The Journey is the thing....

I didn't blog yesterday as I figured a story of how I got on a plane to LAX and then got on a plane to San José... the right one this time!... wouldn't be that interesting and it may be that I will fall asleep writing this and have to finish tomorrow 😜(yup I did) 

The kind lady who checked in my baggage for free, also seemingly upgraded me to Premium on the leg to Costa Rica which was nice as I had a little extra legroom. Despite that, I was unable to sleep on either plane and arrived at the airport 'done in'.

I was greeted by the usual throng of people trying to direct me to their particular taxi and was. intending. to get an uber when one. taxi driver informed me that uber didn't come this far out, they stayed in the city. Now I know he was probably lying but I decided to suspend my disbelief and followed him to his official red taxi.

The journey from the airport didn't take too long but I stared out of the window as we sped along like the Polizia were chasing us.

I read all the signs as we went past, re familiarising myself with different Spanish words, coming back to me from my time in Ecuador.

Hotel Sura was basic but had everything I needed. Shower... bed

When I woke up the following morning I had a mission. Get to the bus station and buy a ticket to Puerto Jiminez. I knew the bus was leaving at 1200 but couldnt buy a ticket for some reason online. I knew that timetables chamge and buses. get booked. up so my plan was to get there really early, get my ticket and then potter around until 1200.

I walked to the bus station, a resplendent orange, red and yellow building. By resplendant, I mean in contrast to some of the others around it. I found the ticket office but was too early... the one I wanted, blanco lobo, opened at 8. So I sat and waited, watching as scores of people, mainly locals, queued up for the mepe bus to puerto veijo.

It was a popular one for sure. There were a few obvious backpackers like me.. sticking out from the crowd like a very sore thumb.. but not many. Mostly it seemed. like people. who had come to the Capital for a few days and were heading home with supplies.

When. the ticket office opened, I managed to ask for my bus ticket entirely in Spanish (someone please tell Theresa!)

I then looked around at everyone waiting.. I couldn't just sit there... so I went for a wander around San José. 

It was bustling but not unpleasant, unsurprisingly very similar to parts of Ecuador. There was a mix of shops selling fruit and veg and the odd clothes shop with fashion caps and shoes. An odd mix of old world and newer world. 

Then there were the Sodas. Now I do my research well before I go to any country and I knew that the Sodas were the places to go to eat cheap local food. I had it in mind not to eat at restaurants, partly because of the expense but also I wanted to go where the locals ate. I knew that the staple was rice and beans... pinto... for most meals and then depending on which meal you added eggs or meat of some kind. Essentially that was what I was going to eat for the next three weeks. This also meant that by learning about ten words, I had all meals covered. 😜

So I found a soda and it didnt disappoint. The breakfast of pinto and fried eggs with plantain was pretty good and very filling and cost me pence. The coffee was pretty good as well. And thanks again to Theresa (someone please tell her)... I could order breakfast in what passed as understandable spanish. 

Breakfast done and I had time to look around. I headed for the centre amd on my way found some lovely buildings, colonial style such as the post office and the theatre. There were also some nice small parks with sculptures and statues and the odd church. 

Of course as with any city, the poor homed in on the tourist asking for money and I handed out a few 100 cent coins here and there. Some offered belts or wallets for the money, others touted headphones. They seemed well dressed though and although obviously poor, they were not poor on the level I had seen in Ecuador or Madagasgar. 

It was an easy city to find my way around and easy to walk round the centre but I was mindful that buses do not always turn up as per the timetable, so I made sure I made my way back to the bus terminal with hours to spare. I did not want to miss this bus... only one a day... and my travel had not exactly gone to plan so far! 

So I sat at the bus station watching people load on the buses for puerto viejo. I watched as some of the tourists were frustrated as they had tried to buy a ticket but the bus was full. They informed me that the next one was in 4 hours which they didn't look particularly pleased about. One of the girls tried to beg the driver for a spot but to no avail. They were told they could go to the other bus station and try a differeny way but they weren't keen on walking there. 

They bemoaned the fact that 'in countries like this' the transport wasn't good and they had had a lot of problems getting places. It bemused me as so far my main travel issue was not here at all. The bus was as advertised online, I had a ticket, and now was waiting for it to turn up... maybe I spoke to soon... but it seemed pretty good to me. 

When the bus did pitch up, its window was held on with duct tape... better than the previous bus which had a chunk missing from the rear. I knew that this would be the most dangerous part of the whole thing! Never mind the alligators, crocs or venemous snakes, the bus ride is what I needed to be really scared of! 😜

We loaded on. I had managed to negotiate a window seat and was pretty happy with my spot. The leg room was non existent but I was so pleased to be finally on this bus that it didnt matter in that moment. The bus was full to the brim, lots of kids yay!  (see the sarcasm) 

The driver said about 5.5 hours for the journey so I settled down and got my book out. We flew through the city and towards the coast, which we would follow pretty much all the way to puerto jiminez. 

There were a couple stops at roadside food marts where we all hopped off and browsed the offerings. I was still full from breakfast but the kebabs looked nice though Im unsure what meat was used. I will try one on the way back. 

Then the rain started. It was warm rain and actually after so much time sweating in the heat, it was nice to be a bit cooler, but not much. The journey continued to wind its way down the coast, through the downpour and a very dark sky. It looked like it had set in for the day. 

We passed hills covered with trees, coconut groves, small villages and national parks which made me want to stop and explore but we kept relentlessly on. 5.5 hours came... and went and we were still a fair distance from the destination. Sit back, relax... settle into Costa Rica time. 

8 hours later... we arrived... in the dark. 

I walked down gravel roads, using my flashlight to. both guide the way and keep an eye out for serpientes. I found my way to my accomodation but didnt see any snakes! 

I was greeted by a very loud group of teenagers in the reception area... speaking English and laughing loudly. I groaned. All this way to find a group of noisy English people. 

The reception person gave me the key and then muttered the words... pizza can be ordered. Right then my rice and beans resolve gave way. I was tired, breakfast had now worn off and here I was being offered pizza. I think I took less than 5 seconds to answer! Pizza ordered, I was shown my room. Basic but perfect, and surrounded by the sounds of the jungle at night. 

whilst waiting for pizza, I wandered around with my torch to see what I could find. 

Some movement caused me to look. closer... found a tree frog! Then a spider or 2, some crabs up a tree, a lizard. All within 20 minutes of looking. Not bad I thought. My hopes were raised for the next few weeks. 

My head hit the pillow to the sounds of singing! Great! Fingers crossed they arent going to do this every night im here 😜

Today was mostly about the journey to get here... 

Now I can relax into the Pura Vida life and see what the next 10 days have to offer before im on the move again.