Two Months In...

January 20th marked my first two months of living in Nosara. For those of you who know me well, this is the most adventurous and spontaneous move I have made thus far. This is the first time I have really left Telluride, my family and my closest friends - that is excluding the dangerous trek I made in 2010 to the desert of Amarillo...talk about a culture shock.


In the last week, I have been dreaming about Telluride on almost a nightly basis, and it makes me sad. I never realized how blessed we are to have lived and grown up in such a magical place. The friends I have grown up with, the experiences I have had and the memories I've made in that tiny box canyon are eternal. All that said... I would never change the decision we made to move here.

In the past two months I have learned a lot and experienced many new things. I have learned that there is more to life than an Oak cheeseburger and a Schlitz (although I could really use those right now)! I  have learned that the beef down here just does not taste the same and that no matter how many burgers I order, I will not be satisfied. I have learned how to drive like I live in New York City just without the paved roads and the bad attitude. I have experienced helping baby monkeys and squirrels who can't help themselves. I have learned that the bats that I have to duck and dodge on a nightly basis are actually more efficient than bug spray. I have learned to check my clothes, towels and shoes that are left on the ground to make sure that there aren't any coiled up snakes or scorpions trying to hide (yes, this really happens). I have seen crickets the size of my face and learned that they can kill your dog (I told you Larry)! I have learned to go to the grocery store when it is still bright outside because the lights don't typically work. I have learned that one glass of fresh pipa water (coconut water) can turn your day around! I have learned that when millions of army ants decide to move-in and clear out your house that you have to just leave and let them work...they'll be gone in an hour. I have learned that you can in fact put a Matty and a Katie and two weeks worth of groceries on a 125cc motorcycle. I have also learned that you should shower at work instead of before - there is NO chance you're staying clean on a moto. I have learned that, while it may look fun, running with the bulls is not a good idea... but, watching people get trampled is from the sideline. I haven't learned whats in the corn dogs at the rodeo...but I don't think I want to. I have learned that I DO NOT need to have all the puppies in the world - Reagan is more than enough. I have learned that there is always room in your heart for more friends, and that people from New Jersey really aren't that bad ;) Lastly, I've learned that you can enjoy almost any new experience if you're doing it with someone you truly love (*cough*Matty*cough*).

This weekend Matty and I are flying to Panama for a few days and then driving back through Costa Rica. We are so excited to see not only another country, but see the rest of Costa Rica! When we get back, we are moving into our new house :) It's a two-bedroom with plenty of space so...start bookin' those flights down here!

Until next time...

 

Monkey-ing Around

Hola Chicos!

Enjoyed some new experiences this week! 

It was really fun having Morgan's family here! We got to spend a little time with them (when I could get away from work) during their vacation. They're now back in Telluride and so is Morgan. Our adventure together was definitely one to remember… and I can't wait for more in the future :)

Matty and I started our own dog watching service! Just kidding… but we are watching our friends dogs while they do their "boarder run" to Nicaragua. We have Clyde - a sweet old man who is deaf, has a gimp leg (one is shorter than the other). These aren't faults though! They just add to his awesome personality :) We also have Reya - the little ornery puppy! She's adorable and a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. These couple of nights has cured me of my puppy fever! I almost forgot what it was like! 

I started volunteering at a Wild Animal Rescue Center with my friend Cara. I've always been a huge animal lover, but I never got to play with anything outside of domesticated pets, and a few farm animals… Moments after I got there, I was thrown into a room with a tiny syringe, Tupperware of warm baby formula, and a box of baby squirrels! At first I was a little nervous because… they're rodents… but they ended up being so cute and fun! I guess during the windy season a lot of infant squirrels fall from the trees and are brought to the shelter - there are four right now. All they want to do is crawl on you and play… its quite adorable.

After we were finished with the squirrels, we moved on to the monkeys! Yes, baby monkeys! I became the "babysitter" for the next hour for Taxi and Gina. Gina is still very new to the shelter so she was a little more difficult to take care of. She kept crying out for her mother and trying to jump off the couch to wander around. She was also very 'handsy' with the formula. Before I even filled the syringe she was grabbing my hand to get more. Taxi, on the other hand, can't stay away from people. He has formed such an attachment to human contact that he whines and cries every time he is not being held. He is also incredibly depressed which has led him to poor eating habits. Cara said that Taxi is in the worst condition out of all of them because he is so thin and stressed out. I spent the majority of the day giving him attention and trying to get him to eat. 

The best part was definitely going into the cage! They female monkeys were very social. As soon as I walked in with a plate of fruit and the milk they started jumping down to play - and pull my hair! I had a couple jump straight onto my head and just stay there - it was amazing. They were also extremely bossy when in came to feeding them milk. They would actually smack each others faces away when I was trying to give them the syringe. They are truly like children… two year olds really - very ornery. I absolutely loved this experience and cannot wait to continue going back. The only down side is that they WILL poop and pee on you. I was covered in pee when I got home - blah! I am going to try to volunteer up there once a week. 

Lastly… we are looking for a new house! We think we found a 2 bedroom long-term, we're keeping our fingers crossed. 

Until next time…

Looking Forward to More

Well, after two weeks without a working computer, I'm finally back! (Thanks Larry!)

