Day Twenty Six - Sea Shells on the Sea Shore

Wow, is it getting warm down here. Now I realize I have to say that with some perspective in mind. Back in Minneapolis, you guys are hitting record highs and slowly turning into something that could be sold on a stick at the State Fair; nevertheless, it’s pretty dang hot down here too. Usually, you’re able to get some relief at night, but as far as I can tell, it stays hot all throughout the night. During the day, the sun is super strong – it feels like the rays are being pinpointed to your exact location like an ant under a child’s magnifying glass. We’ve been plowing through bottles of sun screen, but we really haven’t been burnt yet…fingers crossed!

Since this is my first time out of the country, I have been experiencing many new things each and every day. 

Today’s new experience was paying exit taxes. I never realized I had to pay my way out of a ountry before, but for just 26 bucks, I can leave paradise and return to my smoldering apartment in Minnesota. Taxes aside, banks in Costa Rica are very strange. The two occasions that visited a financial instution left me feeling like I was entering a mental institution…or a library. Unlike in the United States, the banks here are very serious places. Just to enter the Bank of Costa Rica, I was swiped with a wand to check for metal, went through two sets of doors, and had to remove my hat. Once inside, it was eerily quiet, almost too quiet. I stepped slowly to counter, conducted my business, and calmly left. They let me out – thank goodness.

On a side note, I find it pretty fun to withdraw money from Costa Rican ATMs. Since we are abroad, I can only pull out money in the local currency – the colone. On average the going rate is 500 colones to 1 US dollar. So if I wanted to pull out $100, I would need to withdraw 50,000 colones. There’s just something fun about typing all those zeroes which makes me feel like I’m a millionaire. I need to remember to cut that out once I get back to the states!

After paying my fees, I needed to get some lunch, so I headed to this little coffee shop across the parking lot called The Tico Café. Now if you’ve been reading regularly, you know that I have had some pretty awesome food while I’ve been down here. True, many of the meals have been very simple, but the flavors, like the colors of the sunset, are very vivid in strong. Those meals aside, I have had a few experiences that weren’t so hot, and today was one of them.

I walked in to look at the menu, and the lady behind the counter looked at me like she was begging me to order. Even though there wasn’t much on the menu, I couldn’t turn down those puppy dog eyes and ordered an iced vanilla coffee and a cheese sandwich. The coffee was pretty good  - very much like a blended coffee you can get back in the states. However, the sandwich was less than stellar. Turns out, The Tico Café’s idea of a cheese sandwich is three pieces of white bread and one slice of American cheese between each layer. The sandwich is then toasted, not grilled, and slapped on a plate. No butter, no spread of any kind made its way on to the sandwich. I said down the hatch and made it through my meal.

On my way back to school, I stopped at a little supermarket to get something cool to take away from the smoldering noontime heat. I ended up getting an ice cream treat which was mint ice cream with a chocolate shell. Things were looking up – I had the sun and my ice cream and I was headed back to the air conditioned palace known as the CPI office. About halfway through the walk and halfway through my ice cream cone, tragedy struck again. I went to take another bite, and all I got was stick. A few steps earlier, my ice cream delight succumbed to the heat and let go of its wooden support. There, lying on the hot blacktop was my ice cream. Food was not my friend this day.

Food tragedies aside, the day ended up turning out pretty good. Kelly and I FINALLY made our way over to Playa Conchal, and let me tell you – it was worth it! We got to the beach around three o’clock and the tide was down, so we started our trek to one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Costa Rica. Once we made it to the beach, we could easily see why it is classified as such. As far as the eye could see, white beaches met the clear ocean waves. To top it all off, one section of this beach is completely made of broken sea shells. Ouch! you might say; however, through the marvelous work of the ocean, each jagged edge of the shell has been dulled down to create a perfect place to walk. In fact, if you let your feet sink into the bed of shells, you get a pretty good foot scrub! We collected some shells and enjoyed the overall beauty of the beach.

