Jocko, Yocko, Hocko.

Hola!

I just got back from a much-needed beach weekend. On Friday, Patri and Juan Carlos called all three of us in to the living room for a talk. Patri was livid about Thursday night. I didn't go out, but Amy and Natalie did. When they got home, they tried to heat up a snack in the microwave and Patri woke up. I don't know why, but she thought there was a boy in the house (there wasn't) and was furious. She went on a huge rant about how it's dangerous to bring strange boys back late at night. She was also upset about them leaving a light on; the power conveniently went out on Friday when we were getting ready to leave because they're behind on their electricity bill. None of this was my fault, but we all got yelled at anyway. They turned it into a safety talk, too, when clearly they were just angry. They tried to make it sound like they were concerned for our safety, when really Patri was just mad about being woken up en la madrugada. Oh, well. We knew it was time for us to go.

We took a taxi down to the main bus station to catch a 3:30 p.m. bus to Jaco Beach. We thought we were so cool, navigating the city and using public transportation to travel. What we didn't realize was that most people buy their bus tickets weeks or days in advance. The 3:30 bus was full! We had a moment of panic when a man pretending to work for the bus company told us that the next available bus only had two open spots, not three, and recommended we pay $75 for a taxi. He was totally hustling us! I demanded we stay in line and ask the real employee behind the counter. Sure enough, there were three tickets for the 4:30 p.m. bus. I couldn't believe what easy targets we were for that guy. The tickets were 1380 colones a piece. That's not even $2. Love it.

We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of public transportation. I fell asleep, of course, and so did Natalie. A cute little girl sitting next to us had been watching us earlier. I remember being fascinated by older girls, too, when I was little. Natalie woke up during her nap because the little girl reached out and touched her leg. Her grandmother didn't notice what she was doing. It was weird and cute at the same time. After a short nap and drive through the mountains, we arrived in Jaco Beach.

Jaco Beach is said to be the Maui of Costa Rica. People flock to Jaco Beach for the surfing, the nightlife and the beach. We stayed at a small hotel right on the beach and used Natalie's travel guide book to find great restaurants. Our hotel was perfect and much better than we thought it would be given the cheap price. There was a slight ant problem upon arrival, but it was nothing Natalie's bug spray couldn't handle. We had a small balcony overlooking the pool and ocean, and our air conditioning system saved us from the humidity and constant heat. Though the nightlife was slightly disappointing, we managed to entertain ourselves.

On Saturday, we woke up to overcast weather. We walked all over town, which is full of overpriced restaurants and touristy gift shops. There was a mix of surfers, families and Ticos, but no one was very friendly. We walked on the beach. I think Jaco Beach is slightly overrated; there were rocks all over the black sand which made it hard to walk. The waves were huge, though (perfect for surfing). After lunch at Los Amigos (two for one berry smoothies and avocado wraps), the weather cleared up. We spent the afternoon by the pool shaped like a guitar and played in the ocean.

That night, we dressed up and treated ourselves to an expensive dinner at a place called Poseidon. I wore my long dress! We tried out the nightlife again. We must have gone back and forth between every bar (Plankton, Le Loft, Monkey Bar). No one satisfied our musical needs, and no one seemed very friendly. It was strange, but we made our own fun, as usual. Amy used her iPhone for our stereo sysem so we could have a dance party in our hotel room. The videos are priceless. We went swimming in our hotel pool and listened to the waves crashing against the shore all night.

Today, we checked out of our hotel and explored a little more in the pounding heat until our 2:30 p.m. bus. After such a good traveling experience on Friday, we didn't think that our bus ride would be sans air conditioning. I practically melted. When we finally made it to San Jose, we picked up a loaf of bread at Musmanni (a franchise bakery) for our family. We wanted to say peace offering without coming right out and saying sorry for last week. I think it worked.

I uploaded more pictures on Facebook from nights out in San Jose, our day trip in Zarcero and this weekend. I am exhausted! I'm looking forward to my last three weeks here, but right now, I just need to go to bed.

Pura Vida,
Lauren