missing you.

you know who you are...all of you that actually read this silly blog of mine. just having one of those days where i just want to be with my girls. the comfort of strangers can get tiring after having the same conversation day after day. and i guess i realized i'm really on my own now, no friends en route so it's all on me, where i go next...daunting and exciting.

sending my love from costa today and everyday. xo.

picnic en la playa

while lauren was here we had a little picnic and watched the sunset. the line up is pretty funny, spicy corn nuts (lauren got me hooked on this) and Trits, an amazing ice cream sandwich...it has vanilla ice cream with chocolate swirls sandwiched between two sugar cookies. and of course, some imperial light to watch the beer gut after the corn nuts and ice cream.

hijos.

small, locally run restaurants are called sodas in costa rica and you'll find them tucked away throughout the hills. my favorite is hijo's, it's run by 3 guys from the states...dave, derrick and jon. they all met here last year and took over the place. it's got good food and it feels like you are a friend's house. i'm headed there tonight so for some live music and bbq on their wood fire in the backyard. can't wait!

palillos: chopsticks

i've been using them since i was a teenager but i was at the beach sushi bar with some friends and saw vinico, one of my favorite tico chicos, learning how to use chopsticks from another tico. it was really endearing and it had never crossed my mind that everyone didn't know how to use them.

okie.

okie is a montezuma character. he is basically the town drunk but a lot more. you can find him everyday or night in the town center with guaro (costa rican moonshine) in hand. there are lots of stories about him, apparently he was a professor at one time and published a book but now he has quite a few personalities...one that speaks russian, another that sings opera, another that knows martial arts. he is quite a montezuma legend.

coquetear: to flirt

oh the flirting tactics of tico men, it brings you back to 6th grade. lauren is here now and sarah just left so i've witnessed and been privy to some good ones.

my favorites include:
1. throwing water at you
2. stepping on your feet

3. pulling your hair

4. pinch pinch

5. hit you and walk away
6. the sneak attack

did i forget any other tactics ladies?

not a tourist

last night, my landlord chavo who is a local tico told me that i had "earned my place in montezuma" which basically means they (or atleast he) doesn't think of me as a standard tourist, even though i sometimes feel like it. regardless, it was really nice to hear. montezuma has a unique effect that does make you feel like you are part of something, even it can be a fairly disfuctional something sometimes.

surf family

it's probably not ok to take a picture of a naked kid but i couldn't resist taking a pic of this family. i wonder if they want a nanny...

el mercado: the market

the market comes on saturday morning...it's held in the park with all locally grown fresh produce, the best empanadas i've ever had and local vendors selling jewelry, clothes, natural remedies, i.e. did you know that tea tree oil is good for zits, cleaning out wounds and a million other things? the mercado es rad.

santa teresa

sarah and i spent the last 4 days in santa teresa, it's across the peninsula. it gets the sunsets and montezuma gets the sunrise. the surfing there is easier and it was cool to show her another place, there are more options there, more people and about a million surfers to look at on the board and off. :) we partied, we ate good food, we went to this hotel with an infinity pool overlooking the ocean (it was a hike up a mountain but we made it there!) and we surfed. sarah was up on her first try! we had a great teacher who finally taught we how to pop up, i had been having to go from knees to standing but i think i have it now! it was great, it was also a test run of the town to see how i like it, looks like i'll probably be spending april there...montezuma can feel really small sometimes and being on my own would be a good challenge. tbd.

futbol

i played soccer on the beach and it was the first time i had kicked a soccer ball since high school. i wasn't very good but it was pretty awesome so i bought my own two days later. it was flat and used but it's still mine. practicing my skills this week and looking forward to playing with lauren next week! :)

our almost day.

sarah and i headed out for an adventure last week, we had planned to visit rainsong a wildlife center for animals and check out cemetary island. an island where no one lives but bodies are buried there with pretty interesting tombstones.

well we made the bus but when we got there it was almost closed so it was basically was seeing the animals we see everyday in cages, not very fun. sarah renamed it rainsuck. then we decided to give the walk to the island a shot because you can walk there at low tide. we made it almost half way and turned around. not a good idea in flip flops, requires some teva action. so then we walked in sun for what could have been a hour until we hitched a ride back in to town.

nothing worked out like we planned but it was an adventure and i rode the bus for the first time, and hitched a ride for the first time. we almost made it everywhere that morning but almost can be pretty fun.

los monos: the monkeys

we saw about 20+ monkeys right outside mi casa the other day. someone had a left a pile of rotten fruit and monkeys found it. i never get tired of seeing them.

nueva casa con sarah :)

sarah is here!! it's amazing to have her here and introduce her to my favorite places, beaches, everything. we even found a new place to live. we've got a little studio on the beach. :) it's got A/C which is fancy and wireless but no water for the last day or so...that's how it goes here. dry season is dry.

our new neighbors are funny. "Doc" and Donna are an older couple who live here for 6 months and maine for the other 6 months. Edgar to our right was my spanish teacher last year and plays the loudest video games ever...it sounds like we are going to be eaten by a dinosaur at most hours of the day.

we cooked our first meal of quesadillas yesterday, without water and on top of a mini fridge, with a plug-in skillet. that's how we do it.

mi snack favorito

seasame crackers that dori turned me on to last trip dipped it in black beans pre-mixed with salsa lizano. heaven.