Volcan Baru a.k.a Volcano "I'll Kill You"

After leaving the Waterfall Hostel, we headed toward a town called Boquete.  Boquete is a little higher in elevation up in the mountains.  Therefore, we were finally in a bit

 cooler in fresher air.  It did not take long to notice the beauty of this area.  Luscious green mountains and rolling hills all over.  It’s full of beautiful gard

ens abundant in flowers of ever color and shade.  Along with Gardens we visited an animal rescue center.  We got to see various monkeys, tropical birds, wildcats, anteaters, and more!  We had so much fun.  I think Boquete has been one of my favorite towns as a whole on this trip.  Xela (minus the cold) Guatemala, Antigua Guatemala, Granada Nicaragua, and Boquete Panama. 

Boquete is number 4 on the list of top places in the world to retire.  We decided to stay for a week or so in Boquete and enjoy the tranquility and ended up staying eight or nine days.  This past week was Semana Santa (Holy Week) and all Latin Americans have the week off.  Most people go to the beach for the Holiday, but we quickly realized that a lot of people like to escape the city heat and head to the mountains as well.  I really enjoyed seeing the celebrations around town.  On Good Friday there were floats and a big parade with hundreds upon hundreds of people marching along.  It was really interesting to see the Latin American/Catholic side of Easter.  I also got to tour a coffee plantation here which is something I’ve always wanted to do.  Boquete is famous for it’s coffee.  I toured with Café Ruiz who won number one in organic coffee in the international contest last year.  The sad part is that a lot of coffee farmers are selling their land to foreigners that come to retire.  They can sell the land for a lot of money and make more off the land then they did raising and selling coffee.  What does this cause?  There is higher demand for coffee than the supply can meet.  The retirement boom has caused the people who have lived in Boquete their entire lives to move outside to buy land because they can no longer afford land in their hometown.  Sad.

On to Volcan Baru.  Josiah and Gordon had been talking about how they wanted to climb the Volcano just outside of Boquete.  This is the highest point in all of Panama at 11,398 feet.  Yikes!  Dropping to freezing temperatures at times, this did not seem to appeal to me too much.  They were set to go and I kept thinking in the back of my mind I didn’t want to miss seeing something amazing.  But still, I didn’t have proper shoes and I’ve never hiked up any mountain!  But 

with the encouragement of others I gave in and we set out.  I quickly realized I had met my match, as the climb was very rocky and steep.  We started hiking at 10:00 p.m. in order to reach the summit for sunrise.  Ahhh!  I never thought we were going to make it.  We kept hiking and hiking for hours (which seemed like days) through the somewhat moonlit path.  8.26 miles we climbed up and 8.26 down.  It was tricky because we were hot and sweating but the temperature kept dropping.  I was confused.  Do I put on more layers or take

them off?  This was a lot to think about when exhaustion set in.  FINALLY we reached the summit and it was still pitch black.  I quickly piled on the layers.  I was wearing a tanktop, a t-shirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, a sweater, two hoodies, and a blanket.  I do not mess around when it comes to cold.  I passed out for a short nap until Josiah woke me up because colors were appearing on the horizon.  Oh my gosh, it didn’t take long for gorgeous shades of blue, orange, yellow, and pink to consume the sky and start to illuminate the cloads BELOW us.  Yes, we were above cloud level.  The clouds almost looked like waves of oceanwater below us.  If you are lucky you can see both coasts of the oceanI’m so happy that I survived to see this.  We welcomed the suns heat and quickly our frozen limbs began to regain feeling.  We soaked in the beauty for a couple of hours, and then looked at each other and realized what was to come.  BACK DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!!!  Noooooooo, I had never been so overwhelmed with exhaustion in all my life.  My knee was killing me from the hike up, and I had blisters on my heels that screamed with pain with every step I took.  Our bodies were angry with us from lack of sleep, but also for pushing them to their physical limits.  Slowly we inched down the mountain.  We tried to go as quickly as possible because our beds were quietly waiting for us and I can swear I heard mine calling my name echoing through the forest.  (Okay, so I was a bit delirious).  Just as we thought to ours

elves we had to be reaching the end of what felt like torture, we see a sign that said 6 kilometers to go.  We fell down at the side of the road in agony.  I had pretty much lost hope.  With Josiah’s encouragement we kept going.  I saw a whole new side of myself.  I was enraged by the end of the hike asking myself “why!?” over and over.  I literally couldn’t force myself to take one mor

e step.  Josiah was more physically exhausted than I had ever seen him as well.  We were not looking good.  We came back, passed out for hours, and Josiah had to walk across the street to order a pizza because I could not walk down the stairs.  Haha, oh sigh.  I can giggle a bit now looking back on it.  It really was a learning experience and I can honestly say I will never do it again.  So, if any of you want to come to Panama I will gladly travel with you but if you want to hike the volcano you are on your own!!

