Through a recent change in plans, my friend will no longer be able to come to Costa Rica, and I will be headed home tomorrow. So... I guess this will be my last blog post!
Four months ago today, I stepped off the plane and into a country I had never been to before and knew almost nothing about. And now, getting ready to leave for good, I feel that I know it so well it's become a second home. No matter how much planning I've done, nothing ever seems to turn out the way I thought it would, but I've started to actually look forward to being surprised. I've made friends from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Portugal, Italy, France, England, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Taiwan, and I won't forget a single one of those people.
I have a pretty big couple of weeks coming up as I move out to Chicago and start college. It's going to be pretty weird not being here anymore! But I feel that I've grown as a person, and these past four months have definitely had a huge impact on my life. I know that I will take these experiences with me and that they will change how I experience things in my future.
On a final note, I'd like to thank everyone who's been reading this; as cheesy as it sounds, this blog has been my only grip on reality at times. I was watching Yes Man last night on TV, which I hadn't seen in forever and had completely forgotten about. For those of you who haven't seen it, you should, because it's a great movie about learning how to live, something I've definitely experienced this year. The best quote from the movie: "You say no to life, and therefore you're not living." I challenge all of you to try living for the next year, to say yes, and to experience things you never would have in the past. You never know what will happen.
Pura vida!
Lisa
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Santo Tomás
Back in Costa Rica... despite the difficulty with which I forced myself to get on the boat leaving Bocas del Toro, I was once again surprised at how happy I was to be back in San Jose. For all the crap it gets about its trash, traffic, and architecture (or lack thereof), it's really a fun city if you know where you're going.
Sleeping in a room by myself for the first time since I got back has been great, especially since I still seem to be fighting something. I've tried to lay pretty low for the last couple of days, since my oldest friend Dylan and his mom will be flying in tomorrow to spend my last eight days here with me. However, I did manage to get out for about an hour on Monday night and went to San Pedro with the usual gang: Silvia, Lisa, Eeva, and Mikkel. Then, I met up with Eeva yesterday afternoon, and we went to the mall and then saw The Town.
I got a pretty good shock about half an hour ago... I was walking down the street when who did I see coming towards me but Jeannette. For all the time I spent looking for her in Bocas, running into her in a city I didn't even know she was in was just too good. We only talked for a couple minutes but it was good to see her, since who knows if I ever will again!
Sleeping in a room by myself for the first time since I got back has been great, especially since I still seem to be fighting something. I've tried to lay pretty low for the last couple of days, since my oldest friend Dylan and his mom will be flying in tomorrow to spend my last eight days here with me. However, I did manage to get out for about an hour on Monday night and went to San Pedro with the usual gang: Silvia, Lisa, Eeva, and Mikkel. Then, I met up with Eeva yesterday afternoon, and we went to the mall and then saw The Town.
I got a pretty good shock about half an hour ago... I was walking down the street when who did I see coming towards me but Jeannette. For all the time I spent looking for her in Bocas, running into her in a city I didn't even know she was in was just too good. We only talked for a couple minutes but it was good to see her, since who knows if I ever will again!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Drago
Last night in Panama! I've had so much fun here and I'll be really sad to leave... hopefully I'll be able to come back soon.
I spent most of Friday afternoon walking around and looking for Jeannette, but still haven't found her. I finally gave up around 8 and went around to all of the various parties that were going on, but since there were so many, nobody ever ended up in the same place and it was hard to find anyone. It was a pretty uneventful night.
Yesterday was very relaxing, I got a couple books at the used book store I found nearby and spent most of the day reading. Around dinner time I headed over to the Natural Mystic Cafe, which is probably my favorite place to eat here, and ran into Jason, one of the guys I see around town a lot. We met three guys in the Coast Guard whose ship had stopped here for a couple days (if y'all are reading this.... Ready? Okay!!) and hung out there for a while, then took a boat to Aqua Lounge, a hostel / bar / dance club on a nearby island. They had a techno party going on, and it was all fun and games until one of the Coast Guard guys decided to get funny and throw me into the ocean. I didn't last too much longer in my wet clothes and headed back to the Gran Kahuna, only to find that the battery on the fire alarm was low and it was beeping so loudly that no one could sleep. The fire alarm box was locked and we couldn't turn it off. By the time I finally fell asleep it was very late and I managed to sleep until after noon today.
After I woke up, I headed over to one of the local beaches with Jason for the afternoon. Then, we went to a restaurant for dinner that gave away a free kayak rental with every $10 spent, so we kayaked around the island until it got dark. We came back to the Natural Mystic again, but it was too hot and they were out of almost everything so I came back to the hostel.
I have to get up early tomorrow to catch the bus to San Jose, so I'd better be getting to bed...
