Don Juan coffee/chocolate tour

On Sunday morning, we got up to go to the Don Juan coffee, chocolate, and sugar cane plantation.  It's most profitable to grow more things at once, especially since the coffee season is short and coffee is finicky. We got there and the whole tour group was four of us and four of a family:grandma, mom, brother, and sister. The kids were pretty bored and whiny, especially the daughter who was younger than 8. At first, it was informative but not to interesting, this is a coffee tree, these are the coffee cherries, and stuff like that.  Coffee is super complicated. It needs the right temperature, the right sunlight, the right breeze, and even then, the season for harvest is only about 2 weeks long. No wonder it's so expensive!

We got to see where it is spread out to dry, how the outer shell is separated from the bean, how the beans are sorted by size, how they are roasted...

We got to eat sugar cane. The guide cut us some with a machete, por supesto,and we just ate sticks of it...I didn't like it, it was too sweet.

Then, we got to make chocolate! It comes in this nasty looking fruit like this

Once you peel off the all the slimy bits, you get little things that look like almonds.  They put these out to dry in the sun for a couple days. Then, the fun begins!

We ground up the bean in the mortar and pestles.  The square tin is full of coco butter, which is good for your skin.  We didn't use it in the chocolate though, I guess it makes it spoil faster? Chocolate bars have been found in archeological digs  that are 4000 years old and still edible...because the coco butter was separated out. Then, we put it in this machine which the kids had a great time cranking...with the help of our guy friend (who is like a bear).

We ground the smashed beans in this machine and out came chocolate! Well, not chocolate like you're thinking, but much closer than the "monkey brains" in the fruit.
Then, the guide made some magic and added some stuff and melted it into shot-sized glasses.  The first one had a secret ingredient...it was black pepper. He kept adding more and more of the ingredients that we are used to, sugar, milk, more sugar, cinnamon, until we all agreed it was good. 

At the end, we got a ride in an "authentic" ox-cart, drawn by cows.  We also got to meet Don Juan, the 75 year-old owner of everything we just saw, whose face is on all the bags.

Monteverde Cloud forest and Santa Elena, mi fin de semana final

On Friday after class, I came home and packed for my weekend.  Then I took a nap because I had about 2 hours before I had to leave and I danced way too late on Thursday!  When woke up my ipod said it was 2:08...which it was, in Omaha.  The bus was leaving at 2:30 so I jumped up and ran out the door...I left the sandwiches I made for the weekend in the fridge. I literally ran down the street to U latina because all the taxis hang out there. My original plan was to ride the bus for about 40 cents, but I jumped in a taxi and took a 5 dollar ride instead.  I told the taxi drive how late I was, how I needed to be there at 2:30...but wait! I asked him what time it was, and he said 1:15. Well, that was dumb.

I met mi amigos in the plaza de cultura in San Jose. We got to the bus station on time, and settled in for a 4-plus hour bus ride.  At first, we stopped a lot and people came on the bus to try and sell us things like candy and grapes, and then they got off and we went on. Then, we started picking up people who had to stand in the aisles for 3 hours or more. Bizarre. One of the guys standing on the bus was from Switzerland.  He stood right next to me or sat there for about 2 hours, so we chatted.  He's 24 and has traveled through South America and Thailand. He started this trip about 4 months ago in Mexico City and backpacked his way down to Costa Rica.He works for about 8 months until he saves enough money. Then, he quits is job and backpacks until he run out.  He said this was his last trip, he's finished his engineering degree and had to start a career... He called goggles "water glasses" which made sense, but when we said the word "goggles" he just shrugged it off.  

We got in around 7:30, later than expected.  We went down and checked in at the hostel. It as called Monteverde Backpackers; there is a string of "Backpackers" hostels throughout Costa Rica and maybe Central America.  This was our room:

Not bad for $10 a night and free breakfast! We had our own bathroom too, although to use the sink we had to turn the water on and off from the wall because the faucet leaked.  We got two keys and the room locked securely, and there were little wooden lockers just in case.

Once we got settled, we went to eat dinner at a place called los amigos.  It was a bar/restaurant/dance floor. I had some awesome pesto spaghetti, and we scoped it out...the dance floor was full of teenagers on a trip...they had chaperons to make sure they weren't dancing too close who also made the DJ change the song if it was too provocative.  We heard Miley Cirus AND Justin Bieber....Well, we were already there, so our group of 6 headed out and had some fun....but then got bored because we are craving the salsa and meringue we are learning.

