The adventure continues....

Our last weekend in in the Caribbean was over the Columbus Day holiday, which here is called Dia de La Raza. Which is the day of the race, as in the human race. Here they celebrate all the beautiful people of Costa Rica and there is no mention of Columbus (rightfully so). Ziggy Marley played a concert in town and people from all over the country filled up the beaches, they were grilling, camping, surfing, kayaking, and snorkeling, everyone was out. It was a little crazy but made for some great people watching and all the bars and restaurants were open, so it was a really fun weekend. We didn't go to the music fest, but heard from our new friend Kevin that it was a great time. We honestly didn't know it was going on, otherwise we probably would have gone.

Thursday last week we found ourselves in a state of nostalgia from our last trip in Ecuador; we were up early packing our bags and heading out to the roadside to flag down a bus. It was time to say goodbye to the beautiful coast and head back to the big city for a short stop over to pick up our rental car to head up to our final destination in the Northern Caribbean Lowlands for Mike's race in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui. 

It was a little stressful to say the least. We arrived in San Jose Thursday afternoon at the car rental location only to find the quote we'd been given was not really the actual price... like off by $2,000.00. Needless to say it was no longer an option and for the first time on this trip so far we were forced by the travel Gods to start thinking on our feet and had to make a new plan on the spot. We really needed a car for the race, not only was getting there by bus a logistical challenge, but also we were not going to be staying at the fancy lodge that was hosting the race, and so Mike really needed wheels to get himself to the start by 3:30 am the morning of the big day. After what felt like hours (but was total maybe one hour) of walking in the rain, me with high anxiety and Mike trying to keep his cool about the situation, we found a wonderful little local rental place that gave the cheapest price we could get. It still put us back way more than we had budgeted so we had to tap into our savings fund. In the end though it has all worked out, but man I was freaking, and we joked that it was a good thing we don't mind spending our saved money. Once that was settled we got in the car, buckled up, and headed into the jungle. 

I haven't done a lot of international driving, not since Sigi and I drove from Germany to Italy which I can tell you was much like driving in the US. Central America however is another thing all together and San Jose is known as one of the worst places to drive in the world, so leaving the big city was an adventure all on its own. But Mike was made for this kind of driving I tell you what. All that zippy stealth driving he does back home really pays off here; you cannot be afraid to pass or be passed and motorcycles are allowed anywhere they fit regardless the direction they are heading so you gotta always be on your toes. Also when it gets dark here, it is not like back home, it gets pitch black and not gradually either, right around 5:30 everyday it goes from light to dark just as though someone is flipping a switch. Fewer street lights line the roads, there are rarely painted lines, road signs aren't really something they do here and also all the roads are much more narrow. The experience can cause the little hairs on your arms to stand straight up. But like I said Mike was born for it, he was hooting and ye-hawing and working that clutch of our little Nissan all the way to Sarapiqui, just loving life on the open road. And I will admit a road trip is always a good time, jamming the entire way to Costa Rican tunes and the occasional "Born in the USA" by the Boss (this song is always on at least one station, so weird). 

