European Adventures in Costa Ricaaa

Hola Chicos y amigos, ¿como estassss? Estoy muy bueno y pienso voy a terminar hablano en Español porque no ustedes no pueden entender...

The last two weeks have been a blast I am not going to lie, I have loved them. The day after my heart episode, just when i was taking my first head pill and my host family were really quite scared as to what might happen and had tight hold of the ambulance number my new room mate turned up. trying to hide the fact I was testing out dodgy drugs from the doctor i went out to meet him with a big smile and tried to ignore how loopy my head was feeling 8yes I know its always loopy, but the drugs only enhanced the loopiness!. Anyway luckily the drugs didn't cause near heart failure or a session of passing out, only head neck and shoulder problems. My new room mate was Carsten, a German guy on a months Spanish holiday, he spoke English very well and within the first sentence we had agreed English was the language we were going to be talking in, thankfully! I didn't head out with him that night because I had learnt heart problems are not something you can just have one day and then go off the next as if nothing had happened, some rest does need to take place at some point. So I was adult, sensible and mature and rested.

The next day business as usual, hammock, ukulele and off to the beach for my Spanish lesson, feeling much better I was optomistic that the new set of drugs and the third set he had tested were good to go. No more beans and rice on the menu, only fruit, veg and that cardboard cereal women like the use to loose weight (Special K) so all was good. In the evening, I am trying to remember what day it was, i really have no clue, infact I have lsot track of which month it is so I don't think I am going to try and claim i know what day this was... We headed off for the first night out, it was ladies night at Bambu Jam (actually I know Ladies night in Bambu jam is always a Wednesday, so it must have been a Wednesday) so we met everyone in the central bus station to get a taxi up the hill. It was empty but we found a table and chatted away and I began to get to know the people I had just met and the people that i would share many many exciting and fun adventures with over the next couple of weeks. There was one girl, Kate, from Bristol (I was very excited about), Carsten, my room mate, Flo a French girl, David and Carlos from America, Bridget from I'm not too sure where in Europe and Paul from Sydney, Australia. We danced away in Bambu Jam until it shut, my first experience of it on another night beside Friday it turned out to be quite different. ladies night meant free drinks for ladies and disco music instead of salsa. more in our own territory as far as the music was concerned we were able to dance happily until the end of the Bambu jam party and then move onto the next party, in Quepos at Republik. Republik needs some explaining I think, for those who haven't experience it first hand. Girls, even if you take a guy or two for protection don't expect yourself to be immune from the hoards of guys that stand at the edge of the dance floor and try to dance with you. When i say dance what I mean is they don't ever just want to dance, you need to be quite speedy with your dancing to move away or try to avoid them. Republik itself is a tiny club that when you step inside makes you feel you are on the inside of a fridge, painted grey, the air thick with smoke, the aircon makes it feel freezing, with shilloetted figures pulsing to the beat of the music.

Anyway yeah, Republik was the usual, dance floor for a spot of dancing until the men started to close in, I think we stuck it for about an hour or so before we went home, Carsten i think in slight shock at his first experience whitnessing the men and their methods in Republik we headed home to sleep. Ok so I think this explanation is rapidly going to turn into a recall of our night time adventures over the last two weeks because days were spent learning spanish and lying in hammocks whilst night time was spent exploring. However as Flo said on the last night in El Avion "What happens in Costa Rica, stays in Costa Rica" So some adventures will remain stories for us but I shall still updates you, roughly.

Anywho the next night was a Thursday so we headed out for quiet drinks, we went to a bar called Musik that played awesomely awesome music and sipped on yummy juice and shared stories of all our travelling adventures, it was a really fun evening and after Carlos' story of how he was attacked with a macheti and four blokes the week before we were all saying be careful on the way home. Still I had a funny feeling but we got home ok. The next day it turns out my funny feeling wasn't for nothing, one of the guys had been attacked and had a really bad head, impressively though he had not been defeated, had covered his head with a sun hat and was out in Bambu Jam for friday night dancing, credit to him!! Anyway pretty much the same as Wednesday Bambu Jam shut so the party moved to Republik where the guys started to recognise me. Turns out my dancing 'style' was pretty unique and they were beginning to recognise me and actually talk to me instead of just stick their hips out at me. We headed home and spent Saturday relaxing before an epic tour of all night spots manuel Antonio and Quepos had to offer. This meant starting in El Avion for drinks with then headed to Byblos for a spot of reggae followed by our first visit to Liquid, the gay club, it was awesome. We laughed so much and were so happy to not have a single bloke approaching us, we could dance in peace to the music and giggled away. The music got a bit too much after a while so we headed off for Quepos and Arco Iris, followed by Republik. We eventually headed home and spent sunday relaxing on the beach with a night off going out to rest, four nights in a row was enough. Monday night and the only place to go really is Byblos, ladies night, more free drinks, a casino and pool. Its an outside bar (which is nice except for the mozzies) and has a good mix of music, locals and gringos. I liked it, we danced the night away until the party closed up and with no where else really to go on a Monday headed home for bed. Tuesday night and we were off on another adventure, one which I can't actually remember right now... hmm, mystery,well I will get back to that, if not I am sure it will remain a mystery!

