Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Before I dive into the post, I need to say a little something on the hurricane disaster relief efforts in Haiti.  If you've got the money or time to spare, please donate. 

Yesterday the three musketeers hit up Amsterdam, because regardless to what you might have thought, my home base is an hour train ride away from European sin city.  The city was covered with snow, and many of the canals had even froze over.  I'm sure this is a view of the city rarely seen by tourists.

I AMsterdam. Clever, huh?

Sinking frozen boat fail.

We went to Amsterdam with the sole intent of viewing the Van Gogh Museum, Rijks Museum, and (of course) the Red Light District.  I seriously contemplated being an art history major--I devoured the prerequisite course I took in college, and my entire Spanish art history class in Granada (taught all in Spanish too!).  Knowing about the history of art makes viewing the actual pieces a much more memorable experience.  The Prado in Madrid, for example, blew me away after my Spanish art history class intensive.  Even though I knew very little about Dutch art history, it was still very cool to see Remembrandt and Vermeer in the Rijks Museum.  Sadly, Vermeer's famous The Girl with the Pearl Earring was not on display for our visit.

Rembrandt's famous painting Night Watch at the Rijks Musuem.

The Van Gogh Museum ended up being, for me, even more mindblowing, because for as much as I'd always admired Van Gogh's work, I had never known that he was a self-taught artist.  Learning this made me admire Van Gogh even more than before.  Even though this is his home museum, it should be noted that his famous works such as Starry Night are not located at the Amsterdam museum.  Another surprise within the Van Gogh Museum was a guest exhibit on the Belgian painter Alfred Stevens, yet another artist who has won a place in my love for art.

Reflections, by Alfred Stevens

 Now for the juicy part:  the Red Light District.  After wandering around a bit, we finally found this notorious district of Amsterdam, and I'll admit that it's much smaller than I expected.  Still, it was abound with sex shops, sex theaters, coffeeshops reeking of pot, and scantily clad women seductively dancing behind glowing red doors.  There were not many out on the night we were there, so I can only imagine what it's like when the weather is warmer and the crowds are booming.

Amsterdam by day

I also seemed to have been unaware of why it's called the red light district.  Some discussion on its origins are on Wikipedia:  "In the 19th century, the term "red light" was associated with the red lanterns carried by railway workers (which the latter left outside brothels when they entered. The workers could quickly locate the lanterns for any needed train movement.) Another suggestion for origin were the red paper lanterns (a color associated with sensuality) hung outside brothels in ancient China for identification. The color red has been associated with prostitution for milennia."

 Today, we trained two hours out to the Roermond Designer Outlet area and checked out another ice sculpture festival, this time themed around classic stories. See some favorites below (more on Flickr!).  I also had my first Dutch herring, and as fishy as I smelled for the rest of the day, I look forward to having another soon.  Did you know that raw herring is a Dutch delicacy?  You can order of raw slices (served with potent raw onions), and you eat it from below by pinching the tail and holding the fish above your mouth.  It's quite delicious...cheers!

Notre Dame and the Hunchback

Gulliver's Travels

My favorite--Captain Hook and the Croc!

Pretty nighttime scene outside of Roerdome.

Me in a traditional wooden Dutch clog (100x the size necessary)

Kirsten, Adam and I taking shots of jäger in the ice ba.  Everything including the bar, stools, and shot glasses was made of ice.

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Wageningen, Netherlands

Made it to Nude 23-A in Wageningen, the Netherlands, bright and early Friday morning. I unfortunately was stuck with a middle seat and a ton of energy throughout the 9-hour ride, thus being unable to sleep and staying up over 24 hours, but I watched a bunch of movies, including one of my childhood favorites The Green Mile.

It is good to be with my college friends again, despite the cold snowy weather. Hard to believe that not long ago I was lounging on a beach in my bikini, sweating buckets. Now I am bundled up in winter clothing trying to retain what little heat I have. My body has definitely been confused about the time, date, temperature, and location of where I am.

Wageningen is, from what I've been told, in the middle of bumblecrap nowhere. It seems that this has been a trend on my trip, since I've been to bumblecrap Georgia and bumblecrap Costa Rica as well (ok, I don't necessarily think that Drake Bay was bumblecrap nowhere, but some folks told me it is). Anyway, central to this town is Wageningen University, so it's a college town of sorts, which in Europe means that it is a ghost town on weekends since most students go home during this time. You can read more about Wageningen here. Perhaps one of the most interesting things I've learned so far is that the Netherlands exists essentially because of all the dikes that were built to hold the water out--approximately 27% of the area and 60% of the population is located below sea-level. How wild is that??

