Pura Vida

As I sit here, in San Jose, my last stop before the airport in the morning, I'm thinking back to all the things I did while I was here. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. All I can do is smile. I was given this wonderful opportunity to come back to one of my favorite countries and do something I love. Even though working with animals is  not my profession, I still am quite passionate about helping them when I can. 

While I was at the Centre, I had the opportunity to work with 3 seperate vet teams and I now have a whole knew appreciation for what they do. Talking with Sarita, I got to know so much about so many of the animals, things I would never have been able to learn on my own time. Actually working with the animals and their behaviors, I learned what they liked and disliked and got to know their awesome personalities in a short time. Falling in love with many of them, made the goodbyes that much harder. Even though they are wild animals they had wonderful hearts. 

The volunteers I got to know really well. There's something about being in a different country, brought together by a common thing (the Centre) that makes people open up. Even though I was only there two weeks, you can really get to know someone in that amount of time when you spend all your time with those people. Some people may laugh, but I now have about 25 new friends and know I will most likely keep in touch with all of them. That's the cool thing about traveling. 

Manuel Antonio, Pura Vida. That's all that comes to mind with this one. For those 3 full days I was in pure bliss. Pura Vida's literal meaning is "pure life", but in Costa Rica it's so much more. It means, full of life, things are going great, real living. The ticos use it as a greeting too. Anyway, being in Manuel Antonio was this. The days I spent by myself, enjoying being on my own and relaxing and taking it all in. Getting to hang out with Christie, TJ and Sebastian for the last part, all of it was amazing. 

Spending time with my new found friend, Yehudi. I say this because I actually met him because of my mother, but I've now seen him more in the last five years, so he's now my friend too. Getting immersed into the Costa Rican life in San Isidro de general was a blast. I worked on my Spanish, learned how to make Gallo pinto( a traditional dish), learned how to merengue ( kinda like salsa dancing). I'm very greatful for his hospitality and enjoyed learning more about the Costa Rican way of life. Last night, while out in San Isidro, I was able to speak almost all in Spanish with one of Yehudi's friends. It was good to have the opportunity to use it, since I am one of those people who lose the language when I'm not using it. Learning to merengue was also fun, and now I want to try to learn bachata or salsa dancing back in the states. This way, I won't look quite like a fool the next time I visit! 

Something that has hit home for me today is that fact that four years ago, while I was in Costa Rica, my papa passed away. I actually didn't find out until 10 July, but today was the day it actually happened. The craziest part about it was I talked to my parents a few minutes after they'd found out, but since they didn't know any details, they waited to tell me. On this day, four years ago, I sent my grandparents a post card describing all I had done and how much fun I was having. This was my goodbye. He never got the postcard but in my own way it was a goodbye. The day I found out was the day I ended up meeting Yehudi and he took me out to "forget" about it for a while. It was humbling to be back in Costa Rica, with Yehudi, on the anniversary of his death. 

Overall, my experience this time around has been truly one of a kind. I come back with such an appreciation for everything and love learning more about another culture. I'm enjoying my last night in my room, with no one else in here, yet. I'm going to repack my suitcase, or at least try. Then it's off to the airport at 4 in the morning, a long day of travel awaits. 

I'm looking forward to hot showers, no mosquito nets, no stupid black ants that hurt like a bitch when they bite you, being able to flush my toilet paper, being back in my own bed with my own puppy( even though I almost came home with like 5 new ones) and enjoying the next two weeks before my next adventure. 

Love, 

Mixed feelings about leaving, but knows she'll be back again.  

The Travel Bug has hit

It's been a few days since I last posted, but I've been enjoying my time and haven't wanted to spend it blogging. 

The last two days I was in Manuel Antonio were great. On Monday, I spent the morning at the beach and then came back to the hostel for a nap. It had started to rain when I headed back so I knew I could enjoy a long nap.

Around four I went into town to get some food. I ended up going back to the same place I went the night before. It had such a good atmosphere, everyone was super friendly and I loved the view. I enjoyed my two for one mojito and ceviche. When I got back to the hostel Christie had messaged me saying they were in town. 

Since it was "America Day" we decided to go out to a local bar and celebrate. It was so great to see TJ, Sebastian and Christie. We even met some really cool prose from England. They were staying at my hostel and they ended up at the same place as us. So we all played pool and the girls won! It was so great to celebrate with great company. 

