Manuel Antonio Maravilloso

This past weekend I finally got around to getting down to Manuel Antonio, which is somewhere where almost everyone else has been. I can say that I am so glad that I finally got around to being there. Manuel Antonio is a national park along the coastline with plenty of pretty beaches and wonderful animals. It is really a great place to go visit and all around pleasant, and I'm glad that I got to head down there with my good buddy Kyle.

We got there just in time for a late lunch , and we ate at the restaurant in front of our hostel that we were staying at. We spent a decent amount of time at this restaurant because we got to meet plenty of great people and eat some pretty good food as well. We spent the rest of that day down on the beach just walking around and watching the waves come in as it started to get dark. It was a good example of how calming it can be here to just hang out and enjoy just how fantastic it is here. We then headed back, at some food, and went to sleep. That night I was having a little bit of trouble sleeping, but at one point I suddenly realized why I might have had a problem. I heard this incessant noise that only can be described if you know the source...howler monkeys. Let me tell you, they are loud and all over the area. It isn't too uncommon to not be able to see them, but you will always be able to hear them. Finally, after a bit of their primal serenading, I fell asleep.

The next day we got up, ate some breakfast, and decided to head into the national park. Luckily our hostel was next door to the ticket office before heading into the park. There we payed for a guide to take us through the park with his equipment so that we could see everything possible. At first we were both a little reluctant with our guide because he seemed a little all over the place, but after a while he found out that we were students and he could speak Spanish with us. On top of that, when he discovered that I was taking a sustainable development class, he became a cornucopia of information and opinions to share with us about both the national park and the environment as a whole. While walking through the park our guide pointed out plants, insects, amphibians, both types of sloth, plenty of howler monkeys, and a thieving family of raccoon. He also had plenty to share about what kind of practices people can use to help be more sustainable and fit into our environment. After parting ways, Kyle and I wandered a bit more through the park to see all that we could see and went back to our hostel. We rested a bit, walked to the ATM, and then headed out for a late lunch in the afternoon. We sat at in a restaurant by the beach with our lunch while sharing a pitcher of sangria. It is just another one of those moments were we just felt overwhelmed by how great it was to be in Costa Rica. We headed over to the beach, watched the sun set, and went for a quick swim in the pool at our hostel as they began to project the movie "The Dictator" up on the wall (yeah, this place was pretty sweet). We hung out for a while there and then at the restaurant in front for another relaxed evening here in Costa Rica.

Finally, the next day, we just got up and headed to the beach. The surf wasn't that great, so we just hung out in the water for a while and got a surf board just for kicks. We passed the time in the sun and then grabbed our stuff and headed towards the bus station with a stop off in a great restaurant that has a massive plane in it! Lunch was so good, and of course we couldn't avoid the loud calls of the howler monkeys as I took in the view of the ocean. Finally, we were back on the bus leaving one of the prettiest places I have been to in Costa Rica. There is so much to be thankful for with weekends like this, and it really makes me begin to feel like I'm not quite ready to go back home. While in the city, I may be ready to go, but these weekends just make me want to stay forever. Pura vida.

Back in Black

We had such a great time at Playa Negra last time that we decided to go back! It was another great trip with a lot less bus problems. This time Kyle and I brought our friend Taylor along too. Weekends here are great because we make all of our food, and Kyle's friend owns where we stay so we get a sweet discount on nice rooms. We got there and immediately settled down to head to the beach. We got in the water a bit and watched the sun set as we waited with anticipation for the great day that the rising sun would bring us.

The next day we woke up and had a leisure morning while sipping coffee and eating huevos rancheros. We then headed to the beach with surf boards in hand. We probably surfed for 3 hours with another hour or so of body surfing after. The surf wasn't too bad at all, and we for sure enjoyed it. That night we had some spaghetti with meatballs. At some point in our great conversations on love, loss, and life we realized that the moon was practically a full one. So, we did the obvious thing of going body surfing by moonlight. At the very least, we didn't stand the danger of sun burn at night. We went down to the beach that was completely empty and took in the beautiful sight that is a beach lit by the moon.

