Saturday, 20 June 2015

Costa Rica... the start of a new volunteering experience


Jueves 11 de junio - San Jose

After a final evening in Bogota, drinking a few beers with the other travellers in the hostel, I crash on the sofa until 3.15am when I awake and take a taxi to the airport. My first flight takes me to Panama City where I briefly depart my plane and then re-board in order to continue to San Jose. I have booked up a hostel, outside the centre of town for a couple nights whilst I get my plans together. After arriving at 'In and Basic Hostel', San Jose airport is infact in Alajuela a city slightly further away, I head off to eat.. spending 5000 colones, around 10 dollars.. and therefore around 20,000 Colombian pesos! I've been told Costa Rica is pricey, and I am now realising that.

I am feeling alone after being surrounded by new friends since my time volunteering in Ecuador. It is great therefore to skype with my oldest friend from home, Catrin and my sister. In the evening, I end up eating out again, but this time at a cheaper place with my dorm mate, Charlie from Putney.



Viernes 12 de junio - San Jose

My day is spent planning and contacting various different volunteering options in Costa Rica.  Heavy rain falls outside, putting a stop to any thoughts of exploring outside the hostel!

Sabado 13 de junio - San Jose

I make plans to head to Heredia but the hostel is full as I look to book up a couple nights in a dorm.  I instead switch hostels and remain in this side of San Jose. I decide, and confirm, that on Monday I will head to a remote area of Costa Rica called Mastatal, to volunteer on an agriculture farm.

Domingo 14 de junio - San Jose

With most places shut on Sundays, I end up spending the day watching the whole 2nd series of Broadchurch, after finding the episodes on youtube!

Lunes 15 de junio - Mastatal

After a final morning breakfast of pancakes at my hostel, I check out and take a local bus into the centre of San Jose. Here the plan had been to take a 2nd local bus to the otherside of the city, where my bus terminal/office is based. I however, manage to take two incorrect buses and finally take a taxi there! The bus is just about to depart when I eventually arrive, so I quickly grab a bottle of water and then jump on. Ahead of me I have around an hours journey to Puriscal, from where I will then take the 3pm bus (only one of the day..) to Mastatal.. infact it will drop me off at the entrance of the farm.

On arrival to Puriscal I hear two English speakers... gringos.. behind me. These two Americans, Jacob and Mark, are also on route to Mastatal but to a different project (in total there are 4 projects that use volunteers), they are about to begin a 6 month stay.. with visa runs needed in between due to the 3 month tourist visa. In Puriscal Jacob buys a machete, Mark is already in possession of one, in preparation for their upcoming work.

At 2.30pm, we board the ex-American school/army style bus, which quickly fills up before departing at 3pm. It is a slow and bumpy 2hr journey to Mastatal... plus we all have numb bums with 30mins still to go!

Eventually, sweaty and out of breath after the briefest climb up the pathway, I arrive at Villasmastatal! I meet the other friendly and welcoming volunteers. .too many names to remember at first.. there are currently 8 others here. Soon after it is dinner,  a filling and tasty meal! It's good to know I am now going to be settled here for the next few weeks... however let's see how well I get used to the bugs biting away at me!

Martes 16 de junio - Villasmastatal

My first full day at Villasmastatal and the start of my volunteering here!  After breakfast at 7am, we all slowly get ourselves ready for the mornings work. Here I will be volunteering only during the mornings from 8 - 12.. más o menos..! This means I'll have each afternoon free. Today we are heading to Cangreja National Park.. the border of which is literally opposite Villasmastatal. We walk for around 30mins to get to an entrance where Javier then gives us an insight about the national park ... a chance to understand some spanish.

Today I am equipped with a machete.. along with Isa and Javier, whilst the rest of the group carry rakes. Our job this morning is to clear the path! When we are finished we head to a nearby waterfall, making our way down the stream..I'm trying not to get my trainers wet and struggling with my balance, like usual.
It is a welcome end to our work, after chilling out here we make our way back to the farm for lunch. 

