34. White Easter in Denver

The flight to Denver was uneventful except being struck once again by the extensive wide open flat spaces there seems to be in the States.  I noticed this first in my business trip yes I did work once!) to Orlando in March last year.  I had been invited to stay with one of the cool sistahs I met at the "Awaken the Wild Woman Within" retreat I did in Dominical in Costa Rica, Lyndsey.  She is one of those fun people, full of great energy, that is just fun to be around.  I was even luckier in that she had moved into the mountains with a friend about a month before I came to stay.   I had to wait for Lyndsey to finish work before she could come and pick me up from the airport which was fine, by the time I had something to eat and did some people watching it was time to find the pick up area.   I was surprised that she was working as it was Good Friday as we know it, but apparently Easter is not a special holiday in the States.  They just get the weekend as usual!  

Lyndsey, as a great hostess would, gave me the option of hanging out in Denver or heading to Evergreen where she was now living.  It just felt right to buy some wine and food and head to her house for the weekend.  It was certainly cooler than Costa Rica during the day but the sun was shining as we drove up there late afternoon.  The air had a beautiful crispness to it and  I didnt feel uncomfortable in my thongs (flip flops).  I was, however, the only one wearing them while shopping at the local supermarket.  I was still using my limited Spanish to speak people which was quite difficult to stop.  I guess I had been trying hard to use it for the last 4 months.  Strangely (terminology wise) the man at the bottle shop asked me if Lyndsey belonged to me.  We just looked at one another and said something glib.    I think he was referring to a mother daughter thing as I am quite a bit older than Lyndsey.

So fully stocked we headed to the house that Lyndsey and her daughter Camilla share with Mira and her two kids Zia and Cooper. As we drive up to the house Lyndsey points out where the elk usually are in the fields that fill the spaces between houses up here.  It is beautiful, thats for sure.  The house was a two story timber place with a back deck,  barbeque AND a hot tub outside on the back balcony!  I went outside for a while on the back balcony with my cuppa, sat in the sun, felt the chilled, crisp air and watched the elk that had appeared in the fields below the house.  

The kids were at respective fathers on Friday night.  The warmth in the house was both physical and emotional.  Lisa was there also, another friend of the girls, and Chris also another friend of Mira's.  All are welcome and made to feel very comfortable here.  After a great meal, some wine and great company we call it a night.  I am sleeping in Zia's room which is downstairs looking out across the fields from under the balcony.  I woke up about 6am and looked outside to see it had been snowing overnight and the fields were covered in white.  I grabbed the camera and raced upstairs to the balcony to take my traditional foot shot of the places I have stood.  Mostly these have been on sand or somewhere warm, so this was definitely a novelty, er um and cold

It snowed all weekend.  It was so beautiful I couldnt believe it.  I have been to the snow a couple of times before, even tried skiing.  For some reason it was like my first time.  I was like a little kid, much to Lyndsey's amusement.  I spent ages in the hot tub catching snowflakes in my mouth as it snowed!  Hot tub rules are nudie booty.....who am I to argue, Im a guest after all.  The weekend was spent relaxing, watching it snow, watching movies, watching it snow, hunting for easter eggs....spending happy time together.  It was great.

On Monday I decided to leave early with Lyndsey to spend more time (about an hour) with her on the drive to her school where she is an Art Teacher.  From there I caught a cab to the airport.   I had quite a while till my flight but managed to fill it in with eating and checking out the shops and walking around as I will be sitting for quite a while on my way home...!  I am so grateful to have spent this time with Lyndsey in this beautiful place.  I had always thought it was not worth going to the snow as I cant really ski that well, but now I think I would be content to rent a cabin in the snow for the weekend just to watch it snow.....wow!

This is the last post in this blog.  I have started two others, one covering the time I spent back in Australia (Australian Interlude) and one for my time in Bali (Balinese Beach Break).  Of course neither are up to date but I am trying to rectify this...!