When we arrived here in Sarapiqui, it felt so different. Our travel book described the town as having a "film noir " feel, which we totally vibed right away and it made us giggle. Like the coast, nothing here looks or feels very new, but the atmosphere is very different. Not as laid back, with many more people hustling and bustling all about and working a lot harder it seems. The streets are still always filled with life and music and fruits of all kinds, but here the people have places to go and things to get done. Our hotel is in the town center right across from the futbol pitch and we enjoy watching as we eat our breakfast when the players or kids are out in the mornings. But the back of the hotel is surrounded by jungle so the views from our balcony are gorgeous and the noises we hear are produced mostly by the bugs and birds living all around us. As you head out of the city center things begin to calm quickly; pineapple, strawberry, and coffee farms and cow pastures line the roadsides, and you can really begin to see all the richness of the land. We are in river country right now, and though we didn't have time to hit the rapids while we were here, we are not ruling it out as Costa Rica has many Rio options throughout the country for the adventurous traveler. Recreation is a huge industry here and you can see it more obviously as you leave the city and head only 5 or so kilometers out; kayaks, mountain bikes, rafts, and road bikes are all out in full force both outfitters and individuals, and the cool thing is that it is always in season. Class four rapids are seen year round, I think we both want to get out there so badly! The first couple days we just spent orienting ourselves with town, swimming in the hotel pool and laying low before the race on the 17th. We attended the pre race meeting Friday night at the Selva Verde Lodge and Mike left feeling the pre race jitters and of courses I did too. The jungle ain't no joke, and I always worry about him before and during and just after a race. The next day Mike was up well before the sun and left me to get my beauty sleep as he headed off to the start, I would meet him at the finish line about eight or nine hours later. I woke up slow that morning, went to breakfast at the hotel and read my book. I took a bath in the fancy tub in our room (we rarely do hotels when traveling, I had to get our money's worth lol), did a little yoga, and then hit the main drag of town for a small stroll to buy some water and snacks for while I waited at the finish line. I caught a cab and conversed quite well with the driver (and was feeling very proud of myself about this), I told him about Mike and the race and that I was from the US in Colorado in the mountains. He had been to Denver so that was a cool connection, and the fact that I understood what he was saying was a big deal for me. It takes a while for your ears to adjust to the sounds and tones and accents of another language, so even if you can speak and understand a bit, the first week or so it all sounds kinda like "wah wah wah". The fact that it is getting a bit easier is a huge relief and makes the trip so much more enriching.  He dropped me at the finish line and I set myself up with a little picnic and my book and waited for Mike. 

A couple hours passed and then I saw him, I knew after one second of looking at him to stop cheering and to pop up and go to him, I could tell things had not gone as planned. He was severely dehydrated and very hungry. He had made wrong turn about 5.5 hours earlier and I assume he was just glad to have found himself again. The course was poorly marked and we found out later he was not the only one who had gotten lost that day. He was disappointed, but on the flip side, he learned a lot and grew as runner from the experience. He always has the best attitude when it comes to those types of things. If it were me I would have cried like a baby and probably embarrassed myself by yelling at the race director, this is just one of many reasons he does these races and not me.

The next day was really great. We used the rental car and drove up up up to the Paos Volcano, a national park about an hour and a half away from town. We hiked up first to the active volcano's crater, it is often socked in with clouds but when we got up there it cleared and we had the chance to see it in all of its glory. The dark grays and blacks of the rocky mountain were so stark and contrasting next to the almost glowing sulfuric water inside. It was a sea foam greenish color with steam billowing out, just gorgeous. There are also lakes that we hiked to as well that are all part of the volcanic system. On the drive we passed so many strawberry farms and on the way home we stopped to buy some, we don't have strawberries in the states that taste this good, period. My mouth knows the flavor of strawberry, but it was like what, how can there be so much sweet goodness in just one tiny strawberry???? Seriously amazing. We also stopped at a beautiful waterfall just off the road as well. I was so happy to have a car, it made the journey so much more fun getting to stop wherever we wanted just to taste or smell or see something new. Just before reaching town we stopped at a roadside Soda for lunch. They raised Tilapia in their backyard and cooked it right up in front of us, the whole fish and served it to us with fried plantains and black beans and salad! In Costa Rica a Soda is a place where people go to eat and socialize. They usually only have one or two options and they are set up much like a counter at a diner or like a bar. They can be intimidating when your language skills aren't strong as it is not designed with the tourist in mind and often the proprietors don't speak English. People run them out of the sides of their homes off the roadsides most often or out of tiny shop fronts when you are in a bigger town. We had been to only one other that I can recall the morning we caught the bus to the Caribbean and it was too early for me to eat anything, but they are cheap and things are greasy and made with love. It really doesn't get more authentic. We were glad to get out of the hotel and spread our wings, it was a magical day.

Next we head off to Lake Arenal, which is situated under Costa Rica's most active volcano, it loves to show off and spit fire. We can't wait. We will do five days there, relaxing and enjoying all the natural beauty. On the way we may do some hot springs and we will go to a protected refuge for a short hike and then a stop in the Cheese City (locals keep saying we shouldn't miss it, so we shall see what it is all about, I do love me some queso fresco).  We are staying at an AirBNB like we did in the Caribbean, the family is Dutch and own a wake boarding outfitter. I am not sure about wake boarding, but a SUP or canoe may be fun and affordable for a day or two, or some horseback riding (I can only hope). We will see what it brings.

