- Survival Spanish = stringing together all the words you know in Spanish w/gestures, vocal intonation, and self-effacing laughter.
- You must have a camel toe or go home and put your jeans in the dryer right now. O, come mas frijoles negros y arroz.
- Funerals in CR involve carrying a casket down the middle of the dust basin/road- and don't forget your best flip flops and camel toe. Camels don't take the day off just b/c somebody died.
- The best way to transport a dead calf is by wheelbarrow.
- "Chacos" = an ancient word for dirty feet
- **For best results, water your gravel daily. If this gravel happens to be in the middle of the road, so be it. This rule applies to stray dogs as well. **
- The real Bavaria, Germany never made a beer as good as Costa Rica made Bavaria, cerveceria Costa Rica
- When in CR, watch for falling bottles of Coca-Cola. They burst open to become beautiful Coke fountains, bathing you all in their sticky goodness.
- still doesn't get Lucia's feet clean, though
- Traditional CR'can Breakfast: beans, rice, egg
- Traditional CR'can Lunch: beans, rice, plaintain
- Traditional CR'can Dinner: beans, rice, bistec
- Sara y Lucia's Breakfast: jamon, queso, pan con vegetales, mantequilla, mostaza
- Sara y Lucia's Lunch: soy chips
- Sara y Lucia's Dinner: see breakfast menu
- San Jose: not the shithole everyone, namely the Bible, says it is
- The worst road in CR: valiant attempt at shaking all the excess black beans and rice weight out of you
- Tamarindo: sweatiest place in the Western hemisphere
- Beware commenting on Lucia's driving. It leads to immediate brushes with death
- Diahatsu Terios: Like a rock. w/very small seats and shitty shocks, but a full sized spare tire.
- Apparently, construction workers in Alaska make enough money to go on vacation for 6 months each year. In contrast, construction workers in CR work 7 days/week starting at 6 am sharp.
- Don't befriend the first girl you meet at the hostel
- TACA/LACSA airlines: not as shady as it sounds. But your snackie will be jalapeno flavored plaintain chips at 4 am.
- Forget the euphemisms for mineral water, it just has gas here
- Surprisingly expensive items at the grocery store: queso cottage, deli-style mustard, turkey en varias rebanadas
- Cheapest grocery item: bananas at 4 cents
- Tap water: 100% safe to drink!
- Mayonesa: so popular it has its own book
- Scarce: paper towels/napkins or pretty much anything to wipe your hands on.
- All eligible bachelors are 19 or younger and think slut is a dirty word
- German backpackers, not as charming as you have been led to believe. For that matter, the American ones aren't either.
- Rando' dogs.
- En resumen: Helluva good time. Pura Vida.
We're out,
Las Ticas
P.S. Por favor, comment copiously to show you appreciated our efforts to keep you entertained :)
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Enjoy that Bavaria Light, it could be your last
Lucia:
Our last night in Latin America Lite. We sit here at Kap's place, with our 55/night room, but it is delightful. Sure, it is by far the most expensive night we have spent, but we have a TV! And the common areas all to ourselves.
We (gasp!) went to the grocery store to get the makings for dinner. But, this time I actually got stuff to cook, so I had chorizo argentina and chorizo tico, with mixed veg
gie stir fry, and yes, black beans.
gie stir fry, and yes, black beans. I also got some fruit for dessert. The mango cutting was a debacle, and the little bananas, were well, small.
This reminded Sara of a funny thing that was said at the Tamarindo bar, Monkey Bar: "yes, that Chink must be the Jew you are referring to"
Here is yet another fond memory from that night: ButtCrack guy number two. Yeah, it is true, there were more than one of them that night. Like we said, it was hot and I suppose you do whatever you can to cool off.
So, as we sit here and drink our last Costa Rican cervezas we toast a great vacation.
Pura Vida!
Lucia y Sara
Todo en espanol!
Sara- "Hola."Random mujer on the other end- "Quiero hablar con Alberto, por favor."
S- "Quien?"
RMOTOE- "Alberto"
S-"No es [sic] aqui"
RMOTOE- "Gracias"
SCOOORE!
P.S. In the middle of the night, I woke for a pee break and suddenly realized the grammatical error in my phone conversation. Not es, but *esta*, of course. Shame drove me out of bed and into the common area in my PJs to acknowledge my error immediately.
You had to wait, but it was worth it
we know that you all have enjoyed reading the blog. And that we have done a great job of painting pictures with words, but haven't posted any actual pictures!
Next is what we did while in La Fortuna. Before you get your hopes up, there are no pictures of Eskimo and Boring Barbara. Sara couldn't stand to be near them long enough to get a shot.
Here is Lucia on a horse(Lucia did not choose this photo, as it is muy unflattering):
After all that time on the horse, here is the view from the top (before we climb down the 700 steep and winding steps):
What about Mrs Robinson's little boy toy? Oh yes, we got a shot with him. (you know that he was in love with Sara because he had his friend take one on his camera too. how sweet)
Besides being the home of the lecherous white boys, Tamarindo is home to some vicious bugs. Sara uses 40% DEET as a mosquito repellant/aphrodisiac. Notice that she sprays it everywhere. Everywhere. 
Little known fact about the Pacific coast of Costa Rica - it actually slants downhill to the North. odd, isn't it?
In case you were worried about what kind of hellish conditions our 35 bucks/night got out in Tamarindo, here is the view from our little patio and then the little patio itself. 
And then, lastly, a bit of the absurd that comes with traveling, here is a shot of the local San Jose' grocery store and their maxipads being sold out of a cooler:
Here we catch you up:
The Arenal Volcano, view as we drove from San Jose' to our first hotel in La Fortuna. It looked just as cool from our hotel. Notice that you can see the top. the LP tells us that this is rare as it usually covered in clouds/smoke.
Next is what we did while in La Fortuna. Before you get your hopes up, there are no pictures of Eskimo and Boring Barbara. Sara couldn't stand to be near them long enough to get a shot.Here is Sara "canyoning":
Here is Lucia on a horse(Lucia did not choose this photo, as it is muy unflattering):
After all that time on the horse, here is the view from the top (before we climb down the 700 steep and winding steps): What about Mrs Robinson's little boy toy? Oh yes, we got a shot with him. (you know that he was in love with Sara because he had his friend take one on his camera too. how sweet) Besides being the home of the lecherous white boys, Tamarindo is home to some vicious bugs. Sara uses 40% DEET as a mosquito repellant/aphrodisiac. Notice that she sprays it everywhere. Everywhere. Little known fact about the Pacific coast of Costa Rica - it actually slants downhill to the North. odd, isn't it? In case you were worried about what kind of hellish conditions our 35 bucks/night got out in Tamarindo, here is the view from our little patio and then the little patio itself. And then, lastly, a bit of the absurd that comes with traveling, here is a shot of the local San Jose' grocery store and their maxipads being sold out of a cooler:More pictures to be posted from Lucia's 35 mm whenever they get developed and put on CD.
Those are NOT the rules of Asshole, but buddy, you are one.
