Japan Day 8 - Nara and Osaka!

It was tough to get out of the warm, comfortable bed this morning, even though I knew that there would be a wonderful breakfast awaiting me at Inoue's home. For breakfast, I even tried nato, which is fermented soybeans. First, one adds a little mustard and soy sauce, then, mixes, mixes and mixes the fermented soybeans, which are coated in a gooey, sap-like substance. I tried several bites; but, nato is not my favorite food.

After breakfast, Chihiro, her parents and I toured the sites in Nara, the capital before Kyoto. Since legend has it that one of the gods arrived in Nara on a white deer, the shika deer are protected in Nara Park. Before we arrived, I was looking forward to purchasing deer crackers to feed the deer. However, upon arrival, the deer would come right up to us, without having any food in our hands. In fact, those who gave the deer crackers soon had a horde following them and nibbling at their jackets.

Our first stop was at Todai-ji, a Buddhist temple hosting a giant seated Buddha (Daibatsu). Built into the sides of the large gate the Todai-ji were two large, frightening, wooden statues. Their expressions were mouthing the first and last letter of the alphabet (a reference to covering everything from beginning to the end), protecting the main gate from everything. This is also where I was stopped by my first group of school children, intent on completing their field trip assignment of talking to an English speaker. We passed through the main gate and thru the secondary gate (all temple gates face south); and, we were standing in front of a breath-taking temple. Even though the current building is smaller than the original built in the 8th century, it is still one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. We entered the temple; and, almost the entire space was taken up by the giant bronze Buddha seated on lotus petals. In order to showcase the sheer size of the Buddha statue, there is a hole drilled through one of the wooden supporting posts of the temple. This hole is the size of the nostril of the Buddha; and, one can try to shimmy through it's narrow opening.

From Todai-ji, we walked stone lantern lined pathways. During special festivals, all of the lanterns are filled with candles; and, the four side openings are pasted over with paper. Our walk took us to a Shinto Shrine. There is a yearly fire festival here where a fiery torch is waved over the crowd from a second story balcony. The gathers early on the grass below in order to be close enough to have embers of this fire land on them, which brings good luck. The second story balcony offered a very picturesque view of Nara. Even the rest area in this shrine was unique, as it had self serve green tea, requesting tea drinkers to wash their glasses in the sink after use.

Soon, we had to take the train to Osaka to catch our flight back to Tokyo. Osaka was very bright and very loud. After the quiet tranquility of Nara, Osaka felt more cramped, crowded, over-lit, and loud than Vegas itself. However, it had it's own perks, namely takoyaki (octopus dumplings). We tried with sauce and mayonnaise and with salt. Then, it was off to the airport. We didn't have to take off our shoes. And, for those few who did, slippers were provided to walk through the security. Wishful thinking on my part that our US airports could be as courteous as Osaka airport!

On our return to Tokyo, I was able to experience my first real crowded train experience (although, really, not that bad, according to the locals. e.g. there were no pushers pushing us into the cars). This was the last train on a Friday night; and, it held both salarymen leaving work and those who had been partying all evening.

Japan Day 7 - Kyoto and Fushimi!

The drumming started at 6:30 am, calling the faithful to morning Zen meditation. I rolled over on the futon and tried to keep sleeping. However, by 7:30, we were up. We took a quick look at the Myorenji gardens before heading to a Zen meditation in English at Myoshinin Temple. We were joined by two women from Seattle and one guy from France. The monk who led the meditation was apparently not a traditional monk. He spoke of meditation, religion and neuroscience. After meditation, we viewed the rock garden as well as several painted panels that were 200 years old.

The most well-known tourist attraction in Kyoto is Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple. The current temple was rebuilt and regilded in gold in 1960, after a young monk burned it down (according to the book 'the temple of the golden pavilion' by yukio mishima).

Next, we headed to the town of Fushimi, famous for its' sake factories. We took a tour of the Geikkekan sake factory. There was a brochure in English; however, the tour was completely in Japanese. However, the museum had many English translations. We finished our tour by sampling two sakes and a plum wine (interestingly, most of the plum wine is exported to the USA). Our tour included one take home can of sake. Overall, well worth the tour cost of 400 yen.

