Weekend Excurions: Take 1

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First and foremost, I must say thank you. To all of you. It is easy to lose yourself in this wide world of ours, and I think that all of us, at one point or another need to be reassured that someone, somewhere, remembers who we are. Reading your comments at the end of the day makes my night.


If anyone can inspire a 20-year-old girl to learn Spanish it's Gael García Bernal. "Ay que guapo es este muchacho". A good portion of my Friday morning intensive Spanish class was devoted to watching "The Motorcycle Diaries" a film which features the aforementioned Bernal. The movie is about the the famous/infamous Argentine Revolutionary Che Guevara, before he was....Che. While most people would recognize Che's likeness (which dawns the t-shirts of almost every moody would-be-teenage-rebel you've ever met) very few of us, myself included, understand the man behind the myth. Che was a Marxist revolutionary who played a definitive role in the Cuban Revolution. What few people realize about this controversial historical figure is that in his earlier years he was much less intimidating than the extremist he would one day become. "The Motorcycle Diaries" introduces it's viewers to that Che; Ernesto, the 23-year-old, asthmatic, medical student, who sought adventure and decided to take a cross-continental motorcycle trip with his best friend.

The strength of Ernesto's character is established early on in the movie. His loyalty is first and foremost to the truth. While is friend is mostly interested in chasing women across the continent, Ernesto finds that he is increasingly sensitive to the suffering of the people he meets along his journey. Leaving a life of comfort and privlege behind in Buenos Aires, he sees a world he has never known. He is introduced to the Indigenous people who are responsible for so much of the vibrant Latin American culture he belongs to and he spends three weeks volunteering at a leprosy colony run by doctors and nuns in Peru. He is struck by inequity and injustice wherever he find it and he is moved by it.

Obviously, I am not traveling solo on an unreliable motorcycle. I'm taking tourist buses almost everywhere I go. But as I was watching "The Motorcycle Diaries" I couldn't help but feel that I just might share a few things with the young Che Guevara. Of course there is the sense of adventure, but there's something else. As handsome as Gael García Bernal is, it was more than his good looks that attracted me; it was the sincerity of his character. Everywhere Che went he talked to the people. He listened to them. He gave them a chance to share their stories.

For some time now I have felt that listening is the ultimate sign of respect. It's about acknowledging the dignity of your fellow human being. It's a way of saying, "you matter; you're worthy of my understanding, and while I might not be able understand everything you tell me, the least I can do for you is promise that I will try."

And so I've resolved to try to speak more Spanish. I want to be able to ask the people I meet here about where they come from and I'll never be able to do that if I can't speak their language. I know I've only been here for a week but I'm struck by a sense of urgency. One week's already passed, I only have eleven to go. It is time to make "un gran esfuerzo"; to put forth a great effort.

But "gran esfuerzos" use a lot of energy and I must admit, I was looking forward to our four hour bus ride on Friday afternoon. I sat back in my seat, listened to my music, and took in the Costa Rican scenery. I am so glad we've been given the opportunity to travel outside of San Jose. I'm not sure what my impression would be if I only saw the houses with the barred windows, the pot holes in the streets, and the garbage on the corners. This weekend, I got to see "la naturaleza" and it truly is astounding. You can see the mountains in San Jose. They're exotic like the ones you see in Vietnam War movies. They're much more rugged than the ones I am used to. Well, this weekend I ventured up them.

Friday night we went to Baldi Hot Springs. It's a resort where the pools are naturally heated by Volcan Arenal, a volcano that has been active daily since 1968.That's right, apperently there are volcanos that are active daily. I didn't realize this. It turns out the natural hot springs were not so natural. We were definitely in a man-made resort. People come to stay at this place from all over the world, though. It was kind of cool to hear all of the different accents. And anyplace where you can order your drinks while sitting at a stool submerged in the heated swimming pool is pretty cool.

There were also water slides there. After bumping my head twice, I decided to go for the gentler of the two. The guide told "eso es por los bebes" (that one's for the babies). To which I responded "No, eso es por los que no quieren sentir dolor en la mañana." (Ah-uh, that one's for the people who don't want to hurt in the morning.)

It was too late, though. When the sun rose I was glad I had packed aspirin in my mini-medical kit. I think the cowboys must have been the ones who came up with aspirin. They would have been so sore after riding through the plains everyday that they would have been motivated by necessity. Yes, aspirin after a day of horseback riding is a must.

I went horseback riding. On Saturday. 13 of the 20 students studying with AIFS (the American Institute for Foreign Study) decided to. We rode about 2 hours up the mountains of La Fortuna and then descended over a thousand steps to the most majestic waterfall I've ever seen. The air was hot and humid and once we had taken our pictures we walked a little further down to calmer waters. We stayed for about half an hour and I swam against the current which gently pushed against me keeping me in the same spot the whole time.

We rode our horses back down the mountain and after changing at our hotel, we drove out to the artificial lake the I.C.E. or the Costa Rican Institute for Electricity made in the name of hydroelectrics. The lake surrounds the Arenal Volcano but we couldn't see the top of it because of the fog and mist. Two towns used to stand where the lake is now and I meant to ask our tour guide about how people responded to the man-made lake when it was first proposed. She's about to find out how naturally inquisitive I am. Apparently almost all of Costa Rica's power comes from either hydroelectrics or wind turbines. They've only just recently had to start supplementing those two energy sources with diesel fuel.

