The Final Stretch!

Wow, the past week has flown by!! Here I am, one full day until I leave for home... This past week I took a tour of southern Costa Rica. Our travels involved boating to places by river and by ocean. In fact, to reach our final destination, we took a boat out on a river, that dumped into the ocean. It was a blast. One minute, we were enjoying the view of the mountains of green on both sides of us, and the next, the river became wider and wider and the waves bigger, and choppier.. and vua-la! We were in the ocean. 

The place we stayed at had an incredible view of the ocean too. 

One of the best activities was a guided tour through the Rain Forest. We saw Tucans, 2 kinds of Monkeys, lizards, termite hives and a sloth-like creature.

 We learned that coconuts can actually grow new plants without actually being under the soil. The roots grow out of the coconut, and make a system under ground, while a plant grows out of the top of the coconut to find sunshine. 

Look at that coconut grow!!

We learned that termites are actually good for the trees because they benefit each other (look for the small brown termites on this gigantic hive). The tree provides nutrients, while the termites destroy the dead parts of the tree. 

Helpful fact: If you are ever stranded in the jungle, you can eat termites to survive!

You can seriously make a small home inside some of the trees..

Apparently these kind of trees grow vines that hang down and eventually grow into the ground to form firm extensions of the tree. They are also continually growing in width and enveloping the tree. 

These guys (hermit crabs) are everywhere!! They migrate in and out of the water all together in the morning and evening, disguising themselves as small shells.

One night, some friends and I decided to check out the beach just after sundown and then realized we had just walked into a huge hermit crab migration!

We had several venders at our hotel. They make their own jewelry, using a lot of beads, coconut, and wood. Costa Rica has some of the most beautiful wood products I've ever seen.

This was my FAVORITE activity--horse back riding. Those of you who know me know that I have my own horse, but this was especially cool because we got to ride through jungle areas, and then raced our horses along a gravel road.. so much fun. I've always had this dream of racing horses and this was the closest I've ever been. Holding my camera in one hand, and the reins in the other, I let her fly!! 

(ps. I know I'm a complete horse nerd.. just let it be :)

Don't let this clean trail fool you, we got to get into messy secluded roads too!

So many wonderful experiences in this beautiful place..

One of the biggest things I will miss here is their concept of time. They run on "tico time," which means they are almost always 20 minutes or more late to any given event, even school. People do not get all stressed out about time. I'm not saying that I just want to have an excuse to be late, I just think it is so cool that their lives are not managed by time. Life is relaxed and less stressful. One down side of "tico time" though, is when it comes to getting things done. After a storm, a tree laid in the road for a good few days before anyone began to remove it. It's funny to me, but I enjoy the atmosphere. 

I think we Americans are too fast-paced, and then when we find that we have nothing to do for a while, we don't know what to do with ourselves. I guess it's all about that fine balance between work and relaxation, we really need both.

Of course, I will miss the abundance of vegetation and flowers, the mountains covered with green, and the diverse animal life. 

Costa Ricans use the term "Pura Vida." "Pura Vida," translated means pure life, but here it is their way of life. People use it to say "what's up" or "life is good." It is used in many ways, but the main point is that life is good.. 

don't worry, be happy. 

Cafe Britt

This weekend I was able to travel with a couple friends to San Jose, the capital, and then Heredia for my first coffee tour! We arrived in Heredia in the evening to stay the night at a local Hostel. There, we ended up meeting a very nice girl from Holland. We told her of our plans to take a coffee tour and she decided to join. So, Saturday morning, after a light breakfast of fruit and toast with oj and coffee, we were on our way to Cafe Britt.

On the tour, I saw several young coffee plants that were beginning to bear their first "fruits" for the year. I learned so many things, and wished that I had a note pad and paper with me because I cannot remember all that I learned off the top of my head! But, I will share with you at least some of what I did learn.

