Well, I'm back in the United States, though not home yet, after one of the most truly awful travel days I've ever endured. I'm in Atlanta (Decatur, technically) at my friends A. and J.'s place, and my friend P. is coming into town to get me later this afternoon.
The semi-short version of the trip back:
* Packing the van went fine, getting to the San José airport went fine, checking in & boarding went fine -- other than being 30 min. late to leave (nothing too unusual about that) and other than the idiot travel agent from the University misbooking the other two professors to return from a five-week program on June 22, not July 22. Had she booked me correctly the first time, instead of misbooking me to the wrong side of Costa Rica, that probably would have happened to me too). They were able to get rebooked onto our plane, though.
* The flight... 20-30 minutes in, we hit some nasty turbulence. OK, it wasn't fun, you get anxious & what not, but we've all been through turbulence. It calms down a bit... and then, boom... we suddenly hit a cell of turbulence like nothing I've ever been through -- food trays & other loose items go flying, people are screaming, and we nosedive for a very short while-- 5 seconds? Enough to register that we're falling fast & at a sharp angle vertically, and a far more banked horizontal angle than planes usually fly. The guy in the seat next to me, on his way back from his honeymoon, reaches to grab something, & instead of his table, latches onto my food tray with all his might, but misses, sending it flying (although I didn't get splattered by anything worse than ice cubes, he spent most of the rest of the flight apologizing -- and holding onto the seat in front of him with white knuckles). After a few moments of sheer terror, the plane levels out & calm is restored, and the pilot declares, "Whoah. That was not on the radar screen." Not surprisingly, everyone's jittery for the rest of the flight, and the regular turbulence we hit later was much more nervewracking than it'd normally be.
* From there: We land 15 minutes late, no big deal, but we wait on the tarmac for an hour, because there's no gate for us. Our hopes of getting the next-to-last shuttle of the day are dashed. We wait forever for our bags inside customs, get through customs and security smooth, and having had to re-check our bags for delivery on the carousels outside of customs, we wait there for even longer for the bags. Parents/siblings/significant others of our students are now there, & goodbyes are said.
* Our (the profs) luggage takes especially long. The last shuttle to Athens of the night is now promising to wait for us. The Spanish prof's luggage comes, & she makes it to the shuttle.
* Mine finally comes, & I dash over there with over 100 lbs of luggage, huffing & puffing & finally stealing a luggage cart & looking for the right bus spot, & getting sent to the wrong place twice - the van, of course, has left. The driver of the shuttle to Gainesville -- an older woman who's no doubt family, takes some pity of me, & offers to call her boss to see if the boss will allow her to take me after she drops people off in Gainesville, for an extra fee. But the boss says no, & is apparently nasty to her. I call the boss, and fake that I haven't spoken to the driver, and we get into a very nasty conversation - the second it's clear that I'm not happy, she gets defensive, and frankly, I'm just as happy that she feels more attacked than I actually was attacking her, since she's such a nasty person on the phone. (The one other time I used this van service, I had a driver making the occasional racist comment, so I was in no rush to use them again...) I promise never, ever to use their services again, which will be very easy for me to hold true to :) After her testy "good night," I hang up without replying in kind.
* When I call P., he has the smart suggestion of renting a car - alas, after a trip to Alamo/National, I discover that very few rental agencies a) are answering their phones at 11pm on Sunday night, & b) of those that are, most don't do one-way rentals or don't have an office in Athens, & c) Hertz does rentals & does operate in Athens, but had the rate of $169 for one day.
* After some frantic (trust me, an understatement) calling around, I end up taking the Alamo/National shuttle back to the terminal, grab a taxi, spend an insane amount of money on a cab ride to Decatur, & arrive around 12:30am at Decatur, where J. is kind enough to feed me & give me a stiff drink & otherwise get me feeling human again, and I finally collapse.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Costa Rica: Picture of the Day 1
On the beach at Puerto Viejo
Summer in the tropics is over; it's back to the grind in (the far warmer) Georgia.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
the last purchase
Greetings from Juan Santamaría International Airport, where unlike any US airport that I've visited, there's a free wifi hotspot. What was my final purchase in Costa Rica? I broke down, & bought Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal. Once I get through the books in English, I'll turn to Spanish.
