The Journey and a Brief Stopover

Friday.

My daily surf spot in Montezuma...as hot as it is bright.

It is hot as blazes and my shoulders are sore as hell from paddling a surfboard the last few days.  Today, I’m taking the day off from the Sun and watching day one of the Euros.  Russia and Czech Republic are playing now and Russia has looked impressive.  Later, the US team's first World Cup qualifying match will be on.  In short, it doesn’t look like I’ll be surfing today.  What I will be doing this afternoon between games is talking a little about the journey to Arenal, how and why I booked everything, and how it worked out.

The last few trips I’ve booked were through Cheapoair.  Through my searching for the best fair I had the idea to check Chicago, which is a six hour bus ride from St Louis.  It proved to be much cheaper (nearly $300) to fly from Chicago, so I booked at flight leaving Tuesday, May 15^th leaving at 5:30am and arriving in San Jose at 9:23am.  I reserved a Megabus ticket to Chicago that would get me to Union Station at 9:40pm and I would take the El from there to the airport, where I’d have about four hours to kill before check-in.  It seems long, but I’ve done much worse and didn’t think it was too bad.  Besides, the Megabus is nice and it only cost $11 to get to Chicago from St Louis.

What I didn’t initially notice was that the airline I booked was Spirit, which I had no real knowledge of.  Then I read some horror story reviews and found out they charge for bags and every other little extra, like boarding passes.  I was a little apprehensive about the whole deal so I went to their web site and saw that they do charge for bags, and food, and boarding passes.  However, you can print your own for free 24 hours before the flight and you can also pay for your luggage for significantly less than the counter.  It ended up costing an extra $34 to check a bag, but I still came out well ahead price wise.  Overall the service was decent  and I have no real complaints.  I like their concession system, which I would take on any domestic flight.  The prices were more reasonable than what you’d expect for snacks, beverages, beers, mixed drinks, etc.  Not to sound like Iike I’m promoting Spirit, but I was curious as to how it would work out and it didn’t piss me off, arrive late, or leave me hungry, which is a plus.

Lauderdale is overrated.

There was a brief stopover in Fort Lauderdale.  I had just enough time to meet a beautiful nice girl right away, get swept away in a wave of partying, beaches, bikinis, and gaining the confidence to finally ask the really hot girl out, the one that I had been overlooking the nice girl for the whole time in a misguided quest to lose my virginity.  Along the way there is a crazy drug dealer on the beach in a VW van where I get stoned for the first time and then it falls apart into a side series of whacky misadventures which leads to me winning a random belly flop contest that I somehow stumbled into .

  Later that evening things  settled down and there was a mellow bonfire party on the beach where the really hot girl, impressed by the belly flop contest trophy, kept eyeing me from across the fire.  The nice girl told me to make my move if that’s what I really wanted and I went over to the really hot girl and asked her to take a walk.  As we walked, I realized she wasn’t as interesting as the nice girl, nor did she make me laugh the same way.   Yet, she was very hot and we kissed.  As we kissed I kept thinking of the nice girl and told the really hot girl to stop, and she wasn’t very nice about it.

Bizarre love triangle

I ran back to the fire and the nice girl was nowhere to be seen.  Her friend, who hadn’t been seen or introduced before, yet was somehow conveniently there and we knew each other, told me the nice girl was going back to the farm.  I furiously ran toward her hotel and found the maid cleaning out her room.   I ran outside and saw the crazy drug dealer who was on the run from a shady deal and had to catch a plane.  We hopped on random, yet available moped and raced to the airport only for me to get there and see her plane flying away.  Dejected, I walked toward the other terminal to fly away from Fort Lauderdale forever, a victim of a cruel cupid plot.  However, after I checked in I saw the nice girl waiting for me and I wanted to tell her everything I felt, and she put her finger to my lips and said,  “Shhhh, you don’t have to tell me anything.”  We shared a passionate long kiss to some 80’s generic spring break song with a saxophone.  Then I told her I’d be back, got on the plane and made my way to San Jose.   Not the most eventful stopover, but there are worse ways to kill an hour and twenty minutes.

The plane wasn’t late.  I arrived in San Jose right on time and had a driver with a sign with my name written on it.  Let me say that I always love getting off a plane, walking out of the airport, and seeing a sign with my name on it.  The driver was friendly and spoke conversational English, which would not be a rare occurrence on this trip; especially through ACR.  It would be about a three hour drive to La Fortuna, where I would be staying at the base of mighty Arenal.  As we drove away from the airport, my first impression was how much the country reminded me of Philippines, topographically.

Roadside scenery

At first glance it was apparent that Costa Rica is a more together and cleaner country.  After all, how would you effectively govern all of those islands?

The highway to Arenal was paved, mostly two way, and very windy.  (Just to be clear:  w-eye-n-dy)  We stopped midway for a much needed bite to eat.  It was here that I had my first experience with casado, which I instantly took a serious liking to.  There will be much more on casado later. 
After eating we continued the scenic drive until we arrived at the Arenal Rossi Hotel.  I arrived around 2:30 and spent most of the day relaxing and recovering from the long trip.  The next day would be difficult and I wanted to be ready.  I would hit the ground running on a rappelling and white water rafting tour, which would begin at 7:15am. 

