Ticos and Ticas

So we hopped on the first chicken bus to La Virgen, then caught another one to the border. Immigration was pretty fast, and we were sorted out by 8:30. The 9:30 bus to San Jose was sold out, so we played cards with Tamara and James until the 10:30 bus. Less than $8 to get there- not bad! We passed out on the bus, woke up briefly to say adios to our fellow gringos as they departed at Monteverde, and then slept again. Our phone was dead, and we didn't have the number for Seth, whose house we would be staying at, so we had to ride in to the center of San Jose and look for an internet cafe. Just our luck, it began raining as soon as we got off the bus. We were in a pretty bad area of town, and it was getting dark, so we ran into a few hotels asking for directions. Found the cafe, got a hold of Seth, then hopped in a tragic cab for the hour long ride to Santa Barbara. The driver was frightening, and quite stupid, and we were thankful to get there in one piece. He got lost constantly!!! We were finally dropped off in front of the church, where he tried to demand more money than we had agreed upon. Thanks guy!

Seth showed up and got rid of the driver, then off we went to a bar for some dinner! Delicious beans and rice with crunchy pork on top, washed down with a cold Imperial. Mmmm welcome to Costa Rica! We then hopped over to Mr. Pitufo's bar, with looks like it is in a 1950's time warp. Very charming! Caught up with Seth, who is an old friend of the family that I have known basically my whole life, and then headed up to his house in the hills to meet the family. The kids, Jasmine and Freddy, were still up, and super energetic. We also met Seth's lovely Tica wife, Mayela. We got the grand tour of the house, and went to bed early. Long day of travel!

The following morning, we had a great breakfast made by the maid, Lydia, and then spent the day lounging by the pool. It was so nice to relax! The sauna wasn't so bad either!! We got caught up on our reading, and almost caught up on our journaling. In the evening, we headed off to a few local bars, then to the grand opening of the posh bar Pitch. Pretty fancy, with camera crews and a live band. Oh, and free rum! We had a great time. Interesting clientele, and we wondered what type of longevity a place like that will have.

Friday morning, we went to Volcan Poas to hike up to the crater. It was a short walk, actually, on a paved road, and it was beautiful at the top! The fog was rolling over the top and mixing with the volcanic vapors- very scenic! Tough to describe, but photos will follow soon! We then hiked up a narrow trail lined with green trees and bushes, and lots of moss. We arrived at the other crater, which is now an acidic lake. Gorgeous views! Lovely short hike as well. It was nice to see some of the scenic beauty of Costa Rica. Ahhhhh gotta go, more soon!