All of the students left for the airport and their flights back home. By now (this is being written on July 4th), everyone has presumably arrived home safely, filled with memories of this once in a lifetime experience.
PS Happy Fourth of July
Friday, July 4, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Day 18: Wednesday, July 2 - Manuel Antonio to Alajuela
We had a nice ride to our final stop for this course. The rain held up until after we arrived at the hotel and had time to bring our luggage to our rooms. We will have a class meeting in a little while and then our farewell dinner together here at the Orquideas Inn.
Sorry that there are no new pictures posted. Again, a very slow connection.
That´s all for now.
Sorry that there are no new pictures posted. Again, a very slow connection.
That´s all for now.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Days 16 and 17: Monday, June 30 and Tuesday, July 1 - Quepos and Manuel Antonio
[This is an excruciatingly slow internet connection, so two days are combined to minimize the pain. No photos will be posted, as it would take forever. Sorry.]
On Monday morning we moved closer to the beach and the park entrance. Some of us went to Quepos to do banking, buy food, eat lunch, or simply explore this once thriving city. It used to be the main port for shipping bananas, but when that stopped, the city went downhill. A new marina, owned by an American developer and in the works for over nine years, is being "sold" as the city's savior. We'll see.
All of us went out for dinner together. First we went to El Avion, a restaurant constructed in part from an old, military cargo plane. Due to a long wait, we walked 300 meters - it seems like everything is 300 meters away - to a "sister" restaurant containing an old railroad car. Not as exciting or unique, but no wait.
Today some of us went boogie boarding at the big beach while others headed back to the national park to swim or hike or both. One hike lead to a beautiful waterfall, while another took us high up on the peninsula, which juts out into the ocean. The wildlife was out in force after a day off - the park is closed on Mondays - and we saw many white-faced monkeys, including a baby riding on its parent's back, a few large iguanas, some smaller lizards, a couple of sloths, and a cat-sized, rodent-like animal.
Tomorrow is the last full day in Costa Rica. We will head for Alajuela, our jumping-off point for the airport.
On Monday morning we moved closer to the beach and the park entrance. Some of us went to Quepos to do banking, buy food, eat lunch, or simply explore this once thriving city. It used to be the main port for shipping bananas, but when that stopped, the city went downhill. A new marina, owned by an American developer and in the works for over nine years, is being "sold" as the city's savior. We'll see.
All of us went out for dinner together. First we went to El Avion, a restaurant constructed in part from an old, military cargo plane. Due to a long wait, we walked 300 meters - it seems like everything is 300 meters away - to a "sister" restaurant containing an old railroad car. Not as exciting or unique, but no wait.
Today some of us went boogie boarding at the big beach while others headed back to the national park to swim or hike or both. One hike lead to a beautiful waterfall, while another took us high up on the peninsula, which juts out into the ocean. The wildlife was out in force after a day off - the park is closed on Mondays - and we saw many white-faced monkeys, including a baby riding on its parent's back, a few large iguanas, some smaller lizards, a couple of sloths, and a cat-sized, rodent-like animal.
Tomorrow is the last full day in Costa Rica. We will head for Alajuela, our jumping-off point for the airport.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Day 15: Sunday, June 29 - Quepos/Manuel Antonio
Yesterday we did some combination of a variety of things: explored Quepos or Manuel Antonio or both, relaxed in or around the pool at our hotel, or sat on the balcony and read.
Today all of us went to Manuel Antonio National Park. We hiked for about twenty-five minutes until we came across a beautiful white sand beach at the edge of the rain forest. The water was a perfect temperature, enabling us to comfortably wade right in. Being in somewhat of bay, this is not a surfing beach and it had just the right size waves to enjoy.
A family of three white-faced monkeys put on quite a show in some trees at the edge of the beach. We also saw iguanas, a sloth, and a variety of crabs.
After being there for a couple of hours and while trying to decide which trail to take next, true to its name, it began began to rain. We took the shortest route out and took taxis or a public bus back to our hotel.
Tomorrow, we will be moving to a hotel right across from the beach and adjacent to the entrance to the national park. Here is the contact information:
Hotel Manuel Antonio
506 2777-1237 or 506 2777-1351
hotelmanuelantonio@racsa.co.cr
I am not sure about internet access at that hotel, so don't be surprised if there are no new entries until we arrive on late Wednesday afternoon at the Orquideas Inn in Alajuela as previously planned.
Today all of us went to Manuel Antonio National Park. We hiked for about twenty-five minutes until we came across a beautiful white sand beach at the edge of the rain forest. The water was a perfect temperature, enabling us to comfortably wade right in. Being in somewhat of bay, this is not a surfing beach and it had just the right size waves to enjoy.
A family of three white-faced monkeys put on quite a show in some trees at the edge of the beach. We also saw iguanas, a sloth, and a variety of crabs.
After being there for a couple of hours and while trying to decide which trail to take next, true to its name, it began began to rain. We took the shortest route out and took taxis or a public bus back to our hotel.