Tomorrow is our last day at CPI, and we fly home Sunday. Not going to lie, I’m going to miss the sun, but I’m going to be happy to share all these stories and more with family and friends.

See you soon!

Casey

Day Twenty Five - I'm on a Boat!

It was very hard to focus in class today. Besides the fact it is getting warmer and warmer each day, we were again focusing on gender and number agreement. To add the final slice of ADD to my plate, Kelly and I signed up to go on a 5 hour sailboat tour that included snorkeling, kayaking, and an open bar. Needless to say, whether or not my nouns had the proper article in front of them was not the focus of my mind today. As the seconds slowly ticked away, I began to imagine all the things I would see on the boat this afternoon.

Finally saved by the bell, Kelly and I made our way with about 10 other students to the shore right across the street from the school.  There we were met by our guides and hopped on a taxi boat to our awaiting ship. The Manta Ray was captained by Matteo and he welcomed us aboard his ship. We were greeted by glasses of rum punch and basked in the sun as the crew prepared the boat. As we were chatting and sipping on our beverages, we noticed that we really weren’t moving. Turns out, there was an issue with the transmission on the boat and there wasn’t enough wind for the sails. With a sad face, Matteo told that us that he would have to cancel today’s tour in order to fix the boat. We were devastated.

However, we began inching forward. I thought we were just making  U-turn, but we kept heading out to sea. Then, the sails began to open up and we started moving faster. The crew had figured out a solution and we didn’t need to cancel the tour! The power of good thought definitely came through in this case. With full sails, we made our way to a secluded beach to snorkel and relax.

Once we arrived, I donned my snorkel gear and hoped in the water. Sadly, with the storms of last week, the water was kind of murky. Nevertheless, I am not one to miss an opportunity to explore – especially in the water. We made our way closer to shore and I was able to see some starfish, some reef, and a small school of fish. With the assistance of a pool noodle, I swam my way around the waters near the boat. After awhile, the murky waters just stayed murky and I made my way back to boat to further investigate the open bar.

After awhile, lunch was served – sub sandwiches with chips and “boat-made” guacamole. One of the things I love most about Ticos is the humble welcoming that they seem to offer to everyone. The three members of the crew went above and beyond to make sure we were having a great experience. They wanted to offer us whatever they could and then some. From drinks to beautiful views, the crew made us feel welcome. Also, Kender, the snorkeling expert of the crew, brought back some fish that he caught by hand to show off. He had found three puffer fish – two with the spikes and one that was almost a vivid banana yellow. It was great to see the wildlife in their natural habitat.

After eating and relaxing some more, we started to make our way back as the sun slowly set in the background. I know I have been talking a lot about the sunsets here in Playa Flamingo, but today’s was by far the prettiest one I have ever seen in my life. The colors faded and changed like an artist had a brush in his hand and delicately painted the changing sky. Everything was so incredibly vivid; it was a bit breath taking. With my Kelly right next to me, I got to experience beauty in the sky with beauty by my side.

We returned around 8 – a full hour later than expected, but it was so worth it. I’m sad to say that we only have two more days of classes left. We leave for San Jose on Saturday and leave for home on Sunday. Time is literally flying by. I want to grasp on to every moment…let’s hope it lasts.

Much Love,
Casey

Day Twenty Four - Casey Pretends He is Bear Grylls

We’re getting to the point in the trip where the end is imminent. Like I said yesterday, from here on out, it is our final day of the week here in Costa Rica. For the most part, I think I’m ready to come home. We’re getting into the nitty gritty of the language in my classes by studying gender and number agreement of nouns and adjectives in a sentence. The lessons are a bit tedious, and they’re taking away from my sun time! Gosh, I sound like I’m a teenager again…Then again, when you get to go on adventures like I got to go on today, I long for some more time in this beautiful country.

Our adventure started yesterday when Kelly and I wanted to go to see Playa Conchal. Remember the tide was too high and we just said forget it. Well today, our friend who has been studying here for the past four weeks said she would take us after class. With a new guide in hand, Kelly and I ventured off to see one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire country.

