i met Angela at the airport on Tuesday and we jumped on a city bus to downtown San jose, 5 minutes later the driver cut a corner too sharp and we scraped the length of another bus. There was a terrible screaming of metal but in the end there wasn't much damage. The two drivers got out, took a look, shrugged, and decided to keep on going. Hostel Bekuo turned out to be a great place and i highly recommend it, very friendly vibe and the owner Brian made a point of making sure everyone felt welcome.
We caught a bus to Tamarindo the next day at 11:30am. The ticket lady said it would take 5 hours but it was closer to 7 and a half. The bus was comfortable and air conditioned but 7 hours is an eternity. The trip cost $10 each so the price was right. The bus also carried packages so the closer we got to our destination the more we stopped. During the last half hour two guys got on the bus and sat down in front of us, then got up and sat behind us, then stood for awhile. It was pretty suspicios so I went on alert. A few minutes later i watched my bag start to scoot along under the seat towards the guy in front of me, i grabbed it and pulled it back and put it in my lap. He sat up quickly and pretended he hadn't been doing anything. There was an american to our left and i told him to watch his stuff. The bus ride finally came to an end and we got off. The two guys boxed the American in and dropped some stuff on the floor in a classic distract and grab. He saw it coming though and just pushed past them and got off the bus with everything intact. They were big guys so we all just took off, jumped in a cab and went to the nearest hostile.
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| Tamarindo Beach at Sunset |
Tamarindo has a bit of an identity crisis. it is half hippy surfer town and half old people/expat community with a sprinkling of rich hotels. Food in the restaraunts and bars is the same price as the states, more in some cases, but that's Costa Rica, not just Tamarindo. The beach is nice and at the end there is an estuary with Caimans swimming in it so it's worth the $1 to pay a fisherman to take you across in his boat. Apparently people do get bit. on the other side is playa Grande and it is very Grande, about 2 miles long with perhaps 10 people along the whole stretch. There are hotels stuck back in the jungle and parts of the area are national park. We would have moved to playa Grande but there aren't too many food options and getting in and out is an expensive cab ride. The accomodations are incredible though with far more charm than Tamarindo.
We are currently staying at la Botella de leche, which has a black and white cow motif. not as bad as it sounds and the rooms are clean. Lots of Argentinians own property down here and the owner is a 400 year old woman who is very nice. Her son runs la Oveta Negra just down the street which is also a big surf hangout. he either partys a lot or likes to pour glass shards in his eyes because they are blood shot 24/7.
We have spent our time here walking and running the beaches, eating some nice local fish dishes, and fantasizing about how much cheaper Nicaragua will be.
Tomorrow we tackle a string of buses that will hopefully end in a successful border crossing.
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