So after returning from the beach yesterday we found, as expected, Sol and Ella had moved in. The had cleaned out the kitchen and organized the WWOOFer house. I think that teir organization will finally make this place what it should be which is kind of bitter sweet since I may be going to another farm after the tournament.
Also, yesterday evening two WWOOFers showed up. One of whom worked at the farm previously and the other was at the same farm as him now. The first, Jim, is from Wisconsin where his family owns a CSA farm. He got fed up with the situation at the Earth Rose and decided to just leave and travel around for a while. The other, Megan, is from London and may come to the farm later on in her 6 month trip to Costa Rica since things seem to be looking up here.
Today Megan and I cleaned a ton of dishes and finished organizing the kitchen. I also learned how to use a Costa Rican Laundry machine which involves a lot more work sice you have to move the clothes between rinse and spin cycles and stuff. You have to rinse the clothes a few times and then use soap and then rinse the soap off again each time filling the machine up with new water and spinning the clothes in between cycles.
Tomorros Ella is going to help me patch up my jeans. I am really starting to like what is happening at Earth Rose, so I may try and stay a little longer or come back after visiting other places. Things feel pretty good right now.
-Ravi
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Dominical
I just got back from a 2 day trip to Dominical. It was a fairly touristy beach that was definitely catered towards Americans. There was more English spoken there than Spanish. This aside, the trip was great and turned out to be worthwhile for a few reasons.
So we camped out on the beach in a tent for free which was really nice. The prices for food were a little high (by that I mean they were pretty much US prices) but since we were staying for free it didn't really matter. The first night we were there we heard that there was a bar that was having an open jam night, so obviously I attended to play some drums. There I met some people and most notable was a guy named Josh who owned the place. He also owns an organic farm so the two of us got to talking. He said that his farm is not quite ready for volunteers yet since he does not really have a place for them to stay. He told me to come back in the morning to talk and see if he could help me out.
THe next day I met up with him and he said that I should talk to a guy named Bay about volunteering. I took Bay's phone number and thought that nothing would really happen. However, that night Bay happened to be in Dominical and I ended up talking to him in person at Josh's bar. He told methat there was a guy bnamed Derek who owned a farm that needed a lot of work and said that I could talk to him about working there when I got back from the ultimate tournament. We will see how that goes, my days may be numbered at the Earth Rose farm.
Another notable occurence during this trip was getting pulled in by a rip-tide. The ocean there was extremely strong so Adrian and I of course didn't care and went pretty deep, but still to the point where we could stand up. However, at some point I couldn't stand any more because the waves had pulled me in and I half-panicked that I would not be returning to shore since swimming back seemed to not do anything. Eventually, of course, I did get back and survived that frightening experience. Not sure if that one was scarier than the spiders or snakes but it was pretty scary.
-Ravi
So we camped out on the beach in a tent for free which was really nice. The prices for food were a little high (by that I mean they were pretty much US prices) but since we were staying for free it didn't really matter. The first night we were there we heard that there was a bar that was having an open jam night, so obviously I attended to play some drums. There I met some people and most notable was a guy named Josh who owned the place. He also owns an organic farm so the two of us got to talking. He said that his farm is not quite ready for volunteers yet since he does not really have a place for them to stay. He told me to come back in the morning to talk and see if he could help me out.
THe next day I met up with him and he said that I should talk to a guy named Bay about volunteering. I took Bay's phone number and thought that nothing would really happen. However, that night Bay happened to be in Dominical and I ended up talking to him in person at Josh's bar. He told methat there was a guy bnamed Derek who owned a farm that needed a lot of work and said that I could talk to him about working there when I got back from the ultimate tournament. We will see how that goes, my days may be numbered at the Earth Rose farm.
Another notable occurence during this trip was getting pulled in by a rip-tide. The ocean there was extremely strong so Adrian and I of course didn't care and went pretty deep, but still to the point where we could stand up. However, at some point I couldn't stand any more because the waves had pulled me in and I half-panicked that I would not be returning to shore since swimming back seemed to not do anything. Eventually, of course, I did get back and survived that frightening experience. Not sure if that one was scarier than the spiders or snakes but it was pretty scary.
-Ravi
Saturday, June 21, 2008
New Caretakers?
Today two people showed up to the farm rather unexpectedly. Their names were Sol and Ella (short for Estrella which means star in spanish) and are definitely Gringos. It seems that they may be taking care of the farm when Adrian leaves. Though they say they may be showing up as soon as next Wednesday.
Ella is extremely spiritual and likes to talk of auras and energies and that sort of thing. The guy was similar but they both seem really nice. Sol has been to Costa Rica 3 times and he has an ex-wife with a couple of kids who lives here.
They hitch hiked pretty much the whole way from Minnesota. They both claim that they will never return to the states. I am relectant to believe this.
