San Jose Goodbyes in a Movie

I was thinking of all the things Im  going to miss about Costa Rica so I thought I'd make a list of the top 5 (not counting my friends)

1. Food (gallo pinto, casados y platanos)
2. Parrots flying everywhere
3. Spanish (of course!)
4. Cheap Brazilian bikini waxes
5. My many trips exploring  the country 

To Sum up the last year of my life I made a video, which I think is pretty cool.

Take a look:

We had a fun soiree at Kate's house Saturday night, and it was perfect having my friends there together.   (ok, ALL of them weren't there, but I know they wanted to be -I missed you Andres, Steph y Ana)  Thanks to Steve, Marco, Eric, Carla, Louisa, Samir, Diana for coming, and Kate for hosting.  Neto prepared  carne asada and bought a bottle of tequila to go with the Mexican dinner.Im glad our last few days in costa Rica came full circle to where we were living with Kate again.  

Besides being a great friend, Im so appreciative of Kate's generosity throughout the whole year.  She was always willing to help us, whether it was Costa Rica info (the girl is a living guide book) or loaning us her car and every other supply we didn't have while in the country.  She was always ready to do something too.  Party, gelato, dancing, shopping, cooking.  I know we will be friends for a long time and Ill see her again. (plus, I have 3 more bags stored in her garage, so Ill be heading back there soon)

Lazy Last Days in San Jose

Im glad we decided to spend our last 2 weeks in Costa Rica in San Jose instead of traveling, it was great! 

I actually said, "Im sick of traveling" (...and you may never hear that again)

I want to give a huge THANK YOU to Steph, who welcomed Ernesto and me in her cozy comfortable home when we moved out of our apartment [two weeks ago].   I hope we didn't overstay our welcome, we tried to lay low and make her happy with delicious dinners.   Here she is working in her cute little garden out front.  

We spent a lot of time walking around downtown - really enjoying the city.   I have a new found respect for San Jose (of course, right as we are leaving)  We finally made it to the Gold Museum where thousands of Pre-Colombian gold artifacts are on display.

The pieces date from 500 BE to 1600 AD, and range from simple earrings to elaborate cuff necklaces and intricate replications of local animals like the one above.

You know how I love feathers, and this headdress that was on display gave me great inspiration for my next halloween costume. (I realize this sounds a bit weird, given I was supposed to be reading the history of the indigenous people of Costa Rica, but you never know where you'll be inspired)

I have to share this picture of my birdies. You can really see them here just hanging out on this building.

I counted eighteen parrots on one tree. They make me so happy. Every time I walk outside I hear these parrots, they are as common here as Robins are in Ohio.  

Although the inside of the famous Hotel Del Rey is prostitute central, I really like the pink on the outside. The Plaza de Espana is a beautiful park in downtown packed with huge bamboo and tropical plants, perfect for an afternoon stroll.  

The other day we worked on consolidating all our $hit into 6 bags (3 bags each) for our flight.  They can weigh no more than 50lbs a piece.  Needless to say, I will be making another trip to San Jo to pick up the rest of our stuff.  (no idea when that will be)

A mix of emotions are running through me. Excited for the summer and seeing all of my family, yet sadness to leave a life that was truly one of the best years of my life.  The fun times never ended!  I hope you enjoyed my blog during this time, and I hope the excitement will continue. It must. Viva Cindy!

Words to live by?

Im so in love with this print from FreyaArt at her Etsy shop. I must buy it and display it on our wall (when ever we get one).

It really sums up the thoughts of a free spirit.

Maybe I am just trying to reassure myself, but I think its ok to not always know what the next step in life is.  Exciting even.  So many options.  

Yes, there is a scary part too, but when I feel that coming on in the future, I will just re-read my new piece of artwork!

Does this speak to you in some way?

Trip to Tortuguero!

