Blogs from Heredia, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 26

First, in response to some e-mails: The address of our apartment is: del Automercado Heredia, 100m al sur, 25 este, portones blancos, apt #4 (i.e. from the Automercado in Heredia, 1 block south, a little bit east, white garage doors, apartment #4). The Automercado is the nicest (and most expensive) supermarket in Heredia -- if we ever get a hankering for a certain food from America, we most likely can find it there. Now you know how to get here, but please don’t send us anything, we’ll never get it. We found out yesterday the only way to receive mail is to get a PO box (which we will after we get back). The only way to get things via UPS, Fedex, DHL and the like is to go pick it up at their offices in ... read more

So, back to Costa Rica. As per our second journal entry, our intrepid adventurers have made it to Costa Rica and are comfortably ensconced (is that redundant) at la casa Figuer in San Jose, a big, bustling, noisy, traffic-filled city. There is really nothing great about San Jose except that it is in the middle of Costa Rica so it serves as a nexus to get to all the different parts of the country. We did get an excellent briefing by Vernon Bell the morning after we arrived - everything from how to get to the center of town by bus to how to get hot water in the shower. There are lots of buses everywhere and they are cheap. Very cheap. We were staying about a 20-30 minute bus ride from the central part of ... read more

Well, we made it back to Costa Rica today from Nicaragua after a 9 hour bus ride. We both wanted to update our throngs of readers not on our bus ride, but on our day trip yesterday to the Laguna Appoyo outside Granada. We rode a bus out there in the morning and it was such a site to see this bowl shaped lake inside what was once a volcano! The water was crystal blue with an odd salty/sulphur taste and the cabin we were sharing with others was fantastic. We frolicked in the crater lake for a couple of hours, including canoeing, which is fast becoming one of E.'s favourite things to do (!), and it had us both wishing we had spent a few nights at the lake...maybe next time. Now we're back in ... read more

I´m having difficulties speaking English now because my brain is mixed up from all the Spanish. Today I ran, and I saw the mountains. They´re so beautiful. A ferocious little dog growled at me and tried to bite at my legs, attempting to protect his family´s territory. He was barely the size of a bunny. I was surprised, because one of the neighbors thought I was a Tica (that´s what Costa Ricans are called). Here, they say “adios” when people pass by, instead of “hola.” Not like the U.S. Everyone here knows each other. I drink coffee everyday, and I like it. I rarely did back at home. I like it because it doesn´t have the same jittery effect. They have this little contraption where there´s a bag over the mug, and they pour hot water ... read more

Hola! Mailing to you during my 22 hour stopover in Heredia. I left Samara at 8.30 this morning, arrived in San Jose (my first visit to this place which can absolutely be missed...my walk from Coca-Cola bus terminal to the Central Park was enough) at 2.30 and have a few hours here with my first host family before I return to Samara tomorrow at 12.30 for my last week of language classes. The past few days have been quite dramatic and absolutely crazy, and probably my worst experience so far. My fellow chicas Rachel and Alex are both leaving this tuesday, so sudden!! Alex has had medical problems ever since she arrived here 4 weeks ago and it hasn´t gotten better, there were actually two occasions it was so bad she had to go to Emergency ... read more