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Published: October 8th 2008
Tranquilo Backpackers
The feel of this place was awesome. For such a dirty, busy, unfriendly feeling city to me, this place really was a little tranquil heaven.Tim version:
* Left Pavones on a magical morning, headed to San Jose.
* Walked around San Jose, saw Volcan Poas.
The I wish I could write this in Spanish version:
Leaving pavones.. so sad =( That to me though is such a good sign of the quality of a place. To leave somewhere, sad that you're leaving, knowing that you want to come back is the ultimate positive review. Pavones gets that from me for sure.
It was a 5:30am bus so sleep was a little short. No matter. The sun was up, birds chirping, roosters crowing since about 4am, so it felt like the world was awake by the time I rustled out of the place we were staying. I owe a thanks to Clemens for setting his alarm for me, waking them up at 4:30am just so I could get out on time. Thanks fellas! A good breakfast and some slow movement later and I wandered to the bus stop. A test of my Spanish - I'm shleepy, everyone else up is too, things are slow moving, and I need to ask where the hell the bus leaves from! 3 people later with
responses that I understood a couple of words from I got the gist that it was outside the school. Perfect! This stop faces the ocean, with palm trees and a tropical breeze wafting past it. A dog from the middle of town decided to be my travel partner and followed by my side as I asked people where to go and made my way to the bus stop, and he was good company. Docile but happy and content, he asked for nothing and was a very silent but good friend. At the bus stop a horse and a cat both came to say hello too. I wish I had of taken a photo of the horse as it was a beautiful white horse that I'd seen wandering while trekking with the board along the beach and road to various hot spots for surfing, With 3 animal friends I waited. Over the road I watched a group of locals setting up their fishing boats for the day - a mixture of the odd rush of energy followed by slow lethargic pacing. They rolled the boat on logs from its place on the beach to a point just above where the waves
Making ugly beautiful
This area was near some historic buildings, but the wall itself was nothing special and other parts of it were ugly and graffitied and made the place feel unsafe. This part however, incredible =) Ill try and get the whole story in the painting on film... were lapping, a bit too close I thought... and it was! So many times a bigger wave would come, and the water would reach the boat and half drag it into the water. Heh every time they would scramble and yell, and bring the boat back, some risking a good bit of crushing, and they would place it in exactly the same spot, where it would get dragged out again a minute later! Why they didnt put it higher? Who knows! The swell was down so it made it easier to leave... the bus rocked up, bumping and grunting, killing the tranquility but bringing with it a different kind of diesel infused mechanical life. I got on and was away, this time getting to appreciate the travel view more in daylight on the way to Golfito.
Now Golfito I loved on the way in! Not so on the way out =( All the Spanish I spoke was met with confusion and frustration. Hello social isolation eh? Even just ordering a bus ticket took me ages and another girl taking the money from my hand and keeping the correct amount without me really doing anything but trying to say "una
Artistic freedom
Really good to see... this, like the cat and bird muriel, was outside the University. boleto para el autobus va a San Jose por favor, si?" which was my version of "a ticket for the bus to San Jose please, yeh?". It didn't work. It was 9:30, and no bus to San Jose until 1pm so I walked to town. Lonely planet was right! While once a busy banana port, its now a dying town with the jungle reclaiming it, and it showed in the attitude of the people. The views are magnificent and the nature side of the place is incredible, but the man made I didn't like so I found myself a place to sit near the bus stop, chucked on the headphones for about the first time in Central America besides on a long bus journey, and relaxed a bit...
The bus ride to San Jose was all good, and San Jose on first impression is what I thought it was. A bustling metropolis that lots of people would love but again, not me. I planned to go to Alajuela but it was too late at night for that so I crashed in Tranquila backpackers. Its a sweet place, social and colourful with awesome paintings on the walls everywhere and a
pancake breakfast and was a good pick me up from Golfito. There I spoke to lots of other travellers, again mostly from Germany (man they're good travellers!) with a few aussies and americans in the mix, and chilled. The following day I checked out San Jose, giving it my compulsary wander around, although with a few more bad neighbourhoods I was hampered. I grabbed a new day pack (my old one developed some nice big pockets that would give a pick pocket wet dreams), did some banking, and just generally wandered... glad I saw the place, but not for me. Its money money money, trash everywhere, signs for every brand killing the visual appeal of the place, and yeh. Mind you, I only saw the main areas near Tranquillo, I'm sure there are more pretty areas...
The next day was Volcano day! I went for Poas over Irazu as I overheard some feedback that Irazu was nothing special. I originally was going to see both but since I'll see so many in Nicaragua and Guatemala, just one will do! But no-one was going there so I went it by myself. As per expected though, not for long! A guy
The main active crater
The camera doesn't capture it the best but we could actually see a lot here. Incredible to see... called Guy from England was also at the bus stop, and asked a Costa Rican the same question in the same poor spanish that I was waiting to ask! "Where is the bus to Poas and when does it leave please?". So, I introduced myself, and we got talked... glad I did, he was a wicked guy! A bit later in life that me, working for a living on movie special effects (computerised), and in Costa Rica to do a pilot for a fishing Documentary! He had an interesting skating and skiing history, had just bought a place in the Alps to skii at in Winter, and was just a wicked guy. We also found a French girl there going too named Anna (she had a better longer version of a name but I couldnt pronounce it), who was doing a few months of Intern work in Costa Rica to do with International Relations and social issues, and that made our Volcano trio for the day! We wandered Poas for half the day, getting totally drenched from head to foot and for me a bit cold (I forgot about the altitude and just went in shorts and a Tshirt). Heh
Having trouble finding Jesus?
I know why, coz they locked him up in Golfito! both guy and I were of course wearing skate shoes, THE worst type of shoe to get wet as they hold the water like crazy and become slushing dead weights after a while, but it gave me a good laugh hearing 1.8 kilometres of "squelch squelch squelch" while we tried to be quiet and spot wildlife in the drenching rain! Just birds is all we saw in the end though. The crater and so forth you'll see from the photos. It took quite a while to see what we did as 99% of the time it was cloud covered with bugger all visibility and rain, so it took some patience to see anything. Later that night post volcano I headed out for a drink with Guy and Anna, and a friend of Annas from Germany, and tried what was one of the best beers I've had here. So good, I even took a picture of a sign of it =) Tired and wrecked though due to some dude in the bunk below me in the dorm snoring like a donkey all night, i was toasted at 3 beers and in bed by 10:30 or so, with no idea what I
Central Parque Gazebo
Always shady characters in here and this is the area I was told to avoid in the afternoon and night, so this photo will have to do... going there is OK but pulling out a flashy looking camera - not smart. was doing tomorrow! I planned to follow 2 german girls from my dorm that were heading to Volcan Arenal the next day, but fell asleep before talking to them and they were leaving at 6:30... meh, not like it ever matters, I'll work out what I'm doing in the morning!
I love this kinda life and travel. Very few plans and none that can't be broken, all spontaneous. Moving every day or couple of days, usually arriving dead tired and smelly the first night at a place, its a different kind of travel... the chances of you meeting and gettin close to a girl shoot to a lower number, and its more single serve friend time like my friends for Volcan Poas, but its cool in its own way and really lets you know how well you survive in your own company with nothing but your thoughts for much of the time, and I'm happy with mine =) Just really really REALLY wish I knew Spanish better!
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Jen
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life through lesbos eyes...
here's my online translation of your wall quote! "indeed. son. all the stars have already divided. but it never becomes darker than when it is going to dawn." how profound....hehe, thanks for brazilians as well! better than mine haha