The last time I wrote I'd just arrived in Costa Rica. Well guess what? I'm still here! I kind of fell in love with the place and decided to stay. So what happened to bring about this decision? Well......
I spent about 3 weeks volunteering at the Sloth Sanctuary and then took off for a few days 'vacation' in Puerto Viejo, the local town. I kind of fell in love with the place. It has a great vibe, is right on the Caribbean coast and is quite the party town. I stayed a few days and went out on a snorkeling trip. It was on this trip that I met a guy training to become a Dive Master. That is the first professional level of diving and means that you can work in a dive shop and earn money working in the shop and leading dives. Well I have no desire to go back to working in an office so I thought this would be a great idea for a new career and something that would enable me to start making money on my travels. So that gave me a lot to think about and look into but in the meantime I returned to the Sloth Sanctuary for another couple of weeks volunteer work.
So it was around the beginning of May that I finished with working the sloths, all except for 1 day a week. I packed up my stuff and moved into an apartment in downtown Puerto Viejo and started my Open Water Dive training. Trying to sum up what has happened over the past 8 weeks is going to be a challenge so here goes:
Sloth Sanctuary: I still visit the Sloth Sanctuary around once a week or every 10 days to check how they are doing with the database I built. I've kept in touch with a number of the volunteers, all of who have left now. I also keep in touch with a number of Costa Rica (Tico) friends that I have made.
My leaving night from the Sloth Sanctuary.
Another leaving party.
Diving: I've passed my Open Water certification and only have one dive to complete my Advanced. Next month I will start my Rescue training. I've now got 20 dives under my belt and need 60 in total to become a Dive Master. I've started picking up shifts in the shop so am now starting to earn some money. I've made some really good friends at the shop and am having a blast!
Working the barb-be-que at the dive shop.
After the food.
Friend's birthday party.
Living: My first place in Puerto Viejo was a really nice 2 bedroom apartment in downtown Puerto. It was pretty new and pretty fancy for here but it was costing an arm and a leg. As I was only really using the 2nd bedroom as a drying room I figured I should find somewhere a bit cheaper. So 3 weeks ago I moved into a shared house in Cocles, down the coast from Puerto. I bought a bike so the journey into town takes about 15 minutes. The house is right on the beach so I hear the ocean when I go to bed and wake up. Cocles is more laid back than Puerto and has a great beach. The waves are perfect for surfing so maybe that will be something else I try. Although I like the house and the people, it has been too long since I have shared living space and I really prefer my own space so this weekend I am hopefully moving into a small 1 bedroom house. It is still in Cocles and opposite the ocean so I'm hoping to stay there for a while.
Trips: I've not gone very far really. I had an overnight trip to San Jose where I purchased some dive equipment.
The chinese food got the better of us!
The dive shop had a day out to Bribri waterfalls which was great fun. We climbed the waterfalls and took turns diving into clear cool pools.
Most recently I went to Bocas del Toro in Panama, just 10 days ago. My visa was running out so I had to leave the country for 3 days in order to renew it on my return. I went to Bocas with a guy I met at the Sloth Sanctuary, his name is Jader. Bocas is a collection of islands on the Caribbean ocean. We spent 3 days drinking, travelling around on motor launches, visiting beautiful beaches, dolphin spotting and snorkeling. It was a good few days.
Out on the motor launch.
Beautiful Red Frog Beach. And yes, we did see a red frog.
Back on the launch.
Red frog beach turtle.
The boarder crossing, Panama to Costa Rica.
Plans: Well I kind of don't have anything firm planned, I'm just seeing what happens. I think I am going to stay here for at least another 3 months and then maybe will see about going to South America. I want to finish my Dive Master but I'm in no hurry to do so. I'm too busy enjoying myself at the same time so I guess it is a 'Watch this space'!
I do know that I am going to Nicaragua next week for 2 weeks. Jader is going to visit his family in the north of the country and he invited me to go. It should be a great cultural experience as I will be staying in different villages with different members of his family. It will be another intensive Spanish learning experience as well as there will be little or no English spoken. Kind of scary really but what an experience!!
Anyway, I think that brings you all up to date. I'll try not to leave it so long next time.
I hope everyone is well and enjoying life. Do let me know what you are up to. I haven't heard much in the way of news from home recently.
Take care!
Nikkie
