Posted by M on Mar 14, 2009 in
Savvy Travels Hola de Los Estados Unidos!
Hello from the United States!
Well, after a very long, long day of traveling, we have finally made it home from Springbreak.
The day began at a quality 5:30 am, when Ann felt the need to call from the US to make sure we were okay. We were. We were still asleep, actually.
Once awake, we drove to San Jose. Well, Cliff drove. I slept the whole way. Once at the airport, Dad called Va-Moose (vamos 4 by 4 is the technical name, but Cliff speaks americanized spanish), who came to pick up our car. We then waited in line forever, got onto our planes, and flew back to Michigan. It reminded me how much I hate the actually process of flying.
So here we are. Back home. Back to school. Back to the grind. Back to fabulous, random blog entries. Thanks for taking a trip with us :)
Posted by M on Mar 12, 2009 in
Savvy Travels For our final full day in Costa Rica, we awoke at an early 8:30 am for breakfast, which we ate at the restaurant on site. I, with my heart of gold, once again fed my toast to my poor little starving brother after he finished his little meal of rice and beans, and then gave most of my eggs to the little black chihuahua that begs and whimpers, much like David, until he his fed.
After breakfast, we took a post-meal nap before figuring out the details of what type of ziplining tour we wanted. Once we decided that, we took off, although not before Cliff did his little ditty of cleaning up the room therefore taking away any job the you know, housecleaning service might have–we had to stop him after he began arranging the glasses in a particular order on the shelf– we began the thirty minute drive down the worst road imaginable. Cliff did his best to avoid potholes (and his best was not very good, I might add–although he kept repeating that he was a “country boy who knows his way around a backroad…”), but I was still pretty carsick by the time we arrived at SKY TRAM SKY ZIPLINE!
The zipline consisted of 8 ziplines in all, 5 of which are several miles off the ground. I feared I would pee my pants, however, in the end, it was pretty fun. The view was spectacular and I even managed to have a spanish conversation with one of the tour guides. It pretty much went like this: What’s your Name? My name is Maggie. Is this your first time in Costa Rica? Yes. Is this your first time ziplining? Yes. How long are you here for? Five Days. Then he said some other stuff and I just smiled and nodded. Ahh, communication. My four years of Spanish really paid off.
After that adventure, we retreated to our hotel for a little nap and a jog. The jog was rough for David, because the run was a mile down hill, then a mile uphill. I decided to just run the mile downhill, then walk the rest of the way up. I think I ended up more satisfied. Although, back at School, I often run in just a sports bra and shorts. It’s so hot that anything else seems a little impractical. I learned pretty quickly that in Latin America, that type of dresscode will elicit unwanted attention. A lot of it. And not the kind that boasts your self esteem, but the kind that wishes you’d purchased the machete in the grocery store in order to ward off unwanted predators.
Jog aside, we ventured into town for dinner. Dad wanted to stop at a store, then David needed to buy some trendy art for his room back in the States. I bought a shot glass. I mean, you can’t be an MSU student and not bring back alcohol periphenila from springbreak.
Dinner was amazing. David had chicken cooked in a pineapple and Dad and I both ordered a chicken that is broiled inside banana leaves. It was so good, it was the first time I’ve been completely full since leaving Michigan.
Back at the hotel, we did our final dip in the natural springs pool before we had to come back to our room and pack. Tomorrow, we have to get up and be on the road by about 6:30. Our flights both leave around noon, but we won’t be back in town until probably midnight.
Unless of course, Dave and I manage to find work and then we just won’t leave Costa Rica at all. *
Posted by M on Mar 11, 2009 in
Savvy Travels After a restless night of sleep, we woke up at El Silencio and headed to breakfast. Although David, with his pale skin and lovely sunburn is clearly not a native, he still attempts to fit in every day by eating the typical native breakfast of Beans and Rice. I’m still going for the toast. Today, he gave into his American desires and stole some of my toast. While I was not happy about sharing my food, it was like giving food to a poor, starving orphan: you look at their awful food, your delicious food, and you just can’t help but give in to those big, soulful, hungry eyes.