It's not a big surprise that many passengers here are reading the brand-new book (the airport stores are still fully stocked), but I was amused-cum-scared to see two employees dressed up as Harry and (a dark-haired tica version of) Hermione. Pictures, of course, are forthcoming.
I'll post a trip wrap up at some point soon, plus I'll continue posting pictures, as I sort and process them. I'm thinking of posting a picture a day for some time - I could go for a couple years with what I've taken, but I'll aim for a selective sample of scenic, funny, political, or otherwise intriguing shots.
Alright, we board in about twenty minutes - I'm looking forward (ok, not so much) to spending the flight grading essays, journal entries, and final exams... three of my students are still finishing the journals, which are due before we land in Atlanta. This adventure is pretty much over, but the memories will last a lifetime.
It's not a big surprise that many passengers here are reading the brand-new book (the airport stores are still fully stocked), but I was amused-cum-scared to see two employees dressed up as Harry and (a dark-haired tica version of) Hermione. Pictures, of course, are forthcoming.
I'll post a trip wrap up at some point soon, plus I'll continue posting pictures, as I sort and process them. I'm thinking of posting a picture a day for some time - I could go for a couple years with what I've taken, but I'll aim for a selective sample of scenic, funny, political, or otherwise intriguing shots.
Alright, we board in about twenty minutes - I'm looking forward (ok, not so much) to spending the flight grading essays, journal entries, and final exams... three of my students are still finishing the journals, which are due before we land in Atlanta. This adventure is pretty much over, but the memories will last a lifetime.
The last night...
By this time tomorrow night, I'll be back in Athens, and Monday morning, I'll dive into the mad frenzy to pack my apartment and office for the great move northwards. For the moment though, I'm sitting in my hotel room in San José, watching South Park: Más Grande, Más Larga, y Sin Censura, after a final group dinner, and a brief trip downtown to a bookstore (where I briefly considered buying some of the Harry Potter books en español, but they weren't a whole lot cheaper here than they'll be in the States, and I didn't feel like schlepping los libros from San José to Athens to Boston. Some of you will be amused to know that the final book was already sold out in San José. (And though there's a copy of that final book waiting for me at home, I'm absolutely determined to avoid spoilers until I've re-read Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince - I made it from the beginning of the series to the last 50 pages of Goblet of Fire before leaving for Costa Rica)
Though we've driven through San José a few times on our trips rafting & down to Puerto Viejo, this was my first time on foot in the city. Our hotel is very, very nice, though it's in a quite sketchy neighborhood; I would have liked to have a lot more time to explore downtown. We passed the national park, the national library, and the national theatre, along with a ton of anti-CAFTA grafitti (including one V for Vendetta reference) - I'll blog about the upcoming referendum on CAFTA soon. My interest in downtown San José was certainly not diminished by my gaydar (or oso-dar?) going off more in 10 minutes than it has in five weeks; I suspect I was checked out at least a little bit a couple of times, although it could just have been guys glancing at the gringo standing alone while the other profs were inside la farmacia. More generally, our brief time downtown was my only real direct exposure to urban Costa Rica, even though the overwhelming majority of ticos live in or within commuting distance of the capital.
