Back in Action…

19 - january

Finally… Now long-overdue, I have once again returned to the blogging world and will attempt to maintain the regular appearances I had previously established. It is now January 19th (Happy Birthday, Blake) and I find myself in familiar stomping grounds - in front of the laptop in Limón. I returned to this wonderful Caribbean port yesterday after a long stretch away and found myself discovering all sorts of little changes that have taken place since my months away. For example: street signs in the center of town that label the roads in an NYC-esque fashion (3rd Street and 2nd Avenue, more or less). This alone is big news in a country where such identifying markers are about as hard to find as clear skies in LA (few and far between, that is). Along with that I stumbled upon the large concrete squares of th boardwalk-like main street to be painted in the festive Jamaican colors of yellow, green, and red. There is a brand new wooden pier/deck construction over the water at the center park as well as some new and much-needed trash cans scattered about. All small and simple changes, but things one notices when returning “home.” I liken it to my rare but informative visits to the old stomping grounds of Ferndale, WA (my alma matter) where one takes note of the addition of a new stop light, or the fact that the local drugstore got a facelift. Anyway, so it is all good news upon returning to Limón – a few nice upgrades but everything else – like my favorite Internet spot – still in tact and operating as usual.

For the time being I am residing with the family of my friend, Katherin, who is from the Getsemani Baptish Church and whom I befriended at the Youth Camp last July and had spent a lot of time with in the months in Limón afterward. A cute, little humble home where Katherin and I share bunk beds and her family is very welcoming and hospitable. I am very grateful to them for opening up their home to me. During the next couple of weeks my main focus will be to proceed in the process of planning the Youth Camp for July 2007 and working with the Pastor and youth leaders from First Baptist Church to nail down the location and theme, and begin to put together a schedule of activities and plans for the week. In addition, I have been able to connect with Pastor Denis of Getsemani Baptist Church to discuss plans for outreach opportunities and leadership training during the week before the Youth Camp when the mission team from CO will be in town. I am also looking forward to being able to join Getsemani Baptist for the Sunday evening worship service that I had been attending previously as well.

So I guess that is my current situation in a nutshell. Now I get to tackle the updates about my recent travels and adventures…

Christmas on a Cruise - Dec 20-27

From December 20th through December 27th I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with my entire family (mom, dad, brother, sister, and 95 year old grandpa) for a cruise on the Mexican Riviera. It was a great experience. Probably the thing you hear about most in relation to cruises is the food, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. My only critique is that there was not a frozen yogurt or soft serve machine available (my number 1 request prior to boarding) but that was probably a good thing as I definitely got my fill of food and desserts. We have very fun waiters for our evening dining experience and I think they got a bit of a kick out of us as well. Every course of every dinner was a sea of arms and forks and spoons crossing the table as everyone wanted to sample what the others had, and for those of us who had a hard time deciding…the waiters just brought some of both, or all. One night I was faced with a difficult dessert decision (surprise, surprise) and upon seeing my distressed look, the waiter pulled the menu out of my hand. Now I thought he was just going to pick the best one for me, but turns out he just decided to bring me one of everything! So there I was, sitting at the table with a buffet of desserts in front of me (what a shame!). Some of the trip highlights were playing games in the Card Room, watching my parents each go parasailing in Puerto Vallarta, and spending a grandpa-granddaughter day on the boat while the rest of the family explored Mazatlan. It’s fun to watch people’s reactions to seeing my grandpa strolling around the boat, or him and I playing cards at lunch, and even better when they found out he was 95. I hope the Icelandic genes are as good to me as they have been to him!

It was quite the adjustment to come back to the States after 9 months away… When I was at the airport going through customs in LA the man at the immigration counter wished me a Merry Christmas and it totally threw me off seeing how it was the first time I had heard those words (rather than Feliz Navidad). When I was in public it was weirding me out to hear everyone talking in English, and when I would need to approach someone at a store or ask a question about something I had to fight the urge to make my inquiry in Spanish. There were definitely some welcome sights as I was back stateside… Target, for example, and Starbucks (although for my first coffee beverage I selected a push-button cappuccino from the gas station…yum yum).

I definitely went through a variety of emotions during the whole experience on the boat and then the week in LA. It felt strange to be leaving Costa Rica for a “vacation” and then transitioning drastically from living here to living on a cruise ship. After spending the time with friends in LA, however, and being reminded of my “old” life, I began to feel my first signs of wanting to come home for good. Up until that point I had been totally content and happy in Costa Rica, with no real desire to head back home anytime too soon, but I think this trip proved to be a good transitioning step for me. It allowed me to be reminded of why “home” is “home” (even though it is not exactly LA) and that I am indeed looking forward to that life again. I will admit that in the airport at midnight, while I was waiting for my flight back to Costa Rica, I felt my first twangs of sadness about leaving. Not that I was dreading the return, but I did think “I don’t want to leave.” I had really enjoyed the time with my family and friends and that fact that thanks to my cell phone I could be in contact with pretty much anyone and everyone whenever I wanted. That is definitely something I miss here – just being able to push a button and hear a friend’s voice. Now that I am back, I am glad to be here as well, and I am glad that when I left in December it wasn’t my final goodbye to Costa Rica. In the end I think my little American getaway was just what I needed to make the most of my remaining time here, and also allow me to look forward to what is waiting when I get back.

Adventures with Jenn and Alex - Jan 4-17

The day after I arrived back in San José I got to put on the Tour Guide hat once again when Jenn came in from Denver. Since we hadn’t had a chance beforehand, we took the opportunity that very day to sit down at the computer and phone and plan our activities for the next 2 weeks. Nothing like a little last minute travel agent action… I got to give here the guided tour of Heredia, downtown San José, and we even made a day trip down here to Limón for a visit to the beach and a taste of all my favorite Caribbean treats and a glance at my stomping grounds. Plus a night of salsa dancing with lots of old men (ha) and we even caught a movie and popcorn at the mall. She was practically a local by the time we welcomed Alex to the sunny tropics on Monday. The 2 of them were surely glad to be escaping the winter snowstorms and below freezing temps in Denver. From Tuesday to Thursday we relaxed poolside and visited the beach from our resort-like spot on the Pacific Coast… had to get their poor winter skin adjusted to the lovely warm rays of the tropical sun, of course. Friday and Saturday was a 2-day white water rafting experience, and experience it surely was – in the fullest sense of the word. The raft company picked us up in San Jose at 6am on Friday morning in a mini tour bus, made a few other stops around the city, then shuttled us about an hour and a half away, almost to Limón, to the company’s Operations Center. There we were fed a delicious breakfast of pinto, fruit, and made-to-order omelets and changed into our rafting gear. A short trip to the river and a short instructional and safety session later, we found ourselves in helmet and lifejackets with our stuff in dry bags and floating down the river with a couple from California and our fearless raft guide, Fabian, from Argentina. There were 2 other boats of rafters along with us, plus another boat with all the gear and food. It was an overcast day, ideal for rafting and avoiding sunburn and/or bad tan lines. After awhile we “pulled over” on the side of the river and our guides quickly became chefs as they flipped over one of the boats and began to set up our lunch smorgasboard of sandwiches (complete with sliced lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, and mayo & mustard packets) cookies, and fruit – sliced and arranged with extra points for presentation. Just as we were loading the plates and preparing to feast that rain came. And it wasn’t just a light sprinkle or even a downpour…it was a monsoon. We tried to take cover under the trees, but it really didn’t do much good. Sad as it was to see all the food getting drenched, one was left with not much more to do but laugh and try to make the most of it as our paper plates were disintegrating in our very hands. It was quite a scene as we were all so hungry that we tried to cover our plates and eat despite the rain, yet everything was just getting soaked. Of course after we packed up and were back on the boats it stopped raining and within 15 minutes or so we were enjoying some great sunshine. It would have been nice to have that at lunchtime, but at least it was warming us up and making the splashes of the rapids more enjoyable as they were now able to “cool” us off. In the early afternoon we arrived at the lodge where we would be staying. It was a gorgeous spot in the jungle, overlooking the river, and we had very nice and clean cabins with private bathrooms to call home for the night. We took a guided hike up into the jungle to a waterfall, and then made it back down to camp to find the rest of our guides and the lodge staff hard at work in the kitchen. It really was a full service experience, and with our guides providing all the services themselves. They even had a Happy Hour of Jungle Juice and chips and bean dip waiting for us. Oh so tasty. We all got to shower and change and dry out and then reunited in the open-air with a view dining room while our guides laid out quite the dinner spread of this really tasty chicken mix, rice, salad, and fruit. Delicious. That night Jenn and Alex and I were joined by Fabian and another guide, Greg, from Scotland, for an entertaining evening of cards and conversation.
Saturday morning started with another great breakfast of pinto, fruit, and some tasty banana-cinnamon pancakes. After breakfast we all got harnessed up for an adventure on the canopy tour (aka zip line) which was included as part of the whole experience. After all that fun we still got to climb on board the rafts for a few more hours of adventures down the river. There were some good rapids, amazing scenery, and fun times on the boat – and Jenn, Alex, & I all stayed in the raft even, except of course when we purposely jumped off for a swim. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, the whole thing ended with another fabulous meal– lunch of chicken, salad, fresh salsa, fruit, beans, rice, veggies, and friend plantains back at the Operations Center. I think between the 3 of us we totally wiped out an entire tree’s worth of plantains. Tasty treat. We were tired but very satisfied customers by the time the shuttle bus dropped us off back in San Jose around 6 on Saturday evening.
Sunday we headed out late morning for San Jose and a 4.5 hour bus ride up to Volcan Arenal. The bus ride was definitely more of what one would likely imagine a Costa Rican bus trip would be…not the nicest or cleanest nor freshest-smelling bus, way more people than seats (I ended up standing for the first 3.5 hrs of the trip so I would be able to talk to the other girls without people standing and/or leaning over me in the aisle) and lots of stops along the way. We finally made it though, and found our way to a hotel/cabinas that had been recommended to us by one of the raft guides. We had a cute little room complete with 3 beds, mini kitchen with frig, and porch with volcano views. The only problem was the clouds never gave us the chance to see the volcano. From the time we arrived on Sunday until leaving on Tuesday afternoon we never caught even a glimpse of the volcano. So that was a bummer for the girls, but we made the most of the trip anyway, including a visit to some fabulous hot springs and dinner at a great typical restaurant that we loved so much we came back to the next night as well. On Monday morning we rented bicycles with the intention of keeping them all day and making our way around town, out to the hot springs, to the waterfall, and who knows where else. We headed for the waterfall first and were in for quite a surprise when we found ourselves riding uphill on a gravel road for 4 km with a pretty intense incline for the last half of it. After we finally arrived at the waterfall we discovered that we would have to hike down about half a mile to get to it, which of course meant that we got to climb up that mountain as well on the way back. Needless to say between spending the previous 2 days on a raft and then the entire morning on a rugged bike trail, we were ready to turn in our bikes at noon and head off to pamper ourselves at the hot springs. Which we did, and in the end it felt good to know that we truly deserved it. :) Tuesday morning we did a little shopping and enjoyed some very tasty coffee drinks at this great little café before boarding the bus and making the trek back to San José, which was a much better trip considering we all had seats and windows that actually opened. That night we had dinner at Luisa’s house, stocked the girls with supplies to bring back home at the grocery store, and finished off our evening with a very tasty Frozen Cappuccino from the local Baskin-Robbins-type chain. We had such a great time and got to do so many things and I just loved the time with my girls, so it was sad to have to say goodbye…

