Trouble in Paradise

So my laptop got wet, and the keyboard doesn't work anymore. This is the reason why I haven't been updating my blog, and will probably just wait until I'm home, or I get a new keyboard, to finish the blog. I will post a final entry when I'm through, and update everything fully with pictures and lovely writings by your's truly.

Meet you there,

Seamus

Puerto Viejo

Today I had to get out of San Jose and into Puerto Viejo. I somehow found my way to the Terminal de Caribe with the help of two local girls, and got on a bus. Two minutes after I found my seat, I saw Valerie and Petra get on. Apparently, their seats were right next to mine and we inadvertently rode to Puerto Viejo together. It was an unexpected surprise, and I was glad to have some company. Soon after, a pretty cool guy, Isaiah, got on the bus and we all hit it off immediately. A girl, whom I thought was a Tica, helped us book the entire back row of seats. We all talked, shared all the bags of Nacho Cheese chips and peanuts and raisins that I had bought before the ride. The girl who I thought was a Tica turned out to be from somewhere in Western Europe, and I tried to teach her English in turn for her teaching me Spanish. Neither worked very well, but I got a few good words out of it and hope that she did too. She spoke German and Spanish fluently, which I thought was a pretty weird combination. The bus was delayed for two hours because of a car crash, and the entire route was laden with traffic. It was a pretty horrible experience, which was matched by our first night in Puerto Viejo.

We went to a shitty hostel, called “Rockin’ Jay’s,” and it was far from Rocking. The tent area that we had to walk through to get to our room smelled like piss, every single toilet was backed up, and the room just sucked for $15 each a night. We went out to a local bar, which was kind of boring, and then crashed out. I stayed there with Isaiah, and we got the fuck out of there the next morning.

Finding all the good ones,

Seamus

San Jose: Round Two

Did I mention I hate San Jose? I do. I only came here to buy a guitar, but that didn’t happen on account of shitty Yamahas that didn’t quite match my price range for such a piece of shit. I did have a nice stay at hostel Pangaea, where I met my friend John again. The hostel was pretty cool; it had free internet, a free ten minute phone call, and no bugs! I met a couple people there, and we went out to a place called “El Pueblo” for drinks. It was pretty much a group of two bars, two restaurants, and one strip club, and we ate and drank at one of the restaurants to appease all of our tastes. It was a good, but relatively bland, time and the rest of the night was uneventful. I did happen to have the most awesome churro ever on my search for a guitar, though. It had caramel in the middle and was oh so crunchy. I almost shit my pants, but instead decided to leave for Puerto Viejo in the morning.

Getting out of Dodge,

Seamus

La Fortuna Again

Today I woke up in La Fortuna, and met the roommates I had woken up the night before. They were a couple of European girls, Valerie and Petra, from Germany and the Czech Republic, respectively. They were really cool, and we went on a hike to see the La Fortuna Catarata. We walked about three miles to get there, and had to pay about seven dollars to enter. We were rewarded with a hike down 400 steps, and a nice, powerful waterfall.

The waterfall was said to be 75 meters tall, but in actuality it seemed to be about 25. It was still really cool, and the combined rush of wind and sound of water really immersed you in the experience. The only bad part was that we had to climb back up the 400 slippery steps, but it was actually surprisingly easy. We then met a Colombian merchant, who made us coffee and talked for a while. I had to leave them to catch a bus to San Jose, and made my way down the mountain.

Fortunately, I was picked up by a local who gave me a ride halfway down the hill. I gave him 500 colones, and walked in search of a taxi. The taxi I found only cost 200 colones, about 40 cents, and he brought me back to Gringo Pete’s. I made the bus in time to get a carton of milk to eat my granola bar with, and then I was off to San Jose.

