Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 28, 2008
I’m sure I’ll do more with my hundreds of photos from my trip (and there were entire days when I did not take any, so there could have been far more). But just to get started, I’ll post the links to them here. I’ve divided them into several albums and some are small and some are not — I’m hoping to eventually supplement them with photos my friends took on the trip.
Click on the photo on the right of Big Mike and Kimsan (El Huevito) to see the pictures from
La Danta Salvaje, the rain forest preserve. Still, there are many things I remember that are missing among these pictures, so I will try to supplement this gallery with my friends’ photos. For example, I don’t have any photos of us swimming in the waterfall pool, although I do have video that I will post after I edit it. Unfortunately, Kimsan lost his SD card from his camera, and I think he was the one who took still photos at the waterfall, so we’ll have to see how many photos we can turn up. You’ll get a good sense of the jungle feeling from the photos taken on our hikes, but I am afraid the pictures of tapir and jaguar tracks look like I accidentally pressed the shutter while carrying the camera.
Click on the photo to the left to see just a few photos taken at Casa Viva, the lovely place owned by the truly gracious and friendly Jeanie Waller, where I stayed in Punta Uva, just down the road from Puerto Viejo. That’s me “chillaxing” in the hammock. I want more photos of the grounds, which were stunning, and of the beach that was just a few yards away. I have a good bit of video, but have not edited it, yet. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Costa Rica, Outdoors, Photographs, Travel | Tagged: Beto Torres, Casa Viva, Costa Rica, David Vaughan, Dawn Yates, La Danta Selvaje, La Salsa Brava, Molly Bragdon, Puerto Viejo, Punta Uva, rain forest, San Jose, surfing, Travel | 1 Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 28, 2008
Here’s an interesting puzzle: in the rain forest preserve where I spent four days, La Danta Salvaje, in Costa Rica, there are no mosquitos at night. During the day, the little blood-suckers would come around at times, like when you’re relaxing in the hammock on the porch enjoying the gorgeous view and the birds flitting around from tree to tree, so they certainly are present in the rain forest and they know how to bite.
But we slept with the windows open at night in the lodge without any mosquito netting. No problem. I don’t know why it’s essentially the reverse situation there of what we have here in the US, where night-time is the preferred mosquito feeding time. Maybe I’ll research it later, or maybe someone out there knows the reason why and can explain it.
Honestly, I was expecting far more bugs, but overall it was not significantly different than Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Costa Rica, Outdoors, Travel | Tagged: Costa Rica, insects, La Danta Salvaje, mosquitos, Outdoors, preserve, rain forest, Tapir flies | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 27, 2008
I thought I would start my postings about my fabulous trip to Costa Rica by explaining the term that is so common there, “pura vida.” However, it has proved harder to explain than I expected. Some things just “are,” and trying to explain them is futile. To a certain extent, I think this is the case for Pura Vida.
The casual way I understood the phrase while I was in Costa Rica and encountering it on a daily basis was along the lines of, “No worries, things will work out.” I knew, of course, that the literal translation was “pure life,” but it was clear that the connotations of the expression were much wider and deeper than that. It was as if all the implications associated with living a “pure life” were bound up in the phrase in a metaphorical sense.
“Pura vida” also reminded me of the Hawaiian phrase, “hang loose,” which is also widely used in many informal circumstances. One can end a phone call with “pura vida” almost as an expression of good wishes. One can greet a friend or even new acquaintance with “pura vida” as a friendly expression of well-being.
Of course, after only nine days in the country, I hardly qualify as an expert. So I tried to research the phrase a bit, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Costa Rica, Travel | Tagged: Costa Rica, pura vida, Travel | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 26, 2008
I opened my window blinds this morning to look out on the Brandywine Valley and had to laugh. There, on the roof of my local watering hole across the street, and all around on the ground, was snow!
I got home last night after dark from Costa Rica, and I can assure you there was no snow there. Temperatures were in the 80′s and maybe in the high 60′s at night.
