The Big Intro to Israel Post

Hello there!  It's been a little while since I last posted, and I've finally gotten a good chunk of time to sit down and write, so I thought I'd take advantage of it. 

I left for Israel a week from today  (though technically I've only physically been in Israel for five and a half days, thanks to an amazingly long 19.5 hours of travel time between home and here...) and have experienced a lot of newness in these past seven days.  But let's start at the very beginning.  It's a very good place to start....


Flights and Firsts
So, like I said, it took me 19.5 hours (three different flights) from taking off in Minneapolis to touch down in Israel. I left MN late morning on my first flight and arrived in Newark, NY mid-afternoon.  After waiting a few hours in the airport, I boarded the airplane that would jet me away from the US, over the Pacific, and allow me to step foot for the first time ever on another continent. <- That flight was the longest one I've ever been on- seven hours.  I flew on SAS, a Scandinavian airline, and was quite impressed by their level of service.  Not only did they show recently released movies [I got to watch Argo, what what], but they actually served MEALS on the plane.  Free of charge.  And they came in the most adorable little portion-sized containers.  I was so awed I took a picture, haha.

Although that second flight was great in many ways, it wasn't my favorite simply because
1) It was a "red eye" flight, but I couldn't sleep.
2) There was a freaky amount of turbulence as we were exactly in the middle of our trip aka over the ocean.  I won't deny that images of a watery grave briefly flitted past my eyes before I shut them out and mentally chanted think positively over and over again.
3) We changed what felt like a million time zones in those seven hours, and so by the time we arrived in Copenhagen it was 7am in Denmark, while my body still thought it was 1am.  After zooming through the cute and sleepy Copenhagen airport [they have hardwood floors, open lounge areas, inviting colors, and a little mermaid statue- how much more adorable can it get?] to find the gate for my third and final flight, I shlumped over and blearily stared at passersby through half-closed lids.  Yeah, I felt pretty gross at that point compared to all the sharp-looking European travelers.  And
4) I was located in the back of this huge airplane, in the middle row of three seats, and I just had to be put with this older guy who (even with the empty seat between us) had stinky farts.  Not very conducive for trying to sleep....

My last flight was about four hours and landed me in Tel Aviv around 2:30pm Israel time on Sunday.  Luckily the passport control guys didn't give me too much grief and I was riding in a shared taxi to Jerusalem half an hour later.  I arrived at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem- recommended to me by the GoEco project- a bit before 5pm and immediately took a shower and tried to sleep.  Key word: tried.  I was physically exhausted, having at that point slept only about four hours of the past 36, but mentally I couldn't quiet down.  I think I fell into a restless sleep around 9pm that night, but certainly woke up the next morning still feeling tired.


Orientation in the Old City
Monday was a jam-packed day. 

It began with a two hour meeting in the hostel with GoEco (the volunteer agency) representatives.  They gave myself and two other soon-to-be-volunteers [we were all leaving for different projects, however] an explanation of our volunteering projects and some basic information about Israel. Then one of them, Yan, acted as our tour guide for the rest of the day.

First, we explored and had lunch in the major Jerusalem marketplace [he managed to get us millions of free samples of cultural dishes by explaining in Hebrew to the vendors that we were foreigners and had no idea what any of the dishes were] before heading out to Jaffa Gate to take part in a free tour of the Old City.  [The term Old City in any area refers to the location where buildings, monuments and historical places built hundreds of years ago remain intact and are still used/inhabited by people today.  However, the Old City in Jerusalem is one of the most well-known as it contains many incredibly important religious sites.]

I was extremely awed on our walk through the Old City.  We hit all four quarters (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian) and our guide was quite knowledgeable about the history of each quarter and their development.  It was amazing to think that we were walking through streets and archways that had been there and seen by people for hundreds, maybe thousands of years.  And to just actually be in this place I'd heard about for so long felt incredibly unreal.  I mean, it was hard to wrap my head around the fact that I was literally standing 100 feet away from the Western Wall.  Wow. 

Since the free tour was a general overview of the Old City but didn't actually take us into buildings, once it was over Yan guided our volunteer group back to a couple of impressive sites.  We watched the sun set while standing on the top of the Austrian Hospice, taking in the scenic view of the entire Old City; we walked through the [amazingly unpopulated] Church of the Holy Sepulchre once darkness had fallen, and then window-shopped in the new mall outside the Old City on our way to dinner.  After dinner (my first authentic Israeli hummus experience!) we explored a few more buildings that had nice views (including one incredibly swanky hotel that impressed me almost as much as the Old City had, haha) and then headed back to the hostel to sleep.

