Mark Twain or Ben Franklin or Paul Theroux or Robert Louis Stevenson -all great travelers and writers said it best:" Your trip begins the minute you leave the door of one 'home' and enter another." And so it was yesterday as I made my way on what I thought was going to be a zippy little 45 minute flight from San Jose', Costa Rica to Managua, Nicaragua. Knowing my way around a few So. Am. airports I know to give myself more than enough time since there are 2 types of time in the world: Latin and Central Am. and the rest of the world. I arrived at the airport with lots of time to spare. Paid my rip off 'exit tax' and went to my assigned gate. The gate guy appeared and put the correct ... read more

So there I was, in the dark, in a bathing suit, trying to keep my towel dry, standing under some large palm fronds.... let me back up here. Last weekend I took a trip with some others from school to La Fortuna. It was billed as the jeep-boat-jeep tour. And that is exactly what I got. I was picked up, close to my family's house, at 7:30 a.m.. After gathering a few more students we were off on another one of 'Mr. Toad's Wild Rides'. Oh, maybe I haven't told you in detail about the roads in Monteverde. This is truly one of the few places on earth where having an SUV is essential. Everyroad is a up a steep hill ( or down). The roads are not paved. The ruts and potholes could hide small ... read more

Hola. Finally, I had the chance to see the beautiful side of Costa Rica. The school I am at, Centro Panamericano de Idiomas ( CPI), offers many excursions to places in Costa Rica. This week I took a 'jungle cruise' to Sarapiqui. After an 1 hour and 1/2 ride on what is one of the main roads from Puerto Limon, a road that would be deemed impassable in my neck of the woods, we arrived at a swift flowing green and brown colored river. Boat safety? I think not. No life preservers were offered nor none in evidence. I felt better when the guide told us the river at present was only a meter deep. I felt worse when she told us that it is also full of crocodiles. I'm sure my nice tender and meaty ... read more

Hola Familia y amigas, I don't actually start my Spanish classes until Monday but it never hurts to start practicing. Actually, I've been getting a lot of practice this week as I've had some wonderful visits with Delta Kappa Gamma ( DKG) members here in San Jose. What is DKG you say? First, I'll tell you what it isn't. It isn't a sorority. It is a 75 year old honor society for key women educators with over 140,000 members. I was honored to be invited to join 25 years ago. It has been a very important part of my life. DKG is an International society with chapters in 14 foreign countries. I have held many offices and now serve on one of the International Commitees- Travel and Study. When I first started studying Spanish, Dr. Maria ... read more

This is the start of my (Carolyn's), hopefully, excellent adventure. It is the longest and loosest trip I have ever been on. This is not easy for someone who likes, well, order - I can hear my kids laughing about that euphemism. I will be traveling for about 103 days, through 5 Central American countries. I have a couple of hotels lined up for a night here and there. I have the names of some of the host families I will be staying with when I go to school in 3 different countries. THe rest of a day to day test of the power of the internet. Well, let's talk about the weather. I was led to believe that all would be sunny and hot, hot, hot. I left my fleece jacket back in Boston, brought ... read more