Nicaragua

Thanks to Costa Rican visa requirements, today we ventured to Nicaragua, a first for us all. We drove about two and a half hours to the border. We managed to figure out where the secure parking was, parked our car and walked away to Costa Rican immigration. After a very short wait, our passports were stamped and we walked across the border to Nicaragua.

The contrasts were striking. It was immediately clear that Nicaragua is not as economically gifted as Costa Rica at this point in time. The people we met, however, seemed to be equally friendly. We were escorted to the Nicaraguan immigration and paid US$70 for our family to enter. This is customary when entering Nicaragua, so we have read.

With a little bit of help, we managed to find the local bus that would take us towards Granada. We were impressed with the heat, how busy everything was and by all of the people selling food and drinks on the bus. We managed to strike up some conversations with people on the bus. We talked about baseball. We talked about Nicaragua. We exchanged some phone numbers and emails as well.

It turns out that baseball is one of the national pasttimes in this country. Within the first hour, I noticed four hats with logos from American major-league baseball teams. In fact, it was a New York Yankees baseball hat that started our first conversation on the bus. After about 90 minutes and a few stops, some of our new friends told us that we should get off the bus and hustle over to another bus towards Granada. The second bus was a converted old school bus. The attendant on the back was letting people in and out the back door. We were very impressed with the short amount of time that the bus actually stopped. The attendant usually was hanging on with the door open while the bus was moving. It was very exciting for us all. The first bus ride set us back three dollars each. The second bus ride was about $.40 each.

On arriving to Granada, we were again struck by the heat. We walked through a local market on the way to the hotel. The kids' eyes were wide open, as it's clear there is more poverty and more trash on the street then we are all accustomed to in Costa Rica.

We found our lovely hotel without much difficulty. It's beautiful and open to the outside. The vegetation is gorgeous and tropical. After a quick dip in the pool, the first order of business was to check out the chocolate museum. We all had cold chocolate drinks. Mine was a traditional Nicaraguan chocolate drink that included, in addition to milk and cacao, cinnamon and corn. This is apparently the traditional way that the Mayans took their chocolate.

The kids were tussling over a small dish and managed to break it in the gift shop. The people working there were very nice and refused to let us pay for it. The chocolate museum was attached to a gorgeous hotel with a combination of traditional colonial architecture and modern art. There were even some turtles mixed in for fun. Sully enjoyed the squirrels and rabbits apparently being rehabilitated as well.

Nearby as well was an unique museum with a very large collection of Central American pottery from hundreds or even thousands of years ago. In addition, there were several very old funeral urns that we were told were shaped in the form of a pregnant woman's abdomen. Fortunately, we managed not to break anything here.

We strolled through town, past the beautiful main church and down the main street with restaurants. Of course, we managed to find some other jugglers. As we were talking and juggling with them, yet another local woman walked by and said that she used to be in a circus. She joined in the fun too. What kind of place is this? Strange coincidences.

We finally settled on a restaurant and ordered a very large dish of typical Nicaraguan food. The waiter, Daniel, was exceedingly friendly. He again explained Nicaragua's love of baseball as well as boxing. Apparently, his cousin plays for the local AAA baseball team and his brother is an accomplished boxer. Dinner and drinks were very tasty, but no one really enjoyed the blood sausage as much as we hoped. During dinner, several folks came up either asking us to buy things such as gum or cigarettes or played musical instruments for us to enjoy. Several very young children were either selling gum, or were making flowers or insects out of leaves. A few kids asked us for a little bit of the food. We obliged. Our dinner was very cheap and we asked for a to-go box, planning to give it away. We did not anticipate, though, that a couple of the kids would be competing for our leftovers. We finally sent them away with a girl who was about Sullivan's age. I do think this left an impression on our own kids. It sure did on me. We are fortunate indeed. Tomorrow will be another interesting day, I don't doubt.

Trek into the sky--and then down again, followed by Gingerbread

The final day of the “Gram finale” centered around an adventure Maryann was hoping to cross off her bucket list:  a zipline tour here in Costa Rica.  After only a small amount of legwork, we managed to obtain the “National” prices for journeys up into the canopy at SkyTrek, yet another playground near Volcán Arenal.  We gawked at the menagerie of gigantic insects at the check in booth and headed to the SkyTram, an open air cable car-like ride up through the canopy to the primary forest.  

La vista

The zip liners amongst us began our cruise down the mountain while Erica and Sullivan soaked up the views and mostly enjoyed (I think) what was meant to be a three hour nature tour through the trails.

