San José-Alajuela

Wed 5th 0658 On terrace with weakish coffee (hoping it will loosen bowels). Slept fairly well, tho woke up a few times (prob vague early departure nerves) including 2300ish when it felt like 5am and I was worried I'd have to be up soon.

1756 JFC. In hostel rooftop bar; came up here, went to pay (1500; not ideal but...) and suddenly realised didn't have binder clip wallet. Was pretty sure I'd lost it in hostel and I had changed lots of clothes and repacked down in dorm but flipped out slightly. Dashed down, knocked on dorm door and someone let me in and it had fallen on floor. Not *quite* sure how, but still, bullet dodged. All this time without an incident then this.

Was going to get a tin or two of beer from shop as usual for last night but since there is a bar here I kind of figure I "shouldn't" /aren't allowed to. And the downstairs common area is a bit dingy and while 1500 is more than I want to pay it's not like I plan to drink a ton and the view is actually pretty decent.

Will intermittently write today up. Executive summary: everything fine, goals achieved, but overriding feeling of "should be doing amazing things on last day" (not quite right way of putting it) and a vague pseudo-milking thing going on.

Two poss Dutch young women came up here a bit ago but it's just me and two staff now. It looks a tiny bit swanky and I was put off but it's not insanely expensive for the local beers (I'm drinking Pilsen). At least as it's just me I have a great table in corner with view, which I should appreciate instead of writing this.

Discovered a cache of 10k notes and a 5k at bottom of tube cube when repacking - I went in there to get a new bag for liquids at security. Not end of world, it's probably about 55k and I was feeling a smidge tight on cash for beers tonight and breakfast/lunch tomorrow. I haven't withdrawn any cash (colones) since I started trying to run my supplies down, which is something. If I'd remembered I had it I'd have probably paid some hostel bills in CRC (at least asked the price to see if it was fair) but it's not the end of the world.

1815 Pretty damn cool sunset and there's (just noticed) a full moon too. TBH perhaps coming to this rooftop bar is the highlight of the final day I've been hoping for.

1818 Ha, the full moon seemed to be in the west, but of course that's impossible - I just realised it's a reflection from the east when i went over to east side of (smallish) bar to take a photo there.

1825 V cool really. Hard to photograph but I'll just have to try to remember. Lights twinkling on hillside around etc. Semi-spoiled but also not spoiled by biggish "Resolvelo con FUD" billboard in middle distance.

So got train - not empty, but lot of free seats - no trouble. Two tickets SJO-Heredia and Heredia-Alajuela. Ticket woman (on platform - no one at windows) spoke English to me, which I guess was nice of her.

Got very slightly lost and was a slightly whiny bitch (hard to see phone screen due to scratched up screen protector and bright sunlight) on way over to hostel, but no real problems.

Guy at reception super friendly, spoke to me in Spanish for a while, said I could leave bag etc, had been to UK twice, once to central London and another time to visit a friend in Weymouth. He said London Dungeon v good, dunno if it's the Tussauds thing but he said it was like a play done "around" you and it was temporary and also done in eg Paris and Tokyo. Bit of audience involvement tho. Anyway, FWIW.

He recommended Zooave to me and I was going to go (forgetting I'd probably rejected it when in Alajuela before - remember I was in a very different and less confident frame of mind back then) but I went to Soda El Parque nearby for gallo pinto and 2 fried eggs breakfast and looked it up on phone - initially just trying to get location on OSM on G5 - and their own website (they've rebranded to Rescate Los Animales or something) says it's USD30 for foreigners, and has a lot of tripadvisor review quotes saying the price is worth it. I think - not checked blog - this is why I didn't go before. Hostel guy told me easy to get bus from Tuasa terminal FWIW. But FFS, apart from the general but universal pissiness of special foreigner prices, USD30 feels like a pisstake. National parks cost 15+tax usually, maybe 20. Yes, it's a "rescue centre" and thus charitable and helping the animals blah blah blah, but there's a limit. I'd have gone for 15 and maybe for 20 but as I say 30 feels like a pisstake, on top of the fact they're quoting a price in dollars. I wouldn't *mind* seeing a quetzal but it's not on my bucket list, especially in (even morally justified; it just isn't as "cool" to see an animal when it's guaranteed) captivity, and hostel guy said there's a toucan with a reconstructed upper beak, but still.

Also except the quetzal and maybe the toucan, I have seen eg Rescate Los Pumas (which IIRC was much cheaper) and seen all four monkey species in the wild etc etc, so the potential "wow" factor at "Zooave" was limited.

So I decided to just wander round etc.