After breakfast, the explorers in us headed about ten kilometers out of town to a rainforest park, which had a long trail and twenty suspension bridges. We saw a variety of birds, monkeys, ants, and of course, American tourists that make us wish we were Canadian. The suspension bridges are something out of a movie, allowing you to cross huge distances incredibly high up. It’s not exactly DeWitt, Michigan…but it’s pretty awesome.
The long hike exhausted us, so we returned to our hotel for a little nap/lunch time. Dad had a healthy lunch, while David and I dined on stale frosted flakes. Yum.
Naps done, we ventured into town. I was sick of the car, but David likes to “see things.” So, he made us drive around for a bit while I silently fumed in the backseat. Eventually, they released me into town, where I purchased some clothing. As a result, my attitude improved significantly. I think Dad and David have learned a valuable lesson from this: if I am grumpy or they want to do something I don’t, clothing will make me acquiesce to just about anything. Actually, that’s more of a lesson to all in the male species with female problems.
Dinner was at the Lava Cafe, which was about a B in my Restaurant Gradebook. I really like my meal, but it came suspiciously fast and David’s beef was suspiciously pink. However, it was filling and yummy, so I’d still recommend it. Also, note to all future travelers: outside of the US, Coca Cola Light (their diet coke) is horrible. To have a caffeine fix without nearly upchucking all of your food, go with the Pepsi Cola Light. Yes, I realize it’s gross in the US, but in Costa Rica, it just gets the job done. Anywhos, tangent done, we next went for ice cream. Ice cream and new clothes? A girl’s dream, my friends. A girl’s dream.
We retired to the hotel where we went for yet another swim in the natural springs pool. I enjoy soaking in the nice, warm water while David and Dad enjoy arguing about how the hotel gets the water so warm (is it natural? do they pay to warm it up? How much will you bet that they do? that they don’t? It’s quite exhausting to listen to them, so I generally do not).
As of now, we’re back in our hotel and I am already ready for breakfast (will I guard my breakfast, or share it with the poor starving americano boy who refuses to just order something yummy? Only time will tell). Tomorrow, after five days in Costa Rica, my Costa Rican wish will be granted and we will FINALLY be ziplining. Apparently, it is quite painful for the males amongst us, so although I am in high spirits and quite looking forward to it, I fear my traveling companions may find themselves in agony tomorrow. At least they have that fabulous hot springs pool and a lively debate to look forward to. It’s our last day in Costa Rica, so we plan to make the most of it!
Posted by M on Mar 10, 2009 in
Savvy Travels After four splendid days on the Pacific Ocean, Cliffy, Dave, and I packed up our baggage and began the trek to the inland town of La Fortuna. But first, we had to pony up our bill (and wait for the water to turn on to take showers–sometimes the town just turns it off) at our first hotel. Because we’d opened a tab there on our first night, we had three days worth of drinks, meals, and tips to pay for. Alas, when the billl finally came, we noticed that it was one meal short. Cliffy is an honest Abe and he insisted we be charged for the other meal. Insisted, in fact, to the point where we were thirty minutes late on our estimated take off time.
Once we managed to hit the road, I assumed my typical road trip with Cliff and David backseat position: I curl up in the fetal postion, put my feet on the opposite end window, and close my eyes. I close my eyes not only to sleep, but because with Cliff driving and David navigating, well, I’d just prefer to not know what’s going on. But, I was awoken pretty early to go swimming in a waterfall.
I wish that I could tell you, in all seriousness, how amazing this waterfall was. It was kind of hidden and there was a large man with a machete guarding it, but once you finally get in, it’s spectacular. David and I swam right up to it and then climbed the rocks to stand behind it. It was AMAZING. Seriously. Life List of Thing’s To Do: Swim In Waterfall. Check!
After the swim, we went back to our car and started the three plus hour drive to volcano land. Like on most typical roadtrips, we stopped to examine the native monkeys, ant eaters, and dams. The outer area of Costa
Rica truly suffers from the dry season, but as we went inland, it became much more lush and green.
