The Long Way South- A Pan American Adventure

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Deleted member 12023

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RINCON DE LA VIEJA
April 16, 2013 · by Sarah
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Semana Santa is one of the most popular holidays for Latin Americans. It is a full week of celebration, bringing many families to the beaches to camp. We were warned about this holiday. Everything from gas stations to grocery stores will close down. Keeping this in mind, we decided to cross the border before the big rush in hopes of making it to Junquillal Wildlife Refuge on the northern coast of Costa Rica. We thought that if we could claim a spot on the beach ahead of time, we would be in the clear. The Junquillal Bay was supposed to be absolutely breathtaking.

Right after crossing the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border, we wove the trucks in and out of small towns on our way to the coast. The road quickly turned from pavement to dirt. Skirting along, following the path of the car in front of us, the dust settled and we got our first view of the bay. It was beautiful! Crystal clear waters, perfect for swimming. We made our way to the campground only to get the head shake back and forth, with a big sign stating “no mascotas.” I suppose we should have thought this through- it being a ‘wildlife refuge’ and all, you would think we would have guessed that no pets would be allowed. Hoping that the boys could sweet talk the lady into letting us camp anyway, we sent them up to the booth. It was a no-go for two reasons: no pets allowed and they were completely full because of Semana Santa. How could you say no to these faces?!
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Not willing to completely give up on the idea of camping on the beach, we drove around the whole bay, as well as the bay just north of it, looking for a place to camp. There were signs everywhere stating that beach camping was not permitted. We pulled over at the edge of the bay and made some lunch while we contemplated what to do next. We could keep driving around aimlessly looking for camping on the coast, ask a restaurant to camp or head inland where we were sure to beat the holiday crowds and have our dogs with us.
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We decided to visit Rincon de la Vieja National Park. Our guidebook described it as being Costa Rica’s version of Yellowstone, with waterfall hikes and bubbling mud from the volcano. Driving into town, we spotted a sign for camping. We pulled in and were greeted by a tall man with a Dutch accent. He told us that he did have spaces available but he did not allow dogs. We chatted with him and he told us where we might be able to camp, all while his own dog ran around our truck barking at Brady.

We continued down the road about another mile or two until we spotted Aroma de Campo. We pulled in and introduced ourselves. Aroma de Campo is a bed and breakfast which allows camping as well. The owner told us we could park in the field and have free use of the bathroom, shower, pool and internet. And dogs were allowed! It was perfect and was only a few miles from the entrance to the national park. We set up camp and got settled into our new home for the next week while we waited out the holiday.
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We decided to make a day trip and hike to the Catarata La Cangreja, a 130 foot waterfall with a swimming hole and natural agua caliente from the volcano. The hike is about six miles total, offering fantastic views of the jungle and ocean. Of course, dogs are not allowed in the national park, so we left both Brady and Reina tied to the Tranquilo’s rig in the shade for the day. We all four piled into Truck and set off on our adventure.

Feeling like professionals after our volcano hike on Isla de Ometepe, the hike to the waterfall felt pretty easy. We trekked up the side of the volcano in single file, passing several ceiba trees that had to have been hundreds of years old and listening to the calls of several different birds and monkeys. About 3/4 of the way up, the trees ended and we were on a ridge where you could see all the way to the ocean. Trudging along the ridge in the blistering sun, the trail then descended down a rocky path leading us back into the lush jungle.
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That’s when we heard it. At first, we couldn’t tell if it was wind whistling through the trees or the sound of water making its way down from a riverbed to a pool of water. Excited, we all picked up the pace. Stumbling up and over large rocks, the noise seemed to get louder and louder. We spotted it down the trail and I squealed with glee.
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The water gracefully fell the 150 meters and splashed down into the aqua marine pool. I have never seen anything like it. After a quick lunch on the surrounding rocks, we tore off our sweat soaked clothes and jumped into the water. It was the most perfect temperature. Nate was the first to swim over to the waterfall, standing just under it with his arms extended in both directions.
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I swam around feeling the smooth water wrap itself around my fingers and toes with each movement. We were the only ones there besides a local couple and a young man. It was peacefully quiet, with the only sound being the water cascading down the cliff. I slowly made my way over to a spot where I clambered up the rocky edge to get closer to the ginormous catarata before me. Since this was the first waterfall I have ever swam around, I was nervous and excited all at the same time. Nate reached his hand out to me and hoisted me the rest of the way up. Above me, vines hung from the rocks and I held onto them for dear life as I carefully walked over to the waterfall. The water was unforgivingly beating down on the rocks before me. It was more powerful than I had ever imagined.
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Standing under the water as it surged down above me was surreal. I stretched my arms out ahead of me and felt the pressure of the water slip between my fingertips. I gained the courage to slowly move my whole body under it while focusing on not falling. It was simply amazing. I have never in my life felt that invigorated.

We hiked the three miles back at a quick pace, worrying that both of our dogs had surely cooked in the immense heat. When we got back, there were two happy, tail wagging dogs waiting for us to let them loose. We spent the remainder of the week enjoying ourselves by the pool and going for daily runs at the base of the volcano. We had made it through Semana Santa and were ready for our adventure to continue.
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**HUGE thanks to the Tranquilos for their photo donations. Without them, this post wouldn’t be as interesting seeing as how I dropped our camera (don’t worry, not our new one) on the trail a few too many times and lost all of our photos…**
 
D

Deleted member 12023

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MINI ADVENTURES- ARENAL
April 20, 2013 · by Sarah
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Finally saying goodbye to our magical waterfalls and vacation spot for the week, and saying ‘see ya later’ to the Tranquilos after traveling with them for over a month, we pointed Truck towards Lake Arenal. We had mixed feelings about traveling by ourselves again. We had feelings of excitement and feelings of void. It always fun to share your experiences with others but sometimes you need to move at your own pace and do your own thing. We kind of forgot how it felt to be on the road just the three of us. It’s wonderful!

