Jester Lee

So my first night in in Costa Rica was a long layover in San Jose. My luggage was checked until Liberia, but they pushed me through customs and out onto the streets of san jose at about 21:00 or 22:00. I was unsure what to do, becauase i had no money for a hotel and I do not speak spanish, oh yeah and the airport was closed... Plus I had to figure out where to catch my next plane since they informed me that my flight leaves from a different building altogether. As I enetered the street into a mob of taxi drivers one of them spoke english and offered to take me to the next airport that was 30 min driving to the next location. I just wandered around with my bags for a few ... read more

I can't sleep again. And the internet is working a little better than it has been. So... We met an artisan here that makes goods for tourists. He trades with the indigenous peoples of the area for animal skeletons, hides, woods, etc. and then he makes stuff out of it. Knife handles and stuff for blow dart guns, keychains, necklaces, etc. He took us to the zoo and fed us lunch at his place. We bought some things from him. The zoo here is awesome. Dirt roads in the middle of a preserve. Only part of the preserve is the zoo, the rest is... well its preserved, noone goes there. It is owned by a University. We pet a tiny Jaguar, tortured some monkeys with a latex glove (they are afraid of white gloves), saw some ... read more

I am in Santarem after 3 days on a boat. We got here two days ago and the ground still feels like its moving when I walk. This place is incredible and way flooded. They have 15 meters more river than they are supposed to, we went in a canoe today and entire trees were underwater... we paddled the canoe to a restaurant we were not supposed to be able to paddle to. And from the water stains on some of the buildings here it looks as though they probably had about one more meter in the past. I will give detailed accounts of things later, but this is probably this nicest place we have visited thus far and one of the most comfortable (and cheapest) hotel we have stayed in thus far. Below is a ... read more

So today we went to a butterfly and bird garden and to an old fort. Pretty sweet action. We also cooked for about 20 people; black bean burgers and Macoroni and Cheese again, because it was easy and cheap. Belem is a beautiful city and in the future I would like to maybe come back here and spend some more time. We were checking boat prices and found out that the only two boats to Santarem this week are tomorrow and friday. And seeing as how Josh has to be back in Sao Luis by the 15th we are heading out tomorrow. The ticket prices for the boats we hear are usually $R90 but because we are in the middle of July, a vacation month, the current price is $R160 per person! So we paid $R ... read more

Alright well, about the title. I did not feel comfortable with the way things had been going and we talked it over and decided to switch our bus tickets for tomorrow morning at 10am and we switched hotels. It is probably just paranoia, but considering our location it is better to be safe and not take the risk. Besides, I just had a bad feeling about things and I have a tendency, especially when traveling, to listen to these sorts of things when I feel them. The internet is still not good, but this hotel is much much much better. It is right next door (literally, they share a wall), but much safer I feel. I will get into more detail on these things later and if I get a chance I will post some pictures ... read more