The Intelligencer, Sunday, February 19,1995 f.]>l (T)(2A^, ^ Experiencing lifein Costa Rica i Belleville student explores Central American country for two months By Jennifer Bell The Intelligencer Adam Gray was as prepared as he could be for a two-month journey through the mountains and jungles of Costa Rica. But he still received a major culture shock the moment he stepped off the plane in the central American country. "I'd never been outside Canada and the U.S.," said the young Belleville man of his recent solo adventure south. "And in spite of doing plenty of research, and tak- ing a Spanish course, I really wasn't ready for the trip." Gray, an Algonquin College theatre arts graduate, knew he was heading to uni- versity for more schooling. But he also knew he wanted to experience some of the world before settling into a career. "I figured if I didn't do it now, I probably never would. So when a friend of mine suggested going down to Costa Rica to explore the country, I started making plans." As it turned out, Gray s friend didn't make the trip. So the 22-year-old decided to go it alone. He returned home in early February, a little thinner, but otherwise in good health from a mostly-vegeterian diet and plenty of strenuous exercise. And although Gray's plan to work on a screenplay amid the inspiration of a for- eign country didn't quite pan out, he calls the trip "the experience of a lifetime." Despite a bad beginning -- his backpack was lost by the airline in San Jose, the capital city -- Gray quickly adapted to the relaxed, casual atmosphere of the mostly-Spanish population. "Life there is so different that you can't imagine unless you actually visit." Gray learned, through his research, that it was "relatively cheap" to travel through Costa Rica. And although he stayed at a couple of hotels, most nights he camped out in a tent or hammock, with fellow travellers he met along the way. "When I look back on it now, I really left a lot to chance," he said of his journey. "I had a fair idea where I was headed, but often I'd join up with some other fel- lows on the spur of the moment." The people he met, says Gray, were mostly young men, like himself, exploring the country on a shoestring budget. "They usually were very fluent in Spanish, so I was able to rely on them quite a bit. In fact, I didn't need to speak Spanish much at all." Gray's parents, Linda and Garry, were worried about their son's travels. "I did try to talk him out of it," said his mother, "but once we realized he was de termined to go, we thought it best to help him be prepared as possible." Weekly phone calls home were a necessity, said Gray. "I checked in every seven days, so hopefully that kept them from getting too nervous," he smiled. Gray, who travelled through the central and southern part of the country, sometimes hiked as much as 20 kilometres in a day. He also climbed both a dormant volcano -- with a lake in the centre -- and Costa Rica's highest peak, Mount Chirripo, at 3,810 metres (12,500 feet) during his travels. Chirripo, he said, went from a temperate of 90 degrees Farenheit at the foot to below zero at the peak. It was so cold, he said, that a propane-powered cookstove the youths he climbed with refused to work. Instead of eating cooked beans and rice, the group had to be content with dry granola. Beans and rice -- dietary staples of the country -- were what Gray and his friends lived on for most of his two months in Costa Rica. "It did get a bit monotonous, but it is very nutritious." There were a few nights spent in the jungle amid creatures such as iguanas, but Gray said he had no inclination to kill and roast the large lizard, as did other (jDNH ' D , lem bers in his party. "I'm not th at adventurous w hen it com es to food," he joked. H undreds of m onkeys and exotic birds, including the brightly-colored toucan, ^re a com m on sight as G ray m ade his w ay through lush jungle. H e travelled lightly, storing everything from a ten t to m osquito netting in a ackpack w eighing about 27 kg. A nd m ore often th an not, he slept w ith the surf pounding in his ears, or am id ae cacophony of a tropical paradise. "I never realized how noisy the outdoors can be. It s different, though, th an the ounds of a city. It's still peaceful." G ray plans to head to university th is fall to pursue a film career. B ut he'll look back at his eight-w eek journey "as probably one of the best form s f education I'll ever have."