Month: September 2022

During the hours that weren’t spent at the hostel, I was in the ocean, becoming one with the waves. My friends reminisced about the memory of pretending to be mermaids while swimming as children. We all feel like mermaids in the ocean here in Sámara because the waves are big enough to dive under or over and the water is warm enough to spend hours in. It’s the most my inner child has come out in years. 

The week of volunteering at the hostel flew by now that I’m reflecting on it. Although, it felt like a very long week while I was actually doing work. I quickly finished the photo task I assigned myself and joined the other Workawayers with painting benches. This project then turned into me painting little flowers and doodles on the benches (which was approved by the manager). I normally wouldn’t volunteer for any sort of art project unless it’s filling in the lines of someone else’s work but when your other option is to sweep sidewalks for 5 hours a day, you push yourself to be artistic. I had two days where I worked alone because the others had those days off. I spent the time listening to podcasts and Spanish music while I painted mandalas and mermaids. I’m slowly curating a new Spanish playlist. 

The evenings have felt short because the sun sets so early here, at about 5:30pm. I usually spent it making dinner with people, chatting, walking down the street for ice cream, and decompressing on the hammocks in the hostel before bed. One night was special because one of the managers wanted to teach us how to dance. Before I knew it, I was on the pool deck dancing to “Despacito” trying to follow the dance moves of a woman in a skin tight outfit in front of me. The Zumba class was the most exercise I’ve gotten all month besides the sand volleyball games in Tamarindo! 

While the evenings have been pleasant, the mornings in Sámara are my favorite. I’ve really appreciated making coffee in the morning to sip on in the hammock as I read my book. I’ve decided that a hammock is the single best place to read a book. One morning I was doing this and observing the courtyard around me while I saw the spiritual guy walk over to sit in the adjacent hammock. He plops onto the hammock, book in hand and flips right out of it, rolling onto the ground. The suddenness and speed to which he fell just caused an equally sudden laugh to spill out of my mouth. He looked at me, kind of embarrassed and then was getting up. I was replaying the image in my head and couldn’t stop giggling (I tend to do this when people fall, it’s something I’m working on). I asked if he was okay, of course, and he said he was and then in English, says, “thanks for laughing” and he himself then starts laughing. We were both just laughing together in that moment. The serious spiritual guy with only profound thoughts started laughing at himself falling out of the hammock and it was the most humanizing moment. I loved that moment. 

Something I’ll miss about this town is the fruit/vegetable shop on a nearby conner. It’s a very small store where a woman sells local food and she always calls me “amor” when I come in. I was most recently saddened by the bin of mushy avocados until she caught my attention and waved me over to her mini fridge with fresh ones. This was my favorite spot to get groceries from. I’m planning to buy a fresh coconut from her and have her chop off the top with a machete (as I’ve seen done) before I leave on Monday. 

There’s a Soda (a restaurant that locals normally eat at) attached to the hostel that a group of us tried the other night. I was excited to try more local food but the menu had few options so I opted for their burger as my meal after we ordered some ceviche to start with. Sarah asked if they could provide some tortilla chips to go with the ceviche and the cook brought out a bowl of Doritos…we all had a quiet but good laugh about that. Then the burger was served and right as I was about to eat it, our friend tells us about a guy who got food poisoning from this restaurant the other day. We all agreed on the greatness of that timing to share that news, hah. I still ate the burger, even though it definitely wasn’t beef. We joked that it could be iguana (because a local told us they eat iguanas often) but the more questionable my bites got, the more I didn’t like that joke. We decided to eat as much as we could to be polite but to not order meat again (besides chicken). After some research later, we decided we probably ate a chorizo patty… 

My Californian Workaway friends departed this morning to continue their journey in Latin America, as will we on Monday. I’m excited for Santa Teresa but cannot wait to visit Colombia! 