Fushimi has a famous Shinto shrine called Fushimi Inari. Originally founded in 711, it has pathways lined with thousands of reddish-orange gates called torii. These torii have been donated by individuals and businesses; and, it appears that one can donate torii still today. inari.jp
For dinner tonight, we headed back into Kyoto for conveyor belt sushi! The place was packed but efficient. We didn't have to wait long before getting seats along the conveyor belt. The sushi chefs quickly served up some of the best sushi I had ever eaten, with a much wider variety of sushi than I had previously been exposed to. Some of the more unusual ones that I tasted were crab guts, horse, cuttlefish and nato (fermented soybeans). We ate until there was a stack of plates in front of each of us. The bill was simply the number of plates times a flat fee per plate. Green tea was included for free.

Our night ended at a small bar in a back alley run by Ray, who speaks fluent English and Japanese (and caters to expats as well as locals). In addition to the sake and beer we ordered, Ray provided sweets, including homemade green tea bite size candies. It was a relaxing end to a busy day.

Japan Day 5 - Tokyo to Nara!

This morning was dreary with a light drizzle. However, that didn't phase those on bicycles, who rode with one hand and carried an umbrella with the other.

For lunch today, I finally ate udon, a Japanese noodle soup. The udon was delicious! However, I ate too slowly; and, the udon expanded in the broth over time.

Today, my friend Chihiro and I traveled to her parents' home in Nara. For dinner, her mom served us sukiyaki. A hot plate was in the center of the table, on which mushrooms, carrots, chrysanthemum leaves and slices of beef were fried. We used our chopsticks to move fried items from the hot plate to a bowl with raw egg, then ate the tasty mouthfuls.

Japan Day 6 - Kyoto!

This morning, we took the train to the the home of Nintendo's headquarters, Kyoto. Unlike Tokyo's system of trains and subways, in Kyoto, we spent the majority of our public transportation time on busses, all of which are a flat fee (either 100 or 220 yen).  We visited the Philosopher's Way and ate lunch at a temple along the path. The setting was peaceful as we enjoyed the beginning of the fall colors. We continued our day by walking to and around Nanzenji Temple. It is an enormous complex, opening with a large wooden gate. We followed the ritual protocol of hand and mouth washing before walking to the altar, throwing in a coin, ringing a bell, making a wish, bowing twice and clapping twice. The Nanzenji complex was a peaceful, garden retreat.

Next, we attended a traditional geisha performance. The performers were both maiko (geisha in training) and geisha. Kyoto still has a geisha tradition, including the teahouses and places to rent geisha kimonos. We were first shown to a small sitting room, where we were served sweets and matcha green tea. Then, we moved to the auditorium for the performance. The geisha and maiko acted out five scenes, including traditional dances. They were accompanied by shamisen and three vocalists. They even played a version of 'rock, paper, scissors', with 'samurai, mother, tiger'.

Since the temple where we were staying (Myorenji) didn't have a bath or shower, they provided us with coupons to the public bath. Public bathing is something that I haven't done since the awkward junior high and high school years after gym class. However, the public bath in Japan is an experience that one shouldn't miss. These baths are still frequented in the older neighborhoods, where when the homes were built, there was either not enough space or money to include a private bath. Men and women have separate locker rooms and bathing facilities. First one soaps and rinses at the shower heads. Then, one moves into the large hot-tub. It was a wonderfully relaxing experience.
We rushed back to Myorenji Temple past our 9 pm curfew. However, the friendly manager led us to our room while his young son entertained us with his antics. The room was covered in tatami mats. The only furniture was a low table with hot water for tea. We unfolded our futons and slept soundly.

Japan Day 4 - Tokyo!