Turns out, the tides have just changed in Brasilito. The water is coming in much earlier than in previous weeks and is blocking off the passageway to get to Playa Conchal. Our Mama Tica told us the water wasn’t very high and we could just forge our way across. Trying not to be sissies, we started to make our way across through the incoming tide. For the record, our Mama Tica is about 5 feet tall and she said the water went up to her knees...

As we walked across, the water levels kept rising and soon enough, it was at my chest level. Not wanting to chance getting in any deeper, we made our way back to shore to think of a new way across. Around the bend of the beach, we could see a fallen tree in the water. A good 50 percent of the tree was exposed above water level, so doing my best Bear Grylls impression, we slowly and steadily made our way across the tree. At one point, there was a short gap that we needed to jump and we also needed to land on what seemed like a pretty flimsy root. The root held as the three of hopped across.

Once on the other side, we were met by a plethora of little blue and red crabs who have a nest just above the water level. As they scurried into their holes, we began fighting our way through the brush. As I was stomping my through a pretty hefty bush, Kel and Elise decided that maybe tomorrow would be a better day to visit the beach. My good senses agreed and we began our way back through the Costa Rican obstacle course. Another Tico on his way back from the beach showed us the easier way across and we set up shop on the other beach to watch the sunset.

Sunsets in Costa Rica are amazing. It is just that simple. The colors are incredibly brilliant and the sounds of the waves accent the descent of the sun. The reds blend in with the yellows, and the purples fade to orange. Each day bring an even more beautiful sunset to be seen. It’s hard to believe that Costa Rica keeps outdoing itself with the natural beauty it possesses. It’s no wonder why this country is one of the world’s largest eco-tourism locales.

As the sun said its final goodbye, we made our way back to the house to have dinner with the family. The boys had school today and were reluctant to finish their homework; however, once they did, we went out and played some soccer on their patio. Kevin, the larger of the two boys, said that he was Messi, and with a mix of “Oles,” he attempted to dribble past and score a goal past me. There were some hard fought battles, but I think he ultimately beat me. I won’t say that I let him win, but he did have some pretty good skills.

Pura Vida,
Casey

Day Twenty Three – Welcome to CPI Playa Flamingo!

Green Day has a song that has the perfect message for the way we are feeling right now – Welcome to Paradise. Although Billie Joe Armstorng’s words a tab bit tongue in cheek; Playa Flamingo is the epitome of that word – paradise.

We woke this morning to the sounds of chickens outside our window. I forgot to mention yesterday where we are specifically living. In Brasilito, there is a little complex of house and a motel that our host family owns. Pretty much everyone in their entire family lives on the grounds, and there are at least 3 different sets of CPI students staying there as well. Kel and I lucked out pretty well because we get to have on the rooms in the motel to ourselves. Two beds, a TV with cable, a fridge, and a cold shower await us every night when we get home. Don’t get us wrong, we love living with the families – that’s the whole point of the immersion experience – but it is nice to have some privacy.

The family we are staying with is made up of a younger couple and their two twin sons. They’re about the same age as my brother and sister and the boys just turned 8. Their house is like the typical small home most Costa Rica families live in. They have a dog that Kattia was embarrassed to share name with me because her name is Casey as well. Oh well, the two Casey’s can definitely get along.

We ate gallo pinto for breakfast and were off for our first day of classes at CPI Playa Flamingo. The school is a short 15 minute bus ride from our house. As we got closer to the school, we realized that we were literally a hop, skip, and a jump from the beach. The building itself is rather beautiful and has a basketball court, a pool, and a Jacuzzi. Not going to lie, I’m starting to wonder why I don’t teach in a place like this! Classes went well and I’m actually in a class with one of my classmates from Monteverde. There are quite a few of us from Monteverde that traded the rain and cloud forest for the sun and beach.

