300 meters west of...: 2012

Those who know me well know two things: 1) I'm always wearing high heels and 2) I hate being wet with clothes on. With that said, let me tell you about the new, possibly improved (whichever way you look at it), nature loving, hiking boot wearing, opened minded Sylvia.

Our plan sounded amazing. We were going to hike up the less known, less visited Barva volcano and visit the lagoon near the summit. I was really looking forward to it, since I had heard the scenery was gorgeous and I had always wanted to go on a long hike to find a beautiful view waiting at the top. Sadly, I am still waiting for that day (kinda). Here's what happened...

My day started at the ungodly hour of 6:00 am. I woke early to drive to my friends house to meet the group going on the hike. The night before I spent some time Googling "what to pack for a hike", so I was fully prepared: water, sunblock, first aid kit, snacks, my flask full of whiskey, you know, the essentials.

Barva is one of the three volcanoes surrounding the Central Valley and a fairly short drive up a long windy road lined with coffee trees and amazing views. On our way up, we grabbed a bag of mamonchinos from a guy on the side of the road to hold us over while we searched for a restaurant that was open that early! "Bag" is an understatement, I would say this was more of a giant sack of freaky looking fruit. I think I've blogged about these fruits before, but if not, then they are truly bizarre looking. They are pink and very hairy, kind of look like a sea urchin, but you rip off the outer layer and there is a sweet fruit inside. I think I had 2... maybe. I am still not a fan, but thankfully it wasn't much longer till we found a restaurant for breakfast.

With my truck still in the shop (that's another story), we could only drive the teeny tiny rental I had up to a certain point before the road got too rough, and we were forced to make the final mile trek up the rocky, mud ridden road to the park entrance on foot. Oh joy!

Someone got a little tired of walking

Thankfully the uphill climb was completely worth it. The trails in the park were well taken care of it and it really felt like we were the only people out there.

By the time we got to the lagoon it had begun to drizzle. Since I had clearly over packed, I was prepared and changed into my rain protection gear that would keep me dry. What I would quickly learn was there is a big difference between "water resistant" and "water proof", especially when you are in a Costa Rican rainforest.

By the time we decided to move on from the lagoon, the rain intensity had escalated from a lite drizzle to a scary F*@&%ing downpour, with the added bonus of the occasional earth shattering cracks of thunder. The rain was so loud it became hard to hear each other unless you were shouting at the top of your lungs. It was then I learned my "water resistant" jacket was not going to keep me very dry, in fact my pockets had started to fill up with water, and my shorts (and other things) were soaked through. My worst nightmare had come true. I was standing in the middle of a Costa Rican rainforest in a thunderstorm covered in soaking wet clothes.

Creative umbrella

After a brief pause under a canopy to get our bearings, we continued on, picking up the pace slightly as we made the trek back down to the cars. The trails were quickly becoming pure mud slides and it was then I lost my footing as I tried to navigate over the slippery rocks. Down I went... and hard. Fighting back tears I took one look at the blood pouring out of the open wound and tried my best to clean it with mud covered hands. It was going to be a long walk back.

Epic fail

I don't know how, or even how long it took (I think I may have blacked out for a bit) but we made it back to the cars. Crouching behind the drivers door, I managed to wiggle out of my soaking wet clothes and change into the amazingly dry, warm ones I had brought (just in case)...thank you Google for your brilliant suggestion to pack dry clothes. We never did made it to the volcano crater, with it's beautiful view but there is always next weekend.

It wasn't long before I was ready to hike again. This time we'd be going to Tapanti National Park. Clay and I picked up Jose on our way to meet Roberto at his parents house in Cartago. From there, Roberto drove us into the park, stopping briefly for a power brunch made up of a french fries and more french fries since it was the only vegetarian option on the menu. I remember thinking, I'm sure I won't regret that later.

It was another gorgeous drive into the park. Coffee lined roads and stunning mountain views. We even crossed over a bridge I swore was going to collapse under us. Maybe there is another way out of this park? Sadly, no! See you on our way out bridge, if you are still standing!

The park ranger was friendly enough as he gave us a 8.5x11 piece of paper he called a map, that looked like it had been drawn by a monkey. Somehow we made it to the trail where we wanted to start, the trail that according to Curious George's map, led to the river. And although the sun had been shining when we arrived, the clouds had moved in quickly and a lovely drizzle had begun. Armed with ponchos, aka, giant trash bags, we made our decent on the trail.

