South of the Border

Thats right- river shrimp- aka- camerones del rio and if Im not mistaken- crawfish- crawdaddy's etc... But I don't really know because in the States I never have eaten a crawfish- but if they are indeed the same thing- yum yum yum. End of discussion . . but not the end of my blog. So I had been in Samara for a little while at this point, and I kept hearing people talking about river shrimp.  Either they went 'hunting' for them when the moon was new (no moon= new moon) so its dark and you can see better, or a man walked by their house and was selling river shrimp and they made lunch and it was amazing, or I met people that go on these adventures. SO color me intrigued! Its a random tuesday night and I decied to hang with some peeps from work, meanwhile my friend Jorge was going to go look for his connection to river shrimping and they we were going to go with some other friends around 8pm.. So I hang with the chicas and head home around 830 (tico time- I wasn't l...

I recall on of my first nights in Samara- I was getting ready for bed and I had left the door open with the Puerton shut- thats the security door that just looks like bars- people can't get through, but a small dog or cat can easily pass.  SO I was washing my face- back to the door- contacts out when I hear a noise- strange- what could that be... I turn around, but I don't see anything unusual.  I continue to wash my face when I hear the rustling again, okay, not cool! SO I walk into the kitchen- remember, no contacts - vision = bad, but I see that some of the garbage in on the floor- thats odd. I could have sworn I had thrown it in the bin... hmmphf- I return to the bathroom and then out of the corner of my eye I see something enter my kitchen! Or crap! What was that! I turn to look! A MAPACHE! A RACOON! IN MY HOUSE! EEK! I holler- she runs out- oh gross- I don't mind animals, but racoons- they just seem dirty to me.  I approach the puerton- she is still pretty darn clos...

Marisco- Seafood- pretty general term- this can be a lot of things, lobster, crab, snails, etc.  Well not far from my house is the beach, and along the northside of the beach there is an out cropping of rocks. When the tide (marea) is low more and more rocks expose themselves and well these rocks are ecosystems and these systems sustain life- and people need to eat to live, sooo lets go looking for mariscos, a ceviche sounds heavenly... I head out with my swiss armyknife, adventure sandals, and a plastic bag.  My neighbors dog, Nelly- a little -Paris Hilton sized terrier) decides to come with- fine... and we're off- we pass through the neighborhood, head nod to the Senor who must owe the plot of land closet to the rocks- we pass through his yard, asking for permission- I guess we could have gone along the beach- but that would have been no fun- so we get to OKGO and we head out on the rocks.  The idea is... get anything thats alive- basically- no Hermit crabs- these l...

What do I do in Samara- a few of my adventures- not in order Work with local kids- Mon- Thurs we ride our bikes to the village outside of the bussling Samara to a little place called el Torito- there we work with the local kids- 5-12 yro. We are there for an hour and then we head back to base camp, prep-eat lunch and the go to the Samara Salon for the later session.  Everyday is different. Like I said, the ages range from 5-12, but sometimes there are younger kids and sometimes no kids show up at all.  This would be because maybe school was cancelled that day, or maybe there class hours changed.  Sometimes we just don't know.  The group size ranges too, somedays only a couple of kids show up- I think the least I have seen has been 3... but othertimes it not so chill- I think one day over 30 kids were at the Samara program! Rock On CREAR!  But truly- each day is awesome. The kids that do show up, show up because they want to, ...

Love.  The last month in Samara has been amazing.  I have always like Costa Rica, since the first time I came in 2006.  But having spent the last month in one place.. well it's just been great.  I don't know if it's because its Costa Rica, and Ticos are friendly and relaxed, but I have just had a great time.  Or perhaps its because I have been living in a beach town. I don't know. SO whats so great about what Im up to... Me time.  This journey is about me.  My life and what I want to do with it.  I have had time to be myself.  To be in a place where no one knows me.  The person I am truly comes out because I have no history with anyone there.  I went to San Jose a couple weeks into my stay in Samara to visit my Cousin Fer.  He mentioned this and I honestly had no idea was he was talking about until just a few days ago.  When you travel with people you know, you are really connected to them.  Thus when you meet new...

SO I have been in Playa Samara for over a month.  I don't know what Samara means in spanish but I think it could mean the place where horses run free- thats right.  One of the many amazing things about Samara is that the Horses run free, and usually around 5pm, right about then the sun is setting and creating a beautiful light throughout the land, the horses leave their field and run along the beach, then they decide to turn up on the to main street and cut through town.  I have gotten used to not having my camera, but moments like these make me miss it so.  Okay so rewind. I arrived in the night of Nov. 12th, a Friday.  I head to the Intercultura Lanuage School.  Thats where CREAR's office is located.  I find it.  Woah, Samara is so different to me now then it was two weeks ago when we first arrived for the birthday of Hayley- the 1st.  Now it's now raining, and I am able to take in my surroundings with a more relaxed and open mind. SO I f...

Oh Geez! Today is Dec. 21st and Im sooo far behind on this blog- I really liked going day by day, but those days are over- it's tooo much to try to do, but I will fill ya in on the big things, or the little things- I will fill you in on whatever I feel is important, interesting, or if I just wanna vent. This is my blog remember. SO Where was I..... Nov- Okay, we left Jaco- thank god and we headed back to Heredia. There were spent one night and then the Noons and I headed to San Jose- la Capital! There we stayed at Tranquilo Backpackers- a nice hostel that has breakfast included- Pancakes and fruit.  Its right downtown and pretty easy access to anything one would need.  We stayed in a room that had sooo much writing on the walls- I kinda felt like we were in a bathroom- oh ya and the room was Number 2.5... WTF Tranquilo Backpackers- ya couldn't think of the number that came after 2, and before 4? But I maybe thats just me.  ANYWAY- In San Jose Hayley and I went to th...