Rainy weather in a rain forest? What??

When we arrived in La Fortuna yesterday afternoon it was absolutely beautiful, hot, but beautiful. The skies were mostly clear with a bit of clouding at the peak of the Arenal Volcano. We walked up to the hostel and checked in to a dorm because the private suites were taken. I could have kicked myself for not pre paying at Pangea. Oh well. I can be flexible about a lot of things as I get older--but I learned that I like my space. It wasn't as bad as I expected (sharing a room with 7 other people.) But I do like to be able to spread out and relax. Dad loved the scenery (the young college aged girls with hot bodies) but HATED the techno music that pulsed through the main common area. The hostel was beautiful, just not our style. To make matters worse it started to downpour around 10pm. When we woke in the morning the rain had stopped just long enough for us to walk to town to grab coffee and breakfast. Just as we arrived it started to pour again. The sky looked grim with no hopes of letting up. Over breakfast we decided to save some money and sanity and just bite the bullet and catch a bus to the Pacific. Turns out it's about a 9 hour bus ride direct to the coast because of the mountainous terrain. The fastest way to the coast would be to catch a bus to Alejuela/San Jose and then catch another bus to the coast. The rain lightened up so we quickly left the cafe and went to pack up our stuff. About 15 minutes later we were off to the bus terminal to catch a bus to....well, we weren't sure. When we got there a bus to San Carlos was getting ready to leave. We spoke with a friendly officer who pointed us to San Carlos, then to San Jose, then off to the coast. Our bags had to go underneath again b/c they are "more secure" there. They may be secure but the under storage compartments are DIRTY. I had a rain cover over my bag for today's trek thankfully, so my pack didn't get too dirty.

On the way down into the valley from San Carlos Dad suggested that we head to Alejuela, which was fine with me after 3 nights in San Jose already. We were both up for something new. I looked at the handy Lonely Planet book and picked out a few hostels/hotels to check out upon arrival. We got off at the airport and go another bus to town. Turns out, like most CR cities, there were no street signs. I'm not exagerating. NONE. Momuments and that's all. There aren't even many of those to go off off. Sticking out like a sore thumb with a giant bullseye on our backs the locals that spoke English began their descent and pointed us in the right direction. We checked out one hotel because dad was tired of walking. I vetoed it because the woman who ran it only spoke Spanish...I didn't think that would be very helpful. I decided that we should walk a few blocks and check out a few more places. We settled on a hotel with decent reviews and found a room with two beds and a shared bathroom for $28. We were set. We dropped off our bags and I told dad that I would melt down if he didn't feed me. He eventually agreed after laughing at me, thinking that it would be funny to watch me turn into the wicked witch of the west. The hotel manager pointed us to a cafe up a few blocks. We went in and waited for a seat. The place was the most packed cafe I've seen in all of CR up to this point! Dad was freaked out because they didn't serve beer, they served coffee, pasteries, and food. I told him to get over it :) We ordered burritos because, frankly, it was the only thing we recognized! The menu was in Spanish. The burrito was not memorable but I was fed and muy contento. We walked around some shops and looked around. The rain drizzle had followed so we didn't want to venture out too much. We found a wood shop with some beautiful cocobola wood. I found some canes that were intricately carved and a staff that I really wish I could have bought my Uncle Vince. I think he would really like it...but I can't really see backpacking around CR with it for another 10 days. I will have to buy gifts on my last day. Maybe it will still be there. Maybe we'll go to the village where the local tribe carves this hard rosewood. Hmmmm.

We went back to the hotel and just wanted to veg. I was going through work out withdrawl. I spent about an hour working out and made dad work out some kinks in my neck. That was funny. While today sucked a lot we kept our spirits light and are feeling much better after a recharging our batteries a bit. I just took a shower and am getting ready to work on school and follow up on some rentals I found on the Pacific Coast on craigslist.

SIDE NOTE: I'm in the hotel lobby area and there is a group of college kids planning to "go out partying." There are so many young adults traveling in groups and even solo. I am so envious. Why didn't I travel when I was younger? I am totally going to travel outside of the US more. Central America is super cheap and very relaxing. CR is the most expensive country in Central America. I bet a little American money would go a long way in some other Central American countries! Watch out world here I come...with my backpack ;) V, get ready cuz you're coming with me next time!