La Navidad...

the Costa Rican Christmas…
I guess I should more appropriately refer to it as the Christmas season, seeing how I have not been here on the 24th and 25th of December, nor will I be able to experience it this year (given the fact that my parents somehow (ha) convinced my brother, my sister, and my grandpa that a Christmas on a Mexican Riviera cruise would be a nice warm spot in the Northwest winter, and I obliged to make my way from one tropical destination to another…) But anyway… my point is that I am able to make a few comments about the Christmas atmosphere and what the people do to get ready for it. Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, a lot of things are the same. Most people put up and decorate a Christmas tree (although for a lot of them it will be outside on their front porch or patio or in the garage) with lights and ornaments and inside they pull out the box of “Christmas stuff” and put up the garland and Santa Claus and holiday candles and such.

We have a Christmas tree here at the house but it’s a little more fun and interesting because it is hanging upside down from the ceiling. The design and layout of the house leaves one struggling to find an area of unused space to clear out and put a tree where it can be seen and enjoyed, yet won’t be blocking a doorway or the tv or make you have to remove a couch. So it turns out that hanging upside down above the front door and next to the staircase works just perfectly. It makes for an easy task of putting on the lights as you can just stand in one place, hold the string of lights and spin the tree as it hangs from the rope. Putting on ornaments takes a little more work as the branches are of course now sloping downward so you have to be sure and wrap them up on the branch good and snug if you don’t want a snowman falling on your head unexpectedly.

People down here like to decorate the outside of the house with lights and blow up Santa Claus and lighted reindeer and such here, just like they do at home. And it never fails that there will be a few folks that cover every square inch with lights and décor and illuminate the whole block.

One thing that is different is that because of the strong Catholic influence, the nativity scene is likely the most important part of the decoration. Almost everyone has at least one displayed – whether big or small, wood, glass, or clay, indoors or outdoors.
Another thing is that there does not appear to be the same inundation of Christmas music as we enjoy back home. I’ve heard a few songs on the radio or when walking through a store, but it’s nothing like the pure bliss of hearing 10 versions of Silent Night as you go about your day back at home. Which brings up another point…since there are no Starbucks there are no festive red cups, nor holly, jolly Starbucks Christmas cds to be purchased and enjoyed. Ahh… I did love the days of working at the ‘bucks and hearing the same 5 Christmas cds over and over and over again for a month. :) That really is a true statement though… I was always singing along as I was whipping up the Pumpkin Spice Latte or Peppermint Mocha.

There still is the plethora of holiday ads in the newspaper and on television and the special offers in the stores, but maybe they are a tiny bit less commercialized and material-focused than we are at home during this time of year. Although the stores may be a little bit more crowded, I would like to think that the madness is not quite intense. From what I hear though, it sounds like it still gets pretty chaotic. Stay tuned for an updated report. It still is only December 4th after all….

Elections

Here in Costa Rica they had city and local elections today, December 3. The first interesting thing about this to me is that it is a Sunday. Maybe they figure that more people will come out and vote if its not a regular work day. Or maybe it works better for them to organize since they use schools and such as polling places as well. What’s more is that for election weekend they don’t sell alcohol. From midnight on Friday night until Tuesday morning the sale of alcohol is restricted by law. Trying to keep people safe and sober for their voting decision and celebration (or defeat) but it ends up that people prepare themselves and just stock up in excess on Friday. The political parties here have different colors so all around you see flags and balloons and streamers of red and black or blue and white or green and white and the like. This morning I went running and the street was blocked off to cars in front of one school and there were folks set up with tables and coffee and balloons and brochures and paraphernalia, trying to round up the votes of any folks that were still on the fence, I am guessing. When my brother and I were in Nicaragua they were also preparing for elections (held in November), and it was much worse. Every telephone pole and street sign and concrete wall was painted according to their party or candidate and every where you turned there were signs, posters, and billboards with photos of the proud candidates. I think they must have had about 12 or more different parties because everyone had a number. So you could say “Vote for Joe” or “Vote for the #6”…. My favorite was a candidate whose slogan was “El feo que quiere una Nicaragua linda”…. which is to say “The ugly one that wants a beautiful Nicaragua.” Ha! Imagine that headline – “Vote for Ugle Joe because he wants America the Beautiful!”

5 star getaway..

On Saturday the 18th, Jen (my friend from freshman year of high school, now over 10 years, yikes!) arrived in San Jose with a friend of hers from college, John. The three of us took a shuttle van out to the beach at Manuel Antonio, which is a very popular spot and home of a famous national park on the Pacific Coast. I had been out there in May, and then again just for a quick stop with my parents in September. Jen’s boss from her job in LA had recently built a house in the area that he is using as a vacation rental. Thanks to Jen’s connection with the owner, we got a pretty sweet deal on the place for 4 nights. After arriving and entering the house, it became blatantly clear that we got more than a sweet deal. The house is AMAZING. A huge open kitchen with marble countertops and brand new appliances, a living room with comfy couches and TV with satellite cable, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on the main floor, vaulted ceilings and sliding glass doors and windows along the whole back wall overlooking a lush jungle-like valley and a view of the ocean as well. There was this great open staircase leading up to the master suite that featured a fabulous bathroom and king sized bed with the same jungle/valley/ocean view. Jen and I quickly claimed it as our pad and left John to fight with himself over which of the other 2 rooms he wanted. Outside the house there was a fabulous patio/deck that wrapped around the whole back of the house, taking advantage of the great view, not to mention our own private pool and lounge chairs for sunbathing. From the minute I walked in the place I felt a bit like a spoiled princess… From Saturday afternoon until Wednesday morning we passed the time by lounging, reading, sun bathing, swimming, playing cards, cooking, making a few trips on the bus into town, rocking out to some favorites on the 80s/90s digital music channels, watching some pretty intense rainstorms, and somehow we managed to enjoy ourselves while at it.

