MERRY CHRISTMAS
FROM COSTA RICA!!
Every day here seems is a gift for me - I hope you are all feeling the same way at home.
Love you and miss you.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Las Ventanas
South of Dominical is a small beach called Las Ventanas. It is, in short, like a dream. A horseshoe beach with wild caves on one side through which the tide rolls in and out. I was able to go before I left Dominical with Gretchen and Octavius, two wonderful people I´ve met here. This place is best described in photos and not words, so here we go:
The first cave. I went all the way in, swam through out into the ocean, and swam back in the other side into a different cave. (!!)
Gretchen and Octavius
Looking out at the beach from inside the second cave.
Loving this scene in the middle of December....
How could you ask for more?
:)
Tejido
A few days ago, some new guests arrived at the Hostel and set up their tent in the middle of the dorm room. I was tired and grumpy that day and didn´t meet or greet them. Thankfully, they didn´t hold it against me, because they´ve become central to my days here. Carlos and Roger are from Ajahuela, a city near San Jose that is known for being the home of La Liga, one of the two major soccer teams, and for being the city which doles out nicknames like rice and beans. Neither use their real names in any but official circumstances - and Roger has a nickname for his nickname: Roger becomes Maguiver, which then becomes Magui. As for Carlos, he says even his mother calls him Negro. (If your PC alarm is going off full force, remember that in Spanish, the translation for the color black has nothing to do with US history.) So, they´ve set to giving nicknames to everyone in the hostel. I´ll be sure to let you know when I get mine.
They are also artesanos - that is, they make and sell crafts for a living. They create some really spectacular stuff with just nylon string and patience. I managed to convince them to let me hang around and learn a thing or two - and this is what I´ve made so far:
Impressive, right? To further the cool factor, the guys recently struck a deal with a local souvenir shop, and one of my bracelets is now in the store! Obviously, I went and took a dorky picture. My bracelet (the one on the bottom in the picture above) is on the top tube, second bracelet down.
They are also artesanos - that is, they make and sell crafts for a living. They create some really spectacular stuff with just nylon string and patience. I managed to convince them to let me hang around and learn a thing or two - and this is what I´ve made so far:
Kindly ignore the stray toothpaste on my wrist.... :)
Impressive, right? To further the cool factor, the guys recently struck a deal with a local souvenir shop, and one of my bracelets is now in the store! Obviously, I went and took a dorky picture. My bracelet (the one on the bottom in the picture above) is on the top tube, second bracelet down.
Who knows, maybe I´ll be on the beach 5 years from now with my own wares...
Hostel Pyramis
My home sweet home here in Dominical until Christmas, Hostel Pyramis:
Where I stay, in the dorm-style room, is the open room you can see on the second floor. It is a huge, open air room with rows of bunk beds lining the walls. From the front, people lounge, decide whether the surf is worth heading out into and revel in the beauty of the sunsets. It´s also in these seats that the dense burger fog from the restaurant below wafts over us like magic. I swear that one of these days I´m going to flutter downstairs on a river of burger smell like they do in the cartoons, nose first.
Behind this first big building are the private rooms where guests can pay a little extra for their own bathroom and personal space. And a maid: me! All the rooms are painted by Angel, one of the owners. He has a very...unique style. I sort of imagine that if you locked someone in a room with some choice brain-altering chemicals and a lot of paint, you´d end up with the artwork we now have. Whether that is how Angel achieved his art, I´ll never know. Here he is, working on making a face out of a rock he found on the beach (we´re at a crafts show.)
Where I stay, in the dorm-style room, is the open room you can see on the second floor. It is a huge, open air room with rows of bunk beds lining the walls. From the front, people lounge, decide whether the surf is worth heading out into and revel in the beauty of the sunsets. It´s also in these seats that the dense burger fog from the restaurant below wafts over us like magic. I swear that one of these days I´m going to flutter downstairs on a river of burger smell like they do in the cartoons, nose first.
Behind this first big building are the private rooms where guests can pay a little extra for their own bathroom and personal space. And a maid: me! All the rooms are painted by Angel, one of the owners. He has a very...unique style. I sort of imagine that if you locked someone in a room with some choice brain-altering chemicals and a lot of paint, you´d end up with the artwork we now have. Whether that is how Angel achieved his art, I´ll never know. Here he is, working on making a face out of a rock he found on the beach (we´re at a crafts show.)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
WHO DAT?
Just wanted to drop in and say
Let´s go Saints!
I am really missing the Big Easy these days, but the Saints are making me so happy! It´s bittersweet to watch the games in Costa Rican bars rather than in some dive in Nola, smelling all the cookouts and tailgates around. But hey, they keep making me proud. :)
Monday, December 7, 2009
Iguanas on a Hot Tin Roof
Sometimes, a girl has dreams about eggs. Mountains and mountains of eggs. Or other times, she forgets to look up at the surrounding hills and feel a shiver of appreciation for her surroundings. Or she wakes up and dreads weeding. Or doesn´t enjoy her pinto for breakfast.
When any or all of that happens, it´s time for a change. And sometimes, that change comes along and knocks. TJ, of Thanksgiving and Finca Chinchilla fame, worked for a few weeks at a hostel at a nearby beach, and the owners happened to need more help. I just didn´t think that was the kind of thing a girl should turn down. So, last Thursday, I pack up and moved out. To Dominical, a sleepy little gringo-swarmed surf town on the southern coast.
The getting there was a little interesting, since TJ´s plans changed and he didn´t show at the market. I wavered at the market for a little while, helping Luz sell eggs and wondering what to do. The longer I spend here, however, the more willing I am to walk into little known territory, and the more confident I am that there are helpful people out there. I decided to gamble and go. My faith in friendliness paid off, and I met someone who helped me to my hostel with little more than "I think it starts with a ´p´ and is owned by Spaniards...."
The hostel itself is an open, laid back building with people coming and going at all times. I work in the mornings cleaning rooms or completing odd jobs, and then wander on my own schedule in the afternoon. It´s bizarre to have to much free time, but feels good after an exremely scheduled month and a half. I haven´t conquered any surfing yet, but I will be sure to let you guys know when I do!
When any or all of that happens, it´s time for a change. And sometimes, that change comes along and knocks. TJ, of Thanksgiving and Finca Chinchilla fame, worked for a few weeks at a hostel at a nearby beach, and the owners happened to need more help. I just didn´t think that was the kind of thing a girl should turn down. So, last Thursday, I pack up and moved out. To Dominical, a sleepy little gringo-swarmed surf town on the southern coast.
The getting there was a little interesting, since TJ´s plans changed and he didn´t show at the market. I wavered at the market for a little while, helping Luz sell eggs and wondering what to do. The longer I spend here, however, the more willing I am to walk into little known territory, and the more confident I am that there are helpful people out there. I decided to gamble and go. My faith in friendliness paid off, and I met someone who helped me to my hostel with little more than "I think it starts with a ´p´ and is owned by Spaniards...."
The hostel itself is an open, laid back building with people coming and going at all times. I work in the mornings cleaning rooms or completing odd jobs, and then wander on my own schedule in the afternoon. It´s bizarre to have to much free time, but feels good after an exremely scheduled month and a half. I haven´t conquered any surfing yet, but I will be sure to let you guys know when I do!
My front yard.
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