Sunday, February 27, 2011

Manuel Antonio + Monkeys!


Baby sloth! Awwwww, you know you want to read a post that starts out with a baby sloth, don't you? Yes, you do.

Jessica's sister and her girlfriend are in town, so we took them to the beach last weekend! We wanted to pick one that we hadn't been to yet....Manuel Antonio. The plan was to leave Friday afternoon and come back Saturday night for whitewater rafting on Sunday. Unfortunately, the rafting didn't work out, but we still had a blast in Manuel Antonio. It's about a 4 to 6 hour bus ride (depending if you take a direct bus, which I DEFINITELY recommend.) We arrived Friday evening and discovered probably the best hostel that we have stayed in, so far. It's called Backpacker's of Manuel Antonio or something similar. It's clean, reasonable (~$13/night), has amenities (pool, free internet, pancake breakfast) and is located right by a bus stop.

Manuel Antonio is interesting because it doesn't really have a large town center. It is basically just a road from Quepos (a bigger town) to the national park. There are tons of hotels, hostels, restaurants, and souvenir markets, but they are all located on this one main road that weaves through the hills and down to the beach. It has a really efficient bus service, which is convenient. There aren't as many mega-resorts here. That's something I really appreciate, because it means more quaint, smaller hotels and (hopefully) less invasive construction and development projects.


These buddies are everywhere!





Anyway, the beach is GORGEOUS. We went to the National Park (there is also a public beach right next to it) on Saturday. You have to wake up early, because they only let a certain number of guests in per day to protect the park's wildlife. It was so worth it, though. After a walk through the rainforest, you reach this pristine white beach with turquoise water....and monkeys!










Look at them baring their teeth! Very "where the wild things are", no?

Yes, capuchin monkeys who creep down from the trees and steal your stuff. I first spotted one unzipping the bag of some French tourists and robbing several packages of saltine crackers. They travel in packs up and down the beach, and it seems like they are trying to overwhelm and distract you in order to steal food or shiny objects. Fortunately, they didn't take anything from us, but they sure tried! When they went for my bag, I snatched it up and shook a towel at them to make them leave. They responded by mounting each other and hissing. It looked like they were forming a new super-monkey with two heads and two sets of fangs. They are really cute, though.

So after spending a few hours on this part of beach (there are 3 separate beaches in the park), we went for a little hike on this central peninsula/extrusion of rock. Then, we relocated to the beach on the other side of the isthmus from where we were originally sitting. No monkeys there, but we did find something else. While Jennifer, Alayna, and I were playing in the surf, we noticed Jessica freaking out on the beach. A raccoon had appeared out of the bushes and gone for our bags, just like the monkeys. Fortunately, he left us alone after Jessica scolded him.



Even though we were only in Manuel Antonio for about a day, I fell in love. It's definitely somewhere I would take my parents or friends if they came to Costa Rica. I finished the day there with a bacon burger, piña colada, and a camera full of monkey pictures. And a nice tan hehe.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Montezuma

*Let's just start this post by saying, don't go to Puntarenas. Just don't. The beach is average, the water is murky, and the town is a lil ghetto. Fortunately, we only stayed the night here so we could break up our trip to Montezuma. There were a lot of people in town because there was a carnival/fiestas all weekend. Rooms were hard to come by and prices were extremely inflated. We ended up staying at a "pensión", which is basically like a boarding house, I think. The night life was kind of fun; they had about a mile of food stands, bars, and pop-up clubs next to the beach. It wasn't really my scene, though. Here's some pichas:


This sign should simply read "WARNING!"


Okay, let's analyze this one. Six people, one room. Jessica and I were each lucky enough to have our own bunks on the bunk bed. Three girls slept across the queen size bed, and our poor friend Heidi was nice enough to sleep on the floor (on the pillows that everyone else was scared to use.) So this is a picture of my bunk. Notice how I am sleeping on a beach towel and a dirty shirt. There were no sheets provided! We felt kind of filthy after sleeping here. I'm not even going to get started about the [community] bathroom.