Tomorrow I will talk about Arenal and the very, very fabulous tour.  For now, it’s getting close to game time.  Go USA!    

What I brought.

Thursday.

I took a 6k bike into the nearest town of Cabano to sort out some bank details this morning and am contemplating whether or not I’m going to surf this afternoon. It is really, really hot here. Every day. I somewhat have to limit my activities due to the extreme heat and proximity to the equator, which means I get to spend plenty of time in the cabin.

This afternoon is no exception and the topic on mind is what I brought, why, and how it worked out. As I write I’m racking my mind to think of what I wish I had brought and didn’t, so hopefully the next person won’t be without. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with what I brought and some things turned out to really exceed expectations.

First, I will go over the items I bought for this trip and future travels. The first purchase was a High Sierra 3 in 1 Railpass travelers backpack. I liked this bag because it appeared to be rugged and versatile. Also, everything zips up and tucks away neatly, and there is a removable day pack. The most appealing thing about the bag is that it folds open like a suitcase, so there is no stuffing things in or routing around. It has been serviceable, but I found it to be too cumbersome and heavy to wear as a backpack for long periods and wound up unzipping the day pack and using it more like a duffle bag. It’s fine for this and even has a removable shoulder strap. The only problem I’ve had is that a zipper tab on the day pack broke… at the airport. There is a warranty and I will be sending it in when I go back to the states.

Second, I bought a small Nikon Coolpix for a song at a Costco. I have a Nikon D50 SLR, which is large and I am always careful to bring out. I figured the Coolpix would serve as a nice backup and bring along camera. After three weeks, I can safely say this was a great idea. I’ve taken twenty times more pictures with the little camera and have been very surprised by the overall quality. I’m some circumstances, it actually takes better pictures. Part of that is that I don’t really know how to use my SLR.

The third, and possibly most important purchase was a pair of Merrell hiking boots. I had heard good things over the years about Merrell’s and wanted something ventilated, comfortable, fast-drying, and durable. Time will tell on durable, but so far these shoes have been the perfect call. I’ve worn them rafting, hiking, biking, horseback riding, and, well, pretty much all the time. I’ve gotten them completely soaked and they dry very quickly. Even when not dry, they don’t hold a lot of water and don’t feel heavy or soggy. The reason why I heard all of these great things about Merrell is because they are great shoes. I’m completely sold.


In addition to the new purchases I filled my giant backpack with ten shirts, one synthetic fleece, four pair of shorts, a pair of slacks, and the appropriate underwear, socks, and toiletries. I brought my Jackson Hole, Wyoming adventure cap, which has now been worn in ten different countries. It was part of a care package from an old friend when I first moved to Korea in 2005, and I’ve been using it every time I’ve traveled since. I brought another fashionable cap, which has not been worn once on this trip. I also brought a pair of slacks, just in case. There has been no case.

Knowing that I would be here for at least three weeks, with the possibility of staying longer, I brought my laptop. This is the first time I’ve brought it on vacation and it’s been good and bad. It’s great in that most places have wi fi and it’s nice to be able to be in touch. The only bad thing about bringing it is that I brought four books and have only read one of them because my down time is usually spent on the internet. This will be the last time I load up on books for a trip… next time I’m getting a reader.

Rounding out my arsenal is a pair of binoculars, a flashlight, sunscreen, Off, a small towel, and a canteen. The sunscreen and flashlight are absolutely essential. I highly recommend buying these items before leaving. You’ll pay more for less selection here. Insects have not been a huge issue, so I haven’t used the Off much. I didn’t use it once in the Cloud Forest and didn’t get eaten. I also brought my phone, which is a 50 dollar a month alarm clock here, and my ipod, which goes everywhere with me.

Of all the things I brought, the only items not used at all have been the slacks, two books, and a hat. Not that I packed very efficiently, but more due to the fact that I’ve been here for a while. Here’s what I wish I would have done differently. First, I would have brought sturdier sandals or a pair of aqua shoes. I had a pair of Crocs that were a last minute scratch because they are bulky and I didn’t want to look like a tool. That being said, they would have been quite useful. I wish I’d had packed my belt, which I simply forgot. It wasn’t an issue at first, but since walking up and down this massive hill daily and surfing the last couple of weeks, the shorts are starting to fall off. A rainjacket could have been useful in the Cloud Forest, but it wasn’t necessary this time and the synthetic fleece served me very well there.

Speaking of synthetic, the biggest thing I’d change would be bringing light, breathable, fast drying shirts and shorts. Most of my clothes are cotton, and I drench at least one outfit a day in this climate. Cotton gets drenched and heavy, and it takes a long time to dry; so I would advise synthetics.

Other things that would have been useful are an umbrella, which would have been useful on other trips as well, a can opener, a swiss army knife, and sunglasses. Sunglasses are obvious and you might wonder how I could forget something like that. Well, I didn’t. I’m still punishing myself for losing my last pair (picture from Vietnam trip, when I bought them) and have learned to live without.

