Week in Samara

I must apologize for the week plus in which I had no new posts. The Friday before last, me and five friends set out on our own across CR towards the small Pacific coast town of Playa Samara. We visited Tortugia Island, where we snorkeled and hiked, and the town of Montezuma, where we partied with some others from our group who had arrived on a charter bus on the same day. From there, we hired a driver to take us the last leg to Samara where I took a homestay with a poor family outside of town. I actually enjoyed showering with a spigot and bucket and riding an old bicycle into town each day passed cows and horses to arrive at school for the last week of Spanish classes. I must admit that it is really difficult to concentrate on school when it is 90 degrees and the school is buttressed against a beach full of beautiful Ticas. None the less, I managed to pass the class and I have now returned to Heredia where this week we are starting our classes on migration and history. The presidential elections are this weekend and I am happy to report that the Libertarians are doing extremely well and stand to make big gains in the congress and will narrowly miss becoming the official opposition party. The Super Bowl is also that day and I am having all the UW'ers over to my house for a big Super Bowl and election returns party. Today we are going to the Aries Center for International Peace. Oscar Aries, who is going to win the presidency on Sunday, won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end the civil wars in Nicaragua and Guatemala. I continue to thoroughly enjoy my time here, the people and the freedom that us estadounidenses (people of the United States) only dream of.

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Please note the new links added today and don't forget that you can view larger versions of the pictures by simply clicking on them.

It's not bad work if you can get it. As I look back over my pictures, I am struck by how much time I spend laying on my back with an ice cold Imperial in hand.

On my last day in Samara, a troop of howler monkeys came to visit us at our campsite. The campsite was located next to a fresh water creek that feeds the Pacific ocean and was teeming with crocodiles. I would sit next to the tents and watch the crocs watching us, but when I tried to approach them, they disappeared into the water.

My school, Intercultura, in Playa Samara

My favorite beach from last week was Playa Correo. The whole group went there for a beach party that included a big beach bonfire and a lot of fun!

That's me, midair, cliff jumping near one of the myriad beautiful waterfalls near Montezuma

Montezuma

The famed village of Montezuma is a small hippy and backpacker enclave on the southern tip of the Nicoya peninsula

Adjust your altitude

Brian, Kylie, Me and Michel strike our rock star poses on Tortugia Island

One of the stranger things about CR are these perfectly round and very old stones. 1000's have been found around the country but there purpose remains a mystery.

Reflections on Costa Rica

Now that I have had a few days in country, I thought it was time to sit down and reflect on some things. It will be interesting to me to go back in a couple of months and see how much my ideas and opinions have changed. I have largely been surprised by how little actually has surprised me. However there are certainly questions that I can’t get my head around.

Costa Rica is sometimes called the “Switzerland of Central America” for good reason. They have a vibrant and healthy democracy, a responsible, constitutionally limited government and a respectable, even admirable, judiciary. None the less, and this is only one of what I am sure are several ethno-centristic opinions that I have contemplated, I have found myself saying, “If this is Switzerland, I would hate to see the Albania of Central America.”

Costa Rica is poor, but why is it poor and what, underpinning the many social and political conflicts and policies that have hindered growth in the region and the tropics generally, does this place with a system as free and robust as the US once had, still suffer from whatever it is that retards growth for most nations in this climate. I was struck initially by the apparent poverty, but as I spend more time here I realize that the poverty is almost a veneer for a rather good quality of life. Although the cars are mostly 10 years out of date, there is still no shortage of brand new versions of the hottest cars available in the international market. There are new streets and new buildings, but they stand starkly against razor wire and cracked side walks. I look across the city and can’t help but think that over 55 years of freedom and it has resulted in what looks like urban Peoria Illinois in 1985 with a twist of East L.A.

Yet I am genuinely comfortable here. It is familiar and in some way that disappoints me. I have sometimes been known to jokingly, and lovingly, refer to Canada as America Light. Costa Rica is, in its way, also rather like that. It is certainly less different then Western Europe, if for no other reason then the pipeline is shorter from Wall Street and Hollywood. People live behind razor wire and rottweilers, but so do people in the best neighborhoods in the States, so that’s no surprise. None the less, I am genuinely curious about the structural factors that prevent Costa Ricans from achieving the same level of material success. I have several opinions of my own as well as various experts and will be posting occasionally on my thoughts about this fundamental question of political economy, “Why are some places rich, and others just suck?” (to borrow from O’Rourke) More specifically, to what degree is it within the conscience ability of individuals and organizations to change the factors in order to increase wealth, jobs and prosperity in places like, or dissimilar from, Costa Rica, and to what degree is it a positive, or negative, pursuit? By that I mean, how much is institution-building and how much is it a matter of eliminating barriers to individual success? What about cultural factors? Can they be overcome? Should they? By what standard do we measure?

I would love to get opinions on these issues, feel free to post a comment or e-mail me if you guys so desire.

Mis hermosos Ticos (My Costa Rican brothers), Jose y Rolando

I got really lucky on my homestay. My Tico Mom is the vice-mayor of Heredia and her kids all went to private school so they speak perfect English. We also have a nice house with a security gate, two cars and 80 channels of cable. We also have a guard and a maid. Some of my fellow students are jealous because there cicumstances aren't nearly as pleasant. I also have wi-fi at the house which is pretty much unheard of.

