy about the results and the day.

We rushed back to the farm that afternoon because Costa Rica was playing Mexico in the World Cup quarter finals at 6pm. After dinner I stayed downstairs and watched a hour or so of the game before I couldn't take the excitment anymore and went upstairs. I did manage, accidentally, to time my bathroom break to see the end of the 0-0 game.

Wednesday I got my marching orders at breakfast. I was to help Lazaro fix the chicken fence to help keep the chickens and bunnies From escaping. This was going to be an easy day and I was excited. I put my rubber boots on and found that Tara had left me a rock in my shoes. I think she missed me yesterday. At least my boots were a better spot for the rock than when she dropped one in my paint can!

I headed out to work with Lazaro and we started chopping down some trees to fix the fence. All and all the work was rather easy; however, within a few minutes a bee flew down my boot and stung me. Then when we were heading back to the chicken coop I somehow slightly shocked myself on the live fence even though I was opening it with the rubber handle. Then as Lazaro was nailing the second rusty nail into the post I accidentally put my thumb right where the nail was coming through. I was at least relieved that I had gone to the travel clinic prior to my trip and confirmed my tetanus shot was up to date. Every dollar spent at the clinic was worth that knowledge. After this we disturbed a beehive but fortunately weren't stung and I almost sat on a big nasty spider but Lazaro yelled arachno-something which I was able to translate without thought. I was glad when the fence was done and it was time for lunch.

The afternoon was spent relaxing, reading, and doing some first aid to my body. Besides bandaging my nail wound I decided to cover some of my bug bites. I was only getting a couple new bites a day but all my scratching was not allowing the old bites to heal. I had bought a new first aid kit for the trip and put it to good use. Of course I looked funny covered in bandaids. Apparently Donald had never noticed all the bites on my legs before but he was definitely concerned that evening when I came down and saw a bandaids on my arm where a bite had made my arm swell.

Donald, Xiani, and I sat on the patio and chatted for a bit drinking some beer and fried pork skins that Donald brought home. He then asked if I liked chips. Sure. Then he asked how we cook cow chips. Upon further inquiry I learned Donald was talking about tripe. Now this was not something I've had before nor was it something I really wanted but I was going to stay open minded. I ate liver and onions in Africa and didn't die. And recently I had beef tongue at a restaurant in Austin and liked it. Body parts are a big deal in Austin restaurants these days, so much so that if I try to take my Mom out to eat she tells me she doesn't want any of that 'weird pig food!'

Donald tasked me with cutting up a huge bag of tripe. I'm not sure this was the best idea. It was tough and the knives had to be sharpened just to cut it. And getting to see and feel all the different textures was not doing anything for my appetite. After two large bowls were cut up, Xiani put the tripe in a pressure cooker for almost 2 hours. Despite the long cooking time it did not do much to the texture. It was rubber and tough to bite. I tied to eat it but the texture was more than I could handle. Donald told me to 'eat fast' meaning to just swallow but the bites but they were to big for that. I ate around the tripe and pushed the food around a bit for a polite show but was more than happy to jump up and do the dishes and ditch the rest.

Shortly after dinner, around 8 pm the power went out so I just headed to my room. About 30 minutes later the house started shaking and I immediately knew it was an earthquake, although not as strong as the previous one. I ran downstairs and chatted, in the dark, with Donald and Xiani. Their 4 year old grandson called excited because it was the first one he had felt. After the excitement wore down I went back upstairs and fell asleep quickly which I was grateful for because I woke in the middle of the night itching up a storm. I don't know when I got bit but I had 5 bites on my elbow, and several more on my legs, fingers, and toes. It was the most miserable I'd been.

