San Jose!

Hola hola! Another day down traveling on my own and today was definitely much better than the last one and half days. Let's see...they day started out super early because I kept waking up hoping it was time to leave the hotel in Heredia. Around 6am, I finally got up and got myself ready to go to San Jose. I paid for the hotel and asked if I could use their phone to call my hostel in San Jose because I wanted to make sure I could leave my bags there all day since check-in is at 2pm. The hotel staff let me use their phone, which was the only nice thing they did the whole time I was there. The hostel said that it was fine so I took a taxi to the bus stop in Heredia.
Since I needed to learn to take the bus at some point, I decided today was the day to do it, even with my luggage. I found the right bus very easily and got on with my backpack in my lap. The bus was direct to San Jose and everyone got off at one bus stop. I had no idea if where I was in the city at this point so the only thing I could do was get in a taxi and ask for the hostel. The taxi driver told me he would use the meter, but then didn't end up turning it on. He took me to the wrong hotel first, but then got me to the right hotel and charged me $3. Later today I walked to that same bus stop and realized it was 2 blocks from my hotel. I should not have been charged $1 for that ride! It's just really hard to do much with my backpack on the street since it's disconcerting knowing I could be robbed and it's very clear I am traveling. Oh well, I got to the hostel fine and dropped my bags off.

The hostel I am staying in is the biggest hostel in San Jose and is described as 'industrial strength, party hostel' by Lonely Planet. After the Heredia hotel experience, I wasn't taking any chances and figured at least if it was big and a party hostel, other people would be there and it couldn't be that bad. The hostel is huge, but the dorm room is fine and it's right downtown. I was given room 7 at first and I walked into 5 other guys in the room, which wasn't exactly what I was hoping. I went back to the desk and asked if they would change me to a room with at least some girls and they did and I'm very happy that I did that. I'm now writing from the rooftop bar with people drinking all over the place, playing pool, and watching tv. It's not exactly the scene I would like, but I'm overall happy with the place. I think I like smaller hostels better, but they might be riskier since not all of them could be nice. I'm going to get to know lots of different places on this trip!
San Jose has been a bit of a shock too because it's so big and there are so many people and cars! I initially really didn't like it when I walked out of the hostel, but after a few hours of walking around, I got my bearings and I'm excited to see some of the museums and plazas tomorrow. In every city I've been in alone in Costa Rica, one of my first stops is a plaza with a church. That way I can survey the place feeling much safer from within the church and I also always sit down and look at the map if I need to. I was in multiple churches to consult my map today :-)



This afternoon I went back to Heredia to do my interviews. I took the public bus again and got there easily. I even passed a place with coconuts and I had a 50 cent coconut water drink. I wandered into the Casa de Cultura in Heredia since I had some time and learned about one of the presidents that lived there. I think part of the problem with being in Heredia yesterday was that it was Sunday. Many places weren't open. After being in San Jose for the day, it was amazing to see how pretty Heredia looked! Today I did see why Heredia is called the City of Flowers. My first impressions yesterday were that it was a huge city, but today it seemed like a quiet town. Amazing how much perceptions change depending on where you're coming from!

I took a taxi to Global Kids Language School and met with the director. She was great and spent a lot of time talking to me. She also introduced me to the parents and allowed me to interview the parents. I finished there around 4:30 and then had to figure out how to get back to San Jose. I ended up jumping on a bus that said San Jose and hoping that it would take me to the right place (having not much idea where the right place would even be!) The bus stopped at a bus station in San Jose and I didn't have a choice but to get off and hope that I was somewhere near my hostel. Back to the church I went as soon as I found a plaza to consult my map.

Luckily for me, I was dropped right at a pedestrian walkway with stores lining the road that lead straight to the plaza that I needed to know where I was. That was a lucky first blind bus ride since I could have been dropped anywhere in San Jose with no way other than a taxi back to my hostel. I ate a little cafe and also bought lychee nuts from a stand to eat. Then I went back to the hostel, dropped all of my stuff off (camera and recorder can't get stolen) and ventured back out in the dark for dinner (with just $10 in my pocket). I had dinner and then came right back to the hostel since apparently even stores in San Jose close early.

That brings me to right now, sitting in the bar/lounge area watching some very drunk people play pool.  Laura told me her brother calls travelers in Costa Rica "lost children"- people in their 20s that just come to party and go to the beach and never leave. I kind of agree with that, but it's not entirely true. One of the girls in my room is from Oregon and just finished working at a farm here for 3 months and there are two other girls from Manchester, England who have traveled all over the country.

Tomorrow my plan is to decide when I'm going to Atenas and to figure out when I need to go back to the schools (end of next week I think). Then I think I'm going to do the Tortuguero tour for two days and then hopefully head to Monteverde. I'll have to do tours in Monteverde too, but will at least be able to get there by public bus and pick my hostel there. The turtle tour is an all inclusive 2 day trip. Tomorrow I'll try to explore more of the city (it's big!) and go to some of the museums. Sarchi and Grecia might also be options although I can't remember why I wanted to go to those cities. Back to Lonely Planet I go!