Costa Rica - Day 5

The zip line tour the day before was a hit with everyone.  The group returned full of energy and stories of the view of the rainforest from high above.  Darcy had been scared.  She cried.  By the end of the zip line she was grinning ear to ear and an expert.  Everyone made sure to tell me her story of bravery.  She wasn't the only one apprehensive.  The Spanish teacher had her own moment.  They all got to see the volcano in its glory without the clouds.

That night we were left alone to do what we wanted.  Most of the group went left into town.  Our small group of 5 adults and 5 kids turned right into the volcano area.  We ate dinner at a place recommended by our hotel bartender.  We were told to eat the beef, which I did.  It was a fine meal, but the beef was a tad too done and it wasn't anything I couldn't get back home in the States.

The cab ride back to our hotel was quite entertaining as two of the men in our group insist on acting out their words in place of using Spanish.  Madison and Darcy have found this quite amusing in their father, but I was in the cab with one of the other fathers and seriously thought I would pee my pants when he got annoyed at the cab driver who stared at him as if he were from outer space.  It had been the same cab driver who brought him to the restaurant two hours prior and so he felt the cab driver couldn't be that stupid.

"Dude.  You brought me here like two hours ago.  You seriously have to remember that.  How many other fares of Americans have you brought to this restaurant tonight?  Remember where you picked me up?  To bring me here?  Well, take me back there."  All of this while gesturing with his hands and arms and upper body.  It took one of the kids in the cab to speak Spanish to get us back to the hotel, the name of which we had forgotten.  We pretty much told the kids to tell him to follow that other cab, the one with the rest of our group inside it.

We ended the night on our porch of the bungalow imbibing on the country's drink of choice:

Our tour guide told us:  "Put it in coca cola, it tastes like rum.  Put it in fruit juice, it tastes like vodka.  Put it in glass with lime, it tastes like tequila.  Drink it and drink it, it tastes good and makes people happy."

We felt it was important to get some of the culture and so we purchased a bottle in town and tasted it in coca cola and then did shots mixed with fresh limes.  It tasted, both ways, like what I expect a glass of gasoline to taste like out of the lawn mower.  The after taste reminded me of tequila.  My stomach and head the next day reminded me not to have any more.

The next morning came sooner then we wanted.  I skipped the breakfast buffet as the stomach was churning from the culture of the night before.  The parrots of the hotel were up and with us at breakfast to say good-bye, as were the bartenders and hotel employees.

The ride on the bus was long and very wild.  The roads in Costa Rica aren't paved and are probably a lane and a half wide so as you come around the corner on the side of a cliff you are hoping no one is coming around in the opposite direction.  Many of our group was popping Dramamine like lifesavers, but I just chose to close my eyes and look out the window occasionally.  We weren't going far just around the lake, but the trip took 4 hours due to the road conditions. 

At one point as we barreled down the road, our driver, Wilmer, who spoke not a lick of English, slowed the bus, stopped, put the bus into reverse, backed us up and stopped.  Our tour guide, Alonzo, got on the microphone and told us that a howler monkey was outside sitting on top of an electrical pole.  We all got off the bus and snapped picture after picture of what we thought we would have seen in the rainforest the previous day.

Turned out the monkey was lame and not at all impressed with all of the humans snapping his photo.  We piled into the bus and Wilmer continued down the road.  Our next scheduled adventure was a sky walk tour over the rainforest on swinging bridges, and Alonzo was determined to keep us on track.

Lunch was at a roadside place where we ate chicken and beans and rice while the rain came down.  There was a little tourist shop attached to the restaurant, but it was full of things we sell here in Florida at the beach shops and so we all bypassed it and got back on to the bus.

By the time we got to the rainforest the sky was dark and so we all put on our rain gear and split into four groups with four different tour guides.  We headed off in different directions and different bridges.  The weather was muggy despite walking deep into the forest, but there were no mosquitoes as we were too high up.

The first bridge wasn't so high and there was netting along the sides so I was able to cross it.  I had investigated this before arriving via the website and so I felt comfortable with the netting.  I did not look down and yelled at anyone who wanted to jump up and down on the bridge as we crossed it.  I had Darcy and Heather on my side as well and so everyone was quite kind....for awhile.