In the afternoon .. still without a flight home, I book up return flights from London to Milan, so that I can be there for Ferragosto and party with Iris and her friends in the North of Italy... my return is now inevitable, although a trip a week later away again is exciting! Of course there is plenty I am looking forward too on my return to England, seeing my family and friends, however seeing many new parts of the world, the life and culture, has given me a new found aspiration to possibly settle and work in other countries for longer periods in the future.

Later in the afternoon, we all head into town, around a 30min walk, to play football! At first we have even teams, 5 a side, and it is a lot of fun. . However after playing for a while, we begin to catch the attention of the locals,  resulting in new players joining our game.. soon it has become a lot more serious and skillful! 

We are all in need of a beer after the game, we leave the locals to continue their more intense contest... however soon after they are also at the small bar..here in Mastatal there is a bar, two small window shops, a library, a little school and the football pitch! With only one bus in and out of Mastatal daily, we are truly in the middle of nowhere. . The sight of electrical lines, despite of course slightly ruining the natural beauty from my window seat on the bus, still provided me with some satisfaction that I wouldn't be fully cut off from the rest of the world.. although no doubt that would have resulted in an even more heightened experience.







Miercoles 17 de junio - Villasmastatal

A hot and sunny morning, making the work difficult and extremely sweaty! Half of the group continue clearing the area around the coffee plants roots, a task they have previously started at the start of the week. The group I am amongst carry straw bags full of dead leaves to cover onto the area cleared around the roots of the coffee plants. The affects of the football, plus (maybe more so..) the lack of coffee this morning, along with the hot uncompromising sun blaring down upon us and the sheer humidity, results in a slow difficult mornings work (no doubt pleasure to the ears of many of you back in U.K who have followed my year long adventures far away from home!).

The idea of a trek to a waterfall in the afternoon has little appeal. I chill out in a hammock, beginning to read a new book. Later in the afternoon I walk into town with Marli and Isa to buy chocolate and have another cheeky beer.




Jueves 18 de junio - Villasmastatal

This morning I wake and get up at 6am in order to take part in a group yoga session. The views from the deck above our dormatory are incredible. A positive way to start the day, and a new experience. 

Yesterday afternoon a family arrived with two young children, as well as Kelsey who will be teaching Andres (the son of Javier and Rachel) as well as running yoga sessions for all. Javier decides to take us all on a tour of the farm and accomodation/social areas.. giving explanations about the plants and the history behind the different buildings and their construction. This agriculture farm has many examples of self sufficiency and recycled/natural creations. Very interesting and insightful,  plus a chance to practice spanish.. listening and speaking.

The tour takes up the majority of the morning, when we usually work, so today we have a day off from the normal hard labour! 

Later in the afternoon after more delicious food, we all head again into town for another game of football. After heavy showers earlier in the afternoon our game is played in parts on a waterlogged pitch.. Other volunteers from the chocolate farm arrive, so we have a match against them. The taste of a refreshing cold beer is again the perfect end to our afternoons excursion.

It is a dark walk home, the path partially lit by the couple of torches a few have brought with them! 





















Viernes 19 de junio - Villasmastal

Back to work on the farm, and today I dig and clear a tomato patch along with Chelsea and Roger. In the afternoon, whilst the rain pours down (others have gone off to two different waterfalls and are no doubt soaked from the rain), I finally book up my flight back to London..see you at the start of August..

We head out for drinks in the evening, most of the group are heading to the beach this weekend whilst the Dannish couple Lona and Mikkel are leaving for good, so it is goodbye to them. An end to a great first week volunteering in Mastatal. 



Tuesday, 16 June 2015

Vamos a la costa.. Colombia's Caribbean Coast and my final Colombian stop in Bogota


Lunes 25 de mayo - Cartagena

Before falling asleep I message with Iris and book up a hostel for our first night in Cartagena.. I am excited to meet up with her again..

