Giggles Adventure

Giggle's finally got the courage to leave my shower.  I am not sure but think that he might be slightly slow.  When I woke up one morning he was sitting outside of my bed... which what other lizard has done this.... NONE!!

Than when I got home, he was in my sink... which was a struggle.  I ended up having to do some dishes and he wouldn't leave.  He got stuck under a can and when I went to move the can his tail came off.  It was sooo grosssssss, it just wiggled in the sink for a while.  

So I had to take giggles out.  I put him back in my shower because I am afraid he will die on his own..... But I think I might just have to put him outside and hope for the best.  He is definitely not  the brightest crayon in the box, or is it sharpest?? I guess who am I to talk I can't figure out a commonly used phrase!

"Giggles"

I have a new friend Mr. Giggles.  He is a gecko that has been living in my shower for the past 4 to 5 days and counting.  He wont leave.  I opened the shower curtains to try and help him escape.  However, he seems to be quite happy in his little new home.  

I have named him Giggles, because he makes me happy and makes me laugh.  Every time I go into the bathroom I look into the shower to make sure he is still there.  It always makes me happy knowing he is still safe in my shower and not dead.  

Today came the day when he made the first attempt to leave.  I am not sure he will be in my shower for much longer..... When all is said and done I am happy he was my friend for a short while.  

Animal Attack!

This past evening was immensely horrible.  

It started off the day before with cockroaches everywhere.  This is not a typical problem for me so I thought nothing of it.  

This night was different.  I walked in to find two huge cockroaches on my kitchen floor.  I than proceeded to go and pick something out of the sink, to which two smaller cockroaches scattered.  I than went to pick up a shirt from the ground and a cockroach went onto my arm, needless to say this did cause me to scream.  I than started to get a little anxiety.  I placed my food onto the stove and turned around to stir it up (rice and beans of course!!), I kid you not, this is noooo exaggeration, a cockroach proceeded to JUMP not climb but JUMP out of the pan where my food was cooking!!!! HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN??

So needless to say I was feeling very anxious and very violated.  

I than decided to wash up and clean up the dishes.  As I am washing a dish, a cockroach falls onto it's back in the stove..... WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?? AND WHY???  It was as though it was raining cockroaches in my little cabina.  Just than Ellen and Glenn arrived (they are both volunteers) to play scrabble.  I explained my anxiety and they got rid of the cockroach that was in the stove.  During the game, I stood up to go by the sink and there was an army of ants!!! Everywhere... the stupid cockroach had left some puss or eggs or something on my stove and now there were huge ants everywhere!!!!!!!!  Soooo Ellen got rid of the cockroach whatever it left behind than the ants went away.

THAN... still we are playing scrabble. I decided that I  should pick up my guitar case that I have left on the ground...... (on no, the animal night was not over)  a huge spider than crawled onto the case!! I was freaking out!! I swear this stuff does not happen to other people!! Most people get one incident not about 80 in one night... SO Glenn swept the spider out and Ellen and I got down from standing on the chairs.  

I didn't sleep well.

Under the Waves

On Saturday, Alex and Matt wanted to finish their trip by going white water rafting.  I decided it would be fun to go with them.  So I arranged to work Sunday night instead of Saturday morning.

I got picked up at 6:50 in the morning and than we headed on up to the rafting center, located around an hour and a half away.  Upon arriving we ate breakfast and gathered what we needed for the trip, which was really just sunscreen.  

I didn't get to go on the same raft as Alex and Matt which really bummed me out, but it was ok in the end I was getting to do it for free and that was good enough for me.  

The river was way different from when we were there in January.  It was a brown color from the rain and was a lot higher, the rapids were stronger.  Which leads me to some stories of a very active day.

We had a girl fall out of the raft on a rapid.  NO ONE NOTICED, except me!! She was sitting directly behind me and I was like... oh my gosh.. I don't see her helmet anymore and I thought we had rafted over her!!  She popped up and I was standing there going do we grab her do we wait!  So than me and this other woman grabbed her and lifted her into the boat, which was just not an easy task seeing as how I have very little arm muscle.  She was ok and we rafted on.  

Next we were in a spot where people could get out and swim, I decided to just dangle my feet in the river.  Another guide had a different idea of what I should be doing.  So as everyone in my boat is being lifted back in, I was facing the inside of the raft holding all the oars, when all of a sudden my body was folding into a V, I was squished between two rafts and was all of a sudden swimming in the cool waters.  The guide had grabbed my life vest with his paddle and pulled me in.  Everyone in my boat thought I just fell in!  I was like are you guys insane who just falls in like that!!!

Which leads me to my next story.

Every time we approached a rapid our guide "Andres" would describe what we would maybe need to do.  On this particular rapid, he decided to tell our group that for those of us who are STILL in the raft to get down when he yells get down.  Well he yelled get down and we lost about half of our boat.  Matt tells us it looked as though we were all just sucked right out of the boat.  SOooo with that said I fell out of the raft.  

