Home...final reflections

Well, for better or for worse, I'm back in the U.S., working for a living again. It's good to see my cat, and my friends, and be in one place again for awhile.  But I really miss speaking and hearing Spanish, and, as we all know, vacation is better than real life, even if real life is good.

I learned a lot and thought about some interesting things during the trip.  First, it seems to me that there's probably a happy medium between the intensity and materialism of life in the US, and the laid-back less-than-materialistic life of many parts of Costa Rica and Panama.  "Pura Vida", indeed!  But I also heard several people I met talk about how people were too laid back, to the point that they were unmotivated to work, to see new things, to change their communities for the better.  I think we could all learn to strike a balance.

I also learned, or maybe re-learned?, that tourism can be both good and bad.  Costa Rica, for example, provides its citizens with an array of services: health care (for oneself and one's family members, including parents), housing assistance if needed, public education, free or very inexpensive universities.  One day in class, we were asking our teacher what taxes in the country are like.  "Oh, we don't pay very many taxes," our teacher replied, "only 9% of our salary to pay into the health care system."  Income taxes?  only on the top 2% of income earners.  Sales tax?  Nope, only on restaurant food.  So how then, do you have so many services?  We in the U.S. pay over 30% in income taxes alone, and we have no health care and very expensive universities. Easy:  tourism.   Tourism can also help people learn about each other's countries.  Then again, wealthy foreigners have perhaps more influence than they should.  Cloud forests in Panama are being sold for gated communities.  Hotels hosting visitors who expect air conditioning and internet are using more energy than buildings in those communities ever used to, all while claiming "eco-tourism."  Again, there's a balance here.

Thanks for following me on my travels!

Y en espanol:

Bueno, para bien o para mal, estoy de vuelta en los EE.UU., trabajar para vivir de nuevo. Es bueno ver a mi gato y mis amigos, y estar en un uno lugar  por un tiempo. Pero me extraño hablar y escuchar español, y, como todos sabemos, de vacaciones es mejor que la vida real, aunque la vida real es bueno.

Aprendí mucho y pensé en algunas cosas interesantes durante el viaje. Primero, me parece a mí que es probable que haya un término medio entre la intensidad y el materialismo de la vida en los EE.UU., y la vida relajada menos-que-materialista de muchas partes de Costa Rica y Panamá. "Pura Vida", de hecho! Pero también he oído a varias personas que conocí hablar de cómo la gente puede ser demasiado relejada, hasta el punto de que estaban desmotivados para trabajar, para ver cosas nuevas, para cambiar sus comunidades para mejor. Creo que todos podemos aprender a encontrar el equilibrio.

También aprendí, o tal vez aprendi otra vez?, que el turismo puede ser tanto bueno como malo. Costa Rica, por ejemplo, ofrece a sus ciudadanos con una variedad de servicios: atención médica (para uno mismo y los miembros de la familia, incluidos los padres), asistencia de vivienda si es necesario, la educación pública, las universidades gratuitas o muy económicas. Un día, en clase, preguntamos a nuestro maestra de los impuestos en el país.  "Oh, no pagamos impuestos muy muchos", respondió nuestra maestra ", sólo el 9% de nuestro sueldo para pagar en el sistema de atención de salud". Impuesto a la renta? Sólo en el 2% de los perceptores de ingresos. Impuesto sobre las ventas? No, sólo en la comida del restaurante. Entonces, ¿cómo, pues, tiene tantos servicios? Nosotros en los EE.UU. paga más del 30% en impuestos sobre la renta solamente, y no tenemos un sistema de atención de salud y tenemos universidades muy caros. Fácil: el turismo. El turismo también puede ayudar a las personas a aprender acerca del otro países. Por otra parte, los extranjeros ricos tienen una influencia tal vez más de lo debido. Los bosques nubosos en Panamá se están vendiendo para comunidades cerradas. Hoteles alojamiento de visitantes que se esperan de aire acondicionado y internet usan más energía de los edificios en esas comunidades han utilizado en el pasado, mientras afirmaba "eco-turismo". Una vez más, hay un equilibrio.

Gracias por seguirme en mis viajes!

Crazy small world...

I have written about small world moments in previous posts, but yesterday took the cake.

Dan and I went on a day tour to the towns of Portobello and Colon, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. Portabello has ruins of forts from the Gold Rush era, and a church with a black figure of Christ with a lot of legend tied to it ( http://www.coloncity.com/blackchrist.html). Near Colon, we visited the observation center for the Canal expansion work- pretty impressive. We traveled to these places by van, but to return, the tour included a scenic train ride back to Panama City, along the Canal.

