Travel to Costa Rica: Fainting Plants and Tree-Climbing Crabs, part ii

Altogether my favorite part of our journey was the trek through Manuel Antonio park.  We went with a guide and while I begrudged handing over the money for it initially, it was truly worth it. Our guide, Edgar, was a funny and extremely intelligent guy who became quite chatty when he realized Stephen and I spoke Spanish. He had an incredibly keen eye for spotting camouflaged lizards, hidden crocodiles and tiny colorful insects.

“What a cute little anole!” I pointed out on a leaf, to which he gave me a side eye and asked if I was a herpetologist. As surprised as he was that I knew what an anole was, I was kind of surprised he actually knew how to say herpetologist in English. “Nope, just a nature-loving hippie.”

 

Which is quite true. I was enthralled with learning about Costa Rica’s wildlife and had studied up on the local animals and plants by getting any material I could get my hands on. One of my favorite plants on our trip was the touch-me-nots that were abundant throughout Manuel Antonio.

“Touch it!” Edgar told me, pointing to the fern-like plant. I shook my head, saying absolutely not. General knowledge of things in the rainforest dictated that most things had evolved to maim, kill or cause a person discomfort. I was not interested in any of the three.

After some coaxing, he did get me to poke the plant. And suddenly the plant “wilted” looking as though it had died altogether. I learned that this plant had evolved to droop when touched but would reopen minutes later. Poking them became Stephen’s favorite thing to do whenever he saw one. I can’t blame him though, it seriously never got old!

Altogether we had an amazing time in Costa Rica and I would gladly go back someday. Costa Ricans are truly making strides to preserve their country’s gorgeous ecosystem and are ahead of many countries when it comes to environmentalist efforts. My one piece of advice to fellow travellers is to know ahead of time that eating in Costa Rica can be quite expensive due to the taxes (we are talking about 23% here).

Manuel Antonio offered some great hostels with really cheap and yummy food. Costa Linda was our favorite and will probably be our first choice for place to stay next time. Travelling with my love was so much fun but my hope is that we can do it again as a family. Rosie would really get a kick out of the monkeys and probably join them in a tree haha. 

To read part one of this adventure, check it out here!

& for more pictures of our time in Costa Rica be sure to check out the #travellingmermaid hashtag on Instagram!

Travel to Costa Rica: Pura Vida, Man!

Well, I’m back from our travels in Costa Rica!  In short, the trip totally exceeded my expectations (which okay, were set pretty high anyways). It was beautiful, soul-nourishing and immersed in a magic that is hard to describe. We met so many wonderful people and enjoyed some extremely delicious food. For those that are curious, I would like to share my experiences with this Central American gem.

 

Flying into any new location can be exhilarating but landing in San Jose at midnight was a particular adventure. For one thing, the city was barely distinguishable at night. In comparison to the sprawling cityscape of Mexico City, Alajuela was just a collection of scattered lights stitched into an inky black backdrop. It wasn’t until the next day I got to truly see Costa Rica and the sight was bewildering. By day, we were engulfed in a towering canopy of exotic trees and foggy mountains. Had they been there all along?  

It was a three hour drive to Manuel Antonio, where we stayed for the duration of our trip. With the exception of a few ventures to the nearby Quepos we spent most of our time roaming the one-car roads of this town that was hugged by the beach and rainforest in all directions. Along the way I saw graffiti on bridges, signs and scrawled across buildings: No Tan Rico. It translates to mean, not too rich and was a play on the country’s name: the Rich Coast in English. It wasn’t long before I saw evidence of the truth behind the graffiti, tin-roofed shantytowns dotting the roadside and people hustling their goods to any passing tourist with the desperation that kind of broke my heart.

However, one thing that quickly became evident was that most Costa Ricans were not only friendly but kind as well. Costa Rica’s charm isn’t just it’s people though but the spectacular explosion of flor y fauna that in habits this small country. On our daily hikes off our mountain-top hotel we would greet our friend, a peculiar three-toed sloth that hung cheerfully in the same spot for the entire time we were there.  

 But probably the most memorable of our companions were the cheeky mono titi (squirrel monkeys) that joined us every morning at breakfast. Without fail one of them would come up to my table, and chirp sweetly before trying to make a dash for my plate. It would have been annoying if they weren’t so sickeningly cute. 

Same goes for the Capuchin monkeys that ran across the rooftops. For awhile, I thought it was an upstairs neighbor or maybe someone was doing construction work until our cable went out and I went out on the patio to see this guy tugging at our television cable.

 The blue ropes are meant to help critters like monkeys and sloths safely cross the road. So cool!

Living in the rainforest for a week was a lot like going to the zoo. Only difference is that in Costa Rica it isn’t rare to be woken up at 400AM by the ear-piercing sound of a howler monkey outside your window. I can only describe it as a cross between a dying seal and a melt down alarm. Youtube it and share a wince with me.


