So as you may recall, I lost my ATM card moments after arriving in Costa Rica (still traveling without one). Well, the second day in Costa Rica, Nora, my new German friend dropped her phone, breaking it. I mention this now because it seems to have become a theme. But, more on that later.
After Bahia Drake, Nora, Silvan, and I began a journey of boats, buses and taxis through Costa Rica. Our exit from Bahia Drake was on a boat that powered it’s way through a mangrove forest bringing us to the town of Sierpe. From there, we had a short taxi ride to Palmar Norte where we were catching a bus to our next town, Quepos. (side note: some of you may have heard me try to speak Spanish in the past, or heard about my total lack of ability to speak the language on other trips. However, after my 3 weeks of studying Duolingo and making it all the way to level 2 in travel, but more likely given the fact that neither Nora or Silvan speak any Spanish, I became the designated interpreter for the group).
So this is where the inevitable Spanish communication breakdown first occurred. We understood the bus was full but we may still be able to get on. We understood it would cost a certain amount. What we didn’t understand was exactly when it would arrive. While we thought it was at 4:30pm, we spent the next few hours sitting in the nearby Soda (term for small mom and pop restaurant serving typical Costa Rican food) waiting for the bus (another side note: Pinto, a typical rice and beans dish here is impossible to get without cilantro, total bummer). After continually being offered to be driven by the cabbies, at 6:45pm, and still uncertain about the bus, and in a town where lodging was looking difficult, we relented and had Manuel drive us the 90 minutes to Quepos.
After coffee in Quepos the next morning, Nora and I said our goodbyes to Silvan and headed to Monteverde. We had a couple bus rides about 3 hours each. They provided plenty of time to look out the window at the beautiful country side, or maybe just read a book on your tablet if you have one (see where I’m going with this). Well, I did (obvious now, right), until walking into the hostel in Monteverde where I realized I left my tablet on the bus. Later that day, Nora suffered a screen break on her tablet after it was sandwiched between the two sides of her suitcase. So for those keeping score, after one week, Jordan-2 big losses, Nora-2 big breaks. As someone else we met along the way joked, “why the hell are you two traveling together, together you’re bad luck”. However, the trip has been great so far and so was Monteverde.
More to come.
Life is still good.