3 Months in Costa Rica!

The Reveal

2007-06-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

¡Pura Vida!
Surprise! I researched for a month before finally finding my Tico (Male Costa Rican) tattoo artist, David. David did such an excellent job on the tattoo and my friend Amy (I gave her less than 24 hours to help me clean up the art work in Adobe Illustrator) incredibly, cleaned up the illustration. Thank you both for helping me to create such a fine and memorable piece of art. I also want to thank Allen for his inspiration and suggestion of using the Phoenix of the Imperial mark. Imperial is the beer of choice in Costa Rica. I chose not to fill in the outline, because I knew the healing process was going to hurt a bit. Ha! So, the next time I visit CR I will have David fill it in. WooHoo!:

Days 82 - 86 (Grecia - Last Week. Let's go out with a BANG!)

2007-06-06T21:11:00.001-07:00

Days 82 - 86 (Grecia - Last Week) Cha-chow! I am coming home! I would like to thank my audience for sharing this wonderful, adventure with me. I love Costa Rica, but I am proud to be from The Sates! I've had enough of Jurassic Park. But first, I have one last surprise. Guess:

The revealing is yet to come…

Day 81 (La Fortuna - Arenal Volcano)

2007-05-26T09:20:00.001-07:00

Day 81 - Arenal Volcano We wake up and look outside and look at that view of the Volcano. Just amazing. Did I mention that it is active? Ha! We headed out to do our hike-at-your-own-risk trail around the volcano, towards the lava flow. WooHoo! I can still hear the rolling of the boulders and the crackle of the lava flow and after the 2 hour hike we head do our 3 hour drive back to Grecia:

Day 80 (Monteverde - Monteverde Cloud Forest)

2007-05-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Day 80 - Monteverde Cloud Forest: Sky Walk - We wake up at the crack of dawn at Samara Beach and get our gear ready for our continued road trip…a 4.5 hour drive into the unknown to MonteVerde to participate in a Sky Walk. But, we got side tracked by the sun that came out to greet us…checked out of our hotel and stayed an hour to enjoy the sunny beach:

We stopped to each lunch this BBQ restaurant named "Restaurante Tres Hermanas"and met this cute little I-have-know-idea-what-kind-of-dog-this-is puppy. Awww! He likes Allen.

WHOAH! You would be happy I din't photograph the HUGE ledge drop to the right in this photograph. SCARY! That's when I thought, "Um…What if we get a flat tire?" Much too late for that thought:

After 4.5 hours of driving, we finally get to the entrance if the Sky Walk Adventure.
So, I couldn't take a picture of the 45ft tall, 2ft wide tall, rusty spiral stairs we had to climb inorder to reach the 1st bridge of 6 bridges in this Sky Walk through the MonteVerde Cloud Forest:

After the Sky Walk, we head out for another 4.5 hour drive to La Fortuna for Volcano Arenal. Allen drove through enormous rain and fought with fog to get us to our next hotel stay in La Fortuna at Hotel Arenal Springs where we will wake up and look outside of our door and see Arenal Volcano. It had been a long day of getting lost and finding our way again, so after we got our room we decide to eat a late dinner at a commercial Steak House Restaurant that had the cast of "Bonaza" nailed to the walls and the Ticos (male costa ricans) were dressed up in cowboy outfits. HA! I ordered the most delicious and biggest mussels in the world:

After dinner, we drove to the side of Arenal Vocano that secretes lava and watched it flow for 30 minutes. AWESOME! Unfortunately, I didn't have the $10,000 National Geographic photography equipment to take night images of the lava flow. But, here is an example I googled:

Days 78 - 79 (Guanacaste - Samara Beach)

2007-05-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Days 78 - 79 - Playa Samara in Guanacaste, Costa Rica - I FINALLY GET TO GO TO A BEACH! WooHoo! We had this route planned for a month, but since most of Costa Rica is unmarked territory…we were on our own with directions. Our first stop of this 4 day road trip is 2 nights spent at Playa Samara. Playa Samara (Samara Beach) is a 3.5 hour drive west from Grecia towards the Pacific Coast. It is noted as one of the most beautiful and non-touristy beaches in Costa Rica. We stayed at Tico Adventure Lodge:

Day 2 at Playa Samara

Days 75 - 77 (Grecia - Doka Estate Coffe Tour)

2007-05-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Day 75 - My friends Allen and Susan arrive today for Atlanta, Georgia. YAY! I can finally get out of the house and experience the nightlife of Costa Rica. We rented a car for a week to brave the roads and lands of Costa Rica. (We have no idea what we are getting ourselves into, but that is apart of the adventure!)

