Beware of Falling Mangoes

Plonk! Plonk! A mango lands next to my left foot.  A few minutes later I pick it up and stash it in my bag for later.  Every once in awhile I see an older man pick one up and eat it.  I am sitting on a dirty, uncomfortable bench in the mango tree-lined Central Park.

I arrived in Alajuela, Costa Rica last night.  I chose to stay here rather than San Jose because the taxi was shorter and cheaper, and since I was transferring from the airport to my hostel at night.

I woke up very early this morning and kept waking up every 30 minutes or so.  There was one other girl staying in the room that left for the airport at 7, so no real issue with other people. The bed and pillow weren’t terrible comfortable, but it was also very light even at 5am.

Almost everything takes place very early here - most tours leave insanely early, buses too, as do planes.  I have a flight later in my trip that leaves at 5.30 in the morning.  Apparently, sights must be seen in the morning because the afternoon often brings clouds over volcanoes (I think I read that somewhere) and torrential rain.  (I actually made it back to the hostel exactly (no kidding) as the torrential part of the rainstorm came through.  Twenty or thirty minutes later, the storm has passed leaving behind water in the streets and on sidewalks.  The clouds started making me nervous at about 2.30pm (I had only been out of the hostel for about 4 hours and I’m sure I was the last to leave, but I wasn’t in a hurry.

Today is a lazy day.  There is not much in Alajuela itself to do or see, but that’s okay with me.  This day has actually lasted so incredibly long already, and it’s only 3.40pm.  My day has consisted of trying to find food (so hard as a vegetarian - I would have my pick of cheap fare as a carnivore) and buying a book from a little used bookstore.  I also spent quite a bit of time sitting in the park watching people.

I’m actually here a couple more nights.  Tomorrow I will probably go see Poas Volcano.  The next day I will take the bus into San Jose.  I will spend 1 full day in San Jose (probably the only full day devoted to the city).  It’s not worth a day even according to some.  On the 24th, I fly to Bocas del Toro, Panama (I am pretty excited about that part of my trip).

Now if only I can get internet long enough to post this blog (internet is pretty spotty right here).