Knowing that the Arenal area was known for its hot springs, I was convinced to get my soak on. However, it is a big price to pay to gain access to the commercialized hot springs- about $85 for a one day pass!!! Don’t get me wrong, Tabacon and the other popular resorts look beautiful. But built-up, touristy resorts are not our thing, and neither was the price tag that came with them. So we did some snooping around and located some free, natural hot springs where the locals hang out.
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We found a place to park the truck, grabbed our bathing suits, and headed towards the steamy flow of water. Since we parked on the side of the road, there was no place to change into our suits. We figured we could just tuck off to the side of the trail at the top of the stairs and quickly swap out of our clothes without being spotted. Nate was successful. I, on the other hand, was not. A poor, innocent Tico man casually walked around the corner at the bottom of the steps as I had my chonies dropped around my ankles. I quickly fumbled around for something I could to cover myself up with. Nate giggled and gave the man an apologetic “Lo siento” and made mention that that was probably the first white bottom he has ever seen. :/
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We continued through the old tunnel towards a spot that looked perfect to relax in. It was more like a hot, free flowing river and it was wonderful! The last time we felt warm water was in Guatemala at our cabana and that was over two months ago! I immediately found a little makeshift pool and made myself comfortable. Because we had the whole place to ourselves, it seemed too good to be true. We hopped around from spot to spot, enjoying the flowing warm water as it cascaded down the volcano. It was such an adventure finding our own way to the hot springs, and we were happily rewarded!
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That night, we found a free camping spot right on the lake. You could see the volcano from our spot until the clouds rolled in and it started raining. Brady frolicked around, splashing in the puddles while we pulled out the awning to make some dinner. As we ate our dinner, we sat in our chairs watching and listening to the rain. It’s amazing how soothing something as simple as rain can be, especially when you haven’t experienced it in over two months!
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The next day we did not have too far of a drive. Our GPS said that there was a thirteen mile dirt road to get to the Monteverde cloud forest- no sweat! We packed up the truck and were lead out of our camp by our new howling friend, The Beagle.
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We made it about halfway when the road turned into what looked like an oxcart trail with a fence blocking it off. Determined not to have to drive all the way back around the lake, we made a u-turn and headed towards another road we spotted on the GPS. However, this one lead to a river that was pretty deep and in full flowing force. Nate usually never turns down a river crossing. He hopped out of the truck, hiked his shorts up and started walking through it, convincing himself that Truck could make it. It was when the water became waist deep and there was a steep drop off ahead that he decided to abort mission. Finally giving into the fact that we would have to drive the extra two hours around the lake, we made another u-turn and started trekking back the way we came.
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**For all of you who are making fun of us right now, this is not the waist deep river crossing ^ .

I’ve always believed everything happens for a reason and we now know that the reason those two roads did not work out for us was because there was a local brewery waiting for us to come have lunch and a few beers with them! And good beer too! They had homebrewed pale ales, red ales, browns- the real deal! Our moods instantly went from defeated to triumphant when we saw their sign.
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The road that lead to Monteverde offered mind blowing views of Costa Rica’s countryside. Driving along, it felt like we were in Switzerland, with the rolling hills, the beautifully maintained farms and the expansive view of the mountains in the background. We couldn’t get ourselves to stop pulling over to take more photos of the picturesque view.
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We were reminded of how beautiful the world is. Sometimes, especially when traveling to all new places all the time, it becomes too easy to look past your surroundings and focus on where you are trying to get to. You almost forget how truly beautiful the simple things around you are. We feel extremely lucky to be able to create our own mini adventures each day, and make the most that we can of them. We took our time driving through this stretch of road. We played no music over the radio and no words were exchanged. We were really soaking it all in. It was truly magnificent!
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yukonflyer

Observer
Still on the road?

Hey guys, I've been following your thread on here, sounds like a great adventure!

But I just noticed its been a while since you posted anything, so I'd thought I'd check if everything was alright or just can't find a decent Internet connection?
 

Wainiha

Explorer
Great pictures. I'm too poor to leave my island, much less bring my truck. For now I pretend I travel with you and all these others here on Expo having great adventures.

Someday...
 
D

Deleted member 12023

Guest
Holy crap, sorry guys. I seem to have really neglected this thread. We are currently in Villa de Leyva, Colombia and headed south still. I'll get some updates on here tonight or tomorrow!!
 

bobDog

Expedition Leader
Holy crap, sorry guys. I seem to have really neglected this thread. We are currently in Villa de Leyva, Colombia and headed south still. I'll get some updates on here tonight or tomorrow!!
Well!!!! It's about time you remembered us! :coffeedrink:
 
