Bienvenidos Amigos...Welcome Friends!

And That’s All She Wrote

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:41:08 -0700

We are now in San Jose awaiting our early morning flight back to the States. We are staying in a modern hotel in Escazu, the upscale business district of San Jose. The atmosphere is similar to a hotel in Silicon Valley, but instead of being put off by this, we welcome it with open arms. We are looking forward to coming home. We miss the United States. From the beginning of our trip, we secretly feared that we would not want to come back. But that isn’t the case. We are ready to come home.

The journey has been amazing. But truthfully, how could a six month vacation not be amazing? I wouldn’t say it has been some powerful transformative experience that brings us back totally different people. Rather, it has been a gradual unwinding that has enabled us to get back in touch with what is really important in life. It has given us invaluable time together as a family. It has given us some time to dedicate to activities we love, like surfing and yoga (although a certain energetic two-year old often prevented these activities from occurring). It has given us some new language skills. We are a little more aware of ourselves - a little better at living in the present. We are more aware and respectful of different ways of life. We have been reminded why it is so critical to protect our planet, even if it means a little sacrifice on our end.

The trip has also made us incredibly grateful for our life in the United States. It has for sure made us hyperaware of some of the aspects of life in the US that are a bit ridiculous - excessive materialism, constant advertisement bombardment, the desire for huge or multiple homes, and grueling work hours that leave little time to actually be in those homes. These things often manifest from a selfish desire to just get more, more and more. More of everything except peace and fulfillment.

But with that aside, living in the US is pretty nice. We have seen what it is like to live in poverty, and it just isn’t something we are prepared to do. We are lucky to have the opportunity to obtain an education, work, be of service, and just simply provide for our families. Instead of dreading coming back and eventually going back to work, we are looking forward to it. We are excited about once again being contributing members of society, hopefully contributing something positive in whatever we end up doing, in addition to making some money. We have seen those who have wasted away in paradise, and this isn’t something we want either. I mean, don’t get me wrong, wasting away in paradise is OK for awhile. In some ways, it is a practical necessity in order to clear the air and make room for creativity to sneak back into your life. But complacency for too long often leads to just ending up, well, blah. We must also admit, as much as we detest endless strip malls and over-development, we really do miss some of the conveniences of the US.

Of course, there are some lessons from Central America that we take back with us. Family and friends are the cornerstone of life. Children at play are a joy, never an annoyance. You don’t need the new iPhone or that pair of designer jeans to be happy. There is always time for anyone, for everyone is equally important. Greet everyone with kindness and never hesitate to give a stranger a smile. You don’t need to move so fast. “Tranquilo” is definitely the preferable path.

And so we take these lessons back with us as we go into the world. It has been the adventure of a lifetime. We will miss Central America. I am sure that a few weeks from now, we will long for the humid air, warm ocean and abundant palm trees. But for today, we are excited to come back home.

Can’t wait to see you all soon!

Bocas Del Toro, Panama

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:39:19 -0700

Are you surprised? Well, so were we. In our original planning of the trip, we had wanted to get over to Panama. With a two-year old in tow, we thought another border crossing and country would just be too much. However, after a few days in Puerto Viejo, Marty meets a local dive instructor who informs him that crossing over to Panama is actually relatively easy and totally worth the trouble. There is a shuttle service, “Caribe Shuttle” that runs from Puerto Viejo to Bocas Del Toro for about 50 USD round trip. They hold your hand the entire way. An hour shuttle to the Panamanian border at Sixaola, Costa Rica. Walk across the border. Catch another hour shuttle that takes you to a water taxi. Water taxi takes you to Bocas Del Toro. All this in under three hours.

Bocas Del Toro is an archipelago, a series of islands on the Caribbean side of Panama about an hour from the Costa Rican border. Crossing the border is much easier here than when we crossed into Nicaragua. The border at Sixoala is not along the Pan-American highway, and therefore doesn’t get the same high volume of traffic. The most intense part of the border crossing is having to walk across a rickety bridge over the Sixoala river and into Panama. As we are being shuttled from the border to the water taxi, we see one banana farm after another. I am reminded of why the Republic of Panama is often referred to as the “Banana Republic”. We get on the water taxi in a very run down and poor area, where many decrepit huts are on stilts over the water. We are accosted by several locals trying to aggressively take our bags and carry them to the water taxi for a tip. We take the 30 minute or so boat ride to Bocas Town. This is the hub of the islands, a lively little party town on Isla Colon. From there, you can take another water taxi to a number other islands. Clear blue waters and sandy beaches abound. We settle on a little hotel right on the water in Bocas Town as our home base (see picture on right). We know very little about the area and figure this is a good starting point. Kalen is buzzing from the adventure. He got to ride on an “autobus” and a “barco” - bus and boat - in the same day.

