Costa Rica Bound!

Sometime around mid-December I started thinking about the week I would have available after returning from the states and before school started. No groups of people had really formed going anywhere, so I decided this was the perfect opportunity to set out on my own and travel solo for the first time. I started searching for volunteer opportunities available in Central America, and then quickly added the term “cheap” to the beginning of the search string which eventually led me to the ASVO program in Costa Rica. Within a week, my position had been confirmed at Montezuma http://www.asvocr.org/english/montezuma/index.php. I wasn’t 100% sure what I’d be doing, but knowing I would be on a beach in Costa Rica with room and board covered for $25/day volunteering with an environmental project was enough to make me excited!

I arrived home at 1:30am after my New Year’s celebration with some Salvadoran friends, finished packing, took a taxi to the bus station at 2:30am and by 3am was on the road headed south to Costa Rica. Three meals, three border crossings (which included 6 stops), innumerable immigration officials, and 20 hours later (11pm) I arrived at the bus station in San Jose, Costa Rica! I wished my dear Guatemalan seat buddy good luck with his upcoming semester of study and he left me with his sister’s number in Costa Rica in case I had any problems! My border buddy, (a lot of time was spent waiting at borders outside the bus and many friends were made) a dreadlocked nurse from Australia independently backpacking around the world for the past 8 months, and I decided to share a taxi to our respective hostels.

The following morning I connected with my program organizer who told me to get on another bus at 2pm to arrive at my site on the beach on the Nicoya Peninsula by around 8:30pm that night. I knew another bus ride was in my future, but I hid my shock that it was going to be that long. Considering I’d just survived a 20 hour ride, what’s another 6.5 divided with a ferry ride?! I was able to take advantage of the 4 hours I had in San Jose and covered the entire downtown walking tour route taking in as many sites as the “Everything is closed on Monday” capitol would allow! I ate traditional Costa Rican cuisine consisting of chicken, potatoes and carrots in broth and rice from a local restaurant while chatting it up with the owner and dishwashers at the bar. They provided some great insight on Costa Rican culture and a few kind Spanish lessons as well!

I successfully found the new bus station on foot and thoroughly enjoyed the vibrant greens, lush vegetation and rolling hillsides as I traveled across the country. The ferry was HUGE and carried a couple of busses, many cars and hundreds of people! What a welcomed change of pace to be on the water during the sunset surrounded by gorgeousness instead of the inside of a bus.

On the last leg of my journey, I sat next to a Lebanese chef who owns a restaurant in a nearby town. We had a congenial conversation ranging from his famous falafel recipes to his life in Miami and how life changed for him as a resident post-9/11 to his life in the Lebanese army back in the 80’s and challenges and hardships that came with that experience. We shared about our families and our love of travel. It was exhilarating! However, I was so thankful when I finally arrived at Montezuma and was met by two people from my program to walk me to my final destination!