A short walk down, we found a cut off that led to the river and decided to walk over the boulders rather than get back on the trail. It sounded like a brilliant idea at the time. The view was amazing, you could see up and down the river from any point, and high above the trees was a giant waterfall.

Where is that waterfall?

There it is!

We stumbled upon a natural pool which was formed from a small waterfall and the boys wasted no time disrobing and jumping in. I decided it was best I stayed on the side and hunkered down to take lots of pictures.

Fun was had by all, but it was time to dry off and head home. The boys got out of the water and made their way back to where I was standing on the river bank. Still taking pictures, I had my back turned when Jose came up over a boulder, lost his footing and fell about 2 meters onto another boulder, and it wasn't until Roberto called my name did I turn to see Jose, shaking, with his wrist pulled close to him. Oh shit!

I ran over and assessed the situation, ER style. He was ok, but definitely shaken, his ankle was soar and his wrist was definitely hurt. Thinking quickly I sent Roberto to find a piece of wood to use as a splint, ripped off my shirt, Baywatch style, and secured his arm to the piece of wood using a few t-shirts. The girl scouts of America would be proud!

We let him rest before we started the climb back to the car, which seemed longer than I remembered, but isn't that always the case? We all learned a valuable lesson that day. It's all fun and games until someone falls off a rock!

Pura Vida!!!

P.S. Jose turned out to be just fine!

It was bound to happen. Everyone warned me it would. But I didn't listen. I was convinced I was one of the lucky ones. That I was above the advise of others. That somehow it would work out perfectly. And then it happened...

It should have seen it coming. There were signs. But I ignored them, forged on. That will teach me not to ignore the check engine light. Unfortunately it became harder to ignore the excessive amounts of smoke billowing out from under the hood.

As you probably guessed by now, my new [old] car broke down. And it wasn't one of those easy breakdowns, like it just wouldn't start one morning in the driveway, no, this had to be one of those complex driving in downtown, by myself, up a hill on a narrow, one-way road. And the added challenge of not speaking the language made this one hell of a morning.

Thankfully I was able to roll back down the hill and as close to the side of the road as possible, but I guess it wasn't close enough since the front of my car was now blocking one lane of traffic. In an attempt to stop the honking and screaming, I opened up the hook to make it known I wasn't moving anytime soon.

I took a step back and looked around. I was smack in the middle of downtown Heredia with people everywhere, but I never felt so alone. Not knowing what to do next, I got my phone and called the one person I knew I could count on.... Roberto Machado.

Roberto was spending the weekend at his parents in Catargo, about an hour away, but even from afar he managed to save my life (more than a few times in one day). He called a tow truck and told them where I was and where I needed to go. I took a seat on the crub and just tried to busy myself on the side of the road, re-reading the same sign in Spanish, which I think said something about not stopping on the side of the road.. oops.

The tow truck driver arrived surprisingly quickly, accompanied by his 13 year old son, who drove my car onto the flat bed... hmmmm how did he reach the pedals?

It wasn't long before I was sandwiched in between Francisco and his son Pablo on our way to the mechanic I knew of down the street from my house. We pulled up out front and Francisco laughed and said "no mechanico"... ummmmmmm shhhiittttt. Turns out, it wasn't in fact a mechanic, just a service center. But apparently this wasn't a problem, because the car driving baby child sitting to my right, called Mom and asked for their mechanics phone number. Thankfully, just around the corner was their friend, who just happened to be a mechanic, pure coincidence I am sure.

Now the challenge of getting my giant truck off the flat bed on the most narrow road I had seen in Costa Rica yet. I sat back and watched the show...

As shocking as this may seem, Raul (my new mechanic) spoke no English, weird.. I know! But that is ok, Roberto Machado to the rescue once again. Over the phone, he told Raul everything that had happened leading up to the breakdown, gave him all my details and even asked Raul to drive me to my apartment. I kissed my truck good-bye and prayed she's make it to see another day.

Now carless, I was actually forced to sit home and study! But who can study when I had a 4th of July party to plan.

Wanting to bring a little bit of American culture to my new friends, I planned a 4th of July BBQ at our apartment. I spent weeks planning and making decorations. Even bought a charcoal BBQ and all the necessary essentials for a backyard BBQ, including some backyard patio furniture!!