Pura Vida

Hey this is just a quick blog to let you all know that liz and i are on our way home. Liz had the early AM flight and is waiting for me in el Salvador. I fly to el sal at 5Ñ25 on flight 670 and then have a 1 hour layover with liz. We both fly out on flight number 7520 at 730pm and will arrive in LA around 1146pm. Gibi is picking my up, and i belive either nick or Liz´s dad will be picking up liz. So please contact eachother if need be: i had a great day and will blog about it later. My taxi is here and i gtg.

Love you much! gb

Ode from liz

Well well well....the trip is coming to a close. I will leave very early in the morning, but we still have some time here in SJ. What an amazing trip this was. I have to say that the beginning of the trip was a bit of a shock for me. You see, Gema could only catch a later bus from Manuel Antonio, and I was not receiving my email on my phone which died (piece of crap) so I sat at the SJ airport for at least 3 hours wondering if she was coming. Now please keep in mind that I have never been outside the country let alone by myself, and the only places I have been in the US were places for soccer and work, so they were very much on a tight schedule. You may have wondered why we titled our first blog together ¨Together at Last,¨ but believe me I was never so happy to see my friend Gema. Moving on, the next day we went horse back riding. For anyone that really knows me, they know that I am not really a fan of animals (and believe me I am well aware of the character connotations that are often connected to this haha), but these were wild horses and they took us on a death defying horse walk... wah wah wah. Not scary for the average person, but quite dare devilish for me. I also went snorkeling for the first time. I think Gema may have heard me scream ¨Oh God¨ about a million times. haha A fish tank may be where I might best appreciate underwater creatures! lol I have to say that the food and coffee here was absolutley amazing, and I happen to think I have pretty high standards. Well...maybe not haha I think I eat anything. But I have to say that we have met some amazing people and this trip has really opened my eyes to a world outside my everyday. A world without many

Fancy is back

Panamá is a really cool place, and i found that i actually enjoyed the people a little more there than in some parts of the carribean of Costa Rica. Yesterday in Bocca del Torro, Liz and i went on a tour to see the different islands that make up Bocca. The tour guide said that we would see many beautiful beaches and experince the wild life around here. It was an all day thing and considering it was only 15 bucks i was all about it.... That is until i realized the experiencing the wild life ment going dolphin watching for 2 hours. I kinda hate that shit but hey...it was pretty. After looking for flipper and taking a nap on the boat ..we

Ay Papi

So today Liz and i woke up and decided...yeah lets go to Panama. So we quickly packed our stuff and headed down to buy a bus ticket to Bocca del Torro. Its this little place where there are about 8 little islands that

Word to Your Mother

So yesterday liz and i arrived into puerto viejo as you read earlier. After eating the yummy jonny cakes we set off to find a friendwho was in a nearby hostel. Once we finally found the place we discoveredthat thehostesl was quite nice and decided to stay......

Lets fast forward later into that evening we decided to hangout with the kiwi's again andthey asked us to teach them about shizel and when to use this. This sparked probably the funniest conversation i have yet to have with a fellow traveler. First we had to explain to them that snoop uses shizel after every word so please use it as much as you possibly can! then we had to define to them what it ment. The most common way to use shizel is when your agreeing with someone. For example. Thats a nice bike.... "Fo shizel." We then had them practice using the word in the proper context. Imagion 4 kiwis sitting in the room trying to come up with ways they could useit in the conversation. As they sat there and added shizel to everyother word they said, Then i happed to say "word" as agreement to a statment they said. 'Word" when would you use that one of the asked. Liz and i then explaind its another form of agreement. and if you really want to make it really clear you agree tyou wouold say workd to your motha. They then assked wait...is it word to your motha or mother? and for the rest of the night they kept say oh i guess thats a "word" situation now wasnt it? lol add a very proper accent behind this and it had liz and i dying laughing. Quite commical really....word.

The beach is great and we are safe. Love you!