On Saturday morning, I went to another zipline! Everyone else was going and I didn't want to be left out.  It was the original zipline in Costa Rica and was worth it! One line was 1 km long, just about half a mile.  We got to go "superman" where we were laying instead of sitting, face down the whole way. The views were amazing! There was also a "tarzan swing" which was like the Ripcord in Worlds of Fun, except that you had to step off a platform.  The guys said, "We're gonna open the gate, and you bend your knees and walk off the edge." If you didn't walk of the edge, the pushed you. I just did it without thinking, and looking back on it, that was pretty impressive. 

Afterwards, we went back to the hostel and regrouped a little.  Then, we went to Monteverde Cloud Forest reserve to hike and see stuff.  We eventually split into 3 and 3 and spaced out, so that the 6th person in back didn't miss everything because those in front scared it off.  The path was gravel though, so being quiet was hard.  It was really beautiful, and we heard lots of birds, but we didn't see much.  There were two of these guys playing around:

I don't know what I was expecting to happen, but it started to pour while we were there.  There was also a huge thunderstorm with lightning that was a little too close. I made a video so you could hear what it sounded like!
It's called "thunderstorm and bird's song"

 

It was a pretty surreal experience.  We spent\ about 3 hours in the park before catching a van to head back to Santa Elena around 3.  All six of us had signed up for a night hike, but after we realized it was $22, everyone backed out except for me and another girl. This is honestly a quotation from that conversation, "Well, I can see animals anywhere, I'm not paying $22. It worth $15, max."  Well, it's a good thing I left because I couldn't handle how dumb that was.  

The van came about 5:30; it gets dark here around 6.  We headed up to a different place than we had gone to before and met our guide and picked up flashlights.  The first thing we saw, before even starting the trail, was a rhinoceros beetle and his lady, the biggest beetles in the world. The pincers can break the bone in your finger. Don't do it. 

Right off the bat, we saw a cotimundi, which I remember from the animal planet.  It related to a raccoon but is longer and thinner and has claws that will mess you up. Then, we started walking. The guides had walkie-talkies and were constantly radioing each other about where the animals were.  It wasn't long before our guide heard that an endangered animal was in a tree, and he started running and telling us to hurry, hurry, hurry. "Look at this, my friends. 3 years ago, there were only 50 of these living on the reserve.  This is very rare, my friends."  I heard other guides calling their groups "friends" as well, so it must have been protocol or something.  Throughout the rest of the hike, we saw 2 sloths, a green viper, fireflies, a scorpion that glowed under black light, a cricket with antennas 3 times as long as its body, a stick bug that was 8 inches long and a moth that could cover my face.  We had to turn the lights off to see glowing fungi, so we made a train by grabbing each others shoulders and yelling back to the person behind us what was happening on the trail.  It was totally worth it! These things are microscopic, so under light it just looked like wet wood. Then, we had to be totally still and quiet so he could coax a tarantula out of its hole with a stick.  Disgusting and intriguing all at once...I didn't throw up, which is the reaction I expected. Worth at least $30, easily. 

We went to eat dinner at a restaurant that build in a ficus tree. I had more pasta: alfreado with ham, bacon, and mushrooms. I had a headache, so I went back home after that, but there was a cover charge to go into los amigos, so everyone joined me soon after...this entry is too long, see "coffee tour" to finish the weekend.

Dance lessons (for free!)

I went to the lessons on Tuesday and we learned meringue and salsa, just some basic steps...and  lots of spinning! We had even numbers of guys and girls, so it worked out well. Most of them were fast learners, but there were 2 that were really wierd and not fun to dance with. 

Thursday, we added in more confusing turns.  One of them felt like I was getting chicken winged, so it wasn't my favorite.  After the lessons is when it really got good! We went to this discotek  called Castro's.  At first, it was a little overwhelming.  I had to buy water, they wouldn't give us free glasses of water, and the only people there were some creeping looking older-than-30 guys and Americans.  The music was loud and there were lots of lights and i just felt like it was too much.  Plus, a girl I went with was getting asked to dance, but I wasn't...I'm sure it was becuase I looked as miserable as I felt.  After a while, I forced myself to be a little peppier, and I  got asked to dance. This tico was super cool and taught me a lot of stuff. I even learned a whole knew dance that I can't remember the name of...he was super patient and I had a lot of fun. We probably danced about 5 songs, and I spent a lot of time spinning and giggling. 

After 25 minutes or so, I had a pretty bad side stitch, so I had to take a break. No wonder these people are so delgado-thin. They dance so much and so fast! I sat for a few minutes, and another guy asked me to dance.  I was going to say no, but before I could my friends said yes for me and I was pushed out of my chair....this guy was probably 35 and a creep.  He kept telling me I had to be really close to him when I pushed him away, like that is how the dance it.  I was really clumsy because I was so uncomfortable, and after a few minutes of me moving is hands up and pushing him away and trying to think of what to say so I could leave, and said "gracias" and let me go and walked away. I was relieved.

