Besides that we are talking about staying in San Jose for a year now. Mostly for me to get a good years experience teaching, Ryan to get a years experience working in the hostel (and hopefully become manager) and to save up money for South America. Oh how we both want to move on to South America but again got to do what we got to do to keep this adventure rolling.

Today we went to the Costa Rica Gold museum in San Jose. It was interesting. The first level display is all about Costa Rica's currency. From the first coin and paper prints to the currency in circulation today. They explained how all the currency designs are based on agricultural income of the country and the bio-diverse floral and fauna found in the countries forests.

The second level was all about a native artists. Mostly abstract geometrical line paintings. Some of it was pretty but we had the typical lame mans question, "how is this art? A five year-old could do that." Shows what we know.

Anyways the third level was our favorite. It was about the daily lives of the indigenous people and how they made figurines and jewelry out of gold. Most of the figurines were based on animals such as toucans, frogs, jaguars, turtles, crocodiles, etc. The figurines ranged from the size my hand to the tiny size of my finger nail. And so many of them are so detailed. The indigenous people designed wax models of the figurine shapes then surrounded the models with very high heat resistant clay. Next they paned for gold in the local rivers, melted it into liquid form and pour the melted gold into the clay bowl with the models. After the gold dried they cracked open the clay bowls to reveal the scared gold figurines. How awesome is all that. And there are hundreds of these gold pieces in the museum. This last level made it worth visiting the museum, as it should since it is called the gold museum.

written by  ryan & debbrial on March 8, 2010 from San Jose, Costa Rica
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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So catching up for the last two weeks. It seems like a long time with how busy Ryan and I have been but actually we haven't done all that much to talk about. Like I said I started my CELTA course which has totally been taking up all my time. To sum it up I am at school 8-10 hours a day (M-F) this includes six hours of lectures/doing homework/preparing lesson plans for teaching, then two hours of teaching practice either teaching a class myself or observing my classmates and other experienced teachers. Then after that most nights I go home and do more homework/preparing lesson plans. It is quiet a lot of preparing and paperwork but all in all I am really enjoying the course, the teaching and experience.

For the first two weeks half of the class taught the beginner level while the other half taught intermediate level adults. Now we are switching so I will be teaching intermediate now. Anyways Friday was the last day with our students at that level so we (CELTA teachers in training) invited all our students (Ticos) out for beers. It was a great way to get to know some of our new students since both the beginner and intermediate students came. It was a lot of fun and a good release from all the hard work we have been doing. Here are some pictures.

Me, Claire and Anna CELTA friends

Drinks with CELTAees after week two

Anna and the Grammar Bible (at least for the past few weeks it has been)

Claire with our Grammar books

So while I have been super busy with school Ryan has been doing the daily grind. He works six days a week at the hostel and has been spending the rest of his time doing maintenance on the van so it is all fixed up when we are ready to sale it. Works going well for him. Still just as chill as the first few days. Sitting back hanging out with the guest, serving beers, checking people in and running errands around the hostel. He really likes it and has become good friends with his co-workers and manager.

In the past two weeks we have also moved into a guesthouse in San Pedro, outside downtown San Jose and closer to my school. We really like the house because we have our own room again, its quite and clean, all the people are living there are really cool and its ideal for long-term staying. We are not sure yet but we have been talking about staying in Costa Rica for about six months. Not quiet sure yet but we will keep you posted.

Well that's it for now. I will probably be back in another two weeks or so.

written by  ryan & debbrial on February 20, 2010 from San Jose, Costa Rica
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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We got a lot accomplished today. Our agenda: 1. look for a place to live 2. Ryan's first day of work at Tranquillo Backpackers 3. Me to finish my book so I can concentrate on school next week
After a quick breakfast and coffee at the hostel we set out to find a place to stay for the next 3 months. Prior to coming to San Jose we searched on Craigslist for apartments but found the prices to be just like at home $800-1400 for a one bedroom apartment, way out of our travel budget. So instead we resorted in find a room for rent in a house or apartment. The best option for the price (within our travel budget while being able to save a little bit of money especially on Ryan's $2.00 an hour job at the hostel) and location (some what close to my school) ended up being a room in a guesthouse or mini-long stay hostel.
We went to check it out this morning. Within the first minute it took me back to college years reminding me of the several residential illegally converted "dorm houses" around San Diego State University. Like when landlords took a three bedroom, two bath house and turned it into a nine 10x10 bedroom house by adding walls in the living room and master bedroom. That's pretty much what this place is like but with three bathrooms, two kitchens, two living rooms and a central garden area. Although I don’t think it is illegal here and the people staying in the house aren't party college students. In fact most of the people in the house are foreigners working aboard or people who come for major dental work and stay for their recovery time. Anyways after looking around we decided this place would work just find. It will be quite enough and has space for me to study, is close to my school and Ryan's work and best of all the landlady actually dropped the price than what was posted online. Even better.
So with that accomplished all that was left for the rest of the day was Ryan to start work while I finished my book and dilly dallied around the hostel.
• **Ryan says about his first day of work, "This is stupid simple. I can’t believe people go to college to do this job (referring to Hospitality & Tourism) Ha-ha." As he kisses me and laughs. He also said, "I like this. It’s chill. I get hangout, talk to people, show them their room, DJ the music in the lobby and do little misc. errands around the hostel." I guess that’s why its $2.00 hour. j/k

