Top 10 things I will miss about Costa Rica

1. My Tico friends and family
2. Batidos (fresh fruit blended with milk..yumm)
3. Waterfalls and sunsets
4. Copious amounts of coffee always available
5. The Ketchup! (they make it with real sugar here, and much less salt, so delicious)
6. Granizados (snowcones but better with powdered milk in the middle and condensed milk on top, que rico!)
7. Hammocks
8. Wearing flip flops everyday
9. Horse Parades and Iguana crossing signs (instead of deer crossing)
10. Finally, I will miss the spanish and especially the Costa Rican slang like, Pura Vida mae, and the slow paced life style that comes along with it.

The Peanut Butter and Jelly Saga - Part II

Heading into our second week of travels we left Samara beach Monday to join Kurt´s family vacation yet again, this time in Rincon de La Vieja National Park. After graciously insisting Maisie and I sleep at their air conditioned (16 c) resort Sunday night, we were refreshed and ready to give the public bus system another shot. But, yet again, it was not with out hiccups.

After late buses and non existent but much needed bathrooms, Kurt and his brother, Peter, picked us up in Liberia. We quickly realized that contrary to our plans, there was no way maisie and I could have gotten around Rincon without a family or a car (or a LOT of cash to blow on taxis). Thankful for the kindness of the Davies family, we had a pleasant few days watching sunsets, eating great meals, hiking around craters, sitting in hot springs, and bathing ourselves in mud baths. When it was finally time to leave tears were shed as we shared a movie like goodbye from the back of our bus on the highway.

Off to Tamarindo (also known as TamaGRINGO), we welcomed the tourist development because it reminded us of home. It will be a nice transition destination as we head back to the great US of A Thursday. The first few days here were very relaxed and lazy days filled with beach time, runs, reading, naps, sunsets, movies, and, of course, PB and J´s. Now things have picked up as Kurt missed us (and we him) so much that he changed his flight from Saturday to Thursday. Now he is here with us and the good times are rolling. Today Edwin, my homestay brother, joins us for our last few days at the beach before we head back to San Jose early Wednesday morning.

Finally - a CR Vacation

School is officially over but for many of us, the adventure in Costa Rica continues. Finally, we have become those tourists that we studied and interacted with all semester, and I have to say, it's all it's cracked up to be, even on a budget. Our unfortunate mosquito cave rooms, PB and Jelly sandwiches, and the public transportation cannot overshadow the picturesque beaches, rythmic waves, and illuminating sunsets.

Maisie and I wasted no time getting to the beach. We took the 4 am shuttle from our school, stored our bags in San Jose, and hurried to the bus station in San Jose. But, just as for any first-time alone travelers, our plans did not go smoothly. We arrived at the station at 6:15, only to learn the bus was at 6am, not 7, and the next bus wasn't until 2:30 pm. Our hearty laughs were quickly followed by yawns as we picked a nice cafe to bum in for the day.

Montezuma was a cute little beach town with interesting restaurants and shops. Good thing for us, students on a budget, the beaches were beautiful and free. While we were there we hiked a waterfall, explored town , lounged on the beach and took a nice walk to visit a sea turtle hatchery that my friend, Hayley, volunteered at last fall.

Two nights a 3 PB and J's later, we were off to Playa Samara to meet up with our friend Kurt and his family. But, not before another hiccup. Turns out it is impossible to go north from Montezuma without a car of your own. Long story short, we had to drop some serious cash to take a private shuttle to Samara.

Instantly, the money was worth all the trouble. The beaches, the sunset, the waves - all out of a dream. We met up with Kurt and his family and joined them in surf lessons and beach meals. His parents even saved us from our mosquito cave hostel and let us stay in their resort with them. Maisie and I are both in awe of how welcoming his family has been to us, taking us to dinner and now taking us all the way to Rincon de la Vieja to stay with them, yet again, in their resort.

So we're off to enjoy these next few days of a "family" vacation, and then it's back to the beach for our student budget that may avoid the expenditures of a family vacation, but misses out on that group dynamic with parents, siblings and friends that is most certainly filled with laughter and good spirits.

