Banana Tree? or Construction Cone?

I love Costa Rica.. and Cahuita's methods for construction...

1. Pura Vida: meaning if it happens it happens... may not happen for a while.. sooo pura vida

2. No construction equipment

3. Always holes in the streets and or the streets are not paved

4. When we do fill holes why place orange construction cones? Why not get back with nature that is every one knows when you place a banana tree in the street that cement is there.. right??

Thank goodness for modernization.. I think we may need to bring this method back to the states!!

Halloween in Cahuita

Halloween arrived in Cahuita. No one celebrates it here... however, I decided to do it up USA style. Meaning... drinking lots. Had to bring back my college days.. I was feeling a bit too old. I had no means for a costume, so I worked with the resources I had.. black and eyeliner which easily turns into a cat.

We went next door had a few drinks, there was quite the crowd. Very few of us dressed up! We had a blast taking pictures of all.. Troy came dressed with a wig, somehow this wig was passed around to everyone in the group and I took a picture with everyone wearing the wig... somehow I ended up wearing a wig the rest of the evening. Coco's was a fun time.. I remember laughing and talking a lot.. about what? who knows!!

I kept saying this would be the most drunk I have been in Costa Rica.. and the night ended proudly. I was home by midnight and fell asleep with outfit and cat make up on... while laying on top of the still made bed. If that doesn't spell good night then what does?? Definitely not a Halloween in Ames but we managed to have a good time! WOO HOO!!

Uvas del Mar

One day.. I was walking on the beach, with my only local friend named Kristela. As we are walking, she starts picking up these things off the sand.. and asks me all excitedly if I have ever seen grapes of the sea... I say the only logical answer that comes to my head which is, umm no?

She then proceeds to eat them!! I must admit.. I tried one or a few... and they are ok.. they in fact have a huge seed in the middle and not that much meat.. but hey how many times can you say you at a grape of the sea.. and off the sand???

Drinks at Atihuac

In Cahuita, there are quite a few expats and most have become very good friends. Then there are the new comers who know some and not all. So one night, Sabina (my coworker) and another woman named Dova, decided it would be a good idea to get us all together.

Atihuac are cabinas with a beautiful entertaining area, owned by two girls from Spain, as a reference we call them the Spanish girls.

They have incredible wine and sangria and this was to

be the destination of the evening. We all gathered and quickly divided into groups of men and women. I turned to the Annie (the woman next to me) and told her I couldn’t believe how drastically my life had changed. Not even a year ago, we were drinking constantly every weekend, shots were not uncommon, going to bars, dancing and somewhere along the way…. Some friends got engaged, had babies, real jobs… and now here I was talking about how to make dog food from scratch…. I was in rather disbelief at the amount of change that occurred in less then a year.

It was a wonderful night, with wine and laughs and talks. And still… no shots… maybe next time?

New Cooking Adventure

With going to the market every Sunday and there being fresh basil what a good idea then to try making fresh homemade pesto!!! This has been the adventure for the past few weeks… attempting to perfect pesto.

Seeing as how we did not have pine nuts.. we substituted with baked peanuts. The first time around, we all liked it. I must say, I love having cooking parties be my idea.. somehow I never end up doing any of the cooking... or... is that a sign??

The second and third time I made the pesto on my own…. Not so much… I did something wrong… it wasn’t exactly delicious.

My fourth time making it… turned out amazing…I followed a recipe that time… amazing how that can change it all.

SO now when I come home I can make fresh pesto for all of you!! WOO HOOO!!!!

Jenn's Birthday Party - Welcome Back

I had heard a lot about this Jenn woman. She was in fact from Minnesota as well, mom had e-mailed her regarding ideas for housing around the time I was getting ready to move to Cahuita. She had left shortly after I had arrived and I had instead met her business partner Shannon (who was also from Minnesota). They own some cabinas in town called Atlantic Surf.

After 6 months, Jenn was back and I met her for the first time. Our first encounter was her and her brother helping me change the locks of Willie’s Tours. Needless to say one night my money purse and my keys that were inside were no where to be found which is why the next day I needed to change the locks. I had called her regarding if she knew anyone who did handy work in town she trusted, when low and behold her brother, a handy man, had a few minutes to spare! It was a very lucky day for me..

A few days later I was invited to Jenn’s birthday party. We had a great time getting together and celebrating her return and bday. All in all it was great to meet her and I am happy to say I have spent my last few months getting to know her.

