Larissa's "when she feels like writing stuff" page
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Monday, October 31, 2011
Day 4:
Panama- Costa Rica trek
Apparently in Boquete, they ring their church bells at 630am.Ridiculous, but slept in another hour.We packed up our bags and grabbed some breakfast that was served in a cute outdoor seating next to the garden.This breakfast was delicious!Tejano(chicken w/ salsa) con tortilla de mais.Man, the salsas here are amazing!Complete Panamanian breakfast, smile!
And that… that was Panama!Definitely could have used more Panamanian food, experience the culture, play in the beautiful mountains, lay on the beach… but that was it.Will definitely have to come again!
…And we’re off to Costa Rica, oh my!
We return the car at the airport (can’t take a car across the border) and look for a taxi van or shuttle to haul us to La Frontera (the border).There is a taxi driver in a car smaller than ours that is insisting on taking us.We won’t be able to put the car seats in the car safely (face forward), will have to pack our luggage in and squeeze Anson and Sarah in between the car seats.Well?That’s what we did.~45 min drive, packed like sardines to the border.We wait in line for ~ 1 hr, get our passports reviewed and approved then head over to Costa Rica side, a little confused.We have no guidance on where we were supposed to go, what we were supposed to do.We walk aimlessly in the rain, with the babies, and luggage…find the CR Entry location and get our passports stamped… now for a taxi.
Costa Rica has significant water flow and apparently due to the recent rain, the roads were getting overflown with water.We were told by one of the drivers that there were no buses coming to this part of the town due to the over flown rivers, so we had to take a 4x4 taxi to the next town over.We drove over the flooding, which wasn’t really significant; however, this driver was trying to score a deal.He was a little shady and was trying to get us to take his taxi all the way to Quepos… a $200 taxi ride vs. the $20 we were paying to the bus station and $36 bus ride to Quepos.Of course the $200 wasn’t the preferred option.
We arrive at the bus station with ~45 min to spare.We wait, wait, wait… bus arrives and the line starts to form.Sarah and I are trying to quickly load our luggage in the bus while Anson negotiates a better deal and holds a spot in the line.The bus is pretty much full and well, there is a long line of people, including us, who need to load the bus.We make our way on without a seat.Fortunately, there were a couple nice folks who made room for Sarah and I since we were holding the babies.There were about 10 people standing on the bus as we make our ~3 hr journey to Quepos.The babies were not having the ride, so I swapped spots with Anson and stood up about 1.5 hrs of the way until some folks got off.Let me tell you, holding onto the upper rails of the bus while trekking along on a windy and bumpy Costa Rican road wasn’t the most comfortable.Now, I did get nice views of all the rivers, trees and foliage.
We basically were thrown off the bus on the main street- highway in Quepos.The bus passengers were probably relieved the crying babies and bundle of luggage were off the bus.We waited on the side of the road for a bit, only to learn that we weren’t going to find a taxi on this road.We head down a street a bit and picked up a taxi.Again, another jam packing in a small car, car seats in the trunk, ghetto rigged down, babies in laps packed in the rear seat.We decide on staying at the Best Western and hook up with Sarah’s friend, Melissa.Dinner, drinks, bed.
Day 5:
Quepos
Quepos is not the nicest of Costa Rican towns, but it is next to Manuel Antonio, which is beautiful and has a small panaderia that sells phenonmenal papa rellenas! I had some breakfast then wandered the town for a bit, exchanged some dollars into colones, purchased a few gift and souvenirs. Anson and Sarah had gotten another rental car... this time? a hatchback and a bit smaller even though we had one more person and more luggage. We had to cram ourselves into the car and make another trek to Dominical to look for a hotel to stay at.
Dominical
We got to Dominical, a cute and small surfer town. There were many hostels and small motels on the beach. We checked prices at a few locations and found a small treehouse type of hostel that was right across from the beach and was $25/night. Melissa and I shared one room while Anson, Sarah and the babies shared another one. We unpacked then checked out Dominical beach. We headed down the road a bit to surf for buenas olas and ended up at another cool beach. I wandered, took some pics and picked up some shells with Catalina.
