Costa Rica (via Guatemala)

Easter this year was a little different than “normal”, but it’s been awhile since I’ve been normal (some would argue I’ve never been). I had a two week Easter break due to the Spanish conquistadores.

I left Tuxtla in a van to the border of Guatemala only to transfer to two more vans and finally arrive in Guatemala City 13 hours later. You’d think it’d be a nightmare trip, but it’s actually quite enjoyable with nice scenery and a fairly smooth ride. The border crossing was quick and painless – a quick stamp in the passport on each side and we were on our way.

It was interesting to immediately compare the differences between Mexico and Guatemala. For one, the people in Guatemala are incredibly kind and, during my short stay, it seemed the men aren't as abnoxious.

It was sad to hear that the new highway from Guatemala City to the Mexican border is wiping out numerous villages’ potable water and the government doesn’t seem to care, but other than that, the ride was a cheerful one. I enjoyed the conversation with both of the van drivers in Guatemala and was again struck by how nice the people are here.

I was traveling with Danna, a co-worker, and when we arrived in the city, we headed to a restaurant and I called Michael, a guy from Chicago who is currently teaching at the school I’ll be teaching at next year. He and his wife were gracious enough to offer their home for us to stay for two nights, one of which they would be on vacation in Belize.

I let Michael know that we arrived safely and he said he’d meet us for a beer and bring us to his house. Fantastic! We had planned on taking a taxi, but this is even better. We spent the next hour or so finding out all kinds of exciting information about the American School of Guatemala, where I’ll be working next year. It sounds phenomenal – loads of classroom resources and set on a college campus with an accessible cafeteria and library, a nice escape from a noisy K-12 setting.

Michael and Diana’s house is amazing. Not only is the city’s weather reminiscent of Southern California – The Land of Eternal Spring, as it’s called, but the gated community they live in has the white walls with red, Spanish roofs and carports. Now I realize I’m coming from my tiny abode in a rundown building, but the place was unreal – 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, maid’s quarters and a large backyard with a built-in outdoor grill. And to think the school pays for our housing, it’s amazing we’re provided places so grand.

After two fun days in Guatemala City, one during which Danna fought off a mugger (okay, I’m exaggerating, but it was comical), we hopped on a plane to San Jose, Costa Rica. Our round trip flight was too cheap to pass up back in January when we booked it at $179 US! Danna has a friend and former colleague who lives with his family in Alajuela, a town just outside of San Jose where we spent the first week.

The “family stay” was a huge highlight and I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know Marco’s family and friends. He lives with his mom on a compound, of sorts, that contains ten, modest family homes. It certainly made for a lively stay and Marco had us going from the moment we arrived.

We spent the first weekend on Jaco beach on the Pacific and also headed to a national park where we saw a ton of beautiful plants and flowers, as well as amazing frogs, butterflies, birds and a few waterfalls. Costa Rica is deservedly known for their plant and animal life and it was amazing!

Week two, I spent traveling alone and headed to the Caribbean coast first to check out Tortuguero National Park. I stayed for one night and had an amazing experience on an evening beach hike with a guide. I was lucky enough to see a 160 pound green turtle lay around 100 eggs for over an hour in a hole that it dug on the beach and then cover it up to walk back out to sea - unreal!! She'll come back to the same spot in about 3 years when she's ready to lay more eggs. Of the 100 plus eggs she laid, only 1-2% will survive. What an amazing experience in nature...one I'll never forget!
In El Tortuguero, I met a guy from Denver who owns a travel company and we headed out kayaking for a few hours. We managed to have crocodiles cross in front of us (a little crazy when you’re in a flimsy kayak, but very cool), amazing birds, blue morph butterflies, howler monkeys and more.

I took a four hour boat ride taxi south and for the majority of the time was the only passenger on the boat. The driver acted as a guide, pointing out caiman crocodiles, a beautiful, pink flat-beaked bird and even two dolfins that must have made their way from the ocean into the river. There was even a huge bull in the river sipping on water.

At one point in the trip, I saw us gunning for a huge patch of weeds and I was thinking to myself that it didn't appear healthy for the boat. Sure enough, as we plowed through the grass, I heard a loud "boomp!" and immediately thought of how my dad wouldn't approve of the captain-ing of the vessel. After a little repair, we were back on our way to Puerto Limon.

From there, with the help of a very nice local Tico - an old-timer who knew everyone we passed on the city's sidewalks, I hopped on two local busses and finally made it to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca on the Caribbean. I found a place to stay, Rockin' J's, sleeping in a hammock with 40 other people – always an adventure!

I spent my last four days in Costa Rica here, relaxing on the beach and taking a 15 km bike journey with a Dutch girl I met. I felt more like I was in Jamaica than Costa Rica. The English accent here is from the Caribe, as is the Spanish one. As I waited on the last day for my morning bus back to the capital, I had breakfast at the Panadería y Café Elizabeth and listened to two older woman speak in English, I think...they used words like "dat" and talked about where they had "ben." It was difficult to tell what language they were speaking, at times.

I bussed it back to San Jose and was thrilled that the city provided cooler temps, even if for only a few hours. The last night was spent in Alajuela with Marco’s family and our adventure back to Mexico via Guatemala began.

The delays on the new highway to the border held us up a bit - a taxi driver actually fell asleep while we were waiting and and we had to go around him as our driver said, "¡Qué tipo!" We were randomely stopped by various roadside police and when I asked our driver why he replied, "Porque ser domingo" - Because it's Sunday - and laughed because there really was no reason. We're in Latin America, there usually isn't.