Yep, that's what you think it is. Found on the porch of our "pensión".And you thought I was just being a pampered American whiner, didn't you?



Thankfully, our final destination was Montezuma. It's on the Nicoya Peninsula, across the gulf from Puntarenas, so we took a ferry to get there. After the ferry, we got on a bus, thinking, "oh, it will be a simple 10 minute ride." No. It was like an hour and a half of standing in the aisle of the bus, careening around the corners on steep dirt roads. Our arms were so tired by the time we got to Montezuma! But these are just the things that happen when traveling here, and you have to make it fun.


A rooster on the bus!

When we reached Montezuma, we had to find a place to stay. There are so many cute little cabins, but most of them were full. We ended up staying at a decent little hotel with clean bathrooms, sufficient sleeping space, and we even had sheets! The craziest part: it was cheaper than the place in Puntarenas.

Montezuma is a pretty quiet, relaxed town. There is only one real bar and just a handful of restaurants. They have a good grocery store, though, with bread from a local Italian bakery. We used the bread to make yummy cream cheese and veggie sandwiches for lunch....affordable and delicious! This was actually really exciting to me, though, because I hardly ever get to make food (especially super healthy food) here.

Okay, I'll stop talking about sandwiches and talk about what we actually did. The beach is really beautiful, so we wandered down it for a while. The waves are pretty big, though, and there are a lot of rocks near shore, so actual swimming can only be done in a few places. It was still super nice to just hang out on the beach for a while. We actually all fell asleep at one point. That's literally the dumbest thing you can do at the beach, but we were all so relaxed and content.


The beach at Montezuma


Piña y cerveza


I would like to thank my faja Bill for this leatherman juice pro tool. Seriously, you have no idea how much I have used it (especially this weekend.) It comes in handy for manly things like chopping fruit and opening wine bottles.


The ocean at Montezuma


Bandit! My lil beach dog love muffin. He found us two days in a row.

For dinner, we took advantage of the kitchen at our hotel. We made a simple pasta and garlic bread. So yummy!


Good food & good friends :)


Wine with dinner...so classy.

The highlight of the trip was definitely our hike on Sunday. About fifteen minutes outside town, we found a trail that led up to some waterfalls. It followed a creek through the jungle. We swam in the water below the waterfall. What an amazing day!


The sign says: "Danger! Several people have died here. Do not climb or jump."


Cool spider, with chicas in background.


Just a stroll through the forest...


Waterfall!


Oh hey


On the bus back to San José, there was a sign on the bathroom that said "YES TO PISS". I'm sure it didn't sound so awful in Spanish, but that's what the translation said.

Okay, that was kind of foul, so I'll leave you with this:


A beautiful bird that joined us for breakfast.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Still Kickin'



Hola a todos!

I'm still alive, after an amazing weekend in Montezuma. I'll upload pictures and share stories probably tomorrow or thursday, when I have less homework. (Tonight I have to read 70 pages and take 20+ different pictures of an umbrella...) Anyway, that's what's going on down here. I'm feeling a little sad because I only have a month left :( But it will be a wonderful last month, and I have been very lucky to be here. Hope all is well!

-Mikey

Saturday, February 12, 2011

This Past Week

AYYYY

So much to say! Here's what's happened in the last seven days:

Thursday:
-Class trip to Heredia. We visited the National University, the central square, and the market. We were supposed to investigate the city/province of Heredia.

Fountain in the central square.


Yep, definitely a Catholic church.


I don't mean to be sacrilegious, but this is frightening!