We met some fun travelers at the hostel in Tamarindo. Another German, Dutch, and an Irish girl. We met them in the pool and then all got dinner together on the beach. They all set out to travel alone and then met each other at a bus stop, synchronizing the rest of their time together. I’m inspired yet again by the bravery of all these women around me. It was nice to get to know them at dinner and share stories from our lives. They all seemed like such daredevils (the Irish in particular said that sky diving felt too safe), but every single one of them got all mushy when Gavin told his proposal story to Allie. One was even wiping tears away. 

The rest of the time was spent enjoying the ocean or back at the hostel. We played several sand volleyball games too which was a great way to pass the afternoon. 

I’m very pleased to be in Sámara after the weekend in Tamarindo. Like I had mentioned in my last blog post, it’s a place that appeals more to someone looking to party. The town felt like a cross between Las Vegas and a post apocalyptic town. The reason I say this is because the club music and parties made sense to me at night but when I walked with my brother at 5:45am to the bus stop down the block from our hostel, the streets appeared abandoned aside from the trash scattered about, with huge vultures fighting over it. There was a rowdy group of men behind us that were drinking and smoking, offering cocaine to the other guys at the bus stop. There was a man across the street walking with blood and dirt dripping down his legs, a bloody face, and a shirt falling off. I don’t know, something about this place just wasn’t for me. 

While this scene was distracting, I still had a nice goodbye with my brother and thoroughly appreciated everything about our trip together. He’s made a great travel buddy and even sacrificed his bag, taking home the cat pee stained one so I didn’t have to travel the next 6 months with that smell. The best brother a girl could ask for.

Sarah, Cara, and I took a shuttle that morning to our next stops. I got out at Sámara and they headed on their way to Nosara. Even upon exiting the shuttle, it was very apparent that this town is for family getaways and offers a much safer feel. The hostel, “Blue Iguana” was very visible with its blue and orange colors as I was walking down this gravel road towards it. I checked in and to my surprise, received my own room and bathroom (I was supposed to be in a shared room). 

I instantly met other “Workawayers” from the U.S. They were very kind and showed me the ropes around the hostel. I later walked around town and bought groceries to make a meal. I felt weird cooking and eating while everyone around me seemed to be working but my shift wasn’t supposed to start until the next day.

After eating and some more time walking around the beach, the Californian couple joined me and we caught up while we watched the beautiful waves. The beach is only a 1 minute walk from the hostel and it’s filled with families, so a much calmer scene than Tamarindo. The couple told me all of the tea that they have learned in their week of working at the hostel. It was lots of drama to catch up on! 

That evening, I cooked myself dinner and ate with a tico who is also a volunteer here. He was polite and nice to speak with but brought up very heavy topics such as religion and philosophy. He’s on a spiritual journey and seems to only have profound thoughts. It was hard to have these conversations in Spanish, I’m realizing how limited my vocabulary is. 

The next morning I woke up early enough to go to the beach and read or do yoga, but it was raining. I settled for the hammock outside of my room that’s under shelter. I read my book and sipped coffee until it was time to eat breakfast. I’m not a huge fan of the typical Costa Rican breakfast because it just consists of rice, eggs, and this sort of sour cream sauce (and plantains if you’re lucky). There’s no spices, vegetables, etc., but the meal is included so who am I to complain!? 

The work day was interesting to say the least. I’m supposed to work from 9am-2pm, helping one of the cleaners. The cleaner didn’t want my help though because she had her system and there seems to be more volunteers here than guests. I would get assigned a vague or tedious task that I usually finished within 20 minutes or so and then let the manager know I’m done and ready for the next task. Eventually, I think she ran out of things for me to do because I had to do silly things like sweep the sidewalk or rooms that were just mopped. I’m realizing people intentionally take a long time doing each task — it’s very different from the work I’m use to because it’s more about the time you work rather than the amount of work you do. I grew tired of this by noon and had a thought that takes after my brother, I asked the managers if I could take photos for their Workaway website. I checked it and there are only 8 blurry, outdated photos they have so I thought this could be a useful task. They happily agreed and so I began taking photos. I felt a little weird about doing this while the other volunteers were cleaning. One manager later approached me and asked if I would photograph some bedrooms because his camera was stolen. Even though I don’t have the equipment or lens for this, I think I’ll give it a try because it’s better than aimlessly sweeping sidewalks. 

