BAM, back on the farm with three days left

So, I am back. And have been back for about two days now. I spent a week traveling.  Two nights in La Fortuna, three in Monteverde, and two in Manuel Antonio.  All of them were beautiful, different, and worthy of checking out.  Natural hot springs, cloud forests, and literally the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my life. Also one of the strongest undertows I have ever had to deal with. Lesson learned about trying to body surf. I am back on the farm after a long bus ride in a hot cramped public bus next to a crying baby that was silenced by being breast fed by the mother. I got to experience that. With a full bladder to boot. When I got back to the farm, everyone there before I left was gone, and replaced by new faces.  Alas, that is the way of the farm and I can´t say that i care too much because I will be home in a few short days. I know that this blog was lacking in information, but of course, any time you see me, don´t hesitate to ask and I would be more than happy to fill in the numberous, numerous gaps haha.  I have learned quite a bit and I have also learned that next time I travel, I think i would like to go with somebody.  Thanks for reading and I will see you all stateside.

La Fortuna

Well, I suppose it is possible to mark this blog as a failure. I am just not very good about keeping it up to date.  I am currently off the farm and exploring this amazing country.  I am ending my second day in La Fortuna and will be heading for Monteverde come 8:30 tomorrow morning.  Though my stay here was pretty short, I did get to see and enjoy a lot and I expect Monteverde to be even more impressive than this place was.  On my first day here, I arrived, checked in and headed to the bar for some food. Before I knew it I was a few hours deep into a conversation with a very interesting old man who happens to be a published author.  His book, Hunter of the Cats.  Not really about cats he assured me but I suppose it could be worth at least looking into. In any case, he has promised me a free guest house if I ever come to La Fortuna again.  Emily is welcome too.  Realizing the sun was setting and I had not even left the hotel yet, I quickly made plans to visit the local hot springs.  There are plenty of hot springs here, and most come with a price tag.  I elected to go to the local spot, and also the free one.  I got hot faster than my cab was scheduled to arrive but it was ok, as a result of standing on the side of the road waiting, I got to chat with a security guard at a nearby hotel.  Since leaving the farm, I have spoken spanish nearly exclusively, with the exception of the hotel employees.  I am not sure I am improving that much, but I am gaining confidence.  Today was a milidly eventful day,  I went on a 4 mile hike up a mountain to an amazing waterfall.  The swim and the scenery were well worth the sweat I poured on the way up.  When I returned, I ate an amazing lunch at a local place, so much good food for so little money. I have found while here I much prefer a huge lunch and hardly any dinner. After that I went to a nature preserve, which was actually really disappointing. It was like a small zoo for just frogs and reptiles. Unfortunately, the entire country is littered with amazing and beautiful plants and animals, and I was duped into paying for things that in some cases I had already seen just walking through the jungle and what not. Which as a side note has become one of my favorite things to do on the farm.  Grab a machete, and roll into the jungle to pick oranges and look for ripe bananas.  Anyways, I have been eating some amazing food here. I have been looking for the less flashy places that the locals seem to like and it has paid off a ton. None of the food is that fancy, but damn it is good. I know this post has been scatter brained and is ending suddenly but I will end it by saying that I really love this country. And I expect I would love most of central america, but I am not the biggest fan of traveling alone. At least not right now.  Vamos a ver.  Por ahora, pura vida mis amigos. 

Never thought I would be excited to be back on the farm.....

I was given a piece of advice by some very good friends before I left on this trip.  Don´t say no to anything. Soak up everything and experience it all.  Well, I have just returned from a trip that began last night around 8:00.  Taking me not only to the capitol, San Jose, but a bit beyond, to an area outside the city and a metal bar, where I spent the past 7 hours or so in the midst of the costa rician metal scene.  Who would have though that the first metal bar i went to, and metal shows i went to would be in costa rica? First mosh pit? Costa Rica.  needless to say it was an exceedingly interesting night that will provide me with plenty of stories.  An hour of that time was pretty cool i would have to say. Getting to see something i had never seen and probably would never do in the states, but the subsquent six hours that followed dealing with a multitude of situation that followed all the way into ciudad colon and up to two hours ago, was not the ideal night out i had been dreaming of.  Though the only sleep i have gotten since 6am of yesterday is the quick 40 minutes on the bus from san jose to ciudad colon, i am feeling better than you would expect and actaully planning on going out to get some work hours in right now.  With the week starting that means Wednesday is right around the corner, and another opportunity to get off the farm. This time until july 13, when i will be out traveling around this country that i have not gotten to see much of yet.  I have all the natural feelings one would expect leading up to a trip like this but I know that it will be the highlight of my time here.  I got a funky back tan casuse I am minus the perfect set of hands that typically helps with that so i have been trying to cover what i can on my own. Perhaps today i will even that out some.  Thinking of you all.