Waterfalls, bonfires, soccer, horse parades - oh, and LOTS of writing

Budgeting my time correctly - the last seven days of Directed Research paper writing weren't so bad. Somehow, despite the long days staring at my computer screen and getting way too familiar with excel and statistics, I still managed so squeeze in some fun.

By day four I was finally done with my graphs and tables - so this called for celebration. A night time hike to the nearby waterfall was in order. The waterfall is huge and pours over some rocky dirt cliffs into a pristine pool. Hot from the hike - we wasted no time getting in the water, which quickly cooled us off. After spending time letting the water beat down on us from above, our chills got the best of us. Perfect timing - we swam to shore to be greeted by a roaring bonfire and smores. For those who know me well, they understand that I am currently describing my own personal heaven.

The next day was again full of writing and researching and lots of coffee. The evening however, brought about a refreshing and new experience. Before coming to Costa Rica, I had never seen, or even heard of, a horse parade. Turns out their a hoot here with the Ticos - they love them. Though I'm still not sure what the excitement is in a bunch of horses walking through the streets, pooping all over the place - I can appreciate the festivities that accompany them. Food, alcohol, cowboy hats, carnivals, dancing, music and more food. Makes for a great night - and the horse pies only add for some fresh obstacles on my morning run.

Sunday morning and my paper was mostly finished. Excellent for me because I was headed to the La Liga playoff game versus Puntarenas. La Liga is Saprissa's biggest rival, and seeing as I was first a Saprissa fan, I was not about to follow many of my classmates and switch teams. No I'd stick with my original team, but doesn't mean I couldn't go and enjoy an amazing game of soccer. Turns out La Liga has an incredible left back who I was mesmerized watching. Now I just wonder, can a fan have a favorite player who doesn't play for their favorite team? La Liga won 3-2, despite dominating completely.

Now our papers have been handed back to us and the final editing process is coming to a close. Final presentations and we're all done here at the School for Field Studies.

Research in Paradise

The past six days were spent in the field as we split into four groups for the Directed Research portion of the program. Since I chose Professor Achim's project on sustainable tourism I got to spend my time doing research in the most popular tourist destination in Costa Rica - Manuel Antonio National Park.

It made for a rough life the past week. Strolling along the beaches, my feet covered in sand thanks to those sneaky waves that swirled around my ankles. Talking with tourists and locals, my surveys practically filled themselves out. Hiking every trail within the park, I am now a pro at using my naked eye as a range finder. Walking in the morning and evenings, my paper complete with the lists of mammals we spotted from the transects. Yeah, life was difficult.

I had to constantly remind myself, amongst the breathtaking viewpoints, the trickling waterfalls, the cute squirrel monkeys, and the turquoise blue water, that I was, in fact, at "school".

All in all, the days flew by. I met some very interesting people - most from the US I can relate to in some way since I've lived and traveled on both coasts. I chatted with Ticos on the weekends and translated for park rangers. We held workshops for the guides and rangers that addressed their (passive aggressive) concerns within the park.

Even the "terrible" (Achim's quote, I think the Germans have much higher sanitary standards) cabinas that we stayed in or the excessive humidity and bug bites couldn't bring us down. Cockroaches in our stuff, mice terds on the beds, frogs in the rooms, ants on the walls, bathrooms that reeked, showers that dripped cold water - it was convenient that we were exhausted each night so we just passed out amongst it all tucked away under our mosquito nets .

The results from our mammal sighting competition are still being calculated (numbers are that high). But we can officially say that Peter won the bug bite contest, though Nell was a close second. And the pounds of baked goods that made the trip down the Pacific Coast from our kitchen in Atenas are all officially gone - having lasted us far longer than anticipated. Suddenly our field research is complete - and thus we are reunited with the other groups for a final two weeks at our center.

Let the graph analyzing and paper writing begin. But not before a trip or two to Yayo's.

“You can do it, just drop the bungee”

Just like that, we made our reservation. With little time to plan our second weekend away, we didn’t think through our decision. Conveniently, this also left no time for me to inform my parents of the jump I was scheduled to make Sunday morning.

Almost forgetting the purpose of our stay in San Jose Saturday night, we checked into our hostel, walked around the main street, bought ripped movies, ate dinner and listened to famous street performers. After relaxing on the rooftop of our hostel and enjoying the cool evening and city lights, we went to bed early, knowing we needed to be rested in order to achieve perfect form on our swan dives the following morning.