Tuesday was the day I needed to catch my bus to Nazareth to actually begin volunteering, but that wasn't until 4pm, so I had a bit more time to wander around Jerusalem.  I went out with Antonia, the girl volunteer I'd hung with the day before, and we saw the Western Wall up close (I did indeed put a piece of paper with a wish on it into an unused crack in the wall).  We also walked up to the Dome of the Rock (an extremely holy Islamic site) and marveled at the detail and gorgeousness of the mosque.  Finally the time to head to the bus station rolled around, and after a bit of messing around with a temperamental ticket machine, I was on my way. 


Finding Fauzi Azar
I sat next to a very... talkative... guy on the bus who also happened to be going to the Fauzi Azar Inn.  He came in handy, though, when asking for directions [we arrived at night and the Inn is tucked away in a part of the Old City that takes some maneuvering to get to] and in making me feel a bit more secure when hiking past groups of smoking guys in black leather jackets.  But finally we found it, and I had arrived to the place I'm going to be calling home for the next two months!

[I'll be posting specifically about the Fauzi and my duties in another entry very soon!]

I met the other three volunteers that I'll be working with for the next few weeks at least (since two are leaving in a few weeks and new people may be showing up):
Pat- extremely sociable Australian guy working here for his summer break.
Jess- another girl taking a gap year!  She's from London and will spending eight months (until August) in Israel doing a variety of activities.  Once she's done volunteering at the Fauzi she's heading to a kibbutz for five months.  You can bet I'm going to be visiting her.
Mike- Canadian, eh?  ...Sorry, he's taking some time off from studying software engineering to travel and has a bunch of short-term volunteer gigs lined up in various parts of Israel. 
(Oh, and there's also a long-term volunteer lady, Linda, who gives all the guided tours.  But she's pretty much a permanent fixture as she's been here for four years.)

Pat and Jess have both been here for roughly a month and only have a few weeks left, while Mike will be leaving only two weeks before I am.  I really like them all, and the vibe is great because there's enough of us that we won't get sick of each other too soon, but not too many that it's hard to get to know everyone.  Though I do hope that when Pat and Jess leave, other volunteers show up.  I like you Mike, but some new blood potential friends would also be nice.

The night I arrived was a first-ever movie night, so I dropped my backpack off at the volunteer apartment (about 20 feet up the street) and went back to watch Life of Pi.  After the movie I went out for a late-night snack with Pat, Mike, two German guests, and a local named Fadi.  The food was good, but I was pretty much falling asleep at the table, so it was relieving to just head back to the apartment and go to bed finally at 2am.


Navigating Nazareth   
Wednesday began with free breakfast at the Fauzi and then a guided tour of the Old City.  It was a great, alternative tour that ignored the holy places (since you can do that on your own) and instead focused on getting to know the locals and the back roads of Nazareth.  It was a great introduction to this city I'm going to be based in for the next while.  I then grabbed lunch with Mike, hung out and explored the city some more with Jess, and had the most touching hospitality experience I've felt in a while. 

A local Christian Arabic family that Mike and Pat had met earlier had invited them to dinner, and since I was free, both I and a Fauzi guest Jackie were invited along.  However, when we got to the family's house after running through the winding alleyways in the pouring rain, we discovered that the electricity in their area was completely out.  No lights, no heat, no nothing.  Certainly no cooking, we surmised [<- like my word choice, Pat&Mike?].  But the family surprised us, and after an hour of sitting in the candle-lit living room exchanging broken English and Arabic talking with the daughters Ruth and Jessica, we were informed dinner was ready and we were ushered into the kitchen. 

An amazing spread of traditional Arabic food lay on the table before us.  The four of us sat down with Ruth and the dad, Adell, and had a wonderful meal highlighted by lamb, rice with a special yogurt sauce, and Italian champagne.  The food was very tasty (and they managed to magically heat it somehow- candles?), but there were about a million dishes and each was heaped onto our plates in such great quantities that I couldn't even finish half of it.  After dinner the electricity came back on (of course) and we moved back to the living room to join the rest of the family (mom, brother, Jessica and fiance) in smoking hookah (first time for me!) and listening to music.  And when we finally excused ourselves after lavishing thanks upon the family, the brother insisted I take the sweatshirt of his I'd been wearing for warmth as a parting gift.  To be honest, I'm a little wary that somehow I've bound myself to a romantic obligation... but I'll admit its oversizedness had come in handy as a makeshift tent-like changing room, as there is no real privacy in our tiny volunteer apartment.  Alla in all, I was incredibly touched by their generosity in feeding four guests (two of which had been perfect strangers before that meal) in the middle of a power outage.  And we have plans to go back soon and learn how to make authentic felafel, so yay!  Free food and good company is always something to look forward to.


