Costa Rica, pura vida

 This tree is bad-ass. Covered with moss, ferns, water droplets, it sits untouched in the middle of a rainforest hundreds of years old.

 Hummingbird feeding in the hummingbird sanctuary within the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

 Sloth in the wild. Words cannot express the excitement we felt at witnessing this for the first time. a) he was moving faster than you might expect b) i did scream, but that meant the bus braked to a stop  quickly.

Up closer, once the kind driver backed up the bus. Not going to tell you how long we just stared out the window at this.

 Gecko that made a home on my backpack right before the boat to Tortuguero. Later he was memorialized in my part on the mural for the Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center.

 Marmoset and her little tiny baby!!! The baby is about 3-4 inches in height, the mother is about half a foot tall. There were about 8 rescued marmosets at the rescue center and the parents of this baby took turns keeping it happy.

 I played with the marmoset by allowing it to grab on to the end of the paintbrush during breaks from working on the Center's mural.

                                            View from above, Alajuela, San Jose, Costa Rica

                                                 View from above, Mexico City at night

 The left side of the mural, all that has purple-blue background, was my contribution to the mural. Can't take credit for the owl and the tree but the gecko represents backpack gecko, and the toucan, Monteverde, my favorite town in Costa Rica. The Animal Rescue Center is a unique place that takes in animals that have been abused, illegally sold, and more. Some animals can later be released into the wild and some animals need to remain in the care of the Center, but many volunteers are accepted to come for lengths of time to help out with animal feeding, grounds care, and more at the Center.

 We were only there for one day but tried to contribute whatever artwork we could. To learn more you can visit http://www.costaricaanimalrescuecenter.org/   There are also other rescues that are species-specific, throughout the country. Though Costa Rica is remarkable for its preservation and environmentally-friendly practices, deforestation and illegal poaching still happen in certain areas and wildlife need the active protection and preservation practices of humans to continue.

Friends. I told them this was my favorite photo of the trip, and I meant it. Words cannot express the hilarity of forcing Sarah to go into the McDonalds in Costa Rica with us. The more embarrassed she was, the more we ate it up.

Costa Rica: An Active Adventure

About a week ago (ha), I returned from a trip to Costa Rica. One of the goals of the trip was to spend less time online and wrapped up in technology, and more time with space from that. So I didn't blog while I was there but hindsight is 20-20 and now I can show you all the wonderful things that were there.

400 year old Ceiba (?) tree, found in rainforest by base of Arenal volcano

 If you look closely into the water behind the foliage, that's the crater lake that is inside of a dormant volcano. You have to hike about four hours up to reach this lake, and then you can swim inside the crater!

 This is the crater lake from a close-up view. You have the inside of the volcano and the rainforest surrounding the lake on all sides, as the crater is set down inside of the volcano.

This is a hammock chair at one of the hostel/B&Bs we stayed at. You can swing in the mist, essentially, and help yourself to free bananas. They also grow and harvest their own coffee in the plantation out back.

Fungus tree.

                                                      Bean Plant? Unsure. But it looks cool.

                     Road we walked along for about 2-3 miles to reach the hike of the day. Beautiful mist                                                                     behind the horses grazing.

 After you spend the day hiking, walking, trekking, and all sweaty or rained-on, you treat yourself to the freshest fruit juice you've ever tasted.

One of my best friends, Debra, who was my travel buddy and super stoked to try all the local food. This was day 1.

Yep. Reflections.

It's been about a week since I returned (a little over) and even though a travel blog is supposed to be about the excitement of traveling, and sharing photos of your adventures, I think it's also important to pay attention to the time period following the trip. I got a lot out of spending my time abroad this summer. For one, I gained huge amounts of perspective and clarity, which I keep harping on, but it's true. I never would be able to see my life in Detroit the same way if I hadn't left and gone somewhere completely different for a prolonged period of time. For another, I feel a lot calmer, as if the stress of the past year dissipated slowly while I was away. Granted, there were times when it felt kind of weird to be away, but you just push through that and accept life as it is and accept the benefits of being where you are.

I'm back and work is getting off the ground already. Crazy, right? Didn't we just finish last year? How could it possibly start already? But it is. Haha.

It seems, though, that my world has opened up again. I forgot that there's a whole big great world out there, ready to explore! And it's not as hard as it may seem to do. Glad to be back in Detroit (I missed it while it was gone), but can't wait to get back out there again.  Till next time.

 Awwww! Overall the BEST part of this trip....has been the people I have met in Dublin, The Burren Highlands, and Berlin. This is one of my new buddies who invited me to Skate Night Berlin, and honestly, as much as a once in a lifetime experience it is to go dancing in Berlin until the sun comes out, its also just as fun sometimes staying at the hostel and trading stories with other travelers. Love it.

 This part of the DDR museum in particular was really powerful for me. It discussed how children were taught in schools to throw balls and later those balls were traded for grenades, and the image of the teddy bear in the middle of the tin soldiers (which were also used to literally teach them tactical training) was pretty striking.

 Outdoor hallway to the Museumsinsel

 Mummies downstairs. More pretending I was archaeologist "Bones"

 Its a start, Berlin! Love locks on the river.

