Apparently, and I say apparently because if I had known of this before hand there is a strong chance I wouldn't have even gotten on the plane, we came to Costa Rica in the middle of a national state of emergency, also known as a hurricane. Hurricane Thomas to be exact, which has really wreaked havoc on much of Costa Rica and the Caribbean (poor Haiti). We purposely did not make a plan for where we would go on the first day, but leave it up to bus times, etc. Well it's a good thing, because there were NO buses. The roads were closed because of many many many landslides, all over the country. There was one option for us, that was to go by taxi to the nearest beach, Jaco. The reason we could go by taxi and not bus is because there has been a new highway (yes, unbelievable, but believe it) built that was passable, but not by bus, only by car. We teamed up with 2 others who needed to get to Jaco, and in 2 hours we were there. This was great for two reasons: one, we didn't have to stay in San Jose for any length of time, and two, we met Floribel, a Colombian woman living in Jaco who offered us a place to sleep for the night, perfect! The road, I admit, was very sketchy and the rain heavy, but since it's after the fact and we made it safely I'm allowed to say that without my mom freaking out too much. I have some photos of some nasty landslides right over the road. We really had no idea what was going on around us, because upon arriving in Jaco, we learned of the damage Hurricane Thomas had done. Hundreds of people lost everything, including family members, I'm not sure what the death toll was, but all the news talked about for 3 days straight were the villages that were wiped out, roads that closed, communities that were completely isolated, and of the many people that died and are still missing. It was a somber mood, and the heavy rain didn't help at all.
Nate and I began to wonder if we would make it to Panama where Daryl will be flying in on the 13th. All the roads in every direction were closed from landslides or broken bridges. We decided not to dwell on it and to make the most of our time in Jaco where we were now "stuck" (darn). This was not a hard task. After spending the first night with our new friend Floribel, we moved to an apartment right on the river. Mind you, this river looked like it was straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was rushing harder than ever, carrying trees and debris with it to the ocean, which at high tide completely devoured the beach and there was no real distinction between ocean and river. It was actually a good time to be in Jaco, because since everyone was stuck, there were no tourists coming in or going out, so many things were cheaper, hence the apartment rather than a hostel. The back deck facing the river was like a wildlife sanctuary lookout. From there we saw red macaws, toucans, iguanas, lizards, and many different colored birds and butterflies, so awesome! I've never seen a toucan in flight before! When there was a break in the rain we went 4 wheeling, through a river and some sketchy roads, and up to a lookout point where we saw a white-faced monkey. When the sun came out, which it finally did, we went to the beach, even got a little sunburned, oops. We got massages, watched Sunday football, and enjoyed some really delicious Costa Rican food. I'm so proud of myself, I like gallo pinto now! Pinto is the typical breakfast of rice and beans and fried eggs, I never touched it when I lived here before. We were really happy with our non-planned vacation in Jaco, and this morning we were finally able to talk to someone who had answers about buses and roads! So after some deliberation, we have decided to go to Panama tomorrow quickly while the roads are reopened and before they might close again. In Panama the roads are fine, and we now know that we will be able to make it to the city by Saturday night. We were able to get a bus back to San Jose today where we are staying the night so we can get a bus out to Panama tomorrow. We're either going to David or Santiago, not sure yet, but at least we won't be stuck anywhere! And we won't have to fly, which would have been plan b.
On a lighter note, somehow I forget how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE this country. It smells SO good, it's SO beautiful, the food is delicious, and I don't even need my iPod because the music on the radio is actually what I want to hear! I feel so at home here, today I actually asked Nate how he likes my country :) My Spanish is such a relief after struggling with German and French in Europe, and Nate is picking it up quickly too. Even in the rain I was smiling just because we are here. I am so excited to spend so much time in my favorite country, where traveling really began for me.
For now it's on to Panama! Hope that Costa Rica will be in better shape when we return in a week and a half or so...
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