Lucia:
I am sorry if I got your hopes up. Certainly a beach town teeming with drunken white boys would seem to be the setting for success. or possibly one of those afterschool specials. Either way, it was a dud.
We began the night with grocery store dinner and a few beers. by a few I mean that Sara had one and I drank 6. Then Sara didn't want to go out too early, she wanted to wait for our six neighbors before heading out. I see her point, it is possible that every town we had been in thus far did have a nightlife but that when we went seeking it at the ripe hour of 8pm it had not yet begun. But, I was a six pack (oh, and they were those really tall cans...) to the wind, what to do with that potential. ah, I laid in the bed with the light off and the ceiling fan on high. It was hot I tell you, very very hot. Then, Sara finally roused me and we went over to join The Neighbors for a game of asshole.
I played a round or seventy million of asshole in my college years. Funny, I forgot though how much it makes me hate the people I am playing with. They only had room at the table for one more chair, so Sara and I played together. Meaning that Sara held the cards and suffered the brunt of their rudeness as I sat behind her and tried to advise. Unfortunately my college friends played a different variation on asshole with the only real similarity being that it still makes people act like pricks.
So, we played a couple hands, never moving out of the asshole position (oh yes, that is right, they made us start in the asshole spot) and then finally got up to go to the bar.
The highlight was really making fun of everyone else. My buzz permanently departed even though I had two more beers at the bar. I feel like Todd would have advised doing a shot to get back on track, but Sara wasn't drinking at all and it just felt depressing.
I will tell you that a five foot tall native looking (is that degrading to say that?) guy asked me to dance. And I did think long and hard about going to hit on the guy that we dubbed Contemplating Suicide, but he disappeared right when I was getting up the nerve.
On the whole, it was WAY too hot in Tamarindo for me. Even if I had found someone I would have freaked out at the thought of touching them in this crazy heat.
If the Friday night described above is not pathetic enough for you, then you don't even want to know what we did (well, what I did. I don't know where Sara went) on Saturday. I will give you a hint, it involved two beers, dinner, and then laying in bed with the lights off and the ceiling fan on super high. Oh, and listening to podcasts from my iPod. wowza. I really know how to live it up, don't I?
Lucia
I am sorry if I got your hopes up. Certainly a beach town teeming with drunken white boys would seem to be the setting for success. or possibly one of those afterschool specials. Either way, it was a dud.
We began the night with grocery store dinner and a few beers. by a few I mean that Sara had one and I drank 6. Then Sara didn't want to go out too early, she wanted to wait for our six neighbors before heading out. I see her point, it is possible that every town we had been in thus far did have a nightlife but that when we went seeking it at the ripe hour of 8pm it had not yet begun. But, I was a six pack (oh, and they were those really tall cans...) to the wind, what to do with that potential. ah, I laid in the bed with the light off and the ceiling fan on high. It was hot I tell you, very very hot. Then, Sara finally roused me and we went over to join The Neighbors for a game of asshole.
I played a round or seventy million of asshole in my college years. Funny, I forgot though how much it makes me hate the people I am playing with. They only had room at the table for one more chair, so Sara and I played together. Meaning that Sara held the cards and suffered the brunt of their rudeness as I sat behind her and tried to advise. Unfortunately my college friends played a different variation on asshole with the only real similarity being that it still makes people act like pricks.
So, we played a couple hands, never moving out of the asshole position (oh yes, that is right, they made us start in the asshole spot) and then finally got up to go to the bar.
The highlight was really making fun of everyone else. My buzz permanently departed even though I had two more beers at the bar. I feel like Todd would have advised doing a shot to get back on track, but Sara wasn't drinking at all and it just felt depressing.
I will tell you that a five foot tall native looking (is that degrading to say that?) guy asked me to dance. And I did think long and hard about going to hit on the guy that we dubbed Contemplating Suicide, but he disappeared right when I was getting up the nerve.
On the whole, it was WAY too hot in Tamarindo for me. Even if I had found someone I would have freaked out at the thought of touching them in this crazy heat.
If the Friday night described above is not pathetic enough for you, then you don't even want to know what we did (well, what I did. I don't know where Sara went) on Saturday. I will give you a hint, it involved two beers, dinner, and then laying in bed with the lights off and the ceiling fan on super high. Oh, and listening to podcasts from my iPod. wowza. I really know how to live it up, don't I?
Lucia
Friday, March 30, 2007
on the cusp
Folks, I don´t want to get your hopes up, but tonight is looking promising.
Today Sara y yo drove from Monteverde/Santa Elena to Tamarindo, which if you will remember was well reported as a den of iniquity. (not idea if I spelled that right. I am four beers in and Sara isn´t here)
We arrived after several bone jarring hours of travel - we have braved some bad roads, a random policia checkpoint and what Sara describes as the worst bathroom ever. if you get a chance you should ask her about the sesame bagel. and you should ask me about how not to consume so much liquid that peeing in such bathrooms is necessary. your kidneys will not fail and you will not be subjected to such atrocities.
We are staying in Villa Macondo (reference to a book that I am half way through, don't I feel in the know...) - which is actually adorable. we have a little patio with a table and three chairs and our own hammock overlooking a pool courtyard that is well landscaped. I am thrilled that we get all of this, our own beds and our own bathroom for 35/night. I admit to pushing Sara to the LP´s midrange pick. I could not stand another night in a dorm room. forgive me, but that whole thing just isn't charming to me. If I want to make out with an eskimo, my first thought should not be about our 6 roommates.
Well, well, if our next door neighbors aren't six fair to average looking boys that are out to drink and have a good time.
I will keep you posted,
Lucia (these keyboards are crazy. I can´t type for the life of me. and then when you think that your con accento is going to work, denied! augh.
PS Kevin and Molly, thanks for your comments. Kevin, I am glad that you share my fear of monkeys, if not for the same reasons. Molly, no natives. none. that was a pact that Sara and I agreed upon. I don´t care if they can dance.
Today Sara y yo drove from Monteverde/Santa Elena to Tamarindo, which if you will remember was well reported as a den of iniquity. (not idea if I spelled that right. I am four beers in and Sara isn´t here)
We arrived after several bone jarring hours of travel - we have braved some bad roads, a random policia checkpoint and what Sara describes as the worst bathroom ever. if you get a chance you should ask her about the sesame bagel. and you should ask me about how not to consume so much liquid that peeing in such bathrooms is necessary. your kidneys will not fail and you will not be subjected to such atrocities.
We are staying in Villa Macondo (reference to a book that I am half way through, don't I feel in the know...) - which is actually adorable. we have a little patio with a table and three chairs and our own hammock overlooking a pool courtyard that is well landscaped. I am thrilled that we get all of this, our own beds and our own bathroom for 35/night. I admit to pushing Sara to the LP´s midrange pick. I could not stand another night in a dorm room. forgive me, but that whole thing just isn't charming to me. If I want to make out with an eskimo, my first thought should not be about our 6 roommates.
Well, well, if our next door neighbors aren't six fair to average looking boys that are out to drink and have a good time.
I will keep you posted,
Lucia (these keyboards are crazy. I can´t type for the life of me. and then when you think that your con accento is going to work, denied! augh.
