Katie's Wedding in Costa Rica

I got a chance to take a little vacation from Peru and head up to Costa Rica to visit my family and friends. I hadn't seen anyone in my family since Thanksgiving, so it was incredible to meet them in the middle of the rainforest in Costa Rica. 

My family had a long travel day starting at 3 a.m. to get to the Arenal volcano in central Costa Rica, but I only had a short flight and got picked up by my sister's friend Ann in a rental car and it just took us a few hours to drive there. Ann and I arrived about a half hour before the rest of my family, which gave us time to have a cold beer ready for Katie and Seth as a welcome gift to their wedding week!

The hotel we were staying at was called the Linda Vista, which translates to Beautiful View. It definitely was an incredible view - breathtaking views of the manmade lake, looking out at the volcano on the other side, and everything around us completely green. It was definitely one of the best views from any hotel that I've ever stayed in.

View from the Hotel Linda Vista (Beautiful View Hotel)

After spending time catching up with the family, a group of about twenty of us went to spend some time in the rainforest. In the morning, we got up and hiked towards the volcano. During certain times of the year, you can see the lava running through cracks below your feet. Unfortunately (read: thankfully) this was not the case for us, as the lava has not been visible since October.

On the way back down from that hike, it started to rain on us (after all, it is the rain forest...) and our path become covered in mud. At one point as we were walking, my cousin Molly's shoe got stuck in the mud and she was left balancing there on one foot until someone came back to help her! We made sure to take plenty of pictures before actually giving her shoe back.

We then spent the night relaxing at some natural hot springs. There were 28 different pools, all at different temperatures, and even three hot water slides! The slides were the most incredible part - they would NEVER have been legal in the United States. The first one that I went down, I asked the lifeguard which one his favorite was. He told me the fastest one, but you can't lie down in it. To me, this was more like a challenge and I immediately lied down when I started. Bad idea - I ended up going so fast that when a turn came, I got thrown into the side of the tube so hard that I wasn't actually sure that I was 100% conscious when I came out the bottom.

I still gave the other water slides a chance. The next one I went down, the lifeguard told me that you have to lay down on it, so I did. Bad idea - I ended up getting flipped upside down (still going down feet first, but on my stomach) and ending up hitting my face a couple times pretty hard on the tube. The third slide was just straight down with two dips. During the second dip, I ended up getting air and landing with a THUD on the slide. After that, I was done with those and just needed to relax while sitting in one of the hot tubs and having a Cuba Libre.

We also got a chance to do some zip lining in the jungle. We went on a total of eight lines that would get us up to speeds of around 50 miles/hour! It was definitely a thrill and we had great views of the rain forest, volcano, and lake the entire time! Somehow my sister Anne always managed to go the fastest though... She has some first person videos that she took that are pretty incredible - I'll see if I can upload one of them in the future!

Molly's shoe coming off while hiking through the mud!

My and my uncle Larry's date on Valentine's Day at the hot springs!

Me zip lining in the rain forest!

After taking a shuttle for a few hours, we arrived to the city of Tamarindo - the city that Katie and Seth were to get married in. Hoping to use a little of my Spanish in Costa Rica as well, I was disappointed to find out the the nickname of the city is TamaGRINGO and everyone there spoke English just about as well as us!

The first morning there, some of us woke up early to go deep sea fishing. My uncle Larry, along with his wife, kids, and sister-in-law took up one boat, and my dad, his friend John Holtan, my cousin Sara, her friend Tricia, and I were on another boat. My uncle's boat ended up catching a variety of fish, but our boat caught 10 total fish, and we all got to reel in two. All of our fish were amberjacks, which look and taste similar to yellow fin tuna. With our catch (about 60 filets), we were able to feed dinner to everyone that was staying at the hotel with the wedding party that night.

Tricia and my dad deep sea fishing

One of my fish

Fishing for amberjacks... Our boat caught ten!

