Backpacking Trip 2010

About three weeks ago, Katie and I came up with this little list of things that we realized we took for granted back in the States. It took about 2 minutes to compile, but we have added a few things since then. I thought I would share them with you all.

So, here goes:  hot water, drinkable water, clean clothes, doing laundry, working toilets, flushing toilet paper down the toilet, food availability and accessibility, food preferences easily met, convenience of stores and their locations, phones (cell phones, land lines, pay phones that you can understand how to use), computer access, book stores, libraries, kitchens, Starbucks, access to favorite foods/drinks/restaurants, communication (no language barrier), driving myself around, night life, tampons (rows and rows of pads, but hardly ever even a tiny section for tampons), prices of toilettries and cosmetic prices (shampoo, razors, you name it, are virtually at least a dollar or higher more expensive), grocery prices (some things are cheaper, like a lot of fruits and veggies, but the majority of other things is WAY more expensive), quality and freshness of food, easy access to money/banks, gyms, privacy, music choices, the mail (yeah, won´t get too into it, but no mail service; really, NO mail service), online shopping, shipping, clean air, visiting local attractions (being in the States, no matter where in the States, you can find something cool and historical and all that jazz where you are), traveling and exploring within our own city, state and country, safety, affordability of books (when we do find a book store, the books are super expensive; we´re told they are so expensive because people don´t buy books because they don´t read, but I don´t know…), plan B, karaoke, source of income (yeah, having a source of income is nice!), taking advantage of discounts and deals, salad dressing (oil and vinegar only for salads), good cheese, cream, draft beer (cans or bottles here, that´s it), lack of unwanted attention, movies, movie theaters, towels, clean towels, recycling, composting, walking, air conditioning, state of mind, freedom, being born physically healthy, healthy mind and healthy body, breathing, life.

We will probably add more to the list as time goes by (we have been, up to this point). But, yes, these are things we TOOK FOR GRANTED in the States. So, if the items on this list surprise you, think about it! I would kill for a hot shower! It´s only been….a month?

For those of you who don´t know: playa=beach, mono=monkey, and self-relflection, well, that´s for you to decide what it means! 🙂 I say “playas” because I´ve been surrounded by gorgeous, dazzling beaches for almost three weeks now, and I´m leaving the current beach, Playa Venao, tomorrow to head to yet another beach, on the islands of San Blas. I say “monos” because in addition to being surrounded by beaches, I´ve also been surrounded by monkeys! We´ve seen white-faced capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, and monkeys whose names I can´t pronounce! I wanted to see the beach and I wanted to see monkeys, and, well, I have! It hasn´t gotten old, either! I just get more and more delighted! And that is what my life will be every day forward: full of delight and intoxication and thrill! I have determined that September will be a month of optimism. Rather, continued optimism. I have gone to sleep every night excited to see what life will bring me and I wake up knowing that whatever it is, I can do it.