Definitely some of my favorite moments were cooking in the kitchen… I am really getting into the chef thing, now having a bit of skill in the American food, learning the Costa Rican food, and starting to watch Rachael Ray on the Food Network occasionally. So there I am in this fancy kitchen working up some of my own “30 minute meals” that actually take a little longer and trying to chop an onion with the grace and style of Rachael. (I still need practice.) It was a joint effort in the kitchen and we whipped up some mean beef stir-fry with lots of veggies, quesadillas, fried yucca, fruit salad, and several bowls of pico de gallo with tortilla chips, among other things. (This covering the 3 days there of course, not just one meal…)

The other big highlight was when Jen decided that we should try learning to surf – right then and there. To the point that we signed ourselves up for an hour lesson, took a bus back to our house, changed, and hopped a cab back down to the beach to get our surf on before the sun went down. Now I have never in my life touched a surf board, let alone tried to stand up on one while in the ocean but had figured I would need to give it a shot at least once before leaving Costa Rica. After all, this is a country that people flock to for that one reason alone. To me surfing had always appeared to be a lot of work for a short time of enjoyment so I was kind of wondering what I was getting myself into as Jen and I were on the beach with our boards and our instructor. He claimed to have us up on the board within 15 minutes or our money back… The bulk of the instruction of the lesson came in 5 minutes on shore with the boards on the sand where he showed us how we should lie on the board, paddle, and then stand up. We practiced our technique a few times and then hit the water. Truth be told, it was more than 15 minutes but I did in fact make it on my feet on the board! Hip hip hooray! I made it up several times in fact, and a handful of those were decent and lasted a few seconds!! It was pretty good fun actually, and quite thrilling to be standing on the board and riding a wave (if I can really call it that…). Jen had a waterproof camera and we enlisted a beach bum to shoot some pics, so I am really hoping for some visual proof of the accomplishment. All in all, it definitely felt like an accomplishment for the both of us. And we agreed that it was worth the bruises (from falling where it was shallow and hitting bottom) and the skin irritation on our stomach (from the crappy rental board) and the gallons of salt water we drank. Now we can check “surfing” off on the lifetime “to do” list. Maybe I’ll even try it again someday…

more thanksgiving pics...

the turkey and me...

The Thanksgiving Feast... 11/24

So as part of my Spanish classes, I was assigned to prepare the traditional Thanksgiving dinner for my family and some friends here, and along with the dinner tell about the history and tradition of Thanksgiving (in Spanish, of course). It started with writing an invitation, delivering them to our special guests, planning the meal, shopping, cooking, and finally giving my little presentation about Thanksgiving while we all pigged out on turkey. We had the dinner on Friday for the convenience of all – seeing as how its not a holiday weekend here…. The weeks before I had been doing a bit of internet research, requesting recipes, and emailing my mom for turkey tips.

By Thursday the menu was set (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn, cranberries, rolls, gravy and pumpkin pie) and I went to the store to pick up all the essentials. Things like sweet potatoes, a roasting pan, potato flakes, and corn were easy. Luckily, my favorite neighborhood store had a small little display of Thanksgiving foods including the Stove Top stuffing and the turkey gravy mix. Unfortunately they were out of cranberries (which were given up on after 3 stores proved fruitless) and come to find out that green beans are a hard find fresh, they don’t exist in the can, I would have had to improvise for the cream of mushroom soup, and the fried onions – yeah, right. Anyway, so that was immediately scratched off the list. It took a bit of hunting to come across pie plates (not big on pies here, I guess…they are more cake people) but ended up having success in that department. When I was at the store I ran into another American girl who was shopping to make Thanksgiving dinner as well. She had run into some of the same difficulties as I had – lack of essential items – and I ended up giving her my pie crust recipe right there in the middle of the store because she couldn’t find a premade one. Talking with her about all that was involved and thinking about the 16 dinner attendants I would be feeding got me a little nervous. Especially considering I had never done more to prepare the Thanksgiving feast than the green bean casserole – and that was the one thing I couldn’t make here!

The last and most important, of course, was the turkey and since my research had taught me that a frozen bird needs a couple days of refrigeration to thaw, I was definitely on the hunt for a fresh one. There were a couple available at my grocery store, but we had decided to also try at Costco in hopes of a better price. We didn’t make it there until early evening, so when it was discovered that they only had frozen solid birds, or precooked “smoked” ones, I got a little anxious and started imaging what we would tell the guests when they arrived to a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner. Thank the Lord though that the turkeys I had seen at the first store were there still, although we ended up buying a partially frozen one because it was a bit bigger – 10.9 kg to be exact (about 22 lbs). So that night I let the turkey sit in a bath of warm water to aid in the thawing process, and made the pie crust and had it all ready to go in the pan to alleviate some of the rush in the morning.

Friday started off with making the pumpkin pie at 8am then putting it in the oven so I could have the turkey cooking by 10am. I have never even touched a raw turkey, so it was a little interesting, but with the general instructions from my mom I managed to open it up, remove the innards and stuff it with the stuffing. It turned out to be a very good thing that I put the bird in the oven at 10am (as you will come to find out it took quite a while to get to the point of eating it…). The rest of the day went smoothly – prepping the tables, decorating and putting up a Christmas tree at the school (where I was cooking and we were hosting the big event) and I even got to go for a run while the bird was sweating away in the oven. The rest of the stuff were kind of last-minute things – I had to wait for the turkey to be done to put in the sweet potato casserole, and the corn and the mashed potatoes and gravy would wait until just about eating time as well.

Now I knew the turkey would take awhile to cook but I thought that putting it in at 10am for the 6pm dinner time would be somewhat sufficient. My mom told me that her stuffed 19 lb turkey had taken 6.5 hrs so here I had 8 hrs to spare. Plus, I knew we wouldn’t eat at exactly 6 anyway…people tend to arrive kind of late and you don’t usually walk in the door, sit down and stuff your face right away. But at 6pm when my meat thermometer only read 160 degrees and stayed that way for the next 30 minutes I got a little nervous. I had to call my mom and plead my case for this turkey that had cooked for 8.5 hrs and still only read 160 degrees. (Another note worth mentioning is that Luisa drove around to about 11 different places and ended up having to go all the way in almost downtown San Jose to get a hold of a meat thermometer!) I decided to turn up the oven just the slightest and do my best to be patient. At 7 I saw a little progress on the thermometer and by 7:30pm I was thrilled to find my thermometer read 180 and the built-in timer pop up as well. Finally! It was a hefty guy to pull out of the oven – given the 22lbs of bird plus the additional weight of the stuffing – but I managed. I gave it the mandatory 20-30 minutes of chill time and got the last items in the oven and on the stove before enlisting Luisa’s brother, Benson, to handle the task of carving. I will say that the bird came out a perfect golden brown and glistening. So with the bird all sliced up and the rest of the goods out on the serving table we started the feast about 8pm. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the food, as evidenced by the comments as well as the nearly licked-clean plates that were finally retired to the kitchen.

After eating I shared my bit of history and tradition of Thanksgiving with everyone. It turned out to be almost 20 minutes long, although to me seemed only about 5. I did it all in Spanish and Luisa told me afterward that it had sounded good and very fluid, so that was cool. Then came the pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream and whipping cream (bummer that Cool Whip is not available here…) which was also received with praise, although by already full stomachs.

Luisa and I were at the school until about 11:30pm washing all the dishes and pots and pans and storing the leftovers (a good amount of turkey, a whole pie, and little bits of everything else). It was definitely a long day and very tiring by the end, but definitely worth it! I would say that my first Thanksgiving meal was a smashing success. And it doesn’t hurt that it was probably the best Thanksgiving meal my guests had ever eaten! Ha. That was a little bit of a comfort for me as I was cooking and preparing – at least they couldn’t say “It’s not as good as last year!”