Day 76 - Doka Estate Coffee Tour - So, since we rented a fancy SUV we decided to drive ourselves around Costa Rica and our first stop is to pick up my friend and fellow colleague from school, Casey and go on a Coffee Tour in Alajuela. 70% of the coffee cultivated at Doka Estate goes to Starbucks Coffee Company. The country is mentions on each bag of coffee, but not the plantation is is grown from:

But first as part of the tour price, we eat lunch at Resturante Rancho La Cajuela located on the plantation.

This is a traditional Costa Rican almuerzo. (lunch)

Check out this GIGANTIC Marine Toad!

Days 73 - 74 (Grecia - Mis Amigos de los estados)

2007-05-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

Days 73 - 74 - This weekend is clean-the-house weekend to make sure all of Jurassic Park is out of the house before my friends Allen and Susan arrive from the states for a week! We are going to have some major fun on our road trip around Cost Rican land. Woohoo!

Days 68 - 72 (Grecia - World of Snakes)

2007-05-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Days 68 - 72 - The rain has trapped me in the house for too long now. So, my friend Casey (we are students at the same school) and I decide to get out and go visit the serpentarium nearby World of Snakes, but first we have a delicious strawberry milkshake at a local café:

World of Snakes

Sweet! Look at this cool Scarlet King Snake:

This is the distant relative of the Scarlet King Snake I am holding, the Eastern Coral Snake. It is venomous. Note the difference in color pattern order of the rings on its body:

Days 66 - 67 (Mall Fábrica - Spiderman 3)

2007-05-16T22:36:00.002-07:00

Day 66 - I was going to wait to see Spiderman 3 "El hombre araña 3" when I returned to The States, but friends are reporting it to be extremely good so I decided to venture out to this nearby mall, Fábrica and check it out. Best of all, an adult ticket is only $2.25 (USD). Mall Fábrica is about a 20 minute walk from this house. YOW!:

Day 67 - Sometimes rain can suck. Mostly a rainy season. Especially when it rains e v e r y day at the same time for the same amount of time. YUCK! Well, gives me time to work on my portfolio pieces. I decided to create a few concept international movie posters for the upcoming film Resident Evil: Extinction:

Days 61 - 65 (Grecia - Mall Fábrica)

2007-05-16T22:36:00.001-07:00

Days 61 - 65 - So this coming up weekend I am going to brave the small town of Grecia again solo and go to the movies to see Spiderman 3 (El Hombre Araña 3) at Mall Fábrica. So, before I go on Saturday I want to see how to get to the Mall and what time the movie starts. Mall Fábrica is only a 20 minute walk from my home:

Check out the El Hombre Araña merchandise:

I know where I'm eating lunch after the movie. At Sr. Torito!
That menu looks so delicious:

Days 59 - 60 (Grecia - Rainy Season)

2007-05-12T01:34:00.001-07:00

Days 59 - 60 - The rainy season in Costa Rica started a month early this year. It rains like clock work from 3:00pm-5:00pm Monday through Sunday:

This was the perfect weekend for art and inspiration:

Days 54 - 58 (Grecia - 5th Week of Spanish School)

2007-05-12T01:31:00.000-07:00

Days 54 - 58 - These Spanish Classes are grueling! I'm at the point where I am forgetting the name of objects in English! For example, I was pointing at the school's merchandise talking to a fellow North American and could not for the life of me remember the word, "Polo Shirt". Both of us just finished a 4 hour lesson and couldn't return to English conversation. Another fellow student (who is conversational already in Spanish.) said it is a good characteristic when you forget English words. HA!

Oh! And the constant calling of The "Yigüirro" (Turdus grayi) all around the outside of the house doesn't help when trying to study. Ahhhhh! This bird is so loud! There are a few that like to eat Na Na's dog food and rest on my drying laundry on the clothes line. Better be glad it is Costa Rica's National Bird, therefore is protected from being harmed. HA! Interesting fact I found:The "Yigüirro" sings to claim rain since it generally sings at the beginning of the rainy season and mate during that season:

This photo is used for reference only from the Flickr site of KentNickell:

Days 52 - 53 (San Roque de Grecia - Almuerzo at Cinthia's)

2007-05-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

Day 52 - As I am sitting in the living room working on the computer, outside the living room window I see something slide down the hill. Low and behold look what decided to use my outside window as a bathroom.