As our time in Costa Rica is winding down, we were thinking of the places we really wanted to visit before leaving. Tortuguero is a small village on the northern Caribbean coast. This national park is a really unique part of Costa Rica.  Besides being one of the most humid, rainy areas (there is no dry season), it is surrounded by lagoons that are connected by many canals.  Parque Nacional Tortuguero is undoubtedly one of Costa Rica's top wildlife destinations.  The main draw being the turtles.  It is where the turtle conservation movement started. Of the worlds' 8 species of sea turtles, 4 lay there eggs on the beaches of Tortuguero (which funny enough, means 'turtle village' in Spanish)  The Caribbean Conservation Corporation implemented the first program of its kind in the world and has been monitoring turtles here since 1955. I had been under the impression that is was difficult to get there.   The whole village is completely surrounded by protected forrest and is only accessible by boat or plane. The journey though was quite easy (and enjoyable). We took a bus from San Joses’ Caribbean bus station to Cariari (one hour and 40 min) connected to Pavona (one hour) then climbed in a water taxi (40 min) to Tortuguero Village.Cruising through banana plantations and the jungle was so cool. I thought, this must be what it's like floating down the Amazon.
When the driver pointed out a few crocs, I reconsidered our plans of kayaking through the canals. This isn't the best pic, but you can see this crocodile is pretty big, and has his mouth open. I turned into a total scaredy-cat!
When we arrived to the village, it reminded me a bit of my Bocas del Toro trip, with the houses on/over the water, only I knew my toilet wasn't going to flush into the water.  One of the great things about Costa Rica is that [most of] their sanitation/water system is good!

Tortuguero is pretty small as you can see on the map, which was right at the boat dock.  We stopped to look at our options for hotel. Reservations? ha!
We had met a guy named Adolfo at the bus station in Cariari. He was working in a tour office and was really informative (he ended up being our guide for the park, I wish I had his contact info). He recommended that we stay at Cabinas Icaco.  It was great suggestion…clean room, warm-ish water, located right on the beach with a balcony and the bedroom was painted turquoise! Here is Ernesto standing in the breeze on the balcony. (actually I think he was looking for a wi-fi connection on his itouch. ha!)There are over 300 species of birds in this area, and I had my [I mean Kate's] binoculars ready. This gorgeous bird, a blue tanager, was enjoying a banana at the market. That afternoon we covered the whole town on foot. (in about 15 minutes) The houses were all bright colors, I especially liked this one. This bike caught my eye in front of a yellow house.
We walked to the entrance of the national park read all the info about the turtles. We passed Ernesto Tours! (sorry, I cant really recommend them, but I do like the name)We ate dinner at the Buda Café, a spot that is so welcoming with their new age music spilling out onto the dirt road. The ambiance was so cool and unexpected in a town of many Soda’s (ie:mom & pop kitchens). It had red paper lanterns, decorative touches like candles and handmade placemats. There was also a lounge area where you were able to enjoy a coffee, which we did several times while it rained outside.

This huge parrot was in the middle of a little park, we sat at a nearby table to enjoy the changing colors in the sky.

At 530 the next morning we met Adolfo at the Soda right by the boat dock for a coffee. (this place doesn't look like much but the food here was delicious and cheap).

We arranged our canal tour early, it's the best time to go (or after a rain, as the animals come out to dry) His boat was a large canoa (canoe) with no motor, and he paddled us through the many canals for almost 4 hours.  He was wonderful!  He pointed out wildlife that Im sure we would have missed. This is why I recommend that you spend the $15 per person for a guide (and Lonely planet does too). It was worth it. He knew the names of all the birds we saw:  toucans, kingfishers, and many different herons. We could hear the howler monkeys the whole time. Their noise carries for up to 3 miles!   I don’t think there is any way we would have spotted this without him:

Do you see them? Do you see the baby Caymans? (crocodile family) Mama was nearby.

Not surprisingly, it was raining for most of the canal tour, but we came prepared (I know, its something new for us) with ponchos.

Going on a night turtle walk is a must in Tortuguero.   Because there is a problem with poaching, it is required that you are with a licensed guide and that you have paid the park entrance fee that day ($10).

Unfortunately, May is not a high season for turtle nesting, but since the Leatherback turtles nesting season is in April, we had about a 50% chance to see some stragglers.  We were not lucky.  We did get to see a couple rastras in the sand because 2 turtles were spotted the night before.  These imprints last in the sand for about 3 days and are enormous. 

This picture is from the Endangered Wildlife Trust website, so I have no idea who that man is but he gives you a good reference of just how huge these turtles are. 

The female turtle digs a cavity in the sand with her flippers and lays anywhere from 80-120 eggs before heading back to sea, leaving the eggs on there own to hatch 45 to 70 days later.  Sometimes they will even lay a "false batch" to confuse predators.  The whole process is so amazing, I was really disappointed that we weren't able to see it.   You aren't permitted to have flashlights or cameras on the night walk, and we had to wear dark clothing.  From 10p to midnight we walked the beach.  Nothing.  At one point the guide said, "oh, I have seen jaguars a couple times here.  If we see one tonight, don't act scared because they sense fear.  Just face the cat and walk backwards into the ocean.  They don't like salt water."  What?? I was scared. 