All in all, my life is harmonious! I couldn´t ask for a more marvelous life than the one I have, and it´s only going to keep getting better from here! There is so much alone time to reflect, I’ve had an abundance of time to myself. I used to ask myself, in doubt, “Is it possible to be this happy?” and I know now that it IS possible! Any thing and every thing is possible in life. And it’s all in how you view life! Life is going to keep going no matter how you feel about it; life doesn’t take what you do or how you feel about it personally and it’s a good idea not to take life too personally, either. I used to tell my myself that I couldn´t have something, or do something, or want something, or be something, or go somewhere; I thought it was for everyone else to have and live their dreams, that it just wasn´t for me. I talked myself out of even having dreams for such a long time. “Why have dreams?” I thought. Dreams were just something for other people, but not for me. And it wasn´t that I didn´t have dreams, I did, but I just didnt think it was possible for me to live those dreams for various reasons, fear, this seemingly unshakable inferiority complex I was harboring, whatever. I took a huge leap of self-faith and I have found myself to be capable. And the irony, is that I have proved to be capable with each and every task I had set for myself and I didn´t even realize it. But, when I took that huge leap of faith in myself and I faced my fears (the fears I had about life, about the unknown, about myself, about failing, about succeeding), I was kind of left out there to figure things out on my own. What you find, what I´ve found, is the truth. I have found awareness; awareness in what was there all along, awareness of who I am, awareness of the path I have built, awareness that the path that I am building by the choices  I´ve made truly would have no direction if it wasn´t for ME. You can literally mould your life to go into whatever direction you want it to, feeling any way you want to about it. When you realize those things, you conquer your fears.  And when you strip down all of the fears, all that is left is the truth, what you have been so afraid of seeing all this time; all that is left is YOU, laid bare. And you realize who you are, what you can do, where you can go, you truly realize you have the whole world in your hands, because you do! I say “you” but I mean ME (and you, it can be for you, too!)! And once the fears were exorcised, all of the doubt in myself and in my dreams melted away, too. I can be free. I am free of the dependency I had with my fears AND my successes. One of my newer theories is this. I think there are two roots to all of the bazillions of emotions out there: fear and love. All of the horrible feelings to be felt all come from the root of fear and all of the incredibly terrific feelings to be felt generate from the root of love. Just think about it. Once I got to a place that I recognized fear had no place in my life anymore, I discovered I am free to feel however joyful and blissful and to feel however I want to feel. I feel like, no matter what situation comes my way, as long as I don’t let the fear take over and not be afraid of what could happen and instead trust myself and my capabilities and look at these situations as more opportunities to grow and more lessons to be learned and be grateful for them and be grateful just for a new day of existence, and greet these opportunities with a never ceasing smile on my face, I truly can be free. I can be. With all of this time on my hands, I realized that that is all we have in life, that is our life: time. And we can choose to fill up that time however way we choose, carrying however attitude we choose to carry. We can all choose. Always. We are always free if we just see that we can choose and we can be free when the fear is seen for what it is and we can be aware of who we truly are underneath all of that fear. I just say all of this out of my personal experience. All of this, what I’ve said, is what I have personally experienced and am experiencing. And happiness is best when it is shared. I’m not trying to lecture, preach or anything else, just share. 🙂

I wanted a trip. I wanted a change, a change in my life and a change in myself. And I have found it. I feel liberated! I am twenty-six and my life feels like it has just begun! In a way, it has. I am bursting at the seams to find out  where I will take this journey to next!

So, tomorrow will bring another travel day! I am going to San Blas, for beach, beach and more beach! Ah, such is the good life! But first, an overnight trip back to Panama City where I’ll then catch my jeep to San Blas! It has been wonderous being in the middle of nowhere, but it sure is exciting to go back to the city!

It’s 10:15pm, Panama time. I’ve gotten very little sleep since two days ago. Traveling to Panama City took about 9 hours and when we got to our hostel (http://www.lunascastlehostel.com/), we didn’t get any sleep. On the plus side, I got to watch the sun come up on the bay, which was understatedly beautiful. But, I still can’t sleep. I guess that’s good. I figure the best thoughts come when you are sleep deprived; the mind is loopy and thus languid and tranquil, pliable. I have thought about much lately. I have thought about humanity…I have been to several countries now (yes, I realize I have yet to only visit about 1%, maybe less, of the countries out there) and I have come to discover that people, no matter where they are located or placed, are the same. Humanity stays the same, no matter where the location. I hope to be proved wrong. I always hope to be proved wrong. However, in currently realizing this, I contemplate my own humanity. How do I relate to these faceless, nameless people? I want to get to know the mystery, I want to know their story (in turn and along with that, I want to know my own story). Where are they going? Where did they come from? Where did they stop along the way? How did they get here? How do we know where to go? What takes us places? What draws us to each other? What keeps us there? What tells us it’s time to move on? Time has no beginning, no middle and no end nowadays; no date, either. I am just here, somewhere in between. I feel like I am in the grey matter, somewhere between black and white. I want to be blue. Or red. I want to be some one. I want to be some thing. I know I am; I guess I am. I wish I could see myself from someone else’s eyes, someone else’s perspective. Not that it would matter, not that it would affect my opinion of myself, but just to know. I know I want to go somewhere. I am somewhere. I have been somewhere. I am going somewhere. I just want to know. And the beauty is, I may never know. I would like to say I probably won’t know, but I don’t fully believe that, at least, I don’t want to. I’m looking to my left, out of the balcony the computer is set up next to, and I see the bay and the Panama City skyline (I’m currently in Casco Viejo, just outside of Panama City). I’m really here. I’m in Panama. I’m twenty-six years old! Where did the time go? And I’m in Panama City! It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve (we’ve) already been traveling for two months…the time really does fly by. I think that I’ve got two months left and it doesn’t seem like enough time to see and do what I want to do. And I know, whatever time does go by, that that’s all I’ve got to hold on to: time. Time=life. Time=the time of my life. It’s what I’ve got. I’ve been living out of a backpack for two months and it has made me realize how little we all really need to survive, to get by. It feels so good to have simplified my life…I wonder why I thought I needed all that stuff before. In realizing that, I’ve realized what I’ve really needed, what’s really important. And, I have tons of that. I feel fortunate. No, not fortunate or lucky, I just wish there were an accurate word…I guess, I feel aware. Aware. There really is much beauty in the world. There is so much beauty that it becomes overwhelming; I know I can not fully comprehend it. It’s blinding, though. It burns the soul. The beauty of humanity, and the ugliness. And how beautiful the Earth is; how beautiful life’s processes are and how we make up our tiny, individual part of it. Aware…aware.

