I must say, after four and half months in Central America, it is a little strange being back in the States. It was interesting stepping off the plane in Houston and being able to understand everything that was said around me. By the end of my time in Costa Rica I would say I felt ready to return to the U.S. and see family and friends again, but not ready to be smacked in the face with American consumerism and excess. I think readjusting to these distinctly American characteristics has been the most challenging part about be back in the country.
So far, however, I have actually had a fantastic time. My parents picked me up from the airport in Chicago Friday evening and after taking them back to the airport Saturday morning to visit Aaron in Philly, I met up with May Lin. She was playing in a volleyball tournament and so I watched that during the afternoon before Eddie and Stefan arrived from Minnesota. They had an extra ticket to go to the Gold Cup final (a North American soccer tournament) and so it worked out perfectly that they were coming to Chicago for the weekend.
Sunday afternoon Eddie, Stefan and I went to watch the US play Mexico at Soldier Field. It was great because the stadium was sold out (interestingly the ratio of Mexican to American fans was probably 6:1) and it was my first national team game. After a sluggish first half the action picked up in the second half on and off the field. The US scored two goals in the second half to pull out a 2-1 victory but we missed a ten minute chunk of time due to a brawl that erupted literally over top of our seats. We managed to get out of the way before fists started flying but it was an annoying distraction.
I hung out in Chicago Monday and took off for Iowa City to visit Claire and some other high school friends on Tuesday. Claire and DJ cooked a delicious meal and we ended up going out and doing a pub quiz with a few of my good friends from high school. Sadly we lost a tiebreaker and only got second. However, we did not let that dampen the evening and we all ended enjoying the night a little too much.
All in all, it's been a fantastic welcome back to the country and it will be disappointing when I have to start thinking about real things again like work...damn.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Volcano Boarding, Really?
So as it turns out, I wasn´t able to meet up with Mike. He was busy with Peace Corps training and it just wasn´t in the cards. Somewhat downtrodden after not being able to see Mike, I hoisted up my backpack and headed to Nicaragua. It was a remarkably long and trying day (I think the count was two borders, two taxis and six buses and 12 hours), I arrived in Leon, Nicaragua. Arriving in the city, a cool colonial town that used to be the capital of the country, the hostel I went to was full. Fortunately for me however, there was another literally across the street and I crashed there.
I turned out really well because the hostel, BigFoot, offers a unique tour to a nearby black sand volcano. The tour runs a couple afternoons a week and takes people hiking up an active volcano and then boarding down before heading back. I was reluctant to sign up because it was $20, which is a lot on a travelers budget, but I´m glad I did because it was one of the most fun things I did on the trip.
About 15 other people, all roughly my age, set out hiking up the side of Cerro Negro with our boards in tow. It was a clear sunny afternoon and we had plenty of time to climb down into the crater and do some practice runs before heading down hill. With a 40 degree decline, I was a little intimidated peering down. But with only one shot, I told myself if I was going down, it would be in a blaze of glory. Our boards, more closely resembling crudely made toboggans, looked like veritable death machines and my confidence was only slightly bolstered by our prison uniformesque proctective jumpsuits and goggles.
I pushed off down the hill and the sensation was just like sledding, I guess minus the volcanic rocks whipping you in the face. Things were going smoothly until I neared the bottom, which was the steepest part before shallowing out, when I realized I was going way to fast. I was flying down (by all other accounts, I was the fastest on the day) and knew it was going to end badly. I hit a bump and went tumbling over the front of the sled, did two rolls and then popped up on my feet.
Another guy got it on video so hopefully I can get a copy of my wipe out, but I emerged from the wreckage relatively unscathed, only got a couple scratches. The next day I hoofed it to Coco and now I´m back safe and sound after my whirlwind trip. I am getting my things together and will be flying back to the good ol´U, S and A Friday morning.
Check out YouTube see some other videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnqcm1GOMsY
I turned out really well because the hostel, BigFoot, offers a unique tour to a nearby black sand volcano. The tour runs a couple afternoons a week and takes people hiking up an active volcano and then boarding down before heading back. I was reluctant to sign up because it was $20, which is a lot on a travelers budget, but I´m glad I did because it was one of the most fun things I did on the trip.
About 15 other people, all roughly my age, set out hiking up the side of Cerro Negro with our boards in tow. It was a clear sunny afternoon and we had plenty of time to climb down into the crater and do some practice runs before heading down hill. With a 40 degree decline, I was a little intimidated peering down. But with only one shot, I told myself if I was going down, it would be in a blaze of glory. Our boards, more closely resembling crudely made toboggans, looked like veritable death machines and my confidence was only slightly bolstered by our prison uniformesque proctective jumpsuits and goggles.
I pushed off down the hill and the sensation was just like sledding, I guess minus the volcanic rocks whipping you in the face. Things were going smoothly until I neared the bottom, which was the steepest part before shallowing out, when I realized I was going way to fast. I was flying down (by all other accounts, I was the fastest on the day) and knew it was going to end badly. I hit a bump and went tumbling over the front of the sled, did two rolls and then popped up on my feet.
Another guy got it on video so hopefully I can get a copy of my wipe out, but I emerged from the wreckage relatively unscathed, only got a couple scratches. The next day I hoofed it to Coco and now I´m back safe and sound after my whirlwind trip. I am getting my things together and will be flying back to the good ol´U, S and A Friday morning.
Check out YouTube see some other videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnqcm1GOMsY
Friday, June 15, 2007
Tic Toc
Well, today officially marks the beginning of my final week in Central America. By this time next Friday I should be hugging my parents at the airport in Chicago and starting the symptoms of reverse culture shock. I must admit however, that I am looking forward to heading back to the U.S. I have definitely enjoyed Costa Rica and traveling but at the same time it will be very nice to see friends and family again.
Since Tikal, I took a remarkably uncomfortable overnight bus to Guatemala City and then on to a small touristy town of Panajachel. The town is situated on shore of crater lake of a collapsed volcano and the whole area is incredibly beautiful. I was there for just one night and then it was on to Antigua, cool colonial town in southern Guatemala. I stayed there for a couple days and met a really cool young German couple who were staying at my hostel.
I am currently in San Vicente, El Salvador, a small town right about in the center of the country trying to meet up with my friend Mike from Mac. He arrived in El Salvador last week to begin a two year stint with Peace Corps here and I am trying to hang out with him for a little bit. Unfortunately, I don´t know if I will be able to see him because he is busy with training sessions and we have been unable, as of yet, to communicate well. I have to be moseying back to Costa Rica soon and so I can´t hang aroud too long. Fingers crossed, hopefully it´ll work out.
Since Tikal, I took a remarkably uncomfortable overnight bus to Guatemala City and then on to a small touristy town of Panajachel. The town is situated on shore of crater lake of a collapsed volcano and the whole area is incredibly beautiful. I was there for just one night and then it was on to Antigua, cool colonial town in southern Guatemala. I stayed there for a couple days and met a really cool young German couple who were staying at my hostel.
I am currently in San Vicente, El Salvador, a small town right about in the center of the country trying to meet up with my friend Mike from Mac. He arrived in El Salvador last week to begin a two year stint with Peace Corps here and I am trying to hang out with him for a little bit. Unfortunately, I don´t know if I will be able to see him because he is busy with training sessions and we have been unable, as of yet, to communicate well. I have to be moseying back to Costa Rica soon and so I can´t hang aroud too long. Fingers crossed, hopefully it´ll work out.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Tikal photos
Temple I
Spider monkey... mid swing
Not dirt on my chin, just a man-beard
Central Plaza(on either side of the plaza, there are temples equally as tall as the one in the distance)
Not a bad seatLet´s forget Belize, but Guatemala is sweet
Since my last post, I have sucessfully made it through Belize and am now in northern Guatemala. I say ´successfully´rather loosely, however, as I ran into some snags and barely made it with my bags and in one piece. After taking the fairy from Guatemala, I rode a delapidated school bus for seven hours before arriving at Belize City. Getting off the bus, I realized I had forgotten my small bag under my seat with my camera and other pricey things. I realized it quickly and grabbed a taxi and told him to take me where the bus ends up. Our only chance was to catch it a gas station and fortunately it was there, so I got everything back.
Mostly a stressful experience, I stayed in Belize City (which offers very little other than grungy buildings and hustlers) for two nights. I did manage to make it to Caye Caulker for an afternoon which is absolutely gorgeous. It´s an island in the Caribbean and it is just like you see on TV or in magazines... aqua green waters, palm trees and a coral reef. I should have gone there right away, but I messed up my planning.
The interesting thing about Belize is that it has an incredibly diverse population relative to it´s size and is a mix of English, Spanish, Indigenous and African decent. Still part of the British Commonwealth, Belizeans speak English, but most commonly speak a type of Creole derived from English and African languages.
Transferring buses heading to Guatemala, I put my big backpack in the rear of a bus and then went to the bathroom quickly. When I got out, I saw my bus driving away so I chased after it waving my arms and yelling. It was a couple blocks ahead of me but fortunately they saw me and I, once again, managed to make it through unscathed.
I am glad to report that Guatemala has been much more tranquil and enjoyable. I stayed the last couple nights at sweet little hotel that overlooks a beautiful lake in the northern part of the country. The town is tiny, but is near the Mayan ruins of Tikal, which I must say, where perhaps some of the most impressive things I´ve ever seen. There are a series of six temples, which are massive and tower over a tropical dry forest, and all kind of other buildings. You wander around for hours just feeling the immensity of these buildings, some of which have been around for more than 2000 years, and you just feel wonderment. There were also lot´s of monkeys swinging in the trees and birds flitting through the air. Pretty awesome.
It was a fantastic respite from the chaos of Belize and now I´m on my way to Antigua, Guatemala to climb a volcano and hang out for a couple days. Then it´s on to El Salvador, hopefully to meet up with my friend Mike Melamed (from Mac) where he is just starting Peace Corps. That´s all, hasta luego.
Mostly a stressful experience, I stayed in Belize City (which offers very little other than grungy buildings and hustlers) for two nights. I did manage to make it to Caye Caulker for an afternoon which is absolutely gorgeous. It´s an island in the Caribbean and it is just like you see on TV or in magazines... aqua green waters, palm trees and a coral reef. I should have gone there right away, but I messed up my planning.
The interesting thing about Belize is that it has an incredibly diverse population relative to it´s size and is a mix of English, Spanish, Indigenous and African decent. Still part of the British Commonwealth, Belizeans speak English, but most commonly speak a type of Creole derived from English and African languages.
Transferring buses heading to Guatemala, I put my big backpack in the rear of a bus and then went to the bathroom quickly. When I got out, I saw my bus driving away so I chased after it waving my arms and yelling. It was a couple blocks ahead of me but fortunately they saw me and I, once again, managed to make it through unscathed.
I am glad to report that Guatemala has been much more tranquil and enjoyable. I stayed the last couple nights at sweet little hotel that overlooks a beautiful lake in the northern part of the country. The town is tiny, but is near the Mayan ruins of Tikal, which I must say, where perhaps some of the most impressive things I´ve ever seen. There are a series of six temples, which are massive and tower over a tropical dry forest, and all kind of other buildings. You wander around for hours just feeling the immensity of these buildings, some of which have been around for more than 2000 years, and you just feel wonderment. There were also lot´s of monkeys swinging in the trees and birds flitting through the air. Pretty awesome.
