The Beach Is Back: or Fish Jaco

After a second day of orientation, the group of my classmates from my neighborhood (which I will dub the Montelimar Neighborhood Watch Association) hastily decided to go to the beach. Which beach and how? We did not know. Luckily, one of our Ticamama's sons just happened to be going to "the beach" too and he agreed to escort us. We threw some clothes into backpacks, called a cab, and clambered on to a bus at la Coca-Cola (the main bus terminal in San Jose, so named for the once-abandoned factory it now occupies).

We wound through the mountains on narrow roads for more than two hours before we reached Jaco, the city nearest our beach on the Pacific Ocean. We later found the city to be flush with American tourists and the restaurants that cater to them (e.g. los Pizza Huts), but we were headed to tiny Playa Hermosa: still lots of Americans, but at least no Taco Bell. Our bus was traveling through to Quepos, the next city, and Playa Hermosa had no stop of its own. After we realized we had passed the beach, we had the bus driver drop us off on the highway. And we walked.

We arrived at the black sand beach a short kilometer or two later.

We needed to find a room first so we could change and put away our bags. Unfortunately, all the cabinas with $15 rooms were full; we were forced to upgrade to a condo with an ocean view.

The rest of the day and this morning were spent swimming, exploring the nearby rocks, laying in the sun, and watching the surfers. We also feasted on fish tacos, Pilsen (seemingly the cheap Tico beer of choice) and banana pancakes. I resisted all temptation to play Jack Johnson on my iPod.

The end of the trip proved to be less than exciting. The afternoon bus to San Jose had standing room only, so we paid $3 a ticket for an uncomfortable ride back to the city. But for <$50 trip to the beach for a day, ¡vale la pena!

Pura vida,

Eric