By request: Highlights from Costa Rica

The beach at Manuel Antonio- this would be the cloudy day. The following day was sunny... and scorched us!

LtoR: Me, Matt, Meena, and Jim










Just off of my very first rappel in La Fortuna. 175 meters high, you can see someone doing it behind me, also. I'm addicted! Went again in Monteverde.










Isn't this beautiful? This is in the La Fortuna area












La Fortuna. This is the catholic church I attended for Christmas mass. This was one of my favorite cities.

















Me and Regalo. This was a test of character for me... we got through it though. The trek was nearly three hours from La Fortuna to Monteverde.










Christmas Eve in Monteverde at the Tree House. This restaurant is built around a huge tree, very cool. Christmas gift exchange with the group.










Off of Rio San Juan on the way to Tortuguero.













This was also taken from the boat... a bit intimidating to see crocs like this. Really they are just letting their mouths hang open to cool themselves off. Either way, I'd have preferred to be a bit further away...









La Catarata (waterfall) in Rara Avis. This was SUCH a beautiful hike through the jungle. It wasn't until later that I realized it was probably stupid to go by myself in the rainforest. Here's to survival!















Swimming in the waterfall. This is la PURA VIDA


















Learning the tricks of the trade: making Costa Rican tamales for Christmas

















This was our first adventure of the whole trip. Hans, Matt, myself and Shelly after our trip down the Rio Pacuare, which are class 3 and 4 rapids. Pacuare is in the top 5 for white water rafting in the whole world. And it's BEAUTIFUL. Think Jurassic Park. In a raft.








Cahuita National Park, Carribean side. We were on the way to snorkel...













And here's snorkling in the Caribbean Sea. Strange feeling to stick your head under water and breathe...

















Paradise. The Carribean from the shore of Cahuita, Costa Rica.













One of the many monkeys of the trip... this is a white-faced cappuchin. He was very playful!

















San Jose, la capital.

Belated Merriness and a Happy New Year!

I wasn't able to reach out to everyone on Christmas to wish them seasons greetings, but I hope that you passed it well! (That makes a lot more sense in Spanish than in English, now it just sounds like a Kidney stone!)

As today is the end of 2007, I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. May we all love life, work hard, love a lot, and eat great chocolate in 2008.

Pura vida!

And then it was over

Well, I'm back in Utah. And there is snow on the bloody ground! Must say that it seems strange to have a sunburn and sandals on in the dead of Utah winter. Now I understand why Dad and Laurie were so ticked to be back home!

I realize that I skipped the last few days on the blog, sorry about that. Christmas in Costa Rica was great, although it didn't feel like Christmas, but just another balmy day. We were in Monteverde that day and started out by ziplining through the Costa Rican jungle and then I went rappelling (again!) that afternoon. I pretty much almost died while repelling, and that's a story for the books. Think virgin waterfalls, one small rope, with the on-belay having the age of 14. Yeah, a bit too scary for me.

The beaches at Manuel Antonio (Quepos) ended my trip. Three days of rest, relaxtion, and a lot of fruit batidos (smoothies)! Manuel Antonio is a national reserve, so it is preserved forest and beach on the Pacific side of the country. I prefer this to the carribean side, if only because it's slightly less humid, and less marijuana infested. Saw a lot of monkeys in Manuel Antonio, including a pissed off White Faced Cappuchin who threw a small coconut at a tourist who was giving him grief. Listen, when you start shaking the branches the monkeys are on, I say you deserve being thumped in the head by a primate!

Got home last night at 6pm, after a 12 hour travel day through Denver. All things considered, the travel wasn't horrible. I'm bringing back a nasty cold and a blaring sunburn, but am very happy to have gone.

The next few days will requiring adjusting!

Day 10- The Road to Monteverde

All I can say is HIJOLE! We took a boat from Arenal to an island where we met a host of horses. The trek to Monteverde is 3 hours by horse. My horse was Regalo, which is really the perfect name for the horse you are hanging out with on Christmas Eve because Regalo means gift.

For the first little while, he seemed exactly that. It was fun to be on a horse riding through the beautiful countryside. On the left there were farms and jungles, and on the ride we were bordered by the coastline. Very beautiful.

About 30 minutes into the ride it began raining and Regalo was having trouble keeping his footing. We slipped several times, and each time I got more and more freaked out. Hi my name is Kathy, and I am a control freak. I realized that my fear came directly from not having control over the situation, I was just the girl in the saddle.

After a serious freak out between myself and my horse, I calmed down a bit and was able to enjoy the last leg of the journey. Surprised that I´m not sore because we trotted almost the entire time.

Thanks Regalo, for not killing me.

Christmas Even, la buenanoche, found the entire group at the Tree House restaurant in Santa Elena, the town in Monterverde. The food was excellent and we all splurged to celebrate the holiday. In the latin culture, Christmas Eve is bigger than Christmas Day, so we definately tried to follow suit as we ordered Chocolate Fondue, Tres Leches, and other fine foods.

Secret Santa gift exchange left me with a great shirt from Costa Rica. Very fun to do a gift exchange within the group.

Day 7-9: La Fortuna y Volcan Arenal

Although touristy, I love this place. It´s small enough to know it well after the first day of being here, yet large enough to offer plenty of options. It´s rained here almost the entire time and I have added to my luggage a poncho and an umbrella. Should have listened to Chelsey!

