Mt. Chirripo

This was by far the most difficult and rewarding experience I have had during my time in Costa Rica. Mt. Chirripo is the highest mountain in Costa Rica, second highest in all of Central America, standing at 12,533 ft. Two friends, Emma and Ben, and I decided to conquer the 40 km, two day hike. After taking the final exam for our Intermediate Conversation and Grammer class, we made the journey from San Jose, south, to San Isidro. From there, we managed to catch the last bus to San Geraldo where we would spend the night. After traveling through the rain on what the locals refer to as "the road of death", the bus finally dropped us off somewhere between a soccer field and La Roca Dura Bar (The Hard Rock Bar, no relation to the popular café); these are probably two of the few and most recognizable landmarks in the tiny town of San Geraldo. Being ill prepared and not knowing if we would make it all the way to San Geraldo that night, we had not bothered to book a hostel. Because of our location, none of our cell phones had service. We entered the bar and the nice owner with a pony tail offered to make some phone calls to different hostels for us. After numerous phone calls, it was clear that there were no available hostels in town that night. Being the nice guy he is, the owner offered us the floor in the basement of his bar. We reluctantly accepted.

Let me begin by saying, the logistics of this trip were nearly impossible to figure out ahead of time by phone or internet. We knew: we needed to purchase entrance tickets into the park and reserve spots in the lodge on the side of the mountain and the park office in San Geraldo sells only 10 walk-in tickets and 50 reserved tickets per day (we were unable to reserve tickets because come to find out, the office was closed two weeks before our trip for holiday and therefore was not answering their phones).

After talking it over, we decided that it would be best to get up early and wait in line at the park office until it opened at 6. After a night with little sleep, we woke at 4:30 and walked to the office. We were the first ones there and a line started to form after us. Once in the office, we found out they were out of tickets for that day. But how could that be? We were the first ones in line that day. Ah, little did we know, you can purchase a ticket one day in advance. This would have been impossible for us because we got to San Geraldo too late the night before. In any case, after much deliberation, we decided to buy tickets for the next day and return to San Jose a day late (Monday night). With a whole day to kill, we walked 3km toward the trailhead and found a more suitable place for the night. We stayed at Casa Mariposa, where we were originally hoping to stay. Not only did we get the private "Jungle Room" for the price of a dorm, but we also got a little taste of home. This was my favorite Costa Rican hostel experience. The owners turned their mountain home, conveniently at the Chirripo trailhead, into an ecofriendly haven for hikers on their way up the mountain.

At this point, we still had our whole Saturday free. The owners of the hostel told us about a free nature reserve up the road. We hiked along a river complete with waterfalls, saw more wild animals that I can name, and had a good pre-Chirripo workout.

And so it begins: The next morning we woke yet again at 4:30 in order to get an early 5 am start at the trailhead. With bags full of warm clothes, water, and snacks we started our 14.5 km journey for the day. While the trail was well marked, it was not well kept. Because tour groups are able to hire guides and horses to bring their stuff up to the base camp and the afternoon rain downpours, the once nice trial is now little more than a incline covered in mud 6 inches deep. The first 7 km were not too horrible. We had a nice break at a water fill station around this time. The next 7 km were not so kind. We went between steep gains of 1000 ft. per km and actually walking downhill. The downhill part sounds nice until you realize that you will have to make up all of the elevation that you just lost. The last two kilometers of the day, 13 and 14, were among the worst we saw. No only had we gained almost 10,000 feet but the rain also decided to accompany us for the last hour or so of our hike. I could not have been happier to see the Crestone Base camp sign. Our first day was, 7 hours, 14.5 km, and around 10,000 feet in elevation gain.

It was amazing to see the distinct ecosystems we passed through on this first day. It started as your typical Costa Rican rainforest, turned into a cloud forest, then the trees turned to stalks of bamboo, and finally into a dry, somewhat barren trail lined by want looked like sage brush sprouting out of red clay; ah, a taste of home.