Monday morning, I visited the famous Tokyo fish market, Tsujiki. Even though I left later than recommended (8 am), that gave me a chance to experience rush hour. A sea of dark suits flowed through the railway and metro stations. I was lucky enough to get a seat while the subway car filled with passengers at each stop. At Tsujiki, I climbed the stairs to overcast skies and the smell of fish. A street map (there are helpful maps with 'you are here' on many street corners), displayed the fishmarket to the left. I plunged into an open air market full of mushrooms, fruits and vegetables, finally arriving at the seafood and fish. There were prawns, octopi, clams, mussels and fish of all sizes. In addition, just walking was an exercise in avoiding being hit by people, carts and trucks, all rushing past. Eventually, I stopped to eat a late breakfast. After carefully studying the kanji on the outside photo of dumplings, I entered the tiny shop and ordered using the vending machine. In this tiny, 16-seat establishment, my knees touched the counter. However the cafe was so narrow, I had to lean forward to let customers pass behind me. The service was quick and friendly, and, the customers slurped their noodles just as quickly.

My next excursion was to Odaiba Island to the Maraikan Science Museum (one of the few museums open on Mondays). The hostel receptionist recommended seeing Asimo, the robot by Honda. Asimo was amazing! It walked, talked, kicked a soccer ball and even danced. Maraikan also boasted a replica of the Shinkai6500 (deep sea sub), an exhibit on particle accelerators, and a hands-on try at endoscopic surgery. Odaiba Island is a shopping and entertainment destination, with Forever 21, H&M, SonyExplore, LEGO Land and even Fuji TV.

 Taking the train back to Ginza, I began the search for Jiro's sushi restaurant. 'Jiro dreams of sushi' is a documentary movie of the sushi chef rated #1 in the world by Michelin. Using the restaurant's 4-2-15 address, I asked many people for assistance in locating Jiro's shop. The easy way is to find the Sony building and then look for the W suit store. Jiro's sushi bar is nestled beneath the suit store. Since a meal at Jiro's starts at $300, I hadn't made a reservation. However, glimpsing Jiro through the restaurant door made the search worth it!

 For dinner tonight, we ate a type of Japanese 'junk food' called moonjya. In the center of each table, there was a large, inlaid, rectangular hot plate. Onto the hot plate, we fried thinly sliced meat, veggies, and tomato. Next, we added a liquidy 'dough' and cheese. Then, everything was chopped together with two metal spatulas. The result was pure yumminess!

Japan Day 3 - Tokyo!

My first day on my own taking the array of trains and subways around Tokyo. Two different companies run the subways; and, there is also a train line. Per the hostel, it's not worth it to buy day passes, as each day pass is only for one company. I tracked my rides today; and, I rode both subways and the train.
jr line 130
toei metro 170
toei metro 170
tokyo metro 160
jr line 130
On my very first ride, the train pulled into the first station and stopped. However, the doors didn't open. There was a long announcement over the PA, none of which I understood. Thankfully, the doors did finally open and we kept moving.

Since it was so clear out that we could see Mount Fuji from the hostel, I decided to visit the tallest structure in the world, Tokyo's Skytree. It stands 634 meters high, with observation decks at 350m and 450m. Be ready to spend hours waiting in lines, first a line to get a time to buy a ticket. When you return at your time, you'll stand in line to buy the ticket. Then, there's another line to get on the 40 person elevator to the first observation deck. The elevator speeds upward at 600m/minute (my ears popped on the way down). After all that waiting, the view at 350m was worth it! A 360 degree, birds eye view of Tokyo spread out below us. However, be aware that there is an additional 1000 yen charge to go to the next observation deck at 450m.

There is plenty to do at Solamanche between waiting in line to get a ticket time and waiting in line to purchase a ticket. During that time, I walked to Sumida Park, visited my first Shinto Temple, drank a white grape and aloe juice and even test drove a rescue robot used at the Fukushima nuclear plant!

For lunch, I wondered across the canal from Skytree and stumbled upon Kailash Indian Restaurant. Welcomed by a 'Namaste', I was instantly curious where the owners were from. Both the owner and server are from Nepal. They served up delicious naan, curry and lassi; and, lunch was reasonably priced at under 1000 yen. What a delicious surprise!