We drove down from Arenal and La Fortuna today, stopping as noted in Sarchi, the country's center for crafts and the home of the apparently famous national symbol of the painted oxcarts (though I must admit that I didn't know about these until my friend M. visited). I got the last couple gifts I had in mind, including a small, build-it-yourself uber-mini ox-cart for my niece - my brother reports that she's really into art these days, & I know she's already had a Frida Kahlo stage, so I hope this works for her (I'm utterly unprepared to shop for an eight-year-old girl, I must admit). This came after almost two days in the shadow of the Arenal volcano - I'll post pictures soon, but we spent two nights in a set of cabins almost at the base of the volcano. The hotel was beautiful, what with hummingbirds flitting around the beautifully landscaped grounds and well-kept wood cabins -- I'll have to post pictures of the rose-petal covered "swans" made out of towels; it's too bad I'm not remotely in the mood for such romantic touches -- plus the view of the volcano itself (I never saw the howler monkeys, but I did hear them...) Unfortunately, it was only sunny for the first 30 minutes and the last hour of the time we were there, & we could only see the tip of the volcano just as we were arriving (we did a "jeep-boat-jeep" transfer from Monteverde, or more accuarately, a van-ferry-van transfer). Moreover, the lava changes where it flows out of the volcano every few months, and at the moment, it's flowing towards Lake Arenal and away from all the hotels, restaurants, and spas, which means you can only see the lovely forest-covered side of the volcano from said establishments.
Friday was our super-busy day in Arenal/La Fortuna. We started with a hike to the La Fortuna Waterfall, another stunningly beautiful waterfall that's maybe 150-200 feet high (I'm guessing here), which entailed descending 550 steps and then climbing back up. We then headed to the Arenal Volcano National Park, where we went to the lookout, & then did a 2km hike to an area with a clear view of the perfectly conical volcano. We climbed up on the lava rocks, took a gazillion pictures... and when we were able to quiet all the students down (not a remotely easy task), we could hear the volcano... churning? rumbling? gurgling? It was amazing, & I can't wait to come back when I can actually see the lava. We could see hints of the boulders coming down the top of the volcano - that required looking for the white trails of dust that represented the boulders being spit out of the volcano - at night, those glow red. Most people quickly turned around to head back - one student and I, both being of the attitude that we came to Costa Rica for the volcano, not for souvenir shopping in downtown La Fortuna, headed off for another hundred yards to the trailhead, where we had an even better view of the volcano & the lake as well, & listened quietly to the awesome marvel in front of us. Eventually, we headed back, hiked back 3km through some remarkably varied vegetation to the parking lot, and saw a very colorful lizard along the way.
After a tasty but slow late lunch in La Fortuna, we wandered around the town for an hour, which for L. and me, mostly entailed a quick look at the old church and walk through the town square, plus minor shopping (i now have a mission: to find a Saprissa soccer jersey in my size with their corporate sponsor's logo on the front: Bimbo baked goods). Following the brief trip back to the hotel, we headed off to Baldi Hot Springs, a complex of 16 thermal pools, including bars you literally swim/wade up to. That was fantastic fun, and the only minus was that we got there later than planned because of everything earlier in the day, and didn't have nearly enough time in the water. Still, it was great fun, and as relaxing as it gets when you're still chaperoning 14 students... and oh yeah, there was plenty of eye candy.
Alright, more soon from the States!
Though we've driven through San José a few times on our trips rafting & down to Puerto Viejo, this was my first time on foot in the city. Our hotel is very, very nice, though it's in a quite sketchy neighborhood; I would have liked to have a lot more time to explore downtown. We passed the national park, the national library, and the national theatre, along with a ton of anti-CAFTA grafitti (including one V for Vendetta reference) - I'll blog about the upcoming referendum on CAFTA soon. My interest in downtown San José was certainly not diminished by my gaydar (or oso-dar?) going off more in 10 minutes than it has in five weeks; I suspect I was checked out at least a little bit a couple of times, although it could just have been guys glancing at the gringo standing alone while the other profs were inside la farmacia. More generally, our brief time downtown was my only real direct exposure to urban Costa Rica, even though the overwhelming majority of ticos live in or within commuting distance of the capital.
