Pre-epilogue photos

Fun tile work in the bathroom of the room I had at Kap's Place - the second time I stayed there. This was in San Jose right before I flew back to TC. The whole room was like this. Even the floor ... but, not the ceiling.

Even the local hotels in Montezuma dried their guest's towels on the lava reef ... when the tide was low !

One of the most beautifully secluded beaches about an hours walk south of Montezuma.

Part of the same beach but this is the lava reef ... it looks like, and felt like, someplace that had been used as some type of ritual site. It was really incredible; especially since I was the only person I could see for miles !!! What a blessing!

"C"

Back in Montezuma ...

Look! I found a cairn shrine! I feel so at home! This was south on the beach at Montezuma next to a river with lots of waterfalls!

One of those gorgeous waterfalls in the jungle by the sea ... life is so fun!

The ferry from Puntarenas to Paqueras en route to Montezuma.

When I got to Puntarenas I found out I had over a 2 hour wait for the ferry so I walked around the point and found this lovely resort serving breakfast on their terrace overlooking the gulf. I should write a book ...

Paradise at the end of the road ... a ´hot´tide pool down the beach from Rancho Burica back in Punta Banco. I´m going to have to go back. I´m missing it quite a bit and I was just there 4 days ago. More on that later.

¨C¨

Books .............

This photo has nothing to do with books. It's a corner in San Jose not far from where I spent the night and will be again tonight. Tomorrow I'm going back to Montezuma for a few days. I had hoped to get to the southern Atlantic coast but it looks like it is going to be rainy for another 4 or 5 days. Montezuma has a forecast of 100 degree sun-filled days. Tough decision, but then ...
Okay, then! Here's where the 'books' come in. This is back in Punta Banco (by the way, this village is one of the few - maybe only- that don't have bars on all their windows or gates and barbed wire around their homes). These are elementary age school children who do not have books to read. No library ...
... their school has got to be in one of the loveliest locations on the planet being right on the Pacific coastline. The kids are on their lunchbreak playing futbol (soccer).
The school has an empty room that could be used as a library ... if there were shelves ... and of course books. I am going to see what I can do to get these 'brilliant' students some reading material. I think I have a pretty good resource at home! I'm very much looking forward to seeing how much can be done to accomplish this purpose. I was made aware of this project from Britta who is one of the people who manages the Rancho Burica. She and her husband and their 2 children are living on the Rancho for a couple of years and she would love to see the school have material for the students to read. Her hope is to get both Spanish and Spanish/English books that would be suitable for children whose ages range from 4 to 12 years. I will be keeping in contact with her via email. I can hardly wait to get started!
This is Britta's family ...
Love to all, 'C'

The Good Life

Every night this deck at Rancho Burica in Punta Banco found friends gathering to reflect on the days blissful activities and to watch the sun set. Actually, I'd say, maybe 85% of the day (at least) someone was lounging here. I even saw my first whale from here!!! Fantastic.
I remain amazed at how many stones are shaped like hearts (cobra heads to 'A') ...
Surfer coming in after the sun's setting at Rancho Burica.
Someone tell Alice that her great coffee shop is being advertised in a remote location (Ojochal) in Costa Rica! Bizarre!
I laughed out loud when I saw this! Someone erected teepees using bamboo poles! They were temporary living quarters while a house was being built. This planet sure can be fun!!!
'C'

On doing nothing ...

I have been practicing the 'art of doing nothing' ... and I believe I just may have found heaven. I am hoping to bring my perspective of this delicacy home to TC. The Rancho Burica at Punta Banco has been, and is, unbelievably bliss-ful!! Solo bueno: it's all good (aka - no worries). "C"

Images and the like.

So,
Sorry about the lack of photos, my camera seemed to break right after we left Puerto Viejo, so hopefully a little tinkering will bring it back to life and I will share them with all of you....
Paz.
J

Bittersweet.

