Weekend in Greece, as you do

So the UN here is Kosova occasionally (or maybe frequently, I don't know, I'm still kind of new here) organizes bus trips to places. And this month they had two weekend trips to Paralia, Greece. Having been in school for a lengthy two weeks (and not even full weeks), I clearly needed a break. So last Friday after school we boarded a bus filled with various international types and were on our way.

You may or may not have heard in the news, there have been some issues between Kosova and Macedonia about border crossing. So our journey to Greece involved first driving into Serbia, then into Montenegro, and finally into Greece, with all sorts of border stops. (Usually I love getting stamps in my passport, but sadly these stamps were all so faint that the only part you can actually read is the date) So we didn't roll into Paralia until about midnight. Basically we checked in and passed out, all pretty happy to be horizontal instead of wedged uncomfortably in a bus seat.

When the sun came up we suited up and headed down to breakfast. First of all, our hotel and its restaurant were right on the beach, and on top of that the breakfast was a huge smorgasbord of eggs, cereals, baked things, beans, feta, tomatoes and cukes, fruit, and of course fabulous Greek yogurt and honey.


We spent all day at the beach. Both days were actually beautiful - not a cloud in the sky, in the 80s - it was heaven. The water was a little bit cool, but not bad once you got in and the beach was walled off from the open sea, so it was pretty calm. The hotel had lounge chairs, little tables, and umbrellas all set up. The only catch was that you had to order stuff from the hotel bar/restaurant. So we had drinks served to us all day and also occasionally they would bring us little bowls of potato chips or nuts.


We didn't really realize that this snack service was kind of a thing until after dinner.

There were about 10 of us on the trip who knew each other, so we all went out looking for somewhere nice to eat and to try a little local food. I ordered some sort of spicy meatball thing which was delicious. We had some amazing little salads beforehand - beet salad, carrot salad, coleslaw - and some tzatziki with bread. The owner (?) of the restaurant had sort of lured us in with the promise of a free glass of wine. There was also a free shot of ouzo.

After dinner, some of us went to get another drink or two and we found this cute little bar with comfortable outdoor seating and twinkle lights. When our drinks came, so did a little tray of cucumber and tomato slices. Then there were some chips. And some little ham and cheese toasty sandwiches. and a small pizza. and a little shot of liqueur in an edible chocolate glass. We probably could have done without dinner, that's how much food they were bringing us at this bar.


Like I said, day two was just as beautiful and it started out exactly the same way. We spent the morning on the beach, then wandered around the shops a little bit. I bought lentils from the grocery store and some kalamata olives (you know, as a souvenir). On the way to get our bus back to Kosova we stopped to pick up a little chicken gyro which was delicious.

Luckily, border issues were solved over the weekend (?? Seems impossible, work getting done on the weekend) and we had a much shorter trip back to Pristina. Though I knew going into the trip that we might get back late on Sunday night and that I would have to be up early for school the next morning, I decided it would be worth it. And it was. AND we got back into Pristina by 8pm, so I even had time to pull myself together and have a relaxing evening before jumping back into school.

I can't wait to see what other weekend trips are being planned. This weekend home and doing nothing has been great so far, it's really giving me a chance to feel like I'm catching up on some grading and even planning ahead for my classes.

nica saga - part one

getting there

so the plan was to take off around 8 or 9 tuesday morning. it's a 6 hour bus ride to the border, then maybe another hour or so to san juan del sur. we had bought the tickets the day before, but they weren't actually for a specific bus, a specific time, or even a specific day. it said march 2008. san jose to peñas blancas. unfortunately we didn't get going as early as planned and we ended up leaving san jose around 10ish.

without incident we arrive at the border and begin our border crossing process. i had gone to nicaragua last semana santa (but on a border crossing bus) so i sort of had an idea how it was all supposed to work. but we were approached by our unofficial border tour guide and given a little assistance. he got us the forms we were supposed to fill out, even gave us a pen to use. mysteriously he turned up on the nicaraguan side of the border as well. and now he was trying to get us to take a taxi to our destination. so the bus to san juan del sur was going to cost around $2. he wanted us to take a taxi for $30. i told him no, too expensive. we took care of the nicaraguan portion of the border crossing and this guy is *still* hanging around. how about $25, it's un buen precio. listen, captain, $30 is too much. $25 is too much. we don't have it. and if that's all you can offer, then we take the bus. (in spanish, thank you very much. amanda was impressed with my fierceness)

so we exit the border area and enter the real nicaragua. and there's a bus. to managua. which is north about 3 hours. and the guy is telling us that the bus could not drop us where we need to be. which makes no sense what-so-ever. i mean, the bus is essentially going up the main highway towards managua. whatever, though. captain annoying (our unofficial guide) shows up AGAIN. still convinced that we should take a taxi. there are no more buses he tells us. and he says some other stuff which i don't really understand. so he recruits gringo bob (not his real name) to try to translate. turns out i understood completely. gringo bob confirms - he's trying to BS me about buses and taxis. so we tell the guy to piss off and we wait with our new friend. but captain annoying has another plan, sends over another taxi driver friend who will take us part of the way for only $20. then the bus turns up. that's right, the bus that wasn't coming.