After all that time spent waiting, I hurried down from Skytree to get to Tokyo National Museum in Ueno. There were so many interesting exhibits, from ukiyo-e prints to terracotta figures to sumarai suits of armor to beautiful porcelains to painted screens. After the museum closed, I walked thru Ueno Park and saw a group yo-yo-ing, another juggling, and, a third dressed out of Grease and dancing to '50s music.

On my walk back along the railway, I passed by a craft fare with artists displaying jewelry, shoes, and purses. In contrast to this craftmanship, I continued back thru the shopping area of yesterday, even busier and louder with vendors shouting at passing customers. For supper, I ate from the bustling kebab shop. Then, i made my way back to Akibara to check out the Tokyo Anime Center. It was disappointingly more giftshop than museum.

Japan Day 2 - Tokyo!

This morning's task (after navigating the hostel's shower system), was finding breakfast. I walked past several populated cafes offering food choices only in Japanese. Finally, I worked up the confidence to enter one and order from the vending machine. Waalaa! My,breakfast arrived a few minutes later, complete with green tea.

After breakfast, Hiro arrived for a day of exploring Tokyo. We walked thru a street of vendors hawking their wares, even boots by Texaco. (Wonder if Texaco realizes that?) My highlight was fresh pineapple from Hokkaido for 100 yen.

By now, I was hungry again so, we stopped in a small shop for noodles. The combination of noodles, meat, bamboo shoots and broth was delicious!

Next, we visited the grounds of the Imperial Palace. It's paths have become a popular place for people to run. However, it has caused friction (and accidents) with the usual , non-running visitors to the grounds. Nevertheless, we watched a loosely organized race begin near the main gate (which is under construction).
As we left the grounds, we noticed a group of people milling at the end of a street. We walked toward them and were excited to have stumbled on a Food Fest! We sampled wine, wasabi, daikon, blueberry jam and real ginger ale.

Our next stop was the Sony showroom, where we played in Windows 8 computers and tablets that are not yet available for purchase. While the Experia was nice, we liked the keyboard better on the Slate.
By now, our feet were tired; and, we headed to Electric Town in Akihabara for a little bit of an otaku experience, the maid cafe. Otaku is a word that means 'nerd'; but, now carries the connotation of those who are very involved in the manga culture. The maids serve the clients; and, for a fee, you can take your picture with or play a game with a maid (although, we all played paper-rock-scissors together for free). http://akibaculture.tripod.com/cafes/07_athomecafe.html.

Our evening ended with me trying once again to stay awake thru a delicious dinner, including tiramisu.

Japan Day 1 - arrival in Tokyo!

Singapore Airlines delivered us promptly at 7:05 pm. Then, breezed thru customs (after being fingerprinted and photographed). Rental phone from Softbank--check! Yen from ATM--check! Then, off to purchase a train ticket to Tokyo Station. This proved a little more difficult due to the automatic ticket machines being in Japanese. However, customer service spoke English. Then, as I worriedly glanced between trains, an English speaker helped me pick the correct train. By the end of the 1.5 hour ride, I was falling asleep between every stop.

It was so wonderful to see a familiar face waiting for me at Tokyo station! Hiro helped find the hostel, which turned into more fun with trains and tokyo addresses. By now, it was 10:30; and, the hostel has an 11:30 curfew. So, the staff showed us the back way to get in, a confusing mix of stairs, unmarked doors and an elevator.

Although there are a McDonalds and Starbucks not far from the hostel, I vetoed both. Instead, we ate at a restaurant with some interesting features. First, we had to take off our shoes and put them in a locker. Then, we had a doorbell type button on our table. the serving staff only passed by our table if we rang the bell. Lastly, everytime we rang, a different server would appear (i've subsequently learned that there is no tipping at restaurants in Japan, which means we've had exceptionally fast server  response times at every food place we've visited, since no one person owns the table or tips). And even though I can't remember exactly what I ate in my travel stupor, it was all delicious!

