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Orosi a San Jose a Quepos
Somehow, I’ve managed to get sunburned despite the misty rainy nature of today. I have mad skills, I tell ya! But, to start where I left off:
So, last night we headed back to Montana Linda (the hostel) after dinner. We had already discussed changing accommodations b/c of the teeny tiny “double” room, no towels or hot water, no wifi or public computers, the abundance of free-roaming smelly dogs & the general dirtiness and weird vibe of the place. Interestingly enough, there was Orosi Lodge, not two blocks away, which promised spacious rooms with wifi, private bathroom (w/hot water), kitchenettes in the room, etc., etc. It was twice as much, but still under $50. When we squeezed back into our room, we were literally standing back to back as we tried to get into our bags, a cockroach the length of my fist scurried between us. Now, I’m not all that skittish and I think I’ve been doing quite well with no-screened windows, partially open roofs, etc and all the flora and fauna. But, seriously? That triggered something in both of us and without a word we threw everything back in the bags
and hot-footed it to the “luxury” lodge.
It’s funny: I feel young and I definitely squeeze as much out of my money as I can, but this situation definitely highlighted the differences between my 20-something traveling self and my 30+ traveling self. No question was it worth changing lodgings, paying more (and not getting our hostel $$ back) to get cleanliness and convenience. Not even embarrassed about it. In fact, we giggled for an hour about it. As we took turns showering and playing on the computer and appreciating the fun Euro-feel of the place (it’s owned by a pair of cool Germans)…and put our beverages in the fridge to cool. Ah, the simple pleasures. 😊
Therefore, we woke slowly and refreshed. Still woke up at 7, but I managed to go back to sleep til 8:30…slept positively late! We had to be out at 10am, and we just barely made it! It was an awesome leisurely start to the day…and the first of the trip!
The owner agreed to hold our backpacks for us, and so we headed out to the hot springs on the edge of town. We lost track of the girls & had
Orosi "Hot Springs"
It did feel nice! :)no way to let them know where we were staying. I emailed them so they at least would eventually know that we were still alive. We walked 1km outside of the town, past tons of private homes and folks working in the fields. We stopped in again at the Chinese couple’s market to get juice. They remembered us (of course, they & I spent five minutes trying to communicate the night before…I had itchy feet & wanted to get Tinactin or something like it, just in case. Was having a brain fart & trouble speaking. It was like, ankle? Sock? Shoe? They had an adorable little boy who kept running through the aisles to find suggestions for me. So sweet. He brought the above and scrubbers and sandals. I was finally like, eso bueno. No problemo. Muchas gracias. But they were not willing to not have figured out what I wanted. I finally remembered foot (pie) and tried medicina. Eventually we agreed on “pie de atleta” as athlete’s foot (close enough, yes?) & the mother brought up a bag of talcum powder. At that point, I was like, qualquiere (whatevs!) and bought it. It was actually quite nice to put
on my feet after my shower so maybe it’ll help. Quite the trauma experience, but we all did it!!) and were super friendly. “Mom” even inquired to the health of my feet. Gawd. I was like, “perfecto, muchas gracias. “ Awesome... what a take-away impression she must have of me!! @_@
The hot springs were a slight disappointment? Not quite what we expected? It was an all concrete complex that had several pools in it, some cold and some hot. It was obviously a popular spot for the locals…we decided to go in…we’ve done very little swimming thus far and we were there. It was c1500 ($3) and definitely worth it. We soaked in a shallow warm pool for awhile and I made nice with several children…they were quite taken with us (one wonders how many tourists they see up close...pretty small and remote town) and with they were about the perfect level for my Spanish-speaking skills. They had a Tasmanian Devil toy, Dora’s Little Star & Aqua-Man. We had quite the scintillating convo. 😊
I left Rachel in the hot pool and went to do laps in the big, cold pool. No one else was in there
Orosi "Hot Springs" Changing Room
Long live manga & anime! I totally agree. :) and I felt very sporty and like I had a private pool. We showered and changed (on the ceiling of my changing room: Viva la manga y el anime. Otaku <3. I just cain’t get away from it even when I try!!) and headed back to town. We were pretty hungry so stopped at a bread/pastry shop and got some stuff. I got the Costa Rican equivalent of a meat bun (empanadas con pollo & con carne) and Rachel got a big loaf of bread. I bought an avocado from the store next door and got them to cut it (corta con su machete, por favor?) and we enjoyed avocado sandwiches. So fresh and good. While we were eating, Kylie & Kristie wandered by. They had also found a hot spring, but one where they had to take a bus and then traipse through the woods to plop down in a slightly separated part of the river. Hmm…can’t decide if I’m a little jealous or really glad we didn’t join them! We sat and talked for awhile and they took off.