It`s August. It`s August and today is our last day in Costa Rica. First thing tomorrow morning (we`re waking up at 4am), we are heading to Panama City, Panama! We are taking a 9 hour bus ride from San Jose to David, Panama, and we`ll be staying overnight there, then taking another 5-6 hour bus ride from David to Panama City. We never went to Nicaragua, as my previous blog mentions. Later, that very same day I wrote my last entry, events occured that changed our minds and we decided to go to Santa Barbara, in Heredia, outside of San Jose, instead. We have been in Santa Barbara since then, staying at Richard`s apartment. I can`t speak for how Katie`s time here has been (although I do have an idea of how it has been for her), but I can speak for myself and the last week and a half has been some of the best days of my life. We`ve had movie marathons, epic breakfasts and dinners, intense work outs at the gym, adventures including taking six buses in one day to the international mall here, Jenga games, hot water, dancing, motorcycle rides, seeing Richard`s soccer game, and TONS of laughter. We`ve also been able to relax, chill, and take it easy as well. Basically, we`ve had it all since we`ve been here. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Santa Barbara, staying with Richard. My life changed the day we met and there`s no going back if I tried (and I don`t want to). I am beyond thankful for Richard`s hospitality and never-ending patience with the both of us since we`ve invaded his space (although, he wouldn`t call it that). I am thankful for his companionship and company and I can not wait to discover when and where our next adventure will take us.

I have fallen in love with Costa Rica…and we`re leaving tomorrow. I am insanely excited to go to Panama and have our first border crossing. I absolutely can not wait to see the Panama Canal. We don`know yet how long we`ll be staying there, as long or short as it feels right for the both of us. The last time I was this excited and sad to travel at the same time was leaving Sarasota. Wherever I go, Costa Rica will be with me, in my heart, along the whole journey. And wherever I have gone since I left two months ago and where I go for the next two months, I have taken and will take those I love with me every step of the way, too. I always will.

When I look at my life, who I am, who I`ve become, who I`m turning into, where I`m going, I can not feel more overjoyed and complete as I do. I have the whole world ahead of me, behind me, around me, above me, below me. Time and place has no boundary…Where I felt insecure before, I feel stable and sure. When I used to tell myself, “You can do anything you want to do, be anyone you want to be, go anywhere you want to go,” doubt whispered in response. Well, that doubt has no place in my heart or mind anymore; it`s been long gone. When I tell myself the same things now, I know it is true because I`m doing it now and I always have been before, I just didn`t know it. I am not sure I can truly explain how it feels to be free, truly free, to have the whole world at my finger tips and realize I have it all, everything and anything anyone could want. I used to ask myself in disbelief, “Is it possible to be and feel this happy?” and the answer is YES! ABSOLUTELY, YES! And, it`s not just because of me, because of myself, it`s also because of all of the people and places that make up and fill the rest of my heart. I am eternally grateful for all of them (for all of you!!!!). When I left Sarasota, I was searching for something (after all, we`re all just searching for something). I wanted to be strong, strong in myself, someone I could be proud of, have goals, be secure in myself and believe in myself, discover I am capable and to find stability. I woke up and realized I found that. I have found everything I set out to find. I am not as naive to think the search is over already; the search for self-discovery, growth and improvement is a life-long thing, a journey I am greatly looking forward to. But, I am at peace and happy and I don`t want anyone worrying about me. No matter what happens, I know I`ll be okay. I will be.