Costa Rica - San Jose - Day 7

We arrived in San Jose on the evening on Day 6, after an interesting afternoon of dealing with Budget. For all travelers to Costa Rica, please make sure to book your rental at www.budget.co.cr instead of www.budget.com, or you may take a taxi to the Quepos Budget Office only to find a lot devoid of cars and no record of your reservation. Thankfully, the staff was very understanding and did all that they could to accommodate our rental reservation.

Upon our arrival at Don Carlos Hotel, we could hear music coming from the park only a block away. El Arte Esta En La Calle had scheduled events in the parks near our hotel that weekend. Although we missed the art fair, we were able to enjoy some trailer food (churros--yum!) as well as listen to an amazing salsa band play, Bernardo Quesada y Rumba Jam. Surprisingly, there were few people dancing in the large crowd standing to watch the band. However, I did manage to steal a dance for half of a song.

The next morning, our final day in Costa Rica, we toured the Jade Museum. Less than a block from our hotel, the Jade Museum covers much more than just jade: it is a wonderful mini-museum of the pre-Columbian cultural history of Costa Rica. The jade pieces were beautifully intricate, employing a method entitled "string-sawing", using a cord dipped in an abrasive such as sand. Intriguingly, we came across these carefully filed teeth. Entrance = $8.

Costa Rica - Manuel Antonio - Day 6

This morning, we woke early to catch the city bus (250 colones or $0.50) to the entrance of Manuel Antonio National Park*. By this time, we felt like park tour pros. Instead of paying for a guide, we decided to proceed alone, at our own pace, and stop to look at whatever a group of people would excitedly be pointing at in the jungle. We trekked the two kilometers to the first beach, Playa Manuel Antonio. The view and ocean were beautiful. However, a little further on, Playa Espadilla Sur is truly breathtaking and much less crowded.

Since the peninsula was closed on the day we visited, we hiked the Sendero Mirador trail to the only open lookout. On the way, we saw a large pack of howler monkeys hanging out in the trees. There was even a baby monkey hanging onto it's mother's back as the adult traveled from tree to tree. The hike out to the look-out, while hot and humid, afforded us another beautiful view of the ocean. Back on the trail to the entrance, we saw a two-toed sloth slowly making it's descent from a tree, to the excited pointing and exclamations of all of us tourists. By that time, entire families were walking to the beach, carrying coolers of food, blankets and towels. It was impressive seeing grandparents making the hike over the gravel roads and down a steep slope to spend a day at the beach with their children and grandchildren.

*For those looking to purchase tickets to Manuel Antonio National Park, purchasing in the city of Quepos at Coopealianza saves waiting in line at the park entrance. Tickets are good for any day (except Monday, when the park is closed). There is no specific date on the tickets. Instead, the tickets are stamped upon entrance. The Coopalianza entrance is a barred door with a security guard, as Coopealianza is also a bank. Just knock on the bars; and, the guard will let you inside. $10.

Costa Rica - Quepos - Day 5

We spent a leisurely morning exploring the city of Quepos, visiting every farmacia and the Red Cross searching for a pair of crutches. There were exactly two pairs in town - an adult size at one farmacia and a children's size at another farmacia. Our traipsing about gave us a chance to see a bit of the town, get some more USD from the ATM, walk through the farmer's market (and enjoy a fresh coconut), check out transportation options to San Jose (bus, private shuttle or rental car), mail a postcard at the post office and eat at a restaurant not overrun by tourists.

At 1:15, the shuttle picked us up from our hotel (Mimo's) for our boat tour with Trimaran Sunset Sails. We managed to use every existing seat on this shuttle as well. On the boat, we sipped drinks (alcoholic mixed drinks, fruit juices or water) and grazed on pineapple while we waited for dolphins to appear (which never did). Then, we anchored next to a volcanic rock near the coast and snorkeled. We saw lots of great fish in the rocks and coral near the lava rock, mostly sergeant majors. After working up an appetite swimming, we returned to the sailboat for a delicious mahi dinner before heading back to shore as the sunset. It was amazing to watch the sun sink beneath the waves in the horizon!