Thursday's work activities were to plant 30 coffee plants Donald had brought home. This was a fun task that Lazaro and I set off to do. It was easy work that didn't take long. What I didn't realize was that since we finished so quickly we were going to plant more pasto (grass). Had I realized that at first I would have moved much slower on the coffee plants! We headed down to the meadow and started digging holes. I could have sworn we had finished the meadow but after 300 or so more holes we headed back up the sugar cane field to dig up the grass. This time Lazaro helped me put the grass sacks on my back/ shoulders so I was able to carry it all the way back. I took a break and mentally prepared myself for more planting when Lazaro gave me the good news- we were done for the day! It was almost noon but I'd lost track of time. We went back and I had lunch but still had energy. Must have been that mental work I did earlier. I decided to head back to the worm barn. When we had gathered fertilizer for the coffee plants I had noticed a new batch of dirt was ready to be sorted. With the dogs and a few rocks at my feet and my iPod cranked I set to work. I came in when it was time to feed the animals. Mateo was there and we got him saddled up on Chickading again. He rode for about the about of time it took to feed the chickens, cows, and pig. After that he just wanted to play with me so we played with his tractors, and helicopter, and had lots of fun. His Mom came to get him right as we were ready to sit down for dinner- soup. Donald only mentioned that the soup had yucca but I should have been on the lookout. After four weeks there I know we eat leftovers a lot and Xiani had made a scrumptious lunch of enyucados. I took one bite of my soup and realized that the tripe was in it. The bites were smaller and softer than the previous evening but still had a texture I do not care for. I was able to swallow the very small bites but the bigger ones that I could see got pushed aside. I was sure hoping that this was going to be the last of the tripe. That evening I was able to watch game 4 of the Spurs/ Heat finals since there wasn't a football game on at the same time. It was during the first few minutes of sitting there that I realized I was getting eaten. The bugs weren't in my room but down here. I grabbed a blanket off my bed and covered my body to protect it while I sadly watched the Spurs lose. That was a bunch of bug bites for nothing!

Friday I got up excited because I was finally going to get to milk the cow. Each week I had told Donald this was something I really wanted to do but the chance hadn't happened yet. Lazaro milks the cow in the mornings usually before I'm even awake. Unfortunately Friday was no exception. With a little bit of disappointment I headed back down the mountain to plant the grass we had dug up yesterday. Xiani came down and helped us and Lazaro went and dug up 4 more sacos without me. With those two things I should have been in great shape; however, I was really tired doing the work. Whether it was the cow milking disappointed, thoughts of my last work on the farm, or the hot 4.5 hours planting the grass I'm not sure but was glad when Xiani called it a day. One thing about having limited Spanish is I don't know how and can't complain! After a quick lunch I tried to nap but couldn't manage that either so I headed out back and sorted worms for a couple hours thinking about the last four weeks and the next adventures I was going to have next week. The evening I relaxed and had a couple beers on the patio before dinner. Sleep that night hit me hard and fast and I was pleased. After all, I needed to beat Lazaro in the am before he milked the cow!

Photos: Finca Work Week 4

kendal00 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:15:00 GMT

Manuel Antonio

kendal00 — Sun, 9 Jun 2013 05:44:00 GMT

Saturday started early again at 4:30am but I had much less anxiety about the trip to Manuel Antonio. It was the same bus that I took to Domincal last weekend. I got up and ready and walked to the first bus stop, the correct road this time. The bus wasn't as early this time and after it arrived there were already 6 of us waiting so after we boarded the bus took off without stopping and waiting this time. We made it into San Isidro and I was able to easy navigate to the correct bus station and got my ticket. We boarded and left right at 7am. I looked around me and saw Carlos's friend sitting directly behind me. I also recognized some Americans that were on the bus last weekend as well.

The trip was the same as the previous week and after going through Domincal we headed north along the coast. I knew that it was 44km to Antonio Manuel from Domincal and that Quepos was just beyond that. The bus was packed and hot and I couldn't wait to get off. When I thought we were getting close I put my book away and started concentrating on the stops. I was determined not to miss my stop like I almost did the previous weekend. When we pulled into a big town and into a bus terminal I was confused. I knew in my heart I was in Quepos but couldn't figure out how I missed my stop. I got off the bus and walked around a bit. I found the ocean and a small little farmers market before finding a hotel that I thought could be googled to confirm my location. I texted Dan and he did confirm I was in Quepos. I was dumbfounded how I missed my stop. Donald had told me that the bus would take me to Antonio Manuel. As I walked around I found some signs pointing in the right direction and that the town was 7km away. I decided since I didn't really know where I needed to go I would just walk it. I bought a guanabana smoothie and set off.

