Shelton, CT

The morning of friday, November 27th I visited the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica in order to get a temporary passport. By friday night I was in Shelton, CT visiting my brother Tom, his wife Sue, my niece Ivy, and nephew Aidan. Saturday I picked out a new laptop and cellphone and by monday morning I was hard at work trying to get caught up on everything. An unexpected chance to visit with family despite the cold weather made the transition from life in a tropical jungle to late autumn on the east coast a little bit easier. We got lucky with a few warm days in the 50's so did some hiking and one scenic bike ride along the Housatonic River. There was lots of time for games, mad libs, reading books, picking out a tree at a Christmas tree farm, decorating the tree, enjoying a snow day, a holiday party with the Cubs Scouts, and a 6-hour boardgame marathon with a local boardgame meetup. I'll head back to California for Christmas and New Year's with an eye on traveling somewhere warm in early January.


This is Shelton, CT... not Costa Rica!

Uvita, Costa Rica

Last sunday I travelled to Uvita to begin a 6+ week stay at Cascada Verde Eco Lodge. I had been looking forward to visiting this place since I read about it back in March. Unfortunately on the bus ride to Uvita I had my duffle bag stolen. My duffle contained my laptop, passport, credit cards, camera, and some cash. I broke a couple of standard bus travel rules that I had learned and adhered to on previous bus trips and paid for it dearly. This event along with 5 hours of bus riding and a 3 hour layover in Quepos made for one of the longest travel days of my life. Finally at about 9 pm arrived in Uvita. The bus let me off in the town center if you want to call it that. The town consists of a supermarket, bank, visitors office, and a few other small businesses. I now had a 1.8 km. uphill walk on a dirt/gravel road in a dark place I'd never been before. Fortunately there were 3 signs that were posted along the road that guided me to Cascada Verde. When I arrived I was met by some of the people staying at CV, Neela, Monica, Denny, and Houston. I told them about the events of my day and they couldn't have reacted with more kindness and compassion. They fed me and gave me a room to stay in with no payment required. My room was a simple, open-air loft space made of wood and bamboo. It included a comfortable bed with netting along with a chair and wood shelves. The open air feel in the heart of the jungle with sounds made by toads, monkeys, and various insects was simply amazing. Here's a look at building structure and surrounding vegetation.


Over the course of 4 nights and 3 days at Cascada Verde I got to hike barefoot up a river & help clean out the tanks for CV's water source, see a howler monkey swing from the treetops while practicing yoga, help plant new trees, taste several fruits I'd never seen or heard of before, hike down to and swim in the ocean, and participate in "Toss Your Salad Tuesday". Toss Your Salad Tuesday is not a contest to see who can drink the most Imperials, it is a night of great food and camaraderie including delicious salads made from various freshly picked greens from the garden.

More important than the beautiful jungle environment, open air sleeping, and amazing freshly picked foods I had a chance to get to know several people during my short stay. I got to plant trees with Evelina, hike the river barefoot with Houston, prepare dinner with Monica, hike to the beach and ocean with Denny, and carry on many interesting conversations with Neela who was particularly empathetic with my situation.

I had a great time at Cascada Verde but the stinger came with the realization that I would need to return to the U.S. to best handle business/work related issues stemming from the theft of my belongings. After getting a temporary passport at the U.S. Embassy in San Jose I flew to New York and am now visiting my brother and his family in Shelton, CT. I'll spend the holiday season with family but my long-term travel plans at this point are up in the air. Many options are up for consideration including a return to Costa Rica. I did receive some inspiring advice from my good friend Chris Gauer who said, "You must shed this minor disaster and use it as a springboard to begin the second half of your trip stronger."

Monteverde/La Fortuna/Jaco

Last sunday I took a 6-hour shuttle/ferry/shuttle ride from Santa Teresa to Santa Elena. The plan for the week was to travel with my friend Kurt. Since Kurt had just 1 week to spend in Costa Rica he had us on the go with outdoor adventure activities everyday. We kicked off the week by taking a guided night hike in a tropical rain forest. The highlights included seeing a mother and baby sloth, a tarantula, a huge ant mound, a 100-year old fig tree, and a variety of nocturnal insects including two stick insects that were in the process of mating.


We were lucky to get a couple of mostly sunny days while in Monteverde. We hiked through the Monteverde Biological Reserve which is a cloud and rain forest with well maintained hiking trails. The reserve is filled with overwhelmingly dense tropical plant and tree growth.