Most exciting news of all - MORGAN IS OUT OF THE HOUSE! He finally got on his feet and has actually been surfing and swimming in the ocean. So pumped for him!

New Year's Eve down here was wild. We ended up going to a place called the Black Sheep Pub. This is a traditional Irish Pub (totally legit too) that is in the middle of Nowhere, Costa Rica. Apparently this older guy moved here from Ireland (I assume) with his wife and turned their house into a big bar! There was live music, two separate bars, a dance floor and a pool! I literally felt like we walked out of Costa Rica and into a different country. They launched an amazing firework show right at midnight. It was an awesome way to start the new year!

We found a new waterfall hike called Mala Noche. My boss Darin told me that a local theory for the name "Mala Noche" is because the waterfall is supposed to cure you of a hangover. So if you had a bad night, then you can go jump in Mala Noche. BOOM, Spanish lesson! 

The water is super low so it wasn't a raging waterfall, but it was still deep enough to jump in. Reagan and Reya (the new puppy) got to come along and had the best time. It reminded Matty and I of Little Hawaii in Telluride but much warmer and more inviting. We found a bunch of 4-5 ft. deep pools the swim around in. We also found a couple of leeches on Matty's legs from sliding down the rocks...sick! Still, a place we will be visiting more than once. 

We took Reagan to the vet for the first time down here. She was starting to get lethargic, and for those of you who know my dog... she is NEVER tired. There is a really gnarly tick disease that is prominent in Guanacaste (our region) that almost 95% of the dogs get - being tired and lazy are some of the symptoms. Turns out, she is in perfect condition. She's just: 1. Tired from the humidity and 2. Finally growing up a little bit :) Just for safety reasons, I got her a vaccination that "poisons" her blood and kills the ticks...they've been jumping ship ever since! Just to be extra-super-safe, we also got a blood test to make sure she was all healthy, a de-worming pill, and a bag of dogs treats. You'll never guess what all of that cost.... $40.... gotta love Tico prices!!

We returned to the bat cave! This time I actually went in... all the way! You have to walk along the coral path to get there. The water was about knee height and super choppy. As your approaching the cave, you can hear the piercing whistle-like sound. Immediately following that, you can smell them. It is one of the worst smells, the kind that makes you want to stop inhaling. The worst part is that I watched Matty and Morgan go in first and got to witness the bats diving down at their heads...definitely turned me off of the idea for a minute. Nonetheless, I womaned up and went all the way in (yes there are pictures to prove it). There were hundreds and hundreds of them and they were not happy with us coming in their cave. Definitely a wild experience. A couple days after the cave adventure, we were told that the Ticos will NOT go anywhere near the cave...apparently it's cursed... OOPS. 

My birthday was definitely a day to remember :) In the morning we got up early and went to a local breakfast place called Rosie's Soda. I had, hands down, the most amazing banana pancakes I have EVER had. Tico pancakes are a little different than American pancakes. They are much thicker and sweeter - not artificially sweet though, they're made with the rawwwwww sugar! 

After our breakfast mission, we grabbed the perro and headed down to Pelada for a beach day. This day on the beach was the best I've had yet. We took Reagan's tennis ball and a stick and set up a mini baseball game. One person would pitch, one would hit and one would stand in the ocean and run after the ball. After a couple of hits, we realized that Reagan was the best outfielder out of the four of us! This game of "baseball" somehow ended up turing into a human version of "fetch". Morgan ended pitching the ball to himself and Matty, Reagan and myself would race as hard as we could into the ocean to get to the ball first. Having four legs is truly an advantage to any race. She beat us almost every time. When we got back from the beach, I called up my little sister on FaceTime and was surprised by her entire host family singing me Happy Birthday in Basque! So cool. 

Later that night we had a sunset fire on the beach. Our friends, Jonny & Nicole, Butler & Cara, and Jeff & Erin all came down for the fire. After that we met up with my friends from work at our house. We ended up listening to music, drinking and eating pizza :) Later in the night, Matty surprised me with a piñata! We all took a turn trying to destroy that snowman but it was the unbreakable piñata. I ended up busting it open to find Oreos, lighters, balloon, noise makers and Chiklets! Kudos to Matty for the stuffing of the piñata. It was an awesome birthday :)

Other exciting things that have happened in the last two weeks: I started Insta-graming! Pretty exciting stuff...follow me @1kmall. Matty has now killed 13 scorpions...wait, make that 14. Matty has become quite the surfer dude - he's been surfing almost everyday for the past week. I realized after one wave that I am NOT a fan of the surfing... although I did promise Matty I would try again. I got a flat tire on our motorcycle - $5 fix! We had to get the transmission on our motorcycle fixed - 2 hour/$20 fix. I started volunteering at the Animal Shelter - this will hopefully cure my puppy fever. Lastly, Morgan's family arrived yesterday! I'm so happy to get to spend time with them. I really didn't realize how far away I am from home. This is the first Christmas/New Year's/Birthday I haven't spent with my family. I got really sad when thinking about it, but honestly, how am I supposed to move on without these first-time experiences? These are the first of many, hopefully! Cheers to trying new things with a smile :)

Until next time…