The rest of this entry will be based on photos:

My first night in Wageningen, this is the accumulation of all the sugary European goodness that I love--Digestive biscuits (cookies), Lindt chocolate bars in the flavors of hot chili and hot mango, stroopwafle, black licorice, Englese drops, licorice-flavored cookies, Nutella, Ferrero Rocher dark chocolate, and--finally-gingerbread! The way to Suzi's heart is to get any (or all) of these goodies in the same room. :)

Me riding sidesaddle on the back of Adam's bicycle.

This is a Dutch parking lot. Bicycles are abundant in Wageningen, and the preferred mode of transportation for most. There are tons of bike lanes, cars yield to bicyclists, there's a fine for cycling without front and back lights at night, and the bike lock systems are a lot easier than in the states. I've had my first "side saddle" bicycle rides since being here, which is a little scary since my balance is less than stellar, but it's quite fun.

Yesterday (Jan 9), we took several busses and trains out to Den Haag for the Cool Haus (Cool Event) ice sculpture viewing and had a drink at the Holland Casino ice bar. It's a tented area that is -10 degrees indoors, and truly has sculptures, a bar, and a mock hotel room (the Royal Ice Room) made of huge chunks of ice. We spent an hour admiring the art work, sliding down an ice slide surrounding an igloo, and had a shot of Jaeger at the ice bar. It was chilly, but well worth the effort. See more ice bar/sculpture photos here.

A Dutch vending machine. Hamburger, anyone?

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George Bush International Airport, Houston, TX

La china guapa. It has been a while since I've had a nickname that stuck, but I have to admit that I like the one that Kumata and Sara picked out for me in Costa Rica. It stemmed from our first bus trip out to Corcovado, when several men on the street called me la china guapa, and it's pretty much stuck since that moment. For all of you non-Asians who have never been to a Spanish-speaking country, it's customary for anyone who looks even remotely Asian to be labeled china (Chinese). This was true even in Spain, and even though it used to annoy me because I'm not Chinese, I've learned to take it with a sense of humor. Next on the agenda is getting used to all of the Southeast Asians who insisted that I must be Japanese (which I'm not either!).

Chinese pulpería

My flight out of Costa Rica was as near of a close call as my flight out of Seattle. I awoke in San Jose, Costa Rica at 5AM this morning, anticipating that I would have more than enough time to make it to the airport for my 8AM flight. Sara's host mom bade my farewell, and her host sister Kumata walked me to the main drag to catch a taxi. It took nearly half an hour to hail a cab (much longer than anticipated), and by the time the 4,000 colones ride got me to the airport and I made it through the exit tax (ingresos) line, and the line to check into my flight, I was the very last person they allowed to check in. The line to get through security was even longer, but somehow I found myself in the "unaccompanied minors" line, and got through in less than five minutes. I suppose that's one benefit to looking like I'm under 18.

Creative way to deal with sunburn

Anyway, as a recap of the last couple of days, Sara and I spent the day after snorkeling (my last blog update) as an entirely lazy last day in Bahía Drake. We ate breakfast and lounged around Casa Horizantes on the front porch reading our books until noon. I managed to finish my first book of the new year, Maya Angelou's autobiographical novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. We then rented a sea kayak and spent a couple of hours kayaking around Drake Bay, doing our best to protect our already sunburned backs from the sun. Yesterday, we caught the last speedboat of our trip out of Drake Bay into Sierpe, and then a shuttle to Palma Norte where we took a 6 hour bus ride back to San Jose. It was a day of waiting, as our speedboat was 45 minutes late, our bus 60 minutes late, and our friends in San Jose were nearly an hour late meeting us. Still, I suppose that is what one should expect on trips--lots and lots of waiting.

The dock at Sierpé

Boating through the mangroves on the way to Sierpé.