FUnny story!!! a few months later when Jenn's mom came to visit, I found out... ready for this?? Her mom was named Karen as well!! What are the odds???? TOO FUNNY!!!!

Kekoldi Tour

For the past few months, the Kekoldi Tour has been the new addition to the variety of tours offered at Willie’s Tours. And for the past few months I have been insisting on going on this tour. It wasn’t quite clear what the tour entailed and I needed to gather pictures and text for the website and marketing materials.

After a long wait, the tour actually happened. It was Jorge, Minor (a local guide that works for Willie’s Tours) and a couple from Spain (we lucked out and we had clients).

We set off on our tour.. It was a beautiful landscape views all around us. You actually felt as though you were immersed in the jungle. Normally, in Cahuita you aren’t so totally surrounded by jungle. Birds were everywhere, cacao plants all around.

The tour started with an hour hike to the village where we were given history about the area. We then hiked another half hour to the observatory tour where you could look all around and see the ocean and the Panamanian Mountain Range. Birds and butterfly’s migrate to the tops of the tree tops.

After the observatory, for what we thought was another 20 minutes.. was in fact another hour to reach the waterfall. Luckily the waterfall was beautiful and refreshing. The tour was more then 5 hours including around 4 hiking. Lots of work.. In the end the tour was beautiful and very exhausting!!!! We couldn't help but make jokes the entire time.. "oh yeah.. just 40 minutes to the waterfall.. umm no!!"

Surprise Visit

A few days after my return home from Nicaragua, I was sitting at Parquecito (a local restaurant in town and the only one that does 2 for 1's) with Sabina (my coworker) and Deborah (a tour guide) when I heard this familiar voice behind me. I turned to see this tall man standing there, I squinted my eyes a bit, thinking man he looks familiar.. turned a little bit further and recognized the girl as well! Immediately I stood up and was so happy and excited because it was Mia and Carl!! They were part of the single group that I had traveled with.

They joined us for dinner! Much to my surprise they ended up spending 3 nights in Cahuita!! I had such a blast with them!! We had so many laughs and good times over drinks at night at reggae bar!! I was so happy to see them and I wish them the best of luck with their incredibly long journeys. I hope one day to see them again.. Maybe in either South Africa or England!

The girls!!! Sabina and Annie!

Mia and I with our Caipirina Drinks.. HMM tasty!

Carl doing his famous eye roll!! We all got that down pretty well after that trip!

End of the Trip

The end of my visa adventure went well. I had my first panicky moment while waiting for my bus to take me back to Costa Rica. I waited a good 40 minutes and was freaking out that the bus schedule had been wrong.. or wasn't coming.. since I had already paid for the fair. Luckily it was just very slow and did arrive!

I arrived late that night in San Jose, at around 10 p.m. After getting my luggage the taxi men were waiting to prey on us. One guy, apparently giving me the deal of my life said he would take me to my hostel for 5.000 colones.. which is like $10. I couldn't help but laugh in his face.. haha and then he said ok 4.000 and I kept laughing and he brushed me aside. I got the ride for 3.000 even though that in itself was still ridiculously expensive.. But I settled.

I got to the hostel, played catch up on emails and went to bed. I was exhausted!! I got up early the next day and caught the 6 a.m. back to Cahuita.

It was great to be back even though I had had an incredible adventure. I met amazing people.. and did something I didn't see myself ever doing!!

Night Time Adventure

Everyone in the group thought it would be a good idea to head into that town for dinner as well. The walk took maybe 40 minutes.. which wasn't bad. We had made it over rock formations just fine and had caught the most beautiful sunset ever! We took gorgeous pictures and had a relaxing time walking and talking.

Upon arrival at the restaurant/hotel.. the lovely couple was nowhere to be found. We ended up just sitting and having dinner the group itself. Thankfully it was happy hour and we were able to squeeze some cheaper drinks in there, since the prices on the menu were not all that cheap.. OOps...

The walk back is where it got interesting. We still aren't sure how this all went wrong.. but somehow we ended up walking a good half hour out of our way and getting lost. I knew when we went up the hill that it was too good to be true. it wasn't as rough as the first time we had climbed. We ended up figuring it all out, but oh man was this a show.

People were starting to get angry and upset. I couldn't stop laughing the entire time.. I thought it was hilarious.. especially since how did we get lost.. there was really only one road!! It was soo funny!!! I will admit though, had it been only two of us.. I would of felt differently.