The beginning of the walk was uphill and it was a hot day. As I was walking I realized that the bus I was on had not travelled on this road so I had not actually missed my stop. The walk, although uphill and difficult was beautiful. There were lots of hotels and bars and restaurnats on the 7km stretch of road and I was excited to be there. After wallking about 3 km I was soaking wet and decided to jump on a bus. As the bus went up and down a couple more hills I was glad for my decision and paying the 75 cents. At one of the stops at the bottom of the hill I could see the ocean so I jumped off. The beach there was wide and beautiful. The sun was shining and I enjoyed my stroll. There were lots of people on the beach and in the water, much different than the previous weekend. I found a beachside restaurant and decided to stop for a beer.

While enjoying my cerveza I ended up talking to a guy from New Mexico. He wanted to go for a swim but was worried about his stuff. I agreed to watch his bag. When he came back we had some interesting conversations. First he had to explain why he had no top front teeth for a 40 year old man (never married but straight he assured me.) Apparently he lost them in a fight in his early 20's and they were being replaced but not before this trip with his family. I also got his backstory of being a substance abuse counselor that just got his masters degree despite the fact that 1) he never bought a book for school and 2) he smoked dope daily. He tried to quit once and that lasted 6 days. He talked about relationships that did nor work because the girl had a problem with dope, not him. It was very interesting and Dominic and I hung out for awhile. There was a surfing competition going on at the end of the beach and we walked down and checked it out. Afterwards we decided to walk back up the hill so he could go back to his casa and I could find a room for the night. We walked about a kilometer before I was soaked and tired. We were by a place called Costaverde and the sign stated "more monkeys than humans." That sounded great with me and I ditched Dominic in hopes of a great room. After approaching the front desk and being told the rooms were $100 I started to leave knowing I could get a cheaper room down the street. They stopped me and said they had a simple room for $30. Sold! I put my things in the room which was pretty spacious and headed to the pool. OMG- the view was spectaculaR, even with storm cloud rolling in. The place was on a hill overlooking the ocean and the beach that I had spent the morning on. I relaxed at the pool with a few cervezas before retreating for a late afternoon siesta.

After my nap I arranged for a white water rafting trip for the next day and then set out for dinner. The hotel had a restaurant across the street that specializes in steaks. I was sold again. Three weeks without beef and I was craving it. The special was a ribeye but I thought that might hurt me more than anyrhing after such a long beef abstinence. I decided on a shrimp and beef kabob with vegetables that was cooked over a wood burning grill. Coupled with a glass of vino, listening to the live band in the open aired restaurant on a beautiful evening, I was in love with this town. My friend Irene made me promise I wouldn't move to Costa Rica but this was the first time the thought even crossed my mind. Despite wanting to stay up late I forced myself to go to sleep around 11 so that I could get up and see monkeys. The hotel did claim more monkeys than people and I hadn't seen a single monkey yet. And I did managed to get up and hang outside watching the ocean around 6 am. It was calm and peaceful but I always forget just how disappointing sunrises are on the west coast. I did achieve my goal of seeing a few monkeys; however I couldn't get a single picture of them.