 After a frigid, mostly sleepless night in slightly damp clothes, we started the next part of our journey to the summit. 2:30 am seems very early on any given day but it seems absolutely absurd when you are on the side of a mountain, in the middle of Costa Rica, watching your breath travel through the air by the only the light of the stars. By 4:30 we completed the last 5 km and reached the summit. It was perfect timing as the sun began to peek over the clouds. For the next hour we sat and experienced every color imaginable pass through the sky, as the rest of Central America lay sound asleep in their beds. I will never be able to capture the beauty I saw at the summit of Chirripo in words. Maybe these pictures will give you a better idea…

Nope, these still cannot do it justice.

Once the sun came up, we realized that not only could we see Panama, but we could also see both The Caribbean Sea and The Pacific Ocean and their coasts. For me, this was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

After all the hard work of getting to the top, we decided that we should probably head back down to real life before the afternoon rain came for its daily visit. Although, I definitely under estimated the difficulty of the decent; It ended up being pretty miserable. The first 10 km or so were not so bad; we made good time and enjoyed the opportunity to take in more of the scenery that we had missed the first time. It was when my jogging turned into limping from twisting my ankles and my once happy feet started to cry from blisters, that the day started to go downhill, literally. With only 6 km left, my mood went from bad to worse. It was a combination of these first few factors in addition to the ankle deep mud and horse poop that had me going at a snails pace with tears building in my eyes. After slipping and falling for the next few hours, I finally waddled my way past the trailhead.

I will not lie to you, this was probably one of the worst days of my life (that I can remember thus far); I had never been so physically and mentally exhausted. Despite all of this, my experience on Cerro Chirripo can compare to nothing else I have seen or done in my entire life. It was well worth all of the blood, sweat, and tears, literally

Monteverde

Monteverde was by far the best trip that my program planned for our group. The bus ride was three short hours on one lane, dirt country roads through the mountains to arrive at our destination. Because we stayed with our program, we were given great accommodations yet again. We stayed at El Establo; an old stable turned 4 star hotel owned by a nice Quaker couple. Let's just say, the beds at El Establo are my favorite thing about Costa Rica. I felt as though I were literally sleeping on a cloud in a cloud forest. One of my favorite parts about our accommodations was the view from our room. It was complete with rocking chairs to enjoy all of the sights. 

Another big plus about this weekend was the fact that all of our food was provided by the hotel. I am still not used to being pampered by all of these gourmet things! On Saturday morning we woke to find this strange animal outside our hotel room. 

I believe that this animal is called a Tayra, but do not hold me to that face. Our day continued with a canopy tour and a terrifying Tarzan Swing. The zip lines took us flying through shades of green and over lush valleys that took my breath away. 

I have a huge fear of heights and this adventure surely pushed my limits of comfort. I was composed until it was my turn to jump off or a hanging bridge and put all of my trust in the Tarzan Swing. For those of you who have not seen/experienced this, here is a youtube video of some people who I do not know taking the plunge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA5cr5BuO1E

We survived!

The next day a small group and I explored La Selva Biological Reserve. This consisted of a relaxed hike through a cloud forest, with a dense animal population, to a scenic overlook, back down and across a hanging bridge, and onto a path in a humming bird garden. 

This was the first and only time I have seen a snake in Costa Rica. He was a pretty little guy so he was not so bad in my opinion. We completed our journey with some fresh Quaker ice cream, made from the local cows that Monteverde is famous for. This is one of the most adventurous and daring weekends I have had thus far. It is safe to say that I really enjoyed my time in Monteverde.

Volcan Arenal and La Fortuna Waterfall

Our second weekend of excusions brought us to Volcan Arenal. Yet again ISA provided us with a beautiful place to stay at Los Lagos Hot Springs and Spa. We were very lucky to have a few clear days to see the volcano. Apparently, this is a rare occurrence most times during the year because of location of the volcano. We spent the weekend hiking to a lookout point near the volcano (third picture down), exploring the town of La Fortuna, and playing in the pool and hot springs. On our last morning in Arenal, we hiked to La Fortuna Waterfall. It is known for it's extreme height and perfect stream of water falling into the small pool beneath. This hike was the best part of the weekend. We ventured a few km down waffle-like cement and dirt stairs until we reached the hidden waterfall. Although the water was frigid, we all enjoyed a dip in the ridiculously blue water. In the horizontal picture below, you can see my roommate, Alexa, and me looking pretty small in comparison to this massive waterfall. This is the first of many volcanoes that I hope to see while in Costa Rica.