So this is it. We board the plane in a few hours. Bittersweet.
But of course our last few adventures are racing through my head like some Lewis Carrol novel, unreal.
After we departed the lustrous Isla Colon, Bocas Del Toro, and returned to the familiar, almost home-like, Costa Rican soil, we intended to spend those last days in utter relaxation.
Puerto Viejo. Getting off our bus, our fate found us. His name was Juan. Age 50. Colombian. Keeper of Hostel Taimondua. In our case, an un-relentless worshiper of the ground we walked on. Little did we know, this quiet hostel in the middle of a southern Caribbean neighborhood would be the experience of Juan's magical world, led by "the force."
Palm ferns laid as a bridge over the muddy path to the clothes line. A basin to wash our feet at the end, comparing his effort as an offering to the cosmos. Constantly bringing us sweets. Declaring it his mission to bring happiness to the "princesses."
After a few days of this lavish worship, we began to see glimpses of Juan's magical world, "the force" being attributed to his long-term relationship with cocaine and excessive sugar consumption in the form of bags of marshmallows at night and cups of brown sugar in the morning.
Intense as it was, relaxing was had. Books were read. A plethora of Italians were met. Ears chatted off. Cannabis wafting through the air. Puerto Viejo left an endearing impression on our hearts.
And so we headed to San Jose, to dwell in the city for our days before our return. Another terrain we hadn't yet experienced on this trip. It seems slightly chaotic in comparison. Stares and hisses multiplied. We gorged on pastries the first day, little luxuries.
Synapsing our journey.
One hour left til we head to the airport.
Bittersweet.
J n' A.

Punta Banco

I did something today I´ve not done in, oh say, 8 years ... I rode a bike ... a single speed bike, but hey, it got me into Pavones alot faster than walking. Come to find out the distance is about 7K´s. It is not a 20 minute walk between towns despite what the guidebook says! So, I´ll probably not come back into Pavones for a few more days (just so ya know). It´s a beautiful walk and I did it a lot faster than the last time I came in but I don´t always feel like walking 9 (?) miles everytime I want to use the internet. Go figure. I was going to download some photos but due to a faulty system, taking over a half hour and still not downloading, and the price of being online I ... pulled the plug. I have more relaxing to do. Love to all, "C"

Hey! Fairy freaks!!!

"A" and "J"!!!!!! Where are you? What are you doing? I want details girls ... and photos!!! On the busride from Ojochal to Punto Banco I ran into a woman named Jessie who had been working on that farm that Katie (from the Chocolate Farm) got so freaked out about - the same one that Jesse, Jimmy, and Jeremy are planning to work at. In fact Jesse and Jessie have been emailing. What a small planet!
"C"

Uvita and Punto Banco pics

This waterfall in Uvita was one that you could ride down ... I didn´t find that out until later ... but there is a deep pool at the bottom of it so you sort of just ´sposh´ right in. My body couldn´t have handled it - not enough body fat ... But, I did get to see a hummingbird drinking out of the falls !!!

Local lizard life at the beach at Uvita ... he actually let me get this close to him!

One of the sunsets at Punto Banco (taken from a treehouse/platform). The place I´m staying at here is owned by 20 Dutch friends from Rotterdam. There are about 10 of them here now plus 2 people from France (not related) and a couple from New York and me.

And another sunset from the same platform in the palm trees ... the land mass on the right is the end of the Osa Peninsula.

This is an example of the bridges that the buses cross ... so you can see that if you were in the bus looking out of the window that you wouldn´t be able to see, at all, what the bus was driving over. It is a really weird sensation ... the drivers do slow down to make sure they are positioned accurately, but 'oh my'!!!

Greetings from Punta Banco

Solo bueno, mis amigos! So, I've had 2 days without internet access ... not that it wasn't available, it just wasn't easily accessible - like I had already been walking around for hours and couldn't squeek out another 3 km OR because I needed to board a bus OR it was too late when I finally got somewhere to even think about it. Sorry if anybody (Dad and Michelle and maybe Abigail) was/were worried. It's all good! And, until I locate cheaper online service I probably won't post any pictures. We'll see.

I just got to Punta Banco (near Pavones) last night just after one of the MOST gorgeous sunsets I think I've ever seen. Pavones is home to the 2nd longest left-breaking wave in the world. It also always breaks in the same place! Surfers can ride it for 3-5 minutes!! I guess it's actually quite the work-out. I don't expect to find out! Unless my son, Adrian, comes down here and tries it out ... then, he can tell me all about it. This area is way more remote than I expected!! The place where I'm staying (at the moment) is at the literal end of the road. Beyond my 'rancho' is jungle ... and somewhere in the jungle is the border into Panama! It's also 5 km away from Pavones and the internet and the grocery store (bank). I might not be getting online every day while I'm here. At the 'rancho' I'm staying in a dorm with 3 couples! I was hoping for a cabina to myself but 'ah well' ... everyone is really nice! It's so relaxing falling asleep with the sound of the surf in the background!