The next morning we just got up, made some quick breakfast, and headed out. There isn't much to write about this weekend, and that is the beauty that made it such a great weekend. With only a couple of weekends left, it was really important for us to go out and just enjoy being in Costa Rica. Pura Vida.

Green Mountain

A couple of weekends ago, I finally made my way up to Monteverde, one of the largest areas of tourism in Costa Rica. If you think of Costa Rican ecotourism, you are thinking of this place. It is filled to the brim with flora and fauna galore.

Any trip to Monteverde using the bus system is a real adventure because you have two options for when you want to go. The buses leave at 2:30 in the afternoon or our choice of 6:30 A.M. which comes very early whenever it is time for you to head out. While it does end up being so early in the morning, it means that you have the ability to go somewhere for the afternoon once you get there. When we got there, we checked into our bed and breakfast for the weekend, grabbed some food, and headed to our canopy tour. This tour proved to be one of the more interesting and exciting of the three that I have been on since being in Costa Rica. The lines went through the actual tree tops of the forest rather than going above. It was also all around mystical due to the clouds hanging over the forest as we zipped through. This tour also had a really cool Tarzan swing which is really just a giant that you jump off of a high platform on (a la Tarzan complete with yelling).

The next day we work up, had a lazy breakfast and then headed towards the Monteverde Biological Reserve. There we had somebody highlight some trails on a map and we headed into the forest. We hiked around for 3 hours observing the beautiful forest, suspended bridges, and waterfalls. It was very nice to be able to escape into a forest that is so different from being in the busy city during the week.

That evening we had a night hike booked. This night hikes are important to go on because much of the animal life in the forest only is out at night. Luckily night in Costa Rica comes at about 5:30 P.M. so it isn't too hard on those of us trying to pack everything into a weekend. On this hike we saw some of the coolest things I have ever seen. Right when we started, there was a mother sloth and there baby just hanging out it a tree. I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. After walking for a bit longer, there was an animal called a coatimundi that is a relative of raccoon  it was super cool to say the least. We also ran across a tarantula, a raccoon, raccoon babies, snakes, and various insects. It was way cool. Even thought it was a little bit cold, you couldn't be upset being in such a cool place.

Finally, on our last day we had a bus leaving at 2:30 so we had the morning to burn. Kyle and I headed to a really cool coffee shop and decided to hang out for a while to just enjoy good coffee. It was phenomenal coffee straight from local growers. They played your regular playlists from the states as we read the newspaper and conversed over foreign politics and other super interesting topics. It was really refreshing to have something that reminded us a little bit of college life in the US. Afterwards we did some souvenir shopping and headed to a restaurant call the Tree House. This place was so cool because it had a tree in the middle that covered half of the seating on this second floor restaurant. The food was exceptional and a great way to end a fantastic weekend. It was truly remarkable. Pura Vida.

Photos courtesy of Kyle and myself.

Anderson-Lehman's Take On Costa Rica

So, I had been pretty excited to know that my parents were coming down to Costa Rica in order to show them around a bit and have a little taste of home. I got an even better weekend than that. When I went to the airport to meet my parents, I came around the corner to where they were waiting hoping to see a tall white man aka: my dad (tall white guys aren't too common here). Instead I saw a different one with blonde hair aka: my brother. Turns out that my parents were playing a bit of a game and surprising me with the whole family! I still don't think they realize how much better that made my life. So, completely stoked to have my family with me, we drove out to Heredia so that I could show them around town and grab some food. You have to understand that Heredia isn't really all that much to see, so we really just did some walking and at some food before heading off to the coast.

Readers, you have become accustomed by now to reading about how crazy riding buses can be here in Central America. Driving a car is much worse. While my dad drove us, I attemped to navigate; all in the dark. Costa Rica doesn't exactly like road signs that much, so this was a bit difficult. We found ourselves going the wrong way, making u-turns, on dirt roads (which isn't too strange here), and to top it off we paid a few extra tolls wandering around. We eventually got there, settled into our amazing rooms, and ordered some good ole fashioned room service. We ate, we laughed, and then ultimately all collapsed into bed after a long day.