At 3.35am my alarm is off and 5 minutes later Elias is opening my door to be sure that I am awake!! Gaby makes me some juice, I finish packing and soon after I am loading my luggage into the taxi and saying my goodbyes to my Colombian family! I have had a great week staying here, practicing my spanish.. with plenty of laughter when I have not understood questions from Gaby and trying to communicate. 

I arrive at the airport at 5am and find myself in a long queue.. after checking in and dropping off my main bag, I pass through security and then straight away I am boarding my plane for a 6.10am take off! I land in Cartagena an hour later, managing to get a bit more sleep on the plane. Iris will be arriving a few hours later so I find myself an area with free wifi and the time soon flies by.. a coffee helping to slightly wake me up. 

Finally Iris appears, walking out of arrivals wearing her new travel hat, it's great to see her again. We jump into a taxi and head into the historical walled part of Cartagena where our hostel is located. After dropping off our bags, we explore part of the city and grab a coffee.. catching up with our different adventures since we last saw each other in Salasaka at the end of April. 

Back at the hostel, we check in, shower and then head for some lunch, to a restaurant recommended by our hostel owner.. we are told it is well priced, the food is great but is a bit pricey for our budget.. we won't be able to keep this up!

We continue exploring the historical city during the afternoon and make plans to head to Playa Blanca tomorrow.. vamos a la playa!















Martes 26 de mayo - Playa Blanca

I have felt myself being bitten during the night and awake to a nightmarish body covered in bites.. BED BUGS! As can be imagined, I am not in the best mood, although we have a slight laugh at the situation.. Iris had bed bugs throughout her time in Salasaka.. although never this bad!!

We swiftly leave the hostel, taking first a bus and then taxi to Playa Blanca.. the cheaper alternative then by boat. The sea is light blue.. white sand.. beautiful.. we find beds in the first beach side hostel we come across and then head straight into the sea to enjoy the remainder of the afternoon at the beach!

In the evening we enjoy a beach side beer whilst the sun sets in the distance.







Miercoles 27 de mayo - Playa Blanca

We awake to a beautiful day.. the sun is shining, blues skies above.. after a fruit filled breaky we spend the day lying on the beach, swimming in the sea.. paradise! 


In the evening.. after becoming fed up of our tuna wrap diet, we enjoy a beach side meal.. muy rico!













Jueves 28 de mayo - Playa Blanca/Cartagena

Today it is cloudy and grey, so we continue with our plans to head back to Cartagena around midday. After checking into a different hostel, we can finally shower for the first time in a few days.. the only option at the beach was a bucket of questionable water which we both had declined! A good scrubbing is needed.. finding sand everywhere.. ! We then get planning for our next week together.. booking up accommodation. Later in the evening Iris cooks a tasty spaghetti dish.. the Italian in her fully coming out!

Viernes 29 de mayo - Cartagena

We have a chilled morning, we find out about Isa and Kellys (friends from Salasaka) travels in the south of Colombia, and then check out and head to another hostel in another neighbourhood of Cartagena known as the party area.. Getsemani. Our new hostel, Pachamama, has a good vibe as soon as we enter. The heat however here in Cartagena is a killer.. very hot and humid.. an ice cream break in the afternoon is therefore required! 

We get chatting to other travellers in the hostel in the evening, and then head out for drinks in the main square close by.











Sabado 30 de mayo - Minca

After a late night, we are up earlyish as we have planned to head to Minca today. After breaky and preparing sandwiches for our lunch, Iris then repacks her bag... from top to bottom.. well, bottom to top infact.. eventually we are ready (although at this point, after waiting around, I've decided to start playing my guitar.. but soon I pack it back up and we are off!).

First we take a local bus to the terminal.. it is a hot and sweaty day, made worse by the amount of traffic we find ourselves in.. later coming across a 3 car/1 bus pile up! Next we take a bus to Santa Marta.. which takes longer then expected as well.. After being dropped off on the outskirts of Santa Marta, we are unsure if we will now be able to continue to Minca as it is late afternoon and transport will be limited.. 

