I was drawn by the music

As many of you know I'm a man of faith. Music goes strait to my heart. It stirs the spirit and puts me in touch with my God. So just around the corner from where I'm staying is a Methodist Church, I could hear the Praise songs, I had to go join in. Yes, I could follow along with some of the sermon, however with it being in Spanish I could only get so much of it. Attending, I realized how much I miss going to a regular Sunday meeting. A perfect day of reflection, I have a month before I return to the States to visit family and figure out my next adventure. The time here has gone slow and fast. There have been days that I've just wanted to pack up and go home (the States) and days that have been nothing but some of the best experiences of my life. A wise person once told me look forward never back.

Treated to Tamales Tico Style

Carmen stringing up the Tamale.

The group making Tamales.

And it goes in the boiling water.

Ready to make an open fire.

Finished product.

Yesterday there was a student group staying at La Posada Inn. www.posadainn.com They have come two years now. This year they were given the opportunity to make tamales. The process went smoothly and all turned out well. The main ingredient is a masa, potato, garlic, water and salt combination. I prefer this main ingredient to the mostly corn filling I usually get in the states. And of course your veggies and with or with out meat. All wrapped in banana leaves and boiled. The group had there fun, now it was time for the Ticos (workers here at the Inn) to make tamales and diner. I felt like one of the family, this is a community I know I could live in. So, treated to tamales and coffee made from fresh hand ground coffee beans. The partially sleepless night was worth it. I thought that was enough, well then comes the diner and the wine, what a treat.

Finally a shot of Arenal-Costa Rica

Well I didn't think it was possible, I finally got a picture of Arenal Volcano with no clouds. Hope to get even more.

Rope Swing Rio La Fortuna

The great part about being retired and living in Costa Rica, is that I can just walk down to the "secrete" swimming hole, with some friends and take the plunge. Of course I did consider how far I was from a hospital, how slippery the rocks were and the height of the drop. I'll admit I also went in the pool before swinging from the rope. Of course it was exhilarating! Afterwards, I was asked when I'd last done that, couldn't remember when, should I start a second childhood? On the way back to the Inn www.posadainn.com, we almost had a full view of Arenal Volcano, none of us had a camera, the light was great.

Hanging Bridges-La Fortuna-Arenal, Costa Rica

Hanging Bridges is a great day trip. If you are up for some walking also, you can easily go on the public bus to Tileran, leaves at 8:30 am form main bus station in La Fortuna, cost $2. It's 14km to the sign just after going over the dam at lake Arenal. Then another 4km to the entrance, where there are good restrooms and a cafe with a view of the Volcano, of course it's usually in the clouds. The entrance fee is $24 and you can finish the walk in two hours. Very awesome high above the jungle floor on a suspension bridge. Not too many animals, depending on how much noise the groups make. When done with the walk take another walk back to the main road and catch the bus back to La Fortuna at 2:20 pm, again $2 and the same driver that dropped you off earlier. Carmen has been very helpful with directions and info. for tours and do it your self treks here at La Posada Inn. www.posadainn.com

Tico vs. Nica

Gollo Pinto is a Costa Rican dish, sometimes breakfast, lunch and diner. Of course there is a long running conversation over the origination of Gollo Pinto, when it comes to Costa Ricans' (Tico's) and Nicaraguans' (Nica's). And that's where the conversation started, although some times more heated than just casual. I had talked with one of the workers earlier and learned that he (Fernando) was Nicaraguan and was here for a few more months and then will return to his home. It was lunch time, another worker (Doris) asked me, "Se habla Espanol?" of course my response, "Poco". And of course she goes way to fast for me to understand. Next question "Do you know the origination of of Gollo Pinto?". Very interesting to hear them go at each other, not always understood by me. However, I could tell by the body language and volume, they were arguing. Well anyway, a great way for me to learn more Spanish and for someone else to learn more English. The conversation drifted toward the word "Gringo". Doris wondered why some people are offended with the term. I think she was alluding that some do use it in a derogatory way. She used the words Gringo Verde and Guerra (which I translated later to mean war). I could speculate on all the hidden meanings and uses of the word. Until coming to Costa Rica, five years ago, I thought it was only used in Mexico, silly uh? Growing up in San Diego County, California and traveling to Mexico a lot, I identify with endearment, in it's use. Three people got to learn more about others, themselves and another language. Doris, is a student working three jobs, paying $228 per quarter for three courses at university. Fernando, does calligraphy and talked quite a bit about the many different dialects in Nicaragua. There is a higher percentage of indigenes peoples in Nicaragua than Costa Rica. Some of the dialects are, Samo, Misquito, Ingles and Ramol.  Not sure of the spelling on Ramol can't read his writing. All are different dialects of Spanish. With Misquito, he alluded to them more of maybe a class, all doctors or other professionals. He also used to term retraso(delay) in association with Spanish. While it's important to retain the indigenes identity, it does present a problem with education and possible separatism. There are eight different regions in Nicaragua. The last little dig Doris had was that Nico's don't pronounce their "s".