1836 On second Pilsen. Looking out and feeling mildly meditative, I am reminded of that rooftop bar in Bangkok, and also thinking - perhaps a little cheesy, but WTF - that on the whole this has been a fairly successful trip. As noted before, personal demons given at least a bit of a kicking and I kind of feel I've improved some of my soft travel skills and have managed to be reasonably social.

So after breakfast I thought I'd wander over to that bit near market I'd been to back in Jan and admire the view. I couldn't help noticing that while still a tiny bit concerned about personal safety, I felt way more confident than I did back then.

View very nice but also noticed that as it's "Miercoles Santo" the market was open despite it being a weekday, so I went in and (milking it slightly) spent an hour or two wandering round, and had an empanada de queso and a white coffee at a soda (not Gina's, which seemed shut) in the little area off to one side for about 1300. Food nice, walking the market not utterly amazing but sort of cool and nice to be seeing it for a second time at end of trip etc and certainly a reasonable way to fill a bit of time. While I milked it slightly I didn't go crazy and don't really blame myself.

Strong but warmish breeze from the open window up here, I left fleece down in dorm and would prob lose table if I went for it but I don't really need it. Open window good for photos tho.

Oh, I checked in at hostel when I arrived 8-9ish, and paid (didn't ask but got change in dollars). I had a reason for saying that... It wasn't it, but I got a lower bunk - I was actually first in dorm when I got here a bit after 2 so had free choice. Why did I mention that tho? Oh - I wanted to say that guy on reception told me about free airport shuttle and said last one was 1130 and checkout was 11 but I could hang around if I wanted. But I signed up for 1130 free shuttle. I figure I already decided when I booked this place, plus with flight 1825ish I'd probably "want" to get to airport 1425ish if left to my own devices, so I'm only getting to airport 2.5-3h early, which sucks but isn't end of world, plus the reality is that if I did say "fuck it, I'll pay for a taxi and go at 1425" , all I'd be doing is milling round town worrying how safe my bag is back at the hostel and if I should be heading back to get it and go over to the airport - it's not as if I'd be doing wildly exciting things I haven't otherwise had time for with the extra few hours.

As it is I vaguely plan to be up earlyish (8) and go out for breakfast and wander a little and then have a super early lunch at 10ish then come back to hostel and checkout and wait for bus. Not sure any free coffee here, and as there's no kitchen (I asked) I am going to have to throw my leftover spices/coffee out instead of leaving them in free food area - I could have trivially left them in San Jose hostel had I known, but I just assumed every hostel has a kitchen. Not end of world.

I did watch (and video) a plane land at airport from that nice viewpoint outside plaza de las ferias either before or after going in - there was a helicopter too, incidentally.

It would of course have been a pisser to lose my wallet (room keycard - this place is like a hotel which does have expensive private rooms, just some have been turned into dorms - plus Aqua card and maybe 25-30k CRC) but it wouldn't have utterly devastated me - I had other cash hidden away (including CRC, not just USD, after finding that forgotten stash) and other cards etc etc.

I should say rooftop bar is fourth or fifth-ish floor as this is a fairly big building, not the usual-ish 2nd or so story hostel rooftop bar. Other tables occupied but with one solo guy and pairs of people I think came together. I don't feel BNM, I am open to talk if someone wants but I am not particularly desperate.

I said trip had been a success, of course I'm sure I could have done some things better. One small thing I could have done better (reminded by big fruit market today, but true all over as even supermarkets sell odd stuff and there are fruit stalls etc) is buy more random unknown fruit/veg just to try it as I travelled round. In some ways dorms or even just hostels with no privacy make this hard, but a) I did develop a bit of a cooking habit in hostels at points b) in some way they make it easier, as you can always give away the leftovers/share whatever you bought in too big a quantity.

RHCP "scar tissue" playing ("share this lonely view"), never a huge fan but does vaguely remind me of my youth-ish and places like that small club whose name has just gone that I used to like on Fri nights - the San Moritz.

After admiring view on leaving plaza de ferias think I wandered and came across an empty bar and succumbed to temptation (something I kind of hadn't done, plus I was bored and it was hot-ish) to have a couple of beers. Lone woman sat a table and three local guys sat at bar while I was in there but wasn't "molested" , semi-cool to be there, tho woman said something unintelligible to me (not sure if Spanish or English, *maybe* asking me to take my cap off but not sure at all) which made me bit edgy as I sat down with my second beer. 1400 each for Imperial, which kind of makes this place feel expensive, but then there is the cool rooftop aspect.