Costa Rica - Monteverde - Day 4

Our morning began with a 2.5 hour guided hike through Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. Near the beginning of our tour, we were lucky enough to see capuchin monkeys and both male and female of the elusive quetzal birds. Our guide told us that the quetzals hover like hummingbirds and eat wild avocados whole. We heard before we saw the guan bird. It looks like a peacock without the fancy tail feathers; and, the guan makes a sound like a machine gun rattle. 

We saw several epiphytes on our hike - from tree ferns to the bird's nest fern that grows around the tree to an entire branch that had fallen from the canopy because of the weight of the epiphytes growing on it. On part of a tree branch that had fallen, the guide pointed out that there were no rings! Since there are no seasons at Monteverde, the trees do not develop rings.

However, my favorite tree in Costa Rica was the strangler fig. It starts growing on top of a tree, sends it's roots down the tree trunk to the ground to steal all the tree's nutrients and eventually kills the host tree. Once the host tree rots away, the strangler fig looks like a hollow jack-o-lantern.

Cost was $18/person park entrance + $27/person for guide. Somewhere between the two, our shuttle from the hotel was covered.

We spent our final afternoon in Monteverde touring Don Juan's Coffee. It was a wonderful tour of how coffee is grown and processed, with much free coffee before and after the tour. In addition, we learned about sugarcane and cocao and even made sugarcane juice and chocolate. Cost of $30/person.

Costa Rica - Monteverde - Day 3

This morning began with a taxi-boat-taxi ride from our hotel in La Fortuna, across man-made Lake Arenal and then a 1.5 hour shuttle ride bumping along between 20-30 km/h to Monteverde. Have I mentioned the roads in Costa Rica? The majority between tourist destinations are narrow dirt roads with a maximum speed limit of 40 km/h (25 mph). It doesn't matter how fancy a hotel one stays in, tourist transportation is the great equalizer. Both the hostel guest and the 5 star hotel guest are subjugated to bumpy, dirt-road rides, squished to capacity within a shuttle van, with intermittent AC.

We arrived at Hotel de Montana at noon. From our balconies, we had a beautiful view of distant Nicoya Bay. After a quick pizza lunch, we caught the Selvatura shuttle to ziplining. While in Hawaii, one employee died and another was critically injured on a zipline. Since then, I have been adamant against trying them. However, last minute, I decided that I should zipline at least once, since we were in Costa Rica. It was terrifying! After the instructor rode tandem with me on one of the 13 cables, I felt a little more comfortable. The longest cable was 1 km (0.62 miles) long! Cost of ziplining was $45/person. For those less inclined toward extreme activities, there is a hanging bridges walking tour for $30/person.

After dinner that evening, we went on a Night Hike with Ficus Trails. During our hike, we saw an agouti (the second largest rodent in Costa Rica), an Emerald Toucanet, a Yiguirro (Costa Rica's national bird because it's song predicts the rainy season.), an olingo and a two-toed sloth. Cost of $23/person.

Costa Rica - Arenal Volcano - Day 2

We enjoyed the best breakfast of our entire trip at Pura Vida. It began with platters full of fresh fruit (pineapple, bananas, watermelon, passion fruit and kiwi) and concluded with rum sauce bread pudding.

Then, we boarded our private shuttle to Arenal Volcano and the little town of La Fortuna. It was 2.5 hours along narrow, winding roads passing coffee and sugarcane fields. Yet, we saw a group of road bikers braving the shoulderless roads.

In La Fortuna we stayed at Arenal Green, which we booked through Anywhere Costa Rica. From our porch, we had a gorgeous view of Arenal Volcano, at least when it wasn't completely cloud covered. Disappointingly for tourists, it has not erupted in 18 months.

From the hotel, we took a taxi along the dirt road to the La Fortuna Waterfall. Current entrance fee is $10. Depending on your speed of descent, it's a 10-15 minute hot and humid stair step to the base of the waterfall. Once there, the cool mist from the thundering waterfall is refreshing. Smart visitors will wear swimsuits so that they can take a dip in the cool water. We, unfortunately, hadn't thought of that!