The next day, a group of us all went four wheeling up to the top of a peak where we got to go into this castle-like house that was never finished and have magnificent views of the ocean and mountains. From the peak, we could see all the way to Nicaragua, as well as a very long distance along the coast. We also got to drive to two different beaches. One of the beaches we stopped to go swimming, the other we got to ride the four wheelers over the sand and have a bit of fun with that. I missed out on one of the snowiest winters in Minnesota history, and also missed out on the snowmobiling that goes along with that, so I was happy to at least get out and ride around a little bit!

The 4-Wheeling crew

My roommate Beto and I overlooking the coast

My cousin Tom and I with a great view

On Wednesday night, the girls all had a bachelorette party for my sister, and us guys all got to enjoy a relaxing night having a beer and enjoying the sunset. After a while, some of us went out to meet up at the bar after their party was over and we all danced around to a bit of salsa. I got to show off my moves that I have not learned from living in Peru and dance with my sister, some friends, and my date for the wedding, Rachel, who had just arrived.

Katie and I dancing to some salsa

The next day, 70 of us all got onto a catamaran to enjoy the ocean, go swimming/snorkeling, and watch the sunset from a sailboat. It was an incredible day that we all got to spend together and I also got a chance to break out my zunga (kind of like a Speedo, but with longer sides) for everybody. I'll save you all the misery of posting pictures on it here, but if you look at my Facebook page or look at my entire Costa Rica album, I'm sure it won't be too hard to find a picture of me in it!

Rachel and I on the catamaran

The next night, we had an incredible groom's dinner that also doubled as Seth's birthday dinner. Seth's family had rented out the entire restaurant just for us and we had a TON of food that was all delicious, and afterwards, the restaurant surprised us and had a band set up to play for us to dance to.

Rachel and I dancing during the groom's dinner

My ex-roommate Miranda and I. Miranda and I lived together during my first month in Peru.

Even though I'm all sweaty, I love this picture of Rachel and me dancing

My parents having a good time on the dance floor

Finally the day arrived that we had all been waiting for - the wedding day! We spent most of the afternoon getting ready for everything, then spent some time taking pictures with the photographer (I'll try to post a link when I get it. For now, I just have the pictures that I took during the ceremony). My sister Anne was the maid of honor, Seth's brother Keith was the best man, I was an usher along with my cousins David and Tom, and my uncle Larry proceded over the ceremony.

It took place in the garden at the hotel, overlooking the beach. It was an incredible setup that they had, and the reception started right where the wedding took place, then moved across the street to the main pool area where they had the dinner tables and dance floor set up. The whole ceremony was an incredible experience, and with 90 people showing up, it was probably one of the largest destination weddings ever!

My sister Anne (Maid of Honor), Seth (Groom), my sister Katie (Bride), and Seth's brother  Keith (Best Man)

My sisters (after Anne gets married in July, I'll be the only sibling that's still a Pastorius!)

The bride

Walking my mom down the aisle

The wedding party including ushers, parents, flower girls, ring bearer, best man, maid of honor, and the bride and groom

My dad walking my sister down the aisle

At the altar

Eight white lilies - One for each of the grandparents that were at the wedding in spirit

Rachel and me at sunset during the ceremony

Awesome sunset picture overlooking the Pacific Ocean during the reception

Katie and Seth entering the reception

First dance with the parents

After the dancing was over, we all decided to take a jump into the pool! Those who decided that they didn't want to go in, I helped encourage them by picking them up and bringing them with me into the water. It was a great way to cool off after a warm night full of dancing. Just a warning for anyone looking to do this in the future - don't dive in! You might hit your face on the bottom of the pool and have to have Dr. John superglue you back together! (Miranda's plastic surgeon back in Boston said that she will not need surgery thanks to the great work that my dad did though!)

My mom and Katie jumping into the pool at the end of the reception

Family picture in the pool

Dr. John after he fixed up Miranda's face!

The next few days, we finally got to relax and enjoy the vacation. We had nothing to do and nowhere to be. We just got a chance to spend time together at the beach surfing or playing soccer, at the pool, and just got time to spend together. I will see my sister Anne and cousin Tom in about one month when they come visit me, but I won't see the rest of my family until the end of May when I move back to Minnesota.