I've been having a lovely time exploring etc. This morning I was up sauntering along the beach and the road for 3 hours before I had breakfast. So peaceful and quiet ... a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning!

"C"

f o t o s

oh, gringos, how much i love them.
bicycle time in panama


bocas del toro

scaling hills in puriscal, simple

alpaca paradise in monte verde

jes captured ¨mid walk¨ on our way to the cantina after a hard days work of bean sorting, no big deal, really.

just some local strret art found in panama, profund and surely blog worthy, eh?

a friend found in our house at the farm, size comparable to my fist ; )

some photos for your viewing delight. big time rain in panama today, carnival starts tonight, it will be glorious, life is glorious.

ciao my friends.

a

La Iguana Chocolate

"J" taking the husks (shells) off of the 'open-fire' roasted cacao beans ...

... to get ground by "A" (with Dan's help - it's a 2 person job) in the hand grinder ... and I think they get ground again to make the powder more fine ("j" is in the background). The tables they are working on are also our dining tables. The beans had gotten harvested and prepared just before we arrived.

I went to a soccer (futbol) game on Sunday. Our 'Mastatal' team is in yellow and we (I use the term loosely-I participate only by yelling my encouragement etc.) played the team from Guatamal (the town the game was played in). Maybe you can tell that the field sits on top of a hill that is not completely closed in ... which means sometimes the game is paused as one of the players elects to retrieve the ball hidden somewhere some distance down the hill. It's how it's done ... all very relaxed. This was my first soccer game I've ever watched! Loved it! We won!!

Sorry, Gary W., I wanted to bring you back a daughter, but her parents were pretty dedicated to her staying with them ... I tried (just kidding).

Misty morning sunrise above the farm.

Solo bueno, "C"

More pics from "C"

You'd think I'd remember that these post in the opposite order that they get selected ... so, this is at La Iguana Chocolate. It's a pathway between the dorm rooms and the community eating area (aka: the Juan Luis family home). The farm is set on the top of a hill so, everywhere you turn, you've got a view of the surrounding countryside.

Our first day of work at the farm was to sort kidney beans ... the beans get put on a large screen sifter, get sifted and sorted (black beans, stones twigs, bad red beans are picked out) and then rebagged for the farms use throughout the year - or at least until the next crop. This was a job that was one of those 'filler' jobs when there wasn't anything more pressing to do etc. It provides a nice opportunity to visit with the other volunteers.

This was our bus that was supposed to take us all the way to Mastatal (village) or the Chocolate farm. It broke down on this hill about 1 - 2 miles away from the farm. Since we were that close and we still had ample daylight we decided to hike in the rest of the way. When I walked to a soccer game a couple of days later the bus was still there ...

Fruit stand at Puriscal - a town we unexpectedly had to overnight at since we missed our bus to Mastatal. The 3 of us slept in the same dbl bed in one of the skankiest (is that a word?) hotel (that's being generous!) in Costa Rica. In fact, most people presume there are no hotels in Puriscal because they are soooo bad they might as well not exist. However, we WERE grateful for a place to sleep. The trip from Santa Elena was long and exhausting!

A and J getting some 'tri-athelete' training in Puriscal ...

"C"

another border south?

Oh yes!

j and i crossed the border from costa rica into panama yesterday while balancing our weight (which was all over the place since our packs are comparable to carrying an obese armadillo on our backs) and trying to control each step to avoid the rather large gaps in the plank constructed bridge that connects the two countries. the country customs was by far the easiest we have come across.

any who, as jes explained we are now in the midst of carnival festiv craziness, its quite.... interesting. but seems to be a joyous occasion so i will keep my pessimism to myself until the finality's. using the u.s. dollar now is a bit trippy, the coins are so small compared to the large coined currencies of costa rica and nicaragua! and things that we expect to be the same price as home are drastically inexpensive.

