It’s been a few days since I’ve written any thing and that’s because there hasn’t been too much to write about. I took a flight from Panama. City to San Salvador (that’s Ecuador, I had to look it up) to San Jose, Costa Rica (final destination). Nothing eventful about those flights except I’m continually impressed by the amount of free food in South and Central America. We’re lucky if we get peanuts anymore on flights because there’s always someone with some kind of allergy and not giving food saves the airline money. We really are a capitalistic nation. Costa Rica makes country #31!!!
I only had a little over 24 hours in Costa Rica’s capital and I spent it sleeping and spending $60 on lunch at my ridiculously fancy and expensive hotel (I used points to snag that room). I have to admit, when I arrived in Costa Rica, I thought maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to come here alone…..This is still a developing country – there are places where cell phones don’t work and where trains cross the street without any of the typical fanfare/safety measures (flashing lights, signs, that white arm that comes down so you don’t plow into the train). Plus, the immigration officer was the meanest I’ve encountered on all 21 countries I’ve been to this year. Yes, I did have to brag about that little piece of data. But, there’s no turning back so I have to learn to embrace the pure vida lifestyle.
After my uneventful 24 hours in the Capital, a shuttle van picked me up to drive me to Cahuita. The ride is 4.5 hours and I rode with one other passenger (I’ll call her La Rubia) who sat up front with the driver. The driver liked La Rubia and spoke well enough English that he didn’t need my help translating. However, he would ask her things in Spanish and expect a response. He asked her “bailas?” To which she didn’t reply. Then I translated for her “he’s asking if you dance.” She was not happy with his small talk and I sat in the back, perfectly content with being ignored for La Rubia. Also, our driver was on his 10th hour of driving so I didn’t want to make him mad. I wanted to get to my destination in one piece.
And what a destination it is. Truly paradise. I couldn’t see much last night as we arrived after sunset but today was a different story. I decided to “hike”in the National Park. It’s a pretty flat trail that runs along the jungle and the beach. There were a few parts you have wade through water or walk over a downed tree bridge. But it was gorgeous there!
After about 2 hours of “hiking” but not really hiking, I went swimming in the Carribean for a bit and then I went to Soda Kawe for lunch. Sodas are like cafes in Costa Rica and today Soda Kawe was making their famous beans and rice in coconut milk. It wasn’t as flavorful as I thought it would be but I think that’s because it’s made in a big batch on Sundays. My hostel checkin guy said the whole town gathers at this Soda for this meal on Sunday. And it’s only available on Sundays so i may never know what this dish really tastes like. And also, I may love Costa Rica for the simple fact that they believe in TORTILLAS!! I’m one step closer to my bean, rice and cheese burrito! And in case you’re wondering, why yes, that is a piece of fried cheese with a corn tortilla and then I slathered it in hot sauce. I’m still sort of Mexican after all.
Here’s a picture of Main Street. That’s literally all it is!
It’s really humid and hot here. I showered after swimming in the Caribbean for a bit but I’m already sweaty and need to shower AGAIN before I put on pajamas. And the bugs are relentless. I’ve put on 2 types of bug spray and sunscreen…so far no bites but i hate the smell of that stuff. It’s like toxins seeping into my pores. Yuck. But most importantly, Costa Rica is cheap! I paid a little over $1.50 for draft beer (yes, it was the cheap mass produced stuff) but even a corona was only $2. I see now why many Americans move down here.
There She Goes... 