Libby_or_Bust

Recommendations:
In San Vito:
1) Hotel Cabinas Rino. Pretty clean, hot water (!) shower, great location, friendly staff, really good included breakfast (gallo pinto with eggs or cheese or natilla. Go for the natilla), only $12 per person per night, super cheap laundry service ($2 per kilo).
2) Panaderia Flor. This place is nothing short of amazing. Big pink awning, you can smell its delectibleness a kilometer away. If forced to choose, I would say go for the refried bean and cheese pastry in the second glass case in from the door (you might think it pathetic that I know exactly where said pastry is located. That only means you haven’t been to Panaderia Flor.) Sweet-wise, I enjoyed, well, everything. Except for this weird cheesy squishy thing. Make sure that you ask, because there are quite a few versions of squishy cheesy, and some are way better than others. The arroz con leche makes you wonder why it took you so long to get to San Vito.

In Alajuela:
1) The hotel Cortez Azul, run by my first (and hopefully not last) Costa Rican friend, Eduardo. He looks like a Spanish pirate and does these amazing mosaics all over the house — what’s not to love? Plus, he has this ancient dog… no, really, he was like the mascot on the first Spanish galleons to land in Central America. His name is Marino, which means “really old f*cking dog” in Spanish. Or “a whale’s vagina;” agree to disagree. But seriously, it’s a really nice place to stay, $10 per person/night, centrally located, and I feel safe there.
2) Goodlight Books, a used bookstore south of Cortez Azul. Pretty wide selection, really nice people who run it, good vibe and cafe area. I haven’t tried exchanging, only buying, but the prices weren’t extravagant. Even if you don’t need a book, just go and check out what’s sitting in the far corner of the sitting area; you’ll know what I mean when you get there.
3) The cemetary on the north side of town, right by where you get the bus to the volcano. It’s huge and beautiful; I could spend all morning walking around and looking at the names on the white-tiled tombs. In fact, I have. Great place for reflecting and being alone.
4) Parque Central. Shade, people-watching, the guy on the northeast corner selling icees with tres leches. Perfect.

We were waiting for a bus to Ciudad Quesada in the Alajuela “bus station” (i.e., two covered benches in front of a few bodegas) when something of interest happened. The bus was late (!) — so unlike all other buses in Latin America — and we were early (silly, silly Americans), so we were waiting for over an hour. At first the benches were full, but as buses came and went, so did people and we were able to get a seat. To the right was a woman whose crotch must have been hungry because it was eating her pants; to the right was a tiny, tiny, ancient man. It was lightly raining and the people around us were quite stoic. Jen and I finally stood to let a woman and her son sit, and soon after we moved behind and to the left of the bench to stay dry. I was watching for our bus when Jen indicated that the woman who had been our neighbor was now silently retching into the garbage can between the two benches. No one else seemed to notice, all of them going about their business: waiting, buying soda, selling snacks to bus passengers. The woman retched for a good fifteen minutes, periodically putting her whole torso into the trash can, leaning and heaving. When she had finished, she moved to the far side of the benches and continued to silently wait for her bus. Our 2:30 bus arrived at 2:50, we boarded, got the last two seats, and rode to Ciudad Quesada. ¡Pura Vida!

The tooth saga continues. For those of you who don´t already know (which I´m pretty sure is no one) I got five fillings pretty haphazardly a week-and-a-half before I left for CR from the Health Department. Cheap, yes; in this ... [Continue reading this entry]

So we´re here. We arrived yesterday -- Monday the 13th -- in the afternoon. There were some flight delays, so it was about 3 Costa Rica time when we landed. I slept some on the flight, but still had a ... [Continue reading this entry]