The same day we did a short but challenging hike to the San Luis waterfall. Colorful butterflies and birds, more interesting plant life, a scenic river, and several makeshift bridges led us to an incredible waterfall and pool.

In the same area we also did an afternoon of mountain biking. On this excursion we were handed a map and directions from a friendly Italian hotel owner and set off on our ride. We covered a lot of ground going down a steep trail leading past several farms into a small village. At times the trail was so steep and rocky we had to walk our bikes. Along the way we got a got a great view of the surrounding valley, saw a rainbow, a sunset, and an above ground cemetery. The ride might have been a bit longer than we expected as we didn't finish until well after nightfall.


Mid-week we drove to La Fortuna, an area best known for the Arenal Volcano. The volcano has been active since 1968 but because of continual rain and clouds we were not able to see it. We did get in another rainy cloud forest hike and also visited the Tabacon hot springs. The hot springs feature thermo-mineral rivers, soothing pools, and waterfalls set amidst tropical gardens. We soaked in the mineral wates for a good 2+ hours.


After spending most of the week in cool and damp locations Kurt wanted to end his trip with some warmer weather. We drove to to a beach town called Jaco. It was good to feel the sun and higher temperatures again. We checked out the town, did another bike trek, and cooled off afterwards with a swim in the ocean. The bike ride took us out of town down a dirt/gravel road that climbed a little ways into the nearby mountains. We found a river and waterfall to cool off in and thoroughly enjoyed the downhill return trip. It was a memorable week traveling with Kurt. Now it's time to catch a bus to Uvita.

Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Last sunday I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica. The beginning of the trip was met with mostly feelings of excitement and a little bit of nervousness. I plan to spend 5 months in Central America and this will be by far the longest travel excursion of my life. My desire for the first week was to visit an ocean front area. I split the week between two beach front communities Montezuma and Santa Teresa. Both of these towns are remote, requiring about 5 hours of travel from San Jose. To get to Montezuma I took a bus, then a 1.5 hour ferry ride, and then another bus. The buses were air-conditioned, comfortable, and did not have any chickens on the roof. The ferry ride to the Nicoya Peninsula took place at sunset.

From the time I left the airport I started meeting other interesting travellers as well as several Americans and Canadians that have semi-permanently moved down here. My typical day the first week was to run, hike, or do a yoga class in the morning, work during the midday, go to the beach in the afternoon, and relax in the evening. In Montezuma I was fortunate to find Cafe Organico to eat and work. The typical Costa Rican meal which I've now had 3 or 4 times is called a cosada. A cosada consits of rice, beans, salad, and either vegetables or meat. It's usually a big plate of food often typically costing only $4 or $5. A Costa Rican cosada meal can typically be found at a roadside eatery known as a "soda".

In both Montezuma and Santa Teresa the roads are a mix if gravel and dirt with a lot of potholes. There are more ATV's and motorbikes used to navigate these roads than cars.


In Montezuma I stayed at a place called Hotel Lucy which had a back deck about 40 yards from the ocean. It was easy to sleep at night with the sounds of the waves hitting the shore in the background. In Santa Teresa I stayed at Casa Zen which was about a 200 yard walk to the ocean. The town of Santa Teresa revolves largely around surfing. There are several surf camps here for people with no experience surfing. I stuck to body surfing and boogie boarding which was plenty of fun.


Here's a picture taken for a yoga studio/cafe above the town of Santa Teresa. This place was partiucularly quiet and relaxing since it was away from the main road.

Lotus, CA Part II

I spent the last 4 weeks at my Mom and Harry's in Lotus, CA. Most days were a typical routine of working and biking or running at nearby Greenwood Creek. There were a few noteworthy activities and events over the last month. The first weekend I returned to Lotus I volunteered for the El Dorado County AAUW Green Home Tour. AAUW is an organization my mom belongs to that raises money for scholarships for women. It was my job to shuttle people from parking lots to two of the homes on the tour. Shuttling for 6 hours gave me chance to meet and talk to all sorts of interesting people from El Dorado County. The home tour was a success raising close to $5,000 and giving the locals a chance to visit some really interesting homes.