D

Deleted member 12023

Guest
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RUBBERTRAMP
May 12, 2013 · by Sarah
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I learned the term “rubbertramp” in the movie Into the Wild. Alexander Supertramp is considered a “leathertramp” because he travels by foot, while a couple he met along the way call themselves “rubbertramps” because they travel by car. Whether traveling by foot, car, boat or plane, tramps find themselves stopping and staying wherever they choose for however long they want. No rules, no time frame; just traveling. To me, the term made perfect sense. Even the closest of family and friends don’t seem to quite understand how it is to live the way we do. The only people who truly understand are our other overlanding amigos.
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One of the greatest things about traveling is all the people you meet. We have met more people than we ever thought we would on this trip. Some are people who you inspire through your own travels, some are people doing the same thing as you, some are quick conversations and some will be lifelong friends. We have met people out at restaurants while sipping a cold beverage, camping in obscure places and through email/ our website. One of the most common topics of conversation whether you are a fellow overlander or someone emailing us on a whim is our daily lifestyle. So, we live out of our truck? No big deal right? Well, it is definitely a different lifestyle. That’s for sure.
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I have recently had a few separate conversations with people from back home talking about about our travels. I realized that no matter how many blog posts I write, they will still never fully understand what we do on a day to day basis. Although we are having the time of our lives and doing everything we want to in life, living on the road is not as glamourous as one may think. I have been following several overlanders for many years and one thing I am always interested to read about was how their day-to-day lives were. So, here I am to tell you about our life on the road. Things that I consider to be mundane, everyday things are actually interesting to you folks at home who don’t know what it’s like to live in a eight by six foot space with another human being and a dog.
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One of the biggest tasks we completed before hitting the road was the set up of the back of our truck. As many people have read in our previous posts of the Truck Build Up, we wanted to create a living space that was simple and efficient. Our goals were to keep the front of the truck clear of “stuff” and make sure everything had a ‘home’ out back as well. That meant that everything had to fit underneath the bed. I don’t know how many times we sketched up plans of our proposed sleeping platform and cubbies. Probably hundreds. Finally, we thought we had it down. We made several trips to Home Depot to acquire all the necessary materials and started building. About a quarter of the way into it, the plan changed again and we were building our new house off the top of our heads, without a plan at all. It worked out wonderfully. Little did we know, this would be our preferred method of planning each day while on the road!
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The back has six lift up cubbies. One for the auxiliary battery and hiking gear, one for the spare tire and spare parts, one for extra shoes, one to reach our clothing when the drawer is shut, one for odds and ends like dog food, water, first aid kits and such and one that serves as our ‘lockbox’ for our computers. We also have a slide out drawer for things we use on a daily basis such as our kitchen supplies, food and both of our clothing. Lastly, we have the fridge on a slide for easier access.
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When we pull into a campsite, we have no ‘set-up’. This is one thing that many overlanders we have traveled with are jealous of. We pull into our spot, open the tailgate, and are ready to go. Our bed is always set up and chairs and table are at easy access to pull out. This becomes particularly handy after long days of driving and all you want to do is hit the hay once you reach your final destination. It is also really helpful if we ever have to ‘pirate camp’ on the side of the road, at a gas station, or any other undeveloped camping area that we don’t necessarily want people to know we are crashing in the back of our truck.
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Each day, we grab the foldable table from behind the fridge and set it up. Then, we open the drawer, which is on a series of skateboard bearings, and pull out the stove and percolator. We throw the stove on the table, put filtered water in the percolator and set it over the flame. Our stove has the ability to run off of white gas or gasoline which is really handy down here because you find gasoline much easier than propane or white gas. When we are feeling lazy, the tailgate is our best friend! We set everything up right on the tailgate. It can get a little crowded, though. Also, if you set everything up and then remember you need something from the drawer, you have to slide your station in front of the fridge. Then, when you need something from the fridge, you have to slide it back in front of the drawer.
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Our life on the road consists of constantly taking things out of the truck and putting things back in the truck. And repeat. Organization is key! Nothing is ever ‘easy to get to’ but everything has its place. When the truck is unorganized or dirty, you would think it was the end of the world. It’s a constant battle having to keep everything picked up. Back home, I would spread out all over our apartment and leave messes for weeks without Nate noticing. Not anymore!

We fill up our solar shower whenever we can for showers if we are camping in a spot that doesn’t have them (which is more often than not, it seems) and also for doing our dishes. This way we don’t have to use our filtered water. Also, when we aren’t using the solar shower, it packs up really small and can be stored away under the bed.

For laundry, I keep laundry soap on hand and do it when we have access to a spigot or a well. I dump out our kitchen bin and fill it with water then take our big pot and boil some water in it to wash in warm water. Having warm water is huge when you live outside! We can get pretty filthy living in the dirt We have rope and clothespins to hang them to dry. It usually takes me about two or three hours to wash and hang everything out. It takes a little while but we have all the time in the world! And its a good workout too
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When it rains or it is too hot and sunny out, we unzip our awning and set it up. It doesn’t take very long but when it starts to rain you have to be quick in setting it up! We aren’t able to just run inside for shelter.
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When you primarily live outside, there isn’t much do to once it gets dark out. We find ourselves retiring to the back of the truck pretty early, around 7:00, and watching movies or reading before falling asleep. The good part about this is we get up with the sun around 6:00 to start our day.

On driving days, we get up and try to get going at a decent hour. No matter what the GPS or Google maps tells us for driving time, we always double it. This is something we have learned to do with the roads down here. They pretty much always take you longer than expected. But you get the reward of beautiful views and fun rollercoaster-like roads as well!

On non-driving days, we get up and go for a run/ make coffee. Then we juggle the life-daunting tasks of being on the road such as: going surfing, making delicious meals, lounging in the hammock, reading, writing blog posts, etc. It’s pretty rough.
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Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times where it can be pretty stressful, but we try to make light of each situation. For Nate, any new noise from under the truck will drive him absolutely nuts until he can figure it out. There have been times that we are driving along and all of the sudden, the truck is pulled over on the side of the road and Nate is underneath it asking me to rock the steering wheel, jump on the bumper or pass him various tools. He will do anything to figure it out.
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There have been times that we threatened to throw our GPS out the window until we come to our senses and realize that it helps us more than hurts us. It can get a little stressful when the GPS has lost it’s satellite or has taken us to a ‘road’ that is actually an oxcart trail. Now that we know how to calculate duration of travel, we are able to make an adventure out of it when it does lead us on the wrong path. Truck is large and in charge and when we get turned around in tight towns or busy places, it can really put a cramp in our style. Border crossings are not usually very stressful unless there is no where to park or it is close to 100 degrees out and Brady is waiting patiently for us back at the truck.
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Having a new place to go each day is absolutely thrilling. Imagine setting off each day and traveling to unknown places. You don’t know how long it will take to get to your next destination or what obstacles you will meet on the way. You don’t know where you will sleep that night, if you will have a bathroom to use, or when your next shower will be. You don’t know how the weather will be when you do arrive and whether you will have to try to make dinner fighting the wind/rain or if you will be relaxing in your chair watching the sun set over the ocean. Our lives as rubbertramps are fun, stressful, cramped, exciting and spontaneous. You take the good with the bad and always remind yourselves that it is always in the adventure.
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D

