Dear blog,
Sorry I have not been attending to your needs lately but sometimes a girl needs a break. Anywho I'm back with a few extraordinary stories that should make up for lost time. I do not know what day of the week it is, the date or the time but I know we are in Costa Rica. We just arrived in Peurto Viejo, Limon on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It was a four and a half hour bus ride from San Jose, but with company like Tyson, I cannot complain.
Couchsurfing in Ciudad Colon was one of the best experiences we have had. The family we stayed with were warm and kind and very accustomed to having strangers in their home. During the day we ate a great breakfast courtosy of our surfing friends and head out for a "hike". The only difference was that this hike was not in a park but rather it was private property in the jungle, so their were no trails or paths. It was all forest with knee high bushes and grass that we walked through oblivious to the living predators hidden within. The area is riddled with tarantulas, lethal viper snakes, alligators and jaguars among other potantially fatal animals. These animals and more are pictured on my facebook page. Regardless of this minor factor, we forged on like soldiers on a mission to prove our bravery to the world. We were also warned to watch out for the trees with thorns that house fighter ants. If this trees is touched, thousands of the ants will drop on us and bite their way free. It had happened plenty of times to the owners of the property. Luckily we made the hike, got to the river and back up to safe lands with only minor scratches and lots of sweat.
We walked into town and explored for a while so that the maid could have space to clean and such. Their maid of 17 years now gets paid a whopping $2 an hour and their gardener the same. Walking around the area reminded me of every movie I had seen that was set in a tropical paradise. It is peaceful and green and lovely. The homes are humble but beautiful. It seemed that most people built their own places. There was an organic fruit market and craft area. As a bonus, Costa Rica is one of the only countries who does not have an army! No military, guns or soldiers and it is still safe, imagine that! Ticos (Costa Ricans) are very proud of this fact and are quick to brag about it. I would be too.
After our walk we went to visit a Bahai friend who happened to live up the road. Our hosts were good friends and neighbors with them, it is a very small and interesting world. Their home was like a dream. The property was huge and they had bought it bare. They planted every flower and tree that was now present and built the two homes. It is diffifult to explain except that the garden was gorgeous and the bamboo was now over 60 feet tall. The house had great detail and design and even included a prayer room at the very top in the form of a tree house. The bedroom doors opened up into a large balcony with a view of lush green forests and water. I could live there. We tried some Costa Rican desserts and pastries along with the world famous coffee. During the walk home I lost my dreading tool so over the next few days until I purchased two more, my hair began to look like a freakish monster until I was able to kind of tame it to reasonable human standards again.
That night we had beans and rice for dinner which is the staple diet of a large majority of Costa Ricans. Then we had brownies and apple cake. Everything we ate was home made and home grown.
Our host told us many bedtime stories of common occurences in her home. She also made it clear that she does not want to hear anything about any living animals or insects in her home. For example there are many scorpians that hide in shoes or folded towels because they like the warmth and security. She also said to watch for the tarantulas that hide under the bed and on the ceiling fans. One time she turned on the fan and a large tarantula fell into her mouth. She also warned that many of the snakes we would see are poisonous. Lastly she warned us not to kill the six by four inch cockroaches we see around because they are harmless. So with this we went downstairs and Tyson insisted that I do a check of every nook and cranny of the room before he could sleep.
