tortuga

it´s been two days and three nights since i arrived at my turtle project, which was an adventure story of its own. a little breakdown...

thursday: caught another bus in downtown san jose at 5:30 in the morning, and slept nearly the whole way to nicoya. our bus driver collided with a semi-truck, which stranded us in the dusty cowboy town for nearly an hour. finally making my way to playa samara, where i was scheduled to take a taxi to the river. i´d wade across, and staff would be waiting for me to walk me the 2 km to the project.
that´s when things started going downhill. my taxi dropped me off at the wrong place at the river. three long hours i waited, walking up the road and coming back, uneasy to leave the spot in case they showed up. finally a woman from philadelphia drove by in her 4-wheeler. she`d been living in samara for 3 years, and she took me to a small hotel nearby, where i called the project director, who promised to meet me there.
2 more hours.
nothing. no one.
taking the situation into my own hands, i decided to walk the rest of the way. it was far, but i knew the way. about a 20 minute walk, i reached the beach and began to trek. unfortunately, i was on the wrong side of the estuary, which i had to wade across.
i set my bags down in the mangrove trees, away from the quickly rising tide. wading slowly into the delta, i decided it was only about waist deep. so i went back for my big backpack. holding it over my head, i plunged back into the water, only to discover it was deep enough to cover my shoulders. finally getting to the other side, i raced back to beat the tide and grab my other bag and wade it over.
completely soaked, i walked the rest of the way through the dark...scary! i was alone, i was wet, and i had a little flashlight and a lot of prayers. three guys saw my flashlight and came running, helping me the rest of the way to the camp. i fell, exhausted, into bed.

friday, saturday: work here is great. the conditions are very primitive and it`s tough to get used to everything being wet and sandy. we haul about 50-60 bags of sand (each) every morning for about 3 hours...each bag weighs about 30 lbs. it`s hard, especially when it´s so hot, but i like the work and i´m glad to be busy. in the afternoon, we lay around, play cards, swim or surf. our real work begins at night, where we patrol the beaches for turtles. measuring the turtles, we gather their eggs and plant them in a watched environment. when the little ones hatch, we measure them and release them at the initial site the mother laid them. so far, i´ve personally found 3 huge turtles, and released a little over 100 baby turtles. they are probably the cutest thing´s i´ve ever seen! and it´s so funny to watch them run toward the water. some are confused, and we have to wait for an hour while they run around in circles. we have to watch for crabs and dogs, who eat the turtles, and "hueveros", the local nickname for people who steal the eggs.

it´s tough and the days are long, but i love being active and all the people i`m meeting. sundays are our only days off... gotta go buy batteries!

mariposa

it´s about a 40 minute walk from downtown Atenas to my little white house up the road. my bag slung heavy on my shoulder as i chanted all the way from the bus stop...¨left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot...¨
The rain was welcoming as it mixed with sweat, and i know somewhere deep inside that it´s time to go back to reality. After spending an amazing weekend on the coast of Costa Rica, it´s difficult to snap out of eden´s dream.
Alex, one of the guys who runs Hostel Vista Serena, took 3 of us snorkeling on Saturday. We hopped in his van, which takes two tries just to start the thing, and bumped our way down a local dirt road. He parked, and we began the trek through the jungle, slinging our snorkeling gear over our shoulders as we dodged the rocks and mud. Soon, the trees began to clear, and the ocean was finally before us. Hiding our belongings in the bushes, we raced across the black sand and into the pale green water, which is warmer than any shower i´ve had in the past week.
It´s about half a mile to the rock...maybe a 20 minute swim. With fins on, it´s good exercise. The little rock just offshore is tugged by the strong rip current, and i dig my fingers into the crevasses of the rock to hang on. My body has bruises from getting dragged against it in the current, but it was all in good fun. so many fish! colors i´ve never seen before...black and aquamarine tails, red and grey, stripes, spots...and all the fish hover lazily around the reef, laughing merrily as we clumsy humans labored in the current.
After a while, raindrops began to fall, and we swam back to shore, reaching the van just as the skies opened up. We stopped by the infamous Hotel Mariposa, one of the most expensive hotels in manuel antonio. Running through the rain, we hopped into their jacuzzi. The pool area is surrounded by almond trees, and has an amazing view of the ocean and the coming storm. we wished we could have spent a night here, but at $250 a night...we´ll just make do with their pool services, haha.
I´m back in Atenas now, under the thunder and jungle canopy. I already miss the lazy boho atmosphere of the coast, but i´m fond of this city and i can´t wait to get started on my internship on wednesday. I´ve met several people who have worked with turtles in this country, and they´ve got my blood pumping.
Off to the market to get some ice cream...and mail evelyn´s package for her host family! :)