 The views were amazing from the bridges and we climbed higher and higher into the clouds.  I got brave enough to peer down and over some of the bridges, but I had to stop to do it.  The tour guide ended up with me and he found it quite amusing to make fun of my fear, but he was also kind and did not let the kids make the bridge swing too much.

As we rounded our last bridge the rain came down hard.  I did not care as I had no plans to scurry or run across the longest and highest bridge of them all.  I was first in line with both hands holding on to the sides and so we were somewhat wet by the time we got back to the bus.  We were the second group to emerge from the forest and so the next two groups were soaked through their clothes by the time they climbed aboard.  Alonzo would not let them sit down and so they stood next to us dripping on  us as the bus took us to our new hotel.

It wasn't far down the road and by the time we pulled into the tiny town the rain was gone.  The hotel was in the middle of houses and the children ran out of their houses to stare at the large bus and the Americans.  They sat on their porches or stood in their yards to talk about us and gawk as we unloaded and hiked to our rooms.

We ended up in an upstairs room in a line with our cohorts.  We all had balconies that butted up against each other and so we spent a lot of time climbing from one balcony to another as we opened bottles of wine and snacked on peanuts.  Eventually the others discovered us and we invited them over to the dark side for some needed relief of being off the bus.

View from our balcony

The proprietor of the hotel took our dirty laundry and wet clothes and told us it would all be done by morning.  The kids took off and went exploring in the town while we relaxed.  Dinner would once again be on our own, but for now we just needed to enjoy each other on solid ground. 

Pictures of Costa Rica - Days 1-4

Day 1 - San Jose

First thing I saw while leaving the airport.

Hotel Colaye - our room

On the streets of San Jose

Coca Cola festival across the street

Day 2 - San Jose

 Sitting area upstairs in the hotel

View of the hotel from the sitting area

View the other side from the sitting area

Day 3 - On the road to Arenal

 View from the bus

 Different view as we leave the city and get into the countryside

All so lush and green

 Our first bus stop in a small town

A beautiful courtyard in the town

Day 4 - Arenal

 Heading into the rainforest

 Deep into the rainforest

and heading even deeper...

 Coming out

The Arenal volcano from our hotel covered in clouds

Tread carefully is what I'm saying

Away post # I don't know I've lost count

As I've said before I love Twitter thanks to my brother Rusty who at one time tweeted a thousand times a day.  I follow many of the Pittsburgh Steelers and feel like we are old buddies.  One of the men I followed was Rashard Mendenhall who recently tweeted about Osama bin laden after his reported death.  What he tweeted was something along the lines of how can people be so overjoyed over the death of a human.  Okay, not so bad.  I sort of understood what he was getting at.  I had stated that in an earlier post.  No big deal.

Unfortunately, his next few tweets mentioned how he wasn't sure that bin laden was all that bad and that he didn't believe that two planes could have brought down the world trade center.  I read and read and re-read those tweets, horrified by what I was reading.  Yes, people are entitled to their opinions.  Yes, people have the right to voice them or tweet them or email them.  My horror at what I was reading was along the same lines as the horror I felt regarding the comments that Natalie Maines, of the Dixie Chicks, made overseas about then President George W. Bush.  My horror didn't have to do with what was said, although I disagree, but with how and when it was voiced.

So I stopped buying Dixie Chicks CD's and I "unfollowed" Rashard Mendenhall.  Easy thing to do.

I know the Chicks had a lot of bad press and backlash over what was said.  I read that Mendenhall lost a contract out of his comments.  Just goes back to what our lives have become with the Internet and fast growing news networking.  Be careful what you say, or in this case, write.  But people also have to be careful with how they respond to what others have said or written.  It could turn out to be a vicious cycle.  You don't like what Mendenhall had to say?  Then just "unfollow" him on twitter.  Or don't cheer for him on the football field.  And seriously?  The more we talk about it the more these types of people are in the news.

I'm just saying...

