Off to San Manuel Antonio

Rather than head back up the Pan American highway again, risking life. limb and car, we took off towards Neily, navigating a very foggy, windy road reminiscent of the road to Hana on Maui.  We passed through San Vito, by the Casa Botania and the botanical gardens, and down the windy road.  Road conditions were far better than they had been.  Our goodbyes with Darien were brief, she had an extremely busy social schedule that day!  =]

After getting through Neily, we headed towards Ojochal, a little bit past the midway point to San Manuel Antonio/Quepo.  We crawled through the last 30 km, as the construction crews were out repairing the roads.  They had done an amazing amount of quality work in the short few days we were in Fila Guinea.  As we pulled by the Ojochal turnoff, we were very impressed with the work.  We had lunch at Citrus, a fairly new restaurant that had been listed as up and coming in the Lonely Planet Costa Rica guide.  We would both highly recommend it!!!!

Even with road construction underway, our remaining time riding to Quepos was fairly quick.  The longest part was taking the side road down into San Manuel Antonio to find our hotel, La Mansion.  We were told that they didn’t have the room we booked, and that we had a room that was “not very small” that we would be pleased with.  I feared another hotel with two twin beds, but should have known better.  We were taken on a tour around the hotel, and then led to the Presidential Suite!

Dinner plans quickly changed from in town to in-room -- the elegant setup, the beautiful food presentation, and the personalized service made it a room that was very hard to leave. 

Graduation Day

Also, our last day in Fila Guinea.

We decided last night that we would definitely be headed back to San Jose on Friday, extending the travel to two days.  With reservations for a boutique hotel in Manuel Antonio secured, we were ready for the day.  Today was a big day in Fila Guinea, the two schools were having their graduation days.  The one on the top of the hill starting an hour earlier than the one at the bottom of the hill.

We went and picked up Aaron and headed to the school at the top of the hill.  As we pulled in the gate, it seemed like dozens of voices started shouting “Darien, Darien!”  Well, really, there were...

The kids were in the midst of eating their last school meal of the year when we arrived.  Polite, sweet, friendly.  Afterwards, there was a loosely assembled soccer game.  Darien soon got a call that the buffer was needed down at the lower school, so off we went.  I have to say my favorite part of the morning was when Benjamin came up to me, rubbed my hand, and wished me “Hola, Mama Darien.”

We picked up the buffer and headed to the lower school.  As with upper school, the children were feasting.  They were also dancing, getting their faces painted, and clamoring around Darien and Aaron.  We partook in the meal with the children and teachers, and then all of us got our faces painted. 

From there, we went out to the school garden to pick lettuce and various other veggies, dropped them off at the house, and then went to the local eatery to have a local lunch.  It sits across from the local wi-fi spot, so you can imagine what went on before and after lunch...we were surrounded by the local high school children, whose bus drivers brought them to the eatery and pulperia after school for a while before heading home.  Darien’s Fila is the only one with a cantina, so it makes for quite the hot spot.

We dropped off Aaron, saying our goodbyes, and then headed back to Darien’s house to make a final dinner and prep to leave the next day.

Meeting Aaron

And today was the day we terrorized Darien’s not yet week-long boyfriend, Aaron!  He willingly volunteered to spend the entire day with us, sight unseen.  Aaron is also a Peace Corps volunteer, and he lives about two ridgelines away from Darien.  He hails from Maryland, and had a brief, varied career before joining.  His sense of humor was great, blended right in with our motley crew, and we enjoyed spending a day in his company.  Not many 20-somethings can quote from Austin Powers freely!!

The early morning was lovely, we spent time walking around Darien’s community, and I got to meet many people, and to go buy supplies at the local Pulperia after visiting the lower school in Darien’s community.  It is obvious that Costa Rica places great value upon education, and the teachers very obviously love their jobs. 

After picking Aaron up from his host family, we headed into San Vito for some lunchtime beverages for our picnic lunch, bought Darien two more towels and two pillows, and then headed to the Wilson Botanical Gardens.  The gardens were started in 1963 by Robert and Catherine Wilson, and then transferred to the Organization for Tropical Studies.  The gardens host over 1000 species of plants, and are used as a training ground for scientists as well as for providing education programs for the public.  Conservation, horticulture, sustainable development, agroecology and reforestation studies are carried out, and the gardens preserve endangered species.  We walked on several trails and saw lots of beautiful flowers and interesting critters, to include my first Tucan.  The rain miraculously held off during our entire visit in the gardens, much to my happiness, but we did still get to traverse the muck and grime.  I fear the rental will need detailing after we turn it back in.  =)  One thing I found out is that the Costa Rican version of a “no-see-um” leaves a stinger in you when you are bitten.  Wayne and I were covered on our legs with the welts.  Darien and Aaron, now native, didn’t have a mark on them!  So much for Deep Woods Off.  =p

Dinner was a lovely affair at the Casa Botania, a bed and breakfast between the Wilson Botanical Garden and San Vito.  It is run by a Tico-Belgian couple, Pepe and Kathleen (who has a baby on the way, due in February).  They met while she was leading a Belgian tour in Costa Rica, and he was the local tour guide.  The fusion of their tastes and passions is evident in the very beautiful B&B, reflected in their prix fixe three course dinner menu.  They also have a beautiful shepherd with soulful eyes who was trying very hard to sneak in to the dining room!