GUATEMALA 10/24-29

Our trip across the border and into Guatemala was smooth, 5-star sailing, considering the modes of transportation we had experience thus far. We were able to take a mini-van shuttle bus that picked us up from our hotel in Copan Ruins, Honduras and drove us all the way right into Antigua, Guatemala. There was only 6 of us in the 10+ passenger van, so it was roomy and comfy, plus featured 2 tv screens on the back of the driver and passenger seats and DVD player – so we even watched a movie. The border crossing was quick and uneventful, as was most of the drive, until we arrived in Guatemala City right about 5:00pm. There was a ton of traffic and we had to make a few stops to drop people off in different parts of the city, so it turned out to be a pretty extensive driving tour. The whole trip ended up being about 7 hours long but it was nice to not have to change buses or anything along the way. Just sit back and enjoy the ride…

Antigua – A popular and well-known spot in Guatemala, it has become quite the tourist and vacationer hot spot. Although it maintains a lot of its age in the old structures and cobble-stone streets, it has become a more modern and up-scale destination. Featuring the favorite fast-food joints (although without the obnoxiously large plastic signs, nor traditional building structure), lots of fancy candle-lit, white linen napkin dining establishments, fine wine, chocolate, and tobacco shops, fine jewelry, and expensive boutique-like clothing. Not exactly what one thinks of in regards to Guatemala in the old days… In addition, it has become home to innumerable language schools and institutes – attracting many young foreigners who want to study Spanish. It seemed to me almost to have a small college town feel and I am thankful for the more genuine and “real” experience I had for learning Spanish in Heredia. The first hostel we stopped at appeared to be more like a college frat house than anything else, so we moved on in search of something a little more our style. We ended up at a little hotel/hostel called “Los Amigos” – the sight of what seemed to be live-in travelers and the tiger print bedspreads were a little less than appealing to me, but I told myself “you are traveling… this is what it is all about.” Our first attempt for some traditional Guatemalan food proved to be fairly successful on my end (chicken soup) but a total flop for Blake, such that he had to resort to Burger King as a follow-up. And come to find out, “Los Amigos” (the friends) was an appropriate name for our accommodations because there was more than one creepy, crawly friend to be found in the room. It was a bit of a rough night for me – passed curled up in a tight little ball, muscles tense, trying to make as little contact with the bed, and any other “friends” that might have been around. I just prayed for morning to come quick so we could be on our way.

Antigua has a huge marketplace area. There is an incredible maze of goods all under a large warehouse-lik building, plus just as many vendors or more surrounding the outside. This marketplace was like a Super Target or Walmart or Fred Meyer – the true definition of one-stop shopping. Within all this madness (probably about 1 square block or so) one could find anything from fresh fruits and veggies, fresh cut (or waiting to be cut) meat, chicken, or fish, all varieties of seafood and shellfish, kitchen supplies (dishes, pots, pans, blender parts, etc), tools for the home and shop (screwdrivers, nails, machetes, you name it), flour, sugar, and spices all in bulk, dog and cat food, flowers, not to mention the full department store-sized collection of clothes and shoes. On one outer edge of the marketplace was a dirt soccer field were men’s teams were playing. It seemed a little odd to me that all these grown men were available to be playing soccer at 11am on a Wednesday, but who knows? Maybe it was the Night Shift League…

LAKE ATITLAN / SANTIAGO
After a leisurely morning enjoying the sunshine in Antigua, we picked up our rental car and headed out to Lake Atitlan. We arrived mid afternoon and it wasn’t completely clear, but we could see the lake and the surrounding mountains and volcanoes through the clouds. We ended up parking the car and taking a mini ferry of sorts across the lake to a town called Santiago. Thus far in our time driving through Guatemala we had seen a lot of indigenous Mayan peoples, most of whom still wear the traditional hand-woven clothing. At least the women and girls do, that is. Brightly colored long wrap-around style skirts, with shirts with equally brilliantly colored woven designs of flowers, butterflies, and patterns of the like. Throughout our drive we had seen them walking along the side of the road, carrying baskets of goods on their heads, and working in the fields on the hills as well. In Santiago these traditionally-dressed indigenous people were definitely the majority, and even some of the men wore traditional garb as well – white, mid-calf length sailor-type pants, a long woven wrap-around-and-tie-belt, and hand-woven top. We arrived in the village around 6pm (it is dark by this time) and a local man met us at the dock and offered to show us to the few hotels in the town. We ended up at a decent spot, kind of mid-construction on the upper levels of the building, and we were definitely the only guests, but not bad all things considering. Walked around the town a bit in search of a restaurant but ended up finding the most food activity in what appeared to be the center park area. Lots of people were gathered and there were several “street food” shops set up. Not a disappointment at all for me! We sampled some tomales, different types of tacos, and even a hot drink that was made from plantains. On the cement basketball court in front of the school there were about 4 different soccer games going on at once. The kids didn’t seem to mind, nor be confused as to who they were playing with, against, and what direction they were going. Quite the sight to see. We finished the night with some coffee and cards at one restaurant that we did find. As we sat outside in the patio we became quite the sight in town, especially for the kids. They gathered around, sat at our table, watched us play cards, asked us for money, beer, and even water.
We decided to try and get some sunrise photos of the lake and surrounding volcanoes so got up around 5am and walked down to the dock. It was a beautiful sight to watch as the sun light up the peaceful town and illuminated the volcanoes on either side of the village, and the lake and the docks and small boats and fishermen as they headed out to work. It was a gorgeous day with clear, blue skies and lots of sunshine. We had another peaceful morning on the rooftop patio/deck of our breakfast restaurant and read and wrote and just enjoyed the sunshine and views before taking a ski boat-type ferry back across to our car.

QUETZALTENANGO
Our drive to this next destination turned out to include a significant delay due to some major construction on the highway. We sat in a line with all the other cars for probably about 30 minutes, but it was anything but boring. There were all sorts of people walking up and down the line of cars selling food snacks, drinks, and even cds. Plus there was a guy with a hot dog cart. The side of the road had been turned into the public bathroom – guys right on the edge of the road and women a little farther back into the brush and trees. There were a couple little boys that had gathered at our window and were asking us for money. Using the little English they knew to make their requests: “Give me 1 dollar.” I told one of them that I would gladly give him a dollar if he gave me 6 Quetzals in return (just under the going exchange rate). A couple kids laughed but this boy said, “5 Quetzals” so I said Ok and we made the exchange. Blake and I told him that he had to save that dollar, that in 10 years it could be worth a lot more, and that he should save it until one day when he could go to the States himself. Word quickly spread about the deal that had been struck and soon they were lining up – kids and even some adults – to do business with our newly established banking institution. We didn’t have any more 1 dollar bills so unfortunately we had to close shop early, but there was at least on happy kid among the group.
The city of Quetzaltenango proved to be a more developed and modern town, although the influence and presence of the Mayan culture was still evident. The center square of the town was very much like a mid-sized European town with architecture of the like and even a large round-about roadway surrounding the center park/plaza area. We made another mini street fair tour with some mini tacos, a tostada, some mini breads, and arroz con leche (rice with milk). There was a restaurant on the second floor of one of the old buildings that had a great patio overlooking the plaza and park, so we had a great time just chatting, having a drink, and enjoying the views of the city and life below.

HOT SPRINGS & THE BEACH
We headed out early and once again found ourselves at a loss for any coffee shops or cafés that were open – even though it was almost 8am. I think folks around here would be shocked to hear about Starbucks opening at 5am. On our way out to the beach we saw a sign for the aguas termales (hot springs) so we figured we would make the side trip and check it out. It definitely proved worthwhile. A gorgeous drive up the mountain with beautiful views of the valley below and steep slope up the mountain on the other side, plus some pretty immaculately cared-for fields of all sorts of crops. The hot springs proved to be just that as well – some great steaming hot water coming out of the side of the mountain. Add to that the crisp early morning mountain air (we were well over 1 ½ miles of elevation) and blue skies and it made for a great way to start the day. The rest of the drive was smooth, save for the time when we had to pull over and stop on the side of the road so that the racers of a fairly major international, multi-day bike tour race rode on by as they climbed up the mountains. We made it out to the beach in the early afternoon and made a drive though the town. It was definitely a local spot – not big on tourists or visitors, especially not those from other countries. We found a nice looking hotel that was right on the beach and decided to “splurge” for a night. The $40 seemed like a lot to us, but in comparing that with the low-grade, sketchy neighborhood room-for-one at Motel 6 that would get you in the States, it was really a good deal. It was a hot, hot day at the beach so we immediately headed for the water. The beach was wide and vast and the view of the ocean was one of those where it seemed like you could see straight off until forever for 180 degrees without anything to block the view of blue ocean and blue sky. We finally got to see our first sunset at the beach, just in time considering we only had one more night left on the trip. Dinner turned out to be another street fair sampler – once again to my delight. This time it featured some sandwiches grilled on a bbq filled with black beans or grilled beef. Plus some fresh plantain chips, blended pineapple juice served in a bag with a straw, and ice cream for dessert. There were tons of people out and about in the town riding bikes and walking, loud music from the bars and restaurants, and all sorts of life and activity. We finished our night off in our typical fashion with some Bridge, this time by the pool at our hotel. Not bad.

