Last Days at Essence Arenal

Tonight is my last night at the farm.  I am feeling anxious to start my journey home.  I leave Costa Rica on Monday morning at 1:00 AM.  Then, I have a day and a half in San Juan, Costa Rica.  I will arrive in Minnesota on Wednesday around 2:00 pm, that is if all goes well.

On my last day off, Ronnie and I were able to borrow Lelander's horses for a whole day.  We walk to another organic farm.  Again, I ran into my friend, Steve, who was on his way out to the farm to make connections for his volunteer company.  It was nice, we drank a couple of beers, then headed back to El Castillo; only to find that I dropped my wallet somewhere on the trip.  SO, we had to make the trip all the way back to look for it.  The first part of the ride was great, but the second part hurt my butt sore.  I am still feeling sore from it.  We didn't find my wallet, but someone did, and it was returned to Essence Arenal.  

On the farm, I mowed the whole lawn.  Today I planted beans next to the coffee, because it produces a lot of nitrogen for the coffee.  I took some picture of some of the people who work on the farm.  

Last night, Phillip, the German, and I met some girls from Holland.  After supper, we all went down to Kelly, the Restaurant Manager’s flat for some drinks and cards.  It was great fun.  

Here are some pictures.  I have to run to the Game.  Oh yeah, It has been raining like crazy.  Everything I have is soaked, it sucks, but it's awesome.  See ya!

Joe

Ten Days left in Costa Rica

I have only 10 days left in Costa Rica.  I have been having the experience of my life here in El Castillo.  The work on the farm is hard, but I am in great shape now.  It is no longer a problem for me to lift and shovel an entire day.  I don't even get sore or winded now!  Nice.

I haven't been doing too much away from the farm.  I meet some really nice girls from Spain.  Yesterday they gave me a ride into La Fortuna, where I met up with Esteban, the guitar player I met my first day in La Fortuna.  We walked around and drank a 40 oz of Pilsen Beer.  After, we took a cab up the free hot springs.  It is one of the best hot springs around, not for the beauty, but because it doesn't smell like sulfar.  I was supposed to get picked up at 11:00 am, but the shuttle neglected to pick me up.  I haven't once been pick up by the shuttle.  However, we got a ride from an American from California. He owns 2 bars in  La Fortuna, as well as a dog refuge.  He has like 30 dogs.  He was very laid back.  In exchange for the ride, we all drank rum and played music for about an hour after our arrival home.

Today is my Monday for work.  I feel healthy and rested.  I am going to be composting all the fruit trees that run along the trail today.  Up and down with a wheel barrel of compost.  This time, the wheel barrel will be empty on the way up... nice.

I am starting to get antsy to come home.  I have so much work ahead of me for the upcoming school year.  I have nerves.  I am also riding the plastic right now, which is a little unsettling.  I am looking for some cash work when I get back.  If anyone has any work for me, please let me know.

One more story,  I never mentioned that I accidentally made my return trip from SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico..... not SAN JOSE, Costa Rica.........  So, before I come back to the states, I am going to be spending a night in San Juan.  Hilarious now, but I had to purchase a different return ticket just to leave the country.  I was able to fully refund the ticket, but I had to purchase a ticket to San Juan for my return flight.  It will work out.

Hope all is well,
Missing a bunch,
Joe

Update from the farm

Hello all,

The last couple of days have quite the workout.  I have been doing a lot of composting and planting. Composting starts with the decomposed horse manure.  Yesterday I shoveled ten, ten gallon bags of poop.  I am officially used to the smell of barn.  After gathering the poo, I mix the compost. It contains one part decomposed organic material, one part soil, and one part dry materials, I used dried leaves.  I made three huge piles of each, then I mixed them all together.  It was tough. Imagine you are stirring up a big batch of chocolate chip cookies, only the spoon is a shovel, and the bowl is 6 feet tall.  I dug it though. The hard work is really making me healthy.

Planting pineapple is really simple.  You plant the top of the pineapple about 2 inches deep, and top it off with compost.  Planting coffee trees is only slightly more complicated.  First you dig the narrow hole for the roots. Then you mix composed in the bottom of the hole.  After that, you trim a ring of soil around the hole to put compost on.  Lastly, you put fill and pack the roots in, and top the dirt with composed. 