Wednsday night was back to Bambu Jam for some more ladies night and dancing, I had got to know one of the regular faces of the dance floor who spent most of the evening trying to teach me how to dance. I did tell him i was rubbish and that there was no hope but he insisted I wasn't... until he saw my dancing. It was hilarious and good fun to have some tips from such a good dancer who was really relaxed about dancing with someone who, well, frankly wasn't really dancing at all, I like to think a more accurate explanation is moving. Anyway all pretty over the delights of Republik when the party of Bambu Jam closed up we did too and headed for bed. Thursday and the boys, Paul and Carsten wanted to see Playa Biasanz, as the only one who knew the way I said I would take them over, the walk was beautiful and i loved the opportunity to go back there. We arrived and after a really hot walk over the hill to get there didn't take to long to leap into the turquiose waters and relax. We stayed this way for about half an hour before suddenyl my leg felt like it was being cooked with acid. it was agony and i stumbled out of the sea. The boys checked it wasn't threatening to my health and then promptly got their cameras out and started clicking away between their giggles and my immense amount of fuss making. The only problem was there were no road to this beach, the only way out was ta walk and I couldn't really walk, eventually i felt ok enough to stumble up the hill. We reached the road where i found a groupd of about 15 workers, they all hovered round me as i explained what had happened and showed them the state of my leg, they were pretty impressed. They eventually got us a taxi and I dropped the boys off at their salsa lesson before heading down to Manuel Anotonio to find the lifeguards Jonny and Alex for some sympathy. It didn't take me long to find them sat chatting in the bar they were very nice to me and put lots of cream down my leg to make it better. feeling slightly better I headed home for tea. Thursday night and it was kates last night, I couldn't quite believe how quickly the time with these guys had gone, it felt like they had only just arrived and were all heading off again. She was heading home from Bristol so we had a fairwell night which started with dinner in El Avion, El Avion is a hugh fighter plane parked at the side of the road and turned into a restaurant, as you do with an old, gutted plane. The food was amazing and so was the company, we chatted and giggled away before we headed off down the road for Byblos and pool. Byblos seemed very quiet so we headed down to Liquid for another time, The music this night was amazing and I think it was so empty our presence meant there were more straight people in the gay bar than gay. It didn't matter, either way we had all become a really good groupf of friends who had shared some awesome times and adventures together, laughed and giggled and it was an absolute pleasurt to know them. Let hope we get to all meet again at some point in the future!!

Friday night was Bambu jam again and the last couple of weeks party was catching up with us, it was Carstens last night but we were all shattered, my leg was agony and none of us had yet to properly master salsa. We left it to the locals to work the dance floor and sat at a table to chat and giggle for a couple of hours before we were too tired and headed for bed. Flo bravely trying to stay out longer on her own, admitting the next morning she lasted about 10mins, because as I had suspected a girl on her own, it didn't take two minutes for the guys to start approaching.

Saturday Flo, Carsten adn i headed for the beach to relax in the hammocks one last time and to have one alst attempt at persuading Carsten he really could change his flight and stay a little longer. We failed, said our goodbyes to carsten and headed to drink juice. Saturday nuight reduced to just Flo and I we arranged to go and watch Jonny, the lifeguard in the final of his kareeoke competition. I'm am not going to say anything, all i can say is I think neither Flo or i will ever in our lives be repeating that experience ever again!!

Sunday morning we heading for the beach Flo not so happy about her fast approaching departure we lazed away the day on the beach before we said our final goodbyes and the last of the Europeans had gone. The two weeks of fun had come to a close and a new chapter is going to begin, who knows who i will meet this week or what adventures I will go on. All I know is I have my ukulele, my hammock, so many happy friendly smiley friends at the beach so I am sure everything is going to be fabulous for my last month in Costa Rica. I will not forget the last couple of weeks though, thats for sure. Gracias to all the europeans, you rock and I really do hope we can meet up in the future for more crazy adventures, wherever and whenever that maybe.