so i'm not exactly sure how, as we are at the border and surely one of the first stops, but the bus is packed already. we squeeze on and begin our journey. standing, packed like sardines, next to a man who is holding a parakeet on his hand which is calmly eating a piece of exotic fruit and apparently unaware of the chaos surrounding him.

so our destination involves two buses, one which drops us off at la virgen (which turns out to be no more than a fork in the road with a small pulperia - like a convenience store) and the second takes us to the beach. we're pretty pleased that two women get off the bus with us at la virgen and are also hoping to catch the bus to san juan del sur. so we wait. and wait. and now it's dark. and we wait. and finally the bus turns up. it is unexpectedly posh. (the first bus was essentially a yellow school bus - called "chicken buses" here) it has cushy seats (which we even get to sit in) and is showing a film. which inexplicably keeps switching between english and spanish. but no matter.

it's nearly 8 o'clock when we finally show up in san juan del sur. it's dark. we only know the name of one place to stay. we check there, full. we ask for recommendations, and continue on. on the way we see a woman sitting out in front of a place that says rooms for rent. need a room? she asks. so we stay there. it's been a long day and we're STARVING. so we find this place called jerry's pizza. pizza, beer, and we're so ready to sleep. this random guest house happens to have the most comfortable beds ever. so we had a great nights sleep.

next morning we eat leftover pizza for breakfast and start cruising for cheaper places to stay. we end up back at the one place we actually knew, casa oro. and the adventure continues....

puerto viejo madness

so this weekend was columbus weekend here - and therefore we had today (monday) off. so what else could we possibly do on such an occasion? go to the beach, i guess. if we must. ;)

so we left right after classes for the bus station on saturday. which is when the first snag in our plan occured... carol had gone ahead to get the tickets sorted out and jasmine, laura, and i were going a little later. but when we arrived we found out that when carol arrived there were only 2 seats left on the bus we wanted, and she had to get 2 more for the next bus, which was 2 hours later. it seemed strange, because we had never had trouble before just showing up and getting tickets. but it wasn't a travesty, carol and i were going to go on the first bus and try to sort out accommodations for all of us when we got to puerto viejo.

the bus ride seemed to take forever (it's possible that it didn't, but it sure seemed like it). when we got to puerto viejo we headed straight for the place we stayed last time. but they were full. he said maybe check back in an hour or so, in case one of his reservations didn't show. so we headed off to check out some other places. well, each and every place we checked was full. in one place we ran into a guy (who became our best friend this weekend), juan, whose job it is to ride around on his bike and find rooms for people (apparently). so juan knows a place. there's a couple of dorm beds and a tent. so we go and have a look. well, it wasn't exactly outdoors, but it wasn't really indoors either. it was a covered patio with walls on three sides and inside there were some dorm beds and a tent on the floor in the middle with a mattress inside.

we were not really excited by the idea of staying there. so we sat for a while and the two other people we were with (in total there were 10 of us) went off to investigate other places. well, we were sitting and waiting and texting our friends saying maybe you should get off in cahuita and see if there are rooms there. after a while we're kind of starting to realize that there is truly no place to stay in puerto viejo. and two girls come strolling into the place and we jump and make the decision - we'll take it. the others luckily get some place a little bit farther out of town because a reservation didn't turn up. and we all have beds and have a great evening out.

the next morning our man juan tells us he knows a place that we can stay for sunday night that is a little bit nicer. so before breakfast we go there and have a look. we originally thought that maybe we would all be moving to a different place... but that turned out to be full as well. breakfast was a little bit of a fiasco as well. we found the faraway group sat down for breakfast and went in to join them. well, we're told that they are no longer taking orders. alright. so we find some other place and meet up with the rest of the team after.

we rented bikes. not my idea of a good time. but everyone was doing it... so that was a bit rough, since i'm pretty out of shape and the roads are for the most part dirt and filled with potholes making biking a slightly less pleasant experience. but we spent the day at a beautiful beach in punta uva, about 10k south of puerto viejo.

