"every good gift...Part 1--The Hotel

My trip to Manuel Antonio certainly falls squarely under this heading.  I was awarded a travel grant that allowed me to take a trip on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th to Manuel Antonio, home of the national park and the most exotic, extravagant hotel I have ever stayed in.  Good gifts.  As part of my proposal I went white water rafting down the Savegre river.  Amazingly fun.  Lets start from the begging though shall we?  And pictures, there should be pictures.

So, at 7:45 in the morning I went to the bus stop to catch the 8:00 bus to Quepos...only to find that the bus left at 9:30.  Had I lived closer than a 30 min. walk I would have gone home..as it was I sat on a bench and people-watched.  Just before boarding I met a couple from Spain...their accents gave them away immediately.  We exchanged pleasantries but did not end up sitting together on the bus.  I wish we would have, I sat in between a screaming 3 year old/his frustrated mother and a man that gave off vibes that I elected to ignore since I was traveling alone.  4 hours later we arrived at Quepos where I inquired as to my next move and consequently boarded a smaller bus that would take me to Manuel Antonio.  I was on edge the entire bus ride, because I had asked in Spanish, and while I had been 100% sure I understood the directions...well you know what worry is like as a bus full of chattering Costa Ricans goes whirring around curves and up mountain sides that certainly seem to be heading into the middle of nowhere.  As it turns out, I had cause to be concerned.  30 minutes into this short ride the scenery began to look familiar.  A quick look around the bus confirmed that all the original passengers had departed.  I was going on round 2 of this bus route.  I asked the driver where my hotel was and he told me the closest he could get was to the end of the road.  No problem.  A brisk 3 mile walk in the 90+ degree weather later and I arrived at the hotel.  Rumpled and drenched in sweat I certainly did not feel like the crisp elite beaming-with-joy honeymoon crowd that this hotel catered to.  Nevertheless I am sure no guest had ever been happier to arrive.  My room took my breath away.  The absolute cleanliness, the air conditioning, the spacious elegant design, the hot tub...all of it brought me near to tears.  I have to warn you, the pictures provide a drastic reductionism of the grandeur.

...yes I brought Chippy.  It is a romantic honeymoon suite...I couldn't face it alone.  The next picture however is more accurate

Reality:  Not two loving swans, but one faceplanted on the bed while a chipmunk that belongs in a crib rather than on a fluffy white bed surrounded by decorator pillows looks on, gleeful for at his good fortune.

Couples massage tables.

Jacuzzi! 

A sunset view

 So I've arrived.  Disgusting as I was I immidiately drew a bubble bath...which I now believe to be a practiced art.  I need more practice.  Long story short I ended up bailing bubbles like my life depended on it to stop the growing mounds from extinguishing my relaxing spa candles.  The bathroom looked like the floor of the Abominable Ssnowman's favorite barber shop. 

Next good gift:  Massage and facial in the most relaxing alcove of a room that you can imagine.  Cherry on top:  the massage oil was jasmine scented.

Keep heaping on the presents:  the hotel restaurant was offering a 50% discount during my entire stay.  Which is good because it cost $10 to get into town to buy food.  The restaurant was on a roofed patio that hung out over the edge of the rainforest.  The tables and chairs were draped in elegant white clothes with burgundy accents and the only light came from the candles on the table and soft can lights above.  It was the type of fancy that made me cut each bite in a small lady like portion that dad would be proud of.    The waiter took pity on me...the only non lovebird in the room...and spent a lot of time talking to me at my table while I waited on my food.  Not to be too academic but this entire trip was amazing for getting to practice Spanish.  Zero English the whole time.

After the best night's sleep I have had since coming to Costa Rica I woke up in a cloud of contentment and went down to enjoy the free breakfast.  It was not only a luscious buffet but also your choice of a menu breakfast.  Pampered beyond belief.  And I got to eat pancakes!  Real pancakes with maple syrup.  Its really the little things.

 This is where I will leave you for now...soaking in luxury.  I'll be back to finish it off with Part 2--The Adventures.

Montezuma

Alright, here it is, plain and simple:  Montezuma is paradise.  This weekend trip was the stuff of postcards and honeymoons.  Had I been so inclined it could have been MY honeymoon...if you believed that smooth talking Tico..which I didn't.

