Geoff Jones

Inveterate dabbler in business, travel, gadgets & life

Author: Geoff

Local life

Had an incredible nights sleep on my boardlike bed, the secret is a quick shower then straight to bed so the latent heat of vaporization cools you down. It’s great to be woken by the squealer birds, just wish I wasn’t so stiff when I woke up. Need to do my pilates again. I visited the local Pilates place here but with all the free weights around, didn’t look like my kinda place.

I really love exploring new places, and could easily live here for awhile, just wish I could speak the local lingo, although my sign language & smile usually gets me what I want.

The town is not busy today, Good Friday is obviously a big deal here, although it was a very motley group parading behind the cross! So maybe it isn’t the religious centre of Costa Rica!

Today I’m meeting up with Evelyne & Mathias from Switzerland who sold up and have been touring the old British Dominions since January. Would be rather neat as a package tour concept. Tour the red bits of The World,. My Britanica 1890 edition would be ideal as the tour guide 🙂

Finished my Cafe Negro (not cafe solo here) so back to the beach.

I’m using the iPhone WordPress application in offline mode, just had major system lockup trying to attach an image 🙁

Thrown out of the original hotel, the owner refused to sell as drinks and switched the wifi off!!

Found another open link now – this time will keep it’s location secret 🙂

Samara

Finally made it to Samara at 11pm last night. The bus was totally packed with some folks standing for the five and a half hour journey from San Jose. I was wedged in behind some guy who insisted on reclining his seat 🙁
At the bus station I met a young couple from Switzerland who are going to the same school as me, but for 3 weeks..
Eventually my host turned up on a trail bike, so with my rucsac strapped to my back we roared off into the night! Hairy or what 🙁
I have my own one room apartment with kitchen area, shower etc so quite luxuourios although the bed feels very board like.

My hosts are very friendly, but to say there is a language barrier is an understatement, Emily where are you?

Breakfast was lovely fruit and toast with some local cake speciality. Dinner is at 7, should be interesting.

Samara itself is a pleasant seaside resort, I mapped the whole village with my GPS this morning and also walked along the beach – all to try and find an open wifi connection, full marks to Hotel Las Brisas del Pacifico – you will have my trade for the rest of the week 🙂

The weather is much hotter and stickier than San Jose so I’m sure I will be ready for the mountains after a week although maybe I should do the 3 week course here!

Arrival

Arrived in the Cost Rica backpackers hostel at 5pm after leaving Cambridge at 2.45am, A long day with all the connections clicking into place, lets hope it goes as well for Sally.

The immigration officer was very friendly even though ne noticed my birthplace, on the passport, doesn’t have a football team. Knew i should have been in Sheffield.

The hostel seems good value at $25 per night with their transfer costing $20, food not so good, rather burnt tortilla chips.

Here is the rather pleasant pool area:-

Driving through downtown San Jose rather reminded me of parts of Dubai (not the new skyscraper bit obviously) although  a lot more razor wire here!!

Departure

Writing this on the plane as we are about to depart to Madrid en route to San Jose, Costa Rica. Smooth if somewhat early start 🙂

Left Maisie & parents an Easter Egg for when they arrive to live in the house for the next 3 months.

So chocks away…..