Mmm mmm goodness,

Seamus

La Fortuna

To get to La Fortuna, you have to take what’s called the “Jeep-Boat-Jeep.” It’s exactly what it sounds like, but the boat part of the ride is definitely the best. We rode across the second largest lake in Costa Rica, which is man-made, and there were beautiful views in all directions. We traveled close to nice, green islands, near to the surrounding shores, and finally came upon a dirty, man-made dam. We had to hike up a small hillside to get to the other “jeep,” which wasn’t mentioned in the brochure, and then we were driven to Centro La Fortuna.

On the second “jeep,” I met a fellow traveler who directed me to a hostel called Gringo Pete’s. The place wasn’t too shabby, and was only $3.50 a night. This was a steal compared to what I had been paying. I did find a giant spider while I was taking a piss, but that’s acceptable for $3.50 a night. There were also some cool birds around, and bats at night. It was a cool place to view wildlife and enjoy the city, but was nothing compared to the main site in La Fortuna; Vulcan Arenal!

Vulcan Arenal is, supposedly, the second most active volcano in the world. Although it doesn’t appear so by day, the activity is really brought out by the night. It wasn’t a lava flow, but bright red rocks flew down and exploded on the side of the mountain all night long. The rocks were accompanied by loud explosions, which seemed to trigger the flying rocks. I was supposed to go on a hike with a couple and their girlfriend who I met, but missed my ride and had to go with the next group. On that tour, I met a couple of guys and we hung out at the hot springs afterwards.

The hot springs were awesome. There were a couple of swim-up bars which served expensive, watered-down drinks, but at least you could get a drink in a hot spring. The place was all man-made, but had water originating from underground springs so it wasn’t all bad. One pool had a killer view of the volcano, and I had a couple of Pina Coladas and watched the rocks fly. A note to all visitors: don’t stand in the 150*F pool. It will melt your legs off, and it is a painful experience. I was drunk, and went in to my knees. It hurt even worse when I jumped out, for whatever reason, and I decided not to go in water hotter than a hot tub ever again.

We went and had a shitty filet mignon for dinner, and I woke up the owner of the hostel smoking pot with some guys out front. I then woke up everyone in my dorm room, and passed out three seconds later.

Dodging molten rocks now,

Seamus

Little City Nights

This part of my story takes place on the night of my trip into the forest. It starts when I return, and my need for food which led me out of my room and into town.

I saw Cesar standing in front of a restaurant, so I gave him a “Que Paso,” and stood and talked for a bit. He was talking to the host of the restaurant, a girl from Santa Cruz, CA, named Mariko, who told me that their food was better and cheaper than the place I was considering. I took her advice, and she led me upstairs to the dining floor. The place is built around a tree, so it feels like you’re eating in a tree fort. I saw a girl, Molly, walk up the stairs, and she spoke English to one of the waiters. I said hi and asked her where she was from, and she came and shared my table with me. She turned out to be really cool; she’s from San Diego and has been living and working down here since September. I found out she worked there too, and we just shot the shit and brought some beers up from El Super Mercado. After a few beers and my dinner, we moved inside and I found a guitar to play. I was pretty much able to play guitar for the restaurant, although I don’t know who, besides Molly and Cesar, was actually listening. Good times were had, and then Molly’s boyfriend, Graven, showed up and invited us out to hot springs. I let out a “Fuck yeah,” and we were off. I actually went with Molly, Graven, Mariko, and her boyfriend Mani (I think that’s his name). They were all really cool people, but Graven drove like a madman and I almost got carsick on the way down.

It was way worse than the shuttle I took to Monteverde. He was going about 35 or 40mph down this dirt road that is normally taken at 15mph. The road was a horrible dirt road, and we were sliding all over the place. I told everyone they should probably put their seatbelts on, but they scoffed and ignored my warning. I trusted that Graven wouldn’t crash, because he was looking after his own ass too, but it never hurts to wear a seatbelt! After about half an hour, we arrived at the hot springs.

They were pretty much pools with volcanic water in them. The one we were in was about 80 degrees or so, and the adjacent one was empty. There were two other smaller pools, which were too hot to go in. We swam around, shot the shit, had some beers, and stargazed until 3:30 in the morning when we drove back.

