Nosara and home

We had planned to spend our second to last night in Manuel Antonio Nat’l Park, but then realized that it would require a lot of time driving, probably not worth it for just one night’s stay.  So we decided instead to spend a night in Nosara, a small town south of Playa Flamingo that came highly recommended by some friends.  We reluctantly left the cushy Playa Flamingo for another drive, all on paved roads except for the last half hour.  Not a bad drive, except for the squabbling from the back seat.  Once we arrived in Nosara, we experienced the worst roads of our trip.  We learned that evening at dinner that this was the worst time to be in Nosara, and it had rained for 5 days straight before we arrived, which wreaks havoc on the already rough roads. Puddles nearly engulfed the road in some spots, and little rivers flowed across.  Our trusty Kia made it through however.  

With some effort and driving around the confusing maze of sketchy roads, we found the Gilded Iguana, recommended in our guide book under the “Inexpensive” section.  There we got a very fine room that slept 6 for $60.  In the room was a surfboard rack, indicative of why many come to Nosara.  Our friends and guide book had both told us that Nosara is known for surfing and yoga.   We also had heard about the Montessori school here, the Del Mar Academy, so we made a pilgrimage to check it out, even though it was Saturday and no school was in session. We walked around the grounds and peeked in the windows to see the very familiar looking materials.   It would be a dream for all 3 of our kids to finish the school year here (it goes through 6^th grade), but at $1000 per kid per month, it’s just not quite in line with our plan to live frugally.  We also took a spin through the town of Nosara that is several miles from the coast.  Here we saw the little airport and stopped at the grocery store.  Otherwise there did not seem to be much to the town itself.  We spent some time at the beach, which was lovely, and enjoyed a most magical sunset.

Del Mar Academy Montessori school in Nosara

Nosara sunset, with picturesque puddle in foreground.

In our room was a sign about why the hotel does not provide bottled water.  Basically, 1) bottled water is killing our planet, and 2) the water here in the Nicoya Peninsula is safe to drink and actually quite healthful due to high levels of calcium and magnesium, possibly contributing to the Blue Zone effect.  People here just live longer.  Cool!  Read more here: http://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/education/expeditions/nicoya-costa-rica/

We read that the Gilded Iguana is a popular expat hangout, and we ran into two groups of expats at dinner. One was a group of Swiss/ French families who are the owners of Cafe de Paris in Nosara, and whose kids attend Del Mar.  The other was a retired American couple who built a very large house in the hills above Nosara.  All loved Nosara and Costa Rica in general.

The next morning before breakfast we have the pleasure of a small earthquake.  It was quite short, and we learned later that it was magnitude 4.6.  Just a temblor, an aftershock to the 7.6 earthquake on September 5, centered not far from Nosara.

Breakfast at the Gilded Iguana.  Sully plays boules in background.

Hearty "Tico surfer" breakfast.

On our last full day in Costa Rica, we drove back across the Nicoya Peninsula and back to San Jose.  We made a side trip further down the coast first to check out Samara and Playa Carrillo, both small beach towns, reminiscent of Manzanita in Oregon.  Unlike Nosara, the roads in and around these towns were completely paved.   Perhaps “Nosarans” prefer to keep their roads unpaved and their town a little less accessible.  Seems that the roads have not kept the visitors away!

We had some impressive rain on the drive back along the Pan American Highway to San Jose, but it had let up by the time we stopped for a quick driving tour of Grecia and Sarchi.  We noted that Grecia would be a good place to buy a car, as there were an impressive number of used car dealers on the road in.  The hills around these parts were lovely, with coffee and sugar cane growing in harmony.

Our last night, spent in a Hampton Inn near the airport, rather made us feel that we were already back in the US.  We skipped the Denny’s however and chose the Rosti Pollo for dinner.  Although a chain restaurant, it was a Costa Rican chain restaurant!  The kids and I had an early flight, so Nik dropped us at the airport, then returned to the hotel for more sleep and what sounded like the most amazing Hampton Inn breakfast I’ve ever heard of, including gallo pinto.

