(Click any picture to see it in full size; click here to skip my musing and just see the pictures)
Kerri and I left for Costa Rica on Saturday, New Years Eve, at the brisk hour of 3am. We were to be in Costa Rica for a week and after returning I'd be heading to Miami for another week. Therefore, in preparation for our end-of-January home purchase, we stayed up late the night before our Costa Rica trip painting our apartment. So needless to say, we were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as we waited in the sub-artic Chicago morning for the economy lot bus.
Our flight took off at 5am, but by the time we made our connection in Atlanta we were both wide awake and smiling. I read, Kerri watched Sky High, and the next thing we knew we were landing in Costa Rica!
While we waited for the our bags to arrive, Kerri taught me the Spanish phrases I deemed most crucial: "Necessito Banos" (I need the bathroom) and "Donde esta el bano?" (where is the bathroom?). As the trip went and my Spanish improved, I continued to refine and expand this key phrase to "Necesito desesperadamente el cuarto de baño" (I desperately need the bathroom) and "¡Estoy enfermo y necesito urgentemente el cuarto de baño!" (I am ill and need the bathroom!).
Our first destination was Quepos on the Pacific Coast. To get there we took Sansa Air. Never heard of it? Neither had we. Perhaps because the picture below shows its entire air fleet. To get to Sansa we had to leave the "International" terminal and walk the half block to the Sansa terminal. Kerri got to practice her Spanish by attempting "Where is Sansa?" on a airport employee, while I got to revel in the high 80 degree temperature.
The flight itself took about 30 minutes. Sitting within spitting distance of the pilot is an interesting, if not wholly comforting experience. It's surprisingly disconcerting to think that you could hear your pilot say "holy crap, what was that sound?"
But it was worth it for the view!
When we landed exhaustion started to set in (it was now around 4pm and we'd been up since 3am). So we grabbed the first shuttle we could find, and headed for our hotel. Checking in we were told that, because it was New Year's Eve, the hotel restaurant was offering a "1,001 Arabian Nights" buffet dinner. It was pricey (by Costa Rican or American standards) but we'd heard good things about the restaurant so we signed up (though we couldn't be seated until after 8:30) and headed for our room.
The hotel was neat. It had been described to us as "tree-house" like and that's as good a description as any. The hotel is built in a series of levels up the side of a mountain. Our room was a level above the restaurant and the room itself had two levels,. The bottom level had a small sitting area and bathroom, and the upper level had the bed. The room had lots of windows but they were just screened--no glass (this would become irksome as our stay prolonged because it meant we could here the clicking of the silverware in the restaurant below).
Time blurred. We snoozed, ate dinner (which was so-so), and went to bed.
Sometime in the middle of the night I went to the bathroom and met the other resident of our room, a bug I promptly named "Big Boy." I think it was a cockroach, and I know it was as big as my fist. I said a silent prayer that I didn't have to rename it "Bitey." I slowly backed out of the bathroom and suggested to Kerri that we switch sides because the side of the bed nearest the bathroom had a better breeze.
We were at Quepos because of Manuel Antonio National Park and its beautiful
beaches (and monkeys). The park itself is situated at the end of a long
winding, hilly road from Quepos. Most of the guide book's points of interest
are located along that road. So, since it was about 90 degrees and humid;
we'd noticed how quick drivers whipped around the narrow, sidewalk-free road; and
I estimated it was "only" two miles to the park, Kerri and I decided our first activity on our first full day in Costa Rica
would be to walk to the park. The picture to the right was probably taken
five minutes after starting.
But ultimately it was worth it. We stopped for breakfast at Cafe Milagro, a delicious (if thoroughly American) coffee shop. Kerri and I both got granola and fruit and a coffee drink. Kerri got some Vanilla concoction, and I got something called the "Milagro Monkey" (or some such); its description was "coffee, chocolate, banana, and one funky monkey". I was heartbroken to find upon being served that there wasn't a little plastic monkey hanging from my glass. But we all must cope with disappointment and heartbreak in our lives. This is my cross to bear.
We also saw our first wildlife on our Battan death mar...I mean "vacation hike."
