My last full day :(
I slept in today since nothing was planned and headed to breakfast for 8 am. It was a nice feeling getting up and not having to be anywhere in particular. I decided yesterday that I will be staying an extra night in Manuel Antonio so all I needed to figure out was my way back to the airport on the 27th. Grayline is a bus service that will pick you up directly from your hotel and drop you off at various destinations all over Costa Rica. I checked out the website and it wasn't clear if they would drop me off right at the airport so I had our guide, Shirani, call to make sure. Sure enough, they do drop you off at the airport so I made the booking for the 27th. Done and done.
Today was stinking hot! I decided that since I had gotten so much sun at the beach the previous day, that I would wait and laze by the water after mid day. Another full day cooking in the sun was a bit much for me today since I'm a little pink from the day before. I decided that I would take the bus into Quepos and walk around there for a bit. Everyone would be meeting at our hotel at noon since our group was parting ways today. Some of us were staying and the others were heading back to San Jose before heading back to their home towns.
The town of Quepos didn't really have too much. I mainly went there for the bank machine since there are absolutely no ATMs in Manuel Antonio. There was noting much to see so I probably walked around for about an hr max and got back on the bus back to Manuel Antonio. I did enjoy the bus ride since I was able to check out the various hotel options between Quepos and Manuel Antonio. Most hotels you can't really see but there a tons of hotel options to choose from. The bus is pretty convenient and comes every 20mins and only costs 240 colones (about 50 cents). So even if you are not on the beach, the bus can take you there. The Bus from Quepos is about 15-20 mins so if you are in any of the hotels on the way you can get to the beach in no time.
At noon, everyone said their goodbyes and we all went our separate directions. I was headed to stay with Cody and Caarlin at Costa Verde. I dumped my bags off in their room and headed directly for the pool that overlooked the ocean. It was beautiful. I was contemplating heading to the beach but I found myself too comfortable on a lounge chair by the pool overlooking the ocean. I stayed there the whole afternoon bouncing between reading my book, wading in the pool and sleeping on the lounger. A nice and lazy afternoon.
We ate in the hotel room this eve. The room has kitchen facilities so they made spaghetti for dinner. It was nice. After dinner we played some cards (gin) and we are now all reading (or blogging in my case).
It's been a really nice relaxing last day and I'm not looking forward to having to leave tomorrow. It was also really nice that Cody and Caarlin have put me up this evening. Such a nice couple. The hotel is really nice btw and their room is huge with a huge patio. I'd definitely stay here again. No AC but lots of ceiling fans. No glass windows either, it's all just screened in so you constantly hear the ocean and the sounds of night. Really cool.
Any who, great last day and looking forward to spending as much time in the sun tomorrow before my bus picks me up at 1:05 pm.
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Is it home time already???!!!"
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Costa Rica Day 9
Gotta love spending the day in the sun!
I slept in a little later than expected since my body didn't really want to get up this morning (7:05...yes that's sleeping in). There were various options for breakfast this morn but I opted for the pancakes! They were really good too. They actually reminded me of my dad's homemade pancakes...nice and fluffy. It was a nice little treat.
Today all that was planned was a guided walk through Manuel Antonio National Park, which was included with our tour. I was contemplating doing the walk since I was wanting to sleep in but I'm really glad that I did it. Our guide was great and he was really enthusiastic about his work. It was really cute because we saw a whole bunch of different wildlife this morn and some that the guides have never seen so they were really excited to show us the various animals. The coolest and probably the most rare to find in the park was a black headed (or faced) hawk. The guides were giddy trying to get us all to see this bird. Most of them had never even seen one in the park.
We also saw some frogs, some sloths, a couple of toucans, iguanas and white faced monkeys. There were raccoons too but I don't think they "count" since I can see them in my backyard in Toronto. The white faced monkeys were my favourite. They look like Marcel the monkey from Friends. You have to watch your stuff with these guys though 'cause they are notorious for stealing backpacks, food and other possessions that are laying on the beach. They may be cheeky but they are cute!
The beaches in Manuel Antonio National Park are beautiful! I spent most of the day just laying on the beach or laying in the very floaty (aka buoyant) water. It was a perfect day! Nice and relaxing.
Since some people are going their separate ways as of tomorrow, we made sure to all do dinner together this evening. It was a nice little restaurant on the hill looking over the ocean and the sunset. It's crazy how quickly this trip has gone. It really doesn't feel as though 9 days have come and gone already!
So technically I'm supposed to be heading back to San Jose tomorrow but I've decided (as with some others) to stay an extra day here. There really is no draw to go back to San Jose and I might as well stay in a spot with beautiful weather and beaches. There is a couple (that is on the tour with me) that have booked a hotel (they did this prior to coming) for an extra night and they've said that I can stay with them! How nice is that?! They said that the room is really big and has two queen beds anyway so I am more than welcome. I'll just get a bus back to San Jose the following day...perfect! It crazy actually....the taxi from San Jose to the airport which is around $30 for a 45 min ride while the bus from Manuel Antonio to San Jose airport is $40 for a 4 hr drive. Why not stay really?!
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Who needs another day in San Jose when you have such beautiful surroundings in Manuel Antonio"
I slept in a little later than expected since my body didn't really want to get up this morning (7:05...yes that's sleeping in). There were various options for breakfast this morn but I opted for the pancakes! They were really good too. They actually reminded me of my dad's homemade pancakes...nice and fluffy. It was a nice little treat.
Today all that was planned was a guided walk through Manuel Antonio National Park, which was included with our tour. I was contemplating doing the walk since I was wanting to sleep in but I'm really glad that I did it. Our guide was great and he was really enthusiastic about his work. It was really cute because we saw a whole bunch of different wildlife this morn and some that the guides have never seen so they were really excited to show us the various animals. The coolest and probably the most rare to find in the park was a black headed (or faced) hawk. The guides were giddy trying to get us all to see this bird. Most of them had never even seen one in the park.
We also saw some frogs, some sloths, a couple of toucans, iguanas and white faced monkeys. There were raccoons too but I don't think they "count" since I can see them in my backyard in Toronto. The white faced monkeys were my favourite. They look like Marcel the monkey from Friends. You have to watch your stuff with these guys though 'cause they are notorious for stealing backpacks, food and other possessions that are laying on the beach. They may be cheeky but they are cute!