We were sad to leave Costa Rica, but knowing that we will be back in a few months was quite exciting.  It is a beautiful country that just seems to seep into your soul.  This trip was a perfect introduction, and we are eager to experience the country, culture, and super friendly people more deeply by living here for a while.

Playa Flamingo

No question our crew was excited to hit the beach.  Nik’s confidence in our ability to navigate the roads had never been better.  On the road out of Monteverde, we spotted one really good-sized lizard on the dirt road.  Again, it seemed that every small town has a church, a school, at least one soda (restaurant) and usually a soccer field.  Is it required by law?  

Once we returned to the Pan American Highway, there were great paved roads almost all the way to Playa Flamingo.  We had one sketchy moment near Nicoya, where there was a busy bridge that was down to one lane due to road work.  Unlike in the US, there was nobody there to direct traffic.  We found ourselves stuck for a while facing down a long line of traffic coming the other way.  Eventually there was a break and Nik lead the charge from our side across the bridge.

Our driving adventure for the day.

Daiquiri welcome to Flamingo Beach Resort

Perfect.

We spent four nights at Playa Flamingo, and it felt like a vacation within our vacation.  We spent hours in the pool and the surf; the beach was just across a dirt road from the pool.  October being the height of the rainy season, we did have our share of rain, but the benefit was that it was never terribly hot.  We discovered that swimming in the pouring rain is really quite fun, and rain without cold is a pleasure we just don’t get to experience in Portland.  We ventured out to nearby restaurants two nights, both right on the beach.  The other two nights we enjoyed happy hour and dinner at the open air second floor resort bar overlooking the beach.  Rough life!  

Our two journeys out during these days of leisure were to nearby Brasilito to buy a boogie board, and to Liberia in search of a laundromat.  We drove the streets of Liberia, a pleasant town, much smaller than San Jose, and saw many shoppers and uniformed students just out of school.  No luck finding a lavanderia however, even with some vague directions from a policia turistica, so we returned to Playa Flamingo with our dirty clothes.  After that we decided that washing clothes was overrated and made do with the cleanish clothes we had left.  With the humidity, things take quite a while to dry so it did not seem feasible to wash things and hang them to dry.  Erica had talked with an expat from New York who pointed out that living at the beach was hard on clothes, and we did notice a couple of our things starting to turn green, like everything else in Costa Rica.  

After four lovely days, it was time to pack up again and move on down the coast.

Dinner at a soda in Playa Flamingo

Camoron Dorado in Brasilito

Still fun in the rain!

Boogie board in action

On Playa Flamingo

Our little shell hounds were satisfied.

Monteverde: Beautiful scenery and scorpion attack!

We successfully and somewhat reluctantly left the Arenal Observatory Lodge early in the day.  I eagerly anticipated the drive to Monteverde but again admit to some trepidation about the road quality.  Our route took us north to Lake Arenal, and we began our counterclockwise trek around the lake on a nicely paved road.  A stunning site itself, the lake today is a result of a dam that now provides 85% of the country’s electricity.  I’ve no idea what environmental impact there was from building it but there was a town that was displaced when the lake was created.  This is why the nearby town is called “Neuvo Arenal”.  We did not indulge in kayaking, kiteboarding, windsurfing, hiking or mountain biking that make the lake such a popular spot.

We love car rides on curvy roads!

Steep rocky road with hillsides of coffee.

As expected, after leaving the lake, past Tilaron, the road became dirt again.  After a couple of hours of slow, rocky driving and beautiful rural countryside, we successfully reached Santa Elena, a small town in close proximity to the famous Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.  We arrived at the quaint Arco Iris Lodge, a beautiful small hotel dotted with fruit trees bursting with lemons, bananas and oranges.  Little did we know that our idyllic utopia would soon be soured by an unwanted animal encounter. 

Henry and Sullivan were happily playing with some toys in a basket while I was using the wifi in the reception building.  Henry noticed that his finger suddenly began hurting really badly and was turning red and swelling.  We didn’t see any splinters and he didn’t appear to be acutely dying so we agreed just to watch him.  I offered medicine from my kit but he refused.  