Our time is winding down here.  We just have a little over 5 weeks left!  Josiah is focusing on getting into a school for the fall so he can start his art degree, and I’m just contemplating what life with look like for the next year.  I have always tended to plan my life one year at a time, and this is the first year in a long time I have no vision. There are things I want to do, but they require a decent and satisfying job first.   I know I want to be in Indianapolis near my family and friends; I want to get as much of my car paid off as possible so I won’t be tied down to it anymore; I want to get all checked up on my health; and I am thinking about taking a fund raising course to get ideas for a non-profit.  If anyone has any good job ideas send them my way because for the first time in my life I feel like I need to make a decent amount of money to get ahead on things.  I guess I will take things day by day and see where I end up!  We love you all and we’ll be back in indy at the end of May.  I can’t wait to get some great hugs!

Livin La Vida Pura

  It’s been a while since our last post.  We’ve been moving pretty fast these days. As our flight home is out of Costa Rica, we have decided to pass through quite quickly to Panama and later spend the last bulk of our time in Costa Rica.  We arrived in Panama the other day, but our run through Costa Rica has been a great time.  We traveled down the pacific coast visiting beaches, reuniting with friends, exploring small towns/villages, watching tropical birds and animals, and trying to escape random attacks from swarms/infestations of various insects. 

  Our fist order of business coming into Costa Rica was to meet with our wonderful friend Kelley; she came to visit us on her vacation from work.  Angie and I both have been getting a little home sick; we are missing our friends and families.  Her arrival was anticipated with great excitement.  Her first night in San Jose, we all went out salsa dancing; we actually had quite a big group.  Kelley had met two friends from California on her flight (Andre and Stephanie), and they just happened to be staying at our same hostel; so we invited them out.  Angie let her Tico (Costa Rican) family know that we were in town for that night.  Her Mama-tica, aunts, cousins, and even the two girls that the family was currently hosting came out to joins us.  Dancing in Costa Rica was the best dancing I’ve had in a long time; especially with having Kelley along.  Their cumbia music and dancing is really intriguing and unique, the club literally starts jumping.

  The next day we took her to our favorite beach, Manuel Antonio.  The beaches there just have all the necessary ingredients required for a day of fun and complete relaxation.  We stayed in a town called “Quepos”.  Quepos has more reasonable accommodations and is a ten-minute bus ride from Manuel Antonio.  We ran into Andre and Stephanie in Quepos and Manuel Antonio as well.  We all shared some great meals, sunsets, hikes, and waves together; the time passed far too quickly.  Before we knew it we were saying goodbye to Kelley.  We really enjoyed her visit and look forward to seeing her back in Indy.

  After Kelley’s departure we were left wondering, “what now?”  It was then that we decided to see Panama first.  Our friend Gordon messaged us saying he was going down the Pacific coast headed toward Panama.  He had just made it to “where of all places?” Quepos.  After seeing Kelley off we headed back there and are now grouped up.  We spent a few more days at Quepos/Manuel Antonio with Gordon.  The added bonus is that Gordon is a great cook.  He has done a lot of traveling through Europe and Southeast Asia and has pick up some pretty great recipes; we will have to some exchanging.

  On our last day in Manuel Antonio I learned how to surf!!  I’ve always wondered how it would feel to glide along the waves with the wrath of the ocean as my fuel.  It is a special kind of thrill standing up on that board while trying to keep balance being moved great distances.  Surfing was even more fun than I had imagined it would be!  I now understand why some people devote so much of their lives to its mastery.

  Costa Rica is rich with biodiversity.  There are thousands of different animal species found here.  Personally we have come across a few different kinds of monkeys, ton of exotic birds, sloths, many different types of lizards, and way too many insects.  There have been three occasions where we have been under direct attack. * (Attack #one) One of our last days in M.A. we packed some salt, bread, tomatoes, and avocados to make sandwiches for lunch at the beach.  After eating lunch, we left the bag containing the extra food in sand while we played in the waves.  When it came time to leave I picked up the bag, laid it over my shoulder, and began walking away.  Seconds later, I felt hot shots of pain spreading all over my back and shoulders as if I was set aflame.  Ants had overtaken the bag of food while we were away and were biting me all over in defense of it.  I dropped the bad in surrender, ran yelling, and leaped into the ocean.