SkyTram smiles

The first two of eight total lines were practice lines and allowed us all to hone our important braking skills.  The remainder of the lines satisfied the adrenaline junkies with unadulterated speed and views of the lake and volcano that can’t possibly be surpassed.  

Madeleine smiles while her guide possibly becomes possessed?

The signs report that we apparently topped out at about 80 km an hour.  Good times were had by all and Maryann enjoyed but said she doesn’t necessarily need to do this again, now that it’s been crossed off her list.  The mariposario on the grounds were as peaceful as the zip lines were exciting.  

Another local beauty

After weeks of anticipation, we finally dined at the locally famous Gingerbread, reputedly one of the best restaurants in Costa Rica, and about 10 minutes from home.  Wow.  This place definitely lives up to its reputation.  Highly recommended for anyone anywhere nearby.  We drank Chilean wine, ate German schnitzel, Pad Thai, all prepared by a charismatic Israeli chef out here in the countryside of Costa Rica.  This is what it’s all about.

Salud!

Kayak trek on Lago Arenal

After a tiring tiring outing yesterday, nobody hesitated to sleep in just a bit.  Our tour of adventure continued with an afternoon outing for an upper body workout after hiking and climbing yesterday.  Though we’d passed the Lago Arenal Dam several times, we had never stopped to rent kayaks.  Until today.  Far and away the most economical and simple of options for renting around the lake, our posse occupied no less than one double and four single kayaks for two hours, pretty much wiping out the fleet of the local proprietor, Mario.  

Henry holds his own

We skirted the shore before venturing out past a large overflow pipe to an island in the middle of the lake.  The water was warm and the chop small.  A skeptical kingfisher left his post once we got too close, too shy for our camera lenses.  

What's wrong with a little shell collecting on the island?

The highlight, though, was undoubtedly the stunning views of Volcán Arenal and its neighbor, Cerro Chato, our conquest of yesterday.  Good times were had by all and the crew was sufficiently exhausted without any unexpected swimming or visits by the (hypothetical?) crocodiles of the lake.

Volcán Arenal y Cerro Chato

Sunset over Lago Arenal

Ironically, a rather enormous toad was spotted in the headlights as we were leaving our fantastic German dinner at La Rana (the frog).  This guy was about the size of a grapefruit and wasn’t really that intimidated by us.  The incredibly large contingent of thousands of ever-busy leaf cutter ants just above him was a suitably fantastic finish to the day.  

Cerro chato: an epic hike, more animals and a swim in the volcano crater!

Approach to the Cerro Chato Trail

Yesterday we enjoyed yet another day that will not soon be forgotten.  Maryann typically hikes on Thursdays, so yesterday, we whetted her appetite with a challenging hike up Cerro Chato, a currently inactive cinder cone close to Volcán Arenal, about 45 minutes from home.  The hike itself was everything it was advertised to be and a bit more.

The second hanging bridge crossing of the day

The hike began on the grounds of the stunning Arenal Observatory Lodge, where we stayed during our first trip to Costa Rica.  The beautiful and well-marked trails took us through manicured gardens, over bridges, around pastures and to a waterfall before the real work began.

Maryann especially enjoyed the kids' shirts.  Can you guess where she went to school?

Monkeys swinging in the trees inspired the rest of us too

On the bank of the Rio Agua Caliente (we think)

Our relatively flat casual ambling was abruptly transformed at the beginning of the much-anticipated "trail" to Cerro Chato.  The trail itself is only 1.5 km but rises approximately 1000 meters, as best we can tell.  The terrain itself challenged the slope in terms of difficulty.  Not only did we need to carefully check each footstep, but we questioned every handhold as a potential snake or thorny tree.

Sendero Cerro Chato

Madeleine and Sully wait for the rest of the crew

After the long, damp and hot slog up the trail, we finally reached the viewpoint.  We saw a few other groups and realized that our crew included the youngest and the oldest of the day that we met.  The strength and fortitude of all of our crew was impressive.

Cerro Chato's crater

The trail continued around the right flank of the lake and then very steeply (sketchy in points) descended to the lake.  We took a quick refreshing swim amongst the fish, frogs and crater lake monsters.

Pura vida

We managed to make it back up to the trail then safely descended back to the flatlands.  No broken bones and even Sullivan (age 5) made it back down on his own power.  About 8 km total but the distance wasn't what provided the challenge.

