MaxMitch

A long travel day takes us from the cloudy mountains of Costa Rica to the smoldering, populated center. We cruise through San Jose, the capital city, and take the next bus to San Isidro - a noisy, rarely visited commercial center. After a pleasant night there, where we see a jazz concert and mingle with locals at the central park, we take a bumpy, long ride deep into the Osa Peninusula - a sparsely populated, jungle province known for one of the wildest national parks in Costa Rica - Corcovado.

Lined by pristine Pacific beaches, this park is bursting with wildlife and adventurous treks. As hundreds of giant scarlet macaws fly overhead, we embark on an exciting hike of our own, seeing many animals, but never actually making it into the national park (see misadventure below.) On the Osa, we stay at Ojo del Mar, a whimsical eco-lodge set in the middle of the jungle. No electricity, no walls on our bamboo cabanas, outdoor showers under the jungle ferns, and a beautiful beach a sandy walk away make this a truly unique lodging experience hard to leave behind.

A boat ride and two buses later, we arrive in Costa Rica´s coffee country. At first glance, Agua Buena seems like a quaint small town, but after a day in this welcoming, lush highland village we realize this is Costa Rica´s Eden. The locals, the resident ex-pats, and the local Peace Corps volunteers welcome us into the community instantly, and after 24 hours we are helping hand-pick coffee, assisting in English classes, and looking for escaped rabbits at the Mendez Rojas farm. Indeed, the Mendez farm seems like Eden itself: dozens of flowering fruit trees along garden paths; chickens, rabbits, cows, baby goats, and piglets frolicking in rich pasture; vegetables and herbs thriving on every patch of soil. Hours pass quickly as we eat platano soup and birdwatch in the garden, chatting about the coffee crisis and learning about all the locals. Another day passes and we begin to be recognized on the street. We visit several of the local visionaries, who share their big plans for making this small town even more of an ecological oasis and example for the region. Agua Buena exists in a time warp, where everybody moves at their own pace and time sometimes stands still. Suddently, it seems possible we could stay here for much longer, as many students and expats have done before us. But we have South America in our sights, and we make for the border before we are tempted to stay permanently in this most appealing slice of paradise. The only thing that makes saying goodbye to all our new friends palatable is that we know we will return one day...

Best moment: A tie between 1) sleeping in the jungle at Ojo del Mar, listening to howler monkeys screech on the tree above our room and seeing scarlet macaws fly in pairs through the sky. Then waking up and practicing yoga surrounded by jungle, with a view of the ocean; and 2) Sitting in the Mendez Rojas garden, watching an endless string of beautiful birds visit the nearby trees as we sip cafecitos and nibble freshly made, cheese-stuffed tortillas.

Most unfortunate adventure: Our determined, unsuccessful attempt to visit Corocovado National Park. We awake at dawn to catch the pick-up truck that serves as the collective transport to the park, 20 km away. But 4 km after we jump in the back of the bouncy vehicle, the tires begin spinning in the red mud on a particularly steep incline of the unkempt dirt road. We ask if we should wait, walk back to our hotel, or walk along the road with hopes that another vehicle will give us a lift to the park. The three other passengers and the driver encourage us to continue to walk along the road; someone is sure to come along shortly! 15 km, three river crossings, and seven hours later we arrive in Carate, which is still 3 km from the entrance to the park. During our long walk, two cars passed: one an SUV full of surfers who refused to pick us up (doing irreparable damage to their karma) and a taxi that gave us a 3 km free ride until he had to pick up the passenger who had called him (thank you sir!).

We arrive in Carate six hours later than planned. Along the way we have seen dozens of macaws doing airshows, toucans screeching, impressive eagles, and some very curious monkeys, but we have arrived too late to see any of the park. We cool off in the waves of the Pacific and by chance begin speaking to two Canadians sitting on the beach - Jay and Kelly - the only two people visible for miles. They invite us up to their hotel for lunch, where we meet a large group of more Canadians in the midst of filming a documentary. Cosmically, the documentary is focused on stepping out of your daily routine by traveling and experiencing nature, with a focus on how these experiences impact your life back at home. We begin talking about our trip, and before we know it, we are being filmed about our experiences on the road! Keep an eye out for this documentary, coming soon to Canadian TV!

We catch another pick-up truck back toward our hotel in the afternoon; bouncing quickly along the road it had taken us six hours to walk. Just when we think our adventures have ended, the truck runs out of gas! Luckily for us, we are only a 10 minute walk from our hotel, but the 15 other passengers are still 10 km from their destination, so they sit in the back of the truck as night falls and the driver walks off in seach of gas.

Best meal: Any of the meals cooked with love and the freshest of ingredients by Flor in the Mendez Rojas household. Our favorite dish may have been the oven-roasted chicken straight from the happiest chicken coop in Costa Rica - with legs the size of a turkey! Roasted with a bounty of vegetables direct from the garden. This is one of dozens of amazing meals we had while visiting Agua Buena. Every day Flor served up a feast of flavors and snacks that made us feel like we were in a gluttenous heaven. By far the best meals we had in Costa Rica. Flor, you are a culinary genius!

Favorite people: We made so many new friends during this week in Costa Rica - from Kelly and Jay of the Canadian entourage, to Trina and Jacob - the welcoming Peace Corps volunteers, to Portia and Tom - fellow Michiganders who winter in Agua Buena, and Don Roberto and Noemi - our teachers in the art of coffee picking. Plus Don Umberto, a vermiculture visionary who is changing the way people farm in Agua Buena. But our favorite people of all will have to be the Mendez Rojas family who welcomed us into their home with incredible hospitality. Julieta, the manager of the coop internship program, planned an amazing four days for us. And William and Flor provided us with so many experiences we will always cherish - ranging from milking cows to idenitying rare bird species. And we couldn´t leave out Leslie, the honorary sister of the household from Nebraska who showed us the ropes in Agua Buena. We can´t wait to see you all again soon!

Quote of the week: "Oh my god, there´s a crab in the shower!" - Nelson, while washing up in Puerto Jimenez, the rustic gateway to the Osa Peninsula. The crab crawled out of the drain in the middle of the shower and went back down the drain once it was over. Guess he didn´t like all that hot, soapy water.

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