According to the the coffee legend, an Arabian shepherd found his goats skipping and jumping around a dark green shrub bearing red berries. After trying the berries himself, he experienced the euphoria his goats had felt and the powerful stimulant of caffeine. And so, coffee was born..  Coffee plants bear only one crop per year and their harvesting season is from December to February. Before a plant is even ready to bear fruit, it must have a few years from the time it is planted to mature. There are only two types of coffee plants: Arabica and Robusto. Robusto is the lesser quality of the two and the plant is larger. All good coffee companies use only Arabica beans.

Coffee plants need a high altitude to become quality beans. In a higher altitude, it is cooler, causing the beans to become harder and then able to roast at a more even rate. One advantage that Cafe Britt has is that it is not only located in small mountains, but it is built on volcanic soil. Volcanic soil is rich in nutrients and the porous soil allows the excess rain to drain from the plant. In Costa Rica, it rains almost every day so this type of soil works perfectly. 

When the plant is mature, the beans will turn from green to red and then are referred to as "cherries." 

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The "cherries" are then hand-picked and put into a basket tied around the pickers back. The coffee cherry has several layers, all of which besides the bean are stripped away by processes of hydration and drying. An average basket filled will be about 25 pounds of cherries, which will make about 2.5-3 pounds of coffee. 

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The best method of drying the beans is using the sun, this is referred to as "patio drying." The beans are spread out onto a large surface and then racked every hour for one week. 

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A floating test is used to separate the "bad" beans from the "good" ones. The good beans will sink because they are heavier, and the bad will float. Once the process of separating and stripping the bean layers is finished, the remnants are mixed with chicken poop and then used as a fertilizer for the growing coffee plants.  

I very much enjoyed the learning experience and am excited to share some of this great coffee with friends and family!!

salty oranges and fake tattoos

Maria Pia and I had a "tattoo" party today..

Muy bonita.. 

A traditional Costa Rican meal; mixed veggies, fried plantain, avacado, rice and beans!!

This particular meal was especially delicious. 

A local wall painting, and me trying to mirror it :)

The "panaderia" I like to frequent.. They make delicious loaves of bread, cinnamon rolls, donuts, and other yummy bready desserts. Today I enjoyed a sugar-dusted donut accompanied by a steaming cup of coffee.. yum.

flores muy bonita!

I am continually becoming more and more comfortable and happy making my way around town. I am enjoying the independence. Today I stopped by the post office, bought avacados and apples from a local veggie cart, and bought a couple items from the bakery. As I was walking home, I saw a few children surrounding a man with a cart, handing them some kind of fruit, so I stopped by. The fruit turned out to be oranges that were not so orange, and they were split in half and sprinkled with salt. Oranges and salt.. I guess it's the sweet and salty combination that appeals, but as for me, I'll stick to the naked orange!

pink, blue and white

Last weekend I traveled by ferry and taxi to a place called Santa Teresa. The ferry ride took about an hour and the remaining hour was by taxi. I have never been on rougher roads. Taxis are SUVs that are constantly dodging large pot holes on the dirt path. At many points we would be on the wrong side of the road for some time just to avoid the bumps, which was literally impossible all together. I was amazed. At one point we barely dodged a hole in the earth that if we had hit, would have stopped us in our tracks. It was fun though, I felt like I was off-roading, but on a path. Costa Rica screams green from every angle, especially in these kind of locations. Just looking out the window at the small mountains and cattle grazing made me happy.
Once we arrived, we immediately checked out the beach. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I felt like a little kid again, who just saw a water park for the first time. The sand was white, and the sun was setting to make a brilliant pink against the blue ocean and shore. I immediately ran into the water. Clothes on and all, I let the waves hit my body and make me feel alive. I must have looked like an idiot skipping around on the pink shore, but I didn't care. I felt like I was in a place where Heaven could meet Earth. I should point out here that I am normally a mountain type of girl, but I have never seen a prettier place. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures, but that's what happens in those kind of situations I guess!
The town of Santa Teresa was quaint, and had about everything to offer a person. The second night I was there, we decided to go to a local Latin American dance night. I was thoroughly amused by a mid 50 year old man who pulled me out of my seat and tried to teach me anything BUT normal salsa or merengue. We probably looked like we were doing some kind of rain dance instead! But he was harmless and quite amusing if anything.
On a different note I have great news--I found peanut butter! Oh yes, I thoroughly enjoyed a pb and j today.. I am finally getting more comfortable with walking down the streets. People here are generally nice and simply like to say "hello" or "good day." So, I am not walking with fear so much and feel at ease meeting people's eyes. Today I even found myself using a smart tone with a local man when he got on my nerves.. probably shouldn't do that too often. I like the locals though. I have a "Tico" friend here who is learning English and he and his friends are some of the nicest, most respectful people I've ever met!
More good news, I will hopefully be visiting the coffee plantation this weekend-only about 2 weeks left! The picture from the ferry of the strip of land is Puntarenas.
Buenos noches!