So, you know the drill.  Here are a few pictures that I hope will be able to transport you across the Ocean to my little corner of the world.  If only for a moment.


I had a "ferry" good time on the boat across the gulf.

Grg, Danica and I are standing on the deck of the hostel.  Yes, that is the ocean RIGHT THERE.  Not a bad view for $10 ey?

 Alright, so this isn't a grand photo of some exotic nature scape...I just wondered if you were hungry and wanted to eat a "porkshop" with me?  I never ate out...I'm a bit too miserly for that.  I had a fun time being creative with the items I could find for pennies at the grocery market. :)
















On Saturday Greg, Logan and I hiked to the waterfalls.  Yes, hiked.  I was unaware it was a hike so I wore this cute little number and a pair of flip flops that I quickly ditched in lieu of a more Pocahontas inspired feel.  My tough little calloused feet came in very handy that day.











Swimming was a welcomed relief from the heat.  Don't tell my mom but I actually went off of that rope swing! 

This is the first "waterfall" on the trail up to the bigger one.

Alright, so here are some pictures from the beach that my friend Ashley took. I think they capture a tiny bit of the pretty scenery that was my life this weekend 

I'm sure by now you are all making ticket reservations to come visit me.  As well you should.

Relaxation

I promise I will write about my trip to San Jose soon, I have been very busy with homework lately…much of which has been writing reports and presentations about San Jose.  As you can imagine I am a bit burnt out on the subject.  However, I will write about it.  Since I have so much to do I am not going on any weekend trips.  I think I may be the only one.  I’ve decided to enjoy the tranquility.  This morning I woke up, ate breakfast and then went to the beach.   I dug a huge system of tidal pools in the wet sand, and then went scouting for shells and whatever else I could find to add to my newly created paradise.  I’m just saying, for some of those shells it was a 5 star resort.  I found some cute shells that I thought would be “decoration” but as soon as I put them in the water they began writhing, changing into something I’d rather not touch.  The time I spent playing in the sand must have been the first 2 consecutive hours of silence, without talking, that I have spent yet.  I biked home and Lucre made ceviche again, and I ate the equivalent of chips and crackers on the side:  cheese that apparently has no specific name…just “cheese”, and plantain chips with salt.  And that brings us to this moment, where I am sitting in the perfect seat to catch a cross breeze in the house and writing for all of you, rather than doing homework!

Caldera: Keep Walking

A couple of weeks ago almost everyone in our program decided to go on a very long weekend trip to Montezuma.  The beaches are white and the water is sparkling blue, it’s gorgeous….and the price tag proclaims that fact.   Being made of flesh and bone rather than green paper (or in this case bright blue) I elected to stay in Puntarenas.  Johnny also stayed behind, and so to placate ourselves we decided to take a Sunday afternoon day trip to Caldera, a nearby surfer’s paradise…or so we had heard.

Johnny is a consummate morning person; ergo his desired departure time was 7:00 a.m.  As a night owl I was of course diametrically opposed to this idea.  My idea of “sleeping in” does not include the letters “a” and “m”.  Functioning as mature adults we decided to arrive at a reasonable middle ground and take the first bus we could find that left after 10 a.m.  Johnny went to the bus station early to get an exact time:  11.  Perfect.  I left at 10:30 thinking I would make it to the bus station at around 10:45.  Great plan…except that I am very bad with estimations of magnitude and the distance from my house to the bus station was less like a hop skip and a jump and more like a marathon.  As soon as I began to realize this I started a race walking pace that could have won an Olympic medal and did win a lot of questioning looks from the locals.  It is not very Tico at all to be in a hurry.  I couldn’t help it.  This gringa had a bus to catch.  

Out of breath and drenched in sweat I ascended the steps onto the bus on quivering legs at 11:01.  Correction, I ascended the steps onto the WRONG bus on quivering legs at 11:01 and quickly rushed over to the next bus that the driver assured us could (although it normally didn’t) stop at Caldera.

Visual aide:  This is Johnny on the bus..in my shades

Fast forward fifteen minutes to Johnny and I running to the front of the bus which most certainly had not stopped at Caldera.  The bus driver gave an impish grin and dropped us off right there on the side of the road.  No worries it was only a 5 mile walk back to Caldera.