So there we are, standing on the train platform, when a guy comes up to us to ask if we knew where a bathroom was. I was so focused on a) communicating, and b) helping a man in need of a toilet, that it wasn't until he had walked away that I thought: that man looks a lot like Tony D'Souza! When he and his girlfriend were next to us again, I asked, and it was him! Tony and I met  volunteering around the Bay Area years ago, and he and his girlfriend Karen live in Manhattan now. How random and cool to run into them on the train platform, in Colon, Panama!! It was fun to catch up during the train ride and dinner after.

The relative benefits of civilization vs. remoteness

Between spending three days in a beach town without internet and three subsequent busy days in Panama City, I have been remiss in posting. But, having spent three days in said beach town and three subsequent days in Panama City, I am now well-prepared both to report on the week's highlights and to compare the relative benefits of being in a tiny but beautiful remote town with those of a big cosmopolitan city.

Days 1 through 3: Santa Catalina

Highlights: ocean front cabin, spectacular scenery, horseback riding on the beach, surviving the boat ride to Coiba Island, seeing a sea turtle while snorkeling!!

Benefits: See highlights. Relaxation. Plus, we ate at the same restaurant each night- at the camp/hotel- which means no complicated decision-making or long transit times, and the abilitty to get to know the staff.

Drawbacks: No internet...i.e., no basketball scores! We were also very far from groceries, coffee shops, pharmacies, and medical care. One morning, Martin our guide told us if we walked to town, "about 1km", we could have a coffee at a nice cafe by the water. So off we went. We walked, and walked, and walked. Much farther than 1 km later, we reached the...well, town, I guess, but there was no coffee shop to be found. Nor was there sunscreen to be bought.  Nothing to be found, really, except surfboard rentals, a bar created by placing some benches under a tarp, a few homes, and a mini super with noodles and cleaning supplies. More seriously, a girl in our group got sick with a very high fever on Day 2. It would have taken 3 1/2 hours for a doctor to get to her. Since her fever had subsided somewhat by the morning, she decided to wait until we got to Panama City to see a doctor. Original diagnosis: "something related to Dengue"! Even though a subsequent hospital visit refuted this...she's ok and treated with drugs now...it was super scary to be so far from services.


Days 4-6: Panama City

Highlights: Seeing a huge cruise ship go through the Panama Canal, riding in a small boat IN the canal, seeing white-faced monkeys, randomly running into an old friend! (More on this next post!)

Benefits: a variety of food, a variety of people, easy access to medical care, treated water, shopping, internet everywhere.

Drawbacks: Striking income inequality,minor but present safety concerns, traffic.

I think civilization, especially civilization this close to white-faced monkeys!, wins in a close contest.

 

"Napa Valley" of Coffee

Boquete, in the highlands of the Chiriqui province of Panama, is called (perhaps by tourism campaigns?) the "Napa Valley" of coffee. Yesterday, we put this to the test! Our day started with a (really excellent) tour of a coffee farm, factory, and roasting center, followed by a tasting of three different roasts. Note, I didn't drink coffee at all before coming to Central America, but I was pretty excited about the tour. :) We learned that Panama doesn't produce a large amount of coffee, but growing conditions are excellent, and several brands have won international awards. Of the roasts we tasted, I liked the Latin Roast the best. I also found out that this company (Cafe Ruiz) makes a "natural" coffee, which is dried with the fruit still around the coffee bean, resulting in sweeter coffee. It wasn't quite ready to try as of today, but I'm going to look for that type of coffee at home! Mmm...

I finished off the tour by having an iced mocha ("not real coffee", but that's fine with me :) ), then we had sandwiches at a lovely cafe, and then went on a guided hike in Volcan Baru national park. We were in search of the elusive Quetzal bird (at least I was!), which we didn't find, but we did hike to a nice waterfall.

Heading to Santa Catalina today, where there is no internet...more in a few days!

Much better vibes in Panama

Well, we made it to Panama, by crossing the border on foot over an old railroad bridge, with several big holes in it. We are now in Bocas Del Toro, which has a MUCH better vibe than Puerto Viejo!  Children play in the park at dusk, locals eat in the restaurants, and the adorable old lady who ran my favorite shop spoke to me only in Spanish. We visited two different beaches, on two different islands in the archipelago, both absolutely spectacular. Tomorrow, we leave here for Boquete, in the mountains.

