Traveling to Nosara got off on a great start when we missed our bus and had to take a taxi driven by a one footed man in order to catch our next connection. He was cheerful nonetheless. Next, we got to sit in a bus terminal for a lil while...enough time for some pigeon to take a shit over everything I own. Seriously...It went everywhere. Not just one drop like a normal bird; this one must have eaten too many beans and washed them down with some of the bad water they warn about in all the guide books. He/she slopped [View Full Entry]

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Well, what a few weeks! The title sums up my feelings of what have been some of the best weeks of my life for many reasons. But just to keep you all in suspense for a little while longer, I'll return to where my last blog finished. After Nicaragua, I had my last week of classes in Heredia and it was a fairly uneventful week with the highlights being two 'Intercambios', where I spent an hour with local Costa Ricans who are learning English and we spent half an hour each speaking in English and Spanish. I was most impressed with [View Full Entry]

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It was time to “make lemonade out of my lemons” so to speak. As most of you know, I was laid off in December from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since I left Samara, Costa Rica back in 2006, I’ve been itching to go back so.. .here I am! Welcome to Jolynn’s Costa Rica Blog, Episode 3! On this, my third trip to Playa Samara, Costa Rica, I hold some bitter-sweet feelings. It’s the first time I’ve come, having someone special in my life back at home. But, after a few tears with Wayne at the airport and promises to email and call [View Full Entry]

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Costa Rica. We are burnt, but happyily so. We have feasted on casados, batidos, and cervezas. And we will continue our journey southward. Hope you all are well. Bye for now. [View Full Entry]

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Road Trip! Posted by John The last days in Samara diminished quickly as many of our fellow TEFL students moved away to their respective jobs, peppered all over Costa Rica. There were four of us left, each interested in traveling to Heredia near the capital of San Jose. Two of us have jobs waiting, one of us is going there to look and the other is flying home to visit family. We decided to leave early so we would be able to take a road trip, take our time and see some more of this beautiful country. We left Samara on [View Full Entry]

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So New Year was a blast! Started off with dinner at Karin & Pierro's then 'pub hopping' in Samara!!! Yes I was on top form and made sure it was a celebration of a lifetime! Tequila Queen blended with Guarro Devil brought out the best and worst of everyone... So good that I missed my bus at 8h30 on the 1st (I mean which idiot thinks they'll be up at 8 on New Years day???) and because all the buses were booked (slight freak out moment!) Ivan helped me to book the last seat (yes the very last seat) on a [View Full Entry]

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Well it is eventually time to say goodbye to beautiful Samara. It is amazing how in less than 2 weeks I have met a few amazing people who have crept into my heart so rapidly - & sneakily - I might add!!! I feel so blessed for my time here and it is so much harder than I could have ever imagined to say goodbye... The last few days have been filled with yoga, coffee, conversation, beach, swimming, cooking, laughing and so much more! This is going to be short and I will let the photos tell their own stories (with [View Full Entry]

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Posted by Megan 12/27 Well, Christmas has come and gone but supposedly the party is just starting. The festival starts today. It looks very interesting... they've been setting up rides and getting ready for this for days. It lasts until January I think. They are going to have a big parade on horses all around Samara - like 30 or so caballeros. Then on the last day of the festival, they are going to ride not only around Samara but supposedly three other nearby towns as well. It should be interesting. Christmas day was pretty relaxed around here. Everything was open... [View Full Entry]

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12/24/08 posted by John Settling in at the farm… Yes, as Megan stated, we are now on a farm and it is quite nice. We have been spending our days exploring some of the other beaches in the area. Yesterday, five of us went in search of Playa Izquierda. The hills here march all the way into the sea creating many crescent shaped coves that in time have become a series of sometimes small and almost inaccessible beaches. Playa Izquierda is such a beach. The directions are cryptic at best. After a couple of reroutes, we found ourselves on a small [View Full Entry]

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The days seem a mystery and misty haze of possible dates, times, days, seasons - I guess this is a good indication that structure and diligent routine are a rather distant notion (easily forgotten!)... Things are slow and the most exciting moments seem to be doing as little as possible! Guess what? In the middle of Samara I have found somewhere to do yoga!!!! Karin does a mix of various forms every day with Sophie (a travelling French writer) and so I have jumped on board for a daily dose... It is such a great way to start the day, the [View Full Entry]

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