written by  ryan & debbrial on February 4, 2010 from San Jose, Costa Rica
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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Our last day on the Nicoya Peninsula, as planned, we drove over to the Montezuma side where the waves seize to exist and tried our luck at snorkeling. Unfortunately when we arrived the tided was way out leaving the rock reef exposed to the hot sun and no fish in sight. Bound and determined we walked 200 ft. out over the rocks and slipped into the not so clear water. ---For those of you who don’t know I am super uncomfortably afraid of unclear water especially in the ocean. Anytime I am in the ocean I need to have someone at least 10 ft. close to me or I freak out.--
So when we got out there and the water had no visibility and was a brownish color from the sand getting kicked up off the shallow rocks below I told myself to be brave. I made it off the rocks and into open water but within a few minutes small waves starting coming in and pushing us back toward the rocks. That did it. I couldn’t see anything below me or around me and started to panic. Ryan yield at me to calm down, came close to me and directed us to swim toward the clearer open water. Surprising he said I regained calmness right way and we swam and swam but didn’t get very far. The tide was coming in at this point so the waves were pushing us in with it. Instead we turned around and went in to shore. A failed attempt at snorkeling. Bummer.

Oh well the rest of the day turned out good. We went back to the van got out a sheet and our books and spent the rest of the afternoon reading on our beautiful secluded beach. When the sun went down and we couldn’t read any longer we built a fire and sat watching thousands of hermit crabs crawl out of the forest directly behind bound for the ocean. It’s the craziest thing seeing the sand floor pretty much come to life. When you see what you think is a shell just sprouts legs and starts moving. That night we slept in the van on the beach.

The next morning we woke, drove to Montezuma for a cup of coffee (Ryan´s first request of the day) then headed out for a day of travel east bound to San Jose.

written by  ryan & debbrial on February 2, 2010 from Montezuma, Costa Rica
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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Originally we only planned on staying here at the Tranquillo Backpackers hostel in Santa Teresa/ Playa Carmen for three days then move on around the peninsula tip to Montezuma, another supposidly chill hippish beach town. But after the intense roads from Samara to here we decided it might be a much wiser decision and rented a quad and check it all out before. That and Ryan really wanted to rent a quad of course!!

So on Thursday we road to Montezuma to check it out. And good thing we did cause when we got there we were not too impressed. It is a cute little hippy town with lots of hippies, organic food and hippy camping colonies alongside the really expensive hotels all at a gorgeous no surf beach. Don’t get me wrong it is a nice town but not what we are looking for. We didn’t see any hostels at first sight and it looked pretty touristy, expensive. Plus I don't think I could have convinced Ryan to leave Santa Teresa especially when the waves have been so good here.

The one attraction Montezuma does have the Santa Teresa doesn’t is waterfalls. So since we decided we weren't going to stay in Montezuma we decided to visit the waterfall then and there. After driving around for 20 minutes or so we finally found the hidden "back “entrance (I think) to the waterfall. We hiked down a steep hill to the base of the waterfall and I took a dip in the chilly but refreshing water. We only stayed for a little while cause we where both super hungry and left our picnic lunch in the ice chest on the back of the quad.

After lunch and a few hours left on our quad rental we decided to continue riding up the eastern coast of the peninsula to see if there was any place else we might want to visit before heading to San Jose for the next three months. Up and back and we didn’t find any place else we would want to spend the next 5-6 days expect on the very tip of the peninsula back toward Santa Teresa we did find tons of good secluded beaches with probably good snorkeling. So that's when we decided what we wanted to do. Stay in Santa Teresa till the end of the weekend for Ryan to catch the good surf till then come back to the secluded beaches for a day or two of snorkeling.