 Kathe Kollwitz "Woman with Dead Child." Will stop with the more depressing subject matter after this, (and trust me, after today at the Topography of Terror and Wall Memorial, could add so much more) but this one was striking because it stands on its own, in its own building in the middle of Berlin.

 Mitte Holocaust Memorial 

Berlin is a really, really interesting place. It is far from what I expected. I didnt have any expectations from Dublin or London, basically chose them randomly and tried not to learn anything about them before going there because I wanted to be surprised. But after taking German courses in college, and in particular knowing about the arts and culture that comes out of Berlin, I definitely had specific expectations and those were not met. Not that Berlin is not great, it is. But the way I pictured it is not the way it actually is. For instance, it is very green, particularly in the West. You never forget your first impressions of major cities and as soon as I hopped off the plane, miscommunicated with my German taxi driver, and was driving mostly in silence with halting German and English coming from both of us, the sights were immediately trees, trees, trees mixed in with the buildings on the west side neighborhoods. From the pictures I have posted so far you cant really tell, but the area I stayed in for almost two weeks is just covered with trees, park areas, playgrounds for children, and outdoor cafes. You are basically walking in a tree canopy when you walk outside in this neighborhood. Also, unlike other big cities, everything is really spread out. Its not like there is just one central district and you wander through the downtown. Every train station, every part, is a totally different part.

My first impression of London was that I hated it. The first day sucked because I got stuck in traffic on the bus, got sort of lost, didnt find the right places, and found myself wandering with no idea of what to do. But not in the good wandering kind of way. When I picture my first impression I smell smog and pollution, see the crazy rush hour traffic, see the obnoxious tourists paying no mind on the walkways, and seeing kind of boring, semi-historical sites. But the second day that all changed. I delighted in the fact that my second hostel was right across the street from Shakespeares family cathedral, and nearby to the Thames River and many of the major historical spots. The streets were cleaner in the second area and everyone was in a hurry but mostly very polite. I loved the multiculturalism of it, how there were Sikhs and Africans and English, and Irish and Chinese all on the same block, and mostly speaking with British accents which lets face it are fun. I loved the major markets where the produce looked so fresh, and the clean lines and mix of historic and modern with the tourist attractions like the Palace, and the Tower, and the Eye. I loved the rich history and learning about Jack the Ripper, and popular sports like cricket and tennis, and the history of the government (if you are into politics and havent see the film "The Queen" yet, you definitely should). I loved how concerned with other people Londoners were, but yet private and non-busybody like at the same time. It was a good overall vibe. Oh, and the theatre and just a smidge of romanticism without being over the top or gushy. It was lovely.

Berlin is nothing like it. I dont mean to compare them but I do sort of have to in my reflections seeing as how I traveled and spent longer than the average time in both places. Berlin is not at all pretentious, very aware of its own history, and definitely filled with its own brand of culture--techno, house, nightlife that literally lasts until the wee hours of the morning, clubs, long rambling streets, stark buildings, parks. People are very laid back and in general pretty respectful and quiet. Thats what strikes me about Berlin, its quiet. You almost never hear people yell or even speak loudly.

Germany has been so relaxing. Berlin is such a chill town and I wouldn't have necessarily expected that, especially because a lot of people talk about the buzz of it. But I find it to be very laid back. Today a friend and I went to explore more of Kreuzberg, a neighborhood known for eclecticism, Turkish immigration, markets, artists, and more. It was nice and we found this awesome playground which is a pretty common occurence here in Berlin.

We also found a petting zoo.

Anywho, yesterday...I think it was yesterday? Went to all the museums I wanted to go to and explored some more.

 Just chilling by the river by the Berliner Dom. This entire area is filled with museums and is on the river and nearby I ate a wrap, contemplated the museum art, and rested.

 Side of the Berliner Dom with more exquisite details.

 One of (my) preferred paintings in the Alles Neue Art Galerie. Colors are nice and it looks very Germany.

 Mummies! The entire basement of this museum was awesome. I pretended I was "Bones" and deciphering the skulls and mummies and codes to learn more about their lifestyles. It was all darkly lit down there and had tons of ancient Egyptian materials.

 German flag flying high near Humboldt University. (Einstein!)

 "Flowers are so gay."  Note the 3D flower attached to the graffiti, this was besides the children's playground in Kreuzberg. 

 This is the coffee the most wonderful hostel owner in the world made me!!! 

Its been more than a couple days since I posted, but here I am again. Still in Germany. Today, took a day trip outside of Berlin to go to Brandenburg an der Havel, which is a small town on the river. I really needed to be away from the crowdedness and pollutedness of the city. It was well-worth the trip out there and it seemed more genuinely German, not that Berlin is not genuinely German but more like...small-town ish or something.

 Ive gotten really into making these weird picture collages. Also on all these train trips and bus rides it passes the time haha. This is all from today in Brandenburg.  Which apparently is "not where the typical tourist goes," according to several Germans.

 Sitting by the river, countryside Germany

 Haha I just like this! Downtown by the Sony Center.

 The (very typical tourist) Brandenburg Gate. Except with thousands of rollerbladers in the plaza in front.

 So remember I told you a friend and I did this Skate Night Berlin? This is an attempt at documenting it. Seriously, thousands of people rollerblading for miles and miles around the entirety of greater Berlin. With the roads closed off. Imagine it for a sec.

 More.