I have noted a number of differences between CR and the states. There a couple that I thought were interesting. On the icky side, the plumming here is very poor so you cannot flush toilet paper. The bathroom trash can is a very scary place! Speaking of the bathroom, only the very rich have hot water heaters. Most people, including my family, instead have an electric shower. Two wires actually run into the shower head and shock the water as it comes out in order to heat it. It took me a couple of days to figure this out and I took very cold showers as I dubiously eyed the breaker switch just inches from my head!

Weekend in La Fortuna

Sorry I haven't been able to post for a couple of days. My group went to the town of La Fortuna for the weekend and I had to leave my computer in Heredia. It was a really amazing weekend even though it rained the entire time.

First, I had my exams for Spanish class on Friday and I am happy to say that I passed! This week I am in Spanish 2, but I am learning really fast. With my host family, I can speak English, but if I want to do anything in town, I pretty much have to use Spanish.

Friday night, we went out to celebrate my birthday. I was really touched that so many people came out. I had a wonderful French dinner and then went to the bar, but I had to be up at 5 AM. This should have meant that I made a short night of it, but that wasn't to be and when I dragged myself to meet the busses for La Fortuna, I had had only 2 hours of sleep.

La Fortuna was a really tough drive for 4 hours through the mountains. You have to go really slow because the road is one lane and twisty for most of the trip. We stopped to raft in the afternoon (I will have pictures of this tomorrow) and later we went to a hot springs resort that was amazing. They had ten pools, all at the foot of the volcano Arinal. Many in the group went dancing after the hot springs, but I was so tired I stayed at the hotel and played some Scrabble.

On Sunday we took a nature walk and then headed back to Heredia. It was raining so hard that the road was washed out in a couple of places and the drive took forever. We also saw a couple of really bad accidents. Costa Rica has one of the highest incidents of fatal car crashes in the world. There is a dark joke here that you always kiss your family when you leave because you don't know if you will be back. This really is the country that traffic rules forgot. Just crossing the street can be a life threatening event!

Rafting near Arenal (Click to Enlarge)

Two sorority girls and a waterfall...I have a dream that starts out this way.

Mi amigos miren "shady!" Brian, Michel, y Moia en La Fortuna

I think this picture speaks for itself.

Mi amigas Ashley-Claile y Andrea

Mi Escuela de Idioma

Silvia saw the last picture I posted of her and insisted that we take a better one.

Costa Ricans are very political which is great for me since everyone wants to talk politics. This tag is basically blaming the current president for, well, whatever.

Mi profesora de espanol, Silvia, es muy bonita. Si?

Mi Amiga Stacy en Dallas

¡Hola mis amigos!

I am settled in here in Costa Rica and I am having my laptop configured for internet right now. I have many pictures that I will post in the next day or so. I have also been told that the comment function is messed up. I am reconfiguring it now. Adios por ahora.

!Hola Amigos y Familia!

I have arrived in Costa Rica. I am in an internet cafe in Heredia, but I will post pictures from my stay in Dallas as well as here in the next couple of days. I have been very happy to see that Ticos (Costa Ricans) are very political and love to talk about world affairs. Already my Spanish is vastly improved, however I will most likely be in the habit of speaking broken English by the time I return home. Hasta Luego por ahora.

Well, it's my last day in Phoenix. Yesterday we celebrated my birthday (a little early, it's actually on the 13th) and I got Pops to take me for a ride in his new toy, a 50th anniversary T-bird.

After a brief scare in which American Airlines tried to tell me I wasn't booked on any of my flights, I am armed with a new flight itinerary and ready to head for Costa Rica. Adios por ahora.

So long Phoenix...Thanks for the Tan

I have been lamenting the fact that I had to leave my guitar in Seattle, so I was very excited when I found one that was capable of rocking as big as I do. Mom and Pops took me shopping in downtown Phoenix which has these guitars all over town as part of a fundraiser for the art museum. I will be leaving Phoenix tomorrow for Dallas. I'm spending the night with my good friend Stacy and then flying to Costa Rica on Sunday. More to come...

The Wildlife World Zoo

This evening, my mom took me to this great little zoo, The Wildlife World Zoo, for their winter night lights tour. The lights were great, but it isn't everyday that you get to see an albino alligator, one of the rarest reptiles in the world.

Those of you who know me, know also of the shame that is my great love of stupid hats. I got it into my head that I needed something "jungle-y" for Costa Rica. I searched the mall and sporting goods stores to no avail. Finally, my search came to an end at the zoo gift shop. I think the results speak for themselves. Crikey!

30 Hours in Paradise

Click on pictures to enlarge

I have just returned from my long solo hike through the Tonto National Forest. It strikes me that no matter how many forwarded e-mails about God my well-intentioned, but overly optimistic friends and family members send me, it is in the quiet, solitary places of the world where I find the peace that they seek in churches and in old, dusty stories. I do not hold nature in reverence, but I am forever awed by it; its scope and its power. It is the only nourishment that my soul has ever longed for, and the only tonic that has quenched its thirst.

Tonto 2

Tonto 3

Tonto 4