november 1

We woke up at 5am, made oatmeal and an egg each, then started for La Fortuna with our smaller backpacks carrying only water bottles and a change of clothes in case we get stuck in the rain. We walked about 3km, and several cars passed us by (all going to work along the dirt road, no where near La Fortuna) until a guy driving a truck full of bulls that were destined to be slaughtered stopped and picked us up. Grant claims he checked me out pretty intensely, but I didn’t notice. We jumped in the cab and he took us all the way La Fortuna and dropped us off in front of a bakery. We immediately bought a loaf of cream cheese bread and ate the whole thing. Then, we went to the other bakery in town which specialized in more pastry type things, and we got a cinnamon bun for me, two slices of pie (one with pineapple filling, the other with strawberry) and a fluffy pastry thing with sweet milk and powdered sugar on it. We split the slices of pie, and I felt extremely over sugared afterwards. Then we went to the Banco National, and I changed some money and we both used the ATM. The banks in Costa Rica are pretty intense. I’m sure there’s all kinds of security at our banks back home, but the Ticos are much more blatant about theirs. The metal detectors are big, and you can’t bring keys or cell phones into the bank. They have a security guard on either side of the little room that acts as the metal detector. They ask if you have keys, then they let you into the detector. The glass doors close on both sides, they scan you, then the other guard lets you out on the other side. You have to repeat the process when you want to leave. The lines are always ridiculous also, but I guess they are at home too, sometimes. Next we wandered around town, looking in souvenir shops. There is a really pretty tapestry that is hanging behind the counter at the Serpenteria, but I couldn’t find that one, so I didn’t get any. There’s still time to look before the tourist season hits and prices inevitably skyrocket. We also spent 30 minutes at an internet café, just to check email really quickly. It will be so nice to get regular internet again when Glenn gets back. It’s annoying to have to walk up the hill and sit outside his house when we need to use it, but at least its there all the time, more or less. Finally, we went to the grocery store and spent a good hour getting all the things on our list. We had to be semi-careful about what we bought because we only had out two backpacks, and there was always the possibility that we wouldn’t get a ride home, and it’s 27km between La Fortuna and El Castillo. We walked with our full backpacks out of town, until the sidewalks ended. We stood with out thumbs out for a while, which didn’t work. A few minutes after we started walking a guy stopped and we got in. he was going to Hotel Linda Vista, which is maybe 1km from the turn off to el castillo, so we got a ride almost the entire way back home. Grant talked to him most of the way back. He has a daughter, sells soap products for a new company, and speaks some English which he practiced with us. When he let us out he gave Grant a bottle of biodrgradeable soap to try. When we got home we cleaned some clothes, the bathroom, and swept the floors. Relaxing evening ahead.