Safe in Costa Rica

It's day three in Costa Rica! I flew out of SFO, had a stop over in Houston and then a short skip to Liberia airport welcomed me.

The driver picks me up at the airport and drives me 2.5 hours away to a small tropical town of Tronadora, near the Volcano Arenal in the Northwestern region of the country. I am greeted by windy dirt roads flocked with lush vegetation, coffee and palm trees, birds, and a huge lake, of which I have a view.

We pull up to the house on a hill that overlooks the Arenal lake and volcano. 6 dogs are barking but loving as I step out of the car. Terrilynn, the woman who owns the house, gives me a hug and takes me inside. She shows me to my room and around the property. It's stunning. Surrounded by flowers, a little zen garden, a chicken coop, sweeping views of the lake and land, and a fresh yard of grass lets me know I have arrived.

The first day, I drink the water. I am told it comes from spring water. There is no chlorine. I immediately get sick. I believe in drinking the water. I have been drinking it for 3 days and have no other symptoms. My first meal is a ham and cheese sandwich I made from groceries I purchased at the market in town. It's a 7K hike to town, so I have to stock up. After going to bed quite early, I wake up refreshed and headed down to the lake to fish.

I take Taco, one of the dogs, because I am told there are poisonous snakes on the grassy trail leading down to the point where I will fish. I collect my supplies; just a simple spool of line, a tackle box with hooks and lures and an ice chest full of ice, should I catch any fish. I am told this is how the Ticos (Costa Rican men) fish.

Up hot and windy dirt hills, and down that grassy trail, with Taco walking ahead, I arrive at the point with my rubber boots, ready to toss the line into the water. I spin it like a lasso and let it out. But the wind is too strong and blows my hook baited with chicken back to shore. I try again, and the line is stuck on the side button of my pants. I try again, this time, holding the line away from my pants. It blows back. I try again, this time, adding extra weight. It still only makes a ten foot distance. I try again, and at this point, Taco is trying to eat the chicken on the hook. I tie Taco's leash to the heavy ice chest, and throw another line. Taco comes running, and since I hadn't thought to zip up the ice chest, when it tips over, all the ice spills out and the chest comes dragging across the mud, with Taco pulling it with a big smile, eager to get the chicken.

At this point, I just sit and stare at the two fishermen who are just offshore, most likely laughing at this Gringa. But I try, try again. To no avail . . . So I head back after about an hour and return to the house, enjoy the storm that rolls in over the lake, cooling me off and keeping the bugs away. I sleep well and wake up to another beautiful view of Costa Rica's mountains, the sounds of monkeys, different types of birds, sacaidas, squeals of animals I cannot see. I am told there are also poisonous snakes that come onto the property and I'm given a 3 foot machete to kill them. At night, Terrilynn goes out onto the grass and picks something up and throws it over the edge of the brush. She says there are poisonous frogs (frogs, my ass. They're the size of my fist!) So she picks them up and discards them. You have to do it quickly or your hand will burn.

My internet connection is slow, taking 4 hours to upload 15 second videos, and I realize I left my camera in San Francisco. I haven't had contact with many people, as I am in a very remote area. I will be living here for ten weeks, guarding the property while the owner is away. Then, I will leave most of my things and travel around Costa Rica and through Central America. My plans are to volunteer on a sustainable farm with waterfalls, horses, chickens and a greenhouse here in CR, then I'm onto Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Ecuador.

I promise to upload videos ASAP!