The beaches in Manuel Antonio National Park are beautiful! I spent most of the day just laying on the beach or laying in the very floaty (aka buoyant) water. It was a perfect day! Nice and relaxing.
Since some people are going their separate ways as of tomorrow, we made sure to all do dinner together this evening. It was a nice little restaurant on the hill looking over the ocean and the sunset. It's crazy how quickly this trip has gone. It really doesn't feel as though 9 days have come and gone already!
So technically I'm supposed to be heading back to San Jose tomorrow but I've decided (as with some others) to stay an extra day here. There really is no draw to go back to San Jose and I might as well stay in a spot with beautiful weather and beaches. There is a couple (that is on the tour with me) that have booked a hotel (they did this prior to coming) for an extra night and they've said that I can stay with them! How nice is that?! They said that the room is really big and has two queen beds anyway so I am more than welcome. I'll just get a bus back to San Jose the following day...perfect! It crazy actually....the taxi from San Jose to the airport which is around $30 for a 45 min ride while the bus from Manuel Antonio to San Jose airport is $40 for a 4 hr drive. Why not stay really?!
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Who needs another day in San Jose when you have such beautiful surroundings in Manuel Antonio"
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Costa Rica Day 8
Ah, the warm weather again. Gotta love that heat and humidity. Already loving Manuel Antonio!
So we left Monteverde around 8 am this morning and I was actually starting to feel a bit better. My energy was back so I wasn't dragging my heels as much this morning. I was very happy that I was feeling more myself today.
The drive was about 5 hrs but we were split up between two busses which made it not as "cozy" as some of our other rides. I actually hopped in beside the driver (these are little mini van buses btw) so I was really happy about my seat. I had all the room in the world :) We did stop in a couple of photo opp spots which were nice but the one stop that stood out was a bridge where there were tons on crocs lazying in the river below. I counted around 30 of them! Just crazy to see so many in one spot.
Already you could feel the change in temperature as soon as we got out of the mountains. The weather in Monteverde was much cooler because of the altitude. There were also some crazy winds at night, 50 km/hr that you could hear blowing against the hotel at night. We were fairly lucky though when we were there as it did get nice and warm during the day but it quickly cools off as soon as dusk hits.
We arrived in Manuel Antonio, checked in, had lunch at the hotel, and then headed to the beach. It was a perfect day after being constantly on the go the past 7 days. It was exactly what we were all looking for. I dropped my stuff down on the beach and immediately headed for the ocean. Ah the ocean....I love it!!!! The water was way warmed than I expected. There was no waiting to get adjusted to the water temp...it was perfect. I went straight in. Played in the waves for a bit and then went and slept & people watched the day away on the beach.
I wasn't sure if I was going to like a black sand beach, I've never experienced a black sand beach before, but nope....it's still great! This was exactly the afternoon I needed to relax and recoup from my cold.
Right now I'm sitting outside my hotel room listening to the sounds of the night around me. It the perfect temperature for the evening. It's not cold, it's not hot, it's just right. The hotel is nice and it's only a couple hundred meters to the beach. Like all the hotels we've stayed in, it's very basic but nice and clean.
Tomorrow we are heading out for a morning walk through Manuel Antonio National Park which is only a couple hundred meters from out hotel and then we can spend the rest of the day in the park at one of the 4 beaches that are actually in the national park. A perfect way to end the trip before heading back to San Jose.
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Such a sucker for the beach!"
So we left Monteverde around 8 am this morning and I was actually starting to feel a bit better. My energy was back so I wasn't dragging my heels as much this morning. I was very happy that I was feeling more myself today.
The drive was about 5 hrs but we were split up between two busses which made it not as "cozy" as some of our other rides. I actually hopped in beside the driver (these are little mini van buses btw) so I was really happy about my seat. I had all the room in the world :) We did stop in a couple of photo opp spots which were nice but the one stop that stood out was a bridge where there were tons on crocs lazying in the river below. I counted around 30 of them! Just crazy to see so many in one spot.
Already you could feel the change in temperature as soon as we got out of the mountains. The weather in Monteverde was much cooler because of the altitude. There were also some crazy winds at night, 50 km/hr that you could hear blowing against the hotel at night. We were fairly lucky though when we were there as it did get nice and warm during the day but it quickly cools off as soon as dusk hits.
We arrived in Manuel Antonio, checked in, had lunch at the hotel, and then headed to the beach. It was a perfect day after being constantly on the go the past 7 days. It was exactly what we were all looking for. I dropped my stuff down on the beach and immediately headed for the ocean. Ah the ocean....I love it!!!! The water was way warmed than I expected. There was no waiting to get adjusted to the water temp...it was perfect. I went straight in. Played in the waves for a bit and then went and slept & people watched the day away on the beach.
I wasn't sure if I was going to like a black sand beach, I've never experienced a black sand beach before, but nope....it's still great! This was exactly the afternoon I needed to relax and recoup from my cold.
Right now I'm sitting outside my hotel room listening to the sounds of the night around me. It the perfect temperature for the evening. It's not cold, it's not hot, it's just right. The hotel is nice and it's only a couple hundred meters to the beach. Like all the hotels we've stayed in, it's very basic but nice and clean.
Tomorrow we are heading out for a morning walk through Manuel Antonio National Park which is only a couple hundred meters from out hotel and then we can spend the rest of the day in the park at one of the 4 beaches that are actually in the national park. A perfect way to end the trip before heading back to San Jose.
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Such a sucker for the beach!"
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Costa Rica Day 7
Way too early of a start for a girl who is sick but I found enough energy to pull myself out of bed. I had to be at breakfast for about 6:30 and left for the walk through the Cloud Forrest around 7. This walk (as the San Jose walk) is included in the tour package. I could have just said "screw it, I'm sleeping in" but its so tough when you are only in locations for such a short period of time. I want to make sure that I do everything that I can and wanted to do because who knows when the next time I'll be back. So really I'm just fighting with myself on whether I should just sit back and relax or see what I came here to see. Well...my body didn't win today. I plugged through and did the Cloud Forrest walk and zip lining!