The rafting company picked me up at 7 and took a group of us to their shop and fed us a breafast of gallo pinto y huervos. After we were done 7 of us gringos, 3 guides and a driver loaded up a van and headed out to Naranja Rio. The ride to the spot where we put the rafts in was only about 35 minutes away. The rafts were smaller than I'd been in before. In my raft with me was a couple, Anna and Robert, and our guide Diego. The rapids were a blast. Mostly 2 and 3 rapids with a few 3++. Anna and I remained in our raft the entire time but Roberto fell out. 3 of the 4 tourists in the other raft also fell out. The rapids were a lot of fun, the scenery awesome. The entire rafting trip took about 1 hour 45 minutes. We didn't see a lot of wildlife on the trip other than a few different birds but plenty of teak trees, African palms, and Guanacaste trees (the state tree). After we were carted back to the shop they served us a lunch consisting of arroz con pollo, frijoles, and vegetables before being dropped back off at the hotel. Before booking the rafting rip I had worried that I wouldn't have enough time to do the rafting and make it back to Quepos to catch my bus. Boy was I wrong. I was back at the hotel before noon with plenty of time to chill by the pool. The guys at the front desk had told me that the bus back to San Isidrio would leave at 2:30 and I should take the 1 pm bus into Quepos. I did exactly as I was told and at 1:15 I tried to buy a ticket back to S.I. only to find out 1) the bus didn't leave until 3:30 and 2) you couldn't pre-purchase tickets. With 2 hours to spare I walked around a couple block until I spotted a bar called Wacky Wanda's. The neon signs coupled with the air conditioning signs had more than convinced me that I should give it a try. I walked into a typical bar, with football on one tv car racing on the other . The bar was half full of gringos (including an American lady celebrating her 91st birthday despite looking and acting much younger) and half Ticos. I bellied up to the bar and the first thing that caught my eye was a bumper sticker from the Broken Spoke in Austin which is about 1 km from my house. There were lots of other pictures of politicians and celebrities, flags, license plates, etc. from the states on the wall. I ordered a cerveza and chatted with the bartender a bit. He gave me some sopa with frijoles and pork and made me feel right at home. I was sad to leave at 3 when I needed to get in line for my bus. Quepos y Antonio Manuel were wonderful towns and I hated leaving. But I boarded my bus for ride to San Isidrio. Unlike the previous bus rides were all seats are full and people are standing in the aisles, this trip was relatively empty which made it pretty tolerable. And because there were less stops we made it back in 2.5 hours instead of the 3.5 hours it took to get to Quepos. After getting off the bus I found a taxi ride back to the farm and was able to negotiate the price much more easily this time and was back at the farm in no time.

I can't believe I only have a week left on the farm and yet there is still so much I want to do.

Photos: Playa de Manuel Antonio

kendal00 — Sun, 9 Jun 2013 02:02:00 GMT

Finca Work Week 3

kendal00 — Fri, 7 Jun 2013 04:34:00 GMT

The week started out slow only due to the fact I could barely move. When I woke up Monday morning and tried to roll over the sunburn on my thighs was burning. Rather than getting up and setting the table and having breakfast, part of my morning routine, I decided I'd been on the farm long enough to sleep in. I did get up around 9, did the dishes, and cut some fresh aloe. Ahhh! It felt so good on my legs and chest. I decided that I would sort worms because I wouldn't have to move much and the worm house was covered so I wouldn't get any sun. I took the aloe leaf with me, Tara followed, and I spent the entire day out there. I came in for lunch but otherwise spent about 6 hours sorting worms and applying aloe every 2 hours. I came in showered, had dinner and went to bed early. The sunburn was feeling better but laying flat felt the best. And I realized that with the sunburn my bug bites didn't itch as much. There's always a silver lining!

I felt much better on Tuesday but decided to continue in the worm house. I was almost done and as the dirt pile was reduced the concentration of worms got greater. Some handfuls produced more worms than dirt and this was the highlight of the work. I didn't think it would take me long to finish but I was wrong. It took another 6 hours. By the time I was done, I was done! My back ached and I was definitely tired of the worms. It was another quiet evening after more aloe and dinner.