We ate dinner on Friday at Chela´s, a local bar that is off the beaten path, but close to our hotel, Sierra Arenal. Chela´s is wonderful with great service and great food! They serve mostly bocas, or small appetizers that you can pick and choose from. If you are a fan of ceviche de camarron, this is the place for you my friend! It´s the best I have ever had, and I love my ceviche...

Saturday morning took me canyoneering, otherwise known as rappelling. Pure Trek Canyoning did a wonderful job and I felt very safe as I plummeted off the first 175 foot waterfall, as well as the subsequent other 4 waterfalls we reppelled down. The staff was awesome and I had a blast getting to know Brian, Mario, Edson, Giovanni, Luis, and the others. For this reason it was nice to be away from the big group... I spent more time with the locals and spoke straight spanish for an entire morning. Love me the spanish.

Repelling was an awesome experience, there is something about conquerring fears that help you to feel more in control of life. I love it.

The afternoon was spent hiking around the base of Arenal, which is the most active volcano in Costa Rica. It´s so cloudy here I haven´t even seen the volcano yet, but from what I am told is right in front of me, looming over La Fortuna. The hike was incredible and I learned SO MUCH about the ecosystems here in CR. Nature is amazing! It´s ability to adapt and thrive under different circumstances truly is a miracle. Thank you Santos for teaching me so much about my surroundings.

Rounded out the night at Baldi Hot Springs, overpriced but well worth it to hang out with friends in thermal pools that run from the volcano. The water felt wonderful on my tired body, as well.

Today is Sunday and I have done my best to truly make it el dia de reposo, the day of rest. I spent the day walking through town and enjoying the local vibe. Had the chance to talk with Dad and Laurie which was nice. Wasn´t able to call back to talk to the siblings, but that´s okay. I´ll see everyone soon enough. (If I come home... haha)

Went to services at the local catholic church- very interesting experience. The priest referred to Christmas as ¨La Navidad Gringa¨. Good to know that white people have such a lasting influence, right? Basically he was talking about how commercialized it is.

I have to say that in the last three years, Christmas for me has been very non-commercialized. Though I have missed being with family for the holidays, I have very much enjoyed the simplified version of it that the Hispanic and Latin communities offer.

Mañana nos vamos! Cheers from Costa Rica! See you in Monteverde.

Day 5-7: Rara Avis... AKA, Paradise

Rara Avis is located in the middle of the rainforest. It is a lodge that has no electricity, etc. Very ecofriendly. It is so remote in fact that to access Rara Avis, one must take a truck half way up the mountain, and a tractor the rest of the way! The tractor pull was a bit bouncy, but I thouroughly enjoyed myself.

Rara Avis has been one of my favorite parts of the trip thus far. It is wonderful to be away from the hustle of tourism that Puerto Viejo had, and to be off of a bus and or boat. The scenery here is endless! Costa Rica is lush and green. Although it rains often here, the rain is warm, and it creates a great background for playing a game of Hearts or Egyptian Rat Screw with my new found friends.

Day 2 in Rara Avis I decide to hike by myself to the waterfall lookout point. It wasn´t until I reached a slanted tree that crossed my path that I registered that I was hiking in a JUNGLE with creatures very much foreign to me... and I was foreign to them also! The tree I speak of was so motivating because there were several large ants climbing on it. Bullet Ants: one inch long and THICK. Later I found out that the sting of a bullet ant is 500 times more powerful than of a regular ant bite, and lasts for 24 hours. They literally call it a bullet ant because it´s sting feels like a bullet! Glad I saw them before they saw me... After the encounter with the ants-of-unusual-size, I carried a big stick. Probably wouldn´t have helped with the jaguar´s or snakes.

After the hike I met up with the group for a swim in the waterfall. I´m sorry, but it doesn´t get better than this! Cliff diving off of a waterfall= PURA VIDA. The swim felt wonderful, even if I was wearing rubber boots with my swimsuit. Get excited to see those pictures.

The afternoon was filled with making tamales, a very different version from the mexican style I am used to. We also passed the time with laughter as we all rolled on the ground while I translated different articles from Perfil magazine, the local glamour mag. If you can translate ¨Los 50 momentos mas ardientes¨then you know how we were laughing. We also read each of our horoscopes in español... my goal apparantly is to not fall down the stairs.

Rara Avis is paradise on earth. Thanks to Josh, Michael, and all of the others who made it such a great experience. I recommend this trip to everyone, and would do it again in a heartbeat!

Day 4-5- Boats, Boats, Boats... and Crocodiles

Two long days of traveling by land and by sea... literally. The first hour on the boat ride was pretty cool. Iguanas, blue herons, sloths and crocodiles all made the trip very enjoyable. However, the next 5 hours were a bit difficult. Picture 20 people on a small motor boat. You´ve now pictured my last two days of traveling!

Day 2 saw Matt and I sharing his iPod to watch Ratatouille because honestly, there is just so much boat ride you can take. Thanks, Matt, for the distraction! Also, thanks to the crocodiles who kept us on our toes as well... too close for comfort on some of those encounters, but very cool to see them so close. Croikee!

The end of day four was spent in Tortuguero, a cute little town that is located in a canal of Costa Rica on the carribean side. I would have liked to spend more time here. Although extremely small, the locals are gracious and fun loving. Miss Junie´s offered up wonderful food with a nice atmosphere for dinner and breakfast. Can´t say much for the hotel side of it, though. Definately plan on visiting this place when the turtles are in season and nesting on the beaches.

Left Tortuguero early on the morning of the 19th and went (again by boat) to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. Destination: Rara Avis.