Hey All!

I know - another update so soon after the last. It turns out that there is Wifi everywhere around here so it is the easy thing to do when you just feel like staying in for the night.

We left Bocas del Toro this morning and made our way back to Costa Rica because Nikki and Scott fly out on Sunday. We ended up staying on Isla Bastimentos for 3 days and getting to know some Americans that are living there working on a project. It was so much fun. Lots of great food, good company, big beach bonfires and real jungle! And - enough pool games (as in billiards) to brush up on my skills. It was better than awesome. Let me just say though that we didn't even begin to explore what the archipelago has to offer. You could spend two months there and still feel like there's more...if you are into water that is! I am definitely not done with that place.

So, our trip across the border today was much more than hassle-free. I think that every person on the shuttle had a problem at some point and we ended being there for nearly two hours. My contribution was that I didn't have my tourist visa that they gave me upon entry to Panama, which apparently you need in order to leave the country. Whoops! But as it turned out I wasn't the only one with that same problem. And, just as I was feeling like a complete idiot we were told that one of the Americans in the car had an expired passport and was subsequently arrested! But - guess what- he paid $135 bucks and they let him cross the border anyways. Nice!

We are back in Puerto Viejo for the night. Nikki and Scott are having date night so I am staying in and chilling out. Okay.....the cat's out of the bag - that is the real reason that I am updating you guys so soon after the last post....I am bored! I don't feel comfortable going out at night all by myself so I have to accept my fate and enjoy the alone time! We are going white-water rafting tomorrow, which I am totally stoked for. I have never been before and it is always something that I have wanted to do. Afterwards, the rafting company is dropping us off back in San Jose and then we will enjoy our last night together. I can't believe that they are leaving so soon. 10 days has flown by.

I am still really not sure where I want to go when they leave me on Sunday. Do I go back to the Pacific where I feel totally at home and actually have some friends? Do I return to the caribbean? Back to Panama? What about Nicaragua? So many options....I don't know yet. I am just waiting for that special sign that will point me in the right direction. It always comes so I am staying patient and waiting for it to pop up. I will let you know as soon as it does!

I can't believe that I have less than a month left. It is hard not to be sad. But I know that life is what you make of it and if you go full steam ahead with a glass that is half-full good things will come your way. Live right, have fun, be happy and everything will be alright! Wow...I've been listening to a lot of "don't worry, be happy" music. No really though, it is true!

Okay - that's it for now. I hope that everyone has a great weekend.

Bocas del Toro, Panama

I am sitting at a hostel on Isla Bastimentos in Bocas del Toro, Panama as I write. I am in another beautiful place and my eyes are opening even wider as I enjoy new experiences.

Nikki and Scott arrived on Saturday and it has been adventures since the moment they got off the plane. They actually arrived about 7 hours later than they were suppose to because Scott had some passport problems in Houston (they wouldn't even let him board the plane), but with some perseverance and a very long day they finally made it to Costa Rica. Let me also say that my waiting skills are phenomenal right now. I sat at the airport for 10 hours and I wasn't even really bored!

We went straight to Puerto Viejo on the caribbean when they arrived and stayed at a hostel called Rockin J's. It was huge and had everything a backpacker could possibly ask for. It served its purpose but I did feel a bit like another traveler getting pumped in and out of a gringo hostel. We rented bikes on our first day there and explored the little beach towns. The roads were pretty good actually (and by that I mean paved!) so it was easy to cruise around. On our second day we went on a canopy tour, which ended up being one of the best things that I have done since being here. I actually almost didn't go on the tour because of the cost but changed my mind at the last miute. It was SOOO much fun. There were 9 of us in the group with 3 guides. It was really the 3 guides that made the day. I would recommend it to everyone coming here.

On our third day we caught a shuttle that took us to Bocas del Toro in Panama. I got a new stamp in my passport, which is always exciting when you are traveling. The border was easy to cross. They don't really seem to care about tourists coming in. They didn't ask any questions, only for $5. The interesting thing to me is that I can feel the difference between Costa Rica and Panama even though asthetically they are very similar. It is much more conservative here. In Bocas men have to wear a shirt at all times and women cannot walk around in their bikinis. This may sound normal if you are in North America reading this but it is pretty standard in the beach towns of Costa Rica to wear nothing but a bathing suit everywhere that you go - and barefoot as well. And when I say everywhere I literally mean everywhere!

Our first night in Bocas we stayed on the main island in a little hotel. We arrived in the evening so we went for dinner and then for a walk. Our walk led us to a bar as is our trend right now. And so the night began. The hilarious thing about the bars on this coast so far is that they play all of the 90's music that we listened to in high school. And they love it!

