The morning was pleasant and we got a 30 second glimpse of the top of the active Arenal Volcano. Hannif and I decided we wanted to go to Rio Celeste, which is a beautiful, off the beaten path river with amazing colors and waterfalls. While trying to figure out how to get there (headache) and where to stay (headache), we decided to instead go to Monteverde due to conveniance and the possibility of reaching Rio Celeste from there.
We had to wait from 11:30 until 14:30 for the transport and asked the gentleman working at the hostel if there were any waterfalls we could walk to. We (Hannif, another Israeli, and myself) took a 25 minute walk to a sweet swimming spot just off the side of a road. 10 foot water falls dropping into a nice deep pool and a ROPE SWING! This was a blast, so much fun and the highlight of the trip so far. It was most amusing watching Hannif deliberate for over an hour whether to jump with the rope swing (10? foot drop) and struggling to simply walk into the water because it was 'cold' (65-70* F) . He did finally jump and seemed to be proud of himself for overcoming his fears.
The ride to Monteverde ($22) was a 3-hour Van-Boat-Van transport which turned out to be very scenic and enjoyable. It cost $15 more than trying to piece together an 8+ hour public bus ride, but I think it was well worth it in the end. We met a couple other solo travelers on the transport, David from Switzerland and Kris from the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. They got in on Monday as well, and also met on the way to La Fortuna...now there is four of us staying at Pension Santa Elena ($7), a hip and crowded hostel right in downtown Santa Elena (where most people stay when they speak of Monteverde).
Had a nice dinner at the place reccomended at the hostel as where the locals go to each lunch. Rice and black beans, marinated beef and pasta salad for 2800 colones ($5.02). Big portion and a much needed meal.
So Costa Rica is expensive. It's not cheap, don't let people tell you that. It's not. There are restaurants here in Santa Elena that charge $12 for a burrito, there are bars that chared $2.50 for the standard Imperial beer. The only thing that is reasonably cheap are the hostels. Maybe I've just been in too touristy of areas, but these areas are touristy for a reason, because there's stuff to see and do. Costa Rica = America + Spanish Language
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
La Fortuna
Yeah, it got better. I decided to take the 11:30 bus to La Fortuna and some how managed to find the right bus station. I basically counted the streets up from the main drag to make sure I was on Avenue 7 and then started walking west until I thought it seemed the right amount of distance and started looking for where the buses were headed. I got into what seemed like a shadier area of town and saw 3 buses parked up a side street and there it was - Atlantico del Norte. Well at least I thought, I had no way of telling so I actually asked somebody. Baby steps...Aqui, Aqui...La Fortuna.
Paid the 1955 colones ($3.51), well actually I'm 99% sure I paid 2955 ($5.31) colones because the ticket seller ripped me off until it was too late for me to realize...lesson learned. And fact reaffirmed - that it is easier to get around a Latin American country when you can converse in the language. Met a guy from Israel (Hannif...spelling?) on the bus and it turns out he is in a similar boat as far as plans for the next couple weeks go...nothing definite planned. He does however, speak fluent spanish, and seems a bit miffed or possibly superior to the other travelers he has met that do not speak spanish (like me).
The four hour bus ride turned into a five hour bus ride most likely due to people getting dropped off in front of their houses. Lots of random stops. Got to La Fortuna and of course it was raining with no visability of the Volcano. I'm now at Arenal Backpacker's Resort ($14) which is very nice and reccommended.
Hannif and I decided to spend the extra $20+ and go to the nicer Tabacon hot springs which turned out to be amazing. Very scenic and natural environement with a nice series of water falls one could sit under and be naturally massaged by hot, spring water. Very relaxing and a great experience, but no worth the extra money over the other springs in the area (although I did not visit Baldi or Eco).
Tomorrow's plan is up in the air depending on weather...
Paid the 1955 colones ($3.51), well actually I'm 99% sure I paid 2955 ($5.31) colones because the ticket seller ripped me off until it was too late for me to realize...lesson learned. And fact reaffirmed - that it is easier to get around a Latin American country when you can converse in the language. Met a guy from Israel (Hannif...spelling?) on the bus and it turns out he is in a similar boat as far as plans for the next couple weeks go...nothing definite planned. He does however, speak fluent spanish, and seems a bit miffed or possibly superior to the other travelers he has met that do not speak spanish (like me).
