Tuesday morning I caught a bus in San Jose to Cariari. The ride was
gorgeous. We drove through the mountains and saw waterfalls just off
the side of the road. The views were breathtaking! I made a friend
(surprised?) who helped me figure out where to get off and, more
importantly, when not to. (I learned that the buses take rest stops
along the way... This gringa was packing up her bags just to sit and
wait for the driver to pee.) I'm learning that Ticos have a funny
sense of time. A forty-five minute bus ride seems to be two hours for
some and twenty minutes for others. I have decided that I will just be
ready at all times to get on or off a bus. I also learned that there
is always time for a cafecito or a cigarette break.
My new friend's stop was before mine, so he handed me off for someone
else to babysit. 'She is going to Cariari. Make sure she doesn't get
lost.' My newest friend was all too eager to help the blue-eyed
gringa. 'Are you traveling alone? Are you from England? Do you like
Costa Rica so far?' I had a talker on my hands... Luckily I can chat
with the best of them. :-)
Once I got to Cariari (safely) I needed to catch a bus to Pavona, but
the first stop was the bathroom where I became extremely proud of
myself for always traveling with a pack of tissues. Once I realized
there wasn't toilet paper I giggled and started hunting in my bag.
There had been a sign outside listing the cost to use the bathroom as
100 colones (~$0.20). My neighbor to the right did not find it as
amusing as I did. 'Without shame! I will pay you nothing if you don't
provide toilet paper!' she yelled. I took her lead and we both left
without paying... Me grinning and her frowning.
(Side note: She had tissues in her purse too. I didn't leave her
without resources.)
At Cariari I had to catch another bus to Pavona. This proved to be an
even greater adventure than the bathroom. There was no bus, but there
was a pushy lady who swore that there was a bus coming. A few of the
other gringos decided to walk to a nearby bus station that they new
about... I decided to trust the lady in the red polo shirt... She
looked official enough. ;-) I waited my five minutes and the most
rickety bus I have ever seen pulled up. I paid the bus driver my money
and we headed for gas and our first stop. Guess where our first stop
was... The other bus station! We all ended up on the same bus after
all... Only I got to sit with my new friend Jose and I didn't have to
hoof it over to the VERY busy station in the humidity.
This ride was bumpy and loud and hot and sweaty and... awesome! We
picked up school children and people coming to and from work. The bus
driver (Jose) was like a local hero. Everyone knew his name and was
glad to see him. We drove through farmland and fields. The cows had
humpbacks and the fence posts were growing into trees.
A 'gang' of locals started congregating in the front of the bus and
goofing around. They were laughing and threatening to push each other
out the door. I could hear them talking in the front and they were
laughing about trying to scare the gringo in the back. A few of them
were very obviously eyeing him and it took all of my self control not
to flip around in my seat and look behind me to see if anyone was
scared. It was a weird moment for me. I was very obviously not a
local, but I also very obviously understood Spanish and laughed at all
the right times.i was kind of stuck between two worlds. No one was
hurt and I'm pretty sure that my fellow gringo wasn't even frightened,
but they put forth a good effort and I appreciated the show.
Once in Pavona, which is basically a large restaurant and a boat dock,
we got on our boats to head to Tortuguero. I was the ONLY gringo on my
boat. The other boat was filled to the brim with people, almost all
tourists and I was on a mostly empty boat with locals. I took a
picture. It was hysterical. The ride into Tortuguero was magnificent.
I loved being on the water. I felt like I was in The Rescuers and
being toted around by Evenrude. I made another friend named Carlos,
who is a tour guide. He told me all about the area and his recent trip
to Nicaragua. I told him a little about myself and taught him some
English.
I am learning that I'm pretty good at traveling by myself. In fact, I
like it. I am especially thankful for it on this trip, because it
causes me to use my Spanish and I need the practice.
So I am here in Tortuguero and I love it. The journey here was long
and exciting and well worth it!
1 comment:
nice album!
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