Feeling Thankful

I guess the day before Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect and what I have been thinking about is how lucky I am to have so many wonderful friends I have all over the world and from all over the world. It also occurred to me how many of them I have met traveling. Being here in Costa Rica just made all of that so clear.

Arriving in San Jose on Tuesday I feel like I entered a different vacation from the one I had been on until then. After spending 5 days in a very calm, peaceful place, I arrived to the traffic and bustle of a capital city. But it was more than the change from rural to urban, from quiet to noisy. It was also from having days with nothing planned and nothing scheduled, to days full of appointments to meet up with friends. And that is the biggest change of all.

Even in Sarapiquí, I thought a lot about Nick and Karen, who I met there last year and who I visited in Ireland this year. Ernesto, who spent the weekend there with me, has been a good friend since he was my Spanish teacher in 2002. Today I am going to visit the family that I lived with for 2 months on that same trip in 2002. Then later in the afternoon, I am going to spend time with Jose Pablo who I met a few years ago when he was en route to China from Costa Rica at the same time as my friend Carolina, and they both stayed in my apartment in New York for a few days. Carolina is still living in China but her sister Maureen invited me to spend the day with her on Saturday. Tomorrow I will have lunch with another one of my former teachers, Anna Lucia. And on Friday, Ernesto and Alex offered to drive me to a nearby beach town for the day to visit with Nancy, a Canadian that I met last year in Nicaragua who is now living here in Jacó. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze in a few more visits with friends besides those already organized!

For me travel has always been about more than seeing pretty places or impressive sights or eating good food–although of course, all of those are part of the experience of traveling and can contribute to making a vacation special. But I believe that it is so much more about the connections that I have made and so on this day before Thanksgiving I am thankful for all of my wonderful friends, here in Costa Rica, back home in New York, and all over the world who continue to enrich my life.

Old Friends — Costa Rica part 3

On Saturday morning my Costa Rican friends Ernesto and Alex arrived to join me in Sarapiqui for the weekend. I thought they were going to drive here but they decided to take the bus instead, because they were worried about the possibility of heavy rains and the roads being flooded. So that left us in pretty much the same situation I had been in all week, which is without transportation and with limited options for activities. It seems like there is one car here which is shared between Alex Martinez, the B&B’s owner, and his son Kevin. Kevin is currently using it to drive some tourists around the country, leaving Alex with just a motorcycle, making it difficult for him to transport guests around the area.

No problem though, My friends seemed very content to just hang out on the porches of the cabins, We took turns in the hammock and had time to get caught up after not seeing each other for a year and a half. Ernesto and Alex were both very interested in the US presidential elections and I had the challenge of trying to explain the electoral college system in Spanish and things like how it is possible to lose the popular vote and still win an election. I could barely explain that in English. They were so excited and relieved to see President Obama reelected. They described how in an Afro-Caribbean community on the Caribbean coast, residents expressed their pride in Obama as one of their own. Beyond that, they felt that Obama’s victory was a victory for all marginalized and minority groups and it was impressive to me the impact that this election had on my friends so far away. We also talked quite a bit about what is happening now in Costa Rican politics. This country has the reputation for being “The Switzerland of Central America” because there is no army, however there has been an erosion of civil liberties and there is much opposition to the current president . Right now there is a gag law in effect that bars journalists from criticizing the government. A few weeks ago, what was meant to be a peaceful protest in support of maintaining the public health system got out of control when police violently attacked protesters  So then they organized another demonstration to renounce the violence of the first demonstration. What I find encouraging though, is that there is always a willingness here to fight for what people believe in and they don’t just blindly accept the actions of the government. There had also been protests earlier this year in support of gay rights, women’s rights and to in support of legalizing in-vitro fertilization. The Catholic church has a great deal of political power here so things are slow to change, but Costa Ricans will continue fighting for a secular county and to maintain basic human rights.

Besides talking about politics, we also found time to head into town on Saturday for both lunch and dinner, and snacked in between on fruit, chocolate, and some cheese and tomato that Alex from the B&B provided for us. I also listened to Ernesto, Alex and Alex talk at length about their country and I feel like I received a great lesson in modern Costa Rican sociopolitical history. But by far, the highlight of the day for me, aside from my overall happiness at spending time with my friends, was getting to see the iconic red eyed tree frog. The frogs just hang out at night in the trees at the hotel, chirping and posing for pictures.

Sunday morning after a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, and homemade bread with homemade jam, Ernesto, Alex and I decided to take a boat tour on the Rio Sarapiquí. Alex (from the B&B) made a call and in a few minutes a driver appeared to take us to the dock. We were the only passengers on a huge boat, with a captain/guide who looked to be all of 16 years old, accompanied by the adorable 8 year old Rodolfo, who seemed to just along for the ride, but he turned out to be amazing at spotting animals and was able to tell us all about life on the river. A really smart kid with a big personality. We saw two sloths, many howler monkeys, a toucan, and several other birds. We also were able to get off the boat and walk around one of the banana plantations in the area. The captain explained that this plantation was privately owned by an American and doesn’t use pesticides on their bananas. The fruit is then sold to the big multinational companies like Dole and Chiquita. It is very easy to see banana plantations along the side of the road in Costa Rica but it was cool to actually walk around in one. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and the tour was a lot of fun, especially for this city girl. I think the guys had a good time too, even though it wasn’t quite as exotic for them.

