Monkey See, Monkey Do

After a two hour nap, dad and I had a lovely lunch: pasta with red sauce, bread, and a great salad. Of course, for dessert, we had a local custom: ice cream with chocolate sauce. Everything was extremely delicious.

We then decided to go for a walk down to a beach. With all the stopping to take photos, the walk took us about 45 minutes. On our way, we saw wild hibiscus flowers, palm trees, bamboo, fish, dogs, and MONKEYS. I was so excited about seeing real monkeys in their real home, I just could not get enough of them. I learned that monkeys climb lemon trees and rub lemon on each other to repel away the bugs, so we watched them for a while.We saw capuchin monkeys, and one even had a baby riding on her back! Yes, of course I got pictures. We walked through the hilly terrain, up and down different stones, over fallen trees, and across hanging bridges. The trees were so tall and large that even though it was raining, we barely got wet. The forest is just so amazing. The sound of all the wildlife fills up your ears and mind.

Our guides (a wild german shepherd and a black lab) led us right to the beach and dad wasted no time. Pants off, shirt off, and the swimming in the ocean began. The german shepherd was especially excited with all this commotion that he jumped in with dad and they swam together. I watched and chatted with a German family. It was wonderful. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long, since it starts to get dark around 5, and it's not safe to stay out much past that. On our way back, MORE MONKEYS.

 

Once we got back to the main hotel building, we noticed a woman off to the side at a table with hundreds of pieces of jewelry. Even though she didn't speak much english and my spanish is currently at the bare minimum, we were able to communicate. She and her husband make all the jewelry and many take hours to make. She told me about her family and about her work and about the different stones she uses. I loved talking to her, hearing her english with a thick spanish accent. Sometimes she would incorporate spanish into her english sentences, and even if I didn't quite understand, I would just nod, pretend I knew what was happening. Even when I didn't understand, I didn't care. t found her very interesting and kind and was happy to have met her. We bought a few pieces of jewelry from her and said our goodbyes.

We then headed over to the bar and got something to drink. My dad even bought me a beer since the legal drinking age is 18 in Costa Rica! Sipping a beer with my dad was really special to me, and I didn't even hate the beer. I finished the whole thing by myself and really enjoyed it!

We then headed over to the table for dinner where we were served a feast: a lovely salad, cooked peas and carrots, a perfect mound of rice, incredible chicken, and a nice pie for dessert. I could not get enough of the meal, especially the chicken and rice. Everything was wonderful and after a while of talking with other guests, we headed back to our rooms.

I was able to video chat with my mom, which was nice and reminded me of life back home. My goal while I'm here is to not be afraid to try new things. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, why pass it up? I love being here, and I notice that certain things that bother me at home (namely insects), don't bother me here. This is where they belong, and right now, this is where I belong too.

Hello, Sloth!

After another early morning and a half hour flight, we made it to Drake Bay! As we made our landing, we could see tropical trees everywhere. There were horses on our right, a dog on the runway, and parrots squawking at us! We arrived at what apparently was the airport, but there was no real building. A super nice man was there to pick us up and drive us to our hotel, Jinetes de Osa.

"Oh, no! You don't need that." The man told my dad as he started to put on his seatbelt. We took off down a gravel road and stared out the window. Banana trees, coconut trees, palm trees. It felt like the Como Zoo Conservatory, except the entire area was like that. As we were driving, my dad yelled, "Claire! Did you see it?!" We go back a little ways and to my surprise, there is a sloth sleeping in the tree. I never thought I would see a three-toed sloth in it's natural habitat.

There was a section of the road with the river running through it so we had to ford the road. Am I using the term correctly? Regardless, we had to cross the river in order to get to the other side where the road continued. Quite the undertaking. On our way to the hotel, we saw lots of people. Everyone was waving and most had dogs following behind. One boy was texting while riding his horse through town. Eventually, our driver slowed down on the beach and said, "Okay, you follow him now. He's gonna take you the rest of the way."

We followed a man for a good ten minutes, walking along the beach, up in the forest, across a rickety bridge. He's also carrying our bags this whole time. I felt so bad that my suitcase was so large! I needed the bigger one since I'll be staying for three weeks, but according to my reservation, it looks like I'm only staying five days. They're probably talking about that american college student who completely overpacked. Oh well.