The Cloud Forrest walk was really nice but it was at a very slow pace. I was actually concerned at the beginning that my body couldn't take a vigorous walk but it was the exact opposite. It was a guided walk and the guide was very knowledgeable telling us about the various types of trees, plants etc. We didn't see a whole lot of wildlife but we did get to see a hummingbirds nest with a little baby inside it. Adorable! Just at the end of the walk we saw a bunch of spider monkeys too. It's a beautiful place and I would go back again to walk around at my own pace. The weather was all over the map during our walk. At one point it was cold, another it was misting rain, and another it was sunny and warm. Very unpredictable.
I had a couple of hours of downtime before the zip lining which I took to rest. I was really looking forward to the zip lining and I wouldn't let this darn cold get in my way!
Zip lining was absolutely awesome!!!!!! What amazing views! It's actually quite free feeling being up so high and just suspended by a wire above such a beautiful landscape. There were about 12 zip lines with the Superman zip line to finish it all off (i'll get to that in a bit). At one point we even did some repelling. We repelled down 30m but we really didn't control anything ourselves. I think the guides try to scare you a bit since at one point it felt like I was just falling. I didn't know we would be doing any repelling so it was a fun and nice unexpected surprise.
The other thing I didn't know about that there is this thing they call the Tarzan Swing. This is where you pretty much jump (or get slightly nudged in my case) off of a 30m platform and then swing through the forrest getting up to a hight of about 50m. I really wasn't sure if I was going to do it. I was really not feeling that great so 1. I didn't want to barf all over the people below me and 2. It just looked plain scary. I somehow made it to the platform and I was telling the guys...uummm I'm not sure. And of course they say "It's easy...don't worry". Ha! Easy for them to say since they seem to be like little monkeys up there in the trees. Quick side note, all the staff were really great. Everything was very safe and it all was run really efficiently. So I'm stepping to the edge of the platform and they tell me to bend my knees, but I said "no, no, no, no" and a quick little nudge from them and before I knew it I was falling and then I was swinging through the trees. The no, no, no from me was because I hadn't psyched myself out enough yet to do it. If I didn't get that little nudge, I probably would still be up on that platform contemplating jumping or not. All in all, I'm really glad that I ended up doing the Tarzan Swing.
So a couple more zip lines and then you make the last climb up to the Superman zip line. It's a zip line that is 1 km long and about 180 m off the ground. They harness you up so it looks like you are superman flying through the air. AWESOME! It really felt as though you were flying. Nothing around you but a hawk flying through the air and a view that is to die for! Really, really cool. I would do it all again in a heartbeat (minus the crappy cold that I have)! The company that I went with was Monteverde Extremo Canopy and it was all done really well. They snap photos of you throughout the course so I was able to buy the cd off of them before leaving. They played a bunch of the photos while we were all waiting for our ride back to our hotel and there was a funny fake smile picture of me just before doing the Tarzan Swing...too funny!
I just had a quick dinner with my roomie this evening. We went to a little pizzeria around the corner from our hotel. Good food, good service and we were in and out quickly.
Heading out tomorrow at around 8am for Manuel Antonio. It should be around a 4 hr bus ride and then I just may do some relaxing on the beach. Sounds like a plan to me!
KK
If my passport could talk...
"AAAHHHHYEAAAAAHHHYEAAAHHH!"(that is supposed to be the Tarzan call)
The Cloud Forrest walk was really nice but it was at a very slow pace. I was actually concerned at the beginning that my body couldn't take a vigorous walk but it was the exact opposite. It was a guided walk and the guide was very knowledgeable telling us about the various types of trees, plants etc. We didn't see a whole lot of wildlife but we did get to see a hummingbirds nest with a little baby inside it. Adorable! Just at the end of the walk we saw a bunch of spider monkeys too. It's a beautiful place and I would go back again to walk around at my own pace. The weather was all over the map during our walk. At one point it was cold, another it was misting rain, and another it was sunny and warm. Very unpredictable.
I had a couple of hours of downtime before the zip lining which I took to rest. I was really looking forward to the zip lining and I wouldn't let this darn cold get in my way!
Zip lining was absolutely awesome!!!!!! What amazing views! It's actually quite free feeling being up so high and just suspended by a wire above such a beautiful landscape. There were about 12 zip lines with the Superman zip line to finish it all off (i'll get to that in a bit). At one point we even did some repelling. We repelled down 30m but we really didn't control anything ourselves. I think the guides try to scare you a bit since at one point it felt like I was just falling. I didn't know we would be doing any repelling so it was a fun and nice unexpected surprise.
The other thing I didn't know about that there is this thing they call the Tarzan Swing. This is where you pretty much jump (or get slightly nudged in my case) off of a 30m platform and then swing through the forrest getting up to a hight of about 50m. I really wasn't sure if I was going to do it. I was really not feeling that great so 1. I didn't want to barf all over the people below me and 2. It just looked plain scary. I somehow made it to the platform and I was telling the guys...uummm I'm not sure. And of course they say "It's easy...don't worry". Ha! Easy for them to say since they seem to be like little monkeys up there in the trees. Quick side note, all the staff were really great. Everything was very safe and it all was run really efficiently. So I'm stepping to the edge of the platform and they tell me to bend my knees, but I said "no, no, no, no" and a quick little nudge from them and before I knew it I was falling and then I was swinging through the trees. The no, no, no from me was because I hadn't psyched myself out enough yet to do it. If I didn't get that little nudge, I probably would still be up on that platform contemplating jumping or not. All in all, I'm really glad that I ended up doing the Tarzan Swing.
So a couple more zip lines and then you make the last climb up to the Superman zip line. It's a zip line that is 1 km long and about 180 m off the ground. They harness you up so it looks like you are superman flying through the air. AWESOME! It really felt as though you were flying. Nothing around you but a hawk flying through the air and a view that is to die for! Really, really cool. I would do it all again in a heartbeat (minus the crappy cold that I have)! The company that I went with was Monteverde Extremo Canopy and it was all done really well. They snap photos of you throughout the course so I was able to buy the cd off of them before leaving. They played a bunch of the photos while we were all waiting for our ride back to our hotel and there was a funny fake smile picture of me just before doing the Tarzan Swing...too funny!
I just had a quick dinner with my roomie this evening. We went to a little pizzeria around the corner from our hotel. Good food, good service and we were in and out quickly.
Heading out tomorrow at around 8am for Manuel Antonio. It should be around a 4 hr bus ride and then I just may do some relaxing on the beach. Sounds like a plan to me!
KK
If my passport could talk...