A near-handhold

Another local friend

We enjoyed the international flavor of the hikers as well and realized we didn't see any other hikers from the US that we know of.  Encountered couples from Canada (Montreal), the Netherlands, Costa Rica and the Czech Republic.  We gave the showers at home a great workout after dinner at the kids' favorite pizza joint.  The adventures will continue.  .  .

Homecoming and the serpent as a symbol

Welcome home!

After two busy weeks of working back in the States, I could not have been more excited to return to our tropical paradise home.   Although it was great to see friends in Portland (and to have some Thai and food cart food), I could not have been more warmly welcomed home by my family.  Being away was hard for us all, especially for Sullivan.  Missing his dad and also having had a tick on a very sensitive body part made it a tough go for the little man.  Fortunately, his Gram has been here to help hold down the fort.  He was pretty excited to see me and to hold his beloved "big doggy" in his arms once again.

Later in the evening, I just happened to spot a snake above the frame of the window outside our living room.  Not exactly the welcoming present I was hoping for.  This was the first snake we had seen anywhere near the house.  Its head was relatively small, its body about a meter long and it didn't seem to look like any of the dangerous venomous local vipers we'd heard about.  Lucky us.  After some discussion, it was decided that I'd try to gently move it down with a large stick.  This gentle approach only caused our friend to retreat back into a crevice.  Our friend bravely stuck his head and part of his neck out again and was greeted with a swat from our broom.  He came tumbling out and his true length was revealed.  He slithered off into a flower bed could not be persuaded to leave the yard despite my dousing with the hose.

This exciting sighting served as a reminder of the wildness and unfamiliarity of this country.  Even though this guy is most likely harmless, the snake at this moment exemplified a fear of the unknown, as there are a few quite dangerous snakes here.  I've had the thought of going all-out ninja and quietly taking care of this snake with our machete but don't think it's right, as he's done us no harm and doesn't seem to really be a threat. Didn't have these same worries in our comfortable neighborhood in Oregon.  Many of our friends and family in the States surely would have been even more excited (terrified even?).  I also smiled at the adventure we were having trying to chase him away from the house, knowing this'll make a good story in the future.  All were grateful that his presence was noticed after my return.  After not seeing him through the day yesterday, our friend reappeared last night outside the dining room window.   Is there a pattern here?

On a more comfortable note, everyone is enjoying having Erica's mom here to visit for a couple of weeks.  It's been a nice mixture of home life and exploring the local environs.  We will be sad to see her go but I don't think she's likely to miss our nocturnal friends.

I did manage to bring back supplies from the US including brown rice, Easter candy and more math books, but transporting my mountain bike here outranked everything else.  My inaugural ride this morning was everything I thought it would be, just a bit tougher.  The dirt road across the main highway from our neighborhood that leads up to Lago Cote will likely be my gym equivalent for the foreseeable future.  It's straight up, rocky, scenic and snake-free, so far.  It's steep and uneven enough that I sat down in my granny gear most of the way up to Lago Cote.  My reward for taking a morning ride was a relatively cool 70ish degrees.  Pura vida.

"Road" to Lago Cote

Termales del Bosque, Toad Hall and frogs

The past few days have been good ones.  It is always nice to transition from a week of school and domesticity to a weekend with exploration and adventure.  A break from cooking and washing dishes is welcome too.  Friday, all three kids were in school in the morning, so my mom and I took advantage of the opportunity and went for a yoga class at Villa Decary, a lovely B&B near Nuevo Arenal.  The yoga class takes place on a wide porch high up on a hill looking out on many trees and a distant view of the lake.  Although there were some pesky mosquitos, the sounds of birds and insects during the class added a lot.   Before class we spotted a blue jeans dart frog on a driveway.  So cute in his tiny jeans!

Blue Jeans Dart Frog

Yesterday we set out early for Termales del Bosque.  This is the hot springs where we stayed for two nights in February when we had first arrived in Costa Rica and where we celebrated Nik’s birthday.  We talked then about how we’d have to come back to bring special visitors.  Well, we wasted no time in taking my mom there.  It was just as wonderful as our first visit, although we missed Nik and felt slightly guilty being so relaxed while he was still working away in Portland.  We did toast him with our pina coladas Saturday evening.  We have now been to a few different hot springs places, and this is our favorite.  The setting of the hot pools in the woods along a stream is perfect; it feels very natural and secluded.  My mom and I indulged in massages in the semi-outdoor spa cabinas in the woods by the hot pools, and we had dinner at the snack bar/ rancho including ceviche, arroz con pollo and pizza. 

Gram with her crew enjoying the hot spring's therapeutic properties.

