Life in General

I'm home. And it feels good to be home.

I start work on Monday. I need to find a place to live.  

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This is my last week in Costa Rica. Friday just after lunch I'll be flying out of San Jose, going through customs in Houston and then running to my next flight, and then landing in Seattle around 10 pm. I think I'm ready to come home. I want to wear pants and shoes. It's too hot here for those. It's just plain hot.

By 'here' I mean Puerto Viejo. While Tortuguero was fun -- we saw giant green turtles lay their eggs on the beach and iguanas sunning themselves on roofs wondering if pink flowers are edible -- it was a deadend town. The beach was infested with flies and their was nothing else to do there except learn about turtles. We did that and then caught the next three-hour boat ride down the coast. Add a two-hour bus trip and viola, we're in Puerto Viejo.

This town is much more happening. There's a strong caribbean influence here: Bob Marley can be found on almost every item at nearly every street vender's booth, raggae music floats around town once the sun goes down, and the food is much better. Even the traditional pinto (rice and beans) is better. They cook it in coconut milk.

I'm still getting used to the fact that when I look at the water, I'm looking east. At the Caribbean. Woah. (No more 'water west, mountains east.') The Caribbean c oast seems gentler than the Pacific coast. There are barely any waves; it's like the edge of a big pool at a big hotel (Hotel Earth). Coral reefs come right up to the shore, making surfing spots dangerous. And the weather offshore tends to stay out there.

There is one sandy surfing spot that I'm going to try out. Jen and I might also try some snorkeling and, if we're feel brave, try scuba diving after that. Diving doesn't appeal to me as much, but this is supposedly a great place to do it.

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Jen and I quickly got bored of vacationing in Samara -- you can only take so many naps in a hammock. It's time for some adventures. So we hopped on a bus for Nicoya and then to Parque Nacional Barra Honda. This park has 42 caves, some of which are so deep they haven't been explored yet. We took a tour of one of the smaller ones. We climbed down a 60 foot ladder and then meandered through tight passages before reaching a final depth of 41 meters (~130 feet?) We saw bats, cave spiders, amazing rock features...and when we turned off our headlamps there was no difference between opening and closing our eyes. Now we're staying in the small mountain town of Santa Elena, reknown for it's proximity to the Monteverde Cloud Forest. We're going to try going on a night hike tonight (if the rain reduces to at least a drizzle) to see all of the nocturnal jungle animals. Tomorrow morning we'll be zipping through the trees in classic Costa Rican tourist style. And after that.... we don't know yet.

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...a sunburn. Oh, and a job. Not in Costa Rica, but a job waiting for me when I get back to Bellingham. (Sweet!) I´ll be one of two reporters for the Bellingham Business Journal. Ahhh, now I can relax and really enjoy the great hammock I just bought. So, after our friend Jen and Elio got married, me and my Jen flew to the Pacific coast to a town called Sàmara. I´ve never been on a little 12-seater plane before. I wish I could fly that way all the time; it´s way more fun! So now we´re bumming on the beach, cooking our own gallo pinto in the communal kitchen at our hotel, and scoping out the surfing waves. I think my sunburn will have healed enough to spend the day getting dumped off of a surfboard. We´re planning on staying here in Sámara until the weekend and may even spend the rest of the month here! It´s gorgeous!

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Jen and I have safely arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica. But not without a little complication. My passport had a bit of water damage and wouldn´t scan. I´ve used it to go back and forth from Canada, but apparently it did not pass muster to get on a plane. So I spent my first day of vacation at the Federal Building in downtown Seattle while Jen flew to Costa Rica without me. Thankfully, I got a new passport and was able to hop onto a flight the next morning. Now it is sunny and warm and we are rearing to go! A special thanks to Jen Beckmeyer and her fiance Elio for letting us stay with them. Ciao for now!

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