Wednesday it was time to get back to some manuel work and finish painting the house. Lazaro prepped the back wall for me and I went at it. When I started the painting last week I had a fresh gallon of paint that I would add water too often. I did is because Xiani had told me to and because it made painting the cement part of the wall easier. (The walls were a combination of rough cement and some type of 'sheetrock'.) I judged that with the water that i was adding that I would have just enough paint to cover the wall. It was a warm day but I was glad that my body didn't hurt to move and it felt good doing the work. I had also been given two new paint brushes so the work was much easier. The little things in life! As I was working I had the paint can at my feet. At one point I looked over and watched the paint can tip over. Major third world panic attack! Not only do I now have to tell Xiani that I have spilled all the paint, but I have to figure out how to say that in Spanish. Again, not something that is in the beginning Spanish books. The paint had dumped out in the dirt between the wall and I noticed that it was puddled from all the water I had in the paint. I worked fast and furious to get as much of the paint off the ground and onto the wall. I did a pretty good job but it wasn't going to be enough to finish the wall. After doing as much as I could I finally went in the house, pulled up the Spanish words for 'spilled paint' on my app, and found Xiani. She checked out the wall, ask where I spilled the paint, and asked if I needed more. She walked off and the next thing I knew she produced another full gallon of paint. I was so relieved. I had honestly thought that I had spilled the last of the paint. It was 11 am so I decided to take a break until after lunch. It didn't take me long to finish the job after eating. Just as I started cleaning up the rain came again. It was perfect timing and I was happy to take my siesta and be done for the day. Oh- and two adorable baby quails were born. Xiani brought them in the house and we set them up in a big crate with food, water, and a light bulb to keep them warm. They are so adorable, although the one with racing stripes is pretty noisy.

On Thursday evening Donald asked if I was ready to go back into the field and do some more grass planting. I geared up: hat, dry fit T-shirt, rubber boots, bandana, sunscreen and insect repellent and headed down the mountain. This time we went over to a neighbor's property 2 lots over and dug up grass there. We had to walk through and up a sugar cane crop to get there. We had two sacks and filled them then walked back down. I was feeling strong that morning and managed to carry my bag all the way on my back. I think Lazaro was impressed as he watched and waited for me to drop the bag and let him carry it.

We dug our holes and planted the grass which only filled about half the holes. I had hoped we were done for the day. I was hot and sweating buckets but Lazaro wanted to get more done. We trekked back over to the neighbors and filled two more bags. This time I couldn't get it on my back. I drug the back through the sugar cane field, trying really hard not to squash the crops but couldn't make it the whole way. This time Lazaro did have to help me out. It took another hour and a half to plant the grass and then we started back up the hill. I had been determined the week before to beat this hill but today was not going to be the day. Using the shovel as a walking stick and breathing heavily I trudged up the hill. I was filthy and tired and ready for a shower before lunch. I made it upstairs to my room. The window was shut for some reason siince I never close it during the day. I opened the door and walked into the dark room and took two steps before feeling something scamper across my toes. Simultaneously I yelled and jumped onto my bed. I looked down and saw the biggest scorpion I have ever seen in my life run under my shelves. Angelica, Donald's daughter-in-law, who never talks to me despite being at the casa every day sweeping and mopping the floors, came up to check on me. I was glad that "scorpion" was understood without translation and she went downstairs to get a broom. It took us a few minutes to find him, he was hiding in my shoes but she drug it out of my room. I grabbed a giant rock and she squished it and cut the tail off. The tail was still moving but she swept it up. I has very thankful for her help and friendliness. About this time Donald stopped by for lunch and I told him what had happened. He just looked at me, shaking his head as he noticed how dirty I was, and asked if I wanted a cerveza. Si señor!!! I changed my shirt and helped Xiani with lunch but I was so exhausted between the farm work and the scare that it was all I could do to make it through lunch to get to my siesta. Even my shower had to wait.

After about 2 hours I woke up to some noise on my floor. I got up to see if Xiani needed some help. As I walked out of my room I ran smack into a niño. He screamed as we both frightened each other. It was a neighborhood kid along with Xiani's niece and nephew- 15 year old twins from Africa that her sister adopted from an orphanage. They played around the house while I finally cleaned up. Then the rain started and the kids cracked me up. They decided to walk home and so we put them in garbage bags and sent them off in the downpour.