Y en espanol:
Bueno, hemos llegado en Panama, por crucer en pie a traves de un puente viejo de ferrocarril, con algunas huecos grandes. Ya estamos a Bocas del Toro, que tiene un sentido mucho mejor que Puerto Viejo! Los niños juegan en el parque al atardecer, la gente local comer en los restaurantes, y la vieja linda que trabaja en mi tienda favorita hablo conmigo solo en espanol. Visitamos dos playas, en dos islas de la archipiélago, ambas absolutamente espectacular. Manana, salimos por Boquete, en las montanas.

Caribbean Vibes

For two days now, we have been in Puerto Viejo, CR, on the Caribbean coast about an hour north of the Panamanian border. We have done some fun things-- yesterday we met a chocolate maker and I held a baby monkey at the wildlife rehabilitation center!-- but I'll be glad to move on. I've heard people say they really like the vibe here, but something (or things) about it feels weird to me. The skies are often overcast, with lots of rain showers. Like at Pacuare beach where I volunteered, there are very few sea birds, contributing to a sense of desolation. There is a lot of crime, which has limited the activities we've done here.  There's a drug culture and problem. The locals are fighting with the government over control over the local Cahuita National Park. Overall, it feels like a town desperately trying to get tourist business, given the limited other economic options in this area, and I feel like as a result, there are very few authentic interactions between locals and visitors. I don't like that rift feeling.
So this morning, we leave for Panama! We'll still be in the Caribbean, but hopefully with better vibes. More soon.

 

Dan is here!

Dan arrived safely yesterday! Today we went to a beautiful tourist trap of a place in the mountains near San Jose, where we saw lots of cool animals (but in cages :( ) and hiked a short trail past a waterfall. I admit I did enjoy having a toucan sit on my arm, though!  We also met the rest of our Panama tour group tonight...seems like an interesting mix of young beer lovers and well-traveled pensive types. Stay tuned as my perceptions of people get more refined! Interestingly, we are the only Americans. Tomorrow morning we leave for Puerto Viejo, on the southeast coast of CR- back in the Caribbean, but this time with electricity. :)
Y en espanol:
Dan llego seguro ayer! Hoy fuimos a un lugar bonito (para atrapar las turistas) donde vimos muchos animales tuanis (pero en jaulas :( ) y dimos una caminataa un sendero corte a una catarata. Sin embargo, admito que me gusta tener una sentada toucan en el brazo!
Tambien conicimos los otras en nuestra grupo de excursion a Panama esta noche...parece.un grupo interesante con jovens que le gusta cerveza y tipos pensivos y bien viajados. Preste atención ya que mis percepciones de la gente consigue más refinado. Manana por la manana salimos por Puerto Viejo, otra vez al Caribe, pero esta vez con electricidad! :)

Unexpected side trip

As I implied in yesterday´s post, I´ve arrived back in civilization after camping on the Caribbean coast and working with sea turtle conservation efforts last week.  I was scheduled to leave early Monday morning to head back to San Jose-- normally boats only leave the camp on Mondays and Thursdays unless there is an emergency.  But, there was a boat leaving Saturday morning to take four college student volunteers back to the dock, because they were on spring break and had to be back at school on Monday.  So, Margaret, a fellow volunteer from Colorado, and I decided to take the Saturday morning boat with them.  After the rainy week and long walks, our feet were very blistered and we needed to take care of ourselves a little bit.  Even though I needed to leave a bit earlier than planned, I am very glad I was able to contribute to the conservation efforts.

So yesterday, we took the boat to the dock, rode with the college students in their van to the town of Bataan, took the public bus from Bataan to San Jose, then decided to take another public bus to Jaco, an easy beach getaway from San Jose-- back on the Pacific coast.  Margaret has a friend staying here this week.  Our hotel is lovely, just the break we needed for a day (photo below).  We are planning to relax by the pools today, walk through town to check out the vegetarian cafe and organic chocolate shop, and meet her friend for dinner at the beach.  I hope to also repair my feet a bit. Tomorrow we will travel back to San Jose, where I´ll meet Dan to begin our tour into Panama!


Y en espanol:
Como implicada en la entrada de ayer, he llegada otra vez en la civilización despues de acampar a la costa Caribe y trabajar con los esfuerzos de conservación de tortugas marinas la semana pasada. Estaba programada salir temprano por la mañana lunes para viajar a San Jose-- normalmente, el bote sali solo los lunes y jueves excepto en caso de emergencia.  Sin embargo, hubo un bote saliendo sabado en la mañana para llevar cuatro estudiantes de universidad al muelle, por ellos estabaron en el descanso de primavera, y ellos tuvieron que estar otra vez a la escuela lunes.  Entonces, Margaret, un voluntario compañera de Colorado, y yo decidimos tomar el bote de sabado con ellos.  Despues de la semana de lluvia y las caminatas largas, nuestras pies tenían ampollas y necesitabamos cuidarnos un poco. Aunque tenía que salir un poco antes de lo previsto, estoy muy contento de haber podido contribuir a los esfuerzos de conservación.