Our hotel is nestled three miles west of La Fortuna (the brochure says three miles north, do not let their lack of a sense of direction fool you). It’s gorgeous and we have our own little shack, one of 16 or so in a village-like set up. There’s the cutest little 3 pound Chihuahua that greets you, so I instantly had to pick him up and spoil him, regardless of the fact that I had no idea where he’d been. After we put down our stuff, we roamed into town where we explored, bought some groceries, and had dinner.
Upon coming home, I forced the two men into their swimsuits so we could check out the natural hot springs pool the hotel has. It’s about the size of a common pool, except for it’s as warm as a hot tub. Needless to say, I plan on residing there semi permanently for the next few days, a fantastic escape for when David and Daddy become a little too much to bear.
We heard it’s cold in Michigan. Sucks for you.
Posted by M on Mar 9, 2009 in
Savvy Travels Hola!
It’s a sunny 85 degrees here in gorgeous Costa Rica. Of course, I don’t mean to make you jealous, but if you live in Michigan and it’s snowing, well, you should totally hop on an airplane and come hang out with us down here.
The day began when the War of the Air Conditioner began. I believe it was sometime around 5 am, when David first awoke to tell Cliff to turn down the air conditioner because he was freezing. Cliff then explained that his temperature was fine, which led to some type of standoff. In the end, it resulted in me having to wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt to bed in freakin Central America in March because Cliff likes to keep himself chilly at night. Alas, this is at the discomfort of others.
But I digress. Several hours later, I awoke in time for breakfast. Again, David insisted on the typical Costa Rican breakfast, which meant fabulous rice and beans for him. Cliff switched to pancakes. I switched to eggs and bacon. I have to eat the eggs because I need the protein, due to the fact that everytime I buy snack food, it is instantly consumed by the vacuum that is my brother’s stomach. Therefore, the food I order is necessary for my survival throughout the day.
After breakfast, I strolled to a nearby lounger and read a book/laid in the sun for several hours. With a breeze, you can’t tell exactly how hot it is, until however, you realize you are very, very, very red. My new goal for the trip is not to come home with a tan, but to come home sans a winner in a lookalike contest with a lobster.
In the afternoon, I was bribed into our car, told we were going to the supermarket where Coca Cola Light would be purchased. Little did I know it was a ploy to force me to sit in the back seat while the two Flood men got the adventurous part of the day out their system. While they explored the more “native” parts of Costa Rica, I read a book.
With all that adventure in my system, when I came back, a nap was in definite order. We then went for a run and then, to mix things up a little, we went to the same restaurant for dinner we’ve gone to for the past three nights. Because hey, when something works, something works.
Dinner complete, David and I drove out to Playa Coco to see his friend, Maggie, from High School. We had a few drinks and then drove back here, where David currently oversees my writing of this blog (but is not aware of the extremely complimentary things I write about him), in order to use the computer after me.
Tomorrow, if we survive the War of the Air Conditioner tonight, that is, we’re off to the volcanoes. I’m told that means the Beach Bum part of this vacation is over and it’s time for some activeness. Oh boy.
Posted by M on Mar 8, 2009 in
Savvy Travels Hola!
This morning started off at 5:40 am, when Cliffy had decided to turn up the airconditioning. So even though it was a sweltering bazillion degrees outside, I was forced to wake up shivering and put on a sweatshirt. Cliffy’s answer to this, “well, on my side of the room, I was fine.” Because I had spent the night sharing a bed with David, who enjoys hogging the entire mattress and the blankets, I was irriated, but because I am weak to beautiful things, such as a bed, so it seduced me back into a deep sleep before I could put on my crabbypants and chastise the pair of them.
Anywhos, many hours later, I woke up to begin my day. The hotel includes breakfast, so while David and Daddy got down with the natives, ordering a true Costa Rican breakfast of rice and beans, I went with the pancakes. I don’t think I need to tell you who went home more satisfied.