Things have just been beyond gorgeous, I feel lucky to be here and can't wait to see more! As always thanks for reading and thanks for your love and support.

...it all just really got me thinking!

Costa Rica Post 2  ...a long ways from Denver

Mike and I met a really nice man named Kevin who has lived here in Puerto Viejo his entire life. Only in 2008 were the roads here paved as more and more ex-pats moved in to build homes and make lives here and back 40 years ago it took over a week to travel here from San Jose. Kevin has been a really cool guy to us and I'm not really sure why, he hasn't gotten much out of the friendship other than a bunch of questions from me and Mike, he has been showing us around and tapping us in to best the little  micro towns here have to offer us. But just yesterday he said something to Mike that I just can't get out of my head. He was being so nice, telling Mike how great it was meeting him etc, but he finished by asking, "you going home right?" I thought he meant to our accommodations for the night, but after some linguistic deciphering Mike realized he meant back to the USA. Every local talks about the paving of the road, the ex-pats talk about with a sense of civic pride, and the local latino and afro populations we have spoken with have all mentioned it always with an emphasis on how they didn't really need it and Kevin actually just plain came out and said it was for the white people, but here 7 years later it still feels like a hot topic, or maybe just a concrete (no pun intended) representation of  how things here have changed so much. It made me feel bad knowing locals worry that vacationers are going to return to buy property and settle down, and I wonder should it make me feel bad? Those of you who know me well, know that white privilege, white guilt, and white savior complex are some of my favorite discussion topics due to the fact that they are all things I personally grapple with, not in the basic understanding of the terms, but in how to live as a white person with these being some major realities of the world in which we live. Just because I am aware doesn't mean they go away, nor does it mean I am the white girl exception to these social constructs. So Kevin's question got me thinking...

Students of life, that's all any of us really are, destined to matriculate only on to the next bewildering level of being human. That is why travel has always seemed to inspire me. It gives one a jolt of energy, a strong and often quick dose of lives lived outside the places from which we originally come. I think too, traveling plays in to this notion and internal desire to return to some kind of nomadic lifestyle that I think so many humans long for on a primitive and even biological level. That is how the human race began isn't it? As nomadic bands? And I subscribe to the theory that the discovery and development of agriculture, that which allowed us as a species to settle down and "evolve" away from nomadic life, was really the beginning of many of the world's problems that affect us today: I am talking about nationalistic and religious warfare on a massive scale, disease, economic hierarchy, poverty, oppression, environmental degradation etc. I will also be one of the first to say many good things came from this evolution as well, things like art, culture, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, government and technology. And I do not argue with the fact that it would have been impossible for our first people to have foreseen all the problems (and benefits for that matter) that could come thousands of years down the road and so I am not arguing that we all leave life behind and become nomads nor am I saying that this as an issue that can be made black or white, but something that just is so. For every action, there is a reaction; this is true in the social world as well as the biological and environmental, it is all connected. We would never get to all the good stuff, if we didn't have the bad. My goal here is not to give an anthropology lesson, and I should be careful to paraphrase the conclusions I came to based on my limited education on this subject; which consisted of only two, yet very rich, college courses on the subject of physical and cultural anthropology. But that is what I walked away with after taking it in through my lens and personal critical thought process. My point is to say (in way too many opinionated words I am sure) that I think all of us on some level, both conscious and unconscious, are searching and trying to identify with something we once were, and for some of us traveling helps us to satiate that longing.

I think too, travel can make us feel more culturally rich, helping to add meaning and sense of place to our own personal tapestries of life. It is often said that America lacks a culture, and as an American I tend take offense to that blanket sentiment, but I do personally feel our culture lacks a depth or an understanding that many of us seek to find among other cultures during our travels, all the while believing that it is adding to our tapestry. I think it is important to note here that this all comes with a certain set of privileges: I can afford to have this lifestyle, meaning I have the support and education and means and the freedom not only to have these thoughts and desires, but even more so to act upon them. Therefore traveling presents some really interesting questions for me about social responsibility, specifically related to traveling internationally. The more I travel, and the more people I talk to, the more questions I have about the authenticity of the tapestry I am creating and who and what I might be exploiting in order to weave it? I certainly don't have the answer, I am really just beginning to be able to frame the question.

