The Costa Rican Adventure - Volume 23 - Making Up for Lost Time - Part 2
(Picture - Arenal Volcano at Sunset)
Making up for lost time, part two, basically covers December of 2021 through the present. Overall it was a fun seven months filled with more writing, a little bit of travel and a lot of humble and simple times and experiences. That is actually what I moved here for, however it didn't quite come in the manner in which I had planned it. Spontaneity was the theme of those seven months and it certainly directed my path for the months and year to come.
Six and a half of those months were spent with my dear friend and travel partner Maria. Maria was a fellow digital nomad whose previous travels touched the likes of Dubai, Singapore and several locations in and around Costa Rica. We explored a few new places in Costa Rica together (Playa Hermosa/Jaco, Monte Verde, San Jose and La Fortuna), and really tried to appreciate the culture, the people and the beauty of each location. Maria was an amazing cook, a good companion and had a beautiful outlook on life and connecting with others. Her travels recently continued to new parts of Costa Rica and she will be dearly missed.
There were many other events and activities that took place in those seven months and as I said earlier, their affects on the future were and are far reaching. When I came to Costa Rica, my original plan was to strictly focus on writing and for the most part, I did that very productively, as was explained in the previous blog. A second layer or aspect to my well-intended retirement, was to invest and research the newly popular and growing phenomenon of cryptocurrency. You could easily say that I went all in on that and it had its positives and negatives. The positives were a solid, locked-in set of investments that projectively, like stocks will pay their dividends at a future designated time of maturity, and is yet to be seen. The negative was a volatile and unpredictable market that like me, caused many people to re-evaluate their liquidity and make some tough decisions for the future.
Thus the reason why I am un-retiring and taking a teaching job, and returning to Alaska. Allakaket, Alaska to be exact. It is a remote village, one-hundred-nine air miles northwest of Fairbanks. Considered to be a part of the Arctic Circle, Allakaket will be a part of minus fifty degree weather, the beautiful northern lights, and four-plus months of twenty-plus hours of darkness. Yee haw, bring it on. I was well versed in both the cold and darkness in my recent experience and two years in Mountain Village on the western side of the state, one year ago. I loved it there and as I have said many times, it was an amazing experience on so many levels. The adjustment this time will be to a high school classroom instead of a third grade classroom and the repurchasing of 'all' of my winter gear, due to the fact that I sold it all when I left Mountain Village a year ago August. No worries though. You bob and you weave and do what you have to do.
Back to the life and times of Costa Rica over the last seven and a half months that I was here. I am so proud to say that I once again was fortunate enough to forge some amazing friendships over that time. One of which was my wonderful friend Bob, who owned the property that I stayed on for the last fourteen months. In a nutshell, Bob's property was a four unit Airbnb location, plus Bob's apartment, that served a huge variety of travelers over the last number of years. When I arrived, the short term rentals were on their way out and I became the first long-term renter in Bob's future. I lived in four of his five units and finally settled on a spacious two bedroom that provided a simple and humble day-to-day way of life. Bob and I originally met because of a travel video (Travelcostaricanow.com) made by two of my (now friends), Michael Alan and D'Angelo. Bob used to work as a plumber and welder in Alaska for many years, even working on the Alaskan Pipeline for many of those. Our Alaska connection allowed us to immediately hit it off and we became two very close and trusted friends. Bob can be best described as a unique, hard-working, old-timer who loves his loud music and daily, favorite vices, and has one of the most kind and giving souls I have ever met. I will be forever grateful to Bob for the help, kindness and friendship he showed me while I lived on his property.