Deleted member 12023

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ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH
May 27, 2013 · by Sarah
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Monteverde has lots to do and see, but is mainly known for it’s amazing cloudforests. If you want to zipline over the cloudforest canopy, this is the place. There are numerous adventure tours offering to take you zipling, tarzan swinging, bungee jumping, suspension bridge walking, etc. We shacked up at Hotel Bellbird to treat ourselves to a nice comfy bed and some ziplining the next day. The owner of the hotel, Alexis, was super helpful in picking out a good canopy tour and made a phone call to set up our reservation and free ride there as well!
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Nate and I have both been zipling before- Nate actually came to Monteverde ten years ago and zipped his way through the forest and I ziplined over the ocean in Haiti while on a cruise a couple of years ago. So, you would think we wouldn’t be nervous because we have been before, right? Wrong! I think it’s true that as you get older, you get wiser, therefore you are more afraid of things that didn’t used to scare you. When the van came to pick us up, we piled in, leaving Brady tied to the truck in the parking lot of the hotel.
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As the van clunked it’s way up the hill to the tour office, we both looked at each other in an “are you sure you want to do this?” way. We marched into the office, paid for our tickets and got suited up. The kids (yes, kids) helped us into our harnesses, plopped a helmet on our heads and threw us a pair of gloves telling us that the “thicker one” will be used as our brake. Wait, what? I’m going to stop myself, going about 30 mph and 250 feet in the air, with a glove?!
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We started off on a very short line to get used to the feel of hanging in the air all by ourselves. The lines proceeded to get longer and longer and, by the end, I started to feel like a professional! Nate on the other hand, was having a hard time making it all the way to the end of some of the lines. At one point, he came to a dead stop about halfway across and had to turn around and pull himself to the platform!
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Flying over the top of the canopy was mind blowing. The view was amazing! We got to go on a few of them together which made the ride that much more fun. It was a bit nerve-wracking, though, because Nate was in charge of our speed as well as stopping us when we reached the platform. After seeing his performance on the earlier obstacles, I wasn’t convinced it was such a good idea but, the guides insisted. I’m pretty sure all of Costa Rica could hear us screaming together as we flew down the lines, legs swinging every which way.
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After fourteen total “zips” we came to the end where the guides informed us that it was time for the “Tarzan Swing.” We walked up to our other group members, chests puffed out, heads held high, feeling in the clear because we had only paid to fly over the canopy not swing from a random branch in the jungle. Silly tourists falling for the upgraded package! We will not be a part of you teenagers pushing us gringos off the edge of a sketchy platform, hanging by a thread over 100 feet in the air! Ha!

Well, we were wrong. Supposedly, it was all a part of the deal. Which meant that in order to join the rest of our group and get home, we had to take the giant leap to our death. Or that’s what it felt like anyways.

Everyone in our group had already finished the swing when it was time for Nate and I to grow some cajones and take the plunge. Naturally, I made Nate go first. They hook your harness to some climbing rope that is “securely” tied to a branch above you. Then, they push you off the edge of the platform where you swing freely back and forth, back and forth until they toss a rubber tube out to catch you. Kind of like how a cowboy lassos a bull. They strapped Nate in, we said our goodbyes, and they shoved him off the edge. What came out of his mouth was like nothing I have ever heard before. Kind of like a cat crying… or a baby screaming…. Anyways, who am I to talk. When it was my turn, I started sweating profusely. I don’t know what happened exactly, but the kid grabbed my camera, shoved me off the edge, yelled “No, no, no wait!” and I let out a blood curdling scream which reminded me much of when the raccoon bit me and was stuck to my hand. I was just a scared too. After coming pretty close to soiling myself, I was lassoed in and sent on my merry way.
[video=youtube;aCmj4OcVVm0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aCmj4OcVVm0[/video]
We only had about one week to get from Monteverde, through the Nicoya Peninsula to Dominical where we decided to rent a house for a month so we hit the road the next day. Once again, the back roads of Central America never seize to amaze us with some of the best views and beautiful scenery. We made it to Samara on the central coast of the Nicoya. We heard of a place to camp and went to check it out. It was a beautiful spot right on the beach! We stayed there for three nights, going for morning runs, soaking up the sun, and simply enjoying the simple lives we live.
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We spent our last few nights in Mal Pais and Montezuma enjoying our travels, surfing and people we would meet. While parked on the side of the road in Mal Pais one day, a man walked up to the truck with a puzzled look on his face. He stuck his head in the window and asked “You guys are from Maine?” We shook our heads yes. “How in the hell did you get this thing down here??” (Pointing to the truck) “We drove!” He was completely astonished, shaking his head back and forth with a huge grin across his face. “Wow! Good for you! I’ve always wanted to do that!” he said. And as much as we love our truck and love being in new places all the time, we were ready to have a roof over our heads and relax for a bit. After taking the ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya, we booked it to Domincal where our beautiful house awaited our arrival.
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D

Deleted member 12023

Guest
NO WATER FOR WHITEY
June 5, 2013 · by Sarah
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After taking the ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya, we headed South towards Dominical. Both having been to this coastline before, we were stoked to check out some of the places we had stayed before. However, when we arrived in Playa Hermosa, we found that the beach was all built up and the place we had stayed at didn’t exist anymore. Feeling bummed, we decided to continue South and try to find a place to stay along the way. We found ourselves pulling down a dirt road towards Playa Bejuco. We knew nothing about this particular beach but wanted to check it out.
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As we puttered along the beachside path, we noticed that there was not much going on. There were a couple of cars but no people in sight and one hotel/restaurant. The road came to a dead end so we spun Truck around and headed back the way we came. It was getting late and we needed to find a place to stay. We were just about to pull onto the beach and pirate camp when I spotted a cardboard sign that said “Se Alquila Para Acampar.” Perfect! We pulled up and were greeted by Stephanie who graciously opened the gate and told us where to park. She showed us where the toilet and shower was. The shower was a chest high, palm tree shack right on the side of the road with a clear curtain. We shared our camp that night with a group of construction workers who slept on patio furniture pads on the ground under a tarp. Needless to say, I took a “midnight mission” shower
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The next morning felt like Christmas to us. We packed up early and were getting ready to pull out when Stephanie’s son, Nathan, ran over in his diaper and no shirt and handed us a plastic bag filled to the brim with mangos. This isn’t the first time that we have stayed at a place where they give you fruit as you are leaving. It is such a nice gesture and yet another reminder as to why we like it down here so much!