This breeze is maybe also good for my clothes, the two tone blue isocool top felt vaguely manky when I pulled it out of bag despite being handwashed in Orosi and the grey trousers (ditto re wash) were a bit damp. I do feel reasonably clean and fresh now, which I "should" as modulo this handwashing and dampness I put absolutely clean everything on after my shower.

1915 Third beer. Few people talking near me but several tables with solo people. Feel OK.

So after beers wandered a little then went to hostel and actually got into dorm. Bit of chat with cleaner type chap in there.

Oh, the Fecosa bus terminal is now in use as noticed during morning walk, asked hostel reception guy as I came back 2pm and he said it opened about a month ago. Strangely cool to feel I saw the before and after of this, and I assume the guide book author was assured by the authorities it would be in use before the book was published but there was a delay.

Went back out and wandering round a bit found Mercado Central here, prob been in Jan but not sure. I bought 400g of mani garapinado (not entirely sure if "to take home" or "to eat at airport" ) and then was stuck lugging it round. Went to museum on main square mainly in hope of going up on roof, woman at sign in (it's free) was v nice and seemed to say I could and I even said it wasn't necessary to put them out and have them open the roof as I'd seen it before, I was just visiting again before I went home, and she seemed to say I could. But I was kind of compelled to go round all rooms (sort of interesting) and in the end the roof seemed shut and she was apologetic when I left. Not a big deal but noting for completness.

Went back to MC and had small ceviche camarones for 2500+refresco de cas for 700+IIRC 200 voluntary tip at busying marisqueria I forgot name of. Did feel vaguely brave eaching cevice night before I fly but it *was* busy and fingers crossed it will be fine.

I then went on quest to buy stuff to take home. Wanted some Sirenas sweets (as seen at checkout of every supermarket for last two months) for niece and could not find them. Got some football sweets for nephew in Masxmenor and got myself 2x90g packets Takis Fuego for 1100 for airport. Charged round there and Pali and back to hostel to drop stuff off and down to National (supermarket of choice when here in Jan) and got some pseudo-baked goods to take home for maybe family over Easter but nowhere had any damn Sirenas (or Sirenitas as I thought they were). Bit of an out loud whiny bitch about this. Even asked hostel reception guy. In the end I found a boutique-ish shop a few blocks from hostel whose name escapes me which said "We stock Trululu" in window and I knew (and had said to several shopkeepers) that was the brand so went in and got a packet (for only 600; was dreading it would be 2k or something insane and I'd be torn) and felt massively relieved.

Then back to hostel and emptied bag out and tried to repack as best/neatly as I can and prep for flight and intrusive security scans etc. Had shower so I could change clothes and pack dirty ones. A few people in and out of dorm during this and it feels fairly full now.

And I think that brings the log of today up to date.

I do wonder if everything I am seeing from up here is Alajuela or if eg Heredia/San Jose are forming part of the view.

Tried to use dirty tops (ie not that stinky, unlike UW) to wrap the baked pastry things and sweets for nephew/niece in hope of preserving them. I vaguely plan to take daypack outside main bag with me to airport and through security and have things like Takis Fuego in there as I will be eating those before I get on the flight so not going to consume space in bag - I will stuff empty daypack into main bag when boarding. Mani garapinado (both today's 400g buy and little bit leftover from last night) are in fleece pockets for now.

I still have the second of the two packets of nuts I brought from UK with me. They are in daypack right now and I will probably eat them at airport too.

I am hoping given tap water is potable in CR I can fill a water bottle airside, if not I may splurge and buy some, and even if I can get free water I just might hold my nose and pay airport bar prices for a beer or two, given how relatively long I will be there.

There is a tree outside with bare branches that does basically come up to eye level as I sit here in this rooftop bar.

I haven't checked weather back in London and have only had vague clues from speaking to parents about weather there. My vague expectation is it's going to be cool but perhaps a bit sunny during the day and not exactly cold - "comfortable wearing fleece and a thinnish top" kind of weather.

Feeling mildly in need of piss. Gut feeling is I'll be fine for this beer, will risk losing table to go for piss after it and I'll go get fleece at same time and maybe have 1-2 more, even if at a crappier table. Do not want to be utterly pissed or hungover tomorrow, but I feel it's OKish to have a few on the last night. Honestly while been drinking quite frequently in last week or so, I have almost never drunk to excess on any given day over pretty much the entire trip.

Consistentish with beer intentions, I vaguely expect to go to bed 9ish. Even if don't fall asleep immediately, that should be fine and isn't unusual for this trip and gives me a fair chance of getting up 8ish. I just hope somewhere easily findable is open for breakfast then.

