Having the same thing over again doesn't get old here...it only seems to get better! I learned the trick to the texture of the rice from watching Zonia...it involves frying the rice with oil before adding water...who knew? A big favorite of mine has to be the fried cheese...OMG SO GOOD. I asked what kind it was, and was surprised, though maybe I shoulnd't have been, to find that it was made by a family down the street...amazing. I've decided that the arepas smell exactly like pancakes, but are better. You can eat them plain or add a sweet milk product on top. To. Die. For.
If the rain ever stops, I'm going to get my courage up and go surfing. I think it's harder to make a fool of yourself in front of people that you know (or will know soon) than absolute strangers who you're likely never to see again.
There was a tremor measuring between 5.3 and 5.6 on the Richter scale here yesterday. Apparently it is not considered an earthquake until it hits 6.0. I slept through it, but everyone said the houses were literally shaking...how I missed that I cannot tell you. Maybe compared to the noises and the mosquitos, being tossed around my bed was trivial in my sleep-state?!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Tamarindo
Tamarindo was a blast this weekend. After being out at Tabanuco til about 4am, Jairo and I got up and packed to go at 8am. Headed out from Samara at 10 to Nicoya in the rain. Took a cab a few blocks in Nicoya for the bus to Santa Cruz and then took another bus from there to Tamarindo. The whole trip took us about 3 or 4 hours, but only cost between 5 and 10 dollars. We stayed at a place called Tsunami which is owned by a friend of the guys in Samara, Johan. Lots of walking around the town and up and down the beach in the sun (which came out halfway between Santa Cruz and Tamarindo) was fabulous. The waves were great and Jairo was definitely mad that he didn't bring his board since Johan had already gone out surfing before Jairo got a chance to get one to borrow.
Saturday night we all watched the Fiestas (rodeos/bullriding) which I believe were in Sta Ana(?) on TV. They ended at 7ish...and we were out by 8. The alarm went off at 11pm for us to get up and go out, since apparently Saturday night is the best dance night there, but neither one of us was really awake and both fell back asleep. I didn't get up til...about 12 hours later. Gotta' love lazy weekends.
By the time we got ourselves together for the day, Johan was gone and Jairo was, once again, without a board. haha. Planning ahead was clearly not our strong point this weekend! So more eating and being lazy at the beach was in order until the afternoon when Johan got back and lent Jairo a board. He played chef and pulled together some awesome pasta and sauce with a rather unlikely bunch of staples from the pulperia and a few seasonings that they had in the hotel kitchen.
I have ridden a bike twice since I got here...this is more times than I've ridden in memorable history (I only recall once up in Canada with Caitlin). I like it...but memories of crashing when I was younger, which have probably become extremely distorted by now, still make me a little weary.
So after lunch and a bike ride, I played photographer for the afternoon, which I love which J surfed. Unfortunately the waves weren't nearly as good as the afternoon before or as that morning, and the surf didn't come back inland until late, so the pictures didn't turn out well and the surfing wasn't the ideal...but it was surfing, and I think that was enough by the end of day two in the sun!
After surfing/photography time, we went back to the hotel and hung out watching tv outside...I chose to chill in the hammock...I LOVE HAMMOCKS. haha. We ordered pizza...and I could only laugh when a Pizza Hut delivery showed up 20 minutes later...oh America...you and your corporate domination. I think the pizza is better here, actually.
Anyways, post typical Friday night dinner (on a Sunday night), we decided that since we missed Saturday night, it never existed. So we got dressed up and went out on Sunday...as if it were Saturday. We found a nice bar, where the party was apparently supposed to be, and decided to hold down the fort until more people arrived. The lighting and design were pretty cool. I love all the openness afforded by warm climates. After nearly 2 days of nice weather, the storms showed up with the other bar-goers around 11 pm. We stayed for a while, and between Jairo jumping out of his chair for every good reggae song, and me be-bopping to the pop songs, especially Empire State of Mind, we got a good share of dancing in.