We pulled into the driveway of the house early that afternoon. We were filled with excitement as we opened the door to check out our new pad. We got settled in then headed straight for the pool!
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We had one week before our good friend, Sean, was coming to visit so we spent it going surfing in the mornings, swimming in the pool, running hills throughout the jungle and relaxing in the hammock. We also made a new friend who we named “Little Dude.” Little Dude showed up on our porch one day and decided that this was his new home. He slept on my surfboard bag on the porch (which he later chewed a hole in) and greeted us every time we came home. We felt bad for him and actually grew very fond of him. He would try to come into the house through the gate any chance he could. He was completely malnourished and needed someone to take care of him. He hung around for four days before we had to leave to go pick up Sean.
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Originally, I decided to stay at the house with Brady while Nate drove to San Jose to pick Sean up from the airport. However, as Nate was packing his bag to leave, we ran out of water and the electricity was out. Nate didn’t want to leave me behind like that, so we quickly packed a bag for me and Brady and I hopped in for the ride!
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The road from Dominical to San Jose winds through the highest mountains in Costa Rica. We went from hot and humid down by the beach to driving through a cloud forest in 50 degree weather. At one point, we had to pull over to grab sweatshirts from the back! We had just barely made it to the outskirts of San Jose, when our GPS decided it was going to completely delete all of our maps and leave us with no idea how to get to our hotel. We pulled into a parking lot, not knowing what to do. Sean’s plane wasn’t landing until around 9pm that night, but we still had to check into the hotel and figure out how to make our way to the airport. Good thing we brought the computer with us and just happened to have a cord that fit the GPS in the center console. Nate plugged it in and reloaded all of our maps and got us going on the right track again.
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The San Jose airport is one of the easiest airports we have ever been to. We parked in the parking garage and walked over to wait for Sean to depart his flight. We were so excited to see someone from home, especially Sean. We have known Sean for many, many years and he and Nate traveled throughout Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama together ten years ago. Also, when we originally started planning this trip, Sean and another friend of ours were supposed to get their own rig and join us on the trip South. As soon as we saw our pale white friend walk through the door, we were stoked! We walked over to Truck and drank a celebratory Imperial in the parking garage before taking off to find some grub.
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We were so overjoyed to have Sean with us that we totally forgot about the no water or electricity thing at the house. We broke the news to Sean, who seemed to care less. He was just happy to be here visiting us! We made the windy trek back to Dominical where we stopped at a soda for lunch. When we arrived home after being away for 36 hours, guess who greeted us in the driveway? Little Dude! We were happy to see him but were kind of hoping that he moved on since we left. He hung out for a couple more days before we found him a home with a nice young Tico man that lived up the street. We were sad to see him go but were happy that he was going to have a nice home. Good luck Little Dude!
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The first part of the week was filled with making delicious dinners, splashing around in the pool, catching up and going surfing. Sean even rented a longboard for a few days! We asked Sean to bring us some sunscreen because of the outrageous amount they charge for it down here. Sean would religiously put sunscreen everyday, multiple times per day to preserve his Powder-like appearance. One day, we drove a half hour south and visited Playa Ventanas- a beautiful beach that has two caves which stretch from the sandy beach to the open ocean. On low tide, you can walk almost all the way through them. It was thrilling to be inside the tunnel when a wave would come crashing through pretty much sweeping you off your feet. We picked fresh limes from the tree on the property and made homemade margaritas one night. They were delish!
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With all this fun, we still had an ongoing problem at the house. We had no water in our holding tank which meant no water for showers, washing dishes or toilets. The system for the house is fed by runoff rainwater from the top of the hill. There was a serious drought at the time and we were not the only ones without water. Nate and Sean spent hours figuring out how to feed a water tank with run off from the gutters when we would receive the little rain that we did. One day, they pumped the water they gathered from the rain gutters up to the main tank. It took all day to fill it, a total of about 700 gallons. We all went to bed that night feeling hopeful that we would not have to haul water from the pool to flush the toilets and do dishes. We were also really looking forward to taking a shower. We hadn’t showered since our hotel room in San Jose, six or seven days before. We awoke the next morning to find that the entire water tank was empty. Bone dry. We had no idea where it went and felt completely defeated. Did someone steal it? Did it leak on the ground? Where the hell did it go?
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Feeling bummed about the water situation at the house, we decided to hit the road and go camping in Drake Bay for a couple of days. After packing up the truck we headed towards the Osa Peninsula. After a little over two hours of driving, the road turned to a pothole filled dirt road. Shortly after that, we had our first of eleven total water crossings. One particular water crossing looked fairly deep so Nate threw on his bathing suit and walked through it to make sure it wasn’t too deep. After deciding we were good to go, he floated Truck across the river and we continued on our way. We had a couple of leads on places to stay in Drake Bay but when we arrived, we found a very crowded, small town with not much luck on camping. We decided to continue down the road and ended up at a dead end at Playa Josecito.
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When we arrived, we asked around to see if there was a place to camp. We were sent to a man’s house who said we could camp on his lawn and use his bathroom. It was right on the beach so we spent the rest of the day swimming in the ocean and playing pictionary in the sand.
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The next day, we headed out unsure of where we were going to go. We figured we would drive about halfway to San Jose, where we would have to bring Sean for his return flight home in a couple of days. We got a little bit of rain the night before but it didn’t seem to effect any of the water crossings we had done the day before. We splashed through three or four before we got to the big one. We pulled up and Sean asked if we should check it. Nate shrugged and shook his head no. He figured that if none of the other water crossings had changed, why would this one? Well, we were wrong. The water level had risen a little over a foot overnight and we didn’t realize it until the truck was in the middle of the river. I was standing on the other side taking pictures when I saw my home sinking underwater. Nate and Sean did not say one word to each other, they were in shock. I threw my hand over my mouth which was hanging open in disbelief. Truck is a champ, though. She swam through the river like it was nothing!
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We ended Sean’s trip with camping one more night on a trout farm at Truchas Selva Madre. It was absolutely beautiful and we would have spent more time there if Sean didn’t have a plane to catch. We hiked to two different waterfalls the next day before heading to San Jose. We went out with a bang for Sean’s last night here. We stayed at a hotel which has a casino attached to it. We went there for a free happy hour, compliments of the hotel, and gambled our money away at the slot machines. We had a lot of fun and were sad to see Sean go. He was probably relieved to go home where he could take a nice long shower and flush the toilet without worry. We don’t know many people that would come on a vacation and be as easygoing about flushing a toilet with pool water and not showering for over a week. We dropped him off at the airport bright and early. As we drove away, we both realized that this was the first time on this trip that we have felt this homesick.
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D