33. Final Days in Costa Rica

As often happens when you are in a place for a long time, the departure date appears suddenly on the horizon and all those things you meant to do are now unlikely.  I have been lucky though as I had ticked off most of my list.  Ziplining, Drake Bay, The Galapagos, another yoga retreat and plenty of yoga classes, personal training, plenty of reading.  I probably hadnt done enough study as I would have liked (or more like should have).  All that I really wanted to do was have another sunset happy hour and tapas at Gaia.  In particular the Gaia special martini had to be tried.   This is a beautiful hotel with a carpark at the bottom from which you are zoomed up the steep driveway to the restaurant in a golf buggy.  Quite the ride back down after a couple of the cocktails!  Another sunset opportunity was at Ronnies, another popular viewing spot reknown for its jugs of margharitas, oh and the spectacular view of course!   I also wanted to do the sunset sail one more time.  As I had been out of action for 10 days I also wanted to do some personal training and make sure I spent plenty of time down at the beach.  And I wanted to visit my friend Chris in Jaco.

Sunset at Ronnies

I was lucky to have gotten all these things done!  I booked in for 7 personal training sessions in 8 days.  Happy hour at Gaia was shared with Holly and Silvia.  The Gaia special martini was delicious, along with the seared tuna tapas...yum!  I had dinner at Ronnies with my personal trainer and yoga mentor Lorraine.  As usual the sunset was spectacular and the food very good.  As Lorraine doesnt drink alcohol, I didnt attempt a jug of margharita by myself.  Some may find that surprising but I had been sick recently remember!!  I visited Chris and met his new girlfriend Yamit.  We had lunch.  He is so happy, it is really cute!The only bummer of the day was me leaving my favorite sarong on the bus...sitting on it so I didnt stick to the vinyl seat and just left it behind...doh!  Holly, Silvia and I watched the weather and picked a fantastic day for our last Sunset Sail.  

During the week before, while I was still recovering, we had the first real rain that I had experienced in Costa Rica.  And boy, does it rain.  I could not hear the TV or music no matter how loud I put the volume.  Holly had some sand delivered for her garden which was sitting in the driveway.  The rain was so heavy I was worried the pool was going to flood, then I noticed the water coming in the back balcony.  On investigation I noticed that the sand was blocking the drain in the driveway causing the water to flow into the balcony.  It didnt look like the rain would stop and it was quickly heading for the french doors into the house...eek!  So I was going to get a chance to try the new raincoat that I had lugged over to Costa Rica.  So in shorts and raincoat I headed outside into the warm rain and cleared the drain which fixed the problem.  It didnt take long but I was completely soaked.  Probably would have been better in a pair of bathers but the raincoat does work!   I was still worried about the pool overflowing and I had no idea what to do about that but somehow it rose to the top but didnt overflow.

All too soon Thursday came around and I had to be packed and ready to catch a flight to San Jose for the night then an early flight the next day to Denver.  Holly and I had lunch at El Avion, a restaurant that is constructed around an old Fairchild C-123 aircraft supposedly purchased from profits from Regan's Contras scandal in the 1980s.  It had always intrigued me and looked a little corny so I think it was the perfect place to have my final lunch there.  

Sadly I said goodbye to Holly and took my last small aircraft flight over Costa Rica.  I stayed at my usual hotel at the airport, but sadly, no offers of wine this time! I felt earlier that I would probably never be back to Costa Rica, but as I spent time reflecting on my experiences there and the lifestyle on the beach, there is a chance I may return...who knows what the future holds.

The next morning I caught my flight to Denver where I had arranged to stop for the weekend and visit a friend I had met at the Awaken the Wild Woman retreat in Dominical.

32. Recovery from Panama!

Somehow on Sunday morning I awoke, drained (literally) but feeling like everything was under control.  Of course it seemed to be too much for the hotel to book me a cab so I had to walk up the road and try to find one.  They were scarce even in the main street as there was a funeral on that day of another taxi driver.  So I was feeling really happy about the prospect of having to lug my bag to the airport in 32C heat after the day Id had yesterday.  Luckily I managed to find one.  He took me back to the hotel to pick up my bag and then off we went to the airport.  I was so tentative about what could possibly happen as I sat and waited for my flight.  Somehow I got through the wait and the flight.  As always, Holly was there to meet me at the airport.  On this return, instead of hitting a bar, it was straight home to the recliner!  