Wayne entertained with his iPhone, and then decided to Skype Eliot, who gave us the most memorable quote of the trip to date.  When Wayne said that he couldn’t see Eliot, Eliot’s response was, “Wait a minute, let me get a shirt on.”

After the meal was complete, with halting Spanish conversation (on my part, not Darien or Aaron’s) with Pepe, we headed back out to drop off Aaron, and make plans for tomorrow.  It appears it will be the hot springs!

Homework and exploring

Fila Guinea is one of several ridgeline communities surrounding San Vito.  San Vito is about 3200 feet above sea level, and the ridgeline communities are somewhat higher up.  The temperatures are mild, and it rains pretty much every day.  \When Italian settlers arrived here late in the Industrial Revolution, they carved this town out of the woods and established the coffee plantations that still comprise most of its economy. After clearing one of the area’s defining landmarks—a massive, 180 foot ceibo tree that they feared would cause damage if it fell on its own—they planned their new town around its remains. Today, there is a cultural center on the tree’s roots and the town’s most upscale hotel is named in its memory.

This morning we were up at sunrise, greeted by Darien and the smell of Costa Rican coffee brewing.  It was going to be a quiet day for me, I had to finish my policy paper and then get it sent in.  After receiving visitors in the morning who dropped off a kitchen table, several of the local school children stopped by, and Darien entertained them.  We wound up doing some re-arranging of her casa, and then Wayne and Darien went out walking while I worked on finishing up my paper.

Success was upon us!  Darien and Wayne came back from their walking tour, where Wayne met many of the people in the neighborhood, and I was nearly finished with the paper.  Lunch was had by all, and then as Darien and Wayne napped, I finished things up.  From there, we went and stopped in on friends of Darien’s en route to attempting to send out my paper and set up Darien’s iPhone.  Along the way, both Wayne and I agreed that Darien’s community really had the feel of Micronesia, Pohnpei in particular.  The disparate economic status of families just seemed to reinforce that impression.

We met with success in sending out the paper, but not with activating the jail-broken iPhone.  =[  C’est la vie.  Afterwards, we went with Darien to her upper school, where the teachers were having a small celebration involving lots of pork and alcohol, among which was Manischewitz kosher wine!  The staff was very, very friendly, and went out of their way to make us feel welcome.  As the night crept in, we faded, and headed home.

Onward to Fila Guinea

We managed to get in a little sleep, somewhere between 1:00 and 6:00 am, and then the day started.  Darn circadian rhythm!  And this while trying to establish compliance on my new CPAP machine.  It’s an awesome, easy little traveling machine.  =]

We met up with Darien for breakfast, Skyped Dad, and headed upstairs to pack.  Darien caught us up on her wonderful week -- getting her new place to live, the support (and furniture!) that the teachers brought over, and her new beau, Aaron.  Quite a week our girl had!!!  After packing, we did one more Skype call to NY to talk with my Mom, and then we started the drive down to Fila Guinea.  The bus route to Darien’s community takes 7 hours, we were hoping to make it a little more quickly than that.

After leaving San Jose, we headed down the Pacific Coast line, eventually stopping in Tarcoles for lunch at Restaurant Nambi, which was right by Crocodile River.

The food at Nambi was great, and then we headed to go see the crocs -- there were at least a dozen there in the river, and one HUGE one was swimming along rapidly.

After lunch, it was back down the coast, heading to Palmar Norte, where we would cut over to reconnect with the Pan American Highway, which ends in Darien, Panama!  The sun began to disappear, and the rain began.  The conditions of the roads was rapidly deteriorating, due to the heavy rainy season.  There were many potholes, and we were pretty certain that we were falling in behind some pretty drunk drivers along the road.  We drove several hours until we made it to Dominical, where we had a coffee break, and topped off the tank.  The method of preparing the coffee was most unusual, but the locale was quite beautiful.

We left Domincal, and made it to Palmar Norte, where we started climbing up the mountains.  By now, it was downpouring, pitch black, and there were lots and lots of potholes filled with water.  Landslides also abounded on the road, oftentimes obscuring half of the road.  We crept along at a slow pace, trying to avoid the weaving drivers while paying attention to the road.

Somewhere around 8 pm, we made it to San Vito, had dinner in an Italian restaurant, and then continued to head to Fila Guinea.  We got in, had a tour of the house, unpacked somewhat, and collapsed!  I thought I’d be finishing my paper tonight, but somehow, that just won’t be happening.  Sleep beckons.