Elimination

My most prized material possession for the last 2 years is no longer with me. We thoroughly enjoyed a few days in Mal País/ Sta Teresa, Costa Rica on the Pacific coast. The stop was quick but nice and we met some interesting people. Unfortunately, my ipod grew arms, disconnected itself from the charger then grew legs and walked away. We have no idea how it disappeared and NOTHING else in our room was touched. Alice's ipod was even in plain site and mine was under my exploded luggage on the floor, further from the door. The following day's 12 hours of travel to the Caribbean coast was a bit brutal. No book, no music and hours and hours of bus... I guess now I have one less thing to carry, one less thing I can lose.

Yesterday we arrived in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. All of Costa Rica is beautiful and the Costa Ricans are really kind. My biggest complaint about them is that sometimes they try to be too helpful.

We met a local dive instructor on the bus to Puerto Viejo. Through him, we found an opportunity to help out with a regional disaster. A hurricane in Florida (I think in '92) destroyed an aquarium containing 3 Lion Fish. Lion Fish are not native the to Caribbean are very poisonous and have no predators. The 3 little fish multiplied and multiplied and multiplied. They are now threatening many species and essentially the entire ecosystem of the Caribbean. Lion Fish eggs float on the surface so they can travel and spread over long distances very quickly. Groupers have been eating the Lion Fish but their poisonous spines kill the groupers. It's a disaster in the making. We spent the first half the day snorkeling the reef off the beach of Puerto Viejo looking for Lion Fish. Unfortunately, Alice, Rachel and I were unsuccessful at finding them but the guys working for the project trying to protect native species caught 7, 6 juveniles and a small adult. It was fun to get out and volunteer a little time to help out, even if we weren't so helpful.

Next we are getting ready for Halloween and trying to make of the most of the few days we have here. Ciao

Nicaragua was incredible. After Managua and Granada, we headed to the island on the lake, Ometepe. We climbed volcano Maderas expecting to see a crater lake. Instead, we tree climbed to the most anticlimactic summit I have ever experienced. It was freezing cold and so cloudy we could see about 10 meters into the crater. We heard later that the "lake" was rather unimpressive and others also found the hike disappointing. We have had some wonderful local guides but this was was sub par. He just didn't do much "guiding". Rachel sprained her ankle toward the bottom, in a hurry to end the hike. We did see white faced monkeys, definitely the highlight of that day. Although Ometepe's twin volcanoes are beautiful and the island tranquilo, I heard great things and my expectations weren't met. We left the island a day ahead of schedule and spent an extra on the beach in San Juan del Sur. I took a few goes at surfing on borrowed boards but since Rachel and Alice have never surfed and Rachel had a busted ankle and couldn't take a lesson, Alice decided to wait to learn until they can do it together. Costa Rica and Panama should provide opportunities. Instead, we spent an entire week on the beach. We had a few rainstorms but overall the weather was decent. Just cloudy enough to keep us from burning.
Yesterday, we arrived in Costa Rica. My first impression, Little America. Driving (we got a ride from a new friend) through winding mountain roads (paved but with potholes), a cloudy haze meeting the lush vegetation, I felt like I was back in the USA. That probably sounds weird but after a day here and wandering through the small volcano town of La Fortuna, I still feel like I am in Little America. Maybe I have just been in Honduras too long. Prices are significantly higher here than any of the other countries we have been to. We are struggling with the complicated conversion rate (575 colones to $1) and much higher prices. We knew Costa Rica was expensive but dishing out the cash is still hard when we are so accustomed to Honduran and Nicaraguan economies.
Off to a thermal river then the Pacific coast for more beach and surfing. It's a rough life...

officially unemployed and homeless

Now that I am in transit you probably want to hear what I am doing... at the same time, I am highly unmotivated to spend much time in front of a computer when I could be hanging out on the beach or wandering around a new city. That said, updates will likely be few and far between, and without pictures (I'll get to that). Lo siento...

I finished my PC service amidst national curfews and demonstrations in the capital. We are supposed to spend the last week of service in and out of the office finishing reports, getting signatures and completing medical appointments. As we entered Tegus Monday afternoon, an announcement came on the radio: national curfew starting at 4:00pm due to the surprise return of the ousted president, Mel Zelaya. Announcing a 4pm curfew at 3:30 caused traffic to stop dead. What a way to start the last week...

The curfews resulted in PC cancelling our medical appointments and giving us vouchers to get physicals and parasite tests when we return to the States. That's great... IF you are going back! Since we only have 60 days to do the appointments, I'll be stopping at the doctor's office in Panama. Booo! The week was frustrating as we spent 42 straight ours held up in our not so luxurious hotel. A 24 hour curfew means no restaurants or grocery stores opened. The embassy was generous enough to donate military MREs for us (meals ready-to-eat, what soldiers eat in the field.) We planned to enjoy our time and each other's company as we don't know when we will see each other again. The final week of service is usually full of fun, socializing, taking advantage of your favorite Tegus restaurants, and other volunteers passing through for goodbyes. needless to say, we searched for ways to enjoy ourselves in the Hotel Guadalupe II for the ENTIRE week. But we survived the demonstrations, the tear gas and each other.

As official RPCVs, about 5 of us headed to the Bay Island (off the north coast of Honduras) of Utila. Possibly my favorite place on Earth. We spent an entire week diving, hanging out in the ocean and getting too much sun. I wasn't ready to leave. Unfortunately, among all this fun, I left my camera out and it became the first casualty of the trip. The camera was old and can be replaced. What upsets me is all the photos I lost from the last several weeks.

If Traci hadn't flown in, I may still be in Utila. It was a good thing she got us moving. With her, Alice, Rachel and I visited Copan Ruins and headed for Guatemala. Antigua, Volcano Pacaya (hot lava glows, roasts your marshmallows and melts your shoes), Chichicastanengo market, Guatemala City (where Alice took the GRE!), Coban, Lanquin and the beautiful natural pools, caves and underground river of Semuc Champey then back to Guate, through El Salvador and on to Managua, Nicaragua. Since I took a detour to pick up a suitcase in Tegus between San Salvador and Managua, I just spent the last 4 nights in 4 different countries. I'm ready to slow down a bit and look forward to spending a few days in Granada. Traci left this morning to return to those crazy things like a job, husband and my dog. It was great having her company and showing her around this part of the world. It's back to just Alice, Rachel and I living it up unemployed and homeless... : )