Entonces, ayer, tomamos el bote al muelle, cabalgábamos con los estudiantes en su camioneta al pueblo de Bataan, tomamos el bus publico de Bataan hasta San Jose, y pues decidieron tomar otra bus publico a Jaco, un destino facil a la playa de San Jose--- otra vez en la costa Pacifica.  Margaret tiene un amigo quedarse aqui.  Nuestra hotel es bonito, exacto el descanso necesitabamos por un dia (foto de abajo). Hoy estamos planeando de relejarnos al lado de la piscina, caminar por el pueblo para descubrir el cafe vegetariano y la tienda de chocolate orgánico. Tambien espero a repararme mis pies un poco.  Manana vamos a viajar otra vez a San Jose, donde voy a encontrar a Dan para empezar nuestra excursion a Panama!


 

Tortugas

Well, after working on turtle conservation for a week, I definitely appreciate my office job! I knew I would, because a) I really like my job anyway, and b) I knew it would be hard work.  But it was REALLY hard work! I was free manual labor for a week, helping to build a structure that will house the egg hatchery (i.e., lots of digging holes in the sand) and walking miles on the beach at night (*without* lights, trying to avoid logs!) trying to get to turtle nests before poachers did. And the weather this week was horrid, rainy and stormy every day until Friday. Several night patrols took place during hour-long downpours. Tough conditions.
But the on-the-ground difference the WIDECAST organization is making is incredible. Our guide during our last night patrol, Chayo, told me (during a patrol break, sitting on a log in the middle of the night on a dark beach, in Spanish!) that he used to be a poacher himself, until he learned from project staff how poaching was affecting turtles. Poachers, of course, are just trying to make a living.  In the area of the Caribbean coast where we were camped, people either work on banana plantations or collect and sell turtle eggs (they go for $1 each, I'm told)...there really is no other work. Now, Chayo works for the WIDECAST project, leading night patrols. I think my favorite part of my week there was hearing his story.
At the station, there was also a small hawksbill turtle, very endangered, that we volunteers helped take care of. She used to be someone's pet, and the staff were trying to teach her to hunt rather than wait for prepared food. Some pictures of the turtle, the beach, the station where we were camped, and the boat ride to get there are below.

 

Manuel Antonio (Or: Sloths AND Monkeys!)

I am now en route to San Jose from Manuel Antonio National Park, back on the Pacific Coast, where I spent the weekend. It's in the book listing the 1,000 places you should see before you die. I traveled with my classmate Jeanne, who was gracious enough to offer to share her room at a very nice resort. She is a great travel partner. In the park and around the beach we saw white-faced monkeys, sloths, racoons, crabs, and lizards. Despite the sign in the picture below, we did not see crocodiles. :) (Although we did from the road!)





Also below is a picture of my Mama Tica (Norely) and Hermana Tica (Dafne) from my host family,  who I said goodbye to Saturday morning.


Tonight I am meeting up with the sea turtle conservation organization with whom I am volunteering for the next week. We will have orientation tonight (in what language I am not sure!) at their office and travel tomorrow to the camp in the Caribbean coast. There, each night next week, I will walk the beach at night to help look for turtle nests. I will have no electricity,  much less internet!, so I will be offline until next week. More then, hopefully with pictures of sea turtles...

The world's most beautiful waterfall (And: more monkeys!)

What an amazing afternoon Michael and I spent today! His host father (Papa Tico) invited us to his family's farm, for a hike to a waterfall. Most of his extended family lives there. Only a few minutes into the hike, we saw several white-faced monkeys very close to us! The hike led us to the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen.

Michael and Miguel (his Papa Tico) swam at the bottom of it. (The water was freezing, and it was already raining out, so I happily stayed on the rocks to take pictures.)
On the way back, we saw an incredibly beautiful rainbow! We finished the afternoon having coffee and chatting with Miguel's extended family...really nice people and great practice.



Y en espanol:
Que magnifica tarde Michael y yo pasamos hoy! Su Papa Tica nos invitio a la finca de su familia, para dar un caminata a un catarata. La majoria de su familia vive alla. Solo algunos minutos despues de comenzar la caminata, vimos monos cara blancas, muy cerca de nosotros! El sendero nos dirigio a la cascata mas bonita que yo he visto. Muchael y Miguel- su Papa Tico- nadaron en el agua de baja. (Hacia frio, entonces yo me quede felizmente en las piedras para sacar fotos.) En el camino para regresar, vimos un arcoiris increible! Terminadamos la tarde tomar cafe y hablar con la familia de Miguel ...personas muy simpaticos y practica magnifica.