after the day at the beach we go back to our new room and have a really nice shower (i think i forgot to mention that the "shower" in our first place was basically a hose hanging from the ceiling... which did little more than trickle water on you - so this seemed luxurious. in fact the room seemed luxurious as well because it had PILLOWS. such luxury...) and then headed out for another fun night on the town.

breakfast the next day (today) turns out to be another fiasco... we run into part of our group sitting and waiting for breakfast. we're about to join them when the waitress informs them that there is no more gallo pinto - which i MUST have when i'm on vacation. (and didn't get to have the previous morning - after we had found a place to eat i asked if they had gallo pinto and was informed that this was "the carribean, not costa rica". what a snarky wench) so we go back to this other place we've eaten at before... but there are about 40 people in a big group just sitting down... so we decide to try somewhere else. we find a little soda, but sadly they are out of food. yes, out of food. we basically walked all over town and finally found a place with gallo pinto.

after breakfast we had just the morning at the beach before we needed to catch a bus. but sadly all the direct buses from puerto viejo to san jose were sold out (those million extra people really put a damper on our plans). so we end up having to get a ticket to limon and then to san jose. which is not terrible, but certainly a little less convenient. but overall i had a good time. i'm tan. pictures soon.

ps. happy birthday mom!! i love you!!

travel nightmares (part 2)

the return trip.

my flight back to costa rica last sunday was supposed to leave boston around 5:45pm and arrive in san jose around 11:30pm. i arrived at the airport in plenty of time, checked my bag, bought some more magazines (i brought back about 7 trashy celebrity magazines, like people, ok!, etc. - english mags are expensive here), and eventually made my way to the gate. i sat down with my book to wait for boarding to start.

as that time approached there was an announcement that there was going to be about a 30 minute delay due to some air traffic control issues in atlanta (my stopover destination). so i was a little worried at this point - my layover was only an hour and fifteen minutes - but i was pretty sure i could still make it. well. it turned out to be a little more than 30 minutes delay. by the time we actually took off we were an hour behind schedule.

so i try to enjoy my flight. but all that first class stuff on the way to boston kind of spoiled me... i was in the window seat (which i prefer), but the guy sitting in the middle has got all these business papers out and his laptop... he was certainly taking up more than his fair share of the space. plus there wasn't enough room for me to cross and uncross my legs easily. but i managed.

so as we arrive in the atlanta area we are told that due to air traffic control issues we are going to have to do the whole holding pattern, circling around thing for a while. people with connections are starting to get nervous, including me. but they make an announcement that since our delay is because of air traffic control issues that it's likely that connecting flights will be delayed as well. so i was kind of holding on to that hope, since i was supposed to be at work at noon on monday.

we finally touch down and of course it takes forever to get off the plane - even with people who didn't have connections staying in their seats. i rush up the ramp, and start scanning the connections board. and my flight is marked "departed". super. (i actually found out later that my flight had left a few minutes early - air traffic control.... right....). so i had kind of been expecting this... since when we actually landed was after the scheduled take off time for my connection.

so i'm off to the re-booking desk. of course there's a huge line because nearly everyone with a connection on our flight missed their connections. so at the back of the line there's this little machine that you scan your boarding pass and they can tell you if you've been re-booked on the next flight or whatever. and also it prints out any hotel vouchers that might exist. well, i got no info about my flight, but if i wanted to stay at the westin that night they had negotiated the low, low, special deal price of just $90. $90????!!!!! the woman mentioned that there was a huge info boards of hotels that were cheaper and closer to the airport just outside of security.

so i bypass the line (which is barely moving) and use one of the customer service phones. i probably waited nearly as long on hold as i would have in the line, but whatever. i eventually speak to an agent who tells me that the next flight to san jose doesn't leave until 10am and arrives in CR at noon. which is when i'm supposed to be at work. super. well, obviously that's not going to work out. but the good news was that since my checked bag and i both missed our connection, the bag would hang around at the airport until the next flight to its destination - which i would also be on. and the guy got me a business class seat. which was pretty exciting.

so with only a couple of things in my carry on bag i head out to the main terminal. after staring at the hotel board for a while and making a couple of calls to check on prices (it was one of those phones where you enter the number from the board and it just dials the hotel automatically) i decided to head for super 8, which had a free shuttle and internet. so i'm collected by the shuttle and whisked off to my hotel.

unfortunately the hotel isn't really near any thing that allows me to get food or anything else. but there are a couple of menus in the lobby and i end up ordering some pizza and chatting with some other random guests for a while. when my pizza arrived i went up to my room, crawled in bed, put a dvd in my new laptop (have i mentioned this? - so exciting, i love it.), and ate. before too much sleep it was time for me to head back to the airport. i had some free continental breakfast and we were off.

