2/16/09 Waking up early is Cahuita.

2/16/09 Waking up early is Cahuita.

Yesterday we made it to the Caribbean Coast and are in a little town on the coast, Cahuita. We arrived around 3pm after leaving Las Vueltas on the 6:30am bus to Turrialba. From Turrialba we caught a bus to Siqqurres, then to Limon (the major port town), and finally to Cahuita. Ahhhh, where to start this blog?

I feel that we are growing as Costa Rican travelers. Every day we learn something new and are finding the bus system easier and easier to navigate. When we first left San Jose bound for our final destination of Las Vueltas we were very overwhelmed by not being able to communicate. It's difficult to get directly to your final destination and a bus change is almost always required. The problem is, while there are bus stations in most large towns, the bus may not necessarily depart from the main terminal, it may leave from a block or two around the corner...or from the other side of town. When we arrived in Cartago from San Jose on 2/12 we knew we had to find a bus going to Tuccurique. Simple enough, right? WRONG. After grabbing a quick lunch at Musmani Bakery, a bakery chain in CR, we set out to find our bus. Let's just say it took about an hour to find the correct bus stop and another 20 minutes before we were on the bus. I stroke up a conversation of gestures with a woman a bit younger than me traveling with 3 small children. Turns out, she lives near Las Vueltas and knows (roughly) where we are heading! We also met a very nice guy, around my age, who spoke English rather well, Luis Anderson. He was heading home to Tuccuriqe after a day of working in Cartago. He helped us communicate with the bus driver and some other passengers to make sure we got off the bus in the correct place. While San Jose to Cartago was mostly highway (one of two in the country,) the ride to Tuccurique was the polar opposite. I've been giving a lot of thought as to how I should describe the terrain here. I guess the pictures will have to do, but I feel that you will not be able to grasp the sheer scope of the land. The bus wound up and down the fertile mountains, across creeks and rivers, next to abundant coffee fields, sugar cane, and bananas. When we finally arrived in Tuccurique Luis departed and reminded the bus driver to let us off in Las Vueltas. Luis invited us to have a beer with him but we declined because another bus would not be going through today and it was about a 4 mile walk to our final destination. I took his number and told him I'd call if we came back through. It was amazing to me how helpful the people in CR are. Even though we can't communicate because of the language barrier they are always helpful and kind. When we were in Cartago word traveled very fast that we were lost and couldn't figure out what bus to take. I think they went around town looking for someone who spoke English because a nice young man approached us in the street and said that he heard that we needed help!

We got off of the bus in Las Vueltas and asked some people at the bus station where the Gringos lived...ok, we probably just said "los gringos" and they blankly stared at us like we were nuts. I suggested that we walk a bit further down the road, confident that I would recognize the place by the pictures. It was raining, so busted out the rain gear (thanks for making me bring the pack cover V) and we started walking. About 2 minutes into our walk Patty and Allan came up the street in their 4x4 looking for us! Patty was waiting with an umbrella near her house and when the bus came by they told her they dropped us at the previous stop! We were very relieved to be there! Once we settled into the cabina we regrouped and decided to go on a hike to nearby river on a cleared trail through the farm. On our hike we encountered cutter ants, water apples, coffee plants, and many other native plant and wild life species. A flock of parrots flew by--noisy little buggers. We haven't seen any up close yet thought :(

After our hike Allan and Patty brought us a beautiful and excellent dinner--eggplant parmesan! They are excellent cooks and every meal was excellent! After dinner we had fresh strawberry shortcake for dessert with fresh cafe (coffee). We took showers and went to bed early that night. For all of you who know me well, you'd be proud. I wore the same pants for 3 days! They are very dirty now. I'm retiring them until after I do laundry. I seem to be loosing a bit of weight or something b/c my pants are bigger than they were before I left. I have been trying to exercise but have only done so twice :(

In the morning (2/13) we had a typical Tico breakfast (black beans, rice, and fried papayas, with eggs and coffee). After breakfast we went on a hike with Allan and he showed us around. Same hike we took the first day but with more information. When we came back from the hike we grabbed the machete and went to cut some bananas! You would not believe how good an organic banana is! They taste so much better and are much yellower on the inside! We took lots of pics of this activity. After you cut the bananas you have to cut the tree down (it's like a giant stalk). Each tree yields one bunch of bananas. You know that they are ready to cut when every leaf on the tree is dead. The bananas are still green and take about a week to ripen in a sack. We didn't get to eat the bananas we cut, but Patty and Allan had a sacko banana from the week prior for us to try ;)

We got cleaned up and took the bus to Tuccurique to use the Internet and send word that we made it to our destination! After talking a bit with V via Truphone (best application ever!) we walked around town, met the locals, sampled local food, and ate a small meal y bebir tres cervezas :) Reference the beautiful views from the restaurant above the river valley and the statue pics (he he he). Look closely.

On the walk back we met Renae (who may have been a bit tipsy). He has a green thumb and is growing grapes and making wine. He offered us a sample and it was actually pretty good! We decided to walk back to Las Vueltas from Tuccurique, which ended up being very fun. We stopped at a sugar shack on the way back ad tried some sugar candy and took pictures of the operation.

OK, iPhoto is being difficult and we want to go explore a bit. I'll post more tonight!