The single afflicted digit.

Five minutes later he looked in the basket again and saw a three inch brown scorpion, his attacker!  My heart rate quickened but Hen was just fine.  We told the ladies working there what happened, they looked at the offender, decreed he was harmless and proceeded to ensure he would not ever sting anyone again.  Henry was totally symptom-free within a couple of hours.

The evil attacker.

For a change of scenery we signed up for a guided night hike through a nearby protected reserve, in the complete darkness but with plenty of flashlights.  A natural segue to our first scorpion sting.  Again, an unbelievable place.  I developed a healthy amount of respect for the skills of these guides for finding creatures, especially at night.  We saw more than 20 kinds of animals in those two hours!  Without a doubt for me the highlight was seeing (in the darkness) bioluminescent fungi on a tree with firefly larvae nearby.  Wow.  The deadly green pit viper, snail-eating snake, sleeping toucans, frogs, olingo (fast-moving mammal in the canopy), stick spiders and HUGE mating walking sticks kept our crew quite entertained.  After performing thorough scorpion checks on all the beds, we all slept exceedingly well.

Leaf katydid.

 The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is renowned as one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world.  It seemed to us, though, that much of that biodiversity didn’t want to show itself.  Admittedly, it’d be hard to top the night before.  This particular reserve is home to more than 200 species of orchids as well as numerous species of epiphytes (plants that derive their hydration and nutrients from the air alone).  We are ignorant of most of the types of flora, but it sure looks foreign and exotic.  

Erica.  Epiphytes.

The birdsongs were surreal.  For every bird we were able to see I’m sure there were 20 that we didn’t.  We did not spot an elusive Resplendent Quetzal, which we think is the national bird of Costa Rica.  Watched a couple of large tarantulas on our trail and successfully circumvented a large green snake that appeared to be ready to strike if we didn’t move on.  Not sure how much more we would have seen with a guide but had a pleasant stroll during our few hours there.  There was only a small amount of crying over a new stuffed animal monkey for Sullivan because his beloved stuffed puppy Scrappy was left at home in Portland. 

Check your shoes.

Nothing to see here.

As we try to avoid touristy restaurants serving more American food, we ate dinner at a different soda than the night before, which is the Tico name for an informal restaurant that serves “typical” food.  More delicious rice, beans, plantains and juice.  Talked for a while with the family who runs the soda and their toddler granddaughter who greatly offended Sullivan by slobbering all over his beloved stuffed monkey she was playing with.  Another super friendly family.  We managed to avoids any more bites or stings that evening.

Arenal

Amazingly, picking up Erica and the kids, renting a car and getting on the road could not really have gone much more smoothly.  Taking the advice of our trusted and well traveled friends Tim, Wendy and Natalie, we opted for a regular car, not a 4x4, which is more expensive, might attract more attention and isn't absolutely required.  Or so we hope.

All but the last 11 km of the road to the famous Arenal (volcano) Natonal Park is paved.  We left busy San Jose and left the Pan American Highway at San Ramon.  The pace slowed and the lovely Costa Rican countryside began to unfold.  Many slow, curvy roads and idyllic rural scenes.  Each small town seemed to have its share of cows, a school and a typically colorful church.  After grabbing some snacks and lunch food to keep with us in La Fortuna we began the dirt road phase of the trip, with only a little initial anxiety. 

Soon thereafter we spotted a few toucans in a nearby tree and our excitement level grew quickly.  About a half an hour later, and most importantly, before dark, we arrived at the Arenal Observatory Lodge.  We had survived the road without much difficulty, with all car parts intact and entered the grounds of one of the most spectacular places I've ever been.  The lodge was initially a Smithsonian research station due to the fact that it’s located a mere 1.7 miles from the crater itself.  We were reassured that the location is safe because there is a river between the lodge and the crater.  None of us had ever been so close to an active volcano that routinely spews steam, rocks and lava.  As the story goes, prior to the rather large eruption in 1968, the volcano was thought to be a mountain.  In the days preceding the large eruption, many animals were noted to be leaving the area in large numbers.  We enjoyed the views, ate and hit the sack for some much-needed rest for weary travelers.