The influence of the United States is quite evident in Panama. Even though Spanish is the official language, it is difficult to tell if people even speak it as their first language. Panama technically has its own currency, the Balboa, but the US Dollar is what is accepted everywhere and dispensed at ATMs. Things generally seem overall a bit more modern. Panama City, for example, is thought by many to be as cosmopolitan as New York City. Regardless of US influence, there is still plenty of Latin American charm. As evening falls shortly after our arrival, the vibe of the town starts to resonate. The outdoor nightclub that is right on the water next to our hotel thumps salsa-infused house music. Party boats float in the water. It’s a little reminiscent of spring break, but it is fun to watch to the action from the safety of our balcony.

The next morning we take a water taxi out to Isla Popa, one of the more remote islands. In addition to a tribe of indigenous Ngobe Indians, the only development on the island is a small boutique resort that is the sister hotel to the one we are staying at in Bocas Town. Our hotel runs us over there in a water taxi that takes about 35 minutes. It is a beautiful boat ride through crystal blue water peppered with tropical islands and jungle. We pull up to the island and feel as if we have died and gone to heaven. It is unbelievably beautiful and reminds us of our honeymoon in Fiji. The water is crystal clear, and with the exception of a couple from Sacramento on their honeymoon, we are the only ones at the hotel that day. We spend all day swimming in the warm Caribbean waters, soaking up the sun and wading in the pool as warm as bath water. The water taxi takes us back to our hotel in Bocas that night, and we resolve to spend the next night in Panama on Isla Popa. It will be our four year anniversary gift to ourselves. We celebrate it officially on the 24th, our last night on the Caribbean Coast before heading back to San Jose for our flight home.

We spend our third night in Panama on Isla Popa. It is one of the highlights of our trip for sure. The next morning, we take two water taxis to a shuttle, over the border, to another shuttle dropping us off in Punta Uva, Costa Rica. The only difference this time is that we do it all in the pouring rain. Not quite as lovely to put it mildly. Kalen is amazing. He takes it all in strides and hardly complains the whole time. He is quite the little traveler. How many two year olds do you know with so many stamps on their passport? For that matter, how many two-year olds even have a passport?

We are now back in our cabina in Punta Uva enjoying the last few days of our trip. At moments we start to feel sad, possibly a little fear, that our adventure is ending. It is crazy that we will be back on US soil on Saturday. But it is hard to be too sad when you have lived the life that we have lived in the past six months. We are ready to take on whatever life has in store for us back home. We are coming home, happy, healthy and maybe even a tad bit wiser.

Caribe Sur

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:15:00 -0700

On Friday, we wake up early and are on the road shortly after four in the morning. We never did get to see the turtles at Ostional. Turns out we left one day short of their arrival. Oh well. Such is life.

We figure that the cross-country drive from Nosara on the Pacific Coast of the Nicoya Peninsula to Punta Uva on the Southern Caribbean Coast will take about nine hours. Hopefully, Kalen will sleep a good part of the morning. We are concerned that nine hours in the car will get the best of him, and therefore, of us. We make it to the San Jose area in about five hours. From the map, it seems like we should easily be able to cut across the northern end of San Jose to Highway 32, which is the road that we will take to Limon. Of course in Costa Rica, streets don’t always have names, and routes are not always marked. We inevitably miss the turn off and end up smack dab in the middle of the congested arteries of San Jose.

I wish I could find a single American comparison to being lost in San Jose. The closest that I can find is trying to navigate a city like Boston, where the constant construction and non-sensical roads pretty much guarantee you will get totally turned around at some point. But that doesn’t do it justice. Pretend that you are driving in a maze similar to Boston, but at the same time, you are lost in the middle of Compton looking for the Santa Monica Pier. Not only are you lost in Compton, but you are driving a rented Daihatsu BeGo full of stuff with surfboards on the roof that scream you are looking for the beach, and you don’t speak very good English. But the fact you aren’t fluent in the local language doesn’t really matter because you wouldn’t stop to ask for directions in Compton anyhow. Pretend now that the traffic congestion is as heavy as the Dan Ryan in Chicago at rush hour, but the car lanes are as narrow as the typical bike lane in Denver. Imagine still, all the automobiles are manned by aggressive, honk-happy taxi drivers from New York City. Just for fun, top it off with a jaunt through the farmlands of North Dakota where the roads are unnamed, and their are no signs anywhere to direct you out of the mess you got yourself into in the first place.

