We finally left Los Alemendros, and our current residence is in a small, yet still well touristed town South on the Pacific coast called Quepos. Our ultimate destination is meant to be a mountain called Cerro Chirropo, where Loic can climb to the top and feel like a man, and I can hang around the hotel and enjoy cooler weather, maybe even visit a nearby reserve that supposedly has some stunning waterfalls.
The bus ride was pleasant enough, as far as bus journeys here go. It´s the cheapest way to travel, and they have a very sophisticated bus system. Although most busses, to my knowledge, have no airconditioning, and much to my bafflement, no bathrooms! And I´ve been on busrides as long as five hours, with only one pitstop. I am very grateful that I haven´t been desperate for a pitstop. And I actually slept a little sitting upright, something I very rarely do.
Quepos is a halfway point on our journey, and we heard there was good snorkelling here, so I agreed to stay for a bit longer in the heat. Quepos, like many towns, is dirty. And like many coastal towns, is full of foreign tourists. Actually, all of Costa Rica is full of tourists, really. It´s a small country of four million, and it seems like at any one time one quarter of that are foreigners. It´s a bizarre situation.
We took this snorkel tour on a small boat. There were two snorkel spots to visit, and then another beautious sunset to watch on the way back to the shore. I had low expectations of seeing anything, because of the destruction to the reefs, which conservationists are currently battling, and also because of some nay-sayers in town. I jumped off the boat and into the water, and lo and behold, we were surrounded by tropical fish, which we wouldn´t have seen had we not had the snorkel masks.
I have had some significant difficulty acquiring my diabetic supplies here, and there is a lot of red tape to get through if one wants to have medicines shipped into the country. And did I mention that postal theft is quite common, too? Luckily, there are some options of another insulin I can take, and so far it´s been working well enough in my insulin pump. Because my good friend Michele has attempted to send me some strips for my bloodtesting monitor, we´ve got to stick around this town for a little while. As long as I am with Loic it´s worth it right now. I feel lucky.
Yesterday I gave Loic a short massage on one of the picnic tables in the hostel we are staying at. He enjoyed it immensely, and I felt good practicising my skill and using my muscles. Then he gave me a brief massage on my legs and neck... he´s a natural and very good.
I feel ready to go home. I´ve let go of the novel concept of working on a farm, since I have been so physically challenged. This trip has been pretty rough on me physically and emotionally, and if I want to recuperate in order to enjoy myself when we visit Loic´s family for a month in June, I know that I need to be in Chicago for at least a month. So, it´s a question of when we can leave for the mountains, and then head back to San Jose or Alajuela, the latter of which is actually closer to the airport, and is supposed to be a lot nicer.
Next year I may actually visit Los Almendros again, which I consider a treasure, and have it be a briefer trip with better preparation!
No comments:
Post a Comment