Dude, Where’s My Horse?
6 - 11 de Enero
“So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away, to the wild unknown country, where I could not go wrong…”-Bob Dylan
Padre’s Song of the Day: Neil Young and Crazy Horse — Down by the River
(Open in new tab to enjoy while reading — even on mobile)
Currently reading: Born Standing Up — Steve Martin
Recap: On the 6th, Melissa (California) and Jodie (London), my two travel buds flew into San Jose and I met them at the hostel we booked. How did we meet you ask? On an online dating site……… no just kidding. We met on an online travel forum and I must say got pretty fuckin’ lucky. If you know me, you know majority of my friends are guys, so I was a little apprehensive to say the least. But over 3 weeks in and all is good!!
Speaking of online dating sites…If you’ve traveled and haven’t used Tinder, I suggest you try it. Heck, even if you haven’t traveled! Not only is it great to get suggestions and advice from local people, but it usually turns into a decent story. Sometimes you meet some pretty great people, others not so much. (We met this dude R* on it and and he met us out one night. He was not that interesting and was a “one-upper” and that annoyed me, so I’m not going to write about him).
One of our nights in San Jose, we decided to venture out to this Irish pub, Craic. In my experience, Irish pubs are always a good time no matter the country. The Irish are always looking to get drunk. We tried one of their “chili mango” shots. $1; can’t beat that….Wrong. The shot was neon green and repulsive. Never again.
From San Jose to Monteverde. We found this Mediterranean place called Beer House. We had 3 meals there in two days, including an amazing shukshuka. Met the owner Yuriel (Israel) — we chatted and he offered me a bar tending job, so when (not if) I run out of money, I now have two options (See previous post). Sweet.
Melissa and I went on a canopy/zip lining tour. (Dad, you would’ve loved it!) Melissa screamed bloody murder and I laughed so hard I cried. Fortunately (for me) the staff caught it on video and we of course had to buy the CD*. I plan on making it my ringtone.
*Unfortunately no one has CD drives in their computers anymore, so we haven’t been able to upload it yet.
Advice from a local is always the way to go. It has never failed me. The woman from the Beer House made a few calls and we were on our way. Went on a small hike and ended up in these hot springs at the top of a waterfall (Finca Lindora) that we had to ourselves. Topless photos may or may not have occurred*. And then we got to ride back up the mountain on horseback. Awesome day.
*We decided to call ourselves “The Naked Backpackers” and plan on making a calendar. Anyone interested in sponsoring us?
Traveled to La Fortuna to see Volcano Arenal. Signed up for the “Two Volcano Full Day Hike” and I’m sorry to say we backed out. The guy who booked our hike (thanks, asshole) failed to mention that it was a 3 hour summit in mud and being an asthmatic, I didn’t really feel like dying that day.
Next day, we went white water rafting in Rio Pacuare. Holy. Crap. Definitely on my list of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. Surreal waterfalls, fauna and wildlife everywhere…exactly like those Herbal Essences commercials. I didn’t bring my camera, but I’m not sure photos would have done it justice anyway. We also all had a crush on our rafting guide, Roberto, so that made the trip significantly better. We were frequently attempting to fall/jump out of the raft because in order to get back in the boat, Roberto would have to pull us in by our life vests. He wasn’t a large guy, so it usually resulted in landing on top of him face-to-face. Need I say more?
Fun Facts
- I wrote something and someone wanted to publish it. Read it here!!!
- Costa Rica’s electricity agency has been trying to build a dam on the Pacuare river. The plan was rejected, but will be up for renegotiating in 25 years
- Monteverde has the longest zip line in Latin America. 1 km long, which is equal to 55 seconds of “flying”
Next stop, Puerto Viejo. Stay tuned!!
Follow me on Instagram (@seeeyudddd) and Snapchat to follow my journey more intimately!(and to see the stuff I don’t want to show the parentals)
Www.skrantz.com is pretty cool too
“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better [wo]man.” -Benjamin Franklin