I spent most of Friday afternoon walking around and looking for Jeannette, but still haven't found her. I finally gave up around 8 and went around to all of the various parties that were going on, but since there were so many, nobody ever ended up in the same place and it was hard to find anyone. It was a pretty uneventful night.
Yesterday was very relaxing, I got a couple books at the used book store I found nearby and spent most of the day reading. Around dinner time I headed over to the Natural Mystic Cafe, which is probably my favorite place to eat here, and ran into Jason, one of the guys I see around town a lot. We met three guys in the Coast Guard whose ship had stopped here for a couple days (if y'all are reading this.... Ready? Okay!!) and hung out there for a while, then took a boat to Aqua Lounge, a hostel / bar / dance club on a nearby island. They had a techno party going on, and it was all fun and games until one of the Coast Guard guys decided to get funny and throw me into the ocean. I didn't last too much longer in my wet clothes and headed back to the Gran Kahuna, only to find that the battery on the fire alarm was low and it was beeping so loudly that no one could sleep. The fire alarm box was locked and we couldn't turn it off. By the time I finally fell asleep it was very late and I managed to sleep until after noon today.
After I woke up, I headed over to one of the local beaches with Jason for the afternoon. Then, we went to a restaurant for dinner that gave away a free kayak rental with every $10 spent, so we kayaked around the island until it got dark. We came back to the Natural Mystic again, but it was too hot and they were out of almost everything so I came back to the hostel.
I have to get up early tomorrow to catch the bus to San Jose, so I'd better be getting to bed...
Friday, December 10, 2010
Salio el Sol
The sun is finally out!!!!!!!
It's an absolutely gorgeous day on the island, which would be really great if I wasn't really sick, and even better if I had a clean bathing suit - I brought all my clothes to the lavandería this morning to be washed since, I'm embarrassed to admit, they hadn't been washed since my parents left to go back home two weeks ago.
Last night was ladies' night at La Iguana, a bar across the street, so I went with a group of girls from the hostel. It was really fun, and we all wore our bathing suits so that we could jump off the edge of the dance floor and go swimming. We saw a ton of starfish, too!
I found out this morning that Jeannette, who I worked with at FUDEBIOL, is in Bocas del Toro! I haven't seen her yet, but I'm sure we'll run into each other at some point.
It's an absolutely gorgeous day on the island, which would be really great if I wasn't really sick, and even better if I had a clean bathing suit - I brought all my clothes to the lavandería this morning to be washed since, I'm embarrassed to admit, they hadn't been washed since my parents left to go back home two weeks ago.
Last night was ladies' night at La Iguana, a bar across the street, so I went with a group of girls from the hostel. It was really fun, and we all wore our bathing suits so that we could jump off the edge of the dance floor and go swimming. We saw a ton of starfish, too!
I found out this morning that Jeannette, who I worked with at FUDEBIOL, is in Bocas del Toro! I haven't seen her yet, but I'm sure we'll run into each other at some point.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
"So I see you've met my sister..."
Another day on Isla de Bocas... Martin left earlier this morning to go back to Uvita, and I decided to stay here for another 4 or 5 nights. I switched hostels because there was another one close by called Gran Kahuna that was in a better location, was $2.50 less per night, and seemed to be better for people traveling alone.
Last night, there was live music at Casa Verde, and a pretty good reggae band played. After it was over, a few people from the hostel said that they were going to a nearby island to a "clown party" and asked me if I wanted to go. We took a water taxi to an island about 5 minutes away where, sure enough, there was a party where everyone was dressed as clowns.
This morning after Martin left, I walked around for a while, had some really good coffee, and talked to a few locals. I had been wondering recently how so many people seemed to know ahead of time that I had been in Costa Rica. Finally, I was talking to the owner of a craft shop, and he asked me if I was living in Costa Rica. I asked him how he knew, and he said, "Your accent is very Costa Rican." I'm taking this as good news, because I hadn't realized I spoke Spanish well enough to have any accent other than an American one.
Finally... I have pictures!!!! Here it goes.
Last night, there was live music at Casa Verde, and a pretty good reggae band played. After it was over, a few people from the hostel said that they were going to a nearby island to a "clown party" and asked me if I wanted to go. We took a water taxi to an island about 5 minutes away where, sure enough, there was a party where everyone was dressed as clowns.
This morning after Martin left, I walked around for a while, had some really good coffee, and talked to a few locals. I had been wondering recently how so many people seemed to know ahead of time that I had been in Costa Rica. Finally, I was talking to the owner of a craft shop, and he asked me if I was living in Costa Rica. I asked him how he knew, and he said, "Your accent is very Costa Rican." I'm taking this as good news, because I hadn't realized I spoke Spanish well enough to have any accent other than an American one.
Finally... I have pictures!!!! Here it goes.