Experiencing Everyday Events enjoying the alliteration of the section titles?
Thursday I was shadowing Jess on the afternoon shift, but beforehand we walked up a scenic hill named Mount Precipice and on the way to the Inn stopped by a small cafe for Qatayaf (a traditional Ramadan sweet- essentially a small pancake filled with either soft cheese or walnuts, fried, and then drizzled in syrup.  As delicious as they sound).  We were kept at the Inn for a while after our shift had technically ended, so just came back to the apartment and slept after.

Friday I attempted to find the Jesus Trail (a hiking trail that starts at the Fauzi- more on that in the next blog post!) and failed dismally- got a good run in anyway, though.  Then half slept half read in the sun, and was on evening shift with Mike.  Bed.

Today I hiked the Jesus Trail with Pat and Mike and five Fauzi guests.  Luckily we didn't get lost, as Pat is an expert Jesus Trail navigator.  The first leg takes roughly four hours to walk, and really is pretty gorgeous once you get past the highway.  We hitched back to Nazareth (a somewhat depressing only 15 minutes away by car) and grabbed a late lunch before coming back home to chill.

I can't believe I just used the word "home" so naturally.  I must really feel pretty comfortable here.

Tonight we're heading out to a local restaurant to see some sort of music.  Maybe dancing will be involved?  Whatever it is, should be interesting. 

Off to find Mike and ask him about that stir fry he's supposedly making....

xoxo, Cleome

Nicaragua

So I went to Nicaragua for 10 days... alone....  And it was awesome.

I'd been thinking about what to do after my volunteer program ended the last week of November, and after much debating decided going to Nicaragua would be
1) fun
2) a chance to see a new country, and
3) not completely terrifying as I'd met a girl who was working in Granada, and so at least had one person I knew who I could go up and hang with for a bit.

While I'd been traveling nearly every weekend before my Nicaragua trip, the thought of backpacking solo still scared me up until the point that I crossed the border between countries.  There's just something a little more ominous sounding about "backpacking in a different country completely alone for the first time" than "traveling for the weekend with my bestie Lindsay."  At least for me there was.

But I shouldn't have worried.  I survived for 10 days and made it back to Costa Rica in time to meet my family at the airport- and managed to have fun while doing so.

Nica Adventure, Cliff Notes Version

Saturday, December 1
-Left at 5:45am for San Jose.  Was informed the direct buses to Granada weren't available until Monday.  Decided to bus-hop instead.  Met American named Sherry at the border who was also going to Granada.  Had a tiff with officer in border control window- he "forgot" to stamp my passport.  Was denied entrance to country by immigration official and had to return to office for another stamp.  Finally boarded bus with Sherry to Granada.  Arrived and split off from Sherry to go to hostel where my friend Nonny was working.  Set stuff down.  Went out with Nonny and friends for dinner/clubbing.  Slept at Nonny's friend's house (without Nonny- looonnggg story...).  Great first night in Nicaragua.
Sunday, December 2
-Recovered.  Explored Granada a bit.  Ate typical Nicaraguan "frito."  Slept early.
Monday, December 3
-Accompanied Nonny to her volunteering project.  Played with kids.  Sang the Beatles.  Went out for drinks.  Packed.
Tuesday, December 4
-Said bye to Nonny and left Granada.  Ventured to Isla Ometepe [large island home to two enormous volcanos] by chicken bus and ferry.  Felt very alone.  Set up volcano hike with guide and a French-Canadian guy named Julian.  Tried to sleep in a hammock while listening to a man in the Russian Mafia talk about drugs.  Restless night.
Wednesday, December 5
-Woke up at 4am for 5am tour.  Ate a pb&banana sammich.  Completed an 8-hour volcano hike [5,250 feet up, active volcano, extremely windy].  Felt accomplished and exhausted.  Showered and slept.
Thursday, December 6
-Left island for the beaches of San Juan del Sur with my bodyguard, a 29-year old Brit named Romy.  Super cool guy.  Arrived at crazy hostel in every sense: renovated mansion= crazy luxurious, up on a hill= crazy gorgeous views, party hostel reputation= mentally crazy people.  Yikes.
Friday, December 7
-Beach day with Romy!  First hitchhiking experience and I was immediately obsessed.  Gorgeous water, beautiful day, amazing beach.  Located delicious, cheap tacos.  Went to major gringo beach party.
Saturday, December 8
-Switched from hostel to dirty, sketch hotel.  Switched from hotel to other hostel in town.  Breathed a sigh of relief.  Met new friends (Max, Simone, Astrid, drunk naked Australian dude, etc.) and walked to the Jesus statue on the hill for sunset.  Most delicious shot EVER: rum in a passion fruit half with sugar on the side [thanks Romy!].  Party hopped, night swam in ocean, watched Beerfest [<- pretty funny], didn't sleep much.  Fun night.
Sunday, December 9
-Early morning run, another beach day with Romy and Max.  More hitchhiking.  Sunday BBQ at hostel.  Packed and early night.
Monday, December 10
-Left for the border on chicken buses with Romy.  Border crossing and parting from Romy.  Sad.  Sat in a bus aisle for four hours to San Jose.  Made it back to Atenas after dinner.