PS Kevin and Molly, thanks for your comments. Kevin, I am glad that you share my fear of monkeys, if not for the same reasons. Molly, no natives. none. that was a pact that Sara and I agreed upon. I don´t care if they can dance.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Joint post - possibly drunken
Lucía:
Primero we would like to thank you (meaning the four of you that are reading this) for commenting. you can´t know the throes (HOLD THE BOAT -Sara claims that throes is the correct spelling and I have no idea, but I was going to spell it throws. We both agree that 11 frogs will crucify us if we spell it wrong. I feel like a certain IS group lead that thinks that moot is spelled mute and can´t fathom why a country in the same hemisphere as the US would need an army of its own - so I am going with Sara. She probably has the higher IQ anyhow, safe bet. or, as she suggests, paid $120,000 more for her ¨number 14th ranked school in the nation¨education than Lucía, who was actually paid to attend her school, but it isn´t ranked pretty much anywhere.) of laughter that it sent us into in the common area of our hostel. The Possibly German, but Definitely Foreign boys at the computer next to us really enjoyed it. or continued to enjoy the pictures of girls leaning over and didn´t pay us any attention. whatever.
Loud, we are excited to hear what entering the next level of hell entails. we could probably find your blog, but umm, we can´t with the current state of the six pack of Bavaria Light that we bought at the Supermercado cerca de our hostel.
I want to just say that I did enjoy "our" hike, it was great. I went slower, with frequent stops, but I feel like I know the forest now. I tried to focus on the smell, so that I could remember that. Weird. I know.
Anyhow, I was scared (nearly to peeing in my pants) by howler monkeys. I seriously believed that a large pig or rodent like animal would be running down the path at me at the next bend. The adorable backpacker that Sara mentions was the one that I saw that corrected my erroneous worries. He and I spotted the monkeys together and it seemed like he got some good pictures with his long lens. nice looking lens, that.
okay, Sara and I are out and about on our last night in Santa Elena. We suspect that there is a hidden hot spot somewhere in this four mule town, and we are aching to find it.
To not leave anything to fate, we are headed to Tamarindo next which our bible, the LP describes such:
In the span of a few years, Tamarindo has changed from a small beach town into a well to do suburb of North American and European ex-pats...it´s easy to criticize Tamarindo, but it is what it is. If you came to CR to party all night long, sleep with strangers, and surf some great waves welcome to paradise.
Pura Vida!
Lucía
Primero we would like to thank you (meaning the four of you that are reading this) for commenting. you can´t know the throes (HOLD THE BOAT -Sara claims that throes is the correct spelling and I have no idea, but I was going to spell it throws. We both agree that 11 frogs will crucify us if we spell it wrong. I feel like a certain IS group lead that thinks that moot is spelled mute and can´t fathom why a country in the same hemisphere as the US would need an army of its own - so I am going with Sara. She probably has the higher IQ anyhow, safe bet. or, as she suggests, paid $120,000 more for her ¨number 14th ranked school in the nation¨education than Lucía, who was actually paid to attend her school, but it isn´t ranked pretty much anywhere.) of laughter that it sent us into in the common area of our hostel. The Possibly German, but Definitely Foreign boys at the computer next to us really enjoyed it. or continued to enjoy the pictures of girls leaning over and didn´t pay us any attention. whatever.
Loud, we are excited to hear what entering the next level of hell entails. we could probably find your blog, but umm, we can´t with the current state of the six pack of Bavaria Light that we bought at the Supermercado cerca de our hostel.
I want to just say that I did enjoy "our" hike, it was great. I went slower, with frequent stops, but I feel like I know the forest now. I tried to focus on the smell, so that I could remember that. Weird. I know.
Anyhow, I was scared (nearly to peeing in my pants) by howler monkeys. I seriously believed that a large pig or rodent like animal would be running down the path at me at the next bend. The adorable backpacker that Sara mentions was the one that I saw that corrected my erroneous worries. He and I spotted the monkeys together and it seemed like he got some good pictures with his long lens. nice looking lens, that.
okay, Sara and I are out and about on our last night in Santa Elena. We suspect that there is a hidden hot spot somewhere in this four mule town, and we are aching to find it.
To not leave anything to fate, we are headed to Tamarindo next which our bible, the LP describes such:
In the span of a few years, Tamarindo has changed from a small beach town into a well to do suburb of North American and European ex-pats...it´s easy to criticize Tamarindo, but it is what it is. If you came to CR to party all night long, sleep with strangers, and surf some great waves welcome to paradise.
Pura Vida!
Lucía
Depende
Don´t want to speak for Lucia, but I think we both enjoyed hiking immensely. We arrived at the Santa Elena Reserve too late to take a guided tour. The Bible (Lonely Planet, henceforth known as LP, and for that matter I hope you can deal with CR=Costa Rica) had said you should basically just throw in the towel and go home rather than hike on your own. But after much circular debating, which mostly involved debating aloud with myself, we decided to forge ahead unaccompanied. Five minutes in, it became clear that we needed to move at different paces to accomplish each of our goals. (I recall, as if it were yesterday, 3 weeks of hiking with a previous travel companion in which I was always pushing to move faster and admire less, much to my companion´s dismay.)
I´ve come to realize that my definition of ¨hiking¨is indeed different from that of the general population. The whole nature thing- pish posh. What I need out of a good hike is an extreme challenge, interesting terrain, lots of sweating and cursing and panting. (Yes, I am still talking about hiking.) I don´t so much care about my surroundings as long as the weather is comfortable- again my definition differs from everyone else´s by 20 degrees- and the ground steady enough to keep up a fast clip. This morning, in 3 hours, I traversed a distance that the general population is advised will take 7.5 hours. I feel pretty good about that, but if I ever move to Costa Rica, I´ll probably try to shave an hour off my time.
You might think I didn´t appreciate Mother Nature at all, but let me tell you- es falso. It happened at the intersection of the Encantado trail and the Caño Negro trail. I had paused to get an audio clip of howler monkeys and take a few pictures (yes, I do that too)... and there it was. Fast approaching. A creation of perfect form, physique, coloring, and stature. Seriously, the hottest backpacker I´ve ever seen. This is the only photograph I regret not getting.
Lucia saw and spoke with him too. They shared a moment over a howler monkey sighting. Lucia apparently saw multiple howler monkeys and swears she saw a quetzal, although this claim has elicited somewhat dubious reactions from others. But I hope this made the morning worthwhile for her, because I really enjoyed mine.
On the drive back, I decided that I had seen the cloud forest well enough that my experience wouldn´t be enhanced by seeing it fly by me on a zipline. Plus, I´ve already done a zipline tour (and paid 3x as much for it as they charge here). I am really getting off on speaking horrifically bad Spanish with the locals and think that would make a better afternoon. However, for some reason Lucia does not want to go ziplining if I don´t go, thus I will be saddled with illogical guilt for the rest of the afternoon. How would I say that en español?
Special shout out to Patrick for the verbal encouragement! I will try to befriend more underage males to make this more interesting for you.
