Octubre 11-17

October 11: Tuesday brought only one enjoyment. Platanos....
Platanos are Spanish for plantains. Plantains is English for really large banana looking thing in the supermarkets that no one in The States understands what to do with them.

In my cuisine class we were taught how to fry platanos verdes with a side of pico dio. Platanos verdes come from Cuba and the Carribean side of Costa Rica. I find it interesting that Costa Rica is divided in half in terms of its majorities; and divided in twelvths for its environmental diversity. If you travel to the Carribbean, you will find more rasta then you know what to do with. Rasta seeps from your pores. There, you will find salty platanos and really big black men. However, on the Pacific side of Costa Rica the platanos are sweet and sauteed to perfection.

October 12: The ladies and I went out today to explore the shopping culture of Heredia. Note to all tall women out there: Costa Rica does not have shoes for you. I would have paid to re- witness the look I recieved from the man in the shoe department when I asked him if they sold shoes in my size. Needless to say, shopping for sandles was a less dramatic, but just as difficult of an experience as a mission impossible movie. I just wish Tom Cruise would have been there to attempt the search for a good shoe fitting.

The last and final store of the afternoon had a sandal that fit. I bought them with pride and hussled my way back to the house to change for futbol. Dani and I were soaked by the time we went a block past the shoe store. We slugged back to the house to find the boys not ready. Unsurprising. I pulled Kenny out of the bathroom by his earlobe after his mom offered to drive us to futbol. We showed up late, again. We were thrown into the next game only to be thrown off the feild after the world quickest loss. I didn't even realize that we were playing before they scoreboard read 'defeat'.

We decided to eat our emotions away with a good adventure love story and junk food. I bought the carmel popcorn, molly bought the pringles, and richard got 'water for elephants.' Half way through the flick the language switched to what I believe was French. I was having a hard enough time following in Spanish, now they added French! We just laughed it off and enjoyed the pirated film. My favorite part was when the sound cut out and all you could hear was the "pirater" coughing and sniffling in the background of his clip.

October 13: Bus ride to the bus station for bus tickets. Bus, Bus, Bus. Can I just vent for a second and say that I really dislike buses - emphasis on the really. They are crowded and make me want to hurl with every poor clutch malfunction and humid window. To top off our poor bus ride with a cherry, we found out that tickets can only be purchased the day-of. So we made our way back just in time to skip dance class due to my newly purchased sandles braking. The one pair of sandals in Costa Rica that fit also broke! Megh!
Okay, finished with my PMS fued.

October 14: Today is a good day! New sandles! Adventure to come! Friends to be made! I might sound like an episode of Mr. Rodgers, but who wouldn't want to be my neighboor on such a fantastic day! We finished school and hussled over to the bus station for our day-of tickets. We purchased tickets for 2pm. Our bus left at 1:30pm just after we hopped on. I hope no one else was planning on joining.

The trip was quick, squishy, and full of good life stories. The bus ride from San Carlos to La Fortuna was so popular that I am almost certain that everyone and there grandmother hopped on our bus. The only way we could have held more people on that bus would have been if we threw them under in the storage compartments below. I got a little closterphobic and decided I would rather sit out side. So I squeezed out the window of the bus and flew through the country side. As the wind swept through my hair, I noticed a flash. The man standing a few isles in front of my now vacant seat decided to turn my escape into a photo-shoot. Him and his friend were taking pictures of my stupid, but freeing expedition. I came back into the window to scoff at them for taking stalker pictures, but decided against my scoff because they had charming smiles and greeted us appropriately. We had the rest of the bus ride to make new friends and decide there should be a club for all the Ticos who have witnessed AND documented my stupid decisions. Saying goodbye to Nestor and his brother, we headed toward our Sleepers Sleep Cheap Hostel.

Due to the uneven rooming situation, I was obligated to volunteer myself for the room with the boys. It was actually a fun experience. It reminded me of my days of my youth and vacationing with my brothers.
Decisions led to a tranquil evening of walking around the touristic city, splashing in the public fountain, admiring an art gallery, origami lessons, tree climbing, and rocking chairs. My newly befriended Bobby rocked me into a quick slumber as the crew giggled their way into exhaustion.

October 15: A few hours less then rested hours later, we devoured our breakfast (included in our already $7 cheap room-fare), then took off to Luis' RedLava Tours. Luis is our friend that Molly and I made the last adventure to La Fortuna hooked us up with a great deal. For the cheapest price on the cheapest tour, Luis added on all additional tours for the same price. The day's itinerary included a six hour hike up to a water volcano, waterfall, night hike, hot springs, and dancing.

Luis and our crew headed up through the forest to the top of Cerro Chato, which is a Lagoon that rests at the top of a water volcano. The water held within the crater takes on a beautiful, striking green color that invites you for a refreshing swim after our three hour accent. The hike up held adventures of many kinds. We saw unique vegetation, beautiful scenic overlooks, ants that work as stitches, and Tarzan vines. Unfortunately for me, I would never make a good mate for Tarzan. I was the only one in our crew who could not hold my own weight on the vines as I swung over the forest floor. I embarrassingly slipped mid-flight off the end and landed in a muddy crevasse that echoed the laughter.

