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Published: February 5th 2008
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Pura Vida
The skies are always sunnier when you take a step back Day 6. The alarm clock went off promptly at 7 am. Not that I needed one, but the church bells of the town where I am lodging at, in Guadalupe, have a funny way of telling the townspeople when to wake up, even on a Saturday. The van that came to pick me up was driven by Martin (Maar-teen), a local Tico that works for a local tourism company, and also a born again Christian. We had two stopovers to make on the way to Jaco, in order to pick up two other locals on their way to work. The town is having a local concert, with the main event of the night being noneother than Daddy Yankee. No, its not W., but a worldwide Reggaeton superstar. Who, you ask? Exactly.
On the way to Jaco from San Jose, which is a two hour drive, I get to talking to Martin about everything including local politics. The road we traveled was populated by many who were also making their way to Jaco. The drive consisted of main highways, a one hour stretch of road that snaked around several of Costa Rica´s mountain ranges, and breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean.
Jaco is a beach town, with a main boulevard peppered with bars, restaurants, surf shops, artisan markets, and condominiums under construction, lots of them.
As we made our way past the mountain range, real estate ads attack you with the promise of permanent beach life, all in English of course. Costa Rica´s economic bread and butter is its ties with the USA. Even as one exits the SJO airport the signs are evident. Martin reveals to me his dire fears of an American recession. He says that during the high season of tourism in CR (winter back home), he´s usually running around driving clients without any time to spare. This year, all that has come to a stop. Its one thing to hear about the ripple effect that the US economy has on the rest of the world, its another when you meet someone who is actually affected by it. He´s been working other jobs just to make ends meet. I tried to assure him, that all those fears are just predictions, and may not necessarily happen.
The vegetation on the mountain range is something to behold. Martin is able to identify every type of plant species, and
Tree of Forgotten Knowledge
The hotel bar where I had my first beer in Jaco was named after this tree. Unfortunately, I forgot the name of both. how its important to Costa Rica. We came across banana, mango, and coffee plantations which must be cultivated several hundred meters above sea level, and how CR coffee is the best in the world because it is hand picked. The high altitude is causing my ears to pop, but all this time Im thinking...this dude watches way too much National Geographic.
Most of the day I spent in Jaco sitting around bars drinking beers, visiting artisan shops, relaxing on the palm tree shades listening to my Ipod, and people watching.
As the day grew old, and hot, I opted to take a semi-deluxe bus back to San Jose, instead of waiting for Martin to finish his work with the concert events. This would save me about 4 hours of having to wait around, and would allow me to return back to San Jose before 9pm. The two hour drive only cost $2.75, but tickets must be purchased in advance at the station. I purchased my ticket, but still had two hours to spare before departing.
I decided to walk back through the boulevard, and stop in a few more shops. I went to an internet cafe, made
some calls, checked email, and bought a new pair of sandals. This is the second pair I´ve had to purchase here, and the second time my foot size has been an issue. Shoe sizes here are measured on the European system, and every time I tell them my size 45, they apologize for not having it. Yes, my feet are too big by tico standards. I finally found a souvenir shop run by a Colombian lady, with her 4 year old daughter, that had my size. She starts asking me the usual questions that tourists get bombarded with. She tells me that she migrated to C.R. ten years ago and worked making hand-painted road signs, and lived out on the streets trying to save money so that one day she may run her own business. Once again, the American economy becomes a topic of conversation, and tells me that the first five years that she opened her business it flourished exponentially. The last two have been a struggle.
I boarded the 6:15 bus under instense heat and sweat, even though the sun had already set. Passengers on the bus grew impatient and began heckling the driver to take off.
Bookend 1
The beach in Jaco is defined by two forest hills that extend into the ocean. The drive back was more nauseating this time around, as all the high altitude road curves are not always visible in complete darkness. The constellations above are light years away, but just dim enough to know Im going in the right direction.
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