It was a fantastic respite from the chaos of Belize and now I´m on my way to Antigua, Guatemala to climb a volcano and hang out for a couple days. Then it´s on to El Salvador, hopefully to meet up with my friend Mike Melamed (from Mac) where he is just starting Peace Corps. That´s all, hasta luego.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Guatemala & Fotos
Yup, that´s a real live Scarlet Macaw
Copán
Mayan god of wind
Of course one of my favorites, the Mayan ball courtI got up early and crossed into Guatemala this morning. It was blisteringly hot on the bus but mercifully the seats weren´t too small for my gringo legs and I surprisingly had two seats to myself for most of the trip. I am now in Puerto Barrio, a bustling and grungy little port town on the Caribbean coast. As I got off the bus I was greated by a man with a Caribbean English accent who introduced himself as ´Uncle Willy,´and he works helping ´you guys out with things.´ He actually helped me find a decently priced room (for a small fee, of course) but I declined his help in procuring other things which I assume would be prostitutes or drugs. I am on a ferry tomorrow to Belize and as promised, some pictures.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
So far, so good
Alright, so I coming at you live from the tiny little tourist town of Copán Ruinas, which is situated at the extreme western side of Honduras. The community is completely dependent on the tourists who come here to see the nearby ruins, only about 1 km away. It is quite well developed and ´cute´you could say relative to the rest of the country this is the first real destination on my journey so far.
I got here yesterday evening, after about nine hours in transit, and went to the Mayan ruins of Copán today. I will post some pictures as soon as I can, but they do not do the site justice. Nestled in a valley, the ruins appear out of the forest including, large pyramids, a ball stadium, intricately carved pillars and a hyroglyphic stairway for which the site is most well known. Copán was the southern most city state of the Maya empire and reached the height of its prominence between 400 - 700AD. I spent the whole morning just wandering around looking at all these magnificantly crafted monuments and wondering what the city was like 1400 years ago.
Brief Recap:
I took off from Coco Wednesday morning and travelled northward almost all the way through Nicaragua. I breezed through Managua, as quickly as possible because it is big, noisy and somewhat dangerous. I thought I was going to die several times on a taxi ride between bus stations but managed it alright. I got an odd sensation being in Nicaragua. It´s not hard to imagine given the poverty, political unrest and civil war but there is a strange sense of sadness in the country. The people are proud, but have lived a hard life.
Continuing on, I crossed into Honduras on Thursday morning and worked my way to Tegucigalpa, the capital, where I spent Friday as well. I stayed it a cheap hotel near one of the craziest markets I have ever seen. For blocks and blocks, stalls and vendors sell about everything you can imagine. People and buses clog the streets and you have weave your way through to cross into the downtown/historical part of the city. I walked around the city all day Friday which was highlighted by going up to a park on a hill that sticks out of the middle of the city. It had a great view of the city and it was relatively serene compared to the chaotic city below.
From here I´m planning on crossing the border into Guatemala tomorrow and going north to the Caribbean coast. From there it´s a ferry to Belize and then back into Guatemala to visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal.
That´s it for now, I´ll put some photots up as soon as I can. Adios.
I got here yesterday evening, after about nine hours in transit, and went to the Mayan ruins of Copán today. I will post some pictures as soon as I can, but they do not do the site justice. Nestled in a valley, the ruins appear out of the forest including, large pyramids, a ball stadium, intricately carved pillars and a hyroglyphic stairway for which the site is most well known. Copán was the southern most city state of the Maya empire and reached the height of its prominence between 400 - 700AD. I spent the whole morning just wandering around looking at all these magnificantly crafted monuments and wondering what the city was like 1400 years ago.
Brief Recap:
I took off from Coco Wednesday morning and travelled northward almost all the way through Nicaragua. I breezed through Managua, as quickly as possible because it is big, noisy and somewhat dangerous. I thought I was going to die several times on a taxi ride between bus stations but managed it alright. I got an odd sensation being in Nicaragua. It´s not hard to imagine given the poverty, political unrest and civil war but there is a strange sense of sadness in the country. The people are proud, but have lived a hard life.
Continuing on, I crossed into Honduras on Thursday morning and worked my way to Tegucigalpa, the capital, where I spent Friday as well. I stayed it a cheap hotel near one of the craziest markets I have ever seen. For blocks and blocks, stalls and vendors sell about everything you can imagine. People and buses clog the streets and you have weave your way through to cross into the downtown/historical part of the city. I walked around the city all day Friday which was highlighted by going up to a park on a hill that sticks out of the middle of the city. It had a great view of the city and it was relatively serene compared to the chaotic city below.
From here I´m planning on crossing the border into Guatemala tomorrow and going north to the Caribbean coast. From there it´s a ferry to Belize and then back into Guatemala to visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal.
That´s it for now, I´ll put some photots up as soon as I can. Adios.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
More Free Time
I have been contemplating quitting The Journal for the last couple weeks and just travel around Costa Rica and Central America for my remaining time. I have not been particularly interested or happy working with the newspaper and the idea of visiting other countries has become incredibly appealling (it was actually my original idea when I made plans to come to CR). I was mulling over the whether to quit at the end of next week, but as I was very diplomatically asked not to submit any more articles after today, the decision has been made for me.
I can´t say that I was actually surprised at all that I was fired. The Journal has been going through a transition period of the last month or two and a lot of people have been cut out from the staff. I definitely stuck it out through the darkest of the days but Miguel just wants me gone I think. I have very little respect for him as an owner for the way he treats his employees and runs the business.
I feel quite content and a little releived actually not have to work any more. I have already started making plans to go to Nicaragua and beyond very soon. I have a lot more free time now and am determined to make the most of what time I have left in Central America.
I can´t say that I was actually surprised at all that I was fired. The Journal has been going through a transition period of the last month or two and a lot of people have been cut out from the staff. I definitely stuck it out through the darkest of the days but Miguel just wants me gone I think. I have very little respect for him as an owner for the way he treats his employees and runs the business.
I feel quite content and a little releived actually not have to work any more. I have already started making plans to go to Nicaragua and beyond very soon. I have a lot more free time now and am determined to make the most of what time I have left in Central America.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Good for what ails you
Once again soccer has come to the rescue. I have been sick with the flu and have down and out for a days. I do not get sick very often and when it happens, as my mother can surely attest, I am not the most pleasant person to be around.
I was feeling slightly better on Monday but still down on my luck when I received a phone call from my coworker Carlos. Last week he said there was a possibility of playing soccer this week but it was still uncertain. There are all kinds of small sided ´canchas´ for ´fútbol sala´ around and he told me we reserved space to play that night. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity and hopped on a bus to Liberia.
I felt a little weak and sluggish but it was still so much fun to run around and play for a bit. We had the space for an hour but I was drenched with sweat after five minutes. It´s 4v4 plus goalies in a space slightly smaller than a basketball court and it felt great to work hard and sweat out most of my cold. We ended up tying 18 - 18 after an hour´s play and I even scored a good goal.
I spent the night at Carlos´ house in Liberia and went with him to work in the morning. I am still in the final throws of being sick and another day should do it. My overall personal state (physically and psychologically) has improved significantly which has only reinforced my belief that soccer is my go to cure-all. And what´s the overaching lesson to be gleaned from the experience, you might ask: soccer is good for what ails you.
I was feeling slightly better on Monday but still down on my luck when I received a phone call from my coworker Carlos. Last week he said there was a possibility of playing soccer this week but it was still uncertain. There are all kinds of small sided ´canchas´ for ´fútbol sala´ around and he told me we reserved space to play that night. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity and hopped on a bus to Liberia.
I felt a little weak and sluggish but it was still so much fun to run around and play for a bit. We had the space for an hour but I was drenched with sweat after five minutes. It´s 4v4 plus goalies in a space slightly smaller than a basketball court and it felt great to work hard and sweat out most of my cold. We ended up tying 18 - 18 after an hour´s play and I even scored a good goal.
I spent the night at Carlos´ house in Liberia and went with him to work in the morning. I am still in the final throws of being sick and another day should do it. My overall personal state (physically and psychologically) has improved significantly which has only reinforced my belief that soccer is my go to cure-all. And what´s the overaching lesson to be gleaned from the experience, you might ask: soccer is good for what ails you.
Friday, May 18, 2007
It´s hot and I don´t want to work
It has been hot almost every single day since I´ve been in Costa Rica, but now it is getting ridiculously hot. I have taken to sweating profusely while sitting still and usually don´t wear much more than shorts whenever I can. However, that still doesn´t help. I have the fan locked on me while sleeping and I am missing the air conditioning of my old apartment more and more.
Compounding the situation is that I have little to no motivation to work this past week. It was a struggle to find stories and write them for some reason. I just did not want to work. Truth be told, I am not enjoying working for the Journal that much anymore. I love the people I work with (minus the owner), but I don´t feel interested in researching and writing articless and it is becoming more and more tempting just to quit and bum around for a while. We´ll give it another week or two, see how I´m feeling at that point, and go from there.
Despite my complaints, things are still fine in Costa Rica. The week was challenging for several reasons, the car crash being the primary factor, but it´s just one of times everyone has to deal with at during life. I am sure I will be right as rain, which is falling with more regularity and intensity, shortly.
Compounding the situation is that I have little to no motivation to work this past week. It was a struggle to find stories and write them for some reason. I just did not want to work. Truth be told, I am not enjoying working for the Journal that much anymore. I love the people I work with (minus the owner), but I don´t feel interested in researching and writing articless and it is becoming more and more tempting just to quit and bum around for a while. We´ll give it another week or two, see how I´m feeling at that point, and go from there.
Despite my complaints, things are still fine in Costa Rica. The week was challenging for several reasons, the car crash being the primary factor, but it´s just one of times everyone has to deal with at during life. I am sure I will be right as rain, which is falling with more regularity and intensity, shortly.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A Whopper
Oh boy, have I got a whopper this time. The whole story starts last Friday when Katie and I – my friend from Macalester who was visiting for the week – decided to rent a car for a couple days. The idea was to get the car so that we could go hike around some national parks in Costa Rica, use it to take her to the airport, and then drop the car off afterward.
It is nearly impossible to get to many of the parks in Costa Rica by public transport and we really wanted to hike a volcano to top off what had already been a very fun and adventuresome week. We got the car, a small sized SUV, and headed off to Rincon de la Vieja Friday afternoon to hike for a bit. We made up to a sweet, hidden waterfall halfway up the mountain and back down without a problem.
Feeling optimistic, we made plans to go visit another national park, Guanacaste, a bit farther north on Saturday but that turned out to be a disaster. Although it is a national park, there are no signs directing you how to get there. We drove around looking for it the entire morning and ended up stopping at a stream and spent most of the afternoon walking amongst the rocks. We intended to hike a volcano, but we had to settle for this alternative.
The story really doesn’t get interesting until we’re about two miles from my apartment. It had just stopped raining and we were coming down a big hill that leads into Coco. I was driving at a reasonable speed, certainly not going excessively fast, while a bus was coming up the hill in the opposite directly. I pressed the brake to slow down as we passed it but the car skidded on some oil or something slippery on the road and veered into the path of the oncoming bus. I tried to slow down and steered the car away from the bus, but that unfortunately put us heading toward the shoulder of the road and we were still sliding out of control.
The rest of the images I remember in very clear, but disconnected flashes as we skidded off the side of hill, catching our tires on something and rolling over twice before we landed right side up and stopped. The whole thing happened so quickly I didn’t fully realize what had occurred until we stopped.
The windows and doors were smashed and our things were tossed all over the place as we rolled, but miraculously, Katie and I were almost completely fine after the crash. Dazed and mostly angry, I emerged from the wreckage literally without a scratch, and only with a sore neck. Rolling on her side of the vehicle, Katie fared only slightly worse with a scratch on her shoulder and thigh, and bump on her head and forearm. Which, all things considered, could have been a lot worse for both of us.
