Costa Rica Part 1: Monteverde Cloud Forest

I recently took a two week backpacking trip through Costa Rica.  I ended up making it to all of the provinces and seeing a majority of the biodiversity the small country had to offer within that time, along with learning valuable life lessons and meeting several new friends along the way. 

The trip started in San Jose.  Although it's surrounded by beautiful mountains, the crime in the city itself is fairly high.  All the houses and businesses have iron bars and often barbed wire for safety.  Cab drivers are relentlessly in your face trying to get you to take a ride, and many fare scam artists and not actual cab drivers.  So, when travelling in San Jose be careful of that.  They have Uber in San Jose and Heredia now, so if you don't want to take the bus, that's also an option.   I was lucky enough to get a ride from friends at the airport when I got in and taken to stay in Heredia, a city about 20-30 minutes north of San Jose.  Heredia seemed a bit safer and quieter and we had no problems taking the bus in that area.  We stayed my first night in the country with Jose and Leo.  They are a couple that own a vet clinic in Heredia, and they are the sweetest people.  The next day we took a bus into town and met up with 3 others that we would end up traveling with for the majority of the rest of the trip and headed to the Monteverde Cloud Forest.  It was about a 4 hour drive if my memory serves me right.  We checked into the Santa Elena Hostel for $16 a night, which I was very pleased with.  All the employees and all the guests were very nice and I made some good friends at this hostel.  The morning after we checked in we did a 4 hour hike through the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve.  We opted out of the tourist attractions and decided to just go be in the nature without zip lining or any bridges.  It was surreal to be in such a beautiful place.  Because I have so many pictures of the trip, I'll be splitting off these posts into several parts.  This particular post only covers the first 24 hours of my trip.

Heredia.

Everyone has a job in Costa Rica.  Their hustle is strong.

Erin and I borrowed some dogs at Leo and Jose's vet clinic.

On the drive to Monteverde from San Jose.

A quick pee stop.

The first morning at the Santa Elena Hostel.

On a 4 hour hike through the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

View of the Arenal Volcano from the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

A break during the hike.

As close to being in Fern Gully as you can get. 

E.T. joined us for the trek.

4 out of 5 of our traveling crew.  Also my first and only attempt at using a selfie stick.

 

Life and the pursuit of laziness.

I came out of my mother screaming.  Literally.  I was screaming while coming down the birth canal and came out choking on fluids.  My very first word was "No.", and they called me baby Rambo because I could somehow crawl up and out of my baby pen.  As I grew from a toddler into a little person, I didn't get any easier.  When my mother would try to brush my hair I would growl and throw tantrums so it wasn't uncommon to see me with wild hair full of knots.  As a teenager I was just as stubborn and full of fire to live my life the way that I chose, and only how I chose to live it.  I painted graffiti.  I climbed bridges and snuck into train yards.  I drove to different cities in the midwest at night to sell t-shirts and mix tapes at raves when I wasn't even old enough to be there, and still went to high school in the morning.

I missed lots of school, but I still had good grades.  I hated high school.  I hated having to be stuck in a room I didn't want to be in.  I wanted to be out in the world.  Eventually, I transferred to Jefferson County High School, the school for dropouts, and graduated early because you do your work at your own pace.  I found a loop hole.

When I was 17 I had a week before I was starting a new job as a secretary for an insurance company and had ended my other job, at Dollar Tree.  While with friends at a Denny's I asked if anyone wanted to drive to New York the next day, and that's what we did the very next day.  Myself and two of my guy friends took my Jetta and drove with no plans of where to stay.  I had a friend in Philly so we went there.  We split a cheap hotel some where in Pennsylvania.  Then we went to New York and took the train to as many parts of the city as we could that day.  I saw Manhattan, Harlem, Soho, Coney Island, Brooklyn.  We made all the stops.  We ended up sleeping on the side of the New Jersey turnpike.  They were gentlemen and slept in a tent on the grass and I slept in the car, surrounded by parked semi trucks.

As I grew older I never lost that wanderlust.  Most of the trips I've taken have been impulsive ones, taking the chance whenever I could grab them in between the responsibilities of adult hood.  However, the only thing as strong in me as my stubborn passion to live is my passion to give.  Finding a balance between being a nurturer and remembering to keep your eye on what you personally want can be a hard one, and it's no one's fault but your own.  I think that's the balance that all of us seek to find for true happiness.  To not become lazy and complacent.  To not worry about what others want of us and to go big or go home, while not panicking. (I have tattoos of both of these sayings.) We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to please others.  To worry about what other people may think.  This year may we all put more pressure on what we want while being good to your fellow humans along the way, and may you surround yourself with people who lift you up and encourage those dreams.  Be excellent to each other.