Made it back to the hotel in a cab and the rain hasn't stopped yet. We took the reverse track on the bus. The Sta Cruz to Nicoya bus took over an hour when it usually takes about 40 minutes...so we grabbed breakfast, which at that point was brunch, at the Nicoya bus stop because they have about 15 "sodas" (little food places) packed under cover the same way that markets are in Europe.
Jumped on the bus for our last leg of the trip and I saw a box of little chicks...oh baby animals! They are everywhere right now...horses, cows, chickens, crabs, frogs...and they are all so cute! They haven't ceased to make me smile yet!
Back at work for another good week! Going to see properties tomorrow, I believe!
Saturday night we all watched the Fiestas (rodeos/bullriding) which I believe were in Sta Ana(?) on TV. They ended at 7ish...and we were out by 8. The alarm went off at 11pm for us to get up and go out, since apparently Saturday night is the best dance night there, but neither one of us was really awake and both fell back asleep. I didn't get up til...about 12 hours later. Gotta' love lazy weekends.
By the time we got ourselves together for the day, Johan was gone and Jairo was, once again, without a board. haha. Planning ahead was clearly not our strong point this weekend! So more eating and being lazy at the beach was in order until the afternoon when Johan got back and lent Jairo a board. He played chef and pulled together some awesome pasta and sauce with a rather unlikely bunch of staples from the pulperia and a few seasonings that they had in the hotel kitchen.
I have ridden a bike twice since I got here...this is more times than I've ridden in memorable history (I only recall once up in Canada with Caitlin). I like it...but memories of crashing when I was younger, which have probably become extremely distorted by now, still make me a little weary.
So after lunch and a bike ride, I played photographer for the afternoon, which I love which J surfed. Unfortunately the waves weren't nearly as good as the afternoon before or as that morning, and the surf didn't come back inland until late, so the pictures didn't turn out well and the surfing wasn't the ideal...but it was surfing, and I think that was enough by the end of day two in the sun!
After surfing/photography time, we went back to the hotel and hung out watching tv outside...I chose to chill in the hammock...I LOVE HAMMOCKS. haha. We ordered pizza...and I could only laugh when a Pizza Hut delivery showed up 20 minutes later...oh America...you and your corporate domination. I think the pizza is better here, actually.
Anyways, post typical Friday night dinner (on a Sunday night), we decided that since we missed Saturday night, it never existed. So we got dressed up and went out on Sunday...as if it were Saturday. We found a nice bar, where the party was apparently supposed to be, and decided to hold down the fort until more people arrived. The lighting and design were pretty cool. I love all the openness afforded by warm climates. After nearly 2 days of nice weather, the storms showed up with the other bar-goers around 11 pm. We stayed for a while, and between Jairo jumping out of his chair for every good reggae song, and me be-bopping to the pop songs, especially Empire State of Mind, we got a good share of dancing in.
Made it back to the hotel in a cab and the rain hasn't stopped yet. We took the reverse track on the bus. The Sta Cruz to Nicoya bus took over an hour when it usually takes about 40 minutes...so we grabbed breakfast, which at that point was brunch, at the Nicoya bus stop because they have about 15 "sodas" (little food places) packed under cover the same way that markets are in Europe.
Jumped on the bus for our last leg of the trip and I saw a box of little chicks...oh baby animals! They are everywhere right now...horses, cows, chickens, crabs, frogs...and they are all so cute! They haven't ceased to make me smile yet!
Back at work for another good week! Going to see properties tomorrow, I believe!
Friday, May 21, 2010
First Work Week as a Real Person, nearly complete
Walking home
barefoot in the warmth of the pouring rain
is ridiculously therapeutic.
Last day of my first week of work and things have only gotten better. I'm heading up a brand new rentals/property management branch of Century 21 Sámara which I finally really got into today. I was able to give some design suggestions to our webmaster and am waiting to hear back about that and looking forward to this weekend's trip to Tamarindo for a break before really kicking into full gear and my 6 day/week schedule at work.
If it continues on the upswing like this, I don't know how I'll control my joy in a few weeks :)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Gray skies in the afternoon
Looks like rain...and when it rains here, you better hope it pours or it only gets hotter.
I'm already peeling. Super.
