The morning of...

I awoke, excited ... full of energy ... ready to continue my adventure.

I was taking a bus from San Jose to Tamarindo

a beautiful town on the Pacific Coast.

what I was expecting

The trip would take around 6 hours and I had no idea what to expect.

I packed my bags, checked out of my hostel and began making my way to the bus station.

I had my phone to provide directions but I was still nervous as I wove in between side streets and main thoroughfares.

I wandered through the streets of San Jose ... with each moment my angst built ... would I ever find my way??

And then it was there!

I had found the bus station. Salvation at last.

Now ... I just had to buy my ticket.

I knew where I was going ... and that was enough.

After a quick bite at a restaurant I began my normal routine ...
look for people who might speak English and ask for help!!
I didn't speak very much Spanish at the time

Eventually I found a group of travelers and politely asked them to guide me ...

They directed me to the nearest ticket kiosk and bid me good luck.

Oh the traveler's spirit.

I went to the kiosk ... phone in hand, google.translate open with "I want to buy a ticket" glaring through the screen.

Yo quiero un boleto para Tamarindo por favor ...

I mumbled slowly through the phrase ... hoping I hadn't forgotten anything since I last glanced at my phone screen.

do mil ...

the teller said.

... Huh??

Dos mil ...

I could tell she was impatient, used to tourists like me tramping through her country without a grasp of her native language.

Ahh ... dos mil! ... it finally clicked.

She was telling me the price!

I quickly withdrew a bill from my wallet, taking out 5 mil just to be safe ... and proudly bought my bus ticket!

I had done it ...

now I just had to figure out where the bus was!!

travel stimulates creativity

Fortunately I was in no rush ... and made my way to the bottom level.
There were multiple buses outside and after a few

Tamarindo ...? Tamarindo??
I was pointed in the right direction.

the face of success!

I gave a man in a seemingly important uniform my ticket and was directed to place my bag in the storage beneath.
I did as I was told and boarded my chariot ...

I had made it!!

the view from my seat

The ride was long ... with few stops in between.
But it was glorious to see the Costa Rican country side.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country

and I was able to see it in a way that no airplane could compete with.

Stay tuned for more content!

I will be releasing a short video with some videos from the trip soon!