In the morning, the kids woke up to mom and dad calling us trying to figure out what we were wanting to do. We decided on doing a "tranopy" tour for the morning. This tour is similar to any other canopy tour that they have in Costa Rica because you do all of the zip-lining, but you also take a tram ride up the mountain to observe the forest along with a tour of native plants and snakes. It was a great place to be as we zipped over the trees and looked out to the beautiful Pacific Ocean. After, we headed back to our hotel/resort for what would prove to be a great, relaxing afternoon at the pool. We hung out, order some food, swam around, and just enjoyed having the whole family together as iguanas crawled around trying to get some sun. To top it all off, there was a wedding going on at the beach there. After watching the beautiful sunset, we soon realized that they had set up fireworks on the beach as a part of said wedding. We headed back to our rooms, hung out a bit, and were suddenly drawn to our windows as fireworks began bursting over the bay. We then went down to the restaurant to eat some delicious food before heading back upstairs to talk some more and yet again find our way to some comfy beds.It was a great evening to cap off their whirlwind trip to Costa Rica as they headed back to the airport the next morning. I'm so glad that I got to see them all. It makes me excited for being home again with them in December. Pura Vida.

They go Gaga for..well...Gaga!

I'll keep this one short and sweet. Earlier in November a little music act was coming through Costa Rica, and here name is Lady Gaga. Okay, so maybe it was a huge deal with everybody freaking out. You have to understand that it is rare for Costa Rica to get big concerts to come through since the country is so little. The Born This Way Ball (name of the concert) took place in el Estadio Nacional in San Jose. We showed up in the early afternoon to wait in line to get the best spots possible. The girls that I went with had dressed up like Gaga in her videos, and I just tagged along for a concert I was still totally stoked for. We stood in this massive line where people were trying to sell you anything from a snack to unofficial merch. We made a couple of friends in line, and headed into the concert (okay, maybe we ran a little bit) to get a good spot. There isn't much I could describe past that time, because the rest was so crazy. Between the awesome opening acts, singing along to "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", and of course, Gaga; it was so cool. She sang all of her hits from her albums. Costa Rica loves her and I'm sure that she loves them back. I just have trouble describing it in words. Unreal. Pura Vida.

I'm Still Here, and So Was Thanksgiving

Hey there blogosphere...I know, you missed me. We have been separated for quite some time, and I have plenty of stories and photos to share. I apologize for not keeping you all updated; things just get busy sometimes. But to get you ready for all of my fun weekends: here is a lil' post on my Thanksgiving here in Costa Rica.

Sure, I have so many things to be thankful for this year. I'm safe, I have a great family, and I'm in Costa Rica. However, as Thanksgiving approached this year, I wasn't feeling so thankful about being Costa Rica away from family and tradition. I was worried that it would just pass me by like every other day here, but I was pretty wrong. Pura vida paused for a day, and Thanksgiving luckily found its way here.

A few weeks prior, we had all planned on gathering for Thanksgiving and bringing various traditional feast fixings. Our abroad program paid for the turkey (because it costs so much here) and we were to bring the rest. That sounds all fine and dandy, but I still wasn't convinced that the holiday would truly find us wandering gringos in Costa Rica. When they day finally came about, we all woke up and decided to have a very Costa Rican spin on a traditional facet of the holidays. Football; or in our case...the other kind. We were joined by other abroad student as well as some ticos as we enjoyed the warm sun and being outside. We even got the chance to throw around an American football as well! Later on in the day when I was hanging around the house, I got a message from my family back home to skype into some Thanksgiving good times. That might have been the best part of the day because I got to see everybody, see the food, laugh at jokes, enjoy seeing the Coryells shoved on a single couch (just another day with that great family), and showing them around my house on a tour. That conversation really got me in the mood. When I had to leave, I put on my long pants, a collared shirt, and headed off to Thanksgiving with optimistic apprehension. Lo, and behold, we get to the house that is hosting where it is filled up with my friends here dressed nicely, good traditional food, some family, and the occasional tica. For one night we weren't hustling around, we hugged eachother, enjoyed company and had a beautiful time. I don't know what I thought would happen. We all felt the same way about not being home, and that made us be one whole family for a night. I am truly blessed.