The rest of the night was pretty quiet. The Internet had gone down in the afternoon, probably due to the storms and didn't come back that evening. When I first found out the farm had wifi I had mixed emotions. Part of going off the grid means disconnecting completely and I had looked forward to not having the connection. Of course when I got to the farm, especially in the early evenings, I have been glad to have the connectivity. The outage this time was rather nice and I enjoyed the disconnectedness and spent the evening just reading. Of course I had such a nice siesta earlier in the day I had trouble getting to sleep.

Friday was much like Thursday as far as the farm work went. Lazaro and I set off to do more grass planting, only this time when we went to the neighbors we went even farther up the hill to dig up the grass. And this time I was unable to pick up the bag at all. I drug it half way down the hill and had to have Lazaro rescue my sack again. We dug more holes and planted more grass but fortunately we didn't have to go back for a second round. Despite only one round this time I was still drenched from head to toe. No scorpions greeted me when we got back to the farm thankfully and I was able to take a shower before lunch. I tried to take a siesta after lunch but the rain never came, first time all week, and it was too hot out. I hung out in a hammock reading instead. About 3 pm the Internet came back and I forgot about being off the grid and caught up on everything, including planning out the weekend. I was going to try to visit some hot springs near San Isidrio but the bus schedules to get there were anything but convenient. Instead I decided to try another beach just north of Domincal, where I went the previous weekend. My sunburn was just about completely peeled so I loaded up my backpack with lots of sunscreen and a change of clothes. Of course this also meant getting up at 4:30 am again so it was off to bed early once more.

Photos: Finca Work Week 3

kendal00 — Fri, 7 Jun 2013 02:19:00 GMT

Playa de Domincal

kendal00 — Sun, 2 Jun 2013 09:14:00 GMT

Saturday morning started early as I walked down to the bus stop from the farm at 5am as the sun was coming up. Donald had said the bus would arrive at 5:30 but I should be down at the corner at 5:15. I got the the corner and waited. I heard the bus before I saw it a block down the hill from me. And it turned left! I panicked and started running and yelling and looking like a fool. The bus turned around and was pointed back down the hill as I tried to catch up, passing a man that was standing in his yard. The bus stopped and I was so relieved. I jumped on, payed my 350 colones and sat down. Only then did I realize the bus was turned off. And we sat. And sat. And sat for about 12 minutes while others came and got of the bus. I really felt like a fool that I ran so hard for the bus. Ugh!

I made it into San Isidrio and took the map Donald had drawn for me to get to the bus terminal that would take me to the beach. I was walking in the right direction but couldn't quite find where I needed to be. A younger guy, realizing I was lost, stopped to assist. When I told him what I was looking for he pointed me in the right direction. In fact, he was going to the bus terminal too. He told me the cost of the ticket and although I had problems at first understanding what he was trying to tell me I finqlly figured it out and got my ticket?

We boarded the bus and took off at 7am. There were lots of stops through out the drive as people got on and off. Many of the stops I couldn't figure where the people came from or where they were going. At about 8:30 I thought I was in Domincal but I wasn't quite sure where to get off. Fortunately the same guy that helped me get on the bus came up to me and told me that I was were I needed to be. I wished I had caught his name because he helped me not once but twice!

Dominical is a small little beach town. Since it's winter the waters are rough and swimming is prohibited in most of the areas I walked. Surfing however is a big sport here and I was able to watch a few people on the waves. I stopped and talked to a Canadian about diving and asked where I should have lunch. He directed me to a great open air place 100 yards from the ocean. The only problem was it was still only 9 am and not much was happening in this town. I didn't have anywhere else to be yet so I stopped and had 2 screwdrivers. That was not my best decision I would later realize.