Indoor Soccer Team

I have been listening to music all day, every day.  I’ve been trying to listen to music I don’t usually listen too.  I have so much music, it makes it difficult to listen to it all.  Some of the albums include Trouble- Ray LaMontagne; Feed back- Jurassic 5; Together/apart- Grieves; Rage Against the Machine- Rage Against the Machine; The Darjeeling Limited Soundtrack; Skin and Bones- Foo Fighters; Time Bomb- Iration; All Day- Girl Talk; Jay-Z MTV Unplugged; and Hunky Dory- David Bowie.  I would recommend any of these albums to music lover’s with eclectic taste.  For people who have similar taste to my mother, I recommend Trouble, Hunky Dory, The Darjeeling Limited Soundtrack and Skin and Bones.  They are NOT RAP, so try them out!

On my day off, Ronnie, the chef and I hitch hiked in to La Fortuna to get cash and have a nice day.  We missed the shuttle in the morning, so we had to walk and HH.  There are many locals driving by, so it isn't dangerous.  Ronnie and I had a full day of drinking and walking.  We also missed the shuttle home, so we had to get a cab.  Ronnie talked down the cabbie, so it wasn't too expensive.  We also bought Tiger Woods, 2006 on the playstation 2, so we have some great entertainment.  

Yesterday, I had an indoor soccer game.  We won 2-0. It was my first shoutout. I am actually respected as a goalie. It is pretty sweet indeed.  I got a good picture of my team after the game.  My knees and hips are quite bruised, which doesn't really make the work on the farm any easier.  

Other than that, I have been working hard, being healthy, and having a great time.  Sorry if this post is a little funky. I started it 4 days ago, and am too lazy to revise it tonight!

Hope all is well,

Joe

My first 4 days at Essence Arenal

The view from my tent. It was like a treehouse.

 Hey all,

I finally made it the Essence Arenal.  It was quite the journey.  First, I missed my arrival date because I didn't plan properly for the bus trip. Once I arrived in La Fortuna, I missed the pick-up for the farm, because the driver didn't know my name (he was supposed to). So, I didn't get in a van with a stranger.  The farm people were a little frustrated with me.  Then I was late for breakfast in the morning, which put them over the edge.  I blame my roommate for the the night, she set an alarm, and was under the impression that it was lax on the time for breakfast.  It wasn't really her fault, but I had to talk to the owner and convince him to let me stay.  It was really stressful.

Anyways, now that I am here, it is all good.  The last three days, I have PUSH mowed the entire farm, and gathered stones for another day.  Both were an incredible amount of work, but I rocked it out.  I am losing weight pretty quickly, I haven't been on this good of track in a long time.  It is because of the hard work and the incredibly good food. There is an in house chef who cooks amazing vegetarian food, all from the farm.  Pretty much every meal is the best I've ever had.

Millipede I found while moving stones. 

I was living in a tent for a night, but then I was moved to another house with the chef.  His name is Manny, he is a cool guy.  We have been chillin out at night.  He is helping me with my Spanish, and I with his English.  We play God of War II, and drink beer.  On my day off, we are going to get food and have a BBQ.  It is gonna be pretty bomb for sure. He will teach me a thing or too.

My roommate Manny.  He fell in love with photobooth.

Yesterday night, Heiro, the farm help, took me into town to play indoor soccer, on concrete. It was intense.  The whole town was there.  The level of competition was very high.  I was playing goalie for the team.  Playing goalie requires a lot of communication with the team.  It was difficult to communicate with them, but they were very nice and understanding.  We played 2 games, and lost them both (4-3), (4-1), but the team was happy with my performance.  For those of you who don't know, I played in high school.

I just finished breakfast, so I need to bounce out to work.  These are some pictures from the farm.  The volcano is called Arenal.

Hope all is well,

Indoor soccer.

Joe

Volcano Arenal.

First Days in Coasta Rica

I made it.  Much has happened since I left. 
1. When I got to the airport to fly out of portland, I found out I accidentally made my return flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico instead of San Jose, Costa Rica.  I had to by another ticket to have proof that I am leaving the country.  I am unable to switch my trip because I already left, so I am going to by a ticket to san juan.  It will be my cheapest option.  It has been a big hassle to say the least.

2.  Once I got to San Jose, I met some Austrian and German fellas.  My original plan was to stay in San Jose for a few days, but there wasn´t a ton to do, so I went to Montezuma with the guys.  The place was paradise.  We hung out on the beach and relaxed for 3 days.   We found a trail up to the top of three waterfalls.  There, we found a rope swing and a 35 foot cliff to jump off.  When I think of what I wanted to do in Costa Rica, this was a great start.  We met two girls from France, and we also hung out with a couple from Canada as well.  It is so easy to meet people when traveling alone. 