The next day we fussed over some errands and caught a bus back to San Jose where we ate way to many empanadas and caught another bus to Heredia. Here we met with another guy off of couchsurfing. He worked at the university which was really neat. They were having some kind of event where they were handing out condoms and drawing pee pees and yoo hoos everywhere. We hung out with our awesome new friend for a few hours. He offered us a place to stay but we had already made arrangements to stay with someone else we didn't know. We did plan to travel with him next weekend to Arenal Volcano though. Then we got picked up by a brother and sister of a friend of my mothers. In the home there was a mother with her two grown children. They had kindly invited us over to spend a few nights with them. Here we tried the famous Tico fruit called Guanawana. We both fell deeply in love with it. The next morning we had a huge delicious breakfast and rushed off to explore. We got driven around in a fancy sports car all day. We saw the La Paz waterfall which were lovely but sadly Iguazzu falls has ruined waterfalls for us since nothing can compare. Then we saw the highlight of the day, Poas Volcano and crater. One of the active volcanos in the area. Unfortunately a huge earthquake a couple of years ago trashed most of the access to this area so we had to get creative and use alternative means to get to the park. We saw many animals here and hiked to a lake that decievingly looks wonderful to swim in but it is composed of toxins and acids. This lake is 4000 meters deep.
Then we drove to another volcano but did not make it before closing so instead our generous guide took us to a typical tico restaurant where we tried many dishes. We tried a flat bread topped with sour cream and cheese. Then we tried a tamale that I caannot describe adequately but I shall try: corn bread wrapped in a leaf with cheese and pork..? Another dish that I also cannot name was a huge plate of fried sweet plantains, thinly cut steaks, seasoned potatos, soft taco shells, beans, rice and salsa salad. Then for dessert we tried typical sweets like sweetened coconut shavings and peanut cakes. I hope there were no calories in all of this.
We stopped on the way home to see the biggest cathedral in the country. It was beautiful and we took many pictures. We also drank holy water, some of which I rubbed on my funky arm to heal it. The ticos were rubbing the water everywhere and filling bottles with it. I hope it works. While stuck in some mild traffic on the way home, we watched many entertainers working for change. There were several jugglers and one truely impressive man using flaming trick sticks to shine.
We also did laundry for the first time in two months so that was a luxury that we appreciate immensely. The next morning we feasted on french toast, coffee and fruit and fled to the carribbean beaches whilst stopping at the bank and another empanada stand. At one point we were lost trying to find the bus and a very concerned boy left what he was doing to rush us to the correct bus stop a fifteen minute walk away. He was kind and over the top with his assistance.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
Sorry I have not been attending to your needs lately but sometimes a girl needs a break. Anywho I'm back with a few extraordinary stories that should make up for lost time. I do not know what day of the week it is, the date or the time but I know we are in Costa Rica. We just arrived in Peurto Viejo, Limon on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. It was a four and a half hour bus ride from San Jose, but with company like Tyson, I cannot complain.
Couchsurfing in Ciudad Colon was one of the best experiences we have had. The family we stayed with were warm and kind and very accustomed to having strangers in their home. During the day we ate a great breakfast courtosy of our surfing friends and head out for a "hike". The only difference was that this hike was not in a park but rather it was private property in the jungle, so their were no trails or paths. It was all forest with knee high bushes and grass that we walked through oblivious to the living predators hidden within. The area is riddled with tarantulas, lethal viper snakes, alligators and jaguars among other potantially fatal animals. These animals and more are pictured on my facebook page. Regardless of this minor factor, we forged on like soldiers on a mission to prove our bravery to the world. We were also warned to watch out for the trees with thorns that house fighter ants. If this trees is touched, thousands of the ants will drop on us and bite their way free. It had happened plenty of times to the owners of the property. Luckily we made the hike, got to the river and back up to safe lands with only minor scratches and lots of sweat.
We walked into town and explored for a while so that the maid could have space to clean and such. Their maid of 17 years now gets paid a whopping $2 an hour and their gardener the same. Walking around the area reminded me of every movie I had seen that was set in a tropical paradise. It is peaceful and green and lovely. The homes are humble but beautiful. It seemed that most people built their own places. There was an organic fruit market and craft area. As a bonus, Costa Rica is one of the only countries who does not have an army! No military, guns or soldiers and it is still safe, imagine that! Ticos (Costa Ricans) are very proud of this fact and are quick to brag about it. I would be too.
