Three weeks ago, my mom announced that we were going to Costa Rica. I have become accustomed to making elaborate plans that never follow through (such as backpacking in Peru, driving up to Virginia, skiing in Colorado,etc.) due to one circumstance or another. Such was my expectation when my mom began to discuss the possibility of going to Costa Rica this summer. I went last year with Rollins College to study ecotourism for two weeks and fell in love with the area and new friends. I honestly disregarded most of the conversations about CR as nothing more than dreams that might come true in a year or two.
I was utterly spectacularly, and wonderfully wrong.
We needed to get out of Central Florida. It had been two months since I had moved back home from college for the summer and a stressful situation had been pushing both of our buttons.
Before I knew it, my mom had bought two tickets (flying stand-by thanks to our dear pilot friend, Jeff) to Liberia and I had two days to plan out a 14 day vacation with a budget under $1000 (excluding airfare). I have been blessed with a mother who has always researched hotels or transportation for me, guaranteeing the best bang for the buck. Until now. This time, she handed the responsibility off to me, as an opportunity to "learn." I hated it. I was stressed and frustrated when I discovered unexpected fees (e.g. exit tax costs $26 per person) or mutually exclusive tours due to financial or time constraints.
Some people can travel on the whims of their hats, doing no research and going with the flow.
I am not one of those people.
I have to research all activities possible, then find out who provides them, when they occur, how much it costs, and then read reviews on all the aforementioned. Unfortunately, this means I also get very overwhelmed and irritated when plans are suddenly changed. I'm working on it.
Still, besides my need to control everything, we somehow slid into Costa Rica and into "Tico time" (seriously, we didn't even have a watch: all we had was a bulky alarm clock we bought that stayed in our hotel room). We went without a computer (most of the time) or telephones and absolutely no television (even with FIFA going on!).
We stayed the majority of the time in Monteverde, a secluded area in the mountains that was first established in the 1950s by Quakers. During the Korean War, a group of Quakers decided to leave the U.S. in protest and settled in Monteverde (after all, Costa Rica had abolished their army in the 1940s, so this seemed like paradise--and it is). They created a Quaker school and Cheese Factory. Now, the area is mainly run by the 'Ticos', as Costa Ricans refer to themselves.
Here are some important differences between Monteverde and FL:
1) Warm running water is a blessing
2) There is absolutely no edible bread (that we found at least)
3) Because of tourism, all food prices are inflated to the equivalent of Hawaii--ouch!
4) Even though this area is surrounded by coffee plantations, it is almost impossible to get a good cup of coffee.
5) There are no paved roads going through the mountains and buses at 60mph will just barely miss grazing your arm as you shimmy 4 feet away from the edge of a mountain
6) There are dogs roaming the streets everywhere and they are the sweetest dogs you will ever meet
7) Monkeys will tap on your hotel window as a lovely morning call
8) Roosters next door will cry out at all hours thinking they're performing a proper wake up call even when it's 4am or 2pm
9) There are no traffic signs or lights and if they exist, they are politely ignored
10) It is home to some of the kindest people in the world
It is basically impossible to express everything we did and gained from our experience in Monteverde without turning it into a novel. We ziplined, hiked through rain forests, made it to two waterfalls, drove 5 hours to the beach only to turn around the next day and drive 5 hours back to Monteverde and not even touch the ocean due to rain, danced with hummingbirds, pretended to be matadors, learned more about coffee than we thought possible, devoured fresh fruit and lots of ice-cream, crossed a giant lake in a metal boat during a lightening storm, and soaked in natural hot springs.
Out of everything we did during this trip, the most breathtaking thing was not the mountains or waterfalls (don't get me wrong, they were pretty darn amazing), but the kindness of strangers. We met wonderful new friends who--many despite the language barrier--did everything they could to help us and learn about who we actually are. Instead of just taking money for food or hotel costs, they befriended us. I played with my new 5-year old friend, Masimo, while my mom talked to his parents at the restaurant they owned. Our hotel owner, Yolanda, traveled with us to hot springs and taught me how to dance (a little, I'm working on it). Mercedes, the chef at our hotel, joked around and shared coffee with us while telling stories. Many from Quaker meeting offered advice on moving out there and generally wanted to experience who we were before we left. Alejandro, our coffee tour guide, invited us into his home and turned a 2 hour-tour into a 5-hour one because we enjoyed each other's company so much. Heymer, a barista at a coffee shop, chatted with us even with the World Cup match blasting in the background and tempting our attention.
One man, in particular, changed my view on past situations and how to think about the future. His name is Diederik Wolsak, and he is in charge of the Attitudinal Healing Center in Nueva Arenal. We got to experience a wonderful circle session with him and many of his students. You can learn more about what he's doing here http://www.choose-again.com/ and see an interesting youtube interview with him here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBtCevrGBvo I have his book and it continuously surprises me how much I am learning from him and about my spirituality.
There is so much more to write about this trip. I'm doing the whole experience a complete injustice by leaving this entry here, but more is to come soon!