It was such an amazing trip, and I had so many adventures, that it will take a long time to tell all of the stories. But that’s okay, as I am in no rush. A little bit at a time is fine.
So, for this morning, it’s the snow and how it makes me realize how far away I have been not just in distance, but in state of mind. Costa Rica was a fabulous state of mind for me. Even though I am no longer there in person, I’m going to try to keep the state of mind as much as I can. More on that later.
Posted in Costa Rica, Travel | Tagged: Costa Rica, state of mind, Travel | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 25, 2008
According to my itinerary, I’ll be flying home from Costa Rica today, hopefully pleasantly exhausted from a great adventure. I’m writing this from home before leaving, setting it up to be posted on 2/25, and much as I am looking forward to the trip, I am also looking forward to returning.
It’s fun to go on the adventure, of course, but one of the reasons I seek new adventures is to savor them afterward. I can’t spend all of my time going on adventures, after all. I do have a job, and although I like it, I can’t say it’s really an adventure.
But the adventures I go on sustain me through the ordinary periods of my existence. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Costa Rica, Travel | Tagged: adventurers, Costa Rica, Get Out Philadelphia Adventurers Meetup, La Danta, nature preserve, rain forest, Travel | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 19, 2008
Have you heard about the Transportation Security Agency’s (TSA) new blog? It got lots of press, and lots of ridicule. Many claim it is just a public relations (PR) stunt for an agency that’s as lowly-admired as the IRS. Some held out hope that the TSA would actually listen to the comments people posted on the blog. But the hopeful ones are in the minority, from what I could see.
Well, it appears the TSA already deserves some props. Here’s an excerpt from, “TSA changes practice based on passenger blog comments“: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Blogs, Travel, Web 2.0 | Tagged: Blogs, TSA | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 16, 2008
When this post appears, I will be out of the country and I will have left my laptop behind. Yet, through the power of editing the timestamp on this posting, I have written it before leaving and allowed it to magically appear while I am away.
So, there will be fewer posts for a while, as I don’t know how many I’m going to have time to write in advance like this. But I’ll try to make at least one each day appear, and then when I get back from my vacation I’ll write about the adventures I’ve had.
So, I’m not here right now . . . but to quote Arnold, “I’ll be back!”
Posted in Blogs, Costa Rica, Travel | Tagged: Blogs, Travel | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 10, 2008
I fly to Costa Rica next Saturday with eight other adventurers from the Get Out Philadelphia Adventurers Meetup. Last night we gathered to discuss our plans, share ideas, and ask questions of our hosts, Dawn and David, proprietors of the La Danta Salvaje rain forest preserve we’re going to visit.
Dawn and David joined us on a Skype video call, which was amazingly cool when you stop to think about it. We could see them in their home in Costa Rica, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Costa Rica, Travel | Tagged: adventurers, Costa Rica, Get Out Philadelphia Adventurers Meetup, La Danta, nature preserve, rain forest, Travel | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on February 2, 2008
Wow, my long-planned trip to Costa Rica is just two weeks away. Time to get serious about my packing list, making sure I have all the essential gear I need, and deciding which of the exciting activities I have to choose from I most want to do.
Here’s the heart of the trip’s itinerary: La Danta Salvage Private Rain Forest Preserve.
A very old friend (she’s not old, but our friendship is — pretty cool when your ex-sister-in-law is still your good friend) and her husband own and run it, and I’m bringing a group of 10 adventurers from the Get Out Philadelphia Adventurers Meetup along for my first foray into Central America.
I look forward to sharing tales of our adventure, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Blogs, Travel | Tagged: Costa Rica, La Danta, rain forest, Travel | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 29, 2008
OK, this one was just too funny to pass up! Reuters’ headline sums it up: “Fly naked on nudist holiday flight“
German nudists will be able to start their holidays early by stripping off on the plane if they take up a new offer from an eastern German travel firm.
Well, in every market there are specialty niches: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Interest, Humor, Marketing, Travel | Tagged: Humor, Travel | Leave a Comment »