Other highlights included a canoe trip with my friend Karel, a couple of 5+ mile hikes with my mom, suprising Harry with a new used bike on his birthday, a visit with the Gilligan family in Davis over Halloween weekend, and an astronomy night up on Mt. Tam. I traveled with my Aunt Sue, Karel, and another amateur astronomy buff, Greg up to Mt. Tam for an astronmy night put together by the San Francisco Astronomy Club. There were 20-25 telescopes to look through and lots of different galaxies and constellations to learn about.

Sunday November 8th I'll arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica. If I can successfully negotiate the Coca-Cola Bus Terminal and get on the right bus I'll end up on Montezuma sunday night. Needless to say I'm very excited to begin my trip to Costa Rica. I'm looking forward to traveling around the first 2 weeks and then settling down at an Eco-Lodge in Uvita at the end of November. Stay tuned for updates from Costa Rica.

Orange County/Los Angeles, CA

After a week of hostels along the Central Coast I was ready for some peace and quite at my Dad and Step-Mom, Mary's home in Irvine. To stay in shape while visiting Mary and I did morning yoga on several occasions and I tried to keep up with my old man on a couple of bike rides around town. October is a brilliant time of year in Orange County. I enjoyed 12 straight days of sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. Here we are at Laguna Beach.


I was also fortunate to get in visits with my cousin Julia who was in town from the East Coast and my cousin Lisa, her husband Jim, and there 5-month old baby, Haley. I stayed with them for a couple of nights in Van Nuys. There was lots of action in a short period of time including a poker night, playing basketball for the first time in 6 months, and an art festival in South Pasadena with a group of Lisa and Jim's friends. The big thrill though was meeting Haley for the first time. It was great spending time with the Boyd's in "Family Land"!



I also got to spend some time my friend Beni who I've kept in touch with since we met in Panama. We had a great dinner in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles and also went mountain biking in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Beni's got mad skills on the bike and always makes a huge effort to get together when I'm in town which is much appreciated.

Even with all the time spent with family and friends I still found a couple of interesting places to visit on a day trip. My brother tipped me off about an interesting place in Landers, CA called Integratron. Along with 40-50 other people I had a 30-minute sound bath at the Integratron. No idea what a sound bath is? Do a little reading on the Integratron or better yet take a ride out to Landers and experience it for yourself.


After the sound bath I did a short visit to nearby Joshua Tree National Park. The best time of year to visit Joshua Tree is in the spring with it's wildflowers in full bloom. I found the park to be beautiful this time of year despite the dryness and dust. I'd like to come back to this park again and see more of it. The second picture below is a Joshua Tree up close with many more across the landscape.

Central Coast, CA

Leaving the Bay Area my first stop heading south was the ocean town of Santa Cruz. I spent half the day mountain biking in Wilder Ranch State Park and the other half checking out the restaurants and shops in downtown Santa Cruz. At the state park I started by riding along a series of bluffs overlooking the ocean. After completing this section I crossed Highway 1 and rode up along some of the mountain trails where it was 20-25 degrees warmer than at the ocean.


The following day I made a quick stop to check out Monterey and Carmel. Here's a recognizable albeit hazy shot of Pebble Beach for all the golf fans out there.


The rest of the day was spent winding along highway 1 right along the ocean. It was a slow and sometimes foggy drive but was well worth it. My first stop was Point Lobos State Preserve. The oceanfront was filled with a variety of spectacular geological formations and plant life.

I stopped for a hike to the beach at Andrew Molera State Park and then proceeded on to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. I'd been looking forward to this State Park to see yet another unique waterfall. McWay Falls was a dramatic site with water falling 80 ft. directly onto the sand beach.

I continued on with another couple of hours making it to San Luis Obispo by nightfall. I made the hostel in San Luis Obispo my home base for the week. This was one of the best hostels I stayed at for both its comfortable accomodations and interesting mix of hosts and travelers. Highlights included biking and trail running at Irish Hills, hiking up Bishop's Peak, Mtn. biking and coastal rock formations in Montana de Oro State Park, and the Shine Cafe in nearby Morro Bay. I hiked up Bishops's Peak one morning with Arend from Denmark and Andres from Sweden. An interesting discussion of our different cultures and travel experiences added to the great view overlooking SLO.

The day at Montana de Oro was highlighted by more amazing geological formations, eucalyptus groves, and stunning views of the surrounding mountains and ocean.


Friday I traveled further south to Santa Barbara. Along the way I stopped at La Purisma Mission near Lompoc. Spanish Missions can be found up and down the coast of California. La Purisma was particularly interesting because the of the 1820's style that has been maintained. The city of Lompoc is also known for it's more than 60 painted wall murals. Works of art like this one can be found all over their downtown area.


