Well, after
over five hours of sitting in a hot, crowded bus, I’m writing this blog post
from my hostel here in La Fortuna! As the bus got into La Fortuna, I noticed
something- this town is full of hostels! It seems like there’s nearly one on
every corner! No wonder there were so many other backpackers on the bus with
me. This afternoon was actually my first experience with intercity bus travel.
The ticket from San Jose to La Fortuna cost a whopping five dollars, and the
trip took just a little over five hours, making one quick stop at the bus
terminal in Cuidad Quesada. The bus seemed to be completely full, too. When I
was planning this trip out I expected to get an Uber from the La Fortuna bus
terminal to my hostel, but when we stepped off the bus there was a woman from a
tour agency outside passing out maps and giving out directions to the
travelers. As soon as I said the words, “La Choza Inn Hostel” to her, she
handed me a map, pointed, and replied, “two blocks straight, three to the
left.” She clearly knew La Fortuna very well and had helped a lot of
backpackers in her time. Since it was only five blocks, I threw my backpack on
and walked the easy distance to my hostel. The two nights that I’m staying here
are costing an entire sixteen dollars, with breakfast included.
After
checking in, dropping my bag in my room, then going out and grabbing some
dinner, I came back here and took a shower. I’m staying in a six bed mixed dorm
here, but it looks like only four beds (including mine) are occupied. I’ve stayed
in both mixed dorms and female dorms in hostels; it doesn’t really matter to
me. I’ve had some girls tell me that they wouldn’t feel safe staying in a mixed
dorm, but I’ve never felt unsafe in them. If anything, the only difference is
the mixed dorms are often a bit cleaner- if a hostel dorm room looks like
someone’s backpack has vomited its contents all across the floor, it’s almost
always a girl’s.
This dorm
room that I’m in has a bathroom en suite, which most hostel dorms don’t have,
and it’s one of the cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen in a hostel. Not saying
that hostel bathrooms are usually gross- they really aren’t- but a lot of times
backpackers will be allowed to work in a hostel in exchange for free
accommodation. Backpackers aren’t exactly great at cleaning usually, but
typically the kinds of people willing to stay at a hostel don’t really mind.
After spending the past few weeks using a shower that is cohabited by ants,
spiders, millipedes, and dozens of volunteers, I have absolutely no complaints
about this bathroom!
Breakfast
starts being served tomorrow at seven, and at 7:40 I’m being picked up here in
the hostel lobby for the big tour. The tour is supposed to last 12 hours or
even longer, so it should be a very long, busy, exhausting, fun day! We’ll see
if I have the energy to make a blog post tomorrow after the tour. If not, I’ll
try to make one the following day talking about the tour! This post’s food for
thought: “A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the
chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to
new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.”- Wilfred Peterson
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