We finally arrived at our hotel and were met by Rolando, one of the employees. He told us some information about meal times and activities, including the fact that it was fine to swim along the beach next to the hotel, but we should probably watch out for alligators. He showed us to our rooms, one for each of us, and dad and I were pleasantly surprised. Our rooms are incredibly charming and light. They are tucked away from the path, but are right by the beach. We have a nice hammock right outside and a whole back area of the hotel to ourselves. This hotel is incredibly small, with just 11 rooms, but it is more charming than you could imagine. After a quick nap, dad and I are going exploring to a beach up the path. I don't know what the rest of the day has in store, but I can't wait. I know tomorrow we are headed to Caño Island to go snorkeling and scuba diving!

Is
this
real?

22 Hours of Go, Go, Go

After we arrived in Chicago, we had eight hours to kill. "What should we do?" Staying in the airport would be no fun, so we found our way to The L. The train system was massive and efficient and everyone seemed to use it. It took us 45 minutes to get to downtown and we were greeted with giant skyscrapers and power drills. The noise and scale of the city swept us away, and we couldn't help but constantly look up.

We eventually got to Millennium Park, the classic Chicago attraction. I was particularly set on seeing the famous Cloud Gate, or The Bean as it is known to many people. Even though I had seen who knows how many pictures of it on Facebook, I was still in awe.

Cloud Gate was enormous and unique. The way everything was reflected in it gave it a sort of fisheye look. We lucked out and got the perfect day for it as well. It was a lovely blue day, but there were clouds in the sky, which made the scene much more interesting. Dad and I were the classic tourists. "Let me take your picture! ... My turn!" However, I didn't care. There were groups from all over the country that had come to see The Bean. It was just so wonderful, it was hard to not stare and take a million photos. Because it's shaped like a bean, you can go underneath it and boy, did that make me feel sick. The visual underneath completely messes with your brain. You have no idea if it's hollow or goes up really high; you look around, there you are! Oh but turn a bit and there you are again! Look up? There's a million of you. It was great, but I couldn't stay underneath too long. My stomach couldn't handle it.

I sat by Cloud Gate for a good hour, maybe more. It made me feel calm. And the people-watching was top notch. After a little while though, we headed over to the Shedds Aquarium. We had to stand in line for a long time, while listening to a British woman behind us tell an extremely long story about getting engaged and then getting married. "It was like so coote. He like, got down on one knee and said 'marry me?' And I was like, "Oh my god, YES." I'm talking about a thirty minute story here. Dad and I did our best to stay patient but I may or may not have let out a few eye rolls.

As the line finally moved forward, "yes, we're almost there! So close!" "Whoa, hang on guys, we're going to stop the line right there with you two." NO. We listened to the greeters stories about the animals at the aquarium and his two hour commute to work and then finally made it into the aquarium. The air conditioned space was very welcoming. Even though we only had an hour before we needed to head back to the airport, we fit in a lot of viewing. Sea turtles, electric eels, a 21 foot anaconda, beluga whales, and jellyfish were just a few of the things we saw. Not only that, but they had an attraction for touching sting rays! They are surprisingly smooth and soft, I must say. It was definitely a highlight.

We then took The L back to the airport and made it through security with plenty of time to spare. After our two hour stop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, we can finally say we have made it to Costa Rica. Luggage, immigration, and customs all went smoothly, which was a relief. However, when we walked out the door, we were mobbed by people. "You need taxi? I'll take you!" "You know where you're going? Don't worry. I take you." "HEY. I'M A TAXI." I felt overwhelmed. However, after a quick call to our hotel, we figured out what to do and who to drive us and we made it safely!

Our hotel, Adventure Inn, is very charming and the staff are extremely friendly. They seemed genuinely happy we were there. After bringing us to our room, we took off our shoes and got comfortable. We are excited to sleep but have yet another early morning tomorrow: an 8am flight that will take us to Drake Bay where the real adventure begins.

Look out Drake Bay! Here come the Romeys... after a quick night of rest.

It's Started

It still doesn't feel real. But the adventure has started.

After a 3:30am wake up and an unfortunate run-in with ants biting my leg, dad and I have finally arrived at the airport. We will be traveling from Minneapolis to Chicago to Fort Lauderdale to San Jose, Costa Rica. Leaving at 6am and finally arriving at 12:17am makes for a a long day of traveling. However, the ten hour layover in Chicago leaves time for exploring the city. Dad has never been there so that will be a lot of fun.

So here I am, listening to Same Love by Macklemore and awaiting our aircraft.

My mind is spinning while also feeling empty. I can't wait to do all the activities in Costa Rica. Scuba diving, snorkeling, sea kayaking, rainforest tours, canopy tours, bungee jumping, it all doesn't seem real. Three weeks in a part of the world I'm not familiar with is exciting to me, but still feels like a dream. Maybe after this trip is over, coming back to the states will feel like the dream.