Hey everyone.. we're still alive! And hate blogging! We thought it'd be easy to make one of the cute blogs full of pictures and funny stories.. but no. However, we do have electricity and wifi now so that makes things a lot more convenient when it comes to the blog.
We are currently in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca in the Limon province of Costa Rica. Puerto Viejo is on the Caribbean coast and only 40 km from Panama (much less if it was a straight shot to the border). We are working at a hostel called Blue Butterfly Hotel in exchange for a tent and food. We have been here since June 11 and plan on leaving July 10 or 17. It has been a blast meeting the travelers and other volunteers here. Because Puerto Viejo is not on the typical tourist path and is difficult for people to see on a short vacation, we meet a lot of longer term travelers and people who enjoy going to more out-of-the-way spots which makes for some great stories. That being said, Puerto Viejo is still the most touristy spot we have stayed at so far and we are reaally enjoying the convenience of being close to grocery stores and restaurants.. and of course the beach!
Puerto Viejo is sandwiched by two national parks: Cahuita is a 20 minute bus ride to the NW and Manzanillo is an hour bike ride to the SE. We went to Cahuita for the first time a couple days ago; it was incredible! The trail is completely in the jungle but never strays futher than about 10 meters from the beach. We walked about two hours into the trail, stopping to looking at anything that moved, then parked it on a beach spot for the afternoon. On the trail we saw lizards, lots of crabs, looots of spiders, a few squirrels and one incredible monkey experience. We were on the trail and one white faced capuchin dropped down on the trail in front of us. I started taking pictures of it as it ran up a tree and perched on a horizontal branch about shoulder height. Sky went to stand next to the branch and I tried to get of picture of him and the monkey. Before I got one, however, the monkey jumped on Skylar's backpack and hung on to his back. The monkey made it clear he did not want to get off so Sky took the backpack off and left it on the ground and stepped away. I made a few attempts to grab it but gave up quickly after being hissed at. So Sky grabs a pack of cookies out of my backpack and plans on throwing one to the side to distract the monkey but as soon as the package is in sight the monkey ran over and grab the whole pack out of Skylar's hand and went back to his tree. Lesson learned.
Right now, our work at the hostel includes cleaning the rooms, bathrooms ad common areas but we also do projects on the side. Skylar is helping turn a basement room into a new dorm room (laying concrete, painting walls, building crate beds) and I am setting up new profiles on booking websites (like AirBnB and HostelWorld.com). It rains for a few hours most days, which helps cool the air and suck up the humidity for a bit. The temperature is always in the 80's and so is the humidity!
For the last two weeks, we have worked with an amazing couple from Guadalajara, Mexico. The left this morning for Colombia and we already miss them but look forward to seeing them again in South America :) During their time here, they taught me how to make salsa, tortillas, empanadas, a dish they called gorditos and more. (Yes Mom, you will get a taste as soon as we get home.) Now that Victor and Adriana are gone, the only other volunteer is Charlie from England and we are expecting more this weekend. (We are kind of hoping for some fun Americans to help bring our numbers up on the fourth of July..:)
That's it for now!
Hope all our family and friends are enjoying the summer!
Love you all so much
Maddi and Skylar
ps look on Skylar's Facebook for photos
We are currently in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca in the Limon province of Costa Rica. Puerto Viejo is on the Caribbean coast and only 40 km from Panama (much less if it was a straight shot to the border). We are working at a hostel called Blue Butterfly Hotel in exchange for a tent and food. We have been here since June 11 and plan on leaving July 10 or 17. It has been a blast meeting the travelers and other volunteers here. Because Puerto Viejo is not on the typical tourist path and is difficult for people to see on a short vacation, we meet a lot of longer term travelers and people who enjoy going to more out-of-the-way spots which makes for some great stories. That being said, Puerto Viejo is still the most touristy spot we have stayed at so far and we are reaally enjoying the convenience of being close to grocery stores and restaurants.. and of course the beach!
Puerto Viejo is sandwiched by two national parks: Cahuita is a 20 minute bus ride to the NW and Manzanillo is an hour bike ride to the SE. We went to Cahuita for the first time a couple days ago; it was incredible! The trail is completely in the jungle but never strays futher than about 10 meters from the beach. We walked about two hours into the trail, stopping to looking at anything that moved, then parked it on a beach spot for the afternoon. On the trail we saw lizards, lots of crabs, looots of spiders, a few squirrels and one incredible monkey experience. We were on the trail and one white faced capuchin dropped down on the trail in front of us. I started taking pictures of it as it ran up a tree and perched on a horizontal branch about shoulder height. Sky went to stand next to the branch and I tried to get of picture of him and the monkey. Before I got one, however, the monkey jumped on Skylar's backpack and hung on to his back. The monkey made it clear he did not want to get off so Sky took the backpack off and left it on the ground and stepped away. I made a few attempts to grab it but gave up quickly after being hissed at. So Sky grabs a pack of cookies out of my backpack and plans on throwing one to the side to distract the monkey but as soon as the package is in sight the monkey ran over and grab the whole pack out of Skylar's hand and went back to his tree. Lesson learned.
Right now, our work at the hostel includes cleaning the rooms, bathrooms ad common areas but we also do projects on the side. Skylar is helping turn a basement room into a new dorm room (laying concrete, painting walls, building crate beds) and I am setting up new profiles on booking websites (like AirBnB and HostelWorld.com). It rains for a few hours most days, which helps cool the air and suck up the humidity for a bit. The temperature is always in the 80's and so is the humidity!
For the last two weeks, we have worked with an amazing couple from Guadalajara, Mexico. The left this morning for Colombia and we already miss them but look forward to seeing them again in South America :) During their time here, they taught me how to make salsa, tortillas, empanadas, a dish they called gorditos and more. (Yes Mom, you will get a taste as soon as we get home.) Now that Victor and Adriana are gone, the only other volunteer is Charlie from England and we are expecting more this weekend. (We are kind of hoping for some fun Americans to help bring our numbers up on the fourth of July..:)
That's it for now!
Hope all our family and friends are enjoying the summer!
Love you all so much
Maddi and Skylar
ps look on Skylar's Facebook for photos
We are allowed to take the bikes from our hostel once and a while. On our days off, we usually go to the grocery store for a pack of crackers, a can of tuna and a mango and just ride along the beach road and stop every few beaches.
Punta Uva- Second favorite beach here (first favorite are the more secluded ones in Cahuita National Park)
Punta Uva- sweet little inlet, no waves and perfect for swimming
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