It was really scary, I was turning in circles for a few seconds and had no idea which way was up or down and was nervous about hitting rocks.  It all happened so fast, I turned up right and was going down the rapid and I did the whole safety position which is feet forward and what not, but my helmet kept falling off.  So I was thinking oh great this is it, this is how I am going to die, I am going to hit a rock.. So I drank a lot of the river as I was going through the rapid.  Luckily it didn't last as long as it felt like it did and I was pulled safely back into the boat.  

In the end very exhausting... I admit.. I was a little hesitant the rest of the ride seeing as how I did not want to experience falling out AGAIN!  Alex said she was jealous and wished she would of fallen in the river.... I don't think she really wanted to fall into the river.  It was sad at the end saying bye to Matt and Alex.  I am soo happy they came though!  I was very very happy.  

Alex and Matt's Last Night in Puerto Viejo - Dinner for Six

I started off working and than spent some time with Ellen, Glenn and Scott.  I decided it would be fun to play a game, the only options we had were Monopoly and Scrabble.  We all know how much I LOOVVEEE Monopoly (Hate it!), so of course we played Monopoly.  I somehow ended up with only three properties, somehow had the most money but in the end wasn’t paying attention at all.  Glenn and Ellen were making deals wonderfully amongst each other, and Scott kept trying to make the worst deals with me.  We finally decided this was the worst idea ever and quickly gathered ourselves to head into Puerto Viejo for the evening.  (I do not think there will be much more of Monopoly played!!)

To send off Alex and Matt we decided to eat at Chile Rojo, of course the best restaurant in Puerto Viejo.  We went to gather them at their hotel when we arrived only to find they had already gone to the restaurant.  Matt and Alex had left me a little note so we would know where to go, it had a nice little drawing on it as well and is now a decoration in my house. 

We enjoyed drinks and dinner at Chile Rojo and than went and enjoyed a round at the Parquecito in Puerto Viejo (where there is typically live music at night).  Scott and Matt decided that the best way to end a good trip is the way you start one, with tequila shot in hand.  We had to call it an early night due to the fact that Matt, Alex and myself were waking at six the next morning to go rafting.  It was a great way to spend some quality time together.  LOOOVEEEEED IT!!!! 

Visit to Puerto Viejo

With Alex and Matt in Puerto Viejo for the day and I working in the morning, I decided it was best to meet up with them that evening.  Their hotel started to get annoyed with me calling and leaving messages, it was quite entertaining.  I spent the morning working and the afternoon at the beach.  It was a quite a lovely day with lots of sunshine.  

After going home and showering and getting ready, I gathered Scott and we headed off to Puerto Viejo, just barely making the bus.  Scott had to run to stop it, thankfully we made it there safely.  Alex and I each wore the same dress we had worn two nights before and had a laugh about it.  

We started at a restaurant where they had a two for one specials.  We left after the first round, and somehow decided it was best to just return there.  It was a very fun evening filled with cocktails and of course pizza. 

We went to a local bar where there was some live music.  It was great live music, no one was there, until a group of, I think Americans but for sure travelers came in.  Their dancing was absolutely one of the most entertaining experiences of my life.  I was so happy to have witnessed this free show.  After a while I was tired and we left to go back to Cahuita since I had to work the next morning we didn't stay out as late as I would of liked.  

A GOOD EVENING!

Wednesday

Since we had spent literally the entire morning looking for turtles and trying to get back to Cahuita, sleep was needed.  I didn’t sleep as long or as well as they did.  However, I let them sleep and ended up running into town to run a few errands.  When I got back around four, we decided that they would quickly pack and we would go grab some lunch/dinner at Sobre las Olas.  The chicken fajitas were delicious along with the best french fries in Costa Rica.  

Alex and Matt left for Puerto Viejo that night.  I decided to meet them the following day instead of going to visit them that evening.  I was tired and decided to have some ice cream and watch the movie next door with Sam, Glenn, Ellen and Scott.  Glenn and I tried our hand at UNO, I won the first game in about two seconds and lost the second game immensely!  I think I had around two hundred cards.

I called it an early evening due to the lack of sleep from the night before.  

Turtle Adventure Part Two

To enhance Alex and Matt's trip to Costa Rica we decided it would be a good idea to do the turtle walk at night.  This was posing to be a problem though, our only option for walking was to leave at midnight on Tuesday night.  So when all was said and done we went Tuesday night.  We arranged to have a taxi pick us up at 11:30 outside our place.  We weren't sure if this guy would follow through, we were pretty sure he was a drug dealer of some sort.  This only started our journey.

That night after resting and dressing in black we waited outside.  I started to get nervous seeing as how if this guy didn't arrive at 11:30 we would for sure not make it to the place on time.  We were supposed to arrive at 11:50.  I suggested that we start walking into town seeing as how if he was coming we would run into him and if he wasn't coming we had the off chance of maybe catching another taxi.  We started walking in our all black attire towards one of the main roads and down, and by "one of the main roads," I mean the only main road.  

