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Hello guys, time flies…
How is everyone? I would like to hear some more of you my dear ex-Erasmus and other English speakers. By the way, do you know who’s here?!!!.......Patrick Sunderland!!!!
He read my blog and felt enticed to spend his holiday in Costa Rica!!! It was a great surprise to hear from him again (although we keep in touch you all know how this works), and now we are having lots of fun together!!
This last weekend we rented a car and went rock climbing & surfing in Santa Teresa & Malpaís. We had a great time because lots of shows with circus performances were taking place in the evenings, the weather was great, and we met a bunch of nice people. Also for Patrick it was easy to communicate, since Santa Teresa, Montezuma and the surrounding areas are half colonized by Americans. Now he is travelling in the Pacific coast (‘cos I had to come back and work =( ) and we will meet up again next weekend to go to the Arenal volcano see some lava and chillax in the hot springs.
Before his arrival I had an extra-busy week. I had to prepare an
environmental education workshop that I was going to be giving with a consultant from Rainforest Alliance. It took us forever to figure out which methodology to use with the groups (members of ACTUAR network), but in the end it worked out really well and we made great progress.
And…of course, as usual, lots of travelling and events. Since Easter, I have been visiting different places every weekend. First I went to Corcovado National Park with a tour ACTUAR had organized for a group of local tourists because the guide needed some help handling the situation. We did two great hikes in the jungle and saw plenty of animals including dolphins (we missed the crocs though). Then my friend Erica and I took a day tour to see the Irazú volcano, which is very close to the city of San Jose. The views of the crater where really nice, and it was even nicer that we got to see it because it is normally very cloudy.
I have joined a rock climbing gym that I found by chance, and on Sundays we usually go to this place called Cachí, where some of the few equipped routes in this country
are. It is a great site, with a river, some natural pools, just perfect to spend Sundays. Now I am rock climbing addicted again. I think I have to show it to Patrick before he leaves.
We also went to a place called Providencia, where this mad Canadian has equipped some trees so you can climb them. He has also invented an alternative to canopy which consists in two slack lines between trees that allow you to cross the forest at a very high altitude. Quite scary! www.treewalking.com This country is just full of crazy initiatives to discover.
And yeah, I travelled with work as well. We went to the Talamanca region, which is very close to the border with Panama in the Caribbean coast. We visited an agro-ecotourism farm called El Yüé, very nice, and an indigenous tourism initiative to make some sustainability diagnostics. Self-determined organized women from the Bribri community of Yorkín propose now some lodging and tours for tourists, and frankly, the experience is great. They treated us very spontaneously, shared with us moments of their daily life, showed us the process for making chocolate (from the plant to an eatable chocolate with milk delicious
bar), we practiced how to shoot arrows with a bow (they still fish with it), they taught us how to build roofs with palm leafs…just plenty of new things. I was impressed of how well it is working, and all the progress they are doing with the income coming from tourism. Nice to see that well interpreted it can be a tool for development. =)
Climbing Chirripó was another amazing experience. However, it is very tiring because you hike from 1300 meters above the sea level (sorry for feet lovers) to 3400 m where the refuge is at. Although we were exhausted we didn’t hesitate once to hike again next morning (this time with no backpacks) and reach the summit at 3820 m. What a nice view! Both oceans, all the other Costa Rican peaks, and since we did it really early in the morning we saw the moon set and the sun rise at the same time. It was…breathtaking. After that we went rock climbing “the needle” (sharp rock) at 3720m. Never had I thought I was going to climb at this altitude, and it was my first “needle” too.
In what refers to events, there has
been a yembe workshop with a renowned musician from Senegal named Badu n’Diaye, and a concert. It was my first time playing drums, and although I’m a bit clumsy with rhythm I think I did fine. My hands were all red when we finished, hehe. It is a shame I haven’t practiced since then, by now I must have forgotten all the rhythms. And the concert…I couldn’t believe it. It was homage to Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Who was playing? Peter Tosh Band and The Wailers! How nice! Apparently they come here quite often, and once again, surprise! The venue was quite small and we talked with some of the musicians at the end of the show, they said they were going to play in Barcelona soon, so maybe you should check out their programme for the European tour! Oh, and this other band from Argentina played too. Their name is nonpalidece, have a look if you like reggae vibes.
I have to go now. Take care and keep on smiling.
Kisses,
Virginia
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Joanna
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I cant find words....You lucky bitch!!!!!!!!! :)) Enjoy as much as possible and take care of yourself, love ya! besos desde Polonia:)