Culture lesson: Salsa de tomate = ketchup, not marinera. So we added a whole bunch of pepper and cabbage and the spaghetti ended up still tasting really good. Different, but good.

Okay here commences my list of 5 pinnacle moments in Monteverde. The first of which was our amazing spaghetti.

Number 2: Upon arriving Ronny the owner of the hostel showed us these crazy videos of EXTREMO, a canopy tour via zipline. Sarah and I were really nervous (especially when I thought about the rollercoaster accident that I had witnessed) but decided to do it. I’m still not sure if that was very smart, but I did it and I’m alive and now I don’t need to do it again! I also had a lot of fun doing it. There were 14 cables that were really long and really tall, a repel which made Sarah nervous but she did it and the tarzan swing. This consisted of simply jumping off of a platform 90 ft in the air and falling until you get almost to the bottom and then you start swinging on the rope that you’ve been attached to all along. Sarah told the guide “You’ll HAVE to push me off.” So he did and she had a blast after all of that anticipation. Lily, however, insisted on going first and wanted them to move her harness to around her ankles. They did not of course, ‘cuz it wasn’t built for that, but we got a taste of her dare devil side. Anyway, that was an awesome experience and I’m glad I did it!

Number 3: Jori goes pineapple. Our dear friend Jori returned home and was not able to come with us to Monteverde but before she left she had bought a beautiful pineapple. So we brought this pineapple on our journey with us to “eat” when we got to our destination. However, we got too attached to it. We had carried it too far. All of a sudden all of our longing for our dear, absent friend manifested itself into this pineapple and gave it (her) life. We started feeling this urge to carry this sweet, sweet fruit around with us. She gave us comfort and when we brought her along, it was as if we had a piece of Jori with us. So one night, we brough Jori out on the town and Monteverde just loved her.  We went around asking if people would take their picture with her. We even explained to them that this pineapple was really our friend in disguise and for some reason they looked at us funny and declined UNTIL we entered ‘Amigos,’ the bar and all I was doing was holding my friend, the pineapple and this table of people started screaming in unison “PIÑA! PIÑA!” They asked US if they could take a picture with Kajori. One fellow got a little too attached.

Number 4:  We were lucky enough to be in Monteverde on the Independence Day of Costa Rica, Sept 15th. On Sept 14th the night before, they had a parade of lanterns that the kids had decorated and at the end they had prizes for the best decorated lanterns with different categories and everything. But before they announced that, this lady got on her own little soap box and basically told off the whole town for not being patriotic enough. (Apparently no one from the town went to support these kids who had prepared a concert in honor of this holiday.) So that was a little awkward. But then they announced the winners and the next day we got to see the parade. It was great. A bunch of kids were in the traditional costume and they looked adorable. You could also tell as the parade went by the different age groups of the kids ‘cuz they all had different costumes. It was really neat to see.

Number 5: Colibris. So we considered going into one of those butterfly or frog gardens, but decided not to, to the relief of Sarah Coleman who is opposed to butterflies. Apparently they remind her of moths, which are gross and/or scary? Anyway, we found a great alternative for our favorite price : Free-ninetynine! We took a bus to this hummingbird garden. I kid you not, this place was infested with these birds! There were so many of them and they flew so close to you that you really thought one was going to hit you! I’ve got a great video of one almost attacking Sarah, but unfortunately I don’t know how to put it up on this site. Anyway, that was fun as well. I’d never seen so many hummingbirds in the same place!

Lily learned how to swim in the caribean right in front of Rockin’ J’s. Now she is truly our Water Lily. We met this gal named Leann from Australia and had a lot of fun getting to know her.  There was this guy there called the human juke box and he could play ANY song in the style of ANY artist. It was insane! We fell in love with Chili Rojos because they had the best happy hour at the best time. I got an awesome sarong with a toucan on it. The beach was beautiful. We had a blast.

Riding buses here is an artform. It takes skill to do it right. I myself have advanced from grasshopper to black belt and am now ready to tell my tale.

I have experienced standing on a bus for one hour straight, for two hours straight, for three hours straight trading off with Christina sitting every half hour. I have watched what I believe was a pirated Gladiator in Spanish because it cut out a half an hour before the end on the tica bus. I have been decieved by the ‘bathroom’ in the ticabus that has told me there was both toilet paper and soap. I have sat in a hot bus without air conditioning and the windows rolled up because everyone is afraid that the rain will give them a ‘deathly cold.’