Deleted member 12023

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A WHIRLWIND OF “SEE YOU LATERS”
June 20, 2013 · by Sarah
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A few weeks before our friend Sean came to Costa Rica, we made the decision to go home to visit family and friends and work for a bit. It made the most sense to do this from Costa Rica because you can park your vehicle in government bonded storage and have your vehicle import permit put on hold for a fairly cheap daily rate.

We spent the last few weeks at our house preparing to go home. We found cheap plane tickets and got information on a storage place for Truck from our good friends, 30 for Thirty. The last thing we had to figure out was Brady. After doing extensive research and emailing numerous people, we found out that we would need to buy a crate for him. He would need to fly as cargo because of his size and he would need to receive an international health certificate within 10 days of our departure flight.
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There was a local veterinary office just down the street from the house, so we went over there to set up an appointment for the health certificate and to look at crates. We ended up ordering a crate that was the correct size and it cost almost as much as one of our roundtrip plane tickets! Brady is lucky we love him
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When we weren’t doing research or preparing to go home, you would find us at one of the local surf breaks in the area. We were absolutely loving surfing and were getting pretty good at it! It is an addicting sport and we couldn’t get enough. It is such a wonderful feeling sitting on your board out in the middle of the ocean waiting for that next wave to come and take you on the ride of your life. We had been surfing at Domincalito, The Point, and Playa Hermosa, all nice surf breaks right down the road from our house, but were ready for a change.
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Kellee and Jamie had rented a house near Pavones and invited us to crash their party. We packed up the truck one morning and were about to pull out of the driveway when Nate remembered that he heard a strange noise coming from the brakes the day before and wanted to check them out before driving the four hours to Pavones. Good thing he did because the brake pads were completely worn through to the metal! After about an hour of taking off the tires and replacing the brake pads, we were good to go.
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We enjoyed our drive to Pavones. We missed driving around in Truck! When we arrived, the Tranquilos were preparing our classic meal of veggie burritos for dinner along with a couple of “Tranquilizers”- their version of a margarita
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We spent the next four days surfing the best break we had ever been to. I didn’t actually get out on Talula (my surfboard) until the second to last day because the waves were a lot bigger than I was used to. Once I got out there, though, I had the time of my life! I caught the longest wave I have ever caught- it was unreal! Nate also caught his best waves there. The boys were having so much fun while out on the water that they would be out there for a good four hours before coming in. We have talked about making our way back over to Pavones one more time before crossing into Panama when we return in September

After our mini vacation in Pavones, we headed back to our house in Dominical. Kellee and Jamie came by for a couple of days before they headed back north to a house they rented on the Nicoya Peninsula. We all said our “Hasta Luegos” and shed a few tears. You create a special bond with people on the road, especially ones that you have so much in common with and get along with so well. It seemed like our goodbye happened so quick and after traveling with them on and off for about three months, it was hard to watch them drive away knowing we wouldn’t see them for a long time. Good luck on the rest of your adventures, Tranquilos, we will miss traveling with you!!!
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We had about two weeks left and we wanted to do some work to the truck before parking it in San Jose. We pulled out the drawer to sand and paint it, repainted the fridge slide and sanded and painted a section of the sleeping platform. We also took everything out of the truck, went through it, cleaned it and organized it before putting it back. We rotated the tires and rotated the spare in- what a difference 17,000 miles will do to a tire!
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A couple of days before our flight, we moved out of our house and got ready to spend the next couple of nights at a hotel near the airport. We spent a total of almost two months at the house and really loved it! We had a nice routine of surfing in the morning, making delicious smoothies after, lounging by the pool and then running a few miles through the jungle hills before dinner. But all good things must come to an end, so we said our goodbyes and made the trek to San Jose.
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We arrived at our hotel and unloaded our packs that we were bringing home with us. The next day, we drove Truck to the government bonded parking lot and got all the paperwork completed in order to leave it for an extended period of time. When we came out of the building, a man was in the drivers seat, revving the engine, blowing black smoke everywhere. Nate’s face instantly went pale. I thought he was going to cry when he saw someone else sitting in Truck treating her like that! We didn’t know that they were going to be the ones driving it over to the lot and weren’t ready to say goodbye just yet. So we hopped in with the guy and went over to the lot with him. We took lots of pictures and said goodbye to our best friend. We felt bad just leaving her in a lot all by herself. She got us this far and we felt like we were abandoning her. As we walked away down the dirt road, we kept looking back to get one last look. Sorry Truck We hope you enjoy your nice little siesta, you deserve it!!!
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We walked to the main road where we grabbed a taxi over to the airport. This was the first time in nine months that we didn’t have our own form of transportation. It took all of our willpower not to go back and get Truck and call the whole thing off. We wanted to get our tickets and tax forms so it would be one last thing to do at 3:00 am the next morning. We also found out where to drop Brady off at the cargo area for United Airlines and paid for his ticket- which was three times the amount of one of our one way tickets! Once again, he’s lucky we love him so much!