We see the car approaching us, Matt and I both go ok good here he is.  Alex proceeds with "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, it's going to hit us, it's going to hit us."  This is done in a high pitch squealing voice as she is jumping up and down behind Matt.  This action was of course a huge sense of laughter for the rest of the trip.  We could not stop making fun of her for this.  

We arrived at the entrance of Puerto Vargas by the grace of God.  Our taxi driver/drug seller drove all of over the road, which ever lane he decided fit best.  He was all over the place.  Alex of course could not stop panicking.  

The turtle walk started and it was beautiful weather.  We had an amazing lightening show for the majority of the four hours.  We did a lot of walking and I honestly couldn't stop laughing the entire time.  Matt was just looking around and came close to falling the first time he saw lightening.  I was sure himself and Alex were going to kill me for allowing this trip to happen.  In the end there was success and we saw one leatherback turtle.  She was a bit on the younger side and quite faster than the others I had previously seen.  She was booking it back into the ocean.  They were able to touch and feel and see how large she was.  I think that in itself made the four hour journey worthwhile. 

We also learned that the hard back of the leatherback is just skin and not a shell which we had previously thought.  

All in all a great time, until....... 4:30 arrived and our taxi driver did not show.  

Maybe it was the drugs, maybe it was sleep we aren't sure... all we know is that come six o'clock in the morning we were still at Puerto Vargas awaiting the public bus to take us back to Cahuita.  We waited since otherwise we would be walking another two hours back to Cahuita and non of us had the strength in us.  

When we got back to Cahuita, this was the first time there was a sense of tension around.  Everyone was exhausted and in desperate need of sleep.  

Sleep was hard for me, seeing as how my bedroom is a heatwave/sauna.  I did manage to literally sweat my way through a few hours of sleep. 

National Park Hike

On Monday we decide to get our feet on the ground and hike to my favorite place in the Cahuita National Park.  We started off a little later than planned even though we had a nice lunch at Cafe Chocolate (mother's favorite place to eat in Cahuita, with incredibly fresh homemade daily bread).  

The goal was to find Matt and Alex some animals.  Once walking into the park, Matt yelled "Monkey's!"  Of course Alex and I thought he was just being a sarcastic butt munch, but turns out Steve Irwin had joined us on our hike that day.  We saw both kinds before even starting our hike.  

Matt has come to enjoy and rather respect wildlife on this trip.  He has a new found love for ants, crabs and even lizards.

It took us a while to get to our destination, around two hours.  We were having a good time looking at the scenery and walking.  Alex did stub her toe on a rather large stump in the ground.... which was not funny although very comical her reaction.  We got attacked by mosquitoes on the way through and literally had to almost run to not get bit.  They attached themselves to us and wouldn't let go.  It was a little scary and gross.  I thought I was helping Matt by hitting two mosquitoes he had on his back.. which really just ended with blood on my hands.  GROSS!!!

We reached the point and Alex did not want to leave the water, but we were happy to have reached our other destination a good 25 minutes later.  It was like bathwater and allowed for casual swimming.  The debris seemed to follow Matt everywhere which bothered him, but was rather entertaining for the rest of us.  We weren’t able to spend as much time swimming and relaxing as we would of liked, but all in all they were happy to have gone.

That night we rested and than went to Coco Rico’s for dinner.  It was a quiet dinner; we were all feeling kind of tired and were just relaxed.  We than preceded to go to Coco’s for one drink afterwards.  We were anticipating the next day and decided it best to call it an early night.

White Beach

The next day was Sunday and we decided to take our time getting up.  After I woke them we made plans to go in to the National Park for the afternoon.  I spent sometime laying out in the sand and they spent a lot of time swimming.  The waves weren’t exactly settling very well with me, so I enjoyed my time reading Anne Frank. 

Matt discovered his love for crabs this day.  Matt would make a smartass comment about most creatures which would lead Alex into a ten minute explanation of that creatures particular lifestyle, if they had enemies, why they did things a certain way (it was quite entertaining).  In the end Matt enjoyed having Steve Irwin along on the trip.

We also played a game that day called “which hole with the crab enter.”  Matt had been following the crabs around for a while, when he goes “why wouldn’t that crab just go into the closest hole?” and I added “I think they have their own hole and must know which hole that is.”  To which Matt responded “your theory is stupid, lets do an experiment to prove you wrong.”  The experiment didn’t really leave us any answers but we do think they each have their own holes.  It was quite an entertaining experience. 

We proceeded to walk around in the park for a bit attempting to spot monkeys.  We ended up seeing  a large amount of leaf cutter ants, which at the beginning of the day were pointless to Matt.  By the end of the walk out Matt would yell “guys ants, look out for the ants.” 

That night we ate at Sobre Las Olas, a restaurant near my house that Mother and I have been wanting to go to for the past almost 2 and a half months now.  I am glad I had not gone before they got here, because the food was so incredible I would be broke all the time.  We decided that the french-fries they make were some of the best we had ever had!!  

