Costa Rica

   Two Christmases ago my sisters and I were graciously given frequent flier miles from our mom for a sister’s trip.  With the combination of not being able to agree on a location and Shelly getting married that summer, our trip ended up happening this year instead of last.  Better late than never!  After much research, we finally settled on Costa Rica.  About a week after that decision Lindsay informed us that she would be studying abroad in Costa Rica during the next semester (meaning, right now).  Somewhat defeating the point of traveling to a new place together, but clearly a God-ordained, open door to a place we already had travel plans, so we ran with it.

   I love international travel for numerous reasons, one of which is experiencing different cultures.  The U.S. is an amazing country and yet such a bubble.  As uncomfortable as feeling out of place can be, having that bubble popped every once in a while gives valuable perspective.  To that end, we opted to stay on a coffee plantation instead of tourist town hotel.  A local family owns the plantation and rents out the guest house to travelers.  It was perfect - complete with a full kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms for a super reasonable price.  The son of the family picked Shelly & I up at the airport (waiting patiently during the hour it took us to get through customs!), which turned out to be a huge blessing because as we quickly learned, there are no street names in CR.  So if you don’t know where you’re going, you may not get there.  The family was wonderfully generous, providing the three of us a traditional breakfast the next morning, and were significantly better than a travel book when trying to figure out the bus system.  They even showed us how to harvest coffee!

   Worth mentioning, but not elaboration are these other observations unique to CR culture:
• Bus - drives with the door open, uses foam pockets for sorting coins from riders (meaning all manual collection)
• Roads – mostly neighborhoods, not many main or big roads
• No law to wear seat belt in backseat
• Huge road gutters, kind of like mini moats
• Weather -  blue skies & hot in morning,  cloudy/ muggy/ rainy in afternoon
• Because of the weather, people wake up early
• Tons of shoe stores
• Lots of fried food
• Road biking is super popular
• All taxis are red – and only taxis are red

   We had three full days together with significant portions of that time spent on buses getting to and from various Costa Rican highlights.  If you’re looking for a quick summary of the trip it can be summed up in three words: we were together.  If you’re looking for a little more, here’s the run down:
Once Shelly and I dropped off our stuff and waited for the monsoon like rain, vibrate-your-insides thunder, and lightening that made the sky look like a continuous flow of power surges to pass, we set off to find Lindsay.  Our hour and a half journey took us to the Whitworth Costa Rica campus nestled atop an over-sized hill outside Heredia (the city).  We were able to meet some of her friends, see where they “study”, and enjoy the fact campus feels like home away from home before heading back down to her host-dad’s Soda (a.k.a. local café) for dinner.

   Our first full day we went to La Playa de Puntarenas (the beach).  Not the most glamorous or beautiful of the many beaches, but it was far less crowded and the closest to Heredia with water just as warm as all the rest.  On our way home we went through San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.  As expected, the city was packed with people and traffic.  We walked the main tourist strip, went into quite a few shoe stores on a mission to find TOMS (but failed), and treated ourselves to caramel relleno churros as a consolation.

   Day two Lindsay’s host parents offered to be our tour guides to the Irazu Volcano.  Not only did this mean no bus was involved in the journey, but it was also an opportunity to get to know the family who adopted Lindsay for the semester.  #Win.  Since they don’t speak English and I don’t speak Spanish, direct communication between us was sparse.  However that “us” doesn’t include Shelly or Lindsay as they are both more than capable Spanish conversationalists and lucky for me, able translators.  After a couple hours we finally made it to the top of the volcano where we were greeted with low clouds, cold wind gusts, and horizontal rain.  Definitely not ideal conditions, which gave us no choice but to bundle and brave the elements.  We walked the rim, saw the beautiful teal lagoon that is the volcano mouth, took some pictures and bought post cards before heading back down.  A few “detours” and some traffic later, we made it back to San Rafel (where they live).  William and Zayra generously invited us to stay for dinner where we were treated to a traditional Costa Rican meal called Patacones.  It’s plantains cut into fifths, peeled, fried, smooshed, fried again, then topped with black bean purée and a homemade pico de gallo type salsa. Buen provecho (a.k.a. SO good)!  Despite feeling somewhat out of the loop through out the day, simply observing William and Zayra was enough to reveal their genuinely kind hearts.  What a blessing to know my sister is in good hands, well fed and more importantly well loved while she’s away.

   Day 3 we set out for the adrenaline rush of zip lining from tree to tree through a cloud forest.  Upon arrival we learned that the tourist attraction actually originates from efficiency minded scientists who were studying plant life in the top of Costa Rican trees back in the 70’s and decided it was easier to zip from one tree to the next instead of going up and down.  Then someone brilliant thought to monetize it so people like us could pay money to put on uncomfortable harnesses, wear goofy hats, and fly through the forest.  I was totally in my element and loved every second.  Since our morning started with the early canopy tour, we decided to “be locals” with the second half of the day.  We lunched at an El Salvadorian restaurant and topped it off with dessert at the ice cream shop around the corner before walking the streets.  After a few hours we hopped on a bus back to Santa Barbara and our coffee plantation abode, stopping on our way for dinner at the local fancy restaurant.
   Despite being a little short for my taste, the trip was a success.  I am fully aware how blessed I am to have sisters that aren’t just family, but my closest friends as well.  And even more so that we travel well together :)  One of my favorite quotes is “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page” (St. Augustine).  My heart is overjoyed that the pages of this trip are filled with pictures and memories with my sisters.