We lose ourselves in San Jose for an hour or so. Luckily, we don’t lose anything else. It could have quite possibly been the most stressful hour of our lives. Marty does a great job of keeping his cool while driving, probably thanks to his many years of working in a high pressure environment. I can tell that even he is close to his breaking point. Kalen can also tell, as he keeps strangely quiet in the back seat while squirming around in an obviously uncomfortable diaper that should have been changed before San Jose. By the grace of God, we eventually somehow just happen to end up on the road that takes us to highway 32. Thankfully, we get out alive and with all our stuff. We now prepare for the next 4-5 hours of the trip. It is a beautiful stretch of road, but it is long, and we are tired. We finally make it to Punta Uva after about 13 hours on the road. Kalen arrives in better shape than us. Marty looks as if he is about to go into traumatic shock, and I am just completely exhausted and irritable. It doesn’t help our moods that it is hotter and stickier than the rest of the country, and our place has no air-conditioning or fans. Of course in true Central American fashion, when we arrive, we are fondly greeted with no electricity.

We make it through our first night by shutting our eyes and hoping better days lie ahead. In the following days as we decompress from the drive, we begin to learn the lay of the land in the last stop of our journey. The Caribbean Coast in Costa Rica is completely different from the the Pacific Coast. The jungle is thicker and more lush, due to the abundance of year-round rainfall. Here more than anywhere we have been in Central America, we feel like we are deep in the rainforest. Ants rule the land. Leave one crumb of bread on the table, and you’re guaranteed to find a wild party there within seconds. There are more gigantic bugs in our place than even in Nicaragua, but thankfully we are pretty used to them by now. This is an area full of ecological preserves, eco-resorts and hippies. People here are incredibly environmentally conscious and dedicated to preserving the rainforest. I love the fact that the owner of the cabina we are renting has a bound document detailing the medicinal plants of the Costa Rican rainforest on his coffee table. It is true that September and October are the driest and sunniest months for the Caribbean, while the rest of the country gets pummeled with rain. The remainder of the year, it is the other way around. The local population is more Afro-Caribbean than of Latin American origin. They all speak perfect English, and at times you feel more like you are in Jamaica than Costa Rica. There are a good number of Rastafarrians walking around in dreadlocks attempting to channel the spirit Bob Marley. The pace of life moves slower than the rest of the country, if that is even possible. One amazing beach follows another with jungle running right up to the sand. When the sun shines, the ocean waters resonate the crystal blue and green tones that draw people from all over the world to the Caribbean. Another interesting point to note is the number of Swiss emigrants that come to this area of the country to capitalize on some of the world’s finest indigenously grown cacao. In other words, the chocolate here is delicious.

On our last day in Nosara, Marty slices his foot on the fin of his surfboard. He hasn’t really been able to enjoy the water here on the Caribbean side because of this, much less surf. Kalen and I, however, are enjoying swimming while Marty reads on the beach. Kalen tells me that tomorrow he wants to take the goggles into the ocean. The water is so clear it is like a swimming pool. The main town of Puerto Viejo is a happening little spot. There is more energy and pulse in that little town than we have seen all trip. We definitely like it. A lot.

There is a little cloud that floats over us from time to time, as we come to terms with the fact that we only have a few weeks left in Central America. It has almost been a six month journey for us, and it is hard to believe it is coming to an end soon. Things like finding a job and a place to live loom over our heads. But as quickly as the cloud floats over our heads and drops a little rain, it dissipates. We are committed to living in the moment. For the time being we are still here, and we are still enjoying every second. However, we are starting to mentally prepare for coming home. Instead of dreading it, we are thinking about the things we are looking forward to back home. Reconnecting with family and friends. Eating something other than rice, beans and plantains. Drinking tap water. American grocery stores. Driving on well-maintained, paved roads. And of course, In-N-Out Burger. Double Double “animal style” here we come.

