A Weekend of Firsts

Jacó Beach

First time traveling independently in Costa Rica, first time staying in a hostel, and.....first time dealing with a medical situation in a foreign country.

Remember when I said I wouldn't write super long posts? Well, that was a lie. Last Friday I finished my first Spanish class here in Costa Rica. What better way to celebrate than a beach weekend? Five friends and I decided to go to Jacó, a beach town that is about 2.5 hours away, on the Pacific side. We booked a hostel online and woke up at 5:30 Saturday morning to take a public bus to Jacó. Public transportation is always fun here, because you don't really know what will happen. We got tickets for an 8 o'clock bus, which isn't even offered on the official schedule list. On the bus, there were a few people standing in the aisle for nearly the whole 2.5 hour ride. Occasionally, the bus would stop along the way and let people out. Actually, it didn't really stop, it just slowed down a bit, the door opened, and people would hop off while the bus was basically still going. Kind of unsafe. Overall, though, the transportation was pretty easy and cheap (only $6 each way).

We arrived in Jacó and decided to look for our hostel. Apparently, the one we booked online was under construction, so Jessica had arranged for a different hostel via email. We didn't really know what to expect, but that made it exciting. The hostel was about 5 blocks from the beach, with a hammock and swing in the front yard...it seemed promising. We wandered into a place that had obviously seen a party the night before. The hostel owner was really nice, but really hungover. I think his name was Chabba. He was from somewhere in Europe, probably like Slovakia or something. Anyway, it seemed like any other house, but with bunk beds in every bedroom. It was about 11 am and there were various strangers sleeping in each room. Chabba seemed unprepared for 6 of us to be staying there, but he showed us to our bedrooms anyway. Jessica, Heidi, Ellen, and I stayed in a room with 8 bunk beds and 3 strangers. It might sound bizarre to just settle into a house with people you are completely unfamiliar with, but it wasn't. Everyone was really nice, really chill, and easy to be around. Most of them were very seasoned travelers with interesting stories and advice.

After leaving our things at the hostel, we went to the beach. On the way, we noticed that there was an abundance of motorcycles. We soon realized that there was a motorcycle rally happening the same weekend. Obviously, there were a lot of interesting people in town. The beach was great, though. It was super warm and sunny, busy without being crowded, and the water was actually warm. I have never felt the Pacific at a comfortable temperature, but the water in Jacó definitely is! It was so nice to just relax and play in the water all day. I got some color, too :)

Not too much else happened Saturday. We ate BURGERS and fries for dinner. The restaurant did some strange things. About halfway through our meal, the waitress came and took one of my friends' water glasses explaining that, "we need these for other people." The restaurant wasn't even that busy! Later, we went to one of the clubs that was having Ladies' Night. It was actually a nice club, but the only people there were old white guys and some very flirtatious, voluptuous, and cheaply dressed women (read: HOOKERS). After the girls got their 2 free drinks, we decided to call it a night.

I slept well, despite sharing a room with 6 others, and I didn't wake up until 5 am. Why? Well, this very drunk Canadian girl was standing next to my bed trying to talk to me. I was really confused, at first, especially when she started pulling the covers off of me! I realized that she had me mistake for someone else. All I wanted to say was, "Girl, please, I am trying to sleep and my name is not 'Timmy!'" Oh hostels, what fun!

The next day, we were all somewhat sunburned, but we decided to visit the other end of the beach. Our friend Ellen wasn't feeling great, though we thought it was just a stomach ache or something. On the way back from the beach, she just started puking all of a sudden. After spending some time in the bathroom, she came out, barely able to walk and complaining that her vision was fuzzy. Obviously, we were really freaked out and worried about her. Two people ran back to the hostel and they sent a guy on a motorcycle to pick her up and take her to see a doctor. Everybody went back to the hostel and scrambled to find all her necessities, like her passport copy and money. We took a taxi to the Red Cross, which is where the motorcycle guy said she would be. Do you know what the doctor told us? He said, "No, there's no one here named Ellen, no American girl." My heart stopped for like 5 seconds as we all thought simultaneously, "Oh my god, we just put our sick friend on the back of a stranger's motorcycle and now she's disappeared into the jungle!"

Thankfully, we all speak Spanish, so we were able to question the doctor and get directions to the other health clinic. Keep in mind that we were also supposed to be getting on a bus this afternoon, so in addition to stressing about her health, we were also worried about our schedule. We managed to find her, though, and she was already looking a little better. They told her she had a stomach virus (how they diagnosed this in 1 hour, we're not sure), gave her some antibiotics, and said she would be fine to ride the bus back to San José. So in the end, everything turned out okay, and we even managed to make the bus.

As a final, lovely topping on this weekend, though, the first half of the bus ride was miserable. We were stuck in traffic for an hour with intense heat and sweat occurring, and of course Lexi and my window was the one that wouldn't open. After the traffic, our driver turned off on some gravel side road that took us through the country for a bumpy shortcut aka "scenic tour." The rest of the journey was completed by highway, but we were driving on the wrong side of the road for almost the entire way. Apparently, that's okay here. I came back to San José exhausted, tan, and fully appreciative of my own bed and family here. Despite the scares and abnormalities, this was a fun weekend, and I can't wait for more weekend trips!

Photo credits to Lexi and Jessica, who were brave enough to bring their cameras this weekend.

Backyard at the hostel.

Jacó beach with Kelly (note the fact that I haven't shaved in over a week)


Yep, driving on the left side is totally safe..