Costa Rica Unplugged: Day 3

Thunder roared over the trainer last Wednesday as she schooled us on the new writing program. I had been sitting in a class full of teachers all day when the forecasted summer storm finally hit in the afternoon. The boom made everyone's head turn towards the windows while I remained still. With my back to the glass, I listened to the magnitude of the rumble. 

It was baby thunder compared to Costa Rica's. When I was there, the crashing woke and kept me up throughout my second night in Tortuguero. The sound of someone standing over my head banging ten cookie sheets with a hammer forced my eyes open. Then I imagined gigantic lighting bolts thrown from the sky landing in the forest as the light-and-music show took place outside. I waited for the earth to split apart and pictured everything-- soil, roots, walkways, cabins, trees, crabs, river, monkeys-- being devoured slowly into a giant crack.

I didn't sleep until the morning but that didn't last long. We had a safari boat excursion scheduled after breakfast. The tour group was ready to go when our guide announced that the ride was postponed due to the nonstop rain and there weren't many options to choose from to kill time. We had already eaten and explored the grounds the day before. The pool was out of the question and there were no televisions in the rooms. Our only choice was to accompany the youngins at the reception area where the some of them lived and breathed the Wi-Fi. Jackie took on the task of uploading pictures from her Samsung to her Google Drive account to make room in her phone. I, on the other hand, lived up to my name of older responsible sister a.k.a. nerd; I took video of the rain and sent it to my dad, my attempt at daily notifications to him and my mom that we were alive and well.

A while later, a hold on the rain signaled our departure. Our group was divided into two boats and off we went in search of all things forest.

We started with rain gear and then switched to sun screen and hats to shield us from the the torturous rays (Costa Rica is near the equator.)

Three tiny lizards. Can you see them?

Cayman.

Camouflaged. 

Chillin'.

Our driver reminded me of El General... "Tu pun pun mami, mami..."

Our first macaw sighting. It's amazing to see the locals, like our guide and taxi, get excited over spotting these and other creatures. I guess some things never get old...

We didn't spot toucans or crocodiles during our trip so we were a bit disappointed. A few butterflies with neon blue wings did fly over our heads, though. We returned to the lodge, had lunch, and spotted more monkeys on the tree across from our cabin before taking another taxi to Tortuguero village. It was vibrant compared to the night before. The town consisted of the Caribbean beach, a school, a church, shops, and restaurants. We saw how the locals managed the rain, especially after it poured while I was buying post cards. They walked through it, cycled, or stepped on sand bags. I would classify the area as poor but full of life. 

Papa monkey.

Meeting mamma monkey and kids.

Babies exploring.

La escuela. 

Boys hanging out. We wondered why there weren't in school 50 feet away. Jackie found it refreshing that they could entertain themselves by simply talking.

Very nature conscious. "We're all a part of nature... Let's respect it!"

Coconut water, anyone? Only a buck, not $15 like at that Mexican cantina I went to on Friday night.

The Caribbean!!!

The gang!

Just how I like it, calm and beautiful.

Proof that I was there.

The only church I got to visit. :(

Music school.

Jackie, befriending a native boy. Pay close attention to how, while she walks on the edge, the boy takes on the flooded road.

More like jungle livin'.

The main strip.

We thought it was a trash can. 

Children playing in the park.

Our visit concluded at the souvenir shop before heading back to the lodge. We had dinner and closed out the day at the bar. As the group sat in a circle, we agreed that the constant downpour and constraint to the hotel grounds had suffocated us. So, to cheer ourselves up on our last night there, we took on a drinking game called 21. In case you're unfamiliar, the players had to count around to twenty-one and then assign a gesture or phrase to a number between 1-21 before the count off began again. If someone said, "Number 3 has to do the chicken dance," the next person who called out that number had to follow the rule. If we missed or forgot the command, we had to take a drink. By the end, all the numbers had orders and we looked silly stomping our feet, slapping our butts, and howling like wolves.

Satisfied with the use of our time, we said good night and went to sleep with sunny beaches on our minds.

Costa Rica Unplugged: Day 2

This morning we hit the road towards Tortuguero on the Caribbean side. But not before making a pit stop for lunch amongst poisonous tiny red frogs.

Sacred tree.

Be jelly: eggs, gallo pinto, sausage, plantains, and always delicious fruit. Oh, how we starved!

We thought this was where we were going to go rafting. Estupid Americains.  

Jackie spotted them. They were an inch long, maybe two.

After touring the grounds, we were back on the road again. Tortuguero, land of the turtles (which we saw none of, the only disappointing part of our trip), is on the Northern Caribbean coast by Tortuguero National Park. According to Wikipedia, "The village is situated on a sand bar island, separated from the mainland by Tortuguero River and bordering the Caribbean Sea. Tortuguero is renowned for its navigable canals that run through the rainforest in the national park, and has such earned the nickname of 'Central America's Amazon'." 