Kumata and Jeff met us at the bus station in San Jose, and we were taken to the host family's new home in San Jose, which is much bigger and nicer than their house in Limón, with four bedrooms and 3.5 baths (and hot water!) compared to the 3 bedroom 2 bath house in Limón. It was a pleasure to be able to see it before leaving. We had our last home cooked Costa Rican meal, and lounged around before heading to bed. This is when Sara and I discovered the disadvantage of the new house (besides the house's first cockroach that we discovered during dinner): the house is right across the street from an outdoor basketball court that doubles as a hangout spot for local teenagers at night and a loud step aerobics class that begins at 5AM. I no doubt was counting my lucky stars for learning early on the necessity of traveling with earplugs. You never know when there will be screeching monkeys or drunken teens preventing you from getting a good night's rest (no joke..the monkeys were a problem in Bahía Drake).

Krishmir, Kumata, Sara - Christmas Eve (well, midnight) in Limón, Costa Rica

After a 3 hour plane ride to Houston and a much shorter customs line, I am now back in the US sipping a Wendy's vanilla frosty with Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love for my 14 hour plane ride, waiting to embark on chapter 3 of my adventure. As usual, there was a bit of culture shock on the airplane, as I was surrounded mostly by American English-speakers. Sometimes when you travel abroad, you wonder what it's like to be able to understand and potentially jump into any conversations that go on around you...and when you finally experience it again, it is less than a thrill. I am excited for my pending return to the E.U., although a little nervous to be hit with high prices once again, even though as some others on my flight concurred, Costa Rica is actually more expensive than other destinations such as Southeast Asia. My trip to Costa Rica a times put me out of my comfort zone, especially in terms of the humidity and mosquito population, but like all other trips I have been on, I am grateful for the experience, definitely plan to return, and recommend that others visit as well. ¡Pura Vida!

Suzi's Photo of the Day

Canada-US border, March 2008
Vancouver city/island trip during spring break of senior year. So excited to see my friend again in less than 24 hours!

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Isla de Caño, Costa Rica

Okay, well we´re not technically on Caño Island anymore, but we spent most of the day there today as part of a daylong snorkeling trip. Caño Island is a biological reserve located 20km away from Drake Bay, so we got up at 6am this morning (the sun was already shining brightly at this early hour) to catch a speedboat to the island. There were about 5 other snorkelers, as well as 6 scuba divers on our boat, and the snorkeling was pretty decent. I can´t lie, I kind of regretted not finishing my scuba certification in college--if anyone can cure my fear of deep water and my inability to clear my ears underwater, I´d be all about getting my scuba certification.

In Bali, the snorkeling seemed very touristy in that we snorkeled with baggies of bread and fed the fish to get them to swim around us. It was cool, but kind of like having pet fish in the wild. At Caño Island, the snorkeling was slightly deeper, and the water much more clear and blue, so all of the fish and marine life were in their natural habitats, which was an honor to be able to observe. There were huge tuna, parrot fish, and other various schools of fish, and we were lucky enough to see about a half dozen small sharks lurking in the waters below, as well as several turtles. Being surrounded by all of this marine life reminded me of the Fred Barnett´s Hawaiian Reef Fish Madness video my brother and I used to inhale as kids. It definitely helped solidify some of the early reef fish knowledge that stays with me today.

Isla de Caño

A little girl and her puppy, Mancha

The water was warm, and the sun shining bright, so we without a doubt are a shade or two darker (and redder) than we were yesterday, but it was a day well spent. We also met a couple of girls (one from California and the other from Vancouver Island), one of whom had a similar mission to my own, which was funny. I truly am meeting a lot of others in the same boat as myself, which is somewhat reassuring.

Me, Sara, and our two new friends!

Tonight, there are 6 Russian tourists inhabiting our B&B with us, so we will luckily get to mooch off the of the fish dinner that will be prepared for them. I suppose I should feel a tiny bit of guilt for craving fish for dinner while snorkeling today...

Suzi´s Photos of the Day

Alhambra from the Albaycin

The Alhambra, Granada, Spain, Spring 2007

Since I studied abroad in Granada, I have countless images of the Alhambra, and toured it more times than I can remember, but these are definitely my favorite views of this Moorish fortress of Andalucia.