Tuesday morning we woke up and headed to the beach. We spent the whole day there. Most of the time we spent it in the water. The last time I had been in an ocean was the last time I was here in Costa Rica, four years ago. Words can't describe how beautiful and serene it was. It was so relaxing to lay on the beach for a little while before lunch. 

On our way to lunch I saw the guy that I met four years ago, Butch. He grabbed us and told us we must go to this place for lunch. It was delicious! I had seafood pasta and I loved it. After lunch we went back to the beach and played in the water all afternoon. The waves were a lot bigger this time and closer to shore. "This is amazing," is all we could muster. 

Wednesday morning I got up early and headed into Quepos to get my bus to San Isidro de general. It was a long 3 hour bus ride, but I made it and Yehudi picked me up. It's nice to relax a little while I'm here. I even got to sleep in this morning. I'm enjoying my last day here and then tomorrow I head back to San Jose to catch a flight early Saturday morning back to the states. It's been a great few weeks, but I'm ready to go back home. 

Love, 

Can't wait to plan the next adventure 

When traveling, you have to be flexible

This morning I headed out on my own to make my way to Manuel Antonio. Let me tell you, I never seem to do things the easy way. I tried to catch the bus to Alajuela and the bus driver apparently didn't think I waved him down well enough, because he just drove off and never stopped. So, I had to make my way back to the center, luggage in tow and figure out another way. Luckily, Carlos was there to take 14 people to the Land of the Dogs. I was able to crash a ride with them to Alajuela. That was an adventure in itself, the van can comfortably fit 12 and we had 16 total. We were smushed like sardines and I bet when everyone piled out it looked like a clown car. Once I made it to the bus station, I hopped on a bus to San Jose. When we arrived in San Jose I tried asking for directions to the bus station for Manuel Antonio and either my espanol is terrible or the guy gave me the wrong directions, i'll let you decide, but I ended up further away from the station and had to get a taxi to get me there, which I should have just done in the first place. 

Either way, I made it to the bus station and was able to get on the right bus to head to Manuel Antonio. If you've never been on a charter bus when the roads are made for only one car, then you are in for an eye awakening experience, even though I have been through this before it's still scarier than all get out when they go around those turns. Even with the scary turns, it's such a beautiful drive from San Jose to Manuel Antonio. The three hour drive does wonders for the thinking mind. You can drift off into your own world one this drive. I guess I let my mind wander so much that I forgot to tell the bus driver which hostel I was planning on staying in. He drove right past and when I got off he told me there'd be a bus that could get me there. Cool, fine, I was only a 5 minute drive away. Get on the bus, tell him, "Pura Vida Hostel". He understood. Next thing I know I'm back in Quepos, the bus driver forgot so he refunded me my money and sent me to the bus that would take me back to where I needed. This really nice gentleman had overheard the whole thing and actually escorted me to the next bus and waited to make sure I got on. He was originally from California but had been here for about 20 years. It's just great, the people of this town, they're so helpful and nice. 

After all of that, I finally made it to my hostel. The ladies that run this place were so welcoming and made me feel right at home. Once I took a small nap I went into Manuel Antonio for dinner. I ended up at the same restaurant Denise and I had dinner at four years ago. Nostalgia hit so hard and it was wonderful. Eating Maui tacos, drinking a mojito and watching the ocean while reading a good book, you cannot beat that. 

When I was finished with dinner, I decided to take a walk along the beach. There's nothing that beats your toes in the sand. On my way to the beach, which wasn't very far, I saw Butch, the guy who 4 years ago gave Denise and I our umbrella and drinks by the beach. The best part about the whole encounter was the fact he remembered me and couldn't believe it had been four years. Can't wait to see him tomorrow. 

I'm sure people probably think I'm crazy for traveling alone, but it's been a great experience so far, I've met some amazing people and think I'll continue to the rest of this week. It's also a time to get to know yourself and know what you like or dislike, plus you have no one to tell you what to do or not to do. If you're given the opportunity to travel alone, take it. You won't regret it. 

Taking a warm shower, having no mosquito net in my bed and have "Costa Rican air conditioning" (i.e. 2 fans) is already a step in the right direction. Can't wait to sleep in past 5:30 and not hear all the rescue birds chirping. 

Love,

Content with life 

Saying See You Later, Rather than Goodbye

The one thing that sucks about meeting all these wonderful people and getting to know them is the inevitable goodbye. Even though I haven't been here all that long, I've had to say many goodbyes. I've made many friendships in the short two weeks I've been at the Centre. Most of them have come and gone, but now it's my turn to say the goodbyes. 

