In Country
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In short, we're here and loving it.
Longer version follows >
After a stopover in Houston and another 3 hour flight, we landed safely in Costa Rica. My spanish was put immediately to the test securing a ride into Alajuela, where we stayed our first night at Vida Tropical. A very nice place with a resident capuchin monkey, George *get it, as in curious..
Spent the afternoon walking around the small town, actually the second largest in CR. We went straight to the mercado central, or central market to have a look around. The market is the hub of activity in most latin american countries. We spied the usual meat and veggies for sale, then decided it was time to eat.
We went local and stopped at a Soda, or small diner, where you can have the plate of the day, with a side order and something to drink. I had the meat dish and Emily had the Chicken. The typical plate has rice, beans, a meat, and in our case, some tuna salad. I've read a lot about Costa Rican Cuisine, or the lack of it, but I must say it was delicious. Simple, but delicious, and filling too. Did I mention about two dollars? We walked off our meal by the old church and headed to a bakery where we had dessert, coffee and some sort of torta. Again, delicious.
Th weather was a bit warm but mild, definitely not the oppressive heat of, say, Thailand. The skies darkened so we headed back to our place for a nap. Since we are so close to the equator, the day begins and ends at about 5>30. When we awoke, it was getting dark and emily was so disoriented she thought it was the next day!
I convinced her to get up for another meal. At this point I will not be cheated of any meal in Costa Rica! We found a great Peruvian restaurant that serves Ceviche..a lime-infused raw seafood dish. Absolutely delicious.
This morning we woke up early to catch the local bus to where I am writing now- a little town called Santa Elena, very close to the Monteverde rain forest. This is the backpackers' haven for tours around the area. After thinking we had successfully escaped the tourist trail, it has converged on us here. But, No me importa, the weather here is even milder, feels a lot like Mill Valley, actually. The mornings are generally clear and warm, then in the afternoon the clouds move in and downpours take over.
We found a nice room in a hotel with Tico owners, which is nice, 20 bucks a day, warm running water and everything. It's the little things.
A word about the language and my fears. I had an epiphany on the 4 hour bus ride here today. The key to language is letting go of fear. Fear paralyzes and prevents the mind from fully opening. When you let go of fear the mind opens and the possibilities widen. As I suspected, I am getting along better than i expected with the language, and have had some nice, albeit short, conversations, but the cool thing is understanding more than i thought i would. Of course, its all about context, but when you realize its ok to not understand, the stress disappears and you are more likely TO understand. Me entiendes?
Ok, probabably enough for today. My thanks if you have gotten this far, I'm no Steinbeck, so thanks for listening.
Tomorrow-Zip lining across 120 foot chasms in the rainforest. Stay Tuned.
k
In short, we're here and loving it.
Longer version follows >
After a stopover in Houston and another 3 hour flight, we landed safely in Costa Rica. My spanish was put immediately to the test securing a ride into Alajuela, where we stayed our first night at Vida Tropical. A very nice place with a resident capuchin monkey, George *get it, as in curious..
Spent the afternoon walking around the small town, actually the second largest in CR. We went straight to the mercado central, or central market to have a look around. The market is the hub of activity in most latin american countries. We spied the usual meat and veggies for sale, then decided it was time to eat.
We went local and stopped at a Soda, or small diner, where you can have the plate of the day, with a side order and something to drink. I had the meat dish and Emily had the Chicken. The typical plate has rice, beans, a meat, and in our case, some tuna salad. I've read a lot about Costa Rican Cuisine, or the lack of it, but I must say it was delicious. Simple, but delicious, and filling too. Did I mention about two dollars? We walked off our meal by the old church and headed to a bakery where we had dessert, coffee and some sort of torta. Again, delicious.
Th weather was a bit warm but mild, definitely not the oppressive heat of, say, Thailand. The skies darkened so we headed back to our place for a nap. Since we are so close to the equator, the day begins and ends at about 5>30. When we awoke, it was getting dark and emily was so disoriented she thought it was the next day!
I convinced her to get up for another meal. At this point I will not be cheated of any meal in Costa Rica! We found a great Peruvian restaurant that serves Ceviche..a lime-infused raw seafood dish. Absolutely delicious.
This morning we woke up early to catch the local bus to where I am writing now- a little town called Santa Elena, very close to the Monteverde rain forest. This is the backpackers' haven for tours around the area. After thinking we had successfully escaped the tourist trail, it has converged on us here. But, No me importa, the weather here is even milder, feels a lot like Mill Valley, actually. The mornings are generally clear and warm, then in the afternoon the clouds move in and downpours take over.
We found a nice room in a hotel with Tico owners, which is nice, 20 bucks a day, warm running water and everything. It's the little things.
A word about the language and my fears. I had an epiphany on the 4 hour bus ride here today. The key to language is letting go of fear. Fear paralyzes and prevents the mind from fully opening. When you let go of fear the mind opens and the possibilities widen. As I suspected, I am getting along better than i expected with the language, and have had some nice, albeit short, conversations, but the cool thing is understanding more than i thought i would. Of course, its all about context, but when you realize its ok to not understand, the stress disappears and you are more likely TO understand. Me entiendes?
Ok, probabably enough for today. My thanks if you have gotten this far, I'm no Steinbeck, so thanks for listening.
Tomorrow-Zip lining across 120 foot chasms in the rainforest. Stay Tuned.
k
posted by Klaus Larsen at 1:54 PM
1 Comments:
Hi!
I am not if this works, so let me know if you get it. Nothing new from here. Benedikte and I will be going north on Sunday to Weaverville and on to the Coast (Arcata and Mendocino). On the way, we will see the Sundial Bridge in Redding and Charles Redfields Stressed Ribbon Bridge, also in Redding. Will take pictures. Got two new tires, so we are ready for nasty weather.
I morgen tager jeg Nuller op til Dyrlaegen for shots, og hun bliver der til tirsdag. Sorry, forgot it was Danish, but Klaus can translate.
Hav det godt. Mange kaerlige hilsner fra Far og Jeppe.
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