Afterwards, we laid out by the pool until the sun had sucked all the energy out of us and it was time for a nap. Cliff refused to particpate in this extracirricular activity, but I must say, it was delightful. Once we were awake again, we drove to near by La Playa Coco and walked on the beach. The Pacific Ocean is, by the way, frickin freezing. It sends chills through your body when you first step into it. We then had a lemonade on the beach, walked around town, and then headed back to the hotel for a jog.
The jog was rough because it’s super hot and it’s on sand. Although, we did manage to, remarkably, run into a friend of David’s from High School, Maggie. Small world, right? Also, our hotel is at the top of a very, very, very long and steep hill. When it came time to run back up that, I declined. I feel it was one of my better choices of the day.
We ended the day in the Hotel Restaurant, where David and Dad drank their sorrows and as usual, I was the sober sally. I did have to steal a knife from the kitchen though–David’s soulmate, his watermelon, needs to be eaten soon.
I have not been told what’s on the docket for tomorrow, but I am certain it’ll be an adventure. In this part of the country, we’re mostly being beach bums, but we leave for the volcanoes/rainforest in a few days where we get too zipline and have canopy tours. Stay tuned!
Posted by M on Mar 8, 2009 in
Savvy Travels Hola from the gorgeous country of Costa Rica!
Captain Cliff, only the world’s most savvy traveler, complete with his traveling cargo pants (he can’t travel without them), departed from Detroit yesterday. It was an early day, with a wake up call coming from the front desk of the La Quinta Inn at 4:00 am. I promptly ignored it, and finally rolled out of bed at 4:20 and into the waiting transportation bus at 4:25 am. It was us and a large family reunion traveling together. We had to wait for another two people, which prompted a very crabby man (clearly not a morning person) to comment that he needed to get going because his family had “special seating.” I don’t know what special seating he was referring to because a few hours later, we saw him pacing the airport while we were in line to board our plane. He managed to ignore us.
We flew what one may consider a discount airline. At first, I just thought maybe the seats were cheap and the plane would be old. But by discount, they mean that they will squeeze as many people as possible into a very small space. So, the aisle is actually smaller than the seats themselves, which made for some comedic people viewing because hey, Americans are fat. Most people didn’t fit. To bring in some extra revenue, the airline also rented out the interior of their aircraft to a variety of different advertisers, including the tray used to put your food on. In addition, they also forced everyone on board to listen to a ten minute presentation about why a Mastercard was the way to go. I fell alseep pretty quickly into this, but was awoken by the person next to me, who’s fat was spilling onto my seat. I put down the armrest that he’d put up to allow for this, prompting him to have to switch seats with his wife. That is true love: allowing your partner to spill their fat into your incredibly tiny airplane seat.
Once in Costa Rica, we made it swiftly through immigration. There was a blip in the radar, when Cliff insisted we wait for our luggage in baggage claim. He must be starting to lose his mind because we certainly didn’t check any baggage… After customs, we walked outside, expecting to meet David. Dave’s flight had come in 45 minutes before ours, and meeting him was supposed to be simple because there’s only ONE exit from international flights. But, somehow, us three worldly travelers, messed it up. Like, really messed it up. TWO hours later, we found him. And yes, he had come in an hour before us. I just am too embarrassed to get into the details of how this clusterf#*k happened, but let’s just say it was remarkable.
After finding eachother, we had to drive from San Juan, where we flew in, to our hotel, La Finisterra, which is on the west coast of Costa Rica. It was a very, very long drive and involved a lot of getting lost. The rental car company had forgotten to mention that we had no gas in the tank to begin the journey, so we almost didn’t even make it out of San Juan until David found a nice little farm kid selling watermelons and bought one, then slyly asked for directions. Well, actually, he asked four or five people, then farm boy gave us the best directions. Now, though, we have a watermelon we don’t know what to do with. This morning, I woke up to see David spooning with it. It was awkward.