Stay tuned for part II of my travels to Costa Rica and if you want to see more pictures of the trip be sure to check out my #travellingmermaid hashtag on instagram!

Fun Times in Oklahoma

Spencer, Rose's cousin, fast asleep after a hard day being a baby! Ya know, doing baby things.

Rose, on the otherhand, wasn't on the same page as Spencer.  This is known as her "sleep is for the weak" look.

On our last full day in Oklahoma we went to the OU campus for a fun day of enjoying the warm weather and taking lots of pictures. For lunch we ate at the greek house and it was very delicious!

One of the many beautiful buildings on campus.

For the most part Rose slept through our campus visit except for when it was time for some pictures! She did not like being woken from her nap as you can tell. "Where am I and why am I nakey?" 

On the train back to San Antonio! 

On the Road Again

Going back to Texas today, catch ya'll on the flipside!

The Travelling Baby

If I were to describe my life right now in terms of twitter hashtags it would go something like this: #stressed #happy #omgthankgoodnessforcaramelmacchiatos. But life is not meant to be condensed into a handful of random words. It is crazy and beautiful and a series of many wonderful tiny moments.

1. Sushi @ Full Moon, delicious zombie & chuxui rolls 2. Spencer, Rose's awesome cousin enjoying his rice 3. Rose's other buddy, little sweetpea Grayson 4. Easter cake with jelly bellies! 5. onward to Oklahoma 6. Chubby cheeked baby mermaid 7. Madamoiselle Rosie in our sleeper car on the train 8. Upperdeck dining car--got to meet some very interesting people!

Rose and I kicked off our Easter weekend by catching a train to Ft. Worth where the family came down from Oklahoma to pick us up. It was a pretty relaxing ride, I enjoyed the scenery of endless blue bonnet fields and gorgeous farmlands. Very picturesque!

Getting a sleeper car was definitely worth the money and I recommend it for anyone travelling with children. Seriously. I couldn’t believe how well Rose slept but then again, so did I!

There is something about riding trains that I find so much fun. I think the kid in me just likes to look out the window and pretend I’m on my way to Hogwarts, haha! But in all honesty, train rides might just be my new favorite way to travel. What I also love is eating in the dining car because it means sharing communal meals & you just never know who might sit down at your table. I had a very nice conversation with an adorable amish couple travelling to Indiana.

And best of all? There isn’t any cranky TSA folks trying to grope you or confiscate your water bottle.

Looking Back & Looking Forward

It's weird how Monterey has been on my mind lately, I haven't been there in ages but I can practically taste the Compagno's sandwich. I spent two years of my life there, had a near fatal surfing accident and fell in love for the first time. So many memories tied to a single place. Like sneaking out to Asilomar at 3am to watch the meteor shower, getting drunk and befriending hobos on the beach, smoking blacks because I loved the smell of cloves. At one point the only thing that kept me sane was surfing in that freezing cold water; I would go every day after class and try to catch a few waves before the sun went down and hypothermia set in.

I'd go down to Cannery Row on the weekends and mingle with the tourists. I loved those souvenir shops the most; I must have sent my Grandpa Rutha at least a dozen postcards.

I remember the day I left Monterey behind, everything piled into the Bat Mobile (RIP, you rusty piece of junk). I was so excited to leave, to get to Texas and really start my military career. I never thought I would miss that place as much as I do these days. Maybe I'm just missing the ocean mixed with a little bit of nostalgia but with my orders coming up in the next few months there might be an opportunity to head on back to Monterey for awhile. Will I take it? Maybe but probably not, not if it means switching jobs and PCS'ing to Georgia down the line. But who knows, time will tell what life has in store for me in these coming months.

So long charming city!

My days in Oakland are numbered as my immersion program draws to an end very soon. It’s amazing how time has flown and as I walked around the historic campus it felt like I was seeing it for the first time again, the tall eucalyptus trees swaying in the breeze of north cal’s typical cool air; the school house where I have had the honor to spend the last seven weeks studying the complexities of the Spanish language, meeting fascinating people along the way.

I am going to miss hopping on a bus and going to San Francisco, the foggy image of Alcatraz in the distance and the golden gate bridge. The hidden nooks and sidestreets. The coffeeshops with clever names. Looking back now I have to wonder where did the time go? Afterall, there is still so much left to do like finding Janis Joplin’s old house or taking a ride on a trolley!

But I suppose every adventure must have it’s end—and who knows what life has in store for me next!

Stories through the Walls

Adorning the back alley's of homes and building are roughly 600 murals. A total sensory feast. I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon wandering around a part of San Francisco that is in itself a self-contained little universe. And once you've satisfied your artistic side, stop off at one of the many quaint restaraunts for some horchata and enchiladas!

Murals have always fascinated me in their overwhelming presence. Even grafitti, in the hasty splatter of spray paint. And the street art of San Francisco is no different in capturing my interest. Except unlike the normal gang grafitti you might find in a city, the city blocks of images tell a story of the people who live there. Their struggles, their dreams, the world from their eyes.