After I finished I went back and put a deposit down on the diving for Sunday and then went to find a room for the night. The Canadians suggested a place down the road with a pool and pool bar. Sounded good to me. I went and purchased my room just as it was starting to rain so I decided to take a short nap. 2 hours later I woke up with a horrible headache. I decided I needed food so I went back to Tortilla Flats where I had the screwdrivers. The clientele were all Americans and the staff was 1/2 Gringos and 1/2 Ticos. I had a great Cajun chicken club and a couple of beers but started feeling even worse. I headed back to my room around 3 and laid down. I woke up several times but my head still hurt so I would roll over and go back to sleep trying to remember what Patty told me about dengue fever. A few times I heard rain and didn't bother trying to wake up. A couple times I heard people and thought that was a good sign. When I finally woke up and felt like I wanted to get up I could still hear people partying; however, when I looked at my clock it was 2am. Holy cow I slept all day and half the night! I needed to be up at 6am so getting up now was not an option. What a bust of a day. Of course now i understood why there weren't many people out that morning when I arrived. I laid there listening to the party, which was at the rum bar next door, for about an hour before I feel back to sleep.

At least when I got up at 6 I felt great. I got ready for my dive trip and headed to the dive shop. There I met the 4 Canadians that I would be diving with along with the divemasters Ricardo and Marta. This was going to be the first dive for 3 of the Canadians. After getting my gear situated we all piled into a van and headed south 19 kms. There a boat was launched off the beach into the water and we headed west towards Cano Island, a marine sanctuary that was about 1.5 hour boat ride out. Here we did 2 great dives each about 45 minutes at 50 feet. The day was beautiful, no rain at Cano and the diving was great. Lots of life, white tip sharks, eels, lots of schools of fish, and Lots of activity. The newbies dove with Ricardo while Tom and I dove with Marta with the expectation we would dive longer. Well, we did dive longer but not by much. I came up each dive with 1200 psi while Tom only had 200. I'm used to diving with fishes, Dan & Paul specifically, where I'm always lowest on air. For my first dive without Dan I was pretty impressed with my oxygen intake. This was also my first dive with borrowed gear which was just fine except that a couple times the reg mouthpiece would fall out if my mouth. I'm used to a custom fit piece, like a football mouthguard, where I can relax my mouth without it falling out. All in all both dives were great and I had a lot of fun. We had lunch in the boat, a rice dish, before heading back. Unfortunately I did get a little sunburned on the ride back but nothing some fresh cut aloe from the farm wouldn't cure, I hoped.

We got back at 2 which gave me plenty of time to chill before the bus was to arrive so I went back to Tortilla Flats for some lunch (a mahi mahi sub this time) and some cervezas. At 4:30 I headed to the bus stop and caught my bus at 4:45. I got on and found a seat and got situated and then looked at the person across the aisle from me. It was the guy that had helped me get on the bus the day before. He tried talking to me but I couldn't understand him at all. At one point I thought he asked me where I was staying and I said 'finka'. Apparently he was asking my name because the guy sitting on the other side of me, who was his friend, asked if my name was really Finka. I cleared up the name business and found out his was Carlos. He then asked me for my phone number. I was very surprised- why would you want to call someone who can't understand a word you say?!? I was flattered though, he could've have been more than 27, but no numbers were given. I think this annoyed him because when he got off the bus before me he didn't say goodbye. I was glad I knew where I was going and didnt need his help this time. I made it to my bus stop and headed for a taxi. I had some difficulty determining the fare to the farm but worked it out with my driver. I could have taken a bus to the bottom of the hill and walked the hour walk in the dark but that didn't seem like a good idea. I made it back to the farm by about 6:30 and just wanted to crash. It was only once I looked in the mirror and changed clothes that I realized how sunburnt I'd gotten. I managed to make it through dinner and finished the dished before I crashed at the late hour of 8 pm. And it was totally worth it for the spectacular day.

Pura Vida!

Photos: Playa de Domincal

kendal00 — Sun, 2 Jun 2013 09:07:00 GMT