So, tomorrow is a new day, a travel day! I lovvvvvvve travel days! I will update everyone as soon as I can and will update everyone as often as I can. DON`T WORRY ABOUT ME! I love you all and will get in touch soon! Peace, love & happiness, Ang

In my last blog (8 days ago), I mentioned I´d update sooner! Well, combine one shabby computer for everyone at the ranch to use (one computer for all of the guests, employees and volunteers), plus a terrible connection and that equals less personal and blog updates, less communications. I am currently in La Fortuna in an internet cafe, so I am happy that I have a reliable internet connection and I can update everyone! Also, Katie and I hit the one month mark of traveling! So, we´ve been traveling for a month and a week already! Myyyy how the time flies!

Aside from thinking of my family and friends constantly, I have been busy at the ranch, working with the animals whom I´ve come to love very much. A few days ago, while James (the totally awesome guy I work with every day) and I were cutting down sugar cane in the fields, we came across a fer-de-lance! For those of you that don´t know what kind of snake it is, it happens to be the most dangerous snake in Central and South America, and one of the deadliest snakes in the world! Fortunately, James is a badass and handled the situation so nothing bad happened to either of us, but, it was a very close call! I had walked right by where it was laying and didn´t even see it! James saw it, went, “Oh dios mio!”, took a piece of sugar cane and beat it to death, then looked at me and said, “Let´s go.¨He did NOT need to tell me twice! The snake was pretty large! Snake 0, James 1. haha. I hope to never come across one of those again!

Then, the very next day, I cut myself with a machette! In my previous blog, I wrote that I am one big scrape, cut, gash, bruise & mosquito bite from head-to-toe so new injuries aren´t too surprising to me, but this hurt like a son-of-a…..! I am ok, it wasn´t as deep as it could´ve been because I hit my knee bone, so it is more of a bone bruise. Fortunately for me, the machette was kind of dull, as well! But, it does hurt. I´m going to be leaving the ranch with what will end up being some pretty cool scars! haha.

Tuesday is my day off at the ranch, so I came to La Fortuna again. This time, Richard came up to visit me and Katie! I came up on Monday evening by myself (Katie was working that night) and met up with Richard in the middle of Parque Central. He took several buses and almost six hours to get here, just to see me. It was soooooo great to see him! Katie came up on Tuesday morning and the three of us were together again! The three of us always have the best time together! So, Monday night, it was just Richard and I, then Katie came up and we all went out together last night. During the day yesterday, me, Richard and Richard´s room mate, Brauny (who happened to be on vacation in La Fortuna), went to the Cerro Chato waterfall. It was the most beautiful waterfall I´ve ever seen and almost one of the most beautiful things I have seen so far in Costa Rica. I didn´t bring my bathing suit on this trip to La Fortuna so I went swimming in my bra and shorts! Ha! The water was freezing but it was super awesome! We walked to the water fall, walked the preserve and went swimming. We had a lot of fun together, it was a gorgeous day for swimming at a waterfall! Then we walked back, met up with Katie and the four of us went out for eating and drinking (MUCH drinking). We had a great night hanging out, although I feel VERY rough today. Haha. Richard left this morning to go back to San Jose and Katie and I are still hanging out in La Fortuna today. I can´t believe we had to say goodbye to Richard again so soon! 🙁 I will miss him dearly. I miss him already! When we come back from Nicaragua, we are going to go back through San Jose and we´ll be staying with him for a week, so I´ll be looking forward to that! 🙂

So, Katie and I decided to leave the ranch early. We decided today, this morning, and we´ll be leaving for Nicaragua tomorrow. We mutually agreed that four weeks is too long and we don´t have to do what we don´t want to do. I am exhausted and I am looking forward to being able to sleep in again. I am very proud of myself that I did this and consider my time at the ranch to be a big success in my life, even though we are leaving early. I will touch more on that later.

