One afternoon in Costa Rica my friend Andre and I went out to lunch in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca on the Caribbean coast with our friends Helen and Dirk. We were enjoying our meal until this friendly fellow dropped a huge turd onto Helen’s sandwich. He was perched up on the rafters directly above our […]
Archive | July, 2011
5 Reasons why “Pura Vida” is the Costa Rican answer to everything
Sometime back in 4th grade Spanish class, I learned that the appropriate response to the question “Como estas?” could be something along the lines of “bien” or “estoy feliz.” This turns out not to be the case in Costa Rica, where the appropriate response to the same question is “Pura vida.” Yes, when you ask […]
Hiking Volcan Maderas (4,573 ft) on Isla Ometepe
I went on a lot of hikes in Central America. A lot of them I enjoyed, a lot of them I did not enjoy. The hike up Volcan Maderas falls under the category of those I did not entirely enjoy, thanks to the on and off rain the entire time and the fact that the […]
Granada, Nicaragua. Reason #6! El Dia de los Ninos…
Granada had a holiday while I was there– children’s day. Seriously? I love this place. Even Claro cell phone company came to the Parque Central to set up one of those bouncy castles and a climbing wall. The kids swarmed the place all day. La Catedral looks pretty sweet right there. Imagine being one of […]
Granada, Nicaragua. Reason #5! Boat rides with monkeys.
Actually the monkey was a real meanie. I brought him strawberry cookies, but of course after that he wanted my own personal stash of chocolate cookies. Your boat ride will take you for about an hour amongst Las Isletas, the 350 tiny islands just off Granada’s shores. By “tiny” I mean some of them have […]
Granada, Nicaragua. Reason #4! Location, location, location (geographically and culturally)
Granada has the perfect location. It sits on the northwestern shore of Lake Nicaragua and is less than an hour by taxi from Managua, so it is easy to get there if taking long busses from other countries’ capital cities. I came from San Salvador. You are less than an hour by bus to Masaya […]
Granada, Nicaragua. Reason #3! La Calzada, Ole (the boutique that benefits local women), and the ChocoMuseum…
Then there’s La Calzada– the pedestrian zone, shopping area, and main strip for restaurants. I bought a gorgeous floral dress at Ole; coincidentally one of the Building New Hope volunteers worked there. Since I was volunteering, I got the volunteer discount (a welcome surprise!) and the profits from the sale of my dress went to […]
Granada, Nicaragua. Reason #2! Tropical-colored churches…
Convento e Iglesia de San Francisco was my favorite, not only because of its cool facade– from far away it looks white and when you get closer you realize it is light blue, but also because of the view AND the attached city of Granada museum containing archaeological finds from Isla Zapatera on Lake Nicaragua […]
A million reasons to visit (or live in) Granada, Nicaragua… here’s reason #1: The people– Nicaraguan AND expats…
I spent two weeks in Granada volunteering and exploring the old city, founded in 1524. After having a great experience volunteering with Building New Hope and being totally charmed by the city, I decided I could live some day in Granada, Nicaragua, for millions of reasons. These were my classmates. Yes, for a short while […]
-
I. LOVE. THIS. PICTURE.
-
Going back a second time: Is it ever the same?
-
Top 5 stops on my Mexican holiday road trip
-
Costa Rican critters! (and the presents they give us)
-
Salvador Dalí reloaded
-
Adam’s Grub Truck at Treasure Island flea market
-
Wanderlust Yoga in the City SF!
-
Best SF Bay Area flea market: Treasure Island flea market
-
Awesome SF Bay Area flea market: Alameda Antiques Fair
-
Better SF flea market: Alemany Flea in Bernal Heights
-
Martha LaValette: A little jealous. Sounds fantastic! Kefir Chapstic…
-
Alice Varga: I came across your post when 'googling' for "dzedu…
-
Marisa LaValette: Hi Sydney! Thank you so much for visiting my bl…
-
Sydney Girling: It's hard to find educated people in this particul…
-