The road back to the hotel from the boat was pretty treacherous. It was only paved in one spot for about 100 meters. I said, "it must have been an adopt a highway program with only one participant". Besides being steep and unpaved, the winding mountainous roads are also narrow. There's really only room for one vehicle to pass at a time. We had to stop twice. Once for an Imperial truck to pass (Imperial is the Costa Rican cerveza.) And once because a herd of cows was crossing the road. I'm not making this up.

That night most of us decided to go out. We went to a "discoteca" within walking distance from the hotel. The place was overrun with tourists. We even recognized some other students from Veritas University who belong to other study abroad programs. Because there were so many gringos there, the dj played mostly American music. We were dancing to Akon and all the other R&B artists you'd expect American college students to request. I knew we were supposed to be at breakfast by 6:30 the next morning so I called it a night pretty early, but I learned the next morning that once most of us had cleared out the "Ticos" or Costa Ricans started requesting their favorites and even asked the girls to dance. We've been taking salsa and meringue lessons on Tuesday and Thursday nights and I am hoping that whatever minimal skills I acquire over the next few months are practical and not just hypothetical. Rest assured that was not my last trip to the discoteca 😊

That night the wind howled. As beautiful as the mountains were I know I would have trouble convincing myself to live there. The climate is so different. The air is moist all the time. It was pouring rain as we ate our breakfast but that didn't stop us from touring the rain forest canopy.

The canopy tour was awesome. Absolutely unbelievable. Our guides hooked us into harnesses like the ones you use for rock climbing. They strapped helmets onto our heads and they hitched us to wire cables strung between the trees. We literally flew through the air. We zipped through the rain forest and over the trees, mountains, and valleys for over three kilometers. The views were incredible, the adrenaline rush was like nothing I've ever done before. I kept thinking of my 16-year-old brother because our Tico guides were the definition of STEEZE. Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with the boarding culture, I must digress for a second and define this important piece of skiing and snowboarding terminology. "Steeze" is a combination of style and ease. Someone who is "steezy" is so good at what he does he makes it look easy. Steeze is like the art of cool. Our guides have mastered it. They definitely had fun with us; dropping us when we least expected it, joking with us as they helped us switch from one cable to another, they made their job seem like the coolest in the world, even in the pouring rain.

11 of the 12 runs we did were zip lines. But at about the half way point in our tour we had the opportunity to use the Tarzan swing. I almost didn't. Swinging back and forth wasn't nearly as intimidating as the free-fall drop you have to go through beforehand. My guide on that platform looked at me earnestly and asked, "are you nervous?" When I answered yes, he said "Yeah, me too. Your life is in my hands." Seconds later I was careening through the air.

These guys, were professionals, though. Handsome ones at that. It was clear that safety was their priority. If ever one of us got stuck along the way because we didn't reach a high enough velocity to make it all the way from one platform to another they would hitch themselves to the cable, put one hand over the other and hoist themselves out to where we were and then proceed to carry us all the way to our destination. They did this like it was nothing.

Steeze.

When we reached San Jose around 6:00 tonight we realized that we had traveled through 5 of Costa Rica's 8 provinces. Not bad for our first weekend excursion.

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Photos

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Here's the AIFS group at Baldi Springs.

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Me and "la gordita".

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Our horseback ride.

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The waterfall, or "la cascada".

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"El lago" surrounding Volcan Arenal.

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Getting ready for the zip line.

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The view from the sketchy mountain roads.

Comments

[Pepe Gallagher]

Hola!
Holy cow Cara! What an incredible trip! Amazing! And cows to remind you of your home-land! I love you. Dad

[Ashley]

Oh, this is so exciting! I know it's difficult to enjoy the moist air, but be thankful that your skin isn't scaly and peeling from the arctic dryness settling over Fredericton! And you will require less and less aspirin the more you ride ... hopefully you can stick with it! I'm jealous! Thank you for your bit on Che Guevara. His picture is EVERYWHERE in Cuba ... on t-shirts, houses, government buildings, everywhere. But we didn't know the story behind the man while we were there. I think we've learned more about the country since we've come back! I did feel the same thing as you while I was there, though. I wanted to keep listening and listening because, not only does it make the person feel important, it's one of the best and only ways to learn. Maybe you can do a little listening and learning at the discoteca ;)

[Mom]

What a weekend!
Wow! Sounds like some incredible experiences. I love reading about them. Continue to take advantage of the opportunities the program offers because I suspect the sense of urgency you're feeling is a very real thing. Time is going to fly. I love you sweetie!

[Aunt Colleen J.]

Wow Cara!
Cara, I can't believe all you've seen and done already, incredible! Your writing is so beautifly descriptive, I found myself reading with a grin from ear to ear, enjoying every word. I imagine Thomas (Mr. Steeze, himself) is now even more anxious to visit Costa Rica. Thank you for sharing Cara - love you!

[Ben Sweet, Scenario Extraordinaire]

Steezy Blog Post
yo cad, great entry. you go so into detail it is amazing. i could never go into so much detail. perhaps you should consider doing something in writing. everything about costa rica sounds so awesome. continue to have as much fun as possible!