"AAAHHHHYEAAAAAHHHYEAAAHHH!"(that is supposed to be the Tarzan call)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Costa Rica Day 6
Well I had a really rough sleep last night but I’m hoping that was the breaking point of this cold/flu that I have. We left La Fortuna around 8:30 am and made our way by bus to a boat that would take us on a leg of our trip to Monteverde.
The boat ride was really nice. The scenery was just spectacular. You could see Arenal Volcano in the distance and everywhere else you looked you saw lush green hills. Just lovely! It was another beautiful day so the fact that the sun was shining down on us was a beautiful bonus.
After the 1 hour boat ride, we get on another bus that took us to our hotel in Monteverde, Historias Lodge. A very nice family runs the hotel. The rooms are all natural wood and very cozy feeling. Still a very basic room but good and clean.
We all go for lunch and I decide that I’m just going to go back to the hotel to rest until the night walk in the evening. I did and saw a fair amount yesterday and I don’t want to push my body too much and make it worse. The crappy thing is that Eva is sick now too. I feel soo badly! She still stayed out to explore but I crawled into bed and slept for a couple of hours…I know my body needs it.
At 5:30 we all meet up to do a night walk. The night walks are guided walks through the forest with the hope to spotting some nocturnal animals. We saw a sloth, an animal that’s in the same family as the raccoon (can’t remember the name), a tarantula, a snake (way up curled in a tree) and some funky insects. It was a nice walk and kind of cool to be walking around in the forest with nothing but a flashlight.
Another good day but I am looking forward to bed. We have an early start tomorrow with a walk through the Cloud Forrest and then I’m going zip lining! Should be a good day and I hope to be more on the mend tomorrow.
KK
If my passport could talk…
“I’m all about the superman zip lining!”
Costa Rica Day 5
What an amazing day! The weather was absolutely beautiful! Eva and I were out all day from 8 in the morning and didn’t get back until 7 in the eve. Most of our day just kind of happened.
We started the day off with the river float tour down the Rio Penas Blanca in the hopes of seeing some wildlife. It was a great tour since there are only 6 people allowed in the boat, 5 people and 1 guide. It was great!
Our tour guide, Roberto, was really great and provided us with a lot of information about the river and the animals that inhabit it. He was also great at finding and pointing out the wildlife. We saw various types of birds, a sloth, howler monkeys, about 5 crocodiles (one mammoth one!) and some turtles. I saw a lot more than what I was expecting.
We docked the raft and visited Don Pedro’s farm closer to the end of the tour. He’s 99 years old and there are two women there that help him with the farm. They have no electricity and there is no road to the farm. If you wanted to get into town, you would need to walk up a path for about a half hour in order to get any kind of transportation. All the food that we had was made on the farm, coffee, bread, plantains & cheese. Everything was delicious.
It was only about another half hour on the boat and the tour was finished. I do have to say that I’m glad that we did the morning because the afternoon ride would have been very hot.
It was only about a ½ day tour so we still needed to figure out what we were going to do for the rest of the day. On the ride back to our hotel we were able to completely see the volcano! Yay! That was when we decided to head to a hotel where there was a volcano observation deck to get a good view of it. We literally dropped off anything we didn’t need at the hotel and then we were on our way again.
So…the roads in Costa Rica are not the greatest (to say the least). Some are fine but the ones that are not paved are crazy. Potholes everywhere! There is no proper side of the road to drive on, just the side that has the fewest obstacles.
We arrived after a very bumpy ride and made our way to the observation deck. Great view of the volcano and pretty much as close as you can get. The hotel is fairly large and has many walks throughout so we did a couple of those and went to the reception to see if there was anywhere we could walk on the lava rocks. He said that there was a tour leaving a 4pm that will take us up the old lava flow so we said "sounds like a plan". We had about an hour and a half to kill so we at the restaurant that has a full view of the volcano. Great spot! The timing of lunch and then the tour couldn’t have worked out better if we planned it.
So we meet our guide and he says, lets go! We look around for others on the tour and nope, we’re it. It was our own private tour! How perfect is that?! We even worked it out so he would drive us back into La Fortuna instead of having to get a taxi back.
The tour was nice and the guide provided us with the history of the explosion of 1968. The volcano was dormant for 500 years prior to that explosion and the people in the area didn’t even know it was a volcano..just thought it was a mountain. Our guide even said that people would go and camp in the crater!
We saw lots of beautiful orchids (lady’s slippers) on the path along with more howler monkeys. On the way back into town, he actually stopped off at his friends house and took us to a tree where we were able to find a tree frog! It was so cute!
We got back to the hotel around 7pm and I was completely spent. The day had totally caught up with me and I felt soooo sick. I felt sick but I couldn’t have asked for a better day!
KK
If my passport could talk…
“Bye bye lovely La Fortuna…next stop Monteverde”
Costa Rica Day 4
We left San Jose at around 9 am (nice not having to leave at the crack of dawn) and made our way to La Fortuna. The drive was around 3 hours and it went by pretty quickly. The bus was a little “cozy” but it worked out just fine.
Oh and btw…I’m sick! I have a nasty cold and if I wasn’t in Costa Rica I would be spending the day in bed. I started to feel it on the afternoon of day two. I didn’t think too much about it but oh yes…once again Karen is sick on vacation. I always seem to get a cold when traveling and I’m making the assumption I picked it up on the plane ride in.
Any who, we make it to La Fortuna and if I wasn’t told the direction of the volcano was I wouldn’t have known it was even there. There were lots and lots of clouds covering up the view. Oh well…I didn’t expect to see it since others told me that the weather changes so much up here that there is never a guarantee to see the volcano or an eruption.
We checked into our room which is pretty basic and with no window?! Very strange! There is a window to the hall and none to the outside. We asked the others in our group and everyone has a window. We were thinking of asking to have it changed but then we thought that we weren’t really going to spend much time in our room (which definitely turned out to be the case) so we just decided to deal with it.
In the afternoon, we walked to the La Fortuna Waterfall. It was a 6 km walk with about 4 km up a hill. With my cold and my asthma it definitely caused some strain on my lungs but I made it. You can take a taxi there but after being the bus for half the day it was nice to get some physical activity.