The next couple of days I spent feeling very ordinary and eating every dry cracker I could find in the house.  On Tuesday morning I woke up considerably better.  I said to Holly I feel like guacamole and some corn chips...so we headed out for lunch. Wise?  Probably not but I never said I was wise.  My appetite grew as we arrived at this restaurant Holly wanted to try.  No guacamole in sight, only a tequila tasting...as you would expect.  For some reason I decided a hamburger was an appropriate substitute for guacamole.  And I managed to eat most of it.   I refrained though from having any tequila...so as you can see, I was still unwell!

Funnily enough I started to deteriorate quite quickly after the hamburger and woke up the next day thinking this was never going away.  My stomach was so unsettled, I was sure you could hear it rumbling just from walking along beside me!!  I asked Holly to take me to the local clinic.  This clinic, Linea Vital De CR, was very good.  The doctor listened to my stomach, I suggested he didnt need his stethoscope.  I spent the next 45mins on the drip having a variety of things put into it.  Whatever it was calmed my stomach virtually immediately.  Armed with a shopping list for the pharmacy, we headed into town, picked up all I needed and headed home.  Back into the recliner, I spent the next 4-5 days watching movies, reading books and not doing much else.  It took until the following Monday until I felt well enough to venture out. 

I headed out and felt so good to be in the fresh air and on the beach again.  I was catching the bus though and not walking home up heartbreak hill at this stage, but feeling considerably better and ready to make the most of my last week and a half in Costa Rica :(!

Due to the topic of this post there are naturally no related photos so I have included a couple more of Bocas del Torro.

31. Tourist Activity in Bocas Del Toro

Friday I went down to the tour office for the catamaran and confirmed they were going out.  It appears they decided to go despite the fact that there was only two of us.  The other passenger was a nice German girl, whose name I have forgotten, but she was friendly.  The skipper also spoke German so I felt a little isolated as they chatted away. This gave me the opportunity/excuse though to go up the front and just spend time lying on the trampoline and watching the water pass under us as we sailed along.  I might have spent too much time up there as shown by the photo attached! 

My reflection through the mesh

It also gave me the opportunity to have  a good look at the boat and was surprised to find it was in quite a poor state of repair.  Broken life lines, torn sails and in general not so well maintained.  Despite being out on the water I still didn’t feel connected to this place.  I certainly wouldnt say stay away from here, this is just about what I was feeling about the place.  We did see a dolphin which is always a highlight in my book.  One of the places we snorkelled, The Garden, had a great selection of colourful corals.  The other places were murky with colourful but comparatively small fish.  I do think perhaps my perspective was spoilt by the beauty of my experience in the Galapagos Islands.

The day was great weather wise, we did get to actually sail and we had a nice lunch.  The spots we visited were nice and I guess all in all it was a nice day out on the water.  It was my fellow passenger's first time on a boat so that was exciting for her.  We celebrated on the return with a beer!  It had been a pleasant day and good to get out and about.  What better way to end the day I thought than with dinner at "the best pizza place in town" that Bill had recommended to me!  He was right, the pizza was good!  Or was it....

I think you probably know whats coming next, it starts in the middle of the night...that unsettled feeling in the stomach.  You try to ignore it, hoping its nothing...hoping it will go away...sometimes it does, but sometimes...eek!  So suffice to say I spent all day Saturday with my body purging itself with all means available of whatever nasty I had picked up.  It may not have been the pizza, it may have been lunch or the water or any number of things...but whatever it was, it was nasty and I was not sure how I was going to deal with the flight home on Sunday...and it was only an hour to Costa Rica then half an hour home!

30. Time in Bocas Del Toro

The next day I wander down to the bar for the breakfast that is included and it seems to be just coffee and a muffin.  The coffee would be fine but didn’t really want to eat the muffin, Im more a poached eggs or fruit salad kind of girl.   I ran into Bill and he had made contact with his friend so was going to stay with her and get his business done.  He was leaving on the Tuesday and I didnt see him again.

I decided to go and have breakfast elsewhere and didn’t have to go far.  I found myself sitting outside looking over the water and having a wonderful fruit salad.  The colours were so vibrant that I took this photo of it.  I then went on reccy around the town to see what I could find.  It turned out to be quite successful.  I found the Indian restaurant that Chris had recommended to me (called Om), supermarket to buy water (as you cant drink from the tap), a yoga studio, a place to get my legs waxed,...all the important things!!  I also discovered a gourmet deli which stocked all sorts of relatively exotic things.

