Back in Teec

Traveling...especially flying leaves me pretty tired for a couple of days. I managed to follow my lesson plans, oversee a student writers' club, and get some cancelled events back on the school agenda. All in all, a day of productivity.

My flights back went decent until I got to Dallas. The whole Code Orange, take your shoes off again, find your luggage and try to make your connecting flight gave me heart burn. I had to take a later flight to Albuquerque.

I stayed in Albuquerque for the night. Ate a bad Gyro. Got up early. Drove off towards Gallop with grey clouds overhead. Somewhere around Mount Taylor, the road became a sheet of ice. It was as slick of a drive as I'd ever made. I counted two semis (one overturned and one jackknifed) off the highway along with a half dozen other vehicles. Somehow, I glided into Gallop and decided I'd stay for the night.

The Lariat Motel was possibly a negative two star accommodation. The toilet overflowed and, after a man came and snaked it out, smelt of sewage all night.

I managed to make the drive to Beclabito for a half day of work yesterday. I picked up my mail (lots of Christmas cards and a large package from my sister-in-law), was escorted to my apartment by the Teec dogs, and had a long conversation with a former (not old) girlfriend.

Since my return, I've reflected some on my travels to Costa Rica. Here's a summary of the good and the not-so-good.

Good- Friendly people, lots of green space, nature and clean air (big, big, BIG on my list!), the ocean, butterflies, coffee, chocolate, bananas, and cheap buses (and ferries)

Not-So-Good- Costs (food, lodging, and entertainment were more expensive than I'd imagined), travelers' stories of getting robbed (one had $1500 worth of cameras taken from the overhead space on a bus...another was robbed in the jungle at knife point), time of travel (get a bus to a ferry...just as the ferry leaves. I'd ended up waiting another two hours to catch the next boat), the Disney look of many tourist destinations (the hot springs I'd gone to)

The funny thing about Costa Rica and those who travel there is that, although there are some challenges, many return. Would I? Yes! It is a truly beautiful part of the World. I'd like to see more of Costa Rica's "Roads Less Travelled". I also am intrigued by the prehistoric stone balls (some weighing as much as 16 tons!).

Well, those are my impressions at the moment. They could change...but I don't think they will.