when i entered the terminal i was a little taken aback by the length of the lines... but being booked in business class (and seat 1A - which means that business class is the best class on this flight) i start looking for the first/business class short line - i know that i shouldn't be waiting in the lines with the "commoners" :P but even that line was outrageous. and then i realize that there's a whole other section of desks for international trips. so i start to wait in that line... because i really just wanted to speak to someone and make sure my bag was on this flight too. but then i went for the kiosks. i swiped my old boarding pass and lo and behold all my new flight info came up and that i already had 1 bag checked. awesome.

so without further ado, i make my way through security (there's actually a special, shorter security line for first and business class) get to my gate in plenty of time. i wait and read. and then we board. i'm offered a mimosa straight off the bat (ah... business class...). of course there was a little delay, mostly due to so many people having missed flights the day before, there was some confusion about luggage. but we eventually took off.

so i arrived in san jose around 12:45 - 13 hours later than i had planned on. i headed home and got a little nap in before trucking into school to see what was up. i did a couple of placement exams and then went back home, still exhausted.

so yeah. that was my nightmare travel story... now that i've got that out of my system i promise not to be so whiney on my next post...

travel nightmares

so here's the part where i complain about traveling... actually, i generally enjoy traveling (and i'm talking about the actual transportation portions of traveling, not just the being other places, which i obviously enjoy a great deal) - i like the airport, i like flying, i like buses and trains, i love people watching. but my last trip home was sandwiched by two not-so-hot travel days. actually three - but let me explain.

so on the friday before i left i tried to check in for my flights online. it's generally easier and i kind of like knowing that i have a head start on the whole thing. well. the confusion was that my flight was the return portion of my reward flight. and the week before two of the three flights needed to be rescheduled due to a cancellation (though i actually recieved some bonus miles because of this, which was AWESOME on the part of northwest). so the flights were booked through northwest. but my first flight was on delta, because northwest doesn't fly to costa rica (but delta is a "partner" for miles). so when i tried to check in on the northwest site i couldn't, because you must choose a departure city, and san jose isn't on their list. so i tried to check in on the delta site, but of my three flights home, they only had the first one correct - theirs. (the other two flights were on northwest)

so after i panicked a little, i decided that i would just go to the airport in the morning and sort it out then. well. when i checked in they printed out a boarding pass for my flight out of costa rica and for one of the flights that i was no longer taking and nothing for the flight that would actually take me to boston. though they seemed to understand that my bag should go through to boston. i decided to try to sort all this out with the northwest agents in atlanta.

so i arrive in atlanta (after a lovely flight in FIRST CLASS - my first time ever!) and because we've arrived internationally we have to collect all of our luggage, go through customs, and then recheck everything to our final destination. before just blindly throwing my bag on the belt to be rechecked, i decided to talk to one of the customer service agents to sort out all the nonsense. well i was in concourse E, which happens to only contain delta agents. so i go chat to this woman anyway, to see if she can help.

well, her computer is showing that i'm still on my canceled flights. which i tell i her i am not. so she tries to call northwest, but is somehow unable to speak to a real person (in retrospect this woman was not really helpful in the least). so what she can do is check my bag out of the airport - like atlanta was my final destination. so i would have to go all the way out to the south terminal, collect my bag from baggage claim there and then i can go to the northwest check-in desk on the north terminal and sort everything out with them and THEN go back through security and to concourse D, where my flight was leaving from. in about 40 minutes.


there's a train which connects all these parts - atlanta is a BIG airport
so obviously my bag is not on the baggage carousel by the time i've gotten out there. and i wait for what seems like FOREVER for it. finally it shows up and i run over to the northwest desk (cut to the front of the line because i'm a FIRST CLASS customer) and the woman is like, "oh, it looks like you've already checked in for these flights". super. but now it's too late to check my big bag (which contains - GASP! - liquids larger than 3 oz.!) so i'm pissed, run over to security, which is not that long of a line, thankfully, and i start tearing through my bag to get the liquids out and squeeze them into my quart-sized ziploc - which now no longer closes. luckily i breeze through security with no hassles and then i'm back on the train for concourse E.

so i'm hustling to the gate and luckily there are still some people waiting in line to board. again, being first class i cut to the front, and get on pretty quickly. i plop down in my cushy, first class seat, and the flight attendant says to me:

"can i get you something to drink?"

yes you can.

okay, so that feels like plenty of complaining for today. if you can imagine, the trip back was worse.

safe and sound

so i'm here!


i did have a sort of hectic travel day, but since i was a first class passenger i got to cut to the front of lines and drink for free. so far the weather has been great here, sunny every day, no rain. i'm working on my tan (it's the rainy season in costa rica - i haven't been to the beach in forever) so yeah. i'm here. trying to see everyone and get all the things i've been missing (cheese, all-day sunshine, target, lotions and potions that i understand the use of).