The response from passers by and emergency personnel was rapid, but fortunately nothing was severely physically wrong so we got a ride back to my apartment and that was that. Katie was a bit more shaken up than I was and it was a psychologically difficult rest of the night and morning as I went with her to the airport Sunday morning.
I have definitely been in a weird state of mind since the accident (unfortunately for Katie because I should have been more supportive) but am gradually getting back to normal. Strangely, my initial reaction was simply being pissed off that the whole thing happened, but time has gone by, the gravity of the situation has sunk in a bit more.
Looking at the car afterward, pretty well smashed up, it was astounding that nothing worse happened to us. Without any warning, and for no drastic reason, the car skidded out of control and flipped twice. I simply pressed the brakes and we could have (and perhaps should have) been injured much worse than what actually happened.
In was especially a shame because it put an incredibly sour flavor to an otherwise very fun week. We met up with one of Katie’s friends living in Costa Rica, went boogey boarding, SCUBA diving, went out to eat and a bunch of other things that were a lot of fun. I wish I were writing about those instead, but this story definitely trumps the others.
I have been graced with good fortune throughout my lifetime and everything has always seemed to work out for me just fine. It’s the luck I have lived by and thankfully it hasn’t run out yet. However, a situation such as this quickly and dramatically, puts things in perspective and is a stark reminder how your fortunes can change in an instant.
I am back at work and have made a claim and started the whole process to get this resolved. It promises to be a long and drawn out process, but we bought insurance on the car so I am optimistic it will not be too much out of pocket. However, considering the extent of the accident, any amount of money is pennies in comparison to what could have been.
It is nearly impossible to get to many of the parks in Costa Rica by public transport and we really wanted to hike a volcano to top off what had already been a very fun and adventuresome week. We got the car, a small sized SUV, and headed off to Rincon de la Vieja Friday afternoon to hike for a bit. We made up to a sweet, hidden waterfall halfway up the mountain and back down without a problem.
Feeling optimistic, we made plans to go visit another national park, Guanacaste, a bit farther north on Saturday but that turned out to be a disaster. Although it is a national park, there are no signs directing you how to get there. We drove around looking for it the entire morning and ended up stopping at a stream and spent most of the afternoon walking amongst the rocks. We intended to hike a volcano, but we had to settle for this alternative.
The story really doesn’t get interesting until we’re about two miles from my apartment. It had just stopped raining and we were coming down a big hill that leads into Coco. I was driving at a reasonable speed, certainly not going excessively fast, while a bus was coming up the hill in the opposite directly. I pressed the brake to slow down as we passed it but the car skidded on some oil or something slippery on the road and veered into the path of the oncoming bus. I tried to slow down and steered the car away from the bus, but that unfortunately put us heading toward the shoulder of the road and we were still sliding out of control.
The rest of the images I remember in very clear, but disconnected flashes as we skidded off the side of hill, catching our tires on something and rolling over twice before we landed right side up and stopped. The whole thing happened so quickly I didn’t fully realize what had occurred until we stopped.
The windows and doors were smashed and our things were tossed all over the place as we rolled, but miraculously, Katie and I were almost completely fine after the crash. Dazed and mostly angry, I emerged from the wreckage literally without a scratch, and only with a sore neck. Rolling on her side of the vehicle, Katie fared only slightly worse with a scratch on her shoulder and thigh, and bump on her head and forearm. Which, all things considered, could have been a lot worse for both of us.
The response from passers by and emergency personnel was rapid, but fortunately nothing was severely physically wrong so we got a ride back to my apartment and that was that. Katie was a bit more shaken up than I was and it was a psychologically difficult rest of the night and morning as I went with her to the airport Sunday morning.
I have definitely been in a weird state of mind since the accident (unfortunately for Katie because I should have been more supportive) but am gradually getting back to normal. Strangely, my initial reaction was simply being pissed off that the whole thing happened, but time has gone by, the gravity of the situation has sunk in a bit more.
Looking at the car afterward, pretty well smashed up, it was astounding that nothing worse happened to us. Without any warning, and for no drastic reason, the car skidded out of control and flipped twice. I simply pressed the brakes and we could have (and perhaps should have) been injured much worse than what actually happened.
In was especially a shame because it put an incredibly sour flavor to an otherwise very fun week. We met up with one of Katie’s friends living in Costa Rica, went boogey boarding, SCUBA diving, went out to eat and a bunch of other things that were a lot of fun. I wish I were writing about those instead, but this story definitely trumps the others.
I have been graced with good fortune throughout my lifetime and everything has always seemed to work out for me just fine. It’s the luck I have lived by and thankfully it hasn’t run out yet. However, a situation such as this quickly and dramatically, puts things in perspective and is a stark reminder how your fortunes can change in an instant.
I am back at work and have made a claim and started the whole process to get this resolved. It promises to be a long and drawn out process, but we bought insurance on the car so I am optimistic it will not be too much out of pocket. However, considering the extent of the accident, any amount of money is pennies in comparison to what could have been.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
SCUBA Diving
I am now an officially certified PADI Open Water Diver, which means I able to dive anywhere in the world for the rest of my life. The Open Water level is the most basic level of independent divers but I am incredibly exited about. There are still lots of skills and other tasks you can do to gain experience and advance your level, but those you generally accumulate over time.
The course consisted of a series of book/theory exercises out of the water and there was also a number of in the water skills activities. I was definitely nervous at first but I gradually became more and more comfortable with the skills, breathing and moving around in the whole aparatus. It is a strange sensation to be breathing underwater and swimming past rocks and fishes but it is really cool. It´s incredible to see things that you´ve only seen on nature shows or read about in books.
My first deeper water dive was a bit of a challenge because I couldn´t equalize my head properly so my ears were killing from the pressure. Eventually I got it but thoughts that I wouldn´t be able to finish the course were running through my head.
Of all the many things I´ve seen, highlights have been seeing some huge sting rays gliding along the bottom of the ocean, a moray eel (they´re remarkably ugly), a couple sea horses and three sharks. On one of the dives a person had a camera and I might be able to get some under water photos from him, but I´ll have to wait and see.
The course consisted of a series of book/theory exercises out of the water and there was also a number of in the water skills activities. I was definitely nervous at first but I gradually became more and more comfortable with the skills, breathing and moving around in the whole aparatus. It is a strange sensation to be breathing underwater and swimming past rocks and fishes but it is really cool. It´s incredible to see things that you´ve only seen on nature shows or read about in books.
My first deeper water dive was a bit of a challenge because I couldn´t equalize my head properly so my ears were killing from the pressure. Eventually I got it but thoughts that I wouldn´t be able to finish the course were running through my head.
Of all the many things I´ve seen, highlights have been seeing some huge sting rays gliding along the bottom of the ocean, a moray eel (they´re remarkably ugly), a couple sea horses and three sharks. On one of the dives a person had a camera and I might be able to get some under water photos from him, but I´ll have to wait and see.
Friday, May 4, 2007
La Poza Mono Feliz
Though there has been a string of inconveniences lately, things have not been all that bad. Last Saturday, after finishing up my last article, I hitched a ride from Liberia in the back of truck with Ines and her family back to their house for the weekend. Ines has always been incredibly nice, almost like a surrogate mother, and she invited me to go swimming at a river near their house.
Anyway, we woke up early Sunday morning, packed some food and made our way to the “Happy Monkey Swimming Hole.” It was definitely a family affair including all of Ines’ nuclear family plus a couple cousins.
The river is no more than a big stream but the place we went to was remarkably deep and had gigantic rock walls leading directly down to the water – perfect for diving off. You could scramble your way up to some good jump-off points, but what made it even more excellent was the addition of a rope swing and ladder going up the rocks.
The weather was hot, the water was refreshing and needless to say, I made the most of situation. Actually, I think if I were to rate all the days I’ve been in Costa Rica, I would have to put this up there as number one or two.
Anyway, we woke up early Sunday morning, packed some food and made our way to the “Happy Monkey Swimming Hole.” It was definitely a family affair including all of Ines’ nuclear family plus a couple cousins.
The river is no more than a big stream but the place we went to was remarkably deep and had gigantic rock walls leading directly down to the water – perfect for diving off. You could scramble your way up to some good jump-off points, but what made it even more excellent was the addition of a rope swing and ladder going up the rocks.
The weather was hot, the water was refreshing and needless to say, I made the most of situation. Actually, I think if I were to rate all the days I’ve been in Costa Rica, I would have to put this up there as number one or two.
We headed back to the house in the afternoon and in the evening I went back into Liberia to play some soccer and basketball with Ines’ husband, son and nephews. We rode our bikes into town, which took us on the Pan American Highway, played for a couple hours, and then worked our way back. It took us a lot longer to return because we had to stop a couple times to drink some beer, finally arriving back home about 9:00.
I was exhausted and sore just about everywhere in my body, but it was definitely a good kind of a pain after a fun weekend.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Head Lamp Dinners
Candle light dinners are definitely one of the more romantic affairs you can experience it life. Almost inherently you feel differently, the mood is tranquil and the food might even taste betters. There is just something about eating by candle light, real or fantasy, that turns even normal meals into special events.
Dining by head lamp however, which has been annoyingly common lately, does not have quite the same effect.
Beginning some time early last week there have been blackouts at regions throughout the country lasting for several hours at a time. In-fighting between the nationalized energy provider ICE and the Costa Rican government has make it remarkably inconvenient for me, and the rest of the country, to live and work. Ongoing disagreement about a rate increase has resulted in ICE cutting power to manage operating costs to various sectors at scheduled intervals daily.
Fortunately, I have not been stranded anywhere and nothing bad has happened to me, but it is rather tedious sitting around, unable to do any sort of work, while waiting for the electricity to come back. The couple times the power has been out at night I´ve had to improvise and walk about my apartment using a headlamp my brother gave me to cook, clean or do whatever else I had to do.
Resolutions are being passed around between officials and hopefully the blackouts will end shortly. Which is a good thing because illuminating a spaghetti dinner for one with an LED bulb definitely does not provide the same ambience as a candle light dinner, and is as you might imagine slightly depressing.
Dining by head lamp however, which has been annoyingly common lately, does not have quite the same effect.
Beginning some time early last week there have been blackouts at regions throughout the country lasting for several hours at a time. In-fighting between the nationalized energy provider ICE and the Costa Rican government has make it remarkably inconvenient for me, and the rest of the country, to live and work. Ongoing disagreement about a rate increase has resulted in ICE cutting power to manage operating costs to various sectors at scheduled intervals daily.
Fortunately, I have not been stranded anywhere and nothing bad has happened to me, but it is rather tedious sitting around, unable to do any sort of work, while waiting for the electricity to come back. The couple times the power has been out at night I´ve had to improvise and walk about my apartment using a headlamp my brother gave me to cook, clean or do whatever else I had to do.
Resolutions are being passed around between officials and hopefully the blackouts will end shortly. Which is a good thing because illuminating a spaghetti dinner for one with an LED bulb definitely does not provide the same ambience as a candle light dinner, and is as you might imagine slightly depressing.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
La Playa
I have succesfully made the move from Liberia to Playas del Coco, phew. It convenientely was boiling hot the day I was lugging my bags around but I managed to get everything transfered OK. The cabina is quite nice and I like it a lot so far. Things are a little bit more difficult at the moment as far as work because I have to go to an Internet cafe to try and do things. Hopefully I can get internet in my room and then I´ll be all set.