Our next destination is going to be Ometepe Island in Nicaragua! We´ll be on an island in the middle of a lake, surrounded by two volcanos! Ahh! Crazy! I don´t know how long we´ll be there, but it´s okay because leaving early from the ranch will free up more time for our travels.Well, I´m ending this entry and going to get some food! I will be sure to update again, as soon as I know! Mucho amor de Costa Rica, Ang

I have no idea where to start, or what to say, because so much has happened the last five days and I don’t know where to start. Well, I’ve been at the ranch for five days now and it feels like an eternity already! I have already gotten into a daily routine and it feels like I have been doing it my whole life! I absolutely love the work I have been doing! The first two in a half days were working on the farm, in the garden (“gardening” makes it sound so glamorous!). I have planted carrots, transplanted cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, I tore down a plot of cherry tomatoes that got infected (this took about 8 hours to do), and have tilled land to get ready for planting. Then, the last three days have been working with the pigs! Oh, how I love these pigs! We have pigs ranging from 500-600 pounds down to little piglets, some only 14 days old (who are the most adorable little babies EVER). It is all very hard work from first thing in the morning to the end of the day. On my first day working with the pigs, I introduced myself to them by telling them my name, telling them I am their new friend who will be feeding them and taking care of them. I scratched the momma pigs behind their ears and whispered sweet nothings into their ears. I have devoted more time than the necessary 6 daily hours; I’ve worked about 7-9 hours every day. I collect the ingredients for their diet (which includes going out onto the farm and cutting down sugar cane, going to collect the other two plants we put in their food), then cutting the sugar cane with a machete [this is soooo hard to do, by the way], cutting up the other ingredients and mixing them together. I clean their pens, put the pigs out into their play area, then clean them off when they get back and put into their pens, just to name the primary tasks. I also tend to the chickens, mix their feed, feed them, water them, put them out, wrangle them back in at the end of the work day, and collect their eggs. I work with the pigs and chickens throughout the whole day and take one 15 minute break for lunch. I haven’t done too much else other than work! I was originally told I would be working behind the bar, but after speaking with the director of operations, I was placed in the gardens, farm & with the animals. I was ecstatic to be told this! Once I got here and toured the ranch, I made up my mind that was what I wanted to do. I am one big bruise, scratch, scrape, gash, insect bite and every thing else from head-to-toe! I’ve cut myself up every day, in some way or another. Today was a 4 inch long gash down my calf from jumping a fence and then slipping on the way down. I am filthy, my clothes stink, I stink, I can’t seem to get completely clean, I’m exhausted, I’m cut, I’m sore, I itch from every surface of my body, and I am the happiest I’ve been in my entire life. I have never worked this physically hard yet I have never felt so complete and fulfilled in my whole life. I bet people who don’t keep up with me and what I’m up to think I’m on vacation, living it up and relaxing! If they only knew! Haha! I have grown immensely as a human being already. I am completely independent! All of the employees here are terrific and I enjoy every minute of my day, from start to finish! Like I said, I haven’t done very much other than work yet, because I work so harrd, by the time I’m done, I’m exhausted! But, I have gone to yoga twice, gone swimming in the hot pool once, gone swimming in the pond once, gone into Castillo for pizza and beer, and learn to dance at night with the employees! This entire facility works together, we are all in it together, we work as a team and it is all cohesive to the mantra here. We all sleep in the same quarters, we work together, eat together, dance together. We are truly each others’ family. The employees here speak Spanish, only a few of them can converse in English, and then a few more of them speak and understand a little English. So, naturally, I’ve been learning Spanish and speaking and understanding more by the day! The energy here is amazing. I haven’t gotten to spend very much time with Katie, our schedules have been different since day one, but we do get to see each other every day and get to talk and hug and we’ve had some drinks and gotten to eat together. We both feel the same way: like we have landed in the most magical place in the world and have already grown as human beings and we couldn’t have it any better than we do. I work hard every day and earn my food and shelter. It feels so rewarding to my soul. I breathe happiness and I exude happiness from every pore! I have worked in down-pouring rain, with wet socks and shoes, I have been covered in mud, poop, pig & chicken feed, I have hurt myself and been exhausted, but I love it here, I love every part of it, every second. I feel like I am repeating myself! Haha. But, it’s true, all of it. I do miss my family and friends (hello, out there!!!!!!) very much. I think about them when I’m working and when I’m laying in bed at night, listening to the thunder and volcano rumble (did I mention that Volcan Arenal is right around the corner?!). I love Costa Rica. We haven’t been to any other country yet, but I can’t imagine any place better than here. I love the way I feel. I love the way this place makes me feel. I love my gorgeous surroundings. I feel like this is what I have been wanting and waiting for, my whole life. I feel like I have a symbiotic relationship with myself and the earth and the plants and creatures on this earth. I am at a loss for more words at the moment! I just don’t know what else to say! It hasn’t even been a week working on the ranch yet and I can’t believe how much I have grown and the person I have grown into since working here. As I am writing this, I am completely disgusting, my feet, socks and shoes are soaked, I am covered in everything from my work day. But, you get used to it, you get used to feeling like that! Haha! And it feels good! Well, I’m done with non-profound sentences and repeated ramblings for now. There is no phone here for volunteers and the computer access is limited (and when I can get on it, the connection drops constantly).  But, I hope to update again sooner that way I can write better and better explain what I’ve been doing! I miss you all very much (hello out there!!!!!!)!!!! I’m sending hugs and love to you all!!!!!