That night we made it back over the rocks but barely.. they were quite slippery. By the time we got back to the hotel we were just plain tired and ready for bed. There was an incredible lighting show in the distance, but I was to tired to go back to the beach to watch...

All in all an interesting and adventurous evening!!

Internet?

The next day one of the guys in the group and I decided to head out and find Internet. We were told one was in close proximity after we reached the landing on the beach. I am not sure why I still trust when people say "oh yeah it's just right there.." Does that ever seem to be the case to you?? Or the other famous line "you can't miss it, it's right there!" Umm yes yes it can be missed and no no it's not right there!!!

We walked a good 40 minutes and finally found it. To which we find out that there are in fact no computers.. it's just Wifi. Luckily he had brought his ipod touch with him.. and we were able to send some short quick emergency emails back to humanity.

We met this great couple from new York and decided we would go back there that evening for dinner..

WOO HOO quite the morning.. Can't complain to badly as the exercise and the surrounding beauty is always worth the time.

Underneath the Stars

Our first night there we headed out to watch the stars. We just sat and relaxed.. talked about old memories.. made up funny things to say.. just enjoyed where we were and who we were.

Star gazing is by far one of my most favorite things in the world. Whenever you are you truly just watching the sky you see so many shootings stars it's incredible! It's like free fireworks! Doesn't get much better then that..

This was one of the best nights on that trip! We spent at least an hour just sitting and starring...

Playa Mathilda

After surfing that afternoon we headed north on a shuttle to Playa Mathilda. We had heard great reviews and after the previous night of loud and obnoxious bunk mates and some thievery going on.. we headed north bound.

The shuttle was beautiful, winding us up and around to reach the beach. It took me quite a while debating where I was going to stay after arriving. There was a little hostel right when you arrived..it didn't look that neat and or safe.. so I stuck it out with the group.

We had to wait till the tide went down before heading over to our beach! It was just as the sun was getting ready to go down. We managed to make it over there right before the last light fell. We ended up staying at a different place then planned.. which worked out better sine this place was cheaper..

We were all starving and exhausted from our long day of travel and surf in the immense heat. I think we were all ready to kill each other.... just from being so tired. We had a nice dinner at the hotel before deciding to just hit the sack or do our own thing.

Playa Mathilda is definitely a place I would recommend going.. Isolation, but pure beauty.. Can't go wrong there.. Probably one of the places I have felt the safest.

It was nice to be on a beach in isolation. For me it puts the world and me in alignment and back to center. This was a place I could of stayed forever. Utter beauty and perfection.

Surf Lesson.. WOo Hoo

What better place to take a surfing lesson then a big surf town. Apparently, while we were there.. there was a big swell? if you will... So the surf was very strong..

There are three beaches in total by San Juan del Sur.. One in the town.. one that is north and one that is south. We went for our surf lesson on the beach to the south.. with a goal of heading north aftewards.

The lesson didn't exactly go off with the best start, seeing as how I could barely carry my board.. SOOO I guess I need to start strengthening my guns!

Our instructor was from Peru.. and had been surfing lord knows how long... was very leathery looking.. missing some teeth... we aren't sure if his hair was as blonde as it was from the sun or from dying it. He was quite the character. He called us his students and amigos. He was very helpful and an amazing instructor..

I got up... but... not for long!! I really ended up just getting my ass kicked and giving up because I can only swallow so much salt water and get pushed around so much.. it's just very exhausting!!!!

It was a beautiful day at the beach though.. money well spent... and I guess I could of put more effort in then I did... NeXt Time!!!

Surfs up!!

Adult Beverages Please!

After arriving in San Juan del Sur and settling up at our hostel.. good ole Casa Oro.. we immediately changed and headed to the beach...

It was so nice to be near the water again and have my toes in the sand. We were so happy and there was a lot of body surfing going on. Which I realized I had never really done before this trip. It was an OK experience.. sometimes it was fun.. but sometimes it just gets a little to rough for me.

After the beach the girls decided that we would like to have a cocktail while watching the sunset. We only seemed to need one and were having a fabulous time goofing around. The sunset was gorgeous as it went down outlining the boats in the bay.

It was a perfect commencement of the evening!! No better way then to relax overlooking the water and sunset. Perfections!!

Casa Oro

Casa Oro was the hip place to be in town. This was the hostel that the guide books recommended going. They were very orderly and structured and the place was relatively clean and nice. We stayed in the upstairs dorms for $1 more and had the most incredible breeze I have ever experienced!!