I still don´t exactly know how, but I locked myself in my apartment the first night. Apparently there is a trick lock that allows you to turn the key to lock the latch from the inside, but you cannot undo it. So, after my very first night, I had to call the owner to come and rescue me... man sometimes you just feel like an idiot.
In other slight inconveniences, the handle on the kitchen faucet broke so I had to shut the water off. It is in the process of being fixed (hopefully by tomorrow) but I´ve had to get all my water from the shower for the last couple days. It hasn´t been too bad, especially since it hasn´t really mattered at all due to the random, rolling water shut offs that plague the area.
Guanacaste is the driest province by far and with the exploding development in the province, there isn´t enough infrastructure to support it. You know, watering those fourteen private golf courses daily sure does suck up a lot of drinking water... goddamn gringo golfers.
I still don´t exactly know how, but I locked myself in my apartment the first night. Apparently there is a trick lock that allows you to turn the key to lock the latch from the inside, but you cannot undo it. So, after my very first night, I had to call the owner to come and rescue me... man sometimes you just feel like an idiot.
In other slight inconveniences, the handle on the kitchen faucet broke so I had to shut the water off. It is in the process of being fixed (hopefully by tomorrow) but I´ve had to get all my water from the shower for the last couple days. It hasn´t been too bad, especially since it hasn´t really mattered at all due to the random, rolling water shut offs that plague the area.
Guanacaste is the driest province by far and with the exploding development in the province, there isn´t enough infrastructure to support it. You know, watering those fourteen private golf courses daily sure does suck up a lot of drinking water... goddamn gringo golfers.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Cell Phone
Hear ye, hear ye! I have finally gotten my hands on a cell phone and for you information, I know for a fact that it receives international calls just as well as is makes them. Not that I really expect anyone except my parents to call, but it would also be a little sad if they were the only ones who do.
The number is (506) 350-3422. The parantheses are the country code and the rest is just my number.
In other news, this week has been rather frustrating in light of power outages and crappy coverage of events. I actually started this post about 2.5 hours ago, but thanks to a random power outage I am just now re-typing it. It is rather difficult to write articles if you have no means of typing them, that's for sure.
Also, earlier in the week I was set to go to cover a conference but for no particular reason it was delayed and then cancelled to the complete befudlement of everyone who was to attend. Inexplicably, the whole thing just did not happen. And yesterday, I had a hell of time travelling to visit a artisan museum that is to be opened next month. Ticos are incredibly nice and offer help willingly, but as was reaffirmed yesterday, they often do not have any clear idea of what they are talking about.
The great problem in Costa Rica is inefficiency. It is understood that things kinda just happen and everybody seems perfectly content waiting around until they do. Like for buses to arrive or people to show up in a location, for example. For the most part, being a laid back, roll with the punches type person, this has not bothered me but it is still frustrating at times. I definitely think part of the problem is that I am from the U.S. where everything is structured to be as convenient as possible. I am sure another part is that I still don't 'get' exactly how things operate, but for whatever reason this has created the friction.
I guess the only thing to do when you're stranded at some bus station in rural Costa Rica is think to yourself, "Pura Vida."
The number is (506) 350-3422. The parantheses are the country code and the rest is just my number.
In other news, this week has been rather frustrating in light of power outages and crappy coverage of events. I actually started this post about 2.5 hours ago, but thanks to a random power outage I am just now re-typing it. It is rather difficult to write articles if you have no means of typing them, that's for sure.
Also, earlier in the week I was set to go to cover a conference but for no particular reason it was delayed and then cancelled to the complete befudlement of everyone who was to attend. Inexplicably, the whole thing just did not happen. And yesterday, I had a hell of time travelling to visit a artisan museum that is to be opened next month. Ticos are incredibly nice and offer help willingly, but as was reaffirmed yesterday, they often do not have any clear idea of what they are talking about.
The great problem in Costa Rica is inefficiency. It is understood that things kinda just happen and everybody seems perfectly content waiting around until they do. Like for buses to arrive or people to show up in a location, for example. For the most part, being a laid back, roll with the punches type person, this has not bothered me but it is still frustrating at times. I definitely think part of the problem is that I am from the U.S. where everything is structured to be as convenient as possible. I am sure another part is that I still don't 'get' exactly how things operate, but for whatever reason this has created the friction.
I guess the only thing to do when you're stranded at some bus station in rural Costa Rica is think to yourself, "Pura Vida."
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Just a quickie
Just a quick little update. I had a busy last week with getting my articles written but they´re all finished now and turned. The close for articles is every Friday and so there is always a crunch trying to get everything put together as the week winds down. Definitely believe I am getting a better feel for the whole process of researching, interviewing and writing but I still would hardly consider myself a proper journalist. I which I had a bit more constructive feedback about my stories but as it is, we don´t really have an editor to speak of and it is more of a learn as you go along type system. Oh well.
I also have been looking into new apartments at the beach and think I found one that will work out nicely. I actually just got back from Coco and found a studio/cabina apartment that is only a five minute walk from the beach and at a resonable price. The apartment is currently occupied but will open up Monday or Tuesday, so hopefully be Wednesday I can start moving in.
Lastly, I have applied to a masters program in International Peace Studies at the University for Peace here in San Jose. It is a UN chartered university that offers a number of programs related to conflict resolution, reconstruction and sustainable development. Mine is a one year program and I will find out if I was accepted or not at the beginning of May. I don´t know much about the selectivity and number of applicants so I really don´t know what to expect. Classes would start next September and it would cool if I got in, but I certainly won´t be shattered if I don´t.
I also have been looking into new apartments at the beach and think I found one that will work out nicely. I actually just got back from Coco and found a studio/cabina apartment that is only a five minute walk from the beach and at a resonable price. The apartment is currently occupied but will open up Monday or Tuesday, so hopefully be Wednesday I can start moving in.
Lastly, I have applied to a masters program in International Peace Studies at the University for Peace here in San Jose. It is a UN chartered university that offers a number of programs related to conflict resolution, reconstruction and sustainable development. Mine is a one year program and I will find out if I was accepted or not at the beginning of May. I don´t know much about the selectivity and number of applicants so I really don´t know what to expect. Classes would start next September and it would cool if I got in, but I certainly won´t be shattered if I don´t.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Pictures from Semana Santa
Nice, just nice
Yes Eddie, that´s a statue
- No, no too sexy!-Ah yes, but I must!
Santa Elena and Monteverde
Here´s something you won´t find in Iowa
Thumb´s up says it all
Me, Travis (guy from Iowa), Jen & EddieWednesday, April 11, 2007
Cloud forests, bus rides and Semana Santa
After being chided by my mother for not posting, here’s the latest installment of my Costa Rica saga. Again, I apologize for the length but there was a lot to say.
As some of you may have known, one of my bestest buddies from Mac, Eddie, was in Costa Rica last week visiting his parents (his dad is on sabbatical studying nematodes). And since Costa Rica is approximately 80% Catholic and being that is was Semana Santa last week, much of the workforce throughout the country was on vacation. Lucky that I am, I did not have to work last week so, it worked out splendidly that we could hang out quite a bit. Eddie and a friend of his from Lincoln, Jen, who was also in Central America came up to Liberia last Monday and we all traveled together and did the best we could to enjoy ourselves. We did of course, and unfortunately for Jen, this meant we gave her a hard time often.
After spending a cramped and uncomfortable night in my apartment, we got up early and headed to the cloud forests. There was no direct route to get there but finally, after being jostled around for several hours winding our way up a terribly bumpy road, we arrived at Santa Elena. There is nothing exceptional about the place, it is a rather small, touristy town that merely serves as a gateway to the nearby biological reserves, catering almost exclusively to those who have come to see the cloud forests.
In a remarkable “small world moment,” Eddie, while periodically lifting his head off the seat in front of him in an effort not to become car sick, spotted a guy sitting at the front of the bus we came in on wearing an Iowa State baseball cap. We ended up talking with him when we got off the bus and as it turns out, he graduated from ISU in the mid 90’s and has been traveling Central America for five weeks. Weird... Go ‘Clones!
Anyway, after getting off the bus we got some lunch, dropped off our bags and hopped aboard a short shuttle to the Santa Elena biological reserve to do a quick hike Tuesday afternoon. It was great! Incredibly dense, diverse vegetation with all kinds of things I’ve never seen before, but they are definitely called rain forests for a reason. As soon as we got off the van it turned from a fine mist into a steady rain and we trudged through the forest for about an hour and a half. It was incredibly beautiful with plants and vines everywhere and a towering canopy, but it was difficult to enjoy because we were busy getting soaked to bone (Eddie and I conveniently blame Jen although it was entirely our own faults. You know rain jackets don’t do a whole lot of good balled up in your backpack at the hostel).
We made it back no worse for the wear and the next morning I was fully equipped for a monsoon at the Monteverde Reserve, 5km the opposite direction from Santa Elena. But wouldn’t you know, it barely did anything more than a light mist…figures. I had my heart set on licking some poisonous dart frogs and seeing a resplendent quetzal, but unfortunately neither were to be found. The two reserves are much the same as far as flora and fauna, but there were far more tourists at Monteverde. We saw some howler monkeys, a variety of birds and a few lizards but had to hurry back and get our stuff in time to catch the last bus for San Jose.
We were heading to Eddie’s parents house and because every thing shut down for Semana Santa there was a mass exodus of people leaving the reserves. We had to go on Wednesday afternoon, lest we be stranded there until Saturday and met a bunch of travelers in much the same predicament (i.e. not necessarily wanting to go to San Jose but with no other options because buses didn’t run on Thursday or Friday). Interestingly, I did talk to this guy, who knew another guy, who could hook us with a special deal for a bus just for us on Thursday if we stuck around. A tempting offer but needless to say, one we did not take him up on.
Both lanes were clogged with traffic going into and out of San Jose and when combined with a flat tire, normally a four hour bus ride annoyingly turned into a seven hour trip. We didn’t reach Eddie’s parents house in Heredia, a suburb a few km north of San Jose, until late Wednesday night. With everything closed for Semana Santa activities, there wasn’t a whole lot going on so we just took it easy for a couple days. We did play some soccer and walked around downtown San Jose which were both pretty fun. Mr. and Mrs. Powers were incredibly nice and it was great to kinda be around some familiar people and some semblance of a family.
Eddie and Jen left for the States on Saturday and I took off for Liberia that same afternoon. It was great to meet Jen and hang out with Eddie for the week but now it’s back to the grind. I’ve been looking for new apartments, albeit not very resolutely, but this week I think I’m going to try and move to the beach. I’ll let you all know how that turns out but that’s all for now.
As some of you may have known, one of my bestest buddies from Mac, Eddie, was in Costa Rica last week visiting his parents (his dad is on sabbatical studying nematodes). And since Costa Rica is approximately 80% Catholic and being that is was Semana Santa last week, much of the workforce throughout the country was on vacation. Lucky that I am, I did not have to work last week so, it worked out splendidly that we could hang out quite a bit. Eddie and a friend of his from Lincoln, Jen, who was also in Central America came up to Liberia last Monday and we all traveled together and did the best we could to enjoy ourselves. We did of course, and unfortunately for Jen, this meant we gave her a hard time often.
After spending a cramped and uncomfortable night in my apartment, we got up early and headed to the cloud forests. There was no direct route to get there but finally, after being jostled around for several hours winding our way up a terribly bumpy road, we arrived at Santa Elena. There is nothing exceptional about the place, it is a rather small, touristy town that merely serves as a gateway to the nearby biological reserves, catering almost exclusively to those who have come to see the cloud forests.
