Costa Rica day 1 and 2: weary and moist

I won’t bore you all with details about how I travelled to the airport, and how long and dull the flights were. First, a 10 hour flight, then a cardio-rich dash to catch the 4 hour flight onward to San Jose!

So far, the group is really cool, but I haven’t leaked much of my zany humour as yet! 9 in total, plus our intrepid young UK guide, Chris, who hadn’t been before, so that makes him one of us. We arrived weary in San Jose, and met our pint-sized guide, Randall, and transferred to our one and only hotel stay of the trip. Jetlag meant waking at 3am, 4am, 5am, 6am and rising at 7am.

Team meeting after breakfast, and we were handed a map, it was hardly Tom Tom, but it was laminated. Although, at this stage we had no clue as to how wet we would get! We were also given a pile of cereal bars and the like, the amount I’d usually eat in 2 days, but these had to last us! Breakfast was rice, beans and egg.

Our first stop was terribly touristy, we stopped at a bridge with crocodiles beneath. Gulp! They were massive, even from a distance. Later, we were driven to the Specific Ocean (I know!) where we dipped our feet in the sea, this was the coast where we would begin!

A short drive to our starting point. Then, this was it. We alighted the bus and began walking. Trekking if you will! I soon ran out of plants I know, I was out of my horticultural depths here! Though I recognised a peanut plant!

Lunch was provided in a shack, and was yum. As we ate, the first monsoon hit, and yes it HIT! If this was the UK we would wait until it stopped, but we had to leave ASAP. I dressed up as a banana-coloured condom and we trekked. In the relentless wet. Water seeped into my boots. Little did I know they would be wet from now until I got home!

We later arrived, soaking at our accommodation, where we informed we would sleep on the floor. But I’m a princess?! But, I didn’t come here for a holiday, I came to bust out of my Hilton hotel comfort zone!

Dinner was awesome, I chose vegetarian due to my inane fear of meat on the bone. I got extra macho points for eating jalapeños. We then played a card game I didn’t understand, and I dried my pants on the bannister. I didn’t win the card game, despite cheating throughout. Sam dried his money, and i blew up my ground mat, which then popped, much to everyone amusement. Bonding moved on another level. The sleeping mat then sat there looking like a bad boob job.

I quickly shotgunned sleeping in the jeep, in first gear, with a seatbelt poking my nethers. i did well not to switch the hazard lights on in my sleep. I sleep marvellously. Day 1/2 over.