Well I’m on the plane and it’s on interesting experience: The plane is very small, not like a Ceasna but very long and narrow, not even enough room to walk in the center isle, especially with a Panama hat! The dim lights highlight various parts of the plane, people’s hair, bald heads, and indicate that there is no smoking. Not that I smoke, but it’s the only color amongst the darkness! And now the journey begins! I’ve felt dead for sometime now, but at this moment, listening to Sarah Brightman’s Phantom of the Opera, I feel ALIVE! Bright colors caught my eye, and investigation brought into view one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve seen! From the darkness of earth comes a crimson red! It’s a perfect rainbow sunrise! From the red an earthy orange emerges, which transforms into a thin line of yellow. The green and yellow seem to be one color, but two! Blue culminates the green and introduces a muted violet, which fades back into the darkness of space! Slowly lights twinkle below and the sleeping earth resumes life once again!
A quick run from one Atlanta terminal to the next allowed me to walk right onto the awaiting flight to Costa Rica. This was a big plane, with rows upon rows, televisions (the in-flight movie was Transformers, a movie I had wanted to see.), and very comfortable seating. Luckily no one sat next to me so I could spread out a bit. Four hours later and I arrived at the San Jose airport. An hour later I was through Immigration and Customs. An hour after that and I was still trying to determine if I had missed my arranged shuttle to the hostel, so I finally bargained with one of the many taxi barkers to arrange for a driver. Whilbirth was wonderful as he was a great help, even serving as a tour guide to introduce me to the city. The address I had was incorrect, but he assisted in finding the new location and even carried my luggage in for me.
The stress of such a day, after spending months locked away in seclusion of the Austin apartment caused me to have to lie down and sleep. All I could think about was, ‘What the hell was I thinking, I cannot do this. When is the next flight out?’ Upon awakening, Bill from Panama (originally from San Antonio, Texas) was very kind and started talking with me. He served as my tour guide for the day and even introduced me to several interesting places. I found where Gringo Gulch (the area where the tourists visit), the Hotel Del Ray (which has a casino, the Blue Marlin Lounge, and lots of prostitutes), and I received a lesson in the local currency. 500 Colones is just about $1 US. Knowing this has helped a lot in buying things here.
I spoke in depth with Grace, one of the girls in the bar who is a prostitute. She’s 40 and has two children, ages 14 and 18. Prostitution is legal here and doesn’t carry the same social stigmas that it does in the states. I enjoyed our conversation and learned a lot about her business. Imperial beer, the Costa Rican official beer, isn’t so bad, especially for a non-beer drnker. I’ve been having them every evening as it’s only 500 Colones ($1 US) Sodas, my usual choice is 600 Colones.
The Hostel Pangea is very nice with a pool, two upper patios, one covered and surrounded by clear plastic panels, a disco built on stilts above the parking area, an outdoor kitchen that serves up some wonderful food for only a few dollars, and it has many dorm rooms and some private rooms. The dorm room I’m in sleeps 8 and even though the dorms are co-ed, it’s all men in mine. The number of men in my dorm room changes every night.