In a remarkable “small world moment,” Eddie, while periodically lifting his head off the seat in front of him in an effort not to become car sick, spotted a guy sitting at the front of the bus we came in on wearing an Iowa State baseball cap. We ended up talking with him when we got off the bus and as it turns out, he graduated from ISU in the mid 90’s and has been traveling Central America for five weeks. Weird... Go ‘Clones!
Anyway, after getting off the bus we got some lunch, dropped off our bags and hopped aboard a short shuttle to the Santa Elena biological reserve to do a quick hike Tuesday afternoon. It was great! Incredibly dense, diverse vegetation with all kinds of things I’ve never seen before, but they are definitely called rain forests for a reason. As soon as we got off the van it turned from a fine mist into a steady rain and we trudged through the forest for about an hour and a half. It was incredibly beautiful with plants and vines everywhere and a towering canopy, but it was difficult to enjoy because we were busy getting soaked to bone (Eddie and I conveniently blame Jen although it was entirely our own faults. You know rain jackets don’t do a whole lot of good balled up in your backpack at the hostel).
We made it back no worse for the wear and the next morning I was fully equipped for a monsoon at the Monteverde Reserve, 5km the opposite direction from Santa Elena. But wouldn’t you know, it barely did anything more than a light mist…figures. I had my heart set on licking some poisonous dart frogs and seeing a resplendent quetzal, but unfortunately neither were to be found. The two reserves are much the same as far as flora and fauna, but there were far more tourists at Monteverde. We saw some howler monkeys, a variety of birds and a few lizards but had to hurry back and get our stuff in time to catch the last bus for San Jose.
We were heading to Eddie’s parents house and because every thing shut down for Semana Santa there was a mass exodus of people leaving the reserves. We had to go on Wednesday afternoon, lest we be stranded there until Saturday and met a bunch of travelers in much the same predicament (i.e. not necessarily wanting to go to San Jose but with no other options because buses didn’t run on Thursday or Friday). Interestingly, I did talk to this guy, who knew another guy, who could hook us with a special deal for a bus just for us on Thursday if we stuck around. A tempting offer but needless to say, one we did not take him up on.
Both lanes were clogged with traffic going into and out of San Jose and when combined with a flat tire, normally a four hour bus ride annoyingly turned into a seven hour trip. We didn’t reach Eddie’s parents house in Heredia, a suburb a few km north of San Jose, until late Wednesday night. With everything closed for Semana Santa activities, there wasn’t a whole lot going on so we just took it easy for a couple days. We did play some soccer and walked around downtown San Jose which were both pretty fun. Mr. and Mrs. Powers were incredibly nice and it was great to kinda be around some familiar people and some semblance of a family.
Eddie and Jen left for the States on Saturday and I took off for Liberia that same afternoon. It was great to meet Jen and hang out with Eddie for the week but now it’s back to the grind. I’ve been looking for new apartments, albeit not very resolutely, but this week I think I’m going to try and move to the beach. I’ll let you all know how that turns out but that’s all for now.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Photos from Nicaragua
Masaya Market building
Fountain and church in Granada (note the goat)
View of Granada from a church belltower
Pedestrian street in GranadaMore Photos from Nicaragua
Inside the Masaya Market 
Yeah, c´mon and gimme some of the good stuff fishy...
Too Cool For School!Wednesday, March 28, 2007
When Dreams Die at the Border: Chocolate Covered Promises (the Adventures of Sand and Fire, a.k.a. Youngblood and Danger)
Author’s Note: Be prepared for a very lengthy and hopefully entertaining post.
Working somewhat illegally under a tourist visa, I am obliged to leave the country for 72 hours every three months so that I don’t get deported and forbidden from entering Costa Rica again. I’ve only been here about two months, but Alex, one of the other writers, needed to leave the country to renew his visa. Seeing that I wanted to go to Nicaragua anyway, I decided to go with him over the weekend.
Sometimes you just know when things are not going to turn out right. You have a feeling of sorts and I definitely had this same type of auspicious feeling beforehand. And as it turns out, we had a pretty adventurous weekend.
It all got started on the wrong foot as Alex was unable to catch two early morning buses from San Jose to Liberia on Friday because they were full. The idea was for him to come here, celebrate Ines’ birthday over lunch, then catch another bus to the border and go from there. We had a great time eating at an Italian restaurant in town , but Alex wasn’t able to get here until late so we decided to wait until the next day to head north.
As fate would have it, Alex met a girl on the bus and somehow managed to talk us into a trip out to her family farm on Saturday to go horseback riding. It seemed pretty sweet until we arrived where we were to meet her but she was late (predictably by my account) and couldn’t take us to her ranch because she had things to do in Liberia. Adding insult to injury, the already crestfallen Alex was further distressed by the fact that his digital SLR camera got stolen on the bus going after what he deemed, “chocolate covered promises.”
Deciding to cut our losses, we ventured to the bus station to head to the border (only about an hour away) but the bus wasn’t leaving for another hour. We actually ended riding up with a couple other people in an unlicensed taxi and it was definitely faster and reasonabley priced. Things were going relatively well until we actually stepped out of the car and were immediately mobbed by a dozen or so guys who make there living swindling people at the border.
I of course did not realize just how treacherous these guys were as they closed in offering to change money, give us a taxi and find us housing. Amidst the frenzy and confusion, I, needing to change money, gave them more than I should have. I expected them to take some money off the top and foolishly not knowing exact exchange rate, did not realize that they had taken us for more than half of what we gave them until it was too late. I concede that this was more than a dumb move, but I had a little more faith in the goodness of these people that they wouldn’t completely dick us over. But, alas, they did. I was profoundly disappointed in myself first of all, but certainly by the wankers at the border as well.
Anyway, the actual immigration process went remarkably smoothly and we hopped on a bus, (a little expensive but nice) going to Granada, Nicaragua. This worked out well because it was getting dark and we didn’t know of any other options after this bus passed. Granada is a very cool city. It was founded by Fransisco Cordoba in 1524 and is the oldest colonial city in the Western Hemisphere. It has a long and often tumultuous history full of pirate raids and power struggles but a great deal of the colonial housing and architecture has remained intact.
Interestingly, William Walker, ancestor of our fearless President established a stronghold in Granada and from which he tried to take over Central America in the 1850´s. Following mass dissent and renouncement by the U.S. government, he and his army were driven from the city but managed to raze the city on their way out. So you see, W, comes from aa long pedigree of brilliant foreign policy that has helped mold him into the leader we have today. I guess the apple doesn´t fall far from the tree.
I digress...
Alex has been through Nicaragua before and spent some time in Granada in particular so we went back to a cool hostel he knew of near the center of town. Thank God they allowed us to pay at the end of our three nights because we barely had enough money to cover our food expenses.
Fearing it being stolen or lost, I did not bring my credit card with me so we had to pinch every one of our Cordobas and tighten our belts to make it through. I must say, interesting thoughts run through your head when you are in a third world country with no certain way of getting back home, that’s for sure. Fortunately for us things are a little cheaper still in Nicaragua and we were able to ration our remaining money well and got enough food to get us through the days comfortably.
However, we definitely did not have enough to pay for the hostel and the return bus tickets so I had shamefully had to call my parents to have them send us money and bail us out. THANKS MOM AND DAD!! I try to be independent and self sufficient as much as possible and don’t like asking my parents for things, particularly money, but it is wonderful to know that they’ll be there to help when I need it.
I don’t know, perhaps in some ways it gives them an odd source of pleasure that us kids still look to them to take care of us. Or, I could be really off base and they really are fed up with me. Who really knows…
We got money (by the way, Western Union offers a fantastic service to dumb, stranded gringos) and had just enough to make it back to Costa Rica without any more complications. In retrospect, once we got inside Nicaragua, things were really quite enjoyable. We went to a cool arstesania market in Masaya and saw a little of Managua too. Nicaragua has so much more colonial history and culture than what I´ve seen in Costa Rica and Granada is a cool place.
All in all, it was a decent experience. I made some blunders and learned some lessons the hard way but came through it all right and I am still here without a whole lot of fuss. I wish perhaps I could have learned the same things a different way but sometimes the best way to learn is to fall flat on your face.
Working somewhat illegally under a tourist visa, I am obliged to leave the country for 72 hours every three months so that I don’t get deported and forbidden from entering Costa Rica again. I’ve only been here about two months, but Alex, one of the other writers, needed to leave the country to renew his visa. Seeing that I wanted to go to Nicaragua anyway, I decided to go with him over the weekend.
Sometimes you just know when things are not going to turn out right. You have a feeling of sorts and I definitely had this same type of auspicious feeling beforehand. And as it turns out, we had a pretty adventurous weekend.
It all got started on the wrong foot as Alex was unable to catch two early morning buses from San Jose to Liberia on Friday because they were full. The idea was for him to come here, celebrate Ines’ birthday over lunch, then catch another bus to the border and go from there. We had a great time eating at an Italian restaurant in town , but Alex wasn’t able to get here until late so we decided to wait until the next day to head north.
As fate would have it, Alex met a girl on the bus and somehow managed to talk us into a trip out to her family farm on Saturday to go horseback riding. It seemed pretty sweet until we arrived where we were to meet her but she was late (predictably by my account) and couldn’t take us to her ranch because she had things to do in Liberia. Adding insult to injury, the already crestfallen Alex was further distressed by the fact that his digital SLR camera got stolen on the bus going after what he deemed, “chocolate covered promises.”
Deciding to cut our losses, we ventured to the bus station to head to the border (only about an hour away) but the bus wasn’t leaving for another hour. We actually ended riding up with a couple other people in an unlicensed taxi and it was definitely faster and reasonabley priced. Things were going relatively well until we actually stepped out of the car and were immediately mobbed by a dozen or so guys who make there living swindling people at the border.
I of course did not realize just how treacherous these guys were as they closed in offering to change money, give us a taxi and find us housing. Amidst the frenzy and confusion, I, needing to change money, gave them more than I should have. I expected them to take some money off the top and foolishly not knowing exact exchange rate, did not realize that they had taken us for more than half of what we gave them until it was too late. I concede that this was more than a dumb move, but I had a little more faith in the goodness of these people that they wouldn’t completely dick us over. But, alas, they did. I was profoundly disappointed in myself first of all, but certainly by the wankers at the border as well.
Anyway, the actual immigration process went remarkably smoothly and we hopped on a bus, (a little expensive but nice) going to Granada, Nicaragua. This worked out well because it was getting dark and we didn’t know of any other options after this bus passed. Granada is a very cool city. It was founded by Fransisco Cordoba in 1524 and is the oldest colonial city in the Western Hemisphere. It has a long and often tumultuous history full of pirate raids and power struggles but a great deal of the colonial housing and architecture has remained intact.
Interestingly, William Walker, ancestor of our fearless President established a stronghold in Granada and from which he tried to take over Central America in the 1850´s. Following mass dissent and renouncement by the U.S. government, he and his army were driven from the city but managed to raze the city on their way out. So you see, W, comes from aa long pedigree of brilliant foreign policy that has helped mold him into the leader we have today. I guess the apple doesn´t fall far from the tree.
I digress...
Alex has been through Nicaragua before and spent some time in Granada in particular so we went back to a cool hostel he knew of near the center of town. Thank God they allowed us to pay at the end of our three nights because we barely had enough money to cover our food expenses.
Fearing it being stolen or lost, I did not bring my credit card with me so we had to pinch every one of our Cordobas and tighten our belts to make it through. I must say, interesting thoughts run through your head when you are in a third world country with no certain way of getting back home, that’s for sure. Fortunately for us things are a little cheaper still in Nicaragua and we were able to ration our remaining money well and got enough food to get us through the days comfortably.