I had to look it up when I returned because I never understood its exact location. And boy did Wikipedia get it right. I've never been in a jungle but it sure felt like it. The itinerary read "forest" and our guide calmly said, "We'll be on a boat for an hour to get to the next destination," but we really had no clue where we were going. 

The city streets of San Jose led us to the Amazon-like Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo. In the blink of an eye, we were swallowed by green-- walls of vegetation, trees with vines, plants with giant leaves, thick mist, and clouds. The next minute, our breathtaking views were interrupted by the gravel underneath the rugged terrain tires of our bus. The driver slowed to a crawl. There were many potholes caused by previous rain that it was possible our shuttle could fall over. It swayed from side to side like the tram at Universal Studios passing through Earthquake or Jaws. That's why Jackie freaked out, because she was sitting next to the window watching the battle between our driver and the road taking place. I told her not to worry, that we were so close to the ground that nothing would happen if the bus did tip over. But for some weird reason, she feared this phenomenon more than a falling plane. She said she trusted pilots to maneuver their crafts to safety but she believed drivers had no control over their vehicles. Our guide, sitting a row ahead and across from us, overheard our conversation and tried calming my sister by saying, "Just enjoy what we call a Costa Rican massage." And that's exactly what I tried to do.

The road, pre-Costa Rican massage. No sidewalks. Vehicles and people just graze each other.

Plantains.

If I could, I would have sat back and taken it all in for what it was. But the ride was rough so I had to pull my head away from the headrest. Jackie, on the other hand, couldn't even breathe, especially when we came face to face with a flooded section of the road; she even checked her heart rate on her new Samsung 5 (show off). Our driver stopped to assess the situation and I hoped we wouldn't have to turn back. Jackie, though, hoped the driver wouldn't have to drive across the water fearing the current would take us with it. But there were officers or road crew members at each overflowed crossing (there were two or three) giving the OK. They guided our driver while Jackie held back tears. 

That's us, crossing the river, I mean road.  

An older shuttle emerging from the river. Just like Universal Studios, I tell ya.

More water up ahead.

Yep. It was third-world country stuff. My sister lent me a book a few months back that she read for grad school titled Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. The story takes place on a Mississippi farm in 1946 where families get stranded in town because the water level rises and they can't cross the bridge. Getting to Tortuguero felt a lot like that. 

After an hour of a free Costa Rican massage, we finally saw the actual river. Our guide stood up with worry in his eyes saying to himself, "The water is high." He had claimed earlier that the road we had traveled on had been completely inundated the past couple of days due to thunderstorms. He got off the bus and I wondered if it was going to be too dangerous to make it to our two-night stay in the rain forest. But he returned quickly with directions to take our bags to the boat for the next 60-minute ride. I expected to find a medium-sized Carnival cruise ship for 25 passengers and our 12-day trip luggage. But what I saw was only slightly bigger than a canoe. And that's where my first hint of panic presented itself. I wasn't  confident we'd arrive to our hotel dry. I looked around the loading zone and the area was covered with tourists awaiting their next adventure just like us. That sight didn't leave me any choice but to trust the boat taxis. That is what they did for a living, rain or shine. All I could do was hope that they wouldn't risk their lives for a colon, their version of a dollar. When our suitcases were in place, the guide recommended we use the restroom for a buck a piece before embarking on what started as one of the scariest trips of my life. 

It cost 500 colones to use "luxury" bathrooms: toilet, toilet paper, and a waste basket for the paper (You're not allowed to flush TP due to weak plumbing in most places). As we washed our hands, we heard rumbling outside the facility. We made our way through the crowd buying snacks at the on-site store when Jackie and I noticed the hazy view of our boat. That's when we realized that the rain had started pouring. Jackie had left her rain coat in her suitcase but I kept mine because I had planned on using it as a pillow on the shuttle. So I pulled the hoodie over my head and we took off down the rocky walkway to the taxi boat. To our surprise, most of our party was already waiting under the refuge of the boat's roof and plastic windows like the ones on my Jeep. I took the "window seat" in front of the luggage compartment with Jackie by my side. I quickly replaced my backpack with a life jacket, took a sigh of relief, and stupidly looked over the edge of the boat. The water was about five inches away from devouring our canoe.

Why are we riding in this thing, I screamed inside my head. How deep is this water? And, Will this life jacket even work?

Before I had time to voice my concerns out loud, the boat started moving. The guy in front of me touched the water without leaning over much and I freaked out. As the taxi reversed the water craft, it mimicked the tilting our shuttle had done just half an hour before. That's when I let out a scream thinking the water was going to take us down. But the boat bounced back up. Jackie laughed at me. Karma was no joke. 