Cloud Forest Walks

We have spent the past two afternoons after class exploring the cloud forest all around us here in Monteverde. On Tuesday, we went on a guided hike in the Monteverde Reserve, a privately owned and protected cloud forest. Our guide was excellent; he easily spotted birds I had no idea were there. We also saw a troup of spider monkeys, and a hummingbird in her nest right by the side of the trail!
Yesterday we went to Selvatura Park and walked a trail that had eight hanging bridges. It was amazing being so high in the canopy!
And we ended yesterday by walking into town with Michael's host family to get ice cream (from the cheese factory, which supported the town before eco-tourism did) to celebrate his birthday...a day belatedly, because the ice cream shop was closed the night before. On the way, we stopped at the Monteverde Serpentarium, where Michael's host brother works, and he let us come in for free to see some pretty amazing snakes!
Y en espanol:
Hemos pasado los dos tardes antes despues de clases exploradando el bosque nubloso todo aldreador de nosotros. Martes, fuimos a la Reserva de Monteverde para dar un caminata com un guia. La Reserva esta dado y proyectado privadamente. Nuestra guia estaba excelente; el pudio facilmente ver aves que no sabia estaban alli. Tambien vimos un troupo de monos aranas, y un colibri en su niedo a lado del sendero.
Ayer, fuimos a Parque Selvatura y caminabamos un sendero que tuvo ocho puentes colgantes. Que magnifica estar tan alto en los arboles!
Y terminamos el dia ayer para caminamos con la familia de Michael a la heladeria (a la fabrica de queso, que apoyo el pueblo antes del llegada de eco-turisma) para celebrar su compleanos, un dia tarde, por que el heladeria estaba cerrada el noche antes. En el camino, paremos al Serpentario, donde trabaja el hermano tico de Michael, y el deja nosotros entrar gratis, para ver unas serpientes increibles!

Getting to Monteverde (And: Michael's Doppelganger)

Ok, Michael doesn't really have a Doppelganger, in the truest sense of the word. Still, the connections one makes while traveling can be incredible. At Arenal, we met a student from the CPI Heredia campus named Rich. While we were hiking, Michael and Rich started chatting. They discovered they are both from Chicago, and they are both actors/improv comedians!! They are also about the same age, with similar relationship histories, and similar (I think) head shapes. :) Michael has assured me they also have many differences, but the similarities are truly striking.

I am now in Monteverde, up in the mountains of Costa Rica. It is beautiful here, cooler (highs in the mid-70s), and more naturalist heaven than party beach town. Our teacher for this week's class is truly excellent; I'm really glad to finish up my CPI experience with her...I think we will learn a lot. I'm staying with a family this week, and they are great. There's a LOT of conversation among family members that I can't understand - especially from the teenage girl- but I am trying not to feel frustrated, but rather just absorb and try to practice as much as I can. They are happy to talk to me. The house is very comfortable. And tonight the 2nd grade boy in the family helped me make flash cards with animal names. :) (I can speak 8 yr old Spanish decently well!) Spanish is definitely getting more natural for me...it's hard to write blog posts and emails in English without slipping in some familiar Spanish words accidentally!

So Monteverde is a good place to be. But GETTING HERE was another story. When we left Arenal, we were only told: your bus leaves for Monteverde at 2:40. In CR, what that usually means is, we'll aim for sometime before 3. :) But this time they were uncharacteristically stressed out about being on time. (The word "stress", by the way, is a cognate in Spanish: "estrés". We think this is because Central America had no such concept until English speakers came along!) We quickly discovered the reason for the promptness: we had to catch a ferry. Basically, we had no information or idea what was going on the whole journey! In a weird small world moment, a guide who was one of our neighbors in Flamingo was on our boat, leading a small private tour, so I had to ask him what was going on.  When I saw the boat, I quickly downed some Dramamine, which ended up being quite a good decision...though the boat ride (across Lake Arenal) was smooth, the subsequent bus ride to Monteverde was very bumpy!! The road is entirely gravel, for over 20km, and at points I thought for sure that either luggage would fall on our heads, or that we ourselves would fall on our heads, over a cliff. But, the scenery was truly spectacular.

So, safe and sound now, I am going to return to studying my irregular verbs in past tense...lest I throw some of these stem-changing verbs off one of those cliffs! :)