However, we definitely did not have enough to pay for the hostel and the return bus tickets so I had shamefully had to call my parents to have them send us money and bail us out. THANKS MOM AND DAD!! I try to be independent and self sufficient as much as possible and don’t like asking my parents for things, particularly money, but it is wonderful to know that they’ll be there to help when I need it.
I don’t know, perhaps in some ways it gives them an odd source of pleasure that us kids still look to them to take care of us. Or, I could be really off base and they really are fed up with me. Who really knows…
We got money (by the way, Western Union offers a fantastic service to dumb, stranded gringos) and had just enough to make it back to Costa Rica without any more complications. In retrospect, once we got inside Nicaragua, things were really quite enjoyable. We went to a cool arstesania market in Masaya and saw a little of Managua too. Nicaragua has so much more colonial history and culture than what I´ve seen in Costa Rica and Granada is a cool place.
All in all, it was a decent experience. I made some blunders and learned some lessons the hard way but came through it all right and I am still here without a whole lot of fuss. I wish perhaps I could have learned the same things a different way but sometimes the best way to learn is to fall flat on your face.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
To Move
Well, following a break downs of pros and cons, and the unanimous and resounding council from family and friends, I have decided to continue with The Journal as a full time writer. I met with Miguel last Friday and after discussing things with him, I accepted the offer and will be moving to Playa Coco sometime soon. I have many things to do now in preparation for the move like finding a new place to live, getting a Costa Rican bank account, get a cell phone and move out of my old place. Fortunately I don´t have much down here so the actually moving process shouldn´t be too bad.
I am both excited and apprehensive about the new job as I really don´t know what to expect from it. The work shouldn´t be too different which is nice, but I will have greater accountability within the newspaper and will have to take more initiative. This, however, is not the part that worries me.
I don´t know if it is unique to the management of this newspaper or a Costa Rica thing in general (though I think the latter), but things are rather disorganized. There always seems to be a bit of a scramble to finish each edition and communication between Miguel and the rest of us is poor at best. He is a nice guy and a good person but he is above all, a businessman. He is always looking for a way to save money and make more and unfortunately this has caused problems for some of the other people with the newspaper. He likes me but he is fickle and so I am nervous that his disposition toward me could change without me even realizing it.
So, I take the job with guarded optimism and I guess we´ll see how it turns out. If things are not going well I guess I can just leave. That´s a nice option to have but hopefully it won´t come to that.
I am in Nicaragua now with Alex Lane and to say the least, it has been an adventurous trip so far. I´ll write about it when I get back to Liberia.
I am both excited and apprehensive about the new job as I really don´t know what to expect from it. The work shouldn´t be too different which is nice, but I will have greater accountability within the newspaper and will have to take more initiative. This, however, is not the part that worries me.
I don´t know if it is unique to the management of this newspaper or a Costa Rica thing in general (though I think the latter), but things are rather disorganized. There always seems to be a bit of a scramble to finish each edition and communication between Miguel and the rest of us is poor at best. He is a nice guy and a good person but he is above all, a businessman. He is always looking for a way to save money and make more and unfortunately this has caused problems for some of the other people with the newspaper. He likes me but he is fickle and so I am nervous that his disposition toward me could change without me even realizing it.
So, I take the job with guarded optimism and I guess we´ll see how it turns out. If things are not going well I guess I can just leave. That´s a nice option to have but hopefully it won´t come to that.
I am in Nicaragua now with Alex Lane and to say the least, it has been an adventurous trip so far. I´ll write about it when I get back to Liberia.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
To Move or Not to Move...
Today I had a meeting with Miguel, the owner of The Journal, and he actually presented me with a very interesting proposition to move to a beach about an hour away from Liberia and continue working for the newspaper but as a full-time journalist.
It is a very tempting offer because I will be paid more for approximately the same amount of work that I am doing now. It will be a little more expensive to live on the coast and the particular beach is not exceptionally nice, but it still is a beach.
The problems I have with taking the job is that it would potentially mess up plans to travel to South America after the internship is done. The job is for an indefinite period of time and I have been planning and looking forward to returning to Chile and travelling around the rest of South America for a long time. I also still have my return flight to the U.S. mixed in there in June so it might be alittle difficult to coordinate all this logistically.
I told Miguel that I would think it over and get back to him on Friday. In the meantime, I am asking anyone who checks this blog to get me there opinions on the matter, so please let me know. Thanks!
It is a very tempting offer because I will be paid more for approximately the same amount of work that I am doing now. It will be a little more expensive to live on the coast and the particular beach is not exceptionally nice, but it still is a beach.
The problems I have with taking the job is that it would potentially mess up plans to travel to South America after the internship is done. The job is for an indefinite period of time and I have been planning and looking forward to returning to Chile and travelling around the rest of South America for a long time. I also still have my return flight to the U.S. mixed in there in June so it might be alittle difficult to coordinate all this logistically.
I told Miguel that I would think it over and get back to him on Friday. In the meantime, I am asking anyone who checks this blog to get me there opinions on the matter, so please let me know. Thanks!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Sweet Release
Well after a crazy last week I decided that I needed to get out and do something adventurous. Long ago I realized that the best way for me to deal with any sort of negative situation is for me to go and exercise. Without ready access to my usual cathartic crux, soccer, I had to improvise and to this end, I decided to tackle one of the many national parks that dominate Costa Rica.
I hopped on a shuttle bus that departed from a local hotel and made the hour trip to Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja to get out civilization for a day and see what I could see. The park has a couple different trails leading past fumaroles, bubbling mud pits and waterfalls but I wanted to try my hand at something a little more exciting i.e. hiking up to the crater of an active volcano.
It took me about four hours to get from the ranger station up to crater itself and it was absolutely incredible. The trail worked its way up through a forest where I saw gigantic Fichus trees, some crazy looking birds and some monkeys that were pissed I was taking pictures of them. Just as I was getting out above the forest line the trail split and there was a sign pointing out an easier way and a more difficult and dangerous path. I thought about it for a second and of course I ended choosing the tougher route, I mean what kind of pansy would I be if I took the easy way, geez!
It was windy and slow going on the way up but I persevered. It actually wasn´t too bad but I imagined myself as Sir Edmund Hillary, minus my faithful shirpa Tensing, summitting Mt. Everest (well, or something like that). I actually first went to an inactive volcano crater that was along the way but I couldn’t really see anything because it was shrouded in clouds. After the inactive volcano I worked my way over to the real deal and the view was incredible on the cusp of the crater. I could see for miles in all directions! I was hoping to see lava bubbling but instead there was this sorta translucent milky colored lake in the crater. It smelled terrible and the sulfur gases burned my throat a little bit so I didn’t stay too long. I made it down with time to spare before the bus came back to pick us up, so I took a quick jaunt on another trail to see some more smelly, bubbly things. All in all, it was definitely a great trip.
My legs were sore yesterday so I hopped on another bus and went to the beach for the afternoon. Volcanos and beaches in consecutive days... yup, Costa Rica is pretty sweet and it´s hard to stay down for too long.
I hopped on a shuttle bus that departed from a local hotel and made the hour trip to Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja to get out civilization for a day and see what I could see. The park has a couple different trails leading past fumaroles, bubbling mud pits and waterfalls but I wanted to try my hand at something a little more exciting i.e. hiking up to the crater of an active volcano.It took me about four hours to get from the ranger station up to crater itself and it was absolutely incredible. The trail worked its way up through a forest where I saw gigantic Fichus trees, some crazy looking birds and some monkeys that were pissed I was taking pictures of them. Just as I was getting out above the forest line the trail split and there was a sign pointing out an easier way and a more difficult and dangerous path. I thought about it for a second and of course I ended choosing the tougher route, I mean what kind of pansy would I be if I took the easy way, geez!
It was windy and slow going on the way up but I persevered. It actually wasn´t too bad but I imagined myself as Sir Edmund Hillary, minus my faithful shirpa Tensing, summitting Mt. Everest (well, or something like that). I actually first went to an inactive volcano crater that was along the way but I couldn’t really see anything because it was shrouded in clouds. After the inactive volcano I worked my way over to the real deal and the view was incredible on the cusp of the crater. I could see for miles in all directions! I was hoping to see lava bubbling but instead there was this sorta translucent milky colored lake in the crater. It smelled terrible and the sulfur gases burned my throat a little bit so I didn’t stay too long. I made it down with time to spare before the bus came back to pick us up, so I took a quick jaunt on another trail to see some more smelly, bubbly things. All in all, it was definitely a great trip.
My legs were sore yesterday so I hopped on another bus and went to the beach for the afternoon. Volcanos and beaches in consecutive days... yup, Costa Rica is pretty sweet and it´s hard to stay down for too long.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Still Here and Still Kicking
Well I am still here in Liberia and still working, though it has been a pretty crazy week. Jan is definitely not with The Journal any more and I haven’t seen him or talked to him since last Friday. I don’t know what he’s doing but I’m sure he’s fine. The office is still locked and the computers are still gone. I was told initially that our tech person who took them would be back on Wednesday to re-install everything but that definitely didn’t happen. So consequently, I’ve had to work from my laptop and Internet cafes all week to try and get things done. Apparently the computers will be there on Monday but I’m not holding my breath.
I also spoke with the owner Miguel and he is not worried about the future of the newspaper. I think Jan perhaps overestimated his influence in the company so hopefully everything works out. I don’t know for sure, but I feel much better about everything.
Moving on, last weekend I was actually able to meet up with Chad and the soccer guys from Ames. I took the last bus from Liberia to San Jose and got in about 12:30, hopped in a taxi and showed up at the hotel at 12:45AM. I called up to the room and woke up Chad and told him to come down to the lobby and let me up. I would have slept well but one of the dads who I was sharing the room with snored louder than anyone I’ve ever heard in my life. It was so bad that I actually hit him with my pillow in the middle of the night. I had to wear my headphones with the pillow over my head and only then was I able to get a little sleep.
The next day was a lot of fun because I just hung around with the guys and actually got to play in their game. It was great to run around and touch a ball again. Later that night we went to a game between two of the top teams in the Costa Rican professional league. It was a good game and it was especially cool because it was really foggy and at some points you could barely see across the field.
I also spoke with the owner Miguel and he is not worried about the future of the newspaper. I think Jan perhaps overestimated his influence in the company so hopefully everything works out. I don’t know for sure, but I feel much better about everything.
Moving on, last weekend I was actually able to meet up with Chad and the soccer guys from Ames. I took the last bus from Liberia to San Jose and got in about 12:30, hopped in a taxi and showed up at the hotel at 12:45AM. I called up to the room and woke up Chad and told him to come down to the lobby and let me up. I would have slept well but one of the dads who I was sharing the room with snored louder than anyone I’ve ever heard in my life. It was so bad that I actually hit him with my pillow in the middle of the night. I had to wear my headphones with the pillow over my head and only then was I able to get a little sleep.
The next day was a lot of fun because I just hung around with the guys and actually got to play in their game. It was great to run around and touch a ball again. Later that night we went to a game between two of the top teams in the Costa Rican professional league. It was a good game and it was especially cool because it was really foggy and at some points you could barely see across the field.