Alex and Matt’s Arrival

Today was a pretty exciting day.  The morning went slowly at work, I had a few that morning Glenn and Scott both stopped in to say hi.  I was so excited and anxiously awaiting Alex and Matt's arrival.   

They were walking towards Willie's Tours and I ran and hugged them both!  I was so excited!  My first and maybe only visitors from home, it turned out to be way more exciting than I ever imagined.  

We than went to lunch since they were starving from their journey.  We ate or I guess they ate at Pizz'n Love had a few beers and settled into the area.  It was immensely hot that day so we decided to quickly pay, head to the house and change for some beach time.  

We than went to the house and put their luggage, which equated to Matt's luggage and Alex's carry on seeing as how they had lost her luggage during the trip.  We changed and went to Playa Negra for a swim, to cool off and relax for a while.  It was a lot of fun and it was a great chance to meet Matt for the first time.  

Afterwards we went home and took a nap and showered and took some down time before the night commenced.  

We started by having dinner at El Parquecito.  I enjoy going there since they have two for one’s.  Most places don’t have drink specials and I am cheap and drinking in Cahuita/Costa Rica and even eating out is basically the equivalent to living at home, except oh by the way you only make two dollars an hour here!!  This dinner was the first night of many that week where Matt and I spent at least 10 minutes debating what we were going to eat that night.  It's a big deal and there is so much to choose from!! 

Glenn and Sam found us at El Parquecito and had brought with them the new volunteer who had just arrived that day.  Her name is Ellen and she came from South Carolina from the states to also work at the clinic in Cahuita.  Everyone sat around and had some cocktails.  Alex and I ran back and forth between El Parquecito and Willie’s to check for her luggage, which surprisingly arrived that night.  Luckily Nona and Jorge held on to it for us until the following morning. 

Since that was Saturday night, we went out to Coco’s Bar.  CoCo’s bar has life music on Saturday nights which is a blast.  Everyone in Cahuita loves them; it’s the most packed you’ll see Coco’s bar at this time of year which is low season.  Needless to say we plopped ourselves down and had an amazing evening.  We joked and drank the entire evening, we closed down Coco’s at good ole three in the morning.  We were actually being kicked out of the bar!!  The funny part was that at dinner, I had insisted that I purchase three large bottles of water for us.  I was certain we would need them in the morning and that evening.  Well I took them with me to Coco’s bar and proceeded to leave them there, half way on the walk home I realized “OH NO!” we did not return to get them and the next morning were all upset we did not have that water. 

Alex and I spent the night talking and catching up and drinking rum and coke's even though I swear there was no rum in them!  Matt and Scott spent the night taking turns buying each other tequila shots.  It was quite the evening!!!  Alex gave one of my local friends a lecture on smoking... saying "What about your kids?"  haha he doesn't have kids.  It was quite a funny night.  Matt and I spent the entire night going back and forth saying random things in spanish.  Matt would repeat the only words he knew in spanish "si" "que" "nueve."  It was such a blast.  

At Coco’s that night we realized that Alex did not receive any dance skills.  Carlos, a local, has been trying to get me to dance since I have arrived, just for kicks I decided ok I will dance tonight.  When Alex had her turn she would spin and kind of run off and not really help the poor guy out.  He was a great dancer and a great leader.  Needless to say we took some funny pictures and Matt and I got a good laugh out of the situation.

The walk home was entertaining and a beautiful start to a beautiful trip.  I was soo happy.  My local friends told me I looked so happy that I was glowing, which I think was mostly from sweat but still a nice compliment to receive!!!

Puerto Viejo

The next day, I was anticipating Alex’s arrival and decided to go back to Puerto Viejo to check out this trail that was supposed to start in town and work it's way to the beaches.  I thought it would be a good idea to see if I would recommend they spend time walking the trail or not.  The trail ended up being a short walk, however runs alongside small pools of water that form beautiful scenery. 

Sam accompanied me on the walk and was very excited to get a natural drink afterwards.  Costa Rica has natural drinks at almost every restaurant.  They are fruit drinks combined with either water or milk.  I generally get pineapple with water but settled on mango and pineapple that day.  It was quite delicious and perfect on the taste buds.  We also shared a nice plate of nacho's which were very good and had flavor!  Who would of thought!?

Afterwards I went for a nice swim on the black beach for a good hour or so.  It was very calming and relaxing and beautiful watching the storm rolling in.  Which I still can't get the weather down.  Everyday I think "Oh it's going to rain tonight!" and... it never does!  This Caribbean weather is tricky!

After spending the day in Puerto Viejo on the trail and taking in the great weather and after running into Scott, we decided to go back to Puerto Viejo that night.  We didn’t want to pay 20 dollars for a taxi for 3 of us.  Sooo I thought it would be a great idea to ask the table of guys next to us what they were doing that evening.  They happened to be from Canada and had just gotten into town that evening.  They ended up leaving town that night and coming with us to Puerto Viejo.  We ended up spending the whole night with them and having a great time exploring the different bars that Puerto Viejo has to offer. 