After getting a taxi ride back to the hotel, we went for a run and relaxed the rest of the night. It was a difficult and tiring day and we still had a whole day of traveling ahead of us! We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner with a glass of our favorite wine, Clos Carmenere.
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In a matter of just a few days, we had said goodbye to our good friends Kellee and Jamie, our wonderful house, our truck, goodbye to surfing for the next three months and would soon be saying goodbye to our ultimate freedom living in paradise. We tried our best to remember that most of these things are not necessarily goodbyes, more like a “See ya later”, and tried to enjoy our last night before we would submerge ourselves into the overwhelming, fast paced, consumer society that we would live in for the summer.
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D

Deleted member 12023

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FLYING HOME
July 12, 2013 · by Sarah
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Our alarm went off at 2:30 am on the dot. I was awake for a good hour before that because I couldn’t sleep. My mind was racing, I couldn’t believe we were leaving our paradise and flying home. We packed up our last minute things and moved our packs and the dog crate out to the parking lot of the hotel where we waited for the arrival of our taxi.

The van pulled up and we loaded everything up. Brady hopped in the back seat with me, not sure where we were going so early in the morning. We arrived at the cargo drop off for United Airlines about ten minutes before they opened so we unloaded all of our things and paid the taxi man. The PetSafe employee was supposed to be there at 4:00 am to complete the intake for Brady. After waiting outside for a good twenty minutes, we were getting a little anxious, wondering if they forgot about us. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:00 am and we were technically supposed to be there two hours ahead of time because it was an international flight. The man finally arrived, we checked over the paperwork and zip-tied Brady into his crate. We did not envision leaving our dog in his crate on a dirty warehouse floor with forklifts whizzing by. But there was nothing we could do, apparently that was standard procedure and we had a plane to catch so we gave Brady a few more words of encouragement and some kisses goodbye before we took off on foot toward the airport.
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We were hoping we could catch a taxi to the airport to save on time. It was only about one mile to get there but we were lugging our heavy backpacks and were on a serious time crunch. About halfway there, my foot slipped off the edge of the road and my flip flop broke beyond repair. I don’t know what happened but that is where I broke down. I didn’t cry when we left our beloved house in Dominical, I didn’t cry when we left Truck in a random dirt parking lot and I didn’t cry when we just left our Brady at a loud, dusty warehouse. But when my flipflop broke, you would have thought the world was ending. I think the past three or four days of events had finally caught up to me in that moment. Not the best timing you could say. And poor Nate! Poor, poor Nate had to try to console me while also trying to rush me to get other shoes our of my pack and get my butt to the airport so we didn’t miss our flight!

We finally got to the airport where we checked our bags, went through security and found our gate. As we were sitting in our seats, we glanced outside and noticed that you could watch them load the luggage into the bottom of the plane. As we were watching the packs being loaded, we spotted Brady’s crate on the far end of the plane going up the conveyer belt!!! It was both sad to see him in a cage going into the bottom of the plane and reassuring knowing he made it on our plane. They stopped the belt to do something else inside the plane and turned Brady’s crate around and were talking to him through the gate. When it was time for the conveyer belt to start again, they turned him back around and we watched them load him up into the belly of the plane!
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The flight from San Jose, Costa Rica to Newark, New Jersey was nice and smooth. It was a crazy feeling knowing that we were flying over the same distance we drove over the past nine months, in just about six hours. We had a one and a half hour layover before catching our flight to Boston so we made our way to baggage claim and security. We hopped on our next flight,which would only be about one and a half hours long. Brady, however, was required by the USDA to have a three hour layover to give him and the PetSafe employees enough time to transport him and let him out to go to the bathroom. We didn’t like the idea that he would be put on a plane other than ours but it was much too expensive to switch our flights.

We arrived in Boston at about 4:30 pm and were on our way to baggage claim when we spotted our mothers ********-chatting away. They hadn’t even noticed us! We decided we would continue walking by to see if they would eventually catch a glimpse of us and as soon as they did, the whole airport knew. My mother shrieked with excitement and they both came running over to us, squeezing us so hard I was sure my eyes would pop out. We had about one hour before Brady would arrive so we grabbed our bags and drove over to the cargo area.
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We went into the office to check on Brady’s status and see exactly what time he would be arriving. We were told in Costa Rica that he was supposed to fly in around 6:00. However, the employees in Boston told us that he wouldn’t be getting in until 9:30 pm that night! That means that not only would Brady have a five hour layover in New Jersey but he would have been in his crate from 4:00 am until 9:30 pm with only being let out once! Clearly upset, we asked them if there was anything they could do to get him on the next flight. They tried their hardest but had no luck. Poor Brady!

We decided to wait out Brady’s arrival by grabbing a quick bite to eat at a Mexican restaurant- we couldn’t just switch to American food that quickly!

Around 8:30, we headed back over to wait for Brady to arrive. When they wheeled him out in his crate, we were expecting to see bodily fluids everywhere and a scared pup waiting in the back of the crate. Well, we underestimated Brady’s resilience! We opened the gate and were trying to console him and all he wanted to do was play! He was happy to see us and ready to go! What else did we expect? We should’ve known better. Brady has been through it all with us and this was probably just another little adventure for him!
 
D

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OUR FIRST WEEKEND BACK
July 17, 2013 · by Sarah
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It was an odd feeling pulling back into our hometown. For the first time in our lives, it felt a little foreign to us. This was the longest we had ever been away and driving back into town late that night, it felt like everything had changed. There were new houses and buildings in places that we once roamed around. Some close friends had gotten engaged while we were away and many people had new jobs, houses and cars. Things at our parents houses had moved around and changed. Everything we once knew and were accustomed to was a little bit different. We understand that nine months is a long time to be away, and that the world wouldn’t be put on hold for us while we were gone, but it was just a very weird feeling to come back and see so many changes. We were having so much fun on the trip that it didn’t feel like almost a year had gone by.