Day 4 - Costa Rica

The hotel is quite spectacular in foliage and beauty. The area of Arenal is mainly tourists and therefore more Americanized then I would like. We lucked out and got in the group that was assigned small bungalows built back from the main building into the forest. Our bungalow is the last one in the row and quite secluded. It is made of wood with a high ceiling and quite spacious considering some of the other accommodations. There is air conditioning thank goodness that I thought wouldn't do much when I first saw it and turned it in, but I was pleasantly surprised and quite chilled while I slept. The bathroom is large with a deep purple toilet and huge walk in shower big enough for the entire family. We have a large front porch with table and chairs and two rocking seats. Unfortunately, being deeper into the woods means more mosquitoes and so we didn't enjoy the porch last night. The floor is all tile and clean. The beds, however, are cheap with a small mattress and thin sheets with holes. The spread is quite worn and not much comfort in the air conditioned room at night. Not complaining though after seeing where others are spending the two nights.

We had to be up by 7:00 this morning for breakfast. The kids were to be ready to board the bus by 8:00 to head to the local school to spend the morning and early afternoon with the kids. Parents were on their own and some ventured to do the horseback riding to the waterfalls. Our group of five decided to go into town as the rain last night had produced a dreary day full of clouds that naturally covered the volcano again. We took a cab into town where we saw the school and toured the very tourist town. We finished just as the sky darkened and went into a cafe for some local dishes and drink right before the rain came pouring down. We had beer, pepsi (the first we have seen here as Coke has the monopoly) guacamole, and avocado ceviche that we all agreed was to die for.

As we finished and needed to head back the rain stopped. We got back to the hotel and joined up with the others. We played with the hotels two parrots that roam free in the outdoor dining area and wandered around. The bus returned with the kids, and I had enough time to kiss Darcy before everyone but two of us got back on the bus and went off to zip line over the rainforest. The quiet was instant and I went back to the room for a siesta, which I discovered Costa Ricans do not engage in. I watched the end of Inkheart while lying on my newly made up bed, and when it was over I peered out my window and saw....THE VOLCANO in all it's glory. It was marvelous. I have been sitting poolside since then with a wonderful view of the volcano while blogging. As I started this entry, the clouds have moved back in and the volcano is invisible again. I hope Tom and the girls got to see it wherever they may be.

The rain is about to hit again so I shall head to the bar to search for the other zip line
reject. The group should be back soon. We have dinner on our own tonight and another four hour bus ride to our next destination tomorrow. I'm hoping for a volcano eruption tonight, but it has been five months since the last one so I'm told not to hold my breath. As I blog, around me is the volcano in front, wandering cows to my right, pineapple plants behind me, and all sorts of colorful flowering plants to my left. This hotel is in the middle of beauty for sure.

Adios!

Weekly Slide Photos

Holidays:

 Easter:

4th of July:

Halloween:

Christmas:

Day 2 & 3 - Costa Rica

The school group arrived bringing with them noise and the energy of the States. They had been sitting too long and the kids ran amok through the hotel playing hide n seek and entertaining one another with travel stories. A small group of us ventured out into San Jose for lunch, settling on a quick sandwich place. Since the Spanish teacher was with us we all had to order in the native language with her jumping in to assist when necessary.

I had my rice and beans, this time with pollo (chicken) and cilantro. I washed it down with Coca Cola, my first since entering the country. Returning to the hotel our group joined others poolside and we talked and sampled the local beer until dinner time, which was crowded and noisy. The hotel had brought in more workers since the school's arrival and added a few more guests as well from our first night.

Our room was quite large, larger than an American hotel room, with two queen beds, a convertible couch, much like our futon, a table and chairs, and the typical dresser and night table. The floor was all tile save for a small rug between the two beds. The bathroom was small with toilet, sink and walk in shower. No notice of flushing the papel (paper) so we used sparingly and had no trouble.

The next morning we met for breakfast in the hotel. It was not at all like our breakfast the day before, but more American with cereal and toast. Eventually out came the rice and beans with scrambled eggs and fried potatoes in the shape of a large triangle. The coffee was weak and not the delicious brew we had experienced earlier. Apparently larger groups require less local details.

We were loaded in the 50 seat passenger Mercades-Benz bus by 8:00 AM, but a mechanical failure put us back a half an hour. Our driver, Wilbur, spoke not a word but showed skill in maneuvering a large piece of machinery up and down winding, narrow, scary, Costa Rican roads. Our guide, Alonzo, spoke perfect English with an accent quite thick that it took me quite some time to realize he was saying, "important" instead of "impedent".