Sunday I left the team and met up with Alex and Peter in San Jose, the two other writers, and we went to a fiesta near where Peter lives. It was fun until a huge street fight broke out and somebody got knived in the throat. We were all standing right at the front when some drunk crack heads started going at it but I was the first one to get the hell out of there when shit started to get really crazy. People were throwing bottles and garbage cans and it was escalating quickly when the police finally arrived. Don´t worry Mom, I bolted when things got out of hand. ¡Loco!Alright, gotta get back to work. Sorry, to cause alarm to anyone. Things have been pretty hectic but are getting back under control.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Black Friday
Well I arrived at the office this morning and the doorknobs and locks had been changed. I clearly could not get in and was incredibly confused as to why something like this happened. At first I thought that we had been robbed during the night and for some reason the theives changed the door knobs. That really didn´t make any sense so I walked over to the other office to speak with Ines and call the owner of the newspapers.
I don´t still don´t know exactly what is going on but apparently there are some serious issues going on between Jan and the management. I think Jan is being fired for reasons that are still unclear to me and the owner had the locks changed so that Jan couldn´t get back into the office and sabotage the newspaper or something. A little absurd if you ask me but I´m sure that´s happened before.
There has been a bit of disorganization among the management and payment of bills and salaries and stuff lately and I think this the fallout of all that. I am doing fine and have had no problems with anyone but I am a little concerned about things to come. To be completely honest, Jan does a lot of stuff for The Journal and I think it will be difficult for them to replace him. I was talking to another writer and he is worried that the paper might go under. I don´t think it is quite that severe but then again, I´ve only been here about five weeks.
As of right now things are OK for me but we´ll just have to wait and see how they progress in the next couple weeks or two. If worst comes to worst and they need to get rid of me then I guess I just start my travels early. Not entirely a bad thing I guess.
On a much happier note, Chad is actually in San Jose right now and I´m going to meet him over the weekend. For those who might not know who that is, he was my high school soccer coach and lives next door to my house in Iowa. He´s down here with the high school team for a trip before their season starts. I leave Saturday morning and it should be great because I´ll get to hang out with him and see San Jose for the first time and I might even get to play a little bit too! (I´m a little out of shape so we´ll see how long I last in the heat though)
I don´t still don´t know exactly what is going on but apparently there are some serious issues going on between Jan and the management. I think Jan is being fired for reasons that are still unclear to me and the owner had the locks changed so that Jan couldn´t get back into the office and sabotage the newspaper or something. A little absurd if you ask me but I´m sure that´s happened before.
There has been a bit of disorganization among the management and payment of bills and salaries and stuff lately and I think this the fallout of all that. I am doing fine and have had no problems with anyone but I am a little concerned about things to come. To be completely honest, Jan does a lot of stuff for The Journal and I think it will be difficult for them to replace him. I was talking to another writer and he is worried that the paper might go under. I don´t think it is quite that severe but then again, I´ve only been here about five weeks.
As of right now things are OK for me but we´ll just have to wait and see how they progress in the next couple weeks or two. If worst comes to worst and they need to get rid of me then I guess I just start my travels early. Not entirely a bad thing I guess.
On a much happier note, Chad is actually in San Jose right now and I´m going to meet him over the weekend. For those who might not know who that is, he was my high school soccer coach and lives next door to my house in Iowa. He´s down here with the high school team for a trip before their season starts. I leave Saturday morning and it should be great because I´ll get to hang out with him and see San Jose for the first time and I might even get to play a little bit too! (I´m a little out of shape so we´ll see how long I last in the heat though)
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Dance Lessons?
OK, so a couple of weeks ago I started having lunch with Ines and Rosibel at a different office here in Liberia. They work for a newspaper called El Independiente which is actually owned by the same person who owns The Journal. The used to be in the office where I´m at not but have subsequently moved on a couple blocks away. Ines brings me a home made lunch from her mother, who sells baked food and I buy of course, and we usually just have lunch together. I bring a drink, juice or Coca-Cola, and the lunch is always good and cheaper than if I were to get the same food at a restaurant. We always have a good time and it definitely beats eating alone.
Ines is taking an English class and so I help her and she helps me with my Spanish. Pretty cool. She is incredibly nice and chatty and funny and today she decided she was going to teach me how to dance. It was pretty comical that´s for sure. I wish I had recorded it and could post it for you all to see because I´m sure you´d be on the floor laughing. I learned the steps okay but could only do them for a little while before I goofed up. I blame it partly on the cultural difference that Americans don´t dance and on my genes because for some reason my muscles are always tense. Even when I´m fully relaxed I´m still stiff as a board and when it comes to dancing I have no rhythm. This has always baffled me because I am athletic and play soccer in which you obviously use your feet. I think of course, that my footwork should be better but apparently being sporty does not necessarily transfer over to being a good dancer. I am determined to practice and will get better (though that still doesn´t mean I will be good).
Ines is taking an English class and so I help her and she helps me with my Spanish. Pretty cool. She is incredibly nice and chatty and funny and today she decided she was going to teach me how to dance. It was pretty comical that´s for sure. I wish I had recorded it and could post it for you all to see because I´m sure you´d be on the floor laughing. I learned the steps okay but could only do them for a little while before I goofed up. I blame it partly on the cultural difference that Americans don´t dance and on my genes because for some reason my muscles are always tense. Even when I´m fully relaxed I´m still stiff as a board and when it comes to dancing I have no rhythm. This has always baffled me because I am athletic and play soccer in which you obviously use your feet. I think of course, that my footwork should be better but apparently being sporty does not necessarily transfer over to being a good dancer. I am determined to practice and will get better (though that still doesn´t mean I will be good).
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
¡Fiestas Cívicas de Liberia 2007!
Last week were the Fiestas Cívicas de Liberia and let me tell you they were a pretty good time. They are an annual event that have been going on for over 100 years and are meant to celebrate the cultural traditions of Liberia and Guanacaste. A quick little history lesson, Guanacaste was not originally part of Costa Rica, it was it´s own country and was actually annexed about 150 years ago. It is hotter and dryer than any other province in Costa Rica and maintained a strong tradition of agriculture, ranching and the like. So, the Fiestas are to commemorate and preserve its strong folk heritage and they have lots of music, dances and parades throughout the week.
It was cool because our office overlooks the park in the center of town which was where a lot of these events took place. So, I could just look out my window and see a procession of horses clopping away and people playing traditional festival songs below. I enjoyed getting a good taste of Guanacaste culture for sure.
Aside from the songs and parades and normal stuff, Liberia also has some very odd traditions that go along with the Fiestas. "La Diana" happens every morning at 5:00AM and is where groups of people go around playing instruments, banging on things and setting off M-80´s to remind everyone it´s festival time. This gets especially raucus when people are just coming back from partying and join in the fun.
Also, the bull riding here is crazy! People absolutely love it because it is both idiotic and courageous at the same time. Riders try and stay on as long as possible but after they are off the bull stays in the ring and chases after everyone else who´s inside. There may be 100 or more young men in there and they duck and dodge to avoid getting hit by the bull. The point is to try and run past the bull and touch it and inevitably people get really hurt. The most dangerous bulls are the ones they let out without riders because they are usually a little bit smaller and faster and have pointed horns (they truncate the horns of bulls that are ridden). I saw one guy get caught from behind and then flipped in the air, another couple got slammed and one guy even got killed on Friday. The locals all say with a wry smile that it´s not a good bull or Fiesta unless some gets seriously hurt. ¡F´n loco no!
Aside from the traditional cultural events, they also have a fairgrounds where they set up food and drink vendors and these two gigantic portable discos. I´ve never seen anything like them before and they pounded dance music until 2:00AM just about every day. Two other writers for the Journal whom I hadn´t met yeat, Alex and Peter, came up on Thursday from San Jose and we went out Thursday through Sunday. The biggest night was Saturday which was absolutely nuts. There were hundreds of people in the discos and hundreds more spilled around outside. I was out late, around 4:00, every night and I can tell you there´s nothing quite as delicious as a juicy, salty stick of meat for $0.20 each when you´re walking home from the Fiestas early in the morning.
It was cool because our office overlooks the park in the center of town which was where a lot of these events took place. So, I could just look out my window and see a procession of horses clopping away and people playing traditional festival songs below. I enjoyed getting a good taste of Guanacaste culture for sure.
Aside from the songs and parades and normal stuff, Liberia also has some very odd traditions that go along with the Fiestas. "La Diana" happens every morning at 5:00AM and is where groups of people go around playing instruments, banging on things and setting off M-80´s to remind everyone it´s festival time. This gets especially raucus when people are just coming back from partying and join in the fun.
Also, the bull riding here is crazy! People absolutely love it because it is both idiotic and courageous at the same time. Riders try and stay on as long as possible but after they are off the bull stays in the ring and chases after everyone else who´s inside. There may be 100 or more young men in there and they duck and dodge to avoid getting hit by the bull. The point is to try and run past the bull and touch it and inevitably people get really hurt. The most dangerous bulls are the ones they let out without riders because they are usually a little bit smaller and faster and have pointed horns (they truncate the horns of bulls that are ridden). I saw one guy get caught from behind and then flipped in the air, another couple got slammed and one guy even got killed on Friday. The locals all say with a wry smile that it´s not a good bull or Fiesta unless some gets seriously hurt. ¡F´n loco no!
Aside from the traditional cultural events, they also have a fairgrounds where they set up food and drink vendors and these two gigantic portable discos. I´ve never seen anything like them before and they pounded dance music until 2:00AM just about every day. Two other writers for the Journal whom I hadn´t met yeat, Alex and Peter, came up on Thursday from San Jose and we went out Thursday through Sunday. The biggest night was Saturday which was absolutely nuts. There were hundreds of people in the discos and hundreds more spilled around outside. I was out late, around 4:00, every night and I can tell you there´s nothing quite as delicious as a juicy, salty stick of meat for $0.20 each when you´re walking home from the Fiestas early in the morning.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Birthday (Part 2)
The first entry about my birthday was earlier in the morning and I wanted to do another post because the rest of my day merits sharing.
I was a little uncertain how the day would actually go because birthday´s can sometimes be depressing especially if you´re away from family and friends, but this was definitely not the case for me. Though of course I missed people back in the U.S. and where ever else they may be, everyone here made me feel quite at home.
Lunch was great! We had some very traditional Guanacastecan food called "arroz de maiz," which is actually an oxymoron because it literally means "rice of corn," rice with chicken (also very Tico) and for dessert we had my cake with milk. It was interesting because I encountered a very unique cultural difference between United States and Costa Rica in that I asked for milk to be served with the cake. They were a little surprised by this but everybody knows you have milk with dessert. It was a bit odd for them perhaps but they humored me for my birthday and in the end, I think I didn´t matter at all.
Later that night I went out to dinner with Jan and then headed back to the same bar as the night before. We met up with a couple people there both work and non-work related and like the night before, it was decided that tequila was to be the honorary drink of my birthday. This time it was not of choosing but nevertheless, I ended up having more than a couple shots plus other drinks, which is both the up and down side to any birthday.
Also, as anyone who has ever been a country where they are not a native speaker could attest, alcohol does wonders for your ability to speak up to a certain point. For some reason words seem to flow better and everything is great until you reach the zero barrier and it falls off precipitously. Fortunately, the drop off did not happen to me (or at least that´s what I remember... the jury´s still out) and I ended up having a great night.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
My Birthday!
Today I turned 23 years old and I don´t really know what to think about it. It is not a bad age to be but I mean there is nothing special about being 23. Most of all, it reminds me that I am getting farther and farther out of college and it is becoming less and less socially acceptable for me to do the same things that I did then, damn. Oh well, it´s important to stay young/stupid at heart.
It is actually pretty cool because this is the second time I´ve had my birthday outside the U.S. and in two different countries. It´s fun but at the same time I miss being with family and friends back home. However, today should be a good day all the same.