We did not end up seeing Scott, but in the end had a fabulous time with these guys, who might I add were actually very good looking!!  All in all it was a day spent surrounded by great company. 

Chile Rojo

Chile Rojo has become my favorite restaurant in Puerto Viejo, for the simple reason that there is NO RICE AND BEANS.  It’s incredible how there is no variety of food like there is at home.  You basically eat the same thing everyday.  Even when I cook at home, it always includes either rice or eggs….. there is nothing else!!!  Chile Rojo has a Thai twist and has some flavor!! I have never had better Thai Green Cury in my life.  It’s to die for.  Sooooo we went in to Puerto Viejo so Glenn could give it a try.  Of course the Sangria is not to bad as well.  We happened to run into Scott and stayed and had a few cocktails with him as well.

It rained so hard that night that the employees in Chile Rojo had to move all the tables further inside.  This place is seated upstairs and has a few lounges as well.  It’s a very relaxing place, with actual cushions.  Everything here is so uncomfortable to sit on, it’s all just hard wood and a lot of times with no backing.  It was a really nice time!

Sherrelle Good Bye

Tonight we went to the local restaurant called "Cha Cha Cha."  I had never been and Sam raved about it being the best restaurant in town.  All I knew was that the dreamiest boy in Cahuita worked there... And secretly I hoped he was working that night.  He i just beautiful to look at.  So Glenn, Sam, Scott and I went and ate at Ch Cha Cha.  I helped myself to half a liter of Sangria and a wonderful dinner of fish, vegetables and potatoes.  Probably one of the most delicious meals I have had thus far!

Glenn and Sam are two volunteers that are from England.  Glenn is volunteering at the clinic in Cahuita and Sam is volunteering as a teacher in some of the local schools.  They are both 19 and about to start University or as they call it “Uni” this coming fall.  They are both very excited for their next chapter at Uni.  Scott was a traveler from Colorado passing through. 

After dinner we proceeded to meet Sherrelle at Coco’s Bar for one last cocktail before she made her way back to the United States.  It was a nice time filled with lots of laughter as usual.  Sherrelle you will be missed, Toya as well!  I am glad to hear you both made it home safely.  

Traveling Pants

Today I met a woman who works with a travel company.  She had brought a group through town and they went on the Bri Bri tour with Jorge.  This tour is focused on the indigenous people named “Bri Bri.”  The Bri Bri are actually pretty interesting since the term “Bri Bri” refers to the people, the language, the town, etc.  So since her group was on a tour her and I went and grabbed lunch at Café Chocolate with another fellow traveler named Scott. 

It was a nice peaceful lunch amongst new friends.  Later that day I ended up working another shift by accident, upon running into Joslyn again I decided I would join her group for dinner that night.

We went to a local restaurant in town named Coral Reef, where I had an amazingly beautiful dinner of vegetarian pasta.  Not sure why I went with the vegetarian, I just really wanted vegetables and it was soooo delicious. 

After dinner we decided to go next door for a few drinks, which of course always turns into more than a few drinks.  Since it was the last night the group was together, before they departed and went their separate was in San Jose, Joslyn thought it to be a great idea to take shots…… flaming shots…. IIIIII did not think this was a great idea but of course complied. 

The flaming shot was Kalua and Tequila…. Does that even sound good?? NOOOOO, but we took it.  And by took it I mean I took a sip and went “OMG I can’t do this.”  They proceeded to say, “Yes you can!! DO IT!”  I than proceeded to try again, with a new straw of course since my current one was now melting… and I couldn’t do it… I tried really hard but it was like the biggest drink I had ever seen in my life.  Needless to say I HATE SHOTS and this still has not changed about me!

This group was such a pleasure to spend time with.  Joslyn I can’t wait for you to come back to Cahuita! Xoxo

Takes Two to Tango

Today we were finally blessed with some sun again.  It of course wont last long, however I made my way to the beach.  While laying back and taking in some sun and listening to the waves, I fell into a deep relaxation.  All of a sudden I heard a noise, I flung up and in the process flashed whoever was near by, turned and reached for my purse.  Upon reaching for my purse, I came face to face with a monkey.  We both held to the purse and stared at each other.  I slowly pulled the bag towards me.  I will be honest and say I was a little scared he was going to attack me, however he let go and ran away in defeat.  I have a feeling next time wont be so lucky!!

Temptation Underway

The other day a woman named Pam came into use the Internet.  She has lived here for the past two years and is originally from Canada.  She told me how she just got a puppy and has had it for three days.  I asked what kind of puppy it was and she told me a german shepard.  I immediately was like "ughhh that is sooo cute I have always wanted one."  She in turn said with a smile, "There's one left." 

So needless to say I have been going back and forth of whether it is a good idea or not.  I am still gong back and forth.  