ANTIGUA (AGAIN) AND VOLCAN PACAYA
We got ourselves up at 5am once again (what a vacation), but it was worthwhile to enjoy the sunrise at the beach. This beach was a good one because the way it faced allowed one to enjoy both the sunrise and sunset from the same spot. On our drive back to Antigua we made a side trip to Lake Amatitlan, which is apparently the “oldest” lake in Central America. Both of us are a little unsure how one measures the age of a lake, nor have we heard age much mentioned in regards to lakes, but hey – don’t let us get in the way of their claim to fame… Turns out that isn’t the only claim… in the main lakeside town they feature and recently constructed gondola that leaves from the shore of the lake goes up the side of the mountain. It was a pretty serious gondola too – very similar to those in Vail that that take loads of skiers and boarders up the mountain for a day of fun in the powdery white stuff. Of course the white stuff was missing here, so we are not really sure why the government thought that this gondola would be such a great investment of public funds…. We made it back to Antigua around midday, checked into a hostel (the gringo-filled madhouse we had stopped at our first night in town), turned in the rental car, then had a few hours to kill before heading out for our evening volcano hike tour. By 3pm we were fully loaded with 12 others in the typical minivan-bus and made the 1.5 hr trip up to the top of Volcan Pacaya. This is the most active volcano in Guatemala and they run tours in the afternoon so that people can hike up the volcano to the very peak and watch the lava flow in the dark. It was about an hour hike up to the top and it was dark, very windy, and chilly by the time we reached the peak. Chilly, that is, until we started getting closer and closer to the lava, all the while walking upon cooled lava that had spilled out in the past months and which can best be described as giant-sized burnt popcorn. We were able to make our way to within feet of current flows, and were able to see flows coming down on all sides in streams all over the peak of the mountain. What an incredible experience, and a great way to end our trip with something very unique and memorable.
We didn’t make it back to Antigua until around 9pm, then had a disappointing “last supper” at a “looks aren’t everything” restaurant – meaning it looked like it should be really good and they charged like it should be really good, but it wasn’t. Bummer.

GOODBYE
Our airport shuttle came to pick us up at 5am and we were at the airport by 6am and all checked in, taxes paid, and ready to go by about 6:30am. We had our true last meal of coffee and pastry in the airport waiting area before my flight left at 8 and my brother’s at 9. It was sad to say goodbye and have the trip come to an end, but it had been quite an enjoyable success – one I would gladly do again, next time in....Peru?

On to Honduras... 10/21-24

So we dropped off our rental in Chinandenga, Nicaragua, hopped a bicycle taxi, rode in a mini-van bus to the border, were mobbed by "borderites" who were ready to feast on the gringos. Seriously, it was a mob scene. A bunch of bicyle taxists wait at the bus stop to try and pick up passengers that need to cross the border. So they run alongside the van before it even stops and peek in the window to see whose aboard. And of course upon spotting us they were immediately yelling that they would take us to the border. By the time we stopped they were on all sides of the van, calling into the windows. Blake and I were in the back seats and by the time the other passengers has gotten off, but before we had a chance to move, a couple of guys were climbing on the bus and trying to grab our bags for us and get us to ride their taxi. It was too much for me - I finally yelled out to them "Esperese, por favor! Hasta que bajamos. Fuera del bus!" Which means basically "hold your horses, PLEASE! Wait until we at least get off. Get out of the bus!" They seemed to be a little surprised by my outburst but it served to get them out of the van and a little breathing room for ourselves. After we got out and grabbed our bags they were right on us again like white on rice. The bus driver pointed out one guy to me who was standing back from the mob scene and told me to go with him, because he was well-known and a good guy. I was happy to oblige and enlist the services of someone a little less forceful so I pulled Blake out of the mob scene and we got on the bike and got out of there. The rest of the border experience was much more smooth and peacful, thank goodness. And when we made it safely to Honduras we were able to board a minivan bus that was leaving momentarily for the city and main bus station to the capital of Tegucigalpa.

WEATHER - Honduras was already an improvement in this department. It was a bit more of the "scattered showers" that we had been expecting rather than the all-day downpours. Still some clouds, but a bit more blue sky to be seen, and even a patch of sunshine or two.

TRANSPORTATION - Definitely a more developed country, Honduras doesn't feature the wide variety of man, motor, or animal-powered modes of transportation that we found in Nicaragua. After a short ride in the minivan from the border, we boarded a big tour-type bus for the 3 1/2 hour ride to Tegucigalpa. The plethora of salespeople with fruit, drinks, and food at the bus stop and even boarding the bus was not a new scene to me, but the fact that several young boys were selling microwaved popcorn was definitely a new photo op. Considering how much I love micro popcorn, I was loving the sight. I did refrain for purchasing though... I try to limit my intake of my usual American treats. Gotta try new stuff, right?! In Tegucigalpa the taxis were a sight to be scene. I would have to say that the average age of the cars was probably 1978 - a lot of old Toyota and Honda hatchbacks, and some crazy old station wagon types. It was like riding in luxury if we managed to snag a taxi from the 90s. Another thing about the taxis is they don't have meters. When you hail a cab you ask how much it will cost to your destination, and if you are not happy with the price you can try and bargain a bit, or try your luck with the next guy.

LIFE - The capital city of Honduras is a sharp contrast to that of Managua, Nicaragua. Gone are the donkey carts and available once again are all the American fast food chains. Plus the new "Megamall" in addition to the already present Multiplaza mall - both of which are as nice, if not nicer than malls in the states. Since Blake had lived about an hour or so away from the city for 9 months 4 years ago (while in the Army), he already knew his way around pretty well and had some old stomping grounds that we checked out. Teguc offers a fancy high rise Intercontinental Hotel, and Marriot among others. Plus Tony Romas and TGI Fridays. Definitely more like the major cities that one is used to in the states. There are still some old parts to the city, plus mostly narrow, windy, and hard to figure out where you are going streets. It seems like to get from any Point A to B you have to take 3 rights, a round about, 2 lefts, and a few up, down, and arounds. Everything is very spread out and there are lots of hills, so it is definitely not a place you go walking around from place to place.

SIGHTS - On one of the hills above the city there is a huge statue of Christ holding his arms out. During one patch of clear sky we hailed a cab to get up there and managed to get a few good photos of the city below before the clouds rolled in and the rain came. A definite highlight of Honduras was catching a Honduran league futbol match in the stadium. It was quite the scene of crazed fans dropping sticks of dynamite to support their team and get folks riled up. Plus, instead of the usual behind-the-counter hot dog and soda stands that we have, they have a bunch of street food carts set up all around the inside of the stadium. So its like a street food fair right there in the stadium. Plus there is no end to the folks that are walking up and down the aisles selling beer, soda, cigarettes, gum, banana chips, french frieds, and all sorts of other snacks. One can easily be so distracted by everything that is going on around and forget to watch the game. It proved to be an entertaining one though, and the hometeam came away with a 3-0 victory. Yipee.

After we left the capital city we stayed a night at the Copan Ruins, very near the border with Guatemala. This was a picturesque little town, complete with stone streets and steep hills and a cute center square, all with the back drop of lush green tree-covered hills. The town is a bit of a tourist spot as it is home to the southern most site of Mayan ruins.

ACCOMODATIONS - In Tegucigalpa we stayed at a new hostel, right across from the airport. It was nice and clean and offered free internet and even towels (which is definitely not a usual occurrence on the hostel scene). There were only a couple other folks at the hostel - a couple guys from California, one guy from England, and one guy from Denver (ironic). In Copan we found a great little hotel for cheaper than our hostel had been and even was a private room and bathroom with a TV. Pretty high class for us.