The waterfall was absolutely beautiful! There were a whole lot of steps down that were a bit slippery but everyone made it down safely. The water was “refreshing” and wasn’t as cold as I was expecting. It was like an instant rejuvenation after the long walk to it. When first seeing the waterfall a bunch of us said Jurassic Park (although it wasn’t the waterfall from the movie). It was beautiful non the less.
It didn’t take much time to get back to our hotel since it was all downhill (that made me happy). Once we got back to the hotel we met up to learn about some tours to make a decision on what to do the next day. That’s the beautiful thing about this tour with Intrepid, you can do really whatever you want. It’s not a set itinerary where you have to do specific things. It really gives you the flexibility to do exactly what you want. Everyone decided to do different things. Eva and I decided on a river float tour in the hopes of seeing some wildlife.
There were 5 of us that went and had dinner together that night. Eva, Sydney & Alex (from Canada as well) and our tour guide Shirani. He took us to a typical Soda or diner as we would call it. The food was great and all typical Costa Rican food. I had never tried a heart of palm before so I made sure to have a heart of palm salad. It was very nice.
I was completely beat from the day. This cold is draining all the energy from me. I got home from dinner and immediately went to bed in the hope of being able to sleep some of the cold off.
KK
If my passport could talk…
“Fingers crossed for seeing Arenal Volcano tomorrow”
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Costa Rica Day 3
My legs are tired! I pretty much spent the entire day walking. Definitely saw a good chunk of San Jose today.
Started the day off with a nice breakfast that is included in my hotel stay. The staple rice & beans plus some toast, eggs and coffee. I met another single traveler, Eva, at breakfast who is on the same tour and we spent the morning walking around checking out the city (later in the dat we find out that will be roomies for the trip). Very nice girl which is a bonus.
We went looking for a market that was supposed to be fairly close to our hotel but ended up finding a huge market in the middle of town that had everything you could think of. Our interesting discovery in the market was a pet store that had puppies and right underneath their cage were ducks, chickens and pigeons. I'm surprised the puppies didn't go bananas trying to get at the various birds below them. I'm also not sure why anyone would buy a pigeon. I'm sure if someone wanted one badly enough they can catch one of the hundreds around the city. Another funny thing that we saw today was a store that sold motorcycles and then right beside them were washing machines. On the other side was a foosball table. Interesting combination of items.
We met the rest of our tour group at the hotel around 1 pm to discuss the upcoming tour and what to expect. Sounds like it's going to be a great trip! Once our briefing was done, we went on a walking tour of the city with our guide. So far I'm really impressed with our guide. Very informative and super nice! He took us around to see some really beautiful buildings that I hadn't seen yet in my walk around the city so that was good. At one point of the tour he told us "don't go past here. If you go past here you're in the red light district." Eva and I looked at each other and laughed 'cause we did some walking around in that area this morning and didn't even realize! Oops! We were completely fine and had no problems but it was kinda funny finding that out after the fact.
I had a nap when we got back to the hotel...I was totally tired from walking all day. We had a couple hours to kill before we all headed out for dinner and I decided that napping was key in order for me to make it through dinner.
Dinner was at a Costa Rican restaurant which was all decked out with various Costa Rican "things" like lampshades that were originally coffee harvesting baskets and hanging tin cups, bananas and onions. Very eclectic decor! The food was good and it was nice that we all had dinner as a group.
Tomorrow we make out way to La Fortuna, which is by the Arenal Volcano. I'm crossing my fingers that we see some eruptions! I've been told that there hasn't been much volcanic activity over the past couple of months so I'm not going with high expectations to see much. No matter what, the scenery will be beautiful and a new and different experience.
KK
If my passport could talk...
"See you later San Jose...hello La Fortuna!"
Started the day off with a nice breakfast that is included in my hotel stay. The staple rice & beans plus some toast, eggs and coffee. I met another single traveler, Eva, at breakfast who is on the same tour and we spent the morning walking around checking out the city (later in the dat we find out that will be roomies for the trip). Very nice girl which is a bonus.
We went looking for a market that was supposed to be fairly close to our hotel but ended up finding a huge market in the middle of town that had everything you could think of. Our interesting discovery in the market was a pet store that had puppies and right underneath their cage were ducks, chickens and pigeons. I'm surprised the puppies didn't go bananas trying to get at the various birds below them. I'm also not sure why anyone would buy a pigeon. I'm sure if someone wanted one badly enough they can catch one of the hundreds around the city. Another funny thing that we saw today was a store that sold motorcycles and then right beside them were washing machines. On the other side was a foosball table. Interesting combination of items.
We met the rest of our tour group at the hotel around 1 pm to discuss the upcoming tour and what to expect. Sounds like it's going to be a great trip! Once our briefing was done, we went on a walking tour of the city with our guide. So far I'm really impressed with our guide. Very informative and super nice! He took us around to see some really beautiful buildings that I hadn't seen yet in my walk around the city so that was good. At one point of the tour he told us "don't go past here. If you go past here you're in the red light district." Eva and I looked at each other and laughed 'cause we did some walking around in that area this morning and didn't even realize! Oops! We were completely fine and had no problems but it was kinda funny finding that out after the fact.
I had a nap when we got back to the hotel...I was totally tired from walking all day. We had a couple hours to kill before we all headed out for dinner and I decided that napping was key in order for me to make it through dinner.
Dinner was at a Costa Rican restaurant which was all decked out with various Costa Rican "things" like lampshades that were originally coffee harvesting baskets and hanging tin cups, bananas and onions. Very eclectic decor! The food was good and it was nice that we all had dinner as a group.
Tomorrow we make out way to La Fortuna, which is by the Arenal Volcano. I'm crossing my fingers that we see some eruptions! I've been told that there hasn't been much volcanic activity over the past couple of months so I'm not going with high expectations to see much. No matter what, the scenery will be beautiful and a new and different experience.
KK
If my passport could talk...
"See you later San Jose...hello La Fortuna!"
Friday, February 18, 2011
Costa Rica Day 2
Today was my Calypso Tortuga Island Cruise and it was great! Another long day but it was well worth it!
Started off meeting the tour bus at 6 am at the Holiday Inn (just about a 10 min walk from my hotel - which is Hotel Colonial San Juan). The Holiday Inn looked really nice (at least from the lobby) and it's located right across from a nice little park in the centre of town. The bus picked me up from there and we did the routine pickups from all the major hotels within San Jose and then we were off.