I was feeling a little out of sorts here as I didnt really need to come here for my visa requirements, having just been to Ecuador.   I was enjoying Manuel Antonio so much but here I am and I should make the most of it.  But I never really connected with the place.  I was content to stay at the hotel out in the open air and watch the boats go by or work on my blog (not that you would think I did that as I am so far behind).  I did this for the first 3 days, just relaxing and going to yoga at Bocas Yoga Studio with Laura Kay who is a great instructor.  While sitting out the back of the hotel I met Greg, and his friend Dave later on, who were both in Bocas on separate yachts, sailing around by themselves.  Both had been here for a couple of months I think which seemed to be the trend.  The one appealing thing about Bocas was that there were many more yachts here.  Greg invited me to dinner at the yacht club which I had heard was a great place to go for a meal, particularly on Friday night where there is dancing also.   He picked me up in the dinghy Tuesday night and off we went.  He seemed such a nice guy when we were just sitting and chatting but dinner was quite boring Im sorry to say.  It made me wonder if some people that sail around by themselves just lose so much touch with the way the rest of the world operates that they have nothing to talk about.  Or perhaps it was just his personality.  Anyway I think the feeling was mutual as we decided to call it a night quite early and he dropped me back to the hotel.  Maybe I just like a bit of subtlety.  Asking me if Id like to go and see his boat before we had even finished dinner made me wary!   The next day I got a funny note from Greg’s friend Dave saying “now you are finished with Greg, come with me to the yacht club on Friday night”.  This didn’t eventuate and Im really only writing about this as its unusual for me to be getting so much attention so thought it should be noted as something I experienced on my adventure.

The first few days passed quite quickly.  It was warm but overcast a couple of days with rain as well.  I managed to read an entire book; do multiple yoga sessions;  get my legs waxed, which took quite some time as I hadn’t had them done since I left Australia some 3 months earlier...(eek!!);  went to Om for dinner and also went there for breakfast.  I don’t think I have ever been to an Indian restaurant for breakfast before.  My concerns about the mosquitoes were quite founded as I got to a stage where I couldn’t work out if I was being bitten more or whether it was just the existing bites that were really itchy.  So I decided to count them to try to keep track.  I had 16 on one leg and 25 on the other...!  Am I paranoid then, no I don’t think so, mosquitoes just like to bite me...uugghhh.  It can actually feel quite miserable to be covered in itchy bites!  The lady who waxed my legs before I had so many bites, recommended lime juice and salt to treat them so I started trying this which seemed to work but also went to the farmacia to get some heavy duty cream.  I also relented and bought some heavy duty insect repellent.

After these first few days relaxing I decided I should probably go and see some of the local sights.  So on Thursday I booked in for the turtle nesting night tour that night, went looking for a snorkelling trip and one over to Red Frog Beach on Bastimentos Island.  Call me crazy, but I particularly wanted to do the sailing snorkelling trip which was on a catarmaran rather than be crammed into a long motor boat with 11 other people.  Most of these tours go to a selection of islands so it is a good way to see the area.  The trip wasn’t going on Thursday as they only go with a minimum of 6 people so I booked in for Friday.  It seems that it had been quiet in Bocas recently from a tourist perspective.

As I had left it too late to join a group tour to Red Frog Beach on Thursday, and I was running out of time to do things, I ended up taking a boat over on my own that afternoon.  This cost $10 US each way which isn’t that much but relatively it was very expensive.  To put it in perspective, the beers were $1 and wine $3 per glass, yoga classes were $5 and pippas (coconut water) were $1.  Bastimentos was a very pretty island and you get to see quite a bit of it, as the trail to the beach is about a 15 minute walk from the pier.  And of course there is an entry fee to the island.  The beach had nice white sand and was edged with rainforest, quite pretty.  The water was crystal clear and blue with some serious wave action going on.

That night, as I am waiting for the turtle tour guide to pick me up at the hotel around 9.00pm I get a phone call from the tour operator (I use that term loosely!).  He says it will cost more to do the tour and that he will have a taxi pick me up and take me to the site where the turtles nest.  The hotel staff didn’t seem to know much about the tour when I asked before I booked.  The sign for the tour was just a plain A4 sheet with little detail and a mobile phone number on it.   Hmmm, this all starts to sound a bit dodgy to me and it appears I am the only one going.   As he also tried to put the price up when he rang, weighing up all these factors, I decided to pull out of the trip.  Am I destined never to see turtles nesting? 