I’m hoping to improve my Spanish this week. From how today went, I think I’ll get a lot of practice just listening. Several times, a manager would come up to a cleaner in front of me and just gossip for what felt like an hour. I’m not sure if they are aware I know Spanish or if they don’t care but I’m learning the social dynamics around here. I’ve been trying to speak with the other workers in Spanish but people mainly keep to themselves (besides the U.S. couple). They said they were surprised to see the spiritual guy talking to me so much, I guess he hasn’t spoken much to anyone all week. I’ve been wondering how this environment would be different during the high season. It makes me excited to be in Chile during their summer so hopefully there’s lots of interaction. 

There’s only so much planning you can do ahead of time for a trip. Only so many instances you can prepare for and issues you can foresee. Gavin and I had a certain amount of luck on our trip with things out of our control such as avoiding the rainstorms and having good transportation. I think we’re starting to run out of luck, though. The rainy season in Costa Rica is amazing, I love being in storms after a hot morning. However, the storms make it difficult to travel. 

While we were getting ready to head off to Playa Conchal, a cute, innocent looking gatito sprayed on my bag. As everyone knows, cat pee is the worst and extremely difficult to get out. As Gavin and I were trying to deal with this incident, our car was only two minutes away so I couldn’t properly clean it in that moment.

During the whole car ride, I was thinking about the cat pee being on my bag that I’m going to use for the next six months. Our driver dropped us off at the wrong location and we had to walk around these pointy rocks to get to the beach. Then the storm was coming in and Gavin and I frantically looked for a cafe or restaurant but found none, only a private resort.

We found some trees and later a canopy to hide under. The storm intensified and we sat with our bags for about an hour. Gav and I had good conversations the whole time and while frustrated about the cat pee and the afternoon, we recognized how small scale our issues are. We’ve been putting our frustrations into perspective, agreeing that as long as there’s no bodily harm, everything’s okay in the grand scheme of things. 

We recognized a window that we could take advantage of from the rain and tried to run back to Brasilito (the town where we got dropped off) and find shelter to call another car. We successfully did this and avoided the sharp rocks as well ( turns out there was a much easier path).

All in all, it wasn’t a perfect afternoon and maybe we did run out of some luck but we made it to Tamarindo to meet our friends and realized everything is okay. After some coffee and some food, we explored the beach and town. It’s very different from Portrero — this is a lively place. I think I saw multiple drug deals as I was walking down the street, always involving a white man standing outside of a fancy hotel. The beach was packed with people and I keep thinking to myself, what does this look like during high season!? I’m not much of a party type but I can see how this would appeal to someone that is. 

We found a nice place to watch the sunset and later eat dinner on the beach. A mariachi band performed and later these fire dancers. We headed back in the evening, looking out for crocodiles. I guess it’s common to see them on this beach, maybe because of all the fresh meat… 😉 

Our last day in La Fortuna was filled with few activities and several conversations with other travelers. Gavin and I walked with a hostel manager and another US traveler to a nearby rope swing called “El Salto.” I had a pleasant conversation with the manager, named Lu, who is from San Jose and she was very sweet to watch our stuff while we jumped in the water because she was nervous it would get stolen. I’m having a hard time balancing the awareness I need to have of my surroundings and safety with a relaxing mindset. I’ve met several female travelers who don’t seem to take any extra precautions (traveling in groups, not going out at night, etc.), but Lu was telling me that she doesn’t feel safe walking in San Jose alone. It’s been interesting hearing the different levels of safety each female traveler feels.

Once we got to the rope swing, my mind stopped wandering for a bit as I flew in the air with the rope and felt the cool water on my skin. This was such a cool spot to go to in the humid afternoon air. Later in the evening, Gavin and I attended the “welcome drink” at the hostel and met several friendly travelers, two of which we spent all night together sharing travel stories, comparing lifestyles in the US v. Holland, and enjoying the karaoke at the hostel restaurant. A group of Germans all found each other as two of them sang a popular German rap song – it was my favorite performance to watch. The Dutch woman we were talking to all night sang beautifully to an Ed Sheehan song and we discovered that the Dutch couple met in a band. 

