Costa Rica

Arriving from Panama i was immediately struck by the landscape of Costa Rica. traveling by bus you get to see so very much and i enjoy watching the changing landscape whether it is within a country or across countries. in this case, the landscape itself was similar to Panama...lots of bananas and farms and periodically homes and small villages. however the standard of living was and is higher in Costa Rica and that was apparent right away. also obvious...tourism is an industry here and a high priority for the country.

I had heard about Cahuita from a few friends and had thought it would be a good stop along the way. turns out it was more than a stopover. the tranquility of the small town and hostel, and of course the beautiful beach held me there for a few days. even as i began to feel the itch to leave it was hard to resist the pull of the ocean. in all honesty it was the urgency of another traveler and the coming rains that finally inspired me to leave. so off i went on a 9:30am bus with two new friends who shall now be referred to as the Dynamic Duo. hailing from Montreal they were headed to the pacific ocean and i was planning on going straight to Monteverde. however by the time we arrived in San Jose, we were together heading to La Fortuna to visit the great and active volcano Arenal. we had the best bus-travel karma ever and the day was made perfect as we sat on the balcony of the hostel and watched as the volcano smoked, shook and then spewed red, hot lava! there were people later who told us they were in La Fortuna for weeks and had not witnessed anything like it and there we were on our first night! sheer perfection!

after La Fortuna we set off for Santa Elena-Monteverde. together we walked along the suspension bridges and few over the treetops on the ziplines in the cloud forests. and with that my time with the Dynamic Duo ended as they headed back to Cahuita in search of sun and heat and i remain here in search of a relatively manageable route to Nicaragua. a bit of the Interamericana (major highway linking the countries of Central America) that leads to Nicaragua collapsed and sort of washed away with the rains leaving a large gap in the road, lots of people stranded and internet-phone access limited (one reason i have not posted lately). not that i am surprised by this, i knew it would happen on the trip and in fact imagine it will happen a few times. i did not expect it to happen here though. so here i am hanging out in Costa Rica...not necessarily a bad thing, in fact i know other travelers who would kill for more time here.

which leads to my thoughts on Costa Rica. one day soon i will post photos and they will not do the country justice as it is incredibly beautiful. it is also as lovely and charming as everyone says. i completely understand why people come here for vacations and honeymoons. i would certainly recommend people visit.

and...i am ready to go. i set aside 2 weeks for Costa Rica and after less than a week i was ready to go. not sure i can accurately explain why i feel this way. the best i can do is to say that it feels like a vacation here...like a place to see beautiful plants, animals and locations. a place for seeing and for relaxing...but i guess i am on this trip for something different- to experience, understand, observe, learn and i am not confident i am getting that. hmm...i certainly learned and experienced a lot in regards to the people i have met along the way:
-getting from Panama to Costa Rica and managing the border crossing with a lovely Dutch couple
-the long Costa Rican bus ride and afternoon on the beach with the German Journalist
-the impromtu hike in the park with the Australian Don Juan and Danish Chef
-the days of fun, conversation and food with the Dynamic Duo
-education on the various types of Costa Rican music by a Tico musician-hostel worker
-horseback riding through the local villages with a real-life Tico cowboy
-the night hike with the Oregonian
ok so many wonderful memories of times spent here in Costa Rica. i guess what i feel is missing is a deeper understanding of the culture, people and history of CR...but that seems to be all wrong. the truth is, it is in the relationships that i understand more...about myself, my surroundings, other people and thus the world. this trip was not about facts but people, culture, thoughts, opinions and lives and that is what i have been experiencing.

pura vida!