Yesterday we took a boat tour around all of the islands. It is an archipelago of 6 islands called Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos. The tour itself was not all that it was cracked up to be but it's one of those things that you just have to do so that you know. We are now on a smaller island called Isla Bastimentos that takes about 10 minutes by boat to reach from the main island. It is pretty empty here but there is some development happening so I think that the face of this place is changing quickly. Today will be a beach day, which I haven't had in nearly a week now. A beach day means that I lay in the sand, work on my tan and swim all day long. I know - life is rough :)

We will stay here for two more days and then head back to Costa Rica. Nikki and Scott fly out on Sunday so we are over halfway through their visit now. Time flies when you're having fun. Actually, time flies regardless! Life is good though and this experience is everything that I imagined it would be and even better. I miss home but it is going to be hard to leave this place. Oh yeah - on that note I am not going home early. I know that Mom is bummed about that but it was only two weeks early anyways.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying life as much as I am at the moment. We are on east coast time here so 3 hours ahead of home. It is now 9:30 am and I am about to head out to the beach to get the day started. I will be in touch again soon.

I am up early this morning so that I can clean the place that I have been staying at and doing everything that I need to do before leaving Mal Pais tomorrow. I almost feel as though I am moving out of the bungalow that I have been staying at. Well, I guess that I sort of am....I have really made this place like my own home over the past month and a half. I actually didn't even realize it until right now as I write this! I cook here, make my bed everyday, sweep, have everything organized in its place and I even have a picture of Sam (my 5-year old nephew) on my bedside shelf! So, yeah I guess it has been home :)

I am catching the 6am bus out of here tomorrow to go meet Nikki and Scott at the airport. Yay! We have a shuttle that is meeting us there and taking us straight to Puerto Viejo in the caribbean, where we will stay for a couple of days. We will then head to Bocas in Panama and hang out there for awhile. We have some ideas of what we would like to do but it is a very loose guideline. Nikki and I would like to fit a dive in at some point and we have whitewater rafting booked on the 28th. Aside from that we will fly by the seat of our pants. I can't even describe in words how excited I am to see a familiar face tomorrow. If they don't make it here for whatever reason I think that I will be crying at the airport! No more disappointments - let the good times begin. No.....it's not that serious but I am incredibly excited. Mostly, because Nikki is a great friend but also because she is so much fun to have around. She has such a great adventurous spirit that you just know that no matter what comes your way you'll be fine and still laughing the whole time.

My money situation is getting a little tight at this point so I am also going to see how much it would cost to change my flight home to an earlier date. I got a super good deal on my ticket down here though so I think that the change fee is going to be alot, possibly the same that it would cost to just stay until the end. Although I haven't traveled to many different countries I have stayed in the most expensive, Costa Rica. Accomodations have been cheap but groceries are very expensive. And, I have also gone on some day trips which eat away at the stash as well. I will ask the airline when I go to the airport tomorrow. I am not sure about leaving early - it is so great here. If I am careful I can probably make the money that I have last until the end.

Oh yeah - I am feeling better :) It took about a week and half to kick it but I am back at 100% and just in time. And, I am still coming home to follow through on my last post...don't worry family, I haven't changed my mind!

I'll be in touch again soon. Nikki and Scott - let the good times roll!!!!!

C.

Dengue or no dengue.....Degree or no degree.....

It has been an uneventful week since I last wrote - although it did go by very quickly just as the last month has. I had my birthday on Tuesday, which I celebrated with my bungalow mates. They made a HUGE dinner, which was enjoyed with some drinks and that was about the extent of it. I started to not feel well on Wednesday but it was in way that I hadn't felt before. The first symptom was a really sore back like it had been strained from exercise, then it spread to my whole body. Then came the nausea, headache and a bit of a fever. I have all of the necessary vaccinations so I started to do a little research and I think that I had dengue fever. Of course, the locals insisted I was wrong. One of them insisted that it was from eating too much food with oil and that I just needed to go to the washroom (if you know what I mean!). So, he took me to this woman that massaged all of my joints with oil. She was definitely working into some problem areas as she had me screaming into a pillow on her couch. She then told me to drink tea and that should help me to take the big dump that would clear me of all of my problems! It was a good try but 4 days later and I still don't feel great - I am better today than yesterday though (and yes I have taken a dump but it wasn't the epic one that I supposed to following the massage!).

