Ready, set, go...and pack!

I have been back almost a month now and have settled into "my old personality".  I am going, going and sometimes feel gone.  How quickly old habits come back.  It is really easy for me to chill out and relax when I am away from home.  Actually, I think during parts of my trip, I was probably the least stressed I have been in many, many years.  But, being home brings out the "crazy busy me".  How much can I fit-in in one day?  If I multi-task, I can get 3 times as much done and then I'll be able to fit-in watching a movie, while I fold clothes and go through the mail -- coo coo!  I'll put this on the "things to work on" list (as if I need another list right now...)!

My 1st week back, I went through a bit of culture shock.  I hadn't driven in 2 1/2 months and was a little shaky at 1st - weird, I found myself continuing to say "buenos dias", "desculpe", "gracias" and other spanish phrases to people and I slept a lot.  But, the culture shock was short lived and soon I was back at it.  I have been meeting up with friends, doing some project work for my friend Ingrid, visiting my mom almost daily, going to my nephew's soccer games, getting my car fixed, trying to work out AND, last but definitely not least, planning and getting ready for my next trip!

D-Day (Departure Day) is set for Thurdsay October 9th.  Yaaahhoooo!  This time, it's ALL the way down...down to South America that is.  My 1st stop is Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands!  Yup yup!  I will be visiting Peru, Chile and Argentina too!

A few lessons learned from my 1st trip:

• White is not a good clothing option (after 1 wash, your white shirt is dingy white and after 2 washes, there is no real evidence that it was a white shirt to begin with, a little scary - is that the water?).
  
• Umbrella is a necessity - this time I will try not to loose 3 of them.
  
• More shirts!  
  
• Must bring running shoes.
  
• Must bring 1 pair of heels - salsa dancing in flip flops is possible but not ideal.
  
• Dresses are a good option - 1 article, easy to pack - must bring the magic dress.
  
• Messenger style purse/bag will come in handy.
  
• Don't need 3 pairs of flip flops.
  
• If you smile and ask for help, you are bound to get it!
• Don't freak out about anything right away - it's probably all in your head (let's hope).
  
• WE ARE SO LUCKY TO LIVE WHERE WE DO.  I LOVE traveling, seeing other countries and experiencing other cultures, but one thing is for sure, no matter what, I will always appreciate living here.

I envision the next 2 months to be less "beachy" and more big cities, big mountains, big hikes, big wines and big steaks!  It will be springtime in South America so I am anticipating cooler weather with rain thrown in.  I am also anticipating an incredible adventure...!!...although, I do have conflicting emotions about this next leg of my travels.  On one hand, I have done it alone and know I can do it so I feel very confident.  But, on the other hand, I am going to be alone for almost the entire 2 months.  I'll be with my friend Patty in Argentina for 2 weeks...Yay!  It's really easy to meet people and I am pretty social so that's not a problem, but sometimes it's nice to have someone with you.  Am I crazy?  I wonder sometimes...(no comments please). Here goes nutin...!  

If we didn't get to see each other this go round, I'll be back in 2 months - let's have a holiday reunion!  :)  

Also, I would like to say...thank you-thank you-thank you to all of you, my wonderful friends, for your concern and kind words regarding my mom.  She is still struggling with good and bad days.  It does seem like there are a few more good than bad lately, which is positive!  A few months ago, she was tested for wheat and gluten allergy by her doctor by way of a blood test and the results were negative, no allergy.  She has recently gone to see a different doctor, one that uses natural methods, and this Doctor thinks that that is exactly what my mom has.  I have to say, if this is what it is, I will be a bit t'd-off.  This type of allergy is something that was suggested by many, many people in the very beginning of these crazy symptoms and Kaiser said no, that is not it.  I have had Kaiser my whole life and have always had nothing but great things to say, but I am not so sure anymore.  She has changed her diet and we are hoping that this does the trick!

ps...I love all the comments on the blog site.  I can't always respond due to internet cafe time constraints but I love reading them!

Miami...for a quick minute anyway...

I flew from CR to Miami on Tuesday. My original plan was to stay in Miami for a week, then off to the Big Apple for a week and then back to the bay for 3-4 weeks to plan my next trip and attend my friend Emmy's wedding. But...the last few days before I left Costa Rica, I had been in touch with my sister and my mom many times. Some of you know that my mom has been struggling with some health issues since April of this year. My mom had been admitted to the hospital the last weekend I was in Costa Rica. She is doing better and is at home now. She continues to struggle with some puzzling symptoms which the doctors can't seem to figure out the cause. Because of this, I decided to forgo my weeks in Miami and New York and come home 2 weeks sooner than originally planned. I took the red eye from Miami to SF on Tuesday night so, to date, my one and only visit to Miami has included the airport. I will try and fit one or both cities in on the next leg of adventure. I plan to help my sister and mom out over the next few weeks and maybe crack the whip a little with the Doctors. I am hopeful that she will be on the mend very soon and that I will be back on the road come October.