"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring." -David Bowie

 

Mexico

I finally got a passport so last month I took my first trip out of the country to Mexico.  I split a beach front condo with 3 friends in Playa del Carmen for 7 days.  "Playa" is a coastal resort town in Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and is about an hour's drive from Cancun.  It 's at the center of the Mayan Riviera and offers a relaxed atmosphere and a European flavor, unlike Cancun where you may find your aunt that wears shirts with sassy sayings on them may go to vacation.   

We took a bus to Playa from the Cancun airport, but ended up realizing when we were leaving that taking a cab was about the same price split between us all and much more convenient.  Our cab driver played that "What a Feeling" song from Flash Dance from a burned cd he had that was labeled"disco".  It was a good decision.  On the bus there was a European guy that had the same haircut as me sitting in front of me.  It wasn't nearly as fun as the cab ride.

When we arrived in Playa we simply walked through the streets to our condo.  Everything in Playa is walkable distance and I love that.  There's no need for a car once you're there.  The streets are full of open air restaurants and shops.  Around 5th avenue and the area leading up to the beach is the main touristy area where the streets are cobblestone and everything looks like the background to a romantic movie.  The employees of the shops are not shy about trying to get you to come in the store or offer you things so get used to saying "No gracias".  Also, there seem to be more massage places in that small area than I've ever seen per capita in any city.  It's very catered to white people.  The bars are mostly big clubs that play disco and club type music.  They're really big on partying.  There was one bar I could actually sit in and the music didn't make me feel like my face was melting, but otherwise the bars are pretty hoppin'.  A few blocks up the areas aren't as touristy and they don't speak English.  These were the areas I wanted to go to.  This proved difficult for me since I hadn't learned Spanish and didn't think about not having 3G or wireless every where so that I could just translate on my phone.  The more authentic and less touristy restaurants and shops were extremely cheaper than the places around 5th Avenue, but trying to communicate made me feel like a dumb white lady.

We stayed in Luna Encantada.  It was perfect.  It's directly on the beach and every condo has a view of the ocean, as well as the infinity pool.  The condo was very nice inside and one of the bathrooms had one of those fancy showers that has a bench in it in case shampooing your hair wears you out and you need to sit down.  They provided us with a huge thing of filtered water in a dispenser.  There was a full kitchen so we went to the grocery and cooked a lot of our meals.  The beach lounge chairs in front of the condo are reserved for people who are staying in the condo, so it was nice to not have to worry about anyone taking our spots.  There was a really nice man that would come wait on us right from our lounge chairs on the beach.  There was a restaurant attached to the condo so we could order food and drinks.  There were also lots of little restaurants right on the beach that you can walk to.  You don't have to wear shoes to go out to eat, so I was obviously overjoyed.  Just a short walk on the sand and you can get yourself some beach side fish tacos.  PERFECT.  

  

One day we hired a driver to take us to the small colonial city of Valladolid and to the Coba Ruins.  Valladolid was refreshingly authentic and not overrun with tourists.  The city is very Mayan, and most of the women still wear the huipil, white cotton blouses or dresses adorned with bright, flowered embroidery.  It was the real Yucatan with colonial architecture and 19th century structures.  

The Coba ruins were probably my favorite part of the entire trip.  Coba is a large ruined city of the Pre-Colombian Maya civilization.  Archaeological evidence shows that Coba was first settled between 100 BC and 100 AD.   The ruins are set in a jungle around two lagoons.  The ruins are scattered on different paths of the jungle.  We decided to rent the bicycles(it was only about $2) to ride around to go see the ruins.  Since this was an actual jungle, we saw lots of little creatures in the wild like a huge tarantula, lots of lizards, and even a lemur!  If you get a chance to ride a bicycle through a jungle, I suggest taking it.  The Nohoch Mul pyramid is the biggest pyramid of the Coba ruins and you're allowed to climb it.  Once at the top you get a beautiful view of the jungles and lagoons.  

After Valladolid and the Coba ruins our driver was nice enough to stop at a cenote(water filled sinkhole/underwater caves) and let us swim for a few minutes.  You have to rinse off before getting in so you don't taint the pure Mayan water.  The water is crystal clear and feels amazing.  The people of Yucatan say that just getting in the water gives you a spiritual cleansing.  After the cenote we had to head back to the condo, but next time I'd like to make it to Tulum as well.  