Chicken feet at the Heredia Market


Friday:
-45 minute presentation with Jessica & Emily. It went really well :)
-Jessica and I decided to reward ourselves afterwards. We went to Barrio Amón, this really cute (and clean) neighborhood with boutique hotels and cafés. Lunch at Café Mundo...super yummy! We ate bruschetta, salad (me), shrimp pasta (jessica), and chocolate cake. I also sipped a mojito as we sat on the veranda. Qué rico!
-First haircut experience in Spanish. I was a little anxious, but the end result was great. Well, the stylist tried to make me leave three inches of flimsy, deflated mullet in the back, but I told him NO way. It only cost $6, though, and Jessica got a pedicure for $8!
-Lexi, Jessica, and I went out to Club Oh! on Friday night. We had to pay a ten dollar cover, but they had an open bar. So obviously we were really well behaved and didn't dance on stage or anything. Also, there was an intense drag show.

Saturday:
-I went to the produce market with Mildred and Mare, her second oldest daughter. SO many luscious/bizarre fruits and veggies! Such a variety, and decent prices. Like 3 pineapples or 4 boxes of strawberries for $2. We filled up a whole grocery cart with JUST produce. I couldn't believe it.
-We also went to the pool. So nice :)


Farmer's Market


Our cart...all fruit and veggies!


Drinking from coconuts with Mildred. Refreshing!


Lettuce head.

I didn't do too much the rest of the weekend. San José is kinda dead on Sundays.

Last night, I went out to "La calle," this street near the University of Costa Rica that is basically a long strip of bars for the college crowd. Jessica's housemate Kelly's boyfriend is in town, so the four of us went for drinks. I can't remember what the place was called, but they serve flavored beers. I had "the torero"....a light beer with cherries and cherry flavored syrup. It's an odd concept, but it was tasty. They also have "the godzilla" (green beer with salt), as well as orange, grape, or bloody-mary flavored beers. Good times :)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Recap

My weekend and week have been much better than last Friday. I have felt totally fine since the hospital, well besides being a giant sleep monster all the time. Here's a recap:

Weekend-
I stayed in San José last weekend, which was a nice change. Highlights included going out to the bars on Saturday with Jessica, buying running shoes so I can work out once in a while (yay!), and a dinner adventure in the hills outside of town. We went to a restaurant that was actually on the same hill as the one I visited on my second night in Costa Rica. This time, though, I went with friends and it took a lot of planning (walking, plus two separate buses) to get there. Dinner was really delicious and so was the view. Getting back was a challenge, though, because we had to wait on the side of the road (in the dark) for a bus. I also discovered a store that is a total danger zone for me: Zara. It's like an H&M but better quality and they actually have a decent selection of things in my size. I didn't buy anything, but I have my eye on some shoes! Normally, I eat out every day for lunch, but I'm trying to cut back so I can buy some clothes. That means peanut butter sandwiches everyday...woohoo!


Someone told me I seemed Italian...
That's much better than "you look like a farmer"!


Me, Jessica, Katie, Aubrey


Gorgeous

This week-
This week has gone by so fast, but there is so much to do! I have to give a forty five minute presentation on Friday in my conversation class. Jessica, Emily, and I are preparing a really obnoxious fake news/talk show. Tomorrow we are going to visit a university in Heredia, a neighboring city. I'm also going to attempt to get my haircut...which will require me to give instructions in Spanish. Wish me luck! That's another thing; I feel like I have kind of plateaued with my Spanish speaking. Part of that is because my class is so conversation oriented that I just feel very hyper-conscious of my speaking skills and afraid to to make mistakes. I'll get over that, though. What else...well, the kids in my family are starting school tomorrow. Tonight, the girls are decorating all their new notebooks and organizing their supplies. They're precious. Okay, I think that's all. Hopefully I will do something exciting with my family this weekend!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Febuary IV

You see how I did that? You're wondering, "Hmmm does the IV stand for 4th or IntraVenous?" Answer: Both!

Yesterday morning I was sitting in class waiting to give a presentation when I got hit by this intense feeling of nausea and pain in my stomach. I wasn't nervous/unprepared/hungover or anything else, so it really freaked me out. I came home to rest for the day, but I had no appetite. Everything I tried to nibble on made me feel nauseous. My mama Tica called ISA (my program) and the director convinced me that I should go to a doctor. I wasn't sure if that was necessary, but she made a good point that it would be hard to get in anywhere until Monday, so if it got worse I would be really out of luck.

