Why wasn't Peace Corps always this fun?

Beautiful beach, beautiful people

Un atardecer Chireña

Fueled up for the ride

Nice crater!

Getting silly in Tarbaca

My audience losing interest fast

Does this waterfall make me look fat?

Very Important People

It has been an awesome last few weeks, namely because the work:fun ratio has shifted significantly in favor of fun. It kind of feels like the last month of college, except with better weather and more beach time.

My one main order of business was the first national Peace Corps/FINCA conference, which was hosted in San Cristobal Norte, the cold, cozy mountain town where I attended my last two FINCA trainings and always stay with the same nice host family. There were about 60 people there, volunteers and their local counterparts, and it was an intensive two days of sharing experiences, passing on knowledge, and learning how to grow and strengthen our Community Credit Enterprises. I brought Guadalupe, our ECC secretary, and although I found it sometimes aggravating to sit through these sessions that I had heard before when I am already kind of checked out, I'm really glad she got to have the experience and bring her excitement back to Quebradas to get people motivated with new ideas.

Then the real fun began. Saturday night I cam back to San Isidro for a Malpaís concert. They are one of the biggest bands in Costa Rica and were actually really fun performers and had some download-worthy songs. Plus, we had VIP tickets on the floor of the local gymnasium...

The next week entailed a trip to Nauyaca Fallas, a pretty cool set of waterfalls on the road to Dominical, a dinner party with some neighbors (I made thai peanut pasta and Betty Crocker cake, the latter being way more of a hit), nachos and gossip at my hairdresser's house, a final site visit from Vinyela from the PC office, and karaoke night with my over-30 single lady friends. They made me sing Selena, but I think the pity applause I received after ensures that won't happen again.

Then on Friday I got on a bus to San José and headed to Tarbaca, where I met up with Mark and Brigitte and later Liz, Elena and Davie from Tico 20 and we had a fun dinner and night out dancing with Grandpa Gerardo and family. I hadn't been back to visit for a year, but it is so wonderful how warm and excited to see us they always are, and I truly believe it when they say I always have a place to stay there. Although my host family situation during training was not ideal, I feel so lucky I got to be a part of the greater Tarbaca family.

The next day I met up with my friends Diego and Marcos who are students in San José and we took a day trip to Irazú volcano in Cartago, which was a beautiful drive and has a really cool looking crater with a bright aqua lagoon in the middle. That night was my third and final VAC dinner, which was changed to VAC-tail hour this year because there are too many volunteers in the country (almost 200!) to organize food, so we just had drinks at this cool loft space/art gallery/bar called Steinvorth which was super fun/weird feeling like an old senior girl around all these new, young eager faces I didn't recognize. Also, as I once learned in college but chose not to remember, pre-dinner drinks on an empty stomach is never a good idea for me, and I unfortunately didn't make it out dancing post-dinner, nor did I get to say many formal goodbyes to the people I wouldn't see again, but it was fun while it lasted.

I spent the next day exploring Heredia, another part of the Central Valley area I hadn't visited. It seemed much more liveable and family-friendly than San José, and it is definitely the most architecturally and culturally interesting city I have visited in Costa Rica. I had a nice lunch at the home of Luis Fallas, the president of FUDEBIOL, and his family, and then I met up with Angelo and his friend Kregg who was visiting from the states at Saprissa stadium for their quarter-final game against San Carlos. It was much more of a scene than the Guerreros game I had gone to in San Isidro, fireworks and glitter included. And it was pretty good soccer to watch.

The next morning we were picked up at our hostel by David Gómez, former Peace Corps safety and security officer, who just started his own business called Costa Rica on a Bike (CROAB). He does private bike tours all over the country, equipment, food and good company included. Our journey started at the top of the Cerro de la Muerte with a giant Tico breakfast at the well-known diner Chespiritos. We then started our ride down into the Zona de los Santos, a cluster of sleepy mountain towns that are known for producing the best coffee in the country. Things started to get tough as we made our way up out of the valley, but the roads were good and the view was beautiful and we were rewarded with snacks at the end. Then there was a loooooong bumpy downhill as we cycled out towards the coast, which hurt my hands more than anything else from having to constantly grip the breaks. After one minor flat tire that was soon resolved by a Tico with a compressor for his motorcycle, we took a refreshing dip in a nearby swimming hole and then continued on the last leg of the journey to Quepos.