In other news I called Helena today and she said I can stay at her place before the ultimate tournament so that is really coming together.
Ella is extremely spiritual and likes to talk of auras and energies and that sort of thing. The guy was similar but they both seem really nice. Sol has been to Costa Rica 3 times and he has an ex-wife with a couple of kids who lives here.
They hitch hiked pretty much the whole way from Minnesota. They both claim that they will never return to the states. I am relectant to believe this.
In other news I called Helena today and she said I can stay at her place before the ultimate tournament so that is really coming together.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Life Is Good
We ran out of propane so we have been cooking over a fire lately. This has produced amazing food. For some reason food tastes way better if it is slow cooked on an out door fire rather than on a gas oven. Also, tonight we made rum drinks with fresh pineapple and bananas from the farm as well as some strawberries that someone left in the freezer.
I am officially all set to go to the tournament from July 4-7. I am really excited about that, it should be a really cool vacation from the farm life here. It will be awesome to be able to play ultimate in a new place with new people.
Also, we just saw Journey, the cat, attack the largest spider I have ever seen.
Life is good.
I am officially all set to go to the tournament from July 4-7. I am really excited about that, it should be a really cool vacation from the farm life here. It will be awesome to be able to play ultimate in a new place with new people.
Also, we just saw Journey, the cat, attack the largest spider I have ever seen.
Life is good.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The First Marks
So I have gotten the first marks to prove I was here. The first are ant bites. Those snakes and spiders may be scarier looking but they won't really bother you unless you mess with them. Ants here, are very different. If you have ever had your hand bitten by 30 ants you understand. The second was by a machede.
There was a bug biting my arm and I went to swat it away and realized that I had a huge knife in my hand. The result of this left a mark that I hope will leave a nice scar. Luckily it was fairly dull and didn't cut very deep.
In other news the girls seem really down. I think they are ready to go home. I hope I don't have that kind of attitude about the place later down the line but the majority of what they have a problem with is the "machismo" of the Costa Rican men. Which I guess I can't really relate to... or can I?
Today we went into San Isidro to go to the market and use the Internet and we stopped in the park for a while. We ran into a guy named Jose who had smoked with Adrian previously in the park. He hit on me really hard and gave me a "gay" handshake. It had to hint that I was straight and then he kind of walked away.
-Ravi
Monday, June 16, 2008
Snakes, Spiders and Bats, Oh My!
So far I have had experiences with all of those. We found a snake outside of the outhouse and when we described it to a local he said it was the most deangerous snake in Costa Rica and to make sure we killed it if we saw it again. There was a fairly large spider hanging out on the door to my room and it scared the crap out of me. We brushed it to the floor and the cat, Journey, ate it.
A couple of bats flew around the house the other night and it landed right next to Adrian and another girl who was visiting (I will explain who she is later on) and they kind of freaked out. It was pretty funny.
So basically I love the days here, but am still adjusting to the nights. The work is interesting and not very hard. The days do kind of drag on sometimes.
Today I met Carlos who is a Tico who works on the farm three times a week. We cut up some paths and harvested some yucca. In other news I met two other WWOOFers, Angie and Lydia, who used to work here on Earth Rose but left due to some drama I will write about later. They now work for a neighboring farm owned by a Tican family.
-Ravi
A couple of bats flew around the house the other night and it landed right next to Adrian and another girl who was visiting (I will explain who she is later on) and they kind of freaked out. It was pretty funny.
So basically I love the days here, but am still adjusting to the nights. The work is interesting and not very hard. The days do kind of drag on sometimes.
Today I met Carlos who is a Tico who works on the farm three times a week. We cut up some paths and harvested some yucca. In other news I met two other WWOOFers, Angie and Lydia, who used to work here on Earth Rose but left due to some drama I will write about later. They now work for a neighboring farm owned by a Tican family.
-Ravi
Friday, June 13, 2008
First Day on the Farm
Shock is setting in that I am actually going to live like this for 2 months. I am at the Earth Rose Farm that is a little ways outside of San Isidro. There is only one other person living at this farm. His name is Adrian and he is from North Carolina. He has WWOOFed in Italy before and is going to stay at the Earth Rose for the entire time he is going to be here (he is leaving on August 4). IU was expecting there to be a few more people here, but I guess you can't come into a situation like this with expectations that you expect to be met.
Tomorrow we are going back to the city and I am going to contact a Yoga Farm that is even further south to see if I can figure out what to do in July.
There are a few sights to see here, but I am starting to worry a little bit about this farm. I guess that is normal.
The journey here from San Isidro was also fairly interesting. I made my way to the bus station and asked what looked like the main office when a bus would leave for Las Eseperanzas and he said that there are no busses that go there but to take a different one to Angostura and get off at Esperanzas. I took his word for it and was outside waiting for that bus when someone came up to me and asked where I was going and that I looked lost. I told him I wanted to get to Esperanzas so he asked around and found the right bus (I don't know why the central guy didn't know about it) then he told me that Jesus loves me and left.