She also has kittens, which are the cutest things I have ever seen.  She found them on the side of the road when they were like 2 weeks old I think?  Maybe less, and has been nursing them back to health.  Now she is ready to give them away, and she is tempting me with the white one.  I went to see them when I went to look at her dog.  It was sooo funny the kittens decided to be brave that day and met the puppy for the first time.  The kittens did not back down once, the puppy kept barking and jumping around and the kittens didn't move or back down!  Stood their ground and hissed back.  I was soooo amazed, these kittens were pretty bad ass!

Look at how cute they are!  Have you ever seen anything so tiny in your life?  They just kept crawling on my lap!  They looked like aliens, they hadn't quite grown into their heads so their eyes were still bugging out.  Still soooo cute!!!!!

Me and animals, I swear I am going to be that person who has 80 animals, I am such a softy.  

Back to good ole California

The time has finally come to say goodbye to my friends from California.  We had a nice send off party, Sherrelle did all the cooking for her friends at her hall.  We than proceeded to go have a few cocktails at Coco's Bar.  The next day I said good bye to them as they were leaving for rafting on Monday and I was turtle walking that evening.  

It was sad to see them go and I wish them the best of luck!  Needless to say I learned a lot while they were here and am glad for the experiences I shared with them.  I am excited for my journey to continue solo though!  

Thunderstorms

Wellllll as it would be the rain has returned.  This time not just rain has come but thunderstorms.  Since I was exhausted from a long day and night before with turtle watching, I decided that it would be the perfect time to be at home.  My California friends had left that morning and I thought yes a nice relaxing night to myself.  I cleaned up (which you have to do everyday here), I started reading Anne Frank in the hammock, just relaxed.  It was nice to be in the house with the windows open and to just be home.  

The lighting and thunder started incredibly early.  It's always nice having it storm when you are home safely and warm.  

I got into bed at around 8:30 with the intention of reading, slept took me over at around 9.  I decided not to fight it and turned out the lights.  Which is of course when the storm took it's strength.  I did not sleep well last night due to the fact that the thunder was literally shaking my entire cabina.  At first I was like this is kind of fun and than when the cabina started shaking, I actually was afraid.  I cant' remember the last time I was afraid during a thunderstorm.  Which of course is not counting tornado's, but in my defense the last freak out I had was sooo Alex's fault!  She called me from the library saying there was a tornado warning, which of course freaked me out since where was I going to hide in my apartment.  When I ran out to tell Rob and Eric they look at me like I was the dumbest thing and told me I could go hide on my own if I wanted.  Needless to say I did not hide and pretty sure there was never a warning.... like I said soooo your fault Alex!!!  

It stormed today literally from 8 at night till 12 this afternoon!!!!! UGH rain!

(I have a feeling that this rain is here to stay for a while!) :(

Morning Surprise

This morning after reaching home after 2:30 in the morning from turtle watching, I fought hard to get up.  I got up and laid back down around 4 times, finally laying in bed I was looking out my window and saw a tan colored object moving in the tree.  I sat up, curious what it was I was looking at.  After a few seconds passed, an arm reached out and there was eyes.  There was a sloth eating right in my backyard.  I was soooo excited, however was late for work so was unable to take a photo.  It was a two fingered sloth! 

I have attached a photo of a two fingered sloth that was taken back in January, when mom and Alex and I went to the sloth refuge here in Cahuita.  Not the best picture, but it's one we took!   It's also of a baby.  

Turtle Watching

Last week while working, I met a girl named Katherine who volunteered last year with the turtle center here in Cahuita.  She had lived here for three months and came back to work on her masters which involved interviewing and getting to know the lives of poachers.  I was very interested and told her I had been interested in looking into the turtle watching but that hadn't had a chance yet.  She invited me to come walking one night with them, which happened to be this past Sunday at around 8.

I called on Sunday to make sure it was still ok for me to come, Jairo (the tour guide or leader) told me to arrive at 9 instead.  I was to wear all black and it would be a four hour hike on the beach.  Two hours one way and two hours back.  

I took a taxi to Puerto Vargas which is around 3 or 4 miles, but at night is to long of a distance for me to be walking by myself.  Upon arriving, I met three other volunteers and Jairo.  Typically, you pay to volunteer which is around 20 dollars and includes meals and lodging.  

We left at 9 and headed towards the beach, where we started heading towards Puerto Viejo.  I was sooo excited, I didn't really think we would see a turtle seeing as how it's about 50/50.  The beach however is one of my favorite places to be at night and seeing as how I can't go by myself this was the perfect opportunity for me.  It's something about how the waves hit beach and the lighting of it all, it's breathtaking and peaceful for me.  SOoo I was pumped to just be there.  Not to mention being a new at this turtle searching thing, you think everything is a turtle.  Oohh could be that be one.  Jairo was just laughing at me the entire time, I didn't realize why he was laughing at me until he and two other guides kind of started walking really quickly.  