The turd is blocked out for stomach sensitive persons. HA!:

Day 53 - The young lady that cleans my house once a week, Cinthia was kind enough to invite me to a Sunday afternoon lunch (almuerzo) in San Roque. Cinthia's Father picked me up and we rode a 10 minute drive from Grecia to San Roque. This is a good opportunity for me to meet Cinthia's family, practice my Spanish and enjoy another traditional Costa Rican lunch:

The center attraction in San Roque, like Grecia is the San Roque Church

Cinthia's Neighborhood is more rural than Grecia.

After an enjoyable lunch, I took a photo of Cinthia's youngest, Jaimy.
She turned 4 last week and got that cool bike as a gift.

Family photo! To my left are Cinthia and Gerado's 3 children, in the black top is Gerado's sister, to my right is Gerado's Mother and next to her is a cousin of the children.

The parents...Cinthia and Gerado

Here's a video of Cinthia's family wishing me, "Farewell!". Oh! The video is side ways, because I have no video editing software to turn it right-side up. Ha!

Days 47 - 51 (Grecia - 4th Week of Spanish School/A Cooking Class)

2007-05-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Days 47 - 51 - This is my 4th week of Spanish school. My new teacher this week can see a big difference in my Spanish from when I first started. Hahahahaha! On my way home from school, I always see this set of Chihuahuas. There are like 20 of them! I finally got to snap a photo of three of them:

One of the school's program director's mom gives cooking lessons (Solely in Spanish) to students of the school. I forgot to post this in last weeks blog, but I had a cooking lesson in her home in Grecia. We made a Costa Rican meatloaf dish and a dessert. Mmmmmm...¡Que Rico!:

After the meals were prepared, we all got to sit down and enjoy lunch! Traditional side dishes were added to the meal:

Day 46 (Alajuela - Poás Volcano/La Paz Waterfall)

2007-04-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Day 46 - Since my fellow classmate, Bonnie is leaving Costa Rica next week...She wanted to see Volcano Poás before leaving. So, I decided to go with her. This time around, I was be able to get better photographs of the Volcano Poás:

Since we were out and about on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we asked our taxi driver to take us to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This large private reserve features a large butterfly observatory, hummingbird and orchid gardens, and nicely designed, safe trails along the La Paz River with 5 large waterfalls. One will find lush, verdant green rainforest, lots of colorful birds, flowers and butterflies. We did not go inside the garden, just outside to see La Paz Waterfall:

Later in Grecia on my way home walking through downtown, there was a horse show going on for a local trade show exhibition:

Day 45 (Sarchi - Souvenir Shopping)

2007-04-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Day 45 - My friend Bonnie and I went to Sarchi to go souvenir shopping. Sarchi is a 15 minute bus ride from Grecia. Sarchi is most widely recognized for its colorful and decorative oxcarts that have been made there for over a century:

Sarchi Central Park

A Costa Rican Art Monument: World's Biggest Ox Cart.
It is 20 meters in length and 3800 of inches of bitter cedar and laurel.
It was built and painted in 3 months with the support of 3 painters and 3 crafters.

Ox Cart Pattern

Inside Los Serranos Souvenirs, I took a few pictures of the area in which Ox Cart artist work.

While finishing this week's blog, I am munching on Café Britt: Cashew Britt Chocolate. So good! They come in all different flavors: Chocolate Covered Pineapple, White/Dark Chocolate Covered Gourmet Coffee Beans, Dark Chocolate Covered Banana, Dark Chocolate Covered Guava too name a few. Click here for more information on Cafe Britt products.

Days 40 - 44 (Grecia - 3rd Week of Spanish School)

2007-04-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Days 40 - 44 (Grecia - 3rd Week of Spanish School)
Why do I want to be conversational in Spanish? These immersion classes are tough. In the morning I have 2.5 hours of conversation totally in Spanish. Por ejemplo (for example), "What did you do after school yesterday?", "What did you eat for dinner?", "What did you watch on t.v.?", "Where will you be in 5 years?" And the more dreadful questions, "Why?" and "What else?" All answered in Spanish! I currently speak Spanish at the level of a 4 year old. But, I read/comprehend Spanish at a 7 year old level. HA! So to help me up my reading/speaking level, I have this new reading material:

Pinocho (Pinocchio)

Anyone care to translate?(laughing)

Oneday I will be able to read/comprehend:
Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal which is reading level:
Ages 9-12

Too help with adding new words to my Spanish vocabulary, my teacher and I play a game of Scrabble. She only one by 1 point! My word "sexo" gave me about 15 points. Ha! No translation needed for that word hunh:

A Game of Scrabble with my teacher

One Friday, April 27th Grecia celebrated the founding of their city and celebrated by a parade around downtown Grecia. The teachers of AC-CE allowed us to take a break and watch most of the parade. This parade is made up of Junior High/High Schools in the providence of Grecia. They hold banners to represent their school and the school's band represents by marching and playing instruments:

Parade Commemorating the Founding of Grecia

Here is a little video footage of a junior highschool band. The drum section was always one of my favorite sections of band during my days in school:

The President of Costa Rica, President Arias visited that day to give encouraging words regarding education to the children of the schools. He was scheduled to eat lunch at the restaurant across from my school. I photographed the servers preparing for his arrival from the balcony of my school:

Days 38 - 39 (Naranjo - Horseback Riding)

2007-04-21T14:55:00.001-07:00

Days 38 - My horseback riding day excursion was experienced on the grounds of Vista del Valle. Vista del Valle is located in the heart of the central valley's most beautiful and productive coffee and orange growing region. Mangoes, bananas, passion fruit and other tropical fruits abound on the property. It is only 15 minutes driving from Grecia:

Vista del Valle Plantation

Our tour guide, Enriqué gets "Apache" ready!

"Eclipse"is not ready for tour rides yet.
So he has to stay behind. He likes to fall down and play like a child! Ha! Doesn't he look like trouble!

My horse's name is "Cantante"("Singer" in English).
She is 5 years old and is extremely smart.

Horseback Riding: Here we go!

Horseback Riding Tour of the Coffee Plantations

Horseback Riding Tour of the Coffee Plantations

Horseback Riding Tour of the Coffee Plantations

Horseback Riding Tour of the Coffee Plantations:
View from Cantante

End of Horseback Riding Tour: Full Body of Cantante

End of Horseback Riding Tour: ¡Hasta luego, Cantante!

Now we eat lunch in the Restaurant of Vista del Valle Plantation Inn:
Vista del Valle Plantation Restaurant

Vista del Valle Plantation Restaurant: The View

Vista del Valle Plantation Restaurant: The Interior

Vista del Valle Plantation Restaurant: Another View of the Mountains from my Table

Vista del Valle Plantation Inn is not only a horse ranch, but also an Inn/Hotel and has condominiums on the property. Three(3) Phases total, Two(2) are still in development and under construction. We toured the property after lunch. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous romantic getaway. There is even a 400ft waterfall, a 20 minute hike from the Inn, but after horseback riding...I can't move!:

Tour of Vista del Valle Plantation Inn

Tour of Vista del Valle Plantation Inn

Tour of Vista del Valle Plantation Inn

Tour of Vista del Valle Plantation Inn

These Villas are absolutely to-die for! Each one has a name which explains its personality. My Favorite is named Mona Lisa:

Tour of Vista del Valle Plantation Inn

Tour of Vista del Valle Plantation Inn

Tour of Vista del Valle Plantation Inn

So, as I am touring the grounds a interesting looking creature just walks out of nowhere. I now know it is called a Pizote.
The picture I took of the Pizote:

A GOOGLED picture of Pizote for frontal visual reference only:

Before leaving this beautiful you-gotta-see-for-yourself Inn, I took a picture of the skelinton of a Chicharra. This is the LOUD insect I hear EVERYNIGHT at dusk. The story is when Chicharra sound, they are calling for the rain...and it does rain everytime I hear them. Oh! It's sitting ontop of a Monkey Brush. Named "Monkey Brush" because monkeys use these to brush their hair. Ha!:

A Monkey Brush Tree

Days 33 - 37 (Grecia - 2nd Week of Spanish School)

2007-04-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Days 33 - 37 - Amazing how much one can learn Spanish in just 2 weeks! My school is total immersion. Speaking English is prohibited...and to show you a visual of how serious AC-CE is about no English to be spoken, look at this sign in my Spanish Class. Ha!:

This week gave inspiration for these drawings:

Scarlet Macaw

Blue Morpho Butterfly

Ficus Tree Roots

Day 31 - 32 (Nicoya - Canopy Tour)

2007-04-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

Day 31 - 1 month anniversary in CR! 7:00am I meet my Spanish School AC-CE's Adventure Excursion Director Fo-Fo (pronounced Foe Foe), a fellow student, Bonnie and an AC-CE Spanish Teacher, Natalia for a day trip to Nicoya to partake in a 2 hour, 75ft above the ground Canopy Tour:

But, first we stop by a cigar shop featuring hand-wrapped cigars. We were even shown personally how to hand-wrap cigars by Antonio of Don TuTo Cigar Shop:

Don TuTo Cigar Shop Sign

Inside Don TuTo Cigar Shop

Handwrapping Demonstration

Me Handwrapping a Cigar

Group Photo After Handwrapping a Cigar

There is a 30 minute trail to walk before getting to the first canopy. While walking this trail, we were educated on Mahogany Forest's Rain Forest history and natural habitat:

A Giant 1.5ft Long Walking Stick Insect

Strangler Fig - Strangler figs are parasitic plants that usually begin life as epiphytes growing high up on a host tree. As the fig gradually extends roots down to the ground it grows tightly around the trunk of the host preventing further girth growth.

