A Tit Bit Nipply

3/13/13            Tapanti

We headed out at 8AM today.  Kiri Lodge, where we're staying, is not in the park so we had to walk to it.  It probably took around 30 minutes (to be honest my judging of time has gone completely out the window on this trip so I may be wrong).

Once we reached the park entrance we took use of the facilities while checking out the trail map.  Dr. George told us we'd be doing the Sendero Arboles Caidos Trail, which was around 2-3km, followed by the Oropendola Trail.  There's a spot by the river with a swimming hole on this trail.  Since I was already soaked to the skin, and we had only just entered the park, it sounded like a decent plan.

The rain calmed down by the time we reached the trail-head.  We were told the trail was steep, but I wasn't expecting it to start right away like it did.  It all worked out, though.  We steadily made our way up the mountainside in the company of trees completely covered in moss and epiphytes.  It was green everything... except for the mud.

The fun really began when we began the descent.  Portions of it were even steeper than the way up.  The people up front (Dr. George was in the back at the time) even considered sliding down on their butts in a couple of places.  It didn't fully come to that, but it was close.

Pura Vida

3/8/13               Newark -> El Zota Biological Station

Woke up at the buttcrack of night this morning.  Not the buttcrack of dawn, the buttcrack of night.  2AM to be exact.  I proceeded to get everything together for one final check before heading out to meet my ride at 3.  Kevin's dad was kind enough to drive Kevin, myself, and Michael to the airport.

By the time we made it onto the plane I was super tired and ready to sleep.  All I wanted was to pull down the tray table and sleep on it.  But alas, it was not to be.  It was snowing as we attempted to leave Newark International airport and the plane had to be de-iced on the tarmac.  I eventually just leaned my head on the seat back in front of me and fell asleep.  I was jerked awake about 30 minutes later as the plane took off, only to fall asleep again.  I was just happy to get some more sleep.

Getting into Costa Rica and through customs was overall pretty easy I think.  At least compared to my other experiences.  Anyways, we made it outside where we met up with our guide, Isreal, and our drivers.  We then climbed aboard an amazing blue minibus and began our journey.

We drove through San Jose to a restaurant- La Casa de Dona Lela- where we received platters of absolutely delicious Costa Rican food.  Rice, beans, tortillas, cheese, meats, salsas, plantains, and yuca.  So tasty. 

A World of Pure Imagination

4/23/11     Franz Josef

I was awakened early this morning by the departure of Kristen and Tifah.  They decided to jump ahead a bit since they have assignments to work on.  So we are temporarily down to five people.  The rest of us got up about 8:15 or so.  Nora, Tony, and Kaleb were going on a full day glacier hike.  I was keeping an eye on the weather to decide if I really wanted to go on the 5 hour hike I had planned for the day.  You see, it was pouring rain outside when we woke up.  I didn’t really feel like 5 hours of walking in the rain.  I did, however, really want to see the Franz Josef glacier.

The rain had fizzled out by around 10 am so I decided to go for it.  By the time I left, about 10:45, it was raining pretty steadily again.  I quickly stopped at a shop and bought a hat, my best decision of the day.  I then forged on in my journey.  My first goal was to make it out of town, which I did without a hitch.  I had to cross a bridge that went over a rushing river flowing down from the glacier.  There were ice chunks being tossed about that were bigger than me. 

After getting my fill of awe-inspiring river currents, I crossed the one lane bridge and proceeded along the road for almost an hour until I reached the first hiking trail.  I used this trail to connect to my trail, where I was greeted by a sign.

If you cannot read this sign, it says “The track section at the end of Roberts Point Track is closed to the public until early May.  This is to allow the construction work to be completed for a new viewing platform.  The track is closed at the Rope Creek Suspension Bridge and it is not possible to see the glacier from there.”  I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I had just trekked an hour through the rain to reach this point, only to find out my trail was basically a bust.

I quickly (relatively) decided to keep going on my original path anyways.  I really wanted to go on some suspended bridges.  I walked along this path for another 15-20 minutes when I reached another intersecting trail.  This one led to Peter’s Pool, which my map told me was a “fantastic reflective view up the glacier valley” and the trail sign told me was only 20 minutes away.  I decided to detour and attempt to see the glacier before coming back and crossing the bridge I could just see through the bush.

About 15 minutes later this is what I saw.

Not too reflective, but it was pretty crappy weather.  After careful consideration, aka a split second decision, I decided to continue on my current path to hit up yet another different trail.  This one leading to a lookout point to view the glacier.  Also only a 20 minute roundtrip.  After reaching the apex of this trail, this was my view…

Oh Time, Where Have Thou Gone?

Hello readers!

So I apologize for not blogging in a week... or two.  I swear the time here goes by about 2x as fast as it does at home.  It's absolutely crazy!  I just wanted to inform you all of that.  So please don't be mad at me.  I've been super busy. 

Two weekends ago, April 1 and 2, myself and four other friends took a bus up to Lake Taupo.  We headed out Friday morning and got there in the afternoon.  We stopped at this cute restaurant called the Gumboot Manor for lunch.  Our orders looked a little something like this...

The food was absolutely delicious.  I got "one piece of fish and chips" expecting a light meal.  Oh no.  That piece of fish was half the size of the plate.  A full size dinner plate.  And the chips (fries) were falling off the other side.  It was some of the best fish I've had here.  And I've had quite a lot.  So after finishing our bus ride and getting to Taupo, we checked in to our hostel and then wandered the area.

Great place to sleep for cheap!

Not only is this a McDonald's plane, it's actually part of the playplace.  No Joke.  Best playplace ever.

The Freak Flags Fly High

February 8, 2011

Our fourth day in Fiji, and our last.  The day began as any other but developed into a night I will never forget.  The day began as the previous two, with wake-up occurring via drum.  After breakfast we went our separate ways.  I hooked in the help of Travis and together we took out a kayak to a portion of the island that was visible from the resort, but unreachable from the beach.

Once we reached the area, we wandered for a while.  I picked up a nice collection of seashells, though the best ones were occupied by hermit crabs.  And trust me, there were a LOT of hermit crabs.  It was almost disappointing.  Anyways, from there we headed straight out to the ocean. Yeah danger!  We decided to attempt to take a look at the rest of the island.

After seeing that there was nowhere else for us to explore safely we headed back to the island.  It was a little rough there for a while, but we found our rhythm and made it into shore safely.  As we pulled up to shore, we were called to lunch.  After lunch it became picture time.  We took pictures of everything and everyone.  Though we had only been on the island for three days, it felt like much longer.  Granted, we weren’t saying goodbye to each other, but we were saying goodbye to paradise and those who reside there on a daily basis.