The ride back was slightly less insane, until Graven lost control of the car and spun a 180 on the one and a half lane road. It was a little scary, because there was a cliff to one side. I don’t know how we stayed on the road, but we did, and survived. I made my point about the seatbelts again, and again it was unheeded. The rest of the trip was safe, though, and I think everyone got home alright, except me.

Right after they were out of sight, I realized that I had lost the keys to my room. Now, it being 4 am, there was no one in the office to assist me in any way. I cursed and spat until I devised a plan to get in to the room. I found a ladder, and pulled off some slats of glass from the Venetian blinds. Now, this was right above a plate-glass window, which I was sure would shatter under my weight once I straddled it. Halfway through the window, I was wondering where I’d land when I got in. I was dangling about eight feet in the air with a ladder and rocks on one side, and a tile floor on the other. I pushed off of the wall and fell into the room, aiming for the bed. I actually landed on the bed unscathed, and breathed a sigh of relief. It was then that I decided I would put the blinds and ladder back, and get my sandalos. Upon turning on the light, I realized that there was no doorknob; there was only a keyhole! I needed the key to get into or out of my room! Climbing back out would have been sketchy and stupid, so I succumbed to being a prisoner in my own room. I smoked a hit of weed to vent my frustration and went to sleep.

Upon waking, I realized that no one had come and seen the ladder up against the window, or the blinds taken apart. I packed up my stuff, waiting for someone to notice the break-in, and brushed my teeth. I then started pounding on the door and calling for the front desk lady. She finally came down and I told her that I lost my key. When asked whether or not she had seen the ladder and all that, she replied she had. I asked her why she didn’t check on the room, and she just shrugged her shoulders and claimed ignorance. I don’t know why on earth you wouldn’t investigate something like that, but she might be able to tell me something about it. All in all, it was a weird experience and I got out of there and went straight to La Fortuna.

Keepin’ it real, real crazy,

Seamus

Santa Elena

Today was Christmas day, and I took a hike through Parque Santa Elena. Santa Elena is the less touristy reserve, and I decided to go there for that reason. I glanced at a map and decided to hike the longest trail there which was Cana Negra at 4.5k. It was a real rainforest; lush, tranquil, and expansive. The thick rolling fog causes the trees to become so saturated they showered down droplets of water, mimicking a real rainstorm.

The trees themselves were practically small ecosystems. There were about ten to fifteen different types of plants growing on most of the big trees, and it looked like the perfect home for a sloth or squirrel monkey. I saw a couple of birds, which were small, and one Millipede, which was rather large and colorful.

I think all of the animals were sleeping, or they heard me coming and hid from el gringo. After my hike, I decided to go to the mariposa gardens.

I imagined swarms of mariposas (butterflies), and what great pictures I would be able to take. When we got inside, we didn’t see swarms, but it was really interesting to see the different kinds fluttering about. My one complaint was that it was difficult to capture the moving butterflies. It takes my camera a second or so to focus and snap the picture, and the butterfly would often be gone. I did manage to catch a few mid-flight, and caught some nice pictures of cocoons and flowers. Some of the cocoons looked like gold nuggets, and other like objects of the forest. Most cocoons looked like some sort of dead leaf or piece of a tree, and others like pieces of poisonous fruit. It was interesting to see the defense mechanisms that the butterfly employs to save itself. Most cocoons were displayed in a sort of kiosk, where they hang them to hatch, but others could be found on one of the many plants. The whole terrarium was filled with plants, as each species of butterfly has its own plant on which it lays its eggs. The plants were beautiful, and I took some really nice close-ups of flowers. It was a really relaxing and informative experience, even though the humidity was very high inside the terrarium.

Santa Elena was pretty awesome, and I enjoyed being surrounded by nature in this beautiful place. It was a bit dank, and a I was pretty tired after the hike, but my fond memories far outweigh the bad ones.

Conquering the Forest,

Seamus