Major Bumps on this Tree

1 of 2 Guides, Marco of The Original Canopy Tour Demonstrating Safety Instructions

Guest who went first? Ha!
Oh yeah, there were 10 of these canopies 75ft above ground!

Check out me in Canopy Tour Action.
Watch the video!

Group Canopy Tour Photo

We had two options for getting down from 75ft above ground...a canopy ride or repel. And you know what I choose:

Me, repelling down...WooHoo!

Pura Vida! WooHoo!

After the Canopy Tour is the 45 minute hike back to the base. Along the way I took a couple of Mahogany Forest's habitants:

A HUGE Tarantula!
Along the trail were dens upon dens of Tarantulas

The Cashew Tree - Each fruit produces one cashew nut.

No wonder they are so expensive!

As we travel back to Grecia, we decide to keep going and head to the Pacific Coast. Especially to see Alligators in the most polluted river in Costa Rica, the Grande de Tárcoles River:

the Grande de Tárcoles River

the Grande de Tárcoles River

An American Crocodile in The Tárcoles River

Day 32 - MI FAVORITO LATIN MUSICA!

Alejandro Sanz feat. Shakira"Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No"

Ricky Martin feat.(feat. La Mari of Chambao and Tommy Torres)
"Tu Recuerdo" - MTV Unplugged

Julieta Venegas & Anita Tijoux - "Eres Para Mi"

Days 26 - 30 (Grecia - 1st Week of Spanish School)

2007-04-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Days 26-30 - My first week of Spanish School at AC-CE will be something to remember! The staff are muy, muy wonderful people. I hope to learn alot from them while I am here.

This is a full-immersion program. Meaning, no English is spoken what-so-ever! There are signs everywhere displaying the no English symbol. (laughing) I take a 15-20 minute walk to school every morning. As part of the tuition all the students get a mid-morning snack in La Casa de Miguel restaurant located below the school building.

Fántasico comida!

FoFo, AC-CE's Tour Operator
and the Photographer of these photos of AC-CE

The AC-CE Building

Casa de Miguel Restaurant

Inside Casa de Miguel Restaurant

All AC-CE students have a different Spanish professor each week, so one may hear many different Spanish dialects and experience different teaching techniques:

AC-CE Spanish Professors

Day 25 - (Alajuela - Poás Volcano)

2007-04-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

Day 25 - 7:00am early start for Poás Volcano before the clouds set in and the volcano becomes non-visible. First, Paulo (Diego's Cousin) and I eat breakfast at Freddo Fresas and then off to start our adventure day at Poás Volcano National Park:

Breakfast at Freddo Fresas

The Sign of Poás Volcano National Park

Hike Start at Poás Volcano National Park

Hike on Poás Volcano

Hike on Poás Volcano

Hike on Poás Volcano - An Interesting Looking Tree

Hike on Poás Volcano - The Most Social Squirrel on the Earth. He actually waited for a cracker after I took this picture. HA!

Hike on Poás Volcano

Hike on Poás Volcano - A Beautiful Plant of Some Sort

Poás Volcano Covered by a Thick Cloud

Poás Volcano Revealed...YAY! Well, slightly.

Poás Volcano

Poás Volcano

During the Hike on Poás Volcano to The Botos Crater Lake, we were lucky enough to have seen a Black Guan (pavan negra)

During the Hike on Poás Volcano to The Botos Crater Lake, we ran into what the locals call the Poor Man's Umbrella because of its tuff, sturdy leaves.

Poás Volcano - The Botos Crater Lake

Day 24 - (Alajuela - Mall Internacional)

2007-04-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

Day 24 - ¡Claro! Of Course I was going to find a movie theater in CR. HA! This evening I went International Mall in Alajuela and saw, "300". Phenomenal!!! I didn't even mind the Spanish subtitles and neither did the rest of the movie audience. HA!

