Costa Rica, Cows & Cemeteries

Over C's Spring Break, we made a trek to Costa Rica. This had been a country that had been on my list to see for over 5 years, and it really turned out to be the trip I had always hoped it would be. We saw some amazing sites like the Arenal Volcano-- we got to hike around the base of it, and then when the sun set, see lava flow down the side. We saw the hot springs of Tabacon, where people frolic in the natural heated water in a so beautiful-it-almost-seems-like- Disneyworld-setting except that volcano towering above us was real. We hiked through the Monteverde Cloud Forest, saw monkeys frolic above us, and saw the quetzal, an indigenous bird that our guide was thrilled to see so many of. And of course, we zip-lined-- climbing platforms that towered some 400+ foot above the trees, attaching ourselves to wires and sliding to and from. (yes, it was scary, but it was fantastic) The weather held out for most of the trip, the hotels were good, and the first-class flights were nice as well. (thanks again, Mom)

But as I mentioned on our recent trip to Mexico, as wonderful as all of those things were, something I couldn't have planned for was the highlight of the trip. We ended up traveling with John and Dana, a classmate of C's and his wife, who although were already very high on my list of awesome people, have climbed even higher after the trip. The itinerary worked out that we flew into San Jose together and then would drive together for the 4 hour journey up to Arenal, and then the next 4 hours to Monteverde. Traveling together is an excellent test of a relationship between two people, and even more so four people when you're in a country where no one has ever been, the roads are incredibly poor and good directions are hard to come by. And as it turns out, it will be the time spent with John and Dana on the roadtrips that I'll most likely remember when I look back on the trip.

To use the word 'road' on the way between Arenal and Monteverde is somewhat of a joke. We followed a partially paved road winds around Lake Arenal that then gives way to a mish mash of dirt and rocks for the last 70 mile push to Monteverde (a long way when you're only going 20 mph or so). We tried to make the best of it; we stopped in a town of a few homes and 1 "soda", the Costa Rican term for a cafe. No one at the restaurant spoke English and our Spanish was all pretty rusty. There was no menu and the cook just said 'bistec'. We rolled with it, ordered cuatro platas, and it turned out to be a fabulous meal.

As we pushed on, the drive became weary. We passed a lot of farms, with cows everywhere mindlessly grazing. When we passed a small church with a cemetery, I was reminded of a game my parents used to have my brothers play on road trips. The rules were simple: one person took each side of the road, and as fields went by filled with cows, the person who had that side of the road counted as many as they could see until they were out of sight. The one with more cows wins. Oh, the catch? All would be good unless you passed a cemetery on your side; once that happened, all of your cows would be dead and you'd have to start over from zero. I told this story to make fun of myself and the country surroundings that I grew up in and as we wound our way through the heart of Costa Rica, everyone chuckled. And about 2 minutes later when Dana saw some cows on her side, she started frantically counting. John was on the other side, and it was game on. For the next hour, we laughed excitedly as each new field approached, and time seemed to fly.

In the end, poor John ended up having two cemeteries on his side of the road, and Dana ended up winning the game handily. I hope I get to tell that story to their grandkids someday, and I'll probably still be laughing. If you would have told me going into the trip that all of those dusty hours in the car, counting cows, would have been a highlight, I wouldn't have believed it. But that's the beauty of travel, and really, life- no matter how hard you plan, you never quite know what's around the next bend.

But I'm pulling for more cows.