I´m leaving Monteverde tomorrow at 8am! I´m headed to Arenal for what is to be a four week volunteer work exchange program! The destination is Rancho Margot, a working ranch near Lake Arenal. I´m told I´ll be bartending! I´m going to be working six days a week, six hours a day, in exchange for free three meals a day, housing, and complete complimentary use of the facility and amenities during  my off time (which include free yoga, horseback riding, etc). I am greatly looking forward to working again, being productive and making myself useful. Even though I´m excited to bartend, I am going to insist on working on the ranch, getting my hands dirty. I can not believe my good fortune in getting accepted to do this! I´ve heard from many people who come to Costa Rica to stay with a host family to learn spanish, people who just come to Costa Rica to volunteer with various projects. I have no idea why I hadn´t heard about staying with host family’s, etc, before, as I would´ve wanted to do something like this, myself. I am just thrilled to be doing my own volunteering now, though. I hope this will be as amazing an experience as I think it will be! I will miss Monteverde though, and what this place has meant for me. I can´t get attached to any one place because I do want to see every where and if I stay in one place, I will miss out on that. I will be traveling and won´t stay in one place, but if I could, I´d seriously consider Monteverde, population 4,000! So, I´ll be in Arenal four weeks for the work exchange program, then we´ve got a losely based plan: north to Guanacaste & the beaches there, then down the coast to Santa Teresa, Montezuma, back through Monteverde (possibly), definitely back through San Jose (would greatly like to see Richard again), and then down to Manuel Antonio, then down into Panama, then down the west coast of South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile), over to Argentina, then back up the east coast of South America and across, then back up to San Jose where I´ll be flying back to the States. Basically, we´ll be done with the volunteer work exchange in the beginning of August, which will give us the rest of August, September and half of October to travel South America and be back again. It does not seem like enough time. It´s insane for me to even say two and a half months isn´t enough time, but it truly doesn´t feel like it will be. After all, we´ve been in Monteverde for nine days alone! I just can´t wait to see what is out there and see every thing! We´ve seen so much already and we´ve been here 22 days and only in Costa Rica! I´ve seen so much and I wish I could share it with the people back in the States. I wonder if anyone there thinks about me, because I think about them. I don´t know, I wish I knew. I think about the stuff going on back home, wondering what people are doing for the 4th (I can´t wrap my mind around the fact that it is Independence Day again already, let alone July!), and I wish I could convey to them that I am thinking about them. Traveling provides a lot of time to think and reflect. I have met many incredible people, seen unbelievable sights, tasted the most delicious foods, heard fascinating stories, laughed heartily and often, had the most enjoyable times. It is nice to do these things but it´s also nice to be able to share them with people I care about. I climbed HUGE, old fig tree today. I climbed the tree from the inside, up and out of the top. It was intense. I went ziplining a few days ago and flew through the trees, over mountain tops, and passed water falls. I flew!!!!!  I am loving mine and Katie´s time together! Equipo A y K! I feel most fortunate to have her in my life, for us to be doing this together. The people we have met have all been lone traveler´s, unless they are couples traveling together. But I haven´t met anyone who came traveling with a friend, either with their significant other or alone. So, for us to be doing this together feels pretty rare, and completely amazing. Now we´re leaving tomorrow for the next adventure in our travels! I miss everyone dearly, think about everyone constantly, but also am having the time of my life and having the best experience anyone could imagine and I wouldn´t trade it for anything in the world. Happy Independence Day!!!!!