My Search continues for an International version of the "300" Poster

Day 19 - 23 (Grecia - Holy Week)

2007-04-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Day 23 - Before heading to the religious procession in downtown Grecia, I decide to take a self-portrait of myself in my new VNDK8 Shirt:

Day 19-23 - This week in Costa Rica is named Semana Santa (Holy Week). Everything shuts down and the downtown Grecia becomes a ghost town. I met Diego's Cousins family on Good Friday to observe the religious procession in downtown Grecia:

Religious Procession in Grecia

Religious Procession in Grecia

Religious Procession in Grecia

Religious Procession in Grecia

Religious Procession in Grecia

Religious Procession in Grecia

Religious Procession in Grecia

Days 17-18 (Tortuguero - 2 Day Trip)

2007-04-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Day 17 - 4:30am I walk in the very darkest dark of early morning in Grecia to meet Guido Navarro, my tour guide for the weekend trip to the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica - Limón. Me and 20 other adventures take a 2.5 hour bus ride from Grecia to Port Matina. From there we take an 1.5 boat ride through the canals to Tortuguero. Oh! Did I mention I was the ONLY non-spanish speaker (only American too) on this 2 day tour? Even my tour guide was Spanish speaking only. All of my fellow tourist were native Costa Ricans, but have never been to the Caribbean Coast...so it was a first for all of us:

Map of Tortuguero

A Chicken at Port Matina

Boating through the Canals of Matina

Lunch at Rancho la Palma

Touring the Canals of Matina - Capuchin Monkeys

Touring the Canals of Matina - Turkeys

Touring the Canals of Matina - Lizard

Touring the Canals of Matina - A Farm House

Touring the Canals of Matina - Birds

Touring the Canals of Tortuguero

Touring the Canals of Tortuguero - A Caiman Crocodile

Touring the Canals of Tortuguero - A Bull Swimming

Lunch at Rancho La Palma

Touring Parismina

Touring Parismina

Touring Parismina - Iguana Lodge Cabin

Touring Parismina - Community Park of Parismina

Touring Parismina - Parismina Beach

Touring Parismina - Parismina Beach

Touring Parismina - Parismina Beach

Touring Parismina - Parismina Beach

Touring Parismina - Parismina Beach

The next few pictures below is the area where we stayed over night in Tortuguero. Everyone had a cabin to themselves.
Atleast I did. Ha! Or they stayed in the same room with their family:

Tortuguero - Cabinas Aracari

Tortuguero - Cabinas Aracari

Tortuguero - Cabinas Aracari Fútbol Field

Tortuguero - Restarante Cabinas El Muellecito

Tortuguero - Cabinas Aracari Local Dogs

Tortuguero - Cabinas Aracari Public Bathroom

Tortuguero - Cabinas Aracari Canal

Tortuguero - Tour of Canals - Continue

Tortuguero - Tour of Canals

Tortuguero - Tour of Canals - An Iguana

Tortuguero - Tour of Canals - Now there is suppose to be wildlife of some sort on this tree, but no one knew how to tell me in English. (laughing) So I took a picture of the area anyway. Let me know if you see something.

Tortuguero - Caribbean Conservation Corporation

Tour Caribbean Conservation Corporation

Tour Caribbean Conservation Corporation

Caribbean Conservation Corporation - Beach

Caribbean Conservation Corporation - Beach

Return to Cabinas - Strolling around at Night

Cabinas Aracari - Self-Portrait Inside of my Cabin at Night Holding the Cabin Key

Day 18 - 6:00am Today I wake up to the sounds of MANY roosters. And I was totally surprised by a 2 hour hike!:

Cabinas Aracari - Self-Portrait Inside of my Cabin in the Morning

Cabinas Aracari - The Rooster that Woke Me Up

Tortuguero - Hiking Trail

Tortuguero - Hiking Trail Top View

Tortuguero - Hiking Trail

Tortuguero - Hiking Trail, Me and Tour Guide, Guido

Tortuguero - Hiking Trail End - A Residents Home

The Return to Port Matina

The Return to Port Matina - Wild Life

The Return to Port Matina - Wild Life

Port Matina - Luis was our boat driver and boy was he HOT LOOKING!!! MUY CALIENTE

The Return to Grecia - Break Stop and Photo of Bus

Day 12-16 (Spanish School Registration)

2007-03-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

Day 12 - Today, Monika of B and B Grecia offered to walk me to the school I will be attending for Spanish Lessons. (Hey, everybody needs their hand held on the first day of school. HA!) I will be studying at AC-CE (Academia Centroamericana de Español) which is located within downtown Grecia. I start Monday, April 9th, 2007. WooHoo!