But today we are still ordering the “pescado entero” - whole fish - with rice, beans and plantains. It’s really not so bad. In fact, it’s pretty tasty.

What Is Your Worth?

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 11:49:21 -0700

It is an interesting question whose answer can be taken in several different directions without knowing the context in which it was asked. What is your financial worth, what is your personal worth, what is your worth to society? In the case of our new friend, Worth, his quick answer to the question would most likely be, well, a lot.

A few weeks back Marty meets Worth out at the beach catching waves. They strike up a conversation and hit it off. Worth is a single and somewhat older man with grown kids who is retired and living in Costa Rica eight months of the year. Despite his age, he looks young and is in great shape because he surfs every chance he gets. He sold his liquor distributing business in Raleigh, NC several years ago and evidently made out quite well. He now passes his time surfing in Costa Rica while struggling to find new things to keep him busy. He has exhausted his most recent project list, and now his kids seem to be his most recent venture. He has decided to begin micromanaging their lives from afar in hopes of guiding them to success. He points out his custom home in the hills above the beach to Marty, “See the big one up there? You and your family should come up and visit me sometime.” And it is left at that. Until we run into him a week or so later at a local pizzeria picking up a pizza to-go. We then get an enthusiastic invitation to his house for dinner.

These days we don’t have too much going on, so we readily accept the invitation of dinner with a complete stranger in his home. Besides, we are curious to see how the rich live in Costa Rica. We have seen plenty of how the poor live, and we are curious about the other end of the spectrum.

We arrive at Worth’s house on Saturday and are amazed, to say the least. This home could be written up in Architectural Digest or one of those other magazines that showcase wealthy people’s homes. Our favorite part is the outdoor space. In addition to a perfect infinity pool overlooking the ocean, there is a leisure area with a huge Guatemalan hammock, artisan leather rocking chairs, several other intricate pieces of custom furniture, a huge outdoor sofa that is probably 15 feet long, an outdoor Viking kitchen and an unbelievable 12 person dining table made from a single cut of a Guanacaste tree. You couldn’t pay to stay somewhere this nice.

I start to casually wonder why this guy is now cooking us dinner. Someone with a pad this incredible must have plenty of friends. Is he really that nice or is he just really that bored? As the night goes on I realize it is a little bit of both, but probably more of the latter. He lets us know that it is really difficult for him to find people he can converse with in Nosara. For the most part, all the surfers talk about mindless stuff and are very uninteresting. The other expats tend to be a little wacky (something we have also found to be generally true). When he met Marty and discovered that he used to work for Goldman Sachs, he thought that he had finally found someone he could chat with about civilized topics - in addition to surfing of course.

You see, herein lies the catch about the rich retiring in a secluded paradise when they formerly were active, go-getting members of society. You can build the perfect home in the perfect setting, but that doesn’t guarantee you still won’t be bored out of your skull a good part of the time. Besides, where’s the fun in building the home or your dreams when there is no one around to admire it and be jealous of your good fortune and incredible life?

As we dine alfresco, Worth starts to drill Marty about various things related to business and his career. Kalen starts to get antsy, and I take him over to the pool to escape the resulting financial conversation. Worth gives Marty several books he thinks he should read. Seems that Worth may have just taken Marty on as his next project. He makes Marty promise that he will never move to Costa Rica full-time. Moving to Costa Rica, Worth says, is the kiss of death for all things intellectual and productive. If you are in Costa Rica too long, your standards just simply fall to an unacceptable level. This is why he chooses to only live here eight months of the year.

We are invited over for dinner again in a week. We accept. Worth’s company and southern hospitality is enjoyable enough once you overlook the slightly-controlling, move everything and everyone forward, former businessman aspect. Besides, Kalen really likes his pool, and it is nice to have a glass of fine wine for a change. He seems a little lonely to me, so I am happy for us to go give him some company. What’s the use in having a fantastic space for entertaining when there is no one to entertain? We are happy to help him out with that one. Especially when it comes with organic bacon wrapped filet mignon.