I have been home for a couple of days now and have been basking in the glory of long hot showers, a super comfy bed, kisses and hugs from my nephews, clothing options, a fantastic bathroom, sleeping 8+ hours a night and all the other comforts of home! I will be hosting a party, a clothes burning party, and you are all invited! I am going to burn the clothes I have been wearing over (and over and over) the last 2 1/2 months! I am so sick of them! (Not really burn them, but if I could, I might...!)

If anyone is interested in Argentina, Chile, Peru or Brazil, let me know, let's make it happen! I am thinking October to the beginning of December time frame. Also, I want to and would love to see you now that I am back in town! We can go over, one by one, all of the 1000+ pictures I took - haha...not really! But, if you want to "Do" lunch, coffee, drinks, dinner, golf, tennis, wine tasting, dance or whatever floats your boat, let me know your schedule. I am pretty much free....hee hee hee...luv it and happy to be home!

Back where it all started...Liberia!

I made my way back to Liberia. I fly out of Costa Rica to Miami in 2 days and my flight is out of the Liberia airport so I wanted to be close.

I arrived on Sunday and didn´t really do much other than grab dinner and write a blog post. I found a cheap hotel, and that´s what I got...cheap. It´s only for 2 nights, I can do anything for 2 nights...well maybe, but this place is pushing it.

Monday, I decided to take the $1 bus from Liberia to Playa de Coco to take advantage of one last beach day. On the bus, I met Roberto. He is from Nicaragua originally but now works in Coco at a condo/hotel. He was very liberal with his life information. He makes $1,600 a month as a maintenance supervisor of the hotel - I think that´s pretty good money for a Tico. He pays $150 in rent and is willing to pay the $2 round trip bus ride from Coco to Liberia because everything is cheaper in Libera. He can get Chicharrones for $2 in Liberia vs $4 in Coco. He helped me with my Spanish and taught me some new words...nice guy. When I arrived at Coco, I thought "this is it?". The "book" said it wasn´t the nicest beach but c´mon. I think they should call Playa de Coco, Playa de Not So Pretty. It´s muddy and rocky with some garbage thrown in. I am not a fan. It wasn´t that nice out so I´d say my last beach day was pretty much a bust. I think Tamarindo is definitely one of the nicer beaches on the Pacific of Costa Rica.

Liberia is know for the "Sabanero" or local cowboy. This is cattle country for sure and the Sabanero is the highlight of Tropes (horse parade/rodeo/county fair). I didn´t get to go to a Trope but I did see a few Sabaneros. Very proud looking men riding horses, making the horses dance along. I am sure there´s a proper Sabanero term for it, I just know it looks like the horses are tip toe dancing.

One other thing I noticed, I was in line for the ATM and there was a huge line to enter the bank. I guess the previous Friday was payday. I watched as the people, both men and women, walk into the bank. I didn´t notice it at first, but then it caught my attention. Every man that had a hat on took it off upon entering the bank, not just one or two, but all of them. One of those "old school" customs still in force here in Liberia!

I am back in the good ole US of A on Tuesday. I am looking forward to consistent hot water showers and being able to flush TP (too much info huh?).

In the Citaaay, City of San Jose!

The tour office in PV, booked my hotel in San Jose. I was at a loss as to where to stay because the city is pretty big and I definitely wanted to stay away from certain areas, I just wasn´t sure which ones. I ended up about two blocks from the main square where the Teatro Nacional is located. A cute little hotel for a low rate, Casa Alfi...me likey! I was exhausted, dirty and spent when I arrived. It was nighty nite for me!

On Saturday, I was so indecisive. Should I stay one more day in SJ or just hop on bus and head toward Liberia? I decided to stay one more night because I wanted to do some "city" things, like go to the movies or see a show. I found 2 theaters but they both had one moving playing - nothing too appealing and the times were not posted. I found out later that I should have gone to the San Pedro mall where they have a multi plex. I walked to the Teatro Nacional and found a concert playing that night at 8, so I bought a ticket. When I was in line to buy my ticket, I met Brendan, a money man from NY. He asked me if I spoke English (funny huh?) and I helped him buy a ticket. But wait, small mix up, he wanted a ticket to the museum, not the show. Oops! He sold back the ticket and we ended up hanging out the rest of the afternoon. Later, he went back to the Teatro and bought his ticket back. We went to the concert together and grabbed food afterward.

