Costa Rrrrrica!

Welcome to San José International airport. Where am I? I think the plane must have landed in the United States... did I book a flight to the wrong San José?

The airport looked like a US airport. Fast food left, right and center. Even the taxi driver that will take me to the hostel speaks Spanish with a gringo accent. Many Ticos do this because it is apparently considered cool. It sounds very amusing, a native Spanish speaker with an American accent.

I spend a night in San José, go to the mall to withdraw cash and I cannot help notice that every young person in sight has a piercing and often in the weirdest places. One guy had a piercing on his cheek! In Brazil lots of people had tattoos, it is considered normal and acceptable for people from all walks of life: lawyers, doctors, diplomats. In San José body piercings are the fad.

The following morning I wake up very very early without a reason and don't manage to fall asleep again, I subsequently head to the airport and catch a small propeller plane to Tambor airport... the flight is short and in no time we are starting our descent. The scenery is stunning, lush islands in an emerald sea. They look like the landscapes out of the Jurassic Park movie. The plane flies lower and lower... where is the tarmac?! We are approaching a small landing strip that is barely paved. The runway is in the middle of the jungle and right off a gorgeous beach.

Where is the airport? There is no terminal, no buildings. Someone built a small laminated roof and installed two pay phones. There are taxi drivers waiting to rip off the gringos. With no other option in sight I surrender and agree to make the short drive for an extortionate price. The roads are not tarred and it soon turns out that perhaps the price was not that bad after all because it does take almost an hour to get to the village of Santa Teresa. The rainy season has just finished and the taxi driver points out the damage that a recent storm did to the region, entire sections of the mountains have crumbled onto the road. It must have taken them weeks to clean the roads. There still are fallen trees all over the place.

I am staying in a cute apartment on the “main” road, a quick walk to the beach. There are iguanas, squirrels, parakeets and monkeys all over the place. The iguanas look like mini dinosaurs but are totally harmless and are amazingly good tree climbers. The monkeys are very naughty apparently and are known to steal all kinds of stuff left laying around.

My friend Bob the Iguana likes to hang out on the thorny tree in the garden

home

I bought all the basic necessities: a surf board, tropical wax, a silly looking tourist hat to avoid terminal sunburn while surfing and some groceries. I try to wake up at 5:50 a.m. In order to catch some uncrowded waves. Dawn patrol, the early surfer gets the waves. I surfed 4 hours yestarday morning and 3 hours this morning, my shoulders and neck are screaming in pain “why do you have to do this to us???!!!”. The waves are amazing in the mornings, very fast and hollow, with off-shore winds and hardly any surfers out. The landscape is breathtaking while surfing, the vegetation is so thick that I cannot even see the buildings... just millions of palm trees. Beware of the falling coconuts! I like the fact that the main road is not paved, it encourages people to drive slowly and take it easy. The only disappointment so far is that I haven't really met any Ticos. The apartment I am staying in is owned by Nico, a very nice guy from Italy, the surf shop across the street is also Italian owned, the restaurant right next to it is Argentine. I don't know where the Ticos are hiding, but there are plenty of Israelis, Italians, Argentinians and Americans. As a matter of fact I think there are no Israelis left in Israel, they must have all moved to Costa Rica.

My new surfboard (the white stuff is wax, in case you were wondering).

The beach...

Surfers at sunset.

Well, as they would say around here: 'pura vida' ('good bye' in this instance...).

Touch and go. 5 days in Perù.

Friday night, blaring live Salsa music in the background accompanied by the squeaky sounds that only a cuy can emit, sore muscles from surfing long lefts, the sun sets where it really should set, big smiles from meeting old friends. Where am I? That's right, I am back in Trujillo and it is as beautiful as ever.

I just wish I could stay for longer.

Ok, somebody please stop pressing the fast forward button on the story of my life. I barely got to Trujillo and left again.

Tia Carmen shuffling around the house in Calle Paraguay 499, David in and out with the energy of a thousand duracell bunnies, he has now started a cooking course and has some very interesting plans for the future, which I will not disclose on the internet just in case someone decides to steal his idea. Elizabeth working as hard as ever, but looking really happy. Carlita, Carolina, Rodrigo, Milton, Joana, Ericka, Octavio, Tereza, Tanya and Co. still going strong. The Huamanchumo family from the Muchik Surf School adopted me, fed me and treated me like one of their own. Gracias Marga, Milly, Monica, Chicho, Rubén y Omar. Doña Maria who calls me “hijito” (little son) and invites me to have a tamal and soak in one of those glorious Huanchaco sunsets. The children at USDA group takle-hug me and almost make me cry. The kids at Simon Bolivar stay in longer just to wait for me and want to play games. They group hug me too and won't let me go, once again I work hard not to cry.

I wish I could stay longer, but someone pushed the fast forward button and here I am sitting on LACSA flight LR 634 bound to San José de Costa Rica. I miss Trujillo, but I am also looking forward to Costa Rica. Doesn't the name alone sound great? “Rich coast” or “tasty coast” or “beautiful coast” -the adjective “rico” is pretty versatile- you take your pick. I have never been to Costa Rica before. I have never even met anyone from Costa Rica before. All I know is that it is a small country in Central America covered with rainforest and volcanoes , it has no army, is considered one of the most stable countries in Latin America, the locals are known as “Ticos”, the tourist slogan is “pura vida” (I like the sound of that, I think I will adopt it as my personal life motto, maybe I could have one of those fancy looking emblems like the aristocratic dynasties or private schools... put a surf board and a palm tree in the middle of it and add the pura vida motto) and it supposedly offers amazing tropical surfing. However it goes, I can assure you I will make the most of it and keep you posted-

Over and out from the skies above the Pacific Ocean.