Although no turtles were spotted, I think it was one of my favorite trips I have taken in Costa Rica.  Like no other place here.   We are planning one more trip here before we are off to the good ol' US of A.  Decisions, decisions!

Mothers Day Dedication...

Elaine Arnold is an amazing woman! I feel very lucky that she is my mom. Im glad that I take after her in a lot of ways (does that mean Im amazing too?). I am always learning from her. She is the most resourceful woman that I know and the person who inspires me the most. Her talents are too many to list in their entirety, but here are a few: gardening (this is a piture of her garden), reupolstering, sewing, baking, using power tools, a yard sale queen, and being able to jugle this while rasing 5 children. If you look up DIY in the dictionary, my moms picture is there. She is always ready to get creative, and we have great brainstorming sessions. Her craftiness rubbed off on me and I bet that when I have a house again someday, my basement will look like hers. (1 million projects just waiting to be completed) That is fine with me, Ill never be bored!
My mom has always been there for us and has been very supportive, willing to help however she can.

I don't get to read magazines anymore. So of course I didn't see the whole section dedicated to mothers in this months Real Simple Magazine. Luckily I am subscribed to their blog, Simply Stated where I saw these interview questions as a tribute to your mom. I sent them to my mom and she promptly sent them back.


Why did you choose to be with my father? What first attracted me, I guess, was his looks, his humor, his dancing technique, then of course, I got to know him to be a good Catholic young man with good character. He was fun and could make me laugh and I couldn't help falling in love with him.

In what ways do you think I’m like you? And not like you? Oh Cindy, I would say we both enjoy gardening, dancing, birds, and music. You and I are sensitive and compassionate. You are more outgoing and certainly more of a risk taker than me.

Which one of us kids did you like the best? Maybe you can't believe this ,but I do love all my kids equally. (I believe you Mom!)

What is the one thing you would have done differently as a mom?
I wish I could have passed on my utter love of the Catholic faith; enough so ,that maybe all my kids would want that in their lives. It's hard to say what difference it would have made, but I wish we would have had family devotions [reading the bible and praying together]. I guess example is not enough so I've enlisted God's help to touch their hearts.

Is there anything you have always wanted to tell but never had? I can't think of anything

Do you think it’s easier or harder to be a mother now than when you were raising our family? I think it is harder now in this country because of how society has changed. Everything is so fast paced, electrified, and anything goes. Of course, I was a stay-at-home mom so I had more control of what my children did at a young impressionable age.

Is there anything you regret not having asked your parents? no

What’s the best thing I can do for your right now? come home [USA]

(the above questions were from Real Simple magazine, the ones below are from ME)



What did you like most about being a mother, say 20 years ago? If you would have said 30 years ago I'd say we had a lot of fun together as a family, but 20 years ago was rather stressful at times- dealing with teenage matters.
What do you like most about being a mother at this age? I've become "friends" with my kids and I love being grandma.

What is your Mother's day wish? to talk with or be with all my children and to know they are happy.

Awwwwww Mommy!! That was nice! I can´t wait to spend time with my mom when Im in Ohio.
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! YOU´RE THE BEST!

Feliz Cumpleaños Neto!!

I had such good intentions for a birthday surprise. I planned a day of horseback riding in Ciudad Colon, about 30 minutes outside of San Jose. I had even bought accessories for the honorable cowboy! When outside San Jose, you see a lot of men wearing long leather sheaths attached to their belts that carry a huge machete. I went downtown to a leather shop and found the sheath...fringe and all. I hid it under the front seat of the car, and when we went for coffee the night before his birthday, Neto felt it hit his foot and pulled it up. "What is this?" Ugh! I was upset. There is nothing I hate more than spoiled surprises! I wrapped it up anyway, and he next morning he acted surprised when he opened it.

Present #2 was opened while in the car. I still had not told him where we were going. It was the coolest bull head belt buckle. Yes, every cowboy needs a belt buckle. He figured out my surprise.

Did you know that Neto has a degree in Equine Science? Anywho, I knew he would love this adventure. What I didn't know, (until we got there) is that the place was only. open. on. weekends. Caramba! Strike two. It was not going well.

Plan B. As decided by the birthday boy. Ate lunch of french bread and salami. Read. Took a long rainy afternoon nap. Went to the gym and got ready for dinner.

In keeping with the cowboy theme (that went to hell due to no horses. yes, I'm still mad about it), for dinner I took Ernesto to eat at El Chicote, a San Jose landmark specializing in grilled meats. It opened nearly fifty years ago and is still run by the original owner, Roberto Pérez.

