Living like a Circus Performer....Zip-lining in Costa Rica

The circus as a kid was something that was just magical. The combination of wild animals, lights, and the fantastic acrobats..who didn't want to be one of those trapeze artists?

It is apparent that the world is becoming more aware of the adventure component of travel whether one goes snorkeling, SCUBA diving, or takes to the mountains for hiking or camping. I must say that many of my travels have been adventures. If you are a true follower, you should already know of the camels, mosquitoes, brothels, scaling coliseum walls, and the like, but I can't say that I have had much experience in being a circus performer or that is until last May in San Jose, Costa Rica (By the way, if you would like to read the archives for those stories, you will get to know Ms. Traveling Pants even better.)

While in San Jose, I had the opportunity to go zip-lining. For those of you unfamiliar with it, a metal cable is strung between two trees (see above picture). The participants are harnessed in by their legs, groin, and waist while wearing protective gloves and helmet. Once prepared, you climb up various ladders to a platform in a tree where you are clamped onto the line and let loose to quickly zip from one tree to the other, trying to steer your way to the next landing platform.

Everything sounds fun and exciting that is until you are about to get into the harness and live this adventure tourism trek yourself. So first, I don't know about you, but when I watch circus performers today, harnesses are not part of the attire. They probably do not necessarily need them anymore because they are so skilled, but also because the attire for safety is NOT flattering. Imagine having tight belts at all the WRONG places. For my female readers, what woman wants more attention to the hips, butt, and belly? So, yes, it is rather unflattering for woman, but men also have it rough for both appearances and well let's just say the ride as well. There is no "hiding your equipment" when going zip-lining. The harnesses are set up just so that yes the size of the thighs and butt are accentuated for women , but for men the harness is the "Great Divide." (I will not post a picture I will let you put two and two together.)

To start any zip-lining experience you must climb. Typically, through a series of cable ladders you will arrive to your first take-off platform. When I arrived at my first platform, I was shaking; however, I have to admit some of the best moments of many of my travels have been frightening and the stories worth telling.

The first zip was scary, rather uncontrolled, and off target, but, by the second, the adrenaline kicked it. For zip #2, we needed to climb even higher to get momentum, but it was becoming more and more worth it. For the next and most difficult zip, we needed to cross a very unstable rope bridge and then climb even higher to zip across a large lake. Just to give you an accurate picture, the park was the size of Central Park in New York with a 100 meter plus zip crossing the lake from one tree to the other. Yes, it was a challenge and as an added prank, the excursion had placed a large mat, which was tied to the massive tree trunk awaiting us on the other side. If my memory serves me right, there was also a bull's eye outlined.

Needless to say, I loved the experience and was shaking for probably 30 minutes afterwards. The feeling of conquering a fear or doing something that stretches your limits is a great high. I want to go again. This time I want to do it amongst the true rain forest in a more remote area that they call the Cloud Forest. I will be going in May again this year. I promise I will take documentation that a harness and helmet are not my best look.

Ms. Traveling Pants' Top Ten Favorite Food Destinations

As a key component of all travels, food is the window to a different culture. I have decided to highlight my favorite food destinations along with some recommendations in a top ten list.

For those of you familiar with David Letterman and the Late Night Show, I give you.....Ms. Traveling Pants' Top Ten Favorite Food Destinations.

10. Montreal, a great blend of bilingual culture, jazz, and dining. I have had the pleasure of visiting this great city twice with my husband who is an executive chef. Believe us, if you are in the mood for a great aged steak, you must stop by Le Queue Cheval and if you have a second night to dine please go to Peel Street and visit Ferriera's Cafe.

9. Florida Keys...my number nine review is for an outstanding Islamorada restaurant called Pierre's. With its own private white sand beach and beautiful Gulf views for sunsets, this is a special place. It is high end cuisine, but you can always just visit the inviting bar and lounge on the beach patio lit by tiki torches after the sunset. For lunches, I would recommend its sister restaurant Morada Bay. With great chips and salsa, live music, and that same private beach, it is one of the best lunch joints in the Keys.