My legs almost fell off.  Johnny is 6’3’’ and walks MUCH faster than I do.  No amount of begging could get him to slow down for more than a few steps.  Speed walking must be in his blood.  Finally we reached the beach…at lunchtime, with nowhere to eat.  And it started to rain.  At this point you are probably green with envy.  Don’t worry, I understand.

We went into the ocean anyway, and this part went without a hitch…for a while.  

 The waves were a delightful intensity; enough to give you some good push and pull without feeling like you were in a washing machine.  About the time I was relaxing and thinking that maybe all of the walking had been worth it I heard a gasp of pain to my right.  I turned to see a white faced Johnny clutching his foot.  A telltale stream of scarlet said about as much as the unmistakable grimace of pain.  Something had sliced him clean open….time to leave Caldera.  Soaking wet we hopped onto a standing room only bus and…well, stood.  Back in Puntarenas we learned we were on a bus that stopped in El Centro….5 miles from my house.  More walking.  By this time my hips were meeting with my knees and arches to discuss a possible coup of my brain.

Silver lining time, Johnny and I stopped at Mus Anni, a local bakery and pampered ourselves with flaky golden goodness filled with cream.  I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.

So that was our adventure.  At least when everyone asked the fated “what did you do this weekend” question, I had something to say.

Goal Number 4: Achieved.

I am on cloud nine right now!  I found a church!  And I'm going to be in the worship band!  And I understood every word of the sermon AND what people were saying to me after the service!  AND its not until 6 at night!  Wonderful wonderful!  But let me back up....

I have been struggling with trying to find somewhere...anywhere to go.  Not in the American "gee, which church out of the million should I choose" (which is hard) sort of way but the "I'm in a foreign country and the only protestant church I have seen is Pentecostal" kinda way.  Way back at the begging I thought I was going to go with Janet, or her friends who she introduced me to....briefly.  But Janet doesn't go anymore because she's sick (I dont quite understand) and I really don't know those other people.  So I haven't been going.  Mom and I were talking and she said that the Lord would open a way if I was supposed to go.  Go figure.  Mom wisdom strikes again.  Here's how it went down:

• Erin opens her Bible Sunday morning...arbitrarily....and reads:    "I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly and in the congregation."
• Erin takes this as a sign
• At 2:00 Erin goes on a run, good exercise and a good time to REALLY scout out for churches
• Sees "Iglesia Cuadrangular" (read:  Four Square Church) skeptical, but remembers "the sign"
• At 5:30 Erin walks towards the church....it is completely closed up (church at 6:00)
• Erin goes to the beach with her Bible to wait (maybe they are on Tico time?)

INTERRUPTION:   JOURNAL ENTRY FROM THE BEACH

"I am sitting on the beach with my Bible and I am in awe.  This is so pretty.  It is 5:45 and the sun is starting its gentle descent.  To my left the clouds and mountains loom deep purple over the slate blue ocean and to my right a shimmering gold sky peaks through baby blue clouds and navy mountains, the water looks almost white with dark grey peaks.  Every color scheme is amazingly calming, like the cool salty breeze chasing away the heat of the day and the gentle sushing sound of the waves breaking on the sand.  I want to share this with someone"

BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMING

• Erin walks back to the church...still no one there.  Heads home. 
• Sees a man she thinks might be the one Janet introduced her to three weeks ago.
• Awkwardly begins conversation.  Man remembers Erin and that she wants to go to church.
• Erin and new acquaintances bike a looooong way to a church Erin has never seen before
• Erin goes to church.....a Baptist church!  Purely "accident" ;)
• Pastor points out that Erin is new, everyone looks at her.  Pastor asks her to speak.  She declines on account of nervousness speaking in front of large crowds in a foreign tongue.
• Then back to the awesome understanding the sermon, being able to sing along with the songs and being invited to play guitar and sing on the worship team.

God is faithful.  He provides us with what we need.  It was so good to be surrounded by people that know and love Jesus Christ.  Thanks for the push, mom.

Oh, and Lucre cooked my favorite dinner.  :)

Palabra del Dia: Terremoto

Terremoto:  Earthquake.