But most of all, I have sat behind one of the nastiest snorers I have ever heard in my entire existence. In the ticabus from Panama, a 17 hour bus ride I was disturbed from my peaceful sleep (that was actually giving my neck a huge cramp) to a sound I had never heard before. It was a mixture of familiar sounds that together left me confused. I know what snoring sounds like. I know what sneezing sounds like. But I had never heard both of those sounds mixed with the sounds of both blowing one’s nose AND coughing.  I know it was wrong and unfair, but I did not look at that woman (if that’s what she was)  the same after that.

Needless to say I have experience in busing. I have decided now to grace you all with my expertise. This is indeed priveleged knowledge and I only share this now with the knowledge that I will not be in competition with you here in Costa Rica.

Here’s what you must do, my grasshoppers:

1. GET ON THE BUS! This is not a simple task. Sure, anyone can get on the bus, but you got to do it right and that means quickly! Every step from here on out will aid you in this primary goal.

2. Pack light! Backpacks are so much better than duffel bags even though you have to bring less – good way to force yourself to pack light. This is important because if your baggage is too big it has to go below the bus which will deter you from your primary goal because you’ll have to make an extra stop. Also a large pack makes you less agile which is a handicap you just can’t afford in this race. With a small pack you will be limber and ready to maneuver yourself straight to the first available seat.

3. Stay focused! This is not a race you can win half heartedly. Strangers around you are no longer viewed as simply other passengers, but as other occupied seats. This may sound harsh, but this is a game of the survival of the fittest and not for the faint of heart. If you don’t have the heart for this just remember; they’re all thinking the same thing. If you need motivation, think about standing on a crowded, hot, bumpy bus for various hours.

4. Say no to rational thought. You’re mind may wonder as you board the bus. You’ll look around you and see not an organized line of civilized people waiting to board, but a multi-limbed creature trying to climb through a portal too small for it to fit through. You might be shocked to find that you are a part of this creature that resembles the bunch ball you used to play on junior soccer leagues.  Rationalizing that this is ridiculous and that you are more than just one element of a crowd can lead to disaster. Swallow your pride. Belong to the creature; just belong to the front of it.

5. Once passed the portal you break free of the ruthless mob and have mounted the aisle way leading to your dwelling place over the following hours of your life. This is it. There isn’t much you can do here but reap the benefits of your hardwork on the other side. Lay your eyes on the first available seat and snatch it.

6. Relish. Sit down. Breath. Be content. Sometimes this too can be difficult. Don’t look out the front window. This will aid you in avoiding the terrifying scene of a huge passenger bus driving on the wrong side of the road to pass a semi, returning to the right side of the road just missing another semi.  Try not to notice that (if you are someone of my height) your knees hit the seat in front of you. Don’t visualize the bruises you’ll have there by the end of the journey. Don’t have bad feelings toward the person who is closing you in by their unreasonable and unecessary recline feature. No, instead appreciate the fact that the blood will not be drained from your arms from holding them above your head as you stand on tired feet.  Enjoy the restless sleep offered by the seat that replaces the swaying stance that provides no means of rest.

7. Don’t put on your seat belt. There aren’t any. Instead receive your black belt in boarding buses.

Upon arriving in Puntarenas we set to finding the hostel we had reservations for but a security guard at the bus station told us there was one way better and way closer. We went to that one instead.  After checking in there we searched for dinner which only means one thing in Costa Rica; casados! Casados are meals with rice, beans, salad and these amazing fried bananas with your choice of chicken, fish, steak or veggies.  These are served in restaurants called Sodas which are all owned by locals and have authentic Costa Rican food. We always went to Sodas to have the best (and cheapest) meals.

The next day we took an hour ferry ride to Paquera which was lovely. We met like 7 doctors and 1 business man, Schille from Switzerland. They had been traveling for a long time and were able to give us a lot of advice about where to go.

After the ferry ride we went on another 1 hour bus ride and then we arrived in beautiful Montezuma! We went straight to the beach! However, the waves were so strong and hurled sticks and logs at us so even wading was a gamble. Lily got a pretty bad bruise from a log and I got cut up a little but we were so glad to be there!