Side note...I was really surprised at how many people were out walking (to work I'm assuming) at 5:30 in the morning. I was expecting the streets to be deserted, but lots of people out and about. Just something that stuck out in my walk to the hotel.
Before getting to the Puntarenas, where we were to sail from, we stopped off at a little restaurant/souvenir shop to have a traditional Costa Rican breakfast. The breaky consisted of scrambled eggs, rice and beans, Turrialba cheese, toast, fresh fruit and fruit juice and wonderful Costa Rican coffee. It was quite yummy! It sounds like it was a lot but it was just small portions of everything so it was just the perfect amount. After breakfast we got back on the bus and made our way to the catamaran. Driving time in total was about 2 hrs from San Jose (with an hour stop for breakfast).
It was the perfect day for a cruise! It was warm and sunny...really couldn't have asked for a better day. The cat was nice and big and I planted myself right on the trampoline. Staff came around for drink orders so you didn't even have to move from your spot...love it! They also came around with various types of fresh fruit and they were all super juicy and sweet.
I met 3 ladies on the bus ride that adopted me as their friend for the day which was nice. All very nice people and they made good company. We spent the day snorkeling, eating and lazing on the beach. Not too shabby!
Snorkeling was nice. It was pretty much the same deal as any snorkeling you've done anywhere in the Caribbean. No crazy coral to look at but saw some nice fish. I saw a couple large parrot fish which are always pretty to look at. My favourite part about the snorkeling though was that at one point I saw a bunch of the suns rays shining through the water. It was beautiful and kinda spiritual feeling. Almost like an aura around me. Really cool!
Tortuga beach was beautiful and the spot that Calypso had was probably the best spot on the beach. It was like our own little cove in the trees. The neat thing that they did was that they tented the area. It was like a big ivory parachute that hung over the picnic tables and it was beautiful. They even covered each picnic bench with table clothes for lunch. They whole set up was great and made it a very enjoyable lunch. The food was very good and we were even served at the table for the main course. Main course was not your typical lunch on a beach food. It was chicken battered in coconut with a papaya sauce. Um...can you say YUM?! The fish app was great and there were also lots of salads to choose from. Probably the best island lunch I've had in all my travels. So far...I've been really impressed with the food here.
I spent the rest of the day just soaking in the sun on the beach and then it was time to head back. I found my spot again on the trampoline and pretty much slept the whole way back. The rocking of a boat always does that to me, especially after a long day. Boats to me are just like one big cradle!
While we were getting off the boat we saw a crocodile! It was actually the first croc I've seen in the wild (I never did see one in Oz other than in the zoo) and it was pretty darn close to the boat. I guess it was a little incentive to be extra cautious getting off the boat. One wrong step and you were croc food.
So I said my goodbyes to the people I had met and off we were back to San Jose. All in all a good day and once again I'm looking forward to my bed. I'll be meeting my tour group tomorrow for the orientation at 1 pm. This means....I'm sleeping in! Yes, no waking up before the sun rises tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to that!
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Sun, sand & sea...sure makes me happy!"
Started off meeting the tour bus at 6 am at the Holiday Inn (just about a 10 min walk from my hotel - which is Hotel Colonial San Juan). The Holiday Inn looked really nice (at least from the lobby) and it's located right across from a nice little park in the centre of town. The bus picked me up from there and we did the routine pickups from all the major hotels within San Jose and then we were off.
Side note...I was really surprised at how many people were out walking (to work I'm assuming) at 5:30 in the morning. I was expecting the streets to be deserted, but lots of people out and about. Just something that stuck out in my walk to the hotel.
Before getting to the Puntarenas, where we were to sail from, we stopped off at a little restaurant/souvenir shop to have a traditional Costa Rican breakfast. The breaky consisted of scrambled eggs, rice and beans, Turrialba cheese, toast, fresh fruit and fruit juice and wonderful Costa Rican coffee. It was quite yummy! It sounds like it was a lot but it was just small portions of everything so it was just the perfect amount. After breakfast we got back on the bus and made our way to the catamaran. Driving time in total was about 2 hrs from San Jose (with an hour stop for breakfast).
It was the perfect day for a cruise! It was warm and sunny...really couldn't have asked for a better day. The cat was nice and big and I planted myself right on the trampoline. Staff came around for drink orders so you didn't even have to move from your spot...love it! They also came around with various types of fresh fruit and they were all super juicy and sweet.
I met 3 ladies on the bus ride that adopted me as their friend for the day which was nice. All very nice people and they made good company. We spent the day snorkeling, eating and lazing on the beach. Not too shabby!
Snorkeling was nice. It was pretty much the same deal as any snorkeling you've done anywhere in the Caribbean. No crazy coral to look at but saw some nice fish. I saw a couple large parrot fish which are always pretty to look at. My favourite part about the snorkeling though was that at one point I saw a bunch of the suns rays shining through the water. It was beautiful and kinda spiritual feeling. Almost like an aura around me. Really cool!
Tortuga beach was beautiful and the spot that Calypso had was probably the best spot on the beach. It was like our own little cove in the trees. The neat thing that they did was that they tented the area. It was like a big ivory parachute that hung over the picnic tables and it was beautiful. They even covered each picnic bench with table clothes for lunch. They whole set up was great and made it a very enjoyable lunch. The food was very good and we were even served at the table for the main course. Main course was not your typical lunch on a beach food. It was chicken battered in coconut with a papaya sauce. Um...can you say YUM?! The fish app was great and there were also lots of salads to choose from. Probably the best island lunch I've had in all my travels. So far...I've been really impressed with the food here.
I spent the rest of the day just soaking in the sun on the beach and then it was time to head back. I found my spot again on the trampoline and pretty much slept the whole way back. The rocking of a boat always does that to me, especially after a long day. Boats to me are just like one big cradle!
While we were getting off the boat we saw a crocodile! It was actually the first croc I've seen in the wild (I never did see one in Oz other than in the zoo) and it was pretty darn close to the boat. I guess it was a little incentive to be extra cautious getting off the boat. One wrong step and you were croc food.
So I said my goodbyes to the people I had met and off we were back to San Jose. All in all a good day and once again I'm looking forward to my bed. I'll be meeting my tour group tomorrow for the orientation at 1 pm. This means....I'm sleeping in! Yes, no waking up before the sun rises tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to that!