The day after our excursion ended up being Mexican Independence Day(September 15th) and we got to experience the celebrations.  Again, all of this would have been easier if I spoke Spanish.  There was a speech and fireworks and a band played on the Municipal building.  There was a small carnival and food tents set up as well.  It was really neat to get to experience while we were there, and I regret not being able to understand what was being said.  

This pretty much wraps up the trip.  Otherwise we mostly just laid on the beach when it wasn't raining(we went during their storm season) or drank tequila. 

The view from our condo in Playa del Carmen.

The beach in front of our condo in Playa del Carmen.

Ceviche ordered from the condo restaurant.  Delivered right to me on the beach.

The 5th avenue area in Playa del Carmen.

Me thoroughly enjoying being in the ocean.

The ritual dancing performances were performed in this area in Playa del Carmen.

Flying pole dancers in Playa del Carmen.

Valladolid.

                                           

Riding bikes through the jungle in Coba to see Mayan ruins.

Nohoch Mul Ruins in Coba

On top of the Nohoch Mul ruins in Coba.

Cenote

In the cave in a cenote.

Me and an awesome little monkey.

Mexican Independence Day celebrations.

Carnival for Mexican Independence Day.

I'll miss you Mexico.  

Kentucky State Fair 2012

I think I look forward to the Kentucky State Fair more than I look forward to my own birthday.  I only have a couple complaints about this year.  First of all, they've done away with the pig races.  Watching those pigs race while screaming out their given witty names like "Tammy Fae Bacon" gave me so much joy.  I'm very disappointed it is no longer a part of the fair.  Secondly, there was no freak show this year.  Even though most of the show is fake and really silly, I enjoy seeing the two headed sheep even if it's second head was made of paper mache.  The fair was still as fun and bizarre as it always is, even without "Tammy Fae Bacon" and the two headed sheep.  

Ferris Wheels are Majestic

Pork Butt on a Stick 

The Midway

Adorable Alpacas

Farm Bureau Freddy

Grater Taters

Adam's first Krispy Kreme Donut Burger

Juggling Elvis on a Unicycle

http://www.kystatefair.org/

Cave City

Yesterday was my day off and had planned on going to Huber's Winery, but just couldn't force myself to deal with the traffic to Indiana.  I had heard about a little Haunted Hotel in Cave City, KY that also offered black light mini golf and decided that was a better destination.  I was correct.

I had been wanting to visit Cave City for a long time, but for some reason or another I hadn't made it there.  After about an hour and a half on I-65 S, we got off on exit 53 and I immediately knew what all the fuss was about.  It's a giant playground in the form of a quaint little city with tons of oddities all off one exit.  You can visit Dinosaur World and see life size dinosaur statues for $12.75.  You can also visit the The Alpine Slide  where you take a chairlift ride to the top of a mountain then get in a sled and ride down a 1/4 mile slide with twists and turns to the bottom of the mountain for $5.  In the same area as the Alpine Slide is a go kart track, bumper cars, bumper boats, and a little horse back riding area.  All in the same stop!  Each $10 or less!  There's also an assortment of tiny little diners or bbq places, general stores, a 50's themed putt putt course, and Wigwam Village....where you can rent out rooms built as teepees.  We visited the  Wildlife Museum filled with the best taxidermy work I've ever seen, and then hit Guntown Mountain's Haunted Hotel and Blacklight Mini Golf.  It was $10 for the Haunted Hotel and it came with free "Haunted" Blacklight Mini Golf.  Amazing.  The Haunted Hotel was scary.  We had no tour guide and it was pitch black and I couldn't see where I was going, feeling my way through corridors and walls while random clowns and ghouls jumped out at us.  There was no bathroom at the Haunted Hotel, but the nice lady offered me a paper towel and told me I was welcome to go relieve myself up the hill.  I LOVE this place.     

Go Karts

Scenic Bumper Cars

The Chair Lift to take you to the Alpine Slide.  You can also just do the Chair Lift without doing the slide.

Bumper Car Arena

Wildlife Museum

A bizarre statue of a dog with breasts holding a frying pan at the General Store.

Haunted Blacklight Mini Golf

Wigwam Village

Sleep in a Wigwam

The Haunted Hotel

Wildlife Museum