After a fun social evening, we left early the next morning for Playa Potrero. We met a man named Ivan from Canada who moved to Costa Rica over a decade ago and happens to be a pickle ball fanatic. We learned about the pickle ball community in Tamarindo and may even play when we are there. I love the universal obsession with this goofy sport. I’ve learned that while being in vehicles you have to be ok with driving on the wrong side of the road with oncoming traffic. White it seems like aggressive driving, the drivers offer little honks as they pass by. I haven’t heard one aggressive honk, only friendly ones.

We arrived to our Airbnb and used only Spanish when communicating with the security guard at the entrance and the Airbnb host. I was pleased to understand everything they were saying, I felt as if I didn’t even miss one word! The Airbnb is a nice spacious environment and feels especially nice after sharing a hostel with 6 people.

Gavin and I explored Playa Potrero the first night and were surprised by the black sand. We walked along the beach as long as we could until we had to exit toward the road to get to the supermarket. We’ve been taking advantage of the nice kitchen and cooking all of our meals. 

The following day we decided to head out towards Playa Flamingo. We walked on the black sand then the road and then light colored sand. We were shocked by the variety of the beaches, especially the sand color. After about 5 miles, and already being dumped on once, we found a restaurant to stop at that also seemed to be at the end of the road for Playa Flamingo. It was eerie in some parts due to the desolate neighborhoods filled with empty mansions and second homes where only workers were present maintaining the spaces.

After taking a car back to the Airbnb, we met my lovely friends Cara and Sarah. We decided to head out to Playa Penca, that is the other direction and a short walk. It was absolutely beautiful and like some locals have told us, the best spot. 

The next day we decided to head out to Playa Penca in the morning. It was hot and sunny; a perfect morning to be at the beach, especially one that has few other people and white, soft sand. Strolling towards one end of the beach, you can see a sign that warns people not to feed crocodiles. The swamp looking water appeared to have just logs in it but upon comparing Gavin’s photos that he took about 5 minutes apart, one of the logs moved quite a distance. We wouldn’t dare get close enough to check but I’m certain we saw un cocodrilo. 

We swam in the ocean, found a canopy of trees to lay under, and read while we heard soft waves crashing and felt the warm air blow. I think it was the most peaceful way possible to spend a morning. We later took a car back to Playa Flamingo to walk along it once more and enjoy the sunset. I continue to feel as if I’m jumping in and out of reality of what the next 6 months look like for me. All my life I’ve planned, up until now, and there’s both discomfort and reassurance in that.

We will stop at Playa Conchal on our way to Tamarindo!

While we knew that we were traveling to Costa Rica during the wet season, it was impossible to prepare for the extraordinary thunderstorms and humidity, leaving our clothes and gear with an indefinite dampness and smell… After sharing a room in Monteverde for four nights, Gavin and I gave up on trying to identify what we were smelling in the room. The bathroom, especially, stayed wet and moist. We joked that our room felt and smelled like the jungle room that you can go in at the zoo. 

Going north to La Fortuna consisted of a beautiful three hour jeep-boat-jeep ride. Our awesome hostel manager in Santa Elena recommended it and if I’m being honest, it took Gavin and I awhile to figure out what she was talking about (try saying “jeepboatjeep” fast and without the hyphens).

The boat-ride across the lake below the Arenal Volcano was absolutely beautiful. It felt like a secret entrance to this scenic city. We met a nice Argentinian and Belgian on the boat who we actually ended up spending a lot of time with during our time in La Fortuna (more on that later). 

Arriving at the Selina hostel was astonishing. There’s a pool with a restaurant and bar beside it and bright, beautiful colors all over the premise. While our hostel in Santa Elena was peaceful, this was a nice change of pace back to the social side of hostels. There was even live music the first night. We immediately ran into our friend, Camille, from the San Jose hostel (small world in the Selinas).