Sunset in David
Dominos delivery bikes in David!
The street the hostel was on, also in David
On the boat from Almirantes out to the island
The reggae band that played at Casa Verde... and a guy trying to get out of the picture
The park in Isla de Bocas
Isla de Bocas
The hostel I'm staying at
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
La Mama Loca
Hello again!
Still on Isla de Bocas. The weather wasn't much better today, but the sun sort of poked its head through the clouds for a couple hours so we were able to sit outside for a couple hours. We didn't get up early enough for the snorkel tour that left at 9:30 this morning. Tomorrow, Martin's 72 hours out of Costa Rica will be over, so he'll be heading back in the morning. But I'm enjoying the island so much that I think I'm going to stay for a while longer! I'm thinking about renting a bike for a few days and biking around the island, I've heard there are a lot of beautiful beaches - or maybe even getting SCUBA certified!
Also, I know I say this a lot, but I'm going to TRY to put up some pictures!!!!!!!! Tomorrow?
Still on Isla de Bocas. The weather wasn't much better today, but the sun sort of poked its head through the clouds for a couple hours so we were able to sit outside for a couple hours. We didn't get up early enough for the snorkel tour that left at 9:30 this morning. Tomorrow, Martin's 72 hours out of Costa Rica will be over, so he'll be heading back in the morning. But I'm enjoying the island so much that I think I'm going to stay for a while longer! I'm thinking about renting a bike for a few days and biking around the island, I've heard there are a lot of beautiful beaches - or maybe even getting SCUBA certified!
Also, I know I say this a lot, but I'm going to TRY to put up some pictures!!!!!!!! Tomorrow?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Waka Waka
It's another crazy adventure! But at this point, I've learned to expect nothing less.
We finished out our time in David. My predictions were right, and we ran out of things to do after the first day. We went to go see Harry Potter 7 Part 1 and another movie called Devil in one night, and pretty much spent the rest of the time hanging out at the hostel.
Yesterday morning we tried to go back to Costa Rica, only to find out at the border that when we went through customs the first time, we didn't get a stamp into Panama, just a stamp out of Costa Rica. Anyone else find it funny that the official who checked our passports didn't say anything about this? So we couldn't go back to Panama, because we were there illegally, but we couldn't go to Costa Rica either because they wouldn't let us back in. We had to go hire a lawyer to write letters to the customs officials telling them to cancel our exit stamp, which basically means that we never went to Panama. Which is great, except that Martin still had to renew his visa for Costa Rica by leaving the country for 72 hours.
Back to Panama.
We got back on the bus to David, but couldn't really stand the thought of another 3 days there, so we walked around the bus terminal and eventually decided to go to Bocas del Toro. This, as we found out a little bit too late, involved a 5 hour ride to Almirantes. It was 11 PM and pouring rain by the time we got there, and there were no water taxis leaving, so we had to stay there overnight. Then we got up first thing this morning and got on a boat to Isla Bocas! The weather isn't great still, but so far it's been awesome, and really beautiful. The hostel we're staying at, Casa Verde, is on stilts just above the water, and if you sit on the edge of the porch you can look right down and see fish. We're thinking about taking a snorkel tour tomorrow if it's nice. But for now, we're happy to just sit back and relax.
We finished out our time in David. My predictions were right, and we ran out of things to do after the first day. We went to go see Harry Potter 7 Part 1 and another movie called Devil in one night, and pretty much spent the rest of the time hanging out at the hostel.
Yesterday morning we tried to go back to Costa Rica, only to find out at the border that when we went through customs the first time, we didn't get a stamp into Panama, just a stamp out of Costa Rica. Anyone else find it funny that the official who checked our passports didn't say anything about this? So we couldn't go back to Panama, because we were there illegally, but we couldn't go to Costa Rica either because they wouldn't let us back in. We had to go hire a lawyer to write letters to the customs officials telling them to cancel our exit stamp, which basically means that we never went to Panama. Which is great, except that Martin still had to renew his visa for Costa Rica by leaving the country for 72 hours.
Back to Panama.
We got back on the bus to David, but couldn't really stand the thought of another 3 days there, so we walked around the bus terminal and eventually decided to go to Bocas del Toro. This, as we found out a little bit too late, involved a 5 hour ride to Almirantes. It was 11 PM and pouring rain by the time we got there, and there were no water taxis leaving, so we had to stay there overnight. Then we got up first thing this morning and got on a boat to Isla Bocas! The weather isn't great still, but so far it's been awesome, and really beautiful. The hostel we're staying at, Casa Verde, is on stilts just above the water, and if you sit on the edge of the porch you can look right down and see fish. We're thinking about taking a snorkel tour tomorrow if it's nice. But for now, we're happy to just sit back and relax.
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