We decided to give ourselves a few days before we started working to adjust to our new lifestyle and to give us time to visit with family and friends. The day after we flew into town, we woke up to an empty house. We are staying with my parents for the summer and they headed off to work bright and early that day. We had a significant urge to take our old friend “Sadie” (my 1984 Mercedes 300 D) out for a ride and explore our old stomping grounds. Sadie spent the past nine months in my parent’s neighbor’s garage to keep her out of Maine’s tough winter. We think she is a little confused, wondering where her best friend “Truck” is.
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After checking all the fluids, and realizing that the car had no coolant or power steering fluid, we headed over to the auto parts store to restock. We then decided to drive around all of the neighboring towns and just look. We didn’ t say much to each other on the ride, just an observation or two or question about road laws here and there. Although Nate had driven over 17,000 miles in the past nine months throughout eight different countries, it was almost like he forgot how to drive. There are “no right on red” laws, “stop for pedestrians” laws, speed limits, and seatbelt laws that we had to get used to again. It was actually very humorous to watch Nate drive around town for the first time, we don’t have as much freedom here as we did down South.
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For some reason, we decided our first stop would be to go to Cabelas. We walked in the front doors and were immediately overwhelmed by the amount of merchandise and numerous options. As we walked up and down the aisles, shielding our eyes from the bright lights with our mouths hanging wide open, we decided it was too much and booked it out the door. We made it about ten minutes, that’s a record! After our overstimulation, we chose to visit the local pizza joint next door and grab our first “good” beer since being back. Ohh Shipyard IPA, how we have missed you!!
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My parents have a dog named Roxi that will be Brady’s playmate for the summer. Roxi is only one year old and boy is she giving Brady a run for his money! She is ready to play all day, every day. They seem to be getting along great so far!
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That weekend was our good friend Sean’s birthday and we were ready to celebrate being back with our crew. Everyone was meeting up at our friend Matt’s camp on Kennebunk Pond for some boating and grilling. Nate and I had stopped by the mom and pop store on the way and grabbed some burgers and hot dogs along with a six pack of Geary’s Pale Ale. It was truly great to see all of our friends again. It was also really great to hear how many of them actually followed us on our website too! We ended the night with a few rounds of beirut, a delicious birthday cake and a butchered birthday song for Sean.
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The last day of our weekend before going back to work, we went to Nate’s parents house and grabbed our mountain bikes. There is a beautiful trail that spans 65 miles throughout Southern Maine and Nate loves to take his bike out there. We hopped on the trail and headed North. At the halfway point, we stopped and grabbed a couple of sandwiches before turning around and heading home. We ended up biking about 25 miles through the beautiful streets and trails of our home state.
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When we left Central America, we knew that it would be a good break for us to come home and “reset” our minds. We were living in a beautiful paradise that we, towards the end, were almost taking for granted. Things that would normally “ooo” and “aaahh” us were just everyday things. I think the same goes for leaving our home territory. Since we have lived in Maine our whole lives, we were taking the beauty and simplicity of it for granted. Riding our bikes and taking slow drives throughout each surrounding town that weekend gave us the ability to see things that we would have normally looked right past. Our first weekend home spent with family and friends and revisiting all of the areas we know best was a success and we are happy to be home… so far. ;-)
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D

Deleted member 12023

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WORK HARD, PLAY HARD
July 31, 2013 · by Sarah
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It blows my mind that we have been home for seven weeks!! In looking back at our pictures, we have been busy little bees for the last month and a half. After our first weekend back, we dove head first into the working scene. Nate decided to go back to work for a man he worked for a few years ago setting tile rather than taking on his own jobs with his company. This would make it easier for him in the long run because he could just go to work and come home without having the extras of owning your own company like phone calls, estimates, etc. I emailed my old boss at the restaurant I used to work at and asked if he would have shifts available for me for the summer. Both of our bosses were more than happy to have us back on board and we were actually a little excited to work again for a little bit.

Nate works Monday through Friday, and sometimes on Saturdays, during the day. I work five or six nights a week until about 11 or 12 pm. This makes it a little difficult to see one another because we work completely opposite schedules. It was hard to get used to not seeing each other after spending every second of every day right beside each other for the past nine months! It was also a bit difficult for us to transition into “work mode” once again and not “Central American mode.” We actually have to move fast, take orders from other people and be someplace at a certain time once again. It took me a little longer than I expected to get back into the swing of things.
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To make a little extra cash when we first got back, we had a yard sale. We don’t have a whole lot of stuff left after selling pretty much everything we own, but we went through things one more time and found a good amount of stuff! Our parents and my sister also “donated” to the Long Way South yard sale fund and the whole day was a success! We even tried to sell Brady for a buck but we just couldn’t seem to get rid of him
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We have really been enjoying our free time in our home state. Maine is truly beautiful and has a lot to offer. There is a really nice hike about an hour away from my parent’s house that I take the dogs to. It is about 5 miles total but really steep and offers gorgeous views at the top. Nate has been riding his bike on the Eastern Trail and I have really been getting into running, even more than I already was! I run almost everyday and am up to ten miles on my long days! Although surfing and running are very different, there is something about the mindset you get in on those long runs or long surf sessions that is the same. It’s a freeing feeling running through the woods not knowing where you are going to make your next turn or being out in the ocean searching for the next wave that will give you the ride of your life. I love just throwing my camelbak on and going, not knowing when I am going to stop.
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We have enjoyed nice dinner dates with friends and family too. Our good friends Jena and Jonathon had us over a couple times now for deliciously homemade dinners followed by a game night. We have also gone to our friend Greg’s house to BBQ and hang out with the pups. One day, we even treated ourselves to fresh Maine lobsters- man did we miss those!! We also celebrated Nate’s mom’s birthday at a nice restaurant in Portland. We feel so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives!
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For the Fourth of July, I went out on my parent’s boat with them with the two dogs. We cruised around the lake for about four or five hours. It was a beautiful day to go swimming, throw the ball for the pups and even jump off a big huge rock!
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Last weekend, Nate and I celebrated our eleven year anniversary! Who would have thought two young high schoolers would fall so in love that they decide to not only spend the rest of their lives together, but live in the back of a truck and drive throughout seventeen different countries? That’s the ultimate test on the relationship right there!

Here’s a little throwback for you all: This is a picture of us on Nate’s high school graduation day in 2002. I am sixteen and Nate is eighteen.
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And then here is us this past weekend on our anniversary. Oh, how times have changed
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We feel pretty accomplished with the last seven weeks. We have been spending a lot of time with family and friends, working hard, playing hard and still remembering what life is all about. As of this moment, we have 42 days, 18 hours and 23 minutes left before our return flight back to Costa Rica… not that we are counting or anything
 

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