-liz&gema

Jonny Cakes

This morning we arrived in puerto viejo around 8am and went straight to food! we were starving and in some dire need for caffe y comida. So we found this little reggei breakfast bar right off the beach where they were already jammin the music. Yes we are def in the carabean. We ordered plates of food that included these things called jonny cakes which are kinda like biscuts but not and they us coco milk to make it. Delish..... we only have 2 min so this is gonna be a quicky. We are off to go find some friends, lay by the beach and possibly do some kyaking. the weather is a bit cloudy but its still hot. Love lots and lots - gema and liz

Es Scuba Esteban

Scuba Steve! Liz and i went snorkling today in Cahuita. Its very pretty there. The national park is very pretty. I dont have any pics right now cause i left my battery at another hotel but currently we are retreiving it. We are waiting for the bus to come in at 5 and its 422 right now. Is a bit shady here so the hotel said we can stay here till then. No worries we are safe. There is a semi pleasant little market that the bus comes into which is 2 blocks down so when its about time we are making our way there...just dont want to sun bath out there for an hour lol. Anyhow tomorrow we are off to puerto viejo where we are planning to find canyoning or ziplining through the jungle. Its absolutly beautiful out here! the culture is super laid back on the carribean side and tonight we plan on hanging out in a regge bar and have a couple of beers and meet some tourists. We have a cute little hotel with hammcks to lay out on. We plan on waking up really early tomorrow to go for a run through the cutest national park here that follows the water then we will get some crepes and coffee from the little place accross the street. Tia the coffee is AMAZING! I will probably toss my belongings and fill my bag with beans. LOVE YOU ALL! Oh yeah and liz now wants a fish tank for Xmass too...mom dad i hope your taking notes =)

Horses in the Coffee Fields

Today liz and i got up early and had some terrible pancakes at the cute little hostel in san jose then made our way to terriabla...or something of that sort. Once there we decided to go horse back riding...and we all know how much liz LOVES animales.. so it was quite interesting. But abslutely beautiful. Liz was chillin most the time so allw as good. We had a small mishap with one of the cabllos getting spooked which just spooked us but all was good. I will tell more later. =D then from there we tried the cheese that is made in just that city and chatted for quite some time over our lovely cheese and wine. Now we have decided to hit the hay early and make our way to Cahuita mas temprano tomorrow. Liz says that she now loves horses and cant wait for her parents to get her one for Xmas...jk but we are having fun and are safe and sound. Love you an Pura Vida...its a saying around here. XXo

Together at last!

This ones gonna be short and sweet. We are finally together, last night we met up at the airport after a few roundabouts....we stayed in a really cute hostel, Bekuo, and had a few drinks at a regge bar with the Kiwi´s I had spoken about earlier. Now we are about to get some grub that came with this cute hostel and will be on our way to volcan tenario....yay! Ps...Liz says hello to mom and dad. We love you lots.xxo

Bus to San Jose

Its funny how things work out. last night i was a little nervous how to meet up w liz at the airport. Finally after trying to fig out the best way to meet i decided that going to the airport was best. Then i went off to the local soda or bar they have here. Apparently i went way to early cause there were a bunch of families eating and no live band. so i baught a beer an milked it for as long as i could without looking too lonely. then a couple of seats over i noticed someone else doing the same thign. So finally after i decided i had enough of some old man hitting on me i went over to say hello. a traveler from new zealand who has been making ways around the world for the past 7 months and kinda jsut doing his thing. very very nice..well anyhow today he has to take a bus to san jose to meet a friend at the airport. his friend comes in at 3 and liz gets in at 4. perfecto! so i now have ,made a traveling buddy from here to san jose. lol and i even was able to squeeze in a kyaking session early today. this world is an amazing place.