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Sun, sand & sea...sure makes me happy!"
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Costa Rica Day 1
So up at the crack of dawn this morning and yes I made my flight. Two alarms were set (both were set correctly this time) so I was up in plenty of time. I've actually never been to the airport before the US customs was open so spent most of my time at the airport just waiting for them to start processing people.
My flight to Costa Rica was through Miami and everything went smoothly. The the only negative was that on my flight from Miami to San Jose I was literally sitting in the last row of the plane. Last row meaning my seat didn't recline...ah boo! Lucky for me I can sleep pretty much anywhere and in any position so I was still able to get a bit of shut eye on the flight.
Landing in Costa Rica you could feel the heat of the day even before getting off the plane. It's probably one of my favourite feelings when traveling to a hot destination. The feel of the humidity after being stuck in the dry cold winter...priceless! After clearing customs and getting my bag from the carrousel, I was told that there would be someone waiting for me with a sign (with my name on it) to take me to my hotel. I get out there and I didn't see anyone with a sign for me. I waited and kept getting accosted by people asking if I needed a taxi. I kept telling them that I was waiting for my pre-arranged transfer. After about 15 mins another taxi driver comes up to me and asked if he could help and if he could call my contact for the transfer. I take him up on his offer and he calls my contact. The taxi driver gets off the phone and said that the transfer is for tomorrow...I said no, it's for today and it states it on my sheet, but he said my transfer is not coming today. This nice taxi driver then works out with my transfer that he will take me to my hotel and will get reimbursed from my original transfer so I'm not out of pocket. How nice was that! I would have gotten reimbursed for my taxi anyway from the tour company but it was nice that this taxi driver was willing to help me out. This totally turned my negative to a positive...loving this country already!
I get settled in my hotel room...neat little hotel. Nothing fancy by no means but clean, simple and very nice staff. I'm so tempted to just crash on my bed but I force myself to put my things away and set out on foot to explore the city. By this time it's around 3 pm. I've been up since 3a m so I'm surprised that I was able to peel myself from my room.
I get a general idea of where my hotel is to where the centre of town is and I'm off. Street signs...well I haven't found one yet (I'm going to look really close for them tomorrow) so it makes it difficult finding things. Also, there doesn't really seem to be addresses as well. The address is pretty much the closest intersection. I got a little turned around trying to find my way back to the hotel but luckily enough I have a pretty good sense of direction and I found my way back safe and sound.
After walking around just getting a feel of the town, I came to the conclusion that I should plan something for tomorrow since I have a full free day before the starting of my tour the following day. I did a quick search online and had a look at the tour brochures at my hotel and decided on the Calypso Tortuga Island Cruise. It will give me a little sea and sand that I've been missing in my life!
After booking my tour I asked the front desk about restaurants and she recommended the Argentinean restaurant right across the street. To me...the "across the street" sold me. I was too tired to even think of walking to something a little further. The restaurant is called La Esquina de Buenos Aires and it's AWESOME! You have to make reservations for this restaurant or you get stuck eating your food at the bar (that's if there is room). I asked for reservations for this evening and he kinda laughed and said "Nope...not tonight. Unless you want to eat at 9:30 or 10 pm." He did say that I could eat at the bar so I said "sounds good!" I wasn't the only one eating at the bar and I met a very nice british couple who were having their last meal before having to pack up and head home early tomorrow morning. I actually really liked eating at the bar because, 1. It allowed me to socialize with people and 2. It was just a good atmosphere there.
I had one of my all time favourite meals there! It was gnocchi with tomatoes and capers and it was to die for!!!! I've always said that my favourite gnocchi was from Vittorio's in Toronto but this one put it to shame! As soon as I took a bite I was in heaven! The couple beside me also said that their food was fantastic so 3 out of 3 is pretty good. Considering you need a reso and the place is packed it must be a pretty good restaurant. A free drink from the owner also gets the restaurant brownie points! I don't know what it is about traveling alone but when eating alone, you tend to get something free...try it! Maybe people feel sorry for me for being on my own...who knows but free stuff is always nice!
Ok...it's bed time now. I have another early start tomorrow and if I don't sleep now I'll never wake up in time.
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Finally another stamp! Good start to a great vacation!"
My flight to Costa Rica was through Miami and everything went smoothly. The the only negative was that on my flight from Miami to San Jose I was literally sitting in the last row of the plane. Last row meaning my seat didn't recline...ah boo! Lucky for me I can sleep pretty much anywhere and in any position so I was still able to get a bit of shut eye on the flight.
Landing in Costa Rica you could feel the heat of the day even before getting off the plane. It's probably one of my favourite feelings when traveling to a hot destination. The feel of the humidity after being stuck in the dry cold winter...priceless! After clearing customs and getting my bag from the carrousel, I was told that there would be someone waiting for me with a sign (with my name on it) to take me to my hotel. I get out there and I didn't see anyone with a sign for me. I waited and kept getting accosted by people asking if I needed a taxi. I kept telling them that I was waiting for my pre-arranged transfer. After about 15 mins another taxi driver comes up to me and asked if he could help and if he could call my contact for the transfer. I take him up on his offer and he calls my contact. The taxi driver gets off the phone and said that the transfer is for tomorrow...I said no, it's for today and it states it on my sheet, but he said my transfer is not coming today. This nice taxi driver then works out with my transfer that he will take me to my hotel and will get reimbursed from my original transfer so I'm not out of pocket. How nice was that! I would have gotten reimbursed for my taxi anyway from the tour company but it was nice that this taxi driver was willing to help me out. This totally turned my negative to a positive...loving this country already!
I get settled in my hotel room...neat little hotel. Nothing fancy by no means but clean, simple and very nice staff. I'm so tempted to just crash on my bed but I force myself to put my things away and set out on foot to explore the city. By this time it's around 3 pm. I've been up since 3a m so I'm surprised that I was able to peel myself from my room.
I get a general idea of where my hotel is to where the centre of town is and I'm off. Street signs...well I haven't found one yet (I'm going to look really close for them tomorrow) so it makes it difficult finding things. Also, there doesn't really seem to be addresses as well. The address is pretty much the closest intersection. I got a little turned around trying to find my way back to the hotel but luckily enough I have a pretty good sense of direction and I found my way back safe and sound.