FOOD - We were definitely fans of the traditional Honduran food and had the most fabulous experience at a spot called El Patio. Aside from the great atmosphere - mariachi band, big wood tables and chairs, huge open dining area, and waitresses in traditional dresses - the food was definitely something to write home about. Each of the main meals comes with a whole boat load of sides, so its a good thing we just ordered one. First comes the anafre de frijoles and another de queso - basically this was a ceramic pot of refried-like (but better) beans, with a bit of cheese and sour cream-like sauce and homemade tortilla chips. All of this was sitting on another ceramic pot that had a little warming candle inside, making it like a bean fondue. The cheese one was the same type, but the cheese itself is what really makes it great. Its a white cheese, kind of like mozarella, but better. Then there was a side of veggies (broccoli, carrot, cauliflower) that had been soaked in a vinagre juice of some sort (thoroughly enjoyed by me - the veggie eater of the 2 of us) and then another side of a tomato, onion, cilantro, pico-de-gallo-like salsa (also thoroughly enjoyed by me - the only tomato eater in the group). That was enough to fill me up, but Blake still had the main course coming... a HUGE skewer (probably 14 inches long at least) of big chunks of pork and beef, grilled to perfection. Blake somehow managed to put away the beef while I handled the tasty grilled carrot slices in between each. Needless to say, we left very fat and happy, and quite satisfied with our traditional Honduran food experience. We enjoyed another anafre of beens and cheese with chips in Copan, as well. Had to get at least one more in before crossing the border! And there was a nice surprise when the lemonade drink I ordered proved to be fresh indeed, and was more like a lime slushy. I am won over by the strangest littlest things... Oh, I also had the most delicious cream of asparragus soup in Copan. It was totally fresh, not too creamy, and just the perfect flavor. Plus it came with this fabulous homemade garlic bread, even with little chunks of fresh grilled garlic and herbs on top. Turns out it was made out of a hot dog bun, but who cares?! Definitely the best hot dog bun I have ever eaten!

So Honduras receives a good overall rating in my book. The food didn't disappoint, the weather proved a little more condusive to travel and exploration, and we got to do and see a lot of different stuff - from a local futbol match, to seeing Mayan ruins, to having a drink in the fancy lounge of the 5 star Intercontinental Hotel.

Nicaragua 10/16-21

So before heading out on this trip I did a little weather research on the Internet. All three countries were pretty much the same - mid 80s or so with scattered thundershowers. Perfect. Plus, everything that I had heard from folks in Costa Rica was that it is hot and dry in Nicaragua. It hardly ever rains and its always hot they said. So you can imagine my surprise to find it raining lightly as I got off the plane in the Managua airport. Blake had arrived a few hours earlier and finding him was not a challenge as there was just 2 baggage carousals and only a handful of people waiting on the other side of the glass wall. He had picked up the rental car - a little 4 door car about the size of a Geo Metro, which we named the Silver Bullet - so we were on the road. Okay, that's it for the play by play.

WEATHER - It turned out that the rain was not just a welcome surprise. In fact, it rained about half of the 5 days we were in the country, and was cloudy and looked like it would rain the other half. We did see a bit of blue sky and sunshine the morning we were at the beach in San Juan del Sur (which did make for a great morning run on the beach and a little play time in the ocean afterward) but the door to sunsets at the beach and great photos was slammed in our faces by the overwhelming presence of clouds and gray skies. Bummer.

TRANSPORTATION - Nicaragua is home to the most wide variety of transportation methods I have yet to see. In the capital and largest city, Managua, one must maneuver through the roundabout with the likes of bicycles, pedestrians, donkeys and horses pulling little wooden carts, men on horses, guys pushing little ice cream carts, cars, big trucks carrying produce or people, plus the public buses. It is quite a sight. The roads themselves were quite the scene as well. Although they have a major highway that is paved and marked with lines and all, the streets through the cities are pretty much all made of paver stones, and the "roads" out to the beaches and to the volcanoes - well lets just say that we would call them dirt paths with more potholes than anything else and large rocks or other hazards scattered throughout. Another thing that one must be on the lookout for at all times, whether on the highway, city streets, or dirt paths, is cows and horses. Its not uncommon to come across a herd of cows along side the street, or in the middle of the street. And sometimes it wasn't a herd, just one lonely cow taking a stroll down the center line. Another thing you are likely to see is little children in the middle of the road, filling in pot holes with shovels of dirt and trying to get drivers to use their "repairs" and hopefully offer some sort of monetary compensation in exchange. That should give you a good idea of the overall state of affairs in this area...

LIFE - Nicaragua is definitely much more undeveloped than Costa Rica, and far-less Americanized. We didn't see McDonalds nor Pizza Hut, and definitely saw a lot of signs of poor, rural, farming life. Many people would spend their days watching over their 1, 2, or small herd of cows as they grazed along the side of the road. Or would drive the donkey cart with produce or goods from their farm into town to try and sell it. It was evident that all of the political problems and civil wars and issues that the country has suffered over the years have proven to inhibit its growth and development. One interesting note though is that in the beach town of San Juan del Sur there are more real estate offices than restaurants. Seriously. Not only can you find RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, and Century 21, but there are a boat load of local spots as well. Soley focused on the beach houses and tourist properties I am sure, but still, that was more than I have seen in 6 months in Costa Rica!

SIGHTS - Unfortunately Nicaragua became known to us as a deserted land with "roads" to nowhere. We ended up spending a lot of time trying to get to places, i.e. the beach, volcanoes, etc... only to find that there was nothing at the end of the road. Signs for hotels or natural reserve areas or restaurants didn't seem to prove accurate, or at least up to date. Two different treks over bumps and dirt to the beach were met with abandoned hotels and/or closed down restaurants. There was defintely some of what appeared to be very pretty countryside along our way, but b/c of the rain and clouds we couldn't really see or enjoy much of it. In conclusion, I feel like we definitely but out our best effort to see the best and the most of the country, but the country did not keep up their end of the bargain. Bummer.

FOOD - I have 2 favorite dining experiences from Nicaragua. The first is a traditional dish called "Repocheta." We had it our 2nd night in the country when we were out on this island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Ironcially we had met 2 other pairs of Americans who were travelling and the 6 of us were the only ones staying at our hotel/cabinas. Anyway, repocheta is a big, thick, corn tortilla that has cheese inside, then they deep fry it and serve with a cabbage salad on top and a cream that is kind of like a sour cream sauce, only a little bit sweeter. One of the guys ordered one and asked the cook if they could put blakc beans in it as well. The man was a little confused by the request, but obliged. After sharing samples with the group, we ordered 3 more b/c everyone loved it so much. (And we suggested that the cook permanently alter his traditional recipe to the new and improved version 'con frijoes'.) Probably sounds a little strange, but trust me, it was good. And turns out I think we found the best place to eat them, b/c I ordered repocheta another day and it turned out to be a thin slice of cheese between two hard corn shells (like the folded ones we have for tacos - only these were flat) with the cabbage and cream on top, plus "salsa de tomate" which is really just sweet ketchup (nothing at all like the real Heinz stuff). The other great dining experience was a little place in Leon that we like to call "BBQ ladies." (Its actually an official name, according to the hand-drawn map of the city that was on the wall at our hostel.) So I am all about eating, and in these kind of situations I am all about the traditional food, the stuff locals eat. And I figure the best way to experience that is by hitting up the street carts. Street Fair, Street Food, Street Tour, you can call it many things but this is my preferred style. So our first night in Leon we had seen some street side stands (little carts or makeshift table with a bbq or hot plate or just a basket of goods, whatever it may be) as we drove into town. Upon finally getting our hostel and unloading our stuff and setting out to eat though, it was getting late and our street search proved to be fruitless. Quite disappointed I was, and my dear brother, despite his hunger, suggested we try one more spot near where we had seen the market earlier. Oh what find. On a dark abandoned corner of the street there were 2 women, a coal bbq grill and a table full of goods. She even had a table set up for dining, and there were locals gathered around - a sure sign of a true Nicaraguan experience. All the stuff was premade and precooked, as as you ordered it she would put it on the grill to heat it up. Our smorgasbord of treats included grilled beef and chicken, fried cheese (sounds weird but is really good), friend plantains, chayote (a veggie) grilled with cheese, plantain patty of sorts with cheese inside, tacos, a chicken empanada of sorts, and gallo pinto. Pretty much all was delicious, and it was really the perfect environment. Sitting outside on a picnic table with locals walking and driving up, getting food to go or eat there on the street, and these 2 woman just buzzing away throwing food on the grill and then wrapping it up in banana leaves and in a plastic bag to go, or on a plate for "in house dining". I loved the experience so much that we went back the next night as well. A little slice of heaven for me. THey have some other good things in Nicaragua - chicken soup (nothing like campells, trust me) and cheap (in price, not quality of course) national beer, for those who like that sort of thing.