We made it feeling pretty good, but then of course the option was posed to ride all the way up one last gigantic hill to Manuel Antonio for sunset, and being arguably the two most competitive Peace Corps Volunteers, Angelo and I went for it. Kregg intelligently followed behind in the support car. We made it pretty far amidst traffic and honking until our legs/bikes would take us no further up the seemingly never-ending hill. After about a quarter mile of pushing our bikes up on rubbery legs, it did indeed end and we cruised down to the beach as the sun was setting. It made the butt, hand, back, neck and leg pain I would be feeling for the next few days totally worth it. After a victory swim in the ocean, we all got in the car back to Quepos, where we had some very satisfying casados and tried not to pass out in our food.

The next morning after Bagelman's breakfast (it was the closest I could get to celebrating Passover), Angelo, Chase and I got on a bus to Puntarenas, where we met up with Brigitte and got on a tiny lancha to Isla de Chira, where Mark has been hiding out for the past two years. I complain about my bus ride over the Mountain of Death to get to San José, but his commute entails a choppy boat ride. My respect for him only grew from there after experiencing the oppressive heat and dust on the island and realizing how different our daily lives have been since we parted ways after Tarbaca. His is more what I imagined Peace Corps might look like, while I live a 20 minute bus ride from McDonald's, but I have no complaints.

We spent the next two days exploring the island by bike, foot and boat. We went out with some local fishermen and collectively succeeded in catching some fish, though I contributed nothing to the pot. The highlight of the visit was definitely our evening boat ride with Juan Carlos, Mark's ECC counterpart who I had met at the conference the previous week. He invited us out and then of course his motor wasn't working and we thought it was going to be a bust, but somehow they figured it out and we were off boating through mangrove swamps and out to Yucca island, which is basically a floating mountain. We scrambled to the top of for an amazing view of what I think I can safely say was my favorite Costa Rican sunset. We then stopped by a beach where a family of enterprising Ticos had set up a chinamo for Semana Santa and sold us cold beers. Then we boated right up to a lovely seafood restaurant overlooking the water and ate mounds of garlic shrimp, ceviche and clams by candlelight. It felt like a pretty special only in Peace Corps moment, and the evening continued in that direction.

We boated back through the mangroves under the stars, completely trusting Juan Carlos' sworn memorization of the route since there were no lights around. Because of the tides we couldn't dock the boat and had to trek through slippery swamp mud to get back to land. We arrived back to Juan Carlos' home relatively unscathed, though Mark stepped on some thorny plant that he spent the next few days trying to pick out of his toes.

The next morning we were off at 6am on a private boat to the Nicoya Peninsula for the grand finale, a beach house we had rented for 25 volunteers in Santa Teresa, which is on the eastern tip of the peninsula, to celebrate Semana Santa and the end of (most of our) service. It was a great space, right on the beach with four colorful bungalows, a common area equipped with a full kitchen, couches and tables, a ping pong table, fooz ball, a yoga dojo, and hammocks galore. It was in the middle of a cute surfer town with a big extranjero population and lots of good restaurants. We spent the next couple days drinking, eating, playing games, swimming, reminiscing, drinking and eating. Highlights included: a fiercely competitive beach soccer game in which I almost lost my right foot, group yoga session, group barbecue that included chicken, hot dogs, veggies, guac and frozen watermelon, my first and only ping pong win against Angelo, and amazing playlists day and night. We ended the trip with a dance party on the beach, which seemed only appropriate.