It was a 3 hour bus ride to Arenal. We stopped once in a small town to visit a bank to exchange our dollars into colons and to engage in a 3 on 3 pick-up basketball game with three local boys in the park. We won 16 to 10, but all six boys played evenly and were quite gracious.

We had lunch at a large roadside restaurant about ten minutes from our hotel. It took a lot of time to feed 42 people, but the portions were dinner size and delicious. I had black bean soup with lots of cilantro and a large hard boiled egg dropped into the middle. The view of the main attraction, the volcano, was impressive, but the clouds covered the top and therefore we didn't get much of a look-see.

We had five minutes at the hotel to check into our rooms and change into suits and hiking shoes before climbing back on to the bus and heading to our tour of the rainforest and volcano. Unfortunately, some people had trouble with the instructions and took us more off schedule then we already were with the late lunch.

The rain came down as we drove the ten minutes to our destination. We had three new guides who jumped on board at our hotel for this adventure. We were split into three groups alphabetically with our group being the smallest. Our guide was Heime, who was soft spoken, but adept at English and his knowledge of the rainforest. The rain stopped as we set off and right off we saw two toucan mates flying about in the trees. Heime had binoculars that were so powerful we thought the birds, with their colorful heads were right in front of us. Unfortunately that was pretty much the end of anything exotic, although we saw worker ants, a frog, and three huge owl butterflies that pranced in wild circles around us. The hike was strenuous with large gaping steps uphill and then downhill until I was drenched in sweat and ready to leave the rainforest hiking to Walt Disney. The entire time the clouds stayed hovered over the volcano until our group decided it was all fake - there is no volcano and there are no monkeys in the rainforest!

Of course the other group saw two monkeys and two species of snakes, but our made up stories were more colorful and entertaining around the dinner table later that night as we sampled more of the local beer. We did see guava trees, and Heime allowed us to cut off sugar cane to eat after we found some stalks growing by our bus at the end of the hike.

We next were taken to the hot springs resort with several different baths heated by the lava from the volcano that we still hadn't really glimpsed. By now it was dark and instead of our two hours of relaxing hot-tubing in natural springs we had one hour to let the heat and waterfalls massage our aching muscles. There were slides for the kids and Tom, and plenty of secluded baths ranging in various temperatures the higher you climbed. I tried 95, 110, 130 and freezing, opting to stay with the 110. One bath even had a bar in the middle that you could swim up to and order drinks.

After changing into clothes, we hiked a ways up the resort to a large room for a buffet dinner that consisted of American food with spaghetti and sauce to Costa Rican food with fish and the ever present rice and beans. There was fresh fruit, salad, soup, cole slaw, rolls, and a chocolate fountain with pastries and strawberries. By the time we hiked down, loaded on the bus, and drove back to the hotel, I was drenched in sweat again and sorely tired. I took a cold shower, washed out my delicates and climbed into bed.

Happy Birthday

Today my nephew, Austin, turns 18 years old.  Holy Toledo!  How did that happen?

I remember when he was in his mother's belly.  I remember hearing the news that he had entered the world.  I remember seeing him for the first time.  I remember how little he looked in Tom's big hands.  I remember how much I couldn't wait to see him and interact with him.  I remember how much he ate!  I remember how happy he was.  I remember him the day of his sister's funeral.  I remember the games he use to play.  I remember his chubby little hands in my own.  I remember how careful he was in everything. I remember teaching him how to eat a watermelon.  I remember his interacting with Madison.  I remember when he started school at the same school I attended.  I remember following him in a golf tournament.  I remember him and his attitude so like Axel from the TV show, The Middle.  I remember his kindness when you least expected it.  I remember his giving of attention even when he thought me old and annoying. I remember when he started high school.  I remember his loosing tons of weight and becoming too skinny.  I remember him texting and talking to girls.  I remember him the last time I saw him at Christmas.

Happy Birthday to a great kid! (Sorry, you'll always be a kid to me!)