We feasted on breakfast that included fresh pineapple, papaya, mango and watermelon.  These fruits and their juices are cheap and widespread.  We joined a free (!) tour of the 60 acre resort.  Before the tour even began, several howler monkeys were spotted high up in the canopy.  Never before has an animal been more appropriately named.  Though only about two feet tall, males produce an extremely impressive dog bark/zombie scream/nightmarish noise that can be heard more than a mile away.  An exciting introduction for us all to the fauna of Costa Rica.  

The walk through the grounds was absolutely fascinating and included exotic birds, snakes, coffee plants, tropical flowers, prehistoric ferns, vines to swing on, a waterfall and even several pizotes who are related to raccoons.  One tour highlight was getting to know a gregarious Costa Rican family, Albero, Xinia and their daughter who must’ve been 9 or so.  All the conversation was in Spanish and we’ve promised to keep in touch by email.

Nuevos amigos.

One of the pizote crew.

We wasted away the afternoon swimming in the pool, from where it’s easy to watch steam erupt from the volcano.  A favorite diversion of our crew for sure.  In the span of a single hour, Sullivan progressed from stubborn refusal to put his face in the water to swimming on his own with a snorkel and mask!  

Bridge to the pool.

Local wildlife.

Many more critters were spotted including some impressive lizards.  We enjoyed the sport of thunderstorm watching from the lodge and noted how much harder it rains here than at home in Portland.  But it’s still warm!  At night again we couldn’t see any actual lava spewing from the volcano but slept without this fear as well.  Would love to return to this special place again.

San Jose school days

What an exciting but tiring week this has been! I've just finished up a week of intensive Spanish immersion at a small school in San Jose, Costa Rica. Two hours each of grammar, medical Spanish and conversation. My skills have improved from mediocre to not quite as mediocre. It's been a gift to have a week to focus on nothing else but my brain is tired.

Here is a picture of my classroom. In my first class of the day I was one of two students. The other was a German college student, one of a group of about 8 from Germany, all of whom are doing a month at the school followed by a month at the beach working to preserve sea turtle habitat. The remainder of the students were two interesting American brothers, one of whom plays computer poker for a living. His brother will enter the peace corps in a few months and has aspirations of becoming a diplomat. Our profesoras were kind, energetic and interesting teachers with a lot of patience.

Catalina was my host for my weeklong homestay. She is very friendly, a great cook of typical Tico food and an accomplished painter. She hosts students of all ages from all over the world and loves a lot of conversation. Because her English is very limited, my education continued outside of the classroom.

Pictured also are mamon chino, a sweet white fruit with a pit inside. I finally figured out that the reason they looked so familiar was that as kids we enjoyed them in Singapore, where they are known as rambutans. A nice surprise. When I tried to buy just four from the street vendor lady here, she would not let me pay and instead insisted that I take them as a gift. Typical example of generosity and friendliness seen here.

Of course San Jose is not utopia. Because petty crime is an issue here, most houses have bars on them. I found this a bit jarring at first, in addition to the fact that I was in a part of the world new to me, and alone. To add to the adventure is the fact that roads here don't have names nor houses numbers. Typical for Central America. I managed not to get lost and did feel settled in. Though it's been a city of contrasts so far, my overwhelming impression is positive, especially due to the friendly folks and the culture of kindness. Looking forward to picking up Erica and the kids and starting the vacation phase of our trip!

The journey continues

Though it's been a year, our adventures resume once more. Plans have evolved and the next step begins today. I've flown to Ohio for a few days to visit my family and watch the Buckeyes triumph yet again.

At this moment I'm sitting at the gate waiting to start the journey to Costa Rica. I'll be in a Spanish immersion school for a week and then Erica and the kids will fly into San Jose. We'll head out for ten days of fun and adventure, but also to scope out the scene. Our current plan is to move to Costa Rica in February!! Looking forward to some mixing it up for a while. Details to follow. . .

Nik