So one day, a ride up the coast in search of finer sands seemed like a swell idea. We hired a couple of bikes from some German bloke - if you could call them that - real pair of jalopies. Mine had these handlebars at a 45 degree angle that broke my wrists as we negociated pot-holes during the itinerant torrential rains (which we began to learn arrive for an hour around mid-aft, though occasionally could go on pissing you through till tea-time) - the plan had been to go in the morning, when there's some sun, but as usual Waking [View Full Entry]

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So on we went to the laid-back vibe that constitutes the town of Puerto Viejo, part of the slightly notorious Limon province (after the rafting, the tour company - and this is part of the $80 deal - take you on to your chosen next destination). We pass some pretty basic homes and buildings on the way: [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7692.jpg] [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7693.jpg] [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7694.jpg] Enjoying a beer. [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7695.jpg] [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7696.jpg] [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7698.jpg] [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7701.jpg] [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7702.jpg] [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/2%20-%20Costa%20Rica/3%20-%20Rio%20Pacuare/IMG_7703.jpg] The Plump Annoying American (from now on known as PAP) and his lawyer friend with his big southern drawl and equally big moustache were also Puerto Viejo-bound. They were pretty funny travellers [View Full Entry]

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Not finished with such exciting excursions, we next get on a tour for whitewater rafting. I was naturally a bit nervous before this little jaunt, being of a naturally nervous disposition with all such life-threatening things. So much so that I first had to take a crap behind a tree, with only large leaves as toilet paper, upon arrival at the river (and despite Sofie having warned her, a Dutch woman suddenly turned up - blindsided me so she did! She wasnt embarrassed though I was....mind you, Holland is a place that has 'shelf-loos' as I called them whilst living there, [View Full Entry]

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We Finally Get Out of the Crumbling Cement of San Jose One must eventually get out into the sticks, musn't one - see a bit of greenery and the like. So we hit Fortuna and Volcan Arenal, some four hours west by rickety bus. It was a dash to the bus-station, in particular since we didnt know which bus-station exactly, but with some break-neck taxi'ing, we made the bus with seconds to spare. The trip soon took us out of the urban density of San Jose and into the rich and verdant Costa Rican country-side (largest percentual of national parks in [View Full Entry]

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We were pretty sad to leave the US of A after five busy weeks; what an amazing place, well continentally sized place, to travel around; in particular in a Ford open-top Mustang. So many options, so many landscapes and so much to do. And although from time to time the hospitality folks get on your wick, it's generally tops for service and easy-going, chatty people who want to know all about you. A bit like Oldham :-) So after the most ridiculous fiasco in the world regarding actually getting our ticket from Los Angeles sorted out with TACA (they lost it, [View Full Entry]

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After that mad 300 dollar night (not even one free bottle of champers), we went to a brilliant village called Calistoga. There was a tasting festival on and we just sat on the grass, imbibing excellent white wines and listening to a live dixie jazz style band of old codgers giving their instruments what for. The place we stayed was maybe the best bit - The Calistoga Inn is an old French design they said, all wood panelling and creaky floorboards. I felt like Huckleberry Finn. Here they had an interesting looking book on one of the shelves....something like "A painstaking [View Full Entry]

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After all that military ram-jet fervour, we jumped in our convertible Ford Mustang to (1) do part of the 40 odd mile scenic drive around SF and (2) learn how to drive such a beast ("isn´t it a bit expensive to rent that?" I was asked, "yes" came my reply. But imagine the pictures aside the mountains of Yosemite, the beaches of San Diego, or the sand dunes of Death Valley, in a Fiat Punto. Christ - whatever would the grandkids make of us!) Anyway, after an awry drive up to Napa Valley (first time driving in ages, on the wrong [View Full Entry]

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Before driving off to Napa Valley (inspired by the little filmette Sideways), we went to have some high-octane fun at an aerial display of the US Navy Blue Angels. Shit those planes are LOUD - I´m sure it´s the pilots who took the silencers off like the boy racers of Essex in their Ford Fiestas. There we were, just moseying along after our quiet tour of the SF Museum of Modern Art, when KA-BOOOM....ROOOAARRRR!!! comes screaming overhead. Never heard anything quite like it, and that second (these days whilst visiting a major American city) goes like this: "WTF was that....oh no [View Full Entry]

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SF´s got everything, and that means EVERYTHING. i.e. it can be a bit of a freak-zone. went to bed early last night so am upearly this morning too (my danish princess ..... [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/1%20-%20USA/1%20-%20San%20Francisco%20to%20Lake%20Tahoe%20via%20Wine%20Country/mirror.jpg] ......still sleeps) - mainly got hungry so just raided the hostel kitchen! when i got up this morning, I looked out our window and saw that my undies had walked out on me and were already chilling out on our balcony! Little traitors: [img=http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p112/julespenk/Jules%20and%20Sofie%20in%20the%20Americas/1%20-%20USA/1%20-%20San%20Francisco%20to%20Lake%20Tahoe%20via%20Wine%20Country/jules006.jpg] san francisco is a good place to base ourselves for first week and adjust to the time zone like San F. The difference between [View Full Entry]

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After some time hanging out at Sofie´s pad (which she´s just managed to rent out) in Copenhagen, tearful farewell to her parents at Kastrup airport and my promising to take good care of her. ---- 8 hours of so of boring (as in a drill boring through your skull) flight-life slips by No cool personal screens, only monitors that drop down somewhere overhead that only 20% of people have a good view of; our monitor exhibited an interesting monochrome/blue characteristic. i.e. Continental SUCK. Awfully small seats, and no limitless free booze. Everything I´d promised my girl - yet to experience intercontinental [View Full Entry]

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