when are there too many people on a bus?

answer: never. seriously. especially in nicaragua.

so after spending a lovely day and night in granada, cruising around granada (which i really liked) we got ready to head for the island of ometepe. we got ourselves together in the morning and made our way to the bus station. well, "station" is too strong a word. the buses for rivas left from the corner across the street from the gas station. no problem. however, due to a little confusion when trying to pay our bill at the hostel we arrived just in time to hop on the bus. all the seats were full and we had to stand and lean against the side of the seats. normally not a huge deal - but this was going to be an hour and half bus ride.

not a terrible ordeal overall. but we kept stopping and picking up more people. and more people. every once in a while someone would get off - but mostly we were just picking up more people. finally at one point the bus is kind of pulled over and the guy is shouting "rivas!" and waving us toward the back of the bus. so we jump out the back grade school bus emergency drill style and there´s a taxi driver waiting to take us to the port.

then we get on the ferry, which will take us to ometepe. again crowded, but not that bad. what did worry me was how interested everyone was with the life jackets. like grabbing one off the rack and holding it with them in their seats... so after an hour of sitting on a metal seat i was ready to get off the boat.

we get on the island and talk to these people at a hotel which the book says can make a reservation at this place near the beach. so after that's squared away we wait for the bus. it finally pulls up to the bus stop and we hop on a take a seat. and then we wait. and wait. for the next ferry to come in. at which point tons more people get on the bus. and finally we take off. the bus is pretty packed, but we keep picking up more people. lots of people.

it takes us nearly two hours to get to where were going. which is a bit surprising because it's not a very big island. but all the stopping takes a while. and then when we are a little farther away from the main town the quality of roads deteriorates rapidly. so not only are we going about 10 miles an hour the whole time and stopping to pick up more and more people, we are also dodging pot holes and swerving all over the road to avoid livestock.

by the time we get to our hotel i am so ready to get off of the bus. our room turns out to be fine, with a shared bath and a view of one of the volcanoes out the window. we take a little walk along the beach to santo domingo for dinner. and then a longish (about 25 minutes - even though the book claims it should be about a kilometer away) walk back home. we decide the next day will be for some relaxing and exploring. more later.

fronterra extravaganza

so we woke up at the crack - no wait - well before the crack - of dawn this morning to get ready to leave for nicaragua. 3:15am. i actually felt surprisingly awake - but seriously, it's more like the middle of the night than the morning. we got ready, made some pb&j's and called our taxi. got to the bus station ¢4,000 poorer - even though normally this would have cost like ¢2,000. but it was the middle of the night. and for some reason our taxi driver came from another town. but whatever.

we got on our bus, which was well air-conditioned, and settled in. well, since it was the middle of the night (okay, well 5am i guess is the early morning) it wasn't actually hot. at all. so we spent the first part of our journey with goosebumps trying to get a little more sleep.

eventually we seemed to arrive somewhere. everyone got off the bus and got in line to get our "leaving costa rica" stamp. well. this line rivaled the line for space mountain on the busiest day at disney. it snaked back and forth through a dirt parking lot with no sun. we stood in this line for over 2 hours. sometimes there seemed to be regular movement. but other times it would just stop. for like 20 minutes. at one point we got excited that we might actually get the the shady portion of the line just before entering the building. but no. we were just out of reach and the line stopped for like a half an hour.

eventually we got through, having ruined all my careful tanning on the patio in the process. we found our bus and got back on. the driver collected all of our passports and $8. this was for the "entering nicaragua" portion of the border crossing.

so while we wait, colleen decides she's going to use the bathroom on the bus. she goes, but then comes back pretty quickly. apparently there was a big crap in the toilet. so we're waiting and the driver goes to the back - seems someone has told him about the poo - and berates the back of the bus - los banos son solamente para liquidas!!! the bathroom is only for liquids! then he gets off the bus and moments later comes back. carrying a big stick.

the nicaragua portion of the border crossing goes much easier. the bus driver gets all the passports stamped. all we have to do is get our bags out from under the bus and stand in a short line to talk to the customs guy. you show him your form and then you press a button connected to a modified stop light with only two options. red - you go inside to have your bags searched - or green - back to the bus. luckily colleen and i both get green.

getting all the luggage back on the bus ends up being a bit of a project as well. but we do discover that the bus can drop us off in granada instead of taking us all the way to managua where we would have to get *another* bus to granada. we arrive in granada at about 5pm. a very long day, for sure. all in all the whole border crossing extravaganza tooks us about four and a half hours. aye dios mio!.