Stay tuned for updates on my past weeks. I'm so thankful for all of you who read this blog, because you act as a support for me being away from home.

Pura Vida.

Privateers and Pirates in Panama

So we pulled into Portobelo under the cover of night; searching for a hostel called Captain Jacks. We are immediately sent up a road towards a hill where we see a beacon of hope in a lit pirate flag. After wandering up some stairs, we are greeted by a rag-tag group of English speakers in this beautiful restaurant/bar/yacht club/hostel. We immediately felt at home and excited for what was promised for the rest of the trip. After dropping our stuff in the dormitory there, we headed back upstairs to grab some food.

As you may have picked up, this isn't really your normal hostel. The menu is absolutely no exception. Jack has found a Vietnamese, French-trained chef that serves up the "best burgers in Central America" (pretty close) and authentic Vietnamese food. I know, right? That night we just sat around talking with the various captains of the sailboats sitting out in the port. The began to fill us in a bit about all of the folklore and history in the town of Portobelo.

Portobelo was once the main port for the Spanish empire in Latin America, and one-third of the world's gold passed through here. along with this you begin to have a whole lot of pirate and privateering action coming through. There were some big names that came through: Christopher Columbus, Sir Francis Drake, Captain Henry Morgan, and many more. There is a storied history of great raids on the town that made it like something straight out of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Metal detectors are actually illegal because there is still so much gold in the ground. Heck, Jack actually had a 25 lb cannon ball just sitting in his bar because they had just found it sitting around. There was literally history everywhere.

In the morning we woke up and finally saw the beautiful sight that is Portobelo. Oh my. We could not stop being excited to head into town because there are Spanish fortifications just sitting around in the middle of the town. It is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and we could see why. There is the house where all the gold passed through, and now it is a museum with plenty of information. Then came the fortifications. They are all there complete with cannons still sitting in place. you just could feel the history there. I found myself looking into the opening of the port and imagining the tall ships pulling in with pirates waiting to attack them for all of their gold coming through. The whole time was spent trying to get in as much of the forts as we could. This place is absolutely amazing. At one point we had followed up this trail to an upper fortification that was used to observe the area (it had a moat!). When we were just running around up there, we could see the rain clouds coming in...not good. It began to rain and we had to navigate our way down this muddy trail to find a covered spot to hide from the rain. After all of our adventuring, it was time to head back to Jack's to hang out.

We returned to a nice shower and a kitchen ready to make us some burgers. We pulled out our computers and began to look at our pictures, listen to the rain, and reminisce about the amazing day and all that had happened here. The whole time Kyle was grinning from ear to ear because his dad had been there when he was younger, and as a consequence Kyle had grown up with bedtime stories of the Pirates and gold in Portobelo. And plus all three of us are history nuts and couldn't stop talking about everything we could think of involving this place. As the day waned, the boat captains began to wander in as well as some backpackers that were more our age. That place was hopping that night, and we had a chance to watch the final game of the World Series with a Giants fan from Australia. Too cool. Oh, and we might have lead a sing-along of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel at some point. That really did happen, and the whole night was just a great one.

The next day, we woke up, drank coffee, and just enjoyed being in Panama. That day we had to leave. Taylor wanted to take the bus back to Panama City, but Kyle and I took a sweet train that follows the canal. It was a great way to finally see the canal and just do something we both love, riding trains. I couldn't stop smiling most of the ride. It was a chance to just pause and think about how crazy the whole entire trip had been. I also could not help but think about how trains find there way in my life from people like my great-grandfather Getz to Walt Disney. I really like trains :). Back in Panama City, we went to a mall to eat in the food court and hang out in an arcade where I watched Taylor tear up the DDR machine as many have you have also seen in an earlier blog as a teaser.

Finally, we were at the terminal to take our 11 pm bus back to San Jose. As a final touch, we were able to pay it forward a bit for somebody who needed help. There was an English speaking woman who needed a translator, and we got to be that for her. It was a great experience to help another traveler that just needed some help. Then it was back to the land of pura vida. So cool.