We drove down from Arenal and La Fortuna today, stopping as noted in Sarchi, the country's center for crafts and the home of the apparently famous national symbol of the painted oxcarts (though I must admit that I didn't know about these until my friend M. visited). I got the last couple gifts I had in mind, including a small, build-it-yourself uber-mini ox-cart for my niece - my brother reports that she's really into art these days, & I know she's already had a Frida Kahlo stage, so I hope this works for her (I'm utterly unprepared to shop for an eight-year-old girl, I must admit). This came after almost two days in the shadow of the Arenal volcano - I'll post pictures soon, but we spent two nights in a set of cabins almost at the base of the volcano. The hotel was beautiful, what with hummingbirds flitting around the beautifully landscaped grounds and well-kept wood cabins -- I'll have to post pictures of the rose-petal covered "swans" made out of towels; it's too bad I'm not remotely in the mood for such romantic touches -- plus the view of the volcano itself (I never saw the howler monkeys, but I did hear them...) Unfortunately, it was only sunny for the first 30 minutes and the last hour of the time we were there, & we could only see the tip of the volcano just as we were arriving (we did a "jeep-boat-jeep" transfer from Monteverde, or more accuarately, a van-ferry-van transfer). Moreover, the lava changes where it flows out of the volcano every few months, and at the moment, it's flowing towards Lake Arenal and away from all the hotels, restaurants, and spas, which means you can only see the lovely forest-covered side of the volcano from said establishments.
Friday was our super-busy day in Arenal/La Fortuna. We started with a hike to the La Fortuna Waterfall, another stunningly beautiful waterfall that's maybe 150-200 feet high (I'm guessing here), which entailed descending 550 steps and then climbing back up. We then headed to the Arenal Volcano National Park, where we went to the lookout, & then did a 2km hike to an area with a clear view of the perfectly conical volcano. We climbed up on the lava rocks, took a gazillion pictures... and when we were able to quiet all the students down (not a remotely easy task), we could hear the volcano... churning? rumbling? gurgling? It was amazing, & I can't wait to come back when I can actually see the lava. We could see hints of the boulders coming down the top of the volcano - that required looking for the white trails of dust that represented the boulders being spit out of the volcano - at night, those glow red. Most people quickly turned around to head back - one student and I, both being of the attitude that we came to Costa Rica for the volcano, not for souvenir shopping in downtown La Fortuna, headed off for another hundred yards to the trailhead, where we had an even better view of the volcano & the lake as well, & listened quietly to the awesome marvel in front of us. Eventually, we headed back, hiked back 3km through some remarkably varied vegetation to the parking lot, and saw a very colorful lizard along the way.
After a tasty but slow late lunch in La Fortuna, we wandered around the town for an hour, which for L. and me, mostly entailed a quick look at the old church and walk through the town square, plus minor shopping (i now have a mission: to find a Saprissa soccer jersey in my size with their corporate sponsor's logo on the front: Bimbo baked goods). Following the brief trip back to the hotel, we headed off to Baldi Hot Springs, a complex of 16 thermal pools, including bars you literally swim/wade up to. That was fantastic fun, and the only minus was that we got there later than planned because of everything earlier in the day, and didn't have nearly enough time in the water. Still, it was great fun, and as relaxing as it gets when you're still chaperoning 14 students... and oh yeah, there was plenty of eye candy.
Alright, more soon from the States!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A glimpse
Yesterday, I spent the morning of my next-to-last full day in this area at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve with four of my students. Despite our plans to be there at 7am (we got there a bit after 8am), and some late-trip punchiness and sniping amongst the students, it was a rather lovely hike, and I have many pictures to post once I have a more stable internet connection. We didn't hire a guide, though, and that was a mistake - through the entire hike, we saw nothing in the way of wildlife, not even the frogs and funky insects that M. and I saw on a night-hike there in the rain two weeks ago. At the end, I took them to the hummingbird gallery where M. and I had gone this past Saturday while we waited for F., our ever-reliable cab driver. F. eventually showed up, and we were getting into his taxi when he heard something, and told us we should get out to see it. What did he hear?