Eric and I catching the same wave surfing

View from the condo in Tamarindo

Puerto Maldonado with Chris, Kelly, and Kristen

Hello everyone! Long time with no update! I have been doing a bit of traveling lately and lost track of time and haven't had a chance to even get any updates out. There will be two or three updates coming (including this one) in the next few days. This update will be about my trip to Puerto Maldonado (part of the Amazon Rain Forest in southern Peru), my next update will be about my trip to Costa Rica for my sister Katie's wedding, and a third possible update will be from my trip that I will be taking this weekend to Paracas, a city along the coast a few hours south of Lima. My roommate Beto also has been saying that he'd like to write an update to the blog, but in Spanish. If that happens, there will be another two updates: his and my (most likely horrible translation) of it!

A few months ago, my friend Kelly contacted me and said that her and her boyfriend were planning on traveling around South America after graduating in December and were wondering if I had any advice on where to go. I told them that I can definitely become their travel guide and keep them busy the entire time that they are here! They only got a chance to travel around Peru, as flights to Chile were quite expensive, but I don't think that they missed out on anything.

When they first arrived, I found them a hostel that is only about a five minute walk from my house and two blocks from Parque Kennedy (a place with a ton of food, bars, etc). We spent the next few days catching up and I showed them around Lima. We went to the Plaza de Armas, which is downtown and right where the cathedral and government palace are. We got to see the changing of the guards ceremony, and even got to take a picture with some of the police's riot gear on!

Chris and I with the riot shields

I then sent them on a four day trip a few hours south of Lima to Ica, Huacachina (my blog update from my trip there), and Paracas. There, they got a chance to go sandboarding, tour some wineries, visit an island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds and seals, and get nice and sunburned!

At this point in the blog, my cousin Tom, sister Annie and her friends Katie and Kristina who are visiting me and going to the jungle with me in April, should stop reading. You are going to see bugs, spiders, snakes, and hear stories about it. If you want to stay naïve and not think about those things until we go together in a few weeks, now would be the time to stop!

After Kelly and Chris returned from their trip down south, we headed to the rain forest to do a three day/two night expedition along with another friend of mine Kristen. We flew in the morning to Puerto Maldonado, where we were picked up at the airport and brought about an hour away to the port on the Tambopata River (which flows northeast until it meets up with the Amazon in Brazil). We took a boat ride for about an hour upstream until we arrived to what turned out to be pretty much a 5-star resort in the middle of the jungle (except for the tarantulas on the beds!)

On the way, we saw some turtles and birds along the river, including two beautiful macaws eating the clay right on the river bank. I guess they eat clay to detoxify their stomachs from chemicals that are in the nuts that they eat? To me, it would make more sense to just change your diet, rather than eating dirt, but I guess this is what works for them! We were also served some fried rice wrapped in a leaf when we got on the boat, and instantly we just felt like we were definitely in the jungle. We could throw our plates into the river!

Two macaws eating clay to detoxify their stomachs

After we got settled into our rooms, we took a hike to a tower that was 37 meters (120 feet) above the ground. The tower (made out of scaffolding, the same thing that we used to have to climb up on top of to film our high school football practices. The same thing that would routinely fall over with a slight gust of wind. Except that was about 12 feet high. This was 120.) reached above the canopy line and we had 360 degree views of pure green. There were areas that you could see isolated showers, and you could see that it was absolutely pouring in those areas. You could also see sun shining onto other areas. We saw more birds, some monkeys, and a great view of the river that we arrived on.

Kelly, Chris, me, and Kristen on top of the 37 meter tower!

In high school football, we had to film from the top of one of these. It was only about 12 feet tall. This one was 120!

Along the trails that we would walk on, we also came across many colonies of ants. Having only ever seen the small ants on my driveway before, this was incredible to me. They work together as some sort of a super organism, and in this picture, you can see the highway that they have created, complete with barriers, workers, regulators, and more. It was amazing to see in real life, rather than just on the Discovery Channel.