Neto poses with his new machete.I love the buckle. I know Brrrian loves it, but what about the others? Would you wear this? El Chicote is only 5 blocks from our apartment in Sabana Norte. Many nights we have walked by it on our way for coffee. It always looks so inviting. I think it is the soft yellow lighting coming through the arches of the outdoor patio. We stopped one night to look at the menu and decided it was a place for a special occasion [read: not cheap]

It wasn't the best steak we had ever eaten (this is what eating Argentine beef will make you say for the rest of your life) but the service was great and they even brought out a little postre and sang for Neto. mmm Tres Leches (three milks cake)
After dinner, we went for a coffee at our usual spot. Neto pulled out the bill and saw that the fresh palmito (heart of palm) that we ordered (one for each of us) for an appetizer was $17 a pop! what? I think that tops as the most expensive appetizer I have ever ordered.

Even though we were not in the least bit hungry, I lit up the candles, sang to him again, and he was able to blow them out in just one puff. He's got the lungs of a 27 year old. Despite my spoiled surprises, Neto said he had a great birthday and he is really excited to try and defend me from crocodiles this weekend with his new knife.

More to come on that..........

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

VIVA MEXICO....and Mexicans!

Picture from 2007, but appropriate  (no time to fix Neto's minor ladder injury on his nose)

Today is a great reason to celebrate! Besides being Cinco de Mayo (the anniversary of Mexico defeating a French army of double its size in Pueblo, Mexico), Ernesto was born 37 years ago today!!  I have been  pretty good at planning surprises in the past, and so now I have a reputation uphold.  I took off work today so I could  give him a special day.  And the theme, you ask?  Ride 'em cowboy!!

Are you doing anything to celebrate Cindo de Mayo?  At least having a margarita? making salsa? guacamole?

Zoo Ave

We had gone to the entrance of Zoo Ave in the past, but they wanted us to pay the "tourist price" of $18pp to enter. The deciding factor if I would pay the steep entrance fee to this bird park:

"do I get to touch any of the birds?" I asked

"no" she said

Then no. And we drove away.

But I reeeeeeeeeally wanted to get into that park. You know how I love birds, don't you? I don't have a driver's license in Costa Rica, so I needed to show something establishing residency or at least that i was in the process.

How about my Habitat work ID and the internet bill for our apartment? Yes, it worked. We were in for $9 each. (still not cheap by Tico standards, but half price from tourist)

As soon as we entered we were greeted by the most beautiful bird ever, el pavo real. Guys, I am mesmerized by the beauty of this bird. I took so many pictures of him. I just can't get over the colors of his feathers.

He is such a proud peacock, so graceful, never skiddish, even when kids were annoying him.

Look at me! I'm a peacock too!

I later found out that our steep entrance fee, not only helps with park maintenance , but it also helps to run a huge in-house reproduction center for Lapas (Scarlet Macaws), who are Costa Rican natives. I felt good about that! They are such beautiful birds, and I did seen them flying around wild when I was at the beach.

As a matter of fact, all of the birds in the park are either rescues being rehabilitated to live in the wild again, or are species close to extinction There are over 50 species of birds and other animals native to Costa Rica being born in the park, all with the goal re-populating their natural habitat. I found it very interesting. We saw a big-ass crocodile, coatis, tapirs (rhinoceroses family) and lots of monkeys. big monkeys, small monkeys and really silly monkeys...

good trip. good trip.

Updates and Celebrating Labor Day!

So, what do you think?  What are your opinions on my new design for Viva Cindy?

(If you are receiving this via email, please click here to see my new design at the top of the site)

I bought these letters in a market in Nicaragua, I love all the bright colors with the white background. 

I do have a "comments" area at the bottom of each post....I would love to hear your thoughts! 

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Today is "El Dia de Trabajador" thats Spanish for "Day of the Worker"  ok really it is just Labor Day, but doesn't 'Day of the Worker' sound better?  If you are anywhere in Latin America they are celebrating it on the first Friday of May, which is TODAY!  I didn't know this until I went to work yesterday.  Ahhhh, there is nothing better than an unexpected long weekend.   I wanted to follow the tradition of "no labor" today, but I did start to pack a little bit.  You would be surprised in how much stuff I accumulated over the last year.  (or maybe you're not surprised?!)

My time with Habitat is coming to an end here in Costa Rica.  Actually, we will be leaving Costa Rica in a few weeks, and leaving our apartment even sooner than that.  I will be sad to leave, but we have so many exciting things coming up in the next few months, I can't be too sad.