Everything happened so fast-- bus, restroom, storm, boat, river, forest. I took several minutes to regain my composure and catch my breath because I was focused on 1) my survival plan should we go overboard, 2) being drenched, and 3) feeling hot and muggy and sticky. When I finally let everything go, I was able to enjoy what turned into the ride of a lifetime...

The view through plastic windows.

The boat.

Too close for comfort.

Me, not freaking out at all. 

Rain gone, windows up.  

Tortuguero river.

The first monkey sight!

Village locals.

After thirty minutes, the narrow river widened. The humid air turned cool and we rolled the windows up. That helped us ride calmly and quietly as we took in the incomparable scenery. 

We were greeted at Pachina Lodge thirty minutes later with a papaya drink to relieve all of our troubles. To my disappointment, I wasn't spiked. That made it easier to conclude that papaya and I were not meant to be friends. I set my glass on the counter at the outdoor bar while we were told our room numbers. We were then released until our afternoon boat ride.  

Home for the next two days. 

My cot. It reminded me of the displays at the California missions where the priests used to sleep.  

There were no windows, only screens and curtains. There was a newlywed couple in our group. I told Jackie I felt sorry for them. 

Cabin...fully loaded.

Jackie and I took advantage of our down-time by exploring the grounds. These were a few of the things we encountered.

Huge spider outside our room.

Groundskeeper pointed out this porcupine asleep on a tree.

The win-all FIFA World Cup Game. 

This lizard/salamander thing.

Beautiful walkways.

It felt like I was walking through my mom's backyard. 

Real blue crabs under cabins!!!

Another lizard.

This prehistoric, dinosaur looking thing stood up and took off running.

This one was about a foot long, I kid you not.

Polly.

My greatest find... 

He was about three feet long. I couldn't tell who was more scared, me or him.

Since our tour guide promised wine and appetizers on our afternoon trip, the entire gang was ready to go at the assigned time. We sailed in a larger boat that took us up the river to the Caribbean Sea while our guide pointed out creatures that can only call Costa Rica home.

Salud!

What ya'll been waiting for.........a toucan!

The Caribbean Sea, not as pretty as we thought it would be.

People chillin'.

Waterfront homes.

Bird...like out of a Dr. Seuss book. 

Another lizard. Can you spot him?

Pretty bird. Check out those feathers.

We were back at the lodge in an hour's time. The guide promised to take us to the local bar that night so we ran off and got dolled up. Showering was pretty pointless in Costa Rica. Because you were constantly sweaty, you never felt clean. That applied to clothes too. Everything in your suitcase was damp regardless whether it had touched water or not; jeans clung to your skin as if you were walking with them underwater. But we still made the effort. Our group met for dinner in the buffet hall at 6:30pm and we sat with new friends. At 8pm, a group of American girls invited us to watch their jump rope competition practice. Since we had an hour and a half to kill before our taxi arrived, we followed the rest of the stranded guests to the covered area by the pool to support the lucky teens who were too young to appreciate the beautiful country they were visiting.

The thunder rolled in before the girls even started jumping. Lightning served as their spotlight. The turtle-shaped pool looked like it was going to overflow. But the girls jumped through it. They did amazing tricks.

The performance ended but the storm did not. Some of us were afraid to leave the patio for the bar where a larger part of our group waited for the taxi still an hour away. When the rain subsided, Jackie and I made a run for it. Luckily, the rain ceased completely right before our departure. We were so excited to immerse in the Costa Rican culture!

The group was divided in two due to the size of the boat. I was on the first ride. When we reached the mainland, a few girls were afraid to step inside the bar without our guide because it looked sketchy. But Jackie, another girl, and I put on our tough L.A. girl pants and walked straight in. It was dark, as it should have been. The dance floor was empty except for a large dog asleep in the middle of the room while the speakers blasted bachata. The few people that were there were gathered around the bar. There appeared to be another tour group occupying a few tables near the dog. We headed towards the drinks where I was deprived of a margarita and even rum and coke. They only sold Costa Rica's beer, Imperial. I was ready to dance immediately but no one else would. I had to wait until the alcohol entered their bloodstreams and then we stole the floor until one in the morning.

The club view in the daytime. Not so scary anymore.

This was taken post-drunk-American-white-girl-teaching-everyone-to-dance and pre-vomit-in-every-toilet-and-sink discovery. And I still wouldn't change a thing!

As suspected, our trip did not stay dull for long. Day two encompassed, in my opinion, everything that Costa Rica has to offer-- unpredictable weather, unpaved roads, rivers, humidity, monkeys, parrots, Top 40s, and Imperial. I felt like I had experienced it all already but luckily I hadn't...