29. Arrival in Bocas Del Toro, Panama

So Sunday 27 March comes sooner than expected.  The time is passing quickly now and when I get back from Panama, there will be less than 3 weeks before I start heading home.

Holly drives me to the airport in Quepos for my quick flight to San Jose.  This time, for the first time, I am flying Nature Air as they are the carrier to Panama.  They also fly out of the second international airport in San Jose called Tobias Bolanos.   The other is Juan Santamaria.  This trip is the one I booked to fulfil my visa requirements for Costa Rica.  Travellers from Australia and many other places get 90 days on entry to the country but you are (apparently) required to have a ticket out of the country booked.  As my return flight was outside this period I had to book a flight to somewhere, so on 3 Jan ...yes the night before I left....I did a quick search on the web and picked Bocas del Toro in Panama.  Bocas del Toro means mouth/gulf of the bull.

I actually no longer required this trip as I had been to Ecuador but it was a non-refundable ticket.  My friend Chris from Jaco had been there a few weeks ago and quite liked it so I thought I might as well go.  I booked a hotel that was recommended by Chris called Hotel Olas where he had stayed.  In Bocas del Toro you pay for everything in cash and there are only a couple of places that take credit cards.  Also at the place I was staying you paid for your room each night even if you were booked in for a week like I was.  

The flight over was another trip in a little plane which I love.  The planes seat about 12 but there was only 6 of us on the flight.  The row of single seats were folded up and used to store one of the guys surfboards which made it feel like a real holiday flight.  There was another young couple on the plane and she was really nervous about the flight and was asking me if I had done it before.  I tried to convey lots of confidence in her but not sure she was convinced.  She seemed to endure it okay though and took lots of photos before after and during, perhaps to keep herself preoccupied.  

On the flight I met a guy called Bill, who lives in Jaco (about an hour north of Manuel Antonio) and is a stockbrocker from Denver.  He has lived there for 7 years.  He was singing the praises of Bocas to us on the flight.  He loves it there and was going down to buy a business.   I was a little disturbed though when he told me the only thing wrong with the place is how many mosquitoes there are.  EEK!  As I seem to be a target normally, the thought of being in a place where it is actually a problem  sounds like it might be a major issue for me!  

As we got closer the view of the coastline and the turquoise coloured water dispelled any thoughts of mosquitoes!  The airport here was hysterical, quite a short runway that had the local sportsground located at the end of it.  There was a baseball match being played when we landed with quite a few people filling the stands.  The landing went without a hitch for both the group on the plane and the baseballers.....!  Bags are searched before we are allowed to collect them.  They were also searched in our presence before they put them on the plane at the other end.  Not sure how we would have the chance to do anything illegal with them in that time, but hey....I guess it keeps people in a job.  Customs is one man sitting in an office and we wait outside his door in line to be called in and approved to enter the country.

We all head our separate ways and there does not seem to be a taxi in sight.  Luckily I travel light.  I run into Bill again on my way to my hotel and he offers to show me the way.  Not really knowing where I was going, I decide it is a good offer.   As we walk along Im not completely convinced he knows where we are going but I follow along anyway.  Finally we arrive at Hotel Olas and I check in.  He decides to book a room there as he hasn’t been able to contact his friend that 

lives there.  We meet back in the bar, which was built out over the water at the back of the hotel.   I offer to buy him a beer for his trouble.  One beer led to another and so the afternoon went.  The perfect thing to do in a hot climate, right!  I was a little concerned that he could drink two beers to my one but I guessed he had been doing it longer...!  As Im not that good drinking without eating I decide I need to eat.  So we head for the “best pizza place in town” but it wasn’t open as it was only 5.30pm (more about that place later).   We ended up at Hotel El Limbo and had a beautiful dinner ...and of course more beers for Bill, although I had moved on to white wine.  We met some people who were spending some time off their yacht which they had been sailing around for several years, about 12 from memory.  They were now looking to get off the boat and set up house...she wanted to have a garden.  They were quite the characters and it was good to chat to them.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel and said goodnight.  Bill announced that it had been a good first date...news to me..that it was a date that is, it had been a nice evening. 