8. Also, in South Florida, you must go to Le Tub in Hollywood. Award winning for its extra large burgers, the place certainly has a unique decor with a wooden enclosed eating area with benches for parties of two to six people. Some of the tables are waterfront (you need to get there when they open to get these prime spots) while the others are shaded by tropical trellises. Be prepared to wait an hour for your burgers and the servers are "no-frills."

7. Whether in Casablanca, Marrakesh, or Tangiers, you must try the national dish of Morocco, tagine. Named after the actual cooking vessel, tagines are rather unusually shaped casserole pans with a cone shaped cover. It is with this heating and steaming method that the typical chicken and lamb combination is very moist and enhanced by the flavors of carrots, potatoes, onions, and many times dried fruits and nuts such as almonds and raisins.

6. When in New England, a stop in Beantown for "chowda" is necessary no matter what the season. Clam Chowder, a traditional thick soup with onions, potatoes, cream, and clams, is no better than at one of the most historic restaurants in all of Boston, the Union Oyster House. In fact, the Union Oyster House, near Quincy market and Faneuil Hall, was one of my husband's first jobs in the culinary field.


5. Madrid is near and dear to me so I must mention one of its specialties. Cocido Madrileno is a very filling stew usually served in two stages. The first consists of a broth, straight from a large pan where all the stew’s meat has been slowly simmering. The second course is usually presented in a tray placed in the middle of the table containing chickpeas, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and all the meat: beef, chicken, ham, chorizo and sometimes morcilla (blood sausage). Only true Madrileno style restaurants do cocido and typically only one day a week.

4. New Orleans is a great stop for culinary travels. If you haven't heard of it before, you must go to Cafe du Monde for a good coffee and the world renowned beignets, square fritters covered with powdered sugar. If you want an enjoyable Southern dinner on Bourbon Street, try the Red Fish Grill. Go for the Red fish....it is good enough to name the restaurant after.

3. Ixtapa, Mexico not only is a trendy, Mexican beach destination, but it has a great hamburger place called Ruben's. Now you don't think of burgers when you think Mexican food, but these charbroiled burgers are to die for. You can have them with the traditional ketchup and mustard, but I would recommend skipping both and going for the in-house pickled vegetable mixture to garnish.

2. Not to far from number 3, Zihauntanejo, Mexico.....This is where you would find Pollo Loco (crazy chicken) a small, local hangout that has the best hand made tortillas, grilled onions, peppers, and chicken a la brasa. Just order the 1/2 chicken, a Sol (a more authentic Mexican beer than Corona), and roll up your sleeves and dig in.

1. Nerja, Spain is one of the jewels of Costa del Sol and paella beachside is my number one pick. Paella is typically done by fire in a very shallow, metal pan (see picture above). It is a rice dish with fresh seafood, chicken, sometimes rabbit, saffron for color, veggies and is best accompanied by a nice pitcher of sangria. I would recommend Chiringuito Ayo, one of the most popular on Burriana beach.

Porto, Portugal and a street party to remember

Sometimes when traveling you stumble upon the strangest of events, not knowing that you are arriving to a town at its most important festival. By chance, this happened on a camping trip through Portugal. It was mid-June as we arrived to Porto (Oporto) a town on the Northern portion of Portugal on the Duero River which runs from the Atlantic to interior Spain. Known for Port wine, the town’s riverside is peppered with port sailing boats and historic Port makers.

Taking in the town and a few port tastings while there, we had no idea what we had in store on the evening of June 23^rd. Apparently, the Festa de Sao Joao or the Feast of St. John’s Eve is held every June 23^rd until the morning of the 24^th. It is the night that the entire population of Porto goes to the city center to honor John the Baptist.

Staying walking distance outside of the town, we left our camp to discover the “festa”. The cobblestoned streets were jammed with young and old. The smells of street vendors with grilled sardines and sweet fried dough were very inviting. Everyone a little on the tipsy side combined with the energy of the masses and music, made this street party awesome. However, I failed to mention the unusual tradition that is associated with this festival…..to hit each other over the head with a plastic hammer that squeaks. Click here to see a video of Sao Joao...