We end up taking a pricey taxi followed by a moto taxi.. a horrible experience.. I have both my bags on, plus I hold my guitar in one hand and try to cling on with the other.. whilst every now and then having to grab my hat so that it doesn't fly off as we speed up the steep, windy, bumpy, mountain to our hostel.. Casa Elemento. Eventually we arrive, after a long days travel.. it is a very cool place, located high in the mountains further up from Minca with awesome views. We enjoy dinner and a few beers, and meet Aussie couple Dan and Ella.





Domingo 31 de mayo - Minca

A long sleep and lie in.. much needed. We miss out on breaky due to our late wake up, but after some coffee and bread we have left, we decide to head out on a 3 hr trek down to Minca from the hostel with Dan and Ella. The chef at the hostel makes us some wraps to take with us, plus fruit, choc and nuts! After one of the volunteers draws us up a map of the route to take..we are off!

The walk at first takes us briefly further up the mountain and then all the way down via a waterfall where we stop for lunch. The final part of our walk is on the main road which the moto taxis and jeeps use. Rain starts to fall and soon we are soaked due to how heavy it becomes! A beer and chips, on arrival to Minca, is a welcome end to our trek. We take mototaxis back up to the hostel, and this time an enjoyable experience! 









Lunes 1 de junio - Palomino

Me and Iris enjoy coconut for breakfast, which we have bought in Minca yesterday, tasty and fresh, however bugs end up in the cup of juice! Dan and Ella are also checking out today, so we plan on taking a taxi from Minca back to Santa Marta together. Whilst waiting for the Aussies in Minca I recognise a guy walking across the street, an ex student from Davenant, Cameron, who was in Yr 13 when I returned there for my teacher training. We chat and catch up with both our travel experiences. Soon we are all heading to Santa Marta, bags loaded onto a dodgy looking car, likely to brake down at any moment! 

Eventually, after hitting a lot of traffic on route, we arrive at The Dreamers Hostel. Me and Iris have booked up to stay here tomorrow night, after Palomino, but now rejig our plans to stay 2 nights in Palomino from tonight.. then continue to Costeno Beach, before returning here on Friday. We are therefore able to leave the majority of our luggage at the hostel!

After eating at the hostel, we head to the big supermarket in town to buy supplies for the rest of the week and then take a bus all the way to Palomino. We bump into an Italian chef working in Palomino and Iris is able to have a chat with him in Italian.. I can't help but smile at the sound of the two Italians conversing!

At the Dreamers Hostel, Palomino, we meet Nathan and Jayne in our dorm, and have a funny night together. We finish the night enjoying a beer at a beach side bar.




Martes 2 de junio - Palomino

A lazy day, relaxing at the hostel.. although annoyingly the pool is out of use.. nooo! I read more of my book, Gone Girl, and later in the afternoon me and Iris take a stroll down the beach to the end of one of the rivers, which many travellers spend the afternoon tubing down. 





Miercoles 3 de junio - Costeño Beach

This morning Iris and Jayne head off down the beach for a morning Yoga session. I remain at the hostel and read more of my book.. which is enthralling, despite having seen the movie and hence knowing the plot and twists! After more tuna wraps for lunch we make our way to Costeño Beach via the bus.. and then a half hour walk.. a killer in this heat. After passing a sign stating 10 mins to go it feels like we continue to walk for another 20! Here we have a beach side hut for the two nights, a chilled out lcoation and great food in the evening.





Jueves 4 de junio - Costeño Beach

A relaxing day in the hot hot sun.. the sea here is very wavy making it good for surfing but not so for swimming! However,  no complaints, it is happy days here, life can't get too much better. 




Viernes 5 de junio - Santa Marta

We spend our final morning relaxing by the sea, although I prefer to be in the shade! We chat with two Mexican travellers, a chance to practice some spanish and find out they are also on the same flight tomorrow to Bogota. 