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Still in Bahia Drake, Costa Rica -

We are coming up on finishing day two in Bahia Drake, and this is definitely the vacation getaway spot that you all should be jealous of. Perhaps. If you like small beach towns. Casa Horizantes, the B&B that we are staying in, is a real steal. The 5-bedroom wooden house sits high above Drake Bay, meaning that it is a bit of a hike to get up there (the path isn´t meant for vehicles), but the view and the quality of the house is worth it. Yami, the owner, has been cooking our two meals of the day (breakfast and dinner), and they have been well worth it. Yami and her family inhabit the entire B&B during the winter, but during the summer, they open it up to guests, while the family resides in the smaller side attachment. It is interesting to listen to how the residents of Bahia Drake deal with having the nearest bank/ATM located several hours away by car/bus. They all seem to operate on a debit/credit system, which seems to work fine for them, but for the sake of tourism if nothing else, it would be so much more helpful to have a bank or ATM in town. All in all though, I recommend staying at Casa Horizantes if you ever find yourself on this side of Costa Rica. Check out their website HERE.

One of the many yummy homemade dinners served at Casa Horizantes

Anyway, we have been sleeping in until about 8:30 every day, arising to eat Yami´s homemade breakfast (usually fruit, eggs, pintos--rice and beans, coffee, and juice), and then lazing about for the day. Yesterday, we walked two hours to Rio Claro, retracing the path that the speedboat took to bring us from La Sirena to Drake Bay. The River was nice and cool, in contrast to the warm sea that it empties into. Swimming in the portion where the river meets the sea is an interesting experience, with the water around you constantly changing from being chilly cool from the river to sunny warm from the sea. We met a European couple with a chatty, imaginative 6-year old boy on our walk to the river, and with them, we went on a $10 touristy canoe ride down the river. It was an hour and a half, and most of the ride seemed like a rip off, except for a short hike to several mini waterfalls that we got to swim under and do some cliff jumping from. All in all though, it was worth a maximum of half the price we paid.

We finished the canoe ride at 4:30PM, an hour before the sunset, and thus had to book it back to town to beat the incoming tides and use as much daylight as possible. Our 2 hour hike in turned into an hour and a half speedwalk back, and we made it with just enough daylight to find our way, but soaking wet hiking boots, unfortunately. The worst part about being here is the fact that things like socks and clothes don´t dry very quickly--my socks are going on 5 days of being damp, which probably means they are getting gross and moldy. Boo.

Today we spent nearly the entire day laying on a nearby beach, soaking up the sun and our books. I made it 100 pages into Maya Angelou´s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. For the first time since college, it looks like I´m starting the new year off right by finishing not one but two whole books. Hopefully keep the momentum up for the rest of the year.

The "dock" for boats leaving La Sirena

The Dutch family that dropped their drawers for the ride

Súzi´s Photos of the Day

Grand Canyon of West Yellowstone National Park, Sept 2009

First photo taken from the ground, second photo taken from the air. These are REAL waterfalls, stunning products of nature in comparison to the so-called stunning $10 waterfalls our guide at Rio Claro promised we´d see.

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Bahía Drake, Costa Rica

After a grueling 10 hour 25K hike through the Costa Rican rainforest from Los Patos to La Sirena, and two nights of camping at the ranger station of La Sirena, Sara and I exited Corcovado Parque Nacional made it to Bahia Drake via speedboat this afternoon. Bahía Drake (on the upper right corner of the map, just outside of Corcovado´s boundaries) is an incredibly small island town, with two restaurants, a bar, a pulperia, an Internet cafe, and various tourist offerings, but not much else (and no ATM or bank, meaning we are tight on cash). Fortunately, we do have rooms in a beautiful B&B that is clean and has hot water, electricity, FANS in the room, and nice people. We will plan to be here for the next couple of days (or until our cash runs out) before moving on. I am currently covered in mosquito bites (I counted over 40 on one leg alone), and dripping with sweat like a fat person, but I am so glad to be a little bit closer to the real world as I know it.

I have quite an entry to recap the last couple of days we spent in the rainforest. Last night, for New Year´s Eve, for example, I watched teh sun set at around 5:30PM, ate a simple dinner of couscous and lentils shortly after, and was hibernating in my tent by 8PM (I think...I didn´t keep track of time out there). My tent was the best place where I could minimize the amount of hungry mosquitoes I fed, but unforunately, the tent was also poorly ventilated. So....I rang in the new year drenched in sweat and still covered with mosquito bites...but I was in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest, listening to macaws and howler monkeys not far away. It was a unique experience, one of many that were had in Corcovado.

Path to La Sirena ranger station.

The airfield's right in front of the campsite.