A great trip.


Nica vs Costa
A surprising amount of animosity exists between Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans- mostly coming from the Ticos.  I think this mainly has to do with how many Nicas try to enter Costa Rica illegally, but any time something bad happens in Costa Rica it's blamed on the Nicas residing with the country, so maybe their negativity is justified....   Yet despite all the teasing I received from my Tico friends about wanting to visit Nicaragua, I have to say I was quite impressed by the country and in many ways it gives Costa Rica a run for its money.

Major Differences I Observed:

• Accent- Nicaraguans speak Spanish slightly differently, leaving me saying "que" a lot more than in Costa Rica.  I just wasn't used to it at first.
• Buses- Nicaraguan buses suck, frankly, compared to those of Costa Rica.  They're converted school buses instead of greyhounds, which pretty much makes all the difference.  Nica "chicken buses" have seats that are smaller, less comfortable, and much more cramped [one of the better times to be short: leg room!].  Also, there either tend to be less seats on Nica buses or just tons more people- every bus I rode was invariably packed to the brim with people.  So much so that if you sat next to the aisle, you couldn't escape having one of the standing persons' asses in your face.  'Twas lovely.  Also, Nica buses picked up food vendors literally every five feet, meaning there was always someone attempting to entice you into buying something.  That happens on Tico buses as well, but only at designated rest stops.  [Okay, to be fair some of these differences make Nica buses more fun and entertaining, but if you're existing on three hours of sleep and just trying to get home, they make the ride seem a lot longer....]
• Animals- farm animals roamed a lot more freely in Nicaragua than I've really ever seen in Costa Rica.  Buses would have to weave between herds of cows, horses were ties to almost every fence post, and spotting a pig rooting in the bushes by the side of the road was not uncommon.  I liked that.
• Cost- without a doubt, Nicaragua is so much easier on the wallet if you're trying to travel on a budget.  Hostels, food, drinks, transport- all was MUCH cheaper than in Costa Rica.  Bananas were literally $.04 <- you can bet I ate a lot of those.  And there were some $.25 tacos in San Juan del Sur that were to die for.  Yummmmm.
• Tourists- compared to the most visited areas of Costa Rica, the touristy parts of Nicaragua are still pretty devoid of foreigners.  Of course it's not like I was the only gringo in the places I went, but the locals were much more prominent, as was their culture.  Costa Rica's popularity and relative prosperity has definitely westernized the Ticos' way of life.
• Places to Go- while there are certainly some amazing places to hit in Nicaragua, there appear to be less locations than in Costa Rica.  I was only in Nicaragua for 10 days and saw only three different areas of the country, but I pretty much hit all the "worth seeing" places besides one or two.  In Costa Rica there are many more spots to go visit that offer significantly different environments, wildlife, and experiences from each other.  I traveled to seven different location in Costa Rica over two months and still have a sizable list of areas I'd love to go check out.

Overall, both countries are amazing, of course.  But for a shorter trip or one done on a more limited budget or one in which you're trying to get a taste of a significantly different culture from the US, then I'd recommend Nicaragua over Costa Rica.  Costa Rica has some of the most gorgeous natural landscapes in the hemisphere, but the country is more expensive and definitely more Americanized.  I'm certainly not upset about having been based in Costa Rica- I'm just saying that were my traveling situation different (i.e. not volunteering and solely backpacking), I'd probably have spent more time in Nicaragua than Costa Rica.  But since I had the luxury of being based in Costa Rica and getting to explore the beautiful country, I'm extremely grateful.