The four hour bus ride turned into a five hour bus ride most likely due to people getting dropped off in front of their houses. Lots of random stops. Got to La Fortuna and of course it was raining with no visability of the Volcano. I'm now at Arenal Backpacker's Resort ($14) which is very nice and reccommended.
Hannif and I decided to spend the extra $20+ and go to the nicer Tabacon hot springs which turned out to be amazing. Very scenic and natural environement with a nice series of water falls one could sit under and be naturally massaged by hot, spring water. Very relaxing and a great experience, but no worth the extra money over the other springs in the area (although I did not visit Baldi or Eco).
Tomorrow's plan is up in the air depending on weather...
Monday, November 23, 2009
Costa Rica...Arrival
I flew out of Orlando International Airport (MCO) this morning at 7:25AM and arrived in Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) around 11:40AM local time. It's called the San Jose airport, but it is actually in Alajuela which is a 20+ minute bus ride to downtown San Jose. First bus ride attempt, I ended up getting off in Alajuela and walking around for a bit (an hour?) before I realized I was not in San Jose where I wanted to be. Paid another 400 Colones (72 cents) and found my way to San Jose where I preceded to continue my confused wandering with absolutely NO street signs and a very limited ability to speak Spanish.
I eventually found Costa Rican Backpackers Hostel ($12) and proceded to take a four hour nap after only a couple hours of sleep the night before. I awoke to a couple friendly dormmates from New York, British Columbia, and Germany and had a couple beers (Imperial - the beer of Costa Rica? = Budweiser equivilant) before returning to bed at a reasonable hour.
Exciting stuff, I know. But at least I'm here and planning on getting a bus to La Fortuna tomorrow to check out the Arenal Volcano and some Hot Springs.
I eventually found Costa Rican Backpackers Hostel ($12) and proceded to take a four hour nap after only a couple hours of sleep the night before. I awoke to a couple friendly dormmates from New York, British Columbia, and Germany and had a couple beers (Imperial - the beer of Costa Rica? = Budweiser equivilant) before returning to bed at a reasonable hour.
Exciting stuff, I know. But at least I'm here and planning on getting a bus to La Fortuna tomorrow to check out the Arenal Volcano and some Hot Springs.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Flight Observations
Flight 19 - Alaska Airlines - Orlando (MCO) to Seattle/Tacoma (SEA)
- I might be the only person on the plane that didn’t go to Super Bowl XLIII
- The Alaska Airlines magazine has Hawaii on the cover
- The little girl next to me constantly “incidentally” kicked or bumped me hoping to get my attention, which she never got
- I’m glad I paid $5 for the snack pack instead of the cheeseburger – at least I knew what I was eating hadn’t been sitting in a heating pan for the last 9 hours - wait a minute, I paid $5 for some crackers, cheese, craisins and pretzels?
- First class would be a good investment on a transcontinental flight
- I’m kind of proud of the fact that I was the last person to board a sold-out flight
- 6+ Hour flight and no visits to the lavatory
- I might be the only person on the plane that didn’t go to Super Bowl XLIII
- The Alaska Airlines magazine has Hawaii on the cover
- The little girl next to me constantly “incidentally” kicked or bumped me hoping to get my attention, which she never got
- I’m glad I paid $5 for the snack pack instead of the cheeseburger – at least I knew what I was eating hadn’t been sitting in a heating pan for the last 9 hours - wait a minute, I paid $5 for some crackers, cheese, craisins and pretzels?
- First class would be a good investment on a transcontinental flight
- I’m kind of proud of the fact that I was the last person to board a sold-out flight
- 6+ Hour flight and no visits to the lavatory
Alaska!
This blog will now be focused on my life in Alaska! I'm moving to Wrangell to work as a Field Instructor running 49 days courses for 12-18 year old kids with behavioral health issues.
As much as I love Outward Bound At-Risk, there was not sufficient work for me this spring/summer as a seasonal instructor and the timing was perfect for this job. They were closing in on the start of staff training and still needed a few more instructors when I contacted them. Things fell in to place and I'm on my way to Alaska!
As much as I love Outward Bound At-Risk, there was not sufficient work for me this spring/summer as a seasonal instructor and the timing was perfect for this job. They were closing in on the start of staff training and still needed a few more instructors when I contacted them. Things fell in to place and I'm on my way to Alaska!
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