Manzanillo, Costa Rica -- afternoon

Well, I would've continued writing last night but the power went out. I chilled out for a little while under the nearly full moon, but eventually headed to bed earlier than expected.

Once again I slept in late (I had been sneezing quite a bit the last two days so I decided to rest as much as possible; in addition, I had no pressing appointments, of course); I got going at about quarter to noontime.

The sun was brutally strong today, and there were only a few clouds in the sky. I decided to head north as already planned, already knowing that there was no transportation but my own two feet. I walked for about fifteen to twenty minutes before I stopped to fuel up at a local soda. I ate pinto con huevos picados, and a slice of toast with a pineapple juice Tropical, and a glass of water.

From there I walked for probably about an hour, sweating my balls off and toasting the exposed skin on my arms and face (I was wearing a cut-off white t-shirt, long jeans, and sneakers). I was sweating bullets when I finally gave in to get two pineapple Tropicales at a tiny beach-side soda; I also rinsed my arms and face with water from a hose. The girl there was in no mood to talk or to be friendly. Which was quite surprising, because during my walk from Mal Pais through Santa Teresa to the soda in San Martin, every car or pedestrian that passed waved in salutation. The friendly atmosphere definitely made the walk a lot easier.

So from the soda, I continued walking north along the one-lane dirt track that ran parallel to the shore. I had been told at the soda that the next beach, Manzanillo, was located about three kilometers to the north. Well, after walking for only another half-hour, and just entering the outskirts of Manzanillo, I saw a sign for information and free lemonade. I needed the latter more than the former, and so I stopped. I talked to the woman, an American from Alaska, who has been living here for six years. Her husband has been living here for seven years. He's an interesting character to say the least. I'm soon to eat dinner with them so the conversation should prove entertaining; he has a lot of interesting views on the world situation. I'll probably write again after dinner to re-count that story and to finally write about a few funny episodes in Puntarenas.

Just before writing this entry, I took a dip in the ocean. I didn't like it that much; the beach was part gravel and the waves broke way too close to shore.