Even though we spent the whole day with the rented quad checking out places to stay for the next week we had a great time. We agreed that we saw the most beautiful landscapes we have ever seen in our entire lives. From open green farmland plains, to super lush "Jurassic Park" mountains jungles, to secluded crystal clear blue oceans and white sand beaches. And again we agreed that the southern tip of the Costa Rica Nicoya Peninsula is a Paradise.

written by  ryan & debbrial on January 30, 2010 from Carmen, Costa Rica
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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This moring we packed up camp and continued on south thinking it would only take a few hours to get to Mal Pais. That would have been ture if the dirt roads weren't worse than the day before. Its like we are back in Honduras with these conditions. J/k

But really Chiquimula wasn't doing so well either. Very slowly chugging along we made it up, down and over steep mountains. You would think they would just build the road straight along the beach but no it has to be complicated. Then about two Miles out of Cobano, the largest commerical town in the southern tip of the Nicoya Penn., the roads were getting smoother so we pulled over to give Chiquimula a break. For the past hour or so she was making unpleasant sounds and for a minute I really thought we weren't going to make it. Since we always have extra oil and transmission fluid in the van Ryan decided to fill her up some. BUT right as he poured the transmission fluid in he realized it was the wrong type. OH noooooo.....

We pushed on the two extra Miles to Cobano and bumbbled around finding the correct transmission fluid and a machanic to change the fluid before Chiquimula blew up. It was all a success and quite quickly as well.

After that last freak out we headed down the hill to Santa Teresa our destination for the next few days. All and all it wasn't that bad of a day. AND what would a good day be like without a little excitment. Plus it all ended in another amazing sunset.

written by  ryan & debbrial on January 26, 2010 from Carmen, Costa Rica
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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We left fairly early in the morning knowing the road south is another bumpy dirt road. What we didn’t know was that this dirt road was also going to be a beautiful drastic insight to the still simple life of traditional Costa Ricans. As we drove along we saw vast fields and farmland inside the valleys surrounded by tropical mountains above.

Farmland of Nicoya Pennisula

Tic Tic Monkey

Lazy monkey

A sick Congo Monkey. Oh look at his eyes. One too many fights!!

Chiquimula crossing the rivers on the dirt of Nicoya Penn.

Chiquimula crossing the rivers on the dirt of Nicoya Penn.

Reading our travel book earlier in the day we knew there was camping in Samara so we thought this would be a good cheap place to stay for a few days. Right when we got into town Ryan found Camping Aloha. It is a really chill place right on the beach with several shade huts made from 4 tree trunks, a rebar roof frame and garden shade fabric above. The camping spots also have concrete circular tables and chairs, a 3 plug outlet, single light bulb hanging from the shade hut, concrete sink and shower basins nearby. Perfect what else do we need shade shelter, electricity and water.

Our camping spot at Samara Beach

Ryan starting a fire for dinner

Beach at Samara

After taking a refreshing dip in the water we relaxed at camp reading books while Ryan cooked rice and beans for dinner. At the end of the night we agree it’s nice to be on the road again!!

written by  ryan & debbrial on January 24, 2010 from Samara, Costa Rica
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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Me on the Catamaran

Ryan on the Catamaran

It was pretty windy today and the tides were strong so unfortunately the snorkeling wasn’t that great. The water was not very clear but we did see some fish in the rocks. Anyways I was really looking forward to the sailing part so I was still happy. We started back to Tamarindo just before sunset so that we would be in the middle of the ocean when it declined. The captain turned off the motor to the boat so we could sit still and watch the brilliant sunset. It was beautiful!!!

Sunset Sailing

Sunset Sailing

Sunset Sailing

written by  ryan & debbrial on January 23, 2010 from Brasilito, Costa Rica
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Sunset in Tamarindo

With that said let me back up and explain how we got here. We left Granada, Nicaragua this morning as planned. Today was the last day of the San Ignacio summer school but we had to miss it because our vehicle permit expires today. Nicaragua only issues a 30 day permit (which Ryan had to extend once and that proved to be a huge pain). It is a $50 fine if you over stay the 30 days and a $1 for each day past. So we planned to leave today giving ourselves a week and half of free time before I start my English course in San Jose, Costa Rica. We headed to the Nicoya Peninsula in the northwestern part of Costa Rica known for its miles of beautiful beaches. So that was our simple plan to be on the beach watching the sunset by this evening.

