Party Time Is No Fun

March 2-3, 2008
Day 886-887

My room was next to the road and when the fireworks went off at 5:00 AM, I thought someone was trying to kill me. Later in the day, I must have looked like they nearly succeeded because I had barely gotten any sleep by the time I rolled out… Read More »

Orchids and Accidents

March 1, 2008
Day 885

This morning I met a retired guy named Rick from Maine, and he introduced me to the orchid museum next to my hostel. I never really paid attention to flowers before, but the guided tour was actually interesting. There was the orchid that… Read More »

Bobbing and Weaving the Price Gougers

February 28-29, 2008
Day 883-884

I took yet another bus to the town of Arenal, which sat on the Arenal Lagoon with a view of, you guessed it, the Arenal Volcano. It was a pretty area, but there wasn't a lot to do because the roads were set up for motor traffic only, and… Read More »

Where Your Mouthwash Comes From

February 26-27, 2008
Days 881-882

A few days ago, I met a girl named Mary on one of my bus rides. She was studying computer science at a university on the Caribbean coast, and through a scheduling miracle of sorts, managed to take off for a few weekdays to visit her family. She invited… Read More »

A Volcanic Culture

February 25, 2008
Day 880

I got out of the big city today and took a bus to La Fortuna. It was a nice little town with a quaint church and a flowery plaza, but the highlight was clearly the nearby 1633 meter Arenal Volcano. Every businesses in… Read More »

The Psychological Analysis Of San Jose

February 21-24, 2008
Day 876-879

It was a long bus ride to San Jose. Despite the small size and good roads of Central American countries, it still takes a full day to go halfway across the country because of frequent bathroom breaks, multiple flat tires, and engine breakdowns in the middle of a busy… Read More »

Back To Town

February 19-20, 2008
Day 874-875

Corcovado National Park Trek Day 3

This morning we walked with Martin and Helen, a German and British couple who recently had been spending most of their time living and working tourism and nature conservation in various parts of Central America. The walk… Read More »

Through the Jungle

February 18, 2008
Day 873

Corcovado National Park Trek Day 2

Richard and I left camp as soon as it was light enough to see. We were heading northbound, away from the ocean, and as the sound of the waves faded away, the rain forest came alive. Howler monkeys were making… Read More »

An Easy Crossing

February 15-16, 2008
Day 870-871

Boquette was cool and drizzly as usual when I left, but the heat knocked me back like an ocean wave as I neared David. Soon I was in Paso Canoas, where I had my easiest border crossing since going between Chile and Argentina two years ago. Within half an… Read More »