Tomorrow I continue on with my own adventure and head to Manuel Antonio. I leave with a see you later attitude, though. The 12 or so people I became very close to during my time here will be seen again. They are all a plane ride away and it gives me a new adventure any time I go to meet them. 

Sarita is going to be hard to leave. I cherish her passion and dedication to this life. She's a sweet woman and I hope to come back here in the future and have the chance to see her again. 

The animals. Oh my goodness am I going to miss these precious animals. Some more than others, especially the ones that have taken parts of my heart. Berth, I'm going to miss making noises with him and him holding my hand. Nela, and her belly rubs and smelling like burnt banana bread. Itchy, feeding her papaya, knowing it's her favorite. Stevie Wonder and Rachel, feeding them twice a day and getting all the veggie juice all over me. Okay, maybe I won't miss that part. Jay, that spunky little boy, chasing me around the cage while cleaning and being one of the biggest sweethearts. Violeto, watching him get stronger and seeing his wounds heal quite a bit. Feluco, even though he is a spoiled little guy, he's a great cuddler and sun bather. The baby marmosets, Ava and Wall-E, watching them gain so much by climbing up and down their jungle gym. Lagom, oh Lagom, our walks and hanging in tress and long bird chats. Tequila, such a sweet puppy who loves humans even though he never had them before. And Blacky, boy am I gonna miss that dog. From hanging out in my bathroom stall to following me spring when Sarita isn't here, to cuddling with me in a hammock. He's a great pup and I wish I could bring him home with me. Even though I didn't name every animal I interacted with, they all have touched my heart in some way. I hope the ones that are to be released get released. I hope the ones that are hurt get better. And the non releasable ones have a good life. 

I'm excited go start the next phase of my trip tomorrow and especially excited to have Christie, TJ and Seb join me in Manuel Antonio. Tonight we are going to celebrate my last night here by going to town. It'll be fun to spend the evening with all of the friends I have left here at the Centre. 

Love, 

Moving on to new adventures 

Cultural Experiences

Two evenings ago we went into town and it was a nice to get a break. I realized I had been at the centre for 7 straight days without leaving. It almost felt like being cooped up in the house too long. There were about 25 of us that ended up going to this pizza place. There were lots of options to choose from, not just pizza. I ended up with pizza and fries though. Next time, if I get the chance to go again, I'll get Ceviche. It looked so good when Carolina got it. It's great having time to get to know some of the girls that are still here. Especially when they are from different countries and do things differently. Learning from other cultures and the way they say or do things is such a wonderful experience. 

Yesterday afternoon I finally had the opportunity to work on active enrichment with the baby sloths. My oh my what an experience that was. There are literally no words to describe the experience that I had carrying them over to enrichment. Jay was so fun, even though he can be quite the pain in the butt. It's great seeing them climb around on the branches. Jay moves so fast, for a sloth. 

All of my days seem to be running together now, I forget what day of the week it is half the time. I wake up, eat breakfast at 7. We have our meeting at 8 to delegate tasks and then we work on tasks until lunch at 12. Depending on your tasks, you usually will have a little down time, that's usually when I catch up on my reading, do a little laundry, or write this blog. Today during my down time I was sitting on one of the benches and all of a sudden Alex got Violeto out. He's the sloth that was electrocuted and had to have one arm amputated while the other one is badly damaged and is wrapped up. He let him out to do some stretching and move around a bit. It was so sweet to see him get some exercise because he is in a small cage. So him working on building up his muscles and moving around is great for his rehabilitation. 

Love, 

3 days left until the beach  

Don't take things for granted

The history of this Rescue Centre is very sad. I know I've said this before, but Sarita is such a passionate person. This morning before our morning meeting she gave a brief history of the Centre. It's amazing to see how far it's come. This evening she had a "history of the Centre" class, where she told us all about how it started. Hearing her talk tonight was very inspiring and makes me want to get involved more with helping animals in any way that I can. I also want people to be aware of the lives of some of these animals here. Bought on the pet trade or black market. The capuchins and spider monkeys were bought and used for entertainment purposes. People paid money to come see them, then they'd be put into tiny cages the rest of the time. This is just the monkeys. But, that's for a different time.