Hola from Costa Rica

First 5 things we saw after getting off the plane: (I kid you not)
1. Coca Cola sign
2. Hampton Inn
3. Holiday Inn
4. Miley Cyrus Billboard
5. KFC & Burger King

Weather: Cloudy and later lots of rain
Terrain: Bumpy; Hilly
Worst Experience: Cara sick with cough, runny nose, fever, tooth ache
Best Experience: Madison able to communicate with locals

Funny: Our driver who met us at the airport told us that in Costa Rica Sunday was not Mother's Day, but he wished me a good day. Later at the hotel Darcy and I were passing by the pool, which sits between the two buildings that house the rooms.
Me: "What if I just pushed you right in there?"
Darcy: "I'd grab you by the arm and take you with me"
Me: "That's not nice. It's Mother's Day!"
Darcy: "Not here in Costa Rica!"

Food Eaten: Sopa de Pollo - chicken soup with huge fresh veggies of carrots, onions, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower; Mocka Frio - yummy iced mocha; rice and beans; breakfast was rice and beans, scrambled eggs, plantains, fresh fruit - watermelon, papaya, pineapple, and mango; toast; wonderful coffee and some white liquidy beverage that might have been coconut milk or goat's milk or some type of juice - with a stuffy nose it is hard to tell but it felt great on my aching throat.

Feeling much better after a 12 hour Nyquil endured sleep. Enjoying sitting outside the hotel this morning waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. Madison has been our speaker, especially when they all went to dinner last night (without me) and the waiter/chef understood no English. Hoping to recover more today before we climb the hills to our next destination.

San Jose is not much to see - a city very Americanized. Lots of buildings and stores and streets with roaring cars and motor bikers. We get ABC out of Miami on our TV in the hotel and Internet in the next building over. Tom and Maddy explored some yesterday. They went to a Coca Cola festival across from our hotel celebrating the soft drink's 175th anniversary. They checked out a museum downtown. Tom said that like our local area where we have turtles painted and donated around town in various stages of dress; they have coke bottles everywhere. Haven't had a coke here yet however.

Adios!

Uh huh...good to know

Away from blog entry # 2

I had been away from facebook for some time.  When I happened to go on to check something regarding a friend I browsed through those pages of friends I hadn't heard from in awhile to see what I might have missed.  One friend had changed her status from dating someone to engaged.  I immediately commented.  A few days later I received a personal message from her telling me she was married and pregnant.  I was very excited and passed the news on to the family.  I responded to her message and received an answer back.  One of the things she wrote was, " Send besos and abrazos to my girls, and of course a special hola to Tom."

I went to take a shower and found Tom stretched out on the bed reading.

Me:  "Maria told me to give you a special "hola" from her."  I leaned down and pecked his check.  "Hola!"
Tom:  "I'm not the father of her baby.  Just so you know."

Away from the office

While I'm off to Central America hiking the rainforest I decided to ask some guest bloggers to post for me, but since everyone I know has his/her own blogs to write for I thought that unlikely.  Instead I decided to throw in a bunch of stuff I thought entertaining.  I am told that cell phone coverage is spotting and that electronics are better left at home so I'm not sure that I shall be able to blog.  If something should change in that respect, of course I will jump on the Internet wagon and post.  In the meantime....

The Internet Email Rounds - via my neighbor

Lines to make you smile

1. My husband and I divorced over religious differences.  He thought he was God, and I didn't.
2. I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
3. Some people are alive only because it is illegal to kill them.
4. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
5. Don't take life too seriously; no one gets out alive.
6. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.
7. I'm not a complete idiot - some parts are just missing.
8. I'm starting to wonder how bad four years with no president would be.
9. God must love stupid people; he made so many.
10. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
11. Consciousness:  that annoying time between naps.
12. The trouble with life is there is no background music.
13. The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.
14. Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up.
15. Men are always whining about how we're suffocating them.  Personally, I think if you can hear them whinging you're not pressing hard enough on the pillow!

And we insert these things up inside our bodies....who knew?

Yesterday the county came back out to check whether our new plumbing issue was related to the old plumbing issue in which the county had been partly responsible for fixing.  The same guys appeared and joked with me about our toilet habits.  They opened the new clean out valve they had put in the last time and we all stared down into the hole.  It was dry.

Me:  "What does that mean?"
Ed:  "Means you have a problem on your side.  Unfortunately."