  Heading south our next stop was the small peaceful town of Uvita.  Southern C.R. is mostly farm country, but the beaches are still breath taking.  Uvita beach was one of the prettiest I’ve seen so far; it is very wide and stretches for miles.  There is a section of beach that is a sand bar forming the shape of the tail of a whale.  It’s like being between two oceans and their waves are sizing each other up.  In Uvita you can also hike to an awesome waterfall.  The waterfall drains into a pool that is really deep and we were able to dive into the water from the top of the fall.  

  After Uvita, we headed down to the even more secluded painfully mellow town of Zancudo.  Zancudo translates to mosquito, or long legged lanky woman in English; this became Angie’s new nickname while we were there.  This town has just one road, two tiny grocery stores, and a few places to stay.  To the left of the road there are miles of beach, and to the right a vast flooded mangrove forest.  It is a fishing town and they boast holding over fifty sport fishing world records.  At the beach the waves are very calm, perfect for swimming.  You can walk a hundred feet out into the water before it even gets shoulder level.  There are lot of big bright red crabs, seagulls, and fish in Zancudo, but not much more to do than catching rays and star gaze.

  *(Attacks #two and three.)  We discovered (the hard way) that there is a block of the one road going to Zancudo that is completely controlled by a swarm of wasps!  Gordon, Angie, and I were just walking down the road trying to find somewhere to buy produce for cooking later.  At first there was just a wasp or two buzzing around our heads, however, moments later we are being chased down the road by a swarm of them!  We each escaped with just a few bites and stings by running though some restaurant, sprinting out of their back door, heading towards the beach, and jumping into the Ocean.  The locals got quite a laugh from seeing the gringos swatting, yelling, swearing, screaming, and running for their lives.  It also rained pretty hard the two days we were there, and during the rain we had the pleasure of sharing our shelter with all the surrounding mosquitoes in their search for an escape.  Our hut flooded a bit during that time which attracted even more of them.  I am still scratching the bites. Over all it was a good time.

  We bussed out of there, crossed the boarder, and Panama is looking pretty cool.  We are taking a break from the beach and starting inland at David, Panama.  We are staying at a hostel built around a Waterfall.  It is one of the coolest places we’ve stayed by far.  You can make pottery, paint, listen to the live music, play Frisbee golf, play soccer, play basketball, play the drums or guitar, cook, swim in the river, swing or jump off the waterfall, swim in the pools, and the list goes on.  It’s run by a couple of young guys and their girlfriends who live on the property and have created the playground of their dreams.  The bartender loves salsa music and we had a salsa night in the bar; she was fun to dance with.  There are lots of mangos trees, and they collect a barrel full every day; free for all.  If you are ever passing through Panama I recommend looking up “ The Waterfall Hostel”.  On a side note, Angie finally got to see her Jesus lizards; they run across the river here.  Time is winding down, and we look forward to seeing everyone soon. 

 

Remembering My Cousin- Eli Fouts...

I haven't had a chance to write much as we have been pretty constantly on the go since Nicaragua, but I wanted to take a moment and write a quick blog. I studied abroad in Costa Rica four years ago, in the spring of '05. My brother and sister came to visit, and we had a great 10 days traveling around the country. As their visit ended we received news that our cousin Eli had died in a car accident. Of course hearing news like this one's heart stops for a few seconds as reality tries to set in. Fortunately my siblings were back in the states in time for the funeral, but I was unable to attend as my semester abroad was still finishing.

It's not just around this time of year that I remember him, he still pops in my head often. We were supposed to meet up and go out to eat when I got back from my study abroad, and I often daydream of what we would have talked about. I was excited to share with him my adventures and encourage him to explore his world as well. He was such an intelligent kid, and I was just beginning to see him turn into a young man. I feel like we were just getting to a point where we could really relate to each other when he passed away.

I'm not writing this trying to be a downer, I just want the people who cared about and loved my cousin to know they are not alone in missing him. I have dreams where the two of us are just sitting and chatting and passing hours along slowly. My cousin and I had many differences throughout our childhood, but my memories of him are positive. I still remember his smile and the way he laughed. I remember how he looked like the boy from Home Alone and everytime I watched that movie I envisioned it being Eli. I remember how he rode his bike. I remember how he always peeked at his Christmas presents early and wrapped them back up. (yes grandma, this happened). I remember how proud he was of his younger sister, Margie. I remember many things very clearly. As many people know, when you lose a loved one it's hard not to focus on how much you miss them. But, I believe its better to keep on living in their memory and celebrating the life they had. A piece of them can live on inside of you.

I love you, Eli.