I´ve come to realize that my definition of ¨hiking¨is indeed different from that of the general population. The whole nature thing- pish posh. What I need out of a good hike is an extreme challenge, interesting terrain, lots of sweating and cursing and panting. (Yes, I am still talking about hiking.) I don´t so much care about my surroundings as long as the weather is comfortable- again my definition differs from everyone else´s by 20 degrees- and the ground steady enough to keep up a fast clip. This morning, in 3 hours, I traversed a distance that the general population is advised will take 7.5 hours. I feel pretty good about that, but if I ever move to Costa Rica, I´ll probably try to shave an hour off my time.
You might think I didn´t appreciate Mother Nature at all, but let me tell you- es falso. It happened at the intersection of the Encantado trail and the Caño Negro trail. I had paused to get an audio clip of howler monkeys and take a few pictures (yes, I do that too)... and there it was. Fast approaching. A creation of perfect form, physique, coloring, and stature. Seriously, the hottest backpacker I´ve ever seen. This is the only photograph I regret not getting.
Lucia saw and spoke with him too. They shared a moment over a howler monkey sighting. Lucia apparently saw multiple howler monkeys and swears she saw a quetzal, although this claim has elicited somewhat dubious reactions from others. But I hope this made the morning worthwhile for her, because I really enjoyed mine.
On the drive back, I decided that I had seen the cloud forest well enough that my experience wouldn´t be enhanced by seeing it fly by me on a zipline. Plus, I´ve already done a zipline tour (and paid 3x as much for it as they charge here). I am really getting off on speaking horrifically bad Spanish with the locals and think that would make a better afternoon. However, for some reason Lucia does not want to go ziplining if I don´t go, thus I will be saddled with illogical guilt for the rest of the afternoon. How would I say that en español?
Special shout out to Patrick for the verbal encouragement! I will try to befriend more underage males to make this more interesting for you.
Thursday - chock full of outdoorsiness
Lucía:
just checking in while Sara finished up her Kashi and super heated tea. We are off to the Santa Elena reserve to hike, then the canopy tour (meaning ziplines through trees) in the afternoon.
I find this to just be riddled with more opportunities for my legs to hurt, but I am fortified with three advil and three cups of superb cafe´.
what did we do last night you ask? how did the thrilling post about watching soccer end? umm, pretty anticlimactically. we were drunk, we went up to our room and fell asleep about 830 at night.
fun fun.
just checking in while Sara finished up her Kashi and super heated tea. We are off to the Santa Elena reserve to hike, then the canopy tour (meaning ziplines through trees) in the afternoon.
I find this to just be riddled with more opportunities for my legs to hurt, but I am fortified with three advil and three cups of superb cafe´.
what did we do last night you ask? how did the thrilling post about watching soccer end? umm, pretty anticlimactically. we were drunk, we went up to our room and fell asleep about 830 at night.
fun fun.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Comment you jerks!
why don´t you people comment? Sara y yo don´t believe that you are reading this blog.
Costa Rica versus Chile
Sara y Lucia are engaged in traditional Costa Rican entertainment, watching soccer. We are watching the Costa Rica/Chile match with the two boys who run the hostel. Sara, perhaps she was drunk, suggested that she would forego the two cute backpackers to have the cute hostel guy. And apparently this boy was on one of the Costa Rican soccer teams. whew... caliente.
Lucia.
oh, and we have been drinking beer. quite a few. and most recently the kind that Sara will drink, Bavaria Light. did you know that she had never had a non-light beer before this trip? oh si´senores, no full bodied beer for her. no Guiness, no pale ale, no wheat, augh. what a life?
Lucia.
oh, and we have been drinking beer. quite a few. and most recently the kind that Sara will drink, Bavaria Light. did you know that she had never had a non-light beer before this trip? oh si´senores, no full bodied beer for her. no Guiness, no pale ale, no wheat, augh. what a life?
False start
After blogging copiously last night, I was exhausted both mentally and physically; the positions of the computers in our La Fortuna hostel were far from egonomically correct. Slept great though. Shout out to the brand new pair of earplugs that annihilated the existence of my 7 roommates for a solid 8 hours. Lucia and I had agreed to begin the drive to Monteverde in the morning in case of any unforeseen misfortune. We didn´t have to wait long. I should have recognized that something was wrong when I brought my bags out to the car and the power locks weren´t working. I mean, sometimes I catch on quickly; I totally knew that guy in Sixth Sense was dead way before anyone else did. But common sense failed me on this one, and I didn´t recognize that we had a problem until Lucia turned the key and then turned the headlights into the off position, two days late. There was about as much response from the battery as there has been to this blog. (Let´s work on the comments, readers!)
Again, with Bolivia-level expectations in mind, I braced myself for a hassle and a half trying to remedy this situation. But it was entirely painless. An Alamo employee appeared in record time, brandishing jumper cables, and we were on our way along Lonely Planet´s, and Sara´s and Lucia´s, #1 road to avoid in Costa Rica.
Again, with Bolivia-level expectations in mind, I braced myself for a hassle and a half trying to remedy this situation. But it was entirely painless. An Alamo employee appeared in record time, brandishing jumper cables, and we were on our way along Lonely Planet´s, and Sara´s and Lucia´s, #1 road to avoid in Costa Rica.
Worst Road, pish posh!
Lucia:
We just arrived in Santa Elena, located in the cloud forest (not a bit cloudy right now though). Going from La Fortuna to Santa Elena meant going around the Lago de Arenal (Arenal Lake, a big lake in the middle of the mountains. Que Linda!) We got some gorgeous pictures, so watch for those posted in the future.
The drive included a non paved stretch from Tilaran to Santa Elena. This was a bit rough. But when it started I was very concerned about a flat tire, so I may or may not have been going zero on the spedometer. Sara suggested going a bit faster, so that we weren´t bouncing up and down and not even arriving for a million hours. Since not 20 minutes ago she had asked me to slow down (I was really getting into the whole curvy road thing) I thought this request was probable do-able.
funny thing about that request to slow down, it was followed not 1 curve later with a close brush with death in the form of a big semi taking the curve in the middle of the road. I laughed while Sara admonished, I don´t even find that funny.
Sort of sad to leave La Fortuna, well, actually sort of sad that I didn´t make out with the Eskimo. I felt like that was a checkbox that I will never get another chance at. I have to excuse Eskimo, as he probably doesn´t have great pick up skills being that he lives 30 miles from the village of 100 natives. But, there is no excuse for me, I certainly have the skills to make up for his deficit. I sort of thought about climbing into bed with him last night, but besides my complete and utter exhaustion that drove me to sleep with a full bladder rather than get up and go to the bathroom, I just couldn´t get past the 6 other people in our room. Those people, combined with the weird yellow light sliver from the outside lightbulb that fell on his bed, really made this whole thing sort of impossible. I don´t know how you hook up with a fellow backpacker at a hostel. It has been so long since I have been in college or on spring break, I forget how it works. oh, and the full bladder, no way I would have been able to make out with anyone.
so this morning I bid the Eskimo adios as well as Boring Barbara as she careened in some bike that she rented.