After class today, we headed out to get some lunch. We found this little sub and pizza shop not more than 5 minutes from the school and grabbed a bite there. From lunch, I headed to the Flamingo Beach Resort that has a special partnership with CPI that allows students to use the premises for free. I ordered a cerveza and soaked in the rays until Kelly got done with her afternoon classes.

One of the cool features of CPI Playa Flamingo is the fact they offer changing rooms and a shower to use before and after you head to the beach. Needless to say, Kel and I took full advantage of them on day one. After Kel’s classes, we headed to Playa Flamingo – the beach, and swam in the ocean for about an hour. It was definitely fun fighting the waves as the tide came in. After swimming, we headed back to CPI to swim in their pool and waited for the best to arrive to take us back to Brasilito.

The night brought another venture down to the seaside to watch the sunset with my classmate Joelle. While watching the colors change from red, to yellow, to orange, to purple, I began to think about how this would be our last Monday in Costa Rica. In fact, from here on out, it will be our last (Insert day of the week) here in Costa Rica. A month is nearly up, but we’ve been having a blast the entire time.

Pura Vida,
Casey

Day Twenty Two – The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

After yesterday’s craziness, we were hoping that today would bring some better luck. Boy, were we wrong when we woke up. As my alarm sounded on my phone, we awoke to another sound – the rain pitter pattering on the roof. Yes, I understand we are in Costa Rica during the rainy season, and yes, I know that it is par for the course; however, can a guy catch a break every once in awhile? On a side note, yes I know I’m whinning about being in a wonderful country during a three month vacation, but with all due respect, Costa Rica needed to get its act together!

We ate breakfast at the hotel while we hoped and prayed that the rain would stop. There was a significant debate of whether or not to just cancel the tour of the park altogether and just relax at the hotel. Luckily enough, cooler heads prevailed and we grabbed our gear and headed back to the national park in Manuel Antonio. As we boarded the bus, the sun started to shine through, and we knew then, we would be in for a good day.

Turns out, it was a lot better than we expected. Once we got to the park, we had a little bit of a hike to get to beach we were going to. Along the path, we were able to appreciate, in the sunlight, the beauty of the park. We saw some of the tallest bamboo I have ever seen, numerous types of other plants and flowers, and  a few animals decided to grace us with their presence. The first animal we saw a three-toed sloth right at the entrance of the park. It was just hanging out in the tree, being a sloth. Then we saw some Morphos and heard some different calls of the birds of the forest. Next we saw some blue and red crabs that were skittering about near the path. Kelly and I were really enjoying the wildlife, but much of our group just wanted to get to the beach. They ran ahead whilst we stayed back with the guide. That was a good choice. We got to see this massive black iguana just hanging out in the tree. Good things do come to those that wait.

After we finally made it to the beach, Kel and I decided it was definitely worth the wait. There had to be no more than 10 other people at the beach when we first arrived. We snapped some photos, and Ted and I checked out the tide pools. There were tons of crabs walking about, and every time you hopped on a new rock, more would dash away. For my first experience with tide pools, it was pretty darn cool.

Then we decided to try out the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Reluctantly, I will share this bit of information with you…When we first got in the water, I started to wonder to myself why is everything so salty, and then I remembered, I’m in the ocean, not a lake in Minnesota! Definitely a light bulb moment for me there. We swam for a bit and then headed back to the beach to catch some rays. However, we were about to catch something else…

Another reason why the Manuel Antonio beach is so popular is the fact there is so much wildlife about – including very brave raccoons and monkeys. As we were walking back, we saw a raccoon grab a bag from some unsuspecting beach goer and scurry back into the forest. Our guide said that was not an uncommon sight¸ and to be prepared to see monkeys soon. And they did not disappoint. About a half hour later, a pack of white faced monkeys made their way to the beach. Amidst much hullabaloo, the monkeys sprang from tree to tried to snap photos of them. We didn’t rush over with the crowd however; we had seen a family of monkeys up close just a couple of Fridays ago. Nevertheless, these monkeys wanted to outdo those from Monteverde. They came right up to where we were stationed and hung out for awhile. I got some pretty good photos of a mama monkey with her baby on her back. As I was trying to get one last shot of the pair, another monkey nearly brushed my leg as it ran by. Yes I jumped, I’m not afraid to admit that.