My other friendships were forged 'in town' over the course of those fourteen months. You would be surprised how many people you can meet from a simple, daily walk through town, offering nothing more than a smile and a wave. Neither costs anything and the value they provide is priceless. My 4K walk from the edge of town, through town and back out during the morning and mid-afternoons gave me a cast of wonderful friends that I will always remember. My walk-friends were, but are not limited to; Jason, Luis and Gabriel - the three security guards at Maxi Pali whom I would buy a pop or bottle of juice for whenever I had to stop in on my walk to buy something, Adrian - who owned a successful hostel and shared many interesting conversations when he was across the street pottying his dogs, the unnamed little woman in the lottery booth - who would always watch for me and we would share a wave and "buenas dias", the guy and girl in the five-and-dime-lower-store - who always had a friendly hello on their morning and afternoon cigarette breaks, Rudy, Osman, Dormetho, Dani, Gabriel, Cezar, Andy, Jose, and Gustavo - the workers at Spectacolar Bar & Restaurant - who always had a wave from across the street shouting a "Hey Mateo" (also the guys who I saw every Tuesday night to write, drink, eat and listen to Jimmy Loop's music), Erika - the morning cleaner of Pollo Fortuneno - who always looked up from her sweeping to say hello and whom I brought a juice to at the end of each month for she and her daughter, the gardener of the big church, Carlos - the twin brother who sold adventure tours in La Fortuna and always had time to stop what he was doing to talk, the many Policia at the La Fortuna Police station who always waved on the road or at the station when I walked by, the many taxi drivers - who honked and waved when they saw me, Jos and Fernanda - the two sweet women who sold me my daily, small carton of orange juice for the park, Jose, Alex, Carla and Dionella - the waiters, waitresses and cook of Pollo de Familia (where I also spent countless days writing, eating fried chicken and drinking too much pop), Alfonzo - the sweet little man who sold me countless cups of freshly, squeezed orange juice for the second leg of my walk home, and the multiple guys and gals from Wave River Tours - who always had a smile and a wave to offer on my way by. There were more, many more who simply gave of their kindness, their time, their smiles or a simple wave to make that morning or afternoon a little happier, and a little friendlier. I will miss that very, very much. And I am proud to say that I 'never' missed a day of walking in the entire time I was in La Fortuna for the fourteen months I was there.
There were a few unique events that have stuck with me since I've been here. None more or less impacting that the other, but some of those things you just don't ever expect to happen to you or witness. I had a venomous snake, a Coral, slither in front of me on a path, within striking distance. However, I later read that the Coral only accounts for 1% of snake bites in Costa Rica. Whew! Then there was the time I was with a friend at Salto, a local river and water hole (with the rope swing), where a snake fell from the canopy of trees above, landing on a woman's neck, not far from us. No one was bitten. Good bye! We packed up and left shortly after. And of course there was the day on a getaway in Jaco, where I was by myself writing in a beachside restaurant and two females (later to be revealed, porn stars) walked up and asked if they could sit by me. There were a number of drinks shared, 'many' curious questions asked, and before you let your imagination go too far, they went on their way for the evening after some great conversation and some good laughs. Not 'an' event, but a significant observation nonetheless; in the entire time (14 months) that I was in Costa Rica, I was never, not once bit by a mosquito. Black nats a few times yes, but 'never' by a mosquito. Whatever my secret, I sure hope I eat or drink whatever combination of food/s that helped that to be a reality, when I go to Alaska. A second to last would be the day I was walking the (southern) Playa Hermosa beach and in the course of a mile, found three separate oranges wash up in the waves, all three of which had notes inside, offering prayers, wishes and dreams to come true. You wouldn't have believed it if you saw it. And the final memory, which coincidentally happened the day before the oranges, was when I happened to be in the exact right place, at the exact right moment, at the exact right time to pull a grandmother and her granddaughter from undertow waves that undoubtably would have taken their lives had I not been there. Life is a beautiful mystery and we just never know what event, or what moment will change or impact our lives forever.
In closing, on my last Costa Rican Adventure Blog, gratitude and appreciation don't even begin to describe or touch on the amazing people I have met, and the incredible experiences I was fortunate enough to have in the time I was here. I have laughed, cried and become a better person for all of it. I look forward to turning the page and am excited for what the new Alaskan Adventure has in store for me. I hope that for those of you who do come and take a little time out of your busy lives to read my adventures, that they bring you some joy, give you some hope, or at the very least, bring a smile to your face from time to time. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading and I hope to see you here on my next adventure (in Alaska).
Until next time...stay tuned!
