Being in Costa Rica, I was going to have to get out of La Fortuna at some point to see the nearby ocean. As my friend Naomi happened to be going to Jaco, a very popular beach town in Costa Rica, I decided this weekend would be the best to go. Thus, I figured out the best way to get to Jaco from La Fortuna using the public bus system, as this is also certainly the cheapest way to travel within the country, and, as I found, you are guaranteed an adventure. My weekend adventure started at 4:45am Saturday as this is the time I had to get up to catch the 5:30am bus from Fortuna to San Ramon. Walking to the bus station from my apartment was fantastic as it was still completely dark and the stars were out, and by the time our bus pulled out, the sun was coming out. At San Ramon, I found that I had an hour wait for my next connection bus to the coastal town of Puntarenas. Thus, my kindle was certainly a good friend during this trip. My current book Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg about a small-town Missouri woman trying to make it in network television news in New York during the 1970’s is wonderful. As we approached Puntarenas I could tell the ocean was getting near as whiffs of salt and fish seeped through the windows. At the bus station I was so happy to find Naomi also waiting for the next bus to Jaco that I bought a ticket for just in time. On the bus, I was assigned a seat next to a nice woman and her two-year old daughter. It was so cute to hear the little girl and her mother talk about the ocean, and I could understand their entire conversation (good to know I’m at least at a 2-year-old’s level in Spanish). And although being on a bus for a total of 7 hours to get to Jaco, I enjoyed watching the differing landscapes and the different people using the bus- some other travelers backpacking around, many from Germany, but mostly locals getting from place to place. I love seeing people interact and see the goodness of people when an old man gives up his seat to the older woman standing, a person offering water to a tired fellow traveler, another telling the bus driver to wait for the person running late to catch the bus at a stop, it’s relieving to see that people are genuinely looking out for one another.
Finally, we made it to Jaco a little before 1pm. Naomi had a hostel where she had made a reservation; however when we got there, they did not expect her and the place looked very run down. Fortunately, they were nice enough to find and take us to another hostel closer to the beach that was at the same rate of $11 a night. The dorms were five beds per room. Naomi and I found one roommate that appeared to be dead on the bed and another that was either in a speedo or putting on a pair pants every time we went into the room, and he was not the type of guy you would want to see in a speedo. After getting settled, we changed and decided to check out the town, and Naomi wanted to look into a surfing lesson as that is what this beach town is known for. I was a bit hesitant not wanting to spend a lot of money, but we found a group that gave us a discount for staying at our hostel for $35 for a 2 hour lesson, drinks, and extra time with the surfboard, which compared to most places charging around $50 wasn’t too bad.
Surfing is a sport that for some reason I haven’t had much exposure to, maybe the fact that the closest beach is hundreds of miles away. Nonetheless, the notion of having a surfing lesson while in Jaco did sound appealing as I naturally like to try out new sports. Although I’m not going to rush to surf the next time I get a chance, which honestly won’t happen too soon, I really enjoyed trying this new sport. I have much more respect for surfers. It is not an easy task to get the board out into the ocean, let alone stand up and ride waves on it. I got knocked down by the waves, slightly cut my hand on the leech (the rope that attaches the board to your foot), fell off and got a face full of salt water in my nose and mouth, and had my surfing instructor cracking up at my falls and ability to somehow get turned around on the board and go backward before falling off, but it was a blast. My instructor said that at a better time with more water and higher tide, I would do pretty well and had pretty good balance for a first time surfer. Our instructor, was an expert surfer of over 20 years, and like the other surfers had blond highlights in his hair from being in the sun so much. He visited with us for a while and told us about some sea turtles that had hatched right outside the beach condo where he lives. I was surprised as most sea turtles hatch by December here, but he said this was the very last batch, and I of course, missed it by just hours. Naomi and I left surfing feeling a little beat up, but enjoyed strolling and watching the sunset while getting more black sand all over us.