28. Return from the Galapagos

I have written a post for each day of my trip to the Galapagos as it was so amazing I felt it warranted the detail, but Im sure that I wasnt able to convey just how amazing!  I felt really priveleged to be able to go to the Galapagos and grateful for the extra time.  It really is a very special place.  If you ever get the opportunity, definitely go!  

It was a long day travelling to return from the Galapagos on Saturday 19 March, starting with breakfast with Andrew at 7am, a taxi pickup at 8am to get to Baltra for a 11.30am flight. Continuing on my saga from not being picked up yesterday, despite the fact that both Andrew and I were both going to Baltra and catching flights only half an hour apart, the tour company organised separate taxis for us to the airport.  Despite thinking we would be okay going together, we thought it simplest to just adhere to the company's arrangements. I went earlier and was relieved when I saw Andrew arrive about an hour later.

Quito

 Somehow we ended up on the same flight.  Andrew was staying in Quito the night and I was heading straight through.  I had a flight at 6.50pm to San Jose, through Bogota (Colombia).  As I got to the airport early I could not check in until 4pm.  I sat with my luggage in a cafe and watched the guys that worked the ‘wrap your luggage in plastic’ stand.  They were doing quite a good trade and I was feeling like I wanted to chain myself to the machine to stop them doing it.  I couldn’t believe how much plastic they used to do this.  I am also dubious about how effective it is in any case.  But I am someone who doesn’t lock their suitcase most of the time, so perhaps not the best judge.  The other reason I was reluctant to make a stand against this practice is that I doubt my travel agent would speak to me anymore, given the amount of changes he had to make already for this trip.  I can just imagine his response when I emailed him and said, er Alban, can you change my flight as Ive been arrested for being a public nuisance...:)!

The rest of the trip home seemed to go quite well.  The staff at Bogota Airport seemed very organised and the transfer went smoothly.  I had been wondering why I bothered getting my yellow fever injection that was insisted on but now it was starting to be questioned...once in Quito, and now again in Bogota.  I arrived in San Jose about 11.30pm.  Unfortunately my bag had decided to overnight in Bogota, so I was advised when I arrived in San Jose.  The airline actually called my name and asked me to report to baggage office!  I knew that it wasnt going to be good news!

 

So it had been a long day, my period had come back, my bag hadn’t arrived...needless to say I felt like a drink.  When I arrived at the Hampton Inn at the airport where I stayed regularly if I had a late arrival, the shape of my day must have been obvious.  I arrived late, I bought a box of tampons from the hotel shop.  When I asked if there was a mini bar in the room (as I couldn’t remember) and was told no, the disappointment must have showed.   Can I get a drink delivered to my room I asked...ah no but you could go to the casino and have a drink...no I reply, too tired for that.  Suddenly the lady checking me in says...was it your birthday recently?  I said yes and she said, I would like to give you a bottle of white wine from the hotel for your birthday.  So happily I went to my room with bottle, glass and opener in hand! 

Arriving at Quepos

After a good nights sleep, aided by some of the wine I got up and had breakfast and got ready to catch my flight to Quepos.  I arrived back about 11.30am and Holly was there to pick me up.  We headed to a local favourite in Manuel Antonio, Cafe Milagro, to catch up as I had been away for almost 3 weeks including Drake Bay and the Galapagos.  We stayed for a few drinks and something to eat.  It was just one of those afternoons where you could settle in and get really messy.  We managed to control ourselves and took ourselves home to continue catching up and celebrating my birthday some more.

The week that followed was spent catching up on doing yoga, PT, going to the beach (yes the usual) and getting ready to go to Bocas del Toro in Panama next Sunday (March 27).  My friend from the States was visiting this week with his kids and after several emails we planned to catch up on Friday night.  It was nice to meet his kids (aged 18 and 20) who are very cool.  We had a great catch up over drinks and dinner, then spent the rest of the evening together.   As I have no photos that relate directly to this post I have added in some random shots mostly from the Galapagos.

Post Office Bay, Floreana Island

My fav thongs

My cabin on MY San Jose (with Juddy)