This little fella. Oh, and we didn't get hit by a car, so I guess you can
consider it a successful hike.
And the payoff at the park made us forget all about the hike.
We took a path through the park and saw some other exotic wildlife. Like the guy below. I can't quite remember how you pronounce his name, but I think its something like RACK-CUNE.
Then we saw a crapload of monkeys
Time to eat and we headed to the beach-side "Soda" (a traditional Costa Rican eatery typically serving Casados-a plate of black beans, white rice, and some sort of meat). This one had finger-licking-good grilled chicken. And it was here that I got my first taste of that most exquisite of exotic beverages, "Coca Light". It also introduced us to the many glorious hot sauces Costa Rica has to offer. Anything can taste good with a good hot sauce on it.
Then we checked out the local merchants (initial impression confirmed throughout our trip-everybody sells the same cheap crap...exactly like America). Back to the hotel on the bus, with Kerri getting yelled at by the driver (don't ask me, she did it). And then to a rather uxceptional dinner at a restaurant at a nearby hotel.
Day 2 started back at the aforementioned unexceptional hotel restaurant for breakfast (they had Internet access and it just sorta happened). Then it was off to pick up a rental car. After a little scare that one wouldn't be available, we were given a Daihatsu Turago (think Suzuki sidekick without all that unnecessary horsepower). We were then off for Dominical and our hike into the rain forest.
The road to Dominical was...primitive. The roads in Quepos, while narrow, were paved and lined. But after passing the airport we'd flown into, the road became compressed dirt with A LOT of pot holes. They were wide-often three lanes wide-and virtually deserted. But the ride was far from luxurious.
About 30 minutes into the road became one of my favorite trip moments. The road had been virtually arrow straight and flat up to that point, but suddenly it curved to the right and head downhill...directly into a river. Now, there weren't any intersecting roads to this point, so it's not like we made a wrong turn. Nevertheless, if there hadn't been a car in front of us we surely would have assumed that we'd made a mistake and backtracked. Instead, the car in front of us plowed ahead, so I flipped on the four wheel drive and followed into the water. The water easily covered our wheels, but mighty Turago pushed through like a champ.
Finally we reached Hacienda Baru, the nature preserve where we'd be taking
our hike. We checked in and found our guide, or guides as it turned out.
One was a Costa Rican name Freddy, who thought he spoke much poorer English than
he actually did, and Sarah, a South Carolinian park ranger, who was volunteering at
the preserve for a month. We were a little late so we were looking around
for the rest of the hikers when it dawned on us that we were it. Two
guides, two guests; a pretty good ratio. We set off.
We hiked into the forest and up the mountain for about two hours. Every once in a while Freddy would stop and either point something close at hand out or focus his high-powered tripod binocular on something for us to see. We almost immediately saw a sloth, a tarantuala, a hummingbird nest, and a green poison dart frog. Oh, and we ate termites (judging from our volunteer guide's reaction--she'd already been on several night hikes--this was not exactly part of the standard spiel. Termites, incidentally, taste peanutty. Given the abundance of cocoa beans lying around, I was thinking about making myself a jungle Snickers).
Eventually we came upon our camp. I had been expected a couple tents and a pit toilet. Instead we found tents, yes, but tents build on solid platforms with roofs. The toilet, while in a wood shed, was of the flush type (water was piped in from a nearby stream). There was a pretty little central building with a picnic table and hammocks and even a shower (albeit without hot water). The hike made Kerri pretty, and me sweaty as can be seen below. We settled in and awaited nightfall.
As it grew dark, our guides prepared a simple Casado dinner (that had been hiked in earlier by others). Rice, black beans, chicken nuggets, and fresh lemonade. And Salsa Verde, which seems to be Costa Rican equivalent of Ketchup (understandably, it's delicious). This certainly blew away the expensive meals we'd had at restaurants so far.
It began to rain quite hard during dinner, so rather than head straight for our night hike after dinner, we sat around and talked for an hour or so (we didn't exactly have anyplace we had be). Kerri got to practice her Spanish, and we learned more about Costa Rica than we ever were going to back at our hotel.