A 7.6 on the richter scale to be exact.  At around 8:45am I heard a giant rumbling and then everything began to shake, a tremor at first, the way I imagine it would be in the middle of an elephant stampede and then more and more out of control as the tremors began to overlap and send items rocking violently back and forth.  I heard crashes as pottery fell from the cabinents to the floor! And then came cries of terror from Lucre outside of my room.  Terror is no exaggeration.  After mentally questioning the structural stability of my small room I rushed out to try and calm Lucrecia....a job which had already been claimed by a not so clothing-clad Fabricio.  Apparently he had been sleeping.  He was holding onto a shaking and sobbing Lucre who remained quivering even after the tremors abated.  Victor was calm and Fabri took the job of fetching alcohol for Lucre, which she proceeded to shakily pour onto her shoulders and chest.  Fabri rubbed her shoulders and tried to soother her with words.  I didn't know what to do.  Once she was seated I sat on the floor, stroking her knee and doing my best to convey some sort of comfort.  She kept crying that God was angry with us, that we were going to die, that her spine was hurt, that she was going to have a heart attack, among other things.  I have never seen someone so genuinely afraid in my life.  I prayed for her and then told her that we didn't need to be afraid because God was more powerful than any earthquake and that He loves us very much.  Just as she was calming down we heard a tsunami alert.  That didn't help.

We packed up rapid style and went inland to Esparza.  Four girls who live with other members of Lucre's family as well as her daughter Janet, granddaughter Jeniffer and her children Sarai and Adrian.  It was a very full van, and it seemed like everyone in Puntarenas had the same idea, so the roads were quite blocked.  Once we arrived all of the USAC girls elected to travel around Esparza and explore.  I went on to Fabri's parent's home.  That is where I was when I initially wrote this entry in my journal (I have to admit I have sent the edited version out into the wild on the web)  Surrounded by animated Ticos all recounting the events of the morning.  Wild hand gestures and elevated voices, even some reenactments...so much noise in such a small space.

Throughout the day more and more family showed up, until we had at least 30 people in a house that would fit entirely into my living room.  Costa Rican culture is very very close knit...and they are all so animated.  It was a little bit exhausting.  I enjoyed meeting and talking to new people, especially Fabri's 13 year old cousin Melanie.  She was very patient with me in speaking Spanish and was very interested in the US.  We had a great time, and she proofread one of my stylistics assignments!  Being int the country home in Esparza made me very glad for the cleanliness and quality of my house here in Puntarenas.

I am glad to be safe, the thought that I was in danger never actually crossed my mind.  I wish I could explain to you how surreal the whole thing felt.  Yet another unexpected experience in Costa Rica.

San Lucas Island

Today our Latin Cultures class took a trip across the gulf to the Island of San Lucas.   From the 1800's up until 1991 it was a prison.  To be honest it was rather eery walking around this island, everything looked so old an crumbly I couldn't believe that the walls in front of me had spelled death for so many people...and really so recently.  I'll take you on a mini tour through just a couple of pictures. 

This is the prison.  It is the only part that you can see from the ocean.  The rest of it is swallowed by the forest.  I came as a tourist, what would it have been like to approach those gray walls as a prisoner?

This is a picture of the walkway to the main buildings.  The wall you see to the left is one of the two "initiation" buildings.  When you first arrived you would spend anywhere from a week to a year in those buildings, as long as it took to make sure you were completely submissive. 



One of the barracks from the outside view.  I would have put a picture of the insides up...but they are full of obscenities and explicitly pornographic images.  The air inside is hot, wet and oppressive, heavy with smells that claw at your lungs.  Surrounded by profanity, weighed down by the heat and the darkness....I can't quite convey the feeling to you, but I wish I could.  We heard stories about men that had been unjustly accused but thrown in these places just the same to suffer the same fate as the murderers and thieves.  Stories for me, but that was someone's life...their vivid reality.  Many men, by the time they were released, were blind because of all of the time they had spent in the darkness.   

Latin America is marked by its devotion to Catholicism.  Can you believe this church  for the prisoners was used up until 21 years ago?  It looks so haunting now.

The crumbled rocks on the right are the trailing edge of what used to be a pasture for the cows.  More often than they were fed to the prisoners they were fed to the sharks to ensure that it would be almost assuredly lethal to try and swim to safety if you managed to escape.

We walked to the very edge of the island and ate lunch here by the shore.  Isn't this pretty?  This picture makes it look so cool and refreshing...I almost can't remember the gallons of sweat gushing out of my pores.