So get on with it, you say! What on earth have you been doing that has prevented you from updating us on your life? Honestly, I’ve been filling my days with spontaneous fun and since I spend a good amount of the work day on the computer sometimes the last thing I really want to do is sit here and type out a blog or send an email about my life. That being said, I’m feeling the need to reach out to all of you right now. Hi! How’s it going? I miss you! I can’t wait to come home and share a few good laughs with each and every one of you, no matter where you live right now. Montana friends: I know you’re betting on whether or not I’ll make it out there before the year’s end and let me assure I am going to do all that is within my power to make it so.
A couple weeks ago now I embarked on an incredibly spontaneous adventure. I needed to get off the ranch and break the routine of the work week where I sit most of the day on the computer, writing blogs, going through pictures of the ranch, creating brochures, etc. Isaac had the weekend off as well and Andrea was sick, so he and I decided to make a weekend of it and do whatever. We hopped onto the 9am shuttle Saturday morning, carrying backpacks ready for an adventure hiking through the rain, hanging out at the beach, or wandering through the city—always be prepared! I wanted an adventure, and adventure is what I got! We randomly hopped on a bus to San Ramon, a city about 3 hours from Fortuna by city bus that stopped every 2 feet at times. I mean, it wasn’t THAT bad, but it felt like that sometimes. I slept most of the way. When we got to the city neither one of us had any idea where anything was, but it didn’t really matter. We got off and wandered around and honestly, I felt slightly overwhelmed at the hustle and bustle and Costa Rican city feel. Spanish, people, loud music, speaking, yelling, singing, begging. I tried to look beyond the buildings to see what I could see. I saw a few mountains surrounding the city and suggested we climb one of them so as to see the sunset that was obscured by grey cement.
We paused at the plaza, tried to find a restaurant and failed so we ended up eating in one of the dirtiest bars I’ve ever been in but that’s all we could find where we were in the city at that point, so it was fine. Next we grabbed a few items for the road and headed out to climb to the mountain at the edge of town before the sun set. Surprisingly enough we made it, and it was a great climb…very steep but with a good road that led all the way to the very top. I can’t imagine climbing that every day, just to get to my house but I guess I’d be in brutally good shape. I felt great once we got to the top! We could see the sun setting, lighting off brilliant oranges and yellows and reds amongst the puffy clouds. The lights of the city began to come on on the hillside and it was perfect. Night fell quickly and we decided to continue being spontaneous so we hiked down the opposite side of the mountain into a whole different town. We walked for quite a while, just enjoying the evening. The stars started to come out, and we found a highway so we walked along side it in the residential highway portion that was less traveled. We came to a bus stop and waited for a bit, then asked someone how to get to San Ramon and were told to cross the street. In doing so we stumbled upon a cute looking bar/restaurant/hotel so we decided to hang our hats there for the night. The place was barely 2 weeks old and served some amazing “bocas”: rice and chicken aka arroz con siempre, red beans and bacon and rice, and a swordfish ceviche with soda crackers that definitely hit the spot! We even found Nicaraguan beer that actually had flavor, compared to the beer normally served in Costa Rica. The evening was spent hanging out with Bombi, a crazy Tico who wanted to practice his English. There were music videos playing from the 70s and 80s and he enthusiastically assured us that each new song that came on was his absolute favorite, along with the best song in the world—and he knew every word. I was exhausted, but he made me pay attention to his singing along. Isaac convinced me it was necessary to create alter egos so for the night I was Ana while he played Victor. That was about as far as we got in coming up with characters to portray to the people we met, but Bombi was sure not to forget our names. Ana! ANA!!! Conoces esta cancion??? Es mi FAVORITA!!! AHHH (insert singing here) translation: Do you know this song?? I hope so, because guess what, it’s my favorite. The next morning we got up and embarked on our trek back to San Ramon since we’d never really made it the night before. That Sunday morning was gorgeous. There was a perfect breeze and the most amazing thing about San Ramon aside from the perfect temperature was a complete LACK of humidity. I wanted to stay there forever!!! We hiked along the road, finding out that we were in Palmares, about 4 miles or so from San Ramon. As we walked, a van pulled up and a friendly Tico couple asked if we were going to San Ramon and wanted a ride. We accepted, and hopped in the back seat with their son. We zoomed through the mountains for a little bit, until at the bottom of one of the hills the battery died and the van came to a stop. We all got out and pushed it up the hill, which was not an easy task. At the top our friends told us that we should probably just continue walking to San Ramon because the fixing of their van could take a while. We kept trekking on and I am happy to report that once we got to the plaza our Tico friends passed us in their now running van and waved and honked as they passed. :) The best part of that story is that we weren’t even trying to hitchhike; they just thought it looked like we needed a lift, so they offered! Good people. The rest of our adventure consisted of eating, waiting for the bus, riding the bus, waiting for the shuttle, and riding the shuttle back. A pretty regular end to an irregular and awesome adventure. What a blast! As much as I enjoy maps and guidebooks and planning what to do before I go somewhere, I loved the feeling of complete freedom. We could do whatever we wanted and walk for however long we felt like because there was no plan. The only plan was to have fun, enjoy the weekend, and break the routine of mediocrity. I’d say it was a mission thoroughly completed.