Got back to the hotel, cleaned up then had some dinner.
Headed out to Panama and Costa Rica on 10/20... the beginning of a mth long adventure in Central America and the east coast.
Panama trip->
Day 1:
I flew into Ft. Lauderdale at 530pm with a 6 hr layover.I couldn’t see myself spending the long duration in the airport, so immediately searched for something to do.The beach was within a skip and jump away, so decided to find a nice restaurant/bar to enjoy.I hopped in a taxi with Spazio'sas the destination.The restaurant, as described in Yelp, was a Mediterranean restaurant with a live band and good food.Apparently Yelp didn’t understand the difference between Italian and Mediterranean, because, well, Calzone was high on the menu and what my stomach decided on.I had a beer, enjoyed a 12” pie of Calzone while spectating the locals and tourists strolling the beach.The most interesting character was a late middle age man dressed in a thong, hiking boots and a purple sweater.Yes, that’s it.He was undeniably striving for attention, which he definitely received.He enjoyed the gawking and shook his nalgas in enjoyment.Not the most pleasant scene.
After a quick dinner and beer, I headed over to another bar… that had a large number ofbeers on tap.The bar was an outdoor , quant place of moderate interest.I chatted with the bar tender and a fellow from Connecticut; the second person I’ve ever met from Connecticut.I had a couple beers and decided I should grab a cab and head back to the not so awesome airport to ensure I made it to Panama…apparently my Mother was worried I’d wander and get ‘drunk’ :P.Of course I arrived too early and had to consume the rest of my waiting time with a couple more beers…at the sorry, don’t’ understand the purpose of chairs bar.1130… I’m on my way to Panama.
Highlight of the day-> Limos to the airport or totally NOT a bad idea! $115 for home pickup and drop off in SFO. I totally need this for any flights leaving prior to 12pm.
Panama
I arrived in Panama City around 2am, grabbed my bags, went through immigration and met Anson outside.They had a hotel room at the nearby Marriott.I went into the room, snuck a quick “howdy” to Sarah, but unfortunately wasn’t able to see or greet Catalina and Koda.Bed it was…off for adventures in the morning.
Day 2:
This day consisted mostly of driving, driving and, um, waiting around.Once we got out of the hotel room we were off to return the car which reeked of rotten milk and pickup a new car.Apparently Anson’s milk had spilled in the car a few days earlier and the car seeped out fumes of spoiled milk nastiness.Koda wasn’t feeling too hot so we went on a search to find Tylenol and a thermometer.Hanging out in the humid and hot Super 99 and El Rey parking lots… finally items were found and we were off to…. McDonalds?Yes, babies need food and they love ‘dippies’ (McDonalds’ French toast)…feed kids, adults get café con leche.Panama has great café and my first café in the country is from McDonalds J
New car picked up, lengthy transaction, of course.Old car picked up… another lengthy transaction….there’s a theme…Once we’re packed into the new car (Yaris- 3 adults, 2 car seats- 5 bags), we head to Casco Antiguo.Casco Antiguo is the ‘old Panama city’; a beautiful, small village off the water.We grab some food.My first meal in Costa Rica is a Mediterranean salad… J
We walk around the small village, take a few pics and walk through a small market.I picked up a some type of wind instrument for a souvenir.I’ve recently started picking up musical instruments during my travels.In the past I’ve collected knives/swords, sorees and masks; musical instruments are a new addition.After the brief village stroll, we begin our long trek to Boguete.