but now we're here. we've had some dinner. some beers. we have a place to stay. free internet. and we don't have to work for a whole week!!

turbulence

turbulence has been a pretty major component of my trip so far... the flight from atlanta to san jose was probably one of the bumpiest i've ever been on. i don't know if it has to do with flying over the carribean or if it just happened to be a bumpy day. and then today my shuttle bus from san jose to quepos was majorly turbulent. and i've made it here safely, despite the scary, scary bridges we drove over on the way.

however, my luggage is still not here.... the man in the office said that they called earlier... but he is presently trying to find the message. hopefully it's good news. if not i'm going to have to go out for some toiletries tonight.

it seems much warmer in quepos - which is nice, since i was a little chilly and unhappy in my room in san jose last night. and we're close to the beach, which is always nice. the hostel i'm at is nice. when the shuttle guy dropped me off there was a sign on the gate that said "warning, big dog" or something, but when i came in the gate there he was.... passed out in the middle of the walkway. and now that he's been awake, he is so not warning worthy. plus there's a couple of other dogs about and a nice big courtyard area.

not sure what is in store for tomorrow, but the day after i'll be moving into my apartment for the course - so it'll be nice to sort of set up shop in one place instead of staying in the dorms... more tomorrow.

getting there (is not fun at all)

so i'm here. and it's been a very VERY long day for me. probably because i decided it would be better to not go to bed at all than it would be to go to sleep sometime around midnight and then wake up at 3:30 in the morning. so after a relaxing evening of watching tv and lounging with my cat we took off for the airport around 4am.

i was there in plenty of time (2 hours early? please, i can't really think of when i've ever needed that much time). i wandered around with my dad until it seemed like the right time to get into the security line. i mangaged to time it quite well and had just enough time to get through security, walk the long, long way to my gate, rest for a few minutes and board the plane.

our flight was practically empty - which was great. so i stretched out and got a little shut-eye. however. we got into atlanta nearly a half an hour late - which really cut into my 45 minute layover. so i had to do a little early morning jogging and barely made my plane - and the flight attendants informed me and the other 4 late-comers that they might have left already if there hadn't been a problem with the smoke alarms.

so late to atlanta, late to san jose. and then i waited and waited and waited for my bag to be dumped out onto the baggage claim belt. and i waited some more. then there was an announcement for passengers who had arrived by way of boston and atlanta should go to the desk. our luggage had not arrived. *sigh*

so thanks to a lovely tourist info desk girl i managed to contact my interbus company (which was supposed to collect me at the airport and then take me to the spot i would get my bus to quepos), explain what had happened, get some information on the place i was going to stay in quepos, and re-book me for tomorrow morning's bus to quepos.

so for tonight i'm still in san jose. at some random hotel reccomended by the interbus people. hoping i can find some dinner without having to try to hard. and then laying on my bed and watching some spanish tv.

hopefully tomorrow i will be a little happier and nearer to the beach!!!!

so NOT impressed with sevilla

sure, it seems a bit early to be making rash judgements like that, but so far, i am so *not* impressed with sevilla.

my last night in granada was good. no band in the plaza, but i had a nice dinner out and a little stroll around. it didn't rain, i didn't get lost, i finished my book. life was good. i woke up in plenty of time this morning to walk to the train station (it was less than 30 minutes). i was able to get my ticket and get on the train. had a mini siesta on the train (accidentally). and after just 3 short hours i was in sevilla.

sevilla, being a large city, has a very large train station. and when i did eventually get to the exit, it took me another 15 minutes to find where the buses were (after talking to TWO information people). the bus showed up another 15 minutes later. as near as i could get to where i wanted to be i got off the bus and began to walk. and walk. and walk. you know how this goes...

it is now over 2 hours later and i've only just found my hostel and the internet place. my room has a window that overlooks the lovely... laundry room. there is a rooftop terrace... in the middle of a block of buildings. *sigh*

so now what i really need to do is change out of my cranky-pants and get something to eat. hasta luego.

a train like a plane

so today i woke up very early. so early, in fact, that i missed the free breakfast again! i had to settle for a machine coffee which i drank on my walk to the metro. yesterday i managed to buy my ticket - using spanish only. carlynne, who missed her second train for the day, went back with me so i could get a ticket (no sense in waking up early only to find that the train is full). it was a bit like the deli, you take a number and wait for your number to be called. just as my number was called and i was approaching the counter and a woman rushed in front of me. she tried speaking english to the teller, and the teller just said "no english". so the woman left and i stepped up, took a deep breath and said: granada manana. she started typing away. then i said: ocho. she asked: a las ocho? si. and it was done.

