OK, so I´m on the computer for the second time in two days. That must mean that either: (A) it is raining, (B) I´m tired and don´t feel like exploring, or (C) I am in a town crazy enough that I would rather be inside than out roaming the streets. Your guess?

The correct answer is C... if you answered (B) you should know better.

The weather is beautiful... full sun in the sky and a light breeze. Well, that´s not completely true. The light breeze is only in the internet cafe where I am at this moment.

I am in San Isidro el General, also known as Perez Zeledon. It sounded like a good place to spend the night in my Lonely Planet guidebook... it is named after the patron saint of farming and is the hub for many agricultural communities in the area. Well, thus far it hasn´t lived up to the hype. I was greeted by a McDonalds seconds after leaving the bus terminal and two panhandlers hit me up within the first few blocks. After a brief tour of town I almost took a taxi to my next destination, Dominical, but decided against paying $20 for a taxi when I can take a bus for $1 in the morning. (Here comes my obligatory tangent for today... busses in Costa Rica).

Speaking of busses... I can´t believe how inexpensive they are in Costa Rica. It cost me $20 to take the 2 hour bus trip from Portland to Boston prior to my departure from the states. When I arrived, I took a two and a half hour bus ride from San Jose to Zarcero for about $2. Surely it is partly due to the cost of living in a third world country, but could it also have to do with the difference between a country that dedicates 50% of its budget to military spending and one that spends 0% of its budget on the military? I have no idea... hopefully one of you with some free time could do some research and tell me how subsidized the busses are in Costa Rica... thanks. And while I'm on the topic of busses, if you ever come to Costa Rica, make sure you travel this way instead of renting a car. Trust me, you do not want to share the road with the drivers here. I stopped counting the number of times the bus driver passed another large vehicle across a double-yellow line on an uphill turn after we nearly had a head on collision with an 18 wheeler. The funny thing - no one even reacted... it seems to be second nature here.

(Here is where I return to my not so pleasant arrival in San Isidro even though you have probably purged the first part from your brain already). As I was saying about my arrival in San Isidro - not impressed. I decided to get a room after making the choice to be here for the night. As the woman at the counter was choosing my room, she asked "¿Quiere un habitaccion con una vista?" (Do you want a room with a view?), to which I eloquently replied, "Si." Well, I walked upstairs, opened the door, and found a room with a single bed, a night stand, and just enough room to allow me to walk sideways through the door (I may be exaggerating a little, but not much). And oh yeah, no windows, no view, no nada. I am not complaining, it just happens to be a wee bit funny.

Well, my departure from San Luis was less than routine. After posting my last blog entry, this head-throbbing thing that I carried for a day and a half turned to a fever. At about the same time, we learned that there was a bank robbery in Santa Elena (the closest town with any infrastructure) where hostages were being held. Well, Jenny began to worry quite a bit when she remembered that she had asked Jessica (her daughter) to make a deposit there during the day (Santa Elena is where Jessica attends colegia, or high school). Added to her concern were the memories of the last bank robbery in Santa Elena, where the robbers fled to the mountains of San Luis. As a result, we took the forest trail back to her house rather than the road. Although I wasn't in much of a state to appreciate the walk, it was remarkable. Farm to farm through rainforest, fruit plantations, pastures, and past houses whose only access is this trail.

Well, as far as I know, they still are holding the hostages in Santa Elena... or at least they were at 3pm today when we stopped for a bathroom break and it was all over the TV. This morning there were two dead bodies laying in the street in front of the bank and broadcast all over COsta Rica. Last I knew the body count was four.

The robbery meant that busses weren´t departing from the region, something I didn´t discover until my taxi arrived at the spot that they had told Jenny 20 minutes earlier would be the temporary bus stop (the regular one is half a block from the bank). Fortunately, there was a Canadian woman there with a friend who needed to go to the airport and we made an unofficial deal... I could ride with them to a stop on the Interamerican Highway in exchange for escorting her friend to the airport and translating for her. She spoke no Spanish and you know what they say about the one-eyed man in the land of the blind. It worked out well and cut an enormous amount of time from today's travels.

Well, I'm out for today. I hope everyone is well...