David
The trip was estimated at ~2.5 hrs, but ended up taking about 6 hrs.We drove in the rain on a sketchy road for a decent way.We decided to stay in David and drive up to Boguete in the morning since it was another ~45 min in the night and in the rain.We went to TGIF for dinner and Wifi (Wifi hot spots are an important part of our travels).Second meal in Panama? TGIF! JEat some food, find a hotel, drive off to check-in to the hotel.Sarah had gone into book the room and only specified 2 adults and 2 kids, the hotel employee confirmed- 2 adults, 2 kids, so Larissa had to ‘disguise or hide’ herself.Getting in the hotel was fine as we went from the garage.However, one of the employees came up to the room to setup a crib… not a pack and play, but a full on crib.I hid in the bathroom for about 30 minutes while the guy put together the crib.Not sure if you’ve tried it recently, but hanging out in the bathroom for 30 minutes isn’t the best of times.Anson and I finished the evening with a Jack and Coke and a Tican Mojito (Rum, lime juice and sugar cane water).Upon walking through the lobby to the bar (I was ‘playing Sarah’ to ensure our cover wasn’t pulled), Anson saw the employee at the front desk watching porn on the large flat screen affixed in the lobby.Was it Costa Rican porn? No idea :P
Highlight of the day-> Sarah getting pulled over for speeding. We acted like we didn't know any Spanish and after about 25 min, the cop gave up. Anson (who knows and speaks the best out of all of us) said in what sounded like an American- LA guy's voice ' No ENTIEEENNDDDO' and 'Discopa, discopa, discopa....' Hilarious!
Day 3:
Yah for Panamanian breakfast!I had some type of breakfast bread, meatballs and an egg dish.Café con leche, claro, y muy bueno!We finished breakfast, packed up shop and headed out on our ~45 minute journey to Boquete… to rainy, cold Boquete.
Boquete
Boquete is a beautiful town nestled in the mountains.There are only a few blocks of the city, with a river running through it.We found a very cute apartment to stay in.The facility had a very nice restaurant, bar and outdoor fire places in an eating area and lounge area.The place was right on the river.
There are many activities to do in Boquete: rock climbing, river rafting, ziplining, rappelling, hiking…. Unfortunately it was raining so much that the clan was not able to enjoy any of these activities.Anson and I ran off to hop in some hot springs for a bit, but that was the highlight of the day.
The hot springs are called Caldera and consist of ‘puddles’ and a ‘pool’.We had to drive to the hot springs, but weren’t able to drive the entire way due to the rain and the limitations of our 2wd little Yaris.We hiked a bit in ~ 35 min, to the entry point for the puddles and pools.The pool was 7 km away.With the rain, Sarah being in the apt watching the babies and time, we decided to head to the puddles which were about a 15 min walk away.The scenery was amazing!Beautiful views of various creeks, running water, the river and land.So green and lush with a gorgeous hazy mountain back drop.
The puddles were located on a local’s farm. We were charged $2 to enjoy the hot spring.The farm had an interesting mix of animals: chickens, dogs, donkeys, peacocks, ducks and a monkey.The monkey (which had some weird growth hanging from his nalgas) was hanging out with some folks who were enjoying the hot spring.The monkey was crawling around the people, being nosey and curious.The monkey took and drank a cup of coffee from one of the guys.This was a first.Anson and I enjoyed the other ‘puddle’, which had lukewarm water.. .there were hot spots as well as cold spots.This may have been due to the rain or it was a lowsy hot spring?
Anson and I had put our passports and wallet in a bag and set it aside us while we were in the hot spring.As my back was turned, the monkey started to get into the bag.Fortunately, Anson saw and I was able to grab the bag in time.Really?Sarah and I would have been stuck in Costa Rica and Anson broke because we were robbed by a lipstick showing monkey.
We headed back and grabbed dinner at the restaurant.I had some delicious red bell pepper and basil soup, a recipe I’m going to have to re-create.
Highlight of the day-> The Vodka and Ice Tea at the end of the night
I just completed my Code oF Business Conduct training.. I have Proact BOST and anti-harassment training left... oh.. and my annual review, so fun.
Boo
It surprises me how often it happens, but how soon we forget-> Cherish your loved ones, we don't last forever. I recently found out that a co-worker (who I've worked closely with the past 4 yrs) has two forms of cancer. He is going to start chemo, but it is already pretty bad. My dear second mother, Dellreese has been battling brain cancer for the last 5 yrs. The doctors gave her 5 yrs to live. My co-worker's father was recently hit on the side of the highway by a suicidal driver. These things happen every day, our hearts are saddened, we immediately think about our loved ones, then shortly after we forget it all.... that is, until it happens again. Keep your loved ones close, respect, love and cherish them, be there for them.