3. Last night, I missed my bus connection to La Fortuna, so I stayed one more night with the Austrians.  We were in Puntarenes, and the only restaurants that were open were Chinese Restaurants.  It was pretty funny trying to order chinese food in spanish.  My spanish is coming along.  The few months I have been using Rosetta Stone has been paying off.  Although i am not anywhere near fluent, I have been able to ask for directions, hold simple converstations, order food, and tell people that mi español es no bueno!  It´s hard to pick up new words, but I am really solidifying what I have learned.

4.  I just arrived in La Fortuna.  It is beautiful.  It has a volcano, hot springs, and rain forest.  It is very beautiful, but very full of tourists.  I am going to be picked up at 5:15 tonight to start my wwoofing experience.  I am very excited to be in a private place, and not to stand out so much.  The swindlers are getting annoying. 

I dont know if there is internet available at the farm, but if not I will check in next Sunday!

Peace and Love,


 Joe  

7/11/12 Last hours in Portland

Today is my last day in Portland. I am sitting at Brads, sorta doing rosetta stone, sorta pacing around, and sorta watching How I met your mother (great show).  I am really anxious to get to the airport.  I am nervous about how little Spanish I know.  There was a problem at the post office, so the next levels got sent back to Minnesota (I forgot them).  I just got Level 2 of Rosetta stone and I am trying my best.  Right now, I am learning directions and stuff.  It is pretty essential.  

I do have my hostel reserved, it is right in the heart of San Jose.  I think it will be great fun, and it is only 11$ a night.  niiiice.  I will be staying there though Sunday, then I will be off to the organic farm to begin a new adventure.  

Last night, Brad and Janie took me to Kennedy Elementary School.  It is turned in to a hotel complex.  There are 6 bars, a movie theater, pool/hot tub, brewery, smoking room, and a couple other things I am forgetting.  It is really an awesome place.  They brew their own beer and distill their own whiskey.  We had a nice time.  Here are some pics.  

I am going to get on out of here,

I'll check back in Costa Rica.  I will be there tomorrow at 5:00 am.

Voy a la Costa Rica!

7/9/11 Camping at Eagle Creek and Portland Blues Festival

Hey all, 


I have been really busy since the last post.  We went camping, to the Blues Fest, and I had dinner with my aunt.

Eagle creek has a trail that goes along it all the way up the the Pacific Crest.  Because of a time restraint, we camped just 4 miles up stream, just inside the Mt. Hood wilderness.

The picture to the right shows the falls located right behind our camp sight.  These falls had three level, but you can only see the top.  The falls run along a steep, moss and tree covered cliff.  It is beautiful.  Everything was so green and vibrant.  Above the falls, there was a nice calm spot that we used to wash dishes and things.  The water was quite cold, too cold to swim in.  It did, however make a great way for us to refrigerate our mayo.

Because our campsite was so close to the trail, people were cutting through to see the waterfall.  It was an obvious hot spot.  We didn't mind though.  I met a guy from Kalamazoo, MI.  He was nice, and he let me borrow his water filter.  I also met a girl from Switzerland.  She was very nice too. She was staying in Washington and was just there to see the sights.  We also met a couple from Florida. They were camping for the first time ever.

The picture to the right is of me in front of Tunnel Falls.  The black spot by my right shoulder is a man made tunnel that runs underneath the falls.  The falls are huge, probably 200 feet tall.
The picture under that one is of Brad walking on Eagle Trail.  We were walking along a huge gorge with the river running down the middle.

Yesterday we went to the Portland Blues Festival.  It is the second biggest in the county, bigger than Bayfront Festival.  We went on the final day to see Steve Miller.  It was great.  He played a bunch of old song, as well as some great blues.  You can tell he is getting a bit older, but he sang well and the songs are such great singalong songs.  I managed to get about 30 feet from stage, while Janie and Brad sat in the back on blankets.

Today I reserved my hostel in San Jose.  It is very centrally located near the capital and many museums.  The cost is eleven dollars a day, pretty cheap huh?  I am still finalizing my wwoof plans because I may be able to teach at one, but they haven't got back to me yet.  I did find one that has plenty of room, so I have a backup.

Anyways, I am gonna hit the sack, I am beat.  Long day of Rosetta Stone tomorrow.

Night,

Joe