(or, Whack or Poppin': Costa Rica Style)
1. El Sol.
verdict: mal/bueno (it's complicated, being both whack and poppin)
The biggest sell for my Costa Rica trip was--the beautiful central american sun. I enjoyed the warm sand, sunny beach, blue sky and lack of snow, rain and general east coast greyness. and yet, i began typing this a full day after my return with a fever of 102 and blistering, red skin. I'm like the secret love child of Freddy Kreuger and Donatella Versace. (Quick update: I'm more like their asthmatic love child, now that I've been to the doctor--taking my SECOND day off in the past 2 weeks...crazy!-- who told me i have bronchitis and gave me an inhaler. woo for aerosol drugs.) I'm pretty sure I'm the one person in NYC who has contracted sun poisioning, and I've been surviving on saltines, orange juice and seltzer water since Saturday morning. Happily, now that it's Tuesday my burn is less "Whoa, what horror movie did you step out of?" and more "What sunny vacation did you go on without sunscreen? Less happily? I USED sunscreen! sheesh.
2. Snorkeling.
verdict: mal (whack)
I know a lot of people love snorkeling. It seems so glamorous--the crystal clear waters, exciting shellfish, coral reefs and fun rubber flippers. The entire time I was staring (read: hyperventilating) face down into the water, I was praying for Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and that craggy dude "Quint" to come tearing up in a busted old fishing boat. You know what I'm talking about. I was miserable, and due to my intense fear and absolute certain impending violent water death, I didn't really enjoy floating around rocks looking at schools of fish. Plus, I got twice stung by something in the water. Before you correct me and tell me how wrong I am about snorkeling, remember that I'm neurotic and have irrational fear of sharks--I used to be scared to dip my feet in lakes, for fear of "lake sharks." Yeah, I know.
The counter to snorkeling? Surfing. It was so fun despite my horrible lack of skill. And, yes, I know that I'm just as (if not more) likely to be devoured by a great white while failing to catch a wave, but for some reason it scares me less to be on a board, than snorkeling. Go figure. Plus, this year's surfing attempt did not send anyone to a latin american emergency room, so that's an improvement!
3. La comida
verdict: deliciosa (poppin)
I'm running out of steam with this post already. But the food was awesome. Two words: banana curry. How can something which you've never known before be your most favorite thing in the world? I don't know, but banana curry is to die for. Rice and beans? Only made better by the exciting discovery of... Salsa inglesa. Not sure what it is exactly, but it's brown, sort of sweet, sort of curry-ish, and I brought a mystery bottle back with me. Las bebidas? Super-bien. Never have I had so many tropical drinks in such a tropical place. I think i'm turning into a decorative paper umbrella. Also, did I mention the bananas? Poppin.
4. la gente
verdict: muy amable (poppin plus/pawesome)
The Costa Ricans (aka "ticos"? why? not sure) we met were lovely. We had an amusing night out in San Jose with a Costa Rican and a Columbian dude, and I must say, they like to party. As the Columbian guy we met was only able to say two english words: "Suggestion" and "party", we learned that he really wanted to party. In fact, he never said it alone, it was like a tic--always "party party" or "party party party." Needless to say, he did not party with this traveling american. And despite all of us getting whacked in the face/head/various limbs by our costa rican surf instructor (and questioning his actual surfing ability), he was a funny guy.
Beyond the actual people, we saw lots of monkeys. They were real and exciting, and move so quickly in trees! Poppin!
The Americans we met? not so poppin. They gave a pretty whack showing on this vacation. They displayed some serious hater traits.
Example 1: Surfing day AM--we went to the beach, trudging through the jungle with our surf boards in about 95 degree heat for 25 minutes (though I swear the return trip was about 1 hour). We get to the beach and drop our stuff at a little makeshift cover on the beach. The american couple that "built" the cover gave us dirty looks and moved our stuff. while we were in the ocean. sweeet. they then proceeded to tear down their shade hut when they left, so that nobody else could use it. me and my third degree burn salute you, selfish blonde couple. (we saw them when we went snorkeling too. they were still pretty lame)
Example 2: Surfing day PM--after trudging back through the jungle with our heavy boards and blistering burns (oh wait--the burn was just me), covered in sand, we made a stop at the resort nearby to recuperate and wash off our sandy feet. As guests of our hotel, we were allowed to use the pool at the resort, we just had to show our key. We hadn't gotten to that point, instead choosing to rinse our feet and set down our surfboards first. The waspiest old american lady I've ever been forced to encounter (and I went to Stanford, so there you go), comes up to us and asks "Are you staying here?" after laying suspicious, beady eyes on our boards. My friend replies that we are staying at the sister hotel in town. "Oh," the woman responds, "well, you know you show them your key at reception to get your towels." I imagine she is nervously clutching her room key in one hand and mace in the other as she looks at our menacing figures. right. Then, when we say nothing, she looks at us and comments "That's a lot of sand," which we interpret as "Wow, you're really dirty. Can you leave please?" and then walks away to talk to (no joke) a security guard. He left us alone and we stood slack-jawed in peace. Amazing. Ageism? Surfism? Sunburnism? Did she think I was the maid? Not sure, but awesome just the same. I immediately attempted to capture my sandy arms and legs on camera to commemorate the moment. Sadly, the sand that was so glaring to her eyes wasn't picked up by my camera.
(Here is the site of our distressing discriminatory encounter.)There were many more poppin, and a few other whack events on the trip, but I am tired, need to plan my lesson for tomorrow, and I assume you are bored of me now. Until I tire of school work...
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