Where Am I Going To Sleep?!

I’m sure you have all heard about the horrible earthquake and tsunamis in Japan.  My prayers are and will continue to be, of course, with everyone involved with that terrible disaster.  Well, due to that earthquake, Costa Rica was put on a tsunami alert and the program I am down here with forbade any of us from going to the Pacific Coast this past weekend just in case there was a tsunami.  Well, I was planning on going somewhere on the Pacific coast but the earthquake threw a wrench in my plans.  So, at around 1pm on Friday, Tom and I decided to go to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast because we could.  The last bus leaving for Puerto Viejo left at 4pm so we only had a little time to pack and get to the bus station to buy tickets.

Err…we arrived at the bus station at 3:50pm because we walked there.  We asked the ticket guy if there was any room but sadly there was not and there were no other buses going to Puerto Viejo that night.  Well, a little sold out bus wasn’t going to stop us.  Instead, we looked at all the other places we could go from that bus station and decided on Guapiles, a town halfway between San Jose and the Caribbean coast, again, because we could.

Bag o' Beans

And bananas...a meal fit for a king...or just me and Tom.

            When Tom and I arrived in Guapiles it was around 7pm.  We bought some bananas and some prepackaged bags of refried beans and sat and ate them while watching a local soccer match at a stadium.  After that, we walked around and checked out some local grocery stores for more food (by more food I mean more beans and bananas – a man’s meal), walked through a park, went to a karaoke bar, had a beer, witnessed a midget pastor preaching, went to a casino with a guard out front wielding a shotgun, went to a Burger King, and then finally found a hostel to sleep in for the night.  Again, this is just Tom and I roughin’ it like the pioneers of old used to.

A shot of some of Rockin' J's.

            The next morning we woke up at 4:50am to catch the bus to Limon, a large port city on the Caribbean coast.  From there, we took another bus to Puerto Viejo, finally.  Oh, in Limon we bought some more beans and bananas.  Once in PV, at around 11am, we checked into Rockin’ J’s which is by far one of the coolest places on earth, and then rented some bikes.  We rode about 15 miles to another town south of PV and rented snorkeling gear.  For the rest of the afternoon, Tom and I snorkeled around the only living coral reef in Costa Rica.  The amount and colors of fish we saw that day was unbelievable.  We also did some exploring around the forest by the beach too.  Limon is an awesome province because you have the beach and then right beside the beach you have the dense, untamed forest.  Here's a short video of Rockin' J's.

 

            That night, I made rice for dinner and then Tom and I and some other friends hit up the town for some nightlife.  We slept in hammocks that night for only $5.  At around 4am I heard howler monkeys just outside the shelter yelling their heads off.  We woke up around 7:30am because coconuts kept dropping on the tin roof we were sleeping under and making loud “bang” noises.  Tom and I then made some breakfast, hung out a bit talking to some Italian friends we made the day before, and then took the 11am bus back to San Jose.

More of Rockin' J's.

            On the bus ride back, I sat next to an older tica lady, probably around the age of 50 or so.  She asked if I could speak Spanish and I said that I could, but only a little.  She then proceeded to talk to me for 2 hours in Spanish on the bus ride back.  It was very difficult to understand her sometimes but she was very patient and kind.  We ended up becoming friends.  If anyone was wondering, he name is Hannah.  However, I could only take so much of her and told her I had to sleep because I had a headache, which was true.  I just didn’t tell her that she was the one who gave me the headache.

Where I slept at Rockin' J's with a bunch of other people.

                Overall, I loved the weekend!  Just getting up and going was what I needed to put me outside of my comfort zone.  Not knowing where you’re going to sleep that night or what the next day holds for you is a scary but an exhilarating and addictive feeling.  I recommend it.  Plus, even though I like the people from the group I usually travel with, not traveling in a large group was less stressful for me.  I felt freer.  Oh, and Tom is a hoot.  He and I had a great time together and a great weekend.  I met a lot of knew friends and people from all over the world.  I thoroughly enjoyed my unplanned, sporadic weekend around Costa Rica these past few days.  Here's another video of Rockin' J's for your enjoyment (just ignore all the alcohol at the end... We all know that's not my style).