Now that everyone knows what’s in the bag and what to bring, the next entry will be the actual start of the trip and we'll travel to Arenal.

Part One: Itinerary

Wednesday.

After a morning of relaxing and an afternoon of surfing, I am back in the cabin to continue where I left off yesterday. Having walked up the giant hill (more on that later), the odds of my leaving again this evening are slim to none. What to do in a private cabin on a hill… perhaps I’ll continue with part one.

After booking the flight, my next step was to figure out exactly where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. For a country this small, there is a preponderance of activities and different climates. I would even go as far to say there is a plethora. There are two coasts with totally different vibes and in between are mountains, lakes, rivers, jungle, and everything in between.

I went through the usual outlets in my research, which is Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor, and all the sights that come up when I google “Travel to Costa Rica.” This search gave me a more narrow idea of where I wanted to go and led me to a company called “Anywhere Costa Rica”, which we’ll call ACR for short. This company will arrange everything for a traveler before hand and takes a lot of the leg work and planning out of the equation. I thought this would be a good idea for my first week to get me where I need to go and keep me out of trouble, seeing how this was my first trip to CR and I don’t speak a lick of Costa Rican.

My flight was to San Jose and my first thought was to get out of the capital as soon as possible. In past travels I’ve started out in big cities like Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila. Arriving straight into a big city to lead off a trip is a great way to waste money or lose something valuable if one is not careful—the kind of trouble I was looking to avoid. My motis operandi for the first week was to take some adventure tours, do some eco tours and eventually get to Montezuma. ACR made a custom plan for me which I was able to change or tweak easily, and the agents were very helpful and accommodating. A shuttle was arranged to take me directly from the airport to the town of La Fortuna, at the base of Arenal, an active volcano.


Active volcano, you say? Always right up my ally. I booked a rappelling and white water rafting tour, and a horseback tour to a waterfall. I would spend three nights here and would leave for Monteverde Friday morning. For Monteverde I opted for the zip-lining over the Cloud Forest Canopy/ suspension bridge tour. That sounded alright. The next day I would have a guided tour of the forest, there would be a free day after that, and then Tuesday morning I would head out to Montezuma.

Montezuma would be the final destination for ACR, and I would be on my own after that. I conjured memories of my Philippines trip, where I spent a week traveling around and then spent the last ten days of my vacation chilling in a small beach town. The idea of hanging out in a tiny, laid back, Bohem little town for 11 days sounded very appealing to me. I also figured that if I didn’t like it, I’d make my way up the coast. I think most of you know how that worked out by now.



Eventually, I will go into more detail on each place, and my experience with Anywhere Costa Rica. If this is as far as you read, please take away from this a very solid recommendation for the company. More on that will follow. For our next part, I want to talk about my preparation for the trip, what I brought, and how it worked out.

Introduction

The vacation was supposed to end Sunday. Today is Tuesday.


I’m sitting on my back porch in an A-frame cabin in Montezuma, Costa Rica. It’s sweltering and overcast right now, which has been close to the norm. The low season has afforded me a great rate on this cabin, and I decided to stick around for a few more weeks. There will be plenty of time to tell all about what is happening here and why I chose this particular place, but first I’d like to talk about why I came to Costa Rica.

As most of you know, I have been in Seoul teaching the last couple of years and my last contract ended in March. Seoul, South Korea is very fast paced, crowded, noisy, and metropolitan. It is a great place to live, but after a while the grind takes its toll on me and I need to step away to someplace quiet. Most expats take a long trip through southeast Asia after their contracts end. My initial plan was to go to Bali for a month, but it fell through and I went straight back to St. Louis.

Costa Rica has been on my radar for years as a place I wanted to visit. An obvious draw is the beaches and exotic wildlife, as well as the eco and adventure tours. As an ESL teacher, the country was enticing to me to see what the market is like and if it is a reasonable place to make a living. As a traveler, the idea of a government without an army and a stable oasis in a relatively unstable region is another appeal. Not having forgotten about Bali, and still needing to slow down and take a break from Korea, I had the idea to come here instead.

When I mentioned the idea to friends and family, I was surprised by the instant reaction and how many people had either been to Costa Rica and absolutely loved it or had wanted to go for a long time. For the latter, I had promised to scout it out and give a full report. For the former, I’m sure you will see many familiar things throughout this series that will likely make you want to come back soon.

With all this in mind, I pulled the trigger and booked a flight arriving in San Jose on Tuesday, May 15th and returning Monday morning, June 4th. The original plan was to hang out in Columbia, Missouri and work on a Costa Rica blog after returning. After arriving in Montezuma and taking a look at the cabin, I decided this would be the better spot.

For the next few weeks, I will be posting pictures and talking about tours, food, people, different areas, pros and cons, as well as the usual musings and observations. Please feel free to make comments, ask questions, and enjoy as I (flailingly) attempt to entertain and inform. If you are reading this with a desire or intent to visit this beautiful country someday, I hope I can give you some useful information or inspiration to go.
Note: This was originally written in June, 2012, as was most of the forthcoming material. Apologies for taking so long to post.