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Today is the last day in June; it’s almost July! Wow!!!!!! I would like to say, “Where has the time gone?,” but I know all too well where the time went! I had been feeling homesick for a little while, wasn’t feeling like myself, and wanted to understand why so I could get back into the right frame of mind. Since we’ve been in Monteverde (“Green Mountain”), I have gotten back to myself again. I don’t know what it is about this place that gets to you…whether it’s the fact that the mist rolls in so thick and so quickly and there are all shades of grey, but in spite of all of that, green prevails. Always. Green Mountain, indeed. Maybe it’s the friendly small town atmosphere, maybe it’s because we’ve been in our first private room since we started our travels (don’t get me wrong, dorms are super fun, but it’s nice to have the comfort of your own personal space), maybe it’s me and Katie jiving well and all of our terrific laughing fits we’ve had lately, maybe it’s hot showers (prior to coming here, we hadn’t had a hot shower in ten days), maybe it’s the most amazing person I am so thankful and indebited to meet, Richard. Quizá es todo (maybe it is everything). Richard had been traveling with us since Puerto Viejo, June 18th and he left on Monday, June 28th. We had so much fun and many adventures together! I know Katie has enjoyed learning from him all of the many curse words and their variations! hahahaha! I truly can’t imagine this trip without him being a part of it. We’ll be seeing him later on in our travels, I know, and I am looking forward to it! I miss him already. However, today starts another adventure: we’re going superman ziplining!!! Oh, and we’ve had the worst luck with pictures and cameras! Sigh. I hope it gets better and we don’t loose anymore pictures. Oi. It’s been so frustrating. It’s been my cell phone, too, not just the camera issues! No point dwelling on it, I know. I would like the photos so I can upload them and give an accurate description of what we have been up to lately. For the most part, we’ve just been chillin; reading, writing, drawing, talking, exploring, venturing, tasting (all of the food we’ve eaten and drinks we’ve drunk have been wonderfully delicious), cooking, laughing, dancing. Richard and I took a hike to the cheese factory here (I KNOW – a CHEESE factory!!!) and on the way, had a lovely walk, a detour to visit the Catarata waterfall (the waterfall detour was magical in all ways possible), and ended up walking in the rain the rest of the way to the factory where we had the most heavenly ice cream I’ve ever tasted (it was so good, we had to get TWO flavors, coffee and banana and nut). The next day, Katie, Richard and I hiked from the hostel  (Pension Santa Elena) to the Santa Elena Reserve. The hike was INTENSE. The roads are VERY steep and we were gone for five hours, walked about 8 miles. It was, by far, the most extreme hike I’ve ever done in my life. Katie and I were going to hike yesterday but we were still so sore from Sundays hike that when we tried, our legs (shit, my entire body) protested! hahaha. Anyway, the scenery, the forests, the mountains, the sky, the view, the landscapes were breathtaking and unforgettable. Then we got to the Reserve only to find out they charge to walk the trails in the reserve. We had walked for hours to get to our destination to discover they charge to walk through nature?! Well, we kept walking along the road that took us to the reserve and we ended up finding a secluded trail that lead us into the reserve FOR FREE. It was gorgeous, that day. Everything about it was gorgeous. We had such a good time. Well, I’ll say Monteverde has been my favorite spot so far and I’ve had the absolute best time here. I still do think about home and the people back home, but I’m not sad anymore. I don’t know how I feel about home and everything yet, but I’m not sad anymore and that’s the most important thing. I’m finally writing again! I haven’t been able to write any poems since I first got to Costa Rica and I broke that block yesterday. Again, there is something about Monteverde that is inspiring. I have had many realizations about myself, about who I am, what I want, what has been holding me back, the fears I’d been holding onto, and have had massive understandings on situations in my life, what happened and why. Three things I’m working on daily: take things at face value, don’t take any thing personally, and don’t make something into what it is not. All of those are very similar but different at the same time. I am growing. I am growing up. I have learned. I am learning. I am in love. I am in love with life. I am in love with laughter. I am in love with the earth, my surroundings. I am in love with myself. I am in love with love. My heart has swelled…I have found my happiness again. I am signing off now to start the day! Til next time, with love in my heart, Angie

