Coke in Costa Rica

Today, Elijah opened the porthole and we saw a gorgeous, full-arch rainbow. Reflecting on my day, it was a good omen! We started today by walking around the port city, Limón. It was a bustling area with a local market. We wandered around and into a few shops, which was nice, but nothing spectacular. We also visited a Cathedral which was primarily constructed out of concrete, so the design of the church was rather unique. Spanish also came in handy the entire day. :)

After touring Limón, we got down to business. A group of four (Emily, Grace, Kyle, and myself) was deciding between Veragua Rain Forest Park or the town of Cahuita. We ultimately chose Cahuita, which worked out to be a phenomenal decision. I bartered with a taxi driver, but we felt the price was too high. We looked into taking a public bus to Cahuita. A nice gentleman showed us the bus terminal. Our timing was great; we hopped on the bus and went. Less than $3 for an hour bus ride (which it cost more for me to take a tram or bus to school in Germany. ~$3.17) The buses resembled older-looking  coach buses; they were very comfortable with the windows open, thus air conditioning was not necessary. But I have never been on such bumpy roads. We were warned about the Costa Rican streets; they weren’t exaggerating. Our bus could have potentially hit each pothole. But still, the ride was pleasant and hassle-free.
Cahuita is an old tourist spot that has now been overpowered by Puerto Viejo, which is about 20 minutes South. It was great for us because it was quiet, quaint, and just perfect for our day. We walked around this very modest town, which was about the area of 9 square blocks (3 x 3 blocks). We had lunch when we arrived. The local open-air restaurant was awesome; it was fun when the stray dogs walked through as we ate…they were behaved though. I had a Casado con Pollo (Chicken Casado http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casado) and tried the Imperial Beer (which is one brand of Costa Rican beer.) The meal was extraordinary. We were relaxed, enjoyed each other’s company, we laughed, chatted and couldn’t get over the fact that we were in COSTA RICA. I felt like it was the true laid-back setting that you imagine when you think of the Caribbean. We strolled over to the National Park that was located adjacent to the beach. We spent most of the time in the ocean, which was very relaxing. There was people on an excursion with SAS who we ran into. On the way back, we walked through a path in the Cahuita National Park. The beach and park with pleasantly nestled in the corner of Cahuita and tourists were scarce. That was a real treat to be away from the hustle and bustle today. The town was placed in extremely green scenery, unlike anything I’ve seen before.

So probably the highlight, the funniest moment for sure, came as we were about to get on the bus to head back to Limón. I was bummed because I didn’t find a t-shirt that I wanted to buy. (I know, I still have two days to purchase one…I ultimately calmed down.) To overcome my fatigue, I stopped at the convenience store in the bus terminal to buy a coke (as in Coca-Cola). I have been collecting bottle caps from this trip, so I was anticipating to be able to add this cap (the bottle was glass) to my little collection. As I was reaching in my wallet to get the money to pay the cashier, she opened the bottle and DUMPED it…into a plastic, ziploc bag. As I exchanged the money for the coke, I was utterly dumbfounded. Emily also bought a coke and the same thing happened. After a moment or two, I asked how I’m supposed to drink soda through a ziploc? The lady tied it for me and told me to suck through a corner of the bag. Well, in a way this reminded me of breast feeding. We got a huge laugh out of that and it was a hilarious conclusion to our day. We took the bus back. It was again very bumpy, but we made it back safely. And now I can say that I have consumed 250 mL of Coca-Cola through a ziploc baggy.

Although we intended on going out tonight, we stayed on the ship and ate outside. We caught up with some people that had their own adventures. Exchanging stories was fun, and now I’m just exhausted. Tomorrow is my Field Directed Practicum (FDP), which is a requirement for my class.  We are going to Earth University and we will be gone for 11 hours tomorrow. The next two days will probably be very hectic, so I’ll probably be updating you guys when we’re at sea again.

Bis später,
Matt