Tomorrow, we will be moving to a hotel right across from the beach and adjacent to the entrance to the national park. Here is the contact information:
Hotel Manuel Antonio
506 2777-1237 or 506 2777-1351
hotelmanuelantonio@racsa.co.cr
I am not sure about internet access at that hotel, so don't be surprised if there are no new entries until we arrive on late Wednesday afternoon at the Orquideas Inn in Alajuela as previously planned.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Day 13: Friday, June 27 - From San Jose to Quepos/Manuel Antonio
This morning we loaded all of our luggage on our van and headed out of San Jose for the mid-Pacific coast. As with our trip to Monteverde, we drove through lush, green mountains and valleys before reaching the ocean. After lunch at a roadside restaurant on the shore, we continued along the coast to our hotel.
We will be here until at least Monday morning and have not yet decided whether we will spend an additional two nights here or head back up the coast to Jaco for two nights. I'll post our plans when they are firm.
Tomorrow we'll probably relax at the beach, hike in Manuel Antonio National Park, some combination of both, or maybe something else.
Reminder, the phone number of our hotel is 506 2777- 0119.
As access to the internet is limited, this blog might not be updated until Sunday.
Hasta luego.
We will be here until at least Monday morning and have not yet decided whether we will spend an additional two nights here or head back up the coast to Jaco for two nights. I'll post our plans when they are firm.
Tomorrow we'll probably relax at the beach, hike in Manuel Antonio National Park, some combination of both, or maybe something else.
Reminder, the phone number of our hotel is 506 2777- 0119.
As access to the internet is limited, this blog might not be updated until Sunday.
Hasta luego.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Day 12: Thursday, June 26 - In and around San Jose
We had some very interesting experiences today. Having seen mostly the "regular" part of San Jose, we wanted to see how the "other half" lives. We headed for Rohrmoser, the part of San Jose where the U.S. embassy, as well as the equivalent of the White House, are located. The former seemed to be much more fortified and had much more visible security. In fact, we were not even allowed to take any pictures of the embassy, according to the guards, who were all Costa Ricans, out in front.
Next, we drove through a nearby residential neighborhood and to our surprise, our driver stopped the van and parked in front of a house. (Actually, he parked first and then stopped the van.) He beckoned us to come inside to see . . . a cigar factory. There we found four or five workers sitting in a room rolling cigars. For all practical purposes, these are Cuban cigars as that is where the tobacco comes from. However, since they are made in CR, they are labeled as such and are therefore, supposedly, legal to import into the U.S.
While not directly related to the apparel industry, we were able to compare the hourly wage (much higher) and the working conditions (about the same) of the cigar workers to the apparel workers.
We then drove by the residence of the U.S. ambassador. Our driver told us that the large condominium project across the street and uphill from the ambassador's house was totally vacant because our government bought it to prevent it being used to spy on or do harm to the ambassador.
A little further on and we stopped at the Multi-Plaza mall in Escazu, a wealthy suburb of San Jose, to compare prices and products to those we had seen in downtown SanJose. As with most malls today, there were few clues to let you know what country you were in.
After shopping and lunch at the mall, we drove around Escazu to see some of the homes of mostly wealthy Americans and some Europeans. Except for the relatively low prices, according to our driver, the homes could have been in any number of gated communities back in the U.S., including the proximity of one home to another.
Our day concluded with the last of the book reports and a lively discussion of what we have all seen and learned about the garment industry across time and space.
Tomorrow we head for the beautiful beaches and tropical rainforest by-the-sea National Park, Manuel Antonio. Note that this is a change from the itinerary published on the course website and that the correct phone number for our hotel is 506 2777- 0119.
Next, we drove through a nearby residential neighborhood and to our surprise, our driver stopped the van and parked in front of a house. (Actually, he parked first and then stopped the van.) He beckoned us to come inside to see . . . a cigar factory. There we found four or five workers sitting in a room rolling cigars. For all practical purposes, these are Cuban cigars as that is where the tobacco comes from. However, since they are made in CR, they are labeled as such and are therefore, supposedly, legal to import into the U.S.
While not directly related to the apparel industry, we were able to compare the hourly wage (much higher) and the working conditions (about the same) of the cigar workers to the apparel workers.
We then drove by the residence of the U.S. ambassador. Our driver told us that the large condominium project across the street and uphill from the ambassador's house was totally vacant because our government bought it to prevent it being used to spy on or do harm to the ambassador.
A little further on and we stopped at the Multi-Plaza mall in Escazu, a wealthy suburb of San Jose, to compare prices and products to those we had seen in downtown SanJose. As with most malls today, there were few clues to let you know what country you were in.
After shopping and lunch at the mall, we drove around Escazu to see some of the homes of mostly wealthy Americans and some Europeans. Except for the relatively low prices, according to our driver, the homes could have been in any number of gated communities back in the U.S., including the proximity of one home to another.
Our day concluded with the last of the book reports and a lively discussion of what we have all seen and learned about the garment industry across time and space.
Tomorrow we head for the beautiful beaches and tropical rainforest by-the-sea National Park, Manuel Antonio. Note that this is a change from the itinerary published on the course website and that the correct phone number for our hotel is 506 2777- 0119.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Day 11: Wednesday, June 25 - San Jose
Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to cancel the trip to Alto Laguna, so we decided to spend the next two days in San Jose. Today, in various combinations of students and faculty, we visited the Museum of Gold, the Jade Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. They were all very interesting and informative.
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