1.  Our last 2 weeks in Costa Rica will be spent traveling to a few places we MUST see before our departure. 

2.  I will still be a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, at least until I hire my replacement.  If you or someone you know would be interested in volunteering for a great organization and living the latin life as I have done the last year. Please check out the job description here and send me an email if you are interested.  (wink wink)

3.  First stop in the US? The ATL baby!  We will be staying with Smita for a week while Ernesto completes a lighting job.  If you are in need of some landscape lighting this summer  just contact  him.   If you are in need of seeing your friend Cindy, just contact me:)  It will be a short window! 

4.  On June 7, my niece Kelli is GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL!!! OMG!  Im so proud of her!  She will be heading off to my alma-mater, The Ohio State University in the fall!  Im sure she will be successful wherever her big heart takes her.  She already has a list of successes a mile long.  One being her shop on Etsy.  Check it out!  Anyway, I will be with my family in Ohio for a couple weeks and life will be so good!  I can't wait to hang out with my siblings, hit some yard sales, ride bikes with my dad and "tour the estate" with my mom! This is what I call it when we walk through her huge, beautiful garden and talk about all the flowers and plants.  She is an amazing gardener and a constant inspiration.  

5.  Onward to San Diego! Yes, the next month or two will be spent with Ernesto's family, and Im really looking forward to it! (no really, I love love love my in-laws)  We are going to really dig deep into San Diego and try to do new things.  Not that the "old things" aren't fun.  Mexican food, family and beach!  Ernesto is already searching on Craigslist for our beach cruisers!  Look at the one he found for me here! Yes please! I know the perfect basket for this bike!  

6.  Ernesto and I will start a project together.  I'll give you a hint: it has to do with Mexican food and blogging! That's right, Viva La Cocina will come alive and we are going to kick it off by testing the recipes in his mothers [hand written] recipe book!  Oh my!  (this still needs to be approved by his mother)

7.  The most exciting news of the summer is happening in Wooster, Ohio on (or around) August 10.  My brother Bill and his wife Barbie are having their first baby!  They have been together something like 14 years?! They are going to be such great parents. 

8.  That leaves us about 2 months before we have to be in Atlanta again for Ernesto’s Xmas lighting season.  Our plan (although subject to change) is to go to Mexico. Stupid Swine Flu!  Ernesto is planning to take some Mexican cooking classes.  I would like to take jewelry (metal smith) classes and also take a photography class.  I need to learn how to use my camera better. If money doesn’t permit us both taking classes, I will sacrifice and just work on my own.  We are considering San Miguel de Allende, which is 4 hours north west of Mexico City.  It is a gorgeous colonial city and has a huge artist community. (although muchos gringosL)  Very picturesque.

9.  By mid October Ernesto's business will be in full swing in Atlanta. I have committed to helping Ernesto grow his business this year by marketing to commercial properties and of course using the blogging community to get the word out.  Im sure it will be his most successful year yet! 

By January 2010, we will have to be decided on where we are going to live. By then, I know, I will be dying for a house!  Ok, truth be told, I am already dying for a house.  Maybe I will have found a job by then.  The hunt begins in October when we are back in Atlanta, unless a I stumble across my dream job before then.  You understand that it wouldn’t make sense for me to look for a job now, right?  All of the above “plans” would be out the window, and it just sounds like to good of a summer to mess with, agreed? Agreed.

Ok, back to our Labor-less day yesterday.  For the past week, we have been kitty sitting for Kate, who is in Bolivia.  We have her car, which gives life here in San Jose a different spin.  During the week, we still walked to the grocery store, and to the gym (which is all we do) but yesterday, since I had the day off, we went for a “Sunday drive.”  We didn’t have a destination, but ended up in Santa Ana, which is a beautiful little town built into the mountainside.  The streets are really cute and a lot of trees are blooming. 

We also cruised up into the mountains of Escazu, and found this beautiful cemetery

 and some gorgeous houses...

We also came accoss  a restaurant called Valle Azul, which I had heard of before.  It’s a fine dining Italian restaurant with killer views of the whole city, this is a corner of the dining room.

it was a bit hazy , but the manager promised us that watching the sunset and  then the city lighting up was not to be missed.  We believed him.  We made plans to eat there for Enresto’s birthday… which is right around the corner!  When I got home I looked up a picture for the view at night from Valle Azul and here is what I found on someone's Flickr ... I can't wait!