Tamarindo

Tamarindo was my first weekend in a series of three weekend excursions provided by my study abroad program, ISA. Going into these next few weeks I realized I would be pampered with really nice hotels and meals in touristy locations. Tamarindo did not disappoint in these areas. Many of the local Ticos refer to the Pacific Coast town of Tamarindo as "Tamagringo". Upon arrival, it was clear to see why. The main part of town in set on a beautiful stretch of beach lined with resorts and over priced restaurants. Our group stayed in the hotel, Tamarindo Diria. The hotel was complete with three pools and a delicious buffet breakfast. My days were mostly filled with eating good food and reading by the pool. The beach views were spectacular and the sunsets were some of the better that I have seen thus far. Although it may not have been the most cultural of my Costa Rican weekends, it was definitely enjoyable in a relaxing sort of way.

 The beautiful hotel.

 Beach pictures

Bocas Del Toro, Panama

This previous weekend, I was fortunate enough to visit yet another beautiful country, Panama. I went with my study abroad program and 25 other students to Bocas Del Toro, Panama. The main purpose of our trip was to not only experience a new country and culture but most importantly to renew our 90 day tourist visas. Costa Rica gives two visa options to international students a free 90 tourist visa or a student visa good for the entire time you are studying (costs $300-$400). In order to renew these tourist visas, travelers must leave Costa Rica for 72 hours before returning. It was a 3-4 hour trip to the border crossing station near the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. We got our exit stamps and walked across the border into Panama. The entry process on the other side took a bit longer but it was an interesting experience overall. After making it back to our bus, we drove another hour to a port where we met our water taxis that we would take to Bocas Del Toro. For those of you who do not know, Bocas Del Toro is a small chain of islands off the coast of northern Panama in The Caribbean Sea. The water taxis took us an hour east to our destination of Bocas Town, the largest town in Bocas Del Toro. We stayed right on the water in La Terraza Hotel. I really enjoyed the nautical scenery. It was a nice change from all of the sand beaches I have become accustomed to.

 Walking across the border.

 Our seaside hotel.

 Your typical water taxi.

Despite waking up to rain Saturday morning, my friends and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast and waited out the storm. By the afternoon the sun began to poke out. We decided to take a bus to Starfish Beach on the other side of the island. I had never seen so many starfish in one place and so close up other than behind glass at an aquarium. We had a pleasant afternoon of swimming and relaxing in the sunshine. Instead of taking the bus back to the hotel, the group of students and I decided to hire a water taxi. I am really glad we chose to do this because it allowed us to see more throughout the islands. I was surprised to see remote cottages arranged over the water. I came to the conclusion that Bocas Del Toro would be a much more affordable option for a romanic getaway than The Maldives.

Fun with starfish at Starfish Beach.

Views from our water taxi.

 Little crabs who call this boat home.

On Sunday, we woke bright and early for an all day tour planned for us by our program. First thing on our tour: dolphin "watching". This pretty much entailed a fleet of water taxis, following two dolphins around so we could catch a glimpse of a fin or two. It was interesting to see dolphins in the wild but I could not help but feel guilty that we were so invasive in their environment. I would be against doing the dolphin watching in the future. The next stop was Isla Zapatilla. I can safely say, this was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. It had the bluest water and the softest sand. This was probably the highlight of my entire weekend. Later in the afternoon we went snorkeling off the side of the boat. We saw colorful fish and crazy coral. If only I had an underwater camera!

 Isla Zapatilla

I did not want to return to Costa Rica after this far too short visit to Bocas Del Toro. I definitely want to return to Panama. It was amazing to see such a difference in culture after just crossing over the border. Before I return to Colorado, I would love to venture down to Panama City, see the canal, and see what else Panama has to offer.