That night we went dancing at Chico’s Bar and Lily took me to order my first drink! It was AWFUL! I ordered a strawberry daquari and got some sort of sick chocolate drink. Lily had been craving a margarita but received a martini instead! It was so loud that both orders got messed up and Lily and I just sucked it up and then went dancing!

The next day we went hiking – and I mean HIKING to a beautiful waterfall. We had to go up these monstruous hills and after going up for quite a while we were told that we went too far! So we went back down a ways to find the path to the waterfall.

It was gorgeous! And such a prize for having walked so long in the heat (and having danced so much the night before!) There was a sort of pool in between two falls where we were able to swim and it was sooo refreshing and crazy awesome to swim in a waterfall! Jori and Sarah took tremendous leaps from the first fall into the pool below. I was content with just swimming.  This was definately one of the coolest experiences of my trip so far!

That night in the hotel Lily, Sarah and I had to listen to crazys upstairs who had lost their passports. What drama! This one girl just went bizerk on these two guys she was traveling with and was screaming, stomping and slapping these two guys! I can understand an initial reaction to such a disaster, but this went on for hours! Somehow Sarah got to sleep while Lily and I stayed up emotionally disturbed! We both decided we couldn’t go to sleep with that in our heads so I told Lily stories about my older brother Kevin and his best friend Matt from when they were younger. They have so many hilarious stories so we were able to laugh and regain peace enough to sleep. (P.S. I started telling stories about you and Matt Kev, but ended up telling Lily how awesome you are. I love you!)

The next day Christina and I had to get up early and make the journey back home. We ended up having to stand for an hour long bus ride, but after that we got good. Christina and I are now skilled in the art of bus riding.

My primary Spanish teachers are Fabi and Sofi who never tire of playing with me. I’m so thankful for them because they are adorable, fun and explode Spanish at me all the time.  I love them, but after 2 months or so with them I am very glad that sometimes I have the excuse to retreat to my room to do homework. Speaking of which, I have been helping Fabi with her English homework which is great fun. I love hearing English with a Spanish accent and hearing the word ‘called’ pronounced ‘cayed’ when read for the first time. It’s fun to have a taste of what my mom does everyday!

I’ll post some more pictures of them later.

The school had nicer accomodations and a bunch more hammocks and so we were quite content…at first.

What we later discovered is that after our shifts we would have to walk alone on a dark narrow sandy path with grass to either side with only our flashlight.  I came to hate grass because that’s where the snakes lived. They told us to keep our eyes peeled for them and stamp our feet as we walked so that they would feel us coming and run away.

So after repeating prayers to match the rhythm of my feet walking in the dark for 400 meters I would be relieved to have survived the path. But then I would enter the gate and deal with Vicky saying a new prayer.

Sheila saw a snake eating a frog on this path and one morning I was lucky enough to see half of a snake already dead. It was black, red, and white stripes and definately looked poisonous.  Sheila was kind enough to move the dead snake off the path so I wouldn’t freak out everytime I saw it and assured me that I didn’t have to be afraid of nature and ooh look how beautiful the scales are on the snake! Agree to disagree. (Emily, that is not something she did that reminded me of you, just an anecdote.)

Christina and I were so glad to move to the cabinas at the project when we did!

Even when we did live at the school we loved our time at la tortuga feliz. I more or less write this so you can get an idea of what it was like and also, I have to admit I’m pretty proud of myself for surviving these things!

I am not afraid of dogs. I admit I used to be when I was younger, but I got over that when I fell in and out of love with canines. I understand that dogs bark when you approach them and have no problem simply calling their name and reassuring them that I’m a friend and not an intruder. No one warned me about Vicky.

My first night, I had the latest shift and of course it was the hardest since I wasn’t accustomed to walking the beach yet. I entered the fence of the school where I lived and heard barking. Again, not afraid. “Hola perro” I say, ‘cuz these dogs speak Spanish and the barking turned to growling. It’s dark and I only have my flashlight and there I see her. She’s a very deceiptful pure white dog and even in the darkness I could see her bare her teeth. “Esta bien, perrito,” but apparently it wasn’t. Vicky would advance and then stop and then move to the side, totally ready to attack.

I’m standing there trying to calm myself down, praying rapidly in my head and I started to call for Alberto, the 17 year old security guard who is always at the school but no one came.  I thought maybe I was being silly, but then she advanced again. This dog doesn’t know my scent and I could see that the light from my flashlight was literally shaking. Yep, this dog made me actually tremble with fear.