So, overall review = it does in fact rain in Nicaragua, good street food, bad roads, deserted beaches, lots of modes of transportation, and make sure you are on the lookout for cows!

Central America Tour / 06

Hello all. Greetings from Costa Rica, once again. I am here safe and sound after adding a few new stamps to the passport and some new foods to the list of favorites. Blake and I had a great trip for the past two weeks. Saw, did, and ate a lot, and of course took a ton of pics along the way. Everything will be a bit more interesting when I can get the pics posted, but in the meantime I will have to try and amuse you with a verbal run-down. I am going to try and hit the highlights of each country so as not to bore you, nor exhaust the allotted space on this free blog site. (After hosting my page they are really going to consider charging for someone as wordy as myself). So I'll try to get the stories up as soon as I can b/c I know you are all just dying to dig in. Ha.

My Saturday night....

Two interesting things that happened to me on Saturday night. First, as I was waiting at the bus stop to catch the bus home after the youth group activities at First Baptist Church two nice looking young Amercian guys joined the crowd. They were dressed in the typical black pants, white collared shirt, and tie, making them very recognizable as Mormon missionaries. They got on the same bus as I did and sat down in the back. At first I just took my seat as usual, but after a second’s thought figured that I might as well take the rare opportunity to speak to someone from my own country. And considering they were missionaries, I figured it couldn’t be too much of a risk to approach them. So I got up and walked to the back of the bus and said “So where are you from?” One was from Las Vegas and had only been in Costa Rica for 2 months and the other was from Utah and had been here 10 months. So we talked about what we were doing here, where we live (turns out pretty close by), how often we talk to our families (they are only allowed to call on Mother’s Day and Christmas), and they asked me if I have met many other Americans here in Limón (no). Kind of a random little encounter, but always nice to talk to a fellow countryman when far away from one’s country.
The other thing that happened to me was a colorful reminder of the fact that I am, indeed, far away from my home. About 10:00pm that night I was in my room reading a book when I heard a faith voice on a microphone and thought that someone must be wrapping up some activity nearby. Turns out I was only half right in that assumption. About 5 minutes later there suddenly came the sound of a 5-piece Latin band (complete with microphone, speakers, the whole works) as if they were performing a private concert on the patio right outside my window. I had been right about the fact that there was an activity but wrong about it wrapping up…things we just getting started. What’s more, “nearby” turned out to be next-door neighbor who shares a backyard wall with my house here. I don’t know what the occasion was (sadly, I had obviously not been invited) but whatever the event, our gracious host had determined that live music was a necessity and why should it matter to him if it meant sharing his musical taste with the entire neighborhood. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I laid there on my bed and thought “you have got to be kidding me…” Surely this sort of thing would never fly back home – you’d have just about every neighbor without a hearing aid or a some of those noise reducing headphones they sell in those in-flight magazines full of “must-haves” on the phone with the police before you finished your first attempt at Salsa. Only by the grace of God was I able to fall asleep at some point during the whole shin-dig, but I woke up again at 12:45am to find out that the party was still hopping. I can’t give you many more details except that when I woke up at 2:45am that had finally called it quits and the next morning there wasn’t a peep of activity or life to be heard from that direction. Good times. If only someone who have given me fair notice I could have polished up my shoes and practiced all my Latin dancing moves in my own backyard.

The Day of the Scooter (El día del moto)

When I started this day, I knew that it was slated to involve a little day-trip down south to the beach for lunch and some R&R and conversation with my friend, Pastor Armando. I had no idea, however, the adventure that was in store for us, nor the priceless memories that would come out of it. In the months I have spent in Limón, Pastor Armando had invited me to lunch on a few different occasions, to chat, discuss ministry opportunities and challenges in Limón, and just to get to know each other better. The last outing we had decided that one day we should go down south to the beach at Cahuita – a beautiful spot about an hour or so south, and I had told him that this time it would be on my tab. Since my time in Limón right now is running out, when I visited his church yesterday we decided to do it today, his “day off.” We met at 8am and hit the road in a southerly direction. About halfway toward Cahuita, Armando suggested that we trek a bit further south to another beach, Puerto Viejo, where we could rent scooters or bicycles and relax and ride around the little beach towns.

We arrived in Puerto Viejo around 9:30 am and stopped in at a rental shop to inquire about bicycles and scooters (or moped, or whatever you want to call it). I was thinking, hmmm, this could be fun – either bikes or scooters – but it was a bit cloudy and looked like it was going to rain at some point, and I thought surely the day would not hold out for 6 hours of riding. After a breakfast of toast (from homemade bread) and coffee at a cute little café owned and operated by Italians, the sky had cleared up a bit and we made our way back to the rental shop. Armando was all about the scooter, and I thought sure, that’d be great. The rental shop guy (who was from Colombia – you meet people from everywhere down here) started doing the paperwork and setting us up with a cute little red scooter (only $15 for 6 hours – not bad huh?!). I was thinking, this will be great, I’ll hop on back, just relax, maybe learn how to drive it a little, how perfect. Then Armando said, “Don’t we both want our own?” and I thought, “Well that could be quite fun too…” but the man said he just had one available, so I was back on board my original train of thought. And then the guy that was working for the rental guy said that we could use his own scooter so we could each have one. So just like that, in a matter of a few minutes and a bit of paperwork, I was looking over the red scooter and inspecting for pre-existing scratches and damages to record, as you would when you are renting a car.

Now let’s keep in mind here that I have never ridden a scooter or this sort before, nor have I ever driven a motorcycle, and I only had a little experience with ATVs when I was a kid. But I thought it couldn’t be that difficult, it is a simple-looking little thing and we weren’t going to be driving on any major roads or anything. The thing is though, the guy who was sending me off of the scooter failed to really inform me at all how to operate the thing – only “here is the starter button, push this and then twist the handle bar like this to give it gas.”

So here is where the fun begins. I am sitting on this scooter, helmet on (thank the Lord), and I am about to make my first tracks out of the rental shop and up the slightest of inclines and onto the road. Well, even this little slight incline proved to be a bit of a challenge and my first little twist of the handle didn’t do much and I started to roll backward, so I twisted it a little more. But that turned out to be a little TOO much of a flick of the wrist and I sort of darted out (not really at a fast pace though) of the driveway and into the street and then there came this little truck in the other lane and I realized that I didn’t know how to stop my little scooter and my first reaction was to twist the opposite way on the gas handle. Well, guess what? That doesn’t do anything. (I know that some of you more experienced scooter/motorcycle drivers are probably dying right now, but wait, it gets better, or worse…) So in a split second I am on this crazy little machine I can’t seem to control and I am headed in the path of a vehicle and I am not stopping. All I can do now is offer my best at describing the scene that unfolded: me trying to turn the scooter away, I don’t think I ever really found the brakes but I definitely remember myself pulling backward on the handles (as if that was going to do something), and my leaning body and turning the handlebars causing the scooter to tip on its side as my front tire hits the front left tire of the truck and I manage to let out a little scream and the scooter comes to rest on the road and I manage to keep my balance as I hop away from this “possessed” contraption. In the meantime, I have seen my life flash before my eyes (well not really) and I am thinking that before making it out of the driveway I have not only lost my $100 deposit but gotten myself into an accident with a real motor vehicle.

The guy at the rental shop came out to rescue me as the man in the truck got out of his vehicle and everyone within sight and sound of the area came out to see what all the excitement was. The man in the truck was a nice guy – he gave a quick glance at his car, said “nothing happened,” asked if I had hurt myself (I said no), and wisely told me to take it a little easier on the gas next time. Obvious, but true. The guy at the rental shop help me get the scooter up and this time decided to give me a bit more instruction as to the operation of such machinery (where the brakes are for starters) and told me that I needed to be a little gentler with the accelerator. Once again, obvious but true. Armando of course came out and made sure everything was alright, and then we both made it successfully and safely into a forward motion along the road. Needless to say my heart was racing from the little brush with disaster, and I definitely felt more than a little bit embarrassed about my lack of scooter skills. So as we scooted off down the road it became a little more comical, and even more so as we fled further from the scene and my heart and pulse assumed a more normal pace.

