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I'm in Costa Rica!!!!!
Yesterday I left Huaraz as the town descended into yet another marching band centered parade, on another fabulous Oltursa bus sat next to a Peruvian Spanish teacher who lived in New Zealand.
Thanks to the gridlock in Lima I got into my hostel late, and was then out again early this morning. Everything went smoothly this time...until getting on the plane.
I thought I'd lost my iPod, and the Panamanian yuppy next to me decided to get the hostess to help me. In the end it just made the whole thing a lot bigger than it actually was - it was in my jumper pocket rather than my trouser pocket...
The flight felt long, Avianca again who weirdly had a rule that you couldn't put the bag under the seat in front of you which me and a gay Italian couple on my row succesfully flouted.
We land in Costa Rica and a grumpy border guard smudged my faint Mexico stamp and then I was in!
First impressions and you can tell this is a RICH country. Peru and Bolivia's highways are full of old wrecks and the fanciest cars you see are Hyundais. Here BMWs and Mercedes abound. I've seen more American than Costa Rican flags to be frank, and the country is practically bilingual. I've only been here 5 minutes and I've had more english speaking locals than any country I've been in the continent.
San Jose feels very different too. The area I'm in isn't that far from the centre yet feels very suburban. Everything seems lower here, there are a fraction of the high rises of even La Paz. It feels like an American city.
Finally, the climate is totally different to. The clouds are ominous, but I'm going to brave without a rain coat because it's so hot. It's humid, the air feels very heavy, a sea change from Bolivia and Peru.
My hostel is full of Brits and a smattering of Argentines. I'm wary Costa Rica may be full of drunkpackers who are to ignorant to realise the rest of Latin America isn't full of narcostates and believe the Costa Rican tourist swing when they say they're the 'safe' country of the region and thus the only one they'll visit. I hope to be proved wrong.
I feel Costa Rica is going to be a country where I'm going to have to make things intentionally difficult for myself, so that it can be cheaper and more interesting than just a hot, bilingual themepark. But nevertheless, it never gets boring going to a new country!
But let me introduce Costa Rica...
Costa Rica is a country with a higher press freedom rating than the UK. Yet it has a murder rate double that of supposed narcostate Bolivia. It's a country touted as paradise on Earth, but it comes at a cost. The country is both a beacon of conservationism and a bastion of overdevelopment. It's also very expensive. It's comparable to London.
Ps. just like in Peru my 1st meal was a Chinese, having stumbled across a nearby Chinatown...I'm pretty sure the waitor was on something????
Anyways...
Pura Vida!
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