Work is picking up as I'm getting more to do. We're opening up a property management branch that I'm going to head up, which is pretty fabulous. I have no idea what I'm doing yet...but it sounds like a good idea, right?!
And the thunder rolls.
I'm already peeling. Super.
Work is picking up as I'm getting more to do. We're opening up a property management branch that I'm going to head up, which is pretty fabulous. I have no idea what I'm doing yet...but it sounds like a good idea, right?!
And the thunder rolls.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A bit more...while I figure out how I'm going to load pics
It does not matter how sweaty you are, if you are female, and even more so if you are a blonde, people will wave, honk, cat-call and hiss at you in Costa Rica...and by people, of course I mean Ticos.
More than sunscreen, I need bug spray. I counted more than 30 bites between my knee and my foot on one leg yesterday...I think that public health agent, Caitlin, would have something to say about this. Luckily for me, West Nile, Malaria and the like are not common to Costa Rica as they are in many other Central and South American countries.
Visitors have to leave the country every 3 months for 72 hours...that means I get more vacation days than anyone I know. Hahaha, ok--not really...but at least it's consistent :)
Walking at midday is a sure way to get drenched...and not in a good way.
Only ticos can open cell phone accounts/lines.
Most ticos don't like frogs or toads, and some even say they prefer snakes.
The roads do not have given names, only names used to describe where they go or names used by locals. Most explanations are given by the number of buildings/streets/signs/etc or by a solid landmark. While this is not completely true in the capital and larger cities (where there is more likely to be a grid system and street names) it still holds true therein, where little roads that were original or that have sprouted amongst buildings still go by landmarks.
Ohh the things one learns within a few days of living somewhere new!
More than sunscreen, I need bug spray. I counted more than 30 bites between my knee and my foot on one leg yesterday...I think that public health agent, Caitlin, would have something to say about this. Luckily for me, West Nile, Malaria and the like are not common to Costa Rica as they are in many other Central and South American countries.
Visitors have to leave the country every 3 months for 72 hours...that means I get more vacation days than anyone I know. Hahaha, ok--not really...but at least it's consistent :)
Walking at midday is a sure way to get drenched...and not in a good way.
Only ticos can open cell phone accounts/lines.
Most ticos don't like frogs or toads, and some even say they prefer snakes.
The roads do not have given names, only names used to describe where they go or names used by locals. Most explanations are given by the number of buildings/streets/signs/etc or by a solid landmark. While this is not completely true in the capital and larger cities (where there is more likely to be a grid system and street names) it still holds true therein, where little roads that were original or that have sprouted amongst buildings still go by landmarks.
Ohh the things one learns within a few days of living somewhere new!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Come Visit!
The cheapest flights are always through STAtravel.com...hands down. I found some from NY as low as 252 round trip. normally they were closer to 300...dont take anything more than 400...it'd be way too much, guaranteed. You can fly into San Juan Santamaria (SJO), which is just outside of San Jose, the capitol of Costa Rica.
From there you would need to take a taxi to the Alfaro bus station to get a ticket for the bus to Samara or Nicoya. The Samara bus leaves every day at noon, and I think at 7pm. There might also be one really early around 5am? Not sure about that, if it came to that I could check for you. The direct ride to Samara in bus is about 4.5 hours. Checking your bags under the bus is the safest thing to do, otheriwise you should try to stay awake and hold your bag in your lap. or between your legs. The bus costs less than $10.
If you catch the bus that ends at Nicoya, you're already at the right station, just ask for the next bus to Samara. They leave once an hour I think, until about 5pm.
There's also Liberia Airport (LIR). On the STA site, you need to go to the "advanced" search...for some reason, it won't come up on the normal search. I haven't flown in there, but the prices are a bit higher for being less popular with major airlines, I think. It's still a 2 hour drive from Samara, but it might be worth it to save yourself 5 hours of travel that the bus ends up being.
And beyond that, there's actually a tiny tiny airport in Carrillo, the next beach over, that has flights I think from both Liberia and from San Jose. My guess is they run about 100 dollars each, and then you'd already be here....no need for long drives (although they are beautiful and may be worth it for the views alone!)
