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As is expected to be the case when learning a foreign language, one encounters many sounds and spellings that are simply hilarious. One such German word for me was/is ‘fährt’. It’s pronounced kind of like ‘fehrt’ but ignoring the ä (which changes the pronunciation to ‘eh’ instead of ‘a’) one could easily pronounce it as fart.

This is a conjugation of the word ‘fahren’ which means to drive. FÄHRT (hehehe) is used when you say he/she/it is driving as in “Er fährt” (He drives).

The roads are filled with Ausfahrt (exit) signs. Notice the lack of ä means you say it like you see it, Ausfart! I’m always saying in the car, hmm there’s a cool castle we can check out, I think I’ll just ‘ausFAHRT’ right here. Also, driving through the freshly manured air of Spring one might say that ‘ausFAHRT’ 20 minutes ago was not such a great idea.

Good times.

I took this horseback riding tour during the rainy season, Octoberish…it was awesome. Muddy and super wet and can’t swim in the waterfall cause there’s so much water kind of awesome.  I’ve heard it’s even more awesome during the dry season and you can swim in the falls.  Dry season in Costa Rica runs January through May.

The horses are taken care of, calm, and responsive; it was my first time riding a horse unassisted with basically no previous experience and it was an amazing way to learn to ride and to see the falls and surrounding area.  Breakfast and lunch are included in the price of the tour, both meals were outstanding.  Typical, deliciously prepared Costa Rican dishes that I still fondly remember the smell and taste of to this day.  Great way to recharge before and in between the treks on horseback.

Check out the tours via the following website:

http://www.cataratasnauyaca.com/

Traveling by bus through Costa Rica is safe (assuming common sense is present), fun, and very cost effective.  Traveling by bus can be considerably slower than public/private tourist shuttles so the small print is you’ll need to have plenty of time on your hands to make this worthwhile.  Here’s a simple guide to get you where you want to go for nearly pennies on the dollar compared to tourist-centered transportation options like shuttles and taxis.

Buses in Costa Rica are operated by a variety of private companies and sometimes the company consists of a dude that drives a bus…it’s all good!

Here are the 5 steps to get you rockin’ across this beautiful country like a boss:

1. Figure out where you are and where you need to go.  You need city names.
2. Get an idea of what bus companies have routes that run from where you are to where you need to go.  The best resource I’ve found is here: http://thebusschedule.com/EN/cr/ Main things to note when using this site is bus company names and phone numbers that are displayed as a result.
3. THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!  CALL or have someone who speaks Spanish call the number that you find to verify if the bus runs the route that you need, what times it runs, and where it stops in your town.  Even if a Costa Rican tells you that the bus will be somewhere at sometime still CALL the number of the bus company!  The times and destinations change and the most up to date and reliable information will come from the company.  You do not want to find out that the bus company no longer departs from the Coca Cola terminal in San Jose, it’s not enjoyable or advisable to wander around seedy bus stations looking lost and asking for information.
4. Arrive at the stop 30 minutes early.  If the bus shows up early, it will take off early.
5. If you need to change buses in non major cities make sure you or someone that speaks Spanish speaks with the driver so that they can let you know when to get off the bus.  This might seem daunting for people who don’t speak Spanish but you can literally have someone write what you need to say on a piece of paper and show it to the driver.  Again, a small inconvenience in order to save up to $100s of dollars for a trip as well as get a chance to zoom around Costa Rica (and beyond) like a Costa Rican.

Good luck and happy travels!

After surviving my first week in Dominical I finally woke up early enough to catch some waves (white wash to be exact) before the afternoon/evening showers set in. It’s been over nine months since I’ve been on a board and it was refreshingly frustrating to go through a long overdue wash cycle courtesy of the majestic cleaning lady known as the Pacific Ocean. The current at this beach is ridiculous, it moves south and takes everything it can with it. The locals understand the current well, made very obvious by their calm paddling out in the northern part of the beach, surfing and exit at the south, followed by a pleasant walk along the shore back up north for another set of rides.

My ‘captain insano’ attempts at paddling out diagonally against the current while fighting white wash from many directions must have been a fantastic dose of comic relief to the moments of deep introspection being enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. In my mind I was going to dominate that current and the white wash with my dolphin like paddling, hop the first ride-able wave I could, and carve it like a boss. The reality was more along the lines of a soaped up gorilla having a Logrolling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logrolling_(sport)) competition with itself…Ok maybe it wasn’t that bad, but it was pretty ridiculous.

I’m ready to buckle down and take it day by day to improve. It’s worth it…to me surfing is an activity that slowly and peacefully allows the wisdom, power, and reality of the ocean to broaden and hopefully enhance the mind. The process of learning to surf continues to be my physical metaphor for being a living, conscious entity. You’re in the middle of something absolutely limitless and infinitely complex, the rules and conditions change constantly, the best that can hoped for is a glimpse of understanding or at least an idea about what’s coming.  Past that just ride it out and hope for the best.  Hopefully it will be fun. And maybe, just maybe, there’ll be a chance to ride again!

I’ll be sure to take some pictures and possibly some video once I move into the mildly interesting instead of painfully goofy category of surfing expertise

P.S. I also tried a Papaya for the first time, no idea how I’ve never tried this amazing fruit before. I’d describe it as a cross between a mango and a (water?)melon and absolutely delicious.