P.s.: could you please ask the person with the remote control to press the slow motion button?

Rio baby!!

Christ the redeemer

Rio de Janeiro is definitely one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I don't know what it is. It could be the combination of a vibrant series of urban settlements laid out around a series of breathtaking mountains, lagoons and beaches. Is Christs' big embrace from the top of Corcovado, or the sugar loaf overlooking the bay of Guanabara. Or perhaps it is the beautiful girls, the “alegria brasileira”, the happy samba, the busy markets, the crumbling, yet beautiful colonial buildings. Maybe it is the sunsets on Ipanema with the dois hermaos and the pedra da gevao gracefully swallowing the burning orange sphere. The sunsets are so beautiful that people on the beach spontaneously start applauding and cheering. I almost started singing O Sole Mio with all the air in my lungs, which is something I often do when I am happy and it is something I have found myself doing more and more often over the past year.

Fried fish 15 Reals, sunset in Copacabana: priceless!

Or maybe, and most likely, it is just the fact that I am with old friends and I just feel absolutely free and happy. Soak in the beauty of it all. Life, Rio, Brazil, friendship, the way people sing “beleza” when they speak, the colours, the sunshine, the smile on a child's face. Everything.

I arrived in Rio at a very important moment of the citiy's history. Rio used to make the headlines for the violence in the favelas, the informal settlements that spread in impossible positions on the hills that surround the city. Things have changed in the past years, Rio will be hosting the 2016 Olympic games and will also be hosting the 2014 Fifa World Cup Final and the local government has decided that the time has come to clean up the city. The police has now gone where it never went in the past: the favelas. They have “pacified” the favelas by setting up camp in all of the favelas around town and fighting the drug lords. A couple of days ago they entered the Rocinha complex, one of the largest in Rio and they arrested the top dog, who was trying to escape hidden in the trunk of a car driven by two gangsters who claimed to be diplomats from Congo and invoked political immunity.

Films like “City of God (Ciudade de Deus)” and “Elite Troops (Tropas de Elite)” have portrayed the extreme violence that has surrounded Rio for so many years. There are still many issues that the government has to solve, but things are definitely moving forward. I hope that “a ciudade meravilhosa” can now make the headlines for its beauty, because this vibrant city definitely deserves better.

Meanwhile I have visited all the main tourist attractions and have sampled the amazing nightlife in the Lapa district. The night started off with live samba music on the stairs close to the Pedra do Sal (Salt Rock) and was followed by more samba dancing on the streets of the Lapa district. One big energy blast rocks Rio on a week end and it becomes the ultimate party place and even if you don't like parties it doesn't matter because the atmosphere swallows everyone and you cannot stop shuffling the feet and moving your hips to the sound of the samba.

The sun goes down but Rio doesn't sleep

This little fella wanted to steal our bananas at the Sugar Loaf

Friendly Brazilian dude helped us keep the banana out of the monkey's reach

Sugar Loaf

Jeroen and I on the Suger Loaf with Copacabana in the background

This is the view that Jesus has of the Sugar Loaf... not bad!

Copacabana and Praia Vermelha as seen from the top of the Sugar Loaf

My first month in Floripa was wonderful and relaxing, but something was missing and I could never quite could point out exactly what. I know now: Floripa is very European, it didn't feel like South America to me. The natural beauty of the island was stunning, but somehow I never felt I was on a different continent. Rio on the other hand was lively and eclectic, loud and colourful, it was order and chaos rolled into one, live samba music and crumbling colonial buildings. Stereotypes? I guess. Maybe I just wanted it to be that way and that it what I experienced, but I still think that the city has its very own special character. I really liked the fact that the geography of Rio has really created micro-cities. Rio is not one, there are many Rios and you just get to pick the one that suits you best.

Old part of downtown Rio

Havaianas, lots of them, in all shapes and colours. They even had a pair that glows in the dark (brilha no escuro!!!!)

I am approaching my last day in Rio, tomorrow I will make my way to Sao Paulo and two days after I will fly into Trujillo. I'm exited that I will soon be visiting old friends and cannot wait to see the children at USDA and Simon Bolivar.

Brazil was amazing. I met wonderful and interesting people all over the country. I will definitely be coming back! Obrigado Brasil. Obrigado amigos brasileiros! Thanks to all those that made my stay special: the friends and staff at Barra Beach Hostel and Hilltop hostel in Barra da Lagoa. I would like to especially thank Thiago,Luis, Gustavo, Joao Paulo, Binho and Amanda. Thiago obrigado for introducing me to Gustavo, Joao Paulo and Binho in Sao Paulo and hosting me in Copacabana. Gustavo, Joao Paulo, Binho, Luis and Amanda thank you for going out of your way to make me feel at home in Sao Paulo. I don't have enough words to express how grateful I am for this Brazilian hospitality! A ospidalidade brasileira foi o mais lindo presente que eu recebi no pais.