I can't wait to get on the road again.

xoxo, Cleome

Weekend Trip #1: Puerto Viejo

Indisputably, my weekend adventures get a lot more crazy and exciting than anything that goes on in Atenas during the week.  {Though last week an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 rippled through the town- didn´t do any real damage, but I certainly felt it up in my already-shaky second story room.  I guess that could be considered exciting....}  I definitely enjoy planning them and anticipating all the fun during the week.  Time passes weirdly both fast and slow here, but before you know it, it´s Thursday and you´ve got to look up bus schedules and pack your bag for the weekend {which starts Friday}.  

Generally, how we {Lindsay and I, with Dean being included the first couple weeks} decide where we´re going for the weekend is based purely on recommendations we´ve received from other travelers. Rarely do we go somewhere because we´ve researched it or read about it in a guide book.  Though sometimes we do choose places based on activities we want to do/things we want to see, so I guess it really does depend. 

But anyway, without further ado, I present the recap of my first weekend of traveling:* 


Weekend 1- Puerto Viejo/The Carnaval that wasn´t...

This weekend was a special one, for multiple reasons.  For me, it was my first chance getting to travel and explore Costa Rica without trying to reach one volunteer gig or another, my first time traveling with Lindsay and Dean {the first time they´d traveled together was the weekend before}, and my first weekend getting out of Atenas {which I was eager to do, as the one before had been rather miserable}.  Also, it was a three-day weekend, thanks to the Exchange of Cultures Day on Monday (their Columbus Day, except he´s not very well liked around here).  The goal was to make it to the city of Limon (a port city on the Caribbean side, just a bit south of where I volunteered with the turtles) for this grand event called Carnaval. It´s sort of funny- while Lindsay, Dean, and I had heard extensively about the existence of this festival from multiple sources, no one seemed to know exactly what went on during it.  But one thing was certain: it was going to be crazy.

Limon itself was a city already known for being a bit insane.  It was a dangerous place to walk around, especially at night.  Lindsay had told us about her friend who was held up at gunpoint there, and even the locals cautioned us about the place, citing numerous thefts and murders.  To be honest, we were a bit sketched out- I mean, when even Costa Ricans don´t feel safe in a city, you know as a foreigner you´d be stupid not to feel at least a bit of apprehension.  Also, putting the safety precautions aside, almost everyone we talked to who´d already been there sort of made a face when we mentioned we were going, and told us in no uncertain terms that "Limon es feo," Limon is ugly.  

While all the negativity about our trip in no way deterred us from seeing the city, or the Carnaval, we did concede to book a hostel in the town of Puerto Viejo  (an hour away) instead of Limon itself.  We figured it´d be cheaper and places to stay would be more available {plus Lindsay and I could breathe a little easier knowing we wouldn´t have to sleep in a city of murderers}.  So our weekend plans were set, and on Thursday we called a hostel {recommended to us by Lindsay´s friend who´s lived in Costa Rica for over a year} to reserve three hammocks{!} for three nights.  It was on.

Since Dean´s volunteer position had Fridays off, he left Thursday night for Puerto Viejo, leaving Lindsay and I to make our own way there after working at the Hogarcito on Friday.  We researched bus schedules and figured it´d be safest to catch the 2:00pm bus to San Jose, where we´d transfer bus stations and then take the 4:00pm bus direct to Puerto Viejo.  We anticipated we´d arrive around 7:30pm- a good time, as it would leave us a few hours in which to get dinner and chill before going out for the night.  If only things had worked out that well....

Friday afternoon, Lindsay and I get back to Atenas a bit after 1:00pm, and we race home to eat lunch and finish packing.  Since I needed to go to the bank to change some dollars into colones before our trip {imperative as banks close around 4:00pm in Costa Rica, and aren´t open weekends}, we decided we´d just meet at the bus station around 1:50pm to ensure we got a seat.  I scarfed down lunch, grabbed my {newly purchased, daypack-sized} backpack, and headed to the bank with 15 minutes until I was supposed to meet Lindsay.  As soon as I entered the bank, I felt a sinking in my stomach- this was going to take more time than I had, I could just feel it.  

I was guided to a square formation of chairs by an armed guard, and sat down at the end of the "line."  I was four rows back and three chairs in.  The square itself had eight rows in total, with six chairs in each row.  Watching the line move would´ve been quite funny, had I not been so anxious about the time: every time the person in the first chair got up to walk to an available banker, the second person would move one chair over, with everyone in the following chairs doing the same thing in a sort of slow-moving wave.  While this snaking line  of chair transfers was actually moving at a pretty good speed, I ended up leaving about six chair-moves in- there was just no way I was going to make the bus if I stayed.  I figured I could find a bank in the two hour "layover" we had in San Jose, so I wasn´t too worried about not having any colones on me at that point.  I just had to find one before the bus from San Jose, or I´d be screwed for the weekend {I stupidly didn´t bring any card for an ATM with me <-- travel mistake I won´t make again #1}.