We decided to walk back to the hotel, stopping for a coffee and snack along the way. Then there was a bit more time to hang out and chat before Ernesto and Alex had to head home. I am really glad that I will get to see them some more when I go to San Jose later in the week. Ernesto was my first Spanish teacher when I came here to study in 2002 and I met Alex a few years later. Every time I come here we spend time together and I have been waiting for years for them to come and visit me in New York. Hopefully in 2013!

The Joy of Doing Nothing–Costa Rica part 2

This title is maybe a bit tongue-in-cheek, maybe a bit sarcastic, or maybe just an attempt to convince myself of the truth in that statement. Because doing nothing really doesn’t come easy to me. As much as I know how valuable it can be to relax, slow down, and decompress, that just seems to go against all of my natural instincts. So in doing nothing (or very little) I kind of feel the same as if I were challenging myself to go outside of my comfort zone and try something new. A vacation without everything planned out and organized? Where there is a good possibility that things won’t go as I had envisioned? Where there will be quite a lot of downtime? All very stressful for me. But after being in Costa Rica for a little more than 48 hours, I am starting to get into a very slow rhythm and routine and am embracing this new experience.

Shortly after arriving as the Posada Andrea Cristina on Wednesday afternoon it began to rain. So I decided to stay put for a while, enjoying a much needed cup of coffee after my 12 hour journey from New York. Once the rain stopped, I took a 15 minute walk to the nearby town Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí. On the way, I noticed a woman at the side of the road selling a very interesting fruit that I had never seen before. She gave me one to try and told me it was called mamón chino (rambutan in English). Weird and delicious…so I bought a ¼ of a kilo for approximately $1. And I got a good photo of the vendor and her fruit to boot! I then stopped at the supermarket and a bakery for some snacks, and headed back to the posada where I tried to force myself to stay awake until a normal bed time before finally crashing around 7 PM.

Thursday morning I awoke feeling extremely well rested and full of energy. I had breakfast at the communal dining area and met some of the other guests at the hotel, who were all speaking French until I arrived. One of the things that made my visit here in 2011 so special were the fabulous people I met (Nick, Karen, Kevin, Mark–I am talking about you). Although this group was perfectly friendly, and 3 of them even invited me to go on a boat trip with them, I didn’t feel like we clicked. So I declined the invitation and embarked on what quickly became my primary activity of the past two days, lying in a hammock with a book, a magazine, a newspaper or my laptop. Sometime mid-morning, I took a look at a binder listing nearby tours and activities and decided to take advantage of what was a beautiful sunny day. With the help of Kevin, the owner’s son who was temporarily in charge, I booked a tour for later in the afternoon to a nearby rainforest/scientific research center, La Selva Biological Station (http://ots.ac.cr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=162&Itemid=348). That left me time for a quick walk to town and a lunch (snack?) of a batido (fruit shake) and some cookies before coming back to the B&B to take a taxi to the start of the tour. I was pleasantly surprised to find that nobody else had signed up so I ended up having a private tour, which was awesome for a variety of reasons. First of all, I was able to ask the guide to speak Spanish instead of English. I will never miss an opportunity to practice if I can help it. Second, I was able spend as much time as I needed taking pictures without feeling rushed. Beyond that, the guide told me that we walked about 4 kilometers (in 2 ½ hours) instead of the normal distance covered of approximately 1 kilometer. I am pretty sure I would have been frustrated to only go 1 km in that amount of time. The pace felt pretty leisurely to me so it’s kind of hard to imagine covering that much less ground. We were able to see a toucan, as well as many other birds (don’t ask me what), a sloth, spider monkeys and thousands of leaf cutter ants (in my opinion, one of the most interesting sights of the rainforest). We also heard the amazing sounds of the jungle, including the roar of howler monkeys, birds chirping, and the beeping of the guide’s iPhone.

After the tour, I had the taxi driver drop me off at a nearby soda (traditional local restaurant) where I had a very early dinner (or a very late lunch, depending on how you would characterize the earlier batido). I was back at the B&B by around 5:30 PM, where I started round two of lying in the hammock before falling asleep at the slightly later hour of 9 PM.

Friday morning I woke up feeling a bit restless and thinking that if I wasn’t going to be able to volunteer at the animal sanctuary, I would need to rethink my plans, maybe cut short my time here and head to a different part of the country for a few days. But something happened in the past few hours and now I am feeling much more relaxed and content. I still don’t know if I will stick to my original plan or do something else. The other thing that isn’t easy for me is spontaneity. So I am trying to remember that it is OK to not have everything planned out to the last detail and just wait to see how things go…at least that is what I keep telling myself.