so this morning bright and early, i was up and ready. we arrived at the train station in plenty of time, i went down to my platform and waited. only a couple of minutes late the train rolled up. there was barely anyone on it, and not that many more people got on. i was lucky enough to be standing on the platform directly in front of the car i was assigned to. the seats were very spacious, i didn't have to share my 2 seat section with anyone. as we pulled away from the station a man came around and was handing everyone a little box. like a welcome gift.

i opened it up and inside there were some little headphones. eventually on the tv screens place throughout the car a movie began to play. so i plugged my headphones in and got ready for some entertainment. of course i should have known it would be in spanish, dubbed, it was an english movie though. (not sure what - a grisham one with robert downey jr. and kenneth brannaugh.) instead i opted to listen to some music - there were like 3 music stations - and "rest my eyes".

after a few hours i went to the food car to get something to eat. i picked a ham and cheese sandwich, which seemed like a safe bet. there was something ooky about the cheese, though, so i ended up pulling out the filling and just eating the bread. another movie came on, this one was something with john travolta - not something i recognized - and i didn't even bother to check if it was in english.

arriving in granada i was feeling sufficiently brilliant enough to walk to the area i was headed, instead of taking the bus. simply follow one large road and then turn onto another large road. easy-peasy. well, not so easy-peasy. somehow i got waaaaay lost and ended up off the map from my guidebook. luckily i found a large map in one of the plazas and was able to find my way eventually.

nearly two hours after leaving the train station i finally settled into my room - my *fourth* choice hostel. but it's in a great location, i have my own sink and a balcony that looks out onto the plaza below (though i suppose that means it could be very loud, oh well). i'm off to find some food. hasta manana.

packed like sardines

so my trip started off well enough. i was sent to a short line for check in, since i was only taking carry-on baggage. i sat, had a sandwich and some laughs with my family. i made it through the security checkpoints with the expected amount of hassle. but once i got beyond that i saw the mass of people standing by my gate. well not just my gate, but 4 gates all mashed together with not enough seats. but whatever, i stood. the announcement came on at the time we were supposed to board that our plane had just landed, and so it would be a few minutes more until we could get on. and then we got on...

the rows were 2-4-2 and i found that seat 'E' (which sounded good- like a window) was actually one of the inner middle section seats. and our flight was PACKED. not an empty seat in the house. and as someone who has been on a number of trans-atlantic flights, i can say with some authority that that *rarely* happens. in fact, never in my experience. but the food was okay. i got to watch a french movie called le demon de midi and madagascar. i also managed to doze (not actually sleep) for nearly 2 hours.

we arrived only about 10 minutes late in paris, at about 6:35, where i was to transfer to a 7:15 flight to madrid. so i quickly made my way towards the terminal transfer bus (that sounds morbid, but i think you know what i mean...). i waited a couple of minutes there, as there were many people trying to transfer. when we finally reached the proper terminal (which conveniently was the last stop before coming full circle) we all rushed upstairs to find a security checkpoint. a giant mob was formed in front of 4 booths to check passports and boarding passes. i somehow got in the wrong line, and ended up waiting nearly 20 minutes to get through.

thinking i was nearly there, i imagined myself just making my flight - being that last person to race onto the plane, no waiting. but as i made my way towards my gate i began passing what seemed to be a mile long line for another security check. i got about halfway up the line before i realized i was supposed to be in it. (i sneakily started chatting to two girls who were also running far too late and then stood behind them). i kept checking my watch, and checking and checking. and then it kind of hit me, i was definitely *not* making my flight.

after 45 minutes in that second security check i was in - FINALLY. i made my way to my gate, which was no longer actually my gate, and asked where i needed to go. the woman directed me to the transfer desk where there was - surprise! - a long line of people who had missed their transfers. i was eventually put on a flight scheduled to leave at 9:40. c'est la vie. or whatever you say in spanish (esta vida or something....)

on that flight i finally had some space and was finally able to get a little shut-eye, but not much. an hour and a half later i was in madrid. where there seemed to be no security whatsoever. i exited the plane and made my way towards the exit. no one wanted to see my landing card. no one wanted to check my baggage. in fact no one seemed to be checking anyones baggage. i got some cash and made my way to the metro. there a man was waving everyone through... gratis, gratis...

and finally i'm here. at my hostel. i've taken a shower. i've changed my clothes. and i'm starving!

exploring marugame

before natasha left for her trip she explained to me how to get to the nova branch in marugame. she even drew me a map. and since it was such a beautiful day, warm and sunny on the first of november, i was excited for a walk. later in the evening some of the nova teachers would be meeting at a restaurant called bamiyan near the school, if i wanted to meet them. i set out with my shoulder bag and my sunglasses.