After lunch we return to The Dreamers Hostel in Santa Marta. We had planned to have a big night out on the party bus, but Iris... having spent the whole morning on a sun bed.. is now feeling the affects.. a slightly red face and she is not feeling too great. We try to chill out instead, although the music blasting out from the bar makes this close to impossible! 






Sabado 6 de junio - Santa Marta/Bogotá

Today it is the Champions League final! In the morning I finish reading Gone Girl and soon after the game kicks off. Most of the travellers in the hostel are squeezed around the screen to watch the entertaining and exciting game. After a deserved Barca win, we take a taxi to the airport and fly to Bogota, our final stop in Colombia before I continue to Costa Rica on Thursday morning and Iris will fly back to Quito on Wednesday. 

On our arrival to our hostel, which we have made a reservation online, we are told they are full!! We end up at a nearby hostel.. which isn't so nice.. but it is only for the night. We head out for some food and then take a taxi to the huge nightclub Teatron where we party into the early hours of the morning! 










Domingo 7 de junio - Bogotá

After breakfast, we are happy to be checking out of this hostel and returning to Hostel Alegria where we will remain for our last three nights together. We buy some supplies for lunch and dinner, and then wait and wait untill we are able to check into our room. Other travellers turn up to find out there is either no room for them tonight or they will have to stay in a different room to what they had reserved.. A nice hostel but lacking any organisation!! 


Lunes 8 de junio - Bogotá

After breakfast we walk to Plaza de Los Periodistas where the graffiti tour we will be going on starts from. There is a lot of different styles of graffiti to see in this area, and we find out about the different techniques used to create the art. We also find out that in recent years there has been a positive change in mind set towards the graffiti, and now there is an acceptance and promotion of the graffiti. The tour ends at a huge wall covered by political graffiti, we find out about the meanings behind these works .. a powerful, shocking and sad truth of the troubles in Colombia's recent past. 

Today it is also a national holiday meaning that most places are shut, including the museums. We explore the streets, which have been closed off to traffic and come across guinea pig betting.. whereby you put money down on different plastic boxes where you think the guinea will run into and finish inside.. how random! We find a nice place for an afternoon coffee, and then later in the evening head out for a beer and hot dogs! It has been a great couple weeks with Iris, after meeting back in March when volunteering in Ecuador. Tomorrow will be our last full day together, soon Iris will be heading back to Europe and I'll be continuing my travels in Central America. 


















Martes 9 de junio -  Bogotá

After a lazy morning, we decide not to go on the bike tour and instead head off to buy supplies for lunch. Iris organises her upcoming flights and I begin searching for volunteering opportunities in Costa Rica.. my plans are starting to change whereby I might now not continue to Mexico but instead finish my travels in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. 

At an internet cafe, where Iris is able to print off her flight documents, I help her to complete an online application for a summer camp job she will be starting next week! We then walk to the cable car which takes us high up onto the top of a mountain providing awesome views of the huge city of Bogotá. The sun is setting as the cable car takes us up, we see the city turn to night. On our route back to the hostel we stop off at a Mexican restaurant recommended to us on the graffiti tour.. a very tasty final meal together.








Miercoles 10 de junio - Bogotá

After spending the morning together, in a blur before midday, Iris's taxi arrives and she is gone, our time together has come to an end and for the first time in many months I will now be continuing my travels alone! But Europe is small in comparison to the distances I have travelled this year, so I'm hopeful I will be seeing Iris again sometime soon. 

I spend the rest of the day researching and sending messages to many different volunteering projects in Costa Rica whilst also preparing myself for the change.. I have only just realised that I will need to show proof of my exit from the country in order to be allowed to enter (in fact to be able to exit Colombia at the airport..) so I find a cheap flight to Nicaragua and choose the end of July, giving myself a month to 6 weeks to commit to volunteering and travelling in the country. August is getting closer.. my return to the U.K and the end of this mid twenties gap year.. who knows where I'll end up again in the future though...