Ah
It's mid May and it is FREEZING. I don't know if I've ever built a fire (outside of a campfire) in May. There is an interesting article about the anomalies of today's climate. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110131-317581/Climate-change-2011-bodes-more-weather-anomalies of course it refers to Global Warming and Kyoto Protocol. I don't have enough knowledge on the subject to know if it is 100% accurate, but it makes sense to me. Last summer wasn't the warmest. This past winter we had a very warm November and so far our spring has been freezing. I am really hoping we get a warm summer... I mean, I haven't even planted my veggies and herbs this year since the weather has been so unpredictable. I'm moving south... I want warmth.
OOh
I've moved into a new role at work, Service Delivery Manager. What is that you ask? I'm not sure... it is a new role that is part of the ITIL framework. We have been unsuccessful and implementing it in our organization (been in the group since September). It requires so much commitment and interaction from all parts of the organization, we need upper management communication, drive and support of the movement. Can we get it? Not by asking nice and passively.
It amazes me how many teams, groups, organizations and companies drag their feet, are slow to roll, have a confused, haphazard momentum... what happened to get 'er done? See the need, build the plan, drive the change.... Things don't get done by standing around and talking about it. We need leaders... with real, solid plans who have the stamina and endurance to implement the work and reap the benefits. We've not only become obese nation, as individuals, but we've become obese companies... so much fat... so much loss of productivity and inefficient operations.
So, that sounded more like a boo, but was supposed to be an ooh...well, I hope... I have some ideas on how the organization I work for can become more efficient, streamlined and cost effective. I've been in this position for 9 mths and have nothing to show for it, except a lot of brain storming ideas on what they could do better. I've been talking with my manager and he has some similar ideas, more on an organizational change (which is done every 6 mths anyway and just churns up the group to allow upper management to ride out a little longer...). However, I hope that we can put some ideas together and work out something that will change this org.. for the better and be what it should be- an efficient operations org.
Ha
I did my second triathlon this passed Sunday, the Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon. I entered in the Mountain Bike division since, well, I am not going to purchase a street bike :). The first time I did this tri there was only 3 in my division and I came in third :P. Sure, I podiumed, but came in 3rd of 3. I was under the impression this race was going to be very similar, so my challenge was to beat my previous time and hopefully come in 1st out of 3 or so. Well, I came in 1st out of 2 with a 7 min improvement. Better? Sure. Satisfying enough? No.
The more funny part about this is that all division winners were called up to the stage, posed for a picture and handed their awards and goodies. For Mtn Bike division, 2nd place person and I were called up (as "Larissa Uverbey"). Before I could get to the stage the announcer moved on to the next group of awards. Totally dismissed my moment of fame. I went up to the lady handing out the awards and she gave me a confused look. I said, " I won the Mtn Bike division". She replied, " Oh, here...". Lol... so nice.
We stayed in Venice for 3 days. It was lovely! I think I took a picture around every corner! I'm sure there are so many pictures that look similar, but looked so unique prior taking them. The town is simply amazing. I couldn't imagine living there...just so different. No cars, only water taxis, buses and gondolas/boats (which looks like majority of people own).
We did a large amount of walking...plenty of steps over all the canals. We visited the first 'ghetto'. There is a large Jewish community in Venice and this first Jewish neighborhood was the first place the term ghetto came from, which means 'outcast'. There was a huge farmers type of market, vegetables, fruit, tons of fish; all the crustaceans were alive. It was cool to see the boats hauling packages, products/supplies and trash. I got a photo of a dump boat, but for some reason cannot locate it? :O Here is a 'shipping boat' :P
Here are a few nice pics of Venice:
The last day we were in Venice we had planned on going to Murano island to visit a glass factory. Unfortunately it was pouring this day! We walked across the city to hop on a water bus, got completely drenched. Hopped on the bus, went to Murano wandered for a bit only to find that we couldn't get into any factories that day- they were closed to the tourists since the weather was so ugly. Headed back on the bus vs. any walking... wow, we were soaked!