All of a sudden there was large patch of sand that was almost black, I had a hard time grasping what was going on since we were in the dark!  However when we got closer, there she was.  My jaw dropped in amazement at her size, here I had been looking at all these tree branches thinking "turtle," when little did I know she would be at least twice my size.  She blended in perfectly with the surrounding sand at night.  Immediately Jairo got down and started taking measurements of her size and some other stuff I wasn't quite sure of.  It was incredible to watch her.  She had already laid her eggs but was starting to cover them and try and hide them.  It's as though your watching her make snow angels, the way she moves her fins.  When we realized we couldn't find the eggs we kept going, Jairo made sure that the ocean was not able to touch the eggs by digging a deep hole in the surrounding areas.  If the ocean touches the eggs that have been laid, they will immediately die.

I felt soo bad for the first turtle, she was making all these noises.  I can only imagine how exhausting that entire processes would be and to do it all alone!  How the women species continue to prevail!  Anyway, I felt really bad and wanted to help her.

Another interesting fact, is that I guess they can't see or hear well.  Which makes sense as how sound travels a lot faster in water, and her sight only goes so far.  So she basically has no idea that we are there, or so we think.  

We kept walking when once again we saw a large black path, and there she was again!  This time Jairo got down in time to see she had barely started covering her eggs.  We were able to stick a tape measure down to hold the spot and depth of how far down they were.  Taking basic measurements means measuring from the top of her shell to the very tip of it, I had to hold tape measure with my thumb and than mark it very closely with my thumb.  After taking the measurements Jairo started digging up the sand that was marking the location of the eggs.  He than asked me to hold the bag while he started placing the eggs inside.  While he dug up the eggs, another guide started digging a new hole to move them.  This is done so poachers either wont look or wont find the location of the eggs.  I was soooooo nervous holding this bag of eggs, thinking oh my gosh what if I squish one.  He than told me to pick up the bag and move it to the new location, I was so scared I was going to drop them.  I didn't move for a few seconds because I was so scared.  I got them to the new hole safely!  When placing them in the new hole you count by two to see how many eggs she has laid.  There are some eggs that are smaller that are there for air cushions.  A job well done, yet exhausting.

On the way back we saw another turtle.  I couldn't believe it.  This guide had been there a week and not seen one, and in one night we see three!! It was soooooo incredible, however by the end of the night we were soaking wet and had sand everywhere.  I had requested that my taxi came back at 1:15.  We did not return till 2:00.  THANKFULLY!!!! I had the best taxi guy ever and he waited for me!!!  He than proceeded to take me to town and placed my bike in his trunk and drove me home!  It was the nicest thing ever, at that point I was to exhausted to bike home and it was pouring even more.

I am hoping that when Alex and Matt come that they will be able to see some turtles as well.  Either way it's a great experience and so much fun to be on the beach at night, not to mention great exercise!!  I got sooo tired that I almost fell a few times because the sand was uneven, they were making fun of me saying I was just drunk!  

I wasn't able to take any pictures, nor did I carry anything with me.  However, I attached a picture of what one looks like below.  As you can see their size is incredible.  Can you imagine having to take that huge body up on sand and move in kind of a half moon motion.  She flung sand at us so hard trying to cover her eggs.  The entire process can take up to 3 hours, all depending on the turtle.    

It was an absolute breathtaking experience and I have no words to describe it.  

Horseback Riding and Canopy Tour

This past week I went horseback riding and did canopy at Ranch Cedar Valley.  It is around a 40 minute drive and is on the way to Limon (the largest city close by).  I was of course quite excited by the whole idea until I got on my horse.  I am not sure what it is, but it seems really like the world always likes to play jokes on me, as though I am entertainment for everyone else.  My horse was on crack and had an alpha male syndrome.  It had to be in the lead, it wouldn’t let another horse pass him, he did his dance and literally almost gave me a heart attack, I was sure he was going to buck me off.  SO I had to tell him who was boss, which of COURSE backfired, because he showed me who was boss.  Needless to say we were at war for the entire time and I still lost because my butt hurts!  He almost ran me into a huge spider. He than turned into the perfect gentleman and patiently waited while we were watching a sloth.  I was impressed and gave him a little pat on the neck saying good job, he than proceeded to go into a huge puddle of water and kick mud and water everywhere!!  So we didn’t really get along haha, however it was still a great experience.

Canopy was great, mainly for the view.  The views looked over a beautiful river called rio banano.  It was funny the last canopy our guide told us we were going to see a naked indian at the end, which was really a tree (called naked indian).  It was a good fun time!

I guess when all is said and done I am having quite the experience out here.  

No pictures until I get them from Toya.   

Animals on Strike

Well the animal life has finally gotten a little invasive. 

First of all I am sure you will all love this story since you know me and my fear for spiders. 