The dates, day and times are all running together. I have lost all sense of time! Haha. We left Puerto Viejo yesterday and went back to San Jose for two days. Puerto Viejo was incredible and I know we’ll go back through there before we leave. The beaches were gorgeous, it was nice to finally get to the beach! I can’t even begin to explain everything we did, so I’ll make it short: stayed at a kick-ass hostel, slept in hammocks, smoked tons of green, met amazing people, petted sloths, played with monkeys (and having them jump all over me and suck my hair), beaches, sun tan, bike ride to beach hunt, delicious food, explored. I have met so many interesting and special people already. One of the people we met, Richard, I know will be my friend for a long time. We met him at the hostel we were staying at in Puerto Viejo and he lives in Heredia, right outside of San Jose. He has been the most generous, helpful, patient, fun and amazing person and I am grateful we met him. The three of us have become fast close friends and he will be coming with us when we leave tomorrow for Monteverde. I am looking forward to us continuing our travels together! Another one of the people we met there, Ignacio, lives in San Jose and he was leaving P.V. to come back here for his 21st birthday and invited us to come along, which is why we left Puerto Viejo when we did. We didn’t want to make any commitments but had we not made this one, we probably would have slothed away there. lol. So, last night we met up with Ignacio and tons of his friends and went out partying. Richard met up with us too and we had an awesome time! We are laying low in the hostel tonight, recovering from the last two nights of little sleep and lots of drinking! haha. YES, we are being careful, YES, we are being safe. I am looking forward to going north to the cloud forests! We have heard it is absolutely gorgeous (after everything we’ve seen so far, how could it not be?) and I can’t wait to see it! I will miss the beaches of Puerto Viejo and the slowed down lifestyle there and I know we’ll end up back there again. I haven’t blogged very much and feel like there is so much to say but I honestly don’t know where to start! I wish I could translate the profound experiences and thoughts I have right now, but I can’t. So I’ll sign off for today. Off to Monteverde tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

I don’t have long to write so this will be a short post. I just wanted to update all of you that I’m alive and okay, MORE than ok! We’ve been staying at a hostel called Rockin Js which is the ultimate hippy community headquarters. Internet here is sparse, phone at the hostel isn’t working, so I jumped on someone’s laptop. I’ve been sleeping in a hammock the last two nights, which has been so freakin cozy, it’s insane. We’re not sure how long we’ll be in Puerto Viejo, or Rockin Js but based on how things are going here so far, we’d both like to stay in P.V. until we get sick of it, which is laughable! lol. The beaches here, to say the least, are breathtaking, as you could probably imagine. I was very much looking forward to getting out of the city and slowing down. We slowed down, alright! lol. I slept off and on all day yesterday and just vegged and talked and ate and existed. My busy mind still can’t get used to being ok with slowing down but I’m getting used to it! Also, where Puerto Viejo is lacking in tranny prostitutes, it makes up for with crabs! They are plentiful and large! It’s quite disconcerting at times! But, all in all, I’m loving this place, loving it all. I still can’t believe this is my life, that I’m experiencing this with MY senses, my own eyes. My heart has grown and I feel at peace, I feel like I am exactly where I need to be at exactly when I needed to be. Internet is sparse outside of the city but I will update again when I get the chance. I didn’t want anyone to worry because I hadn’t posted in a few days. I honestly thought today was Saturday and I just found out it’s Sunday! Ah, the good life! Love you all!