I talked earlier about a longing that I believe we all have to see the world and be a bit more nomadic, and yet we don't see those struggling to just survive making travel a huge priority in life. For obvious reasons this would not be on the minds of most of the world's citizens due to complete lack of resources and often education, and yet in other economically developed nations travel is seen as a right of passage (New Zealand, Australia, Germany to name a few) and encouraged beyond anything we see here in the United States. We all take our place somewhere on this spectrum and I just want to understand the spaces we take up, I want to be able to see it from all sides; the tourist, the guides, the ex-pats, and the locals. I would like to understand the economic vs. social cultural impacts that both travelers and ex-pats have enforced in the places they choose to inhabit whether that be temporarily or permanently. I think answers and insights into the questions I have may illuminate for me what comes next in my life, and how I want to go about doing it. I have often dreamed of an ex-pat lifestyle, but is that right? And how does one resolve their personal dreams, goals and desires with that of the social responsibilities I believe we all have to one another and our environment? How can I act for myself, while also acting for others, or at the very least without doing harm to others?

 “Very few beings really seek knowledge in this world. Mortal or immortal, few really ask. On the contrary, they try to wring from the unknown the answers they have already shaped in their own minds -- justifications, confirmations, forms of consolation without which they can't go on. To really ask is to open the door to the whirlwind. The answer may annihilate the question and the questioner.”
― Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat

Siempre Sur

Costa Rica Part One: 5,400 km traveled from Denver

I feel drawn to the south. Every time I travel I just feel pulled in this southerly direction and often just happen to end up there. When I went to Germany is was the southern region  I stayed in and found most authentic. In Americorps I was stationed in the southern US and at first though I was being sentenced to the land of huge bugs and small minded folks, but it was there my world first began to open. Everyday I felt more and more drawn to that slow southern lifestyle and now often I find myself just longing for a slow Mississippi afternoon. I am drawn to the equator and all that fills the world below it. Ecuador in 2012 was also a life changing trip, one that Mike and I got to share together. When it came time to hike the Colorado Trail south bound was the only option for me. And now we continue our adventure post Colorado Trail and find ourselves heading south yet again to the beautiful Costa Rica.

Landing in San Jose was a bit overwhelming, specifically after having spent 50 days in the back country of Colorado, as soon as you walk out the airport doors you are greeted by at least 100 cab drivers yelling at you to take their ride and trying to escort you. Lucky for us we had something arranged and it was smooth sailing. We rented an extra room in a yoga studio in the heart of downtown and the woman who owned it just let us in and gave us key, nothing better than that kind of autonomy. We got free yoga too! There we met a journalist who had some amazing insights specifically into the murders of environmentalists and Costa Rica's environmental policies vs their actual practices. She was also staying there while her apartment was being finished next door, she took us to the farmers market and had the cutest dog named Chui and  gave us some information and cool places to check out along our journey. San Jose gets a bad rap but I cannot see why? It was awesome. We jogged all around and defiantly saw the different parts of town, but never felt eyed or in harms way. Little barrios all over the city were breathing out so much life and energy and creativity. All over, the city seemed to have these little hipster enclaves where micro brews are flowing, art is being made available, and community is so obviously important to the people living and working there. San Jose is stop I wouldn't miss on any Costa Rican adventure, more than 2/3 of the population lives there, the true heart beat of a place is with its people.

After a few days in San Jose it was time to board the bus and begin migrating out into the wild country that is Costa Rica. First stop the Caribbean. We found the bus station and a little Soda (traditional Costa Rican place to eat)  open before 6am on the day we left. Mike got a small meal of huevos fritos and gallo pinto and we ventured out to wait in the thick air to catch the bus for a four hour drive south east. The bus station reminded me of Ecuador, so many people hustling and bustling as though they had been awake for hours in an otherwise sleeping city. Vacation goers, gringos, ticos, young and old, mothers and their children all loading up to be shuttled to our varying final destinations all along the same line. The bus seats all felt moist, nothing here ever drys and you stick to everything you sit down on. It took some time to settle in, but once I did the views stunned me and allowed time to pass with ease and as we left San Jose I felt the whole world just slow down around us. The one thing not slowing though was the bus we were on, we arrived less than four hours later in Puerto Viejo: a tropical beach paradise land where the water is always warm and blue, where Bob Marley blasts from all the shop keepers store fronts, beach carts and restaurants, the smell of pineapples, marijuana, chocolate and coconut seem to just linger in the creamy still air, a land where yoga classes seem more frequented than the local children's schools and the main form of transportation is your single speed rusted cruiser bike. Shirts and shoes are optional everywhere and from my observation are often a sign of over dressing in many social situations. The Rastafarian colors wave here almost as frequently as the Costa Rican flags and no one seems in a hurry to do too much at once. The locals seem to be on a perma-vacation, and while I am sure it does not come without struggle and sacrifice it is a very appealing life they do lead looking from the outside in.