After lunch, the Sky Tram shuttle picked us up at Arenal Green. We were the only Sky Trammers at 3 pm that day, which meant we had a guide and the gondolas all to ourselves. Our guide, Cristian, spoke very good English. He pointed out different types of trees and even radioed the Sky Tram operator to stop when he spotted a howler monkey in a distant tree. At the top of the Sky Tram, our tour continued, as Cristian led us along a trail. He pointed out a maquenque or walking palm tree, which can "walk" up to 10 cms per year in search of the best sunlight in the canopy. Cristian said that these strong and flexible palms were previously used for house construction. He pointed out a translucent fern growing on a different tree. It's leaves felt slightly plastic. On this hike, I heard a word that I would hear often during the week--epiphyte. Epiphytes are plants that live on the trees without damaging them, usually near the top to get rain and sunlight. On our completion of the trail, we gazed across Lake Arenal to Arenal Volcano until the Sky Tram operator radioed Cristian asking for our return. Cost for entrance and shuttle was $54/person.

We enjoyed the food at only one restaurant in La Fortuna...Rufino's. It's among the pricier restaurants in town; and, like all restaurants in La Fortuna, it is full of tourists. But, even though the prices are 50% higher than listed on the current website menu, the Pollo al Estilo de la Abuela is worth it!

Costa Rica - Alajuela - Day 1

We started our travels early Tuesday morning, catching a 6:30 am flight to Dallas, then on to Miami before finally arriving in San Jose, Costa Rica after dark. Our hotel in Alajuela had emailed dryly humurous, detailed instructions. We followed them to the letter.

Some first day travel tips:
1. The exchange rate at the airport is terrible. Do not change currency there. In addition, many places take US dollars as well as Costa Rican colones.
2. Only use official taxis. When you exit the San Jose airport turn left for an official orange taxi. Later that night (and, in other cities), when we called a taxi, the taxis were most often red. We would be told what number taxi to wait for. The number is clearly printed on the passenger door.
3. ATMs are often behind locked doors. In order to enter, just swipe your debit/credit card; and, the door will unlock.

Our hotel was exquisite. Pura Vida covered the taxi drop off from the airport. Bernie met us at the entrance with two large German Shephards. Thankfully, both of the dogs were quite docile. Bernie's British dry wit put us at ease as he checked us in and led us through the gorgous garden to the Katydid Casita.

After we settled in, we were able to exchange some US dollars at Pura Vida (competitive exchange rate) so that we could catch the taxi to downtown Alajuela for some dinner. Bernie recommended Jalapenos; and, although it seemed strange to eat TexMex on our first night in Costa Rica, we were not disappointed. All of the food was delicious, from the non-salty refried beans (hope that some of my favorite Austin TexMex places will take note) to the whipped smooth guacamole. Our meals were accompanied by freshly prepared juice. We tried the pineapple and the cas juice, which tasted sour like a grapefruit. Jalapenos was quite the ex-pat/tourist hang-out; and, we met a family from Gainesville, Florida there. The owner, who previously resided in New York, can assist any tourist lacking the Spanish skills to order at a restaurant. All of the staff were very helpful.

From Jalapenos, we walked two blocks to the nearest banks with ATMs. The streets were very safe. On our return, Jalapenos called us a taxi; and, soon, we were headed back to Pura Vida. Our driver explained that the burning smell along the road was the sweet scent of coffee roasting.

One final note on Pura Vida, while there is free, secure WiFi, for our Casita at least, we could only get it from the living area and dining area.

Bikram at Pure Bikram Yoga

I’d heard the rumors about instructors in microphoned headsets calling out students by name: “Don’t stop!”, “Fix that form!” I’d heard that it can aggravate more than assist those with lower back issues. And, I’d heard that Bikram, aka “hot” yoga is practiced in unreasonably hot and humid studios. All reasons never to attend. Yet, Friday, I ran into a co-worker that I hadn’t seen for a month; and, there was something changed about her. Perhaps better posture? Lost weight?  Definitely a very healthy glow. She raved to me about Pure Bikram and how she had only a week to complete the 60 day challenge—60 days of 90 minutes of Bikram yoga per day. She gave me a pass for one free class; and, I decided to try it out…at least once.