Theres always the option of renting a car, too. You need to be sure to have at least 1100 dollars available on your credit card when you make your reservation...I learned this from experience.
You're headed to Samara, a small, tourism-driven town in the region of Costa Rica known as Guanacaste, which is a large peninsula. It's right on the Pacific Ocean a little more than half-way down the peninsula if you're looking on a map...I'll attach one to the links in case you want a quick look.
From there you would need to take a taxi to the Alfaro bus station to get a ticket for the bus to Samara or Nicoya. The Samara bus leaves every day at noon, and I think at 7pm. There might also be one really early around 5am? Not sure about that, if it came to that I could check for you. The direct ride to Samara in bus is about 4.5 hours. Checking your bags under the bus is the safest thing to do, otheriwise you should try to stay awake and hold your bag in your lap. or between your legs. The bus costs less than $10.
If you catch the bus that ends at Nicoya, you're already at the right station, just ask for the next bus to Samara. They leave once an hour I think, until about 5pm.
There's also Liberia Airport (LIR). On the STA site, you need to go to the "advanced" search...for some reason, it won't come up on the normal search. I haven't flown in there, but the prices are a bit higher for being less popular with major airlines, I think. It's still a 2 hour drive from Samara, but it might be worth it to save yourself 5 hours of travel that the bus ends up being.
And beyond that, there's actually a tiny tiny airport in Carrillo, the next beach over, that has flights I think from both Liberia and from San Jose. My guess is they run about 100 dollars each, and then you'd already be here....no need for long drives (although they are beautiful and may be worth it for the views alone!)
Theres always the option of renting a car, too. You need to be sure to have at least 1100 dollars available on your credit card when you make your reservation...I learned this from experience.
You're headed to Samara, a small, tourism-driven town in the region of Costa Rica known as Guanacaste, which is a large peninsula. It's right on the Pacific Ocean a little more than half-way down the peninsula if you're looking on a map...I'll attach one to the links in case you want a quick look.
A few things I've noticed...
1st day of work also happens to be the first day I've gotten to the internet since staying at a hostel in San Jose, the capitol, last week.
A few things I've noticed...
It's hot here...like, little albino girl is melting, hot. I've never looked forward to rain so much in my life!
Soccer comes before religion...the national championship game was Saturday...the evening mass was cancelled for the game.
It doesn't stay light here past 6 pm...at any point in the year.
Mosquitoes are called "sancudos"...they suck...literally and figuratively.
A plate of food, of which I can not even eat 1/2, costs $5.
I don't miss hot showers as much as I thought I would...at least not yet. My hair does, though...Dry from the salt and oily from the lack of hot water to wash it well is a strange combo.
It's considered a big deal if you wear heels out at night to the beach. People are impressed.
You need $1100 available on your credit card to rent a car.
Howler monkeys are regulars at the local soccer games on Sunday afternoons.
Contrary to popular belief, roosters do not crow in the morning...the crow in the early morning, and midmorning, and late morning, and at noon, and in the afternoon...etc etc etc.
I think Costa Ricans are probably some of the cleanest people I've ever met. Seriously. They clean daily.
A few things I've noticed...
It's hot here...like, little albino girl is melting, hot. I've never looked forward to rain so much in my life!
Soccer comes before religion...the national championship game was Saturday...the evening mass was cancelled for the game.
It doesn't stay light here past 6 pm...at any point in the year.
Mosquitoes are called "sancudos"...they suck...literally and figuratively.
A plate of food, of which I can not even eat 1/2, costs $5.
I don't miss hot showers as much as I thought I would...at least not yet. My hair does, though...Dry from the salt and oily from the lack of hot water to wash it well is a strange combo.
It's considered a big deal if you wear heels out at night to the beach. People are impressed.
You need $1100 available on your credit card to rent a car.
Howler monkeys are regulars at the local soccer games on Sunday afternoons.
Contrary to popular belief, roosters do not crow in the morning...the crow in the early morning, and midmorning, and late morning, and at noon, and in the afternoon...etc etc etc.
I think Costa Ricans are probably some of the cleanest people I've ever met. Seriously. They clean daily.
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