Pura Vida!

greetings from costa rica! i've been long out of touch with many of
you and thought it was high time to let you guys know what i've been
up to and where in the world i am, albeit in a dreadfully impersonal
mass email.

i'm currently in a town at the base of arenal volcano, one of the
world's most active and spectacular. it spews lava almost continually,
making for quite a fireworks show at night. that's the fun part of the
story. the not-so-fun part is that it's been cloudy and raining
nonstop ever since i arrived yesterday. but it's been great imagining
what's going on in the distance behind the dreary wall of gray and
wet. right. so today, instead of trekking through the rainforest
towards said volcano, i have time to touch base with all of you.

i've been back in antigua for the past two months, brushing up on my
spanish, planning my backpacking trip, and wrapping things up and
saying goodbye to the wonderful little town that was my home for the
past year. now i'm officially "on the road" for the next four months.
first stop...costa rica, the "gem" of central america (or something
like that), where toilet paper and soap in the bathroom are givens
instead of a pleasant surprise. it's readily apparent that costa rica
is quite a bit ahead of its neighbors as far as education (96% literacy
rate), conservation, and development, somehow managing to escape
the war-torn history this region is infamous for.

my first stop in cr...i hopped of the plane and boarded a bus straight for
sarapiqui to meet up with one of my best girls from university,
anna. we were incredibly lucky to have our inter-continental paths cross
as she and her mom and sister are living it up a this posh yoga retreat
this week. thusly, i got to live it up non-backpacker style with them for
a couple days, complete with sweet digs and zip-lining through the
rainforest.





aside from a bit too much rain and 80s music, costa rica agrees with
me quite well. i'll be here two more weeks and then fly down to south
america for three months to explore argentina, chile, bolivia, and
peru. after much debate, i decided to travel with my guitar, so i'll maybe
run into some opportunities to make a few bucks on the road, if not at
least a few free drinks and dinners.

i'll keep in touch with my adventures, wish me luck. hope you all are
doing well and i'd love to here from you all whenever...sometimes
emails make good company on the road.

pura vida!

susie