I met up with Andrea (my favorite ISA person) and we took a taxi to the doctor. And by doctor, I mean private hospital. And by private hospital, I mean the emergency room. Seems a little excessive, no? She reassured me that it's just called the emergency place, but you can go there for anything. (Culture note: Andrea said that there is also a public health clinic, but she would only go there if "it was the only option or I didn't have any money that month"....interesting.) At the hospital, most of the doctors and nurses spoke English, which was nice. A doctor did all the regular checks (pulse, etc.) and told me that I was really dehydrated and probably had a stomach virus.

Next thing I know, I was being hooked up to an IV. It seems traumatic, especially since I've never been on one of those before, but it didn't feel like a big deal. They also added some medicines that would "protect my stomach." One thing, though: the fluid in the IV was freezing cold! It literally felt like my right arm was being infused with ice water. Maybe they're always that cold, I don't know. Anyway, I had to sit there for about an hour and a half and Andrea was so nice to stay with me the whole time. I felt better right away, but they told me to go to a pharmacy for some prescriptions. Sooo I'm on the road to recovery and taking it easy this weekend. No clubbing for me, but that's okay.

PS: I watched "Tangled" last night with my family. Super cute movie! Jamie, if Jilly hasn't seen it, y'all should watch it.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Pox & Parrots

I may or may not have small pox of the face.

Okay, there's like a 100% chance that I don't have small pox of the face. SOMETHING has happened to it, though. For the past few years (since I took Accutane), my skin has been pretty good. I seldom have more than one problem area. However, this week, my face has exploded. Seriously, there are like 9 or 10 very obvious pimples all over the place. I think they were probably caused by the sunscreen/sand/humidity/etc. of last weekend. I'm just slightly paranoid, though, because a fellow student told me that her friend got a skin parasite from the sand on one of the beaches here and it caused severe reaction on her face. Eeeek!

In other news, my conversation class took a field trip to the University of Costa Rica this morning. We listened to a discussion about political and economic relations between Costa Rica and the U.S. It was fairly interesting, although somewhat hard to follow for over an hour in Spanish. The best part: little empanadas and lemon tartlets at the end! I also ate lunch at a bagel shop and had a sandwich with real, solid cheese! That's one of the foods I really miss here...they have very soft, spongy cheese here, and it just isn't that good on sandwiches.

PS: While I was writing this, a flock of parrots landed in the tree outside my window. There were about 15 bright green birds, qué bonitos!




Gratuitous picture of Frosty. I can't get enough!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Mikey "Cookie" Larkin

Okay, I admit, I have been very inattentive to my blog lately. It's unfortunate, not only because I want to share my stories with family and friends, but also because I want to record all my memories from this amazing experience. So here's to hoping that I'll write at least every other day.

In academic news, I finished my advanced grammar class on Friday. This Tuesday I started my new class: advanced conversation! I was a little intimidated, but the professor is so awesome, I love him (almost literally) and our class is great. I'm the only guy besides the professor, Ronulfo. Yes, that's his name. We're going to be doing a lot of interactive and investigative activities, which are definitely beneficial...and fun. It's also really helpful to take all these different Spanish classes because the instructors are native speakers, unlike many professors in the States. It allows you to learn the material in a different way. It also gives me lots of ideas for my future classroom :)

Not too much else is going on right now. I went to the cinema tonight with my host siblings, because they have a 2 for 1 deal on Wednesday nights. The theater is at a really nice mall (danger, danger!). Apparently only "pipis" shop there. I think that means snobs, because my host sisters always demonstrate the word with their noses upturned and a little wrist flick. They decided that I'm a pipi since I said I like most of those stores. My family has also given me a nickname: Cookie (pronounced: KOOO-key.) WHY? Well, apparently "cookie" is a neologism adopted from English meaning "cool." I thought it was so hilarious when they used it as a serious term to describe clothes or movies or whatever. So now my name is Cookie, and I hear it about 600 times a day.