So now we just got to enjoy the pretty tropical scenery and beach views on our fun little motor scooters. The weather kept clearing up for us and it was turning into a beautiful sunny day as we puttered off down the road to a couple beach towns further south. The great part about the road here was that it was practically deserted as far as motor vehicle hazards. We definitely passed more people on foot, bicycle, or scooter, than in a car. A common Costa Rican hazard that we did face, however, were the potholes in the road or sometimes the little road among the potholes. It’s kind of a unexplained phenomenon to me. On this one little road that dead-ends at the last beach there are portions of great road, portions scattered with potholes, portions where there are more potholes than road, and other portions where there is no road at all – rather sections of dirt, gravel, and rock. You are going along smooth, cemented road and then it transitions to dirt and gravel and you might think, “okay, this is where the road ends and now its gravel for the last few kilometers” but no, suddenly its nice and smooth and paved again, then potholes, then gravel, and then one of those famous one-lane Costa Rican bridges. Always an adventure.

Okay, so Armando and I made it about 10 kilometers or so down south to the beach at Manzanillo, sat on the beach a little, rode around some more, and then decided to have lunch at a great restaurant called Maxi’s. It may be popular because it is really the only restaurant in Manzanillo, but it also has good food. I had eaten there both of the first 2 times I had been to Manzanillo – back in April during my first weekend in Costa Rica, and also in July when the group from Colorado came on their beach day. We had a great lunch, including some fabulous grilled corn on the cob, some sort of squash purée-mix thing that I don’t know what exactly it was but it tasted good, grilled veggies for me, baked plantains, salad, and the popular Caribbean dish of “rice and beans” that is made with coconut milk. After our lunch, which took quite a bit of time because although the food was good the service was anything but prompt, we headed back to the scooters to make our trek back to Puerto Viejo. Mine started up just fine but Armando had a bit of trouble getting his going. After several failed attempts to use the automatic starter, he remember the rental guy had told him that sometimes it had troubles starting and had explained a way to start it using a foot pedal thing. Well that didn’t work for him either, so there we were, 10 kilometers away from our rental shop and with only one functioning scooter. It was now almost 4:00pm and I had to be back in Limón for my English class at 6:30pm so we definitely didn’t have a lot of time to dealing with a dead scooter. Armando called the rental shop and the guy told him to give it about five minutes, then do a couple little things and try the foot-start method again and if that didn’t work, then he would come down and pick us up. As we were waiting this guy with a table full of handmade jewelry and the like was trying to sell us his goods. He was a nice enough guy but we weren’t really in the mode for shopping, just for getting our scooters back on the road.

After five minutes we were definitely praying for some life from our little friend Blue Scooter as Armando gave it another shot. This time it sputtered to life and Armando gave it some gas to keep the motor running. Only thing was, out of enthusiasm and excitement that it was back in action, he forgot to squeeze the breaks as he did so. So the scooter leaped in a forward motion, and once again my heart when into a panic in a split second as I saw the scooter heading straight toward our neighbor the entrepreneur and his table of carefully laid-out jewelry. I had visions of impending doom as the scooter would crash with the table, knock off the jewelry, and maybe even continue in its destructive path into the bar and patio behind. Praise the Lord though that it all came to a halt with the bike stopping at the feet of the salesman and at the edge of the table, and the only damage being a glass bottle that broke as it fell off the railing that Armando had a slight collision with. As I realized that no major damage to person or property had occurred, my only thought was “let’s get out of here.”

Once we were safely scooting ourselves far, far, away, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter as I relived the scene in my head and pictured the startled face of the jewelry man as the scooter came darting toward him, only to halt a hair’s length away from his table of goods. Plus there was Armando’s equally startled face followed by a look of relief and embarrassment. I suddenly had an idea of what I must have looked like during and after my whole scene with the truck in the street, and how Armando must have felt as he watched me, unable to do anything. We both laughed our way home, as our racing hearts were brought down to normal speed once again. Now we knew exactly what it was like to be on both sides of the story – the one to be having the “out of control” moment and the one to be useless and helpless as they watch with visions of destruction flashing before their eyes. We both were ready to get back to the rental shop, turn in our scooters, get our full deposit back (please, please), and be back in the car where it was safe! Ha! But we did indeed make it back without further incident (and enjoyed ourselves along the way, too) and upon complete inspection of both scooters, the rental guy did return our full deposit. So by 5:00pm we were back on the road headed toward Limón, a little later than planned, but safe and secure and quite pleased with our great day and the adventures and stories we had added to our repertoire. Lesson of the day: Scooters are very fun to ride and appear simple to operate, which is true if you know where the brakes are and remember to apply them when starting. And as a helpful hint: don’t try and make your first tracks on the scooter in an uphill fashion while trying to turn and merge into traffic, nor attempt starting within 10 feet of a jewelry salesman and his stand. Happy scootering!

Happy October

Well it’s October now and I have only 10 more days left in Limón, so I am trying to take advantage of the little time left and do as much as possible. The past 2 days have been a prime example. On Saturday I was invited to join the congregation of Getsemani Baptist Church on an all-day outing. Kind of like an all-church, family picnic – Costa Rican style. We met at 8am and boarded buses for the 30 minute ride out or town to our destination. As people had arrived and loaded the buses with coolers and Tupperware containers I began to wonder – hmm, what kinds of things do Ticans take on picnics? Probably not the same potato salad and cold chicken thing that may be common at similar activities in the US. Turns out I was right – not quite the same. I was quite impressed with some of the things that were revealed and made available for the hungry after we had arrived at our location. Quite the smorgasbord really, with more traditional foods such as arroz con pollo (a rice with chicken dish) and beans (black or red and prepared in a sort of home-made refried style, and trust me, they taste WAY better than the canned stuff), plus “snack” foods like diced potatoes with chopped onion and cilantro and served on mini tortillas and one of my new favorite things: peyibijes which are really hard to explain but it’s a type of food that looks like an acorn and you boil it then peel off the skin and then eat it with a sprinkle of salt and/or a little mayo. I don’t really know how to describe the taste either – they are kind of dry, and it is a little bit stringy-like. Its orange in color and I would say that it might be kind of similar to what a pumpkin might be like if you cooked it (not the guts inside, but the shell part, minus the outer skin of course). Anyway, I think that is probably a really bad description, but chances are you might not like the taste so much anyway (my parents were not a big fan) but hey, I like it. So anyway, truth be told that my first experience with a Costa Rican “picnic” was quite impressive. People even brought their rice cookers to plug in and heat up the rice dishes and water heaters to make coffee. There were even some American standards as well: pasta salad, tuna salad, crackers, cookies, chocolates, and the like. So the day was spent at this private park place with 2 pools, water slides, soccer field (of course) and tables and chairs, etc. Oh yeah, and one very non-American side item: a monkey on a leash. Seriously. I guess the owners of this little place have a pet monkey because about halfway through the day this guy walked out with a monkey on a rope and then tied him to the fence post. It really was quite the sight to see a monkey leashed up like a dog or something. It did provide quite a lot of amusement and entertainment for us though, we were all taking pictures and some people were even petting it or letting it sit on their shoulder. Everything was hunky-dory until the monkey got mad and grabbed onto a girl’s leg and bit her foot. Yikes. No major damage though, she made it out alive and was a lot less freaked out than I would have been! All in all it was a good day though of hanging out, getting to know some of the members better, and definitely feeling like I was a welcomed part of their “family.” And that is not to mention another ever-important life lesson learned: “It’s all just fun and games until the monkey decides to sink his teeth into your foot.”
Now today is Sunday and I have already been at church for 6 hours today and will be leaving here in a few minutes for a few more. Some may think that I am crazy, or have a lot to confess, but it really has been quite a blessed day. I started off by visiting the Progressive Baptist Church for their service at 8:00am. This is one of the churches that had participated in the Youth Camp we had back in July, and I had been wanting to go back and visit them but for various reasons had not had a good opportunity until today. It was great to see Pastor Armando and also a lot of the young people who I had met at the camp. Pastor Armando had a great message to share with the congregation, and I had the opportunity to share with them just a few words of thanks to them for welcoming me so warmly and how appreciative I am for the opportunity God has given me to be here and how I have learned just how much He loves me. That service ended just before 11, so I grabbed a cab and headed over to my regular stomping grounds at the First Baptist Church in time for the 11:00am service there. Then it was home at 2:00pm when I was good and ready to eat, and my little Sunday afternoon treat: Grey’s Anatomy. Of course they are about a season behind here, but I got on board the Grey’s train late anyway, so to me it feels like new material on prime time Thursday night television. And now I must sign off to finish off what has become my typical Sunday in Limón by attending the 6:30pm service at Getsemani Baptist. Before I came to Limón, I don’t think I had ever attended a Baptist Church in my life, and now I made it to 3 in one day. Just another of the many unexpected blessings of this whole experience