We reached San Jose a bit after 3:00pm, and hailed a cab to take us to the Caribeños bus station, stopping for a quick detour by a bank.  Only problem was the cabbie managed to find us the least-functional bank in the city.  I´m not exaggerating- out of the five possible attendant windows, only one was being manned.  On a Friday before a holiday weekend.  What the hell.  I left after standing in the line-that-didn´t-move for 15 minutes.  I just hoped Lindsay would be fine covering me for the weekend, and I´d pay her back once we returned to Atenas.

We finally pulled up to the bus station, and it was packed.  So many people, travelers and locals, obviously had big beach plans for the upcoming three-day weekend.  We raced to the ticket booths, where Lindsay stood in line to get us tickets since I had spotted a bank in the terminal where I figured I´d make one last-ditch effort to convert my money.  I ended up asking the two guys in front of me if I could budge them, since I was worried about running out of time and missing the bus.  While the men complied, I needn´t have worried: the bus ended up leaving an  hour late.  

It was relieving to finally be on the bus to Puerto Viejo, but the bus ride itself was probably one of the craziest rides I´ve ever been on.  Since we left around 5:00pm, by the time we reached the city limits it was already dark, so the majority of the trip was pitch black {the personal lights on Costa Rican buses never work}.  Our driver was a maniac- ridiculously fast, especially on the twisty turns of the mountain paths, and had no regard for trying to avoid potholes.  Lindsay and I were sitting in the second row from the back, meaning we got to feel the worst of all the bumps.  And the people around us were hilariously terrible travel-mates: the people across from us decided to listen to bad Latin music on full blast on their headphone-less iPod, while the guys behind us decided the bus ride was the perfect time to smoke a joint.   We spent the entire ride in and out of a weird, dazed sleep, the window wide open for some fresh air.  By the time we reached Puerto Viejo, we were exhausted and just wanted to hit the hammocks of our hostel and sleep.

Little did we know that sleep is not an option at Rockin´J´s.  I kid you not- search "top party hostel Costa Rica" and see what turns up.  Yeah... we weren´t aware of that when we booked the place.  For three nights.  Lindsay and I showed up at 10:30pm {I almost walked directly past it because I assumed from the noise and people spilling outside that is was a club}, and stepped foot into a massive party.  People {noisy, drunk, high, and covered in face paint} were everywhere: dancing at the bar connected to the hostel, playing pool, smoking joints, smoking hookahs, playing beer pong, sitting at the tables mixing drinks... you get the idea.  I feel like I experienced my first frat party in Costa Rica- except this one was held on a Caribbean beach.

Dean spotted us and came over to show us to our hammocks {lucky us, we got the three closest to the bar, yayyyyy}, and then introduced us to some guys he´d met and had been hanging out with.  While we were mostly very confused about what the hell was going on, and annoyed we couldn´t just go to sleep, Lindsay and I actually ended up having a pretty good time socializing.  And when the music was finally turned off at 2:00am, we fell into our hammocks, ready to rest up in preparation for the Carnaval the next day.

All three of us woke up bright and early {like 6:00am- I tell you, this hostel just doesn´t allow you to sleep}, and after breakfast caught the 9:00am bus to Limon for the Carnaval.  We were expecting to arrive and be accosted by music, crowds, parades, dancing, vendors, and just general craziness {ironically, almost exactly what we experienced the night before}, but were instead greeted by nothing of the sort.  The city was essentially just San Jose on a smaller scale- a dirty, unexciting, completely commercialized handful of streets.  The only evidence of any sort of celebration were a few closed tents set up on the sides of streets, and a parade that involved people dressed as clowns going around hitting bystanders with sticks.  We wandered around for a few hours, were thoroughly disgusted by the lack of excitement**, and left.  After an hour and a half standing-room-only {we were the standers} bus ride back, we grabbed a late lunch, and then hit up a nearby beach until it got dark.  We congratulated ourselves on having chosen to stay in Puerto Viejo instead of Limon for the weekend.  If it had been the other way around, I think I might have melted in a pool of disappointment.