After one more evening of vegging out in San José, I'm not back in Quebradas for my last two weeks. I feel good about the PCV goodbyes I've had so far, especially because I am confident I will see the people I care most about again soon. That's harder to say with the people of Quebradas, but I am looking forward to a low-key last couple weeks and quality time with the people who have been the biggest part of my life over the last two years. I have a feeling that will entail a lot of cafecitos, bread, rice and beans, but I think i can handle it now knowing there is an end in site.

Me AGUAnté!*

My 5 seconds of fame

Finishing with a smile

The salida next to Parque Central

Pre-race in Pérez (you can't fully appreciate it here, but Henley is clad entirely in Nike Women's apparel)

Cappuccinos with the Scouts

COLLEGE!

Relieved survivors of a swim through crocodile-infested water

Drake with Jake

The survivors of what started as a 25-person English class

It has been an action-packed couple weeks, both work and fun. The rest of Ashley’s visit was great and included Tica pedicures, English class party, day trip to Dominical, lots of good cooking, a tour of the Thursday feria, and then a bus to San José where we met her brother, Colin, and parted ways the next day, the two of them to travel up north to La Fortuna and me to the dentist. And then the lab to get blood taken. And then the Peace Corps doctor. And then a micro-finance training session for Tico 21. Not as awesome, but all stuff I had to get done before COS-ing and things got better from there.

Friday night Brigitte and I went to her old host mom from Tarbaca, Jacky’s house for dinner and a sleepover with her and her two daughters Stephanie and Melanie, which was a blast since I hadn’t seen any of them for a loooooong time. They are crazy and energetic as ever, and we spent most of the night on Jacky’s cozy couch watching Miss Costa Rica.

The next morning I got up super early and took a bus all the way down to Palmar Norte, where I met Angelo and David and we were picked up by Jake in a turquoise Jeep. Yes, this is Jake Elliot from my early blogposts in Tarbaca. He lived with Mark on Gerardo’s compound and was a great friend but unfortunately left Peace Corps after a month of service. However, he came back to Costa Rica and has been working at a cool lodge called Poor Man’s Paradise in Drake’s Bay, which is on the northern end of the Osa Peninsula. He has been trying to get us to come visit for a while, and I’m so glad we were finally able to.

We picked up Chamisa and her mom in Sierpe and then took a cool boat ride down the river through lots of Mangroves to the town of Drake’s Bay, where we picked up Mark and Chase, and then our eclectic group of seven (plus Jake and some other tourists) made our way down to Poor Man’s Paradise, a beautiful spot right on the beach with cabins on stilts hidden in the rainforest and hammocks galore.

We spent the weekend swimming, tanning, eating, drinking, taking a hike with a crazy tour guide who convinced us to swim in an alligator-infested river and then left us to fend for ourselves coming back from a waterfall (we later found her passed out on the beach), spear-fishing and enjoying beautiful sunsets and evening bonfires. I wish we could have stayed longer, but it was a worthwhile trip and so nice to catch up with Jake and see him in his element there. He was a very good host and seems to have found a good life for himself there, though we still miss him and constantly wonder how much more interesting things would be if he were still a part of Tico 19.

Last week was spent preparing, both mentally and physically, for a big weekend in Quebradas. On Friday night we had our quarterly ECC asamblea. Our president officially resigned and we elected a new president and vice president to the board of directors. The behind-the-scenes build up to the resignation and reelection was a bit stressful, but I feel good about the end results, and most importantly the turnout at the meeting and the support the ECC is gaining from community members.

Friday night Adrienne and I went with some friends in San Isidro to the National University college night at a discoteca in town. It was a stoplight dance, meaning you dress in red, yellow or green according to your availability. Just like when I was in college, I think I was the only one to take the theme seriously and showed up in a green dress, red top underneath, and yellow sandals to send mixed signals. Nobody seemed to get it/care, but it was fun to check out the local college scene and try to fit in.