After that, I wanted to get in some good salsa or meringue, but the music was all club music that we would hear in the US, in Spanish but the same kind of dancing...It was really lame, and it hit 12:30 so we had to leave.  By the way, I have class everyday at 7, so we wake up about 6.  I accidently woke up my tica sister when I came in, and she poked her head out looking really bewildered.  "Está bien, estoy aquí." After my shower, it probably made it to bed around 1.

Class on Friday was rough, but it was worth it and I plan to do it again this week!

My fourth week in San José

Monday, I went for a run with a classmate in the afternoon.  We ran the campus of the Universidad de Costa Rica, which is way bigger and way prettier than U Latina.  It was also really hilly, and she had about 4 inches on me, so she whupped me. 

Tuesday, I went to a free salsa/meringue class in the evening.  It was so fun! and also sweaty, but still really fun.  There was an even number of guys and girls, and most of the guys I danced with had been there before, or at least were good sports about it.  There were two guys that were a little..."off," and I had 3 dances between the two of them...other than that, it was awesome!  The rest of the group went out afterwards, but I deemed the school week too young to stay up too late. 

Wednesday, I went with a classmate to San José with the original intention of buying bus ticket to Monteverde for myself and 3 others.  First, I went to the National Museum of Costa Rica, which had a bunch of different stuff in it.  First there was, of course, a butterfly garden.  It was filled with signs that explained the life cycle o butterflies and their relationship with the flowers and stuff like that.  About this time I realized that my camera batteries were on the way out. 

The museum is in the building that was used by the rebels during the Costa Rican civil war in 1948, and when we left the butterfly garden we went out into a courtyard.  One wall was marked with an explanation of a historic event- the abolition of the army in 1949! Here the leader of the rebels, who had "won" the civil war and was now acting as the leader of the country, hammered down some of the wall to signify the end of the army.  There a display of pre-Columbian artifacts found in Costa Rica, which were really ornate and well made.  This exhibit also had lots of signs explains what thing were and how they were used.  We learned that all bones in the exhibit were real!

There was another exhibit of a famous Costa Rican photographer...his last name was Coto.  He photographed from like the 60's to the 90's, and had pictures of Irazu volcano erupting in '63-'64 and had a photo of JFK's visit here.  I learned that the fort had another defense tower at one time which was demolished so it could never be used as a fort again.

Then, we set off walking to the bus station to buy the tickets.  I went on Tuesday with some classmates to a bus station, and I thought it was the same, but I was very, very wrong.  The one I needed was in a...rough part of San Jose.  Nothing happened, but as soon as I realized we were the only women on the street, we caught a taxi, even though it took us like a block.  We got there, and I was super disoriented because I thought we were going to the same place as the day before, but this was smaller and dirtier...We asked, and were told it closed at 4...it was 4:14 at this time.  So, we took a taxi to the bus stop, and took the bus to the university, and I walked home.

Tonight is dancing class again, and I think I'll go out afterwards, since tomorrow is a Friday and nothing happens in classes on Fridays. Then, after class, I head to the bus stop for a 4 hr. ride to Monteverde!!!

Arenal and La Fortuna

Arenal is a Volcano to the North West of San Jose.  We left on Friday at 12:30 on a bus and drove for about 5 hours, I think.  Its not that far on a map, but we drove through mountains so the route was not direct.  We drove over a few one lane bridges without side rails in the giant bus...I just never looked down.  We stopped for a bathroom/snack break here:

Mountains as far as you can see.  We got to the hotel and checked in, then we got back on the bus to go up to the rooms.  It was this big resort place, and every room had a volcano view, which meant that the rooms had to be spread around.  It wasn't as nice as Tamarindo, but water was hot and the air was conditioned.  We went down to dinner in the restaurant and the lady in charge was a little crazy.  She told us we had to move because we sat in the wrong spot.  She even made some kids move once they had started eating.  The only thing I can think is that ISA has a bad reputation there and she was trying to avoid trouble? I have no idea.
This Arenal

After dinner, I (swim)suited-up and went to the pools/hot springs.  If any of the pools were chlorinated, it was very little, so I was happy.  The volcano heats the water, and the built little pools around the natural springs.  There was a string of about 6 springs which got hotter as you went up.  The pool had a swim up bar and there were some water slides.  It was a good deal.  We swam until the pools closed at 10.
On Saturday morning, I got up and had breakfast in the restaurant and went to the stables for the horseback ride I signed up for.  There were a few cows around, but other than that I thought I was in the wrong place except for the actual stable building.  Then, these horses come running in from nowhere, and filled the ring. 