Hiking, Rio La Fotuna Falls, Cero Chato Extinct Volcano

Yesterday we had a awesome hike. I made connections with a German traveler at breakfast. Started the walk in town, had to ask for directions, were redirected. About seven kilometers to the first destination, the Rio La Fortuna, Costa Rica Falls. The power of the water is so intense, imagine 24 hours a day 365 days a year, and this is the dry season. If you have lots of time and the stamina you walk just about everywhere. Good exercise for anyone. Yes, sometimes it is a little warm, I am used to it, I live in a "Sustainable Tree House" community in the southern zone of Costa Rica, fincabellavista.net. It is in the foot hills, with lots of ups and downs and pedestrian, therefore I get lots of good exercise. Anyway, the hike, while a little long, was worth the effort. The plan was just to the falls. When up there the hike to the extinct volcano Cero Chato was close by. So after a power smoothie we decide to hike to the Green Lagoon in the crater of this dormant volcano. Well there is varying information on how long the hike is, from one hour (from a local) to five hours (www.lonelyplanet.com). Our time was one hour and ten minutes, then another five minutes to the lagoon in the crater, not bad for an old guy like myself. The last ten to twenty minutes were quite brutal. We had already gotten our swim suites wet, so went skinny-dipping, glad no others were there, you know it's kind of like the tree falling in the forest, if no one hears it, did it really happen? Of course the views from this vantage point are spectacular, unfortunetly I'm still working on getting a better camera, plus I forget to charge the camera the night before, so no great pics of the view. On the way back down we caught up with other travelers and were blessed with a ride back to town. I may be able to follow up with pics of the lagoon and views, Tobias the other traveler will email later.

It's all about community

 Last week I had a "great day" looking at property with Michael Morningstar, michaelmorningstar.com. I talked about even though the property is awesome, there were too many issues to resolve. That deal has gone by the way side, Refer to my post "great day" of four days ago. Well going to the Farmer's Market on Thursday, Michael connected with one of his contacts who introduced him to Gary who has land in Uvita, Costa Rica. We were off to look at land in the canyon above Uvita. Awesome piece of land, not as big and more money, but doable. Well we had another great day. Gary talked about enchanted caves, falls, swimming holes and open usable land surrounded by jungle. We found a great piece of property. Hopefully this deal will come to fruition. There are mature coconut trees, of course I had to somehow get the coconuts for us. So I took a board from the run down shack, bent all the rusty nails down except one, which punctured my hand (I know I got my tetanus booster before I left the States) and knocked down coconuts for us all. I relied on Gary to open them up, I know I don't have enough experience with a machete. The water looked so refreshing I just had to go in.

La Fortuna-Arenal-Costa Rica

As you can see Arenal Volcano is in the clouds. However, you get the idea, most towns have that central plaza, the Church and business district. A good plus for me is that the un-eveness of the side walks is at a minimum here. Some towns in this part of the world you are constantly going up and down steps or little slopes, you just really have to watch your step.

All day travel

Today was filled with travel. I caught a ride with a fellow traveler from Hotel Chirripo in San Isidro, Costa Rica to Garita, C R outside of San Jose, C R. I figured I would go as far as I could toward my destination as possible, rather than go into downtown San Jose and leave from the bus terminal. Plus I rechecked the schedules this am and realized I had read them wrong the night before. By the time I got to San Jose the buses for my destination would have already left for the day. Ahh, plan B. So not really knowing where to catch the bus, of course I have to start asking, so to start I asked the two ladies in the park where we ate lunch, at first they had no idea, a few minutes later one of them came over after searching with her phone and tried to explain. Then while my ride got gas, I just had to ask the Costa Rican surfer dude (he did speak English). So heading in the same general direction. Well, when I asked at one of the stops along the supposed route, I didn't really get the answer I was looking for. Then we stopped at a fancy hotel and I got directions in English. So go down to the Hwy. walk down the on ramp and to the bus stop. Oh, yeah that worked real well. NOT! So I'm walking and it doesn't look like there will be any bus stop for quite a while. So I stick out my thumb. I was blessed to have a nice family pick me up and explain (one gal had worked in the U.S) that there is no stop for a long time on this road. Next time I'll go to the terminal to catch the bus. So she is using her phone to figure out where to put me on the bus. They drove out of there way, through other towns to get to there destination. So in Naranja, C R they put my on a bus to San Carlos, C R just before it left the curb. Less than $3. They didn't really have time to explain that I would have to switch to another bus to go to La Fortuna, C R. Of course I have to start asking and I figure it out. It all went very well, in San Carlos I got off one bus and walked two buses down got on and left with in a couple of minutes, which doesn't usually work that way. Everything is for a reason, I don't always know why, it always works out. I had forgotten to write down where I was going to stay for the night, again ask, ask, ask! I found the place, cooked some diner and am settled for the night. Tomorrow, start over. Hopefully I'll get to see Arenal Volcano, it was in the clouds when I arrived.