But, then after we had checked out and said our goodbyes, we were forced to come back in because our battery was dead. oh, that is a bit embarrassing.
By the way, when Sara and I came into this hostel, there was a girl, lets call her Not Japanese, but some kind of Asian girl, that Sara felt was way too annoying. While we are both sitting here at the computers the girl is asking a guy just trying to watch a soccer match if they have any really strong tea. I could feel Sara stiffen with suppressed rage. I think it is funny only because I am always the one that hates people upon first sight. on this trip Sara has instantly hated both Boring Barbara as well as Not Japanese, but some kind of Asian Girl. Now Not Japanese is asking these guys if they want to split a hamburger with her. seems inocuous, right? not so. Sara is mumbling under her breath, get out of here.
Back to the battery- Alamo to the rescue and not 30 minutos later we were on our way. Beautiful vista after beautiful vista... it was almost too much.
we once again ate a meal with a dog sleeping at our feet waiting for our crumbs. I find this charming, Sara not so much.
I can´t wait to bring my mother here, there is so much to see and she would really enjoy it.
it is like Latin America Lite. almost everyone speaks english, the roads are pretty good, the places fairly easy to find and so much to look at.
oh, and they take dollars. it is just such a great place. like somewhere in America except the people are all nice and it doesn´t have a single wal-mart.
paradise
Lucia.
We just arrived in Santa Elena, located in the cloud forest (not a bit cloudy right now though). Going from La Fortuna to Santa Elena meant going around the Lago de Arenal (Arenal Lake, a big lake in the middle of the mountains. Que Linda!) We got some gorgeous pictures, so watch for those posted in the future.
The drive included a non paved stretch from Tilaran to Santa Elena. This was a bit rough. But when it started I was very concerned about a flat tire, so I may or may not have been going zero on the spedometer. Sara suggested going a bit faster, so that we weren´t bouncing up and down and not even arriving for a million hours. Since not 20 minutes ago she had asked me to slow down (I was really getting into the whole curvy road thing) I thought this request was probable do-able.
funny thing about that request to slow down, it was followed not 1 curve later with a close brush with death in the form of a big semi taking the curve in the middle of the road. I laughed while Sara admonished, I don´t even find that funny.
Sort of sad to leave La Fortuna, well, actually sort of sad that I didn´t make out with the Eskimo. I felt like that was a checkbox that I will never get another chance at. I have to excuse Eskimo, as he probably doesn´t have great pick up skills being that he lives 30 miles from the village of 100 natives. But, there is no excuse for me, I certainly have the skills to make up for his deficit. I sort of thought about climbing into bed with him last night, but besides my complete and utter exhaustion that drove me to sleep with a full bladder rather than get up and go to the bathroom, I just couldn´t get past the 6 other people in our room. Those people, combined with the weird yellow light sliver from the outside lightbulb that fell on his bed, really made this whole thing sort of impossible. I don´t know how you hook up with a fellow backpacker at a hostel. It has been so long since I have been in college or on spring break, I forget how it works. oh, and the full bladder, no way I would have been able to make out with anyone.
so this morning I bid the Eskimo adios as well as Boring Barbara as she careened in some bike that she rented.
But, then after we had checked out and said our goodbyes, we were forced to come back in because our battery was dead. oh, that is a bit embarrassing.
By the way, when Sara and I came into this hostel, there was a girl, lets call her Not Japanese, but some kind of Asian girl, that Sara felt was way too annoying. While we are both sitting here at the computers the girl is asking a guy just trying to watch a soccer match if they have any really strong tea. I could feel Sara stiffen with suppressed rage. I think it is funny only because I am always the one that hates people upon first sight. on this trip Sara has instantly hated both Boring Barbara as well as Not Japanese, but some kind of Asian Girl. Now Not Japanese is asking these guys if they want to split a hamburger with her. seems inocuous, right? not so. Sara is mumbling under her breath, get out of here.
Back to the battery- Alamo to the rescue and not 30 minutos later we were on our way. Beautiful vista after beautiful vista... it was almost too much.
we once again ate a meal with a dog sleeping at our feet waiting for our crumbs. I find this charming, Sara not so much.
I can´t wait to bring my mother here, there is so much to see and she would really enjoy it.
it is like Latin America Lite. almost everyone speaks english, the roads are pretty good, the places fairly easy to find and so much to look at.
oh, and they take dollars. it is just such a great place. like somewhere in America except the people are all nice and it doesn´t have a single wal-mart.
paradise
Lucia.
Of horses and a million stairs
Lucia: warning, I have not read Sara's blog entries from earlier. I wanted you to hear my story in my own bland boring way :) - something about Costa Rica is making me not funny.
Yesterday Sara went canyoning in the morning. By the way, I think that canyoning is a bullshit word, developed by someone that wanted to capture more tourist business and I hate using it. perhaps I will just put it in italics to indicate my distain.
Sara went "canyoning" in the morning, so by afternoon I was ready to go do something. I chose horseback riding to the La Fortuna waterfall.
One, I see now that Sara and I had dressed poorly for the event. she had on shorts flip flops and I had on longer shorts and chacos, but you know how cowboys always have on long jeans and boots, yeah, that isn't just a fashion statement.
Then, I get Pechugo as my horse. Pechugo, if you can hear me, I feel so bad for you. I am sorry and I really should have brought apples or carrots or something for you.
So, we are climbing up these hills and Pechugo is sweating. I mean really dripping with sweat. I am feeling so guilty!
Then we get to the top, tie up the horse and walk up to the scenic lookout. it was a beautiful view of another waterfall (catarata in espanol). umm, where is our waterfall? just 300 steep and winding stairs down this cliff! oh, great.
I fell down a stair and broke my leg last year, but our tour guide doesn't know that, so I am taking my sweet time moving down the stairs, (also, my thighs were shaking... really need to work out some more) and I am sure that he just thought I was terribly out of shape.
we get to the bottom and the waterfall is beautiful. I am sure when ever we get the pictures posted they will be wonderful and I will wonder what all of this bellyaching is about.
anyhow, Sara clambors over a bunch of rocks to go closer to the falls, and I dont' want to just follow her. I need to find my own vista! I climb into the water and over a bunch of rocks. I can hear my mother yelling from the beach that I am going to twist an ankle and that I should be careful. I finally get to a dry rock, the view is great. I get my 35 mm camera out of the ziploc from the backpack on my back (oh, the back pack story, I bet that Sara covers this in her section) and get a couple good pictures. of course with the traditional film you don't know if these picture will be good or not, but I am hopeful.
then I sit and wait for Sara to return. she still isn't coming around the bend, so I figure I better start getting off these rocks. I start off, but I sort of lose my balance and splash! I fall into the pool below the rocks. umm, hope that there was nothing that wasn't waterproof in the bag... like a 35 mm camera.
so, finally we climb up 300 steep and winding steps through the jungle. the area was amazingly beautiful and scenic, which is why every ten steps I stopped to look around. not because my heartrate was 190/min and my legs wouldn't go any further. nope, it was because of the scenic natural beauty.
luckily Sara spent the entire time practicing her spanish with Alan, so I don't know if they were terribly inconvenienced by all the time that I spent admiring the natural beauty.
