Retraction, The USS "My Buddy" and Costa Rica Trip '08, Part VIII (Finale)

Concerning my entry entitled "BFF," which was about creatures being chummy with their Creator, I have been shown and have read the flood of scriptural argument. I realize now that Jesus does in fact call us "friend," but I stand by the sentiment. Semantically, it's definitely not the same as what we have here on Earth. Still, my apologies for the wrongful use of words.

What kind of ship never sinks? Friendship! I am delighted more and more to be a part of people's lives here in Texas. I hate what I'm about say because the words are trite, but I'll do everything I can to clarify. I have met amazing people here. By that, I mean that they literally amaze me, that I am awestruck by the sorts of people they are. Fine and knowledgeable Christians, morally upright and intelligent, and we have a lot in common to boot. I've found a thriving swing dancing scene and met more great folks there. I have nervously eased back out onto the dating stage - even if it is a virtual one - and have learned a lot about myself and the sorts of people at large as a result. Experience finds its value in learning - I've been mulling this over thanks to the intellectual challenge presented by one of the aforementioned great people. And what I mean by that statement is that the things that happen to us - no matter how trivial or monumental - are only of value to us if we learn from them. And I'm not talking about life lessons, or pivotal moments, or anything like as dramatic. It can be something as simple someone paying you the tiniest of courtesies, and being reminded that there are decent people out there. But if the events of your life go unnoticed, if you have no reason to mark their passing and your daily external stimuli fail to alter your brain with even the most minute of wrinkles... then they may as well have not occurred at all - at least, as far as you're concerned. Sorry - bunni trail. :P

15 April
--Backtracking Again... Again--
13 April (cont.): The cloud forest was just a little disappointing, since there [were] precisely zero clouds. But what the forest lacked in clouds, it more than made up for in vistas. We got an incredible view of Arenal from an observation tower on the first trail we hiked. We even heard / felt a burp from the volcano. Great Success! The forest itself was very different from Corcovado. All the trees were covered in a sort of nebulous-looking moss. It was significantly quieter, too, allowing us to hear some really cool bird calls and, in many cases, to find their sources. Totally different scene. Also, randomly, some guy told us "Bye!" as he exited the park with his family. Much merriment resulted on our part, though it was neat to see someone being so friendly. That was pretty much the extent of our excitement for the day, and most of the evening was spent in a restaurant called The Tree House. The gimmick here was that an enormous tree grew right through the center of the place, which was pretty neat. We treated ourselves to a nice dinner and some excellent Spanish guitar. The guy even played Classical Gas. After that, it was back to the playpen for bedtime.
14 April: Finised The Problem of Pain, and it's definitely gonna require a few more reads. I really wish I had gotten into Lewis's philosophical works earlier than I did. I think I even bought Mere Christianity on nothing but a whim. Anywho, we started to La Fortuna via taxi-boat-taxi. Not a bad little ride - very scenic views of the Costa Rican countryside, and of course, the volcano looming ever closer. It amazes, the way it distinguishes itself form the rest of the landscape. There's just no doubt in the mind that you're looking at an active volcano. The charred and ashen slopes are a bit of a giveaway, too, but I'm really just talking about its geometry. Also, I didn't realize it, but the lava flows don't actually flow, per se. The lava builds up and cools in the crater, then bounces down the slope, exploding and burning as it goes. We got to see this on the touristy tour we took upon arriving in La Fortuna. I can only pray that it will be among the memories I keep forever. After watching the lava, we got to spend two hours in real, bona-fide hot springs. Oh, I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed. One of the pools was somewhat spoiled by a young couple apparently unable to restrain themselves - even in plain sight of a dozen other people - so Jesse and I had a lot of fun at their expense. Take that, lewd acts! We wrapped the evening up with a nice meal and an air-conditioned sleep. Muy bueno.
15 April / Today: Actually, not a lot going on. Lazy morning, internet time, taxi-boat-taxi back to Santa Elena. We're enjoying the ambiance of this other, better hostel. It's full of hippies but it's very mellow. I can dig it. Jersee is hell-bent on me fetching some food for him. Ha! (2007, 15 April)

So ends my travel journal for Costa Rica. It is incomplete, I know, but all you're really missing is the trek back to San Jose and the flight out. It was a life-changing trip for me and I learned more things about more things than I would ever have thought possible.

"The total pattern, of which [the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ] are only the turning point, is the real Death and Rebirth: for certainly no seed ever fell from so fair a tree into so dark and cold a soil as would furnish more than a faint analogy to this huge descent and reascension in which God dredged the salt and oozy bottom of Creation."
--C.S. Lewis, Miracles

Costa Rica Trip '08 Part VII

11 April
--Slacker--
Yep, I slacked it up good. I missed three days of writing! I'll go ahead and get today out of the way: not much goin' on. The bus ride back to San Jose was long, but (somewhat) restful. We got a meat lover's pizza (delicious) and watched subbed American TV. It was nice not to feel so far from home.
Yesterday wasn't too much different. Up with the sun (instead of before it) and an hour of beach walking to Carate, a two-hour ride in the back of a taxi truck - leg cramps galore - and a day in dirty Puerto Jimenez. Again, not eventful. The hike from Sirena to La Leona was... interesting. Most of it was on the beach, which turned out to be murder on backpackers. I did see some amazing scenes, though, and we got to beach-bum a little along the way. Nothing quite like lying on the beach, under the palms, sun peeking through the clouds... Not too hot, not chilly, maccaws squawking overhead, hermit crabs scuttling purposefully on the sand...
In other words: Paradise. (2030, 11 April)

14 April
--Backtracking Again--
12 April: Unnecessarily long bus ride from San Jose to Santa Elena. I spent most of the ride asleep or gaming; from what I saw of the landscape, I didn't miss much, although Jesse says there were some pretty parts. Our arrival in Gatlinburg... er, Santa Elena was immediately fraught with peril. Little did I know that the hostel we had reserved required payment in cash. Cash! We had all but spent what we had gotten in Puerto Jimenez. And so began our epic journey through the town to find a working dinero machina - "working" meaning "would take MasterCard." We did eventually find one [...] Long story short, we got enough money to pay for our stay. This hostel isn't very nice, though, and I suppose we should've heeded the wallpapering of signs that said, "We don't have many rules, but here are a few..." Jesse was immediately at war with this guy when he was told not to put his pack on the bed. Internet gets shut off at 10pm, which is also lights out / bedtime. As Jim would say: totally lame-o. That's why...
13 April: We used his internet to find other hostels for our trip back through! Nothing was said, but he very clearly saw the giant headings of his competition in town. Score. But before any of this happened, we went hiking in the Santa Elena cloud forest. More on that later - time for taxi-boat-taxi! (0745, 14 April)