After our walk we went to visit a Bahai friend who happened to live up the road. Our hosts were good friends and neighbors with them, it is a very small and interesting world. Their home was like a dream. The property was huge and they had bought it bare. They planted every flower and tree that was now present and built the two homes. It is diffifult to explain except that the garden was gorgeous and the bamboo was now over 60 feet tall. The house had great detail and design and even included a prayer room at the very top in the form of a tree house. The bedroom doors opened up into a large balcony with a view of lush green forests and water. I could live there. We tried some Costa Rican desserts and pastries along with the world famous coffee. During the walk home I lost my dreading tool so over the next few days until I purchased two more, my hair began to look like a freakish monster until I was able to kind of tame it to reasonable human standards again.
That night we had beans and rice for dinner which is the staple diet of a large majority of Costa Ricans. Then we had brownies and apple cake. Everything we ate was home made and home grown.
Our host told us many bedtime stories of common occurences in her home. She also made it clear that she does not want to hear anything about any living animals or insects in her home. For example there are many scorpians that hide in shoes or folded towels because they like the warmth and security. She also said to watch for the tarantulas that hide under the bed and on the ceiling fans. One time she turned on the fan and a large tarantula fell into her mouth. She also warned that many of the snakes we would see are poisonous. Lastly she warned us not to kill the six by four inch cockroaches we see around because they are harmless. So with this we went downstairs and Tyson insisted that I do a check of every nook and cranny of the room before he could sleep.
The next day we fussed over some errands and caught a bus back to San Jose where we ate way to many empanadas and caught another bus to Heredia. Here we met with another guy off of couchsurfing. He worked at the university which was really neat. They were having some kind of event where they were handing out condoms and drawing pee pees and yoo hoos everywhere. We hung out with our awesome new friend for a few hours. He offered us a place to stay but we had already made arrangements to stay with someone else we didn't know. We did plan to travel with him next weekend to Arenal Volcano though. Then we got picked up by a brother and sister of a friend of my mothers. In the home there was a mother with her two grown children. They had kindly invited us over to spend a few nights with them. Here we tried the famous Tico fruit called Guanawana. We both fell deeply in love with it. The next morning we had a huge delicious breakfast and rushed off to explore. We got driven around in a fancy sports car all day. We saw the La Paz waterfall which were lovely but sadly Iguazzu falls has ruined waterfalls for us since nothing can compare. Then we saw the highlight of the day, Poas Volcano and crater. One of the active volcanos in the area. Unfortunately a huge earthquake a couple of years ago trashed most of the access to this area so we had to get creative and use alternative means to get to the park. We saw many animals here and hiked to a lake that decievingly looks wonderful to swim in but it is composed of toxins and acids. This lake is 4000 meters deep.
Then we drove to another volcano but did not make it before closing so instead our generous guide took us to a typical tico restaurant where we tried many dishes. We tried a flat bread topped with sour cream and cheese. Then we tried a tamale that I caannot describe adequately but I shall try: corn bread wrapped in a leaf with cheese and pork..? Another dish that I also cannot name was a huge plate of fried sweet plantains, thinly cut steaks, seasoned potatos, soft taco shells, beans, rice and salsa salad. Then for dessert we tried typical sweets like sweetened coconut shavings and peanut cakes. I hope there were no calories in all of this.
We stopped on the way home to see the biggest cathedral in the country. It was beautiful and we took many pictures. We also drank holy water, some of which I rubbed on my funky arm to heal it. The ticos were rubbing the water everywhere and filling bottles with it. I hope it works. While stuck in some mild traffic on the way home, we watched many entertainers working for change. There were several jugglers and one truely impressive man using flaming trick sticks to shine.
We also did laundry for the first time in two months so that was a luxury that we appreciate immensely. The next morning we feasted on french toast, coffee and fruit and fled to the carribbean beaches whilst stopping at the bank and another empanada stand. At one point we were lost trying to find the bus and a very concerned boy left what he was doing to rush us to the correct bus stop a fifteen minute walk away. He was kind and over the top with his assistance.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving a message:)