After my near encounter with my primate cousin, we started to make our way back to the hotel. But as we were leaving, something caught Kelly’s eye. Right above us in the tree we were getting shade from was a pair of sloths – a mama and a baby! Kelly definitely could be a guide in the forest with eyes like those. The two of them were actually pretty cute because the mama was scratching as sloths love to do, and her baby was mimicking her every action. I love seeing teaching happen.

After the beach, we headed back to the hotel to check out and go on our separate paths. It was nice to catch up with old friends again. Our second trip definitely solidified our friendships and we will be seeing them soon. I mean, Ted lives in Orlando…Harry Potter World anyone? We set out for our next destination which would be Playa Flamingo. We had six hours in the bus ahead of, but with DJ Chinchilla on our sides, the time flew by. We made it to Playa Flamingo just in time to see our first sunset go down on the Brasilito Beach. It may not be Monteverde, but Kel and I are definitely going to take advantage of the week ahead of us.

Pura Vida,
Casey

Day Twenty One - Playing the Waiting Game

The sky was crying this morning - I think it knew that we were leaving. Then again, it is the rainy season in Costa Rica, but I do like it when things get to be poetic like that.

We ate our last breakfast with Ana Patricia – of course it was gallo pinto. She was so excited to tell us about her trip to San Jose and being on TV. I showed her the video we took of the show and she was just glowing. Although, she was happy to recount her time on TV, it seemed that there might have been a tear in her eye. We definitely made a very strong connection with our host parents – a lot deeper than I think most relationships get. Before we left, we ran across the street to say good bye to Tomas as well. He was working in the morning and was happy that we came to have one last good bye. We will definitely have to stay in contact with them.

Around 7 o’clock, our bus arrived and we started our trip to Manuel Antonio. Manuel Antonio is one of the first national parks of Costa Rica and it is located on the southern coast about halfway through the country. Since we were coming down from the mountains, we knew it would take a while to reach the shore, but I don’t think we were prepared for how long the trip was going to actually be. More on that later.

After driving for a couple hours, we made a stop, our first of many, to pick up the rest of our exploration party. Six students from Playa Flamingo joined us as we made our journey to the national park. Kel and I were happy to see some familiar faces waiting to get picked up. Ted, one of the first people we met in Costa Rica, and a couple others from our previous stay in Heredia hopped on the bus and we were off.

Remember how I said we were prepared for a long journey? Well, here’s the part where it gets really long. About an hour after picking Ted and the rest of our party up, we stopped again for breakfast at the equivalent of a truck stop. We munched on gallo pinto again, and after an hour, we cruised away. An hour later, our driver wanted a smoke…so we stopped again. 45 minutes later someone wanted to take a photo of the first sight of the coastline…so we stopped again.

About three random stops later, we made it to Quepos, the town near the park where we would be staying. We checked in the hotel and our guide decided it was time for lunch. We hit up this little chicken joint where Kelly and I shared some nachos. I found some mamon chino at a little fruit stand near the restaurant and needless to say I was satisfied. We left and went back to the hotel one last time so people could change into beach clothes before we made our way to the hike and beach in Manuel Antonio Park.

That is where we thought we were going. By the time we all loaded up and made it to the park, it was about 3 o’clock. Funny story – the park closes at 4. And when our guide tried to pay our entrance with 100 dollar bills, the cashier said he couldn’t take them. So the trip that we paid for – to visit the national park – was not going as planned. We headed to the other beach that was not as secluded and didn’t include a hike. And to top it all off, the rain began. I still made my way into the ocean, but sadly, no one else would come.