Now I’ll get to the most eventful part of our day. We were invited to go to the hot springs about 6 miles away with the friends we made on the boat. We met up as soon as we were able to check-in to our rooms and put our stuff away. This happened to be the late afternoon for both of us, meaning that we didn’t meet until about 3pm for our outing. These massive, dark clouds rolled in at about that time and I thought the rain would pair nicely with the hot springs so no one worried.

However, as soon as we got dropped off at the entrance, it was dumping. We were still eager to go, even though the path was now becoming part of the river. We walked down as far as we could until the water was rushing over our feet and some of our legs and the rest of the walk looked like a suicide mission because we would get swept away with the river. Thinking the rain might stop in a reasonable amount of time, we walked up the road to the nearest shelter with service.

This walk was very wet — it was a good thing we were in swimsuits. The rain didn’t let up and it didn’t look hopeful so we called our same driver back and headed into town. I can only imagine what the driver was thinking of us tourists…

While we were bummed about missing out on the hot springs, it was a funny experience and we bonded with the other travelers over it. My friends, Sarah and Cara from the University of Montana happened to arrive in La Fortuna this same day so we met up with them for dinner. We got to say goodbye to our German friend, Pauline, as well, as she headed off to the Caribbean side. 

The following morning, we tried the hot springs again. This time at 7am, before the consistent afternoon storm. It was absolutely beautiful! We spent all morning enjoying the river, chatting with our friends, and “forest bathing,” taking in the beauty around us. The sun rays shone beautifully through the trees, Gavin captured it perfectly.

After the hot springs and some down time, Gavin and I decided to go to the waterfall. It consisted of about 500 stairs to get down but was a quick journey. The waterfall was another “woah” moment. It was the largest and most powerful body of water I’ve ever seen. We swam into the clear, fresh water and it was cold at first but quickly became so comfortable and refreshing. La Fortuna has been a really special stop so far! We’ve been using our Spanish, trying to improve more each time and meeting new people. I’m looking forward to our next stop by the ocean.

Spending the past couple of days in Santa Elena has offered enchanting views, lush scenery, and slower paced days. After a bit of a terrifying shuttle ride — speeding past cars on a windy steep road in dumping rain — up to Monteverde from San Jose, Gavin and I checked into a quaint hostel called Pension Santa Elena. It’s a place that a friend recommended and has proved very welcoming. The staff have sat down with us and laid out our options of activities in the area, giving personal suggestions. One in particular has been great to speak both English and Spanish with, alternating between each language naturally. We took her advice and headed towards the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve for a hike around the Forest.

There was a small group that was hiking at the same time as us but it mostly felt like we were the only ones there. We first hiked to a lookout point where you can see the Arenal volcano (we even saw the top of it with no clouds when we first arrived). 

My favorite part of the forest was going down this path called “Del Bajo” that instantly cooled in temperature and had pockets of sunshine shining through the trees when you looked up. The path had “invitations” throughout it where you could choose to practice in mindfulness activities, appreciating the nature around you and taking it in, focusing on all of your sense while refraining from talking and taking photos. They called this “Shinrin-Yoku” or in English, “Forest Bathing.”

Gavin and I participated in the Forest Bathing and I noticed things such as a nearby stream and the sounds of various birds and animals that I may have otherwise missed. I also noticed how fresh and clean the air felt. Standing in the forest with our eyes closed and taking deep breaths was a perfect way to appreciate the beauty of the nature around us. 

We expected to get poured on the whole time but to our surprised, it was quite warm and sunny! We thought, “we’re really close to that zip lining place, should we take advantage of this sunshine and go??” Yes, we did take advantage of that sunshine and went zip lining at Selvatura Park. Once in the trees, flying over the forest on a cable, Gavin and I couldn’t believe we even questioned doing this. We had the most amazing zip lining guides and a very friendly group. We all cheered for each other and took videos that were later shared within the group. I’ll include the “Tarzan Swing” that we all did before our last 1km zip line! 