After walking around just getting a feel of the town, I came to the conclusion that I should plan something for tomorrow since I have a full free day before the starting of my tour the following day. I did a quick search online and had a look at the tour brochures at my hotel and decided on the Calypso Tortuga Island Cruise. It will give me a little sea and sand that I've been missing in my life!
After booking my tour I asked the front desk about restaurants and she recommended the Argentinean restaurant right across the street. To me...the "across the street" sold me. I was too tired to even think of walking to something a little further. The restaurant is called La Esquina de Buenos Aires and it's AWESOME! You have to make reservations for this restaurant or you get stuck eating your food at the bar (that's if there is room). I asked for reservations for this evening and he kinda laughed and said "Nope...not tonight. Unless you want to eat at 9:30 or 10 pm." He did say that I could eat at the bar so I said "sounds good!" I wasn't the only one eating at the bar and I met a very nice british couple who were having their last meal before having to pack up and head home early tomorrow morning. I actually really liked eating at the bar because, 1. It allowed me to socialize with people and 2. It was just a good atmosphere there.
I had one of my all time favourite meals there! It was gnocchi with tomatoes and capers and it was to die for!!!! I've always said that my favourite gnocchi was from Vittorio's in Toronto but this one put it to shame! As soon as I took a bite I was in heaven! The couple beside me also said that their food was fantastic so 3 out of 3 is pretty good. Considering you need a reso and the place is packed it must be a pretty good restaurant. A free drink from the owner also gets the restaurant brownie points! I don't know what it is about traveling alone but when eating alone, you tend to get something free...try it! Maybe people feel sorry for me for being on my own...who knows but free stuff is always nice!
Ok...it's bed time now. I have another early start tomorrow and if I don't sleep now I'll never wake up in time.
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Finally another stamp! Good start to a great vacation!"
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Costa Rica Here I Come!
My top 3 next travel destinations on my list are Costa Rica, Africa (anywhere...just need to set foot on that continent) and Thailand. Well...as of tomorrow, I'll be able to tick Costa Rica off my list. Yay!
This trip has completely snuck up on me and like always, i'll be doing my last minute packing. I always seem to work better under pressure no matter what I do. So today I pack, get a pre-vacation pedicure (my fave) and pick up any last minute things that I won't remember until I'm almost finished packing and realize, "oh crap! I've fogotten ____!" My cat, Buster, is already getting suspicious of all the bags and crap all over my floor. I keep trying to reassure him that I won't be gone for very long (this time). I did leave him last year for about 8 months when I was traveling around Australia so I do get his uncertainty of me packing up my things, yet again.
I'll be traveling around Costa Rica for about 12 days which I think is a perfect stretch of time away. I always find 7 days a little too short so 12 days should be just about right. I'm actually taking an organized tour through Intrepid Travel so it will be a new kind of traveling experience. I have done organized tours but not for 9 days straight so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.
I'll be flying into San Jose and getting there a couple of days before the tour actually starts. I have nothing planned as of yet for those first days but I'm sure (at least the first day) I'll be doing some wandering around and exploring the city. Who knows what I'll do on the day before the tour but I'm sure I'll find something interesting. That's what I love about travel. I turn into the fly by the seat of my pants girl rather than the I need to plan every second of my life girl that I am at home. Being able to completely let go and relax is what I really enjoy about traveling.
So...while on the tour, I'll be spending a couple of days in La Fortuna/Arenal Volcano, a couple of days in Monteverde, another couple of days in Manuel Antonio National Park and then finish the trip off again in San Jose. I'm going to be traveling on my own (I loooove traveling on my own) but hope to meet some nice, fun and interesting people. Traveling solo definietly pushes you out of your comfort zone and really forces you to get out there and meet people, which is always fun.
I'm going to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow since my flight leaves at 6 am (yuck). Last time I had a flight that early I slept in and got up just as my plane was about to take off (oops!) so I'm going to try and not do a repeat of that. Alarms will be properly set this time round and I'll order a taxi to ensure that if I'm not up, I'll at least have a call from the taxi asking if I'm still needing the taxi that is waiting outside for me.
So in 24 hrs I'll be shedding my snow gear and basking in the warm sunshine!
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Get me on that plane already!"
This trip has completely snuck up on me and like always, i'll be doing my last minute packing. I always seem to work better under pressure no matter what I do. So today I pack, get a pre-vacation pedicure (my fave) and pick up any last minute things that I won't remember until I'm almost finished packing and realize, "oh crap! I've fogotten ____!" My cat, Buster, is already getting suspicious of all the bags and crap all over my floor. I keep trying to reassure him that I won't be gone for very long (this time). I did leave him last year for about 8 months when I was traveling around Australia so I do get his uncertainty of me packing up my things, yet again.
I'll be traveling around Costa Rica for about 12 days which I think is a perfect stretch of time away. I always find 7 days a little too short so 12 days should be just about right. I'm actually taking an organized tour through Intrepid Travel so it will be a new kind of traveling experience. I have done organized tours but not for 9 days straight so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.
I'll be flying into San Jose and getting there a couple of days before the tour actually starts. I have nothing planned as of yet for those first days but I'm sure (at least the first day) I'll be doing some wandering around and exploring the city. Who knows what I'll do on the day before the tour but I'm sure I'll find something interesting. That's what I love about travel. I turn into the fly by the seat of my pants girl rather than the I need to plan every second of my life girl that I am at home. Being able to completely let go and relax is what I really enjoy about traveling.
So...while on the tour, I'll be spending a couple of days in La Fortuna/Arenal Volcano, a couple of days in Monteverde, another couple of days in Manuel Antonio National Park and then finish the trip off again in San Jose. I'm going to be traveling on my own (I loooove traveling on my own) but hope to meet some nice, fun and interesting people. Traveling solo definietly pushes you out of your comfort zone and really forces you to get out there and meet people, which is always fun.
I'm going to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow since my flight leaves at 6 am (yuck). Last time I had a flight that early I slept in and got up just as my plane was about to take off (oops!) so I'm going to try and not do a repeat of that. Alarms will be properly set this time round and I'll order a taxi to ensure that if I'm not up, I'll at least have a call from the taxi asking if I'm still needing the taxi that is waiting outside for me.
So in 24 hrs I'll be shedding my snow gear and basking in the warm sunshine!
KK
If my passport could talk...
"Get me on that plane already!"
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