We are staying with a lovey family that have an extra small two story cabana tucked back into the jungle on their property just about 7km from the main street area. They have two kids about 10 and 13 and a feisty little dog we have taken to calling el Diablo on account of the fact that it will mock charges us on a whim  going for Mikes  ankles and five minutes later is doing this adorable spin dance jumpy thing to get attention and love. It is quiet here and so beautiful, the flooring and walls are all hand done mosaics and everything is painted in such beautiful reds and teals and yellows. It is weathered of course, being just across from the ocean and having jungle all around, it takes a beating with sun, rain, mold, bugs etc. Everything smells and looks like it came from a second hand store, nothing here comes brand new I don't think, and if it did it would look very out of place I am sure.
The Caribbean is an amazing place, very different from the rest of the country so we are told, this is a wide spread sentiment that is a source of pride among the people who live here.

The first days we were here the waters were so calm and clear, I am so glad we decided to rent the snorkel gear during this beginning period. I have ocean fears but I managed to get out there and see some fish, it was really cool, and I think I'd do it again. Mike was so nice to hold my hand the whole time.The rest of the time has been spent laying on the beach, swimming in the ocean, drinking beer, eating organic foods and meeting as many people as our limited Spanish will allow. These last few days it has rained each afternoon or evening and the ocean has been much more vigorous. We splurged on ourselves and rented a scooter and drove out about 20km to Cahuita National Park for a full day of hiking along their trails of beaches and protected jungle areas. This area was pristine. We had to cross two small streams along the way and we saw so much wildlife. We saw Capuchin Monkeys, Howler Monkeys, many types of incredible birds, insects, butterflies, a large colorful Iguana, and countless other smaller lizards. This trip was worth the bumpy roads and the $60 for the scooter for the day. We still have just less than a week left here before we leave and begin our journey inland to a different town which also happens to be called Puerto Viejo, and this is where Mike will run his race. His training has been going well since being off the trail and arriving in Costa Rica and he is acclimating well to this intensely different climate. If all goes well, he'll be a real contender. We are excited and anxious about everything yet to come.

Our eyes are wide and our hearts are open. As always thanks for reading and thanks for your love and support.

Until next time....

Silverton to Durango!!!! 486 miles traveled from Denver CT completed September 24, 2015

Wow what a journey it has been. Even after having had time to reflect, as I am writing this it is it is hard to find the right words to describe how I feel about being finished with this undertaking. There is a line in a Passenger song that was on repeat in both our heads during our trip, "but dreams come slow and they go so fast." And it is true, this journey was planted in my head ten years ago and even longer for Mike and then once we decided it was going to happen it took so much time and planning and work to make it come to reality. Then while you are out there it requires you to be nothing but present both mentally and physically in order to just get it done and get it done on time and safely. It feels amazing to be done and to be able to say we completed the CT. It is hard to answer the most common question we get about it; what was the best part? I think we would both say the fact that we were able to make it happen was the best thing about it all. We took all the time we wanted, so many people we met on and off the trail just didn't have the time to do it all the way through, and if they did they maybe had 5 weeks. So many people talk about all the things they want to do and see in this world, and we are so freaking lucky to have been able to actually go out and do it! With that said, it is important to share that it wasn't handed to us, it didn't come without struggle, hard work and sacrifice on both our parts. Mike and I are comfortable with very little in terms of what American culture expects and often demands of us, we both want just enough money to keep us safe and moving forward in life. It is a life style choice for us both, but I'll admit sometimes it is a lonely choice. Being out there with other nature lovers and social deviants escaping the demands of American life made us feel like we weren't alone and it just seemed to encourage our next adventure.