Corcovado was hot, humid, full of mosquitoes, but also very tranquil, beautiful, and full of wildlife that you can´t easily see elsewhere. Bats, spider monkeys, macaws, toucans, crocodiles, various birds and lizards, were all within yards of where we were sleeping. The rainforest portion of Costa Rica in general isn´t much unlike Hawaii or even parts of Washington state, apart from the unique plants and animals that are found here. When I was hiking, sometimes it felt like I was in the mountains of WA or the Manoa trails of HI. The beach even reminded me of scenes from the TV show Lost. It was an adventure that was both very difficult both physically and mentally, but it was a great experience. I will probably never do it again :P More on that later (with some pics too, hopefully!).

Beach - doesn't it look like a scene out of Lost?


Suzi´s Photo of the Day

Bumbershoot, Seattle, WA Sept 2009

Because I miss him.

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Parque Nacional Corcovado - recap

Corcovado National Park is located in southwest Costa Rica on the Osa Peninsula. According to Wikipedia, it was established in 1975, and encompasses an area of 425 km² (263 mi²), and it has a stunning ecological variety. It is home to lots of wildlife including Baird's tapirs, Harpy eagles, American crocodiles, Spectacled Caiman, pumas, peccary, ocelots, white-faced monkeys, and bull sharks. I only had the pleasure of seeing a crocodile, monkeys, and birds, but it was still a wonder to behold. Read more about the park here.

Sara and I spent several days in Corcovado National Park, hiking in the day before New Years Eve, and speedboating out on New Years Day. I have to admit that the experience was unlike anything I have ever experienced, and I mean that it had its ups and downs. On December 29, we left the tourist/ex-pat haven of Puerto Jimenez and bussed into the border of the park, staying at the isolated house of our guide Eduardo and his family. They are campesinos, or country-dwellers whose first attempts at farming fizzled out due to wildlife consuming their cattle, so their new focus is on tourism and guiding through the park. Bright and early on December 30, we hauled our packs (mine was around 30lbs) onto our backs, and began our 25k (15 mile) trek to La Sirena ranger station.

Just outside of Los Patos with our guide, Eduardo.

 
A scarlet macaw.

When I was 17, I ran a 30k race in 2.5 hours. This journey took about 8 hours more than that. At first, it was a somewhat leisurely hike, albeit difficult given the weight of our packs and presence of sticky, slippery mud on the path. Occasional river crossings made us grateful for seeking out knee-high rubber boots (botas de hule) in Puerto Jimenez, although after a while, the lack of support within the boots caused a great deal of foot pain. I was also relieved to forget about the possible presence of crocodiles and bull sharks (they swim in both salt and fresh water) in the rivers. It was good to know that the river water was purported by our guide to be drinkable, and even though I was skeptical for a long while, thirst got the best of me and I downed two liters of untreated river water. Luckily no medical problems ensued. Yet :)

Lack of distance markers also made it difficult to tell just how far we had left to go, and the fast setting sun later in the day (at around 5PM), was a bit disheartening. All in all, I can't find the words to express my relief and joy upon finally crossing the clearing of La Sirena just after dusk that day. Covered in mud, sweat, and tears, I know that I looked like a mess, but I quickly learned that this is how most trekkers arrive at La Sirena. There is another station, La Leona, that is an approximately 6 hour hike away from La Sirena, and its path stays on the beach, while the Los Patos path that we did stays entirely in the rain forest. Most trekkers arrived to La Sirena from La Leona, and their stories and dramatic entrances imply that that path is much harder than the one we did. Either way, everyone luckily made it in one piece.

Large ants in Corcovado

An American crocodile in the river/ocean crossing

Hermit crabs

La Sirena is basically a big wooden structure with dorms and a full-service kitchen for those with reservations, and camping platforms and a "do it yourself" kitchen for budget travelers. We were lucky to arrange to have a rentable tent there for us, even though it didn't breathe well, and we were without sleeping pads the first night. With only a skimpy sleeping bag separating my back from the wooden floor, that's one way to build a backbone. Humidity was high and the mosquitoes were aplenty, but so were the travelers and the interesting stories they brought. There were Google employees, a Western Washington University professor, students, and unemployed folks traveling in pairs, groups, or families. Perhaps the most interesting story was a group of 5 backpackers coming from La Leona--two girls arrived first, followed by their lost friend the next day, and, on the day we left, the last two of their party made a dramatic entrance (flopping down on the ground out of joy and exhaustion upon arrival). As fun and pretty as it was, I have to admit that I couldn't have been happier than when I was on the crazy, splashy speedboat heading to Bahía Drake.

 
On the speedboat!

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