Saturday morning I took the Scouts to an organic coffee processor on the Cerro de la Muerte. They gave us an interesting tour that ended with cappuccinos and iced coffee for all in a beautiful wooden cafeteria overlooking all of San Isidro. This was definitely the most exciting part, and we ended up walking all the way home down the mountain hyped up on caffeine.
That afternoon was the annual Scouts assembly for our group. There was even more drama leading up to the elections for this meeting, as our president and treasurer had both resigned in December and we have kind of been struggling to keep the group together since then. There was an okay turnout, but I was pretty worried there wasn’t going to be anyone willing to fill their spaces. But amazingly, when the time came, people began to step up and say things about the importance of strengthening this group for the future of the community and volunteer to be a part of it. There was some shifting around of current positions and inventing of new ones, but we ended up with a very strong and motivated board of directors and others interested in helping out as dirigentes working with the kids, which is more than I could have hoped for.

So both of these meetings provided me with some closure around the two projects I helped start up and have devoted most of my time to in the past year. There have been various points along the way when I felt so frustrated and disillusioned by the politics of the groups that I lost motivation and didn’t even care if the groups continued on or not, but I am so glad that I am leaving at a point where both groups have been strengthened and decided to carry on not because I am pushing it or they feel like they owe me something but because the community recognizes their value. To me, the most important part of my job was getting them to that point, and I have to trust that they can take it from here.

Saturday night Angelo and Henley came over and we made a big carbo-loading meal of pasta and garlic bread in preparation for the all uphill 12K I had somehow convinced them to run with me on Sunday from the central park in San Isidro all the way up to FUDEBIOL. It was the first annual Carrera del Agua, organized by the Pérez Zeledón Sports Committee, as part of the continuing celebrations around International Water Day. My counterparts were very excited that they had chosen FUDEBIOL to end the race, as it would provide another opportunity to do publicity for all the new amenities at the reserve and would begin what will hopefully be an annual tradition with lots of new visitors. They also told me from the beginning that I had to run it and I had to win, seeing as I run 45 minutes a few times a week so it would be easy enough to complete an entirely uphill 12K race.
But anyone who knows my running style knows that I am much happier on flat surfaces, and I pretty much could not have designed a more hellish race for myself at that distance. Not only was it full of unrelenting hills, but it started at 9am, which is already peak sun time.

Anyways there were about 100 people in the race, and I ran into a lot of people I recognized from running in Quebradas. As soon as the gun went off I of course jetted ahead of Angelo and Henley, even though I had asked them to help set an even pace and told myself not to get overly excited early on, as it would make for a long, slow death at the end. But I kept spotting the few women who were in the race and then wanting to pass them, so off I went.

About 35 minutes into the run, when I thought the uphill would never end and the sun couldn’t get any hotter, we finally got a long downhill in the shade and then turned back onto the main road in the center of Quebradas. All of a sudden I heard all these people shouting my name, and for the next 500 meters or so I felt like a celebrity as everyone was cheering for me, and I even mustered a smile. The last 2.5 kilomters up to FUDEBIOL were the worst of all, but I was reenergized by the cheering and knowing I was close-ish to the end of my pain. Henley caught up to me and pulled me along for a while, and he finished just ahead of me and Angelo just behind, which was pretty cool despite us not running much of the race together.

Lightheaded and nauseous, I was greeted with big hugs from my counterparts and cameras and microphones from the local news channels. Apparently I was the second woman to finish, and everyone wanted to know how to spell my name, which takes more breath to explain in Spanish than one might imagine. I didn’t finish in a particularly fast time and it wasn’t a very competitive field, but nobody there really knew that and they were all just very excited that I was the second woman and first in my age group. I got to go on stage to accept my award, which was 70 thousand colones (about $140!) and a certificate for a free lab test at the local health clinic…hmmmmm.

I was mostly relieved that I hadn’t let down my counterparts or totally hit a wall halfway through the race, as I have known to do from time to time. It was really cool to have so many people cheering for me and to feel like they were proud of me for representing Quebradas and being a strong woman. It was also really nice to have my Peace Corps friends there to run with and enjoy the post-race meal and festivities. And tonight I have invited everyone in town to Bar Pelos for a celebratory drink with my newfound cash flow…

*Copyright Angelo Coclanis, bi-lingual pun-master