That Time I Almost Died in the Costa Rican Jungle
I still can’t believe this happened!
I was 10 going on 11.
My family and I were on a cruise, docked in Costa Rica.
One of the shore excursions was a “romantic train ride through the Costa Rican jungle reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
Cool. We signed up immediately.
Embarking on our “romantic” (and scenic) ride through the Costa Rican landscape was as far from romance as Fast and Furious #5.
As we crammed onto the train, I realized immediately it was a shell of its former self. There were no doors and no glass in the windows. The floor had huge, gaping holes — so big, you could see the tracks underneath. The seats were rusted metal and looked like they required a tetanus shot before sitting down.
There were probably 100+ people from the cruise aboard this thing. Everyone had the same look on their face: what the holy hell have we gotten ourselves into?
We’ve seen some beautiful scenery a couple of hours in, stopped for food and shopping, and are now returning to the ship, which is a few hours away.
The Sun is starting to set and we’re deep in the jungle. The leaves of the trees scrape and hit the window cut-outs and…
