Departure and Arrival

In typical Nathan-fashion, the departure was crazy. Even though I had to pack my backpack before I left, I had to redo it before I left Portland. Although I had plenty of time, my methodic approach led to a good amount of organized chaos and a little excitement. Litterally stuffed the last pieces of clothing into my now 37-lb bag and full extra bag and headed to get cash. Should have taken care of that ealier as I couldn´t find a branch and had to just get to the ATM, which was cool cause I could get more $ once I got to Costa Rica. After getting to the airport, they informed me that I had to have proof of a return flight within 90-days to be able to get on the plane so I called my day-saving sister who bought a ticket for me online as I don´t have a laptop. During that frantic call, I realized that I forgot to grab my card back from the ATM!! Should I stay and take care of that before I leave!? Nope, it will work out. So I got on my flight to Denver en route to CR.

The flight was delayed due to rain but we made it. It was ironic that I had a chance to say good bye to the Mile High City before I left the country. My midnight flight to San Jose Costa Rica left just a little late but the flight was good. I didn´t sleep much but got a good 2 hours in and was happy to be awaken by ¨Please prepare for arrival to San Jose.¨The weather was a bit chilly but humid when I arrived but humid as hell! The only plan I had was to head to Costa Rica Backpackers Hostel, where my first journey, 8 years ago, started. It was nice coming to a familiar place when I arrived. $14 for a shared dorm room, I tried not to wake my 9 new roomies. Unfortunately I had to get on the internet and see what I was going to do about my $ before I could get a little sleep. Unfortunately it was too early so I couldn´t do anything. I spent the next couple hours laying in bed getting in 15 to 30 min naps as people were in an out and the train down the street weren´t exactly quiet.

My bunk-mate was the first to greet me outed me as being from the States. I was expecting to meet a bunch of Europeans but he was from Texas and when I mentioned I was from Denver, another guy said he was from Fort Collins, CO, about 45 min from Denver. Wow. Christian is actually Brazilian but has lived in the States for 10 years.

I finally got my google voice to work and was able to figure out that I will hopefully be able to get my bank card in about a week if everything goes well, oh and of course $120, which is like 5 days of living here. Oh well, Pura Vida.

After doing some re-packing and organizing, Christian and I headed out to get some grub. My first Costa Rican meal was actually Peruvian! I can´t remember the name of my plate but it was basically a breaded, fried, tenderized chicken breast with a side of fries and some white rice. It was really good, especially when they brough out the mustard like, spicy sauce that made it great. Back to the hostel for a good nap before happpy hour starts here at the hostel bar. Looking forward to driking some Imperial and listen to the Reggae DJ they have here. For some reason, they only play reggae here, which is Fine with me!

Not sure where my next stop is, may head out of San Jose for a couple days and come back to get my card next week but not sure.

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Pics coming.