We took the train to Florence.... Florence is beautiful. I'll update about Florence and our wine tasting excursion tomorrow... it's 1:02 am and we have to head out at 7am tomorrow... home sweet home! I miss my Jada and alone time :)
On to Venice... (11/30) We asked our hotel clerk to call us a taxi to get to the train station. The taxi never showed so we ended up waving down another taxi. Unfortunately we ended up being late to the station so had to wait for the next train (~45 min). We headed up on our 5 hr train ride to Venice around 12:30pm.
We arrived in Venice around 530, yes, already dark. We grab a water bus 72 hr pass and hop on the water bus. Ok, we had lots of luggage- there was 0 hopping in Venice! It took about 35 minutes to get to our stop. We get off the bus and begin our exciting adventure down the narrow, beautiful, unique calles. Oh my… calle (street) here, 150 ft. another calle, then a bridge over a canal, then an overhang. We followed my GPS, but still had a heck of a time finding our hotel while carrying our heavy bags up and down stairs and squeezing through narrow streets. We finally made it to the hotel, unloaded then wandered for a restaurant. Venice seemed dead… it was only ~ 7 or so, but was dark and didn’t have much going on.
Last Day in Rome (Monday, 11/30) We went to the Colosseum and Foro Roman the last day we were in Rome. It was an awfully cold and windy day (ok, I was freezing, of course Ryan was not). We chose to not do the guided tour for two reasons-> I’ll get bored and tired if I’m following and listening to one person for a couple hrs and Ryan doesn’t care for information (yea, I know- I want to know everything :P). Well, we wandered, awed and took pics. Of course we had many questions, many of which could not be answered by the few posters located throughout the Coloseum. So? We still have unanswered questions about the Coloseum and Foro Roman.
The Coloseum was pretty cool. It was interesting to see where thousands of battles were performed, blood spackled and oozed, tons of animals killed and millions of spectators cheerfully watching in delight. The stories of the human and animal fights that took place is simply amazing… As I was walking through the pillars, I imagined how insanely awesome it’d be to have the Colosseum fill up with the previous fighters and spectators and participate in the historic games. Wow!
The Foro Romans wasn’t as interesting, but was cool nonetheless. It’s cool to see ruins and picture what they were used for, how they were used and what they used to look like. Trying to imagine the whole picture in action was difficult.
We walked a crap load yet again. Rome is fairly big ( ****); however, is easy to navigate or get ‘lost’ in. We had a map and used it as a guideline; however, we quickly got to know the landmarks, our previous locations, etc. Of course we had no problem finding gelato shops or pizzerias :P.
We didn’t do much shopping while in Rome, spent the majority of time looking at monuments, churches, etc. We’ve taken loads of pictures.
Arrive in Rome yesterday at 1150 am after 20 hrs of travel. Left SF at 620 Friday am, flew to Minneapolis, then to Amsterdam (business class- oh my, that's the way to travel!). We checked into the hotel after an interesting and funny ride. Our cab driver was in a large van and hauling it, cutting cars off, not paying attention while talking to fellow drivers and explaining various sites to us.
We are staying at the Pantheon Inn through Monday night. This hotel is on the 3rd floor of a Bldg, shared by other people. It is interesting (seems like a house). The employees are friendly and helpful. We've enjoyed it.
and went up and down many city streets. We were starving around 4pm and couldn't find a restaurant open (all open at 7pm). We ended up finding this little cafe/gelato/beer shop (soo many of these out here). We ordered a couple dinners and beers and sat outside people watching. We noticed on the menu 'food is cold blasted'. Well, when the food was brought out to us we learned cold blasted meant frozen dinners! The canneloni was pretty good nonetheless. However, can you believe it? First meal in Italy is an Italian frozen dinner?!?! :P
We wandered more then went back to the hotel. Ryan was tired so he went to sleep. I stayed up and watched some dance show in Italian. Went to bed, then both of us woke up a few hrs later hungry and wide awake. It was only 1030. We got up, wandered around and found a good restaurant. I had some pepper and some kind of cheese pasta (yummy) and we had beef cappeloni (I think) for appetizer. We searched for the Pantheon after, but ended up only finding a Gelato joint, bummer :P.
