La Botella de Leche

Wow!

Time has escaped me. I hoped to make a post in the last two days but never got around to it, so even though it hasn't been very long since the last post I anticipate this one will be longer than the others.

I arrived two days ago at my hostel, La Botella de Leche (that's "the bottle of milk"), in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Upon my arrival in Liberia I was faced with the choice between a 90 minute air conditioned taxi ride for $120 and a 3.5 hours plus series of bus rides that would cost me a whopping total of 6 US dollars. One lost water bottle and a pint of sweat later, I found myself meandering around the rough terrain of Tamarindo's dirt roads in pursuit of what would be my home for the next 18 days. Immediately when I walked in I was greeted by Juan, the friendly front desk guy who gave me a tour of the quaint hostel. I realized even though I didn't see many people here at first this would be a cozy place to stay with all the resources I would need. Of course, all but any running water until nearly 24 hours after my arrival. I'm not gonna lie, my first afternoon/evening here left me feeling pretty down; initially it seemed like even more of a ghost town than my hostel in Miami, I was completely and utterly sleep deprived, assaulted by culture shock, and my right foot stuck to my flip flop after I spilled my first legally purchased beer all over my lap 5 sips in. I woke up yesterday morning feeling exhausted, frustrated, and closed off.

It was when the Henny the German girl invited me to the hostel's surfing class 15 minutes after I woke up that my luck turned around for the better. I had such a good time riding the little waves with a class of 3 people and Kevin the instructor and hostel employee. When it was time for the last wave I reluctantly went to shore and enjoyed some amazingly affordable Costa Rican "pollo con salsa" with my new friends. I spent the rest of the day getting to know the area when I discovered La Oveja, my new favorite bar/restaurant with live music. Yesterday I met two brothers from LA, Matthew and Patrick, whom I quickly realized I shared a lot of interests with. Pat taught me about the inner workings of a mobile phone and Pat introduced me to some new information on modular synthesizers. We talked at the bar for a while until we discovered we all love rock climbing, which is when I walked them down the road to this RESTAURANT SLASH CLIMBING GYM I had passed on the way to the hostel. The wall was "closed" but the closing server allowed us to do some bouldering at our own risk. I brought those blokes back to the hostel and before I knew it I was partying with the Jackson brothers, all 8 of my room mates, and many more at a beach club with an AMAZING DJ. The rest went on to party and I went back to the hostel to try in vain to catch up on some sleep where I had an insane sequence of dreams that I know will make the most surreal animated music video one day, mark my words.

Today I woke myself up at 8 AM to share some coffee and breakfast with Patthew and Matrick while Matt the coffee fanatic explained in astonishing detail the process of how coffee is made from beginning to end. Meanwhile, Pat explained to me how bicycle racing leagues work and we watched together a live stream of a Honduran pro bike race that featured his personal friend from California leading the pack. I've already learned so much that I could never have expected to learn, a trend I hope continues all year. After that I went right back to sleep. Recently I went out with Jimmy from Alabama and Rhys from New Zealand for some breakfast sandwiches. Finally, the timelines of this story and the live unfolding of events converge, and I sit here on the couch on the patio writing a blog post.

I feel well showered, well socialized, and not so well slept. I think I'll take a nap soon. I think the most important thing Costa Rica has taught me is how to relax. I don't know if the lesson was a result of my internal ponderings or my surroundings, but either way I've made the important realization that this is essentially a long vacation. Of course I have a lot to do in the administrative world, and I'll be sure not to let those annoying tasks fall to the back burner, but I'm filled with a feeling of relaxation and enjoyment that I don't think I've allowed myself to bask in until now. Hell, I got an hour long massage yesterday! The rest of my day will likely be spent calling people that I miss, attempting to create some music, and literally sitting around doing whatever the heck I want. Costa Rica's corny slogan that's more likely aimed at tourists more than anyone else, "Pura Vida!" (pure life) seems to be getting through to me. I'm here for the next 16 days, longer than any of the other tourists I've met. Can't wait to meet the next batch of hostel friends :)

Peace and don't forget to tell your friends you love them!
-Jonah