The original Centre started out 11 years ago on the Caribbean coast and had 10 acres of land. There was a dome call the butterfly garden where all the birds and monkeys lived together. They had a pool for the turtles. The land they were on was right on the coast where the Leatherback turtles would lay their eggs. This place sounds like it was beautiful. Most of them were released when they were ready. One day the government came and told the Centre they had 5 days to move 67 animals because they were going to build a mega port. Luckily they had a lawyer who was able to get them 3 weeks instead of 5 days, but that still wasn't enough time to safely move all 67 animals 5 hours away to the place it is now. They didn't have the materials or the transportation to do it in the best way possible. Unfortunately, they lost several animals in the move due to the stress of the move. The center they are at currently is not the best case scenario for these wild animals and Sarita knows that. But, it's the best they can do for now. They've bought the new Centre and when it's all finished the animals that are non releasable will have bigger enclosures and better conditions. 

It's very hard to see the animals like this but it's nice to hear the hopefulness Sarita had for these animals and hopefully more will be released soon. 

Being apart of this transition into the new Centre is an honor and privilege and I'm happy I can be part of their history. I've really learned more than I thought imaginable in the 8 days I've been here. I'm going to make the most out of these last 4 days, even though it's hard seeing the animals this way, on top of some volunteers who don't take the Centre as seriously as others. Yes, it's fun to play with the animals during enrichment time, but while you're in cleaning their cages or giving them food and water you're there to do just that, not interact with them. The Centre wants to release as many as they can, but if the animals get too used to humans then they can't be put back in the wild. It's just sad to see that some people don't understand this and it's been hard to deal with a bit. Sarita's passion though really shines through in those dark moments. 

Love, 

Trying to save the world, one animal at a time

Miracles do happen

So yesterday, a couple of really cool things happened. I've been working with Lagom, the bird, and yesterday he was climbing on the jungle gym that Sebastian made and he was doing so many cool things while climbing, using his beak, both of his claws and then all of a sudden he was at the top of the jungle gym and flew to the grown. It was not so graceful but he still flew. It was great after the last few days of working with him and seeing this wonderful progress.

Next awesome thing is Itchy, the Olingo, she hasn't been eating anything for the past few nights. Last night, Caroline and I went in to feed her and she actually ate from us, drinking the juice of the fruit and climbed out and on me. This was a huge improvement from the nights before. Tonight I went back into the cage to feed her and she ate so much more. She was eating sweet potato and watermelon straight from my fingers. So cute. Itchy is such a sweet little girl and so shy and timid, but I think she is warming up to me. 

It really makes me feel like I'm actually doing my job here. I'm helping these animals in some way and hopefully that's bettering them in the long run. It has been so worth coming here and working with these animals. 

Lots of people left today and quite a few new ones arrived. Two new girls arrived in my room and they're from London. They seem very nice and I think I'll make good friends with them as well. I'm sad to see the vet team finally leave tomorrow morning. We've talked about possibly meeting up in Manuel Antonio, but who knows where they'll end up. 

Tomorrow I start my second and last week at the rescue center. I'm one of the "experts" now and will start training the next group of volunteers that have arrived. It's crazy that it's already been a full week that I've been here. It's gone so fast already. As of now I have pretty much done every job and have a good understanding of most of the animals. Other than some of the monkeys, most of the animals are really sweet. I've become Sarita's dog watcher, Blacky seems to listen to me and like me a bit so she always has me watch him when she leaves. The kinkajous, Daniel and Nela, are so cute and love belly scratches. They also smell amazing, Christie described it perfectly, she says its cinnamon and burned banana bread mixed together. When you get near their cage they come up to the side and lay down and show their stomachs for scratches. Berth, the adult male howler monkey, makes this incredible noise and when you make it back, he repeats it. He'll even hold your hand for a minute. Then there's Feluco, the baby howler, he's so snuggling and then loves to play especially during active enrichment. The baby sloths are also fun, especially Jay. He makes it so hard to clean their cage. He loves to try and get you every chance he can while you're in there. Today he was dead asleep until I grabbed the food bowl and didn't realize he was there. He leans back and opens his mouth in like a yawn growl and then decides it's time to come running after me. The baby marmosets, Wall-E and Ava, love eating sweet potatoes it's fun to see them climb around getting their food. There are more animals but these are the ones I've interacted with the most and have gotten to know their personalities best. 

One more week and then I'll be posted up on the beaches of Manuel Antonio. 

 This is Feluco

 Nela loving those belly scratches

Daniel is great at being cute 

Amy is hopefully getting released soon!