Getting gas aside, the rest of the journey had a few hiccups. The guidebooks all say to not drive in Costa Rica after dark because there are people in the towns that simply walk in the middle of the streets or ride their bikes out into busy roads and because the roads aren’t lit, you will not see anyone until you know, you hit them. But because of the two and a half hours we lost in the airport, we had no choice. We actually did see one accident on the way and managed to barely avoid another, when a biker rode out in front of our car. Dad kept his cool, as always, of course. Not really, he had a mini freak out and was only settled by the fact that soon we would be at our hotel, where he had been informed a fully stocked wine cellar awaited him.
We made it to the town of our hotel, but then spent another solid 45 minutes looking for our hotel. While this is frustrating and certainly annoying, it does allow David to practice his Spanish because to get anywhere, we have to ask about eight people for directions. But, we did make it. And it is gorgeous. We put our stuff in our room and then went downstairs to the restaurant to have our first meal of the day (perhaps, in hindsight, some of Cliffy’s temper came from low blood sugar as he’d only had one coffee and no real sustenance all day). The food was amazing and although it was too dark to actually see the view, hey, it was promising.
Anyways, we’re off to begin the adventures for day two, which I promise to report later tonight.
Posted by M on Mar 1, 2009 in
My Daily Show I am the most unclean person you’ve ever met.
I HATE cleaning. I think it’s the most horrible thing ever. Seriously, who wants to waste their time picking up crap off the ground and putting it away? At least if it’s on the ground, I can see it so I won’t lose it. The stuff I put on shelves and in my closest? It’ll be months before I remember where I put it.
Plus, I’m super busy. Like, some days, I don’t even have time for a nap. Trust me, those are the worst days. So when I do have free time, why would I want to waste it doing horrid things like cleaning the bathroom or wiping the dust off my night stand?
But, recently, my messiness got out of control. My roommate, who God bless her soul typically looks the other way as long as the door to my room is shut so she cannot sense the mess, told me it was time to clean my room. Or actually, she demanded it: “Maggie. Clean your room. It’s gross.”
So, starting early this morning, I began the trek through the room. At first, it was difficult because there was very little room to move around, due to the fact that my closet had exploded onto my floor. In addition, my bed is obviously in my bedroom, and it was trying to seduce me with its soft covers to give up cleaning and instead, cuddle inside it. I tried to resist, but eventually caved. Three times.
But three naps later, I was energized and ready to clean. To prevent the bed from luring me back, I just piled everything in my room on top of my bed. This was the ultimate motivation because if I didn’t put it away, I’d have no bed to sleep in at night. Torture.
So, I did three loads of laundry. Turns out I haven’t done laundry in almost a month. My roommate and my parents are unsure of how I have collected enough clothing/undergarments to last that long. I assure you I never double dipped, I just have a large collection. Of course, since it had been so long, the cute panties were long gone and instead, I was using the ones that you keep even though they’re really ugly and you’d never let a soul, friend or otherwise, see you in them. Don’t act like you don’t have those too.
After laundry, I vacuumed. I really like to vacuum, especially with the hose. Especially in the bathroom. As a girl with long hair, I shed a lot and there’s nothing better then seeing the vacuum suck it up. It’s just a satisfying feeling. Like when you mow the lawn or shovel the driveway: it’s like, look what I have done! I’m productive!
Three hours, a bag of trash, three loads of laundry, 16 lysol wipes, and about 20 sprays of windex, my room is clean. It even smells clean, which is important because my roommate doesn’t want to look in my room unless she knows its clean (the mess really freaks her out), so I have a feeling that the lemon scent of clean will tickler her nose until she finally wanders in to compliment me on my amazing cleaning skills.
The tragic thing is, I’m well aware that my room’s going to be a giant mess again in a few weeks. Which although frustrating, is probably a good thing. Now that my room’s spotless, I can’t find anything.
On a sidenote, I’d like to apologize to my faithful readers (hi mom!) for my absence as of late. With a frat, a full class schedule, a job, and training, I’m super busy and when I do have a few extra minutes, I’m too tired to be witty. But, stay tuned for some Costa Rica blogging next week. Two grown men, a barely out of teenagerhood girl, and barely a lick of Spanish, it’s bound to be jolly!