So, let me tell you about the epiphany that I had the day before my birthday. I have been thinking about what this trip means and where it is leading me and what it is contributing to my life. And I think that I know! Let me preface this by stating what is important to me in no specific order. I am a beach bum to the fullest. I love the ocean, the sun, the sand, the heat and I would like to have regular doses of it throughout my life. I enjoy being with family, especially my nephew Sam. I have a passion for rowing, coaching and working with kids and teenagers. Ok, with that said.......

Because of coaching I have realized that I would really enjoy being a high school teacher. This, of course, would mean going back to university. My first round at school wasn't that great when it came to the classroom, which makes me nervous to go back. But to live the life that I want to live I am going to have to do it. I have known all of this for some time and even applied to the post-degree program at UVic last year but didn't have the necessary classes from my first degree to be accepted. So, this left me with the realization that if I wanted to be a teacher that it was going to be more than just a year and half more of school, which was a bit daunting. But, I am ready to commit and get it done. The phys ed program (to be a phys ed teacher along with another subject) is 5 years. Hopefully some of my classes from WSU will transfer over so that maybe I will only have 4 1/2 years of school! I will have to talk with an advisor when I get home to sort all of this out but I will apply to go back to school next September. Once I have completed the degree then I will have a job that I enjoy (I hope!) and will also have the time and the means to travel during holidays. I am really going to have to practice my patience (difficult for me) and keep the end goal in mind at all times. I also get antsy and bored so I will have to have little adventures around home to keep me from wanting to take off on some big trip again before reaching my goal.

To sum up, by receiving a teaching degree I would be able to travel during holidays, be close to family and have a job that works with teenagers and still allows to coach. Sounds like a great fit to me. And, maybe Steph, Sam and Mike can come on adventures with me since we will then have the same schedule, eh?????

It has been a very weird process to get the place that I am at today but it is the path that I was meant to take. It has been uneasy and confusing at times but I am going in the direction that I should be. I am sure there will be plenty more speed bumps along the way because that is just life!

Now, back to this trip. There is not much else to report. A week and a half until friends arrive, yay! Nikki has already booked us on a white water rafting trip, which I am really looking forward to. I am excited to explore some unknown territory. I will write again soon.

Oh yeah - one more thing...I got to ride in a convertible Range Rover on a bumpy, dirt road! Very Cool!

C.

Hey All!

Let's begin where I left off. I was in Limon awaiting the arrival of the cruise ship with Mom and Denis, Paulette and Shel (aunt and uncle). You know when you are really excited for something so you have a really light sleep and waking up at 6am is not a big deal because you know that it is going to be a great day..... Well, that's how I felt on the morning that I was suppose to see family in Limon. I got to the cruise ship terminal at 6:30am and watched the ship pull in. Then I waited and waited and waited - only to find out that the dock workers were on strike and refused to tie up the ship. So, there I stood about 200 metres away from the ship and that was about it. Mom and Denis started to wave a towel (or something), which got my attention and I started to wave back and it went on like that for about an hour and then the ship pulled away. I was so dissapointed. I couldn't believe that I was that close to seeing them and then they left. I caught the 11am bus out of Limon that morning and started to make my way back to Mal Pais.

I have decided that I am going to stay put on the Nicoya Peninsula until friends come to visit. It has proven to be a little sketchy on the few adventures that I have taken and feel comfortable where I am staying. I don't think that it is necessarily that unsafe as long as you keep your wits about you but my luck has proven to not be great so far. Nothing terrible but my gut is saying stay put! With that said mini adventures are still to be had!

Five of us rented an SUV last week and drove from the south of the Peninsula up to the very touristy Tamarindo. We stayed at a place called Hotel Mamiri. We got the "suite", which was basically an apartment for $15/night each. It was awesome. During the days we went to Playa Avellanas and Playa Grande to surf but there weren't really any swells. Instead we just laid on the beach and worked on our tans. The beaches up there are beautiful - as good as what you've heard. At night we went out to a couple of pubs as well as a discotheque. The discotheque was a little much for me but to experience it was worth it. I am and will always be a pub girl not a club girl!

A couple of nights ago was Halloween. I got dressed up as a witch. Everything was home made including the hat and the broom. I only took a couple of pictures of my outfit and they turned out blurry. One of the guys that I know here dressed up as a mummy and won second prize ($100 US) at the costume contest. I have posted a picture of him - it was pretty funny.

I am back at the bungalows that I was staying at before and now have internet. Everything around town that was closed during the low season opens back up today and it is getting busier. The yoga studio beside my bungalow also opens today so I am excited about that. They offer Vinyasa and a couple of other kinds of yoga. I met a couple of people from Vancouver yesterday and chatted with them for awhile. It was good to talk about home.

So there's the update. Hope all is well with everyone. I will write again soon.