This is why I bought a 12x zoom lens - sorry for the fuzziness, but this is probably 35 feet up and 35 feet over (¿cómo se dice "hypotenuse" en español?) In the parking lot, we saw the famed quetzal, the plumed bird at the heart of Central American indigenous mythology (more info about the quetzal is online here: http://www.cloudforestalive.org/tour/qcam/quetzaldetails.htm). Sightings of the quetzal are not all that common, and I think this is a great way to wrap up our time in Monteverde.
Off to prepare a final exam...
This is why I bought a 12x zoom lens - sorry for the fuzziness, but this is probably 35 feet up and 35 feet over (¿cómo se dice "hypotenuse" en español?) In the parking lot, we saw the famed quetzal, the plumed bird at the heart of Central American indigenous mythology (more info about the quetzal is online here: http://www.cloudforestalive.org/tour/qcam/quetzaldetails.htm). Sightings of the quetzal are not all that common, and I think this is a great way to wrap up our time in Monteverde.
Off to prepare a final exam...
Saturday, July 14, 2007
A quick update from San Luis
The internet at the research station has been down for two days, so I'm writing from downtown Santa Elena. One more week to go -- finals next Wed., we leave for the volcano at Arenal on Thurs., San Jose next Sat., & back to the US on Sun. My friend M. is visiting for a couple - we were heading out to do a canopy walk in the cloud forest, but it's pouring rain, so we're checking email at the internet cafe & checking out art galleries instead.
I have a LONG post about Puerto Viejo... but it's not something that can go up on here. If you're reading along & want to read it, I'll email you directly -- just leave a message on the comments section or email me directly.
I have a LONG post about Puerto Viejo... but it's not something that can go up on here. If you're reading along & want to read it, I'll email you directly -- just leave a message on the comments section or email me directly.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
A pig walks into an Internet cafe...
Literally, at this moment, there's a pig wandering around the Internet cafe here in Puerto Viejo, along with me, two other professors, and two students. The pig just wandered below my feet (I'm sitting on a bar stool), brushing up against me. Welcome to cyberspace, Caribbean style. All we need are a priest and a rabbi.
The Research Station installed a wireless cloud for the campus earlier this week, which means that the system promptly crashed, & we had extremely limited access to the world this week. My 4th of July deserves its own write-up, but briefly, I wandered around Monteverde and Santa Elena on my own all day, and had a fantastic time (& then had dinner with my old friend M., who's in country from New York for a week and a half, and a friend of his who came down from Los Angeles for a much shorter trip). M. & I also went night hiking in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on Thursday, before Friday's all-day bus ride across about 3/4ths of Costa Rica to get down here to the Caribbean coast. In one day, we saw the Gulf of Nicoya, feeding into the Pacific Ocean, & then drove down & waded into the Caribbean. That gives a clear sense of just how narrow the Central American isthmus really is.
I promise more pictures - between the limited email and a glitch with my card reader for my second flash card, I haven't been able to download & post those pictures. But I'm still taking them, of course.
More from San Luis in a few days!
The Research Station installed a wireless cloud for the campus earlier this week, which means that the system promptly crashed, & we had extremely limited access to the world this week. My 4th of July deserves its own write-up, but briefly, I wandered around Monteverde and Santa Elena on my own all day, and had a fantastic time (& then had dinner with my old friend M., who's in country from New York for a week and a half, and a friend of his who came down from Los Angeles for a much shorter trip). M. & I also went night hiking in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on Thursday, before Friday's all-day bus ride across about 3/4ths of Costa Rica to get down here to the Caribbean coast. In one day, we saw the Gulf of Nicoya, feeding into the Pacific Ocean, & then drove down & waded into the Caribbean. That gives a clear sense of just how narrow the Central American isthmus really is.
I promise more pictures - between the limited email and a glitch with my card reader for my second flash card, I haven't been able to download & post those pictures. But I'm still taking them, of course.
More from San Luis in a few days!
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