Puerto Viejo is a really cool place.  It´s where all the newly-freed slaves of the Spaniards congregated way back in 1800-something  {don´t quote me on my historical accuracy- I´m on vacation after all}, meaning it developed it´s own Bahamian atmosphere, very separate from the rest of the country.  There´s a strong reggae, laid-back feel, and lots of dreadlocks and marijuana are present.  Everyone there, locals and travelers alike, were friendly, and I never felt paranoid about being robbed {like I had in Limon}.  Yeah, there were many tourists- especially from the surfing/bro/stoner/frat guy population- but they only somewhat tainted the otherwise pristine scenery, haha.  Given that explanation of Puerto Viejo, you´re probably not surprised that another night of craziness {that involved going to a local club and literally starting the party there} ensued Saturday night.  Twas fun ;)

Sunday was our beach day.  We rented bikes from the hostel, and after a few false starts {luckily Dean knew how to put chains back on uncooperative gears} embarked on an hour-long ride to the southern-most beach on the Caribbean side, named Manzanillo.  The beach was gorgeous and untouristed, with amazing white sand and warm water.  It was also cool, because we were only an hour away from the Panama border- we all regretted not going into Panama after we looked on a map and saw how close we´d been.  But after biking back we were all exhausted {bumming it on the beach does that to you, haha}, and Lindsay and I took a nap, while Dean went off and did whatever.  When we woke up and realized it was almost dinner time, Lindsay and I dressed up to go eat a classy meal out... and then promptly got soaked in a torrential rainstorm on our way back to Rockin´J´s.  Oh well, cést la vie.  We chilled at the hostel until about 10:00pm, when {the always health-conscious} Dean declared he was leaving to go find a hamburger.  Lindsay and I went with him, and on our expedition we ran into a bar called The Lazy Mon {<-- really playing up the reggae vibe, huh?} that was having an open mic night.  We ended up staying there through an awesome fire-dancing show, before we decide to call it a night and headed back to sleep.

Monday we were planning on stopping for a few hours in Cahuita national park before returning to Atenas, but ended up deciding in the morning that we just wanted to get back into town.  We lucked out transportation-wise on the way back- we managed to hit every station right before the bus pulled out, meaning we didn´t have to wait around and waste time.  We arrived in Atenas a bit after 1:00pm, tired but happy about our successful weekend away.  I think it was an early night for all of us.


So that´s my long-winded story of my first weekend trip- and first real taste of being a backpacker- here in Costa Rica.

I´m exhausted just typing all that.

xoxo, Cleome



*I had originally titled this Weekends 1, 2, 3, since I´d naively assumed I could fit their recaps all into one large post.  But when the clock read two hours after I´d started, and I was only just getting to trying to change my dollars into colones, I realized I had grossly underestimated how much I´d write.  Or maybe just how much I´d remember.  Anyway, all this is to say that I´m working, slowly but surely, on recapping my earlier weekends here.  It just takes time.  A lot of it.

**Oh, and apparently there actually is a cool Carnaval that happens in Limon.  It´s just that all the excitement doesn´t start until dark, and that the real deal was actually the weekend after when we visited- we´d caught the lamer, more tame "Children´s Carnaval."

What I Took: Costa Rica

The final, definitive list of what was in my backpack (and on my person, if we're being technical) when I boarded the plane to [Atlanta, GA, and then] Costa Rica.


Clothing

• Tennis shoes
• Kickass rain boots
• Flip-flops
• Water shoes
• 1 pair jeans
• 4 pairs of shorts (2 athletic, 2 other)
• 1 pair black yoga pants
• 1 pair black athletic leggings
• 2 black, long-sleeve shirts (for turtle work)
• 1 lonnnggggg black skirt
• 1 black dress  (hmmm, noticing a color pattern?)
• 4 tank tops
• 4 T-shirts
• 1 light, long-sleeve shirt
• 2 swimsuits (both a bikini and a one-piece)
• 1 pair work gloves
• Columbia rain jacket (new! and it's worth being small enough to fit a kid's size to save money- those things are expensive)
• 1 bandana
• 1 belt
• 4 bras (2 sports, 2 regular)
• 7 pairs underwear
• 5 pairs socks
• 1 pair of [nerd] glasses
• Sunglasses

Toiletries

• Bag to hold everything
• 2 3oz containers of shampoo/conditioner combo
• Mini bar soap
• Feminine products
• Contraceptives
• Travel toothbrush (which is super awesome, by the way- it folds into itself!)
• Toothpaste
• Retainers/case
• Mini brush
• Contact case and 4 extra pairs
• 2 4oz bottles of contact solution <-- can use the larger-than-3oz size since it's thankfully considered a "medical necessity"
• Razor
• Deodorant
• Bobby pins & hair binders
• Face wash
• Facial lotion
• 2 3oz bottles of sunscreen
• Sunscreen bar
• 2 bug spray sticks (? we'll see how well these work...) 
• Floss
• Chapstick (a couple of tubes)
• Makeup (waterproof mascara & eyeliner, signature sparkly eyeshadow, coverup)
• Eyelash curler
• Tweezers
• Travel mirror
• Sink plug
• Wet wipes
• Tissues

