Life by the Sea

April 19, 2011
Happy Birthday Adrienne! We are missing yet another birthday. Our dearest friend "Aids" is turning 25 today!
The countdown is on to the end of this trip. A little less than one month left. We decided to head straight for San Jose and get on the bus to Panama City instead of going ot Quepos to see the park. We figure that Costa Rica is definately a place that we will visit again. Its super easy to rent a car and a house and hunker down with a big group for a couple weeks. The language barrier is virtually non-existent. I do miss speaking spanish but my frustration and stress level is at an all time low!
A couple days ago we rented a scooter so we could get out of town for the day. I picked it up in the morning and we left after breakfast to see the sights. We took the back road, "forbidden" to scooters! I can see why but Chad being the master scootsman got us up and down the steep bumpy windy trails with only a couple times that I had to bail and walk up the hill. This way was so much more scenic and beautiful and we got to see a lot of the Costa Rican countryside. First we went through jungle and dry creek beds and then through rolling hills with floppy eared cows staring at us and big bright yellow flowered trees dotting the landscape. Each cow had her very own white crane looking bird to pick the bugs off her! I need one of those to keep the mosquitos off me.
On our journey we stopped at some little beaches off the side of the road and found some nice snorkel spots. Being high tide however it was a bit wavey for me. We saw a massive turtle swimming around this one spot. We got into Montezuma for a bit of lunch and some shopping! Chad was kind enough to volunteer to go get gas in the next town so that i could shop in peace. I didn't really find anything because its all so expensive, geared to tourists who are only staying a week or two. I did find some earrings and a headband from the hippies who make and sell their wares along the roadside.
On the way back we stopped at a beach and went for a swim but the current and waves were huge. We then realized why there was a rope to hold on to. Finally got to snorkel around a bit because the water was so clear but all i saw were little fish and the bottom covered in tiny shells instead of sand. The ride back brought us to a little fishing village where they head out for fishing trips and "secret beach"...well its not really that secret but you have to walk on a little trail through the jungle to get there so i guess it is "slightly secret beach".
After this busy day and evening we decided to go out for dinner for a change. We went to an Argentinina BBQ...of course. They had a big open fire BBQ pit in the floor and were grilling up tons of meat! Chad was salivating about it before we even got there. Chad got an entire 1/2 chicken and I got the ribs. There was so much meat on our plates that I took most of it home and we had it for dinner again the next night. It was called La Pierdas, their slogan: its the shit!
Yesterday we went out fishing with a group of six. We set it up with Ryan, the dude who did Dave's tattoo a week ago. He found us a boat and with a change of plan about 6 times we finally got to go out. We went from 3 until sunset and caught 4 jack fish of some sort. Apparently they are not really good to eat so they sent most of them back to the sea. We were really trying to get yellow fin tuna! They were jumping around us like crazy but we didn't even get one nibble. I think the dolphins were herding them away from us! A huge pod of dolphins hung out by the boat for a while and I tried to get some video of them. Some got fairly close! I was actually more excited to see the dolphins then catch tuna! We ended up heading back to shore with no tuna in tow. Another boat caught four of them so they gave Ryan a nice big filet. He neglected to share any with us and took Chad's fish he caught aswell so we said fairwell to our shortlived friendship with tattoo Ryan. His girlfriend on the other hand was lovely and I really liked her and wonder how she can be with a weiner like him!
We had to ride our bikes back from the fishing village in the dark and by the time we got home we were tired, dusty, sweaty and sunburned. In no mood to cook. But alas the pizza place down the road was closed and so instead we made steak, potatoes, salad and garlic butter shrimp. Our kitchen window is always open and the smell of our food always wofts down to the neighbours behind the tree and plants. The other day with I was sauteing up some garlic...which we do for almost every meal...I heard one of them say "Oh, garlic again!". We also have a nightly visitor that I have named Betty. She is a pitbull mix who loves to come over to have some leftovers and belly rubs. She is so sweet. I don't even know where she lives or who she belongs to but she has a collar so I guess I can't take her home. I offered to take one of the scooter rental guy's German Shepard puppies off his hands because they are so rambunctious, but he sais his children would cry, and I didn't want to make his children cry.
The AC still doesn't work here and I doubt it will ever be fixed. We didn't get a BBQ like they promised and our landlady is a first rate beeotch. But other than that staying in a house has been lovely. But I am definately ready to hit the road again. Once Semana Santa is over....we're outta here!