Friday morning at breakfast I met an interesting German botanist but unfortunately he was leaving later that day and a young French couple but were leaving as well. Alex, the owner of the posada as well as the founder and co-director of the wildlife sanctuary Tierra Hermosa (http://www.tierrahermosacenter.org/) was back after being away for a few days. He took me over to the sanctuary when he had to drop of some supplies there. The monkey that I remember from last year was still there, along with 3 green macaws and 1 red macaw. These are such majestic birds, totally awe-inspiring. One of the green macaws and the red one can now fly after having had their wings clipped by hunters or poachers. They are able to leave their cage and fly around freely, and will return to the wild whenever they are ready to go. There is now a beautiful cabin there for guests or volunteers and another option would be for me to stay there for a few days. That probably would make the most sense if I am actually going to volunteer but it is even more remote and isolated than where I am now, so I am just not sure if I want to do it. There is a caretaker who lives on the premises with his family so I wouldn’t be totally alone.

Aside from the visit to Tierra Hermosa, the rest of the day Friday was spent the same way I spent much of Thursday, A lot of time in the hammock, lunch in town, reading, writing and thinking. I know that a lot of people like to disconnect when they travel. I really like being able to connect with friends back home and all over the world, not to mention being able to leisurely read the New York Times online. That in itself is a treat!

Some Costa Rican friends are coming here on Saturday and staying until Sunday. I am super excited to see them and show them around this part of the country that I have quickly grown to love. After Sunday, who knows? Stay tuned to find out!

Return to a Tropical (and Rainy) Paradise — Costa Rica part 1

When I was last in Costa Rica, in March 2011, I found a lovely bed and breakfast, the Posada Andrea Cristina. One of the things that made it so special is that the owner Alex Martinez also runs an animal refuge sanctuary nearby, Tierra Hermosa, which I was able to visit during that trip. You can read about my time visiting the B&B and the sanctuary last year here: https://jilltravel.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/tropical-paradise/ When I said goodbye to Alex after that trip, he told me “You’re going to come back here to volunteer someday.” I kept that in the back of my mind, but didn’t make any specific plans to do so. This this past summer, I did have the idea of doing some volunteer work abroad, building houses for Habitat for Humanity, which didn’t end up working out. (That entire story is here: https://jilltravel.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/tropical-paradise/)

So when I found myself with a $400 credit on Taca Airlines that I had to use by this month, it was a pretty easy decision to return to Costa Rica with the plan of doing some type of volunteer work. Besides Tierra Hermosa, I looked into other options. There are quite a few turtle hatching programs that use volunteers but that work didn’t correspond with my dates, Others required a longer time commitment than I could give or were very expensive. I did find a few other possibilities working with animals, but once I got back in contact with Alex, it just made sense to go someplace that I really enjoyed and that I knew firsthand was doing really good work. I recognized that this, as a very small, grass roots project would probably be more flexible and less structured than other programs (which usually require you to start on set days of the week, with specific hours, etc.).

Over the past few weeks, I learned that this might not all work out as  I had hoped, despite my willingness to be as flexible as required. Tierra Hermosa is about a 20 minute drive from the posada,  mostly on an unpaved road. It also has a volunteer cabin on site, but since I don’t drive, I didn’t want to be isolated in a place that is so remote. My idea was to stay at the B&B (paying for my room, of course) and have somebody who works at the sanctuary or the B&B drive me back and forth. For reasons that still aren’t entirely clear to me, transporting me isn’t going to be so easy. When I found this out, I had to decide if I should try to find another volunteer project somewhere else or just keep my original plans, with the knowledge that things were most likely not going to go as I had envisioned. That is what I decided to do. I arrived in Costa Rica yesterday just of getting over an upper respiratory infection and with a very badly bruised knee, following a nasty fall almost 2 weeks ago. I started to think that a relaxing vacation might do me good and maybe it would also be an interesting experience for once in my life to not have everything planned out and every detail organized. So that is how I find myself back at the Posada Andrea Cristina for week without really knowing what I am going to do. I am still optimistic that I can get over to Tierra Hermosa for at least a few days and hopefully I can help out there as much as possible. Besides that, there are some tours I can take in this area, although I haven’t researched into anything yet. It has also been raining a lot, which makes lying on the hammock on my porch with a book sound like the most appealing activity of all.

Right now, I am just happy to be feeling awake after a long night and day of traveling, which started very early Wednesday morning with a 2:30 AM car service to the airport, a 5:15 flight, a taxi from the airport to the bus terminal in San Jose, an  11:30 AM bus ride to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui and a 20 minute walk to the Posada Andrea Cristina. I finally arrived here Wednesday at around 2 PM, feeling like a zombie. I think I crashed about 7 PM despite efforts to stay awake until a normal bed time. But now is a new day, I am feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and I’m excited to see what this trip has in store for me!