Montezuma, Costa Rica -- evening

Earlier today, I caught the ferry from Puntarenas to arrive at Paquera, a town in the province of Guanacaste. The trip across the Gulf of Nicoya lasted about forty-five minutes; the sun was very strong, as was the wind, and there were only a few clouds in the sky.

Upon arriving in Paquera, I immediately hopped a bus for the forty-five minute ride south toward the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. And so here I am in the town of Montezuma, which I have quickly discovered is really an American/European colony; I've actually been surprised to see a Tico here. Going along perfectly with the population here are the prices: everything is expensive. Considering I have been looking forward to a more proletarian and a more "tico" experience, I don't plan on staying here long. In fact, I've already asked several locals how to get to the town of Mal Pais. I've been told that I must backtrack by bus to the town of Cobano in order to catch a different bus back south to Mal Pais. And supposedly I must do this early, which may prove to be a problem since I still don't have an alarm of any kind.

Tonight's experience has been pretty shitty. Besides the heavy prices, everyone here is either honeymooners or stoners looking for weed and waves. For me, its been a while since I've even had a drink of alcohol. And this even despite three nights at Carnaval in Puntarenas, where at the end of each night there were guys passed out on the sidewalks, on the beach, and even in the middle of the street, el Paseo de los Turistas. Furthermore, at the end of each night, there was trash everywhere and the place smelled like the aftermath of a rowdy frat party.

Now to re-cap my time in Puntarenas. I slept in the same cheap hotel room on Friday night, for the same price of 2500 colones. But, upon a sudden knock on my door on Saturday late morning, I was told that the room had already been rented for that night. Considering it was the height of Carnaval, I had little choice but to leave Puntarenas. I figured my only other option was to visit the Soda Macareno, where I had befriended a porteno and two Colombians, one more time. I had promised to go there for una sopa de mariscos that Saturday afternoon.

So I saw Enrique, the Colombian from Cali, and I explained to him my situation. Luckily for me, he invited me to stay to sleep on the floor of his humble room. It certainly was humble, but that of course didn't bother me a bit. In fact, I stayed there both Saturday and Sunday (yesterday) night. Also staying there with Enrique was a Nicaraguan girl named Lili, who had lived in Puntarenas for a year but is now living in La Carpio, San Jose. I spent most of my time with her since Enrique had to work at a burger stand during Carnaval. She was very nice and she felt comfortable enough with me to ask me for advice; so my work as a type of advisor/counselor continues yet. Since I plan to continue north to Nicaragua, I asked for her address and phone number in Managua; she expects to be there by the end of the week. I told her that I hoped to be there in about two weeks, give or take.

Before leaving, I also got Enrique's email address. He plans on going to Seattle, Washington this July. I told him he is welcome in Philadelphia. A bat just flew over my head, as I sit here growing a bit tired of writing. Typing is just so much faster (and neater too, I'm sure)!

The full moon is high over my head, visible through palm leaves. And not too far in the distance (perhaps 100 meters), the tumble of the Pacific can be heard. The juxtaposition of my time in Puntarenas with the disappointment of Montezuma has slightly disillusioned me. To cure that, I must simply hit the road. With the hope that the next town will bring new adventures and even happiness.

I absolutely must recount a couple of funny stories from my time in Puntarenas, but I'll save that for my next entry. Now I'll got back to reading Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad, and then hit the sack to rest for a new day.