Hiking in the National Park

Well today I spent hiking at the national park. I walked down to the main part of town which was about 3 miles away...but the walk was beautiful and very enjoyable. Once i got to the main beach i spent some time looking around for a place to exchange some bills....after walking up and down the little strip I found a little place that exchanged some dallas and gave me colons..Right after i decided i should go see some nature and went to the national park. Instead of paying $45 for a guide, i payed 10 to get into the park and just walked slowly behind the guides to listen in on what they had to say. Once i realized that what they had to say was kinda boring, i just ventured off on my own. Its really pretty i saw monkeys, a lazy sloth sitting in a tree...a mixture of an oversized hamster and rabbit thing...a couple of wild birds and a HUGE spider and pleanty of iguanas. finally after climbing through trails and hiking up the mountian to see the view (very pretty) I decided to lay on the secluded beach for a couple of hours, eat lunch, and play on the sand. Rain began to fall after about 1 1/2 hrs so i then walked back to my hotel. Along the way i ran into some people from florida and will most likely meet up to go dancing. Until then its food and nap time for me. LOVE YOu and i will continue to let you know what im doing! <3

Good Morning Manuel Antonio

Its about 10am here, and I just finished an amazing breakfast here at La Colina hotel. La Colina is the cutest little place imbeded within many trees alongside a small mountian. It's really quiet here, and the sight is absolutly gorgeous....But let me tell you what it took to get here. Yesterday after landing in San Jose, i had made 2 friends on the plane where were also planning on staying here in MA. They had previously rented a car and so we agreed we would could all travel together. the car came loaded with a gps...WHICH was awesome because as you passed certian areas the thing would talk to you and tell you about the cultural site and things to do...it was a gps tour guide....that would get us lost! the damn thng kept saying go right....recaluculating...turn aorund....recalculating....lol. so to make a long story short what should have been a 2 1/2 hr ride took us almost 4 hours. but i got to see all of CR. MY new frinds mo and bob were such good sports but we all decided that we would find a good rock in MA and play office space....
Now i am off to go to the National Park here...Mo and bob own property here and told me i am in probably the safest place in CR...and that CR is very safe in general so not to worry. The national park has trails and a beach so im packing my snorkel and will be on my way. Maybe later ill be able to take some pictures and post. I lovee you all and I am safe and excited to see what this place is all about. I can tell yo one thing though...i havnt left the hotel yet but i think iv already fallen in love with the area. besitos xxo <3

El Salvador

So I know i said that i would not leave the airport...but after ruthlessly trying to get on stand by and getting rejected over and over by all the cranky airport people, I decided to go power walking in the airport. But then i realized this airport is only about 300 meters long...if that...no more like 200m. Then i began talking to this guy doug who also tried just as hard as i did to get on the earlier flight. Apparently he speaks no spanish....so together we decided to team up and cab to eat on the beach. We left the airport, stamped by passport and ventured off...but not to far so dont worry. We ended up sitting outside this hotel for 3 hours just chatting...and now i am back at the airport...safe and sound...but i still have anotherr 2 hours before bording..just wanted you to know im safe...besitos xxo

Subjective Itinerary

So far.... My trip has gone through many changes and I havnt even arrived at the airport yet...actually everywhere in the Costa Rica just sounds so amazing it's been super hard to figure out where to go first...for how long etc...ect... But I have officially decided to make my way to Manuel Antonio...its a 3 hour bus ride from where I land, but i just cant help it. This place looks amazing and i feel like i will have missed out on an amazing gem if i dont go. I'v read that there are beaches that you can only get to when the tides are just right...and you can go cave exploring...yeah thats where im going first! I still need to pack though...im almost packed but then i keep remembering that i forgot something...oh well. Somewhere between the next 48 hrs of work, soccer, visiting cousins from Mexico, sleeping, and eating i will find the time....34hrs and counting before take off :)

Where to start?

It's Wednesday, and I've come to realize that i leave in 1 week. I still have so much planing to do...but so far it looks like I will be managing to hit both sides of the little country. When I land I will make my way to the pacific coast and spend three glorious days bike riding, kayaking, and getting massages. On the third day I will be making my way back toward San Jose somehow...where to I have no idea yet. Liz lands in the evening, and from there we are on our adventure of backpacking....all i know is that i fully intend to make my way to that beautiful volcano below.....I'll keep you up with what i decide next.

Last night at 12:30AM I bought myself a ticket to Costa Rica...I leave Thursday September 3rd and will return on the 13th... I will have 3 days alone, then Liz, one of my best friends, will be meeting up with me... For some time now i have been dying to just get away...so this is the begining of me exploring the world beyond the scope of my bike.... The picture to the left is of Celeste river in Tenorio Park....I can't wait!