peanut butter and jelly.

With extreme beauty comes extreme weather. I just rushed inside from a slanting rain that my small umbrella could only manage to protect my head from. I've just returned from the market where I planned to get ingredients for what I have been craving the past few days: peanut butter and jelly.. but, they DON'T HAVE peanut butter! So, that craving will have to pass. But, I was sure to indulge in my next craving which was chocolate. I had a dream about chocolate cake (I know pretty sad), and so now I am happily munching on a chocolate donut from the bakery. It's no Krispy Kreme- but it's chocolate!! So now that I sound like I've gone off the deep end and only crave really rich foods, I'll tell you what I've began to delight in here. Avacados; with a dash of salt, they go great with about any meal! Apples; the Gala apples here are some of the best I've ever had. And last but not least, the coffee. I have found a steakhouse that serves coffee to go any way you like it, but the best part is their drip coffee is great! Costa Rica is known for its coffee plantations and my goal is to be able to tour one named "Cafe Britt" in a couple of weeks.
These past few days have been tougher on me as I have become more homesick and for some reason more tired.. I'm going to blame it on the heat (even though technically it is winter here). I am just trying to adjust with as little difficulty as possible. I am still not used to the men here and their attempt to charm the ladies, I'm definitely not used to the heat, nor to the flash rain storms.. a little stray Dachshund broke my heart today as she huddled against the gate of my family's home trying to stay out of the rain. It looked at me with begging eyes, and my heart melted. It would be tempting to take in these little guys but there are SO MANY of them here. They just chill on the sidewalks all day long. I have to admit though, I do like the storms.
The other day, my host dad, Bernal, taught me how to make coffee the old fashioned way. It simply involves pouring boiling water over the coffee in the gunny sack filter and vua-lah! It was quite enjoyable. Also, he made a Costa Rican snack--corn tortillas and sour cream, and it wasn't too bad..
The girls keep me entertained too. Paula the 18 month old throughly enjoys being in mischief, I can tell by the look of joy on her face when she knows she's doing something bad. However, her older sister Pia loves to tote her around and keep her as her personal source of entertainment, even if that means bossing her around or hiding her toys. They are adorable though and I feel so blessed to have this family!