Medical/First Aid

• Cough drops
• Bandaids
• Antibiotic cream
• Hydrocortisone
• Stop the Sting! cream
• Tums
• Benadryl
• Ibuprofen
• Moleskin
• Needle/thread
• Peptobismal
• Diarrhea meds <-- apparently one of the most common afflictions while traveling... great

General Supplies

• Backpack (duh!)
• 1 super lightweight, water-compatible flashlight
• Headlamp with a red light <-- doesn't interfere with turtles' nesting habits
• Extra batteries for said headlamp
• Phone (with roaming and 3G turned off; I'm not trying to incur a ton of charges)
• Phone chargers (both normal and solar- ooohhhh)
• Money pouch
• $100 worth of Costa Rican colones (so, like $50,000 in their currency) and $300 (American) for first-leg transportation
• Debit and credit cards
• Passport and other important travel documents (vaccination records, insurance card, and my permit)
• Copies of the above documents 
• Camera/extra batteries/connector cord
• Waterproof cards
• Hackey sack
• Water bottle
• 4 paperbacks: The Stand by Stephen King [thanks Sam!], The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, and Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Spanish phrasebook/dictionary
• Mosquito netting
• Silk sleeping sheet
• Travel towel
• Plastic bags/rubber bands/twist ties
• Duct tape 
• Journal/pens
• Mini notepad (for addresses, phone numbers, budget balancing, etc.)
• Sharpie
• Small trash bag for dirty clothes
• 1 [relatively waterproof] watch
• Headphones
• Headset (for Skype)
• Small, flexible lock
• Pillowcase (I'm going to stuff it instead of using an actual travel pillow, thus saving room)
• [Rape] whistle
• Small cloth bag (makeshift daypack)
• Gifts for the kids at the orphanage
• Gift for my host family: Minnesota wild rice
• Family picture (since I guess I'll miss them... TONS)

Thanks to the annoying TSA regulations, not all of my "lotions, gels, and aerosols" could fit into one quart-sized plastic bag.  So frustrating.  Meaning right when I land I need to buy some hand sanitizer, body lotion (preferably with aloe to sooth the inevitable sunburn), and zit cream, yaaayyyyyy.

I can't believe 1) all those things fit in my 55L backpack, and 2) I'm carrying it all on my back.  

Damn I hope I get stronger.  

xoxo, Cleome

BOOKED (and Bought!)

GUESS WHAT?

I BOOKED MY FLIGHT TO COSTA RICA TODAY.  IT'S OFFICIAL.  THIS TRIP IS REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN.


Wow, that feels really good to say type.  I'm still having some trouble believing that what I've planned out for this upcoming school year is actually going to occur, but booking this flight has certainly made it seem all the more tangible.  And now it feels like the summer is going by way too fast- September will be here before we know it!


I'll be flying out in the middle of September.  My flight leaves from Minnesota really early in the morning- like, 5:30 am early.  After registering for a frequent flyer number (I need to remember to do that!), I'll climb on with my backpack (see below) and sit on a 2.5 hour flight to Atlanta, GA.  I've got less than an hour layover there, so hopefully nothing goes wrong and my first flight isn't delayed... that could make for a very unfortunate situation.  Then I jump onto the second flight to San Jose!  I should be arriving right around lunchtime, and from there the rest of the day is mine.  The next morning I do have to get myself to the volunteer office early, though, because the bi-weekly boat to the project's location (a relatively isolated beach on the northeastern coast of Costa Rica) leaves at 7 am.  I can't miss it.  Apparently two Australian volunteers will also be heading out with me- hopefully I step off the boat having gained a couple of new friends.  That's the dream, anyway.


And yeah, I also bought what will be my new best friend: a backpack!  The brand/style is the Deuter Act  Lite 45+10 SL (meaning it can carry up to 55L of volume).  I chose it because out of the five backpacks I tried on, it felt the best when stuffed with 20 pounds.  And it's made to conform to a women's shape.  And I can (hopefully) stow it as a carry-on.  Plus, it has an adjustable torso length, which is really helpful seeing as my torso length is apparently XS (thanks mom!) and not too many packs come in that size option.  Also, it's not appallingly expensive.

My baby for the next year!

I didn't choose that green color-scheme though.  "Pine/Moss" is only style they've got.


xoxo, Cleome