When the rain tapered off, we headed into the forest. Many rain forest
animals are nocturnal, so hiking at night (with a guide who can actually find
them) is the best--sometimes only--way to see them. So Freddy grabbed his
high-powered flashlight and Kerri and I donned our headlamps and off we went,
following the course of a stream. Along the way we saw another tarantula
or two, many more translucent frogs, and finally came across our real target, the elusive red frog (the one they seem to put on the front of every guide book).
After that we were exhausted so we headed back to camp and sleep. But before crawling into our tent Kerri spotted one more animal. "Una pregunta, por favor."2 "Yes?" "Ummm, is that a scorpion next to our tent? "Yes, that's a scorpion." With that, he kicked it off the platform with his (flipflopped) foot.
The next morning (there was a middle of the night terror-filled trip to the bathroom that will remain unchronicled) we were fed a hearty breakfast of granola, hot coffee, cool fresh fruit, and warm milk (you've got to love a country where milk is considered a non-perishable...right along the mayonnaise which is OK in the sun all day). Then it was time for the hike back. Along the way there were only three really noteworthy occurrences.
1) we saw a really big tree
2) we saw a Toucan
3) I fell on my ass.
We got back to Hacienda Baru, said goodbye to our guides, cleaned up, and headed back to Quepos (with a brief detour to Dominical--a world famous surfing beach--for some Tres Leches).
We were back in Quepos around 3pm (Kerri forded the river on the way back) and the rest of the day was spent just meandering around. We hit some beach stalls looking for Christmas presents for my nieces and nephews and wandered through Quepos to get a feel for a less touristy part of town. By now we were convinced sodas were the way to go food-wise, so we picked one at random and had a great dinner.
We took off early the next morning for our next destination, Monteverde, about five hours up the coast and into the mountains. Along the way we ate lunch at another soda (and had another great meal with more great hot sauce). Then we went over a bridge and saw theses:
(the last picture was taken through our binoculars trying to mimic Freddy's trick. It worked pretty well)
The trip from Quepos to Monteverde was paved until we hit the mountains. From there in (about 25km) the road was straight up and unpaved. And the guard between us a thousand-mile drop was my steely-eyed determination and the surefootedness of mighty Turago (pause as I beat my chest triumphantly).
(...while Kerri sighs and waits)
Arriving in Monteverde/St. Elena, we immediately went to sign up for a zipline canopy tour the next day and then eat. We ended up having Hawaiian pizza, which was so-so.
Trying to find our hotel we began to worry a bit as we grew to realize how
far away from most of the other hotels and tourist locations it was. We
needn't have been concerned. When we found it, we discovered that it was
called the Sunset Hotel because it has a breathtaking western panoramic view
down the mountains, across the Bay of Nicoyo, and of the Nicoyo Peninsula. We
settled in to relax and await the sunset.
After watching the sunset (beautiful, if not as good as the one from Great Diamond Island, Maine) It was into town to explore. We'd only just eaten lunch around 3pm, so neither of us was particularly hungry. So instead we browsed the local supermarket (purchasing some Coco Krispis with, shockingly, a different mascot on the box) and checked our email for any word on our condo. Then we hit a local bakery for some snacks for dinner. We ended up getting three savory pastries (stuffed with sausage, ham, and potato, respectively) and a tres leches (I had to see if it was as good as the one in Dominical. It wasn't).
The next morning we were up early and off to the zipline. Though the most touristy thing we did on the trip, it was also one of the coolest (and the one thing that I am still telling myself "holy sh*t, I can't believe I did that".
For those of you who don't know, a zipline is a rope or, in this case, a
metal wire strung between two locations like a clothesline. You put a pulley
on that line, hold onto the pulley (with your harness attached, too), and slide down the line. That's what we
did. But really, really high on lines really, really long.
Specifically, we did 11 ziplines, the highest being x meters (y feet) above the
ground and the longest being x meters (y feet, or z miles). You're in the
mountains so you're zipping from point to point above (sometimes quite a bit
above) the trees. Hence the "canopy" tour moniker.