So I walked back to the hatchery exhausted and terrified and Fiona from England was kind enough to walk me back to the school. She told me Vicky was crazy and you just have to walk by her with confidence saying her name and it would be fine. I didn’t believe her until she showed me.

So after that I was fine until one time she ran right up to me teeth bared and luckily other people were there calling her name, but that was so scary! Every time I made it inside was a huge relief!

Another lovely trait that Vicky has is her randomness. Sometimes she would be just fine with me and other times no. Some volunteers never experienced Vicky’s wrath and thought she was cute and I pitied their lack of discernment. That dog needs Jesus.

One night I was walking with a guide and I told him about Vicky and said she was my favorite dog sarcastically. He laughed as I told him all the lies I would tell this dog just to live. “Hola mi perro favorito! Que lindo! Te quiero mucho Vicky!” – Mentiras!  He told me something about her that I didn’t understand because of the vocab. He motioned with his arm to his face and I thought he meant she was crazy or stupid or something. The next time I walked with that guide he used the same word in a different context and I realized he had said that Vicky had bitten him once. I finally understood that after I had moved from the school and didn’t have to deal with her anymore. Ignorance really is bliss because if I had understood him the first time, I would not have gotten to my bed that night!

The first night I was there I was assigned the midnight shift and since the min. time to work is 4 hours I walked until 4am on a really dark beach, just me and this tico I don’t know who only speaks Spanish! He was pretty shy that night so mainly it was me trying to get him to talk to me asking him questions about the project and such. We saw four turtles my first night and I thought that was normal, but I learned that that was actually pretty rare! Two laid eggs and two didn’t. We met another group who transported the first nest to the hatchery and we took the second. We have to relocate the eggs so that they will be safe from poachers and stay with the turtle until it returns safely to the ocean because the poachers would kill the turtle for it’s meat. The tortuga verde or green turtle was the turtle that was nesting while we were there. The cool thing about this turtle is that when you wipe dirt from it’s shell in the darkness, the shell will glow bright green.

Every other day we would trade off with what kind of shift we had. So one night you would be walking and the next you would have a hatchery shift where you would have to check on the nests every fifteen minutes and if you were lucky you got to release baby turtles! I was lucky. On my first hatchery shift I got to release seven baby turtles! They mainly hatched during the night so the day shifts (because someone is always at the hatchery) were a little more boring so I’m glad I brought books to read.

IT WAS SO HOT!! Very humid there! Every morning we would wake up wet especially the morning after we walked! We were pretty much always disgusting with sweat, sunscreen, mosquito spray, sand, and salt from the sea.  So you felt like a queen after showering. I have never appreciated a cold shower more. I didn’t even mind that you had to use a flashlight and shake out the curtain to check for wolf spiders that will jump on you, bite you where there will be swelling and puss. (I was lucky enough to avoid that!) I never showered in the morning because it wasn’t worth doing it before the hottest part of the day so we pretty much swam every day! It was great! So much fun because the water temp. was perfect!

When you were walking you hoped for rain because it was so much cooler and then you wouldn’t have to worry about mosquitos (‘cuz there’s a million of them!) but on hatchery shift, when you’re just sitting there for four hours it was better if it didn’t. Also, on our second day there we all went swimming in the rain and it was awesome!

Also, whenever we wanted we could go find a coconut, mechete it and eat it. Tambien we could go up to a palm tree, pick a peepa (a young coconut) and drink it’s juice. It was so tasty, too! Also very good for you.

Our food was amazing! Jose, our cook from Spain, made the greatest meals – something different everyday! He spoke little English but tries to better it all the time and when I asked him how he learned to cook (in Spanish) he concentrated real hard with a pause and then said “I live…alone.” and smiled. He was awesome!

Everyday I walked under the webs of the only two harmless spiders there to get my food. Everyday I saw a ghecko or some other kind of lizard. Pretty much everyone got bitten by these ants that supposedly sting really bad except for me which I’m pretty proud of.

Also, I never got sunburned. I couldn’t believe it! Especially because my mother went out and bought sunscreen with SPF 30 for her very pale daughter to use against the blaring Costa Rican sun. Well mom, apparently you know more than me ‘cuz I would have gotten 50 but apparently I didn’t need it!

All in all, I’m glad I did it and I’m glad it’s done!