Heading to the beach
/Jan 5, 91 degrees
Today we head to the beach!!!
Today, we must get up early (6:00am) to catch a cab to a neighboring town just to catch a shuttle to Tamarindo. Tamarindo is located on the northwestern pacific coast of Costa Rica. This will be a 5 hr journey from San Jose and this is where we will begin Spanish immersion school.
The mountain area was beautiful, however, it was quite isolating. The temperatures were much cooler and convenience was not a common term. The closest store was about a 20-minute walk on level roads, but about 45 minutes with steep inclines. We bought food and drinks while in San Jose in anticipation that we would not be able to get these things once back in the mountains (Mostly because of a lack of transportation).
We arrive in Allejuela and are dropped off near the airport. We get there a little early so we decide to have breakfast. Denny's! Sounds familiar and we know what kind of food to expect. YES, they have wifi!!!!! This is our first real opportunity to connect and communicate with anyone back home. I don't remember Mandy nor I speaking to one another the entire time. Can't even remember what she had for breakfast. The both of us were just starving to be connected, even though, it is the very thing we wanted so badly to get away from. Funny.
The shuttle: on the shuttle were only two other people, both young women. One was from Colorado and currently is majoring in Spanish. She is joining us at the same immersion school. She eventually wants to teach English in Chile. Interesting. The other woman is originally from Germany but now lives in Switzerland. She is currently between jobs and has come to Costa Rica for a break and to learn Spanish.
About 2 hrs into our trip, we stop for a break and to switch drivers for the second leg of our trip. The small plaza obviously caterers to tourists. Here we find a cafe, a restaurant and a gift shop. As the shuttle door opens, we here, "Ohhhs and ahhhhs" with everyone looking toward the sky. Just above us are vibrant parrots in the tree tops. We can't pull out our cameras fast enough. Blue mixed with red and greens and yellows. It is everything that Costa Rican t-shirts are made of.
Loading back on to the shuttle, we are joined by three other women. These women are from Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. They speak English very well and we find out that they also speak three other languages. This is when it strikes me. All these people from other countries that are either bi or trilingual. I strain when I try to think about how many of my friends know other languages. I can only think of a couple.
Finally, we arrive in Tamarindo. Tamarindo is very commercialized compared to other towns in Costa Rica and very much caters to Americans. Restaurants, surf shops, gift shops and vendors everywhere. "Want coconuts?" "Want a cigar?" "What kind of tour would you like?" I can't say that we aren't excited about the level of accessibility. We have three goals for our time in Tamarindo:
1. Learn/brush up on Spanish through an immersion school
2. Talk to backpackers to learn to "live on the cheap"
3. Figure out all the places we want to visit while in Costa Rica
As we get settled into our apartment, we realize we are not alone. We actually have a roommate. It is a crab. In the most pathetic and careful way, using a plate and plastic bowl, we remove him from our apt and head out for a bite. Sadly enough, we end up at an American sports bar called "Sharkeys" and we splurge on wings and a pitcher of beer. I know, I know. We couldn't stop ourselves.
Welcome to Tamarindo! Pura Vida!