Run, Beach, PLAY

I’m getting lazy with my blog... sorry!  Everything has been going good!  Two weekends ago we went to the beach… two days in a row, sorry friends and family, at least it has been a mild winter for you!  On Saturday we went to Playa Herradura with a bus full of Luisa’s co-workers, Veronica, Susanna and her son Danni.  After a day of swimming and lying on the beach I was pretty proud of the tan (not sunburn) that I managed to get then I put my arm against Susanna’s arm and I felt just as pale as ever!  Veronica said that I was, “mas blanco pero no morena” translation… I was less pale but definitely not tan!  But I was quickly assured that if I spend every day on the beach for a month that I would be tan, at least I have promise! Haha   

                                                       Playa Herradura

              As Veronica said, "Where the rich Gringos live" haha

On Sunday we went to Playa Puntarenas, which is the most popular and populated beach near San Jose.  They have an annual festival at the Puntarenas every year and we caught the last day of the festival which entailed, street venders (anything and everything from ice cream to fried food, cheap sunglasses to random clothing... nothing too appealing), then there were as I would describe as outdoor clubs and there was a big parade at 6pm.  I was not the biggest fan of Puntarenas, it was too crowed for my liking.  However, I was quite a fan of this little bowl of deliciousness…

Playa Puntarenas

Trying to be 'Artsy'

The Parade

This past weekend I landed myself a mighty fine cold!  I was proud that I had made it this far without getting sick but still not fun… Its like being sick in the summer at home when having a bit of a fever on top of 80 degree weather is uncomfortable!  I am feeling a lot better today and I am hoping that the worst of it is over!

After living in 3 different countries I must say that running has been one of the best tools/experience/ideas that I have had.  It has allowed me to stumble upon things that I would have never seen before and has saved me at my finest hours of being lost although it has also gotten me lost too.  However, I must say being lost while running is a little less scary than being lost after a bus, that you thought was going to drop you off on the road next to your house, ends up taking an unexpected turn and you end up not having a clue where you are!... This is coming from experience, of course… Last weekend I decided to take the bus to and from the grocery store.  Little did I know that there was more than one bus that passes my house coming back from the grocery store.  When the bus took an unexpected turn I soon got off and tried to figure out where I was … trying not to panic, as it was just about dark, I tried to locate myself.  Luckily, I recognized a few houses and a little store that I had passed once on a run and ah ha running does pay off!  It turned out that I was only about 4-5 blocks behind the house and was home in no time! 

On the weekends I try to do a little more exploring on runs because I usually run after work at night and I can’t go in certain areas because they are less safe at night.  This past weekend I went to a new area that I had yet to run near and I found this little park that had a huge hill in the middle of it and there was a trail on the backside of the hill so I decided to run up it.  Once on top there was an AMAZING view of the mountains and the city!  One of those moments when you realize why you do something that can be so painful some days.  I will be definitely taking my camera with me on the next trip to this hill to snap a few shots!

This Thursday my friend from high school, Emma D’Ambro is coming to Costa Rica!  I am incredibly excited for her to come and to see a bit outside of the San Jose area!  I should have heaps to report back on after our trip! Tata for now!

It’s not February!... oh yeah it is.

Sorry I took last week off.  I was sick and I did not have much to report on.  Tico food took a toll on me and somewhere a long the way I ate something that my body did not like and was sick for hours after.  Then my body rejected anything that went in my body for the next two days.  I got nauseous even if I ate a grape so I tried to avoid food at all cost until I got my appetite back and could eat without feeling sick.  I do not know if it was different bacteria here or food poisoning but I have become a little more hesitant as to what food I put in my mouth.

This past week I have been researching and organizing a mini vacation because my friend Emma from high school is coming to Costa Rica for her spring break!!  I am really excited for her to come and it will be my first American interaction in Costa Rica in over two months yahoo! Haha  I am also excited to get a few days off of work to see some of Costa Rica!  We are going to try and see Monteverde, Arenal Volcano and Lake, and Tamarindo (one of the nicest Beaches in Costa Rica).  I also hope we can fit in a few of the most famous activities in Costa Rica; zip lining and bungee jumping!  When I was looking at different hotels I had to enter the dates and number of guest in order to get a price and the first time doing so I looked at the calendar and it said February and I thought, “that’s weird, its not February” then I went yes it is it just feels like June because it is 80 degrees and sunny.  Its hard to grasp the concept that it is actually winter at home.  I almost had fun planning the trip and it was especially cool because I have the software at work that can map out exactly long and how far it is to different places.  I decided that if all else fails in life I could become a travel agent/personal vacation planner… my mom said she would be proud if that is what I made of my degree from Northeastern and co-op experience. haha 

Saturday!  One of the biggest things that I look forward to every week is the Saturday morning market that is about a 2-minute walk from my house.  The market has mostly fruits and vegetables from local farms and of course there are always a few random venders selling absolutely random stuff, toys clothes, etc.  There are probably 100 different fruit/vegetable stands and about 5 random venders so the good out weighs the bad. Hahah I have gone to the market every Saturday except for one since I have been here and get really disappointed if I know that I will not be able to go and this is why…

Large pineapple: $1.00

Large basket of strawberries: $1.90

Average size watermelon: $4

Large head of lettuce .45 cents

Cucumbers 50 cents each

Peppers .85 cents each

… you get the point really cheap and delicious! This Saturday I was walking through the market and I came across this… I thought … wait, I’m not in Australia.  It gave me a good laugh. 

Un GATO en la casa!  So a couple of weeks ago I thought I saw a mouse run across the floor in my room and I ignored it and was a little happy to have a pet. Hahaha But then tonight when I saw something that moved that was not a mouse or a piece of garbage on the kitchen floor I got a little nervous.  I thought it might have either been a VERY big insect or a gecko but I wasn’t sure if geckos lived around here.  So when Veronica and Luisa came home I was like “I think there is a “gato” (cat) in the kitchen!”  As soon as I said it I realized I said gato not gecko but they didn’t realize so we had a good laugh about the gato/gecko in the house.  Turns out geckos are like mice and it is totally normal for them to show up in houses here and there.    

My play house in the backyard/patio ;)

This did not come out as well in the picture but it was really pretty sunset/cloud combination view from the patio!