I got my birthday started off properly last night with a shot of tequila at Midnight. I don´t know why I chose tequila, I actually really don´t like it all, but after a couple drinks with Jan, it seemed like an OK idea. After the tequila we each had a couple more drinks and I was a little worried about how I would fare at work today until Jan told me I shouldn´t come into the office until noon. It´s kinda nice drinking with your boss.
Also, I talked myself into buying a cake for after lunch today. I don´t know exactly how it happened but I´m buying my own birthday cake and we´re having a little party over the lunch hour. Later tonight I think we´re going out for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Liberia and then we´ll probably go out again after that. All in all, not a bad way to celebrate being one year older.
It is actually pretty cool because this is the second time I´ve had my birthday outside the U.S. and in two different countries. It´s fun but at the same time I miss being with family and friends back home. However, today should be a good day all the same.
I got my birthday started off properly last night with a shot of tequila at Midnight. I don´t know why I chose tequila, I actually really don´t like it all, but after a couple drinks with Jan, it seemed like an OK idea. After the tequila we each had a couple more drinks and I was a little worried about how I would fare at work today until Jan told me I shouldn´t come into the office until noon. It´s kinda nice drinking with your boss.
Also, I talked myself into buying a cake for after lunch today. I don´t know exactly how it happened but I´m buying my own birthday cake and we´re having a little party over the lunch hour. Later tonight I think we´re going out for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Liberia and then we´ll probably go out again after that. All in all, not a bad way to celebrate being one year older.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Food
The food here so far has been pretty good. I don´t have a kitchen to speak of (only a refrigerador and microwave) so I have been eating a variety of different things trying to figure out what will work. In the beginning I was eating out quite a bit and most of the restaurants serve the same for food for the most part. There are a couple OK Italian places and some Chinese places, which were not particularly good, a lot of typical Costa Rican food.
The staple Costa Rican meal is called "Casado" and consists of your choice of meats (chicken, beef, pork, fish), white rice, black beans and a vegetable. It is not necessarily very exciting but it usually is relatively flavorful and fills you up. It is always the best value of price/quantity so I´ve been eating this a lot. I do buy some groceries, mostly cereal and cookies, and also these little snack pastry things that you can get any breadstore. I´m starting to figure a relatively nutritious and cost effective diet.
The best aspect of food in Costa Rica is the fruit. It is cheap, plentiful and delicious. There all kinds of vendors selling mangos, pineapple, cantaloupe, guanaba and a bunch of other dilectable items around my office. Today I went and bought a piece of pineapple for $0.40 and it was perhaps the best tasting pineapple I´ve ever had. The other really fantastic thing here are these smoothie type drinks called "batidos." They´re really simple, fruit juice with milk and some sugar, but some how they make them taste so good. There´s nothing better than drinking one these on a hot, sunny day.
The staple Costa Rican meal is called "Casado" and consists of your choice of meats (chicken, beef, pork, fish), white rice, black beans and a vegetable. It is not necessarily very exciting but it usually is relatively flavorful and fills you up. It is always the best value of price/quantity so I´ve been eating this a lot. I do buy some groceries, mostly cereal and cookies, and also these little snack pastry things that you can get any breadstore. I´m starting to figure a relatively nutritious and cost effective diet.
The best aspect of food in Costa Rica is the fruit. It is cheap, plentiful and delicious. There all kinds of vendors selling mangos, pineapple, cantaloupe, guanaba and a bunch of other dilectable items around my office. Today I went and bought a piece of pineapple for $0.40 and it was perhaps the best tasting pineapple I´ve ever had. The other really fantastic thing here are these smoothie type drinks called "batidos." They´re really simple, fruit juice with milk and some sugar, but some how they make them taste so good. There´s nothing better than drinking one these on a hot, sunny day.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Two Weeks and Counting
Today marks two weeks officially working for The Journal and all in all things are going quite well. I am pretty proud to announce that for the last two editions of the newspaper (it comes out every Wednesday) my article has been the lead story. I don´t know what that says about me since I have next to no experience in journalism, or what that says about the newspaper, hmm. I prefer to think I just have natural journalistic ability.
Let´s see, what else? Yesterday I went to the beach for a little while. It was actually a pretty good trip. Liberia is only about 45 km inland from the Pacific Ocean and buses run all the time to and from beaches and towns along the coast. I went Saturday and asked the lady at the bus terminal when they leave and she said every hour. So, Sunday morning I got up and arrived at 9:45 to catch the 10:00 bus. However, that bus didn´t come until 12:30. Apparently the woman failed to tell me, or more likely I failed to understand, that the schedule doesn´t apply for Sundays. Anyway, I made to the beach and back without incident which was what I was going for. The water was warm and there were a few clouds so it didn´t get too hot, which was great.
Friday night I went to a cool café around here to cover a small concert there. I was a little disappointed because it didn´t start for an hour or so after it was supposed to so I was just sitting there doing nothing. The first performer was this scrubby young guy from Philadelphia and I have no idea how he ended up singing in Liberia. He was OK but then this girl got up and sang and she was really good. I think she´s the owner of the café and she had a great voice.
Finally, the featured musician was a guy named Max Goldemberg. Apparently he is famous around the province as a folk singer and although the setting was small, he put on a good show. It was cool because it was jut him up there with his guitar. He sings traditional serenades and was wooing everyone in the audience. I was talking with another guy and he said Goldemberg´s style is reminiscent of the old days when men would stand outside the window and sing to their fair ladies. The guy told me these situations would end up two ways: one, the father would approve of the singer and the guy gets the girl or two, father hates the singer and the guy gets shot at with a gun. ¡Hay, que romantico!
Let´s see, what else? Yesterday I went to the beach for a little while. It was actually a pretty good trip. Liberia is only about 45 km inland from the Pacific Ocean and buses run all the time to and from beaches and towns along the coast. I went Saturday and asked the lady at the bus terminal when they leave and she said every hour. So, Sunday morning I got up and arrived at 9:45 to catch the 10:00 bus. However, that bus didn´t come until 12:30. Apparently the woman failed to tell me, or more likely I failed to understand, that the schedule doesn´t apply for Sundays. Anyway, I made to the beach and back without incident which was what I was going for. The water was warm and there were a few clouds so it didn´t get too hot, which was great.
Friday night I went to a cool café around here to cover a small concert there. I was a little disappointed because it didn´t start for an hour or so after it was supposed to so I was just sitting there doing nothing. The first performer was this scrubby young guy from Philadelphia and I have no idea how he ended up singing in Liberia. He was OK but then this girl got up and sang and she was really good. I think she´s the owner of the café and she had a great voice.
Finally, the featured musician was a guy named Max Goldemberg. Apparently he is famous around the province as a folk singer and although the setting was small, he put on a good show. It was cool because it was jut him up there with his guitar. He sings traditional serenades and was wooing everyone in the audience. I was talking with another guy and he said Goldemberg´s style is reminiscent of the old days when men would stand outside the window and sing to their fair ladies. The guy told me these situations would end up two ways: one, the father would approve of the singer and the guy gets the girl or two, father hates the singer and the guy gets shot at with a gun. ¡Hay, que romantico!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine´s Day
Happy Valentine´s Day everybody! I hope you all have fun and do something interesting. I still don´t know many people here so it is unlikely that I will do anything in particular. Valentine´s Day doesn´t really seem a big deal in Costa Rica and I would hazard a guess that it´s not really a big deal anywhere outside the United States (thank you Hallmark and Hershey).
In other news, the people I work with at The Journal are great.
Jan, the contact who helped set up this whole thing, is in charge of marketing and publication for the newspaper. He is from the Czech Republic and a Mac grad. He can be very forceful and demanding when it comes to the newspaper and partying but is fun to hang out with.
Carlos is in charge of the international news section, loves soccer and is a nice guy so we get along really well. We talked about soccer for about an hour yesterday and he helped me sort out transportation to cover an event after I couldn´t understand what was being said to me over the phone and what was going on in general.
Ines is a secretary and she has been incredibly kind offering me all sorts of help and answering lots of questions. She actually just moved offices to a different place only a couple blocks away. She is wonderful to talk to and reminds me a bit of Aracelli, my Chilean host mom.
I´ve met a couple other people but those are the ones who I see most often and actually talk with. Work is going well, I moved into an apartment (which is tiny, but nice - see pictures), and life is pretty good.
In other news, the people I work with at The Journal are great.
Jan, the contact who helped set up this whole thing, is in charge of marketing and publication for the newspaper. He is from the Czech Republic and a Mac grad. He can be very forceful and demanding when it comes to the newspaper and partying but is fun to hang out with.
Carlos is in charge of the international news section, loves soccer and is a nice guy so we get along really well. We talked about soccer for about an hour yesterday and he helped me sort out transportation to cover an event after I couldn´t understand what was being said to me over the phone and what was going on in general.
Ines is a secretary and she has been incredibly kind offering me all sorts of help and answering lots of questions. She actually just moved offices to a different place only a couple blocks away. She is wonderful to talk to and reminds me a bit of Aracelli, my Chilean host mom.
I´ve met a couple other people but those are the ones who I see most often and actually talk with. Work is going well, I moved into an apartment (which is tiny, but nice - see pictures), and life is pretty good.
Friday, February 9, 2007
My Iron Stomach
I, like most of my family, have a remarkably tolerant stomach. I have not tossed my cookies, lost my lunch, booted or ralphed (including soccer progressives) since the 4th grade; a fact of which I am very proud by the way. I can (and have) consume(d) most everything and I have taken this mentality with me during my travels before but as of yesterday evening, I wish I had not been so adventurous down here in Costa Rica.
I laughed when I heard my brother´s dreadful stories of gastro-intenstinal malfunctions while travelling around Europe and China but I was always somewhat skeptical those things would happen to me. So, upon arriving I proceeded to ignore all the precautionary measures that a gringo should abide and ate food from vendors and drank tap water. I figured the true test of my iron stomach would be take it on a microbial roller coaster right away.
I was doing well for about five days when yesterday afternoon the rumblings started. Fortunately, I did bring along some Immodium because it certainly helped calm the beast. Though last night was less than pleasant, I must say that I have felt a lot worse. I am not yet back to 100% but I have come through the worst of it. I am confident my stomach will adjust and I will be able to continue my culinary odyssey in Latin America.
I laughed when I heard my brother´s dreadful stories of gastro-intenstinal malfunctions while travelling around Europe and China but I was always somewhat skeptical those things would happen to me. So, upon arriving I proceeded to ignore all the precautionary measures that a gringo should abide and ate food from vendors and drank tap water. I figured the true test of my iron stomach would be take it on a microbial roller coaster right away.
I was doing well for about five days when yesterday afternoon the rumblings started. Fortunately, I did bring along some Immodium because it certainly helped calm the beast. Though last night was less than pleasant, I must say that I have felt a lot worse. I am not yet back to 100% but I have come through the worst of it. I am confident my stomach will adjust and I will be able to continue my culinary odyssey in Latin America.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Beaches
OK, so up until Wednesday I haven’t really gotten out of
I have heard things about how beautiful 
I went along in the first place because I had to interview a couple tourists who had come to
Our newspaper is in English and is marketed to almost exclusively to tourists and ex-patriots. We carry a lot of articles from Reuters and the New York Times but our advertisements are for real estate and development and we distribute to a lot of hotels and other tourist spots. So today, on the normal delivery route, I saw some of the most luxurious hotels and resorts I could imagine. They were the most resplendent places that simultaneously elicited intense repulsion while at the same time, I wanted nothing more than to kick back and bask in the opulence of the resort.
Enjoy the pictures!
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