The last stretch seemed to come and go in a blink of an eye, despite the fact it was a full 8 day pack out. It felt like Mimi dropped us off at the trail head in Silverton and then we woke up in Durango. We were trying so hard to savor the moments too, but it was gone in a flash. The dogs also seemed to know change was yet again in the air. Joey began acting naughty and rude to other humans on the trail reverting to some very old bad behaviors and Little Britches stayed close during the last section, almost as if to say, "I'm gonna spend as much time with you guys as possible before this all has to come to an end and I go back to the life of a house dog." Mike and I both approached the last section with  a determination that had yet to be seen in either of us, especially simultaneously. It was only until this section that I would allow myself to talk about what was to come afterward or to discuss the trail in terms of it being something I would absolutely finish. This attitude gave me a renewed sense of self and strength, but it also caused me to be less present. Mike and I were getting ready to throw ourselves out of the woods into a huge beautiful family celebration in Durango and then immediately return to Denver and get on a plane to the tropics for 5 weeks. There was much to discuss and very little time to do it, as a result I personally felt less present during our last stretch in the woods but was able to be more grateful of everything in my life over all, if that makes sense?

Since arriving in Silverton we were really beginning to feel and taste Fall in the air, but it wasn't until our last two days of the trip that we really had the chance to bask in all of its glory. The colors overwhelmed us from bend to bend in the trail and throughout the entire week. In this section we spent the majority of the time in the trees descending toward town, so we had the chance to really see the change. I swear I would fall asleep under a green leafed Aspen and then wake up to her in all of her golden glory, it happened right before our eyes. I felt so lucky to really be in touch with that so intimately via this experience. The Aspens changing is one of my favorite parts of living in Colorado, and boy it did not disappoint. Watching the seasons change opens us all to the possibility and necessity of change in our own lives. If our Mother Earth is in a constant state of change and growth, perhaps we should heed her call and fall in line? Autumn reminds me I am on track, meaning we are meant to change and grow and like mama tierra be in a state of perpetual motion. I find much comfort in this idea.

My knees and feet killed on this last section, it was primarily all down down down steep hills and mountains. It felt like we took 6 weeks to climb up hill and 1 week to come back down. Each step was slam, slam, slamming on my joints. My body was sick of this crap man, it cried out each afternoon begging me to stop and set up camp. Despite the pain, we did our biggest mileage days of the entire trip during this last week, one day 15.5 miles and the very next 15 miles. This set us up to have a very short last day on the trail. We were both so excited and anxious to see family and friends, to shower, to sleep in a bed with soft sheets, and to eat whatever we wanted. Our camp food was just not acceptable to us by the last morning and we didn't even bother making breakfast, we just threw stuff in our bags and got the hell out of there. It was weird packing up camp on that last morning, it had all become so familiar and methodical to us both and here it was our very last day. We hiked out to the most anti-climactic dirt parking lot. It was empty, nothing but a tumbling tumble weed and crickets chirping, ok it wasn't quite like that, but it felt that way to us. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe a marching band a few signs and a crowd cheering, not that much to ask I don't think? We hitched in to town and that was that. 500 miles in the bag and the Colorado Trail completed. If we did 500 miles the dogs easily did 800 and I am not kidding at all about that. They were the super stars out there and kept me going time and time again. I am not sure I could have made it without the constant inspiration of Little Britches and the unconditional loyalty of Joey. And it is a fact that if it weren't for my husband this dream would have never made it off the couch. He is the motion in my ocean, the jam to my peanut butter, the milk to my cookies. Without him I would only be half the woman I am, I just love him so much. I am a huge pain in the ass, and he does these things with me over and over again and takes good care that I am always all right... that people, is true love! I am the luckiest, I think I need a good hard pinch just to make sure it is all real.

...and now off to Costa Rica.  Stay tuned.

As always thanks for reading and thanks for the love and support.

* Mike and I are putting together a picture slide show that we will just post on FB directly. Sorry but from the States it takes way to long to upload the pics directly here, and now that we are in Costa Rica the internet is so slow it would take days... Just know there were some trees, some mountains, a few selfies, lots of dog pictures the usual.