My day started with a jump, as I was startled in my bed by a strange man calling out “Peter?” and shining his lighter on my face. Despite this rude early morning awakening, we all somehow managed to sleep thru my alarm. Not to worry, our shuttle hadn’t left us and we arrived at the Old Colorado Bridge to test our fates around 9 am.

Dan jumped first. His flawless swan dive made it seem so easy. This was going to be cake. Why were we even nervous?

“I felt like I was going to die!”

Thanks, Dan. We’re all so excited to jump now.

No matter, Kurt took his tumble of faith second and finished with a beaming smile. It was my turn. I’d had enough time to think about it, now it was just time to do it. Without wasting any time, I walked to the edge of the platform, took one look down at the river canyon below and took one deep breath, dropped the bungee and leaped out as far out as I could.

Then I screamed. The realization hit, I just threw myself off a bridge!? What was I thinking?! Ohh, but how exhilarating it was. The thrilling screams turned to uncontrollable laughter. I was so high on adrenaline, I couldn’t control my giddiness. Suddenly it all just seemed so hilarious. Why do people, why did I, throw myself off a bridge, just for fun? And why was I so scared to do it? Suddenly problems and stresses of life seemed so trivial.

Things are never as big or important as we make them out to be in our own minds. Instead of worrying, a lo hecho pecho, things will work out the way they’re meant to. And for now, I just focus on loving every moment I’m living.

With no way to articulate this sensation and clarity to Maisie after I was right side up again, she was letting her nerves spin out of control. After many checks of her carabineers and skeptical looks at the worker, she inched her way onto the platform. A few more minutes of encouragement and she finally let go of the bungee and the countdown began. 5-4-3-2-1, sure enough, into the canyon she went, screaming just like I did.

My parents and friends asked me why I do these crazy things. I used to think I just liked the thrill, but now I realize there’s more to it. I do it for the combination of the anticipation before - followed by the hilarious realization after - that brings a sense of clarity to all aspects of my life.

I’m sorry mom, but I’d do it again.

SJF 2010 and Volcán Barú

The adventure began as soon as our pencils hit the desks. Finally, our last final was finished and break suddenly appeared in front of us. What we had been looking ahead to for so long was now. We were off to publicize our Save the Jaguars Foundation and summit the tallest peak in Panama, Vocán Barú. For SJF, that meant we rushed to a bus to San Jose and then took another bus, this one eight hours, all the way to Costa Rica's southern border.

We arrived (exhausted) at Paso Canoas at midnight and were annoyingly accompanied by an over friendly homeless man who acted as if he knew we were coming and just where we were going. He decided we were lost and needed his guidance thru the border town, and therefore owed him a tip. Seeing as we had our own guide, Jay, we saw his unwelcome help as a burden rather than a necessity. After a horrible nights sleep in the hole in the wall hostel we awoke early to walk across the border. After crossing we secured a private bus to Boquete and the joviality began.

Thursday was spent walking around the mountain town of Boquete and preparing our minds, bodies, and backpacks for the hike that was scheduled to begin at 11 pm that night. We ate big meals, napped and bought snacks for fuel. After power hours of hydration and pre-gaming water shots we were all hydrated and ready to hike. We arrived at the trail head at 11:30 and wasted no moonlight waiting around.

We were a big group and so naturally we separated into smaller groups as we completed the 5 or more hour hike thru the night. Thank god for the moonlight and headlamps, with out them lighting our way we all would have tripped up on the loose volcanic rocks that littered the trail the entire way. Despite the tragic trail conditions, the hike was worth it as soon as we got to the top. We arrived with plenty of time before sunset and awaited in the cold until the reds, oranges and yellows started to stream thru the clouds.

We were above it all. Blankets of clouds flowed like thick streams and water falls around the peak of our volcano. It was as if we were king of the rock, standing in the middle as a river flows all around us just as the sun begins to rise and bleed color. Between the clouds we got glimpses of the Pacific coast and of the valleys below. The cross marks the highest point in the entire country. There have been times when I have felt on top of the world, but now I can actually say I physically have been. Or at least, I've been on the top of Panamá.