vista serena

At the breakfast table, I have a daunting task before me:
The coffee cup.
Unlike seemingly everyone else on the planet, I strongly dislike coffee, unless it's diluted with ice or creamer.
My host mother is an amazing cook. I love everything she brings to me. All...except the coffee cup. She sets it before me with expectant eyes. "Es okey?" I nod, my eyes wide. As soon as she leaves...I'm heaping six spoonfuls of strong sugar into the cup and manage to gulp it down. so really, I'm drinking a cup of sugar water with a few coffee grounds added for color. haha

Breakfast is delicious...mango, papaya, pineapple....evelyn, I wish you were here to eat my papaya for meee!

I had my "clase de baile" on wednesday...and I actually had a lot of fun! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I took the class with two other girls, both americans, and our teacher was awesome and super funny. "Salsa es muy facil!!!" After the two and a half hours were up, I wanted to do it more! Wish I could find some classes down here...hmm...
my cooking class was also great. I learned to cook empanadas...HEAVEN. and postres and ensaladas. great great awesome delicious food.

this morning I hopped on a bus to San Jose, and then another to Manuel Antonio. If I thought I was in heaven before, it is nothing compared to this place. A small hostel, Hostel Vista Serena, is where I exhaustedly laid my bags down. Hammocks swing from the porch, overlooking the sea and the trees that tumble joyfully into it. Laughing and playing cards with the travelers around me, I'm making more friends than I ever hoped for, and I wish I didn't have to leave on Sunday.

I find myself longing for the people that I love. I'm discovering so much beauty and so many amazing people, all I want to do is show everyone how excited I am and share this experience with them. I miss you!

Costa Rica

Primero dia en Costa Rica...

Oh my goodness, it is so beautiful. I can´t get over it.
It was about a 25 drive from the airport in Alajuela to my host family in Atenas. It´s so lush and green here...not like the wild, tangled jungles of asia, but lively and deep and full of life. The rainy season has brought all the flowers out to play, and they curl up the sides of the colorful houses. Everything is so bright and happy. very hippy-esque...i could stay here VERY long time.

My host family is nice...although they talk fast and it´s hard to keep up :)
Alicia, the mother, is an amazing cook, although she keeps putting a cup of coffee in front of me. i have a feeling I´m going to be drinking more coffee on this trip than I ever have in my entire life! so far the food is simple yet amazing...I´m looking forward to taking my cooking class.

first lesson in español this morning. Isabel, my professor, is HILARIOUS, and she likes to play charades to act out everything I´m learning. it´s fun. It´s tough to be thrown into a place where no one speaks english and i speak very little spanish. I understand about 50% of what people are saying, but with the lessons it´ll get easier.

Atenas. It´s a little town that revolves around the little park in the center. The park is peppered with big trees and painted stone benches, and I look forward to relaxing and doing my homework there. Across from the park is a large, catholic church. the wooden ceiling is high, with old candle chandeliers dangling down. walking down the center aisle, I pass several statues, each very emotional. At the front, a table with two angels watching over the service. They are each holding a lantern, lighting the way.

Little red taxis circle the town, looking for customers.
An ice cream shop looks inviting, but it´s beginning to thunder and rain. perhaps tomorrow :)