1953 This *is* cool but I do wonder if I'm milking it slightly given I feel slightly cold/needing piss. Perhaps rushed this beer a bit but when it's done I'll go for piss and get fleece and also put powerbank (which I've used to charge both phones mostly full while up here) on charge in dorm. If I get a shitty table or have to sit at bar with no real view on return that's fine.

2001 Against all odds got my table back after piss and getting fleece and putting powerbank on charge. Guys at table to my left are discussing a friend who seems to have passive income from saving and a frugal lifestyle.

Might (semi-illictly?) eat some mani garapinado.

2014 Did. Enjoyed them. Fingers bit sticky but meh. Feel *slightly* BNM but is at least one solo guy, most people talking are in couples and it feels kind of like people who are travelling together talking. Also genuinely not desperate despite generalised "would be nice to talk to people more easily" issues.

2020 Just seen plane take off, in hindsight it's obvious and I *had* thought airport was to south and thus poss right in front of me, but I hadn't twigged the line of bright white lights in middle distance were (I infer) along the runway rather than just being along an important road. I saw this by chance as admiring the view and suddenly some lights detached themselves from the ground. :-)

At least one conversation nearby is in fluent-sounding Spanish, they could still be tourists but I half wonder if they are locals and this bar is (understandably) open to anyone.

2026 Incidentally while in bar was reading (skimming, to be honest) a 2018 paper on "bias bias" in behavioural economics. Oh yes, the reason I suddenly think of this is mulling on how I am less (but not un-) concerned about personal security now compared to Jan. I may have seen paper before and having only skimmed it I am super leery of drawing conclusions but it *has* I think made me freshly sceptical of a lot of "received wisom" and (with no solid conclusion here on my part right now) it may well be that having spent >2 months in CR I *do* have a better intuitive grasp of the security risks of being here compared to when I arrived. There are doubtless *gaps* in my knowledge - I have been out very little at night, on the whole - and I may have flawed judgments (or maybe actually rational sensible low confidence judgments?) about some aspects, but still.

I do think I was understandably but excessively over-concerned when I first got here. But that's probably smart and even rational, given the skewed payoffs (feel a bit edgy and maybe miss out on a night out or a beer from nearby shop after dark while playing it safe, vs get mugged or worse from being over-confident from the start).

Not feeling pissed. Do feel I'm slightly milking this, as I am not super enjoying myself either, but it is at least understandable on last night and I am not hating it or anything either and the alternative is just going to bed even earlier than usual.

2041 I don't see the real value given I paid to select a seat, but suddenly remembering I hadn't checked in (and there were no nagging e-mails either) I just did. Opted to collect boarding pass at airport, I could have had it e-mailed but I figure it's probably more reassuring (I have no printer here, of course, unlike when I checked in online at home in Jan) to not be dependent on my phones working at the airport.

Not just now, speaking more generally, vaguely peeved/resentful at all the security screening wankery and potential bag quibbling (tho I have 23kg allowance on *both* cabin bags, so the only real scope for quibbling is on the size of perhaps collar-up main bag and touch wood I expect no fuss, I am not flying Ryanair or easyjet) but at least my style of travel means I get to amortise this emotional cost over several months and while shitty it is probably worth it in order to be able to travel.

2046 Yawning a bit. I was up at 630 or so I guess. Not pissed. Bit of this beer left, barring major change of heart in next few mins I will probably have one more and call it a night. I will have milked it a bit but not excessively.

2055 Went down one floor (I asked) and had piss and got another (last) Pilsen and still got my table. It is thinning out in here slightly - for last hour or two it's been busyish for size but not rammed (broadly pleasant busyness tbh) but a table is now free in the four nearest the windows etc. All fine.

I half wish I'd had some epic conversation with someone tonight etc but I am not complaining. On the whole it hasn't been a bad day in the face of "end of trip" emotional crap, I was/am enjoying the views from up here and I haven't eg made any conversational overtures to other single people here, eg the guy behind me, figuring maybe they want some peace on first/last night here (easy and prob true-ish assumption) and also feeling that I'm quite happy to be solo as long as I don't feel BNM tonight.

2102 Oh, I got a vaguely sausage roll carne desmechada and queso thing from a bakery earlier (quite nice) and while devouring it on a street corner driver of a huge articulated truck shouted at me - I was engrossed in eating and not paying attention, and when I realised he was talking to me I just said "soy turista, lo siento" . In a way vaguely nice he felt I might be able to advise him (not sure what he wanted, presumably directions) and also a shame I wasn't paying more attention to at least understand what he wanted even if I almost certainly couldn't have helped and would have said "soy turista, lo siento" . Still, I feel this kind of thing mildly vindicates my "it's analogue not binary" "try not to look too much like a tourist" dress code. (And of course in general being solo helps, as it means I am not revealing my linguistic skills by speaking to a companion in English as I walk down the street.)