Termales view

 The drive to and back from the Termales, which is near Ciudad Quesada, took about 2 hours each way  and was relaxed and pretty scenic.  Few bigs trucks and not much traffic.  Only once did I earn the stink eye (and flash of headlights and honk) from a Tico driver for not yielding at one of the many one-lane bridges.  Usually one direction is signed “ceda el paso,” and I did not cede when I was supposed to.  Doh!  I am learning.

On the drive from La Fortuna to Nuevo Arenal, there are an incredible number of yellow signs advertising Toad Hall, a restaurant and hotel.  Since we first saw these, we have found them annoying, especially Nik, who vowed to never go to Toad Hall because of their obnoxious advertising.  Still, we were curious.  Since Nik returns tomorrow (yay!!), we decided this was our chance to check out Toad Hall without torturing Nik.  We found it touristy of course, and a bit overpriced, but we enjoyed our stop there.  Madeleine and Henry found a geocache, we ate fish tacos ("voted best in the world" claim several signs), hiked down their jungle trail to a stream, admired their birds (including parrots, whistling ducks who hang out in the swimming pool, guinea fowl, parakeets) and Sullivan posed for Gram in front of the trademark toad out front.

Toad Hall toad and Sully.

Henry feeding one of the enclosed parrots.

Our new parrot friend.

Finally, one more frog… this one Henry spotted hanging out on the outside of our front window one recent evening.  

Common Dink Frog?  Photo credit to Henry!

Dos lagos, aricari and a tick story

Yesterday we introduced Gram to both Lago Arenal and Lago Cote, up close.  Madeleine and Henry were off school due to teacher meetings, so we had Madeleine’s friends Kelly and Tatiana over to our house, with the intent to help them study English for a test on Monday.  We had to cut the session short to go pick up Sullivan from school at 10:30, after which we all drove to the nearby park on Lake Arenal to check out the scene and explore a bit.  I got my first 4x4 action in our mighty Montero, for a short stretch anyway.

Madeleine with Tatiana and Kelly at Lago Arenal

Gram and the boys take in the scene

After returning Kelly and Tatiana home and getting ourselves some lunch, the kids took Gram on a tour of the jungle trail in our neighborhood, Las Flores.  Upon their return, we all drove up toward Lago Cote, the much smaller lake to the north of Arenal.  We stopped first at the currently closed EcoLodge to watch a bunch of Oropendolas flying in and out, building their giant hanging nests in some palm trees.  We may have heard the sounds of Oropendola babies too, but we can’t be sure.  We drove on along the rocky road to view Lake Cote and lucked out to find the entrance to some lakefront lots open.  We drove down toward the lake as far as we could and went the rest of the way on foot.  The kids were thrilled to have found a way to get down to the lake!  Tree climbing, lake wading, sand digging and exploring all ensued.   We had a little excitement when we found the entrance to the lots closed when we tried to return to the road.  Fortunately it was not locked and just required opening and then closing back a wood/ barbed wire gate.  It looks like we can't count on Lago Cote remaining accessible, at least at this spot.

Henry rejoices upon finding a way down to Lake Cote

Madeleine finds a tree with a view

Sully and Gram

Posing with the Costa Rican flag, planted on one of the lots for some unknown reason.

This morning after taking Sullivan to school, the rest of us went to La Rana, the German-owned hotel and restaurant near our house, for some morning birdwatching.  We had heard that the toucan viewing was good around 9am.   We saw a great variety of birds, most of which we have seen from our own patio too.  No toucans, but their cousins the aricari arrived late, worth the wait.  It was fun watching them unpeel bits of banana with their unwieldy beaks and tilt up their heads to swallow the goodies.

Bird watching over coffee and cocoa

Collared aricaris enjoy the buffet

Finally, Henry has his scorpion story from October, and now Sullivan has a tick story… The low point of our day!  We have not been too concerned about ticks up to this point, but today Sully found one on a most private and tender part.  ("Mom, that spot is not a sore; it has legs!")  He was not too freaked out about it until I tried to remove it with tweezers, which hurt!  It took a lot of bribery, chocolate, Tylenol, topical pain relieving antibiotic and very persistent tugging with the tweezers to get that sucker off.  Yikes!  We have now all been initiated in Costa Rican ticks and will be diligent about looking for the tiny young ones before they turn into the tenacious brutes like the one I had to pull off of poor Sully.  He was rewarded with ice cream for his bravery and does not seem at all traumatized by the ordeal.   Hopefully one scorpion story and one tick story will be enough for this family.