11 days left; back to san jose in a few..... we will post pictures soon, we are traveling via bicycle today, our natural mode of transportation feels so foreign after using two legs and a bus for so long.

thats really all i have to say right now, the sun is shining and my attention span is losing momentum with every word i type.

ciao!
a

Pamananama

A brief hello from the Atlantic side!
Andrea and I find ourselves on the islands of Bocas Del Torro, Panama, after a long, but hassle-free, journey.
It´s Carnaval right now in Panama (I´ll explain what that means when I figure it out), so far there have been a few demon like creatures dancing through the streets, but I think the full out festivities start tomorrow, always an adventure....
So far the islands have a strain of peace about them whilst still holding the elaborate and eccentric culture that Panama is evolving into. I need to get to know them a little better.
So Bocas will be a synapsis of my journey and perhaps bring a little more excitement as well, I´ll let some Panama sink into my soul and see what happens.
Ciao.
Jessi.

Pics of Santa Elena (pre-chocolate): Part II

'A' was reading about some sausage and bacon sandwich in the NYT's. 'J' holding the local wildlife.

Clouds and rain on the Atlantic side of the mountain and sunshine and blue skies on the Pacific side made some glorious rainbows ... felt like being in two worlds at once.

One blue eye & one yellow eye ... crazy ... !

Being in Santa Elena (Monte Verde) was like living inside a cloud. The evergreen tree reminded me of home ... sigh!

Where's my machete ? Don't worry Dad, I really was on a trail - I mean 'road'.

This set of pics took 1/2 hour to load ... I'm going to the beach to whale watch now ... bye bye!

"C"

Hello, again!

Where to start?!! Hmmm...as a brief explanation for the one picture that managed to get posted: I downloaded the typical 5 that are allowed by this system - which took 20 minutes - and then as I began writing for the first photo the remaining 4 disappeared. I decided to post the one and see if I could retrieve the others but, despite the fact that the system periodically saves its data, I couldn't locate them. I'll try again tomorrow and the next day so I can get you all updated. Oh, and then the computer went nuts and started loading over 60 new internet pages ... so, here I am, again.

Briefly (because it's 2 p.m. and I've only eaten a granola bar and part of a chayote [not coyote] - I'm huuuuungry!!!), La Iguana Chocolate was fantastic! I'll give some extra detail when I get some photos posted ... but, our bus broke down about a mile away from the farm so we had the wonderful opportunity to gain an intimate estimation of our surroundings ... we walked. When we arrived we were surprised to see that the farm did not 'look' at all like the photos on their website! It was kind of like watching a preview for a movie and the only parts they show you are the really good parts. However, the family that runs the farm is sensational!!! And the country-side is sparklingly beautiful! AND the community of Mastatal was/is incomparible! We loved our stay and all it included.

Now, the 'girls' and I are on separate paths ... we are broadening our experience by covering more ground ... they have gone to the Atlantic coast and then on in to Panama whilst I am traveling down the Pacific coast to Pavones and the Yoga Farm (having no interest in seeing Panama at this time). Plus, A and J are arriving in TC a week earlier than planned - I am not.

What this means for me is that I will be traveling solo in this 'not as foreign as it once was' beautiful country. It will definitely challenge my Spanish skills, but then, they need challenging. I feel comfortable and capable of this new direction even though I've never traveled alone before ... it's amazing what turning 50 will do to a girl! No worries ...

"C"

Before the 'Chocolate Farm' at Santa Elena

One of the groovy places we found to get out of the misty, rainy, windy cloud-life ... there was a storm that had come in from the Atlantic coast ... an internet service at the bottom of these stairs - complete with laundry service!

Mist and Wind; reflections

In the misty magic of Monteverde we prepare for our trip to La Finca, La Iguana Chocolate (the chocolate farm). The nearest internet access is hours away so this will be it for the next two weeks, so savor it.

Rolling hills, ocean in the distance, and a celestial mist become Monteverde. On a 12 mile walk, more or less, we swam through the rain and got pushed by the wind. I know it may be hard for those living in subzero weather right now to sympathize with us.... But it's cold. Thank god for rain boots and disposable ponchos.

But this beautiful weather has given me time for reflection. My love affair with Nicaragua has been on my mind.

The differences between Costa Rica and Nicaragua seemed unsettling at first, it seems cruel to think that a border can mean the difference between prosperity and poverty. But as time goes on and more understanding comes I realize the strength both these countires have. Not cruel. Simply life.

And now for some sentimental images of Nica's finest.....

twilight. dreamlight.

malformation. granada at sunset.

San Juan hidden treasures.

palmset.

malformation. beautiful woman. another of San Juan's hidden treasures.

So until we are everyday chocolate brewers, ciao.
Jessi.