i managed to weave my way through the center of marugame and find the long, rice paddy lined road that would lead me out to nova. i kept walking. and walking. i came across a drink vending machine and bought myself some sort of green tea drink. and i kept walking. and walking. almost positive at this point that i had missed some of the landmarks natasha had described. but maybe not. so i kept walking.


eventually i saw the bright pink glow of the promise land - aeon town. compared to most of my walk, the large strip mall was like the big city. there was a restaurant (bamiyan), a 100 yen store, a pharmacy, a discount store, a supermarket, a video arcade, a book store, and of course - a nova english school. i felt relieved to have actually found the school, one less thing to worry about on my first day of actual work. but i headed straight for the max valu supermarket (food excites me) - which made the marunaka supermarket i had gone to the day before look like a farm stand.

inside the massive (and air-conditioned) store was every food i could imagine and thousands more i could not. i wandered the aisles for a good hour or so. i found rice - which i hadn't been able to find at the marunaka (not that it wasn't there, mind you, i just couldn't find it in my weakened state) - and a few other little things. after i made my purchases i sat on the bench outside trying to plan my next move.

it seemed too early yet to hang around and wait for the other teachers to finish work. so i opted to walk home with my purchases while the sun still shone and perhaps borrow the extra bike to come back in the evening. so i started walking. (can you see where this is going?) and walking. and eventually started getting really tired of lugging that 2kg bag of rice. but i trudged on. now that i was certain i hadn't passed any landmarks though, i didn't have the fear of being lost.

by the time i reached the town center i was feeling confident in my sense of direction. it hadn't steered me wrong yet. and i felt certain that there was a more direct root back to the flat than the one i had taken. so i walked. and walked. then i was starting to feel like maybe i didn't know where i was going...

it was getting darker. my arms were tired of carrying the rice. as i passed a random beer vending machine i stopped to make a purchase, feeling that i would want a beer when i got back. if i got back... i found myself near the river, which i was certain was near my flat. so i followed it for a ways.

followed it until a wild dog started barking at me and following me. and then 10 of his closest friends followed suit. needless to say i was scared to death, trying to put on a cool face, telling them to go home (do stray japanese dogs understand english commands?), envisioning having to tell people that i was mauled by wild dogs on my 3rd day in japan (and they say japan is so safe!).


after getting myself away from the dogs i decided that maybe i was wrong about the river. or maybe it was a different river. so i headed up the next main looking road i found. but following this road was actually taking me *farther* from where i wanted to be. eventually i found the raised tracks of the local train - which i was certain there was only one of - and i followed them home.

i plopped my exhausted self down on the little sofa and cracked open a beer. when i had finished the beer i went to the kitchen to cook myself one of my favorite comfort foods - rice. then i settled in to watch the ninth gate, knowing full well that there was no way in hell i was trekking out there again today.

here goes nothing...

so i spent my last evening at home trying to watch all of down with love, even though i knew i had to wake up at 5:30am to leave for the airport. it actually seems to be a pattern of mine, trying to get in as much "movie" as i can before leaving the country. i did it before going abroad for a semester (great expectations), and before traveling in france and italy (rising sun). on this particular night i was unsuccessful. i fell asleep on the couch in the middle of the movie and dragged myself up to my bed at 3am.

the next morning after tearful goodbyes to my family i boarded my flight, first to detroit, then on to osaka. i had a two seat row all to myself, and hoped to get some sleep during the "night" portion of the flight. but until then i slipped off my shoes and cozied in for some in-flight entertainment. i was very excited to see that one of the movie options was down with love! i also got to see the italian job. so after 2 movies and a decent dinner (by airplane food standards) it really hit me. 14 hours is a very.... long..... flight.....

i was able to doze a little after dinner, since i had hardly slept the night before. i read some of my japan guide, all about the kagawa region where i would be living, some history, some culture. i flipped through my japanese phrasebook trying to imagine which phrases i might need upon arrival. for a while i chatted with a few guys around me, all on their way to teach at nova as well, one downing sake like it was going out of style. i dozed some more. eventually we arrived in japan.


osaka, japan
the other new nova teachers and i managed to find our luggage, navigate customs, and locate a man holding a nova sign. he led us to the end of the terminal where there were more future teachers hanging about looking tired and a little lost. our names were checked off a list as we left our bags to be delivered to our respective apartments within 2 days. for another hour or so i sat on the floor looking over all the papers and booklets i had been given. finally we were shuttled onto a bus and brought to our hotel in dotonburi.

after dropping my remaining bag on the floor of my room and sitting on the bed for a while i went back down to the lobby to use the internet. i sent a slightly frazzled e-mail to my parents and set out into the night to find something to appease my grumbling tummy.

continued next week...