I also made stops in the wine country towns of Solvang and Los Olivos, hiked up Gaviota Peak for a great view of the ocean & Channel Islands, and payed a visit to the Mtn. Biking trails of Pt. Mugu State Park. I was fortunate to see one beautiful place after another over the course of 7 days along the central coast.

San Francisco Bay Area

On Labor Day my brother and I drove to Marin County to hike and sightsee in the area. After spending a night at the Marin Headlands Hostel we hiked up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais and through Muir Woods. From the top of Mt. Tam we could see a low cloud cover below the city skyline.


In Muir Woods we saw an amazing array of trees the most impressive of which were the coastal redwood sequoias.


After a night at the San Francisco Ft. Mason hostel and Fisherman's Warf I dropped Tom off at the airport. I then headed down to Saratoga to visit my old friend John Gilligan, his wife Lisa, and their two kids Ryan and Casey.


Inbetween saturday morning soccer, shooting hoops in the front yard, and coloring at the kitchen table John and I managed to squeeze in 3 bike rides. The first was a 57-mile road ride from Saratoga to Boulder Creek and back. I thought I had done some tough rides on my trip but 6000 ft. of climbing on this sunny thursday afternoon really pushed my limits. John does these types of hillclimbing rides all the time so he'd typically push ahead and then patiently wait for me to catch up. Saturday and sunday we did 2-3 hours of mtn. biking enjoying some great trails and views in the area. At the end of my visit I left my road bike in the garage and am now travleling with the mtn. bike John generously loaned me.


Next stop was my Aunt Sue's in Hayward. I joined Sue for a visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, to see the Richard Avedon exhibit. We also saw the Giants take on the Colorado Rockies in AT&T Park.

On my final night my Aunt's friend Karel joined us for dinner at Souley Vegan in downtown Oakland. We enjoyed some friday night live blues and a huge sample platter of delicous vegan soul food. Here we are pictured with the owner. If you make it to Souley Vegan you must try the yams!

Lotus/Yosemite, CA

I left Oregon back on August August 30th and headed for Lotus, CA home of mom and step-dad, Harry. After 52 days of travel it was a good feeling to unpack the car, sleep in a familiar bed, and eat a home cooked meal. Already visiting were my step-brother Rob and my nephew Parker. The five of us spent a day at the California State Expo enjoyeing various exhibits, motorcycle jumping, fireating jugglers, and interesting food. Parker and Harry downed the heralded zuchcini weenie. This culinary creation is a hollowed out zuchini filled with a hot dog and deep fried in batter similar to a corn dog.


On sunday I took a long bike ride on the American River Trail Bike Path. This trail was probably the best urban trail I've been on the entire trip. The bikepath is smooth, scenic, and doesn't have any car traffic whatsoever. The trail fed me into Old Sacramento and the area near the California State Capitol Building. Tuesday night I made a stop at my Aunt Sue's and had delicious vegetarian dinner with her and a couple of her friends Carol and David in Berkley.


After picking my brother Tom at the airport we headed to Yosemite National Park along with my mom and Harry. The sights were amazing to say the least. The park is filled with glacier carved rock, waterfalls, valleys, giant sequoias, and meadows. We visited for a couple of days with the highlight being the 8-mile hike on the Panorma Trail from Glacier Point back to the valley floor. Pictured below is the signature formation associated with Yosemite, Half Dome.


The picture below was taken from Glacier Point where we started our hike. Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall can both be seen in the picture. We eventually hiked our way to both falls.


Near the end of the hike we were rewarded with a spectacular view of Vernal Fall. Because the water level is low this time of year we saw dozens of smaller waterfalls as opposed to one huge waterfall seen most of the rest of the year.


After returning to Lotus and resting our weary hiking muscles Tom and I ventured out onto the south fork of the American River which runs past my parents property. On a summer weekend day a couple thousand rafters will pass by their home on the river.


Tom headed down the river in a raft while I floated on an innertube. Although this river is fairly tame, there were a few rapid sections along the way and at one point I was tossed off my float into the cold water. Good Fun!



Here's a picture on the back deck of myself, Mom, Harry, and Tom. The next 7 weeks will be spent visiting various parts of California. Updates may be a little less frequent but hopefully just as exciting as the first two months of the trip.