When Naomi and I finally made it back to the hostel, we were very happy to find that our other roommate was indeed a girl named Semma who is from Holland, and on top of that, she is doing an internship in La Fortuna and living there until the start of April. We got cleaned up and got ready to go out and find some good food. There happened to be a summer carnival much similar to those in the U.S. in Jaco, as it is summer here for Costa Ricans. We checked it out and had some sweet pancake like things that they unfortunately drowned in sour cream. Naomi and I then set out to find some cerviche, fish soaked in limejuice, onions, cilantro, and peppers. It was so delicious, and definitely worth cheating on my vegetarian diet for a night. We then finished off with some yummy Italian Ice cream. Walking around the town, it was obvious how much of a party town Jaco is. The smell of marijuana was obvious in several places, and the three of us got attention from many guys looking for a good time. Although all three of us girls did wear dresses to go out, it was surprising to me the attention we got. We certainly would not have gotten this much attention in Fortuna; and not only local Ticos, but several other tourists used some sly pick-up lines on us, including a group of older American men that couldn’t have been too much younger than my own grandpa. Nonetheless, it was a nice night and fun to have some friends to enjoy it with. We finished the night by talking with some guys from TX staying at our hostel enjoying sharing the cultural differences within the U.S. and between Holland and England.
Yesterday morning, I somehow once again got myself up at 5:30am to go the beach and watch the sunrise, and keep my eye out for those sea turtles, just in case my surf instructor was wrong about the other baby sea turtles. Although there were no more sea turtles, it was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful to watch the sunrise and walk along the beach so the water could make its rhythmic passing over my feet. When the sun was completely up, I went back to the hostel and waited a bit for my compandres to wake up and have breakfast. While Naomi and I were splitting a delicious mango given to me Friday night by an officer during class and some bread, two big, bright red and yellow parrots flew by our hostel. Naomi, Semma, and I then headed down to enjoy the beach a bit more. We found a nice place to sit and I had them watch my things as I went on a very quick 10 minute run barefoot in the sand (not only was I wanting to but I felt obligated with all the other runners on the beach). After walking the entire beach, I returned to the hostel, rinsed off real quick, checked out, and went to find my bus stop. Naomi and I also grabbed some smoothies together- I had one of the best I’ve ever had: Avocado, banana, pineapple, and mango, SO good. We said our goodbyes and went to find our different buses.
Coming home from Jaco turned out of be an adventure in of itself as well for me. Before we went to bed Saturday night, we borrowed a German guy who was staying at the hostel’s computer and Naomi showed me a website to check the bus schedule. Luckily, there was another trip using the stations I had coming to Jaco that would have me leave at 12 and get in Fortuna at 6. Unfortunately for me, that would not turn out to be the case at all. My first bus to Puntarenas did not arrive, and knowing that my entire connecting buses were now off, there was no way I could use that route. After getting some help from a nice local and another nice traveler from Mexico City, I decided I would have to get one of the more frequent buses to San Jose, and from there to Fortuna. I ran down to another central location for these buses and barely caught a 1pm bus, which unfortunately had only standing room. 2.5 hours later, I recognized some of San Jose. I was nervous about going to San Jose as I knew there were many bus stops and I would probably have to go to a different station for Fortuna which was not in a good part of town. A man at the bus station where we arrived said he could take me to this other station. When we got to his car, I was a bit worried because he was not in a marked taxi car, but I decided to trust him to get me there. He did end up charging me around $6 to go a mere half mile, meaning I got ripped off by this supposed taxi driver, but I did not really care knowing I needed to get to his station and not miss these last busses as I would still need to go to San Carlos and catch another transfer bus to Fortuna. At San Carlos, I thought I may have missed the last bus as I got there around 6:45pm and many of the last buses leave at 6:30, but a nice woman calmed me down and assured there was another at 7:30pm. She was a bit confusing as she assumed my Spanish was perfect and spoke a million miles an hour with me, but I nonetheless got the bus, and dosed on and off until we got to Fortuna.
Although I enjoyed my trip to the beach without a doubt, I realized that I am very fortunate to be where I am in La Fortuna. Although the beach is pretty, and seeing the ocean is always amazing, it’s not everything it’s cracked up to be, especially in a town that is known soley for surfing, doing drugs, and partying. It was amazing how much of a relief it was to see the familiar shops and landmarks of Fortuna when the bus pulled in around 8:45pm. I would much rather be in a nice small and seemingly boring town that has nice people, that I can run around safely, have friends and my own “family” any day over a beach and parties. Although I don’t regret traveling for 14.5 hours to be at the beach for 22 hours and enjoyed the experience, I don’t plan on making another trip like it. Fortuna definitely feels more special today, and even my tiny little mattress felt better last night as my very exhausted self welcomed it with wide arms.
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