This was a perfectly active day, finished with amazing tacos and a good beer in Santa Elena. The following day, we awoke for our coffee tour that was planned for the morning. It was a beautiful, warm morning to be on the Monteverde Coffee Farm. This experience was so much more than tasting coffee because we learned about the sustainable practices that they have for the whole farm. We saw the stages of the seed becoming a tree and learned about their partnerships as well.

I found it interesting that if coffee beans grow in higher altitude, they are more dense which doesn’t necessarily mean better, it just means it’s more bitter. We saw the banana and citrus trees planted intentionally around the coffee plants to give them more shade which they need to grow. We learned about the effects of climate change, causing more sporadic rains that wash away the pesticides and fertilizers. And we even saw their enormous and stinky compost pile that they use to make fertilizers and natural pesticides. They make up their compost pile with all of the farm animal waste and left over food. The farm animals included chickens, hens, and goats. We got to collect the eggs from the hens, feed the goats, and even use their bicycle powered device that cut banana tree leaves for the goats food. We also passed through their garden where they had mountains of fresh vegetables. We learned about the process of picking the beans too once they’re ready, which seems like a very meticulous process.

We ended the tour with seeing the differently processed beans and finally taste testing different coffees. Gavin was able to correctly guess the type of coffee he was drinking (light, medium, dark roast & honey v. natural)! Our coffee tour guide was very friendly and did an amazing job explaining the science and art behind making coffee. 

After returning to town and eating a great lunch, it started to dump rain. The sound, sight, and smell of the rain is peaceful from our open window. It’s a beautiful place to be. 

*Several photos are by Gavin 🙂

After two successful flights, we landed in San Jose, Costa Rica around 6am. Being very tired from the red eye flight, it was an overwhelming process to figure out the best way to get to the city center. As we quickly walked past all of the men yelling at us offering taxi rides, I had an idea to call an Uber. While contemplating this idea with Gavin, a very ambitious taxi driver approached us and assured us that Uber is illegal and very dangerous and that he has his legit taxi right there. Even knowing that he was probably overcharging us, Gavin and I decided it was the best option for our sleep deprived selves. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect in downtown San Jose but I was a little surprised by the juxtaposition between the silence of the city and the crowds that filled them. Homeless people and lots of trash covered every street corner. I later learned that we also drove by a Venezuelan refugee camp. The Selina San Jose hostel acted as a little oasis for us in the city.

Covered with greenery, wooden tables, and cool decor, it was a great place to spend time.

With our check-in not for a few more hours, we decided to lock up our bags and walk around the city. It was a sunny, warm afternoon and very quiet. We realized it was 7am on a Sunday morning, so checks out that it felt so quiet and desolate in parts. We stumbled upon a group and tour guide that invited us to join for free. We saw the congress building, a huge library, the old distillery, and learned about the history behind the statues. Joining the tour gave us more appreciation for San Jose and I enjoyed learning about the history and culture!

After returning to the hostel, decompressing, showering, and eating, we joined a small group in the restaurant for the evening activity of learning about a traditional Costa Rican drink and getting to know others — this was great because Gavin and I were so tired, it felt hard to force conversation but this activity made socializing easy. The drink was a traditional coffee liqueur one that was delicious. We met a woman from Germany, one from England, and one from California. I was so impressed with how many female solo travelers I met and inspired by their independence. 

The next morning, we met the German and Californian travelers for morning yoga on the terrace. This was such a nice way to start the day (besides breathing in the smell of sweaty feet from the much used yoga mats). Our yoga instructor came straight out of a GQ meets swimsuit model commercial. He was a very friendly and gentle soul and surprised us all when he took off his shirt revealing his 0% body fat. His practice was impressive too from some type of pretzel fold to single legged donkey kicks straight up in the air.

Then we met a Peruvian and the other girls for our last meal there. Speaking with the Peruvian was the first practice I got in using my Spanish. We may meet up with these travelers later on near the coast, but regardless it was inspiring to get to know them all. I love the laid back traveling that everyone seems to be doing, planning one day at a time. Gavin and I are off to a change of scenery — see you soon, Santa Elena!