I made a travel bowl

Well I made myself a travel bowl. It is the bottom of a two liter plastic bottle.Works well and lite on the weight in the back pack. And now you know what was for breakfast also.The picture is taken from the balcony overlooking the central plaza, San Isidro, Costa Rica.

I learned some things yesterday

My day was filled with learning experiences. My Spanish is better than I thought, when there is no one else to help I search for the translation more diligently. And yesterday I was surprised how much I could communicate with the Tico guide. He was communicating with me getting all the reference points to build relationships. He carried a bottle of cafe, which he shared, but no water. We wondered, how does that work, well he has a cup for the cafe, and rather than carry the water, he knows where to drink from the springs on the property. I learned the medicinal use of one plant that I have on my property, and was shown how to harvest heart of palm, that stuffs very good. I learned how to open up a coconut, get the liquid out and then crack it open without a big machete. Good filling food, nutritional super food. I was glad that my family has horses, my kind of horse, she basically followed the leader. Not sore today, which is a good thing.

Connecting with locals

There is a local Farmer's Market on Thursdays and Fridays here in San Isidro, Costa Rica. I'm there it doesn't have to be early, goes till 11pm tonight and till 6pm tomorrow. Everything from plant starts, fancy soap, to jewelry and clothes. Lots of gringos, to connect with also.

Great Day

Today I went to the out skirts of San Isidro, Costa Rica. Up into the cool highlands, scenic views and clean air. I went with another Gringo to give my opinion on a piece of property. There were horses, a guide for us and the adventure of hiking, seeing a different area . Mike is looking to have a few cabins and have a retreat from the hectic life in Huston, Texas. He was all fired up, had seen the property on Monday and had to go back. Well we all know it's common not to get the full story on everything in Real Estate. Coming from the buyers side, some times there just to many things to comprehend all at once. From the agents side some times there are questions that are unanswered. He needed some one with fresh eyes. I agreed to go along, hey I'm retired what am I doing anyway? Right up my alley consulting, oh yeah! We went so far on the horses and then hiked through the jungle (love it) at times the guide, Freddy was actually cutting the trail as we're going along. He offered to carry my pack at one point, hey I took him up on that, felt silly though. Down steep inclines, into streams and up the other side. When we got back to the horses, YES LOS CABLLOS!!! Went further on the horses, to other parts of property, great views and lots of water. Mike is somewhat bummed after what he saw today, electricity is quite a ways away, water situation is not really what it should be and transportation to the property is non existent, you need a vehicle and it's about forty five minutes from town. It's supposedly a fire sale price for 265 acres. Needless to say this deal probably won't go through. www.michaelmorningstar.com Look hard to find the lizard in the first pic. I had a great day!

San Vito, Costa Rica

Well I have been doing a bit of traveling to towns in Costa Rica to possibly find a place that is somewhat more walking friendly. As posted before I have visited Monteverde, Costa Rica, and found it exciting and the views were great. Yesterday I left San Vito, Costa Rica. The weather was great, somewhat warm in the afternoon, to be expected in the tropics. As I came down the hill I could feel the oppressive heat and moisture of this wonderful region.The view, also wonderful, however like Monteverde, the geography has been altered by the settlements that have cropped up. Monteverde, Quakers, does have more enviromental  influence. San Vito, not so much, there are a lot of cattle, which can change the physical geography of the area. Of course San Vito has with it elevation many hills, not to friendly to walking. However, it is very small, a plus. One negitive, the web site of the hotel I stayed at was out of date (the desk clerk said "three years") facilities were out of date. I did not find the quaint Italian inspired town that I was expecting. This is oaky, San Vito is somewhat off the beaten track. Today I am in San Isidro de General, Costa Rica. The centro plaza is right across the street, also bordered by a hugh Church. Getting here involved all day, was fairly easy, I am starting to catch my groove on the buses. The web site of the hotel, up to date here. I have done my morning walk, breakfast and will have to get some pics and post them.