Now, I'm was, am, and forever will be afraid of heights. But I actually did quite well on this. (Addition from Kerri: One of my favorite moments from the trip: Martin and I are winding around and around up the initial tower to the tour. My knees are shaking, and my hands are slick with sweat. I'm silently repeating, "You can do this, Kennedy. You can do this." Then I hear Martin mutter behind me, "Well, this is the part where they'd usually weed me out.") You start off on a very mild, short zipline to get used to the sensation. It's not bad at all. It's not anything like a roller coaster, where you drop hundreds of feet and your stomach follows a couple of seconds later.
I was able to capture one short video of Kerri coming in on one of the last ziplines. Because the last two ziplines are so long, there's a greater chance of you not having enough momentum to make it all the way so you do the lines in tandem. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to do them together, so you'll see Kerri coming in with one of the guides.
After the zipline tour, we took a similar, if less adrenaline-filled walk on 12 suspension bridges. These also are high above the trees, and in some ways were scarier than the zipline. But after the thrill of the zipline, this felt a little boring (though we did have a good view of the last zipline).
After the zipline we headed to Monteverde Cloud Forest to sign up for an
afternoon hike. When we got
there we were told that the afternoon hikes
were full but we could sign up for a hike that was leaving immediately, so we
did. This turned out to be something of a disappointment. We ended
up being grouped with a family with four kids around 10, who were obviously
bored after the first half hour and were going stir crazy by hour two. But
we finally saw a quetzal, which according to people in the know is THE bird
that bird watchers die to see. We saw it, we took some pictures, we went
to eat lunch, we decided we're kinda mammal people.
Lunch at a place called Stella's Bakery. Pretty good, but seeing as we hadn't had a real meal in about 24 hours, at the time it tasted the the fruit of olympus.
After that we did a little more shopping, relaxed for a bit at the hotel, and then headed to another hole-in-the-wall soda for our last real Costa Rican meal. Again, a great meal for dirt cheap. The owner spent some time waitering in Clearwater Florida, so we spent a lot of time talking to him. Nice guy.
The next morning we unfortunately had to pack up and hit the road (actual sequence of events: breakfast at the hotel, try to check out, realize they don't take credit cards and we don't have enough money on hand to pay cash. Head for ATM. ATM won't give us money. Head into Bank through multiple layers of stringent security brought about by hostage situation previous spring. I go to pay for the hotel while Kerri hits the bakery for plane snacks. Pay for the hotel. Realize Kerri has room key. Realize we're now an hour behind schedule. Head back to town to pick up Kerri. Head back to hotel to drop off key. Finally head out of town.) Heading down a mountain is surprisingly faster than heading up it.
And the rest was just bland four-hour drive to the airport and the flight home. Or perhaps it only felt bland because I developed a serious fever and stomach cramps. There truly is nothing like waking up both drenched in sweat and yet shivering after returning from a foreign country to induce mild panic (is it Ebola?!?) But a few days worth of good old-fashion, made-in-the-USA antibiotics and I'm right as rain. Take that, Bubonic Plague.
So clearly we had a great time. This was, embarrassingly, my first time outside of the U.S. and Cleaner-and-Friendlier Northern U.S. (Canada). Now that I've done it once, I'm already ready for my next trip (maybe Greece, maybe Thailand or Vietnam). The perspective it gives you on your own life by viewing the lives of others is worth the price of the plane tickets. No doubt, had someone simply described the home our Hacienda Baru guide Freddy shared with his family prior to the trip, I would have assumed they were living in abject poverty: a tiny home with many family members, no windows, an aluminum sheet roof. But after talking to Freddy I realized that, though not opulent, their home served its purposes and they simply put money toward other things. It's small with a lot of family members, but their family is very close. There are no windows and much of it is open air, because it is hot and that keeps the house cool. Aluminum sheet roofs may not be fancy, but they're long-lasting, cheap, and do the job. Our hotel in Quepos, in fact, used them (and they sound great in the rain).
In retrospect, our biggest mistakes on the trip were a) eating too many meals (three) in hotel restaurants when we could have been saving money, eating yummier food, and possibly meeting interesting locals by eating those meals in local sodas; and b) renting a car. At the time I felt like I needed the car as a refuge. But everyone else in the country travels by bus. Who knows what adventures we missed by zipping down the road in mighty (and expensive) Turago.
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