Then, wow, we get to get on our horses again. yeah. I mean Yeah! this is what I paid 30 bucks for, enjoy it Lucia!
surprisingly it was easier and shorter on the way back, I enjoyed the riding. I think that I want to take riding lessons this summer in Madison now. I emphasize lessons since I know that it has to be easier to do than it was on this trip.
Lucia
PS I was dead asleep by 8pm.
Yesterday Sara went canyoning in the morning. By the way, I think that canyoning is a bullshit word, developed by someone that wanted to capture more tourist business and I hate using it. perhaps I will just put it in italics to indicate my distain.
Sara went "canyoning" in the morning, so by afternoon I was ready to go do something. I chose horseback riding to the La Fortuna waterfall.
One, I see now that Sara and I had dressed poorly for the event. she had on shorts flip flops and I had on longer shorts and chacos, but you know how cowboys always have on long jeans and boots, yeah, that isn't just a fashion statement.
Then, I get Pechugo as my horse. Pechugo, if you can hear me, I feel so bad for you. I am sorry and I really should have brought apples or carrots or something for you.
So, we are climbing up these hills and Pechugo is sweating. I mean really dripping with sweat. I am feeling so guilty!
Then we get to the top, tie up the horse and walk up to the scenic lookout. it was a beautiful view of another waterfall (catarata in espanol). umm, where is our waterfall? just 300 steep and winding stairs down this cliff! oh, great.
I fell down a stair and broke my leg last year, but our tour guide doesn't know that, so I am taking my sweet time moving down the stairs, (also, my thighs were shaking... really need to work out some more) and I am sure that he just thought I was terribly out of shape.
we get to the bottom and the waterfall is beautiful. I am sure when ever we get the pictures posted they will be wonderful and I will wonder what all of this bellyaching is about.
anyhow, Sara clambors over a bunch of rocks to go closer to the falls, and I dont' want to just follow her. I need to find my own vista! I climb into the water and over a bunch of rocks. I can hear my mother yelling from the beach that I am going to twist an ankle and that I should be careful. I finally get to a dry rock, the view is great. I get my 35 mm camera out of the ziploc from the backpack on my back (oh, the back pack story, I bet that Sara covers this in her section) and get a couple good pictures. of course with the traditional film you don't know if these picture will be good or not, but I am hopeful.
then I sit and wait for Sara to return. she still isn't coming around the bend, so I figure I better start getting off these rocks. I start off, but I sort of lose my balance and splash! I fall into the pool below the rocks. umm, hope that there was nothing that wasn't waterproof in the bag... like a 35 mm camera.
so, finally we climb up 300 steep and winding steps through the jungle. the area was amazingly beautiful and scenic, which is why every ten steps I stopped to look around. not because my heartrate was 190/min and my legs wouldn't go any further. nope, it was because of the scenic natural beauty.
luckily Sara spent the entire time practicing her spanish with Alan, so I don't know if they were terribly inconvenienced by all the time that I spent admiring the natural beauty.
Then, wow, we get to get on our horses again. yeah. I mean Yeah! this is what I paid 30 bucks for, enjoy it Lucia!
surprisingly it was easier and shorter on the way back, I enjoyed the riding. I think that I want to take riding lessons this summer in Madison now. I emphasize lessons since I know that it has to be easier to do than it was on this trip.
Lucia
PS I was dead asleep by 8pm.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
I found my Costa Rican Benjamin Braddock.
This morning, after a wake-up statement from Boring Barbara- who, in addition to Eskimo, was one of our 5 dormmates, I headed out to rappel down waterfalls. I do recommend this activity to anyone who visits Costa Rica, but more to enjoy the perfectly organized tourism industry than for an adrenaline rush. My perspective may be skewed though, since I am comparing this to the tourist attractions in Bolivia and because I have been lucky enough to go skydiving, which is hard to beat in the pretty-sure-I'm-going-to-lose-my-red-beans-and-rice department. After canyoning, I returned to the hostel and shortly thereafter Lucia and I embarked on a horseback ride to the La Fortuna waterfall with our baby-faced, soft-spoken-- read, inaudible-- bilingual tour guide. Let's call him the Costa Rican Benjamin Braddock to my Mrs. Robinson.
Horses are maybe not so much my thing, so, always one to get my money's worth, I decide I'll turn our tour guide into my personal Spanish tutor for the next 3 hours. This involved me repeatedly getting exasperated at the fact that I seemed not to comprehend any of his Spanish when the real problem- well, in addition to the fact that I often couldn't comprehend any of his Spanish- was that he was too soft-spoken, I mean inaudible. But over the course of the next 3 hours, bumpy horseback riding and climbing a plethora of stone steps, somehow I managed to impress innocent young Benjamin who, I understand, tiene 19 anos. He was pretty enamored-- just ask Lucia. My favorite moment occured during our discussion of dirty English words. Don't stone me, I didn't contribute to the corruption of a Costa Rican youth, he just had a good time displaying his knowledge and I was an encouraging audience. OK but maybe this line of conversation began because I used one too many swear words during the horseback portion. Benjamin's fine display began with such mild expletives as "damn", "moron", and "madman", but upon seeing that I wasn't impressed, Ben looks directly at me and delivers, "Slut". Upon which I burst into encouraging laughter and Lucia looked mortified. And then Ben delivers a double whammy by following up with "Whore". I rounded out my laughter with a bemused chuckle but realized this wasn't going anywhere good, so I changed the subject to the topic I know best- hip hop.
Horses are maybe not so much my thing, so, always one to get my money's worth, I decide I'll turn our tour guide into my personal Spanish tutor for the next 3 hours. This involved me repeatedly getting exasperated at the fact that I seemed not to comprehend any of his Spanish when the real problem- well, in addition to the fact that I often couldn't comprehend any of his Spanish- was that he was too soft-spoken, I mean inaudible. But over the course of the next 3 hours, bumpy horseback riding and climbing a plethora of stone steps, somehow I managed to impress innocent young Benjamin who, I understand, tiene 19 anos. He was pretty enamored-- just ask Lucia. My favorite moment occured during our discussion of dirty English words. Don't stone me, I didn't contribute to the corruption of a Costa Rican youth, he just had a good time displaying his knowledge and I was an encouraging audience. OK but maybe this line of conversation began because I used one too many swear words during the horseback portion. Benjamin's fine display began with such mild expletives as "damn", "moron", and "madman", but upon seeing that I wasn't impressed, Ben looks directly at me and delivers, "Slut". Upon which I burst into encouraging laughter and Lucia looked mortified. And then Ben delivers a double whammy by following up with "Whore". I rounded out my laughter with a bemused chuckle but realized this wasn't going anywhere good, so I changed the subject to the topic I know best- hip hop.
Meet Boring Barbara and Eskimo.