In fact, they thought it a better idea to find a bar to try and wait out the rain. We found a place, ordered drinks and started to play cards. Turns out, Costa Rica has some pretty crazy rules when it comes to playing blackjack. One of my favorites is that if you get a face card and a two, it equals 20.5. Don’t ask me how that math works, but it helped me beat the dealer a few times. Sadly, the rain didn’t stop, but we still had fun. There’s that saying about turning lemons into lemonade, but I think it works better when you take coconuts and turn them into pina coladas.

We headed back to hotel and decided to go swimming in the rain. The water was chilly, but we shared some wine to celebrate one of our group member’s birthday – so we stayed warm. After the swim, we relaxed until we left for dinner. We headed back to Quepos because it is less expensive than around Manuel Antonio. We found a little Itallian place that had moderately priced food and live music. The meal would have been great, but it took three hours to complete. I guess today was just a day of waiting for us. Tico time does exist, we better get used to it.

After dinner, a few of us got together on the patio in Ted’s room for more cards and drinks. It was really nice to lay low and socialize with people. I dazzled with a few of my magic tricks and we all shared some really great stories. For the most part, there are really good people studying at our school. They all have very different backgrounds, but they all seem fairly genuine…even Ted. Kel and I both hope to stay in contact with many of them. Who knows, maybe we’ll have a CPI reunion.

Much love,

Casey 

Day Twenty – Our Tico Parents are Famous!

Our last Friday in Monteverde. It feels weird saying that. We love it so much here that saying goodbye is rather bittersweet. We know that we will probably have an amazing time in Playa Flamingo, but we’re having so much fun here. Maybe we’re creatures of habit, but we definitely wouldn’t mind spending our last week here.

Today was a pretty good day at CPI. In classes, we played games and just conversed about life in general. We continued our learning, but it was nice to use our new language to share our lives. I’m really understanding a lot more and am able to create my own thoughts using the words I’ve learned. Three weeks in and I can hold my own in a conversation. The conversation may be slow, but I can still get a thought in every once in awhile.

After classes, Kelly and I made the rounds and said goodbye to our teachers and the staff of CPI. The Monteverde staff were absolutely great – the help us out in so many ways from getting Kelly the classes and attention she needed to helping us plan awesome excursions. Muni and Digna were just two of the people that made CPI feel like a home away from home. Always with a smile or some fun story to tell, they always had the best interests of the students in mind.

We made our final trek down the huge hill in Monteverde and stopped by a few artisian shops and decided to get lunch at a place in Santa Elena called Morphos. A morpho is a type of butterfly that Costa Rica is renowned for – it has these beautiful electric blue wings that glisten as it flies. Truly a sight to see. We grabbed a quick bite of their version of a veggie burger – using an omlette instead of a burger patty – and guanabana batido. Guanabana is another one of those fruits that I tried for the first time down here that I can’t wait to find back in the US.

After lunch, we traversed our way through the shops one last time in Santa Elena. We couldn’t spend too much time browsing because we needed to get back to the house by 4:30. Why you ask? Because at 4:30, Tomas and Ana Patricia were going to be dancing on a TV show called Con Sello de Oro – an afternoon program for Tico senior citizens. The two of them were by far the best dancers – and I’m not just saying that because they were our Tico parents. With huge smiles, they danced to the songs written to celebrate Monteverde.

Monteverde and Santa Elena are both great little villages. It was very evident that the people who live there think they have the best place in the world to reside in. As the dancers spoke with the host of the TV show, they all stated how thankful they were to be from such an awesome place. Truth be told, Monteverde reminds us a lot of Ely, Minnesota where Kelly’s family has a cabin. From the quaint shops to the relaxed atmosphere, Monteverde offered a slice of that up north life that we left behind in the states. Heck, even the weather was reminiscent of summers in Ely.

It was sad to start packing. We were going to be leaving behind a great place, but we do know that we can always come back. We made some great friends and great memories, and we will always be able to hang on to that.

Pura Vida,
Casey