New Faces, New Places

This weekend was a mixture of surprise and beauty (which I have encountered a lot of since I've been here). To start, on Friday a friend of mine and I decided to spend our Friday low-key. We both had not been feeling too well (my stomach is still adjusting to this diet), and so we decided to take pictures of Puntarenas which we have been meaning to do for a while. After a delicious, typical Costa Rican meal at her house, we headed for the Market first. WIthin a block, we ran into two white guys approximately our age. They had on big backpacks and so it was evident they were travelers. While I wondered were they could be from, one of them approached us. He asked us first if we spoke Spanish and since we were not as proficient, we spoke in English. Turns out they were all the way from Alemania (Germany) and were also going to school in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. Because the town of Puntarenas can be dangerous in some parts, Kelly's (my friend) host mom let them stay with her for the night. They had been traveling for 30 hours and so their main concern was to hit the beach and relax.
That evening, the four of us got together and discussed all kinds of topics. What Germany is like, what they were doing in Costa Rica, what the U.S. is like and life in general. It was really cool talking about things with people who were from another continent. They were proficient in Spanish, English and a little French, and of course German. They said that the German language is quite difficult and they felt sorry for people in the U.S. learning German. If I remember correctly, there are only about 600 thousand people left who speak German. They talked about Germany's birthrate problem and we even discussed Hitler and the Nazis. I attempted to say "right" in German, which alone used four different sounds, and I could never get it with out sounding like a fool. We had a lot of interesting discussions and had a lot of the same ideas about certain things which I thought was neat. We even had fresh coconut milk from a palm tree thanks to a local who climbed up one to get us the coconuts!
On Saturday, the whole USAC group went to Volcano Arenal and its natural hot springs. The springs were indeed HOT. Some were too hot to even walk in. The springs were divided into many pools and a couple with swim-up bars. They had a really cool waterfall as well. On Sunday, we visited the rain forest next to Volcano Arenal. There were trails through the forest and we even caught a glimpse of a couple monkeys, one which had a baby clinging to its back. We saw a beautiful waterfall and crossed many hanging brides with streams beneath us. It of course rained on us but the tree "canopy" helped a little with protecting us from some of it. This weekend was packed and a lot of fun, but I am glad it is Monday and I can relax!
I wanted to add something that I found funny about the town in which I live. Here, men lift up their shirts just over their bellies to cool off. It doesn't matter how big the belly, men do it and don't give a care in the world! I am slowly feeling less and less intimidated by the fact that I am a minority and simply trying to embrace it.

Changes.

I am realizing some of the ideas people have about themselves, and about each other. This place is so different from any other place I've lived, yet I am doing it. I am living in Costa Rica with no major struggles other than homesickness. People are more resilient than they think. I am in a house with no air conditioning, no dishwasher, and no dryer (we hang the clothes on a line). My shower shoots water at the level of my head and cannot move down, so I stand on my tippie-toes to wash my hair. The water is only one temperature--cool. I have figured out to take showers when it is very hot, otherwise it is one cold shower. But despite these things, I am doing fine! I adjust and go on. Just like everyone else. There have been earthquakes about once a week, and although I was scared, I am still here.. It is human nature to adapt to the environment and it is cool being able to see myself do just that. There are many stray dogs, and although I am an animal lover, I have to control myself, considering some are not so friendly. I am the minority. I enjoy going to the market alone, but each time I do I have to re-teach myself to not feel intimidated and to instead, look at people and smile.
I am having my personal bubble popped more and more each day. People here do not have the American arms-length space implied rule and so when I say hello, a person may lean towards me to smile or say hello. My instinct is to back away, but I am trying to fight it! People also walk closer together, sometimes I think I'm going to be side-swiped by another pedestrian or car just because space is not the same. My host-sister Maria Pia, took an immediate interest in me when I came and will come into my room and sit on my bed with me any time she feels, which I very much like now :) Just last night I was skyping with my Mom as she laid on my lap and I brushed her hair, and I can hardly even speak the same language! To be honest, I am glad my bubble is being broken. My walls of protection are coming down. I am learning to look people IN THE EYE as I walk by them, and I am learning to be aware of my surroundings, which honestly is one of my struggles at home. I want to notice the details as I walk by them. I want to notice the people too. I want to notice that the neighbor is painting his overhang a pretty green color instead of blindly walking by. I think you get my point!
I can remember an American girl at the airport who had a surprising awakening.. A woman leader of the group came up to her and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. This girl was clearly not used to it and with a look of shock, remarked to me, "I am going to have to get used to this new level of intimacy!" That made me laugh but then the same thing happened to me and I tried to not be surprised. My Great-Grandmother used to kiss me, but that is very different than meeting someone for the first time..
Anyway, my point is I am grateful to have this experience. I knew I wanted to go somewhere where I would be uncomfortable. I wanted a new point of view. Who wants to be comfortable for the rest of their lives?!