As Lucia discovered, I did not in fact post a blog entry last night. Let's discuss the events leading up to my lack of inspiration. Upon arriving at the most amazing hostel I've ever stayed in, we immediately partook in Costa Rica's finest treasures- cervezas at the hostel swim-up bar. While I, in true tica form, took forever to get ready, Lucia befriended potentially the most boring girl I've ever met- Boring Barbara. And for anyone who knows Lucia, this was quite a grave and uncharacteristic error. In addition, she made acquaintances with a Minnesota native who now lives in Alaska in an igloo and was dressed last night in a wife beater and visor. These were our dinner acquaintances. Funny to see the look on Eskimo's face when the food arrived and he realized he accidentally ordered HUGE antenna-bearing shrimp instead of oval-shaped rabbit blob. After dinner, I ran away from them in the direction of town and Lucia had no choice but to follow. Absolutely no happenin' downtown scene in La Fortuna at the ripe hour of 8pm, however we discovered a grocery store called Super Christian and proceeded to buy a six-pack there. We returned to the hostel and resumed drinking in the common area outside until Boring Barbara and Eskimo found us. After 5 minutes, I mumbled under my breath that I couldn't take another minute of this and escaped to the computer room. Boring Barbara entered shortly thereafter and I realized I really didn't need to blog so badly after all. Boring Barbara must have gotten the hint because the next time she joined Lucia, Eskimo, and me, she announced she was going swimming and left the three of us alone. Time passed, I smoked one of Eskimo's precious Camel Lights that I didn't really want, and Eskimo busted out various other smoking paraphanelia that he had been given by another tourist. We all moved to the hammock garden and etc etc all that needs to be said here is Eskimo was quite entertained by my peeing in a bag on a bus in Bolivia story. Otherwise rather uneventful, as Eskimo's nickname encompasses all that is interesting about him. He doesn't read books, which Lucia and I find suspect, and especially for an Eskimo without a TV or a phone.
Morning of Day 3. Really? Day 3 already?
Lucia:
Sara said that she came and posted last night, but that seems to be not true. thats okay though, her post was so much funnier than mine I feel pressure to compete.
yesterday we drove from San Jose to La Fortuna. I have this to say about driving, I once drove in Italy barely knowing manual transmissions and got stuck in rush hour in Florence. I can handle this driving, no sweat. tomorrow we are driving to Monteverde, which is promised to be one of the worst roads, so perhaps I will eat my words. I will keep you posted.
Sara is off canyoning. which means hiking up the side of a waterfall and then rappelling down. good for her. injury prone as I am, launching myself off the side of a cliff just didn't seem smart.
So, this morning I am here in the hostel and having a cup of coffee. I am thinking that I am going to wander down into town to get some food and a better cup of coffee. I am thinking longingly of the cafe de leche that I had yesterday at the place next to the Alamo rental agency.
Pura Vida!
Lucia
Sara said that she came and posted last night, but that seems to be not true. thats okay though, her post was so much funnier than mine I feel pressure to compete.
yesterday we drove from San Jose to La Fortuna. I have this to say about driving, I once drove in Italy barely knowing manual transmissions and got stuck in rush hour in Florence. I can handle this driving, no sweat. tomorrow we are driving to Monteverde, which is promised to be one of the worst roads, so perhaps I will eat my words. I will keep you posted.
Sara is off canyoning. which means hiking up the side of a waterfall and then rappelling down. good for her. injury prone as I am, launching myself off the side of a cliff just didn't seem smart.
So, this morning I am here in the hostel and having a cup of coffee. I am thinking that I am going to wander down into town to get some food and a better cup of coffee. I am thinking longingly of the cafe de leche that I had yesterday at the place next to the Alamo rental agency.
Pura Vida!
Lucia
Monday, March 26, 2007
Day 2 Lucia waiting for Sara
Lucia:
I awake this morning with the realization that I forgot to send out the Deliverables Tracker email to the proper Premier people on Friday. nice first morning of vacation thought, eh?
Then I realize that I can hear everyone out in the main area, this reminds me that they can hear me. I hem and haw about taking a shower or even peeing, but I finally realize that it is 7am and Sara's plane doesn't land until like 930. I have some time to burn, and it looks like there is hot water and even a blow dryer.
Showered, Dressed (you didn't need a blow by blow account of that did you?), and I, gasp, ventured into the common area. sure, I was afraid, but I was driven by my need for coffee.
I now have a cup, I got some delicious fruit for breakfast (they also had cereal and toast), and I grabbed a computer. I got that whole crazy Deliverables Tracker out of my brain by sending out an email to Rick and the BB.
Then I read Sara's blog. ha ha! I laughed out loud, how horrible! That sounds bad, me laughing and exclaiming that it must be horrible for her, but you get what I mean. Certainly you chuckled too, get off your high horse.
Now I am catching up on the blogging.
(I think that the man next to me is looking at women that he wants to buy/marry... he is putting in a Woman's ID Number, and that brings up hispanic looking women in short skirts posing for a camera and close ups of their face... -seriously, I just looked over and in the Comments field below one of the women's pictures it says: I would like to meet a tall man - I should mind my own business, but eek!)
Here's hoping I never ever see this guy and his creepiness again,
Lucia.
PS How much do you think that a woman here costs? I saw that Dateline special, and they got an Eastern European woman for like 5000 bucks. sure, they had to reshod her (she was wearing shoes that were at least 3 sizes too large), and her crappy blonde dye job would need to be maintained, but on the whole.... well, best not to delve into those dark places.
I awake this morning with the realization that I forgot to send out the Deliverables Tracker email to the proper Premier people on Friday. nice first morning of vacation thought, eh?
Then I realize that I can hear everyone out in the main area, this reminds me that they can hear me. I hem and haw about taking a shower or even peeing, but I finally realize that it is 7am and Sara's plane doesn't land until like 930. I have some time to burn, and it looks like there is hot water and even a blow dryer.
Showered, Dressed (you didn't need a blow by blow account of that did you?), and I, gasp, ventured into the common area. sure, I was afraid, but I was driven by my need for coffee.
I now have a cup, I got some delicious fruit for breakfast (they also had cereal and toast), and I grabbed a computer. I got that whole crazy Deliverables Tracker out of my brain by sending out an email to Rick and the BB.
Then I read Sara's blog. ha ha! I laughed out loud, how horrible! That sounds bad, me laughing and exclaiming that it must be horrible for her, but you get what I mean. Certainly you chuckled too, get off your high horse.
Now I am catching up on the blogging.
(I think that the man next to me is looking at women that he wants to buy/marry... he is putting in a Woman's ID Number, and that brings up hispanic looking women in short skirts posing for a camera and close ups of their face... -seriously, I just looked over and in the Comments field below one of the women's pictures it says: I would like to meet a tall man - I should mind my own business, but eek!)
Here's hoping I never ever see this guy and his creepiness again,
Lucia.
PS How much do you think that a woman here costs? I saw that Dateline special, and they got an Eastern European woman for like 5000 bucks. sure, they had to reshod her (she was wearing shoes that were at least 3 sizes too large), and her crappy blonde dye job would need to be maintained, but on the whole.... well, best not to delve into those dark places.