It is definitely the place to go if you are wanting to meet a ton of people and tourists. Otherwise... it wasn't all that great! We had some great roommates.. and some other not so great... Other people had some things stolen.. etc. Needless to say we moved the next day.

Some of the people I was traveling with were in a different dorm and were surrounded by Australian boys who would sit and blurt out weird noises.. the entire night. As annoying as it was... we were unable to stop talking about it the next day and even for the majority of the time we remained traveling together. They ended up being quite legendary!

Casa Oro did seem to have a good location and was relatively inexpensive... although there was definitely cheaper accommodations around town.

San Juan del Sur

San Juan del Sur... what a relief it was to arrive in this town. It definitely helped me realize what a beach and ocean does for my soul. It is a cute yet very touristy town in the southern part of Nicaragua, about an hour or less from the Costa Rica border.

I loved the town and could totally live there. It's very small.. maybe a bit larger then Cahuita, or at least has more buildings and activities. Only downside... very expensive and too touristy.

It was nice to be back there and I immediately felt better.. although I think part of that had to do with the amount of salt water that had gone up my nose and thankfully cleared my sinuses!! WOO HOO

Beautiful and I recommend going!!

Commador Anyone?

All I kept hearing this group talk about was the local commador (spelling) (a restaurant that was maybe 2 seconds from our hostel and the only one for miles and miles and oh yeah.. MILES!) After our incredibly long hike.. we stopped there and some people had something to eat.. and I chat with some people I had met in Granada.

They were so pleased with their food that the decision was made that we would return there for dinner that evening. We had a lovely time.. the man who was weighting on us.. was HILARIOUS!!! He was this skinny little man who wore the tightest jean shorts I have ever seen, a tight little top... eye makeup.. and a baseball cap. I wanted to capture this image for you all, but felt that it would be a tad offensive for me to take a picture.. I could barely look at him without laughing.. He made my day! I have never seen anything like it and definitely never thought I would in Nicaragua!!!

A little Pick Up?

After we got back down from the volcano, we still had to hike another 45 minutes back to our hostel. Four of us decided that we would just sit and wait for the local bus, which I was immensely thankful for!! Seeing as how I was going to just fall over and die.

A truck came in front of us and said hop on. This was my first hitchhiking and probably the last. It was soooo much fun and I was sooo excited. We held on to the back of the truck!! It was such a blast.. I kept saying this is sooo amazing.. I kind of felt like I was going to fall off the majority of the time and have never held on that tight ever! I felt like a kid and could not stop smiling! I think they thought I was a bit loco in the cabeza!!

WOO HOOO YEAH!!!!

OHH Ahhh A Waterfall!

The following morning, after having slept around 10 hours, I was feeling as though I could do anything! The group of individuals traveling alone.. kindly asked if I would like to join them. They were hiking to a waterfall that was "near" by. I contemplated what the best move was. I couldn't say no.. I had been dying to do this waterfall hike, and figured this would be a good way to determine if I would be able to hike the volcano.

About 5 minutes into the hike, I realized this was probably not the best decision I have ever mad. For basically the entire hike, I had never felt more out of shape and on the brink of dying in my entire life! I was about 5 minutes behind the group the entire time. Kindly some of the guys would take turns being slow with me and talk with me. In my head I kept going they have no idea how sick I am! They just think I am being dramatic!

We reached the waterfall and thankfully it was a beautiful sight. Not much shade... and not much of a swimming pool to swim in... but it was worth the hike. I was pretty much sure that I was just going to live at the waterfall the rest of my life. I did make it back down. The views were incredible and I was ultimately happy I had joined them.

This is how sick I was... I had to ask the guy walking next to me, to please wait to talk to me until we got to the waterfall. I could not muster the strength to physically talk.

This is a picture of me.. with the boys mooning me in the back ground!!! I made my accomplishment.. this was my climb of the volcano.. since the waterfall is on the volcano anyway... We hiked a total of 5 hours that day!! WOO HOO YEAH!!!!

One of the guys in the group.. hated when people would said "woo hoo yeah!" He felt it was a very american thing to do and it would just ruin the atmosphere... I had never heard any american ever say this before.. but if you get a good amount of energy into that woo hoo yeah.. you just feel soooo good!!! The rest of the trip we couldn't help but say it all the time, which ended up being very american as we would shout it down the streets. Just try it.. wherever you are sitting WOO HOO YEAH!!!!!!!!