Santa Teresa!

April 4, 2011
I am so excited! We have three weeks to actually live in one place! We rented a house starting tomorrow morning until after Semana Santa is over on the 25th. Apparently things get really really busy and places fill up and have been booked for weeks so we decided to make our stay here in Santa Teresa a bit longer so we don't get caught trying to travel during that week.
We arrived here yesterday with the water taxi and then had to take another two buses to get to town. Getting around Costa Rica is way more difficult than any of the other countries we have been in. Their buses are infrequent and the roads really rough and dusty. I didn't have enough cash to pay the $2 bus fair on the way here but I didn't realize it until we were getting off the bus. I gave him all my change and he looked super pissed but he didn't chase me down the street or anything so all in all it worked out.
We checked into a dorm room at a hostel called Brunela. Our first walk through the yard we spotted a troop of monkies heading through the trees along the beach. I think they were howlers but they didn't make any noise at all this time. The rooms are really dirty and dusty but the concept is so cool. Each bunk is its own unit really with storage under the bed in locked cabinets and a built in concrete shelf beside the bed and each bed has its own fan and reading light. The fan is a must. I can't believe how hot it gets here. I am sweating buckets and have throw myself into the sea or the shower quite regularily. The walls are painted bright green with former guest artistry for decor and there are surf board storage racks in every room. There are so many iguanas living at the hostel that they are competing for roof space to sun themselves and one got into the kitchen last night and knocked over a bunch of bottle and broke them. Its kind of sad but there are two levels and it seems that all of the european, north american english speaking guests are on the top level and the spanish speaking guests are on the lower level. Each level has its own kitchen so we don't even really get to mingle. There is a serious food stealing problem here. It is most likely due to the amount of ganga being smoked and in turn is causing midnight munchie raids on the fridge and cupboards. Did I mention how excited I am to be getting our own house?
We went looking at places today with this guy who manages a bunch of properties around town. He didn't have a car so we got to ride around on a scooter. Chad drove and I tried my best not to fall off the back. I was so tempted to rent one for the whole time we are here but really its not that big and a regular bike is much cheaper and better for us and the noise level. Men seem to think the louder their ATV, motorbike, truck etc... the more attractive they seem to the ladies. This is true in most nations of the world. Although I believe the opposite. We found a place that these guys were just moving out of and it was filthy! But we looked past the grunge and saw that it would be perfect for us. They were cleaning it up this afternoon and we get to move in tomorrow morning. There are two bedrooms so we might try to find another couple to move in and help with the rent. As it is we will be paying $32 a day for a house and two bikes so it is actually pretty reasonable but it seems like so much when you have to pay for it all up front. The kitchen is basic but it will be so nice to be able to cook our own food and not have a million people trying to use the same stove and rotten food in the fridge and people stealing your food. If you are a stoner or a drunk dorm living is great.
We went surfing for a bit this afternoon. There were exactly two other people on the entire beach, which is huge. As we are not knowledgable in surf conditions we didn't realize that it was supposedly "shit" and there was no point of going out today. We went anyways and had a grand time! I caught a few baby waves and am feeling more confident in the water. Chad is getting his paddeling down and heads straight out for the big ones which scares the crap out of me. I was actually proud of myself today for knowing that the board needed to be waxed. In three weeks I think I may just be able to ride a board that isn't 14 feet tall. Our board is only 7ft2in but it looks so huge compared to the guys who surf the big waves. Havn't met any big wave girls yet. Chad is suffering from chaffed nipples lately. He forgot to wear his rash gaurd every time we've went out since we got here. He said it feels like someone just cut them right off!
It is the end of dry season here so everything is covered in dust and dried right out. Mid April its supposed to start raining. We are actually really looking forward to a good tropical storm. We had a tiny little storm on Little Corn in our tin roofed cabana. I feel like I need to get a job. I was tempted today to ask the owner of this coffee shop we went to if I could just hang out and learn how to cook vegan food and be her yoga chef. Its a tad on the hippyish side here. Only a tad however so its cool.
Everyone has a dog or two. There is a race of chocolate lab here that must have been crossed with a mastif of some kind because they are massive! One came behind me today on the beach and when I turned around there were these huge jowely jaws in front of my face with the longest pink tounge hanging out of it. It was just staring at me because I was holding a stick in which he was obviously salavating over and wanted me to throw it. All the dogs have collars but none of them ever seem to have an owner in sight. So I hucked it for him....he neglected to bring it back.
Some people may think that a backpacking around central america blog would be full of adventure and a lot more interesting stories than throwing a stick for a dog but really at the end of the day thats what I think was interesting. Other things I found interesting: a girl with a newborn baby maybe a week old dressed in only a onesie on a bus full of people, how good at riding double, triple and even quadrouple families are on bicycles (if there is a spot to rest your behind there is room for one more), you pronounce Costa Rica like Coasta not Costa....wierd.
We're talking more and more about home these days. I think it is because spring is coming and we know how much there is to do. Already made plans for May Long weekend! We are pretty much moving our packs into the boler and heading out from there. No need to move back into the house just yet! We may have to trade in our board shorts and t-shirts for jeans and sweaters however.
April 5, 2011
Moved in the house this morning!! They wanted all the money today so Chad had to rip to the bank on his bike but in the blistering heat brains are not very functional. He got out 100,000 colones and didn't realize that was only $200. I had to come and find him to see what in this world was going on. Made another trip to the bank and then paid the dude his money. We still haven't got a BBQ or a coffee maker but he keeps promising tomorrow tomorrow! so who really knows what we will end up with. The AC also doesn't work but the caretaker Eddie says that the repairman will also come tomorrow tomorrow.
There are two little geckos that live in the kitchen and they keep chirping at me. There is also a family of iguanas that live on the roof. Every once in a while they crash around and make it sound like we're being stormed with falling mangoes. I wish Xeila was here. She would appreciate the tico pace. Nice and relaxed. Chad just left to go surfing for a bit. We had to wait here for the repair guy to come who now isn't coming until tomorrow so I opted to stay and wait. When we left our hostel this morning the Swedish couple we were sharing a room with were purging their stuff before they leave tomorrow for home. They bought a surf board at the beginning of their trip and used it twice. For some reason the shop they bought it from told him that it was a beginner board which it clearly is not. Its a short and skinny board that most of the experienced guys used. He was gonna sell it for $60 or whatever anyone would give him for it. We bought it for $50 with fins and leash included. Chad just went to go try it out. We will probably only use it as a flotation device but later on before we leave we can sell it or who knows we may end up buying a board bag and keeping these boards. Trips to tofino, road trip down the coast of the US, Bali....we could probably use them quite a bit. We let the swedish couple borrow our bikes to go to the ATM at the other end of town and they were so thankful they didn't have to rent bikes for 30 min and pay out the ass. They even gave us their hiking boots! They both were going to just get rid of them cause they would never use them at home and didn't want to stuff them into their packs. How lucky were we that they both have the exact same size feet as us!