Once I got there I didn't quite know which way to go, and all there was around me was a little shop so I went in and asked which way to a cemetary and just started walking in that direction. As I was hiking up this ridiculous hill it started to pour on me (rainy season in Costa Rica, this should be expected). I finally reached a gate with no sign and decided to just check it out and see if anyone was home, and I found a sign that said WWOOFers house and that is when I met Adrian.
Well hopefully these jitters go away soon.
-Ravi
Tomorrow we are going back to the city and I am going to contact a Yoga Farm that is even further south to see if I can figure out what to do in July.
There are a few sights to see here, but I am starting to worry a little bit about this farm. I guess that is normal.
The journey here from San Isidro was also fairly interesting. I made my way to the bus station and asked what looked like the main office when a bus would leave for Las Eseperanzas and he said that there are no busses that go there but to take a different one to Angostura and get off at Esperanzas. I took his word for it and was outside waiting for that bus when someone came up to me and asked where I was going and that I looked lost. I told him I wanted to get to Esperanzas so he asked around and found the right bus (I don't know why the central guy didn't know about it) then he told me that Jesus loves me and left.
Once I got there I didn't quite know which way to go, and all there was around me was a little shop so I went in and asked which way to a cemetary and just started walking in that direction. As I was hiking up this ridiculous hill it started to pour on me (rainy season in Costa Rica, this should be expected). I finally reached a gate with no sign and decided to just check it out and see if anyone was home, and I found a sign that said WWOOFers house and that is when I met Adrian.
Well hopefully these jitters go away soon.
-Ravi
Thursday, June 12, 2008
San Isidro
Immediate reaction - Everyone here is incredibly nice. So far 2 people have given me phone numbers in case I need anything and one other took me through San Jose to find a bus. The first woman was on the plane with me and told me her family's phone number in case I got stranded somewhere. Then on the bus from San Jose to San Isidro I met an old man named Gorgi who gave me his phone number so I have contacts in two cities now. Quite an amazing start to the trip.
The journey here was quite the experience. Firstly I arrived in the airport and all I knew was to try and find Musoc station to get a bus to San Isidro. I had also been told that the highway leading down to that city had been closed down. Well when I got out of the airport there was only one place to get busses and everyone was telling me that they just went into San Jose, so I blindly took one.
Once I got on the bus I asked the lady sitting next to me if she knew where Musoc station was and she told me that she was taking another bus that went right by it so I just had to follow her. Once I did that she told me that she thought that the road had just opened up and that busses were only leaving in the morning (it was around 2:00pm right now) so I figured I would just go ask the station guy and find out when the next bus to San Isidro would be.
Turns out the road had just opened up that day and there was a bus at 3:00pm. The bus ride was around 3 hours and Gorgi showed me a reasonable hotel to stay at.
I am now at a that hotel in San Isidro for my first night in Costa Rica. It costs about $11 per night.
Goals for the trip:
The journey here was quite the experience. Firstly I arrived in the airport and all I knew was to try and find Musoc station to get a bus to San Isidro. I had also been told that the highway leading down to that city had been closed down. Well when I got out of the airport there was only one place to get busses and everyone was telling me that they just went into San Jose, so I blindly took one.
Once I got on the bus I asked the lady sitting next to me if she knew where Musoc station was and she told me that she was taking another bus that went right by it so I just had to follow her. Once I did that she told me that she thought that the road had just opened up and that busses were only leaving in the morning (it was around 2:00pm right now) so I figured I would just go ask the station guy and find out when the next bus to San Isidro would be.
Turns out the road had just opened up that day and there was a bus at 3:00pm. The bus ride was around 3 hours and Gorgi showed me a reasonable hotel to stay at.
I am now at a that hotel in San Isidro for my first night in Costa Rica. It costs about $11 per night.
Goals for the trip:
- Learn a lot about farming
- Figure out if working outside is really as amazing as I think
- Play ultimate here at least once
- See some amazing natural beauty
- Improve Spanish
Places I want to visit
- San Jose for a little while longer than just an hour
- Monte Verde
- Volcan Arenal
- Cerre Chirripo
- Some beach (Dominical?)
People I need to thank for helping me get this trip going
- Mom, Dad, Ku
- Lucy, Dave
- Duck
- Drew
Final thought - My Spanish is much better than I thought it was.
-Ravi
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Intro
So this is the blog for my experiences in Costa Rica this summer. I have decided to take the time between June 12 and August 12 and work at various organic farms in Costa Rica. I have been keeping a journal and I will post all the entries I have written here and back date them to when I wrote them in the journal. If I ever figure out a way to get pictures off my camera I will post them here as well. It may take a while for me to get up to date, but I will do my best. That is all for now.
-Ravi
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