Rachel and I then headed to the oldest functioning (as in, still has weekly services) church in Costa
Iglesia de Orosi
Oldest functioning church in Costa Rica Rica. Built in 1746 by Franciscan monks, it was abandoned and then recovered. It’s in seemingly good condition, terra cotta and there was a museo attached. My mom would totally have dug this place. Also, there was a group of Boy Scout/Explorers heading out for a nature trek...I had them pose for a picture, so cute.
We made our way back to our packs. We repacked while picking the hotel owner's brain about busses and distances. He thought we were crazy to be starting out for Quepos in the afternoon, but gave us the info. I bought a fun little ceramic & wood sign that says (aptly enough): Pura Vida! We waited about five minutes for the bus. Rode it to Cartago. Spent like 20 minutes walking in the rain to find the San Jose bus stop. I asked for directions like 10 times, just to make sure we were still heading in the right direction...we were. Finally got there and only had to wait like three minutes for a bus.
We settled in and the guy behind us started talking to us. His English was pretty good so we chatted a bit and then it got weird,
Orosi "Boy Scouts"
There were girls, too, though. They were headed out on a nature hike! like it does sometimes. I asked what work he does. He answered painter, but then showed us some jewelry that he made & was willing to sell us. We said "very pretty" but no thanks. Talked a bit more and his next question was "you girls like Mary Jane?" and we were like, um, no thanks. Then he totally stopped talking to us. I was told I wouldn't make it through Costa Rica without being offered weed at least once & turns out it was true! 😊
When we got off that bus it was 3:30. We knew the Quepos bus left at 4 & we had no idea where the bus terminal was so we jumped in a cab. He seemed to understand my request and took off driving. Then he started saying "Te vas?" over and over. I thought he was asking where we wanted to go so I just kept asking for the bus to Quepos. Turns out Tevas is the name of a bus terminal, but that it's more "peligroso" and if it was okay he'd take us to a different terminal. I was like, yes, yes, fine, please. He's all "tranquilo...no problemo." We made
it with like 10 minutes to spare & never would have done so on foot w/our backpacks. Yay for taxicabs! And it only cost 2500 colones!
The bus to Quepos took four hours and we stopped halfway at a great little shopping place for food. I got another casado and Rachel & I both got fresh pineapple slices. Yum yum. For once the hostel was super easy to find and we made it here right before the torrential rain started. This place is called "Wide Mouth Frog Backpackers" and I dedicate our stay to my sister, Mardell. 😉
Wifi not working in the room so I came to the communal area to post this. The girls next to me are all drunk sorority gals playing Scrabble. They had a whole argument about using "can't" because it's an abbreviation. Then one of the girls was like, "aha! jizz. so there!" They look over at me & say sorry you have to hear our embarassing game. I said I didn't think she could use that because it's slang and if the other girl couldn't use her contraction, then slang wasn't okay either. Now we're best friends and they keep running
Iglesia de Orosi
Black Jesus, that's what I'm talking about! words by me. Yes, Virginia, I am an English Major and Librarian wherever I may roam.
Peace & Love,
Rae
P.S. Finally found the missing pictures...we used Rachel's camera all-day, I forgot. Anywho, here's some photos of our Orosi ramblings. 😊
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