After being immensely sick for three days and having stayed with some girl friends for one night.  I had decided to return home to have my own space.  When reaching home and having to run to the bathroom, of course a large brown spider is awaiting me right on the wall of the entrance of the bathroom.  I quickly sped past it to use the bathroom where I was than attacked by a cockroach on the toilet.  SOoo it was really two against one.  However, the spider was more upsetting to me so I yelled at the spider, which was really just to make me feel better.  It was really a large spider, I know most of you are going oh yeah sure… but no it was huge.  I decide the best solution is to sweep the spider out of the cabina with the broom.  Of course my idea backfired quickly.  This spider had moves.  On the first sweet he moved to the side of the wall in a corner and went into a hiding position.  I than was frantically looking for it, thinking it was stuck to the bottom of the broom.  Ha the spider like I said had moves.  I than proceeded to do a 15 minute dance with this spider (me in the shower with shoes on and the spider along the far wall) trying to get it out with the broom.  I not only did not get it out, but lost the spider in the bathroom.  How I lost the spider I still do not know, however I knew it was not the last time we would meet.  

The next night, I came home and thought to myself ok… this is ok, the spider had to have gotten out.  Turns out once again while I was going to the bathroom the spider was right by my head, which was right by the light switch.  I than proceeded to be trapped in the bathroom for 15 minutes of course continuing my yelling at the spider.  I finally decided to make a break for it and when I ran through the door the spider ran the other way and needless to say I have not seen it since.  THANK GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!  I did however have to sleep with the bathroom light on for 2 nights in a row, while also taking my own light with me into the bathroom and flashing it around before entering.  

I normally just get geckos in my cabina but the other day actually saw a lizard!! It was just hanging out like no one’s business.  I took a picture and than after taking a picture realized I shouldn’t of done that since the light can blind them.  All of this wildlife is going nuts, the grass had gotten large so the wildlife came towards me more and than the grass was cut down again and the wildlife had nowhere to go soooo naturally the cabina where a nice girl lives seems like the appropriate choice!!

Additionally, while at work the other day, a crab just came walking on up.  I took some pictures and than felt really bad when I realized it was missing the majority of it's legs.  Which was quite sad to look at.  Poor little guy.  

 I am telling you the wildlife kind of spun out of control for a while.  

Rejuvenation

With the clouds having been upon me for 3 weeks now, half of the time with rain, we were finally blessed to have sun.  I went out to the beach for the first time in a long time and took in the sun.  I went to black beach where I relaxed and read.  It was as though I had never been in sun before.  It was a perfect day, with perfect weather.  To relax even further the sand on the black beach and the white beach works as a perfect and free exfoliation device.  My feet look new everyday!  Not to mention it works as a free massage when rubbed on legs and arms. 

To continue with my rejuvenation process I finally completed the entire hike in the National Park.  This hike is around 7 kilometers.  I have told you before that the point in the national park called Punta Cahuita has thus far been my favorite scenic place to walk.  It normally takes me around an hour to get there and after reaching the second river becomes an almost private get away.  If you continue down the path it is the most incredible scenery ever, which gives an even more private feeling.  It’s like these beaches were specifically designed for honeymoon get away’s.  I can’t describe how different the scenery changes from the beginning of the entrance of the national park until the very end, which is referred to as Puerto Vargas.  The entire walk itself took around 4 hours, 5 total but we had stopped to rest on the beach for an hour and of course had taken numerous photos along the way.  We were so exhausted by the end of the walk that we hitched a ride with the local bus back into town.  It is possible to complete the walk both ways, however we were too tired by that point in time.  It was the most breathtaking walk and I can’t wait to get to those private beaches again!  It’s the perfect place for solitude while visibly in one of the most beautiful places ever.  The hike is nice because the path itself is so flat that anyone can walk and get to see these beautiful areas. 

While on the hike we ran into a few girls who had their food stolen from the monkeys.  These monkeys are ruthless and will take any opportunity they can to get into plastic bags.  They are smart and are fully area of which bags to look into and or grab.  I got quite a picture of their snarling faces, quite priceless.  As we laughed about them stealing there food, not only about 10 minutes later, we turned around to see a monkey following us down the path.  We had to get strategic to get it away from us since Toya (one of the girls on the hike with me) had a few plastic bags with her, which ironically were filled with food.

After the incredibly large hike, I decided that it would be a great idea to go running.  there are certain areas of Cahuita that I just hadn't seen yet and thought I would take the time to explore that day.  I decided to run down to Playa Grande, turns out was a lot farther than I thought.  I wasn't able to go very fast, however when I reached it, there were not many entry ways, but it was an incredibly beautiful area with a large beach front.  I can't imagine I will make it there again unless by bike!  I had to walk home I was so exhausted, I had tried running but I had taken all of my energy right on out of me.  

It’s days like those where you can’t help but wonder how more people do not come to this incredible area and not stay.  It has so much natural beauty and so much to offer.  These beaches speak life, they are constantly changing, growing and reforming, reminding us that everyday is different and we must approach it with an open mind.  We never know exactly what will be offered to us.