The weather continues to be great for us. Almost everyone has left in preparation for the coming rain, but so far, September has been one of our nicest months of the entire trip (yes, we are aware that we are only 5 days into it). We are looking forward to observing a mass turtle nesting at Playa Ostional this week before we take off to the Caribbean Coast on Friday. This is a rare event that happens only a few times at only a few places in the world. Of those places, the “Arribadda” at Ostional is the biggest and most important. The turtles are congregating close to shore as I write this in anticipation of the big day. My mental image is one of a feisty reunion complete with salsa music and plenty of guaro. They will barrel out of the ocean full-steam and on to the beach to lay their eggs on the first day of the last quarter of the moon. This means it will begin this Thursday. The whole beach will be so full of turtles that they will literally be walking on top of one another trying to find a spot to bury their eggs. It is supposedly a sight to be seen. We anxiously anticipate this event, as it is the most eventful thing we have going on outside of dinner at Worth’s house...

The Great Escape

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:43:00 -0700

You would think we are preparing for a category 4 hurricane, volcanic eruption or some other earth-shattering natural disaster by the looks of this place. An evacuation is in process, but oddly enough, we are not taking part in it. Stores and restaurants now close hours before posted times of business. Expats are catching planes back to the US, New Zealand, Australia or whatever English-speaking country in which they used to reside, in droves. The Nosara Yoga Institute is having no community classes as of September 1st. What’s going on? We just got here, and we’re having a great time. Is there something someone isn’t telling us?

It doesn’t take us long to get to the bottom of things. The low, low season is about to begin. This period of time in Costa Rica is the reason the rainforest is called the “rain” forest. Rain starts to progressively plummet all day long starting sometime in September and continues to dump throughout the entire month of October. As the days creep deeper into the delves of September, the rain becomes torrential and more violent with each passing day. Roads become impassable. Rivers that could once be crossed in a 4X4 become potentially deadly to those who dare try to make it to the other bank. Swimming pools overflow. Roofs leak. Going outside in any shape or form becomes a big pain in the patootie.

But as of today, we are still getting really nice weather. Just the late afternoon/evening/nighttime showers with warm sun during the morning and gradual clouding into the later part of the day. Marty talks to a local surfer in the line-up at Playa Guiones about this current exodus we are witnessing. This guy says that early September can be one of the best times here in Nosara. Tourists leave in time for kids to go back to school. All expats that have the means leave safely in time for the coming downpours. Ticos just shack up and buckle down. However, the weather in early September can still be surprisingly nice. It is one of the best times to catch great waves in complete seclusion. The “really bad stuff” doesn’t start until later in September or sometimes even into October.

Or so we are told.

In a few weeks, we head over to the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica for the conclusion of our trip. It is a rich, lush and colorful area of the country that has more of an afro-caribbean/jamaican-rastafarrian vibe. The Caribbean Coast is typically one of the rainiest areas of Costa Rica year round. However, the microclimate that exists on the southeastern tip of Costa Rica supposedly gets its driest weather in September. We are scheduled to head that way on September 11th. We may move it up a few days if Nosara gets a little too quiet and rainy in early September this year.

In other news, Kalen finally gets his lab results back from San Jose. Turns out that he is hosting an assortment of bacteria in addition to the dreaded parasites. Our very tranquilo doc in Nosara assures us that this is a very common occurrence in kids here. I let him know that I caught Kalen drinking bathwater in Nicaragua. He raises his eyebrows and nods his head matter-of-factly. I can remember the exact moment that I turned my head around to find Kalen sucking the water out of his squeeze airplane in the tub in Nicaragua and thought, “He totally has parasites now. Diarrhea will arrive soon”.

Anyhow, Kalen must finish his 7 day course of sulfa antibiotics that we picked up in Samara last week. Then he must take two “parasite” pills starting a few days after the completion of the antibiotics. I have a feeling I know where these pills are to be inserted. Eww. But supposedly that will clear things up. He seems generally happy, but he hasn’t really eaten too much in the past couple weeks. It is one thing to be sickened by the local cuisine/water yourself. it is more difficult to stomach when the sufferer is your child who was dragged along on your wacky adventure unwittingly. We just keep reminding ourselves of how much he loves jumping in the pool, diving in the waves of the warm ocean and learning Spanish vocabulary. We figure that he’s still in diapers, so the frequent trips to the bathroom don’t bother him that much. Probably it is more annoying and costly for mommy and daddy than anything. We were finally able to pick up a training potty for him. He occasionally likes to pour a cup of water into it’s basin. Other than that, he isn’t that much interested in it.

Guess there are simply more important and intriguing things to do with one’s time. Especially when one is in Costa Rica.