The downtown Pure Bikram studio is located next to Tequila and Tacos (TNT) on Pressler and West 5^th. The sign outside is a bright red “BIKRAM”. Inside, the counter area looks much like something from a salon. Lockers are back toward the left. The studio is on the right. Although I realized that it would be hot and humid, it felt like a sauna. And the pervasive body odor smell surprised me.  However, in all probability, a class of people sweating together at 105 degrees is going to make any space odiferous.  

Class was crowded. The room was set-up in three rows, each as wide as a yoga mat; and, we had only 8-10 inches between mats. In addition to the close quarters, there was the added intimidation of floor to ceiling mirrors along two of the walls. Plus, we were informed at the beginning of class that no one leaves the classroom during the 90 minutes. We could decide not to participate; but, we were not allowed to leave.

Checking the website beforehand, I noticed that a towel was required; and, everyone had a large towel on top of their mat. While I was hoping not to slip off my mat doing a downward dog pose, the poses were not even that complex. Therefore, I didn’t have to worry about sweat sliding off my mat. However, due to the hot environment, even simple poses had my heart racing. My entire body was covered with sweat within 10 minutes. By the end of class, we all looked like we had been swimming.

Also, for those with bulging discs in their lower backs, there were several items that I modified in order not to re-injure my back. Although the instructor did wear a microphoned headset, she only called me out once; and, it wasn’t because I was modifying something that put pressure on my back.

Overall the instructor was very encouraging and supportive. She knew the regular class participants by name; and, she made an effort to remember all the names of the newbies. Her instructions were very clear and easy to understand.

Afterward, I felt super gross. I walked home; and, immediately took a shower. But, my skin feels really nice now—like it just had its own personal spa treatment.  However, I’m ravenous, per following the website instructions not to eat much before class.

Day 2 - failed to keep my car parked

Today started off well enough. I pumped up the bike tires and greased the chain. Scoffed at the notion of rain as I zipped to work on dry pavement. Then, this afternoon, it downpoured. Thankfully, the rain stopped long before I left work at 6:30. Sailing through the puddles, my fenderless bike sprayed water everywhere. Nearing my condo on the way to Spanish class, I decided I would be overly late. So, I pedaled home and picked up my car. Yet, I still arrived at the hour long class a half hour late. Hopefully, tomorrow my car will stay parked!

Day 1 as a bicycle commuter

As I coasted down a hill in the chilly morning air, I felt a bit of regret for deciding to park the car this week. My legs weren't very happy about going up the last, long hill to work, either. In fact, I almost didn't go to the RDC dance class after work for dread of the cool air. Yet, I'd been looking forward to it since before Christmas. So, I put on my fleece and made my way toward campus. After feeling completely intimidated by the talented young college students popping and sliding, I walked out after the first RDC class. However, couples dancing caught my eye. At the other end of the hall, rumba lessons! This is Texas Ballroom's free week. If you're non-UT students or staff, this is the week to check out ballroom dancing.  By nine, I was at my hungry point and decided to skip the cha-cha lesson. Beside, my bike needs a little love before tomorrow. The chain should be greased, and the tires pumped.
Today's commuting mileage:
Home to work - 3 miles
Work to UT - 5 miles
UT to home - 2 miles

Is it possible to travel only by bike in Austin?

I probably shouldn't consider such questions at 11:30 on a Sunday night, as I'm prone to make irrational decisions while dreading the return to work Monday morning. However, I wonder if it's possible to keep my car parked for the next four weeks and bicycle as my main source of transportation? Work is only 3 miles away. Church small group and the Austin's best salsa club are 6 miles. The longest trek would be to church on Sundays--14 miles away. No more double or triple booking my evenings. I'd also miss those rare chances that I could meet friends out for lunch during the work week. Maybe I'll start with a week without driving before challenging myself to four!