Day 13 and 14 - Una Araña (a spider) fell on me today. Eeek! (I didn't look up....who ever looks up. Ha!) It'll take me two days to recuperate. Oh! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIEGO! Tonight, I was suppose to go and toast a drink to Diego with a few of Diego's friends at Bar Saprissa located in Downtown Grecia...but, I'm still shook-up about the spider falling on my arm this morning. YEEEESH! EEK! ACK!
To help me calm my nerves, I drew a White-Faced Capuchin Monkey:

Capuchin Monkey

Day 15 - There are several resident housing along the way to downtown Grecia. Too bad they have to have bars for personal security, because the resident have beautiful, well-kept lawns and gardens and the architecture is gorgeous, like these two:

A Resident's House

Day 16 - After going to Perimercado to pick up a few things, I decided to try an Italian Restaurant, Cucina Italiana. The pizza was delicious too!

Day 10-11 (Grecia - Time to Leave the Nest)

2007-03-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

Day 10 - Before setting out for Downtown Grecia, I had to do a little laundry. Now, I was warned before Costa Ricans don't use Dryers…Washing Machines, but no Dryers. I haven't seen (nor used) a clothes line since my great grand-mother was alive back in 1981!:

My week worth of groceries are starting to dwindle, so I have to venture out to downtown Grecia!

This is the hill I walk up to start my way into downtown Grecia. Yesterday when I walked down the hill…something that looked like it came straight out of "Jurassic Park: The Movie" came running out! It was an Iguana! I researched and found out that Costa Rican Iguana's help preserve the rainforest. Cool! Diego says I let dinner go…YUCK! I wish I could've gotten a picture of him, but he was too fast:

The Downtown Grecia area fills up quickly with the regulars as well as tourist. I drew a map of the area in my Moleskine and carry it with me always. Downtown Grecia is exciting. There are stores everywhere on each corner. (Resident homes, Bakeries, Shoe stores, grocery stores, ice-cream shops, Dentist offices, Gas Stations, corner stores and a HUGE bus station) Downtown Grecia has everything for all the residents and visitor needs. I went to this store called "Perimercados". It is the more expensive one to it's competitor "PALI". PALI is a division of Wal-Mart. Hahahahaha! Oh! There is a Super Wal-Mart located off of the main highway in CR.

During my venture out today I snapped a couple of pictures:

In the distance is Alajuela

The Metal Church - Grecia is well-known for this unique Catholic Church that is made entirely out of steel.

Day 11 - Today I met the coolest people in Grecia…Karl and Monika, they are the owner/operator of B and B Grecia:BackPackers, a fantastic bed and breakfast located in the heart of Downtown Grecia:

B and B Grecia:BackPackers
Tours•Homestay•Language Learning
(Photo Taken from Website)

Click here to check out their website for more photos and information on their bed and breakfast. (The master suite has a private jacuzzi!) They also run weekly and weekend adventure excursions. Karl is going to put together a mountain biking day trip in late April and hopefully I can join in on the fun!

As I walked back home from B and B Grecia, I stopped and took more photos:

Grecia Central Park

Um, where do the coins go?

Alajuela from the sidewalk

Day 6-9 (Grecia - Mi Nuevo Casa)

2007-03-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - So, with any house that hasn't been lived in in over 2 years there is bound to be non-human residents. Meet Ratón:

Ratón wasn't welcomed and I wanted him out. Immediately! So, instead of killing him I sweeped him out of the house. (So Costa Rican) But, NaNa had other plans for him. Poor guy. He didn't stand a chance. I tried to set him free...really I did. HA!

After Ratón left this world to be in the next, a few more of his cousins decide to come out. All these new introductions seem to come about when the housekeeper, Cynthia did her first weekly cleaning (she comes once a week). Cynthia speaks no English. Nada. But boy can she clean! She brought the life back into this house! I think when Cynthia cleaned outside the house, she must have put down some type of insecticide around the house because every National Geographic creature has come out!!!

Day 7-8 - I discovered BAYGON will help control the hormiga (ant) population. NOTE:CR doesn't have FDA regulations. Enough said. HA!:

Day 9 - BAYGON kills Geckos? Yep, geckos...I'm definitely in Costa Rica. I can take my binoculars out, sit outside on the porch and bird watch. Amazing.

