just meesh

Before I get started with this post I’ve got a funny story to share. I was at lunch with my girlfriends from study abroad and we were talking about how I’ve started blogging about my travels again. My one friend says “I saw that, I get the notifications on Twitter” and I was like “Uh, I don’t have a Twitter,” idk how but my blog posts somehow find there way to Twitter… Should I be concerned? Probably. Do I care? Not at all.

Anyways back to Costa Rica. After our few days in Arenal we packed up and headed for the beach, yay! I think I mentioned this but if not I’ll mention it again. My friend has a car so we were able to drive from place to place which was nice because we didn’t have to follow a set timeline and could go as we please.

The drive from Arenal to Tamarindo was about 4 hours and it did not feel like four hours because the scenery was just that beautiful. The drive takes you north of Arenal and then West towards the Pacific ocean. Just north of Arenal is a man made lake that I think (don’t quote me) generates 46% of the electricity for all of Costa Rica. This lake is stunning and about an hour to an hour and a half of the drive was spent around the perimeter. It was so picturesque. At a certain point I made my friend pull over so I could get out of the car to take some photos (if you know me, this should not come as a surprise, ha!).

It’s was probably one of the best road trips I’ve been on in a long time. The windows were down, the music was going and the wind was whipping through our hair. It felt so easy and so pure. In those moments I truly felt free. Like I could do absolutely anything and everything.

xx

michelle

some photos from the drive…

photos from the spot I made my friend pull over…

for a brief time we were driving behind a truck full of cows, the one was just staring straight at us, you can see in the photo below it was so cute. but, it made us sad to see that all the cows were crammed into the truck with nothing to keep them from falling or crashing into one another. it was hard to watch them struggling to stay afoot amid the sharp curves in the road.

Our second day in Arenal started off with a quaint breakfast at the hotel. I loved how all the restaurants in Costa Rica are indoor/outdoor. They have roofs but no walls so you really get to enjoy the warm weather and the nature.

We decided to spend the morning ziplining. I had never been before and was super excited. It’s had always been something that I wanted to do but just never had the opportunity before.

I brought my go pro to try and get some vids of me swinging through the tress but I didn’t have the right attachment to take it with on the ziplines. Apparently it’s a two handed activity.

We got to go on 12 different lines, the longest being .5km (I think). Not going to lie the first one was a little scary but once you get the hang of it it was really fun and exhilarating.

With our zipline excursion we also go access to the hot spring pools at the attached resort. It was so nice to spend the afternoon relaxing in the water and at the swim up bar. It was my first time at a swim up bar ever and I am officially obsessed.

The pools also had these slides that were wicked fast and would whip you around and into the water. It was so much fun to swim like a child, without a care in the world. I haven’t done that in so long and it was such a treat.

In the afternoon we also got to catch a glimpse the top of the volcano. We have been told that typically the top isn’t visible and if it is only comes out for a couple minutes a day. We got to catch a few of those minutes and it was absolutely breath taking, almost a bit otherworldly. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to see that. To see the volcano in all it’s beauty. Now that I think about it, it’s really a beautiful disaster.

xx

michelle

Some photos taken from the resort gardens…

First stop on our itinerary – Arenal Volcano.

We packed up the car Thanksgiving morning and headed for the hills. Our drive there was not without a few hiccups. Two bridges had recently collapsed causing traffic to be re-routed. This proved to be more difficult than you might imagine.

Roadways in Costa Rica are not like they are in the states. Some roads aren’t even paved. The signs put up to indicate the bridges were out were simply posters attached to a traffic cone labeled “no pase.”

Luckily a motorist saw us confused and stopped to explain the situation and provide some guidance for getting around.

In our re-route we encountered one of the down bridges. I’d never seen anything like it before. The bridge collapsed into a river while a truck was crossing. The broken bridge and the truck had fallen into the river. While it was not a long drop down it’s still haunting. To know that maybe these bridges can’t hold the weight that travels across – and nothing was being done to fix it. Locals just standing a the riverside looking at the mess.

But we had to continue on. Eventually making it safe and sound to our hotel in La Fortuna, one of the towns at the base of the volcano.

Once we arrived we decided to book a hiking and hot springs tour. The group picked us up from our hotel and we headed to the Arenal National park. Because we were visiting during rainy season just as we got there the sky opened up and it started to rain. But, the hike would go on.

We got to see some really cool foliage like citronella leaves (think mosquito repellent), the leaves sloths like to eat, rainbow trees and learned the history of the volcano and it’s eruptions. With the rain it made photo taking nearly impossible, even on my go pro. I don’t have many photos from this and the ones I do have are not very visible through the rain.

I am not going to lie. Hiking in the rain for over 2 hours was not fun. I was drenched and just generally uncomfortable. Being that it was Thanksgiving I tried to think what it was that I could be thankful for in this situation? How can I be thankful for anything in this situation? Let’s face it I was miserable…

But how lucky I am that when it is raining I have a home to take shelter in, to keep dry, to keep warm. So it was a lesson in humility – that I take my home, a place to live, for granted so often.

In retrospect, I am really glad we took that hike in the rain. We pushed ourselves, we were uncomfortable the whole time but we did it and are better for it.

The rain-forest is an incredible place and offers so much to learn. I hope so experience it again one day soon.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” -Marcel Proust

xx

michelle

Here’s a few photos of the greenery I took the next day:

After my not so pleasant arrival into Costa Rica (thank you, but no thank you taxi men). My friend picked me up and we headed back to her apartment in San Jose. On the drive back to the apartment I was shocked to see locals walking down the side of the highway.

Immediately, I ask, “OMG, why is that man walking down the side of the highway” and my friend explains that it’s actually pretty normal in Costa Rica. In addition there are people weaving in and out of the lanes of traffic trying to sell food. I was in awe, it was a very real feeling of culture shock. Things are different here. And not in a bad or good way, just different.

xx

michelle

The airline attendant at the desk asks me “Are you traveling alone or in a group?” I say “Just by myself” and I feel as though she’s almost judging me for traveling alone. But she doesn’t know I’ve got plans, big plans, and not just for this trip.

So I got to thinking on the plane. About being independent, about being a girl traveling alone. I stopped myself. I’m a women traveling not a girl, my own mind trying to persuade me otherwise. I think, I should be so proud of my independence as a woman. That the decisions I’ve made in my life so far, independent of others and their opinions, have been the some of the best decisions I’ve made in my entire life.

I feel thankful that I’ve been given a life where I am supported, encouraged and empowered to make my own decisions. To live my own life. While I might not have been in town for Thanksgiving, I still have many reasons to be thankful. And the journey to Costa Rica has been a powerful reminder of that.

While I’ve taken an extended break from writing about my travels and my experiences I have felt this overwhelming need to return. To share the good, the bad, the crazy, the “I can’t believe that really happened” and more.

And in sharing my journey I hope that you feel encouraged and empowered to live. To live for yourself. To do things because YOU want to do them. To see the world through your own eyes, your own lens. Because the world is beautiful in every single way.

Reality check – I step one foot outside the San Jose airport and immediately am being called “Taxi lady?” Queue me telling 10+ taxis drivers that no, I don’t need a ride.

xx
michelle

*Originally written 11/21