But Ed, being the nice man that he is, offered to snake a camera down the clean out value to see whether he could find the problem.  I thanked him and left him to go get ready for work.  When I came back out the camera was in and I joined the two on the lawn.  I bent over and peered into the screen.  It was all in black and white.  I could see my pipes and we delve further and further into the squishy hole that winked back at us as the camera wound its way deeper and deeper.

Me:  "This is like traveling through a vagina.  You guys should call yourselves piping gynecologists."
Ed:  (couldn't speak he was laughing to hard)
Other guy whose name I didn't read off his shirt:  "I think my phone is ringing."

Eventually, about 70 feet under my house we came to a white spot at the bend in the pipe.  The water was only trickling out from this point and Ed said there was the problem.  Just some simply stoppage that a snake could take care of most likely from the clean out valve on top of the roof.  They packed up their things and left.  Tom called a plumber and schedule him to come after my lessons.

The plumber arrived after a fierce rain and lightning storm.  He was about 18 years old and cute, cute, cute.  I didn't get his name.  He talked non stop and mostly told terrible jokes.

Him:  "You have a room devoted to everything Steelers?'
Me:  "I do."
Him:  "Didn't they lose?"
Me:  "Shouldn't you get to work?"
Him:  "Did you hear the joke about the broken pencil?"
Me:  "Is this leading up to a joke about the Steelers losing because I am in no mood."
Him:  "Yeah, okay, I probably shouldn't tell you it."
Me:  "Because seriously dude I've had to poop at my neighbor's house all day long."
Him:  "Yeah, it's pointless!"  Smiles.  "Get it?  Broken pencil?  Pointless."
Me:  "I hope you're a better plumber then a joke teller."

He first went to the clean out valve that the county had put in a few months ago.  We stared down the hole.  I informed him of what the county guy had found with the camera.  I told him it looked like a wad of toilet paper, which I hope it wasn't because my husband insists that this problem is my kids' fault and that they use too much toilet paper.
The hole
was still dry.  He put a snake down it and worked and worked.  Nothing.  The sludge was still in my shower.  He went up on the roof and worked and worked.  I got bored and went inside.  When I heard the motor shut off I checked the bathroom.  Problem solved.  I went outside to inform him.

Him:  "Tampons aren't flushable."
Me:  "Is this a joke?"
Him:  "Afraid not."
Me:  "It was a tampon?"
Him:  "Yes ma'am."
Me:  "Well now.  Who could that have been?"
Him:  "I wonder.  That will be $137.50"
Me:  "For a tampon?"
Him:  "Want me to tell a joke now?"

Here we go once more

For the past two weeks I've noticed some odd noises coming from the toilet in the girls' bathroom.  I mentioned this to the husband.  His reply?

Tom:  "You always think something is wrong."  Rolls over and goes to sleep.

About a week ago the toilet began stopping up.  We told the husband.  His reply?

Tom:  "The kids use too much toilet paper."  Rolls over and goes to sleep.

About three days ago the toilet began stopping up three times a day.  We had the husband plunge it.  His reply?

Tom:  "Stop using the toilet!  This is getting ridiculous.  If you don't know how to use a toilet then just stop using it."

Last night while in the shower rinsing off I heard gurgling noises from my toilet in my bathroom.  The same noises I have heard in the past here.  I immediately climbed out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my body, exited the bathroom and informed husband.  His reply?

Tom:  "Toilets make noises.  That's what they do."  Rolls over and goes to sleep.

So I got ready for bed, brushed my teeth, locked up the house, got the kids in bed, and headed to my room.  Husband was in the other bathroom with the door closed.  When I inquired what he was doing in there?  His reply?

Tom:  "Unclogging this toilet so that I can go to the bathroom."

I went into the master bath and waited.  Soon came the flush and up from my shower came the sludge.  Out of the other bathroom came muttering, gurgling, more muttering, and more gurgling.  Husband came into the bedroom and informed me we had a problem.  My reply?

I didn't have one.  I was in bed pretending I had already fallen asleep. 

Pictures from the week

My artistic arrangement at a table

 Darcy with child...oops...putting someone's baby to sleep

 K9 unit dog at take your kids to work day

 Soccer picnic in park...girls in tree

 Darcy on tree

 Action shot of Maddy

 A cupcake pizza made by Madison