Midweek last week we switched out one of our weekend days off and joined Derek, Dustin, Isaac, and Oon to go make a visit to “Tomas’ farm.” Tomas is originally from the Czech Republic and about a year and a half ago purchased some land on the top of one of the nearby mountains and built a farm, utilizing the ideas of primitive agriculture and organic production to grow and produce much of what he consumes. He harvests yucca, peach palm, tarrow root, bananas, soy beans, corn, and many other vegetables and plants. He also dabbles in creating moonshine and homemade salsas. We tried a concoction of his made with coffee that was originally supposed to be coffee wine, but now is something of a carbonated and fermented coffee liquor. His farm is one of the most peaceful places I have ever visited on earth and I loved spending the day there, relaxing in some of the hammocks at the top of a building he’s constructed that overlooks the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, a large area of rainforest that has been protected for future generations. Birds flew overhead and howler monkeys screamed off in the misty distance.
The clouds rolling in added to the tranquility of the place and a light rain on the tin roof above us was incredibly soothing. We munched on bananas grown on the property and looked out over the expanse. A tree stump carried into a type of twisting ladder along with a few other strategically placed pieces of wood served as our means of entering and exiting the open-air hang out. For lunch we ate off banana leaves and had a delicious combination of beans and rice with some tuna and other delicious spices thrown into the mix. We enjoyed some delicious coffee along with Tomas’ homemade fry bread—a combination of barley, oatmeal, and other flours as well as peanuts, brown sugar, and who knows what else. Either way, it was all incredibly delicious! We ended the day listening to Tomas play his accordion and hiked down the mountain, enjoying the views and the rolling misty clouds amongst the sounds of the rainforest. All in all it was an amazing day and a great break in the routine. :D 
Since then I honestly don’t have too much to report, other than the fact that many people have left the ranch for various reasons and the food has taken a nosedive into barely sustainable mediocrity. Beans and rice and fruit juice are all that compose our meals—we haven’t even gotten extra food leftover from the tourists lately! In other news, for all of you that sent me mail, I finally received it!! Thank you for sending it, it definitely made my night when my boss showed up and handed it all to me. Please don’t send any more as I assuredly will not receive it before I get back—5 weeks from today! :) Email is great, though the internet has been pretty inconsistent and was out for 3 days this week. The power cord on my computer decided to break and die so I’ve been borrowing a friends’ computer for the past week and as of yet have been unsuccessful in obtaining a new one. My goal for Monday is to go and find one in Ciudad Quesada, a 2 hour journey but worth it if I can find something. Pray for me! I’ve also been working hard on finishing up the internship requirements for Butler and am happy to report that I only have my portfolio reflection to complete and then I will be done with college! I can’t wait!
So I’ve decided, for a number of reasons, to end my internship here at the ranch in 2 weeks. By then I will have logged approximately 320 hours +, which is enough to fulfill Butler’s requirements. I’m not entirely sure how I will spend the last 3 weeks of my stay in Costa Rica but do know that one of those weeks will be spent traveling to the Caribbean side of the country and logging more bus time and pretty pictures. :) For those of you checking into my Facebook page I apologize for not having updated it in a while, I have plenty of pictures to post but a weak internet signal that has been preventing me from doing so.
I love the moments when I receive emails and messages and Skype calls from all of you, you have no idea how pumped I am to return and see you all so soon!
Today is Friday and therefore it is Pizza John’s night. If any of you ever come this way and visit you MUST check out Jardin Escondido, right outside of El Castillo near Lake Arenal. John DiVita is one of the kindest persons I have ever met and does anything for anyone. This past week Andrea and I packed up our dirty clothes and washed them all over at John’s, which turned into an entertaining adventure with the washing machine but we got it done! He’s always willing to engage in lively conversation and open his doors to anyone in need. We are contemplating spending some of our 3 week time frame staying at Pizza John’s and helping him implement some marketing initiatives. Beyond that, he makes some killer pizza and delicious ice cream. He just recently started also serving specials: BBQ, pulled pork, ceviche and all sorts of other goodies. Great times!
For those of you back in school or just about to start, enjoy and best of luck! For all the rest of you, enjoy your days as well! And as always, adventure on :)
Cheers,
Katie
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