At first this tradition was fun, we bought our hammers from one of the many hammer sellers and began to feel a part of Portuguese culture with others hitting us on the head and us in return. After hours of the squeaking and of course just the physical beating upon our heads, the tradition wore thin. We were ready to walk back to the campsite tired, beaten (literally), and well now experienced in the Festa de Sao Joao.

Do you have any experiences with festival traditions like this? Please share.

Arranged marriage at three and a half!!

I hope the title was enough to grab your attention. Although common in past times and still very prominent in many cultures, you wouldn’t expect a 30-something American woman to write of a true life experience of an arranged marriage.

In the early 80’s, there were various programs to help the refugees of Laos that were being held in camps. The Laotian refugees were able through government assisted programs to immigrate to the United States if sponsored by an American individual or family. Socially conscious and with the desire to help, both my parents decided to sponsor a Hmong family to live in our family’s farmhouse.

The family arrived, Chang and his wife Bua, Chang’s mother and father, Lee and Chu-Lu, and Pao, Chang’s brother. As the only English speaker, Chang was our gateway to communication and thus the point of most of reference in this post. As in most situations were communication is difficult, most of the interaction revolves around actions and in particular eating or cooking. Very proud of their cuisine, it was not nearly a day before the Hmong wanted to go to the grocery store, where pointing was the indication that we needed to buy a certain ingredient.

Laotian cuisine is filled with hot peppers and as a memorable moment around the table, my father stills tells the story that in order to show his “manhood” Chu-Lu took a whole pepper in one bite; whereas, my father took the challenge but tiny bite by tiny bite, stopping only to wipe his forehead of the perspiration.

After a short six weeks of adjustment to the new settings, culture, climate, foods, and the like, the family decided to move into town. We assisted finding a rental apartment and the furnishings. For them, it was very spacious; I believe only a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom second story apartment in central Galesville, population around 1200 people.

To thank our family for our generosity and assistance in their journey, Chu-Lu offered to my parents, “mother and father sky” a very interesting gift. As Chang translated, “It would be a great honor for our two families to be united. I would like to offer Pao to be Heidi’s husband.” Now, my father although honored thought, "What could a fourteen year old Laotian see in a three and a half year old Heidi?"

Thankfully, my father declined the offer. I have since been able to choose my own husband. However, Chang’s family was not content without making another gesture. Shortly there after, Pao married and had a daughter. She was named Heidi Hung.

The good, the bad, and the ugly Part 3

As the third and final installment in the good, the bad, and the ugly series, I wanted to mention a story from a trip to Costa Rica. I write this in route from a cold, February New York City business trip where I reminisced about this specific trip with a good friend and travel companion.

In my typical fashion, the trip was planned to be low cost, but high adventure. We made our way out of San Jose and to the volcanoes for hiking and then over to the other side of Costa Rica famous for surfing, Montezuma. Although that name implies to me something entirely Mexican AND a common unpleasant traveler’s experience (Montezuma’s revenge), Montezuma, Costa Rica in neither Mexican nor unpleasant. Montezuma is a beautiful beach area with a spectacular national park nearby.

Having found a small shared room with two beds within walking distance from the beach, we were as happy as could be...days at the beach, a brief walk to freshen up, and nights drinking beer with the locals at the beach side bar; however, that is except for one minor detail...mosquitoes.

From previous posts, you now know where this may be leading as I am a bug magnet. The area was tropical, humid and surrounded by rain forests filled with howler monkeys, sloths, and beautiful birds, making a great environment for mosquitoes.
Having mosquito netting on the beds for covering, screened in windows, and mosquito repellent, the mosquitoes still got us. The heat, humidity, and buzzing mosquitoes led to sleepless nights of cooling off with damp towels and swatting the mosquito invaders.

Not to my surprise, my body was the target of a siege. I awoke with over a hundred of bites all inflamed, projecting heat, and well itching like hell. Indeed, I was tolerant, but I certainly didn’t feel that great. Having that many bites would cause anyone to feel like they had a fever and I definitely did have one...could it have been malaria (??).....possibly, but as you know I survived to write about it.

So here are Ms. Traveling Pants’ the good, the bad, and the ugly tips about going to the tropics:
1) Be careful with citrus juices in the sun
2) Be curious about plants has it dangers
3) Be prepared with mosquito netting, repellent, and malaria kit