Lucia by herself all of Day 1
Lucia:
I once dreamed of taking 6-8 weeks and traveling through Europe by myself. I thought it would be good for me since I sort of have this co-dependancy thing. (a friend in high school Jill B once said to me: Leigha, co-dependency is a disease. I understand that most people wouldn't remember that, but she identified a core personality characterstic/flaw and I have replayed that conversation countless times in my mind) However, that dream will probably never come to pass.
I have identified another core personality characteristic, I find facing the unknown alone scary. Very scary. I put on a blustery front, but in my heart I want to blindly follow someone else and trust that they will tell me what to do.
Lucia, you say, your alter ego travels every week and at least once every 4 months to somewhere she has never been. How could this have been any different? Well, I made it on to the plane in Atlanta (bound for San Jose) just fine. That was all the same old same old travel. But then on the plane there were all these people speaking spanish and I didn't understand them (why, oh why didn't I bust out those tapes that Hillary lent me during the last three weeks? Instead I bopped around in my car to Carly Simon. Curses!).
The really scary part came when I got a taxi, but it turns out that it was really easy. I saw a sign that said Taxi, I followed it. I paid 18 dollars and got a receipt. I wandered outside and some man took my receipts, said follow me and we drove to the hotel. He even understood what I was saying when I read the spanish off the printed sheet.
I do have to say that I held it together pretty well when we got to San Jose, because we didn't really drive through nice areas. I would in fact say that these areas looked as bad as the South Side of Chicago. all the windows boarded up or with those gates on them, random men standing in doorways, prostitutes... etc. Finally we transitioned to a better area, but still the hotel door looked like wooden planks. Then I walked through a scary hallway with leaves everywhere, a bit menacing. The guy checked me in, it was 25 bucks for one night, and walked me the four steps to my door. my room consisted of a twin bed, a wardrobe, a small desk, some shelves, an alarm clock, a lamp, a small tv with lots of channels, and a private bathroom. one the whole, pretty sweet.
Sure the room has open windows at the top into the reception area/living room/computer room, and I could hear the receptionist when he shifted on his chair, so certainly he could hear me pee, but still nice enough.
I went to bed and slept just fine.
I once dreamed of taking 6-8 weeks and traveling through Europe by myself. I thought it would be good for me since I sort of have this co-dependancy thing. (a friend in high school Jill B once said to me: Leigha, co-dependency is a disease. I understand that most people wouldn't remember that, but she identified a core personality characterstic/flaw and I have replayed that conversation countless times in my mind) However, that dream will probably never come to pass.
I have identified another core personality characteristic, I find facing the unknown alone scary. Very scary. I put on a blustery front, but in my heart I want to blindly follow someone else and trust that they will tell me what to do.
Lucia, you say, your alter ego travels every week and at least once every 4 months to somewhere she has never been. How could this have been any different? Well, I made it on to the plane in Atlanta (bound for San Jose) just fine. That was all the same old same old travel. But then on the plane there were all these people speaking spanish and I didn't understand them (why, oh why didn't I bust out those tapes that Hillary lent me during the last three weeks? Instead I bopped around in my car to Carly Simon. Curses!).
The really scary part came when I got a taxi, but it turns out that it was really easy. I saw a sign that said Taxi, I followed it. I paid 18 dollars and got a receipt. I wandered outside and some man took my receipts, said follow me and we drove to the hotel. He even understood what I was saying when I read the spanish off the printed sheet.
I do have to say that I held it together pretty well when we got to San Jose, because we didn't really drive through nice areas. I would in fact say that these areas looked as bad as the South Side of Chicago. all the windows boarded up or with those gates on them, random men standing in doorways, prostitutes... etc. Finally we transitioned to a better area, but still the hotel door looked like wooden planks. Then I walked through a scary hallway with leaves everywhere, a bit menacing. The guy checked me in, it was 25 bucks for one night, and walked me the four steps to my door. my room consisted of a twin bed, a wardrobe, a small desk, some shelves, an alarm clock, a lamp, a small tv with lots of channels, and a private bathroom. one the whole, pretty sweet.
Sure the room has open windows at the top into the reception area/living room/computer room, and I could hear the receptionist when he shifted on his chair, so certainly he could hear me pee, but still nice enough.
I went to bed and slept just fine.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Not ready to go, at least not mentally
While Lucia's preparations involved contributions from Big Head, mine involved a lack of using my head. This morning I decided to check my itinerary one last time and realized my flight was actually last night. "Realized" meaning that in the next few seconds, I experienced the entire grieving process over the destruction of my self image as an detail-oriented (anal) individual. Disbelief was followed by shock, hysteria, and a truly venerable string of F-bombs. Luckily with the aid of a helpful Travelocity representative, who was likely from the motherland (e.g. "your confirmation number is W as in Vhiskey..."), and another kind man at TACA/LACSA airlines (don't ask), I am now back on track with the itinerary that I thought I had all along- though with $100 less spending money.
As a member of my generation, I feel I must find an external source to blame for my mistake, and I've settled on the title of this blog. Wikipedia defines Ticos/Ticas as "normally very friendly, helpful, laid-back, unhurried, educated, hygienic, non-violent and environmentally aware people. They worry little about deadlines and arrive late to many appointments." Thus, as a Tica, I clearly can't be blamed for mentally leaving for vacation a day early (and physically leaving a day late). Pura vida!
As a member of my generation, I feel I must find an external source to blame for my mistake, and I've settled on the title of this blog. Wikipedia defines Ticos/Ticas as "normally very friendly, helpful, laid-back, unhurried, educated, hygienic, non-violent and environmentally aware people. They worry little about deadlines and arrive late to many appointments." Thus, as a Tica, I clearly can't be blamed for mentally leaving for vacation a day early (and physically leaving a day late). Pura vida!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Day 0 - Ready to go. Well, at least mentally.
Okay, so it is 730 pm, and I fly out tomorrow at 1030am tomorrow. I have arranged my ride - Big Head is coming to pick me up and take my dogs. Big Thank you to Big Head.
But, I haven't finished the work tasks that I need to do before I leave. And packing... I bought a bunch of stuff and I have the laundry done. that is the hard part of packing, right?
Sara and I have been back and forth on reservations all day - we have a car, we have hotels, we have tours and guides... I set up this blog and got a travel notebook. About the blog - I gave us alteregos - Lucia y Sara. but I haven't figured out how to indicate con accento yet.
Note - my camera is still being repaired from it's unfortunate run in with Whitney at Mardi Gras, so all pictures posted on this blog will be post trip and from Sara's camera.
Viva vacation!
Lucia
But, I haven't finished the work tasks that I need to do before I leave. And packing... I bought a bunch of stuff and I have the laundry done. that is the hard part of packing, right?
Sara and I have been back and forth on reservations all day - we have a car, we have hotels, we have tours and guides... I set up this blog and got a travel notebook. About the blog - I gave us alteregos - Lucia y Sara. but I haven't figured out how to indicate con accento yet.
Note - my camera is still being repaired from it's unfortunate run in with Whitney at Mardi Gras, so all pictures posted on this blog will be post trip and from Sara's camera.
Viva vacation!
Lucia
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