I also brought some art supplies with me so I could capture my Costa Rica experience in Charcoal and Conté:

Tree Frog

Day 4-5 (Grecia)

2007-03-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

Day 4 - This house is pretty neat! Best of all...my highspeed cable internet works which also means...my VONAGE box works! I spent the whole day emailing and calling my friends and family...yeah. Oh! This house came with something extra...meet NaNa:

NaNa (sounds like, Nah Nah) is Diego's dog. His Uncle Jovel is now NaNa's caregiver. NaNa (or Nita) is the protector of the property. So glad she is around and she likes me. Here are a few more pictures of the house:

Living Room/Dining Room

Kitchen

MasterBedroom

When I am sitting in the dining room at the table, NaNa lays right by my chair. She is so awesome:

Day 5 - First start of the week, found out that my cable provider's main U.S. channels are Denver, Colorado stations. This means the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) are entirely in English. No voice-over, no subtitles.

Later, Jovel and wife picked me up and I went grocery shopping. Used my credit card too. HA! Costa Ricans (or Ticans) are nice people.

Day 2-3 (San Isidro)

2007-03-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, while I wait for Jovel to get my house ready (add a refrigerator, microwave, washer machine, the essentials...) I hung out at his house in San Isidro. (Not the San Isidro on the map...this one is in the Alajuela providence.) San Isidro is minutes from Grecia. Grecia is within the providence Alajuela.

Waking up in a unfamiliar country, I didnt know what to expect, but with my 18 hour travel time to get here from Los Angeles (with a 10 hour lay over in Atlanta) I was too tired for nervousness.

Previously early in the morning (12:30am), Jovel and his wife (I slept in Monica's room and she stayed at her Grandmother's house.) showed me around a little. "Este es el baño...Este es la cocina...Este es el leche...) To tell you the truth, I was to tired to translate to myself, but I understood what they were showing me, because I was on my own the next morning.

Day 2 - I wake up, and the first thing I do is look around the house and check out their cable tv.

Either the American shows have Spanish voice-over or in English with Spanish subtitles. Ha! My Spanish is going to be so-ooooo much better after these 3 months.

"Van Helsing" in Español...SAH-WEET!"

Later that day, we went to Mall Alajuela. This mall had USAs entire fast food franchise: McDonald's (two of them, one serves desserts only.), Taco Bell, Quiznos...) Pretty cool mall, here I will be able to go to the movies. CR gets new release USA movies 1 month behind though. Thinking about going to see, "300" while I am here. Should be interesting. In English with Spanish subtitles. HA!

Day 3 - I hung out at the Quesada's casa and got outside this time. Jovel's house is BEAUTIFUL. He built it himself. The trees are gorgeous. I took a picture of the treehouse (1st time using this camera too.) he built for his children when they were younger:

Jovel drove me to Grecia where I will be staying. Driving towards Grecia you have to drive through Downtown Grecia. My rental house is 3 blocks from Downtown Grecia.

Day 1 (Juan SantaMaría Airport)

2007-03-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

WooHoo! Starting this Blog at last!

Now, when I was presented this special opportunity to visit CR, I didn't know where it was on the map...I know, right? Stupid American. I will be staying in (Grecia) Alajuela, Costa Rica.

My first few days in Costa Rica were maddening. It wasn't until the plane actually landed in Juan SantaMaria Airport(9:00pm - CST) that I realized, "I am RLY in Costa Rica?" and thought to myself, "I have some nerve flying off to a distant country and not knowing the language I might add. And solo."

This to me is what being a human being is all about. Experiences. Life unknown.

So, as I step into the airport I quickly follow my fellow flight passengers to the baggage claim area. ¿Come se dice "Baggage Claim" en Español? Good thing there is a universal language of visual design in this world. I just followed the pictures. Following images of a woman pointed me to the bathroom too. Hehehe.

But before baggage claim...customs. I hate this part. I don't know why but entering another country with a foreign passport stresses me. I always mess up on those "Foreign Country Entry/Duty Forms" the airline passes out to while you are on the plane. I always fill them out wrong. But, customs wasn't so bad. The line moved along quickly.

Baggage claim was interesting. Being that I am in CR for 3 months I took with me one (1) large suitcase and one (1) medium size suitcase, a rolling tote and a carry-on. Four (4) pieces total. Two were checked and right there when I landed...

"¿Esté?" - This?

An airport worker points at all bags going through the x-ray machine to find which ones were mine. I am RLY in CR.

My co-worker's (Diego) family met me at the airport and Diego's uncle Jovel held up this sign for me to see:

Jovel speaks no English but tries for me. His lovely wife spoke no English as well, but that didn't stop her from trying either and their super cool daughter, Mónica spoke English. She teaches English at an Elementary School in San Isidro.

My house wasn't ready for me, so I stayed with Diego's family for the next two days.