Goodbye Nicaraguaand Ometepe , Hello Costa Rica!

Why hello again all!! We finally found some internet in the world! We have been traveling along quickly, so lets go back about 2 weeks.....

We spent our last few days on Ometepe scraping the rafters of Indio Viejo (aka Hostal Central) free of any paint or dirt. Our pictures indicate how messy of a job that was! But, the hostel staff was very appreciative of our efforts and we did leave the ceiling and nice new shade of white. Sadly, both Merilee and I wished we could continue our work but continuing the trip also presses on us. But on our last day we went on an adventure out to see a couple of the island's highlights. First, we headed to see the petroglyphs carved into rocks on a hillside. We wondered around for a bit in the forest until Kristoph found our way to the trail. (It is a bit hard to find so you will have to pay for a guide) But on the rocks we made up great stories about the pictures...we will be fabulous archeologists one day! The trail meandered it's way into the surrounding banana fields and pastures and we followed it despite mud sticking thickly to our shoes. It had a nice view of the lake and was a lovely hike. When it was time to head back, we found that we had missed the bus and our chance to see another highlight. Not to worry because Freja is an expert hitchhiker and caught us a ride!

Next morning we got up bright and early so we could catch the 7:00 ferry to the mainland and head on to Costa Rica. We said brief goodbyes to the Hostel people. And again we would like to thank them for giving us a chance and letting us stay with them!! We enjoyed ourselves greatly in their company and one day we'll head back to see their pre-colombian village! But so we hurried down to the dock and just barely made the boat, it was a foreshadow for the day as we had 115 kilometers to ride to make it to our next stop. We hustled into the border crossing where against all our valiant efforts still spent about 2 hours trying to cross. But once we did the world broke in half.

Welcome to Costa Rica, this is how we are different from anywhere Merilee and Eric have visited in this trip: Border crossings have signs telling you were to go, people do not scream gringo at you, people form lines, people own washing machines, housing appears not about to fall over. Granted, yes, these are extremes but it is very apparent money runs through this country a bit more instead of straight out. As we crossed into a seemingly more calm world from the bustle of Nicaragua, I breathed a bit easier. We had kilometers to ride still though! About 60-70 and we had 5 hours of daylight left! So off we went about as fast as we could and even as we saw the storm approaching we rode straight into the driving rain. We only stopped twice to eat our delicious all corn tamales we had bought with our remaining Cordovas in Nicaragua. Finally, as night was falling, we arrived in Canas Dulces where we had been in contact with a women who is part of Couch Surfing. Anais we a very open and nice woman. We rode up as she was driving up and instantly opened her doors to us despite we were completely waterlogged. We dripped all over her kitchen and went to bed rather instantly.

Next day Merilee's friend Patrick arrived. Lucky him, had a internship with Delta and was spending his weekends using standby. So in about 6 hours he caught up what has taken us 6 months to accomplish. Show off. But we had a good time telling him a bunch of stories of our trip over chicken and rice. Then over cake. Then over beer (Well, I had fruit juice...just can't pass up Maracuya!). We just eat, it is the secret. But, we also went to a piano recital by a local prodigy. She is a 14 year old piano player studying at some Russian school. Must be good right? Actually she was amazing. We all left in disbelief of what we had seen. Words really do not describe how well she played and how astounded the audience was. After that we watched the local kids have their break dance competition, also quite a treat when traveling to many Latin American countries. Next day Patrick had to take off (haha). A quick visit but, nice to see a familiar face once every 6 months. We are also, well me especially, indebted to him because he brought me new sandals and our stove part that has been broken since sometime in Chiapas maybe. He also brought a care package from our mother. So Thankyou Patrick and Mom for getting all this for us! From there we had to leave our comfortable couch surfing spot and once again brave not knowing where we will stay.

It is not so bad though, not knowing where we will stay. It takes some getting used to that is for sure, but Merilee and I are pretty good at it. And we managed to find a nice restaurant that with a carport next to it that was partially vacant and we were able to spend a night dry and comfortable. Yay!