Yeah sounds simple but of course nothing goes that smooth in Central America. On our way to the infamously difficult Nicaragua-Costa Rica boarder we got stopped by a routine police check in Rivas. We have been through this several times before so we thought nothing of it. UNTIL the police was looking at our insurance and vehicle permit and said it was expired by one day. WHAT?? No way, we are on the way to the boarder now cause it expires today. Nope. Low and behold the permit says 30 days on it but the expiration date was typed as yesterday, 29 days. Rule #1 never trust Nicaraguans for their math skills. Luckily the police let us go but now it meant we would have to pay the late fine at the boarder.

We got to the boarder at 10:30 am and a two hours later Ryan was on the last steps to check the van out of Nicaragua without paying the expired permit late fee. But just as the clerk was filing his paperwork she pulled it back to double check it and caught to late fee. Crap!! This equaled another two hours of standing in lines, collecting paper work, and paying fines. Finally we made it out of the horrible Nicaragua boarder and onto the Costa Rica boarder that thankfully only took an hour in total to stamp in and get our vehicle permit which was issued for 3 months.

Now in the clear we headed to Playa Brasilito in the northern part of the Nicoya Peninsula. Our travel book said Playa Brasilito is a budget traveler spot located near the luxury accommodation and real estate beach of Playa Flamingo both whom have white sand beaches. Budget travel is right. As we drove in we felt everyone was watching us with judging eyes and were not welcoming. The hostel recommended in the book was run down or being remodeled. It was definitely not what we expected and not where I wanted to spend my birthday the next day.

So we decided to head south to the next travel spot before sunset. That’s when we ended up here in the one spot we planned to miss Tamarindo. And what a good decision that was. We found a great hostel with really nice rooms with a kitchen and bathroom included in the room, checked out a sailing and snorkeling tour for my birthday and found the one delicacy we have been missing the most Sushi. Though it was hard we decided to save sushi for my birthday dinner tomorrow and instead are going to call it an early night. It has been a long day.

written by  ryan & debbrial on January 22, 2010 from Brasilito, Costa Rica
from the travel blog: Us Discovering the Latin Americas
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The game started at 6 pm, we arrived about a half hour late and the entire stadium was already almost full. There only three options for tickets: upper level seats $5 each, general seats $2 each and the standing area $0.50 cents each. When we got there the only tickets left were in the standing area so it only cost us $1 for admission. Personally I don’t know what the difference was between the standing and seating area because the standing area still had concrete stadium seats and a majority of people were sitting. But since we were late we ended up standing the entire game.

Just like America baseball stadiums they had vendors selling food and beverages in the stands. However the only food that was the same as back home was popcorn and cotton candy. No hot dogs, pretzels, peanuts or nachos. Instead they had typical Nicaraguan food and typically cheap. We had some tortilla, cheese, pickled cabbage wrap thing for $0.50 cents each and a mash potato, cabbage salad and fried pork dish for $1.50. We never did see a beer vendor though probably a good thing cause…..

Now about the game and the crazed fans. WOW! First of all there was a ton of police everywhere some dressed in full riot gear. At first it made me uneasy but nothing ended up happening. IF anything the people were all about having a good time. When Granada was up to bat the entire stadium cheered louder than I have ever heard. You would think they would have want to be some-what quite for the batter to concentrate but NO. If a Granada player got on base guys in the stands would run up and down the rows waving Granada Sharks vs. Leon Lions banners. And on top of all this the band played their trombones and drums really loud and the cheerleaders in their sparkly bra tops and short shorts did sexy booty shaking dances. Ryan thought it was funny that they even had cheerleaders for baseball. But I guess since baseball is the most popular sport in Nicaragua and they don’t have a football team it makes sense.

Unfortunately, even though the fans were going crazy Granada was losing. At the top of 8th the score was 3-1 and Granada was up to bat first. The first batter was walked with 4 balls. The second batter hit a pop fly to the middle of the field. Up, up and a Leon player was going to catch it when oh no or oh yes he dropped it. First and second base loaded. The third Granada player struck out. The fourth batter hit a line drive down the third baseline and got on base. SO bases loaded with one strike. This is it time for Granada to make a come back. Fifth batter. Ball, strike, ball, hit…. pop fly again to the middle of the field. The Leon player was a second late to catch it in the air but recovered quick enough to make a double play: second, third base out. And that was the game for us. We left at the middle of the 8th inning along with a half of the people in the standing area.

Even though I assume Granada lost we had a great experience. We really felt like attending the baseball game was another insight to Nicaraguan culture.

Granada, Nicaragua Baseball Stadium