A highway of ants across the path

The next morning, we woke up early to take a half hour boat ride, then an half hour hike, to get onto another boat that is located on a lake. In this lake, we saw cayman (a cousin of the crocodile), birds that were originally thought to be prehistoric (they look like dinosaurs while they are young), and we went fishing for piranhas! To fish for the piranhas, we used pieces of raw steak. The steak would be devoured instantly, and if we were lucky they'd also eat the hook. The guide kept telling us that they are vegetarians and we have nothing to worry about, and that the only reason they eat the steak is that the blood gets them going. I don't believe that. This thing is designed to eat meat. Look at the teeth!

A piranha! We caught them using pieces of steak as bait...

On the way back from the boat ride, we came across an interesting tree that didn't have bark. Instead, it was covered with red fire ants. Instead of the bark protecting the tree, the ants have a symbiotic relationship with it and they protect it. In return, the ants get the nutrients from the tree. The guide offered to grab an ant for us to have it bite us to see what it was like. All of the guys in the group volunteered (some macho thing or something), and it BURNED for about fifteen minutes or more! In old times, people that lived in the jungle would punish women that lied by tying them to this tree for fifteen minutes. That sounds a lot worse than water boarding or whatever it is our government is up to these days!

A fire ant biting my wrist

We then visited a farm where a shaman lives with his brother and nephew. They shaman works in cooperation with the hospital back in the city to provide healthcare to all of the people still living out in the jungle. Many times, treatment in hospitals is too far away or too expensive for these people, so they turn to the shaman for natural remedies. He showed us medicines to treat cancer (now patented by Bayer), erectile dysfunction, parasites, and many more. It is interesting to see natural medicine actually being used, especially by someone who has spent his entire life learning the ins and outs of nearly every plant in the nearby jungle.

The shaman's nephew's t-shirt said "Someone who loves me got me this t-shirt in Minnesota"!

After we left the farm, we got a great view of the sun setting over the river. As my dad says - You can never see enough sunsets in your life!

Sunset over the river in the Amazon Rain Forest

After the sun went down, we went on a night hike. After checking that we didn't have spiders in our boots (one guy in our group had a big one on top of his), we set off on our night hike. We saw some giant ants, a monkey frog, and a giant tarantula. Unfortunately, we didn't see any snakes like my parents did on their night hike a year ago! When we came across a tarantula the size of a baseball mitt, our guide tells us all to be quiet and turn off our lights so we don't scare it. This tactic didn't make a lot of sense to me, because now we were 8 people standing in the middle of the jungle in the pitch black with a giant tarantula somewhere near us. Brilliant.

Giant ants (the guide said there is no way that we would want these ones to bite us)

A tarantula the size of a baseball mitt

The guide poking a giant tarantula during a night hike. Genius.

Keeping my eyes out for the tarantula that our guide was just poking...

Cool looking monkey frog

After surviving the night hike, the rest of the group was brought back to Puerto Maldonado to fly back. The four of us had decided to stay an extra day. They dropped us off at the shaman's farm and we stayed there for the day. We were given a personal tour (read: marched around like soldiers) by a 6 year old for most of the day, but we also got a chance to speak with the shaman about what he does and how he does it. With Kristen and I both applying to medical schools this summer, it was a great experience to learn from someone who has spent his whole life devoted to this type of medicine. I think that more people that are interested in medicine should spend some time talking to people like him and get more perspectives than just what they have seen in school.

Me, Kristen, Kelly, and Chris in our "in-patient housing" at the shaman's farm

The most exciting part of the day was when we asked the shaman what he was going to do for the rest of the day, his response was, "get the boa constrictor out of my roof". We thought he was kidding, until we looked up and saw what he was talking about.

Boa constrictor in the roof

After getting it down by continuously poking it with a 30 foot pole, it was slithering around his kitchen for a while until he shooed it out with a rake. I had a video of it all, but it didn't upload to the computer correctly. I guess I'll just have to hope I can see something like it again when I return with my cousin, sister, and her friends!

A boa constrictor in the shaman's kitchen

I don't think I'll get the Costa Rica update out today, but be expecting another update from me early next week!