Today we headed out to the Pantheon- oh what do you know it's only 2 min walk from the hotel- in the opposite direction we went the evening before!:p Wow, such a sight!
We continued up the way to Piazza Navona. This was a typical plaza, peddlers up the ying yang and people galore. The surrounding was nice. There was a guy doing acts (magic, circus, acting...) and pulled Ryan to 'play' with him. The guy sat Ryan down, threw a 'magic' blanket over Ryan's head then pulled it off and 'wala' Ryan had hair (a blonde wig :P)
Larissa is a dummy and attempted to recorded this, but screwed up and ended up recording a glimpse of her foot before pocketing the camera (don't ask).
We trekked along to the Vatican, which was simply amazing! The amount of design, texture, creativity- wow!
We had some yummy pizza (of course) for lunch and continued to wander.
Castel Sant' Angelo. Unfortunatley we couldn't take any pictures in the castle. It was prety interesting and a workout :P. Stairs, stairs and more stairs! Breathtaking views of the city from top!
We went back to the hotel after more touring and wandering. We freshened up then headed back out. We ended up at the Pantheon again to have dinner. Enjoyed a couple guitar players, classical Italian singing, harmonica playing and opera singing while eating yummy pasta and drinking delicious red wine!
We wandered more, had a capuccino, and saw the Fontana de Trevi. This was absolutely stunning! Even in the evening, it was amazing! There were so many people gathered around, hanging out, taking pictures, conversating. Wow, beautiful!
Ryan and I took acouple of photos of us, which turned out really good. This guy came over and asked if he could take a photo of us, sure.. Of course this is a guy with a Polaroid trying to sell us photos. At the same time his co-worker handed me three red roses while the other guy was trying to ask Ryan to pay him 10 euro for the two horrible pictures (you couldn't even tell where we were since the background was completely black and we were on one side of the photo). Ryan said no, no, no... then he looked at me, I said no, no, no. I think we gave him like 4 euro, but he kept asking for more. Finally the other guy pulled the roses out of my hand and left. The guy trying to sell the photos finally got pissed off and left too. That was hilarious!
We finished the evening with another cup of gelato :). mmm! more wandering...
Obviously it has been awhile. I learned a few days ago a friend and co-worker passed away. Keith, was my old second-level manager who gave me guidance, coached me and really believed in me. Keith, showed me things, explained things to me and contributed to who I am in the work force today. I saw him a week ago; he expressed his gratitude and appreciation for working with me. I expressed mine. Keith was retiring and going to move to Indonesia, a place that he loved. I am sorry that he is gone, I express my condolences for his family and hope Keith rests in peace.
I learned this evening that a co-worker and friend of my dear friend, Tristian, lost his life at work by getting electrocuted. I send my condolences to his family.
What did I learn from this? The crap that I'm going through is TRIVIAL and not worth the boiling blood, the stress, the anger, the breath that I have given it these last months. I need to really value my life, my situation, my love, who/what I have and myself. Life needs to be appreciated and respected. We need to love who we know, what we've gone through and who we are.
and went up and down many city streets. We were starving around 4pm and couldn't find a restaurant open (all open at 7pm). We ended up finding this little cafe/gelato/beer shop (soo many of these out here). We ordered a couple dinners and beers and sat outside people watching. We noticed on the menu 'food is cold blasted'. Well, when the food was brought out to us we learned cold blasted meant frozen dinners! The canneloni was pretty good nonetheless. However, can you believe it? First meal in Italy is an Italian frozen dinner?!?! :P
We continued up the way to 
Larissa is a dummy and attempted to recorded this, but screwed up and ended up recording a glimpse of her foot before pocketing the camera (don't ask).
We had some yummy pizza (of course) for lunch and continued to wander.
