GONNA BE THERE BITCHES! :D

Anyway, shoot me a line if you're in country... PM's are read ;)

I'm sure you're gonna have a killer time, man... Drink plenty of Imperial and say hi to all the mamacitas for me! :cheers:

Done and done, Omi!! :D

Hey, BTW, whats the deal with Pension Santa Elena? No tienen los reservaciones, hombre. No email replies, either...

I just have to decide when I get into San Jose Sunday whether I want the "SkyTrek" tour like you did or the "Canopy Tours" setup. Frommer's says CT...

:stoked: :stoked: :stoked:

Call the Pensión Santa Elena from San Jose... That's what I had to do. I'm surprised they haven't replied to your email, though. Last I was there, I was hanging out with the IT crew (yes I'm a geek!) who was setting them up with a crazy-advanced new Internet and booking system that's better than what most of the hotels in SJ have.

SkyTrek is the most fun/fast of 'em - they have the highest AND fastest ziplines around. (Having seen some others now in Canada and New Zealand, I believe that claim.) Being high and fast, you zoom by and see the least of the rainforest and wildlife that way, whereas with a typical suspension bridge/tram canopy tour you'll see a lot more - but you don't do those tours for the wildlife anyway ;) In order to get a good look at the wildlife, just go for a hike in the Cloudforest or Children's Eternal Rainforest - preferably a guided one... Do the canopy for the thrills, I say.

Sooo jealous... looking to go back in the next couple months, have a killer time and take care of those ticos! they're the best type of people!

Well, Dad is on his way to drop me off at BWI... I'll check in w/ya'll later tonite! :D

Have a good time! And send me a postcard!

have fun man. :cheers:

I´m at <hostel <pangea in san jose right now. if you want a postcard, email me. off to cervezas and comistebles<!!!!

ok, now that i have a moment (bar just closed ;) ) i´ll post what i have to say tonite. Expect a formal writeup sometime after i get back.

Flew from <BWI to Miami, laid over way too long- original was 1.5 hours. Turned into 3- but i finally got here.

Met Dustin and Helen. He´s from Wisconsin, she´s from Sweden (!!!!). Both are working as volunteers here for 6 months.

We are all staying at Hostel Pangea, (Omid stayed here.) but the new one thats been open about 3 mos. Its in a barrio in SJ. Barrio, by standards of Spanish Harlem in NYC. Weird vibrations emanating, as the area we went thru coming in was a bit sketchy. Hostel has big ol´fences with barbed wire, but once inside, its beautiful. Painted murals on the walls, really nice vibe, very new. Kind of an oasis. Single rooms are nice, double bed, dorms are, well, dorms. Honestly, been here 2 hours, haven´t seen mine yet ;) Been busy drinking Imperials (which is kinda like Budweiser. Not half bad...)

According to some folks here, there is a writer from Lonely Planet here right now. I am determined to meet said writer. I am sporting the Tpunk patch on my pack, and have spread the word around. Hopefully we can get some folks to sign on. If anything, get some recognition for all of us TP´s out there. Gotta represent.

Anyway, the flight in was a bit rough on approach. Lotsa turbulence, but the pilot says thats expected crossing the mountains. Tomorrow I will see whats going on, and likely make plans for Monteverde and the Cloud Forest.

FWIW, my first Costa Rican culinary experience consisted of a cheese sammich, about 6 Imperials and a few Camel Lights. Will update as time permits.

My Spanish is also better than I previously thought- I was able to converse with local cab drivers at the airport and translate for Helen, who speaks less Espanol than I do. Pretty funny, I think I understood every 4th or 5th word ;)

Anyway, update over. I hope that once I´m done I can provide a decent travel guide to my fellow TPUnks and get some exposure for this site!

Buenos Noches, bitches! :D

Dude, make sure you get to the karaoke bar next door - the locals there can seriously belt out the jams!

Just woke up, its 1015 am here. Gonna get some grub and I have 1 more nite here. I´m gonna call Pension Santa Elena a little later and figure out the bus thing. THe bar on the roof here is nice. good overlook of the city and though the Imperials are more ($1.09) than i thought they´d be, at least they´re pint-size ;)

Anyway, I plan on seeing some of SJ today. Keep running the TP name everywhere here. Hopefully we´ll get some new members outta it!

Probably a little late now, but it's best to buy your bus ticket a day in advance to get up to Santa Elena/Monteverde.. Still, you can buy on-the-spot tickets at the bus station. Just ask the front desk which bus station your'e supposed to go to and you can take a 3-minute cab ride there.

There are 2 buses, one at around 6:15 in the morning and one in early afternoon... it's a 4-hour or so ride, with a beer break in the middle.. Not super comfy, but you cant argue with $4.30!

I hear you. Im currently somewhere into a 6-pack of imperial ;) and headed out manana. Bus leaves at 6:30 am. Have a reservation at Pension Santa Elena (thanks, Omid!) for tomorrow. After that, i dunno. Wake up is at 5:30am :blink2:

Anyway, San Jose is San Jose. We went to the Mercado Central today and I bought a hammock for the rest of the trip. Little chilly tonite. I think its gonna make a nice blanket! Got some spices, too, but they aren´t too ¨flavorful´ still, tico´s seem to really enjoy life. I´m gonna see what tonite holds. Met a girl that lives an hour from me... she was wearing a shirt that said ¨Baltimore¨ on it. Go figure, right?

Anyway, mas cervezas estas aqui... hasta luego, Punks!

HA! I knew you'd buy a hammock... you schmuck!

Sounds like a blast bro!

I am off to BRAZIL on Wednesday. Make sure to remember to take a few pics between beers and ladies :)

Foo

:cheers:

Count how many beers the bus driver drinks on the 20-minute stop on the way up. It's just before the windy/mountainous ride up... How many beers he has determines how exciting the rest of the bus ride will be ;)

Pretty sure he had two :D

I had one, a bit of hair of the dog to kill last nite's partying... here's the email I sent my mom and dad today...

Early morning wake up call aside, the $2 i paid for the cab to the bus station and the $4 for the bus was money well spent. Ride was about 5 hours, with one stop to get a beer, catch a smoke, and take a piss. We rode for about 2 hours on an unpaved road to get to Santa Elena.

Words cannot describe how beautiful the country is. Coming up the road we could see the Pacific. Got a few pics of it.

Still nursing a major hangover, though. Met up with some Americans and Canucks in the hostel last nite, really tied one on. Steve's word of advice: do not travel in Costa Rica on a hangover!!! This one was so bad even a little hair of the dog in the form of a Cerveza Imperial (Imperialweiser is what we called it last nite...) around 10am didn't cure it.

Not sure what im into today, think i'm gonna take a nap, do some exploring and see whats around. Going to Volcan Arenal doesn't look like its in the cards- its a 6 hour trip from here. I think Thursday I'll head to Puerto Viejo for some beach time.

Ticos are an interesting bunch. Dad, you'd be interested to know that EVERY bank has a VERY well armed guard at the door, then one inside. Like as in 12 gauge shotgun, pistol, and kevlar. The tico's have very little crime compared to home, so i guess it works all said and done. The exchange rate is about 500 colones for $1. My room (private, thank God) is $8 a nite here. Nice enough place, some reggae playing in the background, just very laid back. Tico Time as they call it. You get it done when you get it done. Think I'm falling in love with the country. I'm already thinking about my next trip here!!

Anyway, I'm really hungry. Gonna go find some comistebles, hopefully other than gallo pinto!!

Aren't I such a good hosteler? Lunch was some homemade guacamole and a couple bananas... they are SO much better here. But anyway, the folks at the hostel loved the guac :D