The truck made a rather tight some reversing involved right turn (think I have a bad photo) and moved off, FWIW. Putting more effort into/making it more natural (because my Spanish is better) to understand this kind of "background" language (I wasn't consciously speaking with/interacting with driver when he shouted) would obviously be good/nice.

Just confused myself but yes, in this country the driver would be sitting on the left side of the cab, so it was the driver I interacted with and not some (hypothetical) mate in the passenger seat.

Waffling over this detail reminds me: think I've said this before and hope it's obvious, but I don't *lie* on this blog (modulo political risk avoidance, which is broadly speaking rare and at a higher level, and even then principally manifests as silence rather than lies) - if I write it, it happened or I believed it or whatever, depending on context - but I don't *promise* to write everything that happened. So just because some interesting (in hindsight or at the time) incident isn't documented, that is only very weak evidence it didn't happen. It's enough effort to do my best to record everything for Future Me without wearing my fingers to nubs trying to record literally every minor incident. If something interests me etc I do try to record it even if it's minor, but obviously there is a practical lower (upper?) bound on how much detail I can include.

TL;DR: This blog is (modulo own biases) the truth but not necessarily the whole truth. Although except in certain embarassing/personal cases, the distinction is just to preserve my sanity as a chronicler, not for any ulterior motive.

Quick count up has 7 people here excluding me and the two bar staff. 3 of them are in a group chatting (in Dutch or German, I think_ and the rest of us are all solo BNM types. If I'd just arrived maybe I'd make an overture but as it is as said repeatedly I feel both comfortable solo and vaguely intrusive thinking about speaking to someone.

I am less jealous of people who have conceptually just arrived than I expected. I am not happy to be leaving but it will also be nice to be at home and trips (until I become a PT ;-) ) have to end and it will be nice to (say) travel in autumn but from a fresh "how exciting/novel" perspective, rather than a slight "I want to get on with (a new improved version of) my life back home" feeling as I have now.

2123 It is (not that I'm just noticing) cool to see mountains silhouetted on horizon - some lights up there, but fewer. I am also yawning a bit and prob move towards bed soon-ish.

Not the ultimate fantasy amazingly cool wow last night, but really this rooftop bar has been a pretty decent real world pseudo-wow type thing, and the day as a whole hasn't been bad - wasn't gutted at deciding not to go to Zooave by any means, was genuinely up for it after hostel guy's seemingly genuine enthusiasm but for all that I had no plans - the (good) idea to go look at view near plaza de ferias was spur of moment - I was also up for just casually wandering round and I feel given I wasn't gagging to go my decision to fuck it on discovering the price and bearing in mind I had expected to semi-enjoyably just bum around today was fairly reasonable.

Trying to mull for last few minutes but can't resist observing (thinking about a hypothetical return to CR and would I maybe stay here - prob not just cos there were comparable price private room options, but let's ignore that) that staying in a dorm is more about multiple minor inconveniences and *not* the bear pit kind of environment I think I sometimes used to envisage and perhaps will again once memories of this trip fade. Absolutely once in a while and perhaps indeed especially after a long flight a private room is nice, but I think it would be helpful to bear in mind the true "quiet minor miserableness" of staying in dorms (and that's a fairly negative way of putting it) vs the horrific bear pit aspect my mind tends to give it. So I can make more sensible decisions in future.

That said, I don't personally think staying in dorm vs priv room in same hostel is *that* much more helpful for socialising, so if (in other country, say) priv was USD20 and dorm was USD15, I should probably feel free to go for priv option unless it is massively budget damaging or as a bit of an intermittent "keeping it real" /"stoical is-this-what-I-feared" kind of thing. Oddly Julian in Orosi said dorms were better for meeting people, but he/I never spoke in dorm - where I did see him briefly - before we spoke in kitchen/common area.

Maybe four of us here now excl staff. I should milk it a little before I leave, so will stop writing this.

2139 FWIW have been intermittently thinking tonight "a few days ago I was looking into the craters at Irazu" - not sure quite what to make of that. It was sort of cool but not "wow" . Maybe seeing the mountains on horizon (which also reminds me of first-ever trip out of Europe, seeing mountains from terrace of accom in Cuernavaca) one of which might be Poas makes me think of this.

Feel vaguely sad at going down to bed soon, but equally I know I'm milking it already and the memories of tonight won't be improved by forcing things.

2201 In bed. Bit surprised dorm seems fairly occupied with sleepers, but prob not really surprising.