Reaching the peak of our hike, we began to descend down into the crater. Our decent included free climbing down cliffs using only the forest and its natural staircase. The tree roots proved to be slippery and dangerous time after time. We had to stop for a quick breather and praise after Dani slipped from one ledge only to keep rolling down the mountain. She stopped just before a drop down the cliff that would have certainly taken her life or much of her body. We carefully made it to the green waters for a quick swim, rope swing plunge, and white dolphin watching.

Our decent from the volcano was much quicker than the ascent. Luis and many of the others allowed their animal instincts to overcome their senses. The wild crew leapt and swung down the mountain using vines, trees, and stupidity to race down the mountain. Bobby added a few shout outs like: "Par core" or "Grind" as he would slide down a tree root or leap from a startling height. I could no longer could keep up with group so I went at my own leisurely pace down the mountain to the echos of jungle interpretative noises from my long gone companions.

We literally chased sundown all the way to the waterfall. We arrived just in time for enough light to jump from low and high points of the thundering waterfall. I cradled my courage and stupidity long enough for Luis to push me up the side of the waterfall for me to embrace my Pocahontas spirit. I jumped from the sweet spot of the waterfall into the rushing waters below. To warm up after the chilly falls, we headed to the Hot Spring River. We dived into the caves below the river and soaked in volcanic mud masks. All was fun and splendid until one of the girls fell. I reached out just in time to catch her. Sadly, my movement cost me my purity ring. I bought my purity rings years ago as a symbol of my absence decision. I had many other intentions for this ring's future, but now it was lost. I cried and sulked a while in the warmth of the river. Molly's attempts to cheer me up were tender, but unhelpful at this time. But I want to thank her non the less for being that amazing friend who loves me and convinces me that some things are not worth the tears or frustration.

Later that evening, we decided to go dancing at the local hangout. Dancing was great, but since I usually update you on my list of creepers; I will inform you of my newest. I had to give the 'save me' signal to my friend Bobby when the short little man who I was dancing with decided to try a new dance move. The choreography involved swirling his finger in my belly button. Yes, my belly button....

October 16: Continental breakfast came much too early. Nothing like fresh fruit to start a good day filled with more adventures. The crew and I wandered down to the local watering whole for some stupid decisions and even better stories. This is the same watering hole where Molly and I completed "Stupid Idea #1," where we survived the rope swing together. Since then, we have accomplished "Stupid Idea #2 - feeding the wild monkeys our lunch in the middle of the jungle" and "Stupid Idea #3 - Pretending to fight on top of a waterfall only for me to punch Bobby in the face, sending him diving off the top and into the abyss below."

There you have it folks. We are full of great, but rather stupid, decisions. I successfully face planted in front of everyone of my friends who awaited my 'hey guys, watch this' move from the top of the rope swing. We did a handful of other daring un-thought-through maneuvers before leaving the swimming hole, but non as great as Luke's flip from the waterfalls peak.

Walking back from the swimming hole we encountered a symphony of drumming. As the beat grew stronger in our cores, we found the source. There was a rodeo style stadium in downtown La Fortuna that held a national drum-line competition. I was already on a roll of stupid adventures, so I decided to continue the movement. I snuck into the stadium from under the stage to watch the talented young drummers beat one of my favorite songs by Kanaan - Wave Your Flag - from the 2010 World Cup. Peaking through the slats of an overpopulated stadium below, listening to the rhythm of passion, is a fabulous cultural experience.

That evening I went to Luis' house for a quick tour. I had to ask him if he just enjoyed pink rooms filled with caterpillars or if his house was once a preschool. The latter was correct; however, the first would be much more entertaining to be true. Later we witnessed the second most spectacular sunset in my life. The clouds ascended over the completely visible Volcano, changing from pink, orange, and gold. Following natures show, the girls and Bobby went out for some cheap, local grub. We stopped at a place to engorge ourselves with the much craved American food. We laughed continuously when realizing that Bobby is always clustered among the ladies. We decided that he would be our Costa Rican Polygamist Husband and we are all sister wives.

October 17: Today was filled with mostly travel time and over viewing our fantastic weekend. The bus trip was quick and easy. However, we had a small hold up in traffic when a rural farmer was trucking down the road with a large cow in the back bed of his Toyota. Cows are not very forgiving when descending down windy mountain roads, in case you were ever in need of transporting one.

Today, one of my girls graciously explained to me the meaning of La Fortuna."La Fortuna" translates to "The Fortune." In hopes of cheering me up after the loss of my favorite ring, she explained to me that the people in La Fortuna to this day find tools, trinkets, and treasures from the villages destroyed by the Volcanoes last eruption.  These items are found in the same river that holds my ring. I get to add more to this great story. Upon arriving home, I told my mother about the loss. While I told her the story and explained my distress, she found and bought the same ring online in a smaller size to ensure security! Now that is love. Can I get a quick shout out to the world's greatest mother! Woot Woot.