 

So many horses!!! Then, this tico guy rides in after all of them.  He takes off his shirt and lassos a couple, and I just kinda stood outside the gate no knowing where to look...No one else showed up! I had a private horse ride tour of Arenal! We hadn't been walking very long before he heard a toucan.  I heard it, but couldn't manage to see it because the sun was right behind the tree.  Also, the guide spoke no English and I wasn't too sure about the directions he was giving to see it.  

The ride was fun but scary sometimes, especially since the trails were really wet and rocky so the horse slipped sometimes.  He was really slow and sometimes the guide seem bored, but I tried to have a conversation to make it better.  He lived there his whole life and grew up with horses.  Stuff like that.  Here's proof that I actually rode the horse:

He was albino and had creepy eyes, but he didn't kick me in the face or buck me off, so it was good.  We walked up a ways to a lookout, and then a bunch of the kids in my group showed up on foot.  At first, I was a little bummed that I could have walked up there for free, but I realized that I went on trails that were gated off and got to see waaaay more than I could have on foot.  It was amazing to look down and see lines of ants carrying leaves and doing their ant thing.  

After I finished the horse ride, I went back to the main area where they had a butterfly farm, frog farm, ant farm, and crocodile farm.  The frog farm only had little red frogs that could sit on my thumb nail, and to crocodile farm had two in the water and one in a different place...but the butterfly and ant farms made up for it!!  The butterfly farm was much better than the Zoo's butterfly house! I even found the guy who works there, he's the only one working there, and he gave me a little lesson in the life cycle of butterflies.  Here's an example:

The cocoon was actually moving! it was amazing.

He told us all about how it worked and how they were fed and collected and hatched.  He even went around picking up butterflies and handing them to us for pictures.  I told him he had the best job in the world, and he agreed. 


















For lunch, we drove into the little town of La Fortuna, named after the waterfall.  I walked around for a while with some people, but once I realized they wanted smoothies for lunch and not actual food, I set off alone...and got really lost.  I found another group though, and we sat down to eat here. It was actual pretty bad and took us 45 minutes to get our food. I asked for a cup of pico de gallo and got a cup of Pace picante salsa.  Disappointing all around.

Because the food took so long to get, we missed the bus. Some girls wanted to walk back, but I split a taxi to go home.  Then I went for a run and did some exercises, then just hung around.  Dinner was in the restaurant again and again, was good. After dinner, more swimming in the hot springs, and I went down the slides a few times. 



The next morning, we loaded up and drove to the waterfall!!!!!! We had to hike down quite a ways to get there, and the stairs were super treacherous....

...but making it was certainly worth it! Here's why

We went swimming and the water was freezing.  It also had a strong current, and I was exhausted after fewer than 2 minutes...I just chilled out on some rocks for a while, until we had to make the trek back up.  This is the view from the top

It's tall.

We returned to the hotel and I took a nap...but so did my roommate, so no one was watching the time, and someone came banging on the door telling us to get on the bus. Everyone slept on the way home, it was a busy weekend!

When I got home, I was able to skype my dad, which was awesome considering that a year ago he didn't even own a computer!  It was an amazing weekend, and its a bummer to return to painfully boring grammar classes....but next weekend, I'm thinking Monteverde!

The strange cows

I have no idea what type of cow they have here, but they are bizarre looking!

I saw a lot while driving to Tamarindo, and I'm sure we'll see more on the way to Arenal.

They are almost all white or shades of white/tan...but maybe they are all white and some are just dirty.
They have humps just behind their shoulders and horns that curve out to the side, but about a third of the size of a longhorn's horns.  They also have long floppy ears like a basset hound.

Here's some pictures from google that look like what I saw.
Profile shot

and here's a good one of the goofy ears:





They were also super skinny, I could count the ribs from the bus.  Perhaps they cows they eat live somewhere other than where we drove....

I just talked with mi mama tica, and she said that those are the cows in Guancaste, just one province of Costa Rica, and that they are milk cows.

Next weekend: Arenal!

Today, I went to the meeting about our next excursion! The information about the hotel can be seen at www.hotelloslagos.com  I'm going to do the optional excursion where we ride horses as close to the volcano as possible.  The guides do this trail everyday, so they'll know where all the animal live and be able to point out everything.  I'm told its the best way to take pictures of wildlife.  Plus, it's a great ab workout!

After school, I stopped at a little fruit stand and bought some pears and apples for the week.  The man in front of me ordered something, and I decided to get it too.  It was "pipa," a green coconut.  The vendor chopped off the top with a machete he had behind the counter and stuck a straw in it.  It was sweet water, but not the flavor of ripe coconut with which I am familiar.  It was still amazing, and I'm really glad I experienced a tico thing.

PURA VIDA!