The concert was a performance by the Orquesta Fílarmónica de Costa Rica. They performed "La musica en el cine" (The music in films). I seem to remember this discussed during a few meetings at an old employer of mine...hmmm. They had a large screen showing clips from different movies while the Orquesta played theme songs and various medleys from the movie. There was a lot of John Willimas music. A few of the movies included were: El regreso de Superman, El Señor de los anillos (Lord of the Rings), Indiana Jones, Tema de James Bond (my favorite), Happy Feet, Piratas del Caribe (close to my favorite), Harry Potter and, of course, the grand finale was STAR WARS (ahhh...make it stop - kidding of course!). Those of you at Lucas will be happy to know that the finale was well received. The people loved it. The Orquesta sounded really good and for the price, $14, it was a fantastic deal. The concert made me want to rent all those movies and watch them again.

I spent the next day in San Jose just walking around and taking in the sites. There was a huge gathering outside of the Catedral Metropolitana. They had music, food, clowns, people wearing religious t shirts and a priest was speaking to the crowd about the importance of family and some other Catholic topics. The lady at my hotel said that they have gatherings that big every Sunday...WOW! It was almost too crowded so I decided to head to the bus station. The ride to the bus station was pretty revealing. There are parts of this city that are really really awful. I am glad I stayed where I did and didn´t wander too far. I took the 2:00 p.m. bus to Liberia. It was a 4 hour ride that I was not in the mood for.

El Norte de El Caribe de Costa Rica!

Up at the crack of dawn, with the roosters, I was loaded onto a tour bus going to Parque Nacional Tortuguero. I booked an overnight tour to this National Park where sea turtles go to lay their eggs.

The lay of the land going north is all about the banana. Banana trees were pretty much everywhere on our route. We stopped at a banana processing plant, Del Monte actually, and watched the workers process the bananas from the huge bundles off the tree, straight into large vats of water, to quality control (size and number by bunches), to the boxes that you see at the supermarket. The folks that work in this industry only make $300 a month and it is hard work. The company provides housing and supports the schools for their children so they use that $300 for food and other necessities...I had mixed feelings about this. Seems to me that the company keeps the employees close to the plant so that they can work more for the same amount of money. Hmmm...

The tour bus reached the town of Caño Blanco where we had to get all of our stuff and load it onto a boat. The boat took us a long way up the Canales de Tortuguero to the Evergreen Lodge. The Lodge was really nice, with a pool and all meals included...a very pleasant surprise! I had about an hour and decided to take advantage of the pool...ahhh!!! That afternoon, it was off to Tortuguero Village via water taxi where we went to the turtle museum and to the beach to see the turtle nests. Yup...the eggs are there in the big hole that mama turtle dug and covered. Laura, our guide, gave us some info on these turtles. Green sea turtles lay about 110 eggs 3 times a year. Of those 110 eggs, approximately 1% survive. The outlook for these turtles was not looking too good. At one point they thought that there were only about 3000 females left. Now, with all the conservation efforts, they think there are more than 20,000! Yay!

The next morning, we were off with Tomas to slowly creep through the national park in a boat. Tomas is a biologist and his knowledge of birds, plants, animals and the area is quite extensive. We saw all kinds of birds...you know "oh look, there's the 2 toed, purple feathered, long beaked, 3 legged egret thing". Can you tell I am not a big bird watcher? We did get a really cool look at a sloth that was down low in the water, doing his business, and then he climbed back up the tree. Oh and one of the funniest things I have seen so far was on this boat tour. We found a group of white faced monkeys way up high in the trees. We were hanging out under the trees watching them and one of the monkeys got mad at us, someone must have smiled at him, and walked straight over the boat and peed on us. I barely escaped being peed on. The two ladies on the other side of the boat got hit. Hilarious! Even Tomas was cracking up.

Later, we went on a nature hike that afternoon and got eaten by the world's largest mosquitoes. They will eat you through your clothes! The entire time we were on this tour, we were being filmed for a local vacation channel, destinostv...look for me on your local cable network!

After the hike, it was on to a long boat and then bus ride to the capital of Costa Rica...San Jose!

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca - the Caribe de Costa Rica...

Back in good old Costa Rica with the Ticos, casados, sodas and great music! Tab and I headed to the town of Puerto Viejo located on the Southern Caribbean of Costa Rica. We didn't have reservations anywhere and ended up at a small place outside of town. It was OK, but definitely not Aqua Lodge caliber. We chilled out and had dinner and called it a night. The next day, Tab was off to San Jose to catch a flight back to the bay. Poor Tab, she was in for a long bumpy ride back to the airport. That is the one thing I forgot (and quickly remembered) about Costa Rica, the roads are horrible. That morning, I made my way into town and found Cabinas Guanara. The owners are Italian and Paulo kept saying "ciao bella" in Italian - loved it! They gave me a great deal so I stayed for 3 nights!

Puerto Viejo, duhhhude, is the most chill place I have ever been. It's Caribbean flavor, pura vida attitude and no worries lifestyle is just so relaxing! Puerto Viejo is also home of the amazing "Salsa Brava" which is what the biggest breaks in Costa Rica are called. The breaks got their name because of the "sauce" it serves up. These waves put Puerto Viejo on the map for surfers all over the world. There´s also a, ahh...how shall I say this, big fan base for herbs here. I was at the tour office, booking my tour for the next day and this older, kind of worn gentleman was in the office. He was rather chatty and I guess felt comfortable enough to ask me if I wanted some herb. Now this, within itself, is no big deal. I have been asked this many times here in Costa Rica. It turns out, revealed after he left the office, this guy is Captain Zero. There was a book written about him. In days past, he was a big drug smuggler and surfer here in Central America. He now lives on the beach and just kind of wanders. He is from Southern Marin...LOL here! What does that say...Jackie, Douglas, Ingrid??? Apparently, they were going to make a movie about him and Sean Penn had come down PV to do some research on him. Not sure what happend with the movie deal, something about book and movie rights. Anyway, I was asked by Captain Zero (let´s not have your kids strive to be like this Captain!) if I was interested in some herb! Whadya think about that?

The next day, I went on a snorkel and hiking tour in Cahuita which is a National Reserve about 20 minutes north of Puerto Viejo. On the way there, I met Tyler from NY via London. We hung out for the duration of the day. I just love that British humor - dry and hysterical. We took a boat out to the live coral reef just off the shore of Punta Cahuita. The water was a bit hazy, but we were able to see some pretty cool fish and the coral was amazing. Hiking through the reserve was next on the agenda. Our guide, we think his name was Ludvig - not sure because we couldn´t really understand him, but that´s what we called him, was a young guy from Cahuita. He spoke English but with a rather strong Caribbean accent. He was really knowledgeable about the plants, sea, animals, etc. I was impressed. Tyler and I had dinner and hung out for a while. Nothing like a cold Pina Colada on a warm night!

My last day in PV was spent on Play Cocles. I just chilled, as is the norm here, and watched the surfers do their thing. I found myself SO chill, that I didn´t take many pictures. I couldn´t lift my arms I guess. Tomorrow, off to Tortuguero, the Northern Caribbean of Costa Rica.

Freak out numero uno y dos...

I am so happy to say that, to date, my travels have gone by virtually without major incident. I did have two minor incidents that I can now laugh about...

Freak out numero uno:

When I was in Manuel Antonio, after school one day, Karen and I had gone into town and then back to my hotel room. When we got to my hotel room, I started looking for my camera. I couldn´t find it. I tore everything apart. Karen checked my bags again and I was at a loss. I was so bummed. I was "freaking out" a bit. I was thinking OMG, my mom just bought me that camera and then OMG, all my pictures. I was so bummed. Poor Karen, she didn´t really know me that well at that point, all she could say was, "I am so sorry". After reading all the "dangers and annoyances" sections of the guidebooks, I was sure that someone had taken my camera. Costa Rica has been known to have its share of pickpockets. I retraced my steps and decided that I should run back to the school and see if they found it. Well, sure enough they had it. I had left it by the computer. Thank Goodness! Whew! That was an adrenalin rush I could have done without!

So we are now at freak out numero dos:

When you get to the border of Panama and Costa Rica, on the Panama side, you have to stop and get your passport reviewed and then walk across this old rickety bridge. It´s a not a short bridge so there are guys on the Panama side that will carry your bags over the bridge for you. There was a guy that grabbed our suitcases and he had mine flung over his shoulder and was pulling Tab´s across the bridge. These are not small bags so he was high tailin it across. There was some sort of scuffle happening with the police and some guy so the border agent looking at my passport was distracted and took a while to get me through the process. We started walking across the bridge and as we get toward the end, I didn´t see the guy with our bags. Where did he go? I start to panic. OMG, he took our bags and just walked away with them. I was pretty much freaked out. In my mind I was thinking well, I am out of here. I have my passport and money and I am coming home early. Oh no, all my stuff. OMG! I walked past the Costa Rican immigration point and went looking for this guy. Tab was so calm..."he´s here somewhere, calm down". Turns out, he was